Who Wants to Be the Affectionate Cannon Fodder?! [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 46

Ning Jinghe had not expected that the place Yu Lin wanted to visit was his old high school.

Since classes were in session, the tree-lined boulevard outside the school was quiet, save for the tireless buzzing of cicadas in the banyan trees.

Yu Lin got out of the car and began walking slowly along the perimeter fence, away from the main gate. Ning Jinghe, unsure of what he intended to do, followed closely behind him.

Suddenly, Yu Lin stopped in front of a secluded, low wall behind the teaching building. He looked up, measured the height with his eyes, took a few steps back, and lunged forward, scaling the top of the wall in just a few quick movements.

Ning Jinghe: “!?”

“What… what are you doing?” Ning Jinghe asked, stunned.

Straddling the top of the wall, Yu Lin glanced down at him without a word. He then turned his head, pursing his lips as he found himself staring eye-to-eye with a teenage boy who was just about to climb up from the school side.

The boy froze for a few seconds before giving Yu Lin a thumbs-up. “Dude, badass. Can you give me a hand?”

As the words left the boy’s mouth, a furious roar erupted from behind him: “Hey! What are you doing? Which class are you from!”

Five minutes later, Ning Jinghe—having entered through the front gate—was dragging Yu Lin along as he fabricated a story to the grade dean. He apologized profusely, claiming they were filming nearby and he had brought his friend back for a visit, only for his friend to get competitive over the height of the walls.

Ning Jinghe was a distinguished alumnus of Xiamen No. 1 High School and had been a favorite among the teachers. Between his handsome, recognizable face and the dean recognizing Shen Xingzhuo, they were let off with a few warnings. The dean then marched away, dragging the truant teenager by the ear.

“You should have told me,” Ning Jinghe said, looking at Yu Lin reproachfully. “I wonder who made all those solemn promises yesterday.”

“I know I was wrong,” Yu Lin said. “I just wanted to see what it felt like to climb over the wall into school. Who knew I’d run right into that unlucky truant?”

Yu Lin was always excellent at admitting fault, but he was just as likely to do it again next time.

Ning Jinghe sighed helplessly. “Where do you want to go now?”

Yu Lin gazed thoughtfully at the teaching building in the distance. He didn’t speak, but Ning Jinghe surprisingly guessed his thoughts.

The first floor of the teaching building had no classrooms; instead, the center was a massive gallery wall filled with graduation photos from every year.

Yu Lin leaned in, his gaze scanning the wall inch by inch. He first spotted a photo of Jiang Shiyan playing guitar at a school anniversary. Standing beside him was Ning Jinghe, acting as the host and adjusting the microphone. Jiang Shiyan was looking up toward the sun, the light grazing Ning Jinghe’s shoulder before falling on Jiang’s face.

Below that was another photo: the end of a sprint race, with Jiang Shiyan quietly watching Ning Jinghe, who stood like a crane among chickens on the track.

Childhood sweethearts, lifelong companions.

No wonder Shen Xingzhuo’s suppressed emotions had suddenly collapsed when he saw these photos in the original timeline.

Seeing him staring motionless at the photos, Ning Jinghe’s mind somehow drifted to the rumors he’d seen online.

“What are you thinking about?” he asked, his expression unreadable.

Yu Lin straightened up and withdrew his gaze. “I was thinking… why does a person fall in love with another person?”

Ning Jinghe hadn’t expected such a question; his expression went blank for a moment.

“Why ask that?”

Yu Lin blinked, looking at him with an innocent gaze. “So, you don’t know either.”

Ning Jinghe froze, then let out a low chuckle. “Because the reasons are complex. Being attracted to a specific trait, admiration, infatuation, or simply being used to the other person’s presence—it could be any of those.”

Yu Lin asked, “And you?”

The cicadas droned loudly, and sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting mottled shadows. The golden light was dazzling, making the entire scene feel like it was draped in a hazy, ambiguous veil.

Ning Jinghe remained silent for a few seconds. He unnaturally averted his eyes from Yu Lin’s face. “Because… they are unique.”

“Does Ning Jinghe think so too?”

Yu Lin said this very softly. Ning Jinghe didn’t hear him clearly at first, but Yu Lin quickly moved on.

“So why go looking for a similar substitute?” Yu Lin hopped down the stairs. Ning Jinghe couldn’t keep up with his erratic, non-linear logic, let alone guess what was happening in his head.

However, Ning Jinghe followed the topic, his voice turning cold. “That is just a cheap, self-indulgent act of sentimentality.”

This sentence seemed to hit a chord with Yu Lin. He suddenly burst into a smile, paused on the last step, and turned to grab Ning Jinghe’s forearm. “The grilled squid at the school gate looks delicious. Shall we go, Brother?”

Yu Lin didn’t understand the school days Jiang Shiyan reminisced about. Jiang Shiyan missed those accidental glances and the unspoken understanding they once shared. He clung to his hidden teenage feelings and the bitterness of a long-distance, unrequited love. But if he were truly that devoted, why would he bother looking for a substitute for Ning Jinghe?

If someone told Yu Lin that there was a second person in the world exactly like his brother who could replace him… Yu Lin rubbed his fingertips. He would probably be unable to control the urge to snap that person’s neck. A single glance at such a person would feel like a desecration of his brother.

The sizzling sound of oil popped on the iron griddle, and the pungent aroma of chili drifted through the air. The vendor quickly handed six skewers of squid to Yu Lin. He couldn’t hold them steadily with one hand, and they began to tilt as soon as he took them.

Ning Jinghe asked the vendor for an extra food container. Taking Yu Lin’s hand, he helped him tip the skewers into the box and took some tissues to wipe the sauce off Yu Lin’s hand.

“Eat them before we head back.”

Yu Lin took a bite, sauce splattering onto his face. “I know, you don’t like the smell in the car.”

Ning Jinghe remained silent as he held the container, handing another tissue to Yu Lin. He actually wanted to ask, How do you know that? This is the first time you’ve been in my car. But he swallowed the question.

Then, a bell rang. Within a minute, a flood of students poured out of the school gate. Someone with sharp eyes spotted them and shouted. Before Ning Jinghe could lead Yu Lin away, they were completely surrounded.

Yu Lin continued to feast as if no one were there, while several students pulled out their phones to snap photos.

A bold girl pulled a notebook from her bag and thrust it in front of Ning Jinghe. “Senior, can I have an autograph!”

Ning Jinghe: “…”

Ning Jinghe shifted the container of squid to his left hand, took the pen, and used the girl’s support to quickly sign his name followed by the phrase “May you see your name on the golden list.”

The girl, satisfied, then turned her gaze toward the oblivious Yu Lin.

“Um… do I have to sign too?”

The girl nodded vigorously.

Yu Lin took another tissue from Ning Jinghe, wiped his hands clean, thought for a moment, and then signed “Shen Xingzhuo” right after Ning Jinghe’s name. His handwriting was so messy it rivaled a hand-written prescription from a traditional Chinese doctor.

“Can you give me a quote too?”

Yu Lin thought about it and added “Study hard” in front of Ning’s “May you see your name on the golden list.”

The girl left, delighted.

Ning Jinghe glanced at the other students who were about to move in. He smiled faintly. “Sorry, we have a call time at the studio. We have to go.”

Yu Lin was pulled along, stumbling slightly. In the next second, he snatched a skewer of squid from the container in Ning’s hand, held it in his mouth, and waved goodbye over his shoulder.

This moment was captured by a student’s phone. Before the two could even make it back to the set, the photo was posted online.

In the photo, one was in black and the other in white. From the photographer’s perspective, their hands were overlapped, making it look like they were holding hands. Ning Jinghe’s stride was steady, his back elegant, and a hint of his sharp jawline was visible. Yu Lin was looking back while biting the squid, his beautiful eyes reflecting an amber hue in the intense midday sun. His pale skin glowed with a soft, jade-like light. His languid face looked exactly like a cat that had just eaten its fill.

The two in the photo didn’t even look like colleagues out on a break; they looked like a perfect…

“Damn, with this photo out, I’d believe it if you told me they were dating. What is this weird atmosphere? Since when do two grown men hold hands!”

“Leave Ning Jinghe out of this. They’re just friends hanging out, and people are already imagining things. Are you okay?”

“Looking at the call sheet for The Song of the Broken Array, the lead actors are fully booked today. While the leads are working, you two little lovers are out on a date? Tang Mo is basically performing a ‘stormy cry’ right now.”

“Is my memory failing? I remember Shen Xingzhuo pestering Jiang Shiyan just recently. Did he change targets that fast? Is he just trying to fleece all the ‘Twin Jewels of Yandian’?”

“So sweet, so sweet! Which god took this photo? The composition is amazing, the atmosphere is incredible, and those two faces are perfect.”

Zhou Yao saw the post not long after the rest of the internet. As the heat rose, a CP (Couple) Supertopic was even being established, with fans flocking to it in droves.

[Thick Hair]: Xingzhuo, how should we handle this trending topic? Did you and Ning Jinghe plan to go out together today? [Link]

Yu Lin had just finished the last skewer of squid. Under Ning Jinghe’s firm gaze, he cleaned up the mess and sprayed air freshener five or six times. The scent made Ning Jinghe wrinkle his nose, and he quickly rolled down the windows for air.

“Ah…”

Ning Jinghe glanced over and saw Yu Lin opening the link Zhou Yao had sent. He asked curiously, “What is it?”

Yu Lin bit his lip and stared at the photo on the screen for half a minute before saying, “This is a good photo.”

Ning Jinghe turned to look and saw that Yu Lin had already switched back to WeChat to reply to Zhou Yao.

[Felix]: Ignore it.

Then, under Ning Jinghe’s quiet observation, Yu Lin went back to Weibo and saved the photo to his phone.