“You did great, good kid.”
After that, Li Ran sank into the passenger seat, frozen. He gripped the seatbelt tightly, staring ahead at the road home. In his dimmed vision, his ears burned red, his whole face aflame.
He didn’t know what was wrong with him.
When reporting the monthly exam scores to Bai Qingqing, she first asked Qi Zhi’s score, then twisted her voice upon seeing it and called Li Ran. He could picture her frowning.
“You have to keep pushing. Second in class is nothing. You know the undergrad line last year was over 500, even the worst third-tier. I send you the cutoffs every year; you need to study even harder…”
Such cold water didn’t douse Li Ran’s enthusiasm; his face still burned.
He nodded dazedly, mumbling: “Okay. Okay. I know. I know.”
That night in bed, Li Ran lay flat under the covers, hands on his stomach, staring at the chandelier patterns above.
The light was off, his vision dark; of course he couldn’t count them. If it were on, his eyes probably couldn’t stare straight.
He tossed and turned half the night, unable to sleep.
Why? He didn’t know.
This kind of insomnia was the worst. Li Ran asked himself: “What’s wrong with me…”
Chi Mo wasn’t asleep either.
Not only that, at two a.m., regardless of whether Li Ran was asleep, he knocked on his door disturbingly.
Knock knock knock—
Urgent, displeased.
“…Bro?” Li Ran, who had been tossing all night, had wrecked his pajamas—wrinkled and unbuttoned, exposing his collarbone. His coffee-chestnut curls were a mess, like he’d been roughed up.
Chi Mo was also in sleepwear, but neat and tidy, hair impeccable, treating sleep like work: “Did you forget something?”
A statement, not a question.
“…Huh?” Li Ran blinked in confusion. “No.”
Chi Mo said: “Fine. Bad kid.”
With a cool expression, he turned and left, leaving Li Ran with his mouth agape, stunned by “bad kid.” Moments later, he pouted aggrievedly.
He didn’t chase after to ask, because Chi Mo had already locked his door.
Click. Loud and clear.
Li Ran crawled back into bed, covers up to his chin. He puzzled over Chi Mo’s behavior for a while, pouting as he fell asleep.
Before drifting off, he vaguely recalled Chi Mo calling his name now and then since seeing the report card.
Then nothing—just quietly watching Li Ran with an expression that was hesitant, suggestive.
If there’s something to do, just tell me straight. I don’t get hints…
After the monthly exam, Li Ran thought he could rest, but harsh reality shattered that. High school seniors were donkeys—no rest, and the school watched closely.
He got it—they were high school donkeys, after all. But why wouldn’t Chi Mo let him rest? Mornings still meant memorizing vocab, evenings still meant test papers.
The vocab method had improved now.
Chi Mo would say simple English for Li Ran to listen to and make him converse in English. Mistakes were fine, but he had to speak.
If he couldn’t, Chi Mo called him bad.
Same tone as “bad kid.”
Did learning English go with “bad kid”? Li Ran hadn’t been naughty.
He knew it was a reminder. Of what, exactly?
No rush; he was still thinking…
His daily fun now was feeding the cats. At least Hei Ge was affectionate.
That day, Black Impermanence fought viciously with that tabby cat again. His wife was nearby, fur puffed around her neck.
Li Ran got out of the car and separated the two cats with their unknown grudge. From the corner of his eye, he glanced at Hei Ge’s wife and had a weird intuition.
Was the White Cat’s missing egg taken out by the tabby? So Hei Ge fought her every time?
Chi Mo had been sulky lately; Li Ran wanted to coax him: “Bro, these two kittens are a couple. The white kitty is the black kitty’s wife.”
Chi Mo knew the strays Li Ran fed daily. He didn’t interfere or care much. He wasn’t an animal lover.
As expected, he brushed it off: “So what? Rubbing in that I don’t have a wife?”
Li Ran: “…”
Where did that come from?
Li Ran teased: “They both have eggs; they’re gay.”
Chi Mo, who had started to walk away, turned back interested: “Really?”
That evening after school, Li Ran came home to find Black and White Impermanence caught inside.
Hei Ge wasn’t familiar with Chi Mo and bared his teeth protectively, fur bristling over his wife. As Chi Mo approached, he leaped up and bolted, kicking sofa cushions everywhere. White Cat saw Black Cat bristle and followed suit. The scene was chaos.
Both hissed at Chi Mo.
“Bro, what are you doing?!” Li Ran grabbed Chi Mo’s hand, pulling him away from the cats.
He said: “They’re scared of you. Careful not to get scratched.”
Caring for the cats and the person.
Li Ran asked: “How’d you get them inside?”
Chi Mo casually said: “They suit my taste. You feed them every day anyway; just do it at home.”
Li Ran had once thought about bringing the cats home, but he could barely care for himself. Stray cats unwanted, stray “wild man” unwanted too.
He knew even if he brought Black and White Impermanence home, they’d likely become a burden, not companions.
Better not to make promises he couldn’t keep.
Li Ran asked: “Can we really… keep them?”
Chi Mo paused silently, touching on a past worry of Li Ran’s heart: Should’ve invited these grubby little kittens home sooner.
“Keep them,” Chi Mo said. “They like you.”
Hei Ge sniffed Li Ran’s scent, twitching his nose to confirm—this was a familiar living person—and gradually relaxed.
Li Ran tentatively petted his fur, happily asking: “Bro, how’d you bring them in? The black cat’s super vigilant.”
Chi Mo said: “Fishing net.”
Li Ran: “…”
So simple and brutal.
Li Ran wondered: “Where’d we get a fishing net at home?”
Chi Mo said, “It’s my little uncle’s. He comes to stay here for a few days during his annual leave, then goes winter fishing. The fishing gear is in the warehouse.”
The wandering Black and White Impermanence settled into their new home. With cat food, treats, canned cat food, and chicken breast every day, their wild nature was tamed in the blink of an eye, as if they had been pet cats all along.
Men would bend for a peck of rice, and little cats were no exception.
Especially Hei Ge. Once he was full, he pinned down his wife, resting his front paws on the white cat as he slept. If the white cat wasn’t sleepy and tried to get up, he wouldn’t let go at all—he’d force her back down and hold her tight.
They didn’t want to run outside at all anymore.
Li Ran found it amusing and watched them with a smile.
…If only Chi Mo wouldn’t force him to study.
Tomorrow was the weekend, but today was Friday, and he still couldn’t rest. Even a tyrant wouldn’t be this harsh.
Li Ran really wanted to ask Chi Mo if he’d done something to offend him and if this was revenge.
After self-study ended at nine-thirty in the evening, Chi Mo ordered Li Ran to stay in the study with him and complete a test paper.
English was hypnotic. Li Ran’s eyes stared at the questions, but his mind chased after the Duke of Zhou.
Then, with a “thud,” he face-planted onto the test paper, using the English section as a pillow and falling asleep.
Li Ran woke to being restrained.
In his dream, he felt his limbs tightly locked, unable to move.
It was just like being pinned by a ghost.
Li Ran’s consciousness struggled the whole time, but his body wouldn’t budge.
Finally, his soul returned to his body. As soon as he opened his eyes, all sleepiness vanished, and his soul nearly fled in terror.
He discovered that he had somehow burrowed into Chi Mo’s arms. Chi Mo held him, while he clung to Chi Mo with hands and feet entwined.
Like an octopus, inseparable.
At this moment, he should have jolted away and fled in panic. Two guys hugging like this—what did it look like? He had to run fast and pretend this explosive, shocking scene had never happened.
But Chi Mo was asleep and hadn’t woken. Li Ran was afraid of disturbing him and found himself in a dilemma, unable to advance or retreat. Borrowing the faint moonlight that had crept in through the window, he studied Chi Mo’s eyebrows and eyes.
It was in this instant that Li Ran suddenly remembered the promise he owed Chi Mo.
He had said before, “If I score higher on this monthly exam than the final exam from sophomore year, I’ll kiss you right on the mouth.”
Though he had only said it casually…
But… that counted as a promise, right?
Keeping one’s word was a fine traditional virtue that Li Ran had upheld since childhood.
These past few days, Chi Mo had been bullying him, not letting him balance work and rest, always making him do homework and test papers. Was it because of this?
While Chi Mo was asleep, he could fulfill the promise right away. Then, when morning came, he could tell him the promise had been perfectly settled… That should work, right?
Otherwise, how could he kiss him while awake?
It would scare his brother to death.
Li Ran didn’t need much mental preparation. In the dead of night with a foggy mind, he quietly leaned in, intending to lightly brush his lips against Chi Mo’s face.
But then Chi Mo turned his head slightly, and that warmth, which should have parted after a mere touch, landed precisely on Chi Mo’s lips.
And then—Chi Mo woke up.
His opened eyes held no trace of sleepiness.
