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Chapter 62: Hand Cream

School was the same as usual. Even in a school with the best teaching conditions, there was still homework to be done. In fact, there were even more interest classes, which meant more homework.

Bai Luochuan had slept alright last night, but after the weekend, he was always a little sleepier than usual. He lay on his desk, listlessly waiting for Mi Yang to buy him some water.

A boy named Zhou Tong, who sat behind him and was on good terms with him, leaned over and said with a hint of flattery, “Young Master, have you thought about where to go for the holiday in a few days?”

Bai Luochuan said, “To Beijing, for a competition.”

Zhou Tong was taken aback and said with a sheepish smile, “Right, right, I forgot. Are you going with Mi Yang? Then what about the summer vacation? Have you thought about where to go after you’ve finished your homework?”

Bai Luochuan yawned. “Who still does homework? We’re changing schools after the new semester starts. Who are you going to hand your homework to then? Will the teachers here look at it? The high school teachers won’t take it either.”

Zhou Tong scratched his head. “I forgot. I’m used to copying Mi Yang’s homework. What are your plans for the summer vacation? Do you want to go abroad together? Zhou Ming and the others are picking a place. We can go for half a month.”

Bai Luochuan said lazily, “No, I’m going back to the mountains.”

They would go back to Shanhai Town every winter and summer vacation. Mi Yang was going to take care of his grandfather, Mi Hong, and Bai Luochuan was going to visit the old Mr. Bai. Old Bai had retired and was staying at the old residence to enjoy his later years, tending to flowers and plants, and raising fish, very leisurely.

Zhou Tong was very interested and his eyes were sparkling. “Are there any temples? I’ve been studying Zen recently…”

Bai Luochuan raised his eyebrows. “Then you’d better start with silent Zen. That’s the most suitable for you.”

Zhou Tong: “…”

He was used to being dissed by the young master Bai, so Zhou Tong didn’t take it to heart. This was already considered good. If it were anyone else, the young master Bai would probably have started with the sarcasm right away. In the years they had been studying together, he had never seen the young master Bai be polite to anyone—except for Mi Yang. The reason he had been able to get to know Bai Luochuan in the first place seemed to be because he had unintentionally helped Mi Yang with a small matter.

Thinking of this, Zhou Tong also felt a sense of balance. Anyway, in the young master’s eyes, besides Mi Yang, all beings were equal.

Bai Luochuan was waiting impatiently. He stood up, wanting to see why Mi Yang hadn’t come yet. Zhou Tong had a nickname, “Know-it-all,” and he knew a lot. He could tell at a glance that he was looking for Mi Yang and quickly said, “I think I just saw him helping the girls in the class move their homework. It should be on the way. He’ll be back soon.”

Just as he was speaking, he saw a few people walking over from the corridor. In the center was Mi Yang.

Mi Yang was surrounded by the few little girls. He had a gentle temper and would smile when he talked to anyone. After listening seriously to what one of the girls had said, he shook his head and refused something. The little girl opposite him was slightly disappointed but quickly became happy again, pestering him and talking in a low voice.

Bai Luochuan hadn’t slept well in the morning, and now he was even more furious at the sight.

Zhou Tong also glanced over and said with emotion, “Mi Yang is really patient with girls.”

Bai Luochuan was dissatisfied. “He’s patient with me too!”

Zhou Tong quickly held up his hands in surrender and said with a smile, “Right, right, you’re the biggest young master.”

After Mi Yang entered the classroom, the few girls had finally finished talking. They stood there in a group, reluctantly seeing him off. Although they also secretly glanced at Bai Luochuan, the young master Bai’s temper was too bad. At their age, they still liked the gentle and considerate Prince Charming. They couldn’t love a domineering person with a violent temper like Bai Luochuan. Compared to Mi Yang, he was like a wild horse running freely on the grassland. Although he was also very handsome, he was reckless and unreasonable.

Bai Luochuan’s sour face was not divided by gender. He was a true egalitarian. He basically didn’t like to talk to anyone who came.

Mi Yang came over and gave him a bottle of milk, then took out a small bag of bread from his pocket and handed it to him. “Here. You didn’t eat much in the morning. You must be hungry, right?”

Bai Luochuan’s mood improved slightly. He took it and said, “You ran so far to buy me bread?”

Mi Yang nodded and smiled. “Yes. I happened to run into some classmates. They were taking their homework to the teacher. It was too heavy, so I gave them a hand.” Mi Yang took out two pieces of chocolate wrapped in gold foil from his pocket, placed them in his palm, and asked him, “Do you want to eat this? It’s a thank-you gift from them.”

Bai Luochuan frowned. “No, throw it away.”

Mi Yang didn’t listen to him. He unwrapped one and put it in his mouth. “It’s too wasteful. If you don’t eat it, I’ll eat it myself.”

Bai Luochuan looked unhappy. Mi Yang unwrapped another one and held it to his lips, teasing him, “I’m just kidding. My little sister secretly put this in my schoolbag yesterday. Want to try?”

Only then did the young master Bai reluctantly open his mouth and eat it, still rejecting it, “It’s disgusting.”

Mi Yang said, “I think it’s quite delicious.”

Bai Luochuan’s nose twitched, and he suddenly said, “What’s that smell? It smells like milk.”

Mi Yang was taken aback. He sniffed but didn’t smell anything wrong. “Is it the chocolate? This seems to be milk chocolate…” Bai Luochuan ignored his explanation, his nose twitching a few times. He grabbed Mi Yang’s hand and sniffed it. “It’s here. Who did you touch? Why does it smell so strongly of milk!”

Mi Yang was a little embarrassed and pulled his hand back. “No,” he held up his hand and sniffed it himself. “Does it smell strongly of milk?”

Bai Luochuan leaned a little closer, as if wanting him to give an explanation.

Mi Yang tidied up his textbooks and said in a low, embarrassed voice, “Didn’t I choose the fencing class last week? There were thorns on the wooden sword. When I came back, I kept damaging the paper when I was handling the books, so I found a hand cream at home… My little sister usually uses this. I didn’t think it had any smell. Why don’t I go and wash it off in a bit?”

Bai Luochuan touched it again. Mi Yang’s hand was very soft, and his fingers were long, very comfortable to touch. Now, his skin was even more delicate than usual. He rubbed it a couple of times. “It’s fine. You can keep it on. It’s not very obvious.”

Mi Yang said “oh” and then packed his things to prepare for class.

Bai Luochuan was his deskmate. The two of them sat in a seat by the window, towards the back. Mi Yang listened to the lecture seriously, while the young master Bai listened in a desultory way, holding Mi Yang’s hand under the desk, and with a bit of curiosity, he tested the new sensation. From the soft palm to the delicate skin on the back of the hand, from between the fingers to the gaps between them, he touched and played, having a great time.

When he touched the gaps between his fingers, Mi Yang’s fingers moved. After a few more touches, Mi Yang’s hand started to struggle. Bai Luochuan refused to let go. He looked up and saw Mi Yang turn to look at him, the tips of his ears red.

Mi Yang whispered, “Let go. I have to write.”

Bai Luochuan also whispered in his ear, “You can use your other hand. I know you can write with both your left and right hands.”

Mi Yang: “…”

What’s with this feeling of having no privacy in front of someone you’ve grown up with since you were a child?

Mi Yang didn’t dare to shake him off with force and could only use his other hand to write, letting the young master Bai play for a whole class. He felt that the little bit of hand cream he had applied had all been rubbed off by the young master Bai.

Only after class did Bai Luochuan let go. Mi Yang asked him, “You’re not disgusted by the milky smell now?”

Bai Luochuan smiled. “It smells quite nice on you.”