BTMDY Chapter 33

The heavy snow had just cleared.

 

The entire city of Ningchang was covered with a layer of pristine, pure white snow, a sight that was both refreshing and pleasing to the eye. The winter morning was chilly, with a crisp breeze and a soft, mist-like fog hanging in the air.

 

Condensation from the window formed tiny droplets that silently dripped down.

 

Lin Wangye had no idea when he had fallen asleep.

 

In that half-dream, half-awake state, he kept feeling a slight itch on his cheek, as though something was gently brushing against it. No matter how many times he tried to push it away, it persistently continued to annoy him.

 

When he finally opened his sleepy eyes, the unfamiliar surroundings made him feel disoriented for a long while, and he couldn’t react right away.

 

After a night of pleasant dreams, he stretched his arms out of the blanket, mimicking a butterfly stroke motion, and lazily stretched. His elbow accidentally bumped into something in midair.

 

Lin Wangye turned his head, dazed, and met the gaze of the person next to him.

 

Shi Yuan had apparently been propping his head up for quite a while. As soon as their eyes met, he quickly smiled and said, “Finally awake? It’s about time you got up for school.”

 

After a brief moment of confusion, Lin Wangye belatedly realized something. He grabbed the blanket, buried his face in it, and peered under it. His face flushed with heat, and the sensation felt like a mushroom cloud exploding in his head.

 

Shi Yuan chuckled softly, tossed the blanket aside, and got out of bed. He casually patted Lin Wangye’s head.

 

“Go back to sleep for a few more minutes. I’ll go boil some water for you to wash your face and brush your teeth.”

 

A muffled “Mm” came from the blanket.

 

Lin Wangye, listening to the sound of footsteps fading away, waited a moment until he heard the creak of the wooden door opening and closing. Then, he peeked out from under the blanket, breathing a deep sigh of relief.

 

Damn, that was so embarrassing!

 

Really embarrassing!

 

I hope he didn’t notice, right?

 

Lin Wangye couldn’t tell from Shi Yuan’s reaction whether the little incident that had happened earlier was noticed.To avoid never being able to look him in the eye again, he desperately convinced himself that the distance between them when they had been lying face to face wasn’t enough to be noticed.

 

After lying in bed for another minute to calm himself down, Lin Wangye went to grab the clothes he had thrown onto the end of the bed the night before.

 

Without heating or air conditioning, the room was at the normal winter temperature.

 

The moment he sat up, the cold air made goosebumps immediately rise on his skin.

 

But all he saw was a lonely down jacket.

 

The sweatshirt was gone.

 

The pants were also missing.

 

After rummaging through the room, Lin Wangye finally found the missing clothes next to him.

 

When he pulled them out of the blanket, they were still warm.

 

It turns out that Shi Yuan had placed them in the blanket earlier, so they’d stay warm for him when he put them on.

 

Realizing this, Lin Wangye happily rolled in the blanket with the sweatshirt, then quickly put on his clothes and jumped out of bed.

 

A pair of socks, one in each shoe, were neatly placed at the side of the bed.

 

Even though he had walked through the snow the night before, Lin Wangye found that the surface and edges of his shoes were spotless when he put them on, clearly wiped down carefully.

 

It’s easy to get caught up in the details.

 

Sitting quietly at the edge of the bed, the warmth enveloped him completely.

 

But as the bright morning sunlight poured into the room, Lin Wangye couldn’t help but feel a tinge of bitterness in his heart.

 

When he arrived yesterday, it was already late, and the environment wasn’t so bright.

 

Now, he noticed that the dimness of the room wasn’t just due to the weak lighting but also because the plaster on the walls was uneven, with patches of gray cement visible underneath, not properly painted over.

 

There was no latex paint layer to seal it, either.

 

Such walls couldn’t reflect the light properly, so naturally, the room would be dim.

 

He walked over to the desk and sat down, reaching for the desk lamp.

 

The cheapest tungsten filament bulb on the market, bright enough but with a yellowish tone, and after prolonged use, it could strain the eyes.

 

Just as he turned off the lamp, Shi Yuan came in with a cup of hot water.

 

“My grandfather made breakfast. Do you want to eat here or stop by a breakfast shop on your way to school?”

 

Lin Wangye knew that he was asking because a portion had already been set aside for him. He nodded to indicate he’d eat and then took the cup and went to brush his teeth. When he came back, washing his face, he quietly asked, “How did you explain your leg injury to your grandparents?”

 

Shi Yuan bent down to straighten the bed, casually replying, “I told them I sprained my ankle, so I can’t go to school for the next few days.”

 

Lin Wangye looked up in surprise, water dripping down his chin into the basin. “You’re in your senior year—won’t they worry if you skip school for several days?”

 

“Why would they worry?” Shi Yuan asked with a smile.

 

“…”

 

Right, why would they worry?

 

Experts never complain about their circumstances.

 

In his past life, if Lin Wangye could hand in such a report card, forget about skipping school—if he’d spent his days sitting in a chicken coop helping hens lay eggs, his dad wouldn’t have asked a single question.

 

He might have even turned the chicken coop into a mansion, with two stone lions at the entrance.

 

After finishing his wash and drying his face, Lin Wangye took out his phone to check the time, only to realize the screen didn’t light up. He finally remembered his phone had died yesterday and hadn’t been charged. He turned and walked over to Shi Yuan. “Where’s the charger?”

 

Shi Yuan folded up the blanket and pulled a charging cable from the head of the bed.

 

Lin Wangye plugged in his phone, sat at the edge of the bed, and stared at the ceiling with a deep sigh. He genuinely lamented, “I really wish I could just stay like this…”

 

“Not allowed,” Shi Yuan immediately cut him off, knowing exactly what he meant. “Being adopted by a family like Lu Chengxuan’s is already lucky enough. You’ll go back home obediently tonight.”

 

Lin Wangye, not getting his way, pouted with a look of displeasure, his eyes full of silent complaint.

 

Shi Yuan, unable to resist Lin Wangye’s tactic, hardened his heart and stopped looking at him. With calm resolve, he said, “Don’t lower your standards. This isn’t the life you should be living. Just experience it, but that’s enough.”

 

Lin Wangye pretended to sulk. “In the end, you really just want to get rid of me, don’t you?”

 

“You can come by anytime during the day, or find me after evening self-study for extra lessons,” Shi Yuan answered matter-of-factly. “But you’re not staying overnight. I’m only giving in this far.”

 

Lin Wangye finally gave up, letting out an unwilling sigh.

 

“Fine, then…”

 

Seeing that he had reluctantly agreed, Shi Yuan’s smile deepened. He tugged at the hair on top of Lin Wangye’s head, which had gotten messy from sleeping, and said, “You’re not very peaceful when you sleep. You threw punches and kicks all night.”

 

Lin Wangye had always slept alone growing up and never had a camera in the room, so he was completely unaware of how he slept.

 

He scratched his head awkwardly. “I hit people when I sleep?”

 

The truth was, being held and cuddled all night had been quite a challenge for any man’s self-control.

 

Shi Yuan hadn’t slept at all.

 

Of course, he couldn’t say that outright, so he reluctantly gave an alternative explanation. “Maybe the bed’s too small, and you were uncomfortable sleeping.”

 

The bed was indeed small, and Lin Wangye easily let himself be convinced.

 

At that moment, Grandpa Xu came in through the door, holding two bowls of porridge. The two of them quickly stood up to take the bowls.

 

“Thank you, Grandpa,” Lin Wangye said, addressing him.

 

The loud voice was just right for Grandpa Xu, who was a bit hard of hearing. He smiled and nodded repeatedly.

 

“It’s nothing, nothing. Go ahead and eat.”

 

Because the space was so small, there was no dining table. The family had always eaten in the bedroom. After placing the bowls on the desk, Shi Yuan turned and went out to get chopsticks, while Lin Wangye cleared the table to make space for eating.

 

When Shi Yuan came back, he placed another bowl on the table.

 

Inside were hotpot meatballs, vegetables, and vermicelli, all cooked and mixed with sesame sauce—perfect to go with the porridge.

 

Shi Yuan moved another chair over and sat next to Lin Wangye, asking, “Can you eat enough?”

 

“Yeah,” Lin Wangye replied.

 

He took a sip of porridge, then wiped the condensation off the window, looking out at the snow scene. “This place will probably be demolished soon. You can make a lot of money from it.”

 

“That doesn’t really have anything to do with my family,” Shi Yuan smiled. “This is someone else’s house; we’re just renting.”

 

Lin Wangye was surprised. “Ah… The rent isn’t too expensive, right?”

 

“Mm,” Shi Yuan nodded. “This used to be three old warehouses. It had been empty before we moved in. The landlord’s pretty nice, charging only a symbolic amount—about two thousand a year. It’s close to the school and the hospital, so the normal rent would probably be at least double.”

 

Lin Wangye recalled seeing rental ads on the walls of the nearby alleyways, and even the cheapest places were over five hundred a month.

 

Naturally, the conditions were much better than here.

 

He had earned a few thousand from previous competitions and had been thinking of whether to lend some to Shi Yuan to help him move to a better place. But after some thought, Lin Wangye realized that with Shi Yuan’s part-time jobs and tutoring income, he could easily afford the rent each month.

 

The reason they hadn’t chosen a better place was clearly to save as much money as possible for his sister’s medical expenses.

 

Leukemia patients have weak immune systems and need a carefully maintained living environment.

 

So, the room that Xu Sui and Shi Yuan lived in had been renovated to maintain comfort and cleanliness as much as possible.

 

Shi Yuan didn’t mind enduring a bit of hardship.

 

And so, this was how things were.

 

Lin Wangye sighed silently, beginning to regret not choosing to follow Yang Qinsen to the competitions. At least then he would have had an income.

 

This love, let’s not talk about it for now.

 

Fate doesn’t give anyone a chance to start over; once a choice is made, all you can do is grit your teeth and continue forward.

 

At least Suihe’s condition hadn’t worsened.

 

Don’t rush, don’t rush.

 

After a moment of thought, Lin Wangye asked, “What’s Suihe’s condition right now?”

 

Shi Yuan paused for a few seconds before answering cautiously, “For now, it’s stable.”

 

Lin Wangye took a sip of porridge and said, “I checked online. Suihe’s still young, not even ten. The chances of recovery should be high.”

 

Shi Yuan nodded. “That’s what the doctors say. They’ve been telling us that getting her into the hospital for chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant as soon as possible is the best option. But the chemotherapy costs are too high, and once we start, we can’t stop. Given our family’s current situation, we can only start with targeted drug therapy to manage and control the disease.”

 

After hearing that, Lin Wangye understood more clearly.

 

Suihe’s condition was still under control with medication, and she was in a good treatment phase.

 

The real problem was just the lack of money.

 

In his past life, it was probably because Shi Yuan couldn’t raise the money in time that he lost his sister.

 

It was known that Uncle Shi would eventually have the ability to repay.

 

If they could figure out a way to borrow the money, there was a good chance of saving Suihe from the clutches of the illness.

 

They hadn’t faced the worst outcome yet, there was still room for change.

 

“Can’t delay,” Lin Wangye said after a long silence, suddenly speaking up. “But don’t rush. It will be okay.”

 

After a long period of silence, Shi Yuan had thought that Lin Wangye might have given up on thinking about the issue.

 

But in the face of such an obvious difficulty, the boy’s gaze was even more determined than before.

 

He said it would be okay.

 

*

 

“I’m so stupid, really.”

 

During evening self-study, Lin Wangye turned to the back row and tearfully complained to Zhao Youyou.

 

“You don’t know, Xiao Lin hasn’t played games with me in so long, he’s always running off to find Xu Suiyan, and all he talks about is Xu Suiyan. What kind of spell did Xu Suiyan cast on him? I just—”

 

“He’s put a spell on him, and still won’t admit it.”

 

Zhao Youyou, who was most interested in gossip, continued her work while speaking.

 

“Xiao Lin is different from you. His mind is all on his studies. Xu Suiyan is such a big academic genius, once he gets hold of him, he won’t let go.”

 

“Bullshit.” Lin Shen slammed the table, “Isn’t our Class Rep Fu a top student too? She’s been patiently tutoring him forever. But the second Xu Suiyan shows up, he bolts! Has he ever spared a thought for Class Seven’s team spirit?”

 

Suddenly being mentioned, Fu Xuexue turned around, a bit embarrassed.

 

“I guess I just didn’t teach him as well as Xu Suiyan… Math isn’t my strong suit, there are many problems I know how to solve, but I can’t explain them well to Xiao Lin. He often doesn’t understand.”

 

“Trust me.” Lin Shen turned back sincerely, “It’s him, he’s the one who’s slow, it’s not your problem.”

 

Zhao Youyou burst out laughing, “Who was it that used to talk about his ‘little treasure’ every day? It wasn’t you, was it? You really seem like Xiao Lin’s ex who’s been blackened.”

 

Lin Shen sighed deeply.

 

“Xiao Lin started it and abandoned me in the end. My heart is dead.”

 

Just as Zhao Youyou was about to continue mocking him, her peripheral vision caught sight of someone outside the door, and she raised her chin with a playful whistle.

 

“Look who it is.”

 

Upon hearing this, Lin Shen turned around and immediately saw Lin Wangye and Xu Suiyan standing side by side at the classroom door, chatting. After exchanging a few words and laughing, they waved at each other, one entering the classroom while the other walked towards Class A after passing through Class Seven.

 

This was the first time Xu Suiyan had appeared at school since his leg injury and hospitalization.

 

Lin Wangye hadn’t attended evening self-study for several days, and after school this afternoon, he disappeared right away.

 

Without thinking, Lin Shen knew exactly who he went to find.

 

After Lin Wangye came in, Lin Shen suddenly stood up and returned to his seat, not even glancing at him, as if he had ‘emotions’ written all over his face.

 

Lin Wangye sat down and scratched his head in confusion, then turned to look at Lu Chengxuan.

 

“Brother Lu, did you upset him again?”

 

“You abandoned him.” Lu Chengxuan said flatly, “His heart is dead.”

 

“…?”

 

Lin Wangye, puzzled, scratched his head to the point of nearly losing his hair, then pulled something out of his pocket and patted his dad on the shoulder.

 

“Look at this good stuff!”

 

Lin Shen was about to swipe his hand away, but when he accidentally caught sight of what it was, he quickly snatched it up, his fingers pinching the small card to examine the amount on it.

 

“1,000 Heroes of Glory game coins?! Where did you get this?”

 

“I went to a cyber cafe competition the other day. This is the prize,” Lin Wangye said proudly, “They gave out two cards for the MVP[mfn]The player who performed the best in the winning team during a game.[/mfn]. I sold the other one, but this one’s for you.”

 

This gift was a killer move for Lin Shen.

 

He almost forgot about the ‘abandonment’ situation and was about to slip it into his pocket, but then remembered only seconds ago he had been passionately complaining about it in front of Zhao Youyou.

 

Taking it like this seemed a bit soft, and he felt awkward.

 

Not only did it feel ungracious, but he also couldn’t face it.

 

Thinking this over, he let out a cold laugh, trying to act indifferent, and said: “If Xu Suiyan played games, you’d have given it to him already, right? Only now you remember me?”

 

After hearing Lu Chengxuan drop the ‘abandonment’ hint earlier, Lin Wangye finally understood what Lin Shen was up to.

 

Realizing he’d been a bit neglectful towards his dad recently, Lin Wangye immediately adjusted his attitude and gently reassured him.

 

“It’s not like that at all.”

 

“Our spicy hotpot brotherhood is unbreakable.”

 

*

 

Lin Shen: If both I and Xu Suiyan fell into a river, who would you save first?

 

Lin Wangye: He wouldn’t ask me such a question.

 

Lin Shen: Who would you save first?

 

Lin Wangye: I’d save you.

 

Lin Wangye: (*^▽^)/★*☆ Then I’d fall in love with him.

 

Lin Shen: 6[mfn]Lin Shen’s reply, ‘6’, is Chinese internet slang for ‘厉害 (lihai),’ which means ‘awesome’ or ‘well played.’ Basically, he’s like: “…Okay, you win.”[/mfn]

 

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