Watching the Setting Sun Along the Same Path - Chapter 18

“Which one?” Fei Yuan sat down on the edge of the bed, pulling Lu Ketong onto his lap. He pressed, “Tell me, which one is that?”

Lu Ketong pressed the photo against his face, hoping to cool down, but it still felt hot. Fei Yuan’s hand tightened around his waist, gripping him like he was under interrogation. Lu Ketong twisted slightly, burying his face against Fei Yuan’s shoulder, his voice even softer: “Stop pretending.”

The hand on his waist slid up his back, then gripped the nape of his neck. Fei Yuan asked, “Have you ever done that?” Lu Ketong buried his face deeper into the crook of Fei Yuan’s neck, mumbling, “Why do you care?”

“You didn’t say I cared when you asked me for a hickey?”

He lifted his head: “Don’t get cocky. It’s getting hot, and I’ll be wearing short sleeves soon. I don’t want it anymore anyway.”

The hand on his back slid down again, slipping under his shirt. Fei Yuan pinched the soft flesh at his waist and said, “If I leave it here, no one will see.”

Lu Ketong had no idea it could be done like that. He dropped his head back into the crook of Fei Yuan’s neck, surrendering. But Fei Yuan wasn’t letting him off—or maybe he was genuinely provoked. The hand resting on Lu Ketong’s knee slowly moved upward, slipping between his thighs.

“What are you doing?”

Fei Yuan could feel Lu Ketong trembling slightly. He paused, gently squeezing the soft flesh on the inside of his thigh, and said, “Next time, I’ll leave it here.” At those words, Lu Ketong nearly tore his collar apart.

Forget about who had the upper hand—he couldn’t even speak anymore.

After that week, Lu Ketong’s life took another miserable turn. The troublemaker Lu Ruopei had signed him up for extra Chinese lessons on Saturdays, claiming he lacked refinement in his speech and only knew how to shout.

Lu Ketong protested, “Even if I become a literary giant, I’ll still only shout at you!”

At least the money wasn’t wasted.

“This month’s exam results deserve a special mention for Lu Ketong. He’s made significant progress. He used to be quite careless, but this time he scored first in Chinese. He must have put in a lot of effort. After we finish going over the exam, he’ll read his essay aloud.”

Lu Ketong was over the moon. The one-on-one tutoring had really paid off. His exam scores were impressive this time, and he’d even managed to come first in Chinese. Although he’d always been decent at Chinese, he’d never topped the class before.

His essay only lost two points—what did that mean? Rounding up, it was practically perfect.

He sat up straight, listening intently as the teacher reviewed the exam. The class monitor, sitting across the aisle, kept flicking eraser bits at him, deliberately trying to distract him. On any other day, he would have grabbed something to play with, but today he had to stay focused, preparing to read his essay.

Fei Yuan cleared his throat softly and glanced at the class monitor, who immediately got the hint and stopped.

With five minutes left until the end of class, Lu Ketong started to get anxious. Would he have enough time to read his essay? When there was only a minute left, he could barely sit still. As the bell rang, the Chinese teacher said, “Alright, that’s all for the exam review. Make your corrections and hand them in tomorrow.”

“Teacher!” Lu Ketong quickly raised his hand. “I haven’t read my essay yet.”

The Chinese teacher suddenly remembered. “Oh, there’s no time left. Everyone can take a look at Lu Ketong’s exam paper if they’re interested.”

Fei Yuan watched from the back as the teacher’s words hit Lu Ketong like a thunderbolt. His posture slumped, his back no longer straight. The next class was P.E., and everyone rushed out of the classroom. No one stayed to look.

After a moment of disappointment, Lu Ketong turned around and said, “Let’s go down too.”

“No rush, finish reading it to me before you go.” Fei Yuan unwrapped a lollipop and popped it into his mouth. “I’ve been waiting a whole class period.”

The empty classroom held only the two of them. Outside in the hallway, it was noisy and chaotic. Lu Ketong mumbled through the lollipop as he read his essay aloud, while Fei Yuan leaned back in his chair, watching him intently.

Just as Lu Ketong was about to finish, Fei Yuan reached over and plucked the lollipop from his mouth. “Couldn’t hear you clearly,” he said, then put the candy into his own mouth. Lu Ketong blinked in surprise, then grinned. “If you wanted to kiss me, you could’ve just said so. After all, I want to kiss you too.”

Fei Yuan pinched his ear and leaned in, lowering his voice. “If you want to, you don’t need to tell me. You’re allowed to just kiss me.”

The weather was sweltering, making P.E. class a bit of a torture. The girls rested in the shade, while the boys stubbornly kept playing basketball, sweat pouring down their backs.

“Lulu, I noticed you don’t go watch the basketball team anymore.”

“Those guys are so full of themselves.” Lu Ketong was drenched in sweat, his hair at the temples soaked, and the skin under his eyes flushed from the sun. “I’ll join when I’m a senior. Let’s see who dares to stop me then.”

After class, everyone headed to the cafeteria for dinner, too lazy to go upstairs. Some went to grab seats, others queued up. Fei Yuan reached out and wiped the sweat from the tip of Lu Ketong’s nose. “What do you want to eat? I’ll go buy it.”

Lu Ketong was heat-stunned. “I want a twenty-yuan ice pop, the kind that costs one yuan each.”

Just as he was whining, the class monitor walked over holding a large matcha ice cream cone, calling out to the others, “New item from the milk tea shop! Hurry up, comrades, go get it!”

Lu Ketong’s eyes lit up, and he turned to run. “I’m going!”

Fei Yuan grabbed him by the back of his collar. “Eat your meal first.” Then he dragged him off to queue for food. A group of boys sat together, eating messily. Lu Ketong guarded his plate, not letting anyone touch it.

“Lulu, look how green my broccoli is. Trade me for a chicken wing?”

“Annoying.” He nibbled on a chicken wing, sauce smeared at the corner of his mouth. “None of you read my essay, and now you want my food? No way.”

Fei Yuan glanced at him with a smile. Lu Ketong picked up another chicken wing and placed it in Fei Yuan’s bowl. “You can have my food.” Fei Yuan used his spoon to wipe the sauce from Lu Ketong’s mouth. “Who wants your food? I’d rather have a taste of you.”

Oh no, he wanted to scratch the table again. It was becoming a habit. He lowered his head and ate furiously, sweat beading on the tip of his nose once more.

When they were almost done eating, someone suggested drinking soda, so they decided to have a chugging contest. Lu Ketong slapped the table and stood up. “I want an ice cream cone! I’m going to buy it!” Fei Yuan got up to join him. “What does everyone want? Two of us can go.”

They went to buy the cones. Fei Yuan also got one and paid for everything. “First time treating everyone since transferring schools.”

“Just treat me.” Lu Ketong held his cone, grinning foolishly. After a moment, he grabbed a bag of sodas and ran back first, announcing, “Fei Yuan’s treating today!”

Fei Yuan followed behind, placing another bag of sodas on the table. The class monitor said, “Thanks, bro! Why so generous all of a sudden?”

“Just happy.” He reached out and ruffled Lu Ketong’s hair. “Celebrating Lulu’s improved test scores.” A moment later, someone asked curiously, “Lulu, why are you scratching the table?”

No reason, just excited.

Even after getting home that night, his hormones were still out of balance. He ran up and down the stairs several times until Wen Ning felt dizzy and grabbed him. “Are you going crazy? Aren’t you tired after a whole day of school?”

He broke free and sat down beside Lu Ruopei, saying, “Dad, tomorrow is Qiu Luomin’s annual birthday. I’m going to his house to sing for him.”

Lu Ruopei didn’t look up. “Since you’re calling me Dad, go wherever you want.”

“Then I’m off to build friendships.” He ran upstairs again and called to order a cake. “I want a ten-inch one with a poem written on it. Use pineapple for the fruit and make it look like a landscape painting.”

After ordering the cake, he started writing the letter—he did it every year. The next day, he didn’t wear his school uniform, wanting to look cool.

“Um, no need to drive me today.” After being scolded by the homeroom teacher, Fei Yuan arrived. Lu Ketong said, “Qiu’er is having a birthday. I’m going to his house.”

Fei Yuan said, “I’ll take you there.”

During break, he fiddled with the envelope, which he’d bought at the stationery store near the school gate. It was a bit small, and no matter how he folded the letter, it didn’t fit. Fei Yuan snapped his fingers, and Lu Ketong turned around and handed it over.

“What era is this, still writing letters?” Fei Yuan scolded him, then refolded it for him. As soon as he opened it, he saw the glaring four words: “Qiuqiu Gege” (Brother Qiu Qiu).

Damn, I really want to crack his head open.

Right after school, he went to pick up the cake. It was hot, and he was afraid it would melt, so he rode as fast as he could. When they arrived outside Qiu Luomin’s house, Lu Ketong got off the bike and tried to run off, but Fei Yuan grabbed him. “Leaving just like that?”

Lu Ketong actually took two steps back and bowed. “Thank you for driving me!”

Auntie Qiu had prepared a big table of dishes, Uncle Qiu had prepared wine for them to drink, and Qiu Luomin was showing off the red envelope he’d received—it was all too harmonious and perfect. Lu Ketong brought out the cake and said, “Qiu’er, I wrote a poem for you.”

Qiu Luomin’s eyelids began to twitch. He looked down and read: “In the past, Shaoyun carried a gun; today, Luomin becomes a pillar. Peach Blossom Pond’s water is a thousand feet deep, but it can’t compare to the length of our friendship.” Oh my god.

Lu Ketong then took out the letter and prepared to read it: “Dear Brother Qiuqiu, I heard that people born in summer are heat-resistant. Looking back on the past year…” Qiu Luomin almost had it memorized. This guy started with the same line every year, and the childhood nickname only came out once a year.

Fei Yuan rode his motorcycle home. Every household in the alley knew the Fei family’s boy was unhappy—the roaring engine sounded like it was about to run someone over. Lin Yuzhu rushed out of the house in a panic and asked, “Did you get into a fight?”

He didn’t answer and went straight to his room to change clothes. Lin Yuzhu followed him in. “As long as you don’t fight, you can do whatever you want.”

“I’m going to play basketball.” He changed his clothes, grabbed his car keys, and went out again, speeding all the way back to the area outside Qiu Luomin’s house. He parked his bike by the roadside and started wandering around nearby.

Calm down, cool off.

After eating and drinking their fill, they played video games. Lu Ketong noticed many English documents on the table and said, “The reading you’re doing is too hard. I can’t even understand it.” Then he logged into the game. “Wow, we’re at the same level now.”

Qiu Luomin was still lost in thought over that poem and didn’t feel much like talking.

Around ten o’clock, Lu Ketong’s phone rang. It was Fei Yuan. He answered, “Hello?”

“Lu Ketong, are you sleeping at his house?”

“Huh?” Lu Ketong didn’t react at first. He thought about it. If Fei Yuan were sleeping at Shen Duoyi’s house, he’d be climbing the roof in anger—so he replied a bit guiltily, “No, no, no. I’m already home.”

Fei Yuan was both angry and amused. “I miss you. I’m going to wait for you downstairs at your house right now.”

Lu Ketong was stunned. The call had already ended, and he stood frozen for half a minute before grabbing his backpack and running. Aunt Qiu was startled by him, and he explained as he ran, “There’s a test paper due tomorrow. I’m going home to study!”

He dashed all the way to the street, where the lights were dim and yellow. Looking up, he saw Fei Yuan standing across the street in a black T-shirt, looking incredibly cool.

Fei Yuan crooked a finger at him, and Lu Ketong, clutching the straps of his backpack, walked over. “Still making up lies?” Fei Yuan cupped his chin with a palm, then pinched his cheek, leaning in with a frown. “Did you drink?”

“Just a tiny sip.” Thinking Fei Yuan was angry about the lie, Lu Ketong quickly admitted his mistake. “I’m sorry, I won’t lie again.”

“And what else?” Fei Yuan pulled up the hood of his thin jacket, then lowered his head to kiss him. His mouth was sealed, and he could only let out a couple of muffled sounds. When Fei Yuan finally released him, he used his thumb to wipe Lu Ketong’s damp lips.

Lu Ketong blinked, his brain catching up and his heart racing at a hundred and twenty beats per minute. He tugged at Fei Yuan’s T-shirt and asked, “Are you jealous?”

“More than that,” Fei Yuan tightened his hold, nuzzling his ear as he whispered, “Lulu, I’m dying of jealousy.”

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