Pei Cangyu was genuinely stunned. He had gone downstairs early only to find the "Little Young Master" standing by the community entrance, carrying a plaid backpack. Today, he wore a grey-and-white baseball cap, a meticulously ironed small suit jacket with shimmering silver buttons, and round-toed leather shoes with buckles. He looked utterly out of place in his surroundings.
Pei Cangyu blinked as he approached. "I know you’ve always been flamboyant, but today is a new high..."
The moment Bai Shi saw him, he smiled. "I was waiting for you."
Pei Cangyu nodded and reached out to pat the boy’s cap. "I can see that. If you were standing here dressed like this for any other reason, it would be terrifying."
"Let’s go," Bai Shi said. "How do you get to school?"
"Walk." Pei Cangyu looked around. "How did you get here?"
"The driver dropped me off. He’s gone now," Bai Shi replied.
"Then let’s walk. Have you eaten?" Pei Cangyu asked.
Bai Shi didn't answer. He didn't nod or shake his head. Pei Cangyu looked at him, thinking it shouldn't be a difficult question to answer.
But Bai Shi seemed to have been hit by a pause button; he simply didn't react.
Pei Cangyu waved a hand in front of his face. Bai Shi caught his hand. "Is it better if I’ve eaten, or better if I haven't?"
Pei Cangyu was taken aback. "That depends on whether you're hungry. If you're not hungry, then it's better if you haven't eaten."
Bai Shi shook his head. "You don't understand at all."
"Understand what?"
Bai Shi smiled again. "Let’s go. Are you going to eat?"
Pei Cangyu nodded. "I’m getting soy milk. You coming?"
"Mm." Bai Shi nodded happily and followed beside Pei Cangyu, clutching his backpack straps.
Pei Cangyu looked at him and suddenly said, "Actually, if you don't want to smile, you don't have to."
Bai Shi paused.
Pei Cangyu stared at him, scratching his head, feeling like he shouldn't say it but couldn't help himself. "A gloomy person like you... I’m not really used to seeing you smile. I’m not saying you look bad when you smile, just that there’s no need to fake it... You know what I mean?"
Bai Shi’s eyes lit up, much like they had that night at the bus stop—there was even a hint of pleasant surprise. "You think I’m gloomy?"
Pei Cangyu looked conflicted. "A bit... just a little... not that much..."
"But the girls don't think so."
"Girls..." Pei Cangyu thought for a moment. "There’s a bit of a gap between guys and girls, right? Maybe they’re just nicer..."
Thinking of someone in particular, Pei Cangyu felt a flush of embarrassment.
Bai Shi turned his face away, kicked a pebble at his feet, and said softly, "You’re more perceptive than I imagined."
Pei Cangyu glanced at the young master’s lowered head and suddenly thought of the "unfavored son" again.
"Can I ask you something?" Pei Cangyu cleared his throat.
Bai Shi looked up. "What?"
"Are you..." Pei Cangyu weighed his words. "Are you not very happy at home?"
Bai Shi stopped in his tracks, staring at Pei Cangyu.
Pei Cangyu, who had been walking ahead, realized Bai Shi had stopped and turned back. Feeling like he had said something wrong, he waved his hands frantically. "No, no... it’s just... well..."
"How did you know?" Bai Shi asked, which was an indirect admission.
Pei Cangyu thought about it and mentioned seeing the driver splash him with water at the school gate.
Bai Shi let out a small laugh—a smile entirely devoid of innocence. It held a cold, profound contempt. Pei Cangyu couldn't remember ever seeing such a smile on anyone else; it was like catching a glimpse of a dark undercurrent.
Pei Cangyu felt a bit awkward. He’d said too much; other people’s family business had nothing to do with him. He rubbed his nose and walked forward, pretending nothing had happened. Bai Shi reached out and grabbed him.
Startled, Pei Cangyu tried to pull his hand away, but Bai Shi held on with both hands. "Don't you think we have a special connection?"
Pei Cangyu: "Sure, just let go of my hand first."
Bai Shi didn't let go. "I understand you a bit now, and you understand me. We don't even need words."
Pei Cangyu was utterly confused, his skin crawling with goosebumps. "Whatever you say, but let go of my hand first."
Bai Shi asked again, "Then is it okay if I’m just like this?"
Pei Cangyu understood that immediately. He pulled his hand free and patted Bai Shi’s shoulder. "Yeah, you’re fine just like this. You might be a bit gloomy, but there are plenty of gloomy people out there. I hate fakers way more than that. Besides, look at the people around me—we’ve got all sorts. For example..."
Pei Cangyu began his introductions. "Pi Gou—Pi Dongzheng. He’s a total live-wire. Useless at everything, but number one at causing trouble. His grades are worse than mine. He’s never spoken to a girl; his greatest wish is to talk to a girl, and his greatest fear is talking to a girl. He’s got a one-track mind, says whatever he thinks, and goes wherever his thoughts take him. Anyone who takes him seriously will lose out. In his eyes, nothing and no one is important. We call him 'Happy Pi Gou.'
"Kong Ping—we call him Apple. He got that name because his parents lost a bet. He’s the best student among us; he’s very smart. No, his grades have always been great—top five in the class, maybe top ten in the grade. You have to realize, hanging out with us, he has no time to study. He loves mocking people and does everything slowly. His biggest hobby is pretending to be a good student, but he’s actually the perviest. I suspect he’s the reincarnation of an adult film. Among everyone I know, his ability to collect smutty manga is unparalleled. He’s the type who would die if he couldn't read dirty books.
"Hou Qi'an—Monkey. He’s the type who takes everything a bit too seriously, sometimes to a fault. He absolutely loves writing argumentative essays. Though he doesn't talk much and looks honest, he actually has a lot of opinions and can write like a demon. His essay scores are sky-high, but his subjects are as unbalanced as the Atlantic Ocean. He hates English and Math the most. In seventh grade, he hated Math so much he skipped class for a week. Whenever the Math teacher showed up, he’d just walk out of the room—total badass. Then his parents beat him up. He stopped leaving, but he’s hated Math even more ever since. Every day he dreams of getting to high school so he can pick his track.
"Feiji—Yang Feiji. Don't doubt it, don't hesitate: he is the bitchiest person you will ever meet. After Pi Gou causes trouble and Apple finishes mocking someone, Feiji is the first one to push the atmosphere to a climax. He is everywhere—at every fight that’s about to start, around every argument, near every piece of gossip. The number of female friends he has is appalling. He fans the flames everywhere and talks absolute nonsense."
Pei Cangyu stopped and stared at Bai Shi. "Thinking about it that way, don't you feel pretty normal now?"
Bai Shi: "..."
Pei Cangyu gave him a tug. "Hurry up, I’m starving."
When they entered the soy milk shop, Pi Gou stood up and waved. "Hurry up, Pei Cangyu! I already ordered for you."
The others looked over and saw Bai Shi following Pei Cangyu.
"What do you want?" Pei Cangyu turned to ask Bai Shi.
Bai Shi shook his head. "I’ve already eaten."
Apple glanced at him. "If you’ve eaten, you can leave first."
Bai Shi looked up at him. "No."
The two stared at each other, neither saying a word.
Monkey bit into a bun and leaned toward Pei Cangyu. "Why does this Bai Shi look different every single day?"
Pi Gou slapped his own forehead. "Speaking of which, have you guys ever seen *Magical Martin*?"
Pei Cangyu dumped a massive amount of sugar into his soy milk. "Bullshit, it’s *Martin’s Breakfast*. What the hell is *Magical Martin*? Why not *Magical Middle School No. 3* while you're at it..."
Monkey sighed. "It’s *Martin’s Morning*..."
Feiji ignored the three of them. He watched Apple and Bai Shi locked in their tense standoff, swinging his legs and biting into a fried dough stick. He muttered to himself, "Just fight already..."
After the staring contest, Apple turned away. Bai Shi sat down a bit closer to Pei Cangyu.
He looked around at the crumpled tissues on the floor, the grease on the table, and the crowded room. He did not like this place. But Pei Cangyu and the others were clearly regulars, chatting animatedly. Only Apple occasionally shot him a wary glance.
Everyone gulped down their food quickly, chatting in between. By the time they finished, they were all sweating. Pei Cangyu wiped his hands and went to stand in front of the wall-mounted fan, turning his head to catch the breeze.
Feiji asked as he paid the bill, "Dage, what are you doing?"
Pei Cangyu’s voice was buffeted by the fan. "Blowing my hairstyle back into place."
The group walked out with their arms around each other’s shoulders, laughing. Bai Shi followed behind.
After a few steps, Pei Cangyu remembered his newly recruited "little brother." He squeezed out from the group in front and circled back to walk beside Bai Shi. At first, the others, who were huddled together looking at trading cards, didn't notice. When they finally did, Pi Gou looked around. "Where’s Pei Cangyu?"
Apple didn't even look back. "Ran off with someone."
Pei Cangyu gave Apple a light kick. "Hurry up, we’re going to be late."
Bai Shi glanced at Pei Cangyu. Pei Cangyu was just walking with him, side-by-side, but wasn't talking to him.
Bai Shi looked up at Pei Cangyu; he only came up to Pei Cangyu’s chest. "Your hair..."
"Huh?" Pei Cangyu touched his hair. "What about it?"
"It’s not as yellow anymore," Bai Shi told him. Originally, only the roots were black, but now there was much more black.
Pei Cangyu argued solemnly, "This is gold."
Bai Shi: "..."
Pei Cangyu kicked Pi Gou. "My hair’s losing its color. I need to go dye it."
Feiji turned back. "I’m definitely not dyeing mine. My mom practically washed the color out of my scalp. Who was the one who tricked me into dyeing it green? I got a hell of a beating for that."
No one admitted to it.
If Bai Shi felt anything different, it was that once Pei Cangyu decided they were on the same side, Bai Shi was brought under Pei Cangyu’s protection.
He had only hung out with Pei Cangyu’s group for a week—chatting during breaks, being on the same team in PE—and already his classmates were much more polite when speaking to him.
Sometimes Pei Cangyu and the others would go to the bathroom to smoke during class, and they’d ask Bai Shi if he wanted to come. When Bai Shi said he’d never smoked, Pei Cangyu told him not to bother.
This week, they happened to shuffle seats. Pei Cangyu moved to the innermost spot, and Bai Shi was promoted to "gatekeeper." Pei Cangyu had to greet him every time he went in or out. Most people who came to find Pei Cangyu during breaks ended up gathered around Bai Shi’s desk. Gradually, Bai Shi became familiar with them; at least to them, Bai Shi was now "one of us." Except for Apple.
It was during this time that Bai Shi noticed Fei Zuohua. Because his seat was somewhat secluded, he was able to notice the glances that were cast their way from time to time. Fei Zuohua’s gaze toward Pei Cangyu was always full of expectation, as if he were waiting for Pei Cangyu to call out to him.
One day, Bai Shi saw Fei Zuohua’s head half-turned again and met his gaze. Fei Zuohua turned away. Bai Shi looked back at Pei Cangyu, who was mindlessly humming a song while sharpening a pencil.
"Are you close with Fei Zuohua?"
Pei Cangyu looked up. "He’s alright. Why?"
"I think he wants to..." Bai Shi stopped there. If he said Fei Zuohua wanted to join them, there was no guarantee Pei Cangyu wouldn't just invite him along.
"Wants to what?" Pei Cangyu stopped sharpening the pencil.
"Wants to... wants to become a girl."
Pei Cangyu was shocked. He lowered his voice. "He told you that?"
"I’m guessing."
Pei Cangyu breathed a sigh of relief. "Dammit, you scared me. What’s the next class?"
"Biology."
Pei Cangyu started rummaging through his backpack. When he couldn't find the book, he pulled the whole bag out and searched thoroughly. Even after the bell rang, he hadn't found it.
Bai Shi moved his book to the middle of the desk between them. "Stop looking."
Pei Cangyu chuckled and put his bag away.
They huddled together to look at the single book. Today’s lesson was on heredity—specifically, genetic diseases.
Bai Shi turned his face to look at Pei Cangyu’s nearby profile. He licked his lips and turned back. "When are you going to dye your hair?"
Pei Cangyu touched his hair. "Hmm... after school this afternoon. I’ll call the others."
"Are you calling them even if they aren't dyeing theirs?"
"Huh?"
Bai Shi turned to him. "I don't think we need to do everything as a group all the time. For something like dyeing hair, just the two of us could go."
Pei Cangyu was stunned, not knowing what to say for a moment. Bai Shi turned away again. "Never mind. It’s more lively if we all go together."
Pei Cangyu laughed. "Right..."
Bai Shi didn't speak again.
Pei Cangyu turned back, feeling a bit stifled. Bai Shi had an unpredictable temperament and a habit of leaving sentences half-finished; he wasn't an easy person to get along with. He felt a tiny bit of regret for making such a bold promise back then.
The teacher was explaining that some diseases could be treated through organ transplantation. To bypass the immune system, organs from blood relatives were preferred—meaning a younger sibling’s organs could be used to replace a diseased organ in an older sibling, greatly reducing the risk of rejection.
The students immediately began whispering. One voice was particularly loud, saying that if that were the case, the younger child was born just to provide organs for the older one—it was too pitiful. The teacher added that it wasn't just organs; hematopoietic cells could be used as well. The chatter continued below; everyone thought it was a bit far-fetched.
Pei Cangyu lay on the desk listening for a while, then muttered softly, "I think it’s quite good. Being able to save someone the moment you’re born."
Bai Shi glanced at him. Pei Cangyu’s finger was unconsciously tracing circles on the textbook, right near a picture of a family portrait. Pei Cangyu’s eyes fluttered with sleepiness.
Bai Shi looked around the classroom. No one else had heard Pei Cangyu’s remark. He was the only one.
He also leaned down on the desk, watching Pei Cangyu’s face. Those eyes he had remembered from a single glance were now closed. Pei Cangyu breathed softly and steadily, looking incredibly serene. The curtains fluttered in the breeze. The cool post-rain air drifted in, carrying the scent of tree blossoms and the earthy fragrance of grass. A tiny white flower, no bigger than a fingernail, drifted through the window and landed on Pei Cangyu’s face. Its owner continued to breathe peacefully, the little white flower rising and falling gently on his cheek.
