Chapter 9: Of Course I Care
After they left the infirmary, Xu Xingye didn't head straight back to the classroom. He drifted slowly down the corridor toward the stairwell.
The teaching building emptied quickly after the final bell. The occasional student who passed by would slow down without meaning to the moment they noticed Lu Siting trailing behind him.
But he had barely made it two steps down when a dull ache spread through his abdomen and his pace faltered. Lu Siting noticed at once, reaching out to block his side without actually touching him.
"Still hurting?"
"A little."
"Then take it slow."
"I know."
Xu Xingye answered, but didn't stop, still working his way down by the railing. Lu Siting stayed beside him the whole time, keeping half a step's distance — never too far away, never too close.
[His color is still bad.]
[I shouldn't have let him walk on his own just now.]
[If only I could just carry him back.]
Xu Xingye nearly missed a step.
Lu Siting's reflexes were quick — he caught his wrist.
"Careful."
Xu Xingye looked down at that hand. His wrist was held loosely, just firmly enough to keep him steady. He had meant to say it wasn't on purpose, but what came out instead was: "Are you this attentive with everyone?"
Lu Siting visibly froze.
"No."
"Then who are you like this with?"
"You."
The two words came out too fast, as if they had skipped deliberation entirely.
Xu Xingye looked up at him.
Lu Siting, realizing how direct that answer had been, dropped his gaze and added, "You're a patient right now."
He pulled his hand back, ears going warm, and pretended to study the stairs below with great focus.
"I was just asking."
"Mm."
"Don't overthink it."
"I'm not overthinking anything."
[Why did he explain himself?]
[Is he worried I'll get the wrong idea?]
[Does he care about me a little too?]
Xu Xingye closed his eyes briefly.
What made this guy formidable wasn't the money in his family, or the fact that he could scare the homeroom teacher into apologizing. It was that no matter where a conversation started, it always circled back to him.
They reached the ground floor. The electronic clock beside the guard's office read 5:20. A good number of cars were already parked outside the school gate, and the evening breeze came up the steps, stirring the hem of Xu Xingye's shirt.
Lu Siting took his schoolbag.
"I can carry it myself."
"Carrying it now will hurt you."
"It's my stomach that hurts. My hands work fine."
"Still too heavy."
"The problem is, it's my schoolbag."
Lu Siting looked at him, perfectly calm. "Now it's in my hands."
Xu Xingye was choked speechless by that logic.
He'd noticed it before: Lu Siting didn't talk much, but once he started twisting logic, his reasoning was strangely complete — like he'd drafted his defense in advance.
[Of course I carry my wife's things.]
[If he wants to carry it, fine, he can have it.]
[...I just don't really want to give it back.]
Xu Xingye's outstretched hand hung in the air for a moment, then quietly withdrew.
Fine.
It was just a schoolbag.
At the school gate, Lu Siting took out his phone and sent a message. Before long, a black sedan pulled up to the curb, and a driver stepped out and respectfully opened the back door.
Xu Xingye looked at the car, then at Lu Siting.
"Your family's driver?"
"Mm."
"Young Master Lu's treatment really is different."
"You can ride too."
"I didn't say I wanted to."
"I know."
[He says no, but his feet have already carried him over.]
Xu Xingye promptly shuffled half a step sideways.
The corner of Lu Siting's mouth moved slightly, like he wanted to smile but forced it back down.
[So cute.]
Looking at that expression, Xu Xingye suddenly wondered whether he really was sicker than he'd thought.
Why else would he be reading this much off a face with no expression at all?
The driver stood by the door, unhurried, though he sneaked a glance at Xu Xingye. Lu Siting immediately stepped sideways to block that line of sight, his tone light but leaving zero room for negotiation.
"Eyes on the road."
The driver quickly turned his head away.
Xu Xingye arched a brow. "Isn't that possessiveness of yours a little severe?"
Lu Siting went still.
[Busted?]
[Do not admit it.]
[If I admit it, will he think I'm weird?]
"No."
"Then what were you blocking just now?"
"The sun."
Xu Xingye looked up at the sun, already sinking toward the horizon, then back at Lu Siting.
An excuse not even the driver quite believed.
Lu Siting, expression unchanging, put the schoolbag in the car. "Get in."
Standing at the door, Xu Xingye suddenly remembered that form of address from the infirmary. He could have just gotten in, but at the last second he couldn't help himself. "Lu Siting."
"Hm?"
"What were you thinking about just now?"
Lu Siting's fingertips paused on the car door.
Xu Xingye's heart clenched — for a moment he thought he'd been too obvious — and he hurried to add, "I mean, why did you suddenly stand up back there?"
"Because he was bothering you."
"That's it?"
"That's it."
He looked away and bent down into the car.
Lu Siting got in after him and sat at a distance. Once the doors closed, the noise outside was shut out, and the cabin held only the sound of their breathing and the driver starting the car.
Xu Xingye leaned against the window and stole a glance at Lu Siting.
The other boy was looking down at his phone, profile as cold as ever — but the voice inside his head was an entirely different story.
[He just asked if I stood up because of him.]
[Does he want to know whether I care about him?]
[Of course I care.]
Xu Xingye jerked his head back toward the window, watching the school gate recede behind them.
He told himself it was just one of Lu Siting's nonsense lines.
But that nonsense line circled in his head for ages and refused to go away.
As the car pulled out of the school, Lu Siting watched him for a while, and then, as if he had finally made up his mind, broke the silence in a voice that wasn't quite natural.
"Are you... feeling any better?"