Everyone in School No. 1 Knows My Boyfriend | Chapter 69 | Relieving the Pain of Lovesickness | Novela.app

Early autumn in S City was truly sweltering. The September sun blazed high in the sky, and with not even a whisper of a breeze, the entire city felt like it was trapped inside a steamer. Xie Ziqi paced back and forth in the lecture hall for a long time before she finally gathered a stack of new books—piled so high they nearly reached her chin—and wobbled her way out the door. The corridor was relatively cool, but she hesitated once she reached the entrance of the teaching building. Xie Ziqi had gone home yesterday and hadn't noticed the notification in the class group chat about picking up the new books. It wasn't until her dorm leader called that the young girl had rushed back in a panic. By the time she returned to campus, it was already noon—the time of day when the sun was at its most vicious and the temperature at its peak. Never mind carrying books; in this kind of weather, even walking a few steps under the sun was enough to break into a sweat. The girl had hoped to ask someone she knew for help, but as she looked around, every face passing by was a stranger. She could only grit her teeth and dash out of the building. Leading away from the teaching building was a straight, wide road. Though the lush foliage on either side blocked the direct sunlight, it couldn't stop the heat radiating through the air. Before long, the hair at her temples was soaked. As she reached a green belt, a stray dog with its tongue lolling out suddenly darted from the low bushes. Xie Ziqi shrieked in fright, and the books in her arms scattered all over the ground. The stray dog, startled by her reaction, scrambled away in a hurry. Once the dog was far off, the girl breathed a sigh of relief. She crouched down, frantically trying to gather the fallen books. Just then, a beautiful hand entered her field of vision. The person’s hand was as fair as warm, polished jade, with long, slender fingers and neatly trimmed nails that gleamed with a healthy luster under the sunlight. Xie Ziqi froze, instinctively looking up. She saw a youth crouching before her, wearing a pair of metal-framed glasses. His eyes were light in color, like steeped tea, and his downcast lashes were long and thick, tracing the peach-blossom shape of his eyes. In such blistering heat, the youth surprisingly hadn't sweated much; his pale skin looked clean and refreshed. Xie Ziqi had never seen such a good-looking boy. She stood there dazed, feeling as though the person before her was a gentle breeze blowing through willow trees, making her lose all sense of time and place. "Classmate, your books." While Xie Ziqi was daydreaming, the youth had already organized the books on the ground. Even his voice was so pleasant! Xie Ziqi snapped back to her senses, her heart racing. The little deer in her chest was screaming "I can!" while charging around wildly as if it had been injected with adrenaline. "Th-th-that..." As soon as she spoke, Xie Ziqi wanted to slap herself for stuttering. Though he found the girl's expression a bit strange, Lin Murun asked politely, "Where are you going? I'll help you carry some." "Huh?! You're helping me?" Xie Ziqi looked down and saw that the books had been divided into two stacks, one large and one small. "Mhm." Lin Murun picked up the larger stack. Seeing that Xie Ziqi was still crouching on the ground with a flushed face, he thought she might be feeling unwell and crouched down again. "How about I take all of them? You look like you might have heatstroke." "No... No! I can do it!" Xie Ziqi clutched the remaining books and sprang up, stammering, "I-I'm going back to the dorms. I live in Building 10, Room 607." Lin Murun looked at the books in his arms, appearing slightly troubled. "I can only help you carry them to the dorm manager's station. I can't go upstairs." "No need to go upstairs!" Fearing the handsome guy would turn and leave, Xie Ziqi hurriedly explained, "Sorry! I just said that out of habit. Once we're at the building, I can ask my roommates for help!" Lin Murun nodded and began walking toward Building 10 with the books. Xie Ziqi followed behind at a light jog. Looking at Lin Murun’s lean back, the temperature of her face rose until it felt hot enough to fry an egg. Noticing she wasn't keeping up, Lin Murun stopped and looked back. "Am I walking too fast?" "No! Not at all! Keep going!" Caught off guard by him turning around, Xie Ziqi, who hadn't had time to hide her smile, nearly tripped over her own tongue. Lin Murun nodded, but he still took the initiative to slow his pace, walking side-by-side with Xie Ziqi down the shaded path. Xie Ziqi didn't dare look up. She kept her face lowered—nearly steaming—and carefully traced the shapes of their shadows on the ground in her mind. The cicadas buzzed incessantly. Occasionally, under the guise of adjusting her glasses, Xie Ziqi would steal a glance at the boy's profile. She felt that this sweltering, long road had somehow become exceptionally short today. When they reached Building 10, Lin Murun placed the books on the ledge of the dorm manager's open window and said "Goodbye" to Xie Ziqi. Before she could react, Xie Ziqi watched his retreating back and suddenly realized she hadn't asked for his name. Just as she was debating whether to chase after him, her dorm leader's voice sounded from behind. "Ziqi, you're back? I just finished lunch and was about to go to the teaching building to meet you." The dorm leader patted Xie Ziqi’s shoulder and looked at the books in surprise. "So many books—did you carry them all back by yourself?" Xie Ziqi shook her head and murmured shyly, "No... on the way back, I met a really good-looking guy. He helped me carry them." "A really good-looking guy?" The dorm leader looked at Xie Ziqi’s bright red face and teased with a laugh, "Oh~ I get it!" Xie Ziqi said bashfully, "Oh, stop! Don't get the wrong idea. I don't even know his name!" "I'll help you look! Maybe I know him!" The dorm leader pulled Xie Ziqi and ran toward the entrance. Just as Lin Murun stepped down the large staircase of the girls' dormitory, he saw Si Bin waiting across the way with his arms crossed. Lin Murun smiled, waved at him, and ran over. "What was Murun doing at the girls' dorm?" Si Bin raised his hand, gently wiping the thin layer of sweat from Lin Murun’s temple. "I met a girl on the road who couldn't carry her books, so I helped her with some," Lin Murun replied. "Then can Murun help me out now?" Si Bin lowered his eyes slightly, taking Lin Murun’s fingertips into his hand. Lin Murun looked at Si Bin, puzzled. "Help you with what?" "Help me relieve the pain of lovesickness." Si Bin leaned down, whispering into Lin Murun’s ear, "Murun, tomorrow is Saturday." The shell of Lin Murun’s ear turned red from Si Bin’s breath. He seemed to catch a strong scent of "vinegar" coming from Si Bin, so he shrunk his shoulders slightly and looked at him obediently. "Are we going home now?" "Mhm." Si Bin smiled and squeezed Lin Murun’s fingers, murmuring, "Murun is twenty years old this year." Lin Murun looked at Si Bin in confusion. "Want to try?" Si Bin asked softly. Lin Murun: "Huh?" Si Bin smiled. "You just promised. You said you'd help me relieve the pain of lovesickness after we get home." Lin Murun finally realized what he meant, and his face flushed crimson all the way down to his neck. "Want to try, Murun?" Si Bin’s low, magnetic voice carried a hint of seduction. Lin Murun turned his face away. After a long moment, he gave a nearly imperceptible nod. While the lovers were sharing this tender moment, the dorm leader and Xie Ziqi happened to witness the two of them holding hands. They made no effort to hide the gesture. Xie Ziqi’s eyes widened as she understood instantly. The little deer that had been leaping for joy just moments ago seemed to have crashed into a wall of reinforced concrete, fainting on the spot. The dorm leader looked around, failing to see the "really good-looking" guy Xie Ziqi had mentioned, but she spotted Si Bin and Lin Murun immediately. "Wow, is Senior Lin Murun going out with his boyfriend again?" The dorm leader watched their receding figures and sighed with envy. "I'm so jealous. I heard they've been dating since high school." Xie Ziqi beside her didn't say a word. The dorm leader turned back and noticed her complexion looked a bit poor. "What's wrong?" the dorm leader asked with concern. "Ziqi, are you feeling unwell?" Xie Ziqi snapped out of it and withdrew her gaze, muttering to herself, "So he likes boys..." "Huh?" The dorm leader listened to her words, thought for a moment, and guessed the gist of it. Seeing her friend look sad, the dorm leader felt a bit bad. To lighten the mood, she slapped Xie Ziqi’s shoulder. "Aiya! Stop watching people flaunt their love! Come on, I'll treat you to ice cream and tell you some gossip about the Law School next door." "What gossip?" Xie Ziqi was half-pushed, half-pulled away. The dorm leader gave a mysterious smile. "The story starts with freshman military training..." *** Back at home, Lin Murun took a warm bath and changed into clean cotton pajamas. He curled up in the sofa bed with his tablet, flipping through academic papers. Before long, Si Bin, carrying the scent of moisture from his own shower, climbed onto the sofa bed and pulled him into his arms. Sensing Si Bin’s burning breath, Lin Murun startled and looked back. "It's daytime." Si Bin gently nipped at his ear, murmuring indistinctly, "We can do it again at night." With that, he took the tablet from Lin Murun’s hands. "Wait a— mmm..." Before he could finish his sentence, Lin Murun’s lips were sealed by Si Bin’s kiss. Xiao Bai, having woken up, stretched and crawled out of the cat bed, groggily heading to the water bowl for a drink. The sound of a tablet hitting the floor came from the living room. Startled, Xiao Bai scrambled under the bookshelf. The sunlight was just right, filtering through the thin lace curtains into the study and falling onto the light-colored carpet. The heat of the rays was dispersed by the cool air from the air conditioner, scattering into a hazy, soft glow. Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation ---|---|--- S市 | S City | A common placeholder for a major city in Chinese web novels. 谢子琪 | Xie Ziqi | A female student introduced in this chapter. 桃花眼 | Peach-blossom eyes | A shape of eyes considered very attractive, characterized by a slight upward curve at the corners. 相思之苦 | Pain of lovesickness / Ache of longing | Literally "the bitterness of mutual longing." 小白 | Xiao Bai | The couple's cat (literally "Little White"). 虐狗 | Flaunt their love | Slang (literally "abusing the dogs"), referring to "single dogs" (single people) feeling envious of couples' public displays of affection.