LVLYA

Chapter 32: Unpredictable Changes

Yue Zhishi was very happy at hearing Song Yu's voice for the first time after so many days of the training camp. Even though he'd said the phone call would take only one minute, the call was a clear twelve minutes and three seconds long when he hung up.

From childhood, as long as he was separated from Song Yu, Yue Zhishi would feel a strong sense of anxiety, and he often cried because of it when he was younger. When in kindergarten, he'd understood that there was no point in crying because Song Yu was studying at a different place, but it was different once he started elementary school — Yue Zhishi knew Song Yu was on the floor for fourth year students, and yet he couldn't casually go looking for him. Little children who'd just started their schooling weren't really able to follow rules, and Yue Zhishi had also been slow to mature, tears frequently rolling down his face as he missed his gege while in class.

Because Song Yu had once said he couldn't cry loudly while outside in public, Yue Zhishi, who'd just started elementary school, had constantly sat in class with large drops of tears silently dropping from his eyes. His textbooks from elementary first year school were still wrinkled, even now.

The teachers would be busily teaching, and they would occasionally look up to see Yue Zhishi crying. He hadn't dared to release any noise while crying and had even obediently crossed his arms on his desk like his fellow classmates — except his whole face would be completely wet. His class adviser had once found him too pitiful, and so he'd allowed Yue Zhishi to listen in Song Yu's class. He'd taken a small chair upstairs to class 4-8's room and sat in the aisle next to Song Yu's seat.

He'd stopped crying and sat there peacefully for the entire lesson. When the English teacher got the fourth year students to stand up and recite vocabulary, Yue Zhishi had also obediently followed along, his two hands tucked behind his back.

But Song Yu scolded him that night once they'd returned home.

"You're not allowed to come over anymore. What are you crying for, you're already an elementary school student."

Yue Zhishi felt very wronged. "I only cried because I really missed you."

Song Yu didn't know what to say after hearing Yue Zhishi's words. He was also only just a fourth year elementary school student and had yet to be able to say any deep or profound principles. He also knew Yue Zhishi, as a stubborn child, wouldn't be able to understand any normal reasoning.

"Then... then if you miss me, you should focus on studying well. I'll also be studying seriously."

"And then...?" Yue Zhishi was puzzled.

"And then I'll know you miss me, because we'll be doing the exact same thing. Do you get it?" Song Yu left his room, stiffly leaving behind some final words. "You'll affect me if you come to my class. I won't be able to receive your signal."

Those words sufficiently tricked Yue Zhishi for at least a year and a half — and successfully created the habit of going independently to class.

He had been like that at three years old, and he had still been like that at seven years old — so to Yue Zhishi, it wasn't anything embarrassing to express how much he missed Song Yu. He'd done it often enough since he was a child.

Before he hung up his phone call with Song Yu, he once again repeated, he really missed him.

Song Yu didn't give him a reply, only pausing for a few seconds before he said he would bring home some Beijing pastry specialities for Yue Zhishi.

But he very quickly corrected himself and said never mind, Yue Zhishi might be allergic and wouldn't be able to try them.

Song Yu very rarely forgot about Yue Zhishi's allergy, so he was particularly flustered at this extremely rudimentary error. But Yue Zhishi didn't mind, and he happily started to plan how he would pick Song Yu up the day the training camp finished.