No One Else Will Do But You - Chapter 20

Zhang Feiyang held his acceptance letter, which was just a piece of red paper he would need to hand in on the first day. There was also the school uniform, which was a different color from the middle school. The middle school uniforms were black, but the high school ones were a deep navy blue.

He was back at Zhengcheng High.

Many of his classmates also got to continue to high school with him, so they would be classmates again.

“Hey, Shu Luo, when will we know our class and dorm assignments?”

Shu Luo answered while playing a computer game and holding the phone with his shoulder. “On the first day of school, of course. Oh, by the way, are the classes assigned by our grades?”

“Yeah, haha. Maybe we can be in the same class. You’ll definitely need me,” Zhang Feiyang said.

“Get lost. I don’t need you.”

“Why are you so heartless? Oh, I get it. You have Jiang Mu now, so you don’t need your brother anymore. We’ve been friends since kindergarten, you know. Think about it: three years of kindergarten, six years of elementary school, and three years of middle school. Look at how many ups and downs we’ve been through. Tsk, tsk, tsk, Shu Luo, you’re something else. One Jiang Mu and our boat of friendship is capsized,” Zhang Feiyang said.

Shu Luo simply closed his game and became serious. “Feiyang, am I really that kind of person? You should know you’re very important to me. Why would you say something like that? The way I treat A Mu is different from the way I treat you, you know.”

Zhang Feiyang admitted that he was a little jealous of how well Shu Luo treated Jiang Mu, but he wasn’t someone to get all sentimental about it.

“I mean, you don’t even walk home with me after school anymore. We used to always walk home together.”

Shu Luo laughed out loud. “Zhang Feiyang, admit it, you’re jealous, aren’t you? Haha, it looks like my charm is irresistible to everyone, regardless of gender.”

Zhang Feiyang awkwardly touched his nose, admitting he might have been a bit too dramatic. “Alright, when we get to high school, I’ll be looking for your sincerity. If you don’t buy me food and drinks often, I don’t know if I’ll be able to forgive you.”

“Oh, come on, look at you being so dramatic.”

“Dramatic? I’m just trying to test you, you know.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. I won’t forget about you.”

After hanging up, Shu Luo raised his eyebrows and thought about it. Was he really better to Jiang Mu than to Zhang Feiyang? Well… maybe. But that was because Jiang Mu was so good to him. He was always there for him, taking care of him like an older brother. “Yes,” Shu Luo thought, “he’s like a brother now, so of course, I treat him differently. He’s like family. Yes, family.”

“Luo Luo, are you still playing games? Come out and eat! You’ve been cooped up in there all morning! Come out!”

Shu Luo turned off his computer and happily went out.

His mom glared at him. “I went to A Mu’s house this morning, and I saw him diligently reading. Look at you; all you do is play on the computer. I told your dad not to buy you one, but he spoiled you!”

“Mom, don’t scold Dad. I’ll play less from now on,” Shu Luo said, eating his food glumly. He kept thinking about how his mom seemed to be going through menopause lately, scolding him at home, scolding him outside, scolding him when he was sleeping, scolding him sitting down, and scolding him standing up. He didn’t even know where he could find a moment to breathe. “Going to school is better, for sure,” he thought. “That way, Mom will appreciate my time at home more. Hmph!”

His mom continued eating while scrutinizing Shu Luo, checking his physical development. He had grown into his looks a lot, but he was a little too delicate and pale. He needed to go outside and play basketball more. “Didn’t he play basketball with Jiang Mu recently? How come he isn’t more muscular?” she wondered.

“Luo Luo, have you measured your height recently? You played basketball all summer, but you don’t seem to have grown taller.”

After dinner, she dragged him to measure his height.

“How are you still only 165 centimeters tall?! I thought you’d be almost 170 by now! I remember measuring you during the Lunar New Year, and you were 165 then, too. Why haven’t you grown?! Did you not drink the milk I sent you to school with? You can’t be a picky eater when you’re growing. This won’t do. I need to tell A Mu to watch you when you’re living at school. He has to make sure you’re not a picky eater. Look, you haven’t grown at all! And also, how come you ran around all summer but didn’t get a tan? Are you so pale that something is wrong with your body? Maybe we should get a checkup before school starts. And…”

Shu Luo stared at his mom, who was talking nonstop, and felt terrified. He wasn’t short at all! It was all Jiang Mu’s fault for being a tall, mixed-race oddball, which made him look short in comparison. How many boys in his class were his height? Not many. They were all still growing! Only Jiang Mu had developed so well. And what was wrong with being pale? Did he have to get a tan? His heart was aching.

His mom was too scary. He had to run.

“Mom, I’m… I’m going to Jiang Mu’s to study.” He fled like a cornered animal, darting to the house across the hall.

He then told Jiang Mu everything that had just happened.

Jiang Mu, with a quick glance at the person rolling around on his bed, said, “It’s probably because you’re going to live at school, and your godmother is trying to find some meaning in her life. She’ll be lonely.”

“Is that it? But it’s so scary. I’ve never seen Mom talk so much; she’s getting a little nagging.”

Jiang Mu gently closed his book, pulled his chair to the side of the bed, and watched Shu Luo’s crazed expression. He thought about the month he had spent teaching him how to play basketball. He was decent at it now, but his stamina was a different story. The basketball court in their residential community was indoors, so he naturally wouldn’t get a tan, but Shu Luo was definitely on the pale side.

“Luo Luo, you need to exercise more. That one time, you got tired after playing for just half an hour.”

Shu Luo sat up and faced Jiang Mu. “Brother, it’s not that my stamina is bad. It’s just that there’s a limit to how much we should exercise, right? We shouldn’t go over it.”

“You have a point,” Jiang Mu said, feeling the urge to pinch his face.

“What do you mean ‘a point’? It’s a fact,” Shu Luo said, pouting.

Jiang Mu did it anyway. Shu Luo’s face felt great to the touch, and it was as if he was touching a soft spot deep in his heart.

“Fine. I know what you’re like.”

Shu Luo turned his head away, pretending to be disgusted. “Hey, hey, what are you doing? My face is very valuable! It’s not for just anyone to touch.”

“Oh? What am I, then?” Jiang Mu asked, raising an eyebrow and leaning closer.

Shu Luo immediately covered his eyes with the back of his hand. “Go, go, go. Don’t try that on me. Go try it on a girl; it won’t work on me.” He then went back to lying on the bed, facing away from Jiang Mu.

Jiang Mu returned to his desk to continue his research. He needed to finish these things before school started, as he wouldn’t be able to use a computer at school.

“A Mu, what have you been up to recently? My mom keeps telling me how diligent you are,” Shu Luo said curiously, getting out of bed and walking over to Jiang Mu.

He then looked at the computer screen with a confused expression, only noticing the prominent words “Guoheng Technology.” What was he doing?

As Jiang Mu worked on the computer and wrote down stock information in his notebook, he didn’t try to hide anything from Shu Luo.

“I’ve been investing recently,” he said.

“Investing?!” Shu Luo exclaimed, grabbing Jiang Mu by the shoulders. “Dude, where did you get the money to invest?!” He was shocked. Jiang Mu, who was the same age as him, was already investing.

Jiang Mu laughed lightly. “The money came from my piggy bank.”

Shu Luo seemed to realize something. “Piggy bank?! That’s right, you said you were going to give the piggy bank to me. You took that money and invested it… and there was that much money in there?!”

“Not much, just a few tens of thousands,” Jiang Mu said.

“…It’s not much?” Shu Luo thought. “Was there really that much money in that piggy bank?”

Shu Luo, now in a frenzy, shook Jiang Mu’s shoulders wildly. “Didn’t you say you were going to give it to me?! You’re going back on your word! You broke your promise!”

Jiang Mu suddenly grabbed his hands and said softly, “I didn’t break my promise. All the money I earn is yours.”

“All the money you earn is mine?” The words sounded so strange to him.

“But,” he thought, “that money came from the piggy bank, and it was supposed to be mine anyway, so he’s not breaking his promise.” “Wow,” he thought. “Does that mean I’m secretly a little tycoon?!”

“Yes, it’s all yours.”

The window reflected the image of the person behind him. He could see all of Shu Luo’s expressions, including his look of shock, which made him smile. “What a cute expression,” he thought.

“Everything I’m doing is for his happiness,” Jiang Mu thought. “That’s all. Nothing more.”

Shu Luo was still in a daze, basking in the thought of being a little tycoon, and he went back to rolling around on the bed.

“Brother, why are you so good to me?! You’re so selfless; I have no way to repay you. Really! Maybe I should give myself to you as repayment,” Shu Luo said playfully. He really didn’t have anything he could give Jiang Mu, but Jiang Mu had given him so much.

“Okay.”

Hearing Jiang Mu’s quick response, Shu Luo was stunned.

“Brother, I’m serious, okay? I’ll give myself to you as repayment,” he asked, pretending to be serious again.

“Okay. You have to,” Jiang Mu said.

“Oh my gosh,” Shu Luo thought. “That was way too easy.”

“Brother, you don’t do this to everyone, do you?” he asked, feeling a little uncomfortable at the thought that Jiang Mu might be this way with everyone.

Jiang Mu’s hands, which were typing on the keyboard, stopped. He turned to face Shu Luo. “What do you think?”

His voice seemed to have a hint of displeasure. His expression looked gentle, but his eyes seemed to be filled with an emotion Shu Luo had never seen before. It made his hair stand on end, and he felt like he had said something wrong.

“Luo Luo, do you think I’m this way with everyone? I don’t have enough hearts to give away. I’m not that charitable, and I’m not that generous.”

Shu Luo looked into Jiang Mu’s deep eyes. “Oh no,” he thought. “How could I have said that to Jiang Mu?”

“Brother, I’m sorry. I… I didn’t mean to ask that,” he said, flustered.

Jiang Mu sighed, reached out, and ruffled his hair. “It’s fine. I didn’t say anything to you. Don’t look so upset.”

Seeing that Jiang Mu wasn’t angry anymore, Shu Luo immediately became cheerful again and even started to massage Jiang Mu’s shoulders. “You shouldn’t work so hard! You should take a break sometimes. It’s important to balance work and rest. Look, you’re so handsome, but you’re starting to look a little worn out.”

Jiang Mu listened to the person behind him, who was nagging like a mother, but he felt that his world was full and complete. This was perfect.