OHD Chapter 9: Video

Chapter 9: Video

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

After dinner, Zhou Kai took the initiative to go into the kitchen and help his mom wash the dishes. He then returned to his room to focus on his homework, memorizing English words and classical Chinese texts. He deliberately left his door open so his dad could see, as if to say: I’m studying hard, if you don’t believe it, you can look for yourself.

And his dad did look, pretending to go to the bathroom and walking back and forth twice. Zhou Kai knew exactly what he was doing. As his dad passed by, Zhou Kai didn’t even turn his head, staying focused on his work.

An hour and a half passed, and in another twenty minutes, it would be time to meet with the class president and a few others at the arcade. Zhou Kai worried that his dad might not let him go, so after packing his books and practice exercises, he stood in his room for a while before grabbing his phone and heading out.

His dad was in the living room, making tea and watching TV, while his mom was peeling fruit. To avoid disturbing his study time, the TV volume was turned low, and they spoke in hushed tones. Zhou Kai coughed lightly to let them know he was coming out, then walked over and sat on the sofa, sitting up straight.

His dad turned to look at him and immediately asked, “Is your homework done?”

His mom shook the pear in her hand, offering it to Zhou Kai, and said to his dad, “He’s been writing for so long. He should take a break now.”

Zhou Kai didn’t want the pear. He rubbed his pants on his thighs, stealing glances at his dad, then looked at his mom. “A few classmates from my class asked me to go out…”

Before he could finish his sentence, his dad’s gaze snapped over to him, asking, “Which classmates? Where are you going?”

Zhou Kai stared at his dad without blinking, saying the class president’s name, along with two other students who were good at their studies. The truth was, only the class president was going, but Zhou Kai knew his dad would be more agreeable if he said it this way.

Sure enough, when his dad heard those names, he recognized them—each with grades similar to Zhou Kai’s own. His dad’s expression softened, but he still asked, “What are they asking you to do?”

Zhou Kai replied honestly, “We’re going to the arcade.”

His dad immediately frowned, but luckily his mom spoke up in time. “It’s not far from home. Go ahead, but come back early. It’s unsafe to be out too late. There’s a lot of chaos outside these days, with robberies and stabbings happening all the time.”

“I’ll be back before ten,” Zhou Kai quickly promised, looking at his dad.

His dad, who had been unusually easygoing lately, surprisingly agreed after his mom spoke. “Don’t play too crazy. Be careful on your way back.”

“Got it!” Zhou Kai immediately stood up, trying to contain his excitement as he walked toward the entryway. As soon as he changed his shoes and stepped out the door, he hurriedly pressed the elevator button several times, fearing his dad might change his mind and call him back to study.

The arcade wasn’t really that fun. Zhou Kai followed the class president and danced on the dancing machine for a while. After winning five game tokens from another group, he quietly stepped out of the group.

Holding a cup of milk tea, Zhou Kai walked out the arcade door and stood by the floor-to-ceiling window outside. He pressed his forehead against the glass, biting the straw, his eyes fixed straight ahead as he stared at a store across the street below, called “Jianyu Milk Tea House.”

He had bought that milk tea just before coming here, alone, at that very store.

It was all just to stand at the counter, peeking through the small window to watch the busy staff inside.

But He Ye, that annoying snake, was so engrossed in his work, even more focused than when he studied at home. Zhou Kai had been standing there for nearly five minutes, but He Ye didn’t even glance up at him.

It was incredibly frustrating for someone with a secret crush.

He pulled the straw from his mouth, licking his sticky lips, and pressed the cold cup against his face to cool down.

Finally, the class president and the others noticed that Zhou Kai was missing and came looking for him. When they saw his expression, they grinned mischievously and asked if he was in heat.

Zhou Kai switched the cup to one hand and jumped over, slinging his arm around the class president’s neck, splashing the water on his neck. Laughing, he teased, “Do I still need to be in heat? I could take him down in a minute.”

The class president didn’t push him off and casually draped his arm around Zhou Kai’s shoulder, chuckling, “So, which girl are you into? You want us to help you out?”

Zhou Kai turned to look at the class president, his eyes darting around.

Tsk, he couldn’t say it. If he did, it would scare them to death.

There were only about thirty minutes left before Zhou Kai had promised to return home. The arcade was done, and everyone had spent all the tokens they’d gotten or won from others. Not feeling particularly hungry after drinking milk tea, Zhou Kai didn’t refuse when the others suggested going for street-side BBQ.

It was only two blocks away, and they were all riding bikes, so it was convenient.

The six of them had the stall owner put two small tables together, pooled their money, and ordered a variety of food.

While they waited for the food, the conversation flowed. They couldn’t help but talk about how Zhou Kai had beaten He Ye in gym class that day, which felt really satisfying. Naturally, the topic shifted to that.

Zhou Kai listened to them boast about how he had overpowered He Ye, his left ear taking it in, and his right ear letting it go. It wasn’t until one of the boys, who had been the one talking about Bei Bei North earlier, started gossiping, his eyes sparkling.

Tightening the phone in his hand, Zhou Kai felt a slight tremble. Trying to suppress his excitement, he casually asked, “What did you say? Break up? Fake?”

The boy looked at him, thinking Zhou Kai was interested, and chuckled, repeating what he had just said, “Remember I told you before that He Ye and Bei Bei North were both gay and together? Well, last week someone said they had broken up, but today, someone else clarified that it was fake, and they were never together. The person who posted even said that Bei Bei North admitted it himself.”

Zhou Kai stared at him, his gaze cold. “Why do you keep researching these two gay guys? Are you one too?”

“Damn, say that again and I’ll hit you! I’m not paying attention to them, I just happened to see it while browsing the forums. Don’t tell me, posts about those two are pretty popular. Nowadays, those women, I don’t know what’s going on with them, they’re all over it…”

The food arrived, and everyone instantly shut up, each grabbing a skewer to eat. Except Zhou Kai, who was still holding his phone.

The class president sat to Zhou Kai’s right, biting a meat skewer, and asked, “Zhou Kai, why aren’t you eating? What are you looking at?”

When the class president leaned over to look, Zhou Kai quickly shoved his phone down into his pocket, let out a long breath, and turned to smile brightly at the class president, who was still watching him suspiciously. “Nothing, just scrolling through Weibo.”

The class president didn’t doubt him, smacking his lips and putting his skewer down. He grabbed another one, offering one to Zhou Kai, “This place really has good flavor.”

“Ah.”

Zhou Kai bit into the meat, but it was too hot, and he quickly pulled back. He couldn’t help but grin, clearly stunned by the sudden realization.

The others were all too focused on eating and talking about games, not noticing his expression change.

After eating three skewers, Zhou Kai started feeling uneasy and decided it was time to leave.

The chicken wings and sausages were still being grilled, and the others thought he was worried about his parents, so they urged him to stay a little longer, saying it would be a waste if he didn’t finish the food.

Zhou Kai shook his head and patted the class president on the shoulder. “No, I really need to go. How much do I owe you? I’ll send you a red envelope.”

The class president had paid first, and when he heard that, he said, “What’s three skewers of meat worth? I got this.”

Zhou Kai didn’t refuse and accepted the offer. “Okay, I’ll treat you next time.”

He waved his hand, pulled out his phone again, blew air into his puffed cheeks, and happily walked toward his bike.

Meanwhile, He Ye, who had never made a mistake before, was distracted today and misread two orders. Although the customers weren’t upset and patiently waited for the orders to be remade, and the store manager had said it was a minor issue, He Ye still added the incorrect orders to the final bill when he closed out for the night.

The manager looked at him helplessly, wanting to say something, but He Ye didn’t give him the chance, calculating the bill and turning to leave.

After stepping out of the store, He Ye hopped on his bike but didn’t ride off immediately. Instead, he grabbed his phone and transferred more than two thousand yuan—his wages for the past week and the last three days—to someone in his contact list.

That person hadn’t gone to sleep yet. After receiving the money, they sent He Ye a message.

– Xiao Ye, I’m not pressuring you, but your cousin’s in middle school now, and it’s a good school. The tuition alone costs over 10,000 yuan a year. Can you pay a bit more next time, or at least pay a little more this time…

He Ye tapped his phone twice and replied with a simple “Okay,” then long-pressed the screen to delete both the chat and the transfer record.

He stared at the remaining message, the black-and-white profile picture of a familiar figure, and in an instant, a clear face and a familiar silhouette flashed in his mind.

Frowning, He Ye gripped the handlebars tightly, his hand tightening with frustration.

Just as he was about to lock the screen and stop looking, his phone suddenly vibrated. A new message popped up in the chat interface, which he hadn’t closed.

This time, it wasn’t a photo, but a video.

He Ye froze, his body tensing, his pupils contracting, and his breath quickening as he stared at the video’s thumbnail.

“I… Damn!”

Staring at his phone screen until the interface darkened and went black, He Ye’s hands trembled slightly as he slipped his phone back into his pocket. He pressed his foot onto the pedal, gritting his teeth and pushing hard forward. The bike wobbled as the front wheel swerved a few times before he finally steadied it.

On the way back, He Ye’s mind was filled with nothing but the expletive “damn,” over and over, his thoughts unable to focus on anything else.

He couldn’t even bring himself to imagine what he might do if Zhou Kai were to suddenly appear in his sight. He feared that reason and control would slip away entirely.