WHIF- Chapter 15

Ch. 15 Star

    Ji Xiang couldn’t quite grasp what Cao Zhimian meant by ‘for a long time’ [mfn]Ji Xiang and Yang Chaosheng, according to Xiang have meet just recently, so there should be no question of a long time[/mfn], so he asked in return, “You know me?”

    “You went to No. 1 High School in the city, right?” Cao Zhimian said, sidestepping the question. “So did Yang Chaosheng and I.”

    Ji Xiang was stunned. After all the twists and turns, he had assumed Yang Chaosheng was just a chance encounter, a stranger. Turns out, they had gone to the same high school.

    Yang Chaosheng was only a year older than him, so by grade level, it was entirely possible they had crossed paths back then.

    No wonder he had felt a sense of familiarity.

    But it had been so long. Ji Xiang could barely remember half of his own classmates, let alone people from other classes. How could he have any impression of them?

    Looking at the confused Ji Xiang, Cao Zhimian tried to jog his memory. “Do you remember once reading a self-criticism under the national flag?”

    Ji Xiang immediately recalled that incident from his first year of high school. It had been the only time he’d had to read a public self-reflection. Even though he didn’t write it himself, the experience left a deep mark.

    At that time, the school was strictly investigating the bad habits of students, like smoking and drinking. And Ji Xiang had naively taken the fall for his unreliable friends. When the truth came out, the moral education director was so angry that he ‘rewarded’ I Xiang with the crime of ‘covering up’ and made him deliver a speech of self-reflection under the national flag, along with the main offenders the following Monday.

    But he still couldn’t figure out how Yang Chaosheng was involved.

    Cao Zhimian observed Ji Xiang’s blank expression and understood. Clearly, Yang Chaosheng had hidden his crush too well. Most people at least left some trace for their crush to notice. Yang Chaosheng, on the other hand, seemed determined to stay completely hidden.

    As if saying, ‘I’ll just love you quietly—don’t worry about me.’

    He sighed and reminded Ji Xiang, “Yang Chaosheng was standing right next to you at that time.”

    “…He smoked too?” Ji Xiang asked, confused.

    “He gave a speech before you did.”

    Ji Xiang: “…”

    With that detail, Ji Xiang finally remembered.

    So, Yang Chaosheng wasn’t one of the troublemakers, he was the one catching them.

    Ji Xiang remembered it clearly now. That old classroom had been quiet and remote, a perfect place for the school’s delinquents to gather together and smoke.

    That day, he had gone to the old building just to wait for someone and happened to be in the same room as his friends. They smoked and left, but it was Ji Xiang, who was then caught and brought to the moral education office after they left. And it was all because of Yang Chaosheng.

    To top it off, that week’s flag-raising ceremony featured a speech by Yang Chaosheng, as a student representative, targeting his little group and promoting a no-smoking, no-drinking message for juniors.

    But Ji Xiang hadn’t even drunk or smoked. He just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, in a classroom that had been under watch by the director, waiting to catch everyone red-handed. The surveillance near the old teaching building had been broken for a long time, and the ground was full of cigarette ashes that the others had shaken off before leaving.

    Even if he jumped into the Yellow River, he couldn’t wash the blame away [mfn]Unable to clear your name or prove your innocence, no matter how hard you try[/mfn].

    He refused to admit that the cigarette butts were his. The teacher naturally did not believe that Ji Xiang smoked so many cigarettes by himself. There must be accomplices, like the group reeking of smoke caught at the other staircase.

    Back then, Ji Xiang was young, idealistic, and fiercely loyal. With no solid evidence, he just kept his mouth shut and answered everything with ‘I don’t know’.

    Until Yang Chaosheng, following orders, retrieved the surveillance footage. The video only showed the back of the classroom through the door, but it was enough to spot who was inside. That’s when Ji Xiang realized that the cameras had been fixed and the director had already laid a trap for them.

    The footage didn’t show him smoking, but it did prove he knew what was going on and had lied to cover it up. So, he was punished the same as the rest: a 3,000-word self-reflection essay.

    His friends, feeling guilty, split the essay among themselves and wrote 500–600 words each. As a result, the writing was very much lacking in literary talent and made no sense. Some parts were redundant, and the others downright incoherent. One paragraph was even copied repeatedly, leaving Ji Xiang to stammer awkwardly throughout his speech under the flag.

    That was the first time Ji Xiang truly felt what it was like being betrayed by his friends: he carried them in his pocket, but they shoved him into a ditch [mfn]a way to say that he cared about them, but they were the reason he got dragged into the mud[/mfn].

    Cao Zhimian hadn’t gotten far into the conversation before Yang Chaosheng came downstairs holding his jacket and, from a distance, shouted his name.

    His voice echoed across the entire office floor, loud enough for everyone to hear.

    It was rare for him to raise his voice at work, and his tone was even filled with urgency and warning: Don’t say anything stupid.

    Cao Zhimian clicked his tongue in annoyance. He meant no harm, he just couldn’t stand how his good buddy’s ‘romance progress bar’ was still at zero. Ji Xiang didn’t even know they’d gone to the same high school.

    If he didn’t stir things up a little, Yang Chaosheng would keep bottling everything up forever.

    He dragged Yang Chaosheng aside and smiled politely at Ji Xiang. “Junior, can I borrow your husband for a moment? I have something to say.”

    Ji Xiang choked on that word–husband. He still wasn’t used to it, but didn’t say anything. Just rubbed his nose and nodded, turning away quickly before the blush completely took over his face.

    “You scared him,” Yang Chaosheng frowned, eager to confirm. “You didn’t say anything crazy, did you?”

    “I just told him you went to the same high school. You seriously never even mentioned that? You guys literally started your relationship as total strangers?”

    Cao Zhimian rolled his eyes and recounted their whole conversation word-for-word.

    Embarrassment flickered across Yang Chaosheng’s face. “…Why would you bring that up?”

    Talk about hitting a nerve.

    Back then, a janitor had reported finding cigarette butts in the old classrooms. The director went ballistic, retraced the source, rewired all the security cameras, and planned a surprise inspection.

    And it was Yang Chaosheng who led the ‘raid’. It was lunch break when he arrived and saw a group of students laughing as they left from the other staircase. That wasn’t his assigned checkpoint, so he ignored them and went straight into the classroom to see if there were any fish that slipped through the net.

    The sun had just come out after the first snow that day, and the weather was still a little cold. Ji Xiang was sitting by the window, scarf wrapped tight, earbuds in, completely unaware that someone had entered the classroom. He was munching on a bag of spicy sticks.

    Yang Chaosheng saw the faint mist coming from Ji Xiang’s lips, with his head lowered, and just assumed that he was smoking.

    Later, Ji Xiang explained that he had just been warming his hands with his breath. But in that moment, Yang Chaosheng sternly said, “Smoking’s not allowed on campus. What class are you in?”

    The earbuds were loud, and Ji Xiang had only vaguely heard something. So, he turned around, unsure.

    The guy wasn’t wearing a school badge, so Ji Xiang figured he was just another student passing by. With a mouthful of spicy sticks, he dumbly offered the bag, “I just opened it, want some?”

    Yang Chaosheng was silent for a long while, a complicated look in his eyes. Soon after, the director showed up and took Ji Xiang to the office without another word.

    But that wasn’t the first time Yang Chaosheng had seen him.

    It was during the summer break, when he used to often go to the library. There was a convenience store across from the library bus stop, where he had first noticed Ji Xiang.

    Spotting someone in a crowd is not easy. But for Yang Chaosheng, finding Ji Xiang was effortless.

    Back then, Ji Xiang wore a plain gray short-sleeved t-shirt and was laughing with two or three other friends outside the shop. The summer sun had lit up his hair like gold. His friends smoked while he stood out, holding a pocky stick [mfn]Pocky is a thin, crispy biscuit stick coated with a layer of sweet flavored chocolate or cream[/mfn]. in his mouth. Just like now, always eating snacks in places that didn’t quite fit.

    To Yang Chaosheng, Ji Xiang had a special glow, as if a star was shinning just for him. It took him a while to realize it, but looking back, it was love at first sight.

    Although their classrooms were in different buildings, the name Ji Xiang floated everywhere.

    Good grades. Good personality. Popular. But still, somehow a headache for the teachers.

    Unlike the model students, Ji Xiang was a non-typical top student.

    He had a rebellious streak, ditching gym to do English homework, once even bringing a kitten to the class that ended up leaping onto the teacher’s face.

    Coincidentally, Ji Xiang’s homeroom teacher, Mr. Xing, was also Yang Chaosheng’s math teacher. Every time Ji Xiang got into trouble, Yang Chaosheng would see him in the office.

    There was something captivating about Ji Xiang’s contradictions. The rebellious nature made him… even more attractive.

    Yang Chaosheng found himself hoping he’d see more of him, maybe even wondering if Ji Xiang would get into trouble again just so he’d show up.

    He remembered once watching Mr. Xing slam Ji Xiang’s math test on the desk, heartbroken, “Look at your score! I know your English is great, but can you at least pay attention to math during class? What are you going to do about your overall score, huh? Say something!”

    Ji Xiang actually pondered for a moment, and then replied, “…I’ll try to make up for it with a higher English score?”

    Mr. Xing almost fainted on the spot. “English is only worth 150! What about the rest, huh?!”

    He slammed the table and made Ji Xiang correct his mistakes on the spot, saying he had to learn math, by hook or by crook, whether he liked it or not.

    After that, Yang Chaosheng often saw Ji Xiang sitting beside Mr. Xing doing math problems. Within a month, midterms came around, and he overheard teachers praising Ji Xiang’s dramatic improvement.

    Other teachers even asked Mr. Xing for tips, to which Mr. Xing just replied, “Ask Ji Xiang.” Ji Xiang had grinned and replied, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”

    And so, year after year, from the shadows, Yang Chaosheng kept his quiet gaze on that shining star.