CY – Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

“You’ve been doing really well lately, haven’t you?” After another training session, the captain walked up to Lu Bai and asked him mysteriously, “Are you planning to steal the spotlight during the competition and use it as an opportunity to find a girlfriend?”

“No,” Lu Bai said, quickly packing his things and slinging them over his shoulder. “I’m not that shallow, Captain.”

“Then you’ve been acting like a completely different person lately.” The captain leaned against a locker. “Speaking of which, I remembered, tell your classmates who don’t have anything to do on the competition day to come watch. Our department’s events always have a small crowd.”

“It’s no use telling me about this,” Lu Bai replied.

“Then tell someone who can talk to your class, someone who’ll listen. In any case, help me figure something out.” The captain looked troubled. “You don’t want to be on the court with no one cheering you on or handing you water, do you?”

Lu Bai heard this and shook his head mysteriously.

“I’ll go tell our Class Monitor to get a few spectators. I’ll shake my phone at the captain. As for me, I don’t need to look for anyone specifically. There will be people who will come specifically to cheer me on and hand me water.”

“I swapped with someone else,” Zhang Xiaotian said quietly to Lu Bai during evening study, while writing his homework. “Consider it as me watching you play for him. Next time there’s an activity and it’s my turn, he’ll go for me.”

“That would be great,” Lu Bai nodded.

After writing the last period, Zhang Xiaotian stopped writing and asked, “Is this competition very important? I see you’ve been busy training lately.”

“It’s not that important.” Lu Bai took Zhang Xiaotian’s homework and was about to copy it when he heard this. He stopped copying and leaned his head onto Zhang Xiaotian’s shoulder like a boneless rag doll.

“Why are you asking me? Don’t tell me you miss me because I haven’t picked you up lately?” Lu Bai rubbed his hair against Zhang Xiaotian’s face. “How can you be so clingy?”

“Stop it,” Zhang Xiaotian pushed away his fluffy head.

Lu Bai had indeed been spending less time alone with him recently, but the less time they had, the more Lu Bai seemed to want to make up for it when they were together, as if he wanted to tie Zhang Xiaotian’s limbs to his own. Zhang Xiaotian enjoyed it somewhat but was afraid that one day he would get used to such frequent physical contact.

“Xu Yan and Zhou Bin both said they’re coming to support you,” Zhang Xiaotian said, putting his pen into Lu Bai’s hand and telling him to get back to his homework.

“Did they swap with someone too?” Lu Bai asked.

“I don’t know. Anyway, they don’t have classes then, so if they want to go, they can.”

“Then why did you swap?” Lu Bai asked again.

“It’s just one less activity to attend,” Zhang Xiaotian said. “If I have time, I’d rather find a high-paying part-time job.”

Lu Bai was silent for a long time after hearing this.

A moment later, Zhang Xiaotian felt that fluffy head press against him again. He was about to push it away when he heard Lu Bai’s muffled voice, “Deskmate.”

“Hmm?” Zhang Xiaotian’s hand movement paused.

“Don’t work too hard,” Lu Bai said. “I’m still here.”

Zhang Xiaotian looked at Lu Bai leaning on his shoulder and didn’t know what to say for a moment. Lu Bai was always so wholeheartedly good to his friends; he had always known that about Lu Bai. His hand, which had intended to push him away, now couldn’t move no matter what. Zhang Xiaotian opened his mouth, then closed it, only managing to say, “Don’t be so cheesy.”

On the day of the competition, Zhou Bin even brought his girlfriend. The girl wore a mask, and after a brief greeting to Zhang Xiaotian and Xu Yan, she sat quietly to the side. Zhou Bin was busy fanning her, opening bottle caps for her, and so on.

“Binzi said his girlfriend is a year older than us,” Xu Yan leaned over and told Zhang Xiaotian.

“Is she from our department?” Zhang Xiaotian also looked towards Zhou Bin. He had wondered what Zhou Bin’s girlfriend would be like, given his outgoing personality. Now, seeing them, one active and one quiet, they seemed quite well-matched.

If Lu Bai had a girlfriend one day, what would she be like?

Zhang Xiaotian looked at Lu Bai, who was preparing on the court. Most of the collective activities in the School of Medicine were rather casual, and they didn’t even have unified team uniforms. Lu Bai was wearing ordinary sportswear, and the dark blue jersey subtly revealed his muscular lines, making him stand out in the crowd.

“You’d think Lu Bai would be quite popular, but there’s no news,” Xu Yan said. “He just clings to you all day.”

When he finds someone he likes, he won’t cling to me anymore. Zhang Xiaotian thought, feeling his mouth go dry and bitter. He twisted open the water bottle beside him and choked after only a few sips, covering his mouth and coughing.

“See, you need to drink slower,” Xu Yan quickly patted his back.

“It’s nothing,” Zhang Xiaotian coughed until his face was red and only stopped after a while. “Auntie Xu, you’re so thoughtful.”

“Stop learning from Binzi,” Xu Yan said. “Take another sip of water to feel better.”

“Are you okay?” Lu Bai saw Zhang Xiaotian coughing and ran over.

“I’m fine now.” Zhang Xiaotian coughed a few more times before stopping. He looked up and asked, “When does the game start?”

“Five minutes,” Lu Bai lingered beside him for a few steps, then picked up the water bottle beside him and took several gulps.

“Hey! I bought this for you!” Zhang Xiaotian was caught off guard. “Why are you drinking my water?”

“What, you’re disgusted with me, Tian’er?” Lu Bai exaggeratedly clutched his chest. “Have you forgotten our year of being deskmates so quickly? You heartless wretch!”

“Stop messing around, go back to your team,” Zhang Xiaotian said, holding his forehead and waving him away.

“He’s so clingy,” Xu Yan sighed as he watched Lu Bai’s retreating back. “He’s watching you so closely, like he’s watching his own wife.”

“Even you’re teasing me,” Zhang Xiaotian said, speechless. Xu Yan smiled and said nothing.

Zhang Xiaotian had never watched Lu Bai play basketball before. He didn’t understand the rules of basketball well and didn’t often follow sports, but that didn’t stop him from being captivated by Lu Bai on the court.

The basketball seemed to be firmly controlled by Lu Bai, passing flexibly from his hands, and then, amidst a wave of applause and cheers, it was thrown into the basket. Zhang Xiaotian had seen the childish side of Lu Bai many times, but this serious and charming Lu Bai was something he was seeing for the first time. With another basket, Lu Bai lifted the hem of his shirt to wipe his sweat, and screams erupted from the stands.

“He’s really showing off now,” Xu Yan clicked his tongue in amazement and nudged Zhang Xiaotian with his shoulder. “Who do you think he’s doing this for?”

Zhang Xiaotian was confused. “He’s just wiping his sweat, isn’t he?”

“Didn’t you see him deliberately showing off just now?” Xu Yan said. “Oh, it’s really making me anxious.”

Zhang Xiaotian didn’t understand. He looked at Lu Bai on the court again. The passing motion made his arm lines flow smoothly, and when he raised his hand to wipe his sweat, his clean forehead was exposed. Even just running back and forth on the court, he looked very different from his usual self. Zhang Xiaotian had known Lu Bai was popular before, but he only truly felt it at this moment.

“There are students from more than just the School of Medicine and the School of Chemical Engineering in the stands. Lu Bai will be busy later,” Xu Yan said meaningfully. “But don’t feel lonely, Xiaotian. If Lu Bai gets a girlfriend, you’ll still have me, a single dog, to keep you company in the dorm.”

Zhang Xiaotian laughed with Xu Yan for a while, but when he looked at Lu Bai again, a sense of melancholy filled his heart.

Perhaps he should be busier, so busy that he wouldn’t have time to think about other things, and then he wouldn’t feel sad in the future.

After the game, Zhang Xiaotian felt uncomfortable, and Lu Bai didn’t seem any happier. The team members were of mixed quality, and due to their busy schedules and limited training time, their coordination was lacking. Although everyone tried their best, and they seemed to put in extra effort when passing, they still couldn’t turn the tide. Fortunately, although they lost the game in the end, the School of Medicine fought fiercely, so it wasn’t a complete embarrassment. After leaving the court, Lu Bai, without even talking to his teammates, headed straight for Zhang Xiaotian but was stopped by many onlookers, both male and female.

“See, I told you he’d be busy,” Xu Yan said with an expression of “just as I expected,” and he didn’t forget to nudge Zhang Xiaotian beside him with his shoulder. Zhang Xiaotian held his water bottle, his mind blank.

“Was he this popular in high school too?”

High school? In that brief yet long year, Zhang Xiaotian’s gaze had almost always been on this person, and he hadn’t paid attention to how many people around him held similar expectations for him.

“Perhaps,” Zhang Xiaotian murmured. “I don’t remember.”

“Tsk,” Xu Yan glanced at the dazed Zhang Xiaotian. “It’s really making me anxious.”

Anxious? What was Xu Yan anxious about?

Zhang Xiaotian could no longer discern the bitterness or sadness; he just wondered when he would truly be able to accept and let go.

While he was still lost in thought, he heard Xu Yan call him.

“Lu Bai’s coming out.”

Zhang Xiaotian snapped back to attention and looked over. Lu Bai was still steaming, walking quickly. He reached them in a few steps. Zhang Xiaotian looked at him, wanting to say something, but for some reason, he couldn’t speak. Lu Bai also remained silent, neither of them speaking first.

“We’re not having evening study today. Zhou Bin is going out on a date with an upperclassman. I’m going back to the dorm. Are you two coming together?” Xu Yan asked. Neither of them objected, and the three of them walked towards the dorm together. Xu Yan and Zhang Xiaotian walked side by side, with Lu Bai a little slower behind them.

“Zhou Bin asked me to bring his stuff back, so I’m going to find him,” Xu Yan said, looking at his phone, and signaled for them to go ahead. Zhang Xiaotian wanted to follow him, but Lu Bai stepped up to his side first. The two stood at the entrance of the gymnasium as if they were being punished.

“You guys haven’t known each other for long, and you don’t play together often, so losing isn’t something to be ashamed of,” Zhang Xiaotian said after hesitating for a moment, thinking Lu Bai was upset because they lost the game.

“It’s fine if we lost. I don’t care,” Lu Bai said, irritably running his hand through his hair. “When I was playing, you weren’t watching me; you were talking to Xu Yan the whole time.”

Zhang Xiaotian hadn’t expected him to be angry about this. “I wasn’t not watching you. We only talked a few times occasionally, and you noticed that?”

“You two… were talking the whole time,” Lu Bai said, hesitating, looking aggrieved. “You don’t talk that much when you’re with me.”

Zhang Xiaotian found his expression amusing and helpless. “Xu Yan and I have been spending time together every day, so isn’t it normal for me to have something to say to him?”

“Then what were you two talking about just now?” Lu Bai pressed on.

“We were saying how well-matched Zhou Bin and that upperclassman are,” Zhang Xiaotian said. “We were also guessing when you’ll start dating.”

“I’m not going to date,” Lu Bai interrupted him curtly.

“I didn’t say you definitely will,” Zhang Xiaotian sighed, then said, “But isn’t it good to have a relationship if you have the chance? I saw people asking for your WeChat today too.”

“Then what about you, will you date?” Lu Bai suddenly asked him. “If you get into a relationship, will you always be with your partner?”

“Why are you suddenly bringing me into this?” Zhang Xiaotian was already in a bad mood, and now he was a little angry. “Lu Bai, you’ve been acting strange since a while ago. What are you unhappy about?”

“There are so many people around you now, Zhang Xiaotian. Xu Yan, Zhou Bin, you’re good to everyone, but you promised me you’d be the best to me in the world.” Lu Bai reached out and tightly grabbed Zhang Xiaotian’s arm. “Zhang Xiaotian, don’t be so good to others, and don’t start dating.”

“What are you even talking about?” Zhang Xiaotian tried to shake him off, but Lu Bai was holding on too tightly. “Let go of me, Lu Bai, my hand hurts!”

“You promise me you won’t date!” Lu Bai stubbornly refused to let go.

“I promise, okay? Let go, my hand is losing circulation!” Zhang Xiaotian couldn’t help but yell at him.

But Lu Bai seemed not to hear him. “You don’t keep your word. I don’t believe you.”

“When did I not keep my word?” Zhang Xiaotian asked.

“In our second year of high school, we agreed to take the college entrance exam together, so why did you transfer schools without telling me?” Lu Bai suddenly said loudly.

Hearing this, Zhang Xiaotian froze.

Lu Bai seemed to have held back for too long, and suddenly found an outlet, his voice becoming hoarse. “What did those questions you asked me before you left mean? Zhang Xiaotian, why did you leave without saying goodbye, without even leaving me your contact information? What did I do wrong?”

He actually remembered!

Under Lu Bai’s questioning, Zhang Xiaotian’s head throbbed. In a daze, he heard the harsh sound of the school bell from Fourth High School.