Just as Lu Ping worried about Zhaocai’s balls, the tardy principal finally appeared in the office.
The principal of Jiaojiang No. 1 Middle School was not yet sixty years old, but his hair had already taken on a “rural areas surrounding the cities” formation—a few stubborn strands circled his smooth scalp, proclaiming to the world: I still have hair! I’m not bald!
Classmates privately nicknamed him “Braised Egg” because his skin was dark, and the hairless spot on his head was impeccably smooth, like a perfectly seasoned braised egg. Principal Lu rarely smiled and was usually elusive, like a dragon you saw the head of but never the tail—most of the time, you never saw him at all.
When the principal arrived, Lu Ping reflexively jumped up from the sofa, hands pressed tightly to his pant seams, and greeted him properly: “Egg Pri… cough, hello, Principal Lu!”
Shen Yuze made no move to stand; he simply nodded slightly toward the principal, which counted as his greeting.
Principal Lu didn’t mind Shen Yuze’s “impoliteness.” He gestured for Lu Ping not to be nervous and to sit down.
But how could Lu Ping not be nervous?
After all, in Lu Ping’s world, the principal was the highest “leader” he could ever come into contact with. All teachers listened to the principal, and all students listened to the teachers… Aside from the weekly flag-raising ceremonies and the end-of-term outstanding student award ceremonies, an ordinary student like Lu Ping never got to see the principal. Now, he was receiving an “audience” from him, though unfortunately, the reason wasn’t exactly honorable.
Lu Ping kept his legs pressed together, his butt only touching the edge of the sofa, hands on his knees—his posture was as proper as a kindergarten kid.
The principal sat down on the sofa opposite them.
He had called them here because of the Women’s Toilet incident from yesterday. But instead of coming to reprimand them, he asked if they had been injured.
Shen Yuze: “Thank you for your concern, Principal. We’re not injured.”
“That’s good, that’s good.” The principal’s attitude was amiable, a smile on his face. He then asked, “Classmate Shen, I heard from your English teaching group leader that you’ve signed up for the citywide English speech contest? I’m looking forward to your performance. I believe you’ll bring glory to the school!”
Afterward, the principal asked Shen Yuze if he had adjusted to school after transferring, if he had been scared during his first typhoon… and so on. His attentive and gentle demeanor was completely different from the man Lu Ping had seen at the flag-raising ceremony.
Shen Yuze handled these questions modestly yet confidently.
As for Lu Ping… he was completely ignored. Aside from the principal asking his name at the very beginning, the principal didn’t glance at him again. He was like background scenery in the office, or a potted plant in the corner—reduced to a foil for Shen Yuze. Lu Ping even suspected that if he suddenly started doing cartwheels in the principal’s office right now, the principal still wouldn’t spare him a look.
Still, being ignored had its benefits.
Shen Yuze handled chatting with the principal, while Lu Ping handled eating the stuff on the table.
The principal really knew how to enjoy himself. Not only was there tea on the table, but also various biscuits, candies, and the locally famous honey oranges.
Honey oranges were a specialty of Jiaojiang City—thin-skinned, large, and juicy. Autumn was exactly when they came into season. If you went into the hills, the mountainsides were covered with ripe oranges, and even the air carried their fragrance. Freshly picked oranges were stacked in baskets by the roadside, waiting for trucks to haul them to the provincial city. Wealthy families (like Chen Miaomiao’s) would contract an entire hillside, and instead of selling the honey oranges, they’d use them to give as gifts to relatives and friends.
Every season like this, Lu Mom bought a basket from the market, and Lu Ping alone could polish off two jin. Unfortunately, the typhoon had come too suddenly this time, trapping him at school, and he hadn’t eaten fruit for days.
Unknowingly, the pile of orange peels in front of Lu Ping had formed a little mountain, and the overflowing juice had dyed his nail beds yellow.
As Lu Ping focused on conquering the honey oranges, he accidentally squeezed one segment too hard, and the juice squirted out—instantly landing precisely on Shen Yuze’s shoe.
Shen Yuze wore a pair of white sneakers—Lu Ping didn’t recognize the brand, but they looked expensive. The orange juice stained the white surface and quickly seeped in, leaving a glaring mark.
Lu Ping: “…”
Uh, Shen Yuze probably didn’t notice, right?
At that moment, the conversation finally wound down.
The principal on the opposite sofa chuckled and said, “Classmate Shen, since you’re adapting so well to school life, I feel relieved. Class is about to start, so I won’t keep you any longer.”
Shen Yuze stood up and bid the principal goodbye.
Seeing this, Lu Ping hurriedly stood as well, bowing to the principal in farewell. Of course, before leaving, he didn’t forget to stuff the last two oranges on the table into his uniform pockets.
The two left the principal’s office one after the other, and the office door closed behind them. The entire office building was quiet.
The light rain outside hadn’t stopped, but sunlight filtered through the thin clouds, making it fairly bright. This rainy scene was a far cry from the pitch-black days before, and the air was filled with fresh water vapor.
Lu Ping was in high spirits. Following behind Shen Yuze, he gossiped eagerly: “Shen Yuze, is the principal your relative or something? Why is he so nice to you… Hey! Why did you brake suddenly?”
Just as Lu Ping spoke, Shen Yuze stopped abruptly. Caught off guard, Lu Ping bumped into his back, hitting his nose.
Lu Ping rubbed his sore nose, looked up with teary eyes, and glared huffily at the boy who was half a head taller than him.
But the boy he was glaring at showed no guilt whatsoever. Instead, he asked an unrelated question: “Was it tasty?”
“Huh?” Lu Ping blinked. “What do you mean ‘was it tasty’?”
Shen Yuze didn’t speak, just raised a brow, his gaze sweeping over Lu Ping’s bulging uniform pockets.
Lu Ping: “…” He felt awkward. “Ah, so you saw.”
Shen Yuze laughed in exasperation—he wasn’t blind! While he chatted with that old man until his mouth was dry, Lu Ping sat there like he was watching a show, munching one orange after another. When Lu Ping ate, he resembled a little mouse, holding food in both paws, cheeks puffed round, before swallowing it down in one gulp.
“Were the oranges that good?” Shen Yuze asked helplessly.
“Mm-hmm!” Unexpectedly, Lu Ping pulled a plump orange from his pocket, peeled it in a few quick motions, plucked out a segment, and eagerly held it to Shen Yuze’s mouth. “They’re super tasty—these are our local specialty, really sweet! Try one!”
Lu Ping pushed his sales pitch hard, eyes sparkling.
Under that bright, shiny gaze, Shen Yuze had no time to refuse. He instinctively opened his mouth, bit the orange segment, and in the process… brushed Lu Ping’s finger.
His lips touched the fingertip, and both froze for a moment.
The next second, Lu Ping jerked back a step as if scalded, hiding his hand behind his back. Shen Yuze pretended to be calm and swallowed the segment.
His teeth broke the thin skin, and juice flooded his mouth. The tender pulp yielded to a light press of his tongue and slid down his throat.
“Indeed, very sweet,” Shen Yuze said vaguely.
“R-right…” Lu Ping rubbed his fingertip, as if recalling the accidental touch. He stuffed the half-eaten orange back into his pocket and said in a panic, “Class is starting soon—let’s hurry back to the classroom!”
With that, he sidestepped Shen Yuze and bolted toward the classroom, arms and legs moving in awkward sync.
This time, Shen Yuze followed behind Lu Ping. Looking at the orange peels sticking out of the boy’s pocket, he suddenly regretted only eating one segment.
…
As everyone expected, by dismissal time, the typhoon that had ravaged Jiaojiang City for three full days finally departed. After the rain stopped, the school gate was crowded with parents picking up their kids.
Lu Dad and Lu Mom had wanted to pick up Lu Ping too, but he refused. For one thing, North Shore and South Shore were too far apart—it was too much trouble for his parents to come all the way. For another, he had already made plans with Shen Yuze to take Zhaocai to the pet hospital to check its tail!
Zhaocai had been locked in the Infirmary all day. The infirmary teacher had applied medicine to its wound and bandaged it, but Zhaocai was too naughty. It leaped around the infirmary, knocking over the IV stand and scattering the medicines on the rack.
What a trouble-making kitten.
The infirmary teacher complained, “How come it’s the tail that’s injured and not its paws?”
Lu Ping stuffed the little cat into his backpack, zipping it almost all the way up, leaving just a gap for Zhaocai to poke its head out and breathe fresh air. Then he wore the backpack in front like a kangaroo mom.
For some reason, when Shen Yuze saw him like this, the corners of his mouth curved up, and he kept smiling.
Lu Ping didn’t get it: “What are you laughing at?”
Shen Yuze played mysterious and refused to say.
The driver searched for a while on the road before finding a pet hospital that was still open. Lu Ping got out of the car with his big backpack. Zhaocai was a hefty fat cat, nearly twenty jin, weighing heavily on Lu Ping’s chest and making his shoulders ache. Plus, carrying such a large backpack in front obstructed his view so much he couldn’t see his feet while walking.
Shen Yuze offered to take the bag: “It’s so heavy—let me carry it.”
Lu Ping shook his head vigorously, insisting righteously: “Don’t talk nonsense. Zhaocai isn’t fat! It’s just fluffy.”
But the next second, Lu Ping covered the little cat’s ears and whispered breathlessly: “Shen Yuze, watch your words. Zhaocai understands human speech. If you call it fat, it’ll get mad.”
Shen Yuze: “…?”
Lu Ping lifted one of Zhaocai’s paws and pinched the meat pad. Sharp claws extended from it like five iron hooks.
Lu Ping tsked twice and shot Shen Yuze a “now you see how fierce it is” look.
“…” Shen Yuze mimed zipping his mouth.
The two walked side by side into the pet hospital.
Since the typhoon had just passed, the hospital was nearly empty at this hour, with only a nurse at the front desk, playing Match-3.
When the two high school boys in uniforms walked in, the nurse greeted them proactively: “Little brothers, this is a pet hospital. How can I help you?”
Lu Ping heaved the backpack onto the counter with a grunt, scooped out the chubby cat with both arms, and placed it on the desk.
It was Zhaocai’s first time at a pet hospital. Upon smelling the disinfectant and the scents left by other cats and dogs, it immediately went into stress mode: crouching low, mouth agape, eyes narrowed to slits, hissing nonstop.
Shen Yuze quickly reached to hold it down, but though fat, it moved like lightning. Before he could react, it slipped right out from under his hand!
Shen Yuze: “!!!”
Lu Ping cried out in urgency: “Haven’t you heard cats are liquids?!”
In the blink of an eye, the entire hospital lobby became their battlefield. Zhaocai parkoured across walls and shelves, while Lu Ping and Shen Yuze chased desperately behind. Caught up in the chaos, the two accidentally crashed right into each other.
Lu Ping swayed, on the verge of falling backward—if he landed on his butt, his still-healing tailbone would be done for again. At the critical moment, Shen Yuze grabbed him, pulling him into his embrace.
However, with that collision, Shen Yuze ended up as the meat cushion. Lu Ping landed heavily on top of him, his forehead knocking against Shen Yuze’s chin.
“Mm…” Shen Yuze bit the tip of his own tongue, tasting a faint hint of blood.
Hearing Shen Yuze groan in pain, Lu Ping wanted to get up immediately, but in his haste, he made a mistake—his hand pressed down on a place it shouldn’t have.
Even through the layer of rough school uniform pants, he could only feel a vague outline, but it was shocking enough.
At that moment, Shen Yuze’s expression truly turned “ugly.”
“…Lu Ping, get off me, now.”
As fellow boys, Lu Ping naturally knew exactly where he’d pressed. He mumbled without daring to speak properly, scrambling up hand and foot, and even reached out proactively to pull Shen Yuze to his feet.
Shen Yuze didn’t even glance at the hand Lu Ping offered. With an icy expression, he stood up on his own and deliberately stepped aside, putting some distance between them.
Fortunately, their little commotion only lasted about ten seconds. The nurse was busy chasing the cat and didn’t notice.
The nurse finally managed to catch Zhaocai and wrapped it up in a restraining blanket. The little black cat wriggled left and right inside, but no matter how much it twisted, it couldn’t break free.
The nurse picked it up. “Little brothers, I’ll take the cat to the X-ray room so the doctor can check its tail. There’s radiation in the X-ray room, so pet owners can’t go in. Wait here for a bit, okay?”
With that, she carried the meowing Zhaocai toward the treatment room in the back.
Once the nurse had left, Lu Ping immediately sidled up to Shen Yuze, his face thick-skinned as he asked, “Shen Yuze, you… you’re okay, right?”
His words were vague, but Shen Yuze understood perfectly.
It was exactly because Shen Yuze understood that he had even less desire to discuss whether he was “okay” or not with Lu Ping.
He deliberately turned his head away, avoiding Lu Ping’s gaze. But this evasive attitude led Lu Ping to misunderstand.
Lu Ping thought he’d used too much force just now and hurt his good friend. As boys themselves, Lu Ping knew all too well how fragile that area was! Once during PE class while playing basketball, he’d accidentally bumped it and it hurt so much tears had welled up!
They’d brought Zhaocai to the hospital today to check the cat’s tail injury and get it neutered along the way… but he hadn’t meant to neuter Shen Yuze!
With that thought, Lu Ping was overcome with guilt.
“Shen Yuze, I’m sorry, it was really an accident.” Lu Ping tugged at his sleeve and gave it a gentle shake. “How about this—” He took a deep breath, speaking in the tone of a hero severing his own wrist. “—You can press down on me too, to get revenge. Okay?”
Shen Yuze: “…”
