NH chapter 039

Chapter 39: Rumors

Almost fleeing in a panic, Huo Ye prepared dinner once Shen Tingyu fell asleep and told the old lady that he was heading back to class.

Before leaving, he remembered to leave a note on the bedside table—after the fever subsides, he might sweat, so don’t rush to take a shower; at least wait until tonight. The porridge is kept warm in the pot; he can eat it when he wakes up.

It was only after Huo Ye returned to school that he suddenly remembered he had forgotten to delete the messages in Shen Tingyu’s phone.

Standing dumbfounded at the school gate, it was the hottest part of the day, making his head feel dizzy. Huo Ye looked down at his hands and saw a blurry double image, unable to tell if his hands were trembling, or if there was something wrong with his eyes, or perhaps both.

He probably was also unwell.

What he forgot in one minute fell out of his head the next, in this state, would he be able to make it to the college entrance examination?

Once, for the middle school entrance exam, he spent five years in junior high.

“Hey, student over there, class is about to start; if you don’t come in soon, we’ll close the school gate!” The old man at the gate called out to him from a distance.

The scenery in front of him suddenly cleared up, as if the earlier daze was just an illusion. Huo Ye looked up at the gatekeeper’s room and instinctively waved at the old man with a smile just like always. “Okay, I’m coming!”

The entire afternoon, Huo Ye couldn’t absorb anything from the lessons and couldn’t answer when the teacher called his name several times.

Unfortunately, it just so happened to be a middle-aged female teacher in her forties, and she taught math, a subject in which his grades had always been his greatest weakness. Without fail, he received a lengthy lecture laced with sarcasm.

“Huo Ye, with your attitude toward learning, how did you even get into Class A? Don’t blame the teacher for being harsh; I know you were in Class 18 before. Perhaps it was luck or chance that you could answer the questions, which is why you can stand here today. But if you continue to be unambitious like before, you’ll quickly fall back down again. Do you want to go back to being a problem student in Class 18?”

Her words were filled with condescension, a way to vent her frustrations in front of the class as the students faced immense pressure nearing their final year.

Under normal circumstances, Huo Ye had a good temper and wouldn’t argue back with a teacher.

But for some reason today, something snapped within him. He lifted his gaze and said with a smile that almost turned sarcastic, “Is Class 18 my criminal record, teacher? What does it mean to fall behind, what does it mean to be a problem student? I think the students in Class 18 are not any worse than those in Class A.”

The entire class gasped in shock, falling into silence.

Wu Zhen anxiously pinched Zhao Jiaying, whispering, “What the hell is he thinking? Is he crazy enough to challenge her authority? Is he trying to get himself killed?”

The teacher, her face stiff with surprise, could hardly maintain her composure at being openly challenged, and she slammed her hand on the podium, angrily saying, “How do you speak to your teacher like that? I shouldn’t have had high hopes for you; I thought you could at least have a chance in Class A, but I must remind you that grades won’t come easily. With your attitude today, you won’t stand a chance at a good university! Get out and stand there!”

Huo Ye took his practice book and turned to leave. As he passed by Wu Zhen and Zhao Jiaying’s desks, Wu Zhen was still making exaggerated expressions at him, and Zhao Jiaying secretly showed him a piece of scrap paper with messy handwriting that read: “Don’t listen to that harsh teacher. She’s always this cruel; you got into Class A because you’re capable!”

“…” Huo Ye couldn’t help but smile, suppressing a laugh as he tilted his head at them and walked out of the classroom.

Standing outside the classroom railing, a gentle breeze ruffled his hair, causing his eyes to feel a bit itchy. He casually flipped open his practice book and happened to land on a page filled with notes.

This page was memorable.

Because it was all the questions that Shen Tingyu had explained to him.

Shen Tingyu had written many annotations, carefully categorizing each problem, and upon rereading them, he recalled Shen Tingyu frowning, seemingly impatient, yet explaining for a long time.

Though he often called him a fool or an idiot, he persistently wanted to help the fool understand a bit more of smart people’s knowledge.

Sometimes, he would deliberately tease Shen Tingyu by pretending he didn’t understand, which would enrage Shen Tingyu into berating him with an exasperated face. Yet, despite that, Shen Tingyu never once mentioned giving up on him.

—“Huo Ye, why don’t you dare to admit that you also need me.” The wind was quiet, and he heard Shen Tingyu say that.

At that moment, the class bell rang.

Huo Ye suddenly realized that he had spent an entire class thinking about Shen Tingyu.

“Oh no, it seems I really have fallen in love.” Wu Zhen, looking at Huo Ye’s pensive back outside the window, exclaimed in despair to Zhao Jiaying.

Zhao Jiaying, still skeptical, frowned. “I don’t think so. Didn’t we just get misunderstood this morning? They’re just a couple from first year; it’s not related to us.”

“It’s so obvious! I’m at least in the honeymoon phase.” Wu Zhen said firmly, “You won’t understand since you’ve never been in love.”

“Are you done?”

Unexpectedly, this gossip regarding “homoeroticism” fermented longer and more uncontrollably than anyone had anticipated. In this not particularly open-minded third-tier city, most people held unfriendly views, making it a topic of idle gossip.

It was discussed during breaks, at mealtimes, while walking; it seemed that in every corner of the school, you could hear people talking about it.

Words spread like wildfire.

Due to the intense scrutiny, even the school administration took notice; the posts were quickly deleted, but the uproar didn’t calm down.

Initially, homosexuality wasn’t particularly shocking, and after a few days, it would generally fizzle out. However, the negative impact brought by those two photos intensified the situation.

By the following day, rumors were flying around, saying that Lin Yu and Zhou Shengyi had already been called in for discussions.

That afternoon, Lin Yu didn’t come to class and never appeared again afterward. The first time Huo Ye saw him that day ended up being the last.

In contrast, Zhou Shengyi appeared strangely unaffected.

Despite such a drastic event occurring, he seemed indifferent, as if what others said had nothing to do with him. He continued to attend school, eat his meals alone, and kept to himself.

In the cafeteria, as others in front of him discussed him while waiting in line, Zhou Shengyi maintained a blank expression. It was only after someone finished their meal and turned to see him that they were caught off guard.

The other person fell momentarily silent in embarrassment, staring blankly for a few seconds, before Zhou Shengyi impatiently said, “If you’re done, step aside.”

“Oh, oh, sure…”

It became clear that trying to resolve the issue by deleting the messages from Shen Tingyu’s phone was naive, as when Huo Ye arrived at school the next day, Shen Tingyu had heard everything.

Huo Ye didn’t dare to look at him all day, or rather, he avoided looking at him, but in his mind, he wondered if the previous closeness had made people mistakenly think there was something inappropriate. But Huo Ye felt quite wronged—he was straight, truly.

No one would suddenly change their orientation, right?

Surely not.

Shen Tingyu seemed contemplative, wanting to gather as much information as possible about the incident, urging Wu Zhen and Zhao Jiaying to recount everything he had missed the day before.

The two of them exchanged astonished glances.

Because Shen Tingyu didn’t seem to be listening for gossip; he was seriously analyzing the situation, and he displayed no embarrassment.

He wasn’t a thick-skinned person.

As a result, Wu Zhen and Zhao Jiaying concluded that it might really be a misunderstanding. However, Shen Tingyu’s sudden curiosity was also suspicious and required further observation.

Only Huo Ye knew that given Shen Tingyu’s current state, he had likely already loaded about eighty to ninety percent of the information and was just one final push away from understanding.

Huo Ye felt restless; he had never thought he would someday have to face such a tricky issue.

He couldn’t figure out when it had all started to feel wrong, when he had lost control.

The only option was to evade what he could not solve. Huo Ye spent the entire day feeling fidgety, unable to sit still near Shen Tingyu, frequently getting up to fetch water, go to the restroom, or any excuse to leave.

Before long, Shen Tingyu couldn’t take it anymore, and as soon as Huo Ye showed signs of getting up again, he pulled him back.

“Why are you avoiding me?”

Shen Tingyu seemed somewhat resentful, “Didn’t we agree that you wouldn’t dislike me?”

“I’m not avoiding you; I just need to talk to Zhao Jiaying about something.” Huo Ye’s tone always sounded calm and composed, his expression unruffled.

“Are you looking for me? What’s up?” Just then, Zhao Jiaying happened to walk by and overheard, leaning in to ask.

Huo Ye turned back, improvising on the spot without stammering, “Xia Zhiyao said she wants to go to Dajue Temple this weekend and asked me to check with you guys.”

“Sure, I’d like to go too.”

Zhao Jiaying instantly agreed without thinking.

Tomorrow happened to be Saturday; thus, the plan was arranged naturally, catching Xia Zhiyao by surprise as well.

Shen Tingyu quietly listened to the whole thing, watching Zhao Jiaying leave, then stared intently at Huo Ye, as if waiting for something.

Huo Ye tried to ignore it but failed, so he awkwardly smiled and said, “I didn’t intend to leave you behind; I’d take you along. But places like temples are heavy on incense; it’s not really fun. You, being a materialist, probably won’t be interested…”

“Whatever, as long as you’re interested,” Shen Tingyu didn’t catch the second half of the sentence and simply said, “Anyway, wherever you go, I’ll go too.”

“…Alright.”

His smile froze for a moment, and Huo Ye silently nodded.

Every time he tried to create a little distance, Shen Tingyu would always insistently pull him back, unable to tolerate any barriers or separations. When he realized their relationship had reached a bottleneck, Shen Tingyu seemed to be seeking a breakthrough.

How could he move forward? How could he have a more significant place in Huo Ye’s heart? He was domineering; he wanted it all.

What was terrifying was that after today…

He had finally found a way.