Serenade

The stifling heat of high summer, the drone of cicadas loud and grating.

In the basketball court, the sweaty young men freely exerted themselves, cheeks flushed, steam rising from their bodies.

Bo Yan would occasionally return under the basket, picking up his phone to check it, typing out messages, the corners of his mouth curving into a smile.

Jing Chi made a three-point shot, the ball bouncing next to Bo Yan, who was oblivious.

"Are you still playing or what? Pay attention!"

Without even lifting his head, Bo Yan said, "I'm texting Chu Zhao."

Jing Chi's shooting hand suddenly froze, the ball veering far from the basket, hitting the edge of the backboard. He quickly retrieved it, glancing back at Bo Yan with feigned nonchalance. "You guys have been talking a lot recently?"

"More than before...just a little more." Bo Yan's grinning face was extremely irritating.

Jing Chi twisted open a bottle of mineral water and took a long drink, not pursuing the issue further.

This was actually quite good - hadn't getting those two together been his goal from the start? She would be happy in the future, and Bo Yan was a boy who could be trusted and relied upon.

He could even imagine the two silly lovebirds happily enjoying their sweet relationship.

The fine, incessant pain rising in his heart - he took a deep breath, irritably knocking over a bottle of mineral water next to him.

"Damn it."

Pausing from texting, Bo Yan looked up at him. "What's up with you?"

"I want to beat you to a pulp."

Bo Yan frowned in confusion. "Psycho."

Then Ping Chuan Shen's phone rang. He used the towel draped over his shoulder to wipe his face and answered it, exchanging a few words before turning to say he had to leave.

Bo Yan asked, "Jin Xi looking for you again?"

"Grandpa wants me to go over for dinner tonight. I'm heading out first." Ping Chuan Shen picked up his black backpack and left the gym.

...

After showering at home, Ping Chuan Shen rode his bike straight to the old quadrangle courtyard residence. The bike was borrowed from his uncle Shen Ping Chuan. That evening, the temperature had dropped - he would take Jin Xi riding along the riverbank, watching the sunset.

The wide roads around the quadrangle courtyard were lined with thick, leafy parasol trees that shaded the area from the sun. The temperature here was much cooler than other places, very comfortable.

Such spacious quadrangle courtyards were now a rarity in City B. Even if you had money, it was hard to find such a wide, open residence with two sections and four sides. Those who lived here had considerable status and position.

Ping Chuan Shen wheeled his bike through the entrance, immediately smelling the aroma of hot food.

Just then, a clear female voice sounded from the inner room. "You're back?"

Glancing back, Ping Chuan Shen saw a girl in a T-shirt and jeans standing in the doorway watching him.

She had delicate features and bright eyes, though her skin was somewhat dark. She was about the same height as Jin Xi.

Usually it was just Grandpa and Grandma at home, and Auntie who helped with the cooking at most. Why was there suddenly an extra girl here?

"Who are you?"

Ping Chuan Shen steadied his bike, looking around to make sure he hadn't mistakenly entered the wrong place.

Just then, Grandpa emerged from the side room with his pipe, explaining, "This is your sister Xiaoyuan Yang."

Ping Chuan Shen couldn't recall ever having such a sister. He assumed she must be a relative of Grandpa's family and nodded politely to her. "Hello, I'm Ping Chuan Shen."

Looking Ping Chuan Shen over, Xiaoyuan Yang's face reddened slightly.

His features were handsome yet aloof, and his upturned phoenix eyes seemed somewhat aggressive, giving off an initial impression of being cold and difficult to approach.

She didn't quite dare to look at him directly, averting her gaze sideways as she quietly said, "You must be Brother Ping Chuan Shen. I heard Grandpa mention you many times this afternoon."

Ping Chuan Shen murmured an acknowledgment and said, "I'll go help Grandma in the kitchen."

"Go on," said Grandpa, tapping ash from his pipe near the tree.

Tying up his sleeves, Ping Chuan Shen entered the kitchen. Grandma had an apron tied around her waist and was dropping some greens into a wok. Looking back and seeing her grandson had arrived, the wrinkles around her eyes curved into a smile.

"Rascal, go keep the guest company. What are you doing in here?"

"A relative? I've never seen her before."

"Grandpa didn't introduce you?"

"No."

"I see. Wouldn't do to say too much in front of her." Grandma stirred the greens in the wok, lowering her voice to say, "Xiaoyuan Yang is a girl in poverty Grandpa has sponsored since primary school. She's always been very driven - now she's made it to university, and your grandpa is thrilled. Today he personally went to fetch her from the train station to stay here until the school term starts."

"I see."

Ping Chuan Shen turned on the faucet and rinsed two carrots, bringing them to the cutting board to slice.

Soon Grandpa himself came into the kitchen and told Ping Chuan Shen, "Go keep the guest company. Xiaoyuan is attending B University this year, the same as you. Chat with her about university life."

Glancing back with a laugh, Ping Chuan Shen said, "I'll save it for dinner. She and I aren't familiar - it'd be awkward to sit silently staring at each other now."

Grandpa knew of his grandson's aloof, cold nature that made it hard for him to become close with others, especially girls.

Still, he couldn't help admonishing, "Xiaoyuan is very capable. She was the top arts student in her county this year. When she's at your school, help look after her, understand?"

Teasingly, Ping Chuan Shen said, "Can't do that. I have a girlfriend now - looking after other girls will make her jealous."

Grandpa was rendered speechless by this retort. He reached out and rapped the back of Ping Chuan Shen's head, grumbling, "You rascal, talking nonsense. Just treat Xiaoyuan like a sister!"

"Xiaoyuan knows the score. You know what he's like - right, that's enough, go on out and don't leave the young lady sitting alone awkwardly." Grandma impatiently shoved Grandpa back out.

After Grandpa left the kitchen, Grandma asked Ping Chuan Shen softly, "How old is this girlfriend?"

"Not even 19 yet." As Ping Chuan Shen spoke of her, his expression gentled greatly. "She's my junior high schoolmate."

"So young?"

"Yes."

"Can she take care of others?"

Ping Chuan Shen smiled, his long, slender, fair fingers still wet. "I've pampered her since she was small. Just a bratty kid - how could she take care of anyone? It's more like me taking care of her."

Accepting the plate from him, Grandma sighed. "Your parents left early, and your grandpa and I are getting on in years. We only hope there will be someone warm and caring by your side in the future - that would be best."

Grandma was clearly concerned for him. Ping Chuan Shen lightly squeezed her shoulder, half-coaxing, "Old lady, stop your needless worrying. She's to my liking and understands me."

In this world, a kindred spirit was so hard to find.

With just this one line, Grandma didn't say any more.

At dinner, Xiaoyuan Yang was very well-behaved and cautious, even hesitant to help herself to the meat, only keeping her head lowered as she scooped white rice and vegetables. It was Grandma sitting beside her who put chicken legs on her plate, urging her to eat more.

Grandpa had Ping Chuan Shen tell her about university life, so he casually mentioned a few things - the need for self-directed learning, spending more time in the library, being selective when choosing books to read, etc...

These were the main points Student Council member Shen Ping Chuan had raised in his freshman orientation speech, which Ping Chuan Shen now adapted for his own use.

Xiaoyuan Yang listened very attentively, her eyes never leaving Ping Chuan Shen as he spoke, as if afraid to accidentally miss some pearl of wisdom.

This made Ping Chuan Shen feel rather awkward.

"What's your major?" he asked casually.

"Chinese Language and Literature."

Hearing this, Ping Chuan Shen perked up somewhat. "That's a good major."

Xiaoyuan Yang's face flushed slightly. "Brother Ping Chuan Shen knows about this major?"

"My girlfriend is also studying it."

Xiaoyuan Yang looked up in surprise to see his eyes brighten.

So it wasn't that the major was good, but rather, the girlfriend was.

Grandpa teased him: "Got yourself a girlfriend and you're thrilled as if you discovered some great treasure, wanting the whole world to know."

Unsure of how to respond, Xiaoyuan Yang just smiled politely along with the elderly man.

After the meal, Xiaoyuan Yang helped Ping Chuan Shen wash the dishes. Ping Chuan Shen declined, "You're a guest, there's no need."

"Men aren't tidy doing this kind of housework. I'll take care of it."

"That's not how things are done."

The corners of Bo Yan's mouth tilted up slightly. "I have a friend who's great at household chores - he can cook, make jujube tea, and even helped wash his sister's socks recently. So by your logic, does that make him unmanly?"

When Yang Xiaoyuan heard this, she pursed her purplish-red lips and lowered her head.

Granny knew that Yang Xiaoyuan was sensitive, and her grandson had a habit of joking around and speaking casually without ill intentions.

She was afraid Yang Xiaoyuan would overthink things, so she changed the topic. "Xiaoyuan, what book did you say you wanted to buy earlier?"

"Oh, a poetry collection by Jigme Lingpa."

Granny didn't really understand these things either, so she said, "Perfect timing. Bo Yan can go with you to Xinhua Bookstore after the meal."

Bo Yan was standing in the kitchen doorway holding a bowl. He looked back helplessly at Granny, his eyes full of reluctance.

But Granny didn't even glance his way. She brought Yang Xiaoyuan to the living room to watch TV.

Bo Yan slowly washed the dishes and tidied up the kitchen before coming out. He saw that Yang Xiaoyuan had peeled apples for Grandpa and Granny, like an obedient granddaughter.

When Bo Yan emerged, Yang Xiaoyuan immediately offered him an apple. "Bo Yan, this is for you."

"I don't like apples," Bo Yan casually rejected. "It's best not to eat fruit after a meal."

All this basic knowledge came from his omniscient eldest cousin, who told him things like not to drink yogurt or eat fruit after meals. Bo Yan didn't know if it was reliable advice, but he repeated it anyway.

Yang Xiaoyuan held the apple, at a loss over what to do. She turned red with embarrassment. "Oh, I didn't know that."

Grandpa Bo saw that his grandson was being overly polite, blocking the girl at every turn.

And he couldn't scold the rascal, because Bo Yan didn't have any ill intentions. Perhaps Yang Xiaoyuan was just too sensitive.

Grandpa Bo casually remarked, "It's just an apple, it won't choke you to death."

Bo Yan wouldn't defy his grandparents who raised him, so he took the apple. But he didn't eat it, just held it in his hand until they went out, when he left it on the table.

"Don't drink or eat anything given to you by other girls. Don't accept food from other girls." This was the first of Shen Ping Chuan's "Top Ten Don'ts for Model Boyfriends" that he made for Bo Yan.

Bo Yan thought the whole "Top Ten Don'ts" thing was random bullshit, like "Don't smoke in front of your girlfriend," "Only treat your girlfriend well, don't be a central air conditioner," and "When your girlfriend is angry, you should talk back appropriately, don't just say whatever you want..."

But for some reason, he was actually pretty good about following the rules.

Jing Chi commented: You smell like Shen Ping Chuan's cologne. You're poisoned.

**

As night fell, Bo Yan took Yang Xiaoyuan out.

Passing by a parked bike near the well, Yang Xiaoyuan suddenly suggested, "Bo Yan, let's ride over. It'd be wasteful to take a taxi."

Bo Yan glanced back at the bike, and suddenly remembered he had to go home tonight. He couldn't leave the bike at Grandpa's place.

So he wheeled the bike out of the courtyard and said to Yang Xiaoyuan, "It's not far, let's walk over."

Yang Xiaoyuan followed behind him, her gaze lowered to the bike's soft seat. She understood a little now.

His bike wouldn't give rides to just any girl.

Bo Yan noticed Yang Xiaoyuan's cheeks were very red. "Are you hot? Or should we take a taxi instead?"

"No, I'm not hot. It's just..."

Yang Xiaoyuan didn't know why, but she felt particularly uneasy ever since Bo Yan entered the house. He was too handsome, with aggressive features when serious, but a completely different roguish look when smiling.

She couldn't describe it, only felt that his entire being exuded a kind of lethal force, making her cheeks flush with heat.

"No need for a taxi, walking is fine."

Bo Yan walked along the street pushing his bike. A tall, long-legged handsome guy like him naturally attracted the gazes of passing girls. They looked at Yang Xiaoyuan enviously.

But Bo Yan was oblivious up in the clouds.

The attention made Yang Xiaoyuan unconsciously edge closer to him.

"Don't call me Bo Yan." He casually said, "Just my name is fine."

Yang Xiaoyuan thought adding "Brother" sounded more intimate. She treated Grandpa Bo like her own grandfather, so calling him "Brother Bo Yan" was perfectly reasonable.

Him asking her to use just his name felt much more distant.

After thinking about it, she asked, "Then can I call you Senior Bo Yan?"

Those four words stirred something in Bo Yan's heart.

His little Jin Xi always loved calling him Senior Bo Yan. Hearing someone else say it made him feel off.

"Just my name is fine."

"Oh."

Yang Xiaoyuan finally stopped insisting.

**

With school starting soon, Jin Xi finally had to start hunkering down to study.

She had only completed about 30% of the reading assignments from teachers. In the last few days, she and Chu Zhao went to the bookstore together.

Xinhua Bookstore was a massive three-story building, with books as vast as the sea. Jin Xi and Chu Zhao knew it like the back of their hand, heading straight for the literature section on the 2nd floor.

There were many customers in the store. Some sat on the stairs reading, others leaned against bookshelves engrossed in books.

Jin Xi lightened her steps, slowly browsing the shelves. After just a few steps, she caught sight of a familiar figure standing between two shelves.

He wore a light white shirt tucked messily into his pants. The collar was open, revealing his slender neck. The sleeves were rolled up to below his elbows, exposing the faint blue veins on his fair wrists.

He was flipping through a hardcover book, his jet black eyes sunken in his deep brow, framed by thick dark lashes.

Seeing him, Jin Xi's eyes unconsciously lit up with laughter. She quietly walked over and patted his left shoulder.

Bo Yan looked back. Jin Xi immediately stood cheekily on his right after he grabbed at empty air. As he turned his head back, she tiptoed and kissed his jaw.

"Sir Bo's reading books at the bookstore?"

Seeing Jin Xi, Bo Yan's eyes instantly softened with a smile. He ruffled her hair, "How are you everywhere I go?"

"School's starting soon, so I have to hunker down and study these days..."

Before Jin Xi could finish speaking, a girl walked over holding a book. "Bo Yan, I've picked one."

Jin Xi turned and saw Yang Xiaoyuan, just as Yang Xiaoyuan noticed her.

The two girls sized each other up.

Girls notice different things when looking at each other.

The first thing Jin Xi noticed was Yang Xiaoyuan's thick, dark, long hair tied in a ponytail hanging down her back. It really looked like a long, lush ponytail.

So much hair...

She unconsciously touched her little scorpion braid. So tiny.

What caught Yang Xiaoyuan's attention was Jin Xi's outfit - a plaid skirt in light green and white, simple yet fresh and girly when paired with a sling bag. She had the same plaid skirt, but couldn't pull off the look of the girl before her. It just made her seem tacky.

The two girls communicated preliminarily through their eyes.

Jin Xi looked expectantly at Bo Yan, seemingly waiting for him to introduce her, or explain.

After thinking for a bit, Bo Yan couldn't introduce Yang Xiaoyuan as the girl sponsored by his grandfather. He finally said, "She's a relative staying with us, goes to the same school. Consider her your junior schoolmate. Grandpa asked me to bring her to buy books."

Jin Xi saw that she was holding a copy of The Collected Songs of Jigme Lingpa.

"Liberal arts student?"

"Yes."

Bo Yan didn't introduce Jin Xi to Yang Xiaoyuan. After all, this was their first meeting today, barely acquaintances, no need to introduce his own friends.

Yang Xiaoyuan felt a little uncomfortable that Bo Yan didn't explain, though she could guess the relationship from the context.

Bo Yan whispered to Jin Xi for a bit, and took the book from her hand to help check out later together.

But Jin Xi didn't agree. "I want to browse more, not just this one book."

"Fine."

Bo Yan took out the book purchasing card that Grandpa had just given him and put it in her slanted bag, "I'm giving you the card, feel free to use it as you like."

Since Jin Xi and Bo Yan started dating, whatever good things Bo Yan had, he would give them all to her. So Jin Xi did not decline either. She smiled and took it, "Our Young Master Bo is really overbearing."

"Does this young master treat you well or not?" 𝑓𝓇𝘦𝘦𝔀𝓮𝒷𝘯𝓸𝓋𝓮𝘭.𝓬𝓸𝘮

Jin Xi smiled lightly, revealing the sweet dimples at the corners of her mouth, "You treat me well."

Of course, the intimate whispers between the two were too low for Yang Xiaoyuan to hear. But Yang Xiaoyuan saw the book purchasing card, which was clearly given to Bo Yan by Grandpa before leaving, for him to buy books. And now he so easily gave it away.

Her heart was filled with mixed emotions. She said in a low voice, "Then...I won't buy it."

Bo Yan looked at her puzzled, "What's wrong?"

Yang Xiaoyuan put "The Collected Poems of Jigme Lingpa" back on the shelf, lowered her head and bit her lower lip. If she had to buy this book with money, she would rather not buy it.

Jin Xi blinked her eyes, not quite understanding what was going on with this "relative" in Bo Yan's family. But her innate female intuition also made her sense that it was probably related to her.

Jin Xi took out the book card and asked uncertainly, "Then...junior sister, do you want to check out with us?"

Yang Xiaoyuan looked up at Jin Xi. Her lips were bitten white. Her eyes were full of humiliation, "No need."

She took "The Collected Poems of Jigme Lingpa" off the shelf and said stiffly, "I'll check out myself."

Bo Yan's face showed a confused expression. First she didn't want to buy it, now she insisted on buying it herself, what did she mean?

Grandpa had given him a book card before leaving, but didn't say how to use it. Bo Yan thought about how his girlfriend also needed to buy a lot of books for her major, so he had originally planned to keep the card for Jin Xi to use.

He didn't understand why Yang Xiaoyuan suddenly got angry.

While lining up to check out, Jin Xi and Chu Zhao looked at Bo Yan's back in the front row.

In the end, Bo Yan still paid with his own money while Yang Xiaoyuan hugged the book with flushed cheeks.

Chu Zhao said in a low voice, "She didn't want to check out together with our card, but she was quite happy to have Brother Bo Yan pay for her books."

Jin Xi shrugged her shoulders, also feeling a little uncomfortable in her heart for some reason.

After buying the books and walking out of the bookstore, Yang Xiaoyuan knew she had been a little improper just now, so she apologized to Jin Xi, "I didn't mean it. I just felt that the book card was given to you by Brother Bo Yan, so I shouldn't use it."

"You're really weird," Chu Zhao said bluntly, "You obviously had a card, yet you insisted on making Senior pay out of his own pocket."

Jin Xi noticed the hint of humiliation in Yang Xiaoyuan's expression. She pulled Chu Zhao and stopped her from saying more.

"I will...pay Bo Yan back," Yang Xiaoyuan said in a low voice, hugging her book.

Bo Yan casually said, "You can pay me back if you want Grandpa to scold me."

Hearing Yang Xiaoyuan address her boyfriend as "Brother Bo Yan" again and again, Jin Xi felt even more uncomfortable in her heart. She was not yet magnanimous enough to hear another girl call her boyfriend "brother" all the time.

Seeing Jin Xi's face sink, Yang Xiaoyuan's expression eased a lot. Hugging her book, she walked behind Bo Yan like a well-behaved young daughter-in-law.

Bo Yan kept looking back at Jin Xi, feeling more and more nervous. He wanted to walk side by side with Jin Xi, but Jin Xi had her arm looped around Chu Zhao the whole time, whispering to her, basically ignoring him.

When they got downstairs, Bo Yan quickened his pace and walked to the roadside, ready to hail a cab and said to Yang Xiaoyuan, "I'll call a cab to take you back to Grandpa's house."

"Huh? Brother Bo Yan, you're not using the bike?"

The great actor Bo Yan went into character in a second: "What bike..."

"That one over there!"

Jin Xi looked back and saw the bike parked downstairs at the mall. How could she not recognize it? It was the one Shen Pingchuan lent to Bo Yan. The soft fur seat cushion hanging on the back still had "Little Butt's Exclusive Use" on it.

Unbelievable, he actually dared to give another girl a ride on this bike.

Jin Xi's sharp eyes swept toward Bo Yan like knives. Bo Yan's legs went soft and he almost knelt down.

The author has something to say: I'm back to school too. Ah ah ah ah ah!

Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah!