The entire grade fell into a frenzy of last-minute cramming on the morning of the fourth.
Class 1 was no exception; in fact, it was the hardest-hit area. Looking across the room, one could see nothing but the backs of heads.
Xia Shan was clutching his Chinese textbook and gnawing on his finger, trying to memorize a few more lines of poetry before entering the exam hall—just in case they showed up on the test. He turned his head, only to see Shen Yannan surreptitiously chatting with his boyfriend under the desk.
He turned the other way, and there were Tang Zihe and Jiang Wei, discussing where they would stay during the winter break. To be precise, it wasn't much of a discussion, as their views were remarkably aligned.
"Aside from your family’s big villa, I have nowhere else to go," Jiang Wei said.
"My mother is already planning to find an excuse to have you stay at our house for the entire break," Tang Zihe paused, then added, "I also want to spend the New Year with you."
*It’s bad enough that the legendary top student of No. 4 High isn't setting a good academic example, but he’s seriously feeding me dog food right before the exam?*
Xia Shan could only squeeze out a frustrated sentence: "The exam is about to start! How can you two look so relaxed?"
"What's there to be nervous about? It’s just a few points here and there," Shen Yannan said, not even bothering to look up. The Chinese textbook on his desk looked like a mere decoration. "If I could suddenly master all the classical poetry by cramming right now, then maybe I’d consider being worried."
"Is last-minute cramming even useful for Physics?" Jiang Wei sighed behind them. "Countless lessons from experience have told us: absolutely not."
Only Tang Zihe said something remotely human: "Good luck on the exam."
Xia Shan: "..."
*Fine. Whatever. Just let the world end.*
The teachers in charge of writing this semester's final exams seemed to truly want the students to have a good Lunar New Year. For the most part, there were no obscure or tricky questions. The problems for every subject were fairly standard, only slightly more difficult than the usual joint examinations.
In short, after the exams were over, the cheers far outweighed the groans.
"Fantastic! My plans for a winter break trip definitely won't fall through now." Xia Shan held a bag full of books, moved to tears. The school was going to undergo a full disinfection during the break, so they had to take all their personal belongings home.
"You're going on a trip too? With your parents?"
"Oh, no," Shen Yannan shook his head. "I was thinking about whether I should go away with Lu Zisheng for a few days."
Xia Shan: "..."
*Thank you. Please let this world, which is so unfriendly to single dogs, perish as soon as possible.*
"Jiang Wei, just keep staying at our place during the break. It’s more convenient since you won't have to move your things back and forth," Mrs. Tang said in an extremely gentle tone while driving. "Are you used to the daily necessities provided? If not, tell me anytime, and I'll have someone buy new ones."
"I'm very used to them, thank you, Auntie." As Jiang Wei spoke, he nudged Tang Zihe with his elbow, making eyes at him as if to say, *You haven't told your mom yet, have you?*
Tang Zihe caught on immediately. "Mom, Jiang Wei already promised me he’d stay at our house for the winter break."
"Oh, oh, oh! That’s great, that’s great." Hearing this, Mrs. Tang shot a teasing glance at the rearview mirror.
Jiang Wei only dared to stare out the window, not making a sound—he even wanted to hold his breath to lower his presence.
Unfortunately, Tang Zihe had no such self-awareness. He kept grabbing Jiang Wei’s hand and squeezing it. If Jiang Wei tried to pull away, he’d get a light slap on the hand. It reached a point where Jiang Wei was completely defenseless, the pink flush spreading all the way to the tips of his ears.
The winter break for the seniors at No. 4 High was the earliest and longest in the city. Jiang Wei and Tang Zihe were called out by their group of friends three times—they accompanied Tang Wanbai and the others to the city's largest mall, went to the amusement park they had visited before, and spent a whole day at an internet cafe. Finally, they spent several consecutive days at home working on their winter break homework. If they didn't start now, they likely wouldn't finish it later. At last, the long-awaited Spring Festival was approaching.
"This is yours... wait, this math book inside seems to be mine..." Once the two of them had finished sorting through the remaining items in their suitcases like they were picking through trash, Mrs. Tang gave them a new task.
"Your father and I still have to work overtime these next few days, so we don't have time to shop for New Year's goods." Mrs. Tang pulled the two boys into the room, casually took a bank card from Mr. Tang’s hand, glanced at it, and handed it to Tang Zihe. "Tomorrow, you two go in our place to buy some spring couplets and things like that, then buy some food you like to eat. Don't worry about buying too much; there's plenty of money. The fridge has been cleared out recently, so it can fit whatever you bring back. Buy some drinks to have while watching the Spring Festival Gala, too..."
Mrs. Tang rambled on with her instructions, sounding as if she wanted them to visit every section of the supermarket and bring something home. Mr. Tang sat nearby, unable to stop her, until she finally asked at the end, "What's the PIN for this card?"
Mr. Tang: "..."
Nevertheless, he obediently recited the six digits.
After leaving the room, Jiang Wei whispered the question he wanted to ask most: "Do we need to go really early to buy New Year's goods?"
"No need. People send us live shrimp and crabs every year, so we don't need to get up early for those," Tang Zihe said, fiddling with the bank card in his hand. "Tomorrow, we'll go whenever we wake up. No rush."
"Okay." Jiang Wei stretched. "Then I'm going to shower and sleep now. I'll try to wake up early tomorrow."
"You want to wake up early?" Tang Zihe chuckled and leaned into Jiang Wei’s ear. "Do you need a human alarm clock? The kind that comes with... extra features?"
Jiang Wei immediately covered Tang Zihe’s mouth, thinking this guy was being absolutely reckless. How could he say such things in the hallway? If Mrs. Tang or Mr. Tang heard him, Jiang Wei wouldn't be able to stay in this house any longer.
Tang Zihe’s eyelashes fluttered as he laughed. Once Jiang Wei let go, he smiled and said, "Goodnight."
"Goodnight, goodnight." Jiang Wei fled into his room.
The next day, Jiang Wei did indeed wake up quite early. When he walked out of his room with bleary eyes, Tang Zihe had only just finished washing up. He looked at Jiang Wei in surprise.
After a long time, the two of them each made a bowl of instant noodles for breakfast and then hailed a taxi.
"Spring couplets, meat, vegetables, snacks..." Jiang Wei was still counting on his fingers as they got out of the car, tallying what they needed to buy. Tang Zihe, meanwhile, grabbed a trolley from the side and headed into the supermarket.
"Stop trying to memorize it. We'll just wander around and buy whatever we like," Tang Zihe said nonchalantly. "From my years of experience, you won't be scolded for buying too much, only for buying too little."
"Oh." Jiang Wei hadn't finished his count anyway, so he gave up on the idea. "Then remember to buy me two bags of tomato-flavored chips."
"And lollipops."
"Then let's head to the snack aisle first."
Tang Zihe steered the trolley with one hand, while his free hand naturally reached out to hold Jiang Wei’s. Jiang Wei naturally held it back, following him unhurriedly deeper into the supermarket.
The two of them circled the snack area. Once the trolley was filled with chocolate gift boxes, biscuits, gummies, and chips, they were finally ready to move on.
"Xu Qian—this section sells carbonated drinks! Come look—"
The voice wasn't loud, but it carried a familiar sense of excitement.
Tang Zihe and Jiang Wei looked at each other, the same person popping into both their minds.
"Wait, there are wasabi-flavored chips here. I'm taking a bag." Xu Qian’s voice came from behind a row of shelves.
Wa... wasabi?
The corner of Jiang Wei’s mouth twitched. He hadn't expected this friend to have such unique taste in snacks.
As soon as the two of them peeked around the shelf, Xu Qian spotted them. "Yo, what a coincidence. You guys are here too."
"Why are you so slow... I got you an apple-flavored drink..." Xia Shan walked over pushing a trolley, only noticing the situation once he was close. "Oh, Brother Tang, Brother Jiang! What a coincidence."
"Thanks for remembering my preferences," Xu Qian said politely, casually tossing the wasabi chips into the trolley.
"Why are you two shopping together? Buying New Year's goods too?" Jiang Wei asked, curiously looking them up and down.
"It’s all because of my sister. She’s been dragged into working overtime by my parents these past two days, so she told me to help her buy a ton of stuff for the house," Xia Shan said, pulling a long, thin slip of paper from his pocket. "She even wrote out a checklist for me!"
It was clearly premeditated!
"With this much stuff, there's no way I could carry it all alone, so I found a big helper." Xia Shan pointed at Xu Qian. "The employment fee is covering all the snacks and drinks he wants. Anyway, it’s my sister’s card, so I don't mind."
*Better to buy more and make her wallet bleed.*
"Oh." Jiang Wei nodded. I see.
"What about you guys?" Xu Qian asked, taking the opportunity to distract Xia Shan while tossing another identical green bag of wasabi chips into the trolley.
"Do you even need to ask about these two? They've been living together for who knows how long. It’s perfectly normal for them to come out and buy New Year's goods together," Xia Shan said sourly.
As the head of the "Catalytic Alcohol" ship on the school forum, the student currently showed a look of total understanding. Clearly, no matter how deeply he delved into school life, his knowledge of his favorite ship's private weekend life was still woefully insufficient—though he wasn't actually that interested in the details.
"Have fun shopping." After chatting for a bit longer, Jiang Wei suddenly wanted to see if there was any mango-flavored yogurt. Xu Qian took the cue and slung an arm around Xia Shan’s shoulder. "Oh, where are the braised duck necks and stuff? Take me to find them."
"Find them yourself. There are category signs hanging up there." Even as Xia Shan said he wouldn't help, he was already pushing the trolley toward the frozen section.
"Their relationship seems even better than I thought." Jiang Wei said casually while carefully inspecting the yogurt in the supermarket freezer. "Is Xu Qian an Alpha?"
"Why? Want to see if they're a good match?" Tang Zihe waited beside him with the trolley. "A bit of a pity, though. Xu Qian is also an Alpha."
"What's so pitiful about it? What if he just likes Alphas?" Jiang Wei placed two cartons of yogurt into the trolley and raised his eyebrows proudly. "Just like you used to be. You said something like 'I like good-looking Alphas.' And in the end? Didn't I slap you in the face with the truth?"
Tang Zihe couldn't help but laugh. "How is that the same..."
"How is it not?" Jiang Wei didn't see anything wrong with his logic and continued, "What if there really are Alphas who like to seek out a bit of excitement..."
"Hold on. My saying that had absolutely nothing to do with seeking excitement," Tang Zihe said, nearly tripping over his own feet at Jiang Wei’s words. He braked the trolley abruptly and said through gritted teeth, "Do you really not know, or are you just pretending?"
Jiang Wei shrugged blankly. "Huh? What? I even hesitated back then because of that. I thought since you were so clear about your orientation, there was probably no chance for us in this lifetime..."
"I'm sorry, but my orientation has indeed always been very clear," Tang Zihe pursed his lips, looking slightly annoyed. "Let me tell you clearly right now..."
"My orientation has never been limited by secondary gender. It has always been you."
The "good-looking Alpha" I liked was you.
The person I liked who was supposedly "good at studying, good-looking, and well-rounded" was also you.
Regardless of gender, regardless of everything, the one I have always liked is you.
"Do you understand now?"
Seeing Tang Zihe’s serious expression, Jiang Wei couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"I was teasing you. I'm not stupid; I figured it out right when we got together," Jiang Wei said, proactively taking Tang Zihe’s hand and giving it a swing. He murmured in a voice that was almost a whisper to himself, "Even though I've always known, hearing you say it directly... I guess it still makes me even happier."
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