At lunchtime, Xiazi reluctantly made his way to the second floor of the cafeteria. As expected, Chengyu was already waiting. But this time, he wasn't alone. Standing beside him was another student.
"Xiazi," Chengyu said with a smile, "this is Qi Jingshao, my closest friend." Then he turned toward Jingshao. "And this is my younger brother, Xiazi, the top student in our grade. Take good care of him if you get the chance."
The two greeted each other politely. After everyone sat down, Chengyu casually brought up the weekend.
"Our basketball team has a match against another school. You should come watch." He glanced at Xiazi before continuing. "You can help Jingshao take some action shots. You're always great with the camera." Then, with a faint smile, he added, "Actually, his photography hobby has a lot to do with Jingshao."
Qi Jingshao looked confused. "What do you mean?"
Xiazi's face instantly lost its color. He knew exactly where this conversation might be heading.
Chengyu paused just long enough to make Xiazi panic. Then he laughed softly. "I mean, he loves photographing people during sports. Basketball players make great subjects."
Qi Jingshao nodded, accepting the explanation without another thought. Xiazi slowly sat back down, still trying to steady his breathing.
After lunch, Jingshao headed back to class, leaving the two brothers alone. The smile disappeared from Chengyu's face. "So I arranged for you to have lunch with the person you admire. Shouldn't you be grateful?"
Xiazi lowered his head. "I'm sorry. It won't happen again. I'll stay away from him. I won't bother him anymore."
For a brief moment, Chengyu simply stared at him. Something about that answer seemed to catch him off guard. Then his expression turned cold again. "So you really care that much? You'd rather give up completely than risk making him uncomfortable."
His words became sharper with every sentence. He mocked Xiazi's feelings, questioning why anyone would keep emotions like that hidden instead of letting them go. Each comment felt like another weight pressing down on Xiazi's heart. Unable to answer, he remained silent.
Then Chengyu suddenly remembered something. "By the way, that time our class went to the hot springs, were you staring at me, too?"
Xiazi's ears turned bright red. "No." He denied it so quickly that even he knew it sounded unconvincing. Without another word, he turned and hurried away.
Chengyu watched him disappear down the hallway. A small, unreadable smile crossed his face.
From that day forward, Xiazi avoided him whenever possible. If Chengyu appeared in one hallway, Xiazi chose another. If Chengyu entered a room, Xiazi quietly left. He wanted as much distance between them as possible. Chengyu noticed every single attempt, and strangely, he seemed almost amused by it.
That evening, Chengyu returned home just as Xiazi's mother was finishing a phone call.
"If Xiazi ranks first on the next exam," she said happily, "his father promised another special reward." She also reminded him that Xiazi's birthday was approaching and suggested buying an unforgettable gift. From the conversation, Chengyu realized they were even considering giving Xiazi a brand new car.
After the call ended, Chengyu stood quietly in the hallway. So that's the reward, a thought crossed his mind. But what if he doesn't finish first?
Later that night, he stopped Xiazi in the hallway. Startled, Xiazi instinctively stepped backward. "What do you want?"
"Nothing serious. I'm just curious." Chengyu took out his phone and held it where Xiazi could see the screen. It was the recording from that night. "If someone important saw this misunderstanding, what do you think would happen?" His voice remained calm. "So I suggest you cooperate."
Xiazi stared silently at the phone.
Chengyu slowly lowered his phone. "Think about it. What if Qi Jingshao saw this video? What do you think he'd believe?" He let the question hang in the air before continuing. "I have a proposal. For the next year, you'll do exactly what I tell you. If you cooperate without causing trouble, I'll delete every photo and every recording when the year is over. It'll all disappear."
Xiazi remained silent. His hands trembled slightly at his sides.
Seeing that he hadn't answered, Chengyu smiled again. "Of course, you can refuse, but then I'll send everything to your father. He spent years believing he raised the perfect son. I'm curious how he'd react after seeing this." Chengyu looked directly into Xiazi's eyes. "So, what's your decision?"
After what felt like forever, Xiazi lowered his head. "I understand. I'll do what you ask."
"Good. For the next year, whenever I call, you come. And one more thing. You know what to do on tomorrow's exam."
The next morning, Xiazi arrived at school with dark circles under his eyes. As he stared at the exam paper, his pencil barely moved. Minutes passed, then the entire exam. When time was up, huge sections of the paper were still completely blank. Even the teacher looked puzzled while collecting it.
"Xiazi, are you feeling all right today?"
He simply nodded, handed in the unfinished test, and quietly left the classroom. The moment he stepped into the hallway, Chengyu was already waiting.
"Finished?"
Without another word, Chengyu tossed his backpack toward him. "Carry this. We're stopping by a clothing store after school. I want to look at the new shoes that just came out." For the first time in days, Chengyu smiled naturally.
Xiazi froze for a second before silently following behind him.
From that day on, he became Chengyu's shadow. He carried shopping bags, held onto backpacks, finished food Chengyu didn't want, helped organize homework and class notes. Whenever Chengyu called, Xiazi appeared.
One afternoon, Chengyu was practicing basketball. As usual, Xiazi waited nearby with water bottles and towels. One of Chengyu's teammates jogged over and grabbed a bottle.
"Lucky you. I wish I had a younger brother looking after me like this."
Xiazi forced an awkward smile.
From across the court, Chengyu watched the exchange in silence. His expression slowly hardened.