ICY Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Jiang Shi lingered in Su Zhao Li’s room for another morning before finally leaving. After happily seeing Jiang Shi off, Su Zhao Li was startled by Chu Nan Du, who suddenly appeared behind him.

Chu Nan Du’s eyes were dark, his arms crossed, and he stared unblinkingly at Su Zhao Li, who felt very guilty.

“Su Zhao Li, are you messing with me?”

“Keep your voice down, you’ll scare A Li,” Mother Chu’s voice came from the kitchen.

“Okay, okay, Mom.”

“Let’s go inside and talk.”

“Where to? To my room? I get upset whenever I see your room now.”

“Alright, tell me what’s going on,” Chu Nan Du crossed his legs and sat on the stool, while Su Zhao Li stood in front of him, as if being interrogated.

“Well… we made up.”

“You made up with him? Then what was all my anger for all this time! Su Zhao Li, you have no heart, no, your heart is all the way in the dog’s belly!”

“No, it’s not completely made up.”

“You were sitting in his lap, and that’s not it?”

“That was a little reward for him. He apologized to me and said he would unconditionally tolerate me in the future. I still trust him on that.”

“You two are playing some fancy games, even playing master and servant.”

“No, it’s just that he’ll listen to me completely in the future. Isn’t that better?”

“You… I don’t know why, I feel a little sorry for Jiang Shi.”

·

Time to go to School in the afternoon

“A Li, I’m here! Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“You were at my house all morning, did you finish your homework?”

“Don’t worry, it’s all done.”

“That’s good.”

“A Li, I was telling you, my mom was so happy when she heard we made up, she asked me to give this to you. She made it herself. I’ve learned how to make it too, if you think it’s good, I’ll make it for you next time.”

“We haven’t completely made up.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know, A Li hasn’t completely forgiven me yet. I’m still begging for A Li’s forgiveness, I still have to do better.”

“A Li, open it quickly and take a look. There’s orange pudding, orange candy, and orange mochi inside. Try it quickly.”

Chu Nan Du wanted to destroy everything, these two were really abnormal.

“Is it good?”

“It’s good. Bro, what are you standing there for? Let’s go.”

“I want to die.” Chu Nan Du had no expectations for school or the world.

“Don’t say such depressing things. School is great. The three of us can be together, right, A Shi?”

“That’s right.”

The only ones who want to be together are you two, Chu Nan Du thought.

“Come, come, come, have some candy made by Jiang Shi’s mom, open your mouth.”

…

Time flew by quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was time for the midterm exams.

After the midterm exams, school would be in session for another week, after which they would have their winter vacation for the New Year.

During this semester, Su Zhao Li’s grades improved rapidly. His current grades were more than fifty points higher than the school’s second-highest scorer. He was already recognized as a god-level student in the liberal arts throughout the school.

A small midterm exam was nothing to him.

Jiang Shi was able to stay in the elite class for three years, so his grades were naturally nothing to worry about. Although he couldn’t compare to Chu Nan Du, he was also an academic powerhouse.

Therefore, while the students at the school were burying their heads in studying for the midterm exams, the three of them seemed much more relaxed.

“Jiang Shi, do you want to go to the same university as me?”

There were hardly any people on the sports field. Jiang Shi couldn’t disturb his other friends’ studying just because he had good grades. Nowadays, he no longer played soccer in the evenings, and would instead stroll around the sports field with Su Zhao Li.

“Of course I do.”

“Okay, then let’s work hard together. Come to my house during the winter vacation and study together. If you don’t understand anything, you can have Chu Nan Du teach you.”

After a semester, Chu Nan Du had finally started to find Jiang Shi pleasing to the eye, only because he was good to Su Zhao Li, definitely not because of the little sweets and snacks he brought every time, he swore.

“My grades are still a ways behind you. A Li, don’t worry, I’ll catch up.”

“I’m not worried. You’ve never failed to do what you say. It’s just that the atmosphere at school is tense right now, and I don’t want you to be like them, putting too much pressure on yourself. Let’s study hard after the exams, okay? It won’t be so stressful then.”

“Okay.”

The two days of exams ended quickly. After the exams, the first and second year students would leave the school. The exams were on Friday, and they were allowed two days of vacation this week.

Their school had boarding students, and students had to take all their books and bedding home when they left the school. The school gate was now full of parents who had come to pick up their children, as well as parents who had come to attend their children’s parent-teacher conferences.

Su Zhao Li, Chu Nan Du, and Jiang Shi each carried a stack of books, weaving through the traffic. They would take a few books home each day, so that on the last day, they could be completely relaxed.

“It’s great that the parent-teacher conference is now, before the grades come out. By the time we have ours, the grades will be out,” Chu Nan Du complained.

“Are you, who’s been at the top of the charts for years, afraid of parent-teacher conferences?”

“I’ve never been to one before. The teachers in the elite class never bothered to hold meetings. This is my first time, so I’m a little nervous.”

“What about you, Jiang Shi?”

“I’m okay. My parents don’t have any requirements for my grades.”

“Me too, Mother Chu will definitely be proud of me.”

“Yeah, yeah, A Li’s grades are so good, Mother Chu will definitely be very happy.”

“Look at you, look at you, how come it’s not my mom coming to my parent-teacher conference, and my dad going to yours?”

“Mother Chu likes me more.”

“Yes, yes.” Chu Nan Du was speechless.

Another week passed, and today was the day they started their winter vacation.

La la la la la la la la la.

“Mother Chu, Father Chu, here, here.” Su Zhao Li was the first to see Father and Mother Chu.

“Mom and Dad.”

“Hey, Jiang Shi is here too. Honey, I want to go to A Li’s parent-teacher conference. You, you, you, go with our son.”

“We’re being again.”

“Hehe, Mother Chu, sit in my seat for a while. There are some snacks that Jiang Shi brought me in my desk. Eat whatever you want. I’ll go outside with Jiang Shi and wait for his parents.”

“Okay, you go.”

Mother Chu didn’t eat the snacks. On each person’s desk was a class ranking list. Su Zhao Li was in first place. She had to sit up straight. This was the glory her son had won for her.

“Why did you come out?”

“To keep you company. Did you think I’d let you wait here alone?”

…

“Mom, this way.”

“Wow, son, the roads at your school are quite messy. I only came once when I sent you to school for your first year.”

“Who is this?” Mother Jiang looked at the beautiful boy standing next to her son.

Jiang Shi’s eyes lit up, and he straightened his back, showing off, “Mom, this is A Li, who you’ve always wanted to meet.”

So A Li was a boy, but how could he be even more delicate and beautiful than a girl?

“Hello, Auntie.”

“Oh my, what a polite child. So there really are children in this world who are even more handsome than my son. Tsk, tsk, so beautiful.” Mother Jiang praised.

Su Zhao Li’s face was a little red. He was thinking a bit too much. After all, he had ulterior motives towards Jiang Shi. Could this be considered meeting the parents?

“Thank you for the compliment, Auntie. Auntie is also very beautiful, and Auntie’s cooking is really good. The desserts you make are really delicious.”

“I’m glad you like them.”

“Mom, A Li’s grades have always been number one. He’s so excellent.”

“That’s great.”

Su Zhao Li nudged Jiang Shi. He was a little embarrassed to be praised so directly.

“Mom, let’s go in quickly. I’ll tell you where my seat is. I’ll leave first later. I want to go out and play with A Li.”

“I know, I know. You’ve said it so many times at noon. I even brought your phone for you. Have fun.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

“A Li, let’s go.”

Students were not required to be present at the parent-teacher conference. The school gate was not strictly guarded at this time, and they were free to enter and exit.

Winter vacation was supposed to start tomorrow, but the temptation of winter vacation was too great. Who wouldn’t want to start enjoying it half a day early?

“I didn’t bring my phone.”

“It’s okay, you can use mine.”

“What if I see something in your phone?”

“No way, I have no secrets from you.”

Hearing the person he liked say this, Su Zhao Li felt as sweet as if he were soaking in honey.

Jiang Shi put the phone directly into Su Zhao Li’s hand.

“A Li, there’s a barbecue stand over there. What do you want to eat?”

They went to the nearby Emerald Lake Park. It was almost New Year’s, and there were already many people setting up stalls in the park.

“Gluten, with spicy sauce, and a grilled sausage too.”

“Okay.”

There was a convenience store inside their school, and the convenience store accepted cash, so they all had some change on them. They could pay without using their phones.

Su Zhao Li held the phone, wanting to open it and take a look. It wasn’t to check the phone, he just wanted to take a look, just at the lock screen wallpaper and the desktop wallpaper, he definitely wouldn’t look at anything else.

While Jiang Shi was still waiting over there, Su Zhao Li quickly turned his back and opened Jiang Shi’s phone. There was no lock screen password. The lock screen wallpaper was the system’s default automatic changing one, and the desktop wallpaper was also the system’s default blue wallpaper. An aura of an old person’s phone washed over him.

Su Zhao Li habitually opened WeChat, and by the time he reacted, he had already opened it.

Su Zhao Li found his own WeChat. Why wasn’t it pinned to the top? But Jiang Shi didn’t pin anyone to the top. Thank goodness, thank goodness. It’s just that why was his remark “Someone you need to coax”? Was he easy to get angry?

“A Li, here you go.”

Now Su Zhao Li had completely lost the shame of secretly looking at Jiang Shi’s phone, and turned back to look at Jiang Shi with a resentful expression.

“A Li, what’s wrong? Why are you unhappy?”

“Why is my remark ‘Someone you need to coax’? Am I easy to get angry? Am I hard to coax?”

“No, no, A Li doesn’t get angry, A Li is the easiest to coax. My remark means that you’re someone I must coax well.”

“Then why isn’t my WeChat pinned to the top?” Since he had already asked, he might as well go all the way.

“Pinned to the top? What’s that?”

“It’s so that when you open WeChat, my account is at the very top.”

“There’s such a thing! A Li, help me set it up quickly.”

“Okay, I’ll pin my WeChat to the top. You’re not allowed to take it down.”

“Okay.”

“And your wallpaper, I don’t like it. You have to change it too.”

“Okay.”

“What should we change it to? Oh right, let’s change it to our group photo, our last group photo. Let me find it. I won’t open your photo album, I’ll find it in our chat.”

“And the background of our chat should also be our group photo.”

“Okay.”

“There’s only one photo, it’s too monotonous. Come, A Shi, let’s take a few photos on the spot.”

“Okay.”

Su Zhao Li finally felt satisfied after giving Jiang Shi’s phone a makeover, opened his mouth to eat the grilled skewers Jiang Shi handed him, and admired his masterpiece.

“Here you go, it’ll be like this from now on.”

“Okay.”

Emerald Lake Park was very big, and there were many amusement facilities inside. Jiang Shi had originally brought Su Zhao Li here to take him cycling and exercise.

Su Zhao Li didn’t like exercise, especially exercise that made him sweat. He was also a bit picky about food, and he was often sick, especially in the winter. Su Zhao Li didn’t like to move around even more. Jiang Shi watched Su Zhao Li get sick here and there every day, and was really worried, so he and Su Zhao Li had chosen for many days and chose a bicycle.

But it was a tandem bicycle. It was harder than ascending to heaven to get Su Zhao Li to exercise.

The two of them rented a bicycle. The front controlled the direction, and the back provided the power.

Su Zhao Li had originally wanted to be in the front, but he couldn’t ride a bicycle, so after careful consideration, he decided to sit in the back, letting Jiang Shi control the direction and provide the power, while he symbolically moved a little and enjoyed the breeze.

“A Li, I can’t believe you’re doing this. We’re here to get you to exercise.”

“I can ride, don’t worry, I won’t let you do all the work yourself.”

They rode around the lake one lap after another. Jiang Shi, as someone who exercised regularly, had no problem with this bit of physical exertion, so he naturally couldn’t feel whether Su Zhao Li was riding in the back or not.

It was naturally very comfortable to have the wind blowing, but it was the middle of winter, and Su Zhao Li was someone who valued style over warmth. Before long, his cheeks and the tip of his nose were red from the wind.

“Jiang Shi, stop for a moment.”

“What’s wrong?” Jiang Shi stopped the car and turned back to check.

“Your face is so red, are you cold? It’s all my fault for forgetting to bring a scarf to cover you.”

“It’s okay, my hands are also cold, warm them up for me.”

Su Zhao Li’s intention was to have Jiang Shi warm his hands, but Jiang Shi directly put his hands on his neck, and then held his face in his hands.

Their faces were facing each other, their eyes facing each other. Su Zhao Li’s face quickly heated up, becoming flushed.

“You…” Su Zhao Li directly unzipped Jiang Shi’s down jacket and put his face on Jiang Shi’s chest, reaching his hands around Jiang Shi’s waist and folding them in the back.

“Is this okay?” Su Zhao Li raised his head from Jiang Shi’s chest and looked at Jiang Shi.

How could it not be okay? It was too okay.

Jiang Shi moved his throat slightly, and wrapped the down jacket around, trapping Su Zhao Li in his clothes.

The chest became hotter and hotter, and Jiang Shi could feel Su Zhao Li’s breath spraying on his chest.

Jiang Shi’s whole body began to heat up.

“It’s so hot,” Su Zhao Li raised his head from Jiang Shi’s clothes, his cheeks flushed red from the warmth, and the light in his eyes was even more moving as he looked at him.

“A Li, let’s go back. The parent-teacher conference is over and we still have to move our winter vacation homework home.”

“Okay.”

Jiang Shi’s steps were a little unsteady. His heart was beating too fast right now.