Extra Chapter
7. The Bus
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“Chen Yao, I’m so sorry.”
Lin Nan stood by Chen Yao’s desk, looking pitiful, head down, anxiously waiting for his response.
What a random disaster! What are the odds? The senior who confessed to him in the third year was actually Chen Yao’s crush.
Having been hung up on last night, Lin Nan barely slept a wink, worrying that the friendship he had finally established was about to end for no reason.
Chen Yao looked up, seeing Lin Nan’s fidgety expression, scratching his head, puzzled about why Lin Nan was so serious in apologizing to him.
Could he have found out about that incident?
Because of an accident where he ended up breaking a classmate’s nose, his family had to pay a hefty sum, and last night, he also received a double whammy from his parents. He initially had no plans to tell Lin Nan about it; after all, how embarrassing to admit that playing the hero got him in trouble.
But Lin Nan must have known.
He flashed a bright smile, patting Lin Nan on the shoulder. “It’s all good! I’m used to it!”
Since he was little, he had gotten into trouble, practically growing up with his face getting slapped around, so he was already numb to it.
But Lin Nan looked at him with sympathy.
So, none of Chen Yao’s crushes liked him back?
That’s rough.
Not one to mock, Lin Nan suggested with pity, “Let me treat you today?”
“Are you loaded?”
“I saved up a little…”
When they normally went out to eat or hit the internet café, it cost quite a bit. Sometimes, Lin Nan even had to buy a couple of game skins, so he usually survived at home on instant noodles or at the local snack place, eating extremely cheap three-yuan noodles.
Chen Yao noticed Lin Nan’s glance was a bit weird, mixed with sympathy and a hint of pity. He couldn’t put his finger on it.
But not thinking too much, he nodded. “Alright, you treat for lunch.”
Lin Nan finally felt relieved. Since he accepted the invitation for a treat, it meant Chen Yao forgave him.
He sat down next to Chen Yao, leaning comfortably on his shoulder, raised his legs, and started scrolling through a novel on his phone.
“Why don’t you get a new phone?” Chen Yao glanced at Lin Nan’s outdated candy bar phone.
The iPhone 5 had already hit the market, and most students had switched to smartphones.
“No need, I just use my phone to call and read novels, it’s enough.”
Plus, with no Wi-Fi at home, using a smartphone would eat up all his data.
By now, Lin Nan had finally recognized most of his classmates and slowly blended into the class. Despite the crisis in his relationship with Chen Yao, they sorted it out quite well.
He was no longer that shy and anxious person he was at the beginning.
——————
In the evening, after school, Lin Nan and Chen Yao dashed off with their backpacks as if they were racing against time.
However, due to the Chinese teacher dragging on the class, by the time they reached the bus stop, it was already packed with students.
“Oh no, we’ll have to stand,” Lin Nan sighed, “Shall we just walk to the net café instead?”
Even though the school was in the center of town, there were no decent, cheap internet cafés around, and to get to the shopping street, they would need to take the bus for five or six stops.
He was too small to squeeze past the students who were at least a year or two older. They always arrived early to grab a good spot for boarding.
Chen Yao peaked curiously down the street and, after a moment, spotted a bus heading to the shopping street.
“I’ll grab a spot; you stay back.”
“Okay.”
Watching Chen Yao squeeze into the crowd, Lin Nan lingered anxiously at the back of the throng. Just then, the bus arrived.
It was mostly empty, with only a handful of passengers, but once those students smelled the bus, they surged forward like zombies on the scent of flesh. Lin Nan, despite his small stature, fought his way through the crowd and somehow managed to board.
The front door of the bus closed with difficulty, ignoring the students left at the platform, and off it went, packed tight with students.
Being short, Lin Nan had to stretch his arm to reach the overhead handrail.
Surrounded by taller students, he looked around for Chen Yao’s figure but couldn’t spot him anywhere.
Luckily, Chen Yao had seen him.
“Lin Nan! Over here!” Following the voice, he found Chen Yao sitting in the middle of the bus.
He squeezed through the gaps in the crowd to reach Chen Yao, letting out a huge sigh of relief.
In the heat of summer, with the air conditioning on and windows closed, the smell inside the bus was… less than pleasant. Someone had doused themselves in cheap cologne, and the mix of sweat, scent, and gasoline was enough to make Lin Nan feel a bit queasy.
Chen Yao, sitting in a window seat, saw Lin Nan finally make it over and generously patted his thigh. “Sit!”
He extended his right leg awkwardly out into the aisle.
Lin Nan hesitated but glanced around and saw others sitting on their friends’ laps.
Feeling reassured, he plopped down, adjusting himself for maximum comfort.
Neither of them thought much of it; for them, it was quite normal.
“So, which high school are you planning to go to?” Chen Yao fiddled with his phone, one arm casually resting around Lin Nan’s waist to steady him while he asked, “Our grades are about the same, so we should be able to go to the same place.”
“Maybe?”
Feeling a bit odd, Lin Nan shifted his waist slightly, frowning.
He wasn’t used to being so physically close to someone, but with Chen Yao, he could just about tolerate it.
He propped himself up with one hand against the front seat, turned to look at Chen Yao’s face.
After thinking for a while, he suggested, “How about I help you ask that senior out?”
“Senior?” Chen Yao looked at him bewildered.
“Yeah, the one in the third year.”
“Ah?” Chen Yao’s confusion deepened.
Lin Nan put on his best ‘I’m looking out for you’ expression and persisted, “If you like her, you should go for it boldly!”
“Me? Like who?” Chen Yao was even more baffled.
“The senior from the third year!” Lin Nan was perplexed too. “Aren’t you crushing on that senior? Why else did you get mad at me yesterday and not answer my call?”
“Uh…” Chen Yao was about to explain yesterday’s fiasco but suddenly realized that being his age and still getting scolded by his parents was too embarrassing, so after a moment’s hesitation, he fibbed, “My mom suddenly needed me for something, that’s why I got mad and didn’t answer your call.”
“Well, you didn’t even call me back…”
That’s not an excuse; he’d just been sulking in bed after getting grounded, totally uninterested in checking his phone.
“Nothing I could do, too busy!” Chen Yao said with mock righteousness, “How could I possibly like that senior? I don’t even know her.”
“Then who do you like?”
Chen Yao suddenly, with a serious face, declared, “I like you.”
“???”
Lin Nan reached out and touched Chen Yao’s forehead. “You don’t have a fever, do you?”
“Just kidding!” Chen Yao shot him a glance, “I like tall girls with big br*asts. You don’t fit any of those!”
