Chapter 49
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Old Yuan’s new type of parent teacher conference excited everyone, and washed away the stress that came from finals.
But people like Kou Chen who never intended to study in the first place were just different. He hadn’t cracked open a single book since Old Yuan announced it, all the thought about was how he should write his letter.
“Say, can I just start off with the insults?” Kou Chen laid on his desk with a sheet of pretty letter paper in front of him.
“You’re insulting your dad on such pretty paper?” Huo Ran was a bit confused. “Where did you even get it? Damn, Princess Chen, you own paper like this?”
“I’m warning you,” Kou Chen glared at him, “If I hear that one more time…”
“Where did you get it?” Huo Ran asked.
“Asked Wu Xiaochen. She has stacks of it, and they’re all pink.” Kou Chen said. “I just think it should be more proper, not just a random page ripped out of my notebook.”
“True, it should be more proper. So I think you probably shouldn’t insult your dad, pink paper isn’t suited for insults,” Huo Ran said. “Besides, you complain about him all the time behind his back, what’s this one time? You should write about your feelings or something.”
“That’s different, this time I’m insulting him at the teacher’s order, it doesn’t feel the same.” Kou Chen lowered his head and gestured at the paper, “Second Kou! You’re a bastard…”
“Your dad is Second Kou?” Huo Ran turned to him in surprise.
“His name’s Kou Jingcheng, he’s a second son.” Kou Chen whispered, “Second Kou, Second Kou, Second Kou! I’ve never had the chance to call him that, Second Kou! Look at that!”
“I mean,” Huo Ran sighed, “I think you should be less obvious, you’re the only one with the last name Kou in the grade, if you put it like that, everyone’s gonna guess that it’s you. What if your dad finds out, he’s gonna hang you up to dry as a sausage the same night.”
“Fuck,” Kou Chen glanced at him. “You’re so… But don’t even think about stopping me, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity…”
Huo Ran tsked, and ignored him.
Though Old Yuan never made a parents group chat. If they needed anything, they could just message him directly. That was very well appreciated by the class, so if Kou Chen really did what he planned, he would still be relatively safe.
Huo Ran wasn’t planning on using such refined princess letter paper, he used normal letter paper.
The paper was in front of him, but it was still blank.
He didn’t know what Kou Chen would end up writing to his dad in the end, but in any case, he still didn’t know what he should write to his parents.
Sometimes he felt that there really wasn’t much to say. The environment he grew up in was pretty relaxed, and there wasn’t really anything to complain about. Maybe it was because of the baby that died too early, but his mom and dad never required much of him. His grades didn’t matter as long as he passed, and he could go out camping and biking whenever, his dad would teach him how to stay safe… But just because it was like that, he would sometimes think that his parents were being too careful, afraid that he would be unhappy, afraid that he would feel restricted.
Huo Ran wished that they could truly be relaxed, to scold and punish if they had too. Just not too much, like threatening to turn him into a sausage wasn’t necessary.
Finals were on a Monday, and The Seven of them all agreed to stay at school for the weekend.
But there wasn’t much to do anyways. With finals looming just ahead, they were still students at a top high school in the end, so they really weren’t in the mood to go play. All they did was sleep, go on their phones, and force themselves to study.
On Sunday night, they didn’t even want to go out to eat dinner, so they laid in their dorms and listened to the wind roaring outside.
“I don’t even know what books to look over now.” Xu Chuan on Jiang Lei’s bed with his legs crossed, flipping through some textbook.
“I’ve already given up.” Jiang Lei sat against the wall behind him. “I feel like I know everything, I just don’t know how to write it out.”
“I have a special power,” Xu Chuan said, “I can remember if the question was on a single digit page or a double digit page, and which section it’s in, but I just can’t remember the contents…”
“It’s just those two days no matter what anyways, survive that and then we’re on break.” Hu Yi said. “I’m cheering myself up with the thought of winter break and the lucky money I’m gonna get.”
“Zhifan,” Wei Chaoren was gaming with Hu Yi, and he finally raised his head to look at Xu Zhifan, who was reading on the top bunk, “Are you even human? You can still read at a time like this?”
“Temporarily giving up my human identity for a few days around finals,” Xu Zhifan said. “Pray for me so I can memorize more questions, that way if any of you guys end up sitting beside me with the same questions, you might have a chance to pass.”
“I can pass.” Huo Ran was also on his phone.
“Me too.” Kou Chen said from behind him.
“You’re up? I bet it’s because you’re hungry.” Huo Ran turned around. This guy had fallen asleep on his bed when everyone came over at lunch, and he’s only now making a sound.
“I wasn’t asleep.” Kou Chen smiled and turned around. He reached a hand into his shirt and tickled his waist softly.
Huo Ran pulled his hand out.
“Why don’t we just go out to eat?” Jiang Lei said. “Nowhere far, just hotpot or something, I’ve been craving hotpot…”
“Vegf,” Bbe Jtfc jikjsr tjv j qbrlalnf gfjmalbc ab jcsatlcu lcnbinlcu wfja. “Ktfgf’r j tbaqba qijmf cfjg Sghtbcu cba atja ojg jkjs, la’r mjiifv… ktja lr la jujlc…”
Bbe Jtfc oeggbkfv tlr ygbkr jr tf atbeuta jybea la, gfjmtlcu j tjcv lcab Leb Ejc’r rtlga jujlc.
“Cr ibcu jr sbe xcbk ktfgf la lr.” Leb Ejc rjlv jr tf qeiifv tlr tjcv jkjs jujlc jcv qgfrrfv la ab atf yfv.
“Ah! I remember!” Kou Chen yelled, happily putting his other hand on his waist and rubbing it, “It’s called Murder Pot! It’s delicious, I’m drooling just thinking about it…”
“Fucking hell!” Huo Ran smacked his hand and tugged at it to no avail.
“Fuck what hell?” Kou Chen asked as he laughed. He wrapped his arm around his waist, “It really is delicious…”
With Huo Ran sitting up and Kou Chen laying behind him, he couldn’t get his hand off, and Kou Chen was laughing like a dog that just seized its food.
“Murder Pot my ass!” Huo Ran leaned onto him and pushed him away by the shoulders, “Why don’t you eat Dumb Dog Pot!”
“You can’t win against me.” Kou Chen reminded him as he was pressed onto the bed.
“I’m willing to bet!” Huo Ran straddled him, and kept one hand on his shoulder, the other going to smack him on the back.
“Everyone here is a witness.” Kou Chen yelled, and when Huo Ran pushed half of his face into the pillow, he was still yelling. “I didn’t start it this time, it’s in self-defense—”
“Right!” Wei Chaoren leapt off the bed with his phone and pointed it at them, “Go! I’ll take video evidence—”
“Watch your words!” Kou Chen glared at him with one eye.
“Fight back!” Wei Chaoren waved his arm around.
“It doesn’t sound right no matter how you think about it.” Huo Ran couldn’t help but laugh.
Right as he loosened his grip, Kou Chen suddenly fought back from where he was held down. He pushed his shoulders back and caught his arm.
With that, Huo Ran knew that it was over. Kou Chen was strong, and he was still laughing…
“Beautiful!” Jiang Lei yelled. “Look at that counter! Very smooth!”
“You traitor!” Huo Ran had stopped laughing and was about to fight back, but at Jiang Lei’s words, he started laughing again.
Kou Chen had already flipped to sit on top of him. He held down his hands and looked down at him: “Little cutie, you…”
“I’m warning you.” Huo Ran said.
“Big cutie,” Kou Chen immediately corrected, “Anything you want to say?”
“Give each other a kiss,” Wei Chaoren said, “You’ve already gone so far, I dare you to kiss.”
“You’re dead,” Huo Ran turned his head and forced a finger out of Kou Chen’s grip to point at Wei Chaoren. “Chaoren you’re done, I’m telling you.”
Kou Chen smiled at him, and then bent down to kiss the tip of his nose.
It was a loud kiss that sounded like a balloon pop, startling Huo Ran.
“You fucker…” Huo Ran glared at him, suddenly not knowing what he should say.
“Scared me,” Kou Chen stared at him, before saying, “I thought I popped your nose.”
“Fuck off—” Huo Ran suddenly reacted, kicking Kou Chen’s back with his legs and yelling, “Jiang Lei! Jiang Lei! Requesting backup!”
“Copy that! Copy that!” Jiang Lei yelled and tossed his phone to the side before leaping over, directly onto Kou Chen.
“Fuck!” Kou Chen was loosely supporting himself above the bed with his arms, and with the pressure on top of him, he immediately buckled and fell onto Huo Ran.
Fuck!
Huo Ran wanted to yell but he couldn’t. His entire face was buried in Kou Chen’s stomach.
“Chaoren!” Kou Chen yelled.
Because Huo Ran was pressed into his stomach, Kou Chen’s yell sounded him from all sides.
“Coming!” Wei Chaoren replied and jumped on as well.
“Carrot! Carrot!” Jiang Lei yelled as well.
From the vibrations, Huo Ran could tell that Hu Yi also jumped onto the bed.
“My bed! I’m gonna kill you guys!” Huo Ran struggled out from below Kou Chen, “Do you know how heavy you guys are?”
“Nope!” Everyone exclaimed at once.
And then it stopped having much to do with Huo Ran. They all rolled around the bed wildly, grabbing pillows and blankets, holding and pushing each other. It looked like a typical 18+ scene, simply unsightly.
“Ah…” Kou Chen was on top of Huo Ran and he yelled in his ear, “Who punched my grim reaper… Who fucking punched my grim reaper!”
Huo Ran looked at him in shock: “What part of it?”
“His chest,” Kou Chen thought about it, “I think.”
“Fuck…” Huo Ran couldn’t help but burst out into laughter. Kou Chen lowered his head and laughed along with him with his face buried in his shoulder.
As the party on his bed was still in full swing, someone’s phone suddenly rang.
“One person solo! Two people double! All single!” Jiang Lei’s voice rang out, “Four of us and not one with a fucking girlfriend…”
That was Xu Zhifan’s ringtone. Jiang Lei sang it, and then forced them to set it as their ringtones. Only Xu Zhifan indulged him, and he’d been using it since last semester.
Xu Zhifan rarely got calls, and if he did, it was probably from his dad.
Everyone suddenly froze in place, and they all stared at him.
“My dad,” Xu Zhifan picked up the phone, “Hello?”
Two seconds later, Xu Zhifan shot up in bed: “What? She’s back?”
“Who’s back?” Jiang Lei whispered, not knowing what he was talking about.
“Dunno.” Xu Chuan replied from the bed beside them. He was the only one that didn’t join in on their little party.
“That… Aunt Hu?” Wei Chaoren whispered.
They all tensed up.
She’s back?
Then what about Xu Zhifan’s mom?
“What about my mom?” Xu Zhifan asked.
“Holy shit, it’s true.” Huo Ran felt on edge, the hairs on his arms standing on end.
After the person on the other line said something, Xu Zhifan slowly slumped back against the wall and furrowed his brows: “What’s going on now? I’ll be right back… Mhm, don’t tell grandma yet, just say you’re going out for a bit… Okay, I’ll be there in half an hour.”
Xu Zhifan hung up the phone.
Everyone stared at him, waiting for him to say something.
“My dad said…” Xu Zhifan waved the phone in his hand.
Before he could finish, Huo Ran suddenly felt the bed tremble. And then they all felt that something was off, but before any of them could do anything…
The bed base collapsed with a bang.
Huo Ran was at the very bottom, and he fell onto the washbasin under the bed. The other four scrambled to get a hold onto something.
“Fuck, come on!” Kou Chen knelt on one knee, and pushed all of them out before helping Huo Ran up. “What’s wrong with this bed? Breaking at such a…”
“Is Aunt Hu back?” Huo Ran asked.
“Yeah,” Xu Zhifan hopped off the bed. “I have to go back, my dad doesn’t know exactly what happened either, he heard it from the other neighbours.”
“Together.” Kou Chen said.
“It’s fine,” Xu Zhifan said, “If something happens I’ll call you guys. She just got back, I don’t want Uncle Li to think we’re there to cause trouble or something if we all show up. I just want to ask them about my mom without antagonizing them.”
“…Okay,” Kou Chen hesitated and pointed at him with a frown, “If they try anything, don’t just take it. Run. Run, and then call us.”
Xu Zhifan nodded.
They all hastily put some clothes on and saw Xu Zhifan off at the gates.
After Xu Zhifan got into the cab, Xu Chuan asked him through the window: “Finals are tomorrow, will you be back by then? Should we let Old Yuan know?”
“Probably,” Xu Zhifan said. “But I won’t be back tonight, I have to talk to my dad after, and if there’s nothing, I’ll come back tomorrow.”
“Tell us if there is anything.” Huo Ran said. “Remember to talk to us, when you find out about your mom, send us a message. We’re all waiting.”
“Mhm,” Xu Zhifan nodded, “Thanks.”
“Even that gets a thanks? You’re gonna be thanking us to death later,” Kou Chen said. “Hurry, go.”
They watched the car drive off, and then they stood there in silence, feeling a bit uneasy.
“Let’s go get food.” Kou Chen said. “We’re all outside anyways.”
“Sure,” Huo Ran said. “To Murder Dog.”
“Pot.” Kou Chen looked at him.
“Huh?” Huo Ran looked back, “Did I not say Murder Pot?”
“You said Murder Dog.” Kou Chen sighed.
“Did I?” Huo Ran questioned.
“I’ll call a cab.” Kou Chen got his phone out, “No drinking today guys, we have finals tomorrow, and we have to be ready in case Xu Zhifan needs our help.”
“Yup.” Everyone nodded their agreement.
Murder Pot wasn’t very far, and they got there quickly by cab. They were all starving as they rushed inside.
Kou Chen and Huo Ran were at the very back of the group. Huo Ran wasn’t too hungry originally, but as he smelled the spicy scent, his stomach suddenly awoke. He remembered that he didn’t really eat anything for lunch, and he was immediately starving.
“I envy Xu Zhifan.” Kou Chen suddenly said quietly.
Huo Ran was still absorbed in his hunger before he reacted: “You envy him? Are you tired of your happy life or what?”
“If something happened to me,” Kou Chen looked at him. “Will you be distracted by it as well? You didn’t even realize you said Murder Dog just then.”
“…That I don’t know,” Huo Ran could see that Kou Chen was serious, and so he pushed down his hunger and answered him seriously, “I’ll be really worried, I’ll do everything to ask about the situation.”
“Really?” Kou Chen asked, “You’re that certain? We’ve only known each other for a semester.”
“Not only,” Huo Ran said, “You can count half of last semester too.”
“A semester and a half then,” Kou Chen was probably really absorbed in the issue, and he was still thinking when they followed the waiter inside. “How can you be so sure you’ll worry about me, and very worried too.”
“Dunno,” Huo Ran said. “I just know that… you’re different from everyone else.”
“Hm? In what way?” Kou Chen immediately followed up.
“I can’t say,” Huo Ran frowned and thought about it, “You’re just different, different…”
“Okay, I got it, you don’t have to say anything.” Kou Chen smiled, “Keep talking and I’ll start singing.”
Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!
Old Yuan’s new type of parent teacher conference excited everyone, and washed away the stress that came from finals.
But people like Kou Chen who never intended to study in the first place were just different. He hadn’t cracked open a single book since Old Yuan announced it, all the thought about was how he should write his letter.
“Say, can I just start off with the insults?” Kou Chen laid on his desk with a sheet of pretty letter paper in front of him.
“You’re insulting your dad on such pretty paper?” Huo Ran was a bit confused. “Where did you even get it? Damn, Princess Chen, you own paper like this?”
“I’m warning you,” Kou Chen glared at him, “If I hear that one more time…”
“Where did you get it?” Huo Ran asked.
“Asked Wu Xiaochen. She has stacks of it, and they’re all pink.” Kou Chen said. “I just think it should be more proper, not just a random page ripped out of my notebook.”
“True, it should be more proper. So I think you probably shouldn’t insult your dad, pink paper isn’t suited for insults,” Huo Ran said. “Besides, you complain about him all the time behind his back, what’s this one time? You should write about your feelings or something.”
“That’s different, this time I’m insulting him at the teacher’s order, it doesn’t feel the same.” Kou Chen lowered his head and gestured at the paper, “Second Kou! You’re a bastard…”
“Your dad is Second Kou?” Huo Ran turned to him in surprise.
“His name’s Kou Jingcheng, he’s a second son.” Kou Chen whispered, “Second Kou, Second Kou, Second Kou! I’ve never had the chance to call him that, Second Kou! Look at that!”
“I mean,” Huo Ran sighed, “I think you should be less obvious, you’re the only one with the last name Kou in the grade, if you put it like that, everyone’s gonna guess that it’s you. What if your dad finds out, he’s gonna hang you up to dry as a sausage the same night.”
“Fuck,” Kou Chen glanced at him. “You’re so… But don’t even think about stopping me, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity…”
Huo Ran tsked, and ignored him.
Though Old Yuan never made a parents group chat. If they needed anything, they could just message him directly. That was very well appreciated by the class, so if Kou Chen really did what he planned, he would still be relatively safe.
Huo Ran wasn’t planning on using such refined princess letter paper, he used normal letter paper.
The paper was in front of him, but it was still blank.
He didn’t know what Kou Chen would end up writing to his dad in the end, but in any case, he still didn’t know what he should write to his parents.
Sometimes he felt that there really wasn’t much to say. The environment he grew up in was pretty relaxed, and there wasn’t really anything to complain about. Maybe it was because of the baby that died too early, but his mom and dad never required much of him. His grades didn’t matter as long as he passed, and he could go out camping and biking whenever, his dad would teach him how to stay safe… But just because it was like that, he would sometimes think that his parents were being too careful, afraid that he would be unhappy, afraid that he would feel restricted.
Huo Ran wished that they could truly be relaxed, to scold and punish if they had too. Just not too much, like threatening to turn him into a sausage wasn’t necessary.
Finals were on a Monday, and The Seven of them all agreed to stay at school for the weekend.
But there wasn’t much to do anyways. With finals looming just ahead, they were still students at a top high school in the end, so they really weren’t in the mood to go play. All they did was sleep, go on their phones, and force themselves to study.
On Sunday night, they didn’t even want to go out to eat dinner, so they laid in their dorms and listened to the wind roaring outside.
“I don’t even know what books to look over now.” Xu Chuan on Jiang Lei’s bed with his legs crossed, flipping through some textbook.
“I’ve already given up.” Jiang Lei sat against the wall behind him. “I feel like I know everything, I just don’t know how to write it out.”
“I have a special power,” Xu Chuan said, “I can remember if the question was on a single digit page or a double digit page, and which section it’s in, but I just can’t remember the contents…”
“It’s just those two days no matter what anyways, survive that and then we’re on break.” Hu Yi said. “I’m cheering myself up with the thought of winter break and the lucky money I’m gonna get.”
“Zhifan,” Wei Chaoren was gaming with Hu Yi, and he finally raised his head to look at Xu Zhifan, who was reading on the top bunk, “Are you even human? You can still read at a time like this?”
“Temporarily giving up my human identity for a few days around finals,” Xu Zhifan said. “Pray for me so I can memorize more questions, that way if any of you guys end up sitting beside me with the same questions, you might have a chance to pass.”
“I can pass.” Huo Ran was also on his phone.
“Me too.” Kou Chen said from behind him.
“You’re up? I bet it’s because you’re hungry.” Huo Ran turned around. This guy had fallen asleep on his bed when everyone came over at lunch, and he’s only now making a sound.
“I wasn’t asleep.” Kou Chen smiled and turned around. He reached a hand into his shirt and tickled his waist softly.
Huo Ran pulled his hand out.
“Why don’t we just go out to eat?” Jiang Lei said. “Nowhere far, just hotpot or something, I’ve been craving hotpot…”
“Vegf,” Bbe Jtfc jikjsr tjv j qbrlalnf gfjmalbc ab jcsatlcu lcnbinlcu wfja. “Ktfgf’r j tbaqba qijmf cfjg Sghtbcu cba atja ojg jkjs, la’r mjiifv… ktja lr la jujlc…”
Bbe Jtfc oeggbkfv tlr ygbkr jr tf atbeuta jybea la, gfjmtlcu j tjcv lcab Leb Ejc’r rtlga jujlc.
“Cr ibcu jr sbe xcbk ktfgf la lr.” Leb Ejc rjlv jr tf qeiifv tlr tjcv jkjs jujlc jcv qgfrrfv la ab atf yfv.
“Ah! I remember!” Kou Chen yelled, happily putting his other hand on his waist and rubbing it, “It’s called Murder Pot! It’s delicious, I’m drooling just thinking about it…”
“Fucking hell!” Huo Ran smacked his hand and tugged at it to no avail.
“Fuck what hell?” Kou Chen asked as he laughed. He wrapped his arm around his waist, “It really is delicious…”
With Huo Ran sitting up and Kou Chen laying behind him, he couldn’t get his hand off, and Kou Chen was laughing like a dog that just seized its food.
“Murder Pot my ass!” Huo Ran leaned onto him and pushed him away by the shoulders, “Why don’t you eat Dumb Dog Pot!”
“You can’t win against me.” Kou Chen reminded him as he was pressed onto the bed.
“I’m willing to bet!” Huo Ran straddled him, and kept one hand on his shoulder, the other going to smack him on the back.
“Everyone here is a witness.” Kou Chen yelled, and when Huo Ran pushed half of his face into the pillow, he was still yelling. “I didn’t start it this time, it’s in self-defense—”
“Right!” Wei Chaoren leapt off the bed with his phone and pointed it at them, “Go! I’ll take video evidence—”
“Watch your words!” Kou Chen glared at him with one eye.
“Fight back!” Wei Chaoren waved his arm around.
“It doesn’t sound right no matter how you think about it.” Huo Ran couldn’t help but laugh.
Right as he loosened his grip, Kou Chen suddenly fought back from where he was held down. He pushed his shoulders back and caught his arm.
With that, Huo Ran knew that it was over. Kou Chen was strong, and he was still laughing…
“Beautiful!” Jiang Lei yelled. “Look at that counter! Very smooth!”
“You traitor!” Huo Ran had stopped laughing and was about to fight back, but at Jiang Lei’s words, he started laughing again.
Kou Chen had already flipped to sit on top of him. He held down his hands and looked down at him: “Little cutie, you…”
“I’m warning you.” Huo Ran said.
“Big cutie,” Kou Chen immediately corrected, “Anything you want to say?”
“Give each other a kiss,” Wei Chaoren said, “You’ve already gone so far, I dare you to kiss.”
“You’re dead,” Huo Ran turned his head and forced a finger out of Kou Chen’s grip to point at Wei Chaoren. “Chaoren you’re done, I’m telling you.”
Kou Chen smiled at him, and then bent down to kiss the tip of his nose.
It was a loud kiss that sounded like a balloon pop, startling Huo Ran.
“You fucker…” Huo Ran glared at him, suddenly not knowing what he should say.
“Scared me,” Kou Chen stared at him, before saying, “I thought I popped your nose.”
“Fuck off—” Huo Ran suddenly reacted, kicking Kou Chen’s back with his legs and yelling, “Jiang Lei! Jiang Lei! Requesting backup!”
“Copy that! Copy that!” Jiang Lei yelled and tossed his phone to the side before leaping over, directly onto Kou Chen.
“Fuck!” Kou Chen was loosely supporting himself above the bed with his arms, and with the pressure on top of him, he immediately buckled and fell onto Huo Ran.
Fuck!
Huo Ran wanted to yell but he couldn’t. His entire face was buried in Kou Chen’s stomach.
“Chaoren!” Kou Chen yelled.
Because Huo Ran was pressed into his stomach, Kou Chen’s yell sounded him from all sides.
“Coming!” Wei Chaoren replied and jumped on as well.
“Carrot! Carrot!” Jiang Lei yelled as well.
From the vibrations, Huo Ran could tell that Hu Yi also jumped onto the bed.
“My bed! I’m gonna kill you guys!” Huo Ran struggled out from below Kou Chen, “Do you know how heavy you guys are?”
“Nope!” Everyone exclaimed at once.
And then it stopped having much to do with Huo Ran. They all rolled around the bed wildly, grabbing pillows and blankets, holding and pushing each other. It looked like a typical 18+ scene, simply unsightly.
“Ah…” Kou Chen was on top of Huo Ran and he yelled in his ear, “Who punched my grim reaper… Who fucking punched my grim reaper!”
Huo Ran looked at him in shock: “What part of it?”
“His chest,” Kou Chen thought about it, “I think.”
“Fuck…” Huo Ran couldn’t help but burst out into laughter. Kou Chen lowered his head and laughed along with him with his face buried in his shoulder.
As the party on his bed was still in full swing, someone’s phone suddenly rang.
“One person solo! Two people double! All single!” Jiang Lei’s voice rang out, “Four of us and not one with a fucking girlfriend…”
That was Xu Zhifan’s ringtone. Jiang Lei sang it, and then forced them to set it as their ringtones. Only Xu Zhifan indulged him, and he’d been using it since last semester.
Xu Zhifan rarely got calls, and if he did, it was probably from his dad.
Everyone suddenly froze in place, and they all stared at him.
“My dad,” Xu Zhifan picked up the phone, “Hello?”
Two seconds later, Xu Zhifan shot up in bed: “What? She’s back?”
“Who’s back?” Jiang Lei whispered, not knowing what he was talking about.
“Dunno.” Xu Chuan replied from the bed beside them. He was the only one that didn’t join in on their little party.
“That… Aunt Hu?” Wei Chaoren whispered.
They all tensed up.
She’s back?
Then what about Xu Zhifan’s mom?
“What about my mom?” Xu Zhifan asked.
“Holy shit, it’s true.” Huo Ran felt on edge, the hairs on his arms standing on end.
After the person on the other line said something, Xu Zhifan slowly slumped back against the wall and furrowed his brows: “What’s going on now? I’ll be right back… Mhm, don’t tell grandma yet, just say you’re going out for a bit… Okay, I’ll be there in half an hour.”
Xu Zhifan hung up the phone.
Everyone stared at him, waiting for him to say something.
“My dad said…” Xu Zhifan waved the phone in his hand.
Before he could finish, Huo Ran suddenly felt the bed tremble. And then they all felt that something was off, but before any of them could do anything…
The bed base collapsed with a bang.
Huo Ran was at the very bottom, and he fell onto the washbasin under the bed. The other four scrambled to get a hold onto something.
“Fuck, come on!” Kou Chen knelt on one knee, and pushed all of them out before helping Huo Ran up. “What’s wrong with this bed? Breaking at such a…”
“Is Aunt Hu back?” Huo Ran asked.
“Yeah,” Xu Zhifan hopped off the bed. “I have to go back, my dad doesn’t know exactly what happened either, he heard it from the other neighbours.”
“Together.” Kou Chen said.
“It’s fine,” Xu Zhifan said, “If something happens I’ll call you guys. She just got back, I don’t want Uncle Li to think we’re there to cause trouble or something if we all show up. I just want to ask them about my mom without antagonizing them.”
“…Okay,” Kou Chen hesitated and pointed at him with a frown, “If they try anything, don’t just take it. Run. Run, and then call us.”
Xu Zhifan nodded.
They all hastily put some clothes on and saw Xu Zhifan off at the gates.
After Xu Zhifan got into the cab, Xu Chuan asked him through the window: “Finals are tomorrow, will you be back by then? Should we let Old Yuan know?”
“Probably,” Xu Zhifan said. “But I won’t be back tonight, I have to talk to my dad after, and if there’s nothing, I’ll come back tomorrow.”
“Tell us if there is anything.” Huo Ran said. “Remember to talk to us, when you find out about your mom, send us a message. We’re all waiting.”
“Mhm,” Xu Zhifan nodded, “Thanks.”
“Even that gets a thanks? You’re gonna be thanking us to death later,” Kou Chen said. “Hurry, go.”
They watched the car drive off, and then they stood there in silence, feeling a bit uneasy.
“Let’s go get food.” Kou Chen said. “We’re all outside anyways.”
“Sure,” Huo Ran said. “To Murder Dog.”
“Pot.” Kou Chen looked at him.
“Huh?” Huo Ran looked back, “Did I not say Murder Pot?”
“You said Murder Dog.” Kou Chen sighed.
“Did I?” Huo Ran questioned.
“I’ll call a cab.” Kou Chen got his phone out, “No drinking today guys, we have finals tomorrow, and we have to be ready in case Xu Zhifan needs our help.”
“Yup.” Everyone nodded their agreement.
Murder Pot wasn’t very far, and they got there quickly by cab. They were all starving as they rushed inside.
Kou Chen and Huo Ran were at the very back of the group. Huo Ran wasn’t too hungry originally, but as he smelled the spicy scent, his stomach suddenly awoke. He remembered that he didn’t really eat anything for lunch, and he was immediately starving.
“I envy Xu Zhifan.” Kou Chen suddenly said quietly.
Huo Ran was still absorbed in his hunger before he reacted: “You envy him? Are you tired of your happy life or what?”
“If something happened to me,” Kou Chen looked at him. “Will you be distracted by it as well? You didn’t even realize you said Murder Dog just then.”
“…That I don’t know,” Huo Ran could see that Kou Chen was serious, and so he pushed down his hunger and answered him seriously, “I’ll be really worried, I’ll do everything to ask about the situation.”
“Really?” Kou Chen asked, “You’re that certain? We’ve only known each other for a semester.”
“Not only,” Huo Ran said, “You can count half of last semester too.”
“A semester and a half then,” Kou Chen was probably really absorbed in the issue, and he was still thinking when they followed the waiter inside. “How can you be so sure you’ll worry about me, and very worried too.”
“Dunno,” Huo Ran said. “I just know that… you’re different from everyone else.”
“Hm? In what way?” Kou Chen immediately followed up.
“I can’t say,” Huo Ran frowned and thought about it, “You’re just different, different…”
“Okay, I got it, you don’t have to say anything.” Kou Chen smiled, “Keep talking and I’ll start singing.”
Old Yuan's new type of parent teacher conference excited everyone, and washed away the stress that came from finals.But people like Kou Chen who never intended to study in the first place were just different. He hadn't cracked open a single book since Old Yuan announced it, all the thought about was how he should write his letter.Say, can I just start off with the insults? Kou Chen laid on his desk with a sheet of pretty letter paper in front of him.You're insulting your dad on such pretty paper? Huo Ran was a bit confused. Where did you even get it? Damn, Princess Chen, you own paper like this?I'm warning you, Kou Chen glared at him, If I hear that one more timeWhere did you get it? Huo Ran asked.Asked Wu Xiaochen. She has stacks of it, and they're all pink. Kou Chen said. I just think it should be more proper, not just a random page ripped out of my notebook.True, it should be more proper. So I think you probably shouldn't insult your dad, pink paper isn't suited for insults, Huo Ran said. Besides, you complain about him all the time behind his back, what's this one time? You should write about your feelings or something.That's different, this time I'm insulting him at the teacher's order, it doesn't feel the same. Kou Chen lowered his head and gestured at the paper, Second Kou! You're a bastardYour dad is Second Kou? Huo Ran turned to him in surprise.His name's Kou Jingcheng, he's a second son. Kou Chen whispered, Second Kou, Second Kou, Second Kou! I've never had the chance to call him that, Second Kou! Look at that!I mean, Huo Ran sighed, I think you should be less obvious, you're the only one with the last name Kou in the grade, if you put it like that, everyone's gonna guess that it's you. What if your dad finds out, he's gonna hang you up to dry as a sausage the same night.Fuck, Kou Chen glanced at him. You're so But don't even think about stopping me, this is a once in a lifetime opportunityHuo Ran tsked, and ignored him.Though Old Yuan never made a parents group chat. If they needed anything, they could just message him directly. That was very well appreciated by the class, so if Kou Chen really did what he planned, he would still be relatively safe.Huo Ran wasn't planning on using such refined princess letter paper, he used normal letter paper.The paper was in front of him, but it was still blank.He didn't know what Kou Chen would end up writing to his dad in the end, but in any case, he still didn't know what he should write to his parents.Sometimes he felt that there really wasn't much to say. The environment he grew up in was pretty relaxed, and there wasn't really anything to complain about. Maybe it was because of the baby that died too early, but his mom and dad never required much of him. His grades didn't matter as long as he passed, and he could go out camping and biking whenever, his dad would teach him how to stay safe But just because it was like that, he would sometimes think that his parents were being too careful, afraid that he would be unhappy, afraid that he would feel restricted.Huo Ran wished that they could truly be relaxed, to scold and punish if they had too. Just not too much, like threatening to turn him into a sausage wasn't necessary.Finals were on a Monday, and The Seven of them all agreed to stay at school for the weekend.But there wasn't much to do anyways. With finals looming just ahead, they were still students at a top high school in the end, so they really weren't in the mood to go play. All they did was sleep, go on their phones, and force themselves to study.On Sunday night, they didn't even want to go out to eat dinner, so they laid in their dorms and listened to the wind roaring outside.I don't even know what books to look over now. Xu Chuan on Jiang Lei's bed with his legs crossed, flipping through some textbook.I've already given up. Jiang Lei sat against the wall behind him. I feel like I know everything, I just don't know how to write it out.I have a special power, Xu Chuan said, I can remember if the question was on a single digit page or a double digit page, and which section it's in, but I just can't remember the contentsIt's just those two days no matter what anyways, survive that and then we're on break. Hu Yi said. I'm cheering myself up with the thought of winter break and the lucky money I'm gonna get.Zhifan, Wei Chaoren was gaming with Hu Yi, and he finally raised his head to look at Xu Zhifan, who was reading on the top bunk, Are you even human? You can still read at a time like this?Temporarily giving up my human identity for a few days around finals, Xu Zhifan said. Pray for me so I can memorize more questions, that way if any of you guys end up sitting beside me with the same questions, you might have a chance to pass.I can pass. Huo Ran was also on his phone.Me too. Kou Chen said from behind him.You're up? I bet it's because you're hungry. Huo Ran turned around. This guy had fallen asleep on his bed when everyone came over at lunch, and he's only now making a sound.I wasn't asleep. Kou Chen smiled and turned around. He reached a hand into his shirt and tickled his waist softly.Huo Ran pulled his hand out.Why don't we just go out to eat? Jiang Lei said. Nowhere far, just hotpot or something, I've been craving hotpotVegf, Bbe Jtfc jikjsr tjv j qbrlalnf gfjmalbc ab jcsatlcu lcnbinlcu wfja. Ktfgf'r j tbaqba qijmf cfjg Sghtbcu cba atja ojg jkjs, la'r mjiifv ktja lr la jujlcBbe Jtfc oeggbkfv tlr ygbkr jr tf atbeuta jybea la, gfjmtlcu j tjcv lcab Leb Ejc'r rtlga jujlc.Cr ibcu jr sbe xcbk ktfgf la lr. Leb Ejc rjlv jr tf qeiifv tlr tjcv jkjs jujlc jcv qgfrrfv la ab atf yfv.Ah! I remember! Kou Chen yelled, happily putting his other hand on his waist and rubbing it, It's called Murder Pot! It's delicious, I'm drooling just thinking about itFucking hell! Huo Ran smacked his hand and tugged at it to no avail.Fuck what hell? Kou Chen asked as he laughed. He wrapped his arm around his waist, It really is deliciousWith Huo Ran sitting up and Kou Chen laying behind him, he couldn't get his hand off, and Kou Chen was laughing like a dog that just seized its food.Murder Pot my ass! Huo Ran leaned onto him and pushed him away by the shoulders, Why don't you eat Dumb Dog Pot!You can't win against me. Kou Chen reminded him as he was pressed onto the bed.I'm willing to bet! Huo Ran straddled him, and kept one hand on his shoulder, the other going to smack him on the back.Everyone here is a witness. Kou Chen yelled, and when Huo Ran pushed half of his face into the pillow, he was still yelling. I didn't start it this time, it's in self-defenseRight! Wei Chaoren leapt off the bed with his phone and pointed it at them, Go! I'll take video evidenceWatch your words! Kou Chen glared at him with one eye.Fight back! Wei Chaoren waved his arm around.It doesn't sound right no matter how you think about it. Huo Ran couldn't help but laugh.Right as he loosened his grip, Kou Chen suddenly fought back from where he was held down. He pushed his shoulders back and caught his arm.With that, Huo Ran knew that it was over. Kou Chen was strong, and he was still laughingBeautiful! Jiang Lei yelled. Look at that counter! Very smooth!You traitor! Huo Ran had stopped laughing and was about to fight back, but at Jiang Lei's words, he started laughing again.Kou Chen had already flipped to sit on top of him. He held down his hands and looked down at him: Little cutie, youI'm warning you. Huo Ran said.Big cutie, Kou Chen immediately corrected, Anything you want to say?Give each other a kiss, Wei Chaoren said, You've already gone so far, I dare you to kiss.You're dead, Huo Ran turned his head and forced a finger out of Kou Chen's grip to point at Wei Chaoren. Chaoren you're done, I'm telling you.Kou Chen smiled at him, and then bent down to kiss the tip of his nose.It was a loud kiss that sounded like a balloon pop, startling Huo Ran.You fucker Huo Ran glared at him, suddenly not knowing what he should say.Scared me, Kou Chen stared at him, before saying, I thought I popped your nose.Fuck off Huo Ran suddenly reacted, kicking Kou Chen's back with his legs and yelling, Jiang Lei! Jiang Lei! Requesting backup!Copy that! Copy that! Jiang Lei yelled and tossed his phone to the side before leaping over, directly onto Kou Chen.Fuck! Kou Chen was loosely supporting himself above the bed with his arms, and with the pressure on top of him, he immediately buckled and fell onto Huo Ran.Fuck!Huo Ran wanted to yell but he couldn't. His entire face was buried in Kou Chen's stomach.Chaoren! Kou Chen yelled.Because Huo Ran was pressed into his stomach, Kou Chen's yell sounded him from all sides.Coming! Wei Chaoren replied and jumped on as well.Carrot! Carrot! Jiang Lei yelled as well.From the vibrations, Huo Ran could tell that Hu Yi also jumped onto the bed.My bed! I'm gonna kill you guys! Huo Ran struggled out from below Kou Chen, Do you know how heavy you guys are?Nope! Everyone exclaimed at once.And then it stopped having much to do with Huo Ran. They all rolled around the bed wildly, grabbing pillows and blankets, holding and pushing each other. It looked like a typical 18+ scene, simply unsightly.Ah Kou Chen was on top of Huo Ran and he yelled in his ear, Who punched my grim reaper Who fucking punched my grim reaper!Huo Ran looked at him in shock: What part of it?His chest, Kou Chen thought about it, I think.Fuck Huo Ran couldn't help but burst out into laughter. Kou Chen lowered his head and laughed along with him with his face buried in his shoulder.As the party on his bed was still in full swing, someone's phone suddenly rang.One person solo! Two people double! All single! Jiang Lei's voice rang out, Four of us and not one with a fucking girlfriendThat was Xu Zhifan's ringtone. Jiang Lei sang it, and then forced them to set it as their ringtones. Only Xu Zhifan indulged him, and he'd been using it since last semester.Xu Zhifan rarely got calls, and if he did, it was probably from his dad.Everyone suddenly froze in place, and they all stared at him.My dad, Xu Zhifan picked up the phone, Hello?Two seconds later, Xu Zhifan shot up in bed: What? She's back?Who's back? Jiang Lei whispered, not knowing what he was talking about.Dunno. Xu Chuan replied from the bed beside them. He was the only one that didn't join in on their little party.That Aunt Hu? Wei Chaoren whispered.They all tensed up.She's back?Then what about Xu Zhifan's mom?What about my mom? Xu Zhifan asked.Holy shit, it's true. Huo Ran felt on edge, the hairs on his arms standing on end.After the person on the other line said something, Xu Zhifan slowly slumped back against the wall and furrowed his brows: What's going on now? I'll be right back Mhm, don't tell grandma yet, just say you're going out for a bit Okay, I'll be there in half an hour.Xu Zhifan hung up the phone.Everyone stared at him, waiting for him to say something.My dad said Xu Zhifan waved the phone in his hand.Before he could finish, Huo Ran suddenly felt the bed tremble. And then they all felt that something was off, but before any of them could do anythingThe bed base collapsed with a bang.Huo Ran was at the very bottom, and he fell onto the washbasin under the bed. The other four scrambled to get a hold onto something.Fuck, come on! Kou Chen knelt on one knee, and pushed all of them out before helping Huo Ran up. What's wrong with this bed? Breaking at such aIs Aunt Hu back? Huo Ran asked.Yeah, Xu Zhifan hopped off the bed. I have to go back, my dad doesn't know exactly what happened either, he heard it from the other neighbours.Together. Kou Chen said.It's fine, Xu Zhifan said, If something happens I'll call you guys. She just got back, I don't want Uncle Li to think we're there to cause trouble or something if we all show up. I just want to ask them about my mom without antagonizing them.Okay, Kou Chen hesitated and pointed at him with a frown, If they try anything, don't just take it. Run. Run, and then call us.Xu Zhifan nodded.They all hastily put some clothes on and saw Xu Zhifan off at the gates.After Xu Zhifan got into the cab, Xu Chuan asked him through the window: Finals are tomorrow, will you be back by then? Should we let Old Yuan know?Probably, Xu Zhifan said. But I won't be back tonight, I have to talk to my dad after, and if there's nothing, I'll come back tomorrow.Tell us if there is anything. Huo Ran said. Remember to talk to us, when you find out about your mom, send us a message. We're all waiting.Mhm, Xu Zhifan nodded, Thanks.Even that gets a thanks? You're gonna be thanking us to death later, Kou Chen said. Hurry, go.They watched the car drive off, and then they stood there in silence, feeling a bit uneasy.Let's go get food. Kou Chen said. We're all outside anyways.Sure, Huo Ran said. To Murder Dog.Pot. Kou Chen looked at him.Huh? Huo Ran looked back, Did I not say Murder Pot?You said Murder Dog. Kou Chen sighed.Did I? Huo Ran questioned.I'll call a cab. Kou Chen got his phone out, No drinking today guys, we have finals tomorrow, and we have to be ready in case Xu Zhifan needs our help.Yup. Everyone nodded their agreement.Murder Pot wasn't very far, and they got there quickly by cab. They were all starving as they rushed inside.Kou Chen and Huo Ran were at the very back of the group. Huo Ran wasn't too hungry originally, but as he smelled the spicy scent, his stomach suddenly awoke. He remembered that he didn't really eat anything for lunch, and he was immediately starving.I envy Xu Zhifan. Kou Chen suddenly said quietly.Huo Ran was still absorbed in his hunger before he reacted: You envy him? Are you tired of your happy life or what?If something happened to me, Kou Chen looked at him. Will you be distracted by it as well? You didn't even realize you said Murder Dog just then.That I don't know, Huo Ran could see that Kou Chen was serious, and so he pushed down his hunger and answered him seriously, I'll be really worried, I'll do everything to ask about the situation.Really? Kou Chen asked, You're that certain? We've only known each other for a semester.Not only, Huo Ran said, You can count half of last semester too.A semester and a half then, Kou Chen was probably really absorbed in the issue, and he was still thinking when they followed the waiter inside. How can you be so sure you'll worry about me, and very worried too.Dunno, Huo Ran said. I just know that you're different from everyone else.Hm? In what way? Kou Chen immediately followed up.I can't say, Huo Ran frowned and thought about it, You're just different, differentOkay, I got it, you don't have to say anything. Kou Chen smiled, Keep talking and I'll start singing.
