Seeing how embarrassed but unwilling to admit it Wang Zhuo was, something moved in He Hao’s heart. A thin layer of fog which seemed to have clouded his mind for a long time was now cleared away. His heart now felt unbelievably light, as if he was riding a rollercoaster that had sped toward the highest point of the track and did not fall.

He Hao was so excited his chest heaved. His eyes were as bright as stars as he watched Wang Zhuo.

Wang Zhuo seemed to have noticed his terrible acting, too. He scratched his head, so embarrassed he did not dare meet He Hao’s eyes straight on. Seeing how embarrassed Wang Zhuo was, He Hao did not press him further, and tamped down on his own feelings which were about to explode. He forced a smile and said, “All right. Let’s play a while more and then go back to school.”

“Until five-thirty, then, and no video games when we get back.” When Wang Zhuo heard He Hao say that they could play a while longer, the embarrassment immediately faded. He glanced quickly at his watch and said confidently, “We’ll get back to school at six-thirty and start homework immediately. We’ll finish by midnight, either way.”

Perhaps because he knew He Hao did it for his own good, Wang Zhuo was always very obedient. If He Hao insisted they could not play till late, Wang Zhuo would definitely obediently follow him back.

So He Hao said indulgently, “All right.”

Wang Zhuo was just always this playful. It would be fine if they hadn’t come, but since they were already here, if he did not get to enjoy himself, he would definitely be unhappy.

Wang Zhuo immediately ran over to the rollercoaster line like a wild dog let off its leash!

At four-thirty, the two got off the pirate ship. The theme park restaurant was nearby and the signboard outside advertised the newest couples’ set meal. If a couple ordered it, they would get a half-price discount.

They caught sight of the pink, sparkly sign overflowing with girlishness at the same time. Wang Zhuo blinked nervously, hesitating as if he was about to say something. He Hao noticed, coughed lightly, and asked first, “Are you hungry?”

Wang Zhuo had eaten an extra large pot of spicy hot pot that afternoon and was not hungry, but he went against his heart and answered. “Starving. Shall we eat here?”

He Hao internally laughed, but he said, “I stood in all the lines and you either sat in the shade or on the kiddie rides. How are you tired?”

Wang Zhuo rolled his eyes and said roughly, “I was yelling about being hungry, right? Shouting takes energy, too!”

Something seemed to occur to He Hao. His eyebrows lifted and he turned away, laughing. Wang Zhuo suspiciously circled around to look at He Hao’s face, asking him what he was laughing about, but He Hao refused to tell. Infuriating!

They entered the restaurant to order. There were several people in front of them.

Wang Zhuo pretended to pay attention to the menu above them and asked, “Ritian, what do you want?”

He Hao was calm. “A set meal?”

Wang Zhuo said with deep calculation, “All right. The two-person set?”

He Hao nodded. “Sure.”

Wang Zhuo said with dramatic surprise, as if he had discovered a new continent, “Damn it, the couples’ set meal is on a 50 per cent discount! That’s a good deal.”

He Hao laughed softly and acceded. “A good deal. Let’s get it, then. We’ll pretend to be a couple.”

With his usual slickness Wang Zhuo replied jokingly, “No need to pretend. We already are.”

He Hao repeated, seriously, word by word, “Yes, we already are.”

The two of them simultaneously ignored that the couples’ set meal had an original price nearly double that of the other two-person sets, and that after a 50% discount it was about the same price as that of the other two-person sets...

As they ordered, the girl at the counter followed due process and asked, “Are you a couple?”

Wang Zhuo and He Hao said simultaneously, “Yes.”

The server smiled and readied their meal for them.

There was nothing very special about the couples’ set meal aside from the fact that everything was very girly. The rice and fried egg were arranged in the shape of a heart, and even the carrot slices in the salad were heart-shaped. The drinks were served in an extra-large cup with two straws loosely twined together, reminiscent of cross-cup drinking.

A laugh lingered at the corners of Wang Zhuo’s eyes, his face lit up by happiness. He Hao was the same. Wang Zhuo took several bites of his meal, then took his straw into his mouth, and He Hao immediately leaned forward to drink too. Their foreheads pressed together, and their noses were only several centimeters apart... one lifted their eyes to look at the other, then looked down... the scene was so sweet it made both mortals and gods angry!

The outcome of this sweetness was that neither of them could bear to leave the cup. In order for the pretense to seem more real, they sipped slowly from the drink, one flirtatious minute passing after another. The drink had been finished, but they still kept their foreheads pressed together as they drank the dregs, the straws gurgling.

After sucking for a while, He Hao laughed out loud and said, “I’ll get another drink.”

Wang Zhuo said to cover it up, “I’ve sweated too much today. I’m very thirsty.”

After finishing dinner, they returned to school, showered, and sat side by side at the desk doing homework.

He Hao opened his chemistry homework. Wang Zhuo watched him, then pulled out his chemistry homework too. Clearly he wanted to stealthily copy several answers. He Hao glanced at him, then closed the book and switched it for a physics one.

Wang Zhuo was about to switch to physics too, but He Hao slapped his hand on Wang Zhuo’s physics book, keeping it there. He said grimly, “Do your chemistry homework.”

Wang Zhuo: “......”

He Hao: “Haha.”

Wang Zhuo grumbled, “Ritian, you don’t love me anymore.”

He Hao: “I nag you because I love you. Do the questions you know, and leave the ones you don’t. I’ll explain them later.”

Wang Zhuo was stunned by his gentle tone. His ears were burning, and he obediently looked down and started writing.

He Hao was good at studies, and finished writing just past 11 p.m. After he finished he started reading an English magazine, still sitting next to Wang Zhuo. Two electric lamps stood on the study desk. Wang Zhuo complained as he did his homework, yawning as he did. He was so tired his eyes filled with tears. It was already late, and they had played all day; he really was tired.

“I’m going to the toilet.” He Hao put his magazine on the desk.

When He Hao left, Wang Zhuo seemed to have a ‘sleep button’ pressed. He immediately fell forward onto the desk and slept soundly.

When He Hao returned two minutes later, Wang Zhuo had already started dreaming.

He Hao shook his head. He could not bear to wake Wang Zhuo, so he picked him up and gently put him on the lower bunk, as if positioning a giant doll. He covered his abdomen with a blanket. After this, He Hao sat by the bed like a patient father, admiring Wang Zhuo’s sleeping face. Then, he turned off the electric lamp and climbed up to the top bunk.

Wang Zhuo had not finished his homework, so he would need to wake him early tomorrow and let him copy it... He Hao lay on Wang Zhuo’s bed, thinking. He buried his face in Wang Zhuo’s pillow and rubbed his face in it, his nostrils flaring as he inhaled Wang Zhuo’s scent on it. This still didn’t feel like enough, so He Hao took Wang Zhuo’s thin blanket, rolled it into a ball, and hugged it.

After a while, the bedposts of the bottom bunk began shaking with a rhythmic motion.