Title In Progress

Three,

Just how rebellious was Wu Shijiu? The records his previous school had kept until now, which could be opened up and unfolded into a long line that would reach the ground, mentioned skipping class, getting into fights, disregarding authority, and being nonconformist and stubborn. Bringing this problem student up caused teachers and parents (including other family’s parents) to get an awful headache.

And the reason why he hadn’t yet been completely rooted out by the contemporary education system was purely due to his good looks.

Only good-looking people were entitled to dye their hair, get a row of earrings, wake up at 6 o’clock to take a shower, wash their face, fix their eyebrows, spray on cologne, and then leisurely go downstairs to eat breakfast with their fingers wrapped around a small notebook with vocab words to memorise, then say “bye bye” to Xu Xing while putting on headphones to go out and catch the metro.

Xu Xing didn’t like meddling, he didn’t seem to have either time or interest in it, which suited him perfectly.

The daily interaction between the two was very limited, they only lived under the same roof, but spent their days doing their own thing. Xu Xing was very busy with work. Wu Shijiu heard his mom say he was a designer, and judging by his image and demeanour he must have been involved in some kind of high middle-class job. His quality of life was linked with his level of income, he looked impressive and at ease every day, as if he had everything under control, and he had a very regular routine for his life. Occasionally he would come home late from working overtime, but he would be able to be back at his best the next day after a night of sleep.

Of course, Wu Shijiu didn’t want to make trouble for him.

Unexpectedly, he was caught smoking at the gate of the school by the dean on the second week of the term.

“Student!” The dean pointed at him in a rage, hand trembling with anger, “Why are you smoking at such a young age?!”

Wu Shijiu skilfully tapped the ash off his cigarette and answered honestly, “I’m in senior year, there’s a lot of pressure.”

“You’re under a lot of pressure, so you just stand at the school gates and smoke???”

“You guys don’t let us smoke inside. It’s posted on the hallways.”

“……”

“Is it not allowed even if I go outside? I was trying to be considerate.”

“……”

“I’m sorry, then. Don’t get angry, professor, look, your face is getting red…”

“…Tell your parent to come in on Friday.”

To sum up, “This is sinister entrapment.”

Wu Shijiu had never encountered such unyielding and intolerant treatment, so he thought about ways to deal with the situation while holding the remaining half-pack of cigarettes.

What would happen if he didn’t have anyone come? This school was much stricter compared to his old one, they had to sit and study in the time between classes, they weren’t allowed to talk to the opposite gender in the hallways, and there was no strike system for committing offences — not even sweeping the bathroom for a month would win them any leniency, it was just straight expulsion.

What would happen if he told his mom?

If he did, he might be expelled from the school of life.

Wu Shijiu returned home with a lot on his mind.

Xu Xing got off work on time today, and was already seated at the living room on the first floor watching TV. The television was broadcasting international news, and the news anchor, who looked neither Western nor Chinese, was speaking in a foreign language, so he could only pick out a few of the words. The lights in the kitchen were on, and there was a still-hot portion of dinner set aside for him on the dining table.

“I already ate.” Xu Xing picked up the remote and changed the channel, “I grabbed some takeout for you at the restaurant.”

“Thanks.”

Wu Shijiu threw his backpack on the chair next to him and washed his hands before he began to eat. He smacked his lips after tasting a few mouthfuls, Xu Xing shouldn’t have known what he liked, but surprisingly all the dishes he ordered were to his taste.

He lowered his head as he held his bowl and pushed the food into his mouth, focused on his thoughts, and chewed slowly for a while, then finally put down his chopsticks.

“Uncle Xu.”

This rare, solemn tone successfully attracted Xu Xing’s attention, so the man muted the TV and turned his head to focus on what he had to say, “Yes?”

He found it hard to speak again after Xu Xing turned to look at him, feeling like this was really cowardly and unmanly. It was embarrassing to say it out loud, and it was an insult to his own arrogant, cocky façade.

“Can you… go to school in place of my parents?”


Four,

Wu Shijiu waited for Xu Xing’s answer for a long time, so he lowered his head and continued eating his cooling food in order to seem more level-headed and like he didn’t really care.

He lifted his head as the sound of footsteps approached. Xu Xing came over, pulled up the chair in front of him, and sat down.

“Do you mind telling me what’s going on?”

Wu Shijiu grabbed the empty food container and stuffed it back into the bag, then wiped his mouth with a paper napkin and vaguely recounted the events, “I was caught smoking by the dean.”

“Hmm.”

Xu Xing responded lightly. He had propped his elbows up on the table and his whole face was framed under the lights so that, when the light hit his browbones, both his downcast eyes sunk into the shadows. He laughed, the gleam on the bridge of his nose moving to the corners of his slightly raised lips, “You’ve been stirring up trouble.”

“You can’t let my mom know.” Wu Shijiu put his palms together, “Absolutely not. I’m afraid she’ll put a hit out on me tonight.”

Xu Xing nodded, unable to restrain his smile, and reached out a hand to fetch two cups, then poured some cold sweet herbal tea for both himself and Wu Shijiu, “When do I need to get there, what preparations do I need to make, and how long will it take?”

He asked the three questions in one breath, cool and brief, and Wu Shijiu felt like he should get used to the style of interaction between social people in the future. “Friday, I don’t know the specifics, but it shouldn’t be too bad for a first-time offender…”

Xu Xing drank some tea, the tips of his brows raising slightly, “Okay, tell your teacher I’ll be there at five in the afternoon”

“Just like that?!”

“There won’t be a next time.”

“You’re my dear uncle.”

Their deal came to a close.

On Friday, once the last self-study period of the afternoon was complete, Wu Shijiu made his way into the dean’s office with a no-nonsense scowl on his face and under the reverent gazes of countless well-behaved students.

The fake parent he’d asked to come was already inside, currently chatting and joking with the dean.

Wu Shijiu, “……”

He didn’t know what kind of sorcery Xu Xing had used on the lady, so he let out a silent curse.

“Shijiu, come here.”

Xu Xing had worn a neat and tasteful black suit today, which seemed to have a textured grey hue from a distance. His right hand was stuck in the pocket of his trousers, and his left hand was stretched out in mid-air, waving at him to come over.

He walked forward obediently without delay.

“He just got here, so he doesn’t understand the rules. Boys, right? They don’t listen to anything at this age, but he’ll learn respect from now on.” Xu Xing’s left hand casually fell on his shoulder in an intimate gesture that fit the two’s “relationship”, and he pinched his nape with his fingertips as if he were grabbing a disobedient kitty, “Did you hear? You’re not allowed to contradict your teacher.”

Xu Xing’s hands looked very masculine and slender, bony, dry and rough, but his movements were very light. He probably only used a little bit of strength to pinch him, as if reluctant to exert his strength, but it roused Wu Shijiu’s spirit, and he felt completely awake.

“Got it.” He spoke obediently, “I won’t do it any more.”

“Oh well,” The dean smiled kindly, “If you know what you did wrong, just make sure to correct it…”


The matter went from hostile to friendly just like that.


Wu Shijiu returned home with Xu Xing in a daze, stopping at the supermarket midway. As they waited at the traffic light, he couldn’t hold back any more and asked, “What did you and the teacher talk about?”

Xu Xing glanced at the long stretch of traffic through the rear-view mirror, then patiently looked straight ahead.

“I said your parents were very busy with work and I was the only one who could show up in person. I asked the teacher to be a bit more tolerant with you. Every child has a different character, so their education should also change accordingly. For example, they can’t go against the grain of someone like you, because the more they try to control you, the more stubborn you become.”

Wu Shijiu looked pensively out at the constantly-changing numbers on the traffic signs in the distance. Xu Xing didn’t seem like the type of person who’d say harsh words, he was practically downplaying the matter, but hearing it made him feel upset. There was no way to sum it up into a single general mood like “being stirred up” or “being ashamed”, so he had to temporarily turn his face towards the window to avoid the possibility of being exposed.

He was silent for a long while, then sighed, “…Fine, fine, let’s stop the act here, Mr Academy Award winner.”

Xu Xing sputtered out a laugh.

“I said I was your uncle, and that I would beat you up when we got back home to see if you’d still dare to smoke in the future.”

“……”


Sure fucking enough.