Chapter 40
Shi Ye seemed like the reincarnation of a dashcam.
Xia Fengsheng was completely startled by his absurdly sharp memory. Just from a few “dashcam moments,” he remembered everything so clearly—it left Xia Fengsheng dumbfounded. After staring at Shi Ye for a long while, he finally asked, “Re… really?”
He had no impression at all.
Even if Shi Ye now stated the exact time, place, and date, he still wouldn’t be able to recall a single thing. Yet seeing how much Shi Ye seemed to care, it didn’t look like he had imagined it.
A wave of regret shot straight to Shi Ye’s head. After saying it, he wished he could slap himself twice. He hurried to patch things up, “Of course I didn’t care that much. I was just proving I wasn’t lying.”
“You know I don’t like lying.”
Xia Fengsheng nodded, his attention returning to Spider Solitaire. “Oh.”
Shi Ye got up to find the bathrobes they would wear for the hot spring later. The moment he stepped into the walk-in closet, he clutched his head in agony like Psyduck.
Why did he just blurt out the exact time and place when Xia Fengsheng watched Jing Changyu play basketball?
Would Xia Fengsheng think he cared a lot?
He really didn’t care that much.
Why hasn’t anyone invented a regret medicine yet? What are those scientists even doing? Shi Ye scratched his heart and lungs in frustration inside the closet, unable to calm down.
.
At eight in the evening, Xia Fengsheng and Shi Ye brought their hot spring essentials and headed to the resort’s signature natural private bath. Along the way, they were completely at ease.
The private baths were nestled within a developed mountain forest. Soaking in the hot spring, one could admire the distant mountain scenery. Far from the city, when you looked up at the night sky, countless stars shimmered—like crystals hanging in the sky, dazzling and beautiful.
By coincidence, on the way there, they ran into Jing Changyu, who was also heading to the hot spring. From afar, Jing Changyu waved at them. “What a coincidence, Xia Fengsheng, Mr. Shi—meeting again.”
After a whole day of “battle,” the three of them were practically trembling, unable to piece together even one pair of decent legs. Two had run around in the mountains all day, and the other had played that leg-wrestling game until completely drained. A hot spring soak was just what they needed to recover.
The three walked side by side toward the private baths. Jing Changyu looked curiously at Xia Fengsheng’s weak legs. “Classmate Xia, what’s wrong with your legs?”
Xia Fengsheng said expressionlessly, “A bit of competitiveness.”
Jing Changyu: ?
Shi Ye carried their bathing supplies, glancing at Jing Changyu who had suddenly appeared: Why is he everywhere?
Jing Changyu’s reserved bath wasn’t far from theirs—just over fifty meters apart—with a tall bamboo partition in between. If they raised their voices, they could easily talk across.
Xia Fengsheng and Shi Ye changed into swimwear and entered the bath. Just as they closed their eyes in comfort, a voice came from the neighboring pool.
Jing Changyu shouted, “Classmate Xia, are you still there?”
Shi Ye: …
Am I dead?
The next second—
Jing Changyu: “Classmate Shi is still alive too, right?”
Shi Ye: …
Your Class 2 really saves money—everyone’s mental state is equally… impressive.
Should’ve booked a farther hot spring.
Although Shi Ye had also been assigned to Class 2 in his senior year, he hadn’t stayed long before returning to the capital.
Even though he mentally resisted Jing Changyu, Shi Ye didn’t show it in his actions or expression.
Otherwise, it would make him look petty.
He wasn’t a petty person.
Jing Changyu isn’t important to Xia Fengsheng. Xia Fengsheng isn’t important to him.
Shi Ye silently repeated it three times in his heart, brainwashing himself.
The hot spring was filled with mist. Soaking in it, Xia Fengsheng suddenly understood goldfish—if he could stay in such comfortable water every day, he’d probably blow bubbles too.
This rare relaxation made him thoroughly enjoy himself. Recently, his life no longer carried the many troubles it used to. Even during rest time before, he would still think about work—but now it was different.
His life was getting back on track. Together with friends he had met, he started a business and earned a considerable first pot of gold.
Even if he handed out red envelopes worth ten thousand, he wouldn’t feel the slightest pain.
He was no longer constantly rushing around like before. Now he had time of his own—to rest, to enjoy, to experience the joy of a vacation. There were no more spam messages disturbing his phone either.
From the days of toiling like an ox and horse to living freely now, only two months had passed. The difference between past and present—he finally understood that idiom deeply for the first time.
Once in the hot spring, he didn’t want to leave. Xia Fengsheng soaked until the point where he was about to faint before finally coming out.
Even though he felt a little dizzy, he was refreshed in both body and mind.
Today was another day of being in charge of his own body.
After soaking, he went to the changing room, swapped out of his swimwear, and put on a loose, comfortable bathrobe. Then Xia Fengsheng headed to the leisure area.
About a hundred meters to the left of the changing room was the leisure area, fully equipped with entertainment facilities—board games, arcade machines, and basic sports equipment.
At this moment, Jing Changyu was standing by the ping-pong table, playing doubles.
He was alone.
Against two people.
Xia Fengsheng: …
Was Jing Changyu this magical back in high school too?
Seeing Shi Ye and Xia Fengsheng, Jing Changyu called out, “Classmate Xia, Mr. Shi—come team up with me!”
He couldn’t hold on much longer.
Shi Ye would never give Xia Fengsheng the chance to team up with Jing Changyu. He stepped forward and picked up another paddle. Xia Fengsheng sat on a heated chair nearby, sipping tea and watching the match, wondering why the two of them chose to sweat it out with exercise after soaking in a hot spring.
Shi Ye and Jing Changyu stood one in front and one behind, paddles in hand.
Shi Ye was fully focused, his expression filled with seriousness toward the match. Jing Changyu was no less competitive—even in a friendly match, there would be first and second place. They both wanted to win.
Jing Changyu said, “Mr. Shi, my skills are very strong.”
Shi Ye let out a light laugh. “I’m not bad either.”
Ping-pong—bang bang—
Sparks seemed to fly across the table. The ball darted back and forth, their paddles swinging as if they might strike fire.
One round ended: 11 to 0.
Shi Ye and Jing Changyu, both completely shut out: …
They stared at the paddles in their hands in disbelief.
How could this happen?
Their opponents stood across from them and encouraged kindly, “If you’re bad, just practice more.”
Shi Ye: …
Jing Changyu: …
Shi Ye hadn’t expected to lose so thoroughly.
Jing Changyu opened his mouth and immediately slandered, “They must’ve cheated.”
Shi Ye went along with it, “Who knows what they drank before the match.”
Jing Changyu turned back to him, “Mr. Shi, how about we cheat in the second round too?”
Shi Ye: …
What nonsense are you talking again?
Why are you always thinking about cheating all day long? Have you forgotten the Olympic spirit?
Xia Fengsheng is watching right here—could he just stand by and let Jing Changyu hand over evidence to him?
Impossible. Absolutely impossible.
The opponents across came over and said, “How about singles next round?”
Shi Ye: Just what I was thinking.
He snatched the paddle from Jing Changyu’s hand. “You go rest, I’ll play.” Just in case Jing Changyu tried to cheat mid-game.
Jing Changyu didn’t refuse. After running around all day, his legs were already starting to tremble on the verge of collapse.
If he kept playing and suddenly lost strength and fell flat on the ground, it would be a complete disaster—after all, he was someone who appeared on television, he couldn’t afford to lose face.
Jing Changyu walked over to the heated bench and sat down with Xia Fengsheng. Seeing that Xia Fengsheng was just sitting quietly with no intention of trying any of the entertainment facilities, he asked:
“Classmate Xia, aren’t you going to play something?”
There were plenty of activities in the leisure area.
Xia Fengsheng shook his head. He didn’t feel like moving yet.
Jing Changyu observed him. After the college entrance exam, the two had never met again—counting carefully, seven years had passed, time changing countless things.
He looked at Xia Fengsheng’s side profile. “Classmate Xia, you’ve changed a lot.”
Xia Fengsheng raised his eyes. “A lot?”
“Mm.” Jing Changyu said, “Your eye shape has changed. I remember your eyes weren’t this long before.”
Seven years had passed—appearance would naturally change more or less. Xia Fengsheng was among those who changed more noticeably. Among facial features, the nose and eyes left the strongest impression, and the eyes most of all, because they carried emotion.
And the part of Xia Fengsheng that had changed the most was his eyes.
Jing Changyu added, “Your nose was already quite high back in high school.”
Xia Fengsheng subconsciously raised a hand to touch his nose. “Really?”
“Of course. I heard my deskmate talk about it all the time.”
Jing Changyu’s high school deskmate was a pretty and cute girl, the class academic committee member. She would often mutter to him:
Xia Fengsheng got handsome again.
Look at his melancholic temperament.
His nose is so high—I want to slide down his nose bridge like a slide.
Jing Changyu smiled and said, “You were very popular with girls back then.”
Xia Fengsheng was stunned, as if hearing it for the first time.
“Me?”
He had asked quite a few questions tonight.
Jing Changyu said, “Who else? Didn’t you know? Every time you ran out of school after class, you were very popular.”
Back then, quite a few people went to watch.
During high school, Xia Fengsheng worked part-time every evening. Being late meant a five-yuan deduction, so to avoid being late, he ran out of school every day after dismissal.
Under the radiant sunset over the campus, Xia Fengsheng carried his schoolbag, wearing shoes washed pale, hurrying away.
At that time, his days were always tight. The burdens of life gave him no time to breathe or relax.
Because of that, Xia Fengsheng missed many things—many things about himself that he didn’t know, but others did.
Just like what Jing Changyu was saying now—he had never even heard of it. Back in high school, he barely spoke to girls. He also knew he looked somewhat intimidating to others, and might scare them if he talked, so he rarely interacted with them.
Jing Changyu recalled, “There were girls who would purposely arrive early just to wait along your usual path after school, just to see you.”
Xia Fengsheng was completely stunned. He had never known any of this.
“And I remember once you came to watch me play basketball. Because you came, a lot of girls came too.”
“Thank you for that—you gave me a lot of face back then.” He remembered that because Xia Fengsheng showed up, the cheers supporting him increased a lot.
The pride of youth was satisfied at that moment. Jing Changyu couldn’t help reminiscing. “Because of you, quite a few people cheered for me.”
Xia Fengsheng: “No…”
He should be the one thanking Jing Changyu.
Thank him for always remembering him whenever there were activities.
For reminding him about the materials fee due the next day, telling him about the class lineup positions on the field, even fighting for him to have the role of a tree in a stage play—never leaving him out.
Jing Changyu was one of the few people in high school who cared about him.
Wait.
Xia Fengsheng suddenly realized something was off—did he really go watch Jing Changyu play basketball?
“Did I watch you play basketball?”
Jing Changyu nodded. “You did, back in second year of high school.”
He couldn’t remember the exact day—only that it was a summer full of lush green leaves.
Xia Fengsheng slowly blinked.
Shi Ye said he had watched Jing Changyu play basketball.
Jing Changyu also said he had watched him play.
At first, he thought it was just Shi Ye’s “exclusive memory.”
But now Jing Changyu said the same.
Did he really watch it?
Why did he have no memory at all? Had he really lost his memory?
Jing Changyu said, “Actually, it’s a pity we didn’t take a graduation photo together.”
On the day of the graduation photo, Xia Fengsheng didn’t come.
No one knew why. Until the shutter clicked and the photo froze in the camera, that boy who used to run through the campus never appeared.
Jing Changyu had always felt regret. He thought he would see that especially remarkable classmate one more time at the graduation photo—but Xia Fengsheng didn’t come.
In fact, during the last two months before the college entrance exam, Jing Changyu never saw Xia Fengsheng at school again.
He even asked the homeroom teacher for his number, but the calls were never answered.
Their exam locations were different, and one completely ordinary day in their final year became the last time Jing Changyu saw Xia Fengsheng in his youth.
Then, seven years passed.
The light in Jing Changyu’s eyes was just as it had been back then. Smiling, he said, “Classmate Xia, I’m very happy to see you again.”
Xia Fengsheng was still just like in high school… just as dazzling.
There was one thing Jing Changyu didn’t say.
Back in high school, Xia Fengsheng’s grades were always among the top. Although in a small city most families weren’t particularly outstanding, Xia Fengsheng’s circumstances were the worst.
Yet the hardships of life never stopped him from moving forward. His gaze was always firm.
To surpass him had been Jing Changyu’s goal in his youth.
Without Jing Changyu, Shi Ye fought alone and narrowly won 11 to 9.
Shi Ye let out a long breath. He won.
Happily, he began humming a little tune. But when he turned his head, he saw Xia Fengsheng and Jing Changyu sitting on the bench, chatting enthusiastically—they hadn’t watched his match at all.
Shi Ye: …
No one even watched him play—then what did his win count for?
The opponents were a couple. The man had played against him, and after losing, his girlfriend came over to comfort him, “Darling, you were amazing. I’m so proud of you.”
Shi Ye: …
His nose turned red again.
The boy said guiltily, “But darling, I lost.”
“Mm~” The girl shook a finger. “No, you didn’t.”
Shi Ye: 11 to 9—how is that not losing?
The girl said, “In my heart, you’re always the champion.”
Shi Ye: Then what does his 11–9 count for?
The boy said, “Darling, having you is enough. Even if I lost but you won the world, so what?”
Shi Ye: …
Shi Ye laughed in exasperation.
If you can’t handle losing, don’t play!
The couple left hand in hand, sweet and harmonious. Shi Ye stood there in the wind, completely disheveled. He swore he would never play against couples again.
He put down the paddle and went to find Xia Fengsheng. When Xia Fengsheng and Jing Changyu saw him return, they stood up to head back to their rooms. On the way back, they were still chatting animatedly—neither of them even knew he had won.
For a moment, Shi Ye felt like a child out with their parents—who ran into acquaintances on the way and started chatting, leaving the child bored and clamoring to go home.
He walked behind them, carrying the hot spring supplies. A bath towel stuck out from the bag—Shi Ye pulled it out directly, twisted it into a rope, and held it in his hand.
Looking at Xia Fengsheng and Jing Changyu walking side by side ahead, he lifted his hand, hung the “rope” around his neck, then let it drop.
Glanced again.
Hung it up again, then took it down again.
Sometimes he really felt like hanging himself.
Just as they passed a tree, his body acted on instinct—he hooked the twisted towel over a branch. It was a perfect spot for hanging.
At that moment, Jing Changyu happened to turn back and saw Shi Ye standing under the tree, tugging at the towel.
“Mr. Shi, swinging on a swing?”
Shi Ye: …
Really want to hang him up and beat him.
Back in the room, the resort staff had already made the beds.
After a full day of exhaustion, Shi Ye changed into his pajamas, collapsed into the bedding, and fell asleep not long after.
But Xia Fengsheng lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.
Did he really watch Jing Changyu play basketball?
Staring at the high ceiling, Xia Fengsheng racked his brain, trying to recall.
He dug through every corner of his memory, trying to piece together the scene. As he thought and thought, his eyelids grew heavier, and without noticing, he drifted into sleep.
“You only like my face and my body. You don’t understand me at all, don’t understand my inner self. You don’t truly like me, and you haven’t shown much liking either, blah blah blah blah blablabla…”
Xia Fengsheng sat in the classroom, looking at the long message Shi Ye sent him on WeChat, his expression unreadable.
Didn’t he act like he liked Shi Ye? Didn’t confessing count as liking? He didn’t know how to express it—he thought Shi Ye would be able to feel it.
Yet almost every day, he would receive these long essays.
A trace of confusion appeared in Xia Fengsheng’s cold black eyes. For the first time, he encountered a problem even more unreasonable than physics.
Shi Ye said he hadn’t shown his feelings clearly, so Xia Fengsheng began observing couples around him from time to time, trying to learn how others expressed liking.
However, the school’s disciplinary director was no pushover.
Every time he found a couple, the director would catch one.
Find a pair—caught.
Find another—caught again.
Xia Fengsheng: …
During PE class, Xia Fengsheng rarely wasn’t memorizing physics formulas. Instead, he used the entire class to think about Shi Ye’s problem.
At that moment, a group of boys passed by.
“Hey! Look—that’s the class committee member from Class 2!”
“So pretty and cute!!!!”
“I told you she’s a beauty—really good-looking.”
They were talking about the academic committee member in Xia Fengsheng’s class.
She was a sweet and pretty girl with a lively, cheerful personality, very likable. Many boys in the class liked her—of course, boys from other classes too.
Clearly, this group of boys was the same. One of them turned red the moment he saw her, breathing nervously as if he had some kind of attack.
His friend beside him got excited too. “So? Are you going to go talk to her?”
The boy flicked his head confidently. “I’ll shoot a basket in front of her.”
Shoot a basket?
Xia Fengsheng straightened up.
If you like someone, you shoot a basket in front of them?
Xia Fengsheng was a man of action. He immediately got up and headed to the basketball court to learn—completely missing how, after the boy did an air shot in front of the girl, she backed away three meters… and kept that distance for life.
Xia Fengsheng had good stamina and was tall, but due to heavy studies and part-time work, he rarely had time for entertainment. He had never played basketball before—didn’t know how. Shooting was even more out of the question.
Thinking about it, during basketball games there were always many spectators, and girls would even bring water to boys they liked. So shooting in front of someone you like did have a certain credibility.
Xia Fengsheng began setting aside time to learn basketball. He vaguely remembered that the class monitor, Jing Changyu, played well—learning from him should be effective.
After that, whenever Jing Changyu had a basketball game, Xia Fengsheng would show up on time to watch. No matter the time, as long as it was on campus, if Jing Changyu held a basketball, within three meters there would definitely be Xia Fengsheng.
He studied for a whole month. Though he barely touched the ball, he learned quite a few shooting poses.
He carefully considered which one to show in front of Shi Ye, and finally settled on the most classic—an air shot.
One day after school, Shi Ye and Xia Fengsheng were walking together.
Just a few steps out of the school gate, Xia Fengsheng suddenly called out, “Shi Ye.”
Shi Ye turned his head.
The next second, Xia Fengsheng jumped and made an air shot right in front of him.
Shi Ye: ???
Seeing Shi Ye’s stunned expression, Xia Fengsheng was also stunned.
Why didn’t it work? Did he not see clearly?
Xia Fengsheng squeezed his fingers, then did another air shot in front of him.
Shi Ye stood there in complete disarray.
Whose sports-student boyfriend is this?!
