Why Does First Love Feel This Sweet? - Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Listening to Rong Yu’s words, Sheng Yi suddenly understood.

Rong Yu had never truly moved on from those three years.

Sheng Yi could only imagine what Rong Yu’s state of mind must have been while he was asleep. Guarding someone day and night without knowing if they would ever wake up; being prepared every second to settle their final affairs. It was a life without hope, like shielding a flickering flame in a storm. If their positions were swapped, Sheng Yi didn’t think he would have had the strength to endure.

Sheng Yi clung to Rong Yu as he was carried back to the room. That night, Rong Yu didn’t touch him in that way, but he never let go. He held Sheng Yi on his lap to dry him off, then held him tightly from behind in bed. Watching the moon’s arc across the sea, Sheng Yi drifted into sleep against the steady rise and fall of Rong Yu’s chest.

Finally, Sheng Yi dreamed of high school.

…

The Math Class “Execution”

A light autumn rain was falling. In the first period of the afternoon, the hypnotic pitter-patter on the roof had sent half the class into a slumber.

The balding math teacher, Mr. Gao (nicknamed “Liangliang” for his shiny head), slapped the podium with a triangle ruler. “You in the back, wake up! If you’re sleepy, stand up for a bit!” He pointed the ruler at the back row. “The student face-down in the corner, come up and solve this problem.”

In Class 1-3, seats were assigned by grades. The further back you were, the lower your score. Sheng Yi, who had managed to fall even behind Cheng Wenge to secure a solid last place, sat up dazed. He had been busy sketching Rong Yu’s back. He tapped Cheng Wenge’s shoulder: “Is he talking to me?”

“Yep,” Cheng Wenge stifled a laugh. “Liangliang is calling you.”

Under the pitiful gaze of the class, Sheng Yi walked to the board. He stared at the problem for five minutes before solemnly writing the word “Solution.” Then he turned to the teacher. “Sorry, Sir, I don’t know how to do this.”

The class erupted in laughter. Mr. Gao sighed. “Any volunteers to rescue our ‘Beauty’ here? Rong Yu, care to come up and play the hero?”

The room went silent. Every eye turned to the first seat in the first row—the throne of the grade’s top scholar.

Rong Yu looked up from his workbook. His gaze met Sheng Yi’s. Sheng Yi saw 60% calm, 30% helplessness, and 10% blame. Sheng Yi looked back with 60% calm, 30% helplessness, and 10% innocence.

“Alright, we know you two are close,” the teacher interrupted. “Stop flirting with your eyes.”

Rong Yu sighed, stood up, and walked to the podium. He took the chalk, erased Sheng Yi’s messy handwriting, and solved the complex problem in seconds. Beside him, Sheng Yi watched with sparkling eyes, bursting with pride. See that? This genius is mine!

Before Rong Yu finished, Sheng Yi urgently mouthed at him: “Solution! You didn’t write ‘Solution’! You’ll lose points!”

Rong Yu ignored him until the very end. Finally, he added a large “Solution” and walked back to his seat. As Sheng Yi followed, it felt like a complex equation in his own heart had finally been solved.

…

The Deal and the “Tutoring”

Before school let out, their homeroom teacher announced a “trial” reform. In twenty days, the class would be reshuffled by rank. Only the top forty students would stay in the elite Class A.

Sheng Yi panicked. Since childhood, he and Rong Yu had never been in separate classes. He went straight to Rong Yu’s house after school. He didn’t want to go to his own home; his father had remarried, and the house was filled with a “new” son who was better at studying and pleasing adults.

That night, Sheng Yi actually opened his workbooks. “Xiao Yu, help me. I can’t be in a different class from you.”

Rong Yu leaned back, twirling a pen. “It’s impossible to jump from last place to top forty in twenty days. But… if you can stick with it, I can tutor you.”

“A whole year of tutoring?” Sheng Yi groaned. “I can’t do it. Learning is too hard.”

Knowing exactly what would motivate him, Rong Yu said calmly, “For every fifty points you improve on the monthly exam, I’ll ‘help’ you once.”

Sheng Yi’s ears turned beet red. He knew exactly what that “help” meant. The click of Rong Yu locking the study door sent a jolt through him. On the smooth wooden desk, books were pushed aside.

“Don’t bite yourself,” Rong Yu whispered, pressing his thumb into Sheng Yi’s mouth to stop him from biting his lip.

Just as the intensity peaked, Rong Yu’s mother knocked on the door. “Kids, it’s late. Go to bed.”

The tension nearly made Sheng Yi cry out. Rong Yu covered his mouth and replied calmly, “Okay.” When the footsteps finally faded, Rong Yu used the back of his hand to wipe his face and then smeared the dampness onto Sheng Yi’s cheek. “Can you do it now?”

Sheng Yi gritted his teeth. “I can!”

…

Stealing Luck from the “Grade God”

The day before the exam, the classroom was empty during lunch except for a sleeping Rong Yu. Sheng Yi walked in, eating an ice cream. He saw Rong Yu face-down on his desk, his school jacket draped over his head.

Sheng Yi carefully lifted a corner of the jacket. Rong Yu’s sleeping face was perfect. Originally, he just wanted to touch the “Grade God” for luck. But his mind changed. He leaned down, his cream-scented lips inching closer.

Just as he was about to make contact, Rong Yu woke up. Silence.

Sheng Yi awkwardly put the jacket back over Rong Yu’s head. But a hand shot out and grabbed his sleeve. Rong Yu sat up. “What were you doing?”

“Just… kissing the Grade God for luck?” Sheng Yi smiled sheepishly.

Footsteps approached in the hallway. Rong Yu pulled Sheng Yi down by the sleeve. A second before the door opened, Rong Yu let go of the back of Sheng Yi’s head. “Good luck on the exam.”

Sheng Yi stumbled back to his seat in a daze. Cheng Wenge looked at him. “Why is your face so red? Did a girl confess to you?”

“Ah… no,” Sheng Yi mumbled, taking a bite of his melting melon ice cream. He licked his lips. The ice cream… tasted much sweeter today.