Chapter 4

As soon as Jing Can entered the courtyard gate, He Pingyi twisted the handlebar and walked forward a short distance. It was uncertain how the creeping vines grew on the metal grilles just enough to leave a gap. He Pingyi retracted his neck and lowered his head. Through the gap, he could see the house inside with the lights shining bright.

He Pingyi was initially so sleepy that he couldn't keep his eyes open while he was doing his test papers. But after driving Jing Can back, he was not sleepy anymore. He Pingyi was not in a hurry to leave. Rather, he leaned over the handlebars and stared blankly at the window illuminated yellow by the light.

Apparently, from the first time they met, Jing Can has always made him brim with curiosity. First, he was curious about Jing Can’s identity. Second, he was interested about why the boy always kept silent. And then, he wanted to know about what kind of person he was. He obviously had a very small face, but he gave He Pingyi the impression that he has already accumulated a lot of worries in his heart for over ten years.

A silhouette suddenly appeared behind the window, and He Pingyi got a shock.

It's Jing Can.

He stood there motionless, too far and against the ambient light direction. He Pingyi couldn't see his expression clearly, but he thought that Jing Can must surely be looking at him. He Pingyi then took a deep breath, switched on the headlights, and waved farewell to the person standing inside.

And after He Pingyi left, Jing Can stood in front of the window for a long time. It was only when his legs ached that he turned off the light and sat down on the chair by the desk.

When he got home, He Pingyi looked at his wrist watch. It took 11 minutes to drive his scooter home from Jing Can's house. He turned his head to look inside and saw that the light in his mother's bedroom was already turned off, so he groped his way in the dark towards the bathroom, keeping his movements light, and washed up in a hurry and returned to his room.

Lying on the bed, for some reason, his mind was full of the image when Jing Can told him that he got the actor’s lines wrong. He Pingyi opened his eyes, crossed his hands on the pillow behind his head, and gazed at the ceiling while pondering . This scene replayed in front of his eyes again, and he suddenly turned over and sat up to switch on the computer.

The next day, He Pingyi set off 20 minutes earlier, humming a song along the way with one hand in his pocket. He stopped in front of the entrance to Jing Can's house. He Ping whistled leisurely and let out a sigh of relief.

He didn’t expect that as soon as the whistle sounded, the door of Jing Can's house opened. The person standing in the entryway had a head of messy hair and a pair of big eyes with a layer of hazy mist that looked at him through the lenses.

"So early?" He Pingyi laughed. Seeing Jing Can standing still, he beckoned him with one hand, "Get on."

This time, He Pingyi didn't say anything and directly took the schoolbag from Jing Can's hand when he approached him.

"Did you continue studying when you got home last night? You also brought your school bag back."

Compared to last night, Jing Can was already adept at riding a bike. When he was about to turn a corner, he would grab He Pingyi's clothes ahead of time, and then release his grip once they were stable.

"No, it's just..."

Jing Can thought for a while, and answered honestly, "I'm just not used to not carrying anything."

He Pingyi heard this and tilted his head slightly, trying his best to understand what kind of habit this is.

And so, Jing Can actually regretted it after saying this. He was afraid that He Pingyi would think his behaviour was quite strange. But looking up at the back of He Pingyi's head, Jing Can opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything to salvage the conversation. He could only bite his lip lightly and turned his head to look at the road they passed by.

He has already been in this city for a month. But looking at it today, this strip of road that he passed by many times before had many unfamiliar shop fronts. Jing Can's eyes were fixated on a chicken cutlet shop. The electric bike already swept past that family shop, and still, he was turning his head to look at it.

"By the way," He Pingyi stopped at a red light on the intersection and suddenly turned his head, talking to Jing Can, "I went back and watched "Initial D" again. You were right yesterday."

As if he was discovered while doing something shameful, Jing Can turned his head back hastily after hearing He Pingyi's voice.

Seeing the panic written across his whole face, He Pingyi couldn't hold back, and smiled: "Why, do you want to eat fried chicken cutlets?"

Jing Can felt his face was burning hot, and denied in a low voice: "No."

He was stared at by He Pingyi so he turned his head to the other side, but he heard He Pingyi say again: "Have you ever driven a car?"

Driven a car?

Jing Can was shocked for a moment, then looked back at He Pingyi: "You can only take the driving licence test at eighteen."

"I know," He Pingyi said with a laugh, "What about go-karts? Have you tried driving it? Or went go-kart racing?"

Jing Can looked to the side, frowning minutely. He stared at the crevice on the ground and slightly shook his head.

"No."

Because his head was lowered, He Pingyi could only see a hair whorl at this moment. He raised a hand, and before he could react, that hand was about to touch the top of Jing Can's head.

The light turned green and the other cars started moving.

He Pingyi's hand hung in mid-air, and when he thought about it, he was a little startled by his behaviour.

"Then let's go play together next time." Casually turning around as if nothing had happened, he moved the electric scooter forward. He Pingyi said this line in a relaxed manner.

At the school gate, sleepy-eyed studying machines rushed into the gate one by one. He Pingyi and Jing Can went to the bike shed to park the scooter. When they reached the stairs, Jing Can suddenly took the initiative and asked He Pingyi.

It seemed that this was the first time he called out to him.

"Hmm?" He Pingyi stopped turning the key and turned to look at Jing Can.

Jing Can walked very slowly, nodding his head slightly with each step he took on the stairs. He didn't give He Ping an answer. When they reached the top of the stairs and were about to turn towards their respective classrooms, he said, "Can I really drive a racing car?"

He Pingyi thought that he was holding back something serious for so long, but as soon as Jing Can spoke, he knew that he still overestimated Jing Can's social skills.

"Is there something wrong with this?"

Hearing He Pingyi's words, Jing Can's hand holding the schoolbag tightened. He bowed down and lightly nudged the pattern on the floor with the toe of his foot. He Pingyi saw the corners of his mouth slowly curling up, and accidentally revealed a deliberately concealed smile.

Students kept coming up the stairs, and Jing Can heard the voices of other people. and his originally pleased expression became quite unnatural. He nodded and said, "Then I'm going first."

"Ehm, wait for me during break later," He Pingyi finished speaking, then raised his chin, "Go, then."

There were two self-study periods in the morning for senior students of Number Seven Secondary. The first period was from 7:00 to 7:30, followed by a 20-minute break for breakfast. The second period started at 7:50. There was a five-minute break in the middle, and the first class began at 8:30.

In order to prevent everyone from getting sleepy in the first self-study period, the school allotted this time for morning reading. Jing Can took out a newspaper published in English, spread it out, glanced at the recitation content instructed by the teacher, and then lowered his head, staring vacantly.

He didn't sleep much last night. As a matter of fact, he has not slept well since coming to Huihe City. He recalled that when he asked Song Yinan if he could come here to study, Song Yinan's face had an impressive expression. After a brief silence, she smiled softly and promised him that she would discuss it with Jing Zaixing. Jing Can didn't know how Song Yinan persuaded Jing Zaixing, but Song Yinan saw him off on the day he left home. Song Yinan said that Jing Zaixing's company was busy and couldn't see him off, but Jing Can knew that his father was actually in the study.

Jing Can unknowingly tightened his hand, until the short nails dug into his palm, and he stopped remembering in pain. As if staying in a sealed room for a long time, when the content of the English newspaper reentered Jing Can's vision, he suddenly began to breathe heavily.

Surrounded by chaos, Jing Can raised his eyes, only to realise that the self-study period had already ended at some point.

He Pingyi.

He sobered up in a split second, and in a flurry, used his arms to push up on the table, wanting to stand up. At the same time, the window next to him was suddenly pushed open from the outside, accompanied by an ear-piercing sound from the friction.

"So studious?" He Pingyi poked his head in, with a faint and helpless smile, "Not gonna eat anymore?"

"I’ll eat!" Jing Can realised how urgent his tone was after the words flew out of his mouth. He swallowed, steadied his frenetic heart, and restored his usual pace in speaking: "I'll come out right away."

When in a hurry, mistakes are bound to happen. Jing Can raised his leg and overturned his deskmate’s stool which made a loud sound. Several classmates who were lying on their stomachs to catch up on sleep were startled and looked up at him.

He Pingyi watched Jing Can's face blush at a speed visible to the naked eye. He whispered comforting words to the person who was squatting down to straighten the stool: "It's nothing, don't worry."

Being pulled all the way to the bike shed, Jing Can suspiciously watched He Pingyi's movements to unlock the bike, and eventually slowly inquired, "Aren't you going to class?"

"I’m going," He Pingyi tossed the wheel lock into the basket, "Let's go eat first."

Jing Can wasn’t clear on why was being driven away from school, following the road they took earlier. It wasn't until he smelled the familiar aroma that Jing Can understood what He Ping was trying to do.

He Pingyi ordered two chicken cutlets. The shop owner first deep fried the cutlets then handed one to them. He Pingyi immediately stuffed it in Jing Can's hand, "Eat it quickly."

Jing Can bowed down and saw the cutlet sliced into pieces, glistening yellow.

The chicken pieces were only packed in a paper bag. Holding it for a period of time would scald one’s fingers. Jing Can sucked in a breath, and quickly shifted his fingers.

"Is it hot?" He Pingyi was amused by him and laughed, so he raised his hand without undue effort and stroked his hair, "Silly."

Feeling the touch on his head, Jing Can suddenly raised his head, eyes widened slightly.

Unable to control his hand, He Pingyi was a little embarrassed by Jing Can's gaze. He coughed lightly and urged him, "Quickly eat."

He turned his head, pretending to wait for his portion but his hand shoved in his pants pockets moved nervously. He Pingyi frowned and squeezed that hand, thinking, It's over, I scared him.

Jing Can blinked again, eyes staring fixedly at him for a while. Eventually, the chicken cutlet’s aroma lured Jing Can to look back down and pick up the bamboo skewer.

He Pingyi stealthily glanced at the corner of his eye, and saw that Jing Can was engrossed in eating in all seriousness, like a little mouse.

After the second chicken cutlet was done cooking, the two left the cutlet shop side by side. After walking a few steps, He Pingyi stopped abruptly and called Jing Can. Jing Can, who was chewing on the chicken, raised his head and looked at him.

"Let's discuss something." He Pingyi leaned closer to Jing Can and lowered his voice, "I treated you to eat chicken cutlet. In exchange, can you answer a question for me?"

Jing Can paused then continued to chew. He swallowed two or three times, and asked a little strangely, "Is there a problem?"

"Why do you always look so dazed?"

Jing Can heard this and didn't speak, just staring blankly at He Pingyi.

"Of course, if you don’t want to, you don’t have to answer," He Pingyi explained, "When I look at you, it seems like you like to be lost in thought so I’m a little curious.”

After about a few seconds, Jing Can lowered his head and quickly pierced a slice of the cutlet. He looked into He Pingyi's eyes, and mumbled softly in reply, "I can’t be in a daze?"

Although He Pingyi suspected that he was fabricating things in his mind, Jing Can's tone when he said this was really different from the shy tone he used before. At this moment, Jing Can was distinctly a lot more lively, in so much as his reply just now held a slight hint of shamelessness.

He watched in amazement as Jing Can walked in the direction of the electric bike while stuffing a piece of chicken cutlet into his mouth. After stopping, Jing Can turned his head and said, "We will be late if we don’t leave."

Hey……

He Pingyi turned a corner in his heart and sighed. While other people drank wine to boost their courage, this person did so by eating chicken cutlets?

He shook his head twice with a grin, and walked over, thinking to himself, if only he had known earlier that chicken cutlets were very effective. The second time they met, he should have bought a lot of chicken cutlets, offered them up to Jing Can and said, “Let’s be friends?”