Studying Is Such A Damn Thing - Chapter 14

On Tuesday morning, You Cheche dragged himself out of bed and stared blankly at the window while the sky was still dark. Even though today was the autumn trip, he still didn’t want to get up, and he didn’t care who came knocking. Right then, his phone started ringing.

The caller ID read ‘Lord School Bully.’ You Cheche grabbed his glasses from the nightstand, rubbed his eyes, and slid them on. He tried to flatten his messy bedhead before answering. “Hello… Qi Yuan, what do you want this early in the morning?”

“Cheche, come down and eat breakfast!”

“Oh… coming. Let me just put on my uniform, who even invented this black and white uniform anyway, it’s so ugly.”

Qi Yuan chuckled on the other end. Maybe it was just the audio quality, but it sounded more like an intimate, breathy whisper. You Cheche frowned at the sound. “Hey! Take back that greasy voice, don’t pollute my ears!”

Qi Yuan thought to himself: Are you crazy?

But he didn’t say it out loud. He waited silently for You Cheche to come down, looking like some tragic male lead from a “pursuing-wife-crematorium” novel standing in the rain to win back the heroine. You Cheche started laughing the moment he saw him.

“Yuan-bao! I’m here!”

Qi Yuan smiled and handed him breakfast. “Come, Che! Fall into my embrace! You are mine now!”

They locked eyes for a few seconds, an ambiguous spark passing between them that neither quite understood. “Ah! Yuan! I’m here! I’ll be yours from now on! You have to take responsibility for me!”

Qi Yuan pressed a hand against You Cheche’s head as he tried to pounce, gave his hair a rub, and then let go. “Alright, quit messing around. Let’s get to school or we’ll be late!”

“Ooh, a savory pancake? You even remembered to add my favorite sausage? Brother Yuan, you’re such a sweetheart. I wonder which little vixen is going to get lucky with you in the future.”

“Exactly! So while I’m still single, you better cherish your Brother Yuan’s warmth. Don’t come crying when you can’t even catch a lingering trace of it later!”

“Hmph!” You Cheche curled his lip and took a big bite of the pancake.

It was delicious.

As they neared the school, the surrounding area was packed with tour buses. “Whoa, when did the school get so rich?” You Cheche’s eyes sparkled.

“Who knows? At least they didn’t waste the money putting giant decorative rocks in front of the school, they actually have a conscience,” Qi Yuan joked. They teased each other all the way to the classroom, which was so loud it made their heads throb.

As soon as You Cheche stepped inside, he saw a pink envelope sitting on Qi Yuan’s desk. He turned and gave Qi Yuan a clumsy, teasing whistle. “Ooh, Brother Yuan is quite the popular guy, huh?” He followed it up with a cheeky grin.

Qi Yuan looked at You Cheche helplessly, then glanced at the envelope sitting there all alone. He walked over, picked it up, and tucked it into his backpack. He didn’t announce who it was from or what it said, he simply quietly preserved the feelings of a teenager’s youth.

Sealed away forever.

The intercom crackled with static. “Sophomore classes may begin heading downstairs. Please check your bus number and do not get on the wrong one.”

“Yo yo yo! Let’s go, let’s go! Time to head out!” The class happily packed their things and lined up to head down.

The group of six followed at the back of the crowd, chatting and laughing.

The sun was shining. It was early autumn, so it wasn’t that hot anymore. You could still wear short sleeves, and the temperature was perfect, neither cold nor hot, just comfortable.

The bus ride was four hours long, from 7:00 AM to 11:00 AM. After only thirty minutes, everyone started getting bored. Tan Qing’s eyes darted around before he posted in the class group chat: “Anyone want to play Truth or Dare? We’ve got plenty of time anyway.”

Everyone immediately chimed in, and the bus turned rowdy in an instant. “Alright! Let’s draw cards. Spades is Truth, Hearts is Dare. If you draw anything else, you skip. If you won’t talk or won’t do it, you’re ‘dead’!”

“Whoooo! Intense! Let’s do it!” People started passing the cards around. In the first round, five people lost: three Truths and two Dares. Song Chaolian was one of the Dares. After seeing Song Chaolian’s card, Qi Yuan started hooting and hollering like a madman who’d lost his mind.

A moment later, it was Song Chaolian’s turn to draw a Dare card. Everyone was buzzing with anticipation. This version of the game was “Enhanced Mode,” meaning the dares were pretty spicy. Our “High-Altitude Flower” school idol had never played this kind of game before, making the moment incredibly exciting.

The card read: “Pick one person of the same sex present and kiss them for two minutes (must be on the lips).”

“Ahhhhhhh!” “Holy crap!” “This is so intense!” “Who’s he gonna kiss?!”

Everyone’s eyes instinctively drifted toward Shen Yiyi, who was sitting right next to Song Chaolian. Given their status as rivals and childhood friends, they always drew a lot of attention. Many people were hoping a kiss would resolve their long-standing feud. “Ahhh! Archenemies are the best couple! This is such good fanservice, will Lianlian pick Yiyi?!”

“Alright! Let’s welcome our school idol to choose the lucky spectator who gets to kiss him!”

Song Chaolian’s mouth twitched. He had already resolved himself to just pick Qi Yuan, thinking he’d just deal with the social suicide. Suddenly, Shen Yiyi grabbed him by the collar and kissed him.

“Ahhhhhh, they actually kissed!” “Wooooo!”

You Cheche grabbed Qi Yuan’s arm, his eyes wide with shock. He was so overwhelmed by the “ship” coming true that he could barely breathe. “Did you see that… Oh my god, holy crap, Qi Yuan… did you see that? That was legendary!”

“I… holy… I saw it… Am I seeing things…”

But don’t forget, it had to be a two-minute kiss.

The moment Shen Yiyi pulled him in, Song Chaolian wrapped his arms around him, cupping Shen Yiyi’s face and shielding it from view. However, the screams surrounding them were loud enough to flip the bus over. Shen Yiyi closed his eyes, feeling the delicate sensation on his lips.

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