I walked into the classroom and immediately saw a guy being completely brazen at my desk, leaning over and drawing something.
"Xiaoyu," I called out. He lifted his head, looked at me with a pair of azure blue eyes, and then bent back down to continue drawing.
"What are you doing!" I walked up to him, looking at his black, ear-length hair. I couldn't help but want to grab a handful. Damn it, I almost suspect this guy has some connection to Mistress Extinction. How else could a boy get away with such long hair?
At our school, there are clear rules regarding student attire and hair.
First, no perms or dyeing; naturally curly hair requires a prior explanation to the teacher.
Boys are not allowed to have long hair; they must have a short cut, practically a buzz cut.
Girls, naturally, cannot perm or dye their hair, nor can they wear curlers in school. The school's reasoning is that "school is not your home," and one must be serious about school rules and discipline.
Girls cannot wear makeup or lipstick, nor can they wear overly revealing clothes—anything above the knee is considered revealing.
And boys, of course, are prohibited from all these things.
But this guy, Liu Xiaoyu, has hair this long, and the teachers never bother him. Plus, he is consistently at the bottom of the class, and we all know he brings his phone to school and plays with it frequently. He has all the 'rule-breaking' buffs stacked up.
Yet, one thing is extremely strange: Mistress Extinction has never once sought trouble with him. To my recollection, she has never even said a harsh word to him. The class has concluded he's a nepotism case with deep ties to Mistress Extinction. The fact that even the notoriously short-tempered Mistress Extinction hasn't blown up at him shows how formidable this guy is.
Furthermore, Liu Xiaoyu is relatively quiet, has a gentle nature, smiles at everyone, and I've never seen him argue with anyone. His popularity is naturally very good—much better than mine, anyway.
However, there is one thing I think only I have ever achieved: successfully making Liu Xiaoyu angry enough to ignore me for a full week. Heh, I'm almost a little proud of that.
"What are you drawing?" I leaned closer, and a strong milky fragrance wafted up to me.
"Dude, what kind of body wash do you use? Why do you smell so good? Do you bathe in milk every day?" The milky scent was very pleasant and comforting, making me involuntarily wrinkle my nose and take a deep sniff.
"Are you a dog?" Liu Xiaoyu stopped writing, looked up at my sniffing antics, gave me a disgusted look, and moved away, sitting in his own seat next to mine.
"Heh heh," I rubbed my head and smiled.
"You idiot. What are you drawing? I can't even look at it. It's a mess. Is that supposed to be a force diagram? It looks like a child's scribble." Liu Xiaoyu pointed at my notebook.
I looked down at my notebook. Next to my oddly shaped drawing was a neatly drawn diagram. At a glance, I could immediately understand all the friction and gravity forces.
I couldn't help but admire it: "Bro, you're amazing. Are you studying art?"
"Yep," he nodded immediately.
"Pfft, why don't you just say you're proficient in all four arts? You big liar!" How could this kid know how to draw? In my mind, artists were generally messy, covered in paint, creating art and turning themselves into art. The fair and clean Liu Xiaoyu didn't fit the profile at all.
"The four arts... I actually know a little about all of them," Liu Xiaoyu blinked and said with a chuckle.
"Tch~" I rolled my eyes. I didn't believe him.
"Believe it or not," Liu Xiaoyu dismissed my reaction with a look of disdain.
"Fine, you're the arrogant kid! There's nothing in the world you don't know," I gave him a thumbs-up.
"Get lost!" Liu Xiaoyu immediately bristled, grabbing his pen to poke my arm.
I just smiled, letting him poke me. It didn't hurt anyway.
Seeing that his poking had no effect on my thick skin, Liu Xiaoyu looked helpless. His eyes darted around, and then he suddenly sighed. "Oh well, I was going to give someone a gift, but I guess I don't need to now."
"A gift? What gift?" Hearing that, I immediately lifted my head, my eyes gleaming with greed as I looked at Liu Xiaoyu.
"What is that look?" Liu Xiaoyu frowned. His eyebrows were thin and delicate, like willow leaves on his fair face.
"I dreamt about you last night. I dreamt you said you wanted to give me something, and now it's actually true," I looked at him, surprised.
"Really? That's incredible?" Liu Xiaoyu looked at me suspiciously. "Then do you know what I was going to give you?"
"I also thought you were going to give me something great, but then I dreamt..." I paused.
"Dreamt what?" Liu Xiaoyu asked curiously.
"I dreamt you pounced on me and rode me! My goodness, I was so scared I pushed you away immediately. I'm not into that gay stuff." I burst out laughing!
"Why are you so annoying!" Liu Xiaoyu was both angry and annoyed, grabbing a ruler and poking me with it.
"Doesn't hurt," I grinned.
"Argh!" Seeing my attitude—like a dead pig unafraid of boiling water—Liu Xiaoyu gritted his teeth. He kept poking, but I didn't feel a thing. Finally, unexpectedly, he reached out and pinched my arm.
The moment Liu Xiaoyu grabbed me, my smile vanished. A stabbing pain shot through my arm. I cried out in agony. "You're cheating! Your nails are so long! You're done for; I'm telling the teacher!"
"Go ahead, if you dare, haha." My smile was now completely transferred to my deskmate's face, which was beaming like a flower.
His nails were long and sharp, digging directly into my flesh. I couldn't stand it for long.
"Hiss... Liu Xiaoyu, are you even a man? Why are you pinching me!" I tried to pull my arm away, but he wouldn't let go. I yelled in pain. "Let go... it hurts!"
"Hmph..." Seeing me beg, Liu Xiaoyu finally released his grip. He looked at me clutching my arm in pain, lifted his chin smugly, and said, "How was that? Satisfied? That's what you get for messing with me."
"Oww... that hurts..." I rubbed my arm, cautiously moving farther away from Liu Xiaoyu. Why does this kid's pinch hurt so much? Seeing his smug look, I muttered, "Next time you pinch me, I'm pinching you back."
"You wouldn't dare! Don't touch me!" Liu Xiaoyu immediately clenched his fist.
"What? You're allowed to hit me, but I can't hit you? Why are you so hypocritical?" I rolled my eyes irritably.
"You have thick skin. What's wrong with a little pinch?"
"Oh, when you hit me, I have thick skin, but when I hit you, it's not okay. What kind of logic is that?" I frowned, then mimicked him. "Ew, I'm a germaphobe. Don't touch me! Hmph, annoying, go away, idiot, scram!"
"You... you're so annoying!" Liu Xiaoyu cursed, but then he burst out laughing at my hilarious imitation, covering his mouth. "I didn't sound that disgusting."
"So, what gift did you actually want to give me?" I looked at him eagerly. The dream was definitely real, but the part I didn't tell him was that I hadn't pushed him away; I had embraced him. Yes, I had a wet dream about this kid. I obviously couldn't say something so embarrassing, while secretly warning myself not to turn gay.
"Oh, I'm not in the mood now. Wait," Liu Xiaoyu turned his body away. "I'll give it to you when I feel like it..."
I was so annoyed I wanted to hit him. He poked and pinched me, and that's all I got? But that's just Liu Xiaoyu's nature. I had no choice but to let out a low "Hmph," turn away, pretend to be angry, and look down to continue working on the problem.
Liu Xiaoyu's steps and drawings were beautiful and easy to understand. I tried to copy his style in my notebook, but my drawings were always unsatisfactory. I didn't give up, drawing them over and over.
Just as I was concentrating, I felt something moving on my arm. Without turning around, I knew it was Liu Xiaoyu poking me. I waved my hand and shook my arm. "Xiaoyu, stop it. I'm busy."
"Alright, you said you didn't want it, then."
Hearing that, I instantly turned around curiously. Liu Xiaoyu was holding a box. I only glanced at the packaging and was instantly captivated.
"Holy cow, Xiaoyu, is that a phone?" I looked at the brand-new packaging with a unique phone logo. It looked like the latest model and clearly wasn't cheap. I checked the model. I had never owned a flagship phone like that.
"Yeah," he held the phone up and shook it in front of me. "Didn't I say I wanted to give you a gift? This is it."
"Really?" I looked at him suspiciously, unable to believe it.
"Why would I lie to you? It's the real deal, the newest model this year," Liu Xiaoyu blinked and held the box out to me.
I didn't reach for it. I just looked at him. "There's nothing else weird inside, is there?"
"Ugh, are you going to be annoying?" Liu Xiaoyu got impatient, his eyebrows furrowing. "Do you want it or not?"
"Yes, yes, yes, of course I want it!" I quickly grabbed it and held it. Looking closely, the plastic wrap hadn't even been removed.
I held it up to my face and inspected it. "Holy cow, is this really real?"
"Just open it," Liu Xiaoyu waved his small hand, watching me.
The box carried a faint milky scent, which I found quite pleasant. I felt a surge of excitement, touching the box. I tore off the plastic film in front of Liu Xiaoyu and gently opened it.
"It's real!" I stared at the brand-new phone inside and looked at my deskmate with shock, completely incredulous.
"What does that mean? Did you think I'd give you a fake one?" Liu Xiaoyu gave me a disgusted look, seemingly offended that I didn't trust him.
I fell silent, looking at the phone in my palm. I hesitated, an internal battle raging. Though I desperately wanted it, the education I had received over the years wouldn't allow me to accept such an expensive item without giving anything in return.
I quietly put the phone back in the box, wrapped it up, and handed it back to him.
"What's wrong?" Liu Xiaoyu looked at me, puzzled. "Don't you like it?"
"No, thank you for the gift. I really like it," I looked at him earnestly. "But I really can't accept something this expensive. I haven't done anything for you."
Liu Xiaoyu was clearly stunned. He looked at me deeply, his azure eyes particularly clear and beautiful. He looked as if he were seeing me for the first time.
"This isn't that expensive to me," Liu Xiaoyu pursed his lips. A different kind of subtle light flickered in his blue eyes. He looked at me seriously. "I give gifts to whoever I want to."
"Forget it," I said with a wry smile. "Thank you for the gift. Maybe it's nothing to you, but it's very valuable to me. The education I received growing up taught me what I can and cannot accept. I'm quite clear on that. This isn't about whether or not I consider you a friend; it's my own internal balance restricting me. Besides, you've already helped me so much with the study problems and everything."
Liu Xiaoyu fell silent, his eyes downcast. He seemed surprised that I had said so much and that I had refused the gift. I placed the phone back in his hands, quietly said thank you, turned around, and continued with my homework.