Give Me a Hug

Extra 6

"Champion of this year's high school painting competition in the whole province is Jiaran again."

"As expected. I took a glance at his work when he submitted it last semester. It's definitely not something us mere mortals could produce."

"Is this the gap between people? I'm laying my cards on the table here — I'm a bit jealous."

"What's there to be jealous of?"

"You're not jealous? If I won an award, my dad might even throw a banquet with 30 tables."

"I'm not jealous at all. My knees are already numb from kneeling, hehe."

"You're such a weirdo!"

The person talking snorted at him and sighed, "I really envy Jiaran. He's good-looking and great at painting, finding a partner must be easy for him, unlike me."

"Hahaha! I knew this was what you guys were most concerned about — such short-sightedness."

"Actually, I don't think it's a sure thing. Maybe Jiaran has an even harder time finding someone."

"You mean because Jiaran doesn't talk much?"

"Yeah, don't you think he's a bit too cold? No, not cold... just too introverted? Always so quiet, it feels like he'd be hard to get along with."

"True, that could be a challenge."

"Wait, why do you sound like a worried mother thinking her son won't find a wife???"

"Isn't your line of thinking a bit strange?"

A girl puffed out her cheeks and said, "Are you sure you're finding him hard to get along with because you've never actually interacted with him? Jiaran isn't hard to get along with, he's a good person. Plus, he's really close with Liang Sunian from Class 19. They've been going to and from school together ever since high school, they're super tight."

"Liang Sunian, huh? Is this what they mean by 'the good-looking only hang out with the good-looking'?"

"Ouch, that hurts."

"I actually think their relationship might be a bit too close. I ran into them outside school once, and Jiaran seemed especially well-behaved around Liang Sunian, being taken care of like a little kid. Are they brothers?"

"No, they're not brothers. Liang Sunian is an only child. They're just friends, I think?"

"I know this one! Calling them friends is an understatement — they're childhood buddies. I have a friend who went to middle school with them. Apparently, they were glued to each other all the time back then."

"They don't live far from each other either, same district, just a few streets apart."

"Wow, that's nice. I wish I had two childhood buddies that handsome QAQ."

"Don't you already have an older brother?"

"Yeah right, my brother's just a pain. He fights with me over the TV remote, let alone taking care of me."

Xie Jiaran came back from the office and found the art room's back door slightly ajar. Several classmates were crowded behind the door, talking animatedly and not controlling their volume, so he overheard every word.

His hand paused on the door.

Thinking that entering now might make them feel awkward, he patiently waited for a while. Just when he thought they'd moved on to a different topic, they circled back to that same person.

It wasn't until the bell rang and the conversation stopped that he blinked, pushed open the door, and went in.

It was the last class of the day, and school would be over afterward.