Extra Chapter: If Line High School
Ding ling ling.
The bell for the end of class rang.
The math teacher, already hoarse from lecturing for one session, assigned homework and left the classroom without looking back.
Xie Yang looked at the problem-solving methods left on the blackboard by the teacher and flipped through the notes he had taken during class, his face filled with worry.
Annoyed, he chewed on the cap of his pen. Math had always been his weak spot. He needed time to absorb the content the math teacher had just taught. Diligence can compensate for a lack of talent, so he could only brush up on practice questions during the spare time after class.
His seat was by the window in the corridor, near the direction of the restroom. So, every time after class, the corridor was always noisy, preventing him from concentrating.
“Tomorrow’s exam. I didn’t understand a single thing the teacher just taught. If I mess up this time, I wonder how my dad will scold me.”
“If you didn’t stay up all night playing games, things would be better.”
“Geez, why do you talk as if you’re not the one staying up all night playing games with me?”
“I didn’t sleep during class.”
From outside the window came a deep, pleasing voice. It sounded casual, like the summer breeze, carrying a hint of laziness. This familiar voice made Xie Yang’s heart suddenly skip a beat, his heart pounding uncontrollably.
In his mind, there were only two words: “He’s here.“
He raised his eyes and looked out the window, and in an instant, he saw the face he had been yearning for.
The cool face of the boy exuded a hint of shallow smile, his lips slightly upturned, softening his entire face.
This was the first time Xie Yang had seen him today.
This was also why Xie Yang could tolerate the noisy noises outside the corridor.
Because only by sitting by the window, he could openly watch the person he liked pass by every day.
Perhaps his gaze was too obvious, too intense, as the boy felt something and curiously glanced at him.
At the moment their eyes met, Xie Yang quickly lowered his head to avoid the boy’s gaze.
He clamped his lower lip tightly, stiffly staring at the contents of the textbook.
His heartbeat quickened rapidly, causing his face to blush instantly and spread quickly.
The boy only managed to see his fair neck and reddened ears.
It was as if the gaze just now had been an illusion.
After the boy left, Xie Yang finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He never dared to make eye contact with the boy.
This was the boy he had secretly admired for two years, Qi Xu, a classmate from Class 3 of Senior 3.
A few minutes later, Qi Xu passed by again.
Silently, Xie Yang watched his back until his figure disappeared from his sight, then he returned his gaze to the textbook.
The bell for class rang again.
Xie Yang absentmindedly thought to himself: “Tomorrow’s exam. Is there a chance we’ll be in the same exam room?”
Every exam disrupted the list of students. In the past two years, he had only been lucky enough to be in the same exam room as Qi Xu once.
He hoped this time it would be the same as he wished.
School ended at five o’clock in the afternoon.
To reach the school gate, Xie Yang’s teaching building had to pass through the basketball court.
With a heavy backpack on his back, he walked toward the school gate.
“Hey, watch out!”
“Quick, get out of the way!”
“Hey, that male student over there!”
Xie Yang walked straight along the school road, not noticing that they were shouting at him from the edge of the basketball court.
When he came to his senses, the basketball had already hit him.
A sharp pain instantly came from his shoulder. Xie Yang was knocked down by the force and fell to the ground.
“Are you okay?”
“Did you get hurt?”
“Classmate, are you alright?”
Several boys surrounded him, bombarding him with questions about his injuries, their eyes fixed on him.
Xie Yang felt stars in his eyes and wanted to quickly escape from this place.
He was timid and introverted by nature, rarely interacting with others, even seldom chatting with the classmates around him.
Now surrounded by a crowd of boys, he felt uneasy.
He shook his head in a panic towards them, “I’m fine, it’s okay.”
“Maybe you should go to the school clinic.”
A familiar voice rang out, and Xie Yang suddenly looked up at the boy.
Qi Xu reached out to him, wanting to help him up. “Can you still get up?”
Xie Yang looked at the hand extended to him, his gaze somewhat vacant. He glanced timidly at Qi Xu, then immediately looked away.
His heart couldn’t help but flutter. Suppressing his confusion and panic, he whispered softly, “I’m fine.”
More and more people gathered around him, and he felt increasingly suffocated, unable to catch his breath. His face turned pale, enduring the pain as he quickly stood up.
Due to being too nervous, his voice was stuttering, “I-I’m fine, I’ll go first.”
He liked to review his lessons at home, so he often carried many books home. The heavy backpack pressed against his shoulders, making him feel painful, causing him to stagger. But he cautiously walked out of the crowd and quickly left the area.
He had to visit the school clinic before the exam tomorrow.
Fortunately, the door to the school clinic hadn’t been closed yet.
The school doctor glanced at the bruise on his shoulder while applying medicinal alcohol. While wiping his brow, he asked, “Did you get into a fight with another student?” Xie Yang winced in pain, nervously explaining, “It was an accident, not a fight.”
The school doctor glanced at him and muttered quietly, “I see. Looking at how well-behaved you are, it doesn’t seem like you’d get into fights.”
The alcohol was evenly spread on his shoulder. First, a cool sensation spread out, replaced by a burning sensation as the school doctor massaged the wound. Xie Yang bit his lower lip in pain, clutching his clothes tightly and remained silent. Seeing this, the school doctor eased his grip, then handed him the bottle of alcohol, “Take this back and apply it. Fortunately, the injury is on your left shoulder, so it shouldn’t affect tomorrow’s exam, or you’d be in trouble.
Xie Yang thanked him repeatedly.
When he came out of the school clinic, it was already quite late, but fortunately, he had avoided the peak time after school, and there weren’t many people at the bus stop.
He carried a strong medicinal smell on him, not pleasant. He sat in the back row by the window.
He opened the window for some fresh air and happened to see the car coming to pick up Qi Xu. Although he didn’t know what brand of car it was, judging from the license plate number starting with “5888”, he knew it was quite expensive. There were several times when he heard bits and pieces from classmates about Qi Xu, and he had a rough idea of his background. Thinking of the gap between them, Xie Yang sighed sadly and turned his eyes away.
Thus, he missed the glance Qi Xu cast his way.
Qi Xu looked at the small figure curled up in the back seat of the car, always reminded of the glance he saw in the corridor this morning.
Like a feather falling into his heart, every time he saw Xie Yang, that feather would pluck at his heartstrings.
Restless.
Driver: “Young Master?”
Qi Xu withdrew his gaze and got into the car.
“Let’s go.”
Perhaps it was just a momentary impulse.
…
Next day.
Xie Yang arrived at the designated exam room according to his admission ticket.
With a quick glance, he saw Qi Xu sitting near the window.
Xie Yang froze in his tracks, feeling a sudden surge of joy.
He hadn’t expected to be so lucky as to end up in the same exam room as Qi Xu. However, he was seated in the front row while Qi Xu was in the back, so he didn’t have any chance to steal glances at him, not even to turn around, as it would seem too deliberate.
Still, he felt very happy.
Because the exams were spread over three days, he would have a chance to see him each day.
Just being in the same exam room as Qi Xu made him feel content.
The three days passed quickly. After finishing exams on Friday and having teachers mark papers over the weekend, the results would be announced on Monday.
Although the teacher had already told him his results early, Xie Yang still wanted to see for himself on the bulletin board.
Squeezing through the crowd, he found his name on the bulletin board, just below Qi Xu’s name.
For three years, nothing had changed.
The classmates around looked at the rankings on the list, sighing.
“Qi Xu is first again this time, first in the grade for three years straight, truly deserving of being a study god.”
“The second place is always just ten or twenty points behind, but has never caught up.”
“Look at this, the third place hasn’t caught up with the second in three years. The ranking hasn’t changed at all.”
“I heard from Class 1 that after Qi Xu finishes the exam, his family is arranging for him to study abroad.”
“Doesn’t sound surprising, right? His family is so wealthy; studying abroad is quite normal.”
Xie Yang’s heart tightened, his blood seemingly freezing.
He had forgotten this important matter.
He had wanted to know which university Qi Xu would choose, but he had suddenly forgotten there was also the option of studying abroad.
Xie Yang returned to the classroom in a daze.
But he quickly regained his composure. This was the college entrance examination, and he didn’t want to waste time on youthful emotions.
Right now, all he needed to do was make a final sprint.
Because this was his most important answer to life.
Xie Yang set aside all distractions.
After the college entrance examination ended, while everyone was celebrating or discussing where to go on vacation, Xie Yang summoned up the courage to find Qi Xu with a long-sealed love letter. He just wanted to ensure that, regardless of Qi Xu’s choice—whether to study abroad or elsewhere—they wouldn’t miss a chance to meet again.
Many students were reviewing their answers, while several were around Qi Xu.
For a moment, Xie Yang hesitated. Just as he was undecided whether to step forward and hand the love letter to Qi Xu, another boy appeared. He beat Xie Yang to it and handed the love letter to Qi Xu, saying, “Qi Xu, I like you.”
The boy hurriedly placed the love letter into Qi Xu’s hands and ran off before anyone in their group could react.
The boys around Qi Xu came to their senses and started teasing him.
“Old Qi, how come guys are still confessing to you?”
“Is Old Qi now charming enough to attract everyone, young and old, male and female?”
“Tsk, isn’t this boy from Class 7? I heard he’s gay. Never thought he would fall for Old Qi!”
“Old Qi can’t be gay! What are these people thinking?”
“Didn’t you know that there were guys who confessed to him before? I still remember his expression back then, it was like he had swallowed a fly.”
“Old Qi, I remember you’re straight, right? Please share your feelings.”
Qi Xu just smiled lightly and didn’t say anything.
Xie Yang’s eyes reddened. He tightly squeezed the love letter he had prepared to give away, but in the end, he put it back into his pocket.
Yeah, Qi Xu doesn’t like guys. If he knew I liked him, he would definitely find it disgusting, right?
“Hey, who are you looking for?”
A boy suddenly patted Xie Yang’s shoulder.
Several boys surrounding Qi Xu immediately looked towards the direction of the voice. Xie Yang staggered back a step. “No, I was just passing by.” Xie Yang turned around and quickly left.
He was in a hurry and didn’t notice the envelope had fallen out of his pocket.
“Weird… Wasn’t he looking for someone?”
The boy muttered to himself. Just as he was about to leave, he noticed the dropped letter on the ground.
He picked up the letter and was about to call Xie Yang back, but Xie Yang had already run far away.
The boy was a bit puzzled. He looked at the name written on the envelope and glanced towards Qi Xu not far away.
“Qi Xu, this letter seems to be for you.”
Qi Xu recalled the face that had flashed by just now and said in slight surprise, “For me?”
The boy handed him the letter. “It was left by the guy who just ran away. Your name is written on the envelope.”
The boys around Qi Xu started teasing again.
“Wow, another one?”
“That guy just confessed to Qi Xu?”
“Why did he leave again before delivering the letter?”
“Maybe he overheard us and got scared away?”
“I told you, Qi Xu, how do you always attract guys?”
“Why is this letter so crumpled?”
“Should we open it and see?”
“I’m curious too, how does a guy write a love letter to another guy?”
“How about reading it aloud?”
Qi Xu smoothed out the wrinkles of the letter and put it into his backpack, saying calmly, “Let’s go.”
After the college entrance examination, it started raining.
June weather was always unpredictable.
Xie Yang ran to the station in the rain, soaked through and looking disheveled. Just as he was about to take out his transit card, he realized that the love letter he had put in his pocket was nowhere to be found. He frantically searched through his backpack and all his pockets but couldn’t find the letter.
His face turned pale. That letter had both his and Qi Xu’s names on it.
Xie Yang didn’t know where he had lost it, but he knew that letter couldn’t be seen by anyone else.
He retraced his steps, following his memory’s path over and over again to find the letter. He searched everywhere he had been, but still couldn’t find where the letter had fallen. Xie Yang felt utterly defeated.
Instead of going back to his mother’s home, Xie Yang went straight back to the countryside.
Xie Yang clumsily opened the door of his home, the only sanctuary he had, and finally allowed himself to cry.
The college entrance examination, unrequited love, and the lost confession letter.
Because he caught a cold from being soaked in rain and not drying off in time, Xie Yang had a fever for three days.
He didn’t have time to be sad. He urgently began looking for a summer job.
Near S University, he found a part-time job at a bakery.
He needed to save enough money for his university expenses during the summer vacation.
Days at the bakery were fulfilling. Xie Yang learned to make various desserts under the guidance of the bakery’s owner every day.
However, during his occasional free time, he would still think about the confession letter that he hadn’t delivered and the face that was deeply engraved in his mind.
Every day, he missed him more than the day before.
Until August, when school was about to start, he met someone he had longed for at the bakery.
“Welcome.”
Xie Yang looked towards the bakery door, and the person at the door looked at him at the same time.
Their eyes met, and both of them froze in place.
“Welcome.”
Until the doorbell rang again, breaking the silence.
Qi Xu… Why is he here?
Wasn’t he supposed to be going abroad?
By now, shouldn’t he already be overseas?
Xie Yang lowered his head and quietly patted his chest, trying hard to calm his excited emotions, making his voice as steady as possible. “Hello, may I help you with something?”
Qi Xu’s voice was faint, devoid of any discernible emotion. “A caramel pudding, please.”
Xie Yang’s lips trembled slightly, and he quickly responded, “Sure.”
He took out the caramel pudding from the display window, packed it at the counter, his flustered demeanor betraying him.
“That will be ten yuan.”
Xie Yang struggled to restrain himself, but Qi Xu could still hear the slight quiver in his voice.
Qi Xu silently paid, his gaze fixed on Xie Yang.
It turned out that the feather had always remained in his heart, never leaving.
As long as he met Xie Yang, he would wantonly pluck his heartstrings.
He read the letter over and over again in the past two months.
He has always been curious about what kind of person Xie Yang is.
In his few memories, it is difficult to piece together Xie Yang completely.
A subtle feeling lasted throughout the summer.
Until today.
He suddenly realized that such a feeling is called missing.
Xie Yang handed him the packaged caramel pudding: “Welcome next time.”
He kept his head down from beginning to end, so that Qi Xu could not see his expression clearly.
Qi Xu took a deep breath and said lightly: “Classmate Xie Yang, can I add your WeChat?”
Hearing this, Xie Yang suddenly raised his head, looked at him in shock, and then quickly lowered his head.
It was also at this moment that Qi Xu saw the clear traces of tears on his face.
Qi Xu was silent for a few seconds, and did not take the caramel pudding. Instead, he said: “Can you wait for me?”
Xie Yang nodded blankly. He was still shocked that Qi Xu not only knew him, but also called out his name accurately.
Qi Xu left in a hurry and returned after more than ten minutes.
He ran very fast, panting heavily, holding a pink envelope in his hand.
He handed the letter to Xie Yang in his puzzled and shocked eyes.
“This is my reply.”
Xie Yang looked at him, his eyes were obviously a little dull.
Qi Xu explained: “On the day after the college entrance examination, the confession letter you dropped was picked up by me.”
Xie Yang’s pupils widened, and he opened his lips slightly, but he couldn’t say a word.
His slightly red eyes were misty again, and big tears fell.
Qi Xu: “I haven’t been able to contact you since that day. I want to hand you this reply letter in person. Today I finally found the opportunity.
Xie Yang looked at the letter he handed over and couldn’t believe it.
Why, Qi Xu wanted to write him a reply.
Why, Qi Xu wanted to hand it to him in person.
His mood has been messed up since the moment he met Qi Xu.
Until now, his mind is still blank.
He didn’t take it, and Qi Xu kept holding it like this.
Xie Yang took the envelope with trembling hands.
He wanted to speak, but at this moment it was so difficult that he couldn’t say a word.
Qi Xu: “Will you be here tomorrow?”
Xie Yang nodded.
Qi Xu: “Then can I come to see you tomorrow?”
Xie Yang nodded again.
Qi Xu breathed a sigh of relief and smiled: “See you tomorrow.”
He left the space for Xie Yang.
He knew Xie Yang needed to calm down now.
Until he left, Xie Yang couldn’t help but open the letter.
There was only a simple sentence in the letter:
Xie Yang, can we date now?
The author has something to say
The key points are said three times: high school, including exams, etc., are all privately set × 3
This is a high school line without online love, which has been modified a little bit based on the original plot.
In addition, there is a line of rebirth back to high school (double rebirth or one of the rebirths, I won’t reveal it for now hahaha)
AAAHH SIDESTORIES MY BELOVED