Runaway Guide

Chapter 22 – Companionship (b)

That night, Xi Wei and Klaire talked about a lot of things in the forest. Ever since his rebirth, Xi Wei had never been as at ease as during that moment.

Klaire knew all about his past and understood all his thoughts.

In this strange world, it was nice to have a friend in whom he could confidently confide. This kind of feeling made Xi Wei feel especially warm—he did not come alone to this strange world, he wasn't a lonely soul, he had someone in the same situation as him.

That person was called Klaire, someone who had lived on earth just like him and knew of those ancient civilizations which had long been forgotten. He was someone who had experienced many ups and downs with him, and who had accompanied him through thick and thin until he finally gained glory. They had something common shared only between the two of them. Even if they were to sit and talk about it for seven days and seven nights, it still would not be enough.

Unfortunately, their time was limited. Upon seeing that it was almost 12, Xi Wei calmly stood up and said, “We should go back.”

Klaire also stood up, “Okay, if you have anything to say to me later, ask me to come here. There are fewer people here at night and no one will know what we’re talking about."

Xi Wei smiled very happily, "The trick is to sneak out and meet like a spy. If someone finds out, we'll just say that we are reviewing our lessons."

Klaire smiled and said, “Yes. Let’s go.”

He then took Xi Wei's hand and they walked together toward the dormitory building.

Xi Wei did not find this movement strange, he merely thought that Klaire was holding his hand to show their closeness. The two young children’s hands were held together, Xi Wei's soft and tender one was covered in little Klaire's slightly rougher palm, Xi Wei actually thought it felt quite comfortable.

When he arrived in his dormitory, Aiden was already asleep. Xi Wei changed his clothes and climbed into bed to sleep. Just as he was about to lie down, his communication device suddenly lit up. Xi Wei was afraid to wake up Aiden, so he quickly went into bed and opened the communication device—it was Klaire sending him a simple message, “Go to bed early, good night.”

Xi Wei couldn't help but smile. He replied with “Good night” before closing his eyes.

To have a good friend here who would send him a simple goodnight greeting, it really warmed Xi Wei's heart.

However, due to his excitement, Xi Wei didn’t fall asleep until early morning. He dreamed of his previous life. He was practicing in the gymnasium of an suburban villa. Yu Qianhe stood at the doorway, smiling at him as he held onto a glass of milk. Once he began to feel tired, Yu Qianhe came forward and handed him a towel along with that glass of hot milk.

This happened every morning, so Xi Wei was getting used to being in this person’s care.

In fact, since he had no father and mother, he was really hoping to have someone he could trust wholeheartedly. To him, Yu Qianhe was this someone. He was his brother, his family. In the past, he trusted him as a friend and would tell him anything. Now, this manager of his actually crossed over as well—he could tell Klaire anything in the future.

Because the dream was very heart-warming, Xi Wei also woke up with a very good mood. After he had eaten breakfast, he went to the classroom together with Aiden.

They met Carlo and Klaire at the classroom's doorway. Xi Wei and Klaire looked at each other and exchanged a knowing smile. Meanwhile, Carlo who looked at their smiling faces was puzzled and scratched his head in confusion.

The four of them sat down in their respective seats. This class was Klaire's most hated class: Imperial History. He couldn't help but feel a bit sleepy as he listened.

Xi Wei looked at the golden head in front of him which resembled a little chicken and laughed. He stretched his feet and gently kicked him. Klaire was awakened by Xi Wei and hurriedly rubbed at his face before putting on a serious look. Unfortunately, he had no interest in the history class. He also thought that the old man was too serious in his lectures, almost like those narrators in TV dramas. After a while, he began to feel sleepy again and simply fall asleep on the table.

Xi Wei: “…”

He thought that Klaire appeared stupid before because he had yet to recover his memory. Unexpectedly, it was all part of his personality. He must be the same in his childhood days as Yu Qianhe-whenever he encountered a lesson he wasn't interested in, he would lay on the table and sleep.

The teacher on the podium saw that someone had fallen asleep on the table and yelled, “Klaire! You answer! "

Klaire was awakened and stood up awkwardly. Xi Wei stretched out his foot secretly to write the answer on his lower back. However, when he had only written half, the teacher suddenly stared at him, “Xi Wei!”

Xi Wei immediately withdrew his feet and stood up.

The teacher said seriously, “You go out with Klaire and stand there for one hour!”

Xi Wei threw an innocent look at the teacher, as if saying: I was clearly listening.

The teacher frowned, “You were secretly telling Klaire the answer, don’t think I don’t know! Stand outside and reflect!"

Xi Wei was helpless and had to accompany Klaire to stand outside.

Klaire who was now completely awake looked back at Xi Wei.

Xi Wei glared at him and whispered, “You pig-like teammate.”

Hearing this, Klaire smiled and held onto Xi Wei’s hand gently before saying, "Sorry, I've troubled you."

Xi Wei wasn't a stingy person. Being made to stand outside by the teacher was not a big deal, and since Klaire had offered an apology, he also would not mind about it anymore.

"Okay. But…why are you so fond of sleeping?" Xi Wei looked questioningly at the smiling Klaire and asked, “You also often fell asleep in class before, however it can be attributed to you losing sleep over dreaming of your past memories. But now, I thought you have recovered all your memory? So why do you still like sleeping? "

Because he was afraid someone would overhear their conversation, Xi Wei deliberately talked close to Klaire. His warm breathing gently grazed Klaire's ear, and his lips touched his ear as well, turning Klaire's mind into chaos. He really wanted to hold and kiss him mercilessly at this moment.

However, once he looked at the clear bright eyes of the six-year-old boy in front of him, Klaire immediately pushed down the idea.

—Kissing a child, he just couldn't do it.

But little Xi Wei might feel different once they got together in the future? Although he spoke very loudly, his lips looked very soft.

“Why are you spacing out again? Did you hear me?” Upon seeing the boy's absent-minded appearance, Xi Wei slapped him on the back.

Klaire was jerked back to reality. He smiled and said, “Yes, I hear you.”

“Why do you love sleeping so much?”

“I don’t like listening to history class,” said Klaire confidently.

Xi Wei then went on to ask: “Were you like this too in your previous life? Did you always rank in the bottom at exams?"

"…… " Cough. Klaire touched his nose, “I prefer science.”

“Really? So you have good grades in science?" Xi Wei asked directly, “How much did you get for math in the entrance exam?”

Klaire proudly answered, "More than 90 points.”

Xi Wei asked bluntly, “How much is the full score?”

Klaire lowered his head, “… 150. "

Xi Wei had an “I know” expression on his face. He looked at him and laughed, “I never thought you were actually such a bad student. How did you manage to enter the company as a manager, you weren't using back door, were you?"

Klaire smiled and said, “Of course not. I did not do well in the written exam, but I was first in the interview result. Most things learned at school would not be of any use in society, I saw through this since childhood, so I spend my time on more meaningful things."

Xi Wei asked, “What are those more meaningful things?”

“Like watching movies,” Klaire answered.

Xi Wei, “……..”

This guy’s ability to lie openly without even blinking was very powerful. He used to smile solemnly like this as he uttered a bunch of nonsense and fooled a lot of directors. For Xi Wei to be able to received a lot of important roles in movies, it was certainly thanks to his manager's hard work.

Listening to this guy spouting nonsense with such seriousness made Xi Wei realize that although his appearance and voice had changed, his character remained unchanged.

Xi Wei smiled; now that he thought about it, Klaire really was a bit similar to the same talkative guy from his memory.

-Just, the difference in appearance was too big.

The adult version of his manager in his memory was slender and good-looking. He always appeared gentle and elegant as he dressed in his usual attire of suits, especially when his eyes turned gentle as he smiled. At that time, his gentlemanly manner would make people feel like they were bathed in spring breeze. That, coupled with his low, magnetic voice, made it very difficult for people to refuse his requests.

What about Klaire now?

Just a cute little bun. With golden hair, blue eyes, and a face so tender it looked like it could produce water if squeezed. His voice was also crisp and sweet, just like those normally found in children. Xi Wei looked at the child in front of him and couldn't help but laugh. He reached out his hand to pinch that steamed bun-like face and said, “I'm really not used to looking at you like this ah.”

The pinched boy, Klaire: “…”

Xi Wei, you just wait. When I grow up in the future, I will hold you…

Just as he was about to get cranky, the history lesson happened to reach break time. The old man pushed the door open and upon seeing the two children standing close and talking ear to ear, he immediately turned angry, “Instead of doing introspection, both of you are actually chatting in here?!”

Xi Wei: “…”

Klaire: “…”

The whole class turned to them in surprise–they were made to stand, and yet they dared to chat happily.

Xi Wei immediately responded, saying with a smile, “Teacher, I was giving Klaire a lecture.”

Klaire nodded in agreement and earnestly said, “Yes, Xi Wei was giving me a lesson.”

The teacher looked suspiciously at them, but after seeing the innocent smiles on their faces, he had to dispel the concern in his heart. He said while frowning, “You can come inside to listen in the next lesson. Klaire, if I find you asleep again, I’ll tell your head teacher Kelly to call your parents to school!"

Klaire immediately said, “I understand, teacher.”

After the teacher turned away, Klaire smiled, leaned to Xi Wei's ear, and whispered, “Teachers' magic weapon—calling parents to school, hasn't changed even after thousand of years."

“I bet you often had your parents called before.” Xi Wei leaned back to him as he talked, “Now the situation is different, your father is a general. You have to be a good student and listen to the lectures seriously, don't reveal yourself. If Mrs. Kelly called your father General Byron and my father here, we won't be as free as we are now."

Klaire nodded immediately and said,”I know, I’m not your pig-teammate.”

Xi Wei laughed, “That's more like it.”

“I promise …” Klaire was about to turn back just as Xi Wei was about to lean in, and Klaire’s lips accidentally touched Xi Wei’s cheek. Xi Wei was unaware of it, but Klaire on the other hand felt like his heart almost stopped.

It was the first time he had been so close to the person he liked.

The soft touch of little Xi Wei’s face seemed to linger on his lips, and Klaire’s mind was in chaos.

If……

Since childhood he moved slowly to eat tofu[1], once they grew up, wouldn't he be able to eat Xi Wei completely and cleanly?

Proofreader: kleepart

T/N:

[1] Eating tofu is a slang which means flirting or harassing someone (sexually).

The origin of the term: It's said that tofu shops usually were run by wife and husband in the old days. Female boss in a tofu shop took tofu as their daily food, which made their skin tender and smooth. On one hand their fine skin helped attract more customers, on the other hand it showed some kind of coquetry to them. Men liked to take "to eat tofu" as an excuse to go to a tofu shop and flirt with the female boss there, verbally or even physically. Therefore, wives, feeling jealous, scolded their husbands, "Today, you went to eat tofu again?!" Now, "eating tofu" has become a word to describe man flirts with woman.