Chapter 70: The Jersey, the Game, and the Dream
Gu Qinian’s laugh was soft, but in the quiet room it sounded especially clear.
Gu Tang clutched the jersey hidden beneath his clothes.
“Stop hiding it. I already saw it.”
There was no obvious emotion in Young Master Gu’s tone, which only made Gu Tang feel even more strongly that the sound just now had been a cold laugh.
Gu Qinian looked at him and said quietly, “Whatever you hid, take it out yourself.”
“…”
Gu Tang knew there was no escaping this.
Reluctantly, he lifted the hem of his shirt and pulled out the jersey from underneath.
He had his head lowered and failed to notice that Young Master Gu’s gaze was not on the jersey at all, but on his waist and stomach.
The boy’s waist was slender and supple, without an ounce of extra fat and barely any muscle, pale and delicate, like a soft milk cake.
Gu Qinian only looked once before withdrawing his gaze, his Adam’s apple rolling slightly.
Gripping the jersey in both hands, Gu Tang heard the system sound a prompt—
[Congratulations, Host. Achievement completed: “Caught Stealing the Male Lead’s Stuff.” Reward: 10 life points and 1 plot coin!]
Gu Tang paused. “That counts as an achievement too?”
[Of course! You’re the cannon-fodder fake young master. Doing bad things is your default state! This is also part of dancing on the male lead’s danger zone!]
Gu Tang sighed. “Fine. A little is better than nothing.”
As long as he was not actually doing something bad that hurt Young Master Gu, even just 10 life points was still good.
“Then what about the other mission?” he asked.
[Which one?]
The system sounded utterly blank, which immediately gave Gu Tang a bad feeling. “The high-reward one. ‘Destroy the male lead’s conviction’ still isn’t complete, right?”
He had clearly already taken the jersey that represented conviction, so why had there been no reaction at all?
[Sorry, Host. The main system did not judge that task as completed. You still need to keep trying.]
Gu Tang: “?”
Could it be that it did not count because he had been caught?
[No. It’s because the jersey is not the male lead’s conviction. Host selected the wrong target item.]
When the system said that, Gu Tang finally understood. “Oh… right.”
He had asked Young Master Gu before, and the other boy had told him that the jersey was not the conviction—just that Gu Tang needed to come watch the match.
So why had he still gone after the jersey?
How silly…
The system was also very helpless about this.
[Whenever Host completes tasks passively, they somehow get done without you noticing. But whenever you try to do them actively, something always goes wrong…]
Gu Tang frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
[Host should just give up and go with the flow in the future…]
Gu Tang: “…”
“Hmph!”
He could not help letting out a little huff, and of course Young Master Gu heard it.
“What are you huffing about?”
Gu Qinian looked at the discouraged boy with amusement. “When things get difficult, you start acting spoiled?”
Gu Tang did not understand why Young Master Gu always said he was acting spoiled. Staring at his own toes, he softly protested, “I’m not…”
His voice came out soft and sticky.
The ending sound curled like a little hook, lightly scratching across a person’s heart.
Gu Qinian stretched out a hand, caught the boy’s pointed chin, and lifted his head. “Still acting spoiled.”
That put the distance between them at less than an arm’s length.
Gu Tang looked at Young Master Gu drawing closer, and at those thin lips tinted a vivid red, and alarms started going off inside him. In panic, he turned his head away.
Gu Qinian did not force him. Instead, he held out one hand.
Gu Tang glanced at the open palm and, somewhat bashfully, placed his own hand onto it.
Young Master Gu calmly closed his fingers around the boy’s hand. Then his other hand stretched out too, fingers curling in a beckoning motion. “Hand it over.”
“!”
So Young Master Gu wanted the jersey, not to hold hands with him.
Gu Tang hurriedly stuffed the jersey into his hand and tried to pull his own hand away, only to find that he could not escape Young Master Gu’s grip.
Gu Qinian held the boy’s hand in his left, and the jersey in his right.
The jersey still carried Gu Tang’s body warmth.
Just like Gu Tang’s hand, it was warm and soft.
“Why were you hiding my jersey?”
Only Gu Qinian himself knew what kind of answer he was hoping for from that question.
He too had taken things from Gu Tang.
That little bear Gu Tang always liked to hold while sleeping had been abducted by him to Country S and carried around everywhere, temporarily serving as Gu Tang’s substitute.
No one understood better than him what it meant to secretly take the other person’s personal belongings.
He stepped forward, pinning the boy against the small coatroom door.
Gu Tang had nowhere to hide, and one hand was still caught in the other’s grasp, so he could only mumble, “I needed it for something…”
“For what?”
Young Master Gu pressed the question relentlessly.
Gu Tang could not say it was for completing a plot mission, but if he gave no explanation at all, sneaking away Young Master Gu’s jersey really did make him look like some kind of pervert.
Seeing the hesitation on the boy’s face, Gu Qinian’s eyelid twitched slightly.
Gu Tang was innocent and slow to realize things. Naturally, he could not have taken the jersey for the sort of purpose Gu Qinian himself was imagining.
Honestly, if Gu Tang could wake up to that kind of thing so quickly, that would be wonderful…
Knowing he would get nothing out of this, Gu Qinian changed the subject. “Do you admit you were wrong?”
Gu Tang obediently answered, “I was wrong.”
Even if he and Young Master Gu did not really distinguish between “mine” and “yours,” secretly taking someone’s jersey was still wrong.
Using the fact that their hands were already joined, he gave the other boy’s hand a little swing. “Nian-Nian, don’t be angry.”
The boy always did this—acting spoiled in front of him without even realizing it.
Gu Qinian took a deep breath. “I’m not angry.”
“You are!”
Gu Tang pointed at his nose. “Your breathing got heavier. It feels warm.”
“…”
Gu Qinian’s Adam’s apple shifted. Looking at the boy in front of him, he had no way to explain why his breathing had changed. He ran his tongue hard over the tips of his teeth and said, “If you do something wrong, you should be punished.”
Gu Tang nervously glanced at Young Master Gu’s arms and hands. “…How?”
The two of them were very different. One got up early every day to exercise and played basketball, while the other’s biggest daily physical activities were eating and showering.
Not to mention anything else—his arms were a whole circle thinner than Young Master Gu’s, and his hands were much smaller too. If Young Master Gu really cruelly decided to beat him up… not to brag, but he honestly could not win.
Still, every time they had roughhoused growing up, Young Master Gu had always let him win.
He would not get serious with him today either, right?
Gu Tang was still thinking that when suddenly his vision went dark and his breathing caught.
By the time he understood what had happened, Young Master Gu had already pulled the number 7 jersey over his head.
Because of the difference in their builds, the jersey that fit Young Master Gu perfectly turned into something like a dress on Gu Tang.
The top was the sleeveless jersey cut, while the overlong hem swayed loosely down to his thighs.
Gu Tang tugged at the much-too-loose jersey.
“Wear this tomorrow and come watch my match.”
After dropping those words, Gu Qinian turned and left.
Gu Tang: “?”
This counted as punishment???
The next day, Gu Tang finally realized that Young Master Gu’s move really had been punishment!
After class—Little Glasses came over excitedly with a stack of math worksheets in his arms and plopped down right beside him.
Duan Zhengyu said, “Tangtang, is Gu Qinian not coming back for evening self-study again tonight? Then I’m sitting here beside you!”
Lately, Young Master Gu had been spending evening study hours in basketball training at the gym, so Little Glasses had seized the chance to indulge in his dream of being Gu Tang’s deskmate. As long as Gu Tang did not go off with Gu Qinian, he would come occupy the seat.
It was already late May, and Jiang City’s weather had turned warm.
Some students had already started wearing short sleeves, but Gu Tang was wrapped tightly in his long-sleeved school jacket, with the zipper pulled all the way up to his collar.
“Are you cold?”
Duan Zhengyu reached out to tug at Gu Tang’s clothes. “Why are you dressed in so much stuff?”
Gu Tang dodged at once and instinctively tugged the zipper even higher, though it could not possibly go any farther. It was as if he were hiding something under the uniform that no one was supposed to see.
Meeting Little Glasses’ puzzled gaze, Gu Tang shook his head. “I’m going to watch Nian-Nian’s game tonight.”
In other words, he would not be in evening study either.
Little Glasses’ attention was immediately diverted. He looked highly disapproving. “The college entrance exam is coming soon. Why would you go watch a game?”
The moment he said that, someone slung an arm over his shoulder.
His actual deskmate, Song Chen, stood behind him smiling. “You already got recommended admission anyway. Come on, let’s all go watch the game.”
As he spoke, he dragged Little Glasses away without caring about his cries of “Hey, hey, hey!”
Gu Tang clutched his zipper pull and followed behind.
They had barely gone down one floor when they ran into Zhu Xu and Xie Qian at the stairwell corner.
Zhu Xu, loud as ever, shouted from far away, “Let’s go! Time to watch Gu Qinian’s basketball farewell match!”
Xie Qian, being more observant, also knew perfectly well that Gu Tang was someone who feared heat rather than cold. Looking him over, he asked suspiciously, “Why are you wearing so much? Don’t tell me you’ve got a cheerleader skirt on under there?”
He had only asked casually, yet Gu Tang’s face actually reddened.
“You really are going to be Gu Qinian’s cheerleader?” Xie Qian curiously reached out and hooked a finger into Gu Tang’s school jacket collar, trying to peek inside.
Song Chen slapped his hand away at once.
Xie Qian looked wronged. “Brother Song, go a little easier on me. My hands are valuable.”
“You already got recommended admission anyway. If they get temporarily crippled, it won’t matter.”
Song Chen kept smiling.
Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at Gu Tang and noticed that the blush had spread all the way down his neck.
Vice President Song began to worry.
Surely their president had not really gone completely insane and made Gu Tang wear an actual cheerleader skirt?!
For the high school basketball league, Jiang City No. 1 High was facing off against No. 5 High, and the home court was set in No. 1 High’s gym.
Before the game, the bus from No. 5 High slowly pulled up outside the gym.
The tall captain of the No. 5 High basketball team jumped down first, instantly drawing sideways glances from the students of No. 1 High.
“He’s so tall…”
“No. 5 High looks really strong…”
“Can we even win?”
Hearing the whispered comments from the students of No. 1 High, the captain of No. 5 High wore a bright, spirited grin as he rallied his team. “Did you hear that? Everyone can see how strong we are. We’re definitely winning today!”
The No. 5 High players shouted, “Win!”
One of the players asked curiously in a low voice, “Why is Captain’s morale especially high today?”
A teammate who knew the inside story immediately answered, “Because the person he likes is at No. 1 High, hehe.”
“Who does Captain like?”
“That actor from last summer’s movie, the one who played the Ninth Prince—Little Ninth.”
“Captain’s phone wallpaper has always been him. He can’t bear to change it…”
Several players had their heads together, whispering, until the captain came up behind them and smacked each one on the back of the head.
The No. 5 captain growled, “Stop gossiping and go warm up!”
Before a match, one naturally needed to know the opponent’s strongest player. The No. 5 captain warned his team, “No. 1 High’s overall strength is a little weaker than ours, but their number 7 is supposedly really strong. Once we’re out there, find out what number 7 is capable of and keep him locked down.”
The team shouted, “Yeah!”
After his players had all gone off to warm up, the captain pulled out his phone and lit up the screen—and there appeared a still image of the Ninth Prince.
The boy in the picture had refined features, wore a long robe and jade crown, and whenever he smiled, his eyes curved into two little crescents.
The No. 5 captain stared for a while, grinning foolishly, before stuffing the phone back into his pocket.
He wondered whether Little Ninth would come to watch the match.
He had to perform well!
Gu Qinian had reserved the entire front row of seats for Gu Tang and the others so they could watch the game from up close.
The moment Gu Tang sat down, he saw Young Master Gu warming up not far away.
On Young Master Gu’s jersey was the number “17.”
The reason was simple.
Number 7 was on Gu Tang…
He instinctively tightened his grip on the collar of his jacket, the metal zipper leaving a faint mark in his palm.
Just then, Young Master Gu lifted his eyes and looked over at him.
Those cold, sharp brows and eyes softened the instant they landed on him, and a trace of a smile hooked at the corner of his eyes.
“…”
Gu Tang had no idea what was wrong with him, but suddenly he felt even hotter.
He sat there in the stands, face flushed red.
At the same time, No. 5 High’s team entered the court.
The No. 5 captain had sharp eyes. He spotted Gu Tang sitting in the very front row immediately, and his eyes lit up.
One of his teammates looked worried. “Captain, watch out for honey traps…”
“Do you think No. 1 High knows you like him? Otherwise why would they seat him right there in the front?”
“I object! They’re obviously trying to shake team morale!”
As expected, one of them got smacked again. The captain barked, “If you’re tired of living, just say so!”
The players instantly shut their mouths, angry but not daring to say anything.
One of the more sensible No. 5 players scanned the court and voiced a question. “Why don’t I see number 7? There’s a number 17 over there though…”
The No. 5 captain glanced at number 17 and clicked his tongue dismissively. “What’s a pretty boy doing playing basketball? If he gets bumped and falls, is he going to cry?”
The teammates burst into laughter.
After looking around again and still not seeing the supposedly legendary number 7, the No. 5 captain figured that maybe No. 1 High was saving him as a secret weapon and did not want to bring him out too early.
“Doesn’t matter. We’ll respond to any situation the same way.”
“As soon as number 7 appears, lock him down!”
What the No. 5 captain did not expect was that number 7 never appeared through the entire first half.
Instead, it was that “pretty boy” number 17 who made him see things differently.
When the two sides were evenly matched, number 17 scored a three-pointer in the final minute of the first half.
By halftime, No. 1 High was ahead of No. 5 High by exactly one point.
“It’s fine. No. 1 High is only this strong.”
The No. 5 captain gathered his teammates for a quick strategy session. “We’ve already figured out their rhythm. In the second half, we can beat them at their own game.”
The team answered, “No. 5 High must win!”
Sitting in the stands, Gu Tang looked at the No. 5 team huddled together in a tight, united circle, then looked at their own No. 1 High team…
The other teammates were huddled together too. Only Young Master Gu sat alone on the bench drinking water.
Like a lone wolf.
That “lone wolf” seemed to feel his gaze and looked back at him.
Gu Tang knew Young Master Gu’s strength well. He had played far too conservatively in the first half—not even close to how he normally trained. It was obvious that Young Master Gu was hiding his real level.
Or perhaps it was simply that he did not want to exert himself that much yet.
After all, the crucial moment had not arrived.
Gu Tang clenched a fist and waved it toward his lone-wolf Young Master Gu, mouthing: Good luck!
But Young Master Gu only looked at him with a playful expression, and while no one was paying attention, he even winked his right eye at him.
Gu Tang: “…!”
His cheeks immediately flared red.
He had never expected someone as aloof as Young Master Gu to make such a… improper expression.
Flustered, Gu Tang looked away, his fingers nearly twisting the zipper off his jacket.
Not long after, the second half officially began.
But before even a minute had passed, something unexpected happened—
Bang—!
A heavy collision rang through the entire gym.
“Nian-Nian!”
Gu Tang’s cry was swallowed by the noise around him, so loud that even he himself could not hear it.
One of No. 5 High’s sturdier players suddenly rammed No. 1 High’s number 17 to the ground while running. The forceful movement had been visible to the entire gym. No one could possibly call it an accident.
The referee stopped the game immediately.
Gu Tang anxiously looked toward the person on the floor and saw Young Master Gu slowly sit up. A few drops of blood marked the ground.
Gu Qinian had scraped his elbow badly, and the wound was not small.
The referee and No. 1 High players hurried over to surround him, and the school medic rushed in too.
Gu Tang could not see clearly what was happening in the crowd, but after a while it opened up, and he saw that Young Master Gu was standing again.
As if knowing Gu Tang would be worried, the first thing Young Master Gu did was glance toward him and tip his chin.
That meant: I’m fine. Don’t worry.
Gu Tang finally let out a breath, then angrily turned to glare at the No. 5 player who had done it.
It looked as though the No. 5 captain was cleaning up his own team.
The captain grabbed the offender by the collar and roared, “Anyone who tries dirty tricks in front of me can go to hell! We’ll settle this properly after the game. Get your ass on the bench!”
The teammate hurriedly explained, “Captain, I just wanted to take out number 17 so number 7 would be forced to come out…”
All the No. 5 players had seen it. Number 17 was already formidable enough. As long as he stayed on the court, No. 1 High’s secret weapon, number 7, would not appear.
But this was their captain’s farewell match.
They all knew perfectly well how badly he wanted one proper showdown with number 7.
“You don’t need to do a damn thing for me! If we win, we win fair and square!”
Grinding his teeth, the captain added, “And later, you’re apologizing to number 17!”
Then he noticed the blank, dazed look on his teammate’s face, as if he had just seen something terrifying.
The captain slapped his cheek lightly. “You stupid now?”
“N-number 7…”
The teammate pointed toward the stands, looking completely dumbfounded. “Captain, your phone wallpaper… that’s number 7…”
“What are you talking about?”
The captain followed the line of his finger and instantly stared with his eyes wide open.
There was Gu Tang, having taken off his school jacket and revealing the number 7 jersey. It was much too large on him, so he had tied the jacket around his waist to keep it in place, and was shouting toward No. 1 High’s team, “Go!”
The No. 5 captain: “???”
He stiffly turned his head and saw number 17 curling his lips into a smile, looking back at the boy in the stands.
Gu Tang cupped both hands around his mouth like a little megaphone. “Nian-Nian, go!”
Gu Qinian answered, “Received.”
The No. 5 captain suddenly understood. Pointing at Gu Qinian, he swore violently, “He’s number 7!!!”
“Mark him!”
Sadly for them, Gu Qinian never gave No. 5 another chance after that.
Gu Tang was wearing his jersey and cheering him on. If he still refused to show his real ability, it would almost be rude.
The moment Gu Qinian got serious, his speed and stamina became incomparable to anything before, and his three-point shooting was frighteningly accurate. The rest of No. 1 High’s players willingly formed a defensive wall around him, and the lone wolf merged into the wolf pack. The whole court practically turned into his personal show.
Before long, No. 1 High’s score shot so far ahead that No. 5 could no longer dream of catching up.
The game ended with one perfect shot from Young Master Gu.
“Wow!”
Swept up by the atmosphere, Gu Tang shouted excitedly, “Nian-Nian is amazing!!!”
The gym was loud and chaotic, but Gu Qinian seemed to hear the boy’s voice anyway. He turned around and opened his arms toward him.
As if by magic, all the surrounding sound disappeared. Gu Tang could hear nothing.
The crowd seemed to disappear too. All he could see was the person on the court opening his arms to him.
It felt as if the whole gym contained only him and Young Master Gu.
Gu Tang did not even know how he got there. By the time he realized it, he was already in the other boy’s arms.
Bending down, Gu Qinian pressed his still-damp cheek against the side of Gu Tang’s neck. “Did I play well?”
Standing on tiptoe, Gu Tang vigorously ruffled his damp dog head. “Well well well! Nian-Nian is the best!”
He was so happy that he failed to notice the person leaning against his neck quietly turning his head, as if by accident, to brush his lips against the side of Gu Tang’s neck.
The two of them were so close that neither noticed the No. 5 captain standing nearby, biting a towel in despair.
One of the No. 5 players patted the captain’s shoulder. “Poor Captain. His love story died before it ever began…”
“His career and his love life both got completely wrecked…”
“Captain, let this be the broken ending to your youth…”
“Get out, all of you! Get the hell out!”
After roaring at his teammates, the No. 5 captain personally went over to apologize to Gu Qinian, also admitting that he had lost wholeheartedly and with complete conviction.
“Cheers!!!”
No. 1 High’s basketball captain raised his glass. “Number 7—now that’s a goddamn lucky number!”
Hearing that, Gu Tang’s face grew hot. Biting lightly on the zipper pull dragged all the way up to his collar, he lowered his head and stared at the tip of his nose.
Gu Qinian leaned against him. After clinking glasses with the basketball captain and taking a shallow sip, he turned and asked, “You didn’t take the jersey off?”
Gu Tang kept his face lowered and only shook his head.
If he had taken it off, then there would have been no need to zip his jacket all the way to the collar…
“Not hot?”
Gu Qinian reached out as if to help him take it off. Gu Tang shrank backward, clutching his clothes and shaking his head frantically.
During the game, it had been a moment of heated excitement. But after the game? No way was he taking it off!
Gu Tang himself did not understand what exactly he was embarrassed about.
When they were younger, swapping clothes with Young Master Gu had been the most ordinary thing in the world. Their clothes used to be identical, and Grandma Mei often could not tell which belonged to whom.
It was only after they got older and their builds changed that they stopped sharing them so casually.
Even so, he still often wore Young Master Gu’s T-shirts and jackets.
…Then why did wearing the basketball jersey feel so strange?
Halfway through the post-game celebration dinner, Young Master Gu was called away by the basketball captain to celebrate with the team.
Gu Tang stayed at another table with a few classmates who had also come to freeload.
Zhu Xu lifted up drinks from beside the table. “Come on! For those of us under eighteen—we drink soda!”
The can in his hand was orange-yellow, so it probably held orange juice or something similar.
Gu Tang held one in his hand and hesitated for a second. He distinctly remembered that the drink Young Master Gu had been holding came in a red can, but seeing the others already chugging theirs, he did not think too much and pulled open the can and gulped down several mouthfuls.
He had been parched ever since earlier…
When Gu Qinian returned, he found Gu Tang’s fluffy little head already slumped over on the table.
“Gu Tang?”
As he lifted him up, he saw that the school jacket collar Gu Tang had been gripping all this time had fallen open, and the oversized collar of the jersey underneath revealed a stretch of beautifully shaped collarbone.
Gu Tang was dazed. The moment he saw him, his eyes curved into a smile. “Nian-Nian…”
“…”
Gu Qinian picked up the can on the table and frowned. “Who gave him alcohol?”
Zhu Xu looked innocent. “This is alcohol?”
Song Chen shook the can in his own hand. “It’s really mild. I honestly couldn’t tell.”
Duan Zhengyu pushed up his glasses. “I was wondering why I kept getting dizzier and dizzier. I thought my glasses prescription was wrong.”
“It tasted like fruit juice to me, hic—”
Even Xie Qian let out an alcoholic hiccup.
Gu Qinian: “…”
Not a single reliable one among them!
Then two arms wound themselves around his neck. Gu Qinian froze.
Gu Tang, all muddled, wrapped himself around him. “It’s so hot. Nian-Nian is cool and feels so nice…”
Zhu Xu laughed. “See? He still recognizes people. He’s fine!”
“…”
Gu Qinian did not want to respond to a single one of them. Leaving the team and classmates to keep eating and drinking, he settled the bill and carried Gu Tang away.
If the head of discipline found out Gu Tang had been drinking, there would be trouble.
He carried him on his back all the way, coaxing him until he finally got him safely back to the dorm.
On the way, Gu Tang even bit his ear.
“Hehe, Nian-Nian has two soft ears!”
Gu Tang held up three fingers.
Gu Qinian forcibly folded one of them down. “This is two.”
“Oh.”
Gu Tang sat there muddle-headed, his little head nodding forward again and again. He looked absurdly well-behaved.
Gu Qinian wrung out a towel and brought it over to wipe his face.
Gu Tang tipped his face up like a little cat, letting him wipe him however he pleased, obedient to a ridiculous degree.
“…” Gu Qinian lowered his head and looked closely at that little face.
Then suddenly, two hands pressed against his chest.
Gu Tang pushed at him with both hands, turning his face away. “Too close. Don’t be like this…”
The boy’s attitude was clearly one of rejection.
Looking down at the two pale little hands braced against his chest, Gu Qinian felt a sudden stab of pain in his heart.
“You don’t like it?” he asked.
Sniffling a little, Gu Tang nodded.
[ Ding— ]
[Congratulations, Host! Key plot mission “Destroy the Male Lead’s Conviction” completed! Reward: 100 life points and 10 plot coins!]
Hearing the sudden electronic voices, Gu Tang rubbed his head. “Hm?”
The system detected that the host’s mind was not fully clear right now, so in order to prevent him from revealing anything in front of the male lead, it did not answer and silently retreated.
When there was no more voice in his head, Gu Tang refocused on the face before him.
Ah… why was he dreaming about Young Master Gu again?
He lifted both hands and cupped Young Master Gu’s face, muttering, “This isn’t good…”
Gu Qinian, having just heard Gu Tang say he did not like him, was in the middle of complete despair.
Then Gu Tang mumbled softly, “I keep dreaming of Nian-Nian this close… it makes me seem really perverted…”
Gu Qinian: “?!!”
***
Author’s Note:
Gu Nian-Nian (one second earlier): He doesn’t like me…
Gu Nian-Nian (one second later): He says he dreams about me!
