5 Concealment

Lu Yu looked up at him. This guy was the troublemaker of the class, named Zhou Mingze, from a wealthy family, notorious on the fifth floor as a major bully. His family had a decent relationship with the Lu family, which meant Zhou Mingze was aware of Lu Yu’s background.

Lu Yu’s eyelashes twitched slightly, appearing somewhat uneasy and lost, but in the end, he said nothing. He simply squatted down and began picking up the scattered books from the floor. The boys in the back row, startled by the commotion, fell silent. Yet, upon seeing that it was Lu Yu’s desk that had been knocked over, they secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhou Mingze reached out and patted a friend on the shoulder. “Forget it, let’s keep playing. He can clean up on his own.”

Lu Yu had a gentle temperament and a reserved, silent personality. It wasn’t exactly bullying, but almost no one in class befriended him. They held no good impression of this timid, slight young boy.

At Linqi No.1 Middle School, there were only two types of students: those with top grades or those from wealthy families. The fifth floor housed Class B, which ranked in the upper-middle range academically, so most were children of influential connections.

Lu Yu’s presence there indicated his family was well-off, but later they realized he didn’t quite fit the mold of a rich kid. His demeanor gave no hint of wealth; it seemed as though he was only here because of his connection to the top student in the grade.

The back row erupted with chatter again. Lu Yu looked down at the spilled milk—gifted by Song Jianli—that had soaked some of his books.

The culprit’s laughter was sharp and grating.

What had he done wrong this time? Was it because his parents didn’t love him? Because he wasn’t good-looking? Or because he couldn’t speak charmingly or be likable?

But none of it was his fault.

Lu Yu’s small mind couldn’t make sense of it, and finally, the tears he had been holding back spilled over.

Like transparent pearls, clear and bright, they rolled one by one onto the floor, splashing on the pages of his books.

Drip, drip.

Zhou Mingze was still joking with his friends until one nudged him with an elbow. “Zhou, he looks like he’s crying.”

“Who?” Zhou Mingze turned his head just in time to see Lu Yu wiping away tears with his sleeve, which left a visible wet streak.

Zhou Mingze thought: Damn! He’s really crying?!

“Hey, why are you crying? I didn’t do it on purpose.” Zhou Mingze’s mood soured immediately; he thought Lu Yu was even more fragile than some girls, crying over such a trivial thing.

Lu Yu ignored him and continued to tidy his books, then carefully took some tissues from his desk to blot the spilled milk.

But the grievance was too much to process at once, and the tears kept falling, turning into soft sobs.

“Damn it! You two, go help him clean this up.” Zhou Mingze suddenly lost his temper, fed up with the pity act.

Things got worse when the homeroom teacher, Wei Qin, suddenly called out from the door, “What’s going on in there?”

Zhou Mingze hated this teacher; she was terrible at her job and excelled at tattling. If she reported to his dad that he made someone cry, his allowance would be cut for two days.

“Nothing,” Zhou Mingze’s evasive answer only raised suspicion.

Wei Qin narrowed her eyes and pushed through the crowd.

She first noticed the mess on the floor—the spilled milk was disgusting—and frowned. “Lu Yu, what happened?”

“It was Zhou Mingze who knocked over his desk, so the milk got spilled,” a girl’s voice said.

Wei Qin adjusted her frameless glasses. “Because of this?”

“Yeah, yeah, I think it’s a small matter.” Zhou Mingze nodded in agreement. Though a troublemaker, his smooth tongue won the favor of some subject teachers on the fifth floor.

In front of so many people, Wei Qin couldn’t openly side with Zhou Mingze, so she said, “Clean up the desk quickly. You two, come to my office later.”

After saying this, she left.

Zhou Mingze angrily kicked the fallen desk, startling Lu Yu.

Lu Yu looked up at Zhou Mingze with glistening eyes. His forehead was exposed as his fringe swept aside, resembling a frightened little white rabbit.

His eyes were red-rimmed but strikingly beautiful.

Zhou Mingze paused, surprised—this kid even looked good crying.

Lu Yu didn’t know what to say, so after glancing at him, he lowered his head and resumed tidying his belongings. The girl who had spoken up for Lu Yu was Shen Miaomiao.

She was beautiful, well-built, and from a good family. Many on the fifth floor liked her. Oddly, Shen Miaomiao wasn’t one to meddle, yet she had defended Lu Yu.

Now she squatted down to help him pick up his books.

As Shen Miaomiao’s friends saw her helping, they too knelt down to assist Lu Yu.

With more hands, the cleanup went faster.

Lu Yu straightened his desk and quietly thanked Shen Miaomiao and the girls beside her.

Shen Miaomiao smiled in reply. “No need to thank me.”

Lu Yu went alone to the office later. Zhou Mingze was called in afterward by Wei Qin. He never imagined he’d be summoned to the office because of Lu Yu. It was infuriating.

Both stood before Wei Qin. Lu Yu kept his head down; his tears had stopped but still clung stubbornly at the corners of his eyes, so he dabbed them with his sleeve.

Zhou Mingze had his hands in his pockets; his blue and white uniform was marked with black pen doodles—cartoon figures and seal-like symbols from some juvenile manga. His face was bold and rebellious, with strong features and a buzz cut, taller than most of his peers.

Compared to Lu Yu’s neat and tidy appearance, the difference was stark.

Seeing Lu Yu wiping away tears, he clicked his tongue and said, “Hey, cut the act.”

Lu Yu clenched his fingers tighter but never looked up.

Wei Qin had little impression of Lu Yu, or rather, he was too inconspicuous.

“Lu... Yu, are you okay?” Since Zhou Mingze was at fault and Lu Yu was the one crying, the teacher feigned concern out of professional duty.

Lu Yu shook his head. “I’m fine...”

“That’s good. I have a general understanding of the situation. Zhou didn’t mean it. Don’t take it seriously. If you want, I can have Zhou apologize to you now. How about that?” Wei Qin said.

Lu Yu fiddled with his fingers and shook his head. “It’s okay, no need...”

“See? He’s fine. It was me who bumped the desk, not him. My butt still hurts. I don’t get why he’s crying,” Zhou Mingze grumbled, scratching his head. He had no real camaraderie with classmates, so no guilt regarding Lu Yu.

When the world revolved around him but not Lu Yu, he grew hostile toward the boy.

Wei Qin glared at him. “Watch your tone.”

The matter was settled just like that. Lu Yu never received an apology from Zhou Mingze, who even deliberately elbowed him at the classroom door as they returned. The class whispered quietly.

Lu Yu stood at the door, feeling unprecedentedly uncomfortable, regretting that he hadn’t held back his tears earlier.

This incident was supposed to stay quiet, but by chance, Xu Chen was in the office during the break, helping the teacher organize materials and witnessed Wei Qin handling the matter.

Naturally, the news reached Song Jianli.

At that time, Song Jianli was working on physics problems. Xu Chen relayed everything to him. He listened quietly, his pen piercing two holes in the test paper.

Then he calmly flipped the paper over and continued analyzing the problem.

It seemed like nothing had happened, but Xu Chen knew that given how much Song Jianli treasured Lu Yu, this matter wouldn’t be forgotten so easily.

—

Lu Yu was good at hiding things. During lunch, his demeanor gave no hint of the morning’s incident.

He even smiled and told Song Jianli about a silly mistake he made while solving problems.

But to Song Jianli, it seemed like a forced smile.

—

“Is that so? But Sang Sang solved that problem on his own—well done.” Song Jianli said, offering Lu Yu some beef from his bowl.

Lu Yu’s eyes curved into a smile, his teeth perfectly aligned. “Jian Ge, you don’t like beef, why do you always order beef noodles?”

Song Jianli replied, “I like the soup of beef noodles.”

“Oh, I see.” Lu Yu nodded, half understanding.

Song Jianli noticed the prominent bones of Lu Yu’s thin wrist and casually asked, “How was the morning?”

Lu Yu’s fingers stiffened briefly, then he looked up and gave Song Jianli a gentle, innocent smile. “Pretty good. I paid attention in class, no daydreaming.”

Song Jianli saw the small gesture but knew Lu Yu was lying. Still, it pained him.

It meant Lu Yu hadn’t opened up to him yet and was still putting up walls.

In Lu Yu’s small world, he was alone; no one else could enter.

“Didn’t you encounter anything upsetting?” Song Jianli pressed on.

Lu Yu hesitated, as if wanting to say something, but finally shook his head. His soft hair swayed. “No.”

Song Jianli met his gaze and replied simply, “Good.”

After lunch, they returned to school together. Song Jianli saw Lu Yu back at his seat on the fifth floor. The classroom held only a few scattered students.

It made sense—someone like Zhou Mingze wouldn’t be sitting quietly at this hour.

Song Jianli turned and headed downstairs. His phone vibrated slightly. He checked the message from Xu Chen.

[X: Oh, that bastard still has the nerve to play basketball on the court.]

[X: (photo)]

The photo was taken on the playground. Zhou Mingze’s tall stature and rebellious look were instantly recognizable. He was really annoying.

Song Jianli’s fingers tensed on the phone before he slipped it into his pocket.

—

The noon break lasted two and a half hours.

Zhou Mingze played on the playground until the last two minutes before heading back.

He took a shortcut through the garden behind the teaching building, a place without paths. He had worn a trail through the flowerbeds, leaving the blossoms trampled and lifeless.

But this time, on his shortcut, he encountered an uninvited guest.

Zhou Mingze stopped, hands in his pockets, his uniform jacket draped over his shoulders, watching the person before him with interest.

Song Jianli’s presence here was strange.

Linqi City was small, and the wealthy circles even smaller. The Song family dominated. Song Jianli, handsome and talented, was the brightest among young people, famously the “other family’s child.”

At least Song Jianli was often contrasted with Zhou Mingze by Zhou’s father.

The back garden was a remote spot, usually frequented by troublemakers like Zhou Mingze, which made Song Jianli’s presence all the more peculiar.

Zhou Mingze picked at his ear with his pinky, face full of disdain. “Song... Young Master, what a coincidence.”

Song Jianli, clearly unwilling to engage, cut straight to the point: “Zhou Mingze, apologize to Lu Yu.”