10 : Like a cat

 Every time after exams, Chen Zhoumu and his classmates would go out for a meal. It was a tradition in their class, usually just a few of their usual classmates, but this time Song Shi and Tang Ze joined them.

The restaurant wasn't far, near the No. 1 High School. This time, the class representative, a rather chubby boy named Liao Ming, was chosen, but everyone liked to call him Zhuangzhuang (Strong Guy). His mother gave him that nickname, and after the class heard it, they kept calling him that.

"Zhuangzhuang, is this a newly opened place? Where did you find it?" He Xi asked, sitting at the table.

Liao Ming chuckled, "This is Tan Qi's mother's shop, just came to support her."

Tan Qi served the dishes, "Thank you all for coming to my family's shop. If there's anything you don't like, please let me know."

Zhang Jingxiao stood up and put her arm around Tan Qi's shoulder, "Hey Tan Qi, since we're all here to eat, don't bother with all that work, just sit down with us."

"Yeah." Tan Qi's mother came in from the side, wiping her hands on her apron, "Qi, you go with your friends, Mom can manage here."

Tan Qi sat down next to Zhang Jingxiao, asking in confusion, "Where are Mu Ge and the others?"

"They... um, they'll be here later, let's eat first." He Xi winked.

Zhang Jingxiao nodded and put some food in Tan Qi's bowl, "Yes, eat first, they have something to do."

After leaving the school gate, Song Shi and the others went in another direction, taking a taxi to a dessert shop.

"Don't you need to buy any gifts?" Song Shi looked at the people sitting to the side.

Chen Zhoumu shook his head: "No need, we don't do that here."

After getting the cake, the two returned to the restaurant. Rewinding to a couple of days ago, when everyone was discussing where to eat, Zhang Jingxiao realized it was Tan Qi's birthday.

So, they secretly planned a surprise for her with her mother, and they all pooled their money to order a cake.

When it was almost time, Tang Ze sent a message, and the two of them carried the cake upstairs.

Tan Qi's mother was already waiting outside the private room, her smile undiminished as she saw them: "Amu, thank you so much for celebrating Xiao Qi's birthday."

"Not at all, Tan Qi is a member of our class," Chen Zhoumu replied with a smile.

"Come in," Song Shi said, opening the door with the cake.

As the cake was placed on the table, singing began to fill the room. Zhang Jingxiao, sitting beside her, put a birthday hat hidden in her bag on Tan Qi's head.

"Happy birthday, Tan Zi!"

"Happy birthday!"

Tan Qi looked around in surprise, wondering how they knew her birthday.

She wasn't a particularly enthusiastic person and didn't like to express her emotions, but at this moment, she was happy.

She had few friends and was usually quiet and reserved.

Zhang Jingxiao hugged her: "The birthday girl should make a wish."

The room lights were turned off, the candles on the cake on the table were lit, Tan Qi clasped her hands together and closed her eyes. The candlelight illuminated her face, which had just been crying, but the corners of her mouth were turned up.

After it was over, everyone walked towards the school together. Song Shi and his three friends walked at the back. He said to the person next to him, "How much? I'll transfer it to you."

He was referring to the money for the dinner and cake, which he hadn't yet shared.

"No need."

"Then I'll come next time."

Chen Zhoumu stopped: "Why are you being so calculating?"

"It's not about being calculating." Song Shi also stopped and looked at him.

"Then what does it mean?" Chen Zhoumu leaned closer and asked.

It was already evening, and the streetlights illuminated the other person's features clearly. A gentle breeze blew by. Song Shi turned his face away and walked forward: "It doesn't mean anything."

"What do you mean by 'it doesn't mean anything'?" Chen Zhoumu grabbed him.

"By the way, Lao Song, did you guys add each other's contact information? I just realized I don't have He Xi's WeChat." Tang Ze turned around and ran over to ask.

Chen Zhoumu then realized that he didn't even have Song Shi's contact information. It wasn't until all four of them added each other that Chen Zhoumu understood.

He chuckled softly and walked to Song Shi's side: "Song, is that what you meant just now?"

"No, you're overthinking it." Song Shi answered with a blank face, looking ahead.

A warm breath came from beside him: "I know, that's not what I meant."

"I did mean that." Chen Zhoumu added.

"If you say that again, you're dead."

"I won't say it anymore."

Chen Zhoumu looked at the aloof Song's slightly reddened ears. The wind blew his hair, revealing his handsome face. His fair neck contrasted with the skin tone of his arms. He then noticed a small mole on Song Shi's neck. His shoulders were slender, and there was a faint fragrance when you got close.

The sky was a bit cool after the rain, but Chen Zhoumu felt a little hot. In the quiet alley, he could hear his own heartbeat gradually quickening.

Chen Zhoumu wondered if he was having a heart attack, or if it was just too hot tonight.

He Xi, after adding the two, habitually clicked on their profiles. Song Shi's Moments, like Song Shi himself, was cold and uninteresting. He exited and clicked on Tang Ze's profile.

Suddenly, a panicked voice came from beside him, Tang Ze: "Don't look!"

Just then, the two behind him approached.

But it was too late; He Xi had already clicked on his Moments. The top post was the newest, a picture of two people: Tang Ze and Song Shi.

It was a normal picture showcasing brotherly affection.

However, the caption was strangely ambiguous.

"[Me and Him]"

could be explained at first glance, but then a small red heart and a tilde were added after it.

That made it much harder to explain.

Petrified Tang Ze: "!"

Startled He Xi: "!?"

Chen Zhoumu, turning his head to look: "?"

Song Shi, pulled over: "..."

"What...what's going on?!" He Xi asked in shock and confusion. He had already understood what he saw on the post a few days ago. He suspected that the two brothers behind him were already in a messy situation. How come another one has appeared today?

Is it a love triangle?! Is he the only one of his good brothers who likes girls?

He likes him, he likes him?

He Xi hugged his weak self tightly, determined not to be influenced by them! So, he was the only one among the four who was a staunch straight man?

Tang Ze stammered an explanation to the three of them. He definitely had his reasons!

The reason was that a girl in Class 4 was pursuing Tang Ze. Under her relentless pursuit, he had resorted to this tactic. He made up a lie that he liked boys and used this photo as a shield because he was afraid she wouldn't believe him.

Originally, he had blocked everyone except that girl, but the two people he had just added today hadn't set it up yet, so this blatant misunderstanding occurred.

"I absolutely have no feelings for Lao Song beyond brotherhood! Heaven and earth bear witness! Lao Song is my staunch brother, and I really do like girls!"

As Tang Ze swore his third solemn oath and was about to prove it with his life, Song Shi, who was standing to the side, took his phone.

Actually, Song Shi wasn't too bothered by this. He knew Tang Ze didn't like boys, but he asked in a cold tone, "Did you block him?"

Tang Ze stopped his light head-bumping motion while hugging the pillar and turned his head, "I forgot!"

Then he calmed down, "It's okay, he probably can't see the phone over there."

He Xi stood to the side, puzzled, "Who is it?"

"Nobody." Tang Ze took back his phone.

"Wait, are you playing games? Speaking in encrypted language in front of your brothers?" He Xi was a little annoyed. The four of them had been together for almost a month now.

"Just a friend in Yangcheng, another childhood friend of Lao Song." Tang Ze lowered his head, considering whether to block that person.

"Childhood sweetheart?" Chen Zhoumu looked at the person standing casually beside him.

Song Shi didn't want to recall this, so he simply didn't say anything. Anyway, it was all in the past, and that person had gone abroad and rarely kept in touch. He didn't reply to Chen Zhoumu and walked briskly forward.

Chen Zhoumu looked at the other person's back. Childhood sweetheart? What childhood sweetheart? They haven't kept in touch, yet he still remembers.

*

Back in the dormitory, when he opened the door, his older brother was already around Song Shi's feet. The person behind him picked him up: "Looks like you've gained a lot of weight."

The older brother lay comfortably in Chen Zhoumu's arms. Song Shi stroked the cat's head, and it rubbed against him comfortably. The two of them didn't speak on the way back.

Song Shi pursed his lips: "He's someone I grew up with, a neighbor next door, the same age as me. He went abroad and we haven't kept in touch."

After a while, the person in front finally spoke: "Oh."

Song Shi frowned and looked up, only to see Chen Zhoumu tilting his head and smiling at him.

What the hell is he smiling about

? "Is Song Shi trying to explain to me? Why do you need to explain to me?"

Chen Zhoumu leaned closer and closer, staring at him innocently.

"..."

Song Shi looked away, a growing heat rising within him. Damn it, why should I explain to him? Who cares if he misunderstands? Even if he does, so what? What does it have to do with him? Whether it's about him and Tang Ze or him and that other person.

He must have been possessed. So he turned and walked towards the balcony, not intending to continue the conversation.

Standing beside him, Chen Zhoumu quickly grabbed his hand: "Why do you always have to be coaxed like your older brother?"

Coax my foot.

You're the one who's like a cat.

Hearing this, Song Shi became even more irritated and tried to forcefully shake off Chen Zhoumu's hand, but Chen Zhoumu held on tightly. As Song Shi stepped back, his older brother jumped out of his arms and was now at his feet.

He tripped over his brother, lost his footing, and fell backward.

"Careful—" Chen Zhoumu suddenly pulled him into his arms, and the two switched places.

A loud "bang" followed.

Song Shi was nestled in Chen Zhoumu's arms, his head resting on his neck, the other's breath on his skin. He tried to sit up abruptly, "Hey, are you alright—"

Before he could finish, something soft and warm touched his earlobe as he lifted his head.

Like a fleeting firework, bright and dazzling, it caught his eye before immediately extinguishing and drifting away in the wind, leaving no trace.

He looked down and saw Chen Zhoumu's lips.

Instantly, Song Shi's ears turned red, and he froze.

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