Surprise

The commotion emanating from the back of the classroom was far from subtle.

Students in the front rows, sensing the disturbance, turned their heads to investigate.

Yu Huageng, who had been engrossed in conversation with a girl, witnessed the scene unfold: Jiang Hao gripping Ji Ze’s clothes, and Ji Ze’s face flushing crimson with indignation.

His eyes narrowed imperceptibly.

With a deliberate stretch of his long legs, he rose to his feet with an imposing air and strode directly towards them.

Standing before Ji Ze’s desk, Yu Huageng placed a hand on a textbook.

“A’Ze,” he asked, “would you like to switch seats and sit beside me?”

Ji Ze looked up, momentarily stunned.

He instantly recalled the recent incident, realizing Yu Huageng’s concern.

He waved a dismissive hand.

“It’s fine, really.”

“No need.”

Yu Huageng frowned, casting a glance at the boys roughhousing near the air conditioner.

He sounded unconvinced.

“Even for one class would be good.”

“They’re so loud back there, and that new classmate just now…”

Ji Ze’s face reddened slightly at the memory of the earlier sensation.

He waved his hands more emphatically.

“It’s fine!”

“I’m truly fine!”

‘Wouldn’t it seem even stranger if I made such a fuss over a small joke like that?’

‘Boys often roughhouse like this; it’s perfectly normal.’

Just then, the class bell rang, leaving Yu Huageng no choice but to reluctantly return to his own seat.

The boys by the air conditioner also returned to their desks with palpable reluctance.

Jiang Hao settled down, his gaze instinctively drifting to his beautiful class monitor deskmate.

Ji Ze was bent over his textbook, appearing as if nothing had happened, though the tips of his ears remained faintly red.

Jiang Hao knew some people might be sensitive to that kind of playful teasing.

The class monitor’s reaction stirred a flicker of guilt in him, but only a slight one.

After all, they were both boys, and he didn’t perceive it as a major transgression.

He scribbled on a scrap paper:

[Beautiful Class Monitor, I’m sorry about earlier.]

[I didn’t realize you minded that sort of thing.]

[May I treat you to a meal to apologize?]

Ji Ze saw the notebook pushed towards him.

He glanced at it, then coolly wrote two characters:

[No need.]

Jiang Hao wrote again:

[How can that be?]

[I borrowed your meal card before and haven’t repaid you.]

[I should treat you to several more meals to show my gratitude.]

He even drew a smiley face at the end.

Ji Ze wrote:

[Just repay me in cash.]

Jiang Hao shook his head with a wide grin.

[I don’t have any cash.]

Ji Ze was too lazy to write anymore.

He simply rolled his eyes.

‘Who would believe that lie?’

He shoved the scrap paper back onto Jiang Hao’s desk, then adopted the posture of a diligent student, clearly refusing any further note-passing.

He completely ignored Jiang Hao.

Jiang Hao’s expression fell slightly.

He glanced at the scrap paper, then put it away.

Lifting his head, he rested his chin in his hand and began to listen to the lecture.

During the break, Ji Ze did not remain at his seat to study.

Instead, he walked over to Yu Huageng’s desk and sat beside him.

Jiang Hao, surprisingly, didn’t run out to play.

Instead, he watched the activity around them with a curious gaze.

Yu Huageng pulled a small cage from his drawer.

Inside, a silver fox hamster was curled up—a soft, fluffy ball of snow-white fur with round, black-bean eyes.

It was incredibly adorable, the kind of pet girls would surely adore.

Indeed, Jiang Hao soon noticed nearly half the girls in the class gathering around, playing with the hamster.

Ji Ze was clearly well-acquainted with the hamster.

The moment his hand entered the cage, the little furball instinctively burrowed into his palm.

When Ji Ze moved his hand, it would persistently chase after it, scurrying along on its tiny legs without a moment’s rest.

Perhaps it was Jiang Hao’s imagination, but it seemed that when the other students watched Ji Ze play with the hamster, their faces softened with indulgent smiles, radiating a maternal glow.

Wei Kaidong had only told him half the story about Class Five.

This private school, encompassing kindergarten through high school, boasted top-tier teachers and a superb learning environment.

Many students had attended the school their entire lives.

Aside from being shuffled into new classes, they had practically grown up together, developing incredibly close bonds.

Consequently, everyone was well aware of Ji Ze’s health condition and had witnessed his struggles during severe illness.

Moreover, Ji Ze was younger than them, almost like a little brother they had watched grow up.

They unconsciously took care of him.

Immersed in their own dynamic, they hadn’t even realized that with shared growth experiences and a common person they wished to protect, their class fostered the best atmosphere in the entire school.

Their unity astonished even the teachers.

Even when they caused trouble, they did so within limits, with good reason, and always found the right person to take responsibility.

The principal, a grandmotherly figure nearing sixty, always wore a smile and greatly valued her relationship with the students.

When she heard that Class Five students had jointly complained about a teacher, she didn’t immediately side with the teacher.

Instead, she genuinely invested time and effort to investigate the incident, uncovering numerous issues with the teacher.

Ultimately, she maintained a neutral stance, dismissed the teacher, and when hiring new teachers, she had them conduct a trial lesson in Class Five, taking student feedback into consideration.

Thus, Teacher Tian became their homeroom teacher, guiding them harmoniously for a full year and a half.

Jiang Hao watched them, a faint smile playing on his lips.

‘Just as I thought.’

‘The entire class treats Ji Ze like a glass doll, afraid he’ll break, taking immense care of him.’

‘But… being different in every way can also mean being excluded from the group, in another sense.’

While he found Ji Ze fortunate, a strange pity also welled up.

‘They all mean well, yet it’s turned out like this.’

‘How peculiar.’

Jiang Hao mused, shaking his head with a sigh.

From the corner of his eye, Yu Huageng, still in his seat, caught sight of Jiang Hao’s inscrutable smile.

He immediately felt a surge of irritation, an instinctive dislike.

Without a second thought, he glared fiercely at Jiang Hao.

Jiang Hao was bewildered by the glare.

He looked around, seeing no one else.

‘Was he really glaring at me?’

Jiang Hao paused, then returned an incredibly bright, handsome smile, the kind that made any girl who saw it blush and her heart flutter.

Yu Huageng’s irritation intensified instantly.

Jiang Hao merely shrugged, his smile innocent.

Based on his observations over the past two days, Jiang Hao had largely figured out the class dynamic: excessive unity and protection of their class monitor was one aspect.

Another person who particularly caught his attention was Yu Huageng, who had glared at him several times.

Jiang Hao had heard his name was inspired by Hua Luogeng, with his parents hoping he would become a formidable figure.

While his math scores weren’t top-tier, he generally possessed a flexible logical mind, being a science student, and consistently ranked within the top hundred in his grade.

Moreover, he was very popular in class, and anything he said quickly garnered responses.

However, these alone weren’t enough to make Jiang Hao pay such close attention.

What was most puzzling was his attitude towards Ji Ze.

Even among the Class Five students, all of whom cared deeply for their class monitor, Yu Huageng was still the most attentive, almost like a doting elder brother… no, more like an overprotective mother hen, the classic ‘your mom thinks you’re cold when you’re not’ type.

Ji Ze going to Yu Huageng wasn’t just for playing with the hamster; sometimes they discussed academic problems.

Overall, Ji Ze’s comprehensive scores were higher, but in terms of individual subjects, Yu Huageng’s English was consistently among the best in the class.

Ji Ze always found grammar clauses confusing and hard to differentiate.

After Yu Huageng explained a grammatical analysis in his own understandable way, he found some corresponding exercises for Ji Ze to do.

As he rested his chin in his hand, watching, something suddenly occurred to him.

“A’Ze,” he asked, “what do you think of the new classmate?”

Ji Ze was battling a grammar problem and only responded with an unconscious sound.

“Hmm?”

Yu Huageng raised an eyebrow, continuing, “He’s pretty handsome, and a few girls in our class are already secretly crushing on him.”

“He seems quite close to you.”

“Are you developing feelings for him too?”

Ji Ze, who couldn’t help but overhear, choked on his breath and began to cough.

Seeing his dramatic reaction, Yu Huageng shook his head helplessly and offered him water.

“Is it really that big a deal?”

“If you do, you do; if you don’t, you don’t.”

“I won’t spill your secrets.”

“You… you said it so suddenly…” Ji Ze’s face showed his exasperation.

His attraction to the same s*x had always been a secret Ji Ze kept hidden, daring not to let anyone know.

Since Yu Huageng was his neighbor, a true childhood friend they had grown up together, there were few secrets between the two.

Ji Ze shook his head.

“We’ve only been deskmates for a few days, so I don’t know what kind of person he truly is, but I have a feeling he has a very troublesome personality.”

“Troublesome?”

Yu Huageng blinked, a knowing look in his eyes.

“Only towards you, perhaps?”

“As for me, I just want to punch him.”

Ji Ze found his expressive face a bit amusing.

“It’s not about liking or disliking anyone; we’re just classmates.”

Yu Huageng shrugged.

“Honestly, you used to say no dating during school, but I think you should!”

“These are the purest feelings.”

“Later, when money and all sorts of other messy things get involved, it’ll never be as simple as now.”

“You’ll regret not having an early romance.”

He rubbed his chin.

“Wait, we’re practically in a ‘late romance’ stage now, aren’t we?”

“We’re almost adults.”

“But of course, I’m not encouraging you to date that Jiang Hao fellow.”

“I think, given your personality, you’d be better suited to a gentle and considerate boy.”

“Someone like Jiang Hao… hmm… he’s hard to describe.”

Yu Huageng frowned, falling into a perplexed state of thought.

“Someone like me, what about it?”

A hand suddenly landed on Yu Huageng’s shoulder, and a voice came from behind him, startling him with a jolt.

‘Damn it.’

‘I really shouldn’t talk bad about people behind their backs.’

‘It’s always true.’

‘Who knows how much this guy heard.’

Jiang Hao, grinning, slung an arm around Yu Huageng’s shoulder in a chummy, brotherly fashion.

He leaned close to Yu Huageng’s face and said, “You know, I haven’t properly bonded with Classmate Huageng yet.”

“How about we go chat in the hallway?”

Yu Huageng snorted in disgust, about to forcefully shake off the heavy arm on his shoulder, but Ji Ze moved even faster.

He grasped Jiang Hao’s hand and pulled it away, saying expressionlessly, “Don’t put your arm on his shoulder.”

Jiang Hao’s expression instantly soured.

He frowned and said, “Why such a big reaction?”

“You’re acting like a girl.”

“What’s wrong with boys putting an arm around each other?”

‘…Boys?’

For a moment, both Ji Ze’s and Yu Huageng’s expressions turned peculiar.

The surrounding classmates, hearing the commotion, also froze for a second, then burst into laughter, as if they had heard a hilarious joke.

This left Jiang Hao somewhat bewildered.

Ji Ze struggled to suppress the smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

He knew Jiang Hao had gravely misunderstood.

He opened his mouth to explain, “Huageng is…”

But Yu Huageng suddenly grabbed his arm, stopping him.

He grinned mischievously, his eyes sparkling.

“No, don’t.”

“This is quite amusing.”

“Let him figure it out himself.”

Ji Ze rubbed his forehead, knowing Yu Huageng’s playful teasing mood had resurfaced.

And the current situation was indeed quite entertaining, so he closed his mouth and said no more.

Jiang Hao, still in the dark, vaguely sensed that something was amiss, but couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

It wasn’t until the next day, when he happened to run into Yu Huageng at the restroom, that the truth dawned on him.

Yu Huageng looked at him, offering a friendly classmate’s smile, and said, “New classmate going to pee?”

“Let’s go together.”

Jiang Hao pouted.

‘What do you mean, ‘together’?’

‘We’re not girls who need to hold hands to go to the bathroom.’

The two walked towards the restroom together.

As Jiang Hao was about to step inside, he noticed the other person had gone in the opposite direction, walking straight into the women’s restroom…

Jiang Hao: “…???”