Chapter 64

The second morning back at school, Xie Ling and Qin Han were dragged up to the assembly rostrum to deliver public self-criticisms.

Xie Ling had always possessed a rock-solid mentality in situations like this. Even with thousands of teachers and students from the entire school staring up at him, he didn’t feel the slightest bit uncomfortable. He picked up the microphone and launched into a sincerely worded self-criticism, capping it off with an emotionally charged summary: “I was wrong. I shouldn’t have gone for a walk under the streetlights with classmate Qin Han, chatting about our dreams and life. And I absolutely shouldn’t have suddenly solved a tough Olympiad math problem, gotten carried away with emotion, and grabbed his hand in excitement. This story teaches us that male and female classmates must maintain a proper distance from each other—even if our bond is an ironclad socialist brotherhood tougher than steel…”

Before morning assembly even began, the students had already heard that Xie Ling and Qin Han were up there to address the issue of puppy love. Everyone was already buzzing with excitement, and when they heard Xie Ling’s critique, they burst out laughing.

“Why is it that when Ling Bro gives a self-criticism, it’s so uniquely stylish? It even feels like a full-blown stand-up routine.”

“No reason—because he’s our Ling Bro.”

“So cool, too cool. But Ling Bro doesn’t strike me as the type to dare to do something but not own up to it. If he’s saying this, does that mean there’s really nothing going on between him and Qin God?”

“Woo woo woo, that’s great! I’m not a CP shipper—I’m a Ling Bro X me shipper! Woo woo woo, I can top for love!!”

“Hey, what’s the real deal between him and Qin God? Zhang Chengrui, do you know? Aren’t you always glued to Ling Bro’s side?”

Zhang Chengrui had always taken pride in being Xie Ling’s most loyal little brother. Even though he was utterly clueless, he still bluffed to save face: “Of course I know. Ling Bro already said it, right? He and Qin God are just ironclad brothers…”

Halfway through his words, Zhang Chengrui suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. He turned his head and found Qin Han looking at him with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile.

Before he could react, Xia Yu from the neighboring line yanked him aside.

Xia Yu turned to Qin Han with a grin. “Sorry about that, Qin God.”

Qin Han smiled. “No worries.”

With that, he headed toward the assembly rostrum.

Zhang Chengrui was completely baffled. He asked Xia Yu, “Sorry for what? Hey, why does it feel like there’s extra cold air around Qin God? Did he not dress warm enough?”

Xia Yu shot him a glare he couldn’t hold back. “Serves you right if you freeze to death.”

Zhang Chengrui: QAQ

Though Director Cai found Xie Ling’s self-criticism a bit off-topic and evasive, the guarantee at the end—that he would definitely keep a proper distance from Qin Han moving forward—made it somewhat satisfactory.

Judging from that day’s attitude, Qin Han’s confession had been far more straightforward than Xie Ling’s. His upcoming self-criticism would surely be just as good, if not better.

Director Cai was quite pleased. He picked up his teacup, preparing to take a sip. Just then, Qin Han on stage spoke up—

“As everyone knows, at our age, we should focus our energy and efforts on studying and self-improvement. Yet I racked my brains thinking about how to pursue classmate Xie Ling, even grabbing his hand without his consent. I was wrong.”

Xie Ling: “…”

!!!

The audience below, who had nearly settled down, perked up again at those words, craning their necks in a fresh wave of commotion.

Qin Han continued his self-criticism, standing ramrod straight as if delivering an acceptance speech for an award: “From a young age, teachers and parents have taught us to excel in whatever field we choose. But even as I poured all my efforts into pursuing Xie Ling, in his eyes, our relationship remained nothing more than a socialist brotherhood for discussing Olympiad math problems. That was a major setback for me. But setbacks make us grow—failure is the mother of success. From now on, I’ll reflect deeply on this, work hard to improve myself, and in the future, become a top-tier Alpha worthy of Xie Ling’s notice…”

Director Cai, who had been leisurely sipping his tea, nearly choked. His first instinct was to rush the stage and snatch the microphone from Qin Han, but on second thought, even if he did, he wouldn’t know what to say.

He had lectured them to focus on studying and self-improvement right now, and Qin Han had promised exactly that. With his current grades, there wasn’t a single flaw to pick at.

As for growing into an Alpha that Xie Ling would see in the future… well, he hadn’t specified when that future was. It could be after high school graduation, by which point Director Cai wouldn’t have any say anyway.

Stuck between a rock and a hard place, Director Cai felt everything was off but had no idea how to vent. He could only seethe and gulp down more tea.

Up on stage, Qin Han kept circling around in his critique. Xie Ling, who hadn’t yet returned to class, felt his ears burning hotter and hotter. He wished the ground would open up and swallow him right there.

Only the onlookers were more hyped than ever, convinced they’d finally figured out the dynamic between the two big shots.

By the time morning assembly ended, the way everyone looked at Qin Han and Xie Ling had completely changed.

Every person passing by Xie Ling had to throw him a knowing wink or nudge.

“Ling Bro, how about considering our Qin God? For real—I think he’s the only one worthy of you.”

“Woo woo woo, Ling Bro, you beat me to it, and I’m convinced!! Please make Qin God happy!!”

Mu Yin had been through emotional rollercoasters from the flag-raising ceremony until now, and she was practically floating on air. “Ling Han forever! You two are made for each other!!”

Xie Ling had always been the one to tease others speechless. This was the first time he’d been cornered without a comeback—and the culprit was right there snickering beside him.

Xie Ling shot Qin Han a covert glare.

Seeing this, Qin Han turned to the crowd with what seemed like earnest seriousness and smiled. “Guys, stop. He’s getting mad. I don’t want to trouble him because of me.”

“Ooooh, Qin God’s getting protective. Okay, we’ll shut up.”

Xie Ling: “…”

~~~

Back in the classroom, Xie Ling stepped out to use the restroom first. When he returned, he found Xia Yu grinning as he packed up his things, clearly preparing to switch seats.

Xie Ling was stunned. “Classmate Xia Xiaoyu, wasn’t it just a while ago that you fought through five barriers and six generals to sit next to me? What on earth could make you agree to leave my side—and look so thrilled about it?”

Xia Yu sighed. “Sigh, Little Lingling, I’m reluctant to leave you too. But thinking of your future happiness, I feel like I have to bow out gracefully. That’s the best blessing I can give you.”

Before Xie Ling could figure out what that meant, his new desk mate arrived, hauling a desk over.

Xie Ling: “…Switching seats without permission violates class rules.”

Qin Han smiled. “Teacher Zheng approved it.”

Xie Ling didn’t buy it. “Bro, lying about orders is a serious offense. We just finished our self-criticisms—there’s no way Qianqian would agree.”

“Teacher Zheng said her views differ from Director Cai’s. She thinks puppy love is fine as long as it doesn’t affect studies or daily life. In the future, it could even be a fond memory. At our age, a positive romance can be great for personal growth.”

Xie Ling: “…” Okay, that actually sounded just like something their Teacher Qianqian would say.

In the time it took to exchange those few sentences, the classmates’ teasing gazes were already zeroing in.

Xie Ling’s ears heated up. He was about to go find Zheng Qianqian and have a word when Qin Han settled into the seat. In a voice only the two of them could hear, he said, “My grandma brought up going abroad again.”

Xie Ling paused, his attention instantly diverted. “And?”

Qin Han caught the tension in his tone, and the corner of his mouth twitched upward almost imperceptibly. “I negotiated terms with her. I promised to take top of the grade in every exam from now on and start learning the family business. Only then did she agree to let me stay.”

“Holy shit,” Xie Ling cursed involuntarily. “You actually agreed to that?”

He knew Qin Han’s capabilities well. Under normal conditions, hitting top of the grade alongside him wouldn’t be too hard. But what if something unexpected happened like last time? What if he ended up surpassing Qin Han…

And learning the family business? Xie Ling knew nothing about corporate affairs, but seeing how busy Xie Cheng always was told him just how demanding it must be.

Balancing school and that? Even with boundless energy, Qin Han would be exhausted.

A pang of sourness and heartache bubbled up inside him. As he lowered his gaze, a hint of it inadvertently showed on his face.

Qin Han seized the moment. “To stay and chase you, I’d agree to any conditions.”

With two dozen pairs of eyes still on them, for Qin Han to say something like that out of the blue—even knowing the classmates probably hadn’t overheard—made Xie Ling’s face burn. “You…”

“I’ll have so much to do every day from now on. If you don’t let me sit next to you, I’ll just be distracted thinking about it, mess everything up, fail to hit top of the grade, and end up going abroad.” Qin Han put on a pitiful expression. “If I really leave, can you bear it?”

Xie Ling pictured the scenario. “…Fine, then sit here.”

Qin Han chuckled lowly. “Admitting it?”

The look in his eyes carried a scorching intensity. Even without meeting his gaze, Xie Ling could feel it. He muttered, “Admit what?”

“That you can’t bear to lose me.”

Xie Ling paused for half a second, then laughed. “Yeah, I can’t.”

Qin Han froze for a moment, then closed his eyes in restraint. He considered himself pretty good at reading people, but when it came to Xie Ling, he could never quite pin him down.

Sometimes the guy was so shy he spoke against his feelings, face flushed red. Other times, he’d hit you with a straight ball out of nowhere. His plays were utterly unpredictable—no one could figure out his thought process.

An itch bloomed in Qin Han’s heart. He itched to yank the guy into his arms and ravish him properly.

Just then, Xie Ling let out a surprised “Huh.” “You actually have this kind of notebook.”

On Qin Han’s desk sat a cartoonish password diary notebook, the kind that had been wildly popular among elementary and middle school kids a few years back. You could still spot them occasionally in stationery stores. Next to it was a row of small white number buttons for the user to set their password.

The cover featured Xie Ling’s longtime favorite 2D character, the one he’d been obsessed with for years. The more he stared, the more he wanted it. Unable to resist, he reached out—but before his fingers could brush the notebook, Qin Han snatched it away in a flash.

Xie Ling froze. As far as he could remember, this was the first time Qin Han had reacted so fiercely to him touching his things.

“Sorry,” he apologized on instinct. “I just haven’t seen any merch related to him in ages, so…”

“This is my diary,” Qin Han said. Realizing his reaction had been too sharp, he quickly flashed a smile to make up for it. “Want to take a look?”

A diary, huh? No wonder Qin Han had grabbed it so fast—such a personal item.

Understanding washed over Xie Ling, but so did an inexplicable pang of discomfort. He opened his mouth to say he’d leave it alone, but Qin Han beat him to it. “You can look if you want. Nothing of mine is off-limits to you.”

A spark of mischief brightened inside Xie Ling. He hadn’t even had time to smile when Qin Han leaned in close to his ear and murmured, “But something this private… if I let you see it, don’t you owe me something in return? Like…”

“Kiss me.”

!!!

Xie Ling jolted, his nerves firing all at once—especially after he caught the classmates’ gazes turning even more intense. He scooted sideways right away, even tugging their desks a little farther apart.

“I’m not looking at your diary. And!” Xie Ling jabbed a finger at the narrow gap between their desks. “This right here is our 38th parallel from now on. No crossing it without permission, or else…”

Qin Han grinned with pure indulgence. “Or else what?”

Xie Ling paused, then snatched a mechanical pencil from the desk. He clicked out the lead and waved it menacingly. “I’ll jab this tiny tip right into your palm.”

Qin Han struggled not to burst out laughing. This little guy was just too adorable—he might actually die from cuteness overload.

At least he’d managed to shift his attention.

Qin Han dropped his gaze to the encrypted notebook in his hand. A shadow of unease flitted across his eyes, hidden beneath his lashes.

He absolutely couldn’t let Xie Ling see what was inside. Not now.

Otherwise, all the goodwill he’d so carefully built up would go up in smoke.