After evening self-study ended, Lin Murun packed his things and headed to the Xingyue Music Shop to practice, as was his routine.
School had started early for the eleventh grade, but the seven-day National Day holiday wasn't over yet. As a tourist destination, the streets and alleys of H City were swarmed with visitors from out of town.
"Excuse me, student, which way to No. 1 High School?" someone called out, stopping Lin Murun.
The man had very pale skin and wore an oversized printed T-shirt. His eyes drooped slightly at the corners, and paired with his mop of curly long hair, he looked as if he hadn't quite woken up yet.
"Go through this street, then turn left onto Wenyuan Road. Keep going straight past the vocational high school and you'll see it," Lin Murun answered.
"Thanks," the man said, his voice a bit drawling. "Want some candy?" As he spoke, he pulled a few milk candies from his backpack and offered them to Lin Murun.
"No, thank you," Lin Murun waved him off. "I have to go."
"Oh." The young man’s reaction seemed a beat slow. He watched Lin Murun walk away before peeling a wrapper and popping a candy into his own mouth.
***
Inside the Class 1 classroom, a phone vibrated.
Si Bin pulled his phone from his desk drawer and saw a call from his cousin, who was supposed to be halfway across the ocean.
Although class was over, more than half the students remained in their seats for self-study. Si Bin glanced left and right, then took his phone and quietly slipped out of the classroom.
"Hello? I'm at your school gate," a lazy voice came from the other end before Si Bin could speak. "The security guard won't let me in."
"Why are you back?" Si Bin asked as he headed downstairs.
"Came back to see you. I'm waiting at the gate." With that, the line went dead.
Si Bin jogged to the school entrance and found the security guard staring down his cousin.
"My name is Shen Xingzhi. I used to be a student here at No. 1 High. You might not recognize me if you're new, sir." The young man scratched his curls, trying to convince the guard to drop his suspicions. "I'm here to find my younger brother. He's a student here... No, no! I'm not lying, look, he's here."
Shen Xingzhi waved at Si Bin from a distance. "Your brother's over here!"
Si Bin walked over and explained the situation to the guard. Only then, under the curious gazes of passing students, did he lead Shen Xingzhi into the school.
"I'm getting old," Shen Xingzhi said to Si Bin while chewing on a candy. "Back in the day, I was a legendary figure at No. 1 High. Now I can't even get through the front gate." He sighed with sentiment, then pulled another candy from his pocket. "Want one?"
"No." Si Bin asked, "How did you find the new campus?"
"Oh," Shen Xingzhi tucked the candy away. "I ran into a handsome little guy from your school on the street. He gave me directions."
Just then, Si Bin's phone rang again.
He glanced at the caller ID, and his expression darkened.
"I have something to take care of," Si Bin said, holding up his phone.
"Go ahead," Shen Xingzhi waved him off, turning to wander over to the Distinguished Alumni Board.
Five minutes later, Si Bin returned.
"Tsk, look how handsome I used to be. And Old Bei... Oh! His photo is still right next to mine? Back then, Old Tang was so pissed he took both our photos down. I didn't expect him to quietly put them back up after we graduated."
The "Old Tang" he mentioned was the surname of the grade dean. Director Tang had worked at No. 1 High for over twenty years, seeing off batch after batch of students, and was now the dean for Si Bin’s year as well.
In the photo, Shen Xingzhi still had short hair and wore thin-framed glasses. His eyes were curved into crescents, and a small canine tooth peeked out when he smiled—the very picture of youthful vibrance.
"Back then, no matter how they tried to tear us apart, we stayed together. Now, we've gone our separate ways on our own." Shen Xingzhi looked at the vibrant faces on the honor board and said tonelessly, "Old Tang is finally willing to display the photos, but he probably hasn't heard that Old Bei and I broke up."
"Enough about me." Shen Xingzhi scratched his hair and looked at Si Bin. "Let me crash in your guest room for a night. I'll book a hotel tomorrow. My old man doesn't know I'm back in the country yet."
"I don't think you can keep it from him." Thinking of his uncle's connections and efficiency, Si Bin advised, "Go see Uncle and Auntie. Honestly, Uncle softened his stance years ago; he just can't bring himself to lose face."
"Who do you think he inherited that homophobia from? Our grandfather was pretty open-minded... oh, wait, my grandfather is your maternal grandfather." As Shen Xingzhi spoke, he shoved his hands into his pockets and followed sluggishly behind Si Bin toward the teaching building.
"How long are you staying this time?" Si Bin asked.
"Three or four days," Shen Xingzhi answered lazily. "I took leave on the pretext of nursing a broken heart. The executives are afraid I'll just disappear, so they're calling me internationally every day. Your brother here is worried about the phone bill, so I probably can't stay more than a few days."
"Then can you help me feed the cats for a few days? Auntie Li resigned and went back to her hometown," Si Bin asked.
"No way. I hate cats. How about I find you an hourly worker? You just go do whatever you need to do."
Si Bin paused. "You're not going to ask what it is?"
Shen Xingzhi looked up. "Why ask? You'll handle it yourself."
The shadows of the two brothers were stretched long by the corridor lights. After a long silence, Shen Xingzhi heard Si Bin whisper, "Thanks."
"Nothing to thank me for," he said. "If you run into trouble, just say the word. Your brother might not have many skills, but I still have a few friends in Z City who can help out."
Si Bin nodded, looking quite moved.
—Or not.
That night, Shen Xingzhi encountered a crisis in their "plastic brotherhood." He was unceremoniously kicked out of the guest room by his ungrateful younger cousin.
"You go sleep in my room!" Si Bin, wearing pajamas, occupied the bed in the guest room.
"Wait... why?" Shen Xingzhi, a towel draped over his head, stood frozen on the spot.
"No reason," Si Bin replied.
"What's wrong with you?" Shen Xingzhi lifted an eyelid.
"Nothing's wrong," Si Bin said. "I just suddenly felt like sleeping in the guest room." Meeting his cousin's 'are-you-an-idiot' expression, he emphasized, "Really."
Shen Xingzhi: "I don't like cats."
"I haven't let the cats into the master bedroom," Si Bin answered immediately.
In the end, despite Shen Xingzhi's death glare, Si Bin still dragged him out of the guest room.
The reason for not letting Shen Xingzhi sleep there was simple: the bedding hadn't been changed since Lin Murun stayed over. The housekeeper had resigned suddenly, and there were no fresh linens ready. Whether for public or private reasons, it wasn't appropriate for Shen Xingzhi to sleep there as a guest.
As for the ratio of public to private reasons... perhaps only Si Bin knew.
"It's settled then." Si Bin opened the master bedroom door with polite but firm finality. "Goodnight."
On his first night back in the country, Shen Xingzhi was met by the large blue eyes of a small white cat at the bedroom door, feeling the full weight of his cousin's malice.
***
The next morning, Lin Murun was slumped over his desk catching up on sleep. Between practicing the violin and grinding through practice problems these past few days—plus his roommate's thunderous snoring—his already meager sleep time had been squeezed even further.
Si Bin glanced inside as he passed Class 2. He pulled out his phone and messaged: *Are you feeling unwell?*
After a moment's thought, he felt the greeting was a bit abrupt, so he added: *I just passed your classroom and saw you slumped on your desk.*
Lin Murun was fast asleep and didn't see the message until morning self-study began.
*I'm fine,* he replied while groggily pulling out his English textbook. *I was just sleeping.*
At the same time, Si Bin received a WeChat message from Gao Yuan.
*Bin-ge, guess who I saw at the music shop yesterday?* Gao Yuan asked.
*Who?* Si Bin wasn't actually interested. He had Lin Murun's chat window open, debating how to reply.
Replying with "Make sure to rest" seemed too formal and distant. Asking "Didn't you sleep well?" felt like prying into someone's privacy.
*Tsk... crushing is hard.*
Self-study had already started. Si Bin held a pen in his right hand, occasionally scribbling on a test paper, while his left hand kept deleting and rewriting in the chat box.
*As long as you're okay.* After agonizing for five or six minutes, he finally sent a reply he deemed neither too formal nor overstepping.
Meanwhile, Gao Yuan had sent several more messages.
*Since it's the holiday, my girlfriend and I went to the shop to have tea and chat with the boss. I didn't expect to run into Little Teacher Lin. It's been over a month since school started; I thought he'd resigned.*
The text was followed by a photo.
It was a profile shot. Standing in the recital room, Lin Murun’s left hand pressed the strings while his right held the bow. He wasn't wearing his glasses. His high bridge of his nose cast a perfect shadow under the dim lights, and behind his long lashes were the shimmering lights of the city outside.
Si Bin magnified the photo and looked at it for a long time. With a flick of his finger, he hit save.
He didn't look closely at what Gao Yuan said next, only typing quickly with one hand: *He's been going there to practice these past few days?*
*Seems like it,* Gao Yuan replied. *I heard from the boss that your school is holding an Arts Festival. He's borrowing the space to practice. In return, he's helping the boss teach students for free for a month.*
*He practices every day?* Si Bin asked.
*Yeah, every day. Except for October 2nd. He's been at it for over a week now,* Gao Yuan replied.
Thinking of Lin Murun slumped on his desk catching up on sleep, Si Bin hesitated repeatedly before finally sending a message to Shen Xingzhi: *Ge, you don't need to find an hourly worker.*
*Why?* Shen Xingzhi replied half a class period later.
*I have a friend who can help feed the cats.*
*That's good. I found a hotel. I'll sneak back to see Grandpa whenever my dad isn't home.* A moment later, he sent another message: *Focus on class, don't play with your phone.*
Si Bin replied with a simple "Oh" and put his phone away to start taking notes.
During the break, Si Bin called Lin Murun out of the classroom.
"Could I trouble you with something?" Si Bin looked toward the playground in the distance, acting casual. "I have to go back to Z City for something, but Auntie resigned and went home before the holiday..."
Lin Murun watched Si Bin quietly, waiting for the request.
"But there are two cats at home..." Si Bin's tone was slightly hesitant. "Could I ask you to help me look after them for a couple of days?"
"Sure," Lin Murun agreed.
Si Bin hadn't expected Lin Murun to agree so readily. For a moment, he didn't know how to transition to the next topic.
"Is there anything else?" Lin Murun asked when he didn't speak.
"Also... I heard you signed up for the Arts Festival?" Si Bin asked.
"I haven't signed up yet. There's a screening during the self-study period on Friday afternoon," Lin Murun answered.
"Do you have a place to practice?" Without waiting for an answer, Si Bin continued, "If not, you can go to my place. My study has good soundproofing, and it's right next to the school."
"No thanks, I can just practice at the music shop," Lin Murun politely declined.
"The music shop is quite far from school," Si Bin analyzed. "The round trip takes nearly an hour. That will cut into your sleep time."
Lin Murun looked at him quietly for a while without speaking.
Si Bin felt a bit guilty under his gaze, fearing his motives were too obvious. He maintained a serious expression. "If you think the atmosphere at the music shop is better, going there is fine too."
"Thank you. Then I'll go pick up my violin today," Lin Murun said.
That was an acceptance.
Having achieved his goal, Si Bin's heart instantly settled.
"You're welcome. I hope you pass the screening."
***
