Brother, Don’t Delete Me! 75

Chapter 75: If They Were The Same Age (Part 1) [Extra]

One afternoon before the start of the new semester, Huai Dan received a call from Ye Lin.

After the call connected, the person on the other end cleared his throat dramatically, his voice filled with feigned reluctance, yet also a strange hint of anticipation: “Did you see the new seating chart in the class group chat? Our days as deskmates are over, brother. Are you sad?”

Huai Dan was sitting alone in a cafe, organizing some documents. He replied calmly, without looking up from his computer screen: “No.”
Ye Lin: “You’re so heartless.”

But he had long been accustomed to Huai Dan’s personality and wasn’t offended, continuing to talk to himself: “Well, I’m actually quite happy. My new deskmate is a girl, the one I told you about before, you know… the one I said I fell for at first sight.”
“Your ‘love’ is quite fickle,” Huai Dan said.
“No, I really like her,” Ye Lin tried to explain. “I know it sounds a bit unreliable, but I’ve been paying attention to her for almost a whole semester. Every time I see her, my heart races. Do you understand that feeling of being smitten?… Well, you definitely don’t.”

Thinking about how Huai Dan had always been indifferent to others’ advances, as if he only cared about studying, he gave up on explaining this subtle feeling of “smitten” to him and continued to talk about his lovesick worries.
Huai Dan listened to Ye Lin’s five-minute-long fantasy about his future school life with half an ear, then after hanging up, took a sip of his coffee.

It was an instinctive action. It wasn’t until the bitter liquid entered his mouth that Huai Dan reacted, then frowned slightly and put down the cup.

He was a bit caffeine intolerant and had forgotten to order decaf today.
He had been feeling slightly unwell for a while, and this sip seemed to negate all his previous efforts to endure it.

Huai Dan looked at the brown liquid in the cup beside him.

He didn’t really understand what it felt like to be smitten.
If it was anything like the heart palpitations from caffeine overdose, then it was quite unpleasant.

Thinking this, he opened the class group chat and looked at the new seating chart Ye Lin had mentioned.
Then he found his name and looked at the name beside it.
It was Luo Jing.
He stared at the name for a few seconds, gently rubbing the side of his coffee cup.

In the new semester, Luo Jing had a new deskmate, a boy named Huai Dan.

He wasn’t very familiar with Huai Dan.
Or rather, except for a childhood friend named Ye Lin, Huai Dan wasn’t very familiar with anyone else in the class.
But Luo Jing felt like he had known him for a long time.

This classmate had attracted a lot of attention when he first entered the school, due to his good looks and wealthy family background.
But such conditions easily created a sense of distance, and as time passed, everyone realized that his personality was as aloof as his appearance, seemingly difficult to approach, so they tactfully didn’t bother him.
Although Luo Jing felt he might just be bad at expressing himself, not actually as unapproachable as he seemed.

His reason for wanting to get to know Huai Dan was very superficial. He simply had a natural fondness for good-looking people—and Huai Dan’s appearance was exactly his type.
But even though he tried to convince himself that Huai Dan was just “seemingly unapproachable,” every time he wanted to talk to him, he would be intimidated by his aloofness and back down.

And for some reason, Huai Dan always seemed busy, not only rarely participating in class activities, but also disappearing immediately after class or school.
He wondered if this person had another secret identity, like transforming into a superhero to save the world, so he had no time to talk to ordinary people like them.
So he was a bit happy when he saw the new seating arrangement.

On the first day of school, when Luo Jing reached his seat, he found Huai Dan already sitting there.

Huai Dan’s seat was by the window. It was a cloudy day, and the window was half-open for ventilation after yesterday’s cleaning. He didn’t seem afraid of the cold and hadn’t closed it.

It was late summer and early autumn, the weather turning colder. Luo Jing was wearing a light jacket, but Huai Dan was only wearing his short-sleeved school uniform.

It was cloudy and windy, and it looked like it was about to rain. His short sleeves, his slightly messy hair in the wind, and his aloof expression as he looked down at his textbook—all of this gave Luo Jing the impression of: so cold.

It was the first day of school, so they didn’t have to wear their school uniforms.
From the corner of his eye, he saw the boy in the light blue jacket walk over and seemingly shiver slightly.
Huai Dan’s gaze lingered on him for a moment, then he reached out and closed the window.

Luo Jing, who had been prepared for the cold air, blinked after sitting down for a moment.
Had the wind stopped?
He looked at the window.

Huai Dan’s hand was still on the window handle as he looked down at him.
Luo Jing reacted and said, “Thank you.”
His smile was bright and captivating.
Huai Dan paused for two seconds, then replied, “You’re welcome.”

There were no classes on the first day of school. After the seating arrangement was finalized, the teacher briefly went over some things and then dismissed them. So Luo Jing didn’t have much opportunity to interact with his new deskmate.
It wasn’t until he left the school gate that he belatedly realized this, and felt a slight pang of regret.
He had forgotten to ask for Huai Dan’s contact information.

But it didn’t matter, they sat together, there would be opportunities to become friends.

Luo Jing hadn’t brought an umbrella today.
The weather was gloomy, and he had a premonition that it was going to rain.
His driver had something to do and couldn’t pick him up, and the school gate was incredibly crowded at this hour, so he decided to walk home.

But he quickly regretted his decision.

Pedestrians hurried past, seemingly anticipating the imminent rain, quickening their pace.
The atmosphere was somewhat heavy, and even Luo Jing unconsciously quickened his pace.
The wind was getting stronger, and Luo Jing silently prayed that the rain would wait until he got home.

His phone vibrated. He looked at it and saw a message from his childhood friend, Wu Li.
Wu Li: [Holy shit, it’s pouring.]
Luo Jing’s eyes widened slightly: [Is it raining there already?]

Luo Jing and Wu Li weren’t at the same school, but their schools were in the same city, just quite far apart.

Wu Li: [What? It’s not raining there yet? It should be soon.]
Wu Li: [The sound of rain suddenly appeared outside the window just now, it was so loud, it startled me.]
AAA.Vocabulary Wholesaler Xiao Luo, feeling doomed: [I’m finished.]
Wu Li, confused: [What’s wrong?]
AAA.Vocabulary Wholesaler Xiao Luo: [I’m on my way home.]
AAA.Vocabulary Wholesaler Xiao Luo: [And I don’t have an umbrella.]
Wu Li: [Where’s your driver?]
AAA.Vocabulary Wholesaler Xiao Luo: [He has something to do today.]
Wu Li: [Then quickly find somewhere to take shelter and call a taxi before it starts raining there.]

Luo Jing, reading this message, felt enlightened.

The school wasn’t very close to the city center, and there wasn’t much shelter along the way. Just as Luo Jing reached a shop with its shutters down, the rain started pouring down.
Looking at the asphalt road quickly darkening from the rain, he felt a sense of relief.

He took out his phone and was about to call a taxi when he heard faint whimpering from not far away.
Luo Jing froze, looked towards the sound, and saw a cardboard box by some bushes. There seemed to be a white plastic bag in the box, and the sound was coming from inside.
It seemed like a small animal was inside the plastic bag.
Judging by the sound, it seemed like a puppy.
It must have been abandoned.

Looking at the heavy rain and his slightly damp clothes, Luo Jing hesitated for a moment, then ran towards the box in the rain.

The rain was incredibly heavy. Standing in front of the box, Luo Jing felt like he was taking a shower.
Without time to think, he quickly squatted down, reached into the plastic bag, and took out the small animal.
The “plastic bag” suddenly turned its head, and the boy and the dog suddenly made eye contact.

After a moment of silence, Luo Jing froze, then realized that the plastic bag actually contained a puppy.
Coming back to his senses, Luo Jing chuckled, then quickly picked up the puppy, intending to take it back to the shop to shelter from the rain.

Suddenly, the sound of rain beside his ears lessened, and the feeling of being drenched vanished.
Instead, the edge of an umbrella appeared before him.
Luo Jing froze, looked up at the person holding the umbrella, and instinctively thanked him: “Thank you…”
Seeing who it was, his eyes widened in surprise.

Huai Dan, holding the umbrella, first looked at Luo Jing’s slightly wet hair and clothes, then down at the equally wet puppy in his arms.
“Get in the car first,” Huai Dan gestured towards where his car was parked.

The situation was urgent, and Luo Jing didn’t have time to ask questions. He let Huai Dan hold the umbrella over him as he carried the puppy to Huai Dan’s car.

The car drove smoothly on the road, the rhythmic sound of the wipers against the windshield.
Huai Dan handed Luo Jing some tissues. Luo Jing took them, wiped the water off his clothes, and thanked him.

“Why are you here?” the boy asked curiously. “Didn’t you go home?”
Luo Jing’s hair was wet from the rain, and there were water stains on his clothes, but he didn’t look too disheveled.
His eyes were bright as he looked at Huai Dan.
His whole demeanor seemed out of place with the weather outside.
Huai Dan felt, for a moment, that it wasn’t Luo Jing who had found the puppy.

Lost in thought, he didn’t immediately answer Luo Jing’s question, but the other person didn’t seem to mind and continued, “But thank you so much, you came just in time.”
“I was just passing by,” Huai Dan replied simply, then glanced at the puppy in Luo Jing’s arms, its fur messy from the rain, and handed him a blanket from the side. “Use this.”

Luo Jing took it and wrapped the puppy in the blanket.
After tidying up, Luo Jing looked at him again, his eyes crinkling as he introduced himself: “My name is Luo Jing.”
“I know,” Huai Dan said.
Luo Jing’s eyes widened in surprise.

Huai Dan, looking at his expression, lowered his eyes after a moment: “Of course I know my classmate’s name.”
“That’s true.” The boy froze for a moment, quickly accepting this explanation, then said happily, “I thought you didn’t know… Actually, I’ve wanted to get to know you for a long time, but I never had the chance.”

Huai Dan froze slightly, then replied calmly, “Really?”
“Yes, but you seem unapproachable… But we’re deskmates now, so we should get to know each other.”
Then Luo Jing chattered on, mostly Luo Jing talking, while Huai Dan occasionally gave short responses.
Their conversation continued, a strange mix of warmth and coldness, and the remaining distance wasn’t far. The car arrived at Luo Jing’s villa in less than ten minutes.

After getting out of the car, seeing that Luo Jing was holding the puppy, Huai Dan held the umbrella over him and walked him to the door.

Standing at the door, Luo Jing turned to him and asked politely, “Would you like to come in and sit for a while?”
It was mostly out of courtesy—it wasn’t that Luo Jing didn’t want him to come in, but he felt Huai Dan definitely wouldn’t agree.
But to his surprise, Huai Dan thought for two seconds, then replied, “Sure.”

Luo Jing’s parents were still at work and hadn’t returned home yet. The house was quiet. After bringing him inside, Luo Jing closed the door.
The puppy in his arms seemed nervous, looking up at its future owner with wide, innocent eyes, looking incredibly pitiful.
Luo Jing thought it wouldn’t be good to leave Huai Dan alone in the living room, so he looked up at the slightly taller boy standing beside him and asked tentatively, “I’m going to take it to the bathroom to dry it off… Do you want to come with me?”
Huai Dan answered his question with his actions.

They stood in Luo Jing’s bathroom, the puppy placed on the floor—most of the water on its fur had already been absorbed by the blanket, so it was already half-dry.
Luo Jing plugged in the hairdryer and started drying the puppy, his movements a bit clumsy.

“Are you going to keep it?” Huai Dan’s voice sounded amidst the whirring of the hairdryer.
“Yes,” Luo Jing looked down, smoothing the puppy’s fur. Huai Dan’s voice was mostly drowned out by the hairdryer, and Luo Jing almost didn’t hear him, so he raised his voice slightly, “Actually, I’ve wanted a pet for a long time, but I never found the right one.”

Huai Dan didn’t reply, squatting down and watching the puppy, which was squinting from the hairdryer, and the boy who, despite his own wet clothes, was meticulously drying the puppy.
After a moment of silence, he took a towel hanging on the side and handed it to Luo Jing.
Luo Jing’s movements paused, and he took the towel, a bit puzzled.
Huai Dan gestured to his hair.

Luo Jing suddenly understood, but he didn’t have time to dry his own hair now, and he was about to take a shower anyway, so it didn’t really matter.
But he didn’t want to reject his new friend’s kindness, so he smiled at Huai Dan, placed the towel on his head, rubbed it randomly a couple of times, then draped it over his arm.

The next moment, the towel was taken from his arm and placed back on his head.
Huai Dan clumsily dried his hair.

After a moment, realizing what he was doing, he froze.
Luo Jing, however, readily accepted it and even thanked him, as if he didn’t think there was anything wrong with this action.

The next morning, at school.

Huai Dan sat at his desk, tapping his pen on the table, slightly lost in thought.
The few hours he had spent at Luo Jing’s house yesterday felt like he had been in a daze.
It was a strange visit.
But the other party didn’t seem to mind, even seeming quite happy.

After drying the puppy, Luo Jing had dragged him to play games for the entire afternoon.
By the time he left, the boy’s initial awkwardness towards an unfamiliar classmate had completely vanished, replaced by genuine reluctance.
Luo Jing looked at him expectantly, asking him to come over and play games again next time.
So he had helplessly agreed.

Luo Jing arrived a bit late, almost missing morning self-study.
He hurriedly entered the classroom and walked towards his seat—then, seeing that someone was already sitting there, he froze for a moment, then turned to look at him, and they made eye contact.
It was a bit unexpected.
Huai Dan paused and instinctively looked away.

A few seconds later, the boy appeared beside him, just as the bell rang.
Luo Jing sat down, relieved.

Although it was called morning self-study, it was usually a time for students to catch up on their homework. But since they didn’t have class yesterday, and there was no assigned homework, everyone was relaxed, chatting or discreetly looking at their phones.

Ye Lin sent him several messages, expressing his excitement about sitting next to his crush. Huai Dan, after skimming through them, saw that he was still sending messages, so he muted him.

Putting down his phone, he noticed that his new deskmate didn’t seem to be feeling well.
Luo Jing was leaning on his desk, half his face buried in his arms, his hair slightly messy, his ears unnaturally red.
Huai Dan tried calling him softly, “Luo Jing?”

The boy stirred slightly, then slowly turned to look at him, his face flushed.
Luo Jing closed his eyes, then after a moment, sat up, took a sip of water, and shook his head.

“I think I have a fever,” he said, feeling slightly dizzy and a slight pain in his head after shaking it.
Huai Dan froze, then remembered that Luo Jing had immediately dragged him to play games after drying the puppy yesterday, without even changing his clothes.
It would be strange if he didn’t get sick.

Thinking this, Huai Dan frowned slightly and said, “Can you still walk? I’ll take you to the infirmary.”
Luo Jing stood up obediently: “Let’s go.”

The two left the classroom, one after the other, attracting attention, and the entire room fell silent, everyone watching them.

After they disappeared from the hallway, Ye Lin came back to his senses, closed his slightly opened mouth, took out his phone, and messaged Huai Dan: [What’s going on? Where are you going?]
H: [He has a fever. How do I get to the infirmary?]
Seeing this message, Ye Lin was both shocked and speechless: [You took him out without even knowing where the infirmary is? You’re really something.]
Ye Lin: [It’s in the building opposite the library, on the first floor.]
H: [I know.]

His sleeve was suddenly tugged. Huai Dan stopped and looked at the person behind him: “What’s wrong?”
Luo Jing looked up at him: “We’re going the wrong way.”
Huai Dan: “…”
Seeing his expression, Luo Jing couldn’t help but chuckle and took the lead. “Have you never been to the school infirmary before?”
Huai Dan, looking at his smile, paused, then replied, “Mm.”

Luo Jing did have a low fever. The infirmary gave him some medicine, and the two returned to the classroom. Morning self-study was over, and it was break time.
Just as they sat down, Ye Lin came over and greeted Luo Jing familiarly: “Hey, you have a fever?”
“Yes, I accidentally got caught in the rain yesterday.” Luo Jing had just taken the medicine, and it hadn’t taken effect yet. He was feeling a bit lightheaded and rested his head on his desk.
He sighed about his own constitution: “I should exercise more.”
Ye Lin offered a few more words of comfort and was about to say something more when his usually quiet friend suddenly spoke.
“Class is about to start,” Huai Dan said.
Implying that he should leave.

Ye Lin froze, looked at Luo Jing, then became interested: “When did you two…”
The pre-class bell rang just then, the kind of bell that seemed to dispel all desire for conversation. Plus, it wasn’t anything important, so he closed his mouth, intending to leave.

Amidst the ringing, Luo Jing’s slightly muddled mind suddenly remembered something, so he turned his head and looked at Huai Dan: “Right, Huai Dan, can you give this to her for me?”
Luo Jing gave Huai Dan a reading comprehension workbook with a girl’s name written on it: “I borrowed it from her at the end of last semester to check answers and forgot to return it. It’s reading comprehension class next, and she’ll probably need it.”
Huai Dan took the workbook, but he remained silent.
Luo Jing: “?”

Ye Lin, who was about to leave, stopped, observing Huai Dan’s predicament with amusement, then said to Luo Jing, “I bet you five yuan he doesn’t know who this person is.”
“…No way?” Luo Jing froze, recalling what Huai Dan had said yesterday.

But as Huai Dan’s silence continued, this fact seemed to be confirmed.
Ye Lin, finally seeing his friend at a disadvantage, didn’t even bother returning to his seat and started teasing Huai Dan with Luo Jing.
“Look,” Ye Lin said eagerly, wanting to prove his point to Luo Jing. He randomly pointed at a boy sitting in the corner and asked Huai Dan, “What’s his name?”
Huai Dan didn’t speak.
“What about him?”
Silence.
“Him?”
Still silence.
Silence was today’s Huai Dan.

Finally, Huai Dan, unable to bear it anymore, handed the workbook to Ye Lin with a cold expression.
Ye Lin knew when to stop, winked at Luo Jing, and hurried to deliver the workbook just as the bell rang.

After Ye Lin left, the world became much quieter.
Huai Dan took out his things for this class and saw from the corner of his eye that the boy beside him seemed to be looking at him.
He paused, then looked over.

Luo Jing was leaning on his desk, staring at him with a smile.
Because of his fever, his eyes were slightly watery, either from the heat or from discomfort, and the corners of his eyes were slightly red.
But the tears somehow made his eyes shine even brighter, as if they held a spark.
In short, it was strangely captivating.

Huai Dan inexplicably paused for a moment because of this smile, his words caught in his throat.

“Didn’t you say you knew everyone’s names?” Luo Jing’s smile widened, unable to contain it, and he asked half-jokingly, “Then how come you know mine?”

Huai Dan didn’t reply, but looked away and said calmly, “Class is starting.”
It somehow sounded like he was trying to hide something.
Luo Jing didn’t press further, leaned back with a smile, and continued to battle his illness.

There were many ways to learn someone’s name.
It could be from the teacher calling on them in class, or from a classmate calling their name, which he happened to notice.
Luo Jing thought it was probably like that.

Halfway through the class, the boy beside him had fallen asleep, his brows slightly furrowed, as if he was uncomfortable.
The reading comprehension teacher was about to wake him up when she passed by, but Huai Dan stopped her.
“He has a fever,” Huai Dan said softly.
The reading comprehension teacher froze, then nodded understandingly and walked away.

The classroom was quiet as everyone worked on the practice questions.
Huai Dan looked at him for a while.

It didn’t seem like the feeling of caffeine overdose.