Over the next few days, as Jiang Wei truly began practicing with Tang Wanbai and the others every evening, he realized that things were far from as simple as he had imagined.
First of all, the dance didn't suit him at all. It was clearly designed for a group of petite Omega girls to show off their charm.
"Don't be discouraged, Jiang-ge. You actually look really good doing this dance," one of the girls in the group said, running over with a folding fan to comfort him. "You look much better than I do."
*No, that’s not the point at all,* Jiang Wei thought.
Although he was a quick learner and his movements were precise, watching himself in the mirror—twisting his waist and moving in rhythm alongside a group of girls who were a head shorter than him—made him want to crawl into a hole and die. If there were a crack in the floor right now, he would happily stay in it for the rest of his life.
To hell with the gift. Someone else could do it.
Unfortunately, that wasn't an option. He had already given his word.
"Don't worry, Jiang-ge. If I were Tang-ge, I'd want to carry you home and hide you away like a precious treasure," another girl chimed in, joining Jiang Wei as he sat in the corner, dejectedly drawing circles on the floor.
*Please, stop talking,* Jiang Wei thought, covering his face. Yet, despite himself, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.
Secondly, their dance coach was Yu Xin from Class 2.
When he first found out, Jiang Wei had even teased her. "Aren't you afraid that by teaching us, a 'traitor' from Class 2, our girls will end up outshining everyone in your own class?"
But a few days later, after the girls had finalized the costumes, Yu Xin sought Jiang Wei out specifically. With a very sincere expression, she said, "Jiang-ge, I truly believe you'll be the one outshining everyone on the day of the performance. Good luck."
Jiang Wei: "???" *Good luck? What kind of luck am I supposed to be having here?*
Though it didn't sound like a good omen, Jiang Wei still had full confidence in the girls' taste and the school leadership's aesthetic standards—surely they wouldn't come up with anything too bizarre. Besides, the dance was mostly normal. The only abnormal part was himself standing in the center position. Jiang Wei was painfully self-aware of that fact.
It had been sixteen days and seven hours since Tang Zihe left for the training camp.
Jiang Wei had gradually entered a state of manic, non-stop activity. After all, his daily life consisted of practice papers, lectures, more papers, more lectures, and dance rehearsals. He didn't even have a moment's peace during breaks; mealtimes and showers were his only remaining rest periods. Anyone would go crazy under such a schedule.
Even Xia Shan, who sat beside him, had become less bouncy.
Occasionally, when Jiang Wei was too lazy to go to the cafeteria, a friend from the Student Council would wait at the door of Class 1, and Xia Shan would skip off to have lunch with him.
"Let me introduce you two. This is Jiang Wei, the famous Jiang-ge," Xia Shan said, gesturing toward Jiang Wei with one hand and toward the door with the other. Standing there was a tall, thin boy wearing black-rimmed glasses. Next to Xia Shan, he looked quite scholarly. "And this is Xu Qian, the Minister of Entertainment. He's my best buddy in the Student Council."
"Hello," Jiang Wei greeted him with a smile.
"I've heard a lot about you," the boy replied with a polite smile. "You probably haven't heard my name, but you should know my username."
"Hi, I'm Catalytic Alcohol."
Jiang Wei's smile froze instantly, and his mind went blank for a second.
Of course he knew that name. The most famous "shipping thread" on the school forum, filled with "hard evidence" of his and Tang Zihe's relationship, was the masterpiece of this very "Catalytic Alcohol."
He had even left comments on it.
It was a total social death.
Seeing Jiang Wei's complicated expression, Xu Qian couldn't help but laugh. "Let's go. If we don't head to lunch now, there won't be any good food left."
Xu Qian was indeed a friendly person—and possessed a lively personality that completely contradicted his appearance. It was no wonder he and Xia Shan got along so well.
"I'll be the one reviewing all your performances later," Xu Qian said with a wink. "Good luck."
Jiang Wei gave him a silent, strained smile.
"Hey, keep it a secret for now," Xia Shan nudged Xu Qian with his elbow. "This is our class's trump card. It's a secret of the heavens that can't be leaked early, got it?"
"Fine," Xu Qian nodded helplessly. "I get it."
"Even though you're a fast learner, I personally think I need to give you some private tutoring," Yu Xin said, stopping Jiang Wei after that evening's rehearsal. "Your position is too important, and your movements are the most complex. If you make a mistake, the whole stage is ruined."
"So, you cannot afford a single error."
"That strict?" Jiang Wei was caught between laughter and tears. "Don't you need to busy yourself with studying for finals?"
Yu Xin shook her head, then nodded.
"Those are two different things. Needing time to study for finals is my own business, but I promised Tang Wanbai I'd help, and that's another matter," Yu Xin said as she locked the door to the dance studio. "Once you've committed to doing something, you must do your best."
Jiang Wei hadn't expected this girl to show such a persistent side. But she was right; since he had agreed to do it, he had to do it well. He couldn't let Class 1 lose face. And, of course, he couldn't lose his own face—though by the time the performance was over, his dignity would likely be gone regardless of how well he did.
"Alright," Jiang Wei nodded in agreement. "I'll follow your lead."
And so, Jiang Wei's schedule became even more frantic. Even Xia Shan began to wonder if Jiang-ge had been possessed by some overachieving spirit.
"Achoo!"
Jiang Wei huddled deeper into his quilt.
"Did you catch a cold?" Tang Zihe's voice came through the phone. "Do you have medicine in the dorm?"
"Yeah, but I'm too lazy to move," Jiang Wei sniffled. "It shouldn't be a big deal. I'll be fine after a night's sleep."
"Be good. Get up and find some cold medicine as a precaution," Tang Zihe said with a hint of helpless resignation at Jiang Wei's laziness. "I'm coming back tomorrow. Are you planning to pass it on to me when we hug?"
"I won't—" Before he could finish the word, Jiang Wei caught the main point of the sentence. "You're coming back tomorrow?!"
"Yeah. The exams are over; I just need to wait for the results back at school." Tang Zihe's tone was unusually free of fatigue. "But I haven't been notified of the exact time we're heading back yet."
"I'll come pick you up," Jiang Wei said immediately. "You have to tell me the time in advance!"
"Alright, alright. I'll tell you as soon as I know," Tang Zihe said. It sounded a bit noisy on his end, as if someone was calling him. "The teacher here needs me for something. Go to sleep early."
"Goodnight," Jiang Wei finally crawled out of bed to fumble for medicine on the nearby desk. "You remember to sleep early too."
"Mhm, goodnight."
Despite taking precautions, Jiang Wei was officially sick the next day.
"I told you your state lately was all wrong. See? Now you have a cold," Xia Shan said, looking like he wanted to knock Jiang Wei out on the desk so he would actually rest. "Your rest time lately has been barely half of what it used to be. Your immunity must have plummeted..."
"It's not that dramatic. Also, can you stop hovering around me like a mother hen?" Jiang Wei said weakly, slumped over the desk. "I'm getting dizzy just looking at you..."
"It's your own fault for getting sick now. What if it gets worse and you miss classes?" Xia Shan reached out toward Jiang Wei. "Tang-ge isn't here, so I have to look after you. Give me your thermos; I'll go get you some hot water."
"Thanks, but I actually started taking medicine last night." Jiang Wei handed over the thermos listlessly. He really wasn't that fragile.
Xia Shan, however, seemed completely deaf to the subtext. He grabbed the thermos and dashed out the door as if the situation were so dire that a one-second delay would require an ambulance.
Jiang Wei was speechless. It really wasn't that serious.
During the break, Yu Xin heard the news and came over, peering through the back door of Class 1 to check on him. The students of Class 1 were already used to her presence. Many of the girls in their class had become very close with this little top student from Class 2 lately, so her dropping by was a common occurrence—they were all familiar faces now.
Jiang Wei scratched his head. "Sorry about tonight's rehearsal..."
"It's fine. Rest for a couple of days. It won't be too late to join us once you're better; there's plenty of time," Yu Xin said easily. "Besides, I heard the math camp people are all preparing to return these few days. Just consider this a vacation."
Jiang Wei felt that the entire grade seemed remarkably accepting of the fact that he and Tang Zihe were together. Aside from a brief celebration in the shipping thread, no one seemed shocked at all—as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Jiang Wei smiled faintly, though internally he was grumbling about why Tang Zihe hadn't messaged him yet.
Tang Zihe had woken up early that morning just to catch the first shuttle bus taking them back to their respective schools. Having not seen his little Omega for so long, he missed him terribly. He didn't actually plan on having Jiang Wei meet him at the school gate—if the timing was off, his little boyfriend would definitely skip class to meet him. It was better to just give him a surprise.
And so, without Jiang Wei knowing, he returned to the door of Class 1.
At that moment, Jiang Wei was leaning down, talking to Yu Xin.
Tang Zihe suddenly remembered a new post on the school forum from a couple of days ago. It claimed that a certain student surnamed Jiang from Class 1 had been getting very close to a good-looking female Omega from Class 2 while his boyfriend was away at camp. They were often seen together during evening self-study, and the poster labeled him a "scumbag."
Many of the comments below accused the original poster of being sarcastic and clearly bitter, while some onlookers joked that "Double O has no future."
The Student Council admin account had deleted the post quickly, but he had still seen it. Although he didn't believe a single punctuation mark in that post, seeing this scene before him still made him feel a bit... sour.
Jiang Wei, sensing something, looked up and saw the person who had been standing by the stairs for who knows how long.
"Tang Zihe!" he cried out in surprise, lunging toward him. "You said you'd tell me when you were back!"
"Surprise," Tang Zihe said, opening his arms to catch him. He pulled him into a full embrace, and the fatigue of the past weeks vanished in an instant. "I'm back."
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