Chapter 36: Pei He: Pei He ground his teeth—truly owing him…

Pei He ground his teeth. He really owed him one…

After Zhou Zhuoyuan fell asleep, the idle Pei He pulled out his phone and snapped some selfies. He examined his handsome face from every angle, wondering just where he’d fallen short.

No matter how he looked at it, he was drop-dead gorgeous—a perfect model face.

He leaned closer to Zhou Zhuoyuan, and a droplet of water from his damp hair fell onto Zhou Zhuoyuan’s forehead, beading up right between his brows.

The temperature was low today, but the weather was decent enough. The School Infirmary room had excellent lighting, and the sunlight made that little droplet sparkle like a gem.

Pei He blanked out for a moment before realizing what he’d done. He hurriedly grabbed a tissue and gently dabbed it away.

His gaze drifted to Zhou Zhuoyuan’s eyelashes—thick and curling, now resting peacefully and tempting him to imagine the stunning eyes hidden beneath. His nose was sharp and defined, matching his personality perfectly. If it had been just a touch rounder, he’d have looked far easier to push around.

His lower lip was split open. How could he be so brutal to himself? He’d have to eat carefully for the next few days. If it hurt that bad, he could’ve just called out sooner. So damn stubborn—like a mule.

Taking it all in, Pei He had to admit Zhou Zhuoyuan edged him out, just a little. But only a little. His build was awful, skinny to the point of exaggeration.

Pei He kept mentally scoring himself against his rival until he noticed the sunset casting an orange glow over Zhou Zhuoyuan’s pale face. On impulse, he reached out and poked his soft cheek.

Zhou Zhuoyuan had reached his limit. “Are you done yet? What the hell do you want?!”

Startled by the sudden outburst, Pei He leaped back two meters. His face flushed and paled by turns before he finally managed to retort, “Why were you pretending to be asleep?”

“Ha?” Zhou Zhuoyuan had never met anyone so shamelessly quick to flip the script. He laughed out of sheer fury. “Pretending? Wasn’t it that water you dripped on my face that woke me up?”

Pei He’s bravado crumbled instantly. “I didn’t do it on purpose. It was from my hair.”

Zhou Zhuoyuan shot back, “Then why were you flinging water around in the first place?”

“I-I…”

Pei He stammered guiltily for what felt like forever, but luckily Zhou Zhuoyuan let it drop. “Just stop messing with me. I want to sleep.”

Sleep he did—straight through until dinnertime, when the default ringtone blared from the phone on the bedside table.

It was Zhou Zhuoli again, bringing dinner. He had ten minutes to make it to the Cafeteria.

The doctor had said he could leave if it didn’t hurt. Zhou Zhuoyuan buried his face in the blanket for a moment before dragging himself out of bed.

By the time Pei He returned from the bathroom, Zhou Zhuoyuan had his pants on and was pacing around, packing up his things.

Pei He snatched the charger from his hand. “What are you doing? Why’d you get up?”

Zhou Zhuoyuan replied, “Going to the Cafeteria for dinner. Someone’s bringing it for me.”

Pei He frowned. “How far is the Cafeteria? Can’t they drop it off here?”

Zhou Zhuoyuan said, “He’d lose it if he knew I’d landed in the hospital again.”

Pei He couldn’t wrap his head around it. “Lose it? Who’s ‘he’? You’re the one I’ve been dealing with, not him. Why would he care? And doesn’t it hurt anymore? Don’t bullshit me—if you chomp down on that busted lip again, you’ll shred it.”

Zhou Zhuoyuan couldn’t exactly spill the messy Zhou Family drama. “No need to trouble you. I can handle it.”

Pei He ground his teeth. He really owed him one. “Stay put. I’ll go get it. I can tell him it’s too cold out and you don’t wanna leave, right?”

The Cafeteria was a good trek away. The School Infirmary’s nutrient meals would’ve sufficed, but now Pei He had to hoof it all the way there to grab the lunchbox from Zhou Zhuoli.

Worse still, Zhou Zhuoli was no pushover. When Pei He spun his excuse, Zhou Zhuoli insisted on tagging along back to the dorm to eat with them. Pei He tried to sidestep with some evasive chatter, but he was just a student—he couldn’t keep it up long before Zhou Zhuoli sniffed out the lie.

“He snuck out of school? Or ended up in the hospital again?”

Pei He paled inwardly. After weighing his options—telling Zhou Zhuoyuan to hightail it back to the dorm in five minutes, or coming clean—he chose the latter. “Sudden stomachache. He’s at the School Infirmary right now. Didn’t want you worrying, so he sent me instead.”

Zhou Zhuoli let out a cold laugh. “Didn’t want me worrying?”

“You just meet him today? And you expect me to buy that crap?”