Time Has Grown Dim, And Evening Has Already Fallen - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Xiao Shu said he doesn’t mind, so you two can just sleep like this for a couple of days,” Grandma said, looking at the small bed. “In a few days, I’ll go look for a bunk bed.

Cheng Xun nodded. “Grandma, let me pay for the bed. I’ve saved up some money now.”

Grandma shook her head gently and reached out to rub Cheng Xun’s head. “There’s no reason for you to pay for it; you’re just a child.”

Cheng Xun was about to speak, but he caught sight of Lu Xingshu coming out after his shower and closed his mouth.

Lu Xingshu was shirtless after his shower, wearing a pair of loose, dark blue sweatpants. His abs and V-line were perfect—the typical “slim in clothes but muscular underneath” physique.

Cheng Xun stared at him in silence for a moment, and the more he looked, the more he felt this guy was being a bit too showy and eyesore-inducing.

Put some clothes on, will you?

This line echoed powerfully in his mind.

Whether or not Lu Xingshu heard his mental monologue, he quickly pulled on a white T-shirt.

The books Lu Xingshu had brought were neatly arranged on the bookshelf. He had also conveniently organized the entire shelf, even sorting Cheng Xun’s books properly.

The small room felt even more crowded with two people’s belongings in it.

Cheng Xun stood at the foot of the bed and asked him, “Which side do you want to sleep on?”

The bed was against the wall, so sleeping on the inner side meant being pressed against the wall.

Lu Xingshu glanced at Cheng Xun and replied, “Doesn’t matter.”

Cheng Xun gave a soft “oh” and decided to sleep against the wall himself, feeling lucky that both he and Lu Xingshu were thin; otherwise, they really wouldn’t have fit.

The black laptop was placed on Cheng Xun’s small desk, plugged in and in standby mode.

Lu Xingshu wasn’t going to bed so early. After opening the laptop, he found a downloaded movie and started playing it.

He wasn’t wearing headphones, and the sound of the movie was a bit loud, which inexplicably attracted Cheng Xun.

The boy sitting in the swivel chair suddenly turned his head and invited Cheng Xun: “Want to watch together?”

Cheng Xun froze for a moment. He originally wanted to refuse, but his curiosity won out in the end. He nodded and leaned over.

One chair was obviously not enough, so Cheng Xun quietly went to the living room and brought back a round stool.

Since Grandma went to sleep early, he didn’t want to wake her.

Just as Cheng Xun sat down with the stool, he was startled by a zombie face lunging across the screen.

He had thought a “good student” like Lu Xingshu would enjoy more artistic films…

Fortunately, the fluorescent light in the room was bright enough that the horrific faces weren’t quite so terrifying.

“Uh… you like watching zombie movies?” Cheng Xun couldn’t help but ask.

Lu Xingshu had a very handsome profile; the curve from his brow bone to his lips was perfect, and the slightly downward slant of his eyes always made him look innocent.

“I don’t particularly love them,” the boy’s beautiful long eyelashes flickered. “These kinds of movies are good for stress relief.”

Cheng Xun gave a soft “oh,” seemingly understanding the underlying meaning.

This guy is always saying things that sound so meaningful, Cheng Xun thought to himself.

He didn’t speak further, just quietly accompanied Lu Xingshu in watching the movie.

Sitting on a stool without a backrest became uncomfortable after a while, and it wasn’t long before he couldn’t help but stretch and yawn…

Lu Xingshu pressed the spacebar to pause the movie and turned to look at him. “Sleepy?”

Cheng Xun rubbed his eyes and looked at his watch, realizing it was nearly eleven o’clock. He rubbed his face haphazardly and tugged at his slightly stiff mouth, his dimples faintly visible.

Cheng Xun laughed awkwardly. “It’s a bit late, but the movie isn’t over yet.”

Lu Xingshu didn’t seem to mind and closed the movie. “We’ll watch the rest next time.”

Cheng Xun nodded. “Mm, okay then.”

The two of them lay down side-by-side; it was indeed quite a squeeze.

The lights in the room were off. In the darkness, Lu Xingshu’s phone screen glowed faintly. Cheng Xun lay on his side against the wall to take up less space, as he was used to side-sleeping.

His phone was tucked by his pillow. He had set alarms every five minutes starting from 6:15 AM just to catch the cheap breakfast at school.

“I’ll pay for the bunk bed,” Lu Xingshu’s low, magnetic voice suddenly sounded by his ear, nearly scaring away Cheng Xun’s sleepiness.

“No need,” Cheng Xun said, now fully awake. It turned out Lu Xingshu had overheard his conversation with Grandma earlier.

“My stepmother left me enough money,” Lu Xingshu added.

That makes it even more untouchable… Cheng Xun thought wordlessly.

Cheng Xun didn’t realize that the tuition at Ninth High was quite different from Lu Xingshu’s previous school.

Moreover, a large sum used to go toward holiday cram schools, so the reserved tuition money was actually more than enough.

“I’ll also get the internet connected,” Student Lu made another decision on his own.

Cheng Xun blinked and protested in a small voice, “Uh, actually, if we need the internet, we can go to the internet cafe at the corner.”

“Internet cafe?”

“Yeah, the environment is okay. They just renovated a while ago.” Cheng Xun slowly rolled onto his back and said leisurely, “The owner’s son is my classmate. We can get a discount if we go.”

Lu Xingshu mulled this over and asked an unrelated question instead: “You used to go to the internet cafe to look things up?”

“Yeah,” Cheng Xun replied instinctively.

Though his image of studying on a computer amidst a sea of internet-addicted teens was indeed a bit hard to look at.

Of course, he would occasionally go there to download some novels—it wasn’t all for studying. He wasn’t that well-behaved…

“You can use my computer from now on.”

Cheng Xun smacked his lips as if weighing the pros and cons, finally nodding in agreement. “Alright then.”

At most, I’ll just give him the money I would have spent on the internet fee, Cheng Xun thought, his mental calculator running fast.

It was now early June. Cheng Xun’s miserable final exams hadn’t arrived yet, and because Lu Xingshu had taken a leave of absence, he couldn’t go to school for the time being. He wanted to volunteer to stay and help Grandma mind the shop, but Grandma insisted he get some rest.

That night, Lu Xingshu managed to sleep quite well, for once not plagued by bizarre nightmares. When he woke up, he realized the spot beside him was empty. He raised a hand to rub his forehead.

Cheng Xun had woken up very early. The feeling of suddenly having someone sleeping next to him was indeed strange. He carefully crawled out of bed; Lu Xingshu was fast asleep, and he didn’t want to wake him.

Checking his watch and seeing he had plenty of time, Cheng Xun’s eyes settled as he quickly went to the bathroom to wash up.

The youth in the mirror was thin and fair-skinned, but with a bit of “baby fat” on his cheeks. His appropriately round face paired with a pointed chin made him look very gentle and mild-tempered.

Unfortunately, his temper wasn’t exactly great—though it wasn’t terrible either.

He changed into Ninth High’s summer uniform and hurried out the door.

A white short-sleeved shirt with black shorts and a black collar. Since Cheng Xun was on the thinner side, the loose school uniform made him look even more slender.

Ninth High was very close to this old residential area. Cheng Xun didn’t need any transportation; he basically walked to school every day, sometimes running if he was almost late.

As mentioned before, if it weren’t for the school breakfast, Cheng Xun wouldn’t have had to go so early.

The Ninth High cafeteria was somewhat famous. It had a variety of dishes that were both high-quality and inexpensive—especially a self-invented bun for breakfast that was exceptionally delicious.

It was crescent-shaped, and the students simply called it the “Moon Bun.” The exterior was fried until crispy, while the inside was filled with scrambled eggs mixed with chopped cabbage, chicken bits, and ham—very flavorful.

After reaching the cafeteria, Cheng Xun rushed to the Moon Bun window and bought four. Usually, he took them to the classroom to eat to save time and ensure he didn’t miss morning self-study.

Two were enough for Cheng Xun himself; the other two were for his desk-mate.

Xie Qiubai—Cheng Xun’s desk-mate—also craved this breakfast. Unfortunately, despite being a commuter, he arrived at the very last second every day, essentially missing out on the school breakfast.

Later, at Xie Qiubai’s persistent pleading, the two finally reached an agreement. Cheng Xun would buy him breakfast, and Xie Qiubai would bring Cheng Xun milk at lunch to offset the cost, as the two items happened to be the same price.

Sure enough, the moment the morning self-study bell rang, Xie Qiubai rushed in through the back door like a whirlwind.

The tall, long-legged boy sat in his seat in two or three strides, pulling at his collar to cool down.

Cheng Xun pushed the bag containing the two Moon Buns onto Xie Qiubai’s desk.

Xie Qiubai smiled at him, his white teeth dazzling. “Thanks, bro.”

Cheng Xun raised a cool eyebrow and said, “Equivalent exchange.”

Xie Qiubai chuckled, opened the bag, and started eating, even holding his English textbook up in front of his face as a cover-up.

When he finished the buns and tossed his books into his desk drawer, he noticed some extra things inside that didn’t belong to him.

Beautifully wrapped… breakfast bags.

Xie Qiubai was tall, good at sports, and was on the path of a student-athlete. He had a healthy skin tone and was handsome. When silent, he had a bit of a fierce edge, but since he smiled frequently, that fieriness turned into youthful vitality.

In other words, there were quite a lot of girls with crushes on him; he wasn’t exactly lacking for breakfast.

Unfortunately, this guy had a “cheap” stomach and loved the Ninth High cafeteria. So, those beautifully wrapped chicken sandwiches would have to go to his bros.

Once morning self-study ended, the classroom suddenly erupted into a cacophony of chatter.

Cheng Xun had been a bit distracted all morning. He wasn’t the most studious type to begin with; in the past, his mind was always on making more money to lighten Grandma’s burden.

Today… he spent the whole time thinking about Lu Xingshu—or rather, that movie from last night, which caused him to lose sleep.

“Cheng Xun, I heard your Grandma brought her biological grandson back?” Xie Qiubai asked gossiping, dangling a straw from his mouth while holding a glass bottle of soymilk.

The two families didn’t live far apart. Everyone was a neighbor, so neighbors naturally knew if anything was happening.

Xie Qiubai’s family owned an internet cafe—the one Cheng Xun told Lu Xingshu about was actually his father’s business.

“Yeah, that’s right,” Cheng Xun replied.

Xie Qiubai asked again, “Doesn’t he need to go to school?”

It seemed that while he liked to gossip, he didn’t know the specific details.