SBS chapter 48

The following month, Ye Xi threw himself into practice tests.

He wasn’t stupid to begin with—he even had a natural talent for learning—but ever since middle school, he had never really taken classes seriously, which was why his grades had plummeted.

Now that Bai Yue had helped him rebuild his foundations, he began to grasp more and more questions with ease.

By the April monthly exams, his rank in the grade had risen another twenty spots, even surprising Old Wang, the homeroom teacher.

“Not bad, quite an improvement.”

Old Wang grinned broadly.

Though the school had always been polarized, with little they could do for the kids at the bottom of the ranking, as a teacher, seeing a student striving to improve was always gratifying.

He patted Ye Xi’s shoulder cheerfully. “Keep it up. If there’s anything you don’t understand, just come and ask me.”

Then he glanced at Li Rui, who was trying his best to shrink into the background while sneaking something into his desk.

Old Wang couldn’t help but laugh.

“Alright, stop hiding it. That paper was graded by me, you think I wouldn’t remember?”

He smiled at Li Rui. “You’ve made progress too, what are you afraid of? I won’t criticize you. Moving up five places is still great.”

Once Old Wang left, Li Rui reluctantly pulled his paper back out.

He wasn’t afraid, really. He just dreaded Old Wang getting excited and dragging him into the office for more analysis, trying to squeeze out a few more points.

Chewing a mint to stay awake, he worked on problems for a while, then nudged Ye Xi. “Hey, are you going to Bai Yue’s house this week?”

“Mm.”

Ye Xi, tired from working through problems, set down his paper and shook out his wrist.

“His competition finals just ended, and his team won first place nationally, so he’s home this week.”

He scratched his face, remembering what Bai Yue had said last night, feeling a little bashful.

“He said he’d make foie gras beef rice for me.”

“Wow, lucky you.” Li Rui sighed, collapsing onto his desk.

Truly, spring had arrived, with his deskmate’s peach blossoms blooming everywhere.

But then, to his surprise, Ye Xi poked him again. “Want to come with me?”

“Huh?”

Li Rui stared blankly. “Why?”

“Because Zheng Yang will be there too.” Ye Xi looked dead inside as he pulled out the notebook Bai Yue had given him and jotted down some notes. “I don’t know what’s gotten into him, but he insisted on coming, said he wanted to celebrate Bai Yue’s first place.”

Li Rui: “…”

What a massive lightbulb.

But since Zheng Yang was already going, he didn’t hold back.

“Sure, tell Senior Bai Yue I’ll come too. I’ve never been to his place.”

He was genuinely curious. Back in high school, Bai Yue had always seemed cold and untouchable, above the mundane world.

He wanted to see for himself what Ye Xi and Bai Yue were like at home.

……

So that Saturday afternoon, Ye Xi showed up at Bai Yue’s place with Li Rui in tow.

The one who opened the door for them was Zheng Yang.

Zheng Yang was dressed in a bright red tracksuit, a fried shrimp still stuffed in his mouth, with only the tail sticking out.

Spotting the cake in Ye Xi and Li Rui’s hands, he raised an eyebrow. “Well, aren’t you two polite.”

These days, Ye Xi no longer felt the same resistance toward Zheng Yang, knowing now that he was just sharp-tongued.

“Move.”

He told Zheng Yang bluntly, gesturing for him to get out of the way.

Zheng Yang curled his lip but stepped aside.

Once they’d changed shoes, Ye Xi hurried off to find Bai Yue.

It had been a month since they last met, after the snow mountain trip.

Bai Yue was in the kitchen, talking on the phone while the pan sizzled loudly with oil, a Bluetooth earpiece clipped to his ear.

“Mm, the report’s in the second drawer on the left, just grab it. And I’ve already organized Professor Xu’s materials—take those along too.”

As he hung up the call, Ye Xi tiptoed over.

He poked Bai Yue in the waist.

Bai Yue instinctively thought it was Zheng Yang fooling around again and was about to scold him.

But the next second, he realized something was different.

He froze, turned, and under the warm yellow kitchen light, saw Ye Xi smiling at him.

“Bai-ge.” Ye Xi called softly.

Bai Yue answered lightly.

It had only been a month, but Ye Xi’s hair was cut shorter, the ends neat and crisp, revealing the pale, fragile nape of his neck, like a little swan.

Bai Yue walked over, picked up a freshly fried shrimp, and held it to Ye Xi’s lips.

Ye Xi opened his mouth, bit into the shrimp, but kept his eyes on Bai Yue.

“I’ve been waiting for you,” Bai Yue said, his gaze lingering on Ye Xi. “I think you’ve grown taller again?”

Ye Xi held up his fingers to show a tiny bit of distance.

“Another 1.5 centimeters,” he reported proudly. “I’m 175.5 now.”

The two of them laughed together.

…..

Half an hour later, once the delivery guy dropped off the other dishes Bai Yue had ordered, the meal officially began.

Zheng Yang now had a new opponent.

Because of their noisy friendship from the last trip, he and Li Rui hadn’t stopped bickering since they sat at the table.

Too busy sparring, he didn’t even have time to supervise Ye Xi and Bai Yue.

Meanwhile, Bai Yue was peeling crab legs for Ye Xi, dipping them in sauce, and placing them in his bowl.

He asked Ye Xi, “Isn’t your school holding the coming-of-age ceremony next week?”

Their high school had always kept this tradition—before the college entrance exams, they’d hold a collective coming-of-age ceremony for the students.

It usually took place in early May.

It was also considered the last time for students to relax before the college entrance exams.

With a crab leg between his teeth, Ye Xi silently nodded.

He thought of the opal brooch Bai Yue had given him. After swallowing the crab leg, he softly asked, “Bai-ge, will you come?”

In principle, students were supposed to invite their parents.

But he clearly didn’t expect anything from his own.

His father went without saying.

Ye Shuyue was in Greece, and likely had no interest in him either.

And the moment he asked this question, he already knew Bai Yue wouldn’t refuse him.

Sure enough, Bai Yue nodded without hesitation. “I will.”

But after a while, Bai Yue peeled another crab leg and placed it in Ye Xi’s bowl.

Almost casually, he said in a low voice, “Actually, I also had a suit custom-made for your coming-of-age ceremony. It’s in my room.”

He smiled at Ye Xi. “I know, something like this might be more meaningful if it came from your family. But I still…”

He trailed off here, as if searching for the right words—or perhaps realizing the remark crossed a line, carried too much ambiguity—so it lingered on his lips, unable to be spoken.

But in the end, he still said, “I still… wanted to personally prepare something for you.”

When he finished, he just quietly looked at Ye Xi.

Under that gaze, Ye Xi only felt his lips grow dry.

His grip on his chopsticks tightened, his Adam’s apple bobbing.

Next to them, Li Rui and Zheng Yang were still bickering.

And he heard Bai Yue’s low question: “Would you like to try on that suit?”

“…Mm.”

Ye Xi nodded firmly, cheeks warming.

As if realizing that answer was too curt, he softly added, “I’d like to.”

But his timing was unfortunate. Just as he said it, Li Rui and Zheng Yang’s quarrel reached a truce.

Both caught the key phrase and turned to look.

Zheng Yang narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “What do you mean, ‘I’d like to’?”

…

And so it ended with all three of them watching Ye Xi change into the suit.

Bai Yue was clearly displeased about this, his face darkening. He gritted his teeth at Zheng Yang: “Forget about that pair of limited-edition sneakers.”

The very ones he had just managed to get for him.

Zheng Yang stiffened his neck. “Don’t want them anyway.”

Who cares.

Ye Xi changed in the guest room. It felt incredibly strange—even if it was only to check the fit.

But knowing three people were lined up outside waiting for him, he couldn’t shake the absurd sense that he was part of some palace beauty selection.

Still, however he thought about it, he didn’t delay changing and stepping out.

He rarely wore something so formal.

Bai Yue had chosen a dark gray three-piece suit for him. The cut was precise, the silhouette structured and tailored to his frame, accentuating his physique with just the right fit at the waist, making him look tall and straight.

As Ye Xi fastened the buttons one by one, even he found it strange.

How was Bai Yue so familiar with his measurements…?

The thought startled him, but he quickly shook his head, dismissing it as nonsense.

A few minutes later, he pushed open the door and stiffly walked into the living room before the three of them.

Their reactions varied.

Li Rui clapped enthusiastically, showering him with exaggerated praise that made him flush and lower his head in embarrassment.

Zheng Yang rolled his eyes and muttered, “It’s just okay.”

Which earned him a kick from Li Rui.

And the one whose opinion Ye Xi most wanted—just quietly stared at him.

Bai Yue’s eyes held undisguised admiration and amazement. From the moment Ye Xi stepped out, Bai Yue hadn’t looked away.

“It fits perfectly,” he said softly, looking up at Ye Xi from the sofa. “And it’s beautiful.”

He had expected there might be details to adjust. But the instant Ye Xi walked out in the suit—the white silk shirt, the understated cross-shaped iris cufflinks, standing shyly before him—it was exactly as Bai Yue had dreamed. Perfect.

Without caring that Zheng Yang was right there, Bai Yue lifted his hand, took Ye Xi’s, and guided him to sit by his side.

Looking up at him, Bai Yue’s fingers gently brushed against Ye Xi’s fingertips.

“For your coming-of-age day, wear this suit, okay?”

His tone was gentle, yet brooked no refusal.

Ye Xi, under his gaze, felt his whole face burning.

He nodded hastily. “Okay.”

Ha.

Beside them, Zheng Yang nearly rolled his eyes into the heavens.

Li Rui quietly covered his face. Good grief. I chipped in nine yuan—can you two please just hurry to the registry office already?

…

On the day of the ceremony, Ye Xi naturally wore the suit Bai Yue had prepared.

He also pinned the opal brooch to his chest—the shimmering heart-shaped design resting on his left side.

The school was lively that day, filled with students and parents. After a short ceremony, everyone took photos.

The girls in his class were dazzling, their colorful dresses like a blooming garden.

Bai Yue had prepared bouquets for Ye Xi, Li Rui, and Zheng Yang.

“Happy coming-of-age,” he said with a smile.

Li Rui was embarrassed—he hadn’t expected one for himself.

But in fact, he was holding the most bouquets of all, since not only Bai Yue, but also his brother and Sheng Yuhe had each given him one.

Only his brother had to leave early, so only Sheng Yuhe remained reluctantly on site.

Bai Yue even greeted Sheng Yuhe, his gaze lingering between him and Li Rui, lips curved in a faint, knowing smile.

At the very end of the day, they all posed together on the red carpet.

Passing by, Liang Zhan was roped into being the photographer.

Bai Yue rested his hand on Ye Xi’s shoulder—close, but not overstepping.

Zheng Yang stood in the middle, bouquet in hand, but looking like he was owed eight million instead of enjoying the central position.

Sheng Yuhe stood at the edge, while Li Rui casually grabbed his hand.

When the photo was done, Liang Zhan stared at it for a while, muttering inwardly.

Five young men in a picture together—by all appearances a perfectly normal group of friends. But why did it feel… so off?

Still, she didn’t dwell on it. Her girlfriends were calling her, so she tossed the camera back to Li Rui and hurried off to join them.

At the end of the day, every senior left a handprint in the school’s commemorative album.

Ye Xi’s and Li Rui’s were side by side, their red palms lifted as they smiled at each other.

And after that day, spring turned to summer.

After one last round of intense training, after countless exam papers written under Bai Yue and Zheng Yang’s watchful eyes—

June arrived.

Ye Xi and Li Rui finally faced the college entrance examination.