Time Has Grown Dim, And Evening Has Already Fallen - Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Lu Xingshu hadn’t experienced much freezing weather in his life. Even though Cheng Xun warned him, he didn’t have much of a concept of it. How cold could it get? It’s not like people actually freeze to death, he thought.

Once winter truly arrived, the damp, bone-chilling cold taught him a harsh lesson.

The classrooms at No. 9 Middle School didn’t turn on the heaters in winter. Schools were all the same—the facilities looked shiny and grand on the outside, but they became stingy the moment it was time to actually use them.

The temperature plummeted suddenly, and Lu Xingshu’s wardrobe hadn’t caught up. While Cheng Xun was already bundled up in a thick coat, Lu Xingshu was still confidently rocking a single hoodie. It was only a matter of time before the cold caught up with him.

Cheng Xun had grown used to waiting for Lu Xingshu to go to school together, and the latter hadn’t overslept in a long time. So, when Cheng Xun woke up today to find him still in bed, suspicion naturally took root.

Cheng Xun sat by the bed and gave Lu Xingshu’s blanket a tug. This guy had a bad habit of sleeping with the covers pulled over his head.

“Lu Xingshu?”

When the soft call received no response, Cheng Xun’s movements became rougher. With a sharp yank, he pulled the blanket down past the other boy’s shoulders.

Lu Xingshu’s eyes were indeed closed, but his face was flushed with a sickly redness. He was wearing deep blue checkered long-sleeved pajamas, with the top two buttons undone, revealing the pale skin near his collarbone.

Cheng Xun had already pulled back the grey curtains; the sunlight was clear but held no warmth.

Not standing on ceremony, Cheng Xun reached out and touched Lu Xingshu’s forehead. The back of his hand was sensitive to the heat, feeling a scorching fever beneath the skin. Not good, Cheng Xun thought.

He gave Lu Xingshu’s cheek a sharp pinch. Seeing the boy stir slightly, he murmured, “I’m going to find Grandma to call in sick for you. Don’t go to school today, just rest.”

Lu Xingshu seemed to want to open his eyes, but after a struggle, he succumbed to his instincts and remained in a half-dreaming state.

“I’ll take that as a ‘yes’,” Cheng Xun said to himself. Before leaving, he tucked Lu Xingshu in and pulled the curtains shut again.

The room fell back into darkness, the whispering voices vanished, and Lu Xingshu’s eyelids grew heavy once more as he drifted back into a deep sleep.

It felt strange having the seat next to him empty for the day.

Grandma had already asked the head teacher for sick leave. Taking the opportunity, the teacher gave the class a lecture on changing clothes for the season and being careful about catching colds.

Cheng Xun was distracted during his classes, wondering if Lu Xingshu was taking his medicine. With Grandma looking after him, he should be fine, right?

The price of his distraction was being ruthlessly called on by the teacher. Cheng Xun stood up, only to be met with an awkward silence—he didn’t even remember which page they were on.

Before the evening self-study session, Xie Qiubai showed up clutching a basketball, wanting to invite Cheng Xun for a game. Cheng Xun wasn’t in the mood. Seeing that Lu Xingshu was missing, Xie Qiubai naturally grew curious.

“Lu Xingshu isn’t here?” Xie Qiubai asked, spinning the ball to show off as they walked down the stairs. “That’s unscientific. You two actually eat dinner separately?”

Cheng Xun felt his friend’s focus was a bit off, but since Xie Qiubai’s brain short-circuited often, he didn’t bother pointing it out. “He has a fever.”

“Oh?”

Cheng Xun added lazily, “That’s what he gets for choosing style over warmth. Wearing a thin hoodie in this weather just to look cool—he deserves to be sick for a bit.”

Xie Qiubai laughed. “Why do I hear a hint of saltiness in your voice? Lu Xingshu is handsome even when he’s not trying. Cheng Xun, you can’t be jealous of that.”

Cheng Xun snatched the basketball and threw it at his face. “He can be handsome all he wants. Why are you acting proud about it?”

Xie Qiubai caught the ball with his face and grinned. “Don’t tell me you can’t see that Lu Xingshu’s brand of handsome and mine are basically the same type?”

Cheng Xun: “…?”

“It’s not even dark out yet, and you’re already dreaming?” Cheng Xun rolled his eyes hard.

Lu Xingshu may have escaped class, but he couldn’t escape the homework. Cheng Xun thoughtfully packed Lu Xingshu’s workbooks and papers into his own bag.

Returning home, Cheng Xun found Grandma still watching the shop at the counter. Lu Xingshu wasn’t on the first floor.

Seeing Cheng Xun return, Grandma pulled down the shutter and closed the shop. According to her, Lu Xingshu had gone to the community clinic in the morning. His fever had broken by the time he returned, but he was currently drowsy from the medicine.

Cheng Xun entered the room quietly, afraid to wake him. To his surprise, when he pushed the door open, Lu Xingshu wasn’t sleeping; he was lying on the bed staring at the ceiling.

“What are you doing if you’re not sleeping?” Cheng Xun nearly jumped.

He walked over to the desk, taking out Lu Xingshu’s assignments one by one and stacking them up. Then he pulled out the swivel chair and sat down.

“Slept too long this afternoon,” Lu Xingshu’s voice was unusually “weak” and quite raspy. “If I sleep any more, I’ll turn into an idiot.”

Cheng Xun swiveled the chair over to the bedside, grinning with youthful arrogance. “To be honest, you’ve always been a bit of an idiot.”

Lu Xingshu looked at his dimples and replied hoarsely, “Talking about yourself?”

Cheng Xun slapped his arm and laughed. “Get up since you’re done sleeping. You enjoyed your day off, but the teachers left enough homework to make you suffer.”

“Mm,” Lu Xingshu hummed. “I’ll just copy yours.”

Cheng Xun: “?”

“Where is your self-respect as a ‘good student’?”

Lu Xingshu replied immediately: “Gone.”

Cheng Xun was speechless, genuinely impressed by the thickness of his skin.

The monthly exam before finals felt like a drizzle that no one cared about, but no one dared to slack off, as it still counted towards their GPA. Everyone seemed to be holding their breath for the final exam, the winter break, and the warmth of the Spring Festival.

Lu Xingshu’s grades remained rock solid—he was always first, after all. Cheng Xun was making steady progress; his ranking in the grade got a little better every time. Even a small step was still a step forward.

Lu Xingshu had told Cheng Xun before that his goal wasn’t Tsinghua University. Cheng Xun had been curious about this for a while, and after some indirect questioning, he found out it wasn’t because Lu Xingshu didn’t like it—he just wanted to stay in S-City to be closer to Grandma.

The best university in S-City was S-University, the only “Double First Class” (985/211) university in the province. The medical department Lu Xingshu wanted to enter was the most famous and had the highest entry score.

Cheng Xun had never dreamed of aiming for S-University; that was far too distant. He felt he’d have needed to start working hard in elementary school to have a chance.

The old campus of S-University was in the city center, but the medical department had moved to the new University Town. The new campus was surrounded by other schools, including the one Cheng Xun secretly wanted to attend—a goal he hadn’t shared with anyone.

It was the City Normal University. The reason was simple: it was a “Tier 1” college, it was local, and it was an achievable goal if he worked hard.

If he could actually get in, Normal University and S-University were quite close. They could still look after each other…

Cheng Xun didn’t even realize that in his plans for the future, he had subconsciously carved out a space for Lu Xingshu.

The deadline of final exams arrived. Papers and exercise books came in an endless, suffocating wave. Even Lu Xingshu, whom Cheng Xun jokingly called a “Problem-Solving AI,” looked exhausted. The anxiety before an exam is often more grueling than the exam itself.

Once they were actually in the exam hall, finishing subject after subject until the final bell rang, the sense of liberation was immense—yet it felt slightly surreal.

Cheng Xun didn’t have time to dwell on small things; his head was filled with “Break, New Year! New Year, Break!”

People were free, but homework wasn’t. Everyone went home with bags bulging with a stack of holiday assignments. These days, holiday cram schools were strictly regulated to reduce student burden, and the school didn’t dare go against policy.

The atmosphere of the New Year gradually thickened at home.

Winter break was a full month and a half. Cheng Xun wanted to find a part-time job, but since it was the end of the year, short-term work was hard to find. He ended up staying home to help Grandma watch the shop and wrap dumplings.

He was skilled with his hands, making delicate and beautiful dumplings—a sharp contrast to the “mutant giant dumplings” Lu Xingshu produced.

“One of your dumplings is twice the size of a normal one,” Cheng Xun couldn’t help but mock him ruthlessly.

The latter looked sheepish but kept a flat expression. “I just wanted to put more filling in.”

The result was a bit excessive…

When it came time to boil them that evening, Cheng Xun treated them all equally and tossed them into the pot. Watching those oversized dumplings bobbing around was genuinely hilarious. They were ugly, but they tasted fine. Lu Xingshu had only made three, so the three of them had one each, marking a harmonious start to the New Year.

Grandma chose a good day to visit her old friend, Teacher Zhao, in the countryside, taking Cheng Xun and Lu Xingshu along. It was a bumpy journey, too far to walk, so the three of them took the bus. There was a circular bus line at the street corner that went right past their destination.

Lu Xingshu didn’t usually get motion sickness, but this journey was long. The roads in the county seat were okay, but once they reached the rural townships, the roads were rugged and uneven.

The bouncing almost sent Lu Xingshu into a depression. He had insisted on sitting in the very back row out of habit—the place where the jolting was most severe.

Luckily, Cheng Xun was prepared. He nimbly pulled a pack of pills and a plastic bag from his backpack and handed them to Lu Xingshu.

“This is motion sickness medicine. Take one if you feel bad,” he said, handing him a bottle of water. “If you still feel sick after the medicine, just use the bag.”

Lu Xingshu: