Classmate, Stop Acting Like a Good Boy [Rebirth] - Chapter 4

[Ah-Xu, I came to find you to hang out. I had someone deliver some clothes to your dorm entrance; put them on after school and head over.]

[Address: Crown Club (Experimental High School Branch)]

Before classes had even ended, Cheng Shixu received a text from his childhood friend. The phone buzzed twice, but he did not pick it up until the dismissal bell rang. Upon seeing the message, he suddenly remembered that today was He Yu’s birthday.

In a hurry, he did not even go to the cafeteria. He packed his bag and bolted out of the classroom. Ning Shen, still immersed in a sea of math problems, did not even notice him leave; by the time he looked up, Cheng Shixu was gone.

Originally, Shixu had planned to go to the vocational school to help Lu Jian solve some problems. He had been going there whenever he had free time lately and discovered that Lu Jian could get most of the basic questions right. For the harder ones, Lu Jian could infer the logic and write out the solutions once the initial thought process was explained. This put Shixu’s mind at ease.

He knew it; someone as smart as Lu Jian must have planned to test into the high school division long ago.

Although he did not know why Lu Jian was at a vocational school, wore strange clothes, and looked somewhat malnourished, Shixu made up an excuse for him. He figured Lu Jian was probably just going through a rebellious phase and had a few arguments with his family.

At the dorm entrance, he picked up the gift box and went inside. As he poured the clothes out, a jewelry box fell out, revealing a necklace with an “S” pendant.

Cheng Shixu froze. He stopped changing, his jacket hanging off one arm as he crouched down to pick up the necklace.

Why was this necklace here?

He picked it up and flipped the pendant over. His pupils contracted. There was a tiny scratch on the back of the silver pendant, likely caused by it hitting the floor just now.

If there was one slightly unhappy memory in the sweetness of his past life with Lu Jian, it was this necklace. They truly never fought; Lu Jian was a man of few words, steady and not prone to arguing. Every time Shixu so much as frowned, Lu Jian would go along with whatever he wanted.

Except for this necklace.

Back then, when he and Lu Jian had just started living together, he found an ornament on the desk in Lu Jian’s study. Inside, a necklace was sealed and preserved with fluff and plastic. It looked quite old and was not a particularly valuable item, yet Lu Jian kept it so preciously. It was hard for Shixu not to overthink it.

Furthermore, “S” was not the initial of Lu Jian’s name.

He remembered asking Lu Jian about it, pretending not to care. “Lu Jian, is this necklace yours?”

Lu Jian looked up from under the desk lamp, his gaze gentle as he shook his head slightly. “No.”

Shixu had drummed his fingers on the desk, coughing lightly. “Is it important to you?” After he asked that, Lu Jian stared at him for a long time, not returning to his magazine immediately. Instead, Shixu unnaturally turned toward the magazine himself; the open page showed a photo of a boxing champion, likely an interview from the latest Boxing Championship.

There were many magazines about boxing in the house, though he had never seen or heard of Lu Jian liking the sport.

“Yes,” Lu Jian finally said after a long silence. The word landed softly in Cheng Shixu’s heart. He did not dare to ask further, afraid it was something from an ex-boyfriend, or that Lu Jian was only with him because they were compatible.

He never brought it up again and stopped entering Lu Jian’s study, eventually forgetting the matter entirely.

Now, Cheng Shixu held the necklace up to the light, inspecting it closely. His expression shifted from disbelief to a momentary flash of joy, and finally to confusion.

It was unbelievable that the necklace was actually his.

Whenever his childhood friend sent him clothes, he would include accessories; sometimes earrings, sometimes necklaces, or rings.

He tried hard to remember if He Yu had given him this necklace in his previous life. He searched his memory but found no clues; there were simply too many gifts to remember them all.

That was it. If he had remembered it, he would not have felt uncomfortable about the necklace appearing in Lu Jian’s study, nor would he have worried about some ex-boyfriend or imagined a white moonlight who had gone abroad.

If this was indeed that necklace, a smile of joy curled his lips. It was wonderful to know there was no ex-boyfriend or white moonlight holding an unerasable position in Lu Jian’s heart.

However, his expression darkened again. When did he give this to Lu Jian? Had they actually known each other that early?

He shook his head. This brand of necklace was not sold exclusively to him. Perhaps that supposed ex-boyfriend also liked this brand.

The more he thought, the more sour he felt. It had been far too long since he had felt that kind of jealousy, and it was a bit much to handle.

After changing, he ran into Ning Shen, who had just returned to the dorm. “It is my friend’s birthday today. I am going out for the night. I already cleared it with the teacher and the dorm manager, so you do not have to wait up for me.”

Ning Shen stared at his new clothes with shining eyes. It was a simple short-sleeved T-shirt and black cargo pants, but the graffiti on them made the whole outfit look vibrant and fresh. “Wow, is that set from the NV brand? I saw it in an advertisement.” He walked around Cheng Shixu twice. “You look great in it.”

If nothing else, Ning Shen always provided excellent emotional support. If possible, Shixu would have liked to take Ning Shen along to have some fun, but it was not convenient. “Thank you, Shen Shen. I have to go now, or I will be late.”

“Alright, take it slow. Be safe on the road.”

Even as he walked out of the dorm, he could hear the parting instructions behind him. It reminded him of the car accident before his death, making his head feel dizzy. Do not think about it, do not think about it. Thinking too much would only lead to post-traumatic stress.

Crown Club

When Cheng Shixu pushed open the door to the private booth, it was already full of people playing cards, singing, or dancing. No one paid much attention to him until He Yu, who was sitting in the center of the crowd with his face covered in white paper strips from losing games, shouted, “Ah-Xu! Come here! I am about to lose everything!”

He walked in and handed over the gift first. “The usual.”

“I know, I know.” He Yu did not even need to look to know what the gift was. He set it behind him and pulled Cheng Shixu over. “My brother is here. He is going to wipe the floor with all of you.”

“If Ah-Xu is playing, I am out,” one friend said. “You two are in cahoots. We lose our shirts every time.”

He Yu was indignant. “Why did you not say that when you were taking my money earlier? No! You have to play. I am the boss today.”

“Fine, fine. It is Young Master He’s birthday, we will let you win a bit as a gift.”

Cheng Shixu chatted with them for a bit before they began drawing tiles. The necklace swayed with his movements. He Yu noticed and said, “Do you like the necklace? I had it custom-made by a master. There is only one in the entire world.”

That sentence caused Cheng Shixu’s hand to freeze mid-draw. “Only one?” He saw the logo on the box and thought it was a retail item.

He Yu replied, “Yes. If I gave you something subpar, would you even accept it? I had it custom-made by Master J. S for Shixu. How about it, am I great or what?” The craftsmanship and weaving techniques were unique, and the small diamonds on the pendant were crushed from a large diamond he had recently won at an auction. Where else could one find an identical piece?

“Draw a tile, do not just stand there.” As He Yu spoke, he noticed Shixu staring blankly at the necklace. He reached out. “Hey, do not be like that. I ordered this a long time ago and it just happened to arrive today. I am glad you are touched, but draw your tile first.”

“Hurry up, hurry up,” the other players urged.

Cheng Shixu snapped back to reality, suppressing the shock in his heart as he drew a tile.

So, it was true. It was not his imagination. His acquaintance with Lu Jian started much earlier than he had realized.

But how did that necklace end up in Lu Jian’s hands? He would not have just given a friend’s gift to a stranger. Was it lost and then found by Lu Jian? Did Lu Jian touch the warmth he left on the necklace and turn into a secret admirer?

He thought as hard as he could until he finally remembered that in his previous life, around this same time, it was also He Yu’s birthday. He Yu had given him clothes and jewelry, and they had gone to the Crown Club.

This club was owned by He Yu’s family.

Drawing tiles, playing, and spacing out, before long, Cheng Shixu’s face was also covered in white paper strips. He Yu, annoyed, kicked him out to go get a drink. Shixu did not mind; it was just sparkling wine, which tasted like fruit juice anyway.

Before he met Lu Jian, he was the best drinker among his friends. He had been drinking hard liquor since he was young; this stuff was nothing to him.

Perhaps because he had things on his mind, he felt the urge to use the restroom after two bottles.

He gave a greeting and stepped out. As he turned right, Lu Jian pushed a small cart of liquor into a private booth behind him. Just before entering, Lu Jian caught a glimpse of a familiar back.

Lu Jian had been thinking about how to explain to Cheng Shixu that he would not have time for tutoring after class due to his part-time job. He had waited in the classroom for a few minutes, but since he was running late, he left a note. It turned out Cheng Shixu had no intention of tutoring him today anyway and had not even said a word.

“Damn it, I waited five minutes for nothing while he came here to party.”

After delivering the wine, Lu Jian pushed the cart away. A voice came over his walkie-talkie saying there was trouble downstairs and asking him to check it out. He hurriedly left the cart to the side and headed for the elevator.

Only after the elevator doors closed did Cheng Shixu pass by that spot. He walked back into the booth and looked at the crates of alcohol, estimating that He Yu would be passed out drunk today. Luckily, tomorrow was the weekend, or he would have definitely left early.

After they had played and sung enough in the booth, the party moved to the first-floor hall for the second half. They said the shows there were more interesting. Just as Cheng Shixu sat down in a booth, his gaze was drawn to a figure. He stared fixedly at the young man in a waiter’s uniform serving and pouring wine, feeling confused again.

No matter what, Lu Jian’s family was so wealthy. Even if they had a falling out, it should not have led to Lu Jian working a part-time job in a place like this in the middle of the night. It looked like they were on the verge of cutting ties, yet Lu Jian had always said he had a good relationship with his parents.

Whenever Shixu had asked, Lu Jian said his parents loved him very much.

Before he could finish the thought, he saw a guest splash red wine directly onto Lu Jian. The guest appeared to be drunk and was acting out on purpose. Shixu could not sit still and stood up to intervene, but Lu Jian was already walking quickly in his direction. As Shixu squeezed out of the booth, he collided with Lu Jian.

The white T-shirt was instantly stained with red wine.

Lu Jian did not seem surprised to see him. “I am sorry,” he said in a business-like manner.

However, as Cheng Shixu saw Lu Jian’s practiced nod and the wine stain on his own clothes, blurry memories began to surface.

In his past life, it seemed he had collided with a waiter at this same time. His clothes had been ruined, and the waiter had insisted on compensating him. Seeing that the waiter was young, looking like a middle school student, Shixu had not pressed the matter.

However, when he went to the restroom later, he found a manager berating the waiter for bumping into a VIP customer and threatening to fire him. The waiter was desperately begging the manager not to fire him, saying the job was very important to him.

At that time, the alcohol had gone to Shixu’s head. Dazed, he tried to reach for his wallet, only to realize he had lost it. The manager walked away, leaving the waiter standing there.

Shixu had taken off his necklace. “Hey. I am sorry for getting you fired.”

He did not know what expression the waiter had; he only knew the waiter remained silent.

“Take this necklace for emergencies. I lost my wallet.” Cheng Shixu’s eyes were blurry as he leaned against the wall. “You look, you look about my age. My name, my name is Cheng Shixu.” He pointed at the pendant. “It is a diamond; it should be worth some money. The chain is pure gold, so you can sell that too.” After saying that, he left.

He had intended to buy it back once he found his wallet, feeling genuinely guilty that someone was fired because of him.

As he turned to leave, the waiter called out to him, “What did you say your name was?”

With his back turned, Cheng Shixu replied, “Cheng Shixu. Shi as in time, Xu as in order.”

Back in the present, Cheng Shixu looked at Lu Jian, tears welling in his eyes. So that is how it was? Had that small, forgotten act of kindness been remembered by Lu Jian for so many years?