Winter break passed quickly, and school resumed ten odd days after the Spring Festival. On the bulletin board facing the school gate, the list of the top three hundred students from the previous semester's final exams was posted. Fei Cheng had leaped to third place in the grade, only one point behind second place and nine points behind the first-place Cheng Yifei. His results were striking.
During the flag-raising ceremony, the principal publicly commended him by name.
Fei Cheng hadn't expected to do so well himself; he had only been confident about breaking into the top twenty.
However, this semester, aside from his own studies, he had one particular goal to focus on—getting Qiu Minmin into the honors class for their third year!
For Qiu Minmin, this was the crucial first step of a major turning point.
To this end, Fei Cheng’s contact with Qiu Minmin became even more frequent. Every few days, he would head over to Class 3 to give her materials and notes, constantly reminding her like an older brother not to get lazy.
He felt that if Qiu Minmin worked hard, she could squeeze into the top twenty of the grade. If she did, her hopes of getting into a good high school would be much higher.
Sensing Fei Cheng’s dedication, Qiu Minmin felt too guilty to let his notes go to waste. She began to listen attentively in class, complete her assignments herself, and review independently during evening self-study. Although she had woken up a bit late, she was still keeping pace, much to the relief of her homeroom teacher.
A semester was only four or five months long, and in the blink of an eye, it slipped through their fingers.
During the summer break before their third year, on the day after the final exams, Cheng Yifei left for a long trip without hesitation.
Most of the time during the school year, he stayed by Fei Cheng’s side. When Fei Cheng went to find Qiu Minmin, he would wait nearby, neither too close nor too far, and then return to the classroom with him.
As time passed, the fact that Fei Cheng liked girls weighed more and more heavily on him.
Fei Cheng really, really liked Qiu Minmin. His level of dedication was no less than what Cheng Yifei had shown him back then—organizing notes for every subject, summarizing the week's key points, and solving difficult problems that Qiu Minmin couldn't grasp.
Cheng Yifei saw it all and kept it in his heart, feeling more uncomfortable by the day, as if he were being pricked by needles.
To escape this feeling, he even thought about distancing himself from Fei Cheng. But the moment Fei Cheng called his name, he... it was damn hard not to respond.
He didn't want to live like this anymore. Loving someone was ten thousand times harder than getting a perfect score. What was the point of guarding him like this? He would belong to someone else sooner or later; he wouldn't be his.
Yet, he felt a sense of indignation. He was the one who had unearthed this uncut gem; why couldn't it be his? He was more outstanding than Qiu Minmin, more... Forget it, Fei Cheng was just an idiot!
Fine, go ahead and keep liking Qiu Minmin. He would wait until Fei Cheng didn't like her anymore before saying anything.
***
After the summer break, they entered their third year of middle school. Cheng Yifei became even more taciturn. He poured most of his energy into his studies, frequently participating in various school competitions. He would take first place and leave, gradually becoming a familiar face to other schools.
This week, Cheng Yifei was taken away by a teacher again to participate in a mathematics competition—this time, a city-level one.
Yu Qing and Fei Cheng sat opposite each other in the cafeteria eating lunch. Qiu Minmin and her friend were sitting beside them; they were all quite familiar with each other and often ate together this semester.
With quick eyes and hands, Yu Qing snatched a piece of stuffed tofu from Fei Cheng’s tray and triumphantly stuffed it into his mouth.
Fei Cheng glanced at him. "How pathetic."
Yu Qing said happily, "You don't understand. I get a special sense of achievement from stealing food from your tray."
Fei Cheng: "Don't make it sound like I'm some kind of food-hoarder."
Yu Qing: "You're not, but Cheng Yifei is protective of you! He never lets me take your food! You know, those dark eyes of his... when he looks at you coldly, my spine goes numb! To get back at him for scaring me, I have to snatch as much of your food as I can while he's not here."
Fei Cheng gave a dry laugh. "Does he know you're describing him as someone so terrifying?"
Yu Qing was unconvinced. "Is it just me saying he's terrifying? Ask Minmin or Jun Ting if it's scary when Cheng Yifei looks at them. And ever since he came back from summer break, he’s felt a bit weird. He talks less and less. It's just a voice change; mine is changing too!"
Fei Cheng couldn't be bothered to respond.
Jun Ting spoke up. "Actually, it is a bit. I heard before that Cheng Yifei was cold and aloof, but after being in the same class, I realized he’s practically freezing. He seems to hate noise. When I was talking to you, he turned to look over, and my mind went totally blank. I forgot everything I was going to say."
Fei Cheng explained on Cheng Yifei’s behalf, "...Brother Cheng is probably just busy. He doesn't just have to finish the regular homework; he has to do extra competition problems too."
Speaking of which, was Cheng Yifei this busy in his previous life? He hadn't paid attention and didn't remember. Back then, his whole heart had been immersed in fantasy novels, playing racing games or dance games, and stealing crops in social media games.
Hearing Jun Ting’s words, Yu Qing felt like he had found a kindred spirit and nodded repeatedly. "But I wonder which high school Cheng Yifei will go to. He’s won so many competition rankings; 'Big Eyes' said he might not even need to take the Zhongkao to get into high school directly."
"He'll probably go to City No. 1 High, right?" Qiu Minmin said vaguely while chewing her rice, sounding somewhat dejected.
Fei Cheng felt a bit strange. Could it be that because he had changed the trajectory of the past, Minmin still liked Cheng Yifei now?
Yu Qing let out an 'ah.' "City No. 1 High is so hard to get into. With my grades, I can only get into the county's key high school; it's no match for City No. 1 High. Cheng-cheng, are you going for City No. 1 High? If you push yourself, you should have a good chance."
Fei Cheng hadn't thought about this. He wanted to be in the same high school as Cheng Yifei, but he also wanted to be in the same high school as Qiu Minmin. However, with Qiu Minmin’s current grades, she had a good chance of getting into the county key school, but City No. 1 High was...
He asked casually, "Minmin, which high school do you plan to apply for?"
Yu Qing started teasing, "Ooh, ooh, showing off your affection right in front of me during lunch." He pinched his throat and said affectionately to Jun Ting, "Minmin, which high school do you plan to apply for?"
Jun Ting was also playful; she gave Yu Qing a bashful, reproachful look. "The same one as you, of course."
Fei Cheng: "..."
Qiu Minmin: "..."
Yu Qing shook his shoulders. "Jun Ting, that bashful look of yours actually scared me."
Jun Ting rolled her eyes. "The way you pinched your voice made you sound more like a palace eunuch than the ones in the Eastern Depot."
Qiu Minmin lowered her head and said, "I can only try my best for the county key school. The teacher said if I want to get into the honors class there, I still need to work harder."
Fei Cheng had never attended high school, but everyone knew the pressure was immense. He had his own past experience to draw from and was afraid Qiu Minmin wouldn't be able to handle it, so he wanted to look after her nearby. But as for Cheng Yifei's side...
Sigh, it was a difficult choice.
They discussed and studied day after day, and in the blink of an eye, the days of the Zhongkao arrived.
Cheng Yifei really was granted guaranteed admission to City No. 1 High, but he still took the exam.
He wanted to tutor Fei Cheng so he could get into City No. 1 High with more certainty, but Fei Cheng was spending his time tutoring Qiu Minmin. What could he do? He could only tell Fei Cheng to review well himself while he helped tutor Qiu Minmin for him.
Tutoring one was tutoring; tutoring two was also tutoring. In the end, Cheng Yifei ended up tutoring a whole study group.
The Zhongkao lasted three days. To clear the testing centers, the first and second-year students were given a week off.
Fei Cheng and the others were distributed across different teaching buildings. They had to be searched before entering the exam rooms and could only bring writing utensils; scratch paper was provided by the teachers.
After each subject, they tacitly avoided discussing answers, instead resting to prepare for the next one.
At 11:30 AM on Friday, the moment the final bell rang, their middle school careers came to an end.
Feeling somewhat weary, Fei Cheng handed in his paper and left the classroom with the unfamiliar students around him.
Cheng Yifei was waiting for him outside the classroom door. Fei Cheng saw him as soon as he stepped out. His eyes brightened slightly as he strode to Cheng Yifei’s side. "Brother Cheng, how did you get here so fast?"
"Handed in my paper half an hour early." Cheng Yifei draped an arm over his shoulder, and they walked downstairs together like the best of brothers. "The class is organizing a farewell dinner. It's at 6:00 PM at Huang’s Food Stall. We invited the teachers. Are you going?"
Fei Cheng nodded. "Yeah." He had never had a farewell dinner at a food stall before. In the past, class reunions were always held at some hotel, followed by a move to a KTV lounge.
Cheng Yifei nodded. *If you're going, I'm going.*
However, Fei Cheng still didn't get to experience the food stall farewell dinner. Just as they returned to the dorm, they received a notice from the class monitor saying that, considering some female students lived far away and it wouldn't be safe for them to go home at night, the gathering was changed to noon on July 4th—the day they returned to school to check their results. It would be held in the classroom. Everyone was to contribute fifteen yuan for the activity fee; those without money now could pay then. They were just tallying the numbers for now.
Fei Cheng and Cheng Yifei both had money on them, so they paid immediately.
Their class monitor took their money, wrote their names in a notebook, and said with a cunning smile, "This is great. With you two there, we don't have to worry about the girls in the class not showing up."
Fei Cheng and Cheng Yifei: "..."
A student passing by with a suitcase poked his head in to glance at the list. "Heh, they'll definitely show up more consistently than us. I'm heading out first. See you all on the 4th!"
"See you on the 4th."
Fei Cheng rolled his last shirt into a cylinder and stuffed it into his bag, pressing down hard to zip it shut. The backpack was so bloated it wouldn't even sit straight.
"Cheng-cheng, are you throwing away your straw mat? If you are, I'll help you throw yours out too," Yu Qing asked, walking over with two mats over his shoulder.
Fei Cheng turned around. " I'll go with you. It's too hot; let's stop by the canteen while we're at it."
Yu Qing: "No problem."
Cheng Yifei was checking the dorm to see if they had left anything behind. Unexpectedly, he found Fei Cheng’s school ID card, which had been lost last semester, stuck in a crack in the bedframe.
The ID card had a photo of Fei Cheng against a blue background. The youth in the photo, with his red lips and white teeth, was smiling brightly and cleanly. Cheng Yifei looked at it for a long time, then without any hesitation, he unzipped his own backpack and hid the ID card in an inner compartment.
Confiscated.
Just as Cheng Yifei zipped his backpack back up, he saw a young man standing at the dorm door. It was actually Fei Cheng’s older brother.
Cheng Yifei’s eyelids twitched, but his face remained perfectly calm. He wondered if the other man had seen him take Fei Cheng’s ID card.
"Brother Qi?" He smiled and took the initiative to greet him, though he was secretly on guard.
Fei Qi remembered Cheng Yifei. He walked over, his gaze lingering on Fei Cheng’s backpack and the empty bed. "Yifei, where’s that brat Fei Cheng?"
Cheng Yifei glanced at the door. "He went to throw out trash with Yu Qing. He’ll be back in a moment. Are you here to pick him up, Brother Qi?"
"Yeah," Fei Qi explained. "You know how my grandparents are; they worry about Fei Cheng no matter what he does. Since I happened to be home, they asked me to come help."
Cheng Yifei smiled and didn't comment. It seemed Fei Qi hadn't noticed.
Fei Cheng and Yu Qing returned with drinks. Seeing Fei Qi, Fei Cheng was also surprised. "Why are you here?"
"Grandpa sent me to pick you up. If you're done packing, let's go. I brought the bike."
Fei Qi didn't know how to get this kid to call him 'Brother.' Over a year had passed, and no matter who spoke to him, it didn't work. When the kid was in a good mood, he’d use his full name; more often, like now, he just skipped the title entirely.
Fei Cheng gave an 'oh' and handed an iced black tea to Cheng Yifei. "Brother Cheng, I'm heading back first."
Fei Qi felt gloomy: *Look at that. He won't call his own brother 'Brother,' but he has 'Brother Cheng' on his lips constantly.*
Cheng Yifei nodded. "I'll call you if there are any activities."
"Sure, I'll be at home anyway." Fei Cheng shouldered his backpack. When he went to pick up his bucket, he found it was already in Fei Qi’s hand. He didn't say anything, just waved goodbye to Yu Qing and left.
Yu Qing walked over to Cheng Yifei, feeling puzzled. "How come someone picks up Cheng-cheng every single time? I wanted to head back with him."
Cheng Yifei: "You don't even go the same way. How would you go back together?"
Yu Qing said, "Isn't the path from school to the bridge the same? Sigh, it's a pity Cheng-cheng doesn't have a cell phone yet. It would be so much easier to stay in touch on QQ. You'd think with his grades and his family not being poor, why wouldn't they get him a phone?"
Cheng Yifei: "You can call his parents and ask them why they won't buy Fei Cheng a phone."
Yu Qing: "..."
This guy Cheng Yifei was impossible to talk to.
***
At 9:00 AM on July 4th, Cheng Yifei and Yu Qing waited for Fei Cheng at the bridge in town. Once the three met up, they headed to school together.
The classroom was already quite full. Some students sat quietly in their chairs, looking nervous, while others were more boisterous, laughing and chatting while sitting directly on the desks.
Cheng Yifei and Fei Cheng found a random corner to sit in. Yu Qing pulled up a chair to sit in front of them. "To be honest, I'm a bit nervous too. My mom told me to ask the teacher for advice and fill out the applications myself. I still don't know if I made it into the county honors class. Cheng-cheng, what did your family say?"
"My family didn't interfere; they're letting me decide for myself."
"That's so nice!?"
"Yeah, my grandparents are old and don't understand these things. They're just happy as long as I have a school to go to."
Yu Qing nearly choked on his own breath. "What about your parents? I've been to your house so many times and I've never seen them."
"They're working out of town. If you want to see them, come to my house during the New Year and you will." Fei Cheng spoke casually, completely unbothered.
Cheng Yifei took note of that. In the two years they had been in the same class, he really hadn't heard Fei Cheng mention his parents even once. Not a single word. But since his grandparents doted on him so much, Cheng Yifei figured he was probably just being too sensitive.
Cheng Yifei ruffled Fei Cheng’s hair, a gesture like a prank between classmates. He asked, "You can fill out three choices. Put City No. 1 High as your first choice and County No. 1 High as your second."
"Yeah, I'll see when the time comes." Fei Cheng saw Qiu Minmin entering the door and stood up. "Hey, Minmin is here. I'm going to go ask her."
Cheng Yifei’s palm was left empty. He stiffened slightly for a moment before pulling his hand back. So he had been watching the classroom door this whole time just waiting for her. *Go ahead and ask, then. She won't reach your score anyway; it's unlikely you'll end up at the same high school.*
Yu Qing secretly peeked at Cheng Yifei’s expression. His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but he couldn't find the words.
The classroom was getting a bit noisy, so Fei Cheng and Qiu Minmin slipped out to the corridor to chat.
Fei Cheng leaned against the railing and turned his head to ask her, "So, did your dad say which school he wants you to apply for?"
Fei Cheng’s handsome face was reflected in Qiu Minmin’s brown pupils. It took her a long moment to say, "He did. The safe bet is County No. 1 High. It just depends on whether my score reaches the cutoff for the honors class."
"I knew it," Fei Cheng said softly.
Qiu Minmin looked at him in confusion.
Fei Cheng smiled, revealing his little canine teeth again. Qiu Minmin reached out to poke them and asked with a laugh, "What about you? If your score is high enough, are you and Cheng Yifei going to City No. 1 High?"
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 初三 | Junior 3 / 9th Grade | The final year of middle school in China. |
| 重点班 | Honors class / Key class | A class for high-achieving students within a school. |
| 市一中 | City No. 1 High School | Usually the top-ranked high school in a city. |
| 县一中 | County No. 1 High School | Usually the top-ranked high school in a county. |
| 中考 | Zhongkao | The Senior High School Entrance Examination. |
| 保送 | Guaranteed admission | Admission to a higher school without taking the entrance exam, based on merit. |
| 散伙饭 | Farewell dinner | A meal shared by a group (like a class) before they part ways. |
| 酿豆腐 | Stuffed tofu | A traditional Hakka dish. |
| 东厂公公 | Eastern Depot eunuch | Reference to powerful eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty; used here as a joke about a high-pitched voice. |
| 校卡 | School ID card | |
| 志愿 | Application choice / School preference | The list of schools a student applies to after the entrance exam. |
Enjoying the story? Rate this novel:
What Should I Do? My Sexual Orientation is Normal [Gender Bender] | Chapter 41 | Graduation and Future Choices | Novela.app | Novela.app
