Chapter 51: Good Brothers, Lovers' Quarrels End in Harmony (Part Two)

Even though everyone else on the bus was swaying out of shape, and the overhead rings were tilted at quite an angle, Zhou Zhexiao sat ramrod straight.

Xia Chiyi felt as though he were pressing against a statue, completely unable to budge him.

He clenched his teeth, even secretly digging his feet into the floor and exerting all his strength, yet he simply could not move Zhou Zhexiao an inch.

The other man was like a rivet sunk deep into the ocean floor, unfazed by the rising and falling waves, radiating absolute calm.

Xia Chiyi's annoyance multiplied exponentially, and he became determined to contest the match.

Just as the bus passed the apex of a turn, Zhou Zhexiao suddenly released his tension and leaned back against the seat, causing Xia Chiyi to plunge sideways right into him.

The guy did that on purpose!

Xia Chiyi scrambled everywhere for a foothold, otherwise he would have sprawled flat across Zhou Zhexiao's chest.

In a frantic flurry, Xia Chiyi grabbed the seat in front with one hand, while propping his other hand directly onto Zhou Zhexiao's thigh.

"Ugh..." A muffled groan escaped Zhou Zhexiao.

Xia Chiyi looked down, and holy cow—of all the places to brace himself, why did he have to land in such a dangerous spot, less than one centimeter away from the forbidden zone!

Cold sweat surged down Xia Chiyi's back; he quickly hoisted himself back up and glanced swiftly at Zhou Zhexiao's expression.

His brows were furrowed tightly enough to crush an ant, and his jaw appeared to be clenched shut.

"I... I didn't touch anything I shouldn't have... Besides, it was your fault to begin with. Who asked you to pull back your force first? That makes it a foul on your part." Xia Chiyi accused him with a straight face.

Zhou Zhexiao said nothing, the air pressure around him plummeting as he abruptly stood up.

"Zhou..."

"Don't you dare turn around." His voice was low, sounding like a match scraping against dry wood.

The soundwaves grazed Xia Chiyi's eardrum, sending a rush of heat straight to his heart.

"Huh?"

"Turn around and we're through."

With that, Zhou Zhexiao walked toward the very back row of the bus.

Stunned by the threat, Xia Chiyi sat rigid in his seat, at a complete loss.

Could it be... Zhou Zhexiao...

Good grief? No way? Zhou Zhexiao wasn't a saint either!

Only, if he had been the one pinned down, the damage value would have been so high that he'd probably have nightmares about being flattened in his sleep. How could Zhou Zhexiao possibly... Wait, did he actually like dangerous thrills?

Xia Chiyi wanted to look at him with a gaze of pure adoration, but remembering the warning about ending their friendship, he could only stiffen his neck and stare straight ahead.

The female student in the front row kept turning back to look at them from time to time, and when Zhou Zhexiao got up and headed to the back, she wore an expression of genuine concern.

Could it be that even she had noticed Zhou Zhexiao was angry?

The bus rolled onward, and for the first time, Xia Chiyi felt that the distance of five stops was agonizingly long.

Finally, the bus arrived at the stop. Some students had bought things outside, while others carried the remaining cake from a birthday party, filing out through the rear door of the bus one by one.

Xia Chiyi sat frozen in his seat, with only a single thought in his mind: if Zhou Zhexiao didn't come over, he wasn't getting off the bus either.

If worst came to worst, they could just ride all the way to the end of the line together...

Who would have thought that the moment this thought crossed his mind, the back of his head would be gently cupped by a palm.

"We're here. Get off." Zhou Zhexiao's voice sounded.

Xia Chiyi's suspended heart finally dropped back into place, and he hurried to follow Zhou Zhexiao.

The students streamed through the school gates, and Xia Chiyi heard a girl's voice calling out from behind.

"Xia Chiyi—Xia Chiyi—"

Xia Chiyi stopped and turned around to see the female student from the bus jogging toward him.

"Classmate Xia Chiyi, sorry to bother you, I'm Liang Qin from the student union!"

"Hello, Classmate Liang Qin. Is something the matter?"

"I'm in charge of cheering for the basketball team now. When you guys travel to other provinces for matches, I'll also be part of the logistics team organizing students to cheer you on live."

Xia Chiyi was stunned. "Are students actually going to other provinces to watch our games?"

"Haha, of course! The other school teams all have cheer squads, we can't let you guys fight alone. Don't worry, it's completely voluntary. But can I add you on WeChat? I promise I won't disturb you usually, I'll just send some slogans and things for you to see."

"Oh, sure." Xia Chiyi took out his phone and scanned the girl's QR code.

Liang Qin made an encouraging gesture with evident delight and suddenly shouted, "You are the light—you are the electricity—you are the myth of Ningchang University—"

Xia Chiyi almost stumbled on the spot.

That was the slogan Ningchang University had roared during their match against Chengjiang College.

It had sounded deeply passionate at the time, but hearing it now in the quiet campus made him want to dig a hole and bury his face in it.

Right, Zhou Zhexiao!

When he turned around, he found Zhou Zhexiao standing with his hands in his pockets under a street lamp not far away, expressionless and watching who knows for how long. Xia Chiyi took a deep breath.

The fact that this guy hadn't left meant that the little boat of their friendship hadn't capsized yet.

Xia Chiyi hurried to catch up with him, though Zhou Zhexiao didn't speak a single word the entire way.

They passed the parcel lockers, and surprisingly there was only a single package waiting—highly uncharacteristic of Zhou Zhexiao, the shopping king.

Back in the dorm room, Zhou Zhexiao still didn't talk to Xia Chiyi. He simply unpacked the parcel box, which turned out to be the children's positioning watch he had ordered.

Zhou Zhexiao sat at his desk, opened the instruction manual, and slowly began studying it.

Ye Chaoying had been training with Gao Jinshu all day, and upon returning, he looked like a dead dog. But the moment he caught sight of that children's watch, he was like an old lady touching an electric fence, instantly bursting with vigor.

He leaned over the back of Zhou Zhexiao's chair and cried out, "What is this? What kind of thing is this? Did you and Xia Chiyi have a kid behind my back?"

Xia Chiyi sighed and shot Ye Chaoying several warning glances, but the guy remained as clueless as a fool.

"This alarm can even be set to Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf! Isn't this just Xia Chiyi's bath-time song?"

My brother, could you please stop talking? Emperor Zhou is in a bad mood, you'd better watch out for a royal execution!

Xia Chiyi's phone vibrated; it was a WeChat message from Liang Qin: [I hope you don't think I'm meddling... I saw Zhou Zhexiao suddenly walk back to sit in the rear today. You two should get along harmoniously, talk things out if there's any issue, and don't stay mad at him, okay! Little rabbit bowing.gif]

Xia Chiyi tilted his head. Why is she telling me not to be mad at Zhou Zhexiao?

Clearly, it was Zhou Zhexiao who was sulking.

Curious, Xia Chiyi asked: [Why do you think I'm the one mad at him?]

Liang Qin: [Because he sat in the back row and kept looking at you? I thought you were the one who drove him back there... If I misunderstood something, I'm truly sorry! Palms together apologizing.gif]

Xia Chiyi tilted his head again and tapped out a quick reply: [Are you sure he kept looking at me?]

Under normal circumstances, shouldn't this guy coldly gaze out the window and enjoy the back row all to himself?

Liang Qin: [I'm positive. Because I was worried you guys had a fight, I turned back to check several times, and he really was looking at you the whole time.]

That was why Liang Qin had misunderstood, thinking that he was the one giving Zhou Zhexiao the cold shoulder.

Good grief, could Zhou Zhexiao possibly be any more hypocritical?

He had even threatened Xia Chiyi not to turn around and look at him, yet what about himself? He hid in the back row and watched whom?

Could this guy secretly have been hoping that Xia Chiyi would go to the back row to coax him? If so, he shouldn't have issued a friendship-ending threat in the first place.

Oh boy, how old are they, still acting like little kids.

Xia Chiyi quickly replied to Liang Qin: [Don't worry haha, we'll make up soon. And thanks, your concern wasn't intrusive at all.]

By this time, Zhou Zhexiao was still quietly studying the smart watch, while Ye Chaoying had gone into the bathroom to wash up.

Xia Chiyi strolled leisurely over to Zhou Zhexiao's side, but the other man acted as if he didn't exist. Xia Chiyi simply sat on the corner of his desk, the swinging tip of his shoe gently brushing against Zhou Zhexiao's calf. As if electrocuted, Zhou Zhexiao promptly moved his leg away.

"Hey, this watch of yours is useless without a SIM card. I doubt your Nokia card is going to fit in there." Xia Chiyi pretended as though nothing had happened between them, chatting with him calmly.

Zhou Zhexiao silently explored the functions inside, finding an NFC feature along with Alipay and WeChat capabilities.

"Your Nokia isn't a smartphone, you know; it probably can't sync with this phone watch."

Zhou Zhexiao still remained silent.

"If you sync it with my phone, then only I'll be able to see where you are—I'll even be able to see which bus you're taking and which intersection you're passing. Of course, if you get lost, I can find you right away. I'll be monitoring you just like a parent."

Xia Chiyi deliberately reached out his hand, making a grabbing motion in mid-air.

Zhou Zhexiao finally lifted his eyes to look at him, an expression that clearly signaled he was looking at an idiot.

They locked eyes in a stare-down, as if whoever blinked first would lose.

Zhou Zhexiao had strikingly handsome eyes; usually, he wore a touch-me-not demeanor, but right now his eyes carried a somewhat aggrieved look.

Unable to hold out under his gaze any longer, Xia Chiyi spoke up: "You were clearly sitting in the back row staring at me the whole time, and I haven't the slightest clue what ghost of a temper you're throwing."

"Because you didn't apologize to me," Zhou Zhexiao said.

"What? Didn't I apologize?"

"You didn't."

The look in Zhou Zhexiao's eyes made Xia Chiyi feel a twinge of guilt.

"Well... I'm sorry then. Besides, I only pressed against your leg, not anywhere else... You don't have to take it so seriously."

Zhou Zhexiao turned sideways, facing Xia Chiyi, and slightly parted his legs. "Then do you want to take a look at what you did?"

This posture... Xia Chiyi swallowed hard, thinking to himself, my friend, do you really have to be this bold?

"I... what else could I possibly have done to you?"

Zhou Zhexiao maintained the posture without moving, implying that Xia Chiyi should look for himself.

Xia Chiyi wanted to say that even though they were both guys, asking him to roll up Zhou Zhexiao's pant leg late at night was rather embarrassing.

"If you won't look, forget it. It'll probably heal up by a bit later anyway."

With that, Zhou Zhexiao made a move to turn back around.

Realizing that he might actually have injured the other man, Xia Chiyi quickly hopped down from the desk corner and pinned him in place. "I'll look! I'll look! I'll look!"

Saying this, he half-crouched in front of Zhou Zhexiao and gently lifted the hem of Zhou Zhexiao's left sweatpants. The skin was still faintly reddened. Rolling it up just a fraction higher, he revealed a red scratch left by a fingernail; though it hadn't bled, it must have hurt quite a bit at that exact moment.

Xia Chiyi continued rolling it upward, wanting to see just how long the scratch was, when he was suddenly grabbed by the wrist by Zhou Zhexiao.

"Where are you trying to look?"

"No, no, no... I was just checking to see if you were... hurt..."

"There's nothing more to see."

"Fine."

Xia Chiyi knew that this kind of scratch would probably fade into a thin line by tomorrow morning; let alone hurting, it wouldn't even sting when taking a shower.