Chapter 63: Dust and Ambiguity

Dust and ambiguity mingled together in the air.

The mats, which had been neatly stacked, were scattered all over the floor. Ping-pong balls fell from the iron racks onto the ground, emitting crisp bouncing sounds one after another, but no one paid them any mind.

Lu Ping fell onto the mats, gazing up at the young man hovering over him.

The tall young man braced his hands on either side of Lu Ping’s body, slightly lifting his upper body, but his knee—whether intentionally or not—wedged itself between Lu Ping’s legs.

Lu Ping had never seen Shen Yuze from this angle before.

The overhead lights were too dim, and Shen Yuze nearly blocked out all the light, leaving only his eyes shining like a sky full of stars.

Amid those stars, Lu Ping saw his own reflection.

What Lu Ping didn’t know was that Shen Yuze’s figure was also reflected in his own eyes.

Their hot breaths mingled, their gazes tangled, probing bit by bit, drawing closer inch by inch. The young boys guessed at each other’s feelings but remained cautious, neither willing to take that crucial step.

Shen Yuze lifted one hand and gently brushed aside Lu Ping’s bangs, then slid it down along his cheek, as if caressing a small animal.

“Did that fall hurt just now?”

Lu Ping shook his head. His throat was parched beyond measure; he couldn’t utter a single word.

His hand pressed against Shen Yuze’s chest, though he couldn’t tell himself if he wanted to push him away or pull him closer.

Lu Ping’s rationality screamed loudly from the depths of his soul, urging him to stay clear-headed, to pull away, to remain calm.

But his instincts yearned for the gentleness Shen Yuze offered, sinking uncontrollably into it.

The boy pinned beneath felt something hard pressing against the root of his thigh.

Something hard… something…

—What else could that hard thing be?!!

It couldn’t possibly be Shen Yuze’s phone, right?

A wicked term leaped into his mind, and Lu Ping instantly went rigid all over.

But at that moment, there was no room for him to call a halt.

Shen Yuze slightly lifted his upper body, creating some distance, as if giving Lu Ping space to think. But in truth, his retreat was just a ploy; within a second, he lowered himself again, closing in on Lu Ping.

At such close range, the young man’s handsome features exerted overwhelming pressure. Lu Ping’s brain overloaded, and he squeezed his eyes shut in escape, as if nothing would happen as long as he didn’t open them.

His entire body trembled, like a pitiful little mouse begging for mercy from its predator, or a lamb stretching its neck in meek submission.

Seeing the boy beneath him with his eyelashes quivering, Shen Yuze couldn’t hold back a soft chuckle. He leaned down, leaving only the tiniest gap before they would rub against each other.

The young man gently uttered his name, this time with unprecedented solemnity: “Pingping, I like…”

But before he could finish those last few words, a blinding flashlight beam suddenly pierced into the warehouse. It wove through the rows of iron racks and zigzagged onto them!

At the same time, an elderly male voice with a heavy accent bellowed: “—Which class’s little Wusun are you? Skipping class to hide here and make out?! Believe me, I’ll drag your homeroom teacher into this!”

Shen Yuze: “…”

This shout shattered the ambiguous atmosphere that had enveloped the two boys. Lu Ping jolted in fright, immediately opened his eyes, and reflexively shoved Shen Yuze off him.

…

The old man, flashlight in hand and face stern, stormed into the warehouse, charging aggressively toward the deepest corner.

Don’t let his age fool you—he had been the playground supervisor at No. 1 High School for decades, with sharp eyes and ears! A few days ago, during evening self-study, he’d caught a pair of lovebirds holding hands on the field. He never expected these crafty kids to wise up and sneak into the warehouse for their canoodling!

He had just passed by and noticed the door ajar. Peering inside, he spotted two figures embracing in the corner! If not for his keen eyesight, they might have slipped away!

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. He cranked the flashlight to max brightness and stomped heavily around the final rack.

However, something unexpected happened—where were the canoodling lovebirds? There were only two boys in Year 2 Class 8 uniforms!

One tall boy was tidying racket and featherless shuttlecocks on the rack; the other, with a round face, was bent over arranging the soft mats in the corner. Aside from their slightly disheveled clothes, there was nothing amiss.

The old man: “…Just you two?”

The tall boy nodded calmly. “Just us two.”

The old man swept the flashlight around the warehouse. Indeed, besides them, there was no third person.

But he clearly remembered seeing two people hugging in the corner… Could he really be getting old, his eyes failing?

Feeling something off, the old man pressed on: “Which class are you from?”

The tall youth answered again: “Year 2 Class 8. We just finished PE and the teacher had us organize the equipment here.”

“Organizing equipment takes this long?” the old man asked. “And the bell for the last class already rang—didn’t you hear it?”

The youth paused for a few seconds: “…Maybe the soundproofing here is too good. We really didn’t hear it.”

The old man turned to the silent boy nearby: “What about you? Which class? Names?”

The addressed boy had no choice but to turn around. His face still held a flush, luckily masked by the dimness: “I’m from Year 2 Class 8 too. I’m Lu Ping, and he’s Shen Yuze.”

The old man hadn’t heard of Lu Ping and had no impression of his face. But Shen Yuze—he remembered! On Monday, the school’s electronic screen had run all day for once, clearly displaying “Congratulations to classmate Shen Yuze for winning first place in Jiao River City’s English speech contest,” complete with a photo of him holding the trophy!

Under the flashlight’s glow, the old man scrutinized Shen Yuze closely for a good while, praising nonstop: “Oh! So you’re the champion Shen classmate! Great grades, and even handsomer in person than the photo!!”

His earlier suspicions vanished clean away. A top student like Shen Yuze wouldn’t hide in a warehouse making out!

The old man grabbed Shen Yuze’s hand and lavished more eager praise. If Shen Yuze hadn’t said they needed to get back for the last class, he might not have let him go.

“You don’t need to clean up here—I’ll handle it later!” The old man saw them out of the warehouse, beaming.

However, had he been a bit more observant, he would have noticed Lu Ping trailing behind Shen Yuze, looking guilty as a thief, even walking with his arm and leg swinging in sync—clearly hiding something.

Lu Ping kept his head down, not watching the path, just rushing forward. Only after they fully left the sports field did he exhale the breath he’d been holding.

They entered the Teaching Building, where waves of reading voices echoed down the corridors. On the way back to class, neither spoke, but their gazes clung to each other from afar, only shifting away casually just before being caught.

Shen Yuze asked softly: “Were you nervous back there?”

Those words reignited the heat that had just faded from Lu Ping’s face.

“N-Not really,” he could only reply.

Everything that had happened in the warehouse felt unreal to Lu Ping, like a dream. The mingling breaths of ambiguity, the tight link of heartbeats, the lingering, wandering gazes… He couldn’t help but wonder: Had that really happened, or was it a daydream he’d conjured?

Lu Ping desperately wanted to know what Shen Yuze’s unfinished words in the warehouse had been, but a voice in his heart whispered: Don’t ask. Absolutely don’t. Once you know, there’s no turning back.

Seeing Lu Ping’s expressions shifting, Shen Yuze sighed inwardly.

Some words could only be said in the right atmosphere, at the right moment. Miss it, and you’d wait for the next chance.

…Fine, let his silly Pingping stew a bit longer.

…

The last period was self-study, with the homeroom teacher absent. The Class Monitor sat at the podium maintaining order.

Everyone buried themselves in homework—finish one more paper, and you’d have more playtime at home!

When Shen Yuze and Lu Ping entered, quite a few classmates looked up at the footsteps. Lu Ping felt their stares held hidden meaning, as if saying: “Hey, I know what you two were up to in the warehouse!”

…Talk about a guilty conscience.

Back at his seat, Lu Ping’s first move was to stash the little mirror on his desk and return it to Chen Miaomiao.

Chen Miaomiao craned her head over curiously: “Lu Ping, no more mirror?”

Lu Ping shook his head vigorously: “No more. Here, back to you.”

Chen Miaomiao declared solemnly: “No need—I’ve resolved not to be one of those vain people! Starting now, I’ll forget my bangs, forget my ‘Light Dome,’ reform my ways, and pour all my energy into studying, not vanity…”

Lu Ping cut her off: “Chen Miaomiao, looks like you’ve got a pimple above your eyebrow.”

“!!!” Chen Miaomiao dropped her grand speech instantly, fumbling for the mirror to check her forehead repeatedly.

But there was no pimple above her eyebrow—just a bit oily.

Realizing it, Chen Miaomiao snapped: “Hey, you tricked me!”

“Just give up struggling,” the boy teased. “You say you don’t care, but your heart can’t lie.”

“Tch.” Chen Miaomiao rolled her eyes dismissively. “Lu Ping, are you always honest with yourself? Never fooled yourself?”

Lu Ping: “…”

Why did it feel like she’d hit a sore spot?

Lu Ping slumped, glumly pulling a worksheet from his desk pouch, deciding to drown himself in problems.

Adults numb themselves with smokes, drinks, games, cute pet videos online. For minors, it was diving into the sea of questions. Facing the endless Five-Three, all messy thoughts vanished—what a cyber form of chanting sutras!

Sadly, Lu Ping’s cyber chanting accuracy wasn’t high. After one paper, checking answers revealed plenty of mistakes.

Sigh.

The dismissal bell rang, and Lu Ping swept the unfinished homework into his bag with his arm.

Chen Miaomiao was slumped at her desk, chatting with other girls. Midway, she turned and poked his arm: “Lu Ping, did you hear what I said earlier?”

Lu Ping: “Uh… what?”

Unfazed, Chen Miaomiao repeated: “I said, are you free this Saturday? Want to come play at my family’s mountain?”

“Your family’s mountain?” Lu Ping was confused. Chen Miaomiao’s family made shoelaces—since when did they have a mountain?

Zhou Yue answered for her: “Miaomiao’s family leased an orchard on Yongquan Mountain, all honey oranges! It’s peak season now. Miaomiao wants to invite a few friends to pick oranges—pick as many as you want, take them all home. You in?”

Yongquan Mountain was on the North Shore and was a famous orange-producing area in Jiaojiang City. The local honey oranges had thin skins, no seeds, and were bursting with juice. Wealthy families like Chen Miaomiao’s would contract one or two mountains and send baskets of them to relatives and friends when they came into season.

Lu Ping loved honey oranges the most. Every autumn and winter, he ate so many that his fingers turned orange-yellow. He felt tempted upon hearing this, but he also thought that there was a little over a month until finals, and spending a whole day playing on the mountain would really delay his studies.

Seeing him waver, Chen Miaomiao pulled out her trump card. “Lu Ping, just come! Besides our No. 1 High School classmates, I’ve also invited a bunch of friends from elementary and junior high. Don’t you want to make a few more friends?”

Lu Ping: “…Make a few more friends?”

He murmured the words in repetition, and Shen Yuze’s figure once again surfaced in his mind.

If he made a few more friends, would he stop feeling so insecure about Shen Yuze?

“Alright.” With that thought, Lu Ping nodded. “What time on Saturday? I’ll go.”