The summer wind was always hot and dry, and the chirping of the cicadas echoed one after another, noisy and clamorous.

The commotion on the sports field was non-stop, a mix of girls’ screams and boys’ panting as they dribbled the ball. Gu Qichi picked up his room-temperature water, taking a sip while casting his gaze toward Bo Yu in the center of the basketball court.
The young man’s figure was tall and straight, his white jersey soaked with sweat, outlining the smooth muscles of his back. Bo Yu’s footwork changed constantly as he dribbled the ball under his hand, his gaze piercing past the opposing players to land on Gu Qichi in the spectator stands.

Noticing his gaze, Gu Qichi picked up another unopened bottle of chilled water, shook it, and mouthed: “You can do it.”
Bo Yu narrowed his eyes slightly. The sweat on his forehead slid down to hang off his jawline before dropping to the ground with a pat, splashing into a tiny water flower.

The next second, under Gu Qichi’s watchful eyes, Bo Yu spun past an opponent. The basketball in his hands flew in a smooth parabola, hitting the dead center and perfectly dunking into the hoop.
The basketball hit the ground with a thump, followed immediately by the referee’s whistle, sharp and loud. The student council members flipped the scoreboard, and a glaring 42:21 was displayed before everyone’s eyes.

Bo Yu’s team had won.
And the margin of victory was unprecedentedly huge.

From the spectator stands, overwhelming cheers swept over them; everyone was screaming Bo Yu’s name at the top of their lungs.
Gu Qichi sat in the middle of the bleachers with a sketchboard propped up in front of him, his pen moving non-stop. Soon, the previously scribbled draft was outlined with clear contours. Looking closely, one could discover that the person in the drawing was Bo Yu.

Normally, he was the most serious and invested when drawing, but somehow, this time he just couldn’t concentrate.
Gu Qichi tilted his head up. The sunlight overhead was blindingly bright. He couldn’t help but squint his eyes, then smiled.
It must be because the cheering around him was too infectious. After all, Bo Yu really was very handsome when playing basketball. Gu Qichi involuntarily stopped his pen and got distracted looking for Bo Yu on the court, but he couldn’t see the other’s shadow.

Bo Yu was nowhere to be found.
Gu Qichi looked up a few more times and still didn’t see him on the basketball court. He frowned and was just about to grab his phone to ask when a faint shadow fell over his head.

Bo Yu had just finished exercising, and his body radiated a vigorous heat that was frighteningly scorching.
Because Gu Qichi was a bit of a germaphobe, Bo Yu had specially borrowed a wet wipe to clean his hands when he got off the court, before finally feeling assured enough to thread his fingers through Gu Qichi’s hair, rubbing it vigorously a few times.

Bo Yu: “Didn’t we agree you’d bring me water? Why couldn’t I find a trace of you?”
Probably because he hadn’t fully recovered from the intense exercise, Bo Yu’s voice was a bit gruff.

As teenagers went through puberty, their voices also underwent drastic changes during the voice-breaking period, shifting from their previous clear tones to a slightly magnetic huskiness. Gu Qichi glanced up at him, pinching his own earlobe, feeling a bit unaccustomed to it.
“I was just about to go down, who knew you would already be up here.” He didn’t pull away, but just leaned to the side to take out the water he had prepared for Bo Yu. Then he glanced behind Bo Yu and laughed with slight teasing, “Besides, aren’t there so many people waiting to give you water? Couldn’t you just take a bottle from any of them?”

Bo Yu was good-looking, had excellent grades, and came from a prominent family, satisfying most people’s teenage fantasies about young romance.
It could be said that the girls in the school were roughly divided into three factions: one group was Bo Yu’s girlfriend-fans, one group was Gu Qichi’s mother-fans, and another was the shipping-fans (CP fans) whose existence remained unknown to the two boys.
But Bo Yu never paid any attention to those people; he would only politely refuse them.

So, regarding Gu Qichi’s teasing remark, he ignored it, reached out, and pinched the soft flesh on Gu Qichi’s cheek, only letting go when it turned red.
Bo Yu: “Hurry up and give me the water, stop taking pleasure in my misfortune.”
Bo Yu: “If I’m taking water, I can only take it from you, it’s impossible for me to take anyone else’s.”

Gu Qichi handed him the water.
The summer temperature was too high. The water taken out from the freezer had melted quite a bit, and the heat had forced a layer of condensation onto the bottle, chilling people’s hands to the point of numbness.
Whether intentionally or unintentionally, when Bo Yu took the water, his entire palm wrapped around Gu Qichi’s hand.

His body temperature was high, while the water in hand was cold.
Gu Qichi felt a burn and somewhat awkwardly pulled his hand away.
Ever since they grew up, he rarely engaged in such intimate acts with Bo Yu anymore; he always felt something was a bit strange.

However, while Gu Qichi minded it, Bo Yu didn’t. When Gu Qichi tactfully brought this matter up with him before, it had actually provoked Bo Yu into a massive fit of anger.
Bo Yu firmly believed that Gu Qichi didn’t want to stay with him anymore and was going to abandon him, and that keeping his distance was the first step of his plan.
After making a fuss for over a week, Gu Qichi had no choice but to patiently coax him back, promising repeatedly that he would never distance himself from Bo Yu nor harbor such thoughts. Thus, their plan to sleep in separate rooms was completely squashed.

“When we change seats later, are you still picking a spot by the window? After so long, won’t it be bad for your eyesight?”
Bo Yu took large gulps of water while asking about Gu Qichi’s plans, not forgetting to bend down after drinking to let Gu Qichi wipe his sweat.
The empty bottle and his headband were both tossed into the bag he brought with him. Bo Yu rested both hands on his knees, putting himself exactly at eye level with Gu Qichi.

Gu Qichi glanced at him—
Bo Yu’s bangs were wet with sweat, clinging messily to his face. Beads of sweat slid down his hair strands, dripping down one by one. The open collar of his jersey was large, and Gu Qichi could even clearly see his defined abdominal muscles slowly rising and falling with his breathing.
He involuntarily swallowed, then took out his wet wipes to wipe Bo Yu’s face.

It had always been like this between them. Bo Yu played basketball, and Gu Qichi waited for him in the stands, brought him water, and wiped his sweat.
At these times, Bo Yu looked very well-behaved, like a docile large dog, completely devoid of aggressiveness, just quietly and gently gazing at Gu Qichi.

Gu Qichi: “It really is bad for my eyesight, let’s sit in the middle row, a bit further back then.”
But Bo Yu frowned and looked at Gu Qichi: “Are we not sitting in the front row? I’m worried you won’t be able to see the blackboard clearly if you sit in the back.”

Gu Qichi’s eyesight indeed wasn’t as good as before. Between staying up late to study for the high school entrance exams and the excessive eye strain from drawing, he had been diagnosed with myopia last year.
It was fine normally, but he needed to wear glasses during class.
Because of this, Bo Yu frequently put carrots and broccoli into Gu Qichi’s bowl during meals, trying every means possible to supplement nutrition for his eyes.
But Gu Qichi was a severely picky eater; every time, he would take one bite and then secretly feed the rest to the trash can.
Left with no other choice, and unable to force him to eat it, Bo Yu eventually had to use fruit-flavored gummy vitamins as a dietary supplement instead.

Knowing what he was thinking, Gu Qichi wiped his face clean and said softly: “I can see clearly no matter where I sit. My prescription isn’t even that high, but with you being so nervous about it, I’m starting to doubt myself a little.”
As if taking revenge for Bo Yu’s earlier action, after throwing away the wet wipe, he reached out and pinched the soft flesh on Bo Yu’s cheek: “Besides, you’re too tall. If we sit in the front row, you’ll block the other people.”
“I don’t know how you grew, shooting up this tall all of a sudden,” he muttered with some dissatisfaction.

Bo Yu really had shot up tall. Even though they were only in their first year of high school, Bo Yu was already 1.83 meters, while he was only 1.77 meters.
He had been quite a bit shorter than Bo Yu when they were little. Gu Qichi originally thought that once he grew up and his nutrition caught up, he would be taller and stronger than Bo Yu, and be able to protect him.
But unexpectedly, nothing changed after growing up; he was still not as tall as Bo Yu. Although his illness was cured, he still looked much thinner than Bo Yu.

Bo Yu stared at him, sparse laughter spilling from the depths of his dark eyes. His eyes curved, making him look rather handsome and elegant.
“Chichi, how are you so cute?”
He laughed at him, his voice full of teasing.
Still caring about these things like a little kid.

Gu Qichi pinched his face hard again, somewhat dissatisfied: “If you keep laughing at me like this, I won’t sit with you anymore.”
Bo Yu immediately begged for mercy: “Don’t! How would I dare laugh at you, my little ancestor.”
He said this “little ancestor” with deep affection and a sense of indulgence. Gu Qichi withdrew his hand, suddenly feeling the tips of his ears getting a bit hot.

The two of them fooled around for a bit, and soon, the class dismissal bell rang right on time, echoing throughout the campus.
P.E. class was over. Everyone dusted off their pants and headed back in twos and threes.
Bo Yu carried Gu Qichi’s sketchboard, while Gu Qichi carried his own bag, and the two walked back to the classroom shoulder to shoulder.

Bo Yu took a few glances at the sketchboard. The person on it looked exceptionally familiar, and he couldn’t help but smile: “Chichi, is this drawing of me?”
Looking at the pose in the drawing, it seemed to be from when he sank that last three-pointer.

The next period was a study hall, so the homeroom teacher had announced in advance that they would be changing seats. Everyone had pretty much packed their things and was at their desks discussing their next seatmates.
Gu Qichi arrived at his seat, took his sketchboard back from Bo Yu’s hands, and said leisurely: “I drew a manga character, not you, I just used your pose as a reference.”
A smile hung on his face, as if intentionally trying to provoke him: “Be careful with it, I plan to submit it for a competition.”

Bo Yu’s face visibly fell, and he wanted to keep arguing with Gu Qichi about who exactly he drew.
The Class Rep sitting behind them poked his head over, bringing out the final complex problem left by the math teacher last period to ask about the solving method, diverting more than half of Gu Qichi’s attention.
Bo Yu had no choice but to dully turn his head back, though he kept casting unconvinced glances at Gu Qichi’s sketchboard.

What the heck, the person in this drawing is clearly me.
However, Gu Qichi had never drawn people before; he always drew static landscapes, animals, and such, so it was normal that he wasn’t drawing him.
But thinking that Gu Qichi’s first drawn person wasn’t him made Bo Yu feel a bit dissatisfied again.

Over there, the Class Rep finished asking about the question, a look of admiration on his face.
Gu Qichi had the best grades in the class. He was kind, always responsive to requests, and loved helping others.
His explanations were clear and highly logical, easy to understand at first listen. Sitting next to him was truly too blissful.

Thinking of this, the Class Rep felt a bit restless. He looked up, glanced at Bo Yu who was organizing his books, then at Gu Qichi who was facing him, and carefully asked: “Qichi, when we pick seats later, who do you want to sit with?”
Actually, he knew the answer without asking; Gu Qichi would definitely sit with Bo Yu. Ever since school started, the Class Rep had never seen these two apart. Their relationship was so good they were like conjoined twins, never leaving each other’s side for a single step.

The Class Rep had only ever seen girls go to the restroom hand in hand before; he never expected Bo Yu and Gu Qichi would do it too.
Except the two of them didn’t hold hands, but it wasn’t far off.
When Gu Qichi went to the restroom, the supermarket, the cafeteria, or even just to the office to hand in homework, Bo Yu’s figure could always be seen.
Bo Yu wished there were 48 hours in a day so he could stick to Gu Qichi.

However, the Class Rep also really wanted to be friends with Gu Qichi, and even more so, wanted to be his seatmate. So he mustered his courage, wanting to see if Gu Qichi would be willing to try something new and choose to be his seatmate this time.
Failing to catch his hidden intentions, Gu Qichi wrote down the final formula and replied: “With Bo Yu, we’ve always sat together.”

The little sun over the Class Rep’s head dimmed a bit. He sneakily glanced at Bo Yu, thought hard about his own standing, hesitated repeatedly, and finally grabbed Gu Qichi before he could turn around: “Um, Gu Qichi, I want to be your seatmate too, could you sit with me this time?”
Astonishment flashed in Gu Qichi’s eyes. Just as he was about to voice his refusal, Bo Yu behind him abruptly spun around, lowered his brows, and ruthlessly rejected the Class Rep.
Bo Yu: “No, Gu Qichi is going to sit with me, and he only wants to be my seatmate.”

The light in the Class Rep’s eyes dimmed even further, as he looked at Gu Qichi with genuine anticipation: “Even just for a month is fine. You and Bo Yu have sat together for so long, you must be getting a little bored.”
The Class Rep had his reasons for saying this. He had a friend who went to the same middle school as Bo Yu, and heard from him that Gu Qichi and Bo Yu had been seatmates for three years in middle school. If it were him, he would definitely be bored by now.
Arriving at a new school with new classmates around, one would surely be more willing to seek some freshness, which was also helpful for making more friends.

Bo Yu’s face turned cold, and the smile on Gu Qichi’s lips froze.
He faced the Class Rep and replied with polite distance: “I’m sorry, Class Rep, I don’t have the habit of being seatmates with anyone else.”
The Class Rep realized he had said the wrong thing. His lips trembled a few times, his throat tightened, and ultimately he couldn’t say anything else.

When it was officially time to change seats, everyone stepped out of the classroom, gathering in twos and threes, discussing amongst themselves from time to time.
“Who do you want to sit with?”
“I really want to sit next to Gu Qichi, I rarely scored this high.”
“Me too, but the seats next to him have always been highly sought after, I don’t know if it’ll be my turn.”
“I wonder where he’s going to sit this time.”
“Sigh, he’s ranked first, he’ll get his result the earliest.”

Amidst the chatter, the homeroom teacher strode over with the grade sheet in hand. He pushed up his glasses, his gaze sweeping over everyone, his voice stern: “Stand properly. Next, whoever’s name I call, go inside.”
“Pay attention, try to avoid boys and girls sitting together. Certain students, know your boundaries.”

Scattered responses of “Understood” and “Hurry up, Teach” came from the hallway.
The homeroom teacher stood at the door, flipped through the freshly released mid-term grade sheet, and his eyes fell on the first row.
“First, Gu Qichi.”

Gu Qichi took his seat in the pre-selected spot—the middle section, last row. The homeroom teacher frowned, trying to stop him: “Gu Qichi, can you see clearly from back there? How about you move up a bit?”
Gu Qichi shook his head: “Teacher, it’s fine, I can study in peace here.”
His words weren’t wrong. After thinking it over, the homeroom teacher found it hard to interfere further and let him be.

“Second, Bo Yu.”
Everyone craned their necks, their eyes fixed tightly on Bo Yu, wanting to see where he would sit.
Under everyone’s watchful gaze, Bo Yu took large strides and sat down on Gu Qichi’s left side.

Sure enough, they knew Bo Yu would definitely go look for Gu Qichi again.
A few girls looked at each other, tacit smiles appearing on their faces.
The homeroom teacher couldn’t help but take a few extra glances. Bo Yu and Gu Qichi’s relationship was simply too close. If one of them had been a girl, he would definitely think the two were dating. But Bo Yu and Gu Qichi both had top-tier grades, and both were incredibly serious in class. No matter how you looked at it, they didn’t seem like the type to engage in an underage romance.
Hearing again that the two had grown up together, the homeroom teacher’s previous worries were instantly swallowed back down into his stomach.

Meanwhile, inside the classroom, Bo Yu was playing with Gu Qichi’s hand as if no one else was there.
His palms were large, while Gu Qichi’s were small, with exceptionally slender finger bones. But due to holding a paintbrush for long periods, thick calluses had formed on his middle and index fingers.
Bo Yu always liked kneading his fingers. When he applied pressure, Gu Qichi’s fingers would reveal a pale pinkish-white hue from top to bottom, and when rubbed and squeezed hard, the pads of his fingers would turn a bright red.

Because Bo Yu was holding his hand and playing with it hidden under the edge of the desk, Gu Qichi wanted to say something, but was too lazy to lecture him and listen to Bo Yu spew nonsense like ‘you don’t like me’ or ‘you don’t want me anymore,’ so he just let him be.
Soon, the homeroom teacher called names one after another, and more and more people flooded in. Bo Yu, completely unconcerned, kept his head down, watching the changes in Gu Qichi’s hand within his own palm.

Little Chi is so cute. Not only is he cute, but his hands are cute too.
Bo Yu’s mind wandered as he unconsciously wedged his fingers into the gaps between Gu Qichi’s fingers, forming an interlocking pose.
It’s been so long since I held hands with Gu Qichi…
And it’s been so long since I kissed Gu Qichi too…
I’m so starved…

Before they had even held hands for two seconds, Gu Qichi helplessly turned to him, a massive headache in his eyes. He reminded him in a whisper: “Bo Yu, we’re in class, I still have homework to do.”
Bo Yu looked down at his and Gu Qichi’s intertwined hands and said nothing.
I’ll just hold it for a little longer before letting go, it hasn’t even been a minute.
“Let’s just hold hands like this, I’ll let go in a bit.”

Gu Qichi looked at him. Bo Yu stubbornly refused to let go, and shielded by his sleeve and the desk, no one could see them anyway.
He had been like this since childhood—acting on sudden whims. And when it came to things involving Gu Qichi, it sparked immense interest in Bo Yu. For a moment, Gu Qichi really didn’t know what to do with him.
He looked up at the clock hanging above the blackboard, estimated how much longer it would take for everyone outside, and gave Bo Yu a time limit.
“Five minutes max, I haven’t finished my questions for today.”

Bo Yu lowered his eyes, his gaze drowning in affection, and squeezed the sore web of Gu Qichi’s hand twice more to help massage and relax it.

…………
…………

After going home that day, because he hadn’t gotten enough of holding hands during the day, Bo Yu held Gu Qichi’s hand to play with it all the way home, and even while Gu Qichi was doing his homework. He tossed his own homework aside, showing absolutely no desire to touch it.
“Chichi, we’ve always been seatmates, don’t you feel bored?”
After Gu Qichi finished his homework for the day, Bo Yu sat beside him, spinning his pen out of sheer boredom, and suddenly asked.

Here it comes, Gu Qichi thought to himself. He knew Bo Yu couldn’t be that magnanimous.
What the Class Rep said today had precisely stepped on the point Bo Yu cared about the most.
His possessiveness over Gu Qichi had reached an almost pathological level, covering food, clothing, housing, and transportation, without missing a single detail. In their earlier years, Bo Yu would even carefully deliberate over every single piece of Gu Qichi’s underwear—the brand, fabric, comfort level…
His requirements were strictly controlled to the max.

It was only after taking health class in middle school that Gu Qichi felt he couldn’t leave something so private to Bo Yu anymore. So, under the pretext of protecting his self-esteem, he finally managed to reclaim his autonomous right to purchase his own underwear.
Thinking about it made him feel a bit pathetic.

But pathetic as it was, he still had to stroke Bo Yu’s fur the right way.
Gu Qichi packed up the homework on his desk, turned around, and took the pen spinning lazily in Bo Yu’s hand, spinning it twice in his own.
He didn’t answer his question, but asked back: “What about you, Bo Yu? Looking at me every day, don’t you get bored?”

Bo Yu found his question completely baffling and answered without a second thought: “Of course I don’t get bored. I wish I could tie you to my side.”
“Then why would I get bored?” Gu Qichi asked back again, blatant teasing in the depths of his eyes.
He and Bo Yu had grown up together; up until today, it had been over ten years. Where was there any talk of getting bored?

It was fine for others to say such things out of curiosity, but for the two of them, there was really no need to care so much about it.
After all, they ate together, lived together, and slept together, closer than some biological siblings.
Bo Yu also realized he was asking pointless questions, so he didn’t say anything more. He stretched and asked if he wanted to eat some strawberries.
Gu Qichi shook his sore wrist and said casually: “Then go wash them.”

By the time Bo Yu came back, Gu Qichi had just finished the multiple-choice section of his competition paper. The scratch paper next to him was barely touched, but the test paper was filled with a lot more handwriting.
The pen Bo Yu had been spinning earlier was a fountain pen. The cap was tightly on, so it was fine.
But Gu Qichi had itchy hands; forgetting he was holding a fountain pen, he stopped doing his paper and habitually gave the pen a couple of light spins. Immediately after, blue-black ink leaked out from the nib, splattering everywhere—splashing all over Gu Qichi’s face and even getting some on Bo Yu’s white t-shirt.

Bo Yu was still holding a bowl of strawberries in his hands, looking a bit stunned at how Gu Qichi had made himself look like this.
Actually, there wasn’t a lot of ink splashed on his face, but the spots where the ink landed were very clever. Two drops splashed under his eyes, a large smudge covered the tip of his nose, and a small patch of ink bloomed on his left cheek, making for a comical sight.

Bo Yu put down the strawberries in his hands, leaned close to Gu Qichi, and looking at his somewhat dumbfounded appearance, couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
He reached out his thumb and pressed it onto the tip of Gu Qichi’s nose, smudging that patch of blue-black ink, making Gu Qichi look even more dumbfounded.
“Chichi, you’re so silly.”
He laughed while bending down to lean closer to him.

The distance between the two was suddenly closed, their breaths intertwining. Gu Qichi’s eyes showed a flash of panic, but quickly, Bo Yu pinched the soft flesh of his cheeks and shook his head.
“You’re so cute.”
Bo Yu praised him again.

Gu Qichi noticed his heartbeat was a bit fast, and a wave of dry heat surged up his face. He awkwardly pushed Bo Yu away, waved his hand, and simply said he was going to wash up.
Seeing this, Bo Yu resentfully let go, roughly wiped the other spots dry with a tissue first, and then helped him cap the fountain pen properly.
“Don’t scrub your face too hard, this ink should be pretty easy to wash off.”
Gu Qichi let out a muffled “Mm.”

It wasn’t until he ran into the bathroom that he realized a flush had spread across his face, and the tips of his ears were bright red.
The heat on his face simply couldn’t be stopped. A bit flustered, Gu Qichi turned on the faucet and splashed several handfuls of cold water onto his face before the heat gradually faded away.

…………
…………

After that day, the atmosphere between Gu Qichi and Bo Yu became a bit strange. It wasn’t that they were avoiding each other, but Gu Qichi felt exceptionally awkward.
He couldn’t figure out why he was acting like this, so he had no choice but to divert his energy into solving practice problems. He went through mock paper after mock paper, accumulating a thick stack.
Afraid that Bo Yu would notice something was off, Gu Qichi simply signed up for the latest academic competition. He was insanely busy, staying up until the early hours of the morning to do practice problems for the first time.

At first, Bo Yu didn’t say anything. Gu Qichi had always been ambitious and loved learning; participating in competitions and grinding through test papers was nothing major. But when the other began locking himself in papers all day, aside from eating and sleeping, and didn’t even go down for activities during P.E. class, Bo Yu realized something was wrong.
Doing problems like this was too damaging to his health.
But even during between-class breaks and study halls, Gu Qichi was always in the teachers’ office asking questions or filling out forms. When Bo Yu tried to get Gu Qichi to pay more attention to his health, he found it incredibly difficult to even catch him.

After the dismissal bell rang, Gu Qichi stretched his shoulders, holding his test paper in hand, carefully pondering over something.
The questions this time were a bit out of the syllabus, and he was having some difficulty understanding them. He needed to ask the teacher about a lot of things and broaden his train of thought.
He flipped through the test paper in his hands page by page, couldn’t hold it back, and let out a yawn, tears welling up in his eyes.
So sleepy. I’ve been way too busy lately, I haven’t even had time for a good night’s sleep.

Gu Qichi rubbed his reddened eyes and was just about to step back to the classroom to find Bo Yu when his path was blocked.
He looked up somewhat in confusion at a very unfamiliar face.
First High School’s uniforms weren’t uniform for everyone; instead, they were divided into three colors by grade: orange for freshmen, green for sophomores, and blue for seniors.
The other boy was wearing a blue uniform, clearly a high school senior.

He asked: “Is something the matter?”
The other boy’s face was a bit red. He rubbed his head in embarrassment and then handed him a letter.
It was a simple white envelope with a few stickers on it.
One look and it was clearly a love letter.

Previously, Gu Qichi’s desk was often stuffed full of gifts and envelopes from girls, and Bo Yu’s desk was no different. For a time, the two of them couldn’t even fit their textbooks in their desks.
In the end, he didn’t know how Bo Yu dealt with it, but anyway, after that period, there were noticeably far fewer of these things in Gu Qichi and Bo Yu’s desks.
But right now, judging by the situation, it was probably some senior girl who had asked this senior boy to deliver it to him.

Understanding the situation, Gu Qichi politely took a step back and then courteously refused: “I’m sorry, I don’t have any plans to date right now. Could you please tell that girl I’m very sorry, and thank you for her affection.”
The boy let out a disappointed “Ah,” looking up and then down. He stared at Gu Qichi for a long time as if hesitating to speak, then tucked the letter back into his chest, tightening his fingers.

Seeing this, Gu Qichi thought the matter was settled. Just as he was about to turn and leave, the boy suddenly took another step forward, blocking him, and added unwillingly: “It’s not from a girl… I’m the one who wrote it for you…”
“I like you… Gu Qichi.”

Gu Qichi’s eyes widened in shock, unable to conceal the astonishment on his face. He repeated in disbelief: “You… like me?”
His reaction could even be described as panicked. Gu Qichi opened his mouth, Bo Yu’s face flashing through his mind. The fingers holding his test paper curled unnaturally a few times, and he finally backed into the corner of the wall.
“Can a boy… also like another boy?”

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