ASPWL Ch107: Zhang Qiran x Song Zhehan

The first time Song Zhehan saw Xiang Yang, he wasn’t a little chubby boy yet.

In middle school, even the smallest things could be talked about by the entire school for a long time. A month had passed since the start of the school year, and the arrival of a new student was still the talk of the school, even reaching the second-year class.

One day during class, Song Zhehan was led by his friends, who loved to watch the excitement, to Xiang Yang’s class.

It just happened to be during class time, and the hallway was crowded with people. In the midst of his friends’ chattering, Song Zhehan caught a glimpse of Xiang Yang, but Xiang Yang didn’t turn to look at them.

The boy was quietly sitting by the window, with soft, fine hair covering his brows and eyes, showing only the beautiful curve of his side profile. What was especially striking was the tear mole beneath his left eye, which left a deep impression.

Song Zhehan only took a quick glance before being surrounded by his friends and returning to the classroom.

That was their first meeting.

Their second meeting was at the school sports meet.

Song Zhehan never liked participating in collective activities like this. He usually avoided them as much as he could. However, there was a group of boys in his class who enjoyed these events, and since Song Zhehan got along well with them, and the class sports monitor was also one of them, whenever the school needed people for an event, the sports monitor would add their names to the list.

This year, the sports monitor arranged for Song Zhehan to run in the boys’ 800-meter race.

Although he wasn’t happy about it, Song Zhehan didn’t show it on his face. He even joked and laughed with his friends during the registration.

The girls from the class also came over to cheer them on, and one girl even prepared a bouquet of flowers for Song Zhehan.

The people around were teasing him, and Song Zhehan looked at the brightly colored bouquet the girl was holding, but his smile didn’t quite reach his eyes.

The girl was pushed in front of him by her friends, her face flushed with shyness: “Song… um, I…”

Song Zhehan smiled as he lowered his gaze: “I haven’t raced yet. You should give me the flowers after I win first place.”

Not only did the girl think this was a reasonable response, but the classmates who were teasing him also agreed.

Soon, the judge arrived, and the race was about to begin.

Once they left, Song Zhehan’s smile completely faded, and he walked to his own track. It was then that he noticed the boy next to him.

The once smooth curve of his side profile had become more rounded, and his long, messy hair had been cut short, revealing his delicate brows and eyes. Song Zhehan thought he looked familiar but couldn’t place where he had seen him until his gaze fell on the tear mole near the boy’s left eye. Then, he suddenly remembered the new transfer student they had seen together a few months ago.

Song Zhehan glanced at the number tag on his back, which had a single word on it—Xiang Yang.

Song Zhehan sized him up, but when Xiang Yang turned his head to look, he quickly averted his gaze.

That was their second meeting. Song Zhehan clearly remembered that during the sports meet, he finished in second to last place.

Xiang Yang finished second to last as well.

Actually, with Song Zhehan’s physical strength, he could have easily gotten first place if he wanted to. But perhaps it was because he didn’t want to accept the flowers the girl had prepared for him, or maybe because he kept unconsciously watching Xiang Yang on the neighboring track, that he slowed down and ended up finishing second to last.

His friends waiting at the finish line were furious, and even the girl’s eyes were filled with a hint of disappointment.

Song Zhehan jogged past the finish line slowly. His friends immediately surrounded him, asking what had happened and why he didn’t perform well.

The girl with the flowers also hurried over, asking if he wasn’t feeling well, which was why he didn’t get first place.

Song Zhehan kept a gentle smile on his face as he followed the girl’s words and said that he wasn’t feeling well that day, which was why he didn’t do well.

Hearing this, his friends couldn’t say anything more and could only comfort him, saying it was fine and that he would do better in the next race.

The girl still had some regret in her eyes but smiled as she raised the bouquet of flowers to give to Song Zhehan.

Song Zhehan kept smiling: “I didn’t get first place this time, so it wouldn’t be appropriate to accept your flowers.”

The girl said: “But…”

“No, let’s wait until I get first place next time,” Song Zhehan said, not looking at her reaction. He walked off with his friends.

After that, Song Zhehan never saw that girl again. It was clear that she understood his meaning, and Song Zhehan felt relieved.

However, this indulgence made Song Zhehan’s rest time much more stressful—his mother signed him up for a physical training class.

He would attend school during the day and go to various training sessions after school, which left him no time to hang out with his friends.

But in the first year, he still occasionally ran into Xiang Yang.

Every time Song Zhehan saw Xiang Yang, his gaze would always first fall on the tear mole at the corner of his eye, before starting to examine him from head to toe. The chubby face that had made him gain weight, and the increasingly drooping head.

Song Zhehan didn’t pay too much attention to it, as he didn’t understand this boy and certainly didn’t have any intention of getting to know him.

That was, until the last Friday of December.

Song Zhehan clearly remembered it because that was the first time he got into a fight.

Song Zhehan’s mother was born into a scholarly family. Because Mother Song was an absolute perfectionist, she was particularly attentive, dedicating herself to raising Song Zhehan to be well-rounded in virtue, intelligence, physical fitness, and aesthetics.

She not only demanded that Song Zhehan be the top student in his class, but even the news that he was at the bottom in any other area would reach her ears, and she would take immediate action.

Fortunately, this period of training allowed Song Zhehan to grow taller by a significant amount. At only fourteen years old, he was already 1.75 meters tall, and his body also developed a thin layer of muscle.

But just because he had the ability didn’t mean Song Zhehan liked to meddle in other people’s business.

From a young age, what Song Zhehan hated the most was getting involved in other people’s affairs.

He hated his relatives pointing fingers at his life and studies, and he hated the extreme perfectionism his mother pursued. When his relatives criticized him, it meant he wasn’t perfect, and when his mother heard such remarks, she would immediately fix whatever was deemed imperfect.

Both of these were things Song Zhehan disliked.

However, what he hated the most were the bullies who used their small abilities to pick on classmates.

Song Zhehan actually shouldn’t have been so impulsive. He could have easily handled the situation with the methods his mother had taught him—first notifying the teacher, and then returning to help his classmate, after which he could even receive recognition from the school.

But at that moment, an uncontrollable thought surged in his mind—he wanted to be imperfect. Who is born perfect?

His mother’s demands were almost harsh, making him feel suffocated every day.

At fourteen, Song Zhehan was no longer the obedient child he once was. The long-standing pressure to be perfect had brought his rebellious side to the surface.

So, without hesitation, Song Zhehan dragged the leading boy out of the group. He didn’t even bother to look at what the boy looked like before his fist connected with the boy’s face.

The other boys quickly reacted, angrily shouting, “Are you looking for trouble?”

Song Zhehan grabbed a mop from the side, shoved the wet head of the mop into the boy’s mouth, and as others rushed towards him, he kicked one of them away, all while continuing to punch and kick.

Thanks to all the physical training he had been doing, none of the three boys was able to fight back, and they were soon crying out in pain.

Song Zhehan was ruthless and didn’t drag things out. After beating them, he dragged the leader back and pressed him in front of the trembling boy they had splashed with water. “Apologize to him.”

The boy snarled, “F*ck your mother—”

“Bang”—Song Zhehan punched him again.

The boy cried out in pain, “You little bastard, don’t you dare think you can—”

Song Zhehan slapped him hard.

The boy screamed even louder, “You son of a b*tch!”

Song Zhehan tossed him onto the ground, took out his phone.

At this point, the boy finally shut up, “What the hell do you want…”

Song Zhehan glanced at him in surprise and noticed that the boy was trembling all over. It was only then that he looked up to see the terrified boy with wet clothes, and realized the wet clothes weren’t his own.

A flash of anger crossed Song Zhehan’s eyes, and he grabbed the boy by his collar. “Where’s your phone?”

The boy shuddered, “You… you better not take pictures, I’ll…”

“Either I’ll take you to the police, or you give me your phone,” Song Zhehan’s voice was cold.

The boy quickly handed over his phone.

Song Zhehan opened the album and stopped on the first picture. His gaze froze.

His eyes fell on the boy’s face, and the mole under his left eye stood out clearly.

Instinctively, Song Zhehan looked at the boy who was still sitting on the ground, his head lowered so that his face was hidden.

Song Zhehan pressed his lips together and scrolled through a few more pictures.

The boy he had pinned on the ground started to get scared. “I… I really haven’t taken many, just his face, nothing else…”

Bang—

Song Zhehan slammed his head into the ground, his voice cold: “Go tell the police what you just did.”

Without waiting for the boy’s reaction, Song Zhehan immediately dialed the police.

The other two boys on the ground, scared out of their wits, ran away.

Song Zhehan remained seated on the leader’s body, took off his own jacket, and handed it to the shivering boy in the corner. “Put it on. You’ll catch a cold if you don’t.”

Only when the clean down jacket was handed to him did the boy realize what was happening. Trembling, he slowly lifted his head.

His hair was wet, and his eyes were swollen, clearly frightened out of his wits. But for some reason, Song Zhehan thought his eyes were really beautiful.

“Put it on. We’re going to the police station later,” Song Zhehan said.

The boy stared at him for a long time before carefully speaking, “I… I’ll dirty it…”

This was the first time Song Zhehan had heard the boy speak.

To be honest, his voice was quite nice.

Song Zhehan, rarely showing patience, said, “Put it on; I told you to.”

The boy lowered his eyes, and after a long while, he reached out to take the jacket, whispering a thank you.

Before long, the sound of police sirens shattered the calm on the campus.

Because of this report, Song Zhehan, the boy, and the leader of the boys who had been sitting under Song Zhehan were all taken away.

The matter got a bit big, and even the local TV station came to cover it.

Years later, Song Zhehan still vividly remembered the shock he felt at that time.

He had started the fight with the intention of making his mother angry, but when his mother rushed to the police station, not only was she not angry, but she even wore a hint of pride on her face.

After finishing the statement at the police station and returning home, his mother smiled and said that helping his classmates was something he could do, encouraging him to become an honest and brave child.

Song Zhehan almost had his hairs stand on end as he listened. He hadn’t helped anyone! He just wanted to make his mother angry and get her to stop controlling him, but instead, things backfired.

However, when he thought about the soft “thank you” from Xiang Yang, Song Zhehan couldn’t help but smile.

He didn’t regret it.

In the end, the incident became quite big. After the police investigated, they found not only photos of Xiang Yang being taken but also several photos of other students who had been bullied.

Although Xiang Yang’s parents were divorced, both still cared about him, and since they had some connections, they decided to make the issue public.

The result of the investigation was that the school expelled the bullying students. It was even said that Xiang Yang’s parents, together with the parents of other bullied students, had sued the bullies’ parents in court.

Song Zhehan didn’t follow the situation closely because he had been very irritated recently.

It wasn’t because of his studies or his mother, but because of a boy named Xiang Yang who had suddenly become his little follower.

Every time after class, Xiang Yang would stick his head into Song Zhehan’s classroom door. If he wasn’t there, it meant the teacher had kept the class late.

On Fridays, Xiang Yang would appear after every class and even after school in the afternoon.

Song Zhehan’s friends found this funny and teased him, saying that he had gotten himself a little brother.

The story of Song Zhehan knocking down three boys in the bathroom spread, and not only did more girls at school start to take notice of him, but even his friends started to take pride in him.

Even the sports committee member told him that next year, he would not “force” Song Zhehan to sign up for anything.

Song Zhehan gave a hollow smile and said, “Thanks.”

The sports committee member didn’t notice anything wrong, smiling and walking away.

During that time, not only did Xiang Yang like to follow Song Zhehan around, but a lot of other people started doing the same. Some admired him, while others simply wanted to be friends.

But Song Zhehan didn’t care about any of them.

In fact, when they got too close, he would give them a cold look.

After a while, these people started to understand and, not long after, Song Zhehan overheard people saying behind his back that he had a bad temper.

In the past, if Song Zhehan had heard such things, he would have felt annoyed, even a little worried that the gossip might reach his mother’s ears.

But now, Song Zhehan wasn’t afraid at all.

Ever since the last time he helped Xiang Yang, his mother’s control over him had loosened unexpectedly.

Song Zhehan did notice something strange. He even secretly asked his father why his mother had suddenly changed.

His father, a university professor, laughed and said, “Your mom was just overly eager for you to succeed. Now that she knows you’re not a bad child, she’s at ease and has relaxed her control over you.”

At that time, Song Zhehan couldn’t understand his mother’s change, but he had to admit he liked it.

He even thought to himself that next time he saw Xiang Yang, he might say a few words to him. After all, the freedom Song Zhehan had now was partly because of Xiang Yang.

More importantly, other people who followed him only did so for a week or two, but Xiang Yang had been sticking around for over a month and was persistent in trying to talk to him. Even when Song Zhehan ignored him, Xiang Yang still tried to start a conversation. Over the month, Song Zhehan had learned that Xiang Yang was a poor boy whose parents had divorced.

So, one day after school, Song Zhehan patiently waited for Xiang Yang to come find him. But he never expected that, by the time all the students had left the classroom, Xiang Yang still hadn’t appeared.

Song Zhehan was in a bad mood. As the sky was growing dark, he reluctantly went downstairs.

Just as he turned the corner, he heard a familiar voice: “No, Song Zhehan is not the person you all think he is!”

“Then what kind of person do you think he is?” another sharp voice retorted.

Others chimed in, “He’s just pretending. What’s there to explain?”

“Yeah, and he seems to have a bad temper. You say he’s not like that, but you’ve been following him for so long. Look at how he ignores you, fatty.”

The words were sharp and direct.

Xiang Yang opened his mouth, but he was not good with words, timid and insecure. He was more sensitive to others’ judgment, and when he heard those cruel words, his face turned red, and his eyes immediately became teary.

What surprised Song Zhehan was that Xiang Yang didn’t argue for himself. Instead, he just repeated in a choked voice, “Song Zhehan is not… he’s not like that…”

Song Zhehan felt like something was gently scratching the most sensitive part of his heart.

Without hesitation, he stepped forward.

The leader of the girls wanted to say something, but suddenly felt darkness before her eyes.

Seeing Song Zhehan, the group of girls jumped back, not daring to say a word. They lowered their heads and ran away.

Song Zhehan stood in front of Xiang Yang, looking him up and down.

Xiang Yang hadn’t expected Song Zhehan to suddenly appear. His face flushed red, and it took him a while to muster up a few words, “I… I know you’re not…”

Song Zhehan suddenly had a mischievous thought. He leaned in close to Xiang Yang’s ear and whispered, “Who says I’m not like that? Do you really know me?”

Xiang Yang immediately looked up, his eyes brimming with tears.

At that moment, Song Zhehan thought about the little dog he had raised at home. When he had picked it up, the dog had looked at him with the same teary eyes.

Song Zhehan straightened up and said, “Why do you cry so much?”

Xiang Yang bit his lip. He hadn’t expected Song Zhehan to speak to him. Nervously, he spoke after a long while, “I… I don’t cry.”

“Your tears are about to fall,” Song Zhehan remarked.

Xiang Yang quickly covered his eyes.

But he couldn’t hide it. His tears fell, one by one, like a broken string of pearls.

While crying, Xiang Yang still remembered to explain, “I didn’t mean to cry; it’s just… these tears, they’re not under my control… Boo-hoo, I’m sorry… Song Zhehan, I just… I just wanted to say thank you… Boo-hoo-hoo…”

Song Zhehan was never a patient person, but for some reason, when facing Xiang Yang, his patience suddenly improved.

Perhaps it was because Xiang Yang was crying so pitifully, or maybe because when he cried, he reminded Song Zhehan of the puppy he had raised at home.

Anyway, from that day on, Song Zhehan truly became friends with Xiang Yang.

People around them found it quite strange. Even Mother Song knew that Song Zhehan had become friends with the little fatty he had saved before.

Mother Song had always liked to interfere with Song Zhehan’s life, not just his studies but also his friendships. This was the first time she didn’t say anything negative about his friend.

Instead, she kept praising Xiang Yang.

She said that the child was strong, hardworking, had good grades, and was sweet-talking. She even said she quite liked him.

Song Zhehan couldn’t help but let his expression slip when he heard this, and he couldn’t resist asking, “Mom, are you really my biological mother?”

In the next moment, Mother Song gave him a roll of the eyes.

“Behave yourself and get along well with Xiang Yang. Don’t bully him!” she said.

Song Zhehan smiled, “How could I? Didn’t you say, I’m a brave and righteous good kid?”

Song’s mother stared at him, shook her head, and sighed deeply. She didn’t say anything more.

At the time, Song Zhehan didn’t understand the look on his mother’s face. It wasn’t until he grew older and was ready to let go of his image, no longer pretending to be a model son, that he received a call from his father. Only then did he have an epiphany.

It turned out that when Song Zhehan had just turned three, his mother had already noticed his sharp tongue.

At that time, little Song Zhehan was still babbling. There were a few relatives who liked to tease children, and they thought it was quite amusing to make kids cry, and it always worked.

So, in front of little Song Zhehan, they used their usual trick and said, “Your mom doesn’t want you.”

Little Song Zhehan couldn’t really understand the meaning of the words, but to a child, the idea that their mother didn’t want them was the biggest thing in the world.

The relatives eagerly waited, hoping to see him cry.

However, to their surprise, little Song Zhehan opened his mouth and said, “Your mom is dead; she doesn’t want you anymore.”

His words weren’t entirely clear, and they still had the innocence of a child, but the sarcasm was off the charts.

That relative was so angry that their face turned red, and they almost passed out on the spot.

From that moment on, they completely cut ties with the Song family.

But this wasn’t the point. The point was that Mother Song became very anxious. She couldn’t understand why a three-year-old child would be so sharp-tongued, and she started to worry about his future.

It was because of this that the perfectionist Song’s mother secretly made up her mind to fix this habit of his.

That was why she had been so strict with him since childhood, hoping he would develop well-rounded skills, hoping he would grow into a brave and kind child.

But she never expected that, years later, Song Zhehan appeared to be a well-mannered and considerate child on the outside, while still harboring the same rebellious nature deep inside.

Although Song Zhehan kept it hidden, his parents, who knew him best, could still tell what his real personality was like.

It wasn’t until Song Zhehan was in his second year of middle school and beat up the three bullies that Mother Song’s worries were finally laid to rest.

Her son, although sharp-tongued, was not a bad person! He was a good child!

That was why she went to the police station with a smile on her face.

Unfortunately, at the time, Song Zhehan didn’t understand his mother’s good intentions. He just felt a sense of relief, and since Xiang Yang turned out to be quite a good person, knowing that he liked cake, he even specially brought him goat’s milk cake from home.

Song Zhehan really liked it and ate the entire cake.

Seeing this, Xiang Yang asked, “You like cake?”

Song Zhehan smiled, “Of course.”

Xiang Yang smiled too. When he smiled, his eyes curved into a cute shape. He said, “Then from now on, I’ll bring you some often, okay?”

Song Zhehan gladly agreed, nodding, “Sure.”

Promises made in youth are easily given. However, the two young boys didn’t know that to fulfill this promise, they would walk together for the next nine years.