The training camp was located in a remote area, surrounded by mountains where mist swirled between the peaks and the warm sun peeked through cracks in the clouds. At the foot of a low hill, several buildings stood enclosed by high walls, looking starkly out of place.
A massive, rust-mottled iron gate served as the only link between the high walls and the outside world.
Su Jingming stared at the iron gate in silence before finally turning to ask Zhou Hong, "Teacher, I haven't committed a crime, have I?"
Zhou Hong was baffled. "Of course not. Why would you think that?"
Su Jingming pointed at the gate with a strange expression. "If I haven't done anything wrong, why do I feel like I'm being sent to prison?"
"..."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Hong straightened up and spoke with a solemn face. "Student Su Jingming, you shouldn't say such things! Your teacher has brought you here for a mathematics competition training camp, not some strange cult activity!"
Faced with Zhou Hong’s gravity, Su Jingming asked blankly, "Is it too late to apply for withdrawal?" He immediately shook his head. "It’s definitely too late..."
Zhou Hong silently squeezed his palms. How had he never noticed before that Su Jingming was a bit of a space cadet?
Standing behind Su Jingming, Wen Yan let out a soft laugh and handed Su Jingming his bag. "Haven't you heard the upperclassmen talk about this? It’s very remote and surrounded by mountains specifically to prevent students from sneaking out."
"Exactly, exactly!" Zhou Hong chimed in.
Su Jingming looked puzzled. "Why would anyone want to run away?"
"I heard the training is incredibly difficult. For twenty-four hours a day, they want every second devoted to the competition. Some students can't handle the high intensity, so naturally, many end up wanting to back out," Wen Yan explained calmly, his tone as casual as if he were saying "today's meal was delicious."
Su Jingming’s hand froze on his bag. He slowly turned his gaze toward Zhou Hong. He had wondered why only the two of them from the entire school were going; was this the reason?
Sensing Su Jingming’s stare, Zhou Hong instinctively looked straight ahead. The iron gate slowly groaned open with a loud, piercing screech. The gate’s rollers hadn't been lubricated in years, and with a final *clack*, it finally swung wide.
Zhou Hong led the way, while Su Jingming and Wen Yan remained where they were.
Su Jingming looked dead serious as he whispered, "Do you think if I ran now, I’d make it?"
Wen Yan suppressed a smile. He could more or less understand Su Jingming’s current state of mind.
Before he could speak, Su Jingming asked another question: "Did you know all along that this place was so... remote?"
"Not all along," Wen Yan mused. "About half an hour earlier than you. Song Yifei told me."
Su Jingming pursed his lips. Half an hour was still half an hour more of mental preparation than he’d had. It was better than the shock he was feeling now.
He clicked his tongue. If he had known, he would have been more firm in his refusal. He wouldn't have been tricked into coming to a place like this for some "training camp."
But it was too late for regrets, and there was no escaping.
After finishing the registration, Zhou Hong waved Su Jingming and Wen Yan over. He handed them a sheet of paper containing the dormitory location, the daily schedule, and a list of precautions.
"Go straight to the dorms. The official start is tomorrow. I can only take you this far." Zhou Hong suddenly lowered his voice. "If anything really happens, call me. I’ll come right away."
The area inside the iron gate wasn't particularly large, but it was filled with greenery. Su Jingming looked around and saw several lonely-looking buildings and a dilapidated basketball court.
"..."
For some reason, he felt this was worse than prison.
It wasn't exactly a school; it was more like a temporary detention center. Su Jingming suppressed his third urge to run away and told himself:
*A hero does not flee before the battle.*
*Running away is embarrassing.*
*It’s just a math competition.*
*Math problems are easy.*
In a daze, Su Jingming recalled the math problems he had solved, the piles of wasted scratch paper, the empty pen refills, and the visible amount of hair he had lost.
Actually, math wasn't that easy...
Wen Yan followed Su Jingming inside while looking over the paper Zhou Hong had given them. Suddenly, he bumped into the other boy's back. Wen Yan’s chin brushed against Su Jingming’s hair, and a brief warmth radiated from the back of his hand.
Wen Yan took a step back. "What is it?"
Su Jingming stood still and turned around with a serious face. "Wen Yan, why don't we just run for it?"
It was just a joke; Su Jingming was simply indulging his imagination.
Even after getting the key from the dorm supervisor downstairs and opening the door to their room, Su Jingming still felt a sense of unreality.
The dormitory was clean and had an en-suite bathroom. There were several bunk beds already made with fresh sheets and covers. In the center of the room stood two desks and chairs, polished until they were spotless.
Su Jingming tossed his bag onto a desk. "Just the two of us in this room?"
"Yeah, the dorms are assigned by school. There are only ten schools participating in this training camp, and probably fewer than forty people in total."
Hearing this, Su Jingming breathed a sigh of relief. A small group was fine; that was within his range of tolerance. He picked a bed at random and flopped onto it.
A few seconds later, he bolted upright.
He was such an idiot. This wasn't his house, and Wen Yan was right there. He couldn't be too casual.
Wen Yan had his back to Su Jingming as he organized his things. He hadn't brought much—just a backpack stuffed with a change of clothes. When he finished and turned around, he found Su Jingming asleep against the bed rail, the gift box Wen Yan had given him resting by his side.
Wen Yan stood silently, the scent of Su Jingming seemingly lingering at the tip of his nose.
That brief contact earlier had made Wen Yan’s heart leap into his throat. It was a sensation he had never experienced before.
Su Jingming’s hair was very soft and clean, carrying a faint, pleasant fragrance that wasn't overpowering. He always acted like he didn't care about anything, yet he would ask all sorts of questions with such a serious face.
*"Wen Yan, why don't we just run for it?"*
Even though he knew Su Jingming was joking, Wen Yan had actually felt a momentary impulse to grant his wish. He wanted to take his hand and...
Wen Yan suddenly looked up, his eyes flickering. He bent over and covered his forehead with his hand, his hair falling forward.
*Wen Yan, what on earth are you thinking? This is getting more and more ridiculous—so ridiculous that you're losing your bottom line.*
***
Su Jingming woke up in the evening. The moment he opened his eyes, he didn't see his familiar ceiling. He sat up instinctively, his mind clearing instantly.
"Oh, right. I'm at the training camp." Su Jingming rubbed his brow and scanned the room. Where was Wen Yan?
Their dorm was on the third floor. While it wasn't the best vantage point, the plane trees outside the window blocked much of the sun. Scattered spots of light dappled the desk.
The October sun lacked the scorching heat of summer. Occasionally, birds chirped outside, and muffled sounds drifted from the hallway.
Su Jingming opened the door and peeked left and right, but saw no one.
The hallway was bathed in the colors of the sunset. One side of the sky held the lingering glow of dusk, while the other heralded the arrival of night. At the boundary between day and night, a few sparse stars shone exceptionally bright.
If Wen Yan’s things hadn't still been in the room, Su Jingming would have been certain he’d been sold off to some remote mountain forest.
He walked toward the neighboring rooms, quietly listening for any movement. He concluded that the rooms on either side were unoccupied. On the entire third floor, their room held the only two living souls.
Su Jingming stood with one hand in his pocket, his urge to escape growing stronger.
This wasn't a training camp; it was clearly some secret organization that had kidnapped someone with a righteous soul like him to drain his spirit for some unspeakable research.
Su Jingming unconsciously frowned, lost in his own world of fantasies.
What should he do? Take Wen Yan and run...
But would someone like Wen Yan even listen to him?
When Wen Yan came upstairs, this was the scene he encountered: Su Jingming was crouching in the hallway, doodling something on the floor with a twig he’d found somewhere, muttering to himself.
As Wen Yan drew closer, he saw that Su Jingming had drawn Ultraman Tiga, with several little monsters behind him. The reason Wen Yan could decipher such a crude sketch was thanks to Tiga’s very distinctive eyes.
"What are you doing?"
Su Jingming immediately dropped the twig and spun around, nearly falling backward as he braced himself with his hands.
Wen Yan was leaning over, his face so close that Su Jingming could feel the warm breath against his skin.
Su Jingming hurriedly averted his gaze from Wen Yan’s face, inadvertently catching sight of the other boy's neck. It was very white. Looking further down, he saw the collarbone—the lines were elegant and somewhat... alluring.
Further down... why was the neckline of Wen Yan’s shirt so wide? It felt like he was seeing something he shouldn't...
His mind began to wander.
Su Jingming’s eyes widened suddenly, and he gave the close-proximity Wen Yan a shove. "Hey! Why don't you ever make a sound when you walk?!"
The shove nearly sent Wen Yan toppling backward. He was holding a plastic bag. "I just went to buy some pens. I came back to find you crouching here acting all suspicious. Anyone else would wonder what you were up to."
Though Su Jingming had never been in a relationship, he could hear the teasing in Wen Yan’s voice.
He retorted, "Why do you have to buy pens here? Where can you even buy them? This place is in the middle of nowhere!"
Wen Yan was silent for a few seconds before speaking slowly. "Su Jingming, while it is remote, there’s a cafeteria and a supermarket in the building next door. It’s not like we’re completely stranded."
Before Su Jingming could think of another rebuttal, Wen Yan stood up. The sun had set at some point, and night had fallen.
Perhaps it was because of the darkness, but Su Jingming thought he could hear the sound of his own heartbeat. It was unusually fast.
He pushed himself off the ground. Wen Yan was still a bit taller than him, looking down slightly when their eyes met. His eyes were a very deep color; every time they made eye contact, Su Jingming felt himself inadvertently sinking in.
To prevent Wen Yan from seeing what he was thinking, he walked quickly into the dorm and fumbled for the light switch on the wall.
Wen Yan raised an eyebrow and followed him in. Seeing Su Jingming’s messy bed, he figured the boy must have woken up, realized he was gone, and prepared to go look for him.
As for why Su Jingming had been crouching by the door drawing Ultraman and monsters... only Su Jingming knew the answer to that.
Su Jingming downed half a bottle of mineral water before continuing his questioning. "You still haven't said why you had to buy pens here. If you didn't bring any, you should have told me. I brought extras."
Wen Yan placed the pens on the desk, leaving the question unanswered. "Do you want to go eat? I don't think there are many people in the cafeteria right now."
"Sure. I'm hungry anyway." Su Jingming paused. "Wait, did I sleep too long?"
"Not long. Only about seven or eight hours."
"Oh, that's not too—" Su Jingming’s face filled with shock. "I slept for seven or eight hours?!!"
Wen Yan nodded. "I was going to call you for lunch, but you looked like you were sleeping soundly, so I didn't wake you. When I came back after eating, you were still asleep, so I took a shower, read for a bit, and then went to buy things." He smiled slightly. "If you hadn't woken up soon, I was planning to get a teacher to come check on you."
***
