RSDH CH81

Grade 10, May 20th was a Friday.

As soon as Duan Xingye arrived in the classroom, his desk was piled with various kinds of chocolates.

Jiang Siqi picked up a box from the pile, pulled out a signed card, and exclaimed, “Ho! Isn’t this from that male student in Class 6? Not bad, Little Duan, your hunting range isn’t limited by gender.”

Cheng Duzhou happened to pass by. The line of his lips straightened very slightly. He seemed to restrain himself before keeping his gaze from drifting and walked past.

Duan Xingye hit Jiang Siqi with his schoolbag, telling him to get lost: “Are you polite?”

Several girls in the class keenly glanced at Cheng Duzhou. Seeing his face even colder than usual, they felt a burst of uncontrollable excitement.

Cheng Duzhou was exactly that kind of boyfriend from campus novels who sat in the back row of the classroom and didn’t like to talk—Duan Xingye’s.

In the afternoon, the P.E. elective class Duan Xingye participated in was dismissed early.

Jiang Siqi and a few others weren’t in the same class as Duan Xingye. Hearing the news, they rushed over, sitting around his desk chatting and playing with their phones.

Duan Xingye’s desk couldn’t fit any more chocolates. While Jiang Siqi and the others were there, he opened a box.

There weren’t many people in the classroom at this time. Besides Jiang Siqi and his group, there were sporadically five or six others.

Cheng Duzhou was drinking water. Catching a glimpse of Duan Xingye picking up the box and walking towards the surrounding classmates to distribute chocolates, he put down the water bottle, tightened the cap, flipped open the exercise book beside him, and lowered his head to start writing.

But his heart was hung up on the chocolate. There was anxiety about being left out, nervousness waiting for his turn, and he secretly estimated the distance Duan Xingye was walking. He wanted to look up at the right moment, show a slightly surprised expression, and say “thank you.”

“Wow~ Thanks~”

“Mmm! This chocolate is so delicious!”

“I want to choose this strawberry-shaped one, hehe…”

“Me too! Me too!”

Noisy sounds already rang out among the front rows. Only Cheng Duzhou in the last row was still buried in writing homework, as if he didn’t know everyone was sharing chocolates.

Duan Xingye had walked to the fourth row by now. There were still two rows between him and Cheng Duzhou, and those two rows were empty, becoming a hollow zone.

After Duan Xingye finished distributing to the last student in the fourth row, he turned and walked towards his own seat.

“……”

The air in the last row froze instantly.

Jiang Siqi called out: “Give me two more pieces.”

Duan Xingye sat down and threw the box directly on the table: “Take it yourself.”

They continued chatting in full swing.

Cheng Duzhou drew a square root sign on the line, the index finger holding the pen picking at his thumb.

His heart wrinkled up instantly.

Since starting junior high, Cheng Duzhou had a feeling of drifting further away from Duan Xingye.

After six years of elementary school, their social circles in school were already fixed. Jiang Siqi and Cheng Duzhou’s vibes clashed. Cheng Duzhou didn’t want to integrate into an unsuitable circle, especially a circle of rich second generations.

At the same time, Duan Xingye relied less and less on Cheng Duzhou. He would no longer say sweet words like “Cheng Duzhou is my best friend” as he did when he was a child. Boys all grew up, becoming more introverted day by day, hiding thoughts even from the closest people.

However, Cheng Duzhou was still convinced he was Duan Xingye’s best friend. Although Duan Xingye had a better relationship with Jiang Siqi at school, after returning home, in his room, the feeling of getting along was known only to themselves.

Duan Xingye would turn down other invitations for his birthday. The gifts brought back from traveling were always different for him than for others.

Vice versa, Duan Xingye’s matters were always the first priority with him. Duan Xingye was equally the most special to him.

But Duan Xingye didn’t share the chocolate with him. Cheng Duzhou was still sad about this.

The point wasn’t the chocolate; he had some, received chocolates today too.

But Duan Xingye distributed chocolates to everyone, leaving him out alone.

Why did classmates have it, but he, as a good friend, didn’t?

While Cheng Duzhou’s thoughts were chaotic, he felt someone from the front row walking this way.

He didn’t need to look to know it was Duan Xingye.

Cheng Duzhou gathered his thoughts, his expression revealing not a hint of abnormality.

To cover up the fact that he was depressed because he didn’t get chocolate, if Duan Xingye asked him if he wanted some now, he wouldn’t take it.

Not out of spite, but to emphasize that he didn’t want to eat it in the first place, proving that even if he didn’t get it just now, it was nothing, wouldn’t take it to heart at all.

Duan Xingye pressed one hand directly on Cheng Duzhou’s exercise book, interrupting his writing, and asked: “Has the homework not been distributed yet?”

Cheng Duzhou looked up, putting on a reserved face: “Don’t want it.”

Duan Xingye: “……”

Cheng Duzhou: “…………”

The two looked at each other for a full three seconds.

Cheng Duzhou stood up as if nothing happened and said: “Still in the teacher’s office; I’ll go get it.”

Duan Xingye watched Cheng Duzhou walk out the back door of the classroom, his expression unreadable.

As soon as Cheng Duzhou left the vicinity of the classroom, a red tide exploded on his handsome face. He hugged the load-bearing pillar by the stairs and bumped his head, so embarrassed his whole body heated up, as if thrown into a fire to roast.

Too shameful.

Cheng Duzhou was the Physics Class Representative. He dawdled until the class bell rang before returning to the class holding the homework.

Wearing his usual plain expression, he distributed it to each group and walked towards his seat. Before sitting down, he saw a yellow sticky note attached to the exercise book spread open just now.

The sticky note was his; the handwriting was Duan Xingye’s.

[Didn’t you receive a lot?]

“……”

Cheng Duzhou took off the sticky note, knowing Duan Xingye was talking about chocolates. His face, which had calmed down with difficulty, turned red again.

Only this time, amidst the embarrassment, there was a trace of elusive restlessness.

Jiang Siqi was fine that afternoon, but when he came to find Duan Xingye after school, he looked dejected.

This was a rare situation for someone as cheerful and almost rascally as him.

Duan Xingye said to Cheng Duzhou: “You go first; I’ll take a car home myself.”

Cheng Duzhou gave an “oh”. After leaving the school gate, he sat in the milk tea shop across the street to read.

By 7:30, it was dark, and streetlights were already lit.

From the corner of his eye, Cheng Duzhou glimpsed two slender figures walking out of the campus.

It was Duan Xingye and Jiang Siqi.

Jiang Siqi hung his head, took out a beautifully packaged box, and handed it to Duan Xingye.

Duan Xingye accepted it.

Then they said goodbye.

Duan Xingye stopped in place, took out his phone to hail a car, then saw Cheng Duzhou walking across the street.

Duan Xingye raised an eyebrow: “You didn’t leave?”

“Ordered a milk tea,” Cheng Duzhou said without changing his expression. “Made me wait an hour.”

Duan Xingye: “……”

Guess if I believe you?

Duan Xingye looked past Cheng Duzhou at the milk tea shop across the street, his tone teasing: “Amazing, didn’t go out of business.”

Cheng Duzhou glanced at Duan Xingye’s hand holding an exquisite chocolate gift box, seemingly changing the subject: “Remembered… giving you something.”

Duan Xingye was curious: “What?”

Cheng Duzhou fumbled in his schoolbag for a while and took out a box with a bow.

Also chocolate.

Duan Xingye took it, casually tossing the portion Jiang Siqi gave him into Cheng Duzhou’s open schoolbag. While bowing his head to untie the box’s bow, he asked: “For me?”

Cheng Duzhou: “Mn.”

Duan Xingye suddenly became alert and looked up: “Don’t tell me you’re giving me what others gave you?”

Cheng Duzhou confessed: “I handed over everything others gave me to the teacher.”

Duan Xingye suspected: “Teacher hasn’t confiscated chocolates?”

“No, she didn’t want to initially.” Cheng Duzhou said, “I said I didn’t want early love (puppy love), so she helped accept them.”

“……”

Duan Xingye continued untying the bow, this time an inconspicuous smile rising at the corner of his lips: “Why give it to me?”

Cheng Duzhou’s eyelashes trembled, lowering his head: “Didn’t Jiang Siqi give you some too?”

Duan Xingye looked at him: “Jiang Siqi was rejected by his goddess, kept it for himself feeling sad, so re-gifted it to me.”

Cheng Duzhou didn’t sympathize with Jiang Siqi. Instead, his heart felt warm. He raised his hand to touch the end of his eyebrow and said: “5·20 chocolate discount promotion; big loss not buying.”

“Tsk.” Duan Xingye opened the box, muttering, “Stingy to death…”

The chocolates in the box were individually wrapped in transparent bags, each style exquisite and pleasing.

Cheng Duzhou observed Duan Xingye’s expression. Seeing he didn’t seem to dislike it, he relaxed.

Lying. This brand had no discount promotion. Because every kind of chocolate in the shop was handmade, a single small piece could reach a unit price of one hundred and four. Five pieces were exactly five hundred and twenty.

Cheng Duzhou said: “Let’s go; I’ll call a car.”

Duan Xingye turned his back to him, his voice vague: “Look in my schoolbag… not the compartment.”

Cheng Duzhou unzipped Duan Xingye’s schoolbag. Just rummaging a bit, he saw a box packaged in a long strip shape.

He looked at it and asked: “For me?”

Duan Xingye suddenly felt a bit hot in the face and said impatiently: “Hurry up and take it.”

Cheng Duzhou’s face also heated up. Saying nothing more, he zipped up the schoolbag for him.

The wrinkled heart unfolded and filled up instantly.

The two decided to walk a bit before hailing a car.

May, non-rainy weather, even the blowing wind was just right.

Cheng Duzhou opened the packaging box and found that what Duan Xingye gave him was white chocolate, round, painted with a grid pattern using black chocolate sauce. The production was very rough, realizing it was handmade by Duan Xingye himself.

Duan Xingye caught a glimpse and hurriedly warned: “Not allowed to think it’s ugly!”

Cheng Duzhou popped one into his mouth, one cheek bulging: “Didn’t think it’s ugly.”

Only then was Duan Xingye satisfied. He also unwrapped the packaging, biting into a chocolate shaped like the snowman from Frozen. It was also the first piece of chocolate he tasted on this day of 5·20—as for those given by others, he either distributed them or gave them to classmates.

Cheng Duzhou suddenly asked: “If I didn’t take mine out, were you not planning to take it out for me either?”

“Who said that?” Duan Xingye’s voice rose a bit. “I put it in the schoolbag long ago, just forgot, and didn’t plan to give it today.”

Cheng Duzhou nodded and said: “When did you make it?”

Duan Xingye said: “When going out to play last weekend.”

But at home, Duan Xingye never took it out, nor at school.

Cheng Duzhou understood then. Duan Xingye’s handmade chocolate, only he had a share.

Cheng Duzhou stuffed another piece into his mouth, licking the tip of his slender index finger along the way.

Duan Xingye’s eyes drifted over, starting to have thoughts again: “Is it delicious?”

He didn’t taste it himself after making it.

Cheng Duzhou: “Mn.”

Duan Xingye stopped: “Give me one.”

Cheng Duzhou picked up one for him.

But Duan Xingye had things in both hands, so he lowered his head naturally to hold the chocolate in his mouth.

Soft, warm oral cavity touched the finger. The bright red tongue tip hooked slightly, leaving a water mark. Heat rushed rapidly towards the heart.

Cheng Duzhou’s breath stopped. Looking at Duan Xingye, he felt an unspeakable strong palpitation.

A few days later, the school’s anniversary program list came down.

Duan Xingye was on it, violin solo.

Seeing the news, Jiang Siqi found Duan Xingye: “Little Duan is really impressive. I remember every participant has a front-row ticket to give to relatives or friends, right?”

Duan Xingye propped his cheek with one hand, pondering: “Right… I haven’t decided who to give it to.”

Jiang Siqi immediately revealed a longing light in his eyes, hands constantly grabbing air towards himself, attracting Duan Xingye’s attention.

He wanted it too much. Ordinary students could only sit according to class at the anniversary ceremony, unless having privileges to sit in the front row. Huist’s events were high-class and worth watching, and his goddess would also perform on stage then.

Duan Xingye didn’t see Jiang Siqi because Cheng Duzhou came in holding physics homework, passing by.

Duan Xingye stopped Cheng Duzhou and said: “My inner field ticket, giving it to you.”

Cheng Duzhou paused and said: “Okay.”

“……”

Jiang Siqi stiffened. After a while, he straightened his back, clenched his fists, pursed his lips tightly, and said nothing.

Silence is a boy’s loudest cry.

Unsurprisingly, Cheng Duzhou won Best Actor for the second time at the Golden Oak Awards.

Amidst the enthusiastic applause of the full venue, Cheng Duzhou went on stage, humbly accepted the golden trophy from the presenter, and stood behind the podium.

The bullet comments in the livestream were filled with “President Cheng YYDS (Eternal God)!”

Reaping results after hard work always triggers emotions. Cheng Duzhou was no exception. Under the camera, he rarely showed satisfaction and happiness.

He was tall, pulled the microphone up a section, still too tall, had to bend his neck lower to speak.

Cheng Duzhou thanked the director, screenwriter, actors in the same crew, and people who had helped him on his acting path. His EQ in interpersonal communication was high, watertight.

Then, his voice paused, seeming to think. His expression also changed slightly, more warmth added, no longer so polite. Even his low magnetic voice showed signs of softness.

Inside the quiet gymnasium, guests and audience looked at him.

—”Finally, thank my husband.”

After Cheng Duzhou finished speaking, applause and laughter immediately erupted offstage. Knowing well, this was the main event.

Duan Xingye sat in the front row, biting his lower lip. His allergy flared up, starting to feel uncomfortable, but he also mixed in the crowd clapping intermittently.

“The filming process was very long, rarely could go home, but my husband was understanding and often came to visit the set. My attitude towards work also became positive because of him.” Cheng Duzhou no longer looked at the camera. His gaze moved offstage, almost without searching, fixed on a certain spot. A smile appeared in his deep black eyes as he said, “Finally, still thank my husband. I only understood later that I have always been lucky enough to enjoy favoritism, because from a long time ago, he always saved the best for me.”

Thunderous applause filled the venue.

The camera appropriately showed Duan Xingye offstage.

Meeting Cheng Duzhou’s gaze, Duan Xingye’s heart warmed. A layer of beautiful pink appeared on his thin, fair cheeks. He also knew the focus of the whole venue was cast over, so his movement appeared slightly perfunctory, but his attitude was clear. Palm touching his rosy lips, he waved backhand lightly towards Cheng Duzhou on stage.

The bullet screen went crazy, shipping them to death.

Both saved the best of themselves for each other, favoring each other blatantly.