Chapter 106: A New Week
Yu Fan spent almost the whole Sunday with Li Mu.
On Monday, as usual, Yu Fan came by scooter to pick him up.
Li Mu also acted the same as always, he ate the breakfast Yu Fan brought, got on the scooter, put on the pink helmet, and didn’t say a word.
Although Yu Fan was still confused over the weekend about why Li Mu had broken down emotionally, now he could more or less guess the reason.
It was probably because his body had gone through another big change, right?
Just a few days ago, Li Mu had mentioned he might be close to fully becoming a girl. Maybe now, he already had.
But Li Mu didn’t want to talk about it, maybe he had his own reasons.
They stayed quiet the whole way until they arrived at the computer lab in the main building.
Today was the Visual Basic (VB) programming class.
Compared to subjects like Chinese, math, and English, this class was actually more important. The spring entrance exam had a total of 600 points. Chinese, math, and English combined only made up 300, while this professional VB course alone counted for the other 300.
Because of this, Yang Ye took the class very seriously. Just a few minutes after class started, he showed up in the hallway, peeking through the window with the intense “death stare” that only homeroom teachers could do, looking for students who weren’t paying attention.
Soon, he spotted Li Mu, who looked distracted.
“Sigh… this kid really gives me no peace,” Yang Ye said softly. Looking at Li Mu through the window, he noticed that even though he hadn’t seen him for just two days, the student was starting to look more and more like his so-called “sister”.
So... that’s just Li Mu in a girl’s outfit, right? But now he didn’t even need makeup or a hairstyle. He already looked just like "Li Juan."
Yang Ye shook off the thought. After all, as a homeroom teacher, gossip about students was just a personal curiosity. What really mattered was their academic performance.
He then looked at Yu Fan, who sat in the back row, and noticed that Yu Fan also seemed distracted during class.
Ever since these two started hanging out together, it was like both of them had gotten worse at focusing in class.
Yang Ye glanced at Li Mu’s pretty face, which was so delicate it was hard to tell if it was a boy or girl, and then looked at Yu Fan, who kept stealing glances at Li Mu. Suddenly, a wild thought popped into his head:
Could these two actually be dating?!
Or maybe Yu Fan really was trying to chase after Li Mu?!
The 40-minute class ended, but Li Mu didn’t leave his seat. He just lay on the computer desk, weakly staring at his own slender, long fingers.
The next class was also another boring VB lecture. If it was about making small software with code, that would’ve been fine. But most of the time, this class just explained textbook theories they had to memorize.
It was a headache to listen to, and Li Mu was already in a bad mood. He really didn’t feel like paying attention.
“Li Mu, Yu Fan, you two, come out for a moment.”
Li Mu slowly looked up at the doorway, where Yang Ye stood. He yawned and got up slowly.
“It’s probably because you weren’t paying attention in class,” Wu Lei next to him said with a gloating tone.
Li Mu ignored him and walked to the door. After a moment, Yu Fan also came out, still smiling as usual.
Yang Ye led them to a quiet corner at the end of the hallway. He stood with arms crossed, looking over the two students in front of him.
One of them had the usual cold, blank face with a hint of worry in the eyes. The other had that bright, sunny smile like always. The two standing side by side gave off totally different vibes.
Up close, Yang Ye realized something. Li Mu didn’t just look a little like a girl. He almost mistook him for “Li Juan.”
“Go get a haircut at noon. Your hair’s getting long, it makes you look like a girl.”
“Okay.”
Then he turned to Yu Fan and frowned. “Yu Fan, stop smiling like that at me.”
Even though Yang Ye admitted Yu Fan’s smile was cheerful, sunny, and nice to look at, in this kind of situation, it just felt like he was being cheeky. Kind of like how Li Mu always felt that Yu Fan’s smile was teasing him.
Yu Fan froze for a moment and quickly put away his smile.
“Do you two know why I called you out here?”
Both of them shook their heads at the same time, causing Yang Ye's chest to ache with anger.
“Why weren’t you paying attention in class? Are you two planning to give up on going to college?” Yang Ye said angrily, “You didn’t work hard in middle school, so you ended up in vocational school. Now you have a chance to make up for it, and you still don’t take it seriously! Even if it’s just a junior college, going to a good one and then transferring to a full university later, wouldn’t that be great?”
Li Mu looked down at the tips of his shoes, like he was truly sorry and ready to accept his mistake.
Lately, his shoes had started to feel a bit loose, and walking in them felt uncomfortable.
Even though he had tried tightening the laces, he would probably need a new pair of sneakers soon.
His original shoe size was 41, which was already on the small side for boys. He wasn’t sure what size he needed now.
As for what Yang Ye said, he understood it all. If not, he wouldn’t have joined the spring exam class. He would’ve gone straight to work instead. He wasn’t like the students who didn’t want to work and came here just to pass time.
But lately, too many things were bothering him, and he just couldn’t stay focused.
Yang Ye finally stopped talking after almost running out of saliva. Looking at the two of them standing there, quietly taking the scolding, made him feel a bit better.
Then, switching his tone and attitude to something friendlier, with a bit of gossiping curiosity, he asked, “So… are you two dating now?”
Yu Fan looked up, shocked. “Huh?!”
Li Mu didn’t really react. Ever since Ren Tianyou misunderstood things before, he knew others would probably keep thinking the same.
After all, he and Yu Fan were very close, and his appearance was just too feminine.
“No way! I’m dating Li Mu’s sister!” Yu Fan straightened up and replied with confidence. “I’m not gay. Li Mu is just my best brother, we’re like brothers-in-law!”
“Yeah,” Li Mu responded with a small nod to show he agreed.
Yang Ye crossed his arms and sighed, “I don’t care about your personal stuff. Just don’t let it affect your studies. Go back to class.”
The two of them turned around almost at the same time and walked back to the classroom.
Yu Fan was still a little annoyed. He threw his arm over Li Mu’s shoulder and complained, “It’s one thing if your neighbor thinks we’re together, but now even our teacher thinks that?!”
“What the heck is going on in their heads?”
Li Mu didn’t push his arm away and just said, “Whatever. After graduation, it has nothing to do with me anyway.”
Graduation wasn’t far off. Once the spring exam was over, all the trouble and misunderstandings caused by his crossdressing would go away with time. He wouldn’t have to see Yu Fan’s annoying smile every day anymore either.
Back in the computer room, the bell hadn’t rung yet, so Yu Fan walked over and sat by Li Mu’s seat.
“What school are you planning to apply for?”
“Somewhere close to home, aiming for 400 or 500 points.”
“That’s pretty much what I was thinking too. Want to apply to the same school?”
Li Mu immediately became alert and looked up at Yu Fan.
He had suspected it before, but now he felt even more certain.
Could this guy really have a crush on him?
Suddenly, Wu Lei joined in, saying, “My mock exam score is also around 400–500. Why don’t the three of us apply to the same school? Living together would be better than staying with strangers.”
“No thanks,” Li Mu replied coldly.
“Damn, Wu Lei, you're hopeless! You’ve been his seatmate for months and still got rejected. Look at me,” Yu Fan raised an eyebrow proudly and patted Li Mu’s shoulder. “So, which school do you think is the best?”
“They all suck,” Li Mu said with great disdain.