For example, getting a model for his merchandise.

  Last time, Lin Qingyu had been the perfect model. Jiang Xiao had given her that bag of items for free, and ter continued to send her pretty little things through Lin Heyuan. Thanks to him, their retionship stayed friendly. They’d even greet each other when they met. She was happy and didn’t mind having modeled for free.

  This time, Jiang Xiao thought it through and decided to model himself.

  No matter how good a product is, you have to show it off to customers. He had mainly sold to girls before, and Lin Qingyu had been perfect for that. But as the business grew, boys started coming to him too. This time, he brought in some headbands for sports, aimed at male students.

  He picked a nice one and wore it while pying basketball. It kept sweat out of his eyes and, more importantly, looked really cool.

  Jiang Xiao was good-looking to begin with, and the headband made him look even more heroic and bright. He seemed to level up in appearance.

  The first time he wore it was on the basketball court. There were no mirrors, and Jiang Xiao felt like it might be a little crooked. He adjusted it, unsure if it was right, and ran off to find Lin Heyuan.

  “Help me fix this, I don’t think it’s on straight,” he said, tugging Lin Heyuan’s sleeve from the step below. “Hurry, hurry.”

  It was Lin Heyuan’s first time seeing him wear something like that. He was stunned for a moment, then reached out to adjust it.

  Jiang Xiao’s hair was soft. The bck-and-red headband matched his jersey well. Once fixed, he took a step back and asked, “Does it look good?”

  Lin Heyuan stared at him, then nodded.

  Then he watched Jiang Xiao run back onto the court. Out of all the pyers, he stood out the most.

  Lin Heyuan wasn’t that into basketball. It wasn’t that he didn’t like sports—his dad had him run marathons, py snooker, train in boxing and basic combat, and they even had a home gym. But he liked watching Jiang Xiao py, even if he wasn’t on the court himself. He liked sitting on the steps and watching.

  His deskmate was truly a handsome guy.

  That’s what Lin Heyuan thought.

  At that moment, someone walked in from the school gate—it was Lin Chengyu.

  It was the break between afternoon csses and evening self-study, when students went home for dinner. The school wasn’t too strict during this time. Students came and went, so it wasn’t hard for Lin Chengyu to slip in.

  Lin Heyuan didn’t move from the steps. He noticed Lin Chengyu, but the tter seemed only focused on Jiang Xiao running on the court and didn’t see him.

  Jiang Xiao didn’t notice either. He finished his game and pulled off his headband, then heard someone calling him.

  Why was Lin Chengyu here?

  After the game, both Lin Chengyu and Lin Heyuan stood up from opposite sides of the court. Jiang Xiao frowned and, without thinking, ran straight toward Lin Heyuan.

  Lin Heyuan had tissues ready for him to wipe his sweat. Jiang Xiao asked, “Did I py well?”

  “Very well,” Lin Heyuan replied, fully aware of Lin Chengyu’s sharp gaze from across the court. Instead of being bothered, he smiled even more brightly at Jiang Xiao. “Go take a shower. We’ll review physics and chemistry tonight.”

  When Jiang Xiao turned away from Lin Chengyu and ran toward him, Lin Heyuan felt a burst of joy in his chest.

  He didn’t have time to analyze the feeling—Jiang Xiao had already reached him, and the joy only deepened.

  He helped Jiang Xiao put his watch back on. Then, seeing Lin Chengyu approaching with a dark expression, he added, “You don’t have to take it off every time. It’s meant for sports. Even if it gets hit by a ball, it won’t break. It’s made for you. If it does break, I’ll get you a new one.” (T/N: wow LOL)

  Lin Chengyu arrived just in time to hear that.

  Every time he saw Jiang Xiao with Lin Heyuan, he felt like he’d been hit over the head. A wave of frustration would build in his chest. If he were really just a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy, he might have exploded and picked a fight with Lin Heyuan right then and there.

  Seeing Jiang Xiao was supposed to be a good thing today. He even caught him pying basketball.

  He hadn’t seen this side of him in his previous life. Jiang Xiao had been so busy, all his spare time went to work or to Lin Chengyu. Lin Chengyu hadn’t cared back then—he hadn’t even known Jiang Xiao’s hobbies.

  But now he saw it. His beloved was a bright, energetic teenager who pyed basketball so well. Even the sunset on him seemed passionate and warm.

  Lin Chengyu’s fatigue disappeared in an instant, and his mood improved. He hadn’t pnned to interrupt—just quietly watch the game.

  But the moment he called out, Jiang Xiao looked at him, then turned and ran toward Lin Heyuan. He’d chosen Lin Heyuan, without hesitation.

  Then he heard that conversation.

  The watch Jiang Xiao always cherished? It was from Lin Heyuan.

  Both of them had given him watches, but Jiang Xiao only liked Lin Heyuan’s.

  “Ah! It’s almost time!” Jiang Xiao said after checking the time. “I need to shower, change, and eat!”

  He had no time to deal with Lin Chengyu. He turned and ran off. Lin Chengyu didn’t follow. He stood on the court steps, staring darkly at Lin Heyuan.

  “I told you before to stay away from Jiang Xiao.”

  Lin Heyuan stood up. He might have become a little more easygoing, but only with Jiang Xiao. With others, that wasn’t always the case.

  “You should be telling yourself that,” he shot back. “What right do you have to make decisions for Jiang Xiao? And clearly, the one he doesn’t want to see is you.”

  As he spoke, he pced his book on the steps and saw Lin Chengyu’s expression change.

  “What? Want to fight? I’ll go with you. But after we’re done, I want you to stop bothering Jiang Xiao.”

  Jiang Xiao was gone now, and there was an MP3 pyer sitting on Lin Heyuan’s book. Lin Chengyu knew exactly what model it was—he’d been watching what Jiang Xiao was selling.

  Was that a gift from Jiang Xiao too?

  After that final provocation, Lin Chengyu’s jealousy boiled over. He lost control and actually threw a punch.

  He normally wasn’t impulsive. In the corporate world, people praised his calm demeanor. But with Jiang Xiao, he lost all reason. Right now, he felt like a guard dog, provoked by a rival. Who the hell wouldn’t react?

  Lin Heyuan wasn’t weak. In fact, he was taller than Jiang Xiao.1IDK I though they were the same height. Maybe LH grew taller? They're still kids after all. When they pyed basketball seriously, Jiang Xiao couldn’t always stop him. So when Lin Chengyu went in swinging, neither had the upper hand.

  “What’s going on?!”

  Other students nearby, including some who had teamed up with Jiang Xiao earlier, came to break up the fight.

  “Even Jiang Xiao doesn’t fight anymore, what are you doing?” one of them scolded. “If a teacher sees this, you’ll both get written up!”

  Then he turned to Lin Chengyu, “Which css are you in?! Don’t you know he’s Jiang Xiao’s friend?”

  The two had only exchanged a few punches. They didn’t go for the face, likely worried Jiang Xiao would notice. Both took some hard hits, but it was even.

  Still, it was enough to release some of that pent-up frustration.

  No matter how you looked at it, Lin Heyuan was important to Jiang Xiao now. If he got hurt because of Lin Chengyu, Jiang Xiao would only drift further away. That fear kept Lin Chengyu restrained—nothing he did felt right.

  The two gred at each other across the crowd.

  Not long after, Lin Chengyu would realize he’d just shot himself in the foot.

  Still worried about Jiang Xiao, he rushed to Houlin again over the weekend—only to see him leaving with a backpack and a lunchbox.

  Going to bring food to Aunt Xia again?

  Lin Chengyu noticed he was walking the wrong way and followed him for a bit before realizing—it was the direction of Lin Heyuan's house.

  “Xiaoxiao,” he grabbed his arm to stop him, “what are you going there for?”

  “You’ve got some nerve asking that,” Jiang Xiao shot him a gre. “Why did you get into a fight with Lin Heyuan? He still has bruises on his waist.”

  Hearing that, Lin Chengyu almost wanted to lift his shirt right then to show him the bruises on his own chest. He’d gotten hit pretty bad too—Lin Heyuan hadn’t held back. But just as he opened his mouth to speak, Jiang Xiao cut him off.

  “You think you’re in the right just because you hit someone?” Jiang Xiao shrugged off his hand. “Can’t you act normal for once?”

  Everyone who broke up the fight that day knew Jiang Xiao. During the evening self-study, he’d heard everything. Lin Heyuan hadn’t said much, just admitted there was a conflict.

  From Jiang Xiao’s point of view, Lin Heyuan was the model student who used to seriously tell him not to fight. If even he got into a fight, then it had to be Lin Chengyu’s fault.

  “He hit first!”

  Jiang Xiao gave him a “yeah, right” look and carried on walking with the lunchbox in hand.

  He and Lin Heyuan had arranged to study at his house today. Lin Heyuan’s parents were out on a business trip. The injury was kind of his fault too, and Jiang Xiao felt bad, so he’d made pigeon soup at lunch to bring over. A little something to help him recover.

  Lin Chengyu felt like he was about to lose his mind.

  No matter what he said, Jiang Xiao wouldn’t believe him. Both of them had thrown punches, and while Lin Heyuan got a lovingly homemade soup, all he got was cold gres.

  Jiang Xiao’s house actually wasn’t far from Lin Heyuan’s—just in the opposite direction from school. A direct walk only took about twenty minutes.

  Lin Heyuan’s home was a vil with a garden. Knowing Jiang Xiao was coming, Lin Heyuan had been waiting at the gate. Lin Chengyu watched as Jiang Xiao’s eyes lit up the moment he saw him, then jogged over with the lunchbox.

  He’d lost count of how many times he’d watched Jiang Xiao leave him without hesitation and run straight to Lin Heyuan.