Chapter 98: Two-Person Room
The next day, Mi Yang still received a cake, but it was specially sent by Mi Zehai. As a father, he was usually very busy with work, and he also had a little daughter, so it was inevitable that he had to let his sensible son make some concessions. He usually didn’t take care of him, but during festivals or on special occasions, Mi Zehai would compensate his son doubly. This time, Mi Yang was celebrating his birthday at school and couldn’t go home at night, so he simply sent a cake over and also gave Mi Yang some pocket money. He didn’t know what boys of this age liked, so he just let his son buy it himself.
Mi Yang shared the cake with his classmates in the class, cut two pieces for himself, and took them back to the dormitory to eat with Bai Luochuan.
The young master Bai had specially cut a piece with a character on it, the character “乐 (lè – happy).”
Bai Luochuan had a sweet tooth, and Mi Yang also gave him the cream from his portion. He preferred to eat the soft cake base. After eating for a while, Mi Yang suddenly smiled, “Xiaoxue must be very disappointed this year. She waits to eat cake three times a year, especially in the summer. Our two birthdays are close, and she starts counting the days on her fingers in July.”
Bai Luochuan said, “That’s simple. I’ll just buy her a cake and send it over later.”
Mi Yang shook his head and smiled. “The cake you eat on your birthday is different.”
Bai Luochuan used his thumb to wipe away the last piece of cream and then smeared it on Mi Yang’s face. “Then how do you eat it? Like this?”
Mi Yang was suddenly caught off guard by him and almost fell on the bed as he tilted his head back. He was still holding the small plate and begging for mercy, “Alright, alright, stop it. What if I get it on the bed…”
Bai Luochuan said, “Then you can sleep on my bed.”
“I’m not going. It’s too crowded.”
There was only one person in the dormitory, washing clothes on the balcony, and the sound of water was splashing. The other few had not yet returned, and there was the sound of classmates talking and laughing as they passed by the half-open door. Mi Yang sat to the side, squinting his eyes and eating the cake in small bites, a look of happiness on his face, as if this little bit of dessert had satisfied him, and a cake was enough to celebrate his birthday.
Bai Luochuan looked at him and suddenly smiled, tapping his nose. “I still have a gift.”
Mi Yang looked up at him. “What?”
Bai Luochuan took something out of his pocket, held it in his hand, and held it up in front of him. “But it’s not just for you. I also have a share.”
Mi Yang reached out to take it, and with a crisp clink, a pair of keys fell into his palm, the same as the ones used in their dormitory, with a number written on them, quite a low one.
Bai Luochuan stretched lazily. “There’s no hope of changing classes, but we can change dormitories. I talked to my mom, and she helped us change to a two-person room. The conditions are a little better than here.”
Mi Yang was quite surprised, but he also smiled as he held the keys, giving one to him. “Here, for my new roommate.”
Bai Luochuan took it, lightly tapped him on the forehead, and raised his eyebrows. “You’re wrong. It’s an old roommate. When have you ever been separated from me?”
Mi Yang thought for a moment, and it was true. It seemed that they had never been separated since they were young. This time, from the military training to now, they had been sleeping separately for over a month, which was a record.
The time at noon was tight, so Mi Yang didn’t move right away and only moved over in the evening.
Bai Luochuan came over to move with him. The young master Bai had moved over impatiently at noon. The collective dormitory was in the new building, and the two-person dormitory was in the old building in the next courtyard, a few minutes’ walk from here. The outer walls of the old building were covered with green vines, and it was particularly cool in the summer. From the outside, it looked a little old, but the interior decoration was quite good. Most of the people living here were third-year students, most of whom were preparing to study abroad, and there were also a small number of foreign students here.
The “study abroad” craze was still on, and many parents were putting in a lot of effort in this regard. Bai Luochuan’s cousin, Ji Bai’an, had been sent abroad since middle school. Among the little young masters in their circle, there were also some who had been sent out in elementary school, with a driver and a nanny to take care of them abroad. Besides not being able to see their parents, they were given whatever they wanted.
Mi Yang and Bai Luochuan were on the third floor. The room was about the same size as the previous collective dormitory, but only the two of them were living there. There were two 1.5-meter single beds, as well as their own wardrobes and desks. The configuration was much better than before.
The room had been meticulously cleaned and was very clean. Mi Yang put away the reference books and clothes he had brought. Bai Luochuan stood to the side, leaning against the wardrobe and looking around. Seeing that all the unsightly iron bunk beds were gone, and that there were only him and Mi Yang in the room, his mood immediately improved a lot. He raised his eyebrows and smiled. “What do you think? This gift is not bad, right? After all, we’ll be living here for a few years. I can’t stand being separated from you all the time.”
Mi Yang: “Your homeroom teacher is going to be on high alert again. He even came to ask our Teacher Wen last time if she was trying to get you back to our class.”
Bai Luochuan was curious. “Can I be transferred over?”
Mi Yang said, “You should let your old class teacher have some peace of mind. He’s on guard against you every day as if you were an illegal immigrant, for fear that you’ll run off as soon as he lets go.”
Bai Luochuan chuckled. There was no one else around. He leaned a little closer and whispered in Mi Yang’s ear, “I even saw our old class teacher writing a poem last time. I don’t know who it was for, but the words were very sappy.”
Mi Yang thought for a moment. “Not necessarily, right? Isn’t he a Chinese teacher? Maybe he was preparing a lesson?”
Bai Luochuan said with certainty, “I think it was a love letter.”
He asked again, “Have you ever received one?”
Mi Yang said, “No. School has just started, and after the placement test, we have to prepare for the monthly exam right away. Everyone is very nervous. Who has the mood for that?”
Bai Luochuan refused to leave, tapped on his desk, and asked again, “How come I heard you received one? And it was from the school belle. Many people are talking about it.”
Mi Yang was a little dazed. “The school belle? Who is our school belle?”
Bai Luochuan said, “That Ningning from your class.”
Mi Yang was reminded by him and only then remembered. “She didn’t write me a love letter. She just gave me two milk tea shop vouchers, the buy-one-get-one-free kind. She said she didn’t treat me to milk tea last time and wanted to make it up to me.” Mi Yang was at a loss for whether to laugh or cry. “This is too ridiculous. There wasn’t even an envelope at that time. She just had someone pass on two vouchers. How did it get spread as a love letter?”
Bai Luochuan said, “Did you take them?”
“No. I told her that my older brother had already taken me to drink it.”
The boy who was tidying up his wardrobe opposite him, with a smile, had extinguished the little flame in the young master Bai’s heart. Bai Luochuan looked at this person, and his whole heart softened.
He hugged Mi Yang from behind, rested his head on his shoulder, and rubbed it a couple of times, whispering to him, “If you want to drink milk tea, I’ll take you again. Just tell me what you want. Don’t mind those people.”
Mi Yang nodded. “Okay.”
Bai Luochuan said again, “And don’t always look at pretty little girls. You have to focus on your studies now, you know? I’m going to be out on weekends from now on. I have some things to do…” He said vaguely, but his tone was very certain. “I’ll earn a lot of money, and I’ll buy you whatever you want. But you also have to be a little more obedient. No puppy love, you know?”
Mi Yang asked him, “Are you going to help Auntie Luo?”
Bai Luochuan said, “Not necessarily. We’ll see. I want to do something myself.”
He waited until Mi Yang had almost finished tidying up, then urged him to wash up and sleep with him. However, this time he didn’t let Mi Yang go back to the bed next to him, but dragged him to his side. After the lights were turned off, he was much more talkative than usual, but he didn’t ask Mi Yang to tell him a story. Instead, he whispered to Mi Yang and chatted.
The bed was very small. Bai Luochuan had Mi Yang sleep on the side by the wall, then rolled over and rested his head on his arm, whispering to him, “Little Good Boy, where do you plan to go for university?”
Mi Yang already had a major in mind, but he hadn’t thought about the school yet. He hesitated for a moment. “Maybe to Beijing. I haven’t decided yet. What about you?”
Bai Luochuan said, “Wherever you want to go, of course.”
Mi Yang was amused by him and laughed. When the young master Bai was in a good mood, his mouth could be deadly sweet. Mi Yang whispered, “Same as you.”
Bai Luochuan didn’t hear clearly. “Hmm?”
Mi Yang closed his eyes and smiled. “I’ll also go wherever you want to go.”
The bed was not spacious, and it was a little crowded for the two of them to sleep together. Mi Yang had originally thought that he would not sleep well at night, but after he closed his eyes, his fingers habitually reached up to the side of his pillow and touched the young master Bai’s pajamas. Although the fabric was different, the young master Bai’s body was warm. After moving his fingers a few times, he quickly fell asleep.
He slept until dawn, a dreamless night.
When Bai Luochuan woke up the next day, he was still a little reluctant to get out of bed. He rubbed against Mi Yang’s shoulder and accused him, “You weren’t well-behaved when you were sleeping last night. If I hadn’t held you tight, I would have been kicked off by you…”
Mi Yang didn’t listen to him and pushed him. “Get up. We have to go for our morning run in a bit.” As if he had thought of something interesting, he asked him again, “Don’t you like to run in the morning the most? Get up and exercise, class monitor Bai.”
Class monitor Bai was not very willing but was still dragged up. He could only go back to his own class with an unhappy face.
The school had a morning run at 6:30, which was just two laps on the playground to get some fresh air. After the run was the morning self-study. Compared to other schools, this one was a little stricter. Each class was also assigned a cleaning area, which had to be cleaned once in the morning and once in the evening.
Bai Luochuan’s homeroom teacher’s surname was Dai, and his name was Dai Shutong. Just from his name, he sounded like a literary creator. He was a slightly chubby middle-aged man, unmarried, with a very good mentality. He was always smiling and was very willing to get along with the students. Now, his biggest worry was that his own class monitor would defect—to the second class.
Comrade Old Dai had been with the students since the morning run. He would also exercise a little. When it was time to clean, he would also often go to the class’s cleaning area to have a look.
This morning, when Old Dai went to the cleaning area, he saw that the students were working seriously. He also strolled over to have a look and asked them, “Why didn’t you get the big broom? This banyan tree is prone to shedding leaves. It won’t be clean like this. If you don’t have the tools, you can have the class monitor go to my office to get them… Where’s the class monitor?”
The few students said, “The class monitor also said that just now. He went to get the tools!”
Old Dai was very gratified, but after waiting for a while, he still didn’t see the class monitor come back. He then had another student go and call the class monitor, and he himself rolled up his sleeves and started to chat with the students while working. Old Dai loved to work, but he also felt awkward without the right tools. After waiting for a long time and not seeing the student he had just sent come back with Bai Luochuan, he couldn’t help but send two more students, reminding them, “You must bring the class monitor back. And, bring the tools back too!”
The two students agreed and ran off.
Old Dai was busy in the cleaning area by himself, sweeping the fallen leaves and wiping the bronze statue, making this small cleaning area very clean. He was very diligent! At first, he could still hum a song, but after a short while, he couldn’t hum anymore. It was one thing for the class monitor not to come back, but how could the few he had sent to find the class monitor all disappear like stones sinking into the sea, with not a single one coming back?
Old Dai had cleaned the cleaning area by himself and was muttering to himself. After he was done, he went over to have a look and was so angry he almost fainted. His class’s students, under the leadership of the class monitor, were helping the second class to clean!
When he got closer, he even heard Bai Luochuan seriously replying to Teacher Wen of the second class, “…You’re welcome. This is what we brother classes should do. Teacher Dai has also always taught us to be helpful.”
Old Dai: “…”
Teacher Wen on the other side was thanking him profusely, but Old Dai was still not happy in his heart.
He called his little class monitor to the office and, when there was no one else around, asked him, “Luochuan, tell the teacher seriously. Are you in a relationship?”
Bai Luochuan: “No.”
Old Dai said seriously, “Then why are you always helping the second class? You really don’t have a crush on a little girl in their class?”
Bai Luochuan chuckled. “No. Are you talking about what happened in the cleaning area this morning? Their cleaning area is bigger than ours and also harder to clean. There are also more girls there.”
Old Dai: “Isn’t there also a Mi Yang!”
Bai Luochuan said righteously, “He can’t handle it alone. Didn’t you see? Even Teacher Wen came to help in person. It’s really very hard to do. It won’t take long to help a little.”
Old Dai said angrily, “I also went to help you! I go every day. Why don’t you feel sorry for me?”
Bai Luochuan said, “I do. You shouldn’t come next time.”
Old Dai: “…”
If he didn’t go and watch, the class monitor would take the whole class and defect to the second class!
After he came out of the office, Mao Yue and a few other boys happened to come from the hallway. Seeing him, they said, “Brother Bai, what did Old Dai talk to you about?”
Bai Luochuan said, “It was nothing. It was just about the cleaning area this morning. He was afraid I would have a puppy love with a little girl from the second class.”
Mao Yue said with a chuckle, “It’s not just Old Dai. I’m starting to think so too. You go there too often.”
Bai Luochuan sneered. “Why are you only talking about me? Every time I go, Old Dai follows right behind me. Why don’t you say he’s staring at the second class?”
Class monitor Bai, with a hidden puppy love in his heart, not only refused to admit it but also tried to shift the blame. He then left.
The few boys behind him, including Mao Yue, looked at each other. Old Dai was an older, unmarried young man, and he was also a very upright person. It was absolutely impossible for him to have a crush on an underage little girl. The only possibility was the new female homeroom teacher of the second class, Teacher Wen.
The few boys looked at each other. One of them suddenly said with some excitement, “Hey, I think that’s a little reliable! Last time Brother Bai didn’t go to the second class, I also saw Old Dai go!”
“That’s right! Old Dai was also very enthusiastic about going to the second class to listen to the lectures. Teacher Wen was teaching English, and he also went to listen!”
“Old Dai also wrote a poem last time. I saw it on his desk. Aiya, Teacher Wen doesn’t seem to have a boyfriend either?”
…
In the afternoon, during the first class’s class meeting, Old Dai stood on the podium, trying to blend in with everyone. After talking about his own youthful feelings in high school, he then reminded them, “The teacher is an experienced person and knows how you feel now. You are still young now, and it’s easy to have a good impression of girls. But we still don’t support puppy love. Your studies come first, you know? After you go to university, you must try to fall in love once. Hey, don’t wait until you’re the teacher’s age, all alone and can only grade papers every day. Some of the students’ papers have a lot of mistakes, and I can’t even sleep at night, just wanting to correct your problems!”
The students of the first class had sparkling eyes, shining with the light of gossip and encouragement. After Old Dai finished speaking, a boy started and shouted in a low voice, “Teacher Dai, we support you!”
“Teacher Dai, don’t be afraid. The whole class is your backup!”
“Go for it, Teacher Dai!”
The students below were jeering and supporting him in finding true love. Old Dai was taken aback for a moment, but he quickly said with great pain, “Why are you cheering for the teacher? Cheer for yourselves! You haven’t even gotten into a top university yet. How can I have the mood to fall in love!!”
But no matter what he said, after this class meeting, the students of the first class ran to the second class even more frequently. Sometimes, they didn’t even need the class monitor to lead the way. When they saw that Teacher Wen of the second class needed help with something, they would immediately rush over to work. Before they left, they would also add a smile, “Teacher Wen, you’re welcome. Our Teacher Dai told us to come. This is the duty of a brother class!”
