Zhou Shiyi looked on, half amused, half exasperated.

It turned out that while he was changing Gu Sheng’s bandages, Gu Sheng had been holding his breath the whole time, almost causing himself some trouble.

Gu Sheng paused for a moment before realizing what a foolish thing he’d just done.

The more embarrassed he felt, the less emotion showed on his face. He kept a stiff expression and said to Zhou Shiyi, “Thanks. I’ll handle the rest myself.”

Gu Sheng took the bandage from his hand and politely showed Zhou Shiyi out the door.

Zhou Shiyi fought back a smile and said, “Mm, as long as you’re okay, I’ll head off for now.”

Gu Sheng nodded, and unhurriedly closed the door.

Once the door closed and the room was cut off from the outside, Gu Sheng didn’t know what to do with his embarrassment. He climbed back into bed, let his hands drop, and lay there like a dead fish, utterly motionless.

He waited until he nearly suffocated himself under the quilt before he finally climbed out of bed.

He could only comfort himself: Zhou Shiyi had seen him in all kinds of states—hadn’t Zhou seen worse, more embarrassing situations than this?

His phone buzzed. Gu Sheng picked it up and saw a message from Zhou Shiyi: “I’m heading off first. If anything comes up, remember to call me.”

The front gate downstairs opened and closed.

Gu Sheng walked to the floor-to-ceiling window expressionlessly, watching Zhou Shiyi take the trash with him.

There were still the gauze bandages Gu Sheng had taken off in the trash bag; leaving them here would make it easy for the cleaning lady to find.

Gu Sheng went downstairs and saw that Zhou Shiyi had left the class notes behind.

He had also done homework with Zhou Shiyi for a time, so he knew Zhou Shiyi’s pace was different from theirs.

After Zhou Shiyi got first in the grade, the teachers often called on him to answer questions. Every time he answered, it satisfied the teachers, so over time, when they saw him doing his own thing in class, they stopped bothering him.

He no longer needed to follow the lesson at all; he moved at the teachers’ pace, so it’s not hard to guess who those class notes were prepared for.

Flipping through the neat, tidy notes, Gu Sheng saw Zhou Shiyi’s annotations throughout—very detailed.

Gu Sheng ran his fingers over the writing and actually found himself absorbed in reading.

Although he’d hired a tutor to catch up on lessons, he’d been in the hospital for so long that he still fell behind on a lot of work.

No matter what he wanted to do in the future, Gu Sheng knew that studying hard now was also a way of being responsible for himself.

Gu Sheng had injured his scapula, and there were also some wounds on his right arm, so he couldn’t make any big movements—any motion would easily tug at the injuries.

To show his gratitude, Zhou Shiyi not only took over Gu Sheng’s class notes for that period, he also took on the task of getting his meals.

“Sheng-ge, let’s go together.”

Qin Shu had meant to walk with Gu Sheng, but just as he was about to put his hand on Gu Sheng’s shoulder, he was met with two death glares.

One came from his brother Sheng; Qin Shu awkwardly withdrew his hand, suddenly remembering that Sheng didn’t like too much physical contact with others.

The other came from Zhou Shiyi.

Qin Shu scratched his head, not knowing when he’d offended this top-tier genius.

Because Zhou Shiyi’s learning progress was completely different from everyone else’s, and sometimes when teachers hit a problem they couldn’t solve, they would discuss it with him, everyone called him the “study god” behind his back.

“Study god, you’re going to eat too? What a coincidence,” Qin Shu said awkwardly, then wanted to smack his own mouth—what was he even saying? There was only one path to the cafeteria; how was that a coincidence?

Fortunately Zhou Shiyi wasn’t the type to hold grudges. He gave a light reply and walked with them the rest of the way.

Qin Shu couldn’t figure out what Sheng-ge meant; seeing Gu Sheng’s expression of casual acceptance, it looked like Zhou Shiyi showing up to eat with them was perfectly normal.

At the cafeteria, Zhou Shiyi took Gu Sheng’s meal card and went to get the food, looking exactly like a lackey Gu Sheng had specially hired.

Qin Shu had thought the same at first, but during P.E., when Zhou Shiyi voluntarily took Gu Sheng’s place to go to the gym and borrow a ball, Qin Shu started to feel that something was off.

In P.E. class, if there was a need, two students had to be assigned to borrow balls.

Usually they borrow by student ID, and today it just happened to be Gu Sheng and another classmate’s turn.

As soon as the sports monitor called Gu Sheng’s name, Zhou Shiyi raised his hand and said, “I’ll go for him.”

No one knew who this “him” was; at first they thought it referred to that omega boy. But when Zhou Shiyi and that omega stepped out of line and they saw Gu Sheng still standing in place, they realized the “him” Zhou had meant was actually Gu Sheng.

They all assumed Zhou Shiyi had taken Gu Sheng’s spot to get closer to that omega.

That omega, looking completely bewildered, went with Zhou Shiyi to borrow a ball and kept sneaking glances at him along the way.

Zhou Shiyi had always been a rather mysterious figure in their class; there were countless rumors about him.

Although he was a beta and his family wasn’t well-off,

during his school years he was still relatively innocent and had a particular fondness for people who were good at studying.

Especially lately Zhou Shiyi had been riding a wave of popularity, crowned with an academic prodigy aura; when people finally paid attention to him, they realized he’d somehow gotten more and more attractive.

His previously malnourished frame, thanks to recent exercise and targeted supplements, shot up in height and now rivaled some alphas.

Students from other classes would crowd outside their classroom after class, just to catch a glimpse of what the school genius looked like.

So in the second year of high school, Zhou Shiyi could be said to be the most popular beta.

This omega was no exception. Though he had always liked alphas like Gu Sheng, if it was Zhou Shiyi, dating a beta seemed pretty nice too.

He brought up the topic with a bashful look, but Zhou Shiyi’s attitude was very indifferent.

“Zhou, you’ve changed so much recently, we can hardly recognize you.”

“Hmm.”

“Zhou, how do you usually study to do so well on exams?”

“Do more practice problems.”

……

He barely spoke until he and Zhou Shiyi returned the ball.

Omega felt a bit wronged. He’d been pampered his whole life and had thought Zhou Shiyi was interested in him — he hadn’t expected it was all in his own head.

Gu Sheng hugged his arms, standing to the side watching the other students run laps around the track.

He had asked the P.E. teacher for leave; although the teacher couldn’t see anything wrong with him as an alpha, he was still allowed to stand aside with the other students who weren’t permitted to run.

Seeing Zhou Shiyi put the ball down and come over to find him, Gu Sheng’s mood suddenly improved a lot.

He’d heard it a moment ago too — the speculation that Zhou Shiyi might have feelings for that omega.

Honestly, it really wasn’t any of his business, but seeing Zhou Shiyi constantly keeping an eye on his side made Gu Sheng a little pleased.

He thought, this is how it should be — I am your rival. What do you mean paying attention to anyone else?

Seeing that omega with a sullen face, casting a resentful glance at Zhou Shiyi, Gu Sheng suddenly felt his mood lift.

As long as Zhou Shiyi’s gaze stayed fixed on him, there wouldn’t be a chance to find another uke.

With that thought, Gu Sheng deliberately moved closer.

“Have a sip of water first.” Gu Sheng handed Zhou Shiyi a bottle of mineral water. Zhou Shiyi looked a little surprised, took it, and drank a sip.

The two of them standing together drew a lot of attention; Gu Sheng was injured, and the spotlight he usually enjoyed on the court was now given to others.

Qin Shu and Gu Sheng exchanged a quick greeting, then noticing that Sheng Ge had no intention of playing with them, they found others and formed another team.

Seventeen- and eighteen-year-old boys were sweating freely on the court. Gu Sheng watched for a while, found it boring, and turned his head to see He Yanqing and Zhou Shiyi walking together talking about something.

Gu Sheng’s expression darkened instantly.

“Think it over first—it’s still early. By the time of finals you’ll decide whether to go. If you go, send me a message and I’ll help you register.” He Yanqing handed Zhou Shiyi a registration form.

“Mm, I’ll think about it. Thank you for telling me.” Zhou Shiyi said sincerely.

He Yanqing had wanted to ask about his and Gu Sheng’s current relationship, but when he turned his head he saw Gu Sheng with a sullen face and an unfriendly look.

He Yanqing paused, then saw Gu Sheng walk over to Zhou Shiyi in three quick steps and drape his hand over his shoulder.

“What are you two talking about?” Gu Sheng asked, a smile at the corner of his mouth.

He Yanqing thought he must have been mistaken; Gu Sheng’s earlier scowl seemed to have never happened—his tone and expression were completely natural.

It really sounded like Gu Sheng’s possessiveness was so strong he wouldn’t allow He Yanqing any more contact with him.

Zhou Shiyi looked at the two of them suspiciously and said, “It’s nothing. He Yanqing came to ask me if I wanted to join the biology competition.”

He didn’t want them to misunderstand him because of anything.

Sure enough, after hearing that, Gu Sheng’s brow relaxed: “Really? Then take me along.”

He Yanqing and Zhou Shiyi both turned to look at him at the same time. The vein at Gu Sheng’s temple had been twitching; under their stare, his headache worsened.

He gritted his teeth against the pain, tugging at the corner of his mouth as he said, “Why are you looking at me like that? Can’t I go take a look?”

Zhou Shiyi thought of Gu Sheng’s disastrously bad biology test and felt a headache coming on.

He Yanqing, meanwhile, remembered how the biology teacher had kept emphasizing in class that such simple questions were still being missed by someone in our class, and the teacher’s gaze had been lingering on Gu Sheng’s empty seat with a look of deep grievance — who that person was needn’t be said.

Seeing that neither of them spoke, Gu Sheng finally remembered his fear of being picked on by the biology teacher and still refused to bow his head. “Zhou Shiyi, are you going?”

Zhou Shiyi answered honestly, “Still thinking about it. If possible, I’ll give it a try.”

So he did want to go. Gu Sheng also took an application form from He Yanquing: “Who do I give it to after I fill it out?”

He Yanquing didn’t expect Gu Sheng to actually go. He said, “After you fill it out, just take it to Teacher Li in the Biology department office.”

Gu Sheng nodded. “Thanks.”

“Oh, oh, no need to thank me.” He Yanqing replied dully.

Gu Sheng rubbed his temple; he didn’t know what was wrong, his head had been aching as if something inside was trying to break free.

“Are you okay?” Zhou Shiyi saw his pale face and worried the wound had split open.

“Come with me.” There wasn’t time to explain. Gu Sheng wanted to talk to Zhou Shiyi alone, so he reached out, grabbed Zhou Shiyi’s arm, and pulled him along.

All the way, Gu Sheng was sweating from the pain, yet still refused to let go.

Zhou Shiyi smelled that faint hint of mint again — this time much stronger than before — but when he sniffed carefully, the scent vanished almost immediately.