Chapter 60
Yu Chen’s Diary:
I have a white moonlight. One day he’ll become a big CEO and drive a Rolls-Royce to pick me up.
After He Zhen left, Hongwen High seemed no different from before—except that when the grade rankings came out, the name He Zhen was no longer there.
Every time the monthly exam rankings were posted, Yu Chen would squeeze to the very front and quietly calculate the gap between himself and the top five in the grade.
Whenever he made progress, he would share it with He Zhen at the very first opportunity. Although when Yu Chen was in class during the day, He Zhen was usually still asleep, once He Zhen woke up in the morning, he would always reply to Yu Chen’s messages right away.
Actually, the two of them did not video call all that often—only two or three times a week. Taking into account that he would need to manage the company in the future, He Zhen had chosen marketing as his major, but he was unwilling to give up electronic engineering, which he truly liked, and was currently preparing to pursue a double degree.
MIT undergrad normally took four years, but if enough credits were completed, it could be finished in as little as two. That meant He Zhen needed to use all his own time to fulfill the course requirements. When Yu Chen found out, he worried that He Zhen’s body would not be able to take it, so he kept mailing all sorts of local Hai City specialties to America for him.
Li Huan always tried to persuade Yu Chen, saying that He Zhen had an auntie over there taking care of his daily life, so there was no need for him to keep mailing vacuum-packed food. Sometimes in summer, the food would spoil before it even reached America.
But Yu Chen was a stubborn little bull. If he could not mail things in summer, then he would do it in winter instead. And he often ordered little cakes for He Zhen too, constantly feeding him from afar.
He still remembered that his boss had once said the canned beef he sent over was delicious—ten thousand times better than anything the family auntie cooked.
But he had never told He Zhen that he had made that canned beef together with his dad. He was worried He Zhen would doubt his cooking skills, and if that made him not dare eat it, then that would be terrible.
Without He Zhen’s company, Yu Chen suddenly felt that time passed so slowly. Even though he still had his friends by his side, he just could not get excited about anything anymore.
He made a “Boss Returns” calendar and counted down the days until He Zhen would come back to China.
No one actually dared guarantee that date was accurate. After all, many MIT students still took five years to finish their credits. But Yu Chen had this inexplicable faith in He Zhen. In order not to disturb He Zhen’s studies, he only dared chat with him during the short stretch when He Zhen had just gotten up.
For example—
Grandpa’s health was getting better day by day…
Their cat had given birth to tiny little babies…
The swans in the artificial lake behind the manor had pecked his hand, and he was waiting for a chance to taste roast swan…
Fang Jingrao was about to be sent to England by his parents to study abroad, and Xiao Yu was very sad…
Lin Jiashu had broken up with his boyfriend, and He Zhi’an had seized the chance to bravely confess, only to be rejected…
And so on, and so on.
With Yu Chen acting like a little loudspeaker, He Zhen almost felt as though he had never even gone abroad at all. He knew everything about everyone. He even knew that the auntie selling starch sausages outside the school gate had bought an Audi Q5.
Time reached the first half of their third year of high school.
In September, Yu Chen placed second in the city in the biology competition and entered the city team to prepare for the national finals.
During this time, the pressure on Yu Chen was immense.
After all, the people competing alongside him were all the top students from every province.
A student like Lin He, whose mathematical talent was so strong, had still failed to enter the national team and earn a place in the international competition.
After Li Huan noticed that Yu Chen’s appetite was growing smaller and smaller, he had a serious heart-to-heart talk with him. He knew Yu Chen did not dare pour out his pressure to He Zhen, because that would only increase He Zhen’s worries.
After that conversation, Yu Chen’s mental stress eased by quite a lot.
Because his dad had told him that even if one day he ended up selling starch sausages outside a school gate, as long as he was happy and fulfilled, and the sausages he fried came out fragrant and crispy, he would still be the son his father was proudest of.
Still, on that day, Yu Chen had also sent He Zhen a WeChat message.
[Yu Chen: Boss, if I end up selling starch sausages outside a school gate in the future, would you despise me? Sad puppy jpg.]
[He Zhen: No. People selling starch sausages can even earn an Audi Q5. In the future the two of us can set up a stall together, expand it into a national chain, get financing, and go public.]
[Yu Chen: Then wouldn’t I become a little boss in the future? Wiggle-butt jpg.]
[He Zhen: I’ll make you chairman.]
[Yu Chen: Puppy wiggle-butt jpg.]
Time rushed by.
In October of that same year, Yu Chen won a silver medal in the national biology competition, but did not make the national team.
In April of the following year, with that silver medal, Yu Chen passed Fuda’s independent assessment and obtained direct admission through the combined bachelor-master-doctor program.
Everything had settled into place, and life on the high school campus entered its final countdown.
On the day of Yu Chen’s celebration banquet, Grandpa He and Li Huan helped him choose his major.
Actually, with Yu Chen’s silver-medal record, he could also have taken the Qingbei independent assessment. But Yu Chen wanted to stay in Hai City to take care of his father and Grandpa He, so he chose to remain at Fuda.
At first, Grandpa He felt that the biology-related major Yu Chen liked was too niche, and that with such high scores he ought to go into one of the flagship majors instead. Moreover, during the four undergraduate years, this kind of major covered a very broad range of fields, from microbiology to oceanography to animal science. Usually it was not until the master’s stage that the secondary specialty was narrowed down and the actual research direction determined.
But Yu Chen liked the field, so he planned to study it first. In any case, it was an eight-year continuous bachelor-master-doctor track, so it would not be too late to choose the research direction he was truly interested in later.
In the end, Grandpa He and Li Huan chose to respect Yu Chen’s wishes.
As the days passed one by one, Yu Chen experienced two more farewells.
In July, at Hongqiao Airport, they saw Lin Jiashu off, and He Zhi’an cried like a wreck.
In August, at the international airport, he and Xiao Yu watched Fang Jingrao board his flight. On the way home, the always arrogant and untouchable Xiao Yu sobbed softly, shrinking into the corner of the car and secretly wiping away tears.
It was as if time had opened its floodgates and rushed on.
There was laughter in it, and tears too.
But seeing the friends around him suffering from the same pain of parting, Yu Chen felt deeply miserable.
He sat hugging his legs at He Zhen’s desk, watching the roses in the manor wither and bloom again…
Counting on his fingers little by little, calculating the time until He Zhen returned.
In the blink of an eye, that stack of calendars was nearly used up.
In the tiered lecture hall, students poured in noisily with breakfast in hand. Professor Lin’s class was about to begin, and according to the student vote, it was the hardest subject to survive. Since it was final-exam season, even the students who were usually lazy and always late had become especially diligent. With five minutes still left before class, the room was already full, everyone afraid of missing the professor’s key points.
In the first row sat an extremely beautiful young man. He was eating a jianbing guozi with full concentration. His cool tea-brown short hair fell down and covered his pretty almond eyes when he lowered his head. His full lips glistened with moisture, and with his cheeks puffed out, he looked especially obedient.
“Holy shit! Young master! You dyed your hair?”
Wang Lei came over with a few of the guys and sat in the seats Yu Chen had saved for them. “That color looks amazing. It makes your skin look even paler.”
By now, Yu Chen was almost immune to being called young master.
Although he had corrected them countless times and said he was no young master, everyone still believed he was just deliberately pretending to be poor. If he were not one, how could his family casually buy a huge luxury flat in Xiangsheng Royal Riverside next door just so he would not have to stay in the dorm?
Yu Chen chewed his jianbing in big bites. “I brought scallion pancakes for you guys, so hurry up and eat. If Professor Lin sees us eating breakfast in the first row, our participation grades will get slashed straight down.”
“Come on, don’t be like that. With Professor Lin’s precious class rep carrying us, we count as half-connected insiders ourselves.”
Yu Chen had entered the Department of Biological Sciences as the top-ranked student in the major, and from the very beginning he had become a prized favorite among all the professors. Not to mention that he was naturally obedient and well-behaved, his academic ability was strong, and he handled things responsibly. The professors often called him over to chat, and after just a few sentences they would inevitably start talking about choosing a supervisor in graduate school.
Being able to take in a disciple this smart and this docile was a source of pride for them too.
Wang Lei bit open a carton of milk. “Whoa! Young master, that watch on your wrist doesn’t look cheap at all. What brand is it? Let us broaden our horizons.”
Wang Lei and the others were Yu Chen’s roommates. Although Yu Chen hardly ever actually lived in the dorm, as a local student he often brought them delicious food, so over the past year they had all gotten along quite well.
“This was the coming-of-age gift he gave me.”
Yu Chen smiled shyly, the heat on his face spreading all the way to his ears. “There’s even an inscription he had engraved for me on it.”
Two months ago, on his eighteenth birthday, He Zhen had specially sent a birthday present from America.
This watch did not come from any particular brand. It had been custom-made for him by He Zhen together with a craftsman over there.
He Zhen had told him that there was a small mechanism inside it that could sense the distance between the two of them. He Zhen himself had one too.
That little design had been developed by He Zhen himself.
There was no need to say who this “he” was. Wang Lei and the others understood at once.
From the very start of freshman year, when Yu Chen had rejected countless suitors, they had already known that Yu Chen had a white moonlight older brother studying at MIT in America.
This boy was outstanding—winner of a gold medal in the national math competition, selected by MIT during the international competition, and directly admitted to the U.S.
Although Yu Chen always insisted the two of them were not together, Wang Lei and the others understood perfectly well.
If he was not his boyfriend, then why would Yu Chen be sharing his daily itinerary with him every few days?
If Yu Chen ate a delicious chive bun at lunch, he would still go report it to the other party.
“Yu Chen, shouldn’t that white moonlight of yours be coming back to China soon?” Wang Lei said around a mouthful of scallion pancake. “When there’s time, let’s all have a meal together so we can finally see what he looks like.”
“I still don’t know when he’ll be back.” The moment this was brought up, a faint disappointment surfaced in Yu Chen.
His slightly curled lashes drooped sadly, and his tone paused. “By rights, he should be preparing to come back around now. But he said there was a problem with his graduation project, so it might get delayed.”
In an instant, Yu Chen lost all interest in the jianbing. He set it down beside his laptop and let out a deep sigh.
Come to think of it, he had not seen He Zhen for more than two years already.
There had actually been one summer when He Zhen had planned to return, but because something had gone wrong in the lab, his advisor had urgently called him back to help.
During the summer after Yu Chen’s senior year, he had also had a chance to go see He Zhen. But just then, something happened to the pacemaker in Grandpa He’s heart. Unable to stop worrying about the old man, Yu Chen canceled his plane ticket and stayed by Grandpa He’s side for the entire summer.
On video calls, He Zhen seemed to have grown even taller. Compared with the year he had left in the second year of high school, his features had grown sharper and even more handsome.
But in the end, a video call could never compare to a single glance in real life.
After learning that He Zhen’s graduation might be delayed, Yu Chen had almost lost all heart. He had even already decided that after the semester ended, he would fly straight over to find him.
“Yu Chen, here’s the data from our group experiment.”
Song Wenjing handed him a USB drive and said considerately, “Our group already organized the formatting, so you won’t have to waste extra effort.”
“Okay, thank you.” Yu Chen accepted it gloomily and forced out a small smile.
“Are you interested in tonight’s theater club event?” Song Wenjing took out two tickets. “A friend gave me two.”
“I’m not going. I need to go home and help my dad wrap dumplings.” The clumsy excuse made Wang Lei laugh on the side, while Song Wenjing remained outwardly calm and light. “Alright. Then maybe next time.”
After Song Wenjing left, Wang Lei muttered, puzzled, “You’ve got to admit, he’s pretty persistent, huh? Our Yu Chen already rejected him, and he’s still this stubborn.”
From the other side, Chen Xing joked, “Well, who told our young master to be the school heartthrob? Number one in looks across all of Fuda.”
“Enough, class is about to start.”
Yu Chen opened his textbook, then glanced once more at the distance shown on his watch.
The watch seemed to have bugged out. Since last night, it had been stuck at 10,001 kilometers without moving.
[Your little gadget is broken! You need to come fix it yourself! Sad puppy jpg.]
After sending the WeChat message to He Zhen, he propped up his chin in grievance.
He had to wait that much longer again!
Who in this world understood the suffering in his little Yu Baochuan heart?
A whole morning of classes passed, and everyone’s hearts only grew colder.
To sum up what Professor Lin had just gone over in four words:
There were no key points at all.
During the break, complaints rose from every side.
Yu Chen lay sprawled over his desk, bored, flipping through his chat history with He Zhen.
At the same time, outside the lecture hall stood a tall, slender figure.
The boy had an excellent build, his straight back broad and powerful. Dressed in a black trench coat, he stood in the hallway in a way that was impossible to overlook.
“Hello, may I ask if this is Class Two of Biological Sciences?”
Wang Lei, who had just returned from the restroom, instantly turned warm-hearted at the sight of such a rare top-tier handsome guy. “Yes, yes! Do you need help?”
He Zhen asked politely, “It looks like they’re in class. May I ask if Yu Chen is inside?”
“Yu Chen? He’s in there.” Wang Lei immediately craned his neck to look in. “They’re not really having class. They’re just all wilting.”
He Zhen’s voice was low and calm. “Thank you.”
Wang Lei sized up the incredibly handsome man in front of him—easily at least 190 centimeters tall—and, unable to resist gossiping, asked, “Which department are you from? What do you want with our Yu Chen?”
He Zhen’s deep, sharp eyes swept lightly across Wang Lei’s face, and Wang Lei instantly chickened out. “Uh, I’ll go call him for you.”
“Thank you.” He Zhen’s voice stayed cool.
As Wang Lei scratched his head and turned to go in, his mind suddenly took a turn. “Brother, I’ll give you a heads-up first. If you’re here to confess, then you definitely don’t stand a chance.”
A slight shift passed through He Zhen’s eyes as he quietly looked at Wang Lei.
“You’re not seriously here to confess, are you?” Wang Lei lifted a brow, suddenly a bit excited.
This guy was probably the school grass from the athletics department. Watching a handsome guy get rejected sounded kind of entertaining.
“I’m telling you, Yu Chen already has someone. His guy is some top student at MIT. Handsome as you are, you’d better not embarrass yourself.”
He Zhen’s thin lips moved slightly, carrying a faint, almost invisible smile.
“Then please help me tell him that the MIT boyfriend has come to find him.”
