Every city’s earliest awakening was always the morning market. Before six o’clock, the North Shore “CBD” was already filled with bustling crowds.
Lu Mom lifted the cover cloth from the wooden bucket, and the pale, freshly made glutinous rice cakes were still steaming hot to the touch. She deftly cut off a corner and was about to press it into a flat cake using her usual technique when Lu Ping, who had been squatting nearby reading a book, suddenly spoke up.
“Mom, let me do this one.”
He set down his book, walked over to the workbench, and took the soft yet non-sticky, highly elastic glutinous rice dough. With a flick of his wrist, he slammed it onto the board. Lu Mom had been running her Glutinous Cake stall for so many years, and Lu Ping had picked up the skill of wrapping them through constant exposure.
The steaming glutinous rice dough first needed to be pressed into a round patty by hand—those without enough skill often ended up with uneven thickness in the skin, which was why more and more vendors now used machines for this step—then filled layer by layer with fresh vegetables and rich, oily braised pork.
Lu Ping specially selected a piece of lean meat, chopped it into shreds, then topped it with freshly blanched crisp bean sprouts, carrot shreds, cabbage vermicelli, and finally sprinkled it with their homemade pickled sour long bean dices… The boy’s movements were swift; with a clap of his hands and a twist of his fingers, the dough obediently sealed shut, leaving only a braided twist mark at the seam.
Lu Ping’s expression was focused, as if he were carving a rare treasure rather than wrapping a Glutinous Cake. In the blink of an eye, a “giant dumpling” even bigger than his hand was complete.
This Glutinous Cake weighed a full jin, and Lu Ping wrapped it in several layers of plastic bags before carefully placing it into his backpack.
—He planned to bring this Glutinous Cake for Shen Yuze to try.
He wondered if Shen Yuze, as a northerner, could stomach this sticky, chewy Jiao River breakfast.
He probably could… People from the Capital loved dumplings, and wasn’t this just a giant dumpling? No need for dipping sauce!
This was a big dumpling he had made with his own hands. He hoped Shen Yuze would eat it all and not be ungrateful!
…
The road to school was smooth all the way. When Lu Ping hopped off the bus, that familiar luxury sedan happened to pull up at the school gate as well.
The car door opened, and a pair of long legs stepped out.
“Morning, Shen Yuze!” Lu Ping waited by the school gate, mustered his courage, and waved at his desk mate, complete with a big smile.
Lu Ping was actually a boy who loved to smile, but at school, he rarely showed it. There was simply nothing worth smiling about at school: no one chatted with him during breaks, no one said goodbye after school, no one invited him to play soccer in PE… Over time, Lu Ping always kept his head half-lowered at school, staring at the ground to minimize his presence.
But today was different!
Lu Ping thought of the hefty Glutinous Cake he had made himself in his backpack and decided to take this bold step.
He didn’t want to be a marginal background character anymore—only brave people made friends!
“Good morning.” Shen Yuze slung his backpack over one shoulder, looking casual and natural. He was nearly half a head taller than Lu Ping, and the same athletic school uniform took on completely different vibes on them.
Shen Yuze had the standard clothes-hanger figure: broad shoulders, long legs. When the wind blew open his uniform jacket, every movement was exceptionally pleasing to the eye. As for Lu Ping… put nicely, he was the green leaf that set off the flower; bluntly, he was just an ordinary passerby.
In a campus idol drama, Shen Yuze would undoubtedly be the well-deserved protagonist, while Lu Ping might not even qualify as a supporting character—he’d be lucky to be an extra in the background next to the lead.
Lu Ping quietly compared their differences and felt his resolve wavering again: Could two people worlds apart really be friends?
…No, he couldn’t give up like this!
Lu Ping looked at Shen Yuze walking beside him and mustered his courage. “Have you had breakfast?” If not, he could smoothly hand over the Glutinous Cake!
Shen Yuze: “I have.”
Lu Ping persisted, “You’ve been in Jiao River for a while now—have you tried our local snacks? Want to taste one at lunch?”
Shen Yuze glanced at him. “The driver will pick me up at noon to go home. The chef will have prepared it in advance.”
“…” Only then did Lu Ping remember that after Shen Yuze transferred in, he had never seen him in the cafeteria. With his own driver, he naturally had a nanny and chef too. Every day at noon dismissal, Shen Yuze vanished—turns out he went home to eat.
In comparison, the Glutinous Cake Lu Ping had made himself suddenly felt inadequate.
He subconsciously touched his backpack. Through the thin waterproof cloth, he could still feel the warm, soft Glutinous Cake. When he made it that morning, he had put so much care into it: picking the leanest piece since Shen Yuze might not like fat, wrapping it in waterproof paper to avoid dirty hands, and layering on several plastic bags.
Seeing Lu Ping’s hesitant expression, Shen Yuze simply asked directly, “What’s up?”
Lu Ping: “Actually, I…”
Before he could finish, the preparatory bell for morning self-study suddenly rang through the campus.
As a student, the moment he heard the bell, Lu Ping bolted toward the classroom, not forgetting to shout back at Shen Yuze while running, “Hurry! Hurry! We’ll be late and lose class discipline points!”
Shen Yuze didn’t care about points or class honor at all. But when Lu Ping glanced back at him, he subconsciously followed, running alongside while thinking: What the hell am I doing?
High School Year 2 Class 8 was on the third floor, of course with no elevator.
Lu Ping ran frantically, taking stairs two at a time like a long-legged jerboa in the desert—small but surprisingly agile.
Shen Yuze followed behind and couldn’t help but look at him a few extra times.
Lu Ping’s uniform pants were a bit short—neither Lu Dad nor Lu Mom were tall, but surprisingly, their son had shot up several centimeters after entering high school. With big strides, his ankles were exposed.
He was very slim, with fine ankles, long and beautiful Achilles tendons, and rounded ankle bones. If he were barefoot…
Before Shen Yuze could finish the thought of “if barefoot, then…,” they had already reached the classroom door.
Those inexplicably arising amorous thoughts were like a late summer breeze—scorching in its passing, but quickly dissipating.
Lu Ping, naturally, had no idea he’d been observed for so long. After charging up three floors with his heavy backpack, he was inevitably panting.
The first few minutes of morning self-study were always noisy, especially after a weekend when close classmates exchanged weekend stories, no matter how the Class Monitor roared from the podium.
But strangely, today when Shen Yuze and Lu Ping entered the classroom, the lively class fell abruptly silent. Countless eyes turned toward them—eyes filled with fear, curiosity, scrutiny, eagerness… But within seconds, those gazes casually shifted away, replaced by whispers spreading between desks.
Lu Ping: “?”
Shen Yuze beside him seemed oblivious—or rather, accustomed to the stares, kind or malicious. He calmly walked into the classroom, through the aisle between two rows of desks, until he sat in the back row.
Looking at Lu Ping still dumbly standing at the door, he asked, “Not coming over? Class is starting.”
His voice wasn’t loud, but the moment he spoke, it was as if a silence spell had been cast over the class. Everyone heard clearly, and the gazes swished back onto Lu Ping.
If Lu Ping were really a little mouse, his fur would have all stood on end right then.
He swallowed, head down, and rushed to the back of the classroom. His speed rivaled the final sprint in a 1500-meter PE run.
Fortunately, their seats were in the last row. Once seated, no one dared openly turn around to stare.
As the class’s little transparent, Lu Ping had now been the center of the whole class’s attention twice—and both times involved Shen Yuze… He finally understood why extras in TV dramas always crowded around the protagonist. This must be what “stealing the spotlight” felt like.
Morning self-study proceeded as usual.
Normally, after class, classmates loved coming over to chat with Shen Yuze, especially the few boys who always asked if he wanted to game together.
But today, for some reason, the area around their seats became a vacuum zone. The moment the bell rang, the nearby seats emptied instantly—like shoving a predator into a sardine can, everyone scattered far away.
Lu Ping frowned. “Shen Yuze, don’t you think everyone’s acting weird today?”
Shen Yuze replied indifferently, “Are they?”
“…” Relying on this guy was hopeless. Detective Lu Ping decided to uncover the truth himself!
He noticed some girls huddled together, chattering while sneaking glances their way.
Lu Ping grabbed his water cup, pretending to refill it, and approached.
His acting must have been decent (or his presence too negligible), as they didn’t notice him. He caught a keyword from their discussion—”violent tendencies.”
Lu Ping: “?”
He wanted to listen more, but the interval after morning self-study was too short; the class bell soon rang again.
Monday’s first period was Chinese class. Their teacher was a rehired special-grade educator with excellent teaching skills but poor eyesight, sporting glasses thicker than beer bottle bottoms—his eyes looked distorted from the side.
With bad vision, he naturally couldn’t see what the students were up to below the podium.
Thus, Chinese class was jokingly called the “relaxation period”: napping, copying homework, even… passing notes.
Lu Ping carefully tore a palm-sized piece from his homework notebook, wrote a few lines, then tapped the shoulder of the student in front and passed the note.
He whispered, “Please pass it to Chen Miaomiao.”
Chen Miaomiao was the class’s gossip queen and a fan of @fake-diaond—anything rumor-related to Shen Yuze, she was the fastest source!
Lu Ping didn’t notice that when he said “pass it to Chen Miaomiao,” Shen Yuze beside him had a slight shift in expression and glanced sideways at him.
Passing notes in class was commonplace from elementary to high school—who hadn’t done it? Lu Ping watched the note pass through several hands until it landed on Chen Miaomiao’s desk.
Upon receiving it, Chen Miaomiao turned to look at Lu Ping.
Lu Ping pressed his hands together in a begging gesture.
Chen Miaomiao huffed arrogantly, lowered her head, and began scribbling on the note.
Soon, it came back.
Lu Ping eagerly unfolded it, oblivious to Shen Yuze’s growing displeasure beside him.
The note had two lines in different handwriting and colors.
The first was neat and proper, in black exam pen—Lu Ping’s.
[Chen Miaomiao, why was everyone staring at Shen Yuze when he entered this morning? And I heard some girls mention something about violent tendencies.]
The second was loopy script, in pink strawberry-scented pen—naturally Chen Miaomiao’s.
[Heh, why ask me? You should know better than I do, right?]
Lu Ping: “?”
Lu Ping quickly passed another note, filled with flattery. He praised Chen Miaomiao for her sharp instincts and quick wit, begging the great benefactor Chen Miaomiao to just tell him straight.
Soon, Chen Miaomiao’s second note came back.
【Stop playing dumb! On Saturday, Shen Yuze beat up guys from Class 9 and Class 10 at the Library Tower. It was a huge deal—now every guy in the grade knows about it! You were clearly right there, but you didn’t breathe a word to me!】
Lu Ping stared at this accusatory message, never imagining it was about that.
He bit his lower lip and swiftly wrote a third note.
Lu Ping: 【So what’s the situation now?】
Chen Miaomiao: 【I want to know too! Lu Ping, do you know why Shen Yuze hit them?】
Lu Ping: 【Didn’t those guys say?】
Chen Miaomiao: 【Someone asked, but they hemmed and hawed. They said they only said a few words to Shen Yuze, and he suddenly attacked them. They called it his violent tendencies.】
Lu Ping grew anxious.
Lu Ping: 【They’re the ones flipping the script!!!!!!】
He used a bunch of exclamation marks.
Lu Ping: 【They were the ones running their mouths first!!!!!! They deserved to get beat!!!!!!!】
Lu Ping was so furious that he pressed extra hard when writing the exclamation marks, tearing the paper with his pen tip.
If Shen Yuze hadn’t been standing up for him, he wouldn’t have bothered with those jerks at all. Shen Yuze had been righting wrongs and ridding the world of scum, yet those trash boys turned around and splashed dirty water on him. Lu Ping’s eyes reddened with rage.
Chen Miaomiao: 【Huh? What did they say?】
The gossip queen’s radar was fully activated! As a fan of Shen Yuze, she naturally believed he wasn’t the type to throw punches without reason. If there was more to the story, she could help clear his name.
Lu Ping rolled up his sleeves, ready to write down everything that had happened that day, when a hand suddenly reached over from his side and gripped his wrist.
It was Shen Yuze’s hand.
His hand was beautiful—long fingers, distinct knuckles, and when he curled them, the veins bulging on the back were even visible. Lu Ping had once drawn plaster hand models in art class, but in his eyes, none carved by master sculptors could compare to Shen Yuze’s perfection.
Shen Yuze’s voice was very low: “Lu Ping, stop passing notes.”
Lu Ping: “But…” But he wanted to clear things up for Shen Yuze.
In Shen Yuze’s eyes, though, he didn’t care about the purpose of Lu Ping’s notes. All he cared about was that in the mere ten minutes since class started, his new desk mate had already exchanged seven or eight notes with a girl!
When Lu Ping passed the first note, Shen Yuze had only glanced over—little mouse had the freedom to not pay attention in class, and he wouldn’t interfere. By the third note, Shen Yuze still hadn’t peeked; that was the gentlemanly thing to do. But now, they were passing notes back and forth with increasing enthusiasm!
Hadn’t Lu Ping noticed the mocking look in the eyes of the boy helping relay the notes?
With that thought, a shadow flickered in the depths of Shen Yuze’s eyes.
“A student’s primary duty is to study.” Shen Yuze spoke, leaving no room for Lu Ping to argue. “Lu Ping, focus on the lesson.”
Lu Ping: “……”
A guy who never paid attention in class was telling him to focus?
【Shocked little mouse.jpg】
