Indirect Kiss

Lu Huaizhi steadily hooked his arm around Shi Sui’s waist, preventing him from collapsing. “You can’t stop yet. Walk a bit more before you rest.”

Shi Sui was completely drained of strength, allowing Lu Huaizhi to lead him forward.

It was less like walking together and more like being dragged.

“I’m not walking,” Shi Sui panted. “Let me down.”

Right now, he just wanted to lie flat on the ground.

Lu Huaizhi didn’t stop. He pulled back the escaping Shi Sui, supporting his waist with one hand while grabbing the arm draped over his shoulder with the other, guiding him slowly forward.

Shi Sui gritted his teeth and threw a punch at Lu Huaizhi’s shoulder.

Lu Huaizhi didn’t even dodge. Feeling the force, he merely tilted his head and gave him a surprised look.

Shi Sui’s face flushed instantly. Luckily, his face was already red from running, which masked the blush.

He gave Lu Huaizhi a cold glare. “What are you looking at!”

Right now, he couldn’t even walk, let alone throw a punch. It probably felt like a tickle.

But he didn’t give up, throwing a few more harmless punches. Seeing they had no effect, he sullenly dropped his hand.

I’ll beat him up next time.

Chi Qing and Wang Cheng caught up with them.

Wang Cheng clearly hadn’t recovered from the blow of missing two consecutive hugs. Seeing Shi Sui being obediently held by Lu Huaizhi, he said sourly, “Dad, you really have a new favorite, don’t you?”

Wang Cheng was standing upwind directly in front of Shi Sui. As the breeze blew, the sand on his body showered right onto Shi Sui’s face.

“Ptu, ptu.” Shi Sui spat out the sand that had gotten into his mouth.

Lu Huaizhi raised a hand to shield Shi Sui’s face. “Wang Cheng, move further away.”

Wang Cheng’s heart shattered. He covered his face and clung to Chi Qing, wailing, “These two are in cahoots!”

Chi Qing, listening to his fake crying and feeling the sand rubbing into his shoulder, couldn’t take it anymore and pushed him away. “Can you shake the sand off before you talk?”

The rejected Wang Cheng jumped in place, sending a pile of sand to the ground.

He froze for a second, then cried even louder.

The sports meet lasted for two days. The subsequent events proceeded smoothly, and the meet concluded successfully on Friday afternoon.

No. 1 High lost to No. 3 High by a very narrow margin.

However, no one felt dejected. No. 1 High crushed No. 3 High in academics, and their athletic performance was nearly equal; there was no shame in it.

The Principal was beaming during the closing speech.

Then it was the Dean’s turn, Deng Weiben, to speak. “Everyone performed very well these past two days. However, the monthly exams are approaching. Use the weekend to settle your hearts and sprint toward the exams.”

Wang Cheng whispered a complaint from below. “One plays the good cop, one plays the bad cop. Same old routine.”

“But—” Wang Cheng leaned past Shi Sui to look at Lu Huaizhi in the back. “Top Student, there’s something I’m wondering about. Didn’t you write a ton of cheer-up drafts? How come I didn’t hear a single one?”

According to Lu Huaizhi, he had turned them in yesterday afternoon, but Wang Cheng had waited all day without hearing his own name.

Shi Sui had been staring at the white clouds in the sky, spacing out. Hearing this, his thoughts snapped back. He frowned and said, “The sports meet is over. Why are you thinking about that?”

“Isn’t it a waste? The Top Student wrote so many! Did the announcer miss them?” Wang Cheng got more worked up as he spoke. “Also, didn’t someone write a draft to confess to you yesterday afternoon? So, did they come find you in person?”

The cheer-up drafts were anonymous, so no one knew who had boldly written a love letter to Shi Sui.

The flurry of questions made Shi Sui’s ears turn red. “Confession my a*s.”

As for Lu Huaizhi’s later drafts, Shi Sui had gone to the podium to take them all back after his 3000m run.

If he guessed correctly, Lu Huaizhi hadn’t written a single one for Wang Cheng; they were all sappy notes for him.

Lu Huaizhi stood behind Shi Sui, watching the redness spread across his ears. He spoke up, “Maybe I didn’t write them well, and they were intercepted.”

“Huh? How come?” Wang Cheng thought Lu Huaizhi meant the announcer had filtered them out.

“Maybe I didn’t write what he wanted to hear,” Lu Huaizhi said with a hint of a smile. “It’s fine. I’ll strive to write better next time.”

Understanding the underlying meaning, Shi Sui chose to lower his head and pretend he didn’t hear.

The sports meet ended, and students began leaving in an orderly fashion.

Wang Cheng stretched broadly and suggested, “Internet cafe? Let’s relax. I’m exhausted from these past two days.”

Even though Shi Sui had taken over several of his events, the physical load still exceeded his expectations. Now that it was over, he just wanted to play.

Shi Sui refused. “Not going. I’m going home to shower.”

His events today weren’t exhausting, but he was still covered in sweat.

The temperature had been rising lately. Today, the school had even set up canopies over the stands, and doctors were on standby for heatstroke.

Chi Qing also shook his head. “Monthly exams are soon. I need to study.”

He had a rule: no internet cafe before major exams.

Wang Cheng pouted. “Fine then. I’ll make an appointment with the Class Monitor to go bird-watching.”

The group split up at the school gate. Shi Sui looked at Lu Huaizhi and asked, “Don’t you live in Anhe Complex?”

He followed him.

“No video call today,” Lu Huaizhi said. “Some knowledge points are easier to understand in person.”

Shi Sui looked up, his tone slow. “To my house?”

Lu Huaizhi observed his expression and paused before speaking. “Mm.”

Shi Sui knew this kid was plotting this. “No way.”

Worst case, they could study in the classroom after school.

Lu Huaizhi: “The Dean said students have been abusing the classroom AC after school lately. Starting next week, the power will be cut after school.”

In other words, they wouldn’t have AC. Plus, Class 3 faced the sun, making it incredibly hot in the afternoon.

Shi Sui was already irritable during tutoring; he definitely wouldn’t have the heart to learn then.

Lu Huaizhi had blocked all his retreats.

Shi Sui bit his lip and didn’t speak.

“I promised Xin Xin I’d let her see the cat. She’s asked me several times,” Lu Huaizhi added. “She said if she doesn’t see the cat soon, she’ll be very sad and cry all by herself.”

Shi Sui: “…”

An hour later, Shi Sui had showered and was standing at the complex entrance with a blank face, waiting with Xin Xin for Lu Huaizhi to bring the cat.

“Brother Shi Sui, you’re such a good person!” Xin Xin looked up, tugging at the hem of Shi Sui’s shirt, shamelessly flattering him. “My mom made dumplings today. She said she’ll bring some over for your dinner later!”

Shi Sui pulled his shirt back. “I’m not eating.”

He hadn’t even finished his instant noodles yet.

Xin Xin acted as if she hadn’t heard his refusal, talking to herself, “Whatever. I’ll just tell Mom to cook extra and bring them over, otherwise Brother will definitely secretly cook instant noodles.”

Shi Sui glanced down at her.

Are kids these days all this sharp?

Or was she corrupted by Lu Huaizhi?

“Brother, Tang Tang is here!” Xin Xin shouted toward the front.

Before Shi Sui could see the person, he felt a soft head rubbing against his pant leg.

He looked down and met a pair of watery blue eyes.

“Meow~” Tang Tang called out softly to Shi Sui. It even stood up on its hind legs, reaching out with its paws to rub against Shi Sui’s fingers.

Even though Tang Tang interacted with Xin Xin the most, it clearly liked Shi Sui more.

Shi Sui stood frozen as Tang Tang rubbed against him for a while before Lu Huaizhi came over to pull the cat away.

Lu Huaizhi unclipped the leash from Tang Tang’s neck to make it more comfortable.

Xin Xin tentatively touched Tang Tang’s ears and asked curiously, “Tang Tang seems to really like Brother Shi Sui. Why?”

When Tang Tang arrived, it didn’t even look at Lu Huaizhi, circling around Shi Sui instead.

Lu Huaizhi replied casually, “Maybe the cat takes after its owner.”

Shi Sui: “?”

Xin Xin had an epiphany. “Because Brother Lu likes Brother Shi Sui, Tang Tang likes Brother Shi Sui too!”

Tang Tang’s outstanding appearance had already drawn many eyes in the complex. Xin Xin’s blunt words made even more passersby look over.

And Lu Huaizhi actually accepted it naturally. “Correct.”

Shi Sui took a deep breath, telling himself not to argue with Lu Huaizhi in front of a child. He leaned down and picked up the cat that was circling him. “Let’s go home first.”

Tang Tang was a cat, but it was quite large. It had looked majestic when Lu Huaizhi led it over. Shi Sui was afraid he would hold it wrong and make it uncomfortable, but Tang Tang didn’t struggle at all. It curled up in his arms and tilted its head to rub against his chin.

Shi Sui tilted his head to dodge, but Tang Tang kept trying to rub against him.

Xin Xin looked on with envy. “Tang Tang is so clingy with you.”

Lu Huaizhi glanced at the cat in Shi Sui’s arms and reached out. “It’s heavy. I’ll carry it.”

Shi Sui was about to say a cat couldn’t be that heavy, but he was still afraid of not holding it well, so he handed it over.

The group entered Shi Sui’s home together.

Lu Huaizhi looked around.

Shi Sui must have tidied up beforehand. The floor was mopped and still a bit damp, the glass coffee table was very clean, and two soft cushions with tags still attached were on the sofa. Even the trash bag was new.

Xin Xin had been here several times and immediately noticed the change. “Brother, you cleaned the house, didn’t you!”

“Is it specially to welcome Brother Lu?”

“Of course not.” Shi Sui avoided Lu Huaizhi’s direct gaze, his tone vague. “I just didn’t want the cat licking dirty things and getting sick.”

However, the cat was soon taken across the hall to Xin Xin’s house by Lu Huaizhi.

The reason given was—it was too clingy and would interfere with their tutoring.

When Lu Huaizhi returned, Shi Sui was cleaning off the cat hair stuck to his clothes. Hearing the door, he didn’t look at Lu Huaizhi but glanced behind him instead.

Empty.

Lu Huaizhi really left the cat across the hall.

Lu Huaizhi sensitively captured the hint of disappointment in Shi Sui’s eyes. “You like it?”

Shi Sui patted the loose hair on his pants. “I don’t hate it.”

Having a cat between him and Lu Huaizhi allowed him to not focus too much on Lu Huaizhi.

Besides, Tang Tang was truly beautiful. No matter how hard Shi Sui’s heart was, he couldn’t just ignore such a clingy, adorable creature.

Lu Huaizhi sat down beside him. “Then it definitely had to go.”

Not only would it get in the way, but it also drew too much of Shi Sui’s attention.

They placed a piece of paper on the floor and sat around the coffee table to work on problems.

The spot Lu Huaizhi was currently sitting in had been occupied by Tang Tang earlier. Even when picked up, the cat would just move back, wedging itself between the two. Even Xin Xin using freeze-dried treats couldn’t lure it away from the sofa.

Shi Sui hadn’t understood the meaning of Lu Huaizhi’s previous sentence until he continued.

“You touched it five times just now.”

Shi Sui: “?”

He had been so subtle about it. How did Lu Huaizhi notice!

Before he could argue, Lu Huaizhi listed his cat-touching behaviors in detail.

“You touched its ears twice and its tail three times.” Lu Huaizhi’s tone was flat. “I’m jealous.”

That cat had only been around for less than an hour and had already gained Shi Sui’s favor.

“No, Lu Huaizhi, you—” Shi Sui didn’t know how to describe his feelings, both speechless and amused. “You’re jealous of your own cat?”

Lu Huaizhi nodded. “Mm.”

“I won’t bring it next time.”

He sounded quite serious.

Shi Sui gave him a light glance. “If you didn’t use Tang Tang as an excuse, would you even have gotten into my house?”

Lu Huaizhi looked up in surprise.

“Did you really think I was stupid?” Shi Sui leaned back against the sofa, his tone lazy. “Using the cat as an excuse for video calls, and using it again to come here for tutoring. Step by step, you’re quite the plotter.”

Tang Tang probably never imagined that after making such a great contribution, it would be so easily discarded by Lu Huaizhi.

Talk about a complete turnaround.

Lu Huaizhi was silent for a moment before slowly speaking, “But you still let me in.”

Shi Sui, who thought he had the upper hand, froze. He sat up straight, his tone a bit uncomfortable. “I was just afraid Xin Xin would cry. It has nothing to do with you.”

He didn’t forget to add, “There won’t be a next time.”

Lu Huaizhi lowered his eyes to the test paper on the table, the pen in his hand spinning rapidly.

“If I said that with face-to-face tutoring, I could guarantee you’ll break the top 400 in the monthly exams,” Lu Huaizhi said, “would you still not let me come?”

Shi Sui: “Really?”

He knew his foundation was poor and didn’t have high hopes for this exam. He just wanted his results to not look too bad so he could give his grandmother an answer.

He didn’t expect Lu Huaizhi to throw out such a big bait.

Lu Huaizhi nodded. “Really.”

Shi Sui scratched his head. He had to admit, Lu Huaizhi really caught him.

After hesitating for a long time, he threw caution to the wind. “Fine, then come!”

It was just a bit more electricity, right?

He was the biggest beneficiary in this deal anyway.

“In summer, my house might have strange smells.”

“It’s fine.”

“My house doesn’t have AC, just a ceiling fan.”

“Mm.”

“If there are bugs, you aren’t allowed to scream. Call me immediately.”

“Okay.”

“Last point,” Shi Sui said. “Dinner isn’t included. If you’re hungry, there’s only instant noodles.”

This time, Lu Huaizhi didn’t answer immediately. “Can we not eat instant noodles?”

Shi Sui’s expression was cold. “No.”

If he didn’t eat them soon, the noodles would expire.

However, they didn’t end up eating instant noodles. Xin Xin brought over the dumplings, complete with dipping sauce.

She also brought the cat back. “Mom said a cat shouldn’t leave its owner for too long. Xin Xin will play with Tang Tang next time.”

She then looked at Shi Sui’s fridge and reminded him, “Brother, dumplings go really well with pickles. They’re delicious.”

Only then did Shi Sui remember that Xin Xin’s mother had given him pickles before.

The two of them had a rather sumptuous dinner with pickles and dipping sauce.

Tang Tang, perhaps sensing Lu Huaizhi’s jealousy, lay obediently on the sofa cushion and didn’t cling to Shi Sui.

After eating their fill, the two began their work.

“The Physics test this time was made by our subject teacher. He loves putting pulley-related force analysis in the final big problem.” Lu Huaizhi folded over a few pages in the workbook and circled several problems. “Practice these. Look at the examples first.”

Shi Sui took the workbook and buried himself in study.

Lu Huaizhi had already gone over the basic knowledge points with him once. With the examples, he could solve about the first two small questions of those problems.

However, he got stuck halfway through the final part, which carried the most points.

It was the same for several problems.

Shi Sui’s brain felt swollen. He tossed the pen onto the table and rubbed his temples in frustration.

The pen hit the coffee table with a thud.

Tang Tang, who had been sleeping on the sofa, was startled and jerked its head up.

Lu Huaizhi raised his hand and patted Tang Tang’s head to comfort it. Tang Tang squinted and rubbed against his palm before dropping its head back down to sleep peacefully.

“Where is the problem?” Lu Huaizhi asked.

Shi Sui had already discarded his pen to play on his phone. “I’ll write more after a break.”

The exaggerated sound effects of Happy Match didn’t suppress the frustration in his heart this time.

Even if he could solve the first few parts of those problems, it was incredibly difficult.

Moreover, he had just done a similar type of problem with almost $80\%$ similarity.

It was the type of anxiety where someone had brought the food to his lips, but he didn’t have the ability to eat it.

In contrast, while he was writing those few problems, Lu Huaizhi had already almost finished half of a Physics test paper.

This glaring difference made Shi Sui exceptionally stifled.

Even the continuous cicadas outside and the creaking of the ceiling fan overhead made him irritable.

Shi Sui thought expressionlessly that when he had time, he would take a pole and sticky-tape all the cicadas off the trees outside and give them to Wang Cheng to fry at his stall in South Alley.

His finger slid randomly across the screen. Happy Match failed this level without any surprise. Just as Shi Sui was about to continue, a hand reached out and took his phone away.

Shi Sui looked at Lu Huaizhi and said, “Give it back.”

He looked very fierce with his narrowed eyes.

Lu Huaizhi held the phone and met his gaze.

The ceiling fan turned lazily, blowing the hair on Shi Sui’s forehead upward.

Perhaps because he had just showered, Shi Sui’s hair looked fluffier. Under the light, it took on a very light amber color, showing a rare hint of softness.

Although his expression was colder than usual, to Lu Huaizhi, he looked more like a puppy who had been wronged and was trying hard to protect himself.

“Don’t play anymore.” Lu Huaizhi paused, then raised his hand and very lightly touched that stray tuft of hair with his fingertips. “I’ll teach you.”

Lu Huaizhi’s voice was steady and calm, yet it easily suppressed the noisy ambient sounds and miraculously quieted Shi Sui down.

His finger tapped the edge of the coffee table, and he kept his lips pressed together without speaking.

In the end, Shi Sui swatted Lu Huaizhi’s hand away. “Don’t get handsy when you talk.”

Although he still wanted to stubbornly say he didn’t need teaching, seeing Lu Huaizhi’s scratch paper filled with work and the nearly finished test paper, he dejectedly lowered his head and picked up the pen.

Lu Huaizhi took in all his actions.

Shi Sui really couldn’t hide his thoughts. When stuck on a problem, he would irritably bite his knuckles and sneak glances in his direction—not to ask for help, but to see his progress.

Lu Huaizhi thought at the time that maybe he should pretend he couldn’t solve them either.

But in the end, he kept writing as usual, his speed even faster than usual.

But looking at Shi Sui’s expression just now, he suddenly regretted it.

Perhaps he shouldn’t have put so much pressure on Shi Sui.

He wanted to say forget about it, but Shi Sui had already picked up the pen and looked up at him slightly, waiting for him to teach.

Shi Sui was like a weed growing tenaciously, more resilient than anyone and not needing his unnecessary worry.

With Lu Huaizhi helping him organize his thoughts, Shi Sui solved the final question in just a few minutes.

Drawing inferences, he finished the other problems as well.

After finishing, Shi Sui let out a breath, the corners of his lips even tilting up slightly.

Lu Huaizhi looked at him. “Happy now?”

Shi Sui immediately suppressed the smile. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Lu Huaizhi didn’t expose him. “Is there water? I’m a bit thirsty and want to take my cold medicine.”

Shi Sui instinctively took his thermos from his bag. “The water should still be warm.”

He realized after speaking that there was too much concern in that sentence.

But having said it, he couldn’t take it back, so he stood there awkwardly holding the cup.

Lu Huaizhi reached out and took the cup. “Shi Sui, I have a cold. Sharing a cup will spread it.”

Yesterday at the field, Shi Sui had been careless enough to give him the cup to drink from.

“What of it?” Shi Sui didn’t think his resistance was that low. “Besides, when I had a cold before, didn’t I use your—”

Halfway through the sentence, Shi Sui remembered something and his eyes widened.

Lu Huaizhi’s cold couldn’t have come from that, could it?

Lu Huaizhi confirmed his suspicion: “That’s exactly how it spread.”

Shi Sui cursed in his mind.

No matter how thick his nerves were, he knew that using the same cup and spreading a cold to each other was very ambiguous.

Shi Sui really wanted to snatch the cup back.

Lu Huaizhi looked at Shi Sui’s predatory expression, his hand holding the cup pausing. “Is there other water in your house? It doesn’t matter if it’s not warm.”

Shi Sui: “…”

There really wasn’t.

Even if he boiled more, he’d have to wait for it to cool. It would take too much time.

Seeing Shi Sui so conflicted, Lu Huaizhi smiled. “Actually, it’s not that easy to catch. It’ll be fine if the cup is washed. Don’t be afraid.”

Having said all that, Shi Sui felt that backing out now would make it look like he had a guilty conscience. He could only close his eyes. “Fine, whatever.”

The sound of the cup being unscrewed came from beside him.

Shi Sui closed his eyes and let his thoughts run wild.

When had he used the cup? It seemed he had a sip just now while doing problems.

The rim wouldn’t taste like dumplings, would it?

Did he rinse his mouth after eating?

Shi Sui’s eyes were closed, but his eyeballs were rolling uncontrollably under his eyelids.

He couldn’t describe that strange feeling, like things were gradually spiraling out of control.

Shi Sui thought that if the person opposite were Wang Cheng or Chi Qing, he definitely wouldn’t find it strange.

That’s it!

Shi Sui immediately had an idea.

He tried hard to imagine the person beside him as Wang Cheng or Chi Qing.

In doing so, his mood indeed lightened.

The rustling sound of a plastic wrapper being torn open came from beside him.

Shi Sui felt he had calmed down and opened his eyes.

Lu Huaizhi had placed the cup on the coffee table and was stripping the pills from their packaging.

His bangs were a bit scattered, and his eyes were lowered. His pupils were very dark, looking deep and quiet against the light.

With just one glance, Shi Sui’s mental preparation collapsed.

Lu Huaizhi wasn’t Wang Cheng, and he wasn’t Chi Qing.

Lu Huaizhi was Lu Huaizhi.

He watched blankly as Lu Huaizhi picked up the cup, tilted his head, and sent the pills into his mouth with the water, his Adam’s apple rolling.

After taking the medicine, Lu Huaizhi put down the cup and happened to meet Shi Sui’s gaze.

Shi Sui hurriedly looked away, but out of the corner of his eye, he inadvertently glimpsed Lu Huaizhi’s moist lips, reflecting the hazy light.

…

A clear memory suddenly surfaced in Shi Sui’s mind: he had taken a drink from the cup 19 minutes ago, right when he opened Happy Match.

It was 7:50 PM then, and it was 8:09 PM now.

Along with the timestamp, a word he had never considered before appeared in his mind—

Indirect kiss.