Chapter 234: IF Route 6 (Extra 8)
In a place with no one around, in unfamiliar territory, the deeper the night grew, the more frequently Wu Heng broke out in goosebumps. Night itself awakened humanity’s most primitive fear of darkness. From time to time, he let out a suppressed sneeze. When the security guard suddenly raised his phone and pointed it toward him, his scalp went numb—like prey suddenly realizing it had fallen into a vast net.
But the security guard’s attention wasn’t actually on him. After a brief moment of confusion, his expression turned into one of ecstatic delight, like a hunter who had just seen a half-dead spotted deer caught in a trap after a winter of starvation. Excited, he immediately relayed the news to his companions.
Wu Heng already had nowhere to go. In truth, he was no different from a deer trapped in a snare.
The guard hung up the phone, humming as he returned to the booth. His “companions” soon arrived, armed with long guns and blades, ready to collect their prize.
Wu Heng stood up and watched as the approaching figure drew nearer—tall, long-limbed, walking with large, fast strides. It wasn’t the security guard’s companion. It was his own.
Before the person even reached him, the corner of his vision caught sight of the luggage bags piled beside him. Though they weren’t trash, they were inseparable from him—like a tumor or a node cut from some part of his body. They were burdens tied to him. Together, they searched for their next host, still uncertain whether that host would accept them in full.
The boy lowered his eyes. His slender frame seemed to carry an immeasurable weight of psychological filth, all of it spilling out—enough to plunge the world into endless night.
And yet he looked light. At least, that was how it seemed in Xie Chongyi’s eyes—so light that he felt as if he might vanish the next second.
“What’s going on?” If he hadn’t seen the bags, Xie Chongyi probably wouldn’t have asked that.
Wu Heng looked down at the tips of his shoes. “I ran away from home.”
Xie Chongyi’s thoughts jumped quickly. “Because of me?”
In a way, that didn’t seem wrong either, Wu Heng thought, and nodded. “Mm.”
Xie Chongyi felt a sense of happiness.
The parrot was perched on a cabinet in the entryway outside the door. Xie Chongyi hadn’t told it that Wu Heng was coming, but it seemed to have known in advance anyway. The moment Xie Chongyi closed the door, it darted out.
When the elevator doors opened, it spread its wings and shouted, “Wu Heng!”
Wu Heng looked at it silently for a few seconds, then stepped out carrying the two snake-skin bags. Xie Chongyi flipped down the elevator door’s safety barrier. “Just unpack a little. You still have class tomorrow. We’ll deal with the rest after school.”
Xie Chongyi’s house was very large, but barely furnished. Several sofa pieces, like blocks of tofu, were arranged into a long couch. On a marble coffee table in the center sat a few cans of soda water, while the remaining space was filled entirely with books.
At first, Wu Heng thought they were study materials. As he passed by, he glanced at one cover:
“Eighty-Eight Daoist Techniques”
No matter how serious or cold a house looked, once books like that appeared, it immediately gained a strange, indescribable air.
Amid the rustling sounds of luggage being dragged, Wu Heng looked around. In the dim light spilling from the entryway, he said quietly, “Class Monitor, does your house not have lights?”
After a brief silence, the boy replied, “I forgot.”
Only after speaking did he turn all the lights on.
Both of them blinked at the sudden brightness, then opened their eyes again at the same time. Xie Chongyi had already pushed open the bedroom door. His voice came from inside:
“The master bedroom is where my parents stay, but they’re rarely home. Besides that, there’s only one second bedroom, so you’ll have to share a room with me.”
He said it in a tone that didn’t sound particularly disappointed.
Wu Heng had never shared a bed with anyone before. He pointed at the sofa. “I can sleep there.”
Xie Chongyi walked back out and spread his hands. “If you don’t mind being dragged around the living room by them, then go ahead.”
Wu Heng bent down to look at the sofa legs—so slippery…
“Then I’ll sleep in the same bed as you.” He straightened up and made his decision. Since he had already disturbed his friend, he might as well commit to the inconvenience fully.
Wu Heng’s luggage was gradually carried in piece by piece. There wasn’t much storage space in the house, so most of it had to be temporarily placed in the unused master bedroom wardrobe.
During the process, Xie Chongyi kept asking, “What’s this? What’s this? And this? What about this?”
Two-thirds of it turned out to be things Lin Mengzhi had “sourced” from Wu Shiming and the others. Even expensive skincare products belonging to Zeng Like, and Wu Shiming’s imported replacement razor, had ended up in Wu Heng’s bags.
They only took out the essential items needed for the next few months.
Xie Chongyi gradually realized that Wu Heng had very few personal belongings. For washing his face, he only had a bar of lavender-scented soap. For bathing, the same lavender soap. For shampoo, also a lavender shampoo bar—almost like the entire “lavender family” had come along with him.
His toothbrush was an inexpensive, commonly seen brand like Cold Sour Spirit, but his electric toothbrush cost several hundred yuan. It was obvious he took very good care of his teeth, because aside from the necessary toothbrush and toothpaste, he also had quite a few specialized oral-care tools.
Everything else was less meticulous, fitting the needs of an ordinary high school boy.
Wu Heng stubbornly insisted on organizing everything himself so he could learn where things were.
So Xie Chongyi followed behind him the entire time, telling him where to place things in the bathroom. When Wu Heng stood, he watched the nape of his neck and his ears; when he squatted, he looked at the fluffy swirl of hair on his crown.
Maybe it was just his imagination, but Xie Chongyi felt that everything about Wu Heng was a little bit cute—not just his appearance, but even his personality.
But probably only he would think that. Realizing this made him even happier.
“The blanket was just changed yesterday. You can go straight to bed.”
The two of them lay down on the bed.
That night, Wu Heng thought Xie Chongyi would ask why he had run away from home—ask other questions he wouldn’t know how to answer—but Xie Chongyi asked nothing at all.
Wu Heng said nothing either. The silence of a friend did not make him panic and pour everything out.
They fell asleep at the same time and woke up at the same time.
But Xie Chongyi got up a little later. While Wu Heng was brushing his teeth, the parrot was perched on the toilet next to him, its head raised and eyes constantly darting around.
Wu Heng didn’t really feel anything toward pets, so he didn’t pay it any attention.
“Eat breakfast!” the parrot shouted loudly when it got no response from the human.
Wu Heng wasn’t sure why he did it, but he replied, “I don’t know where your food is. Go find Xie Chongyi.” Even though the parrot probably couldn’t understand him.
But this parrot was different—it actually understood. It hopped down from the toilet, and Wu Heng glanced outside to see it rush into the half-closed bedroom door, immediately jumping onto the raised blanket. After a chaotic flurry of commotion, Xie Chongyi sat up from the bed in annoyance.
After a very “peaceful and harmonious” half hour, the two of them left home together, leaving the parrot behind to guard the house.
After getting off the bus during the morning rush hour, they immediately ran into Xue Shen getting out of his family’s chauffeur-driven car. This was the first time Wu Heng had met Xue Shen before entering school. So his family had a driver?
As if sensing Wu Heng’s confusion, Xie Chongyi grabbed his arm from the side, pulling him closer, and lowered his voice: “He’s just pretending.”
Xue Shen also saw the two of them, but he didn’t know they were living together and only assumed it was a coincidence—though in reality, he believed Xie Chongyi had engineered this “chance encounter.”
The three of them walked into school together. At the fork in the road between the cafeteria and the teaching buildings, just before the small grove, Xue Shen waved his hand. “I’m not going to the cafeteria. I already had breakfast at home—black truffle seared salmon sandwich…”
The class rep’s breakfast probably also came with coffee or some kind of juice, but Xie Chongyi didn’t give him a chance to finish speaking—he put an arm around Wu Heng and led him straight into the small grove.
Wu Heng glanced back at the class rep. The other boy’s looks were actually not as outstanding as the class monitor’s; he even wore an unnecessary pair of black-framed glasses. He gave off a very “hot nerd” vibe, but he was indeed the type who was not as honest as he seemed.
Because they were now living together, even though their seats were far apart, the two of them moving in and out of different parts of the school naturally became like two ants that responded to each other’s movements, sticking together.
At noon on the first day, Wu Heng got up as soon as the bell rang, as usual, and walked out. Just as he reached the hallway, a voice from behind called, “Wait for me.” Then he ended up having lunch with Xie Chongyi.
After school in the afternoon, he also picked up his bag and left—but somehow, Xie Chongyi was already standing outside the hallway waiting for him.
The next day at school didn’t need to be mentioned at all.
Even when going to the restroom at school, Xie Chongyi insisted on accompanying him. Although Wu Heng didn’t understand why, he still unzipped and went in.
Wu Heng was used to being alone. Solitude made him more at ease.
He didn’t really care about anyone in particular. He only cared whether there was meat on his own plate, not whether others wanted scallions or cilantro. His indifference toward others was partly just personality.
More importantly, being alone gave him a greater sense of security.
Those who came close to him either invaded his territory, his mind, or his body—and Xie Chongyi invaded all three.
But after staying at Xie Chongyi’s house for more than half a month, Wu Heng began to grow a little unaccustomed to being alone. The cold swamp inside his body had turned into a shimmering white lake and a blue ocean—warm in spring, passionate in summer, brilliant in autumn, and in winter, it had become the quiet he had once longed for but could never quite reach.
But Xie Chongyi was not a real still object that could remain by Wu Heng’s side for his entire life.
They would go to university, possibly pursue further studies, and at that stage they might be separated by distance. Then they would begin working. After that, something even more terrifying would push them into completely different lives with no connection to each other at all—marriage.
If by then their relationship was still close, at most they would only receive a child’s polite “uncle” from each other’s kids. If they lost contact, then they would not even have the qualification to sit down and eat a meal together anymore.
Wu Heng felt that he could not accept their relationship becoming like that.
After realizing this, he spent the entire night unable to sleep. When he woke up, he became even more withdrawn than before, even less inclined to smile, no matter how Xie Chongyi tried to tease him.
Xie Chongyi couldn’t possibly fail to notice the change in Wu Heng. If he truly couldn’t sense it, then that would be negligence on the part of someone in love—he would lose not only the possibility of being together, but even the right to like him at all.
But Xie Chongyi assumed that the increasingly sensitive and suspicious Wu Heng had noticed the lengthening gaze he sometimes cast in his direction. He had once seen himself in the mirror and imagined that if the person being looked at like that was Xue Shen, that person would probably call the police the next second.
He hadn’t done anything yet. He hadn’t even touched him—he was only looking.
After silently thinking for a few days, Xie Chongyi decided he couldn’t continue like this. Before their friendship broke down, he would turn friendship into love. If he couldn’t turn it naturally, then he would force it.
