The next morning.

After eating breakfast, the two exited through the cafeteria's front door and headed towards the school building.

Both sides of the path were lined with neatly-trimmed bushes. Students walked to the school building in groups of twos and threes, a hint of frost on the cold early morning winter wind… Everything was the same as always, but after last night, it also felt as if everything had changed.

Lin Feiran walked shoulder-to-shoulder with Gu Kaifeng, his hands tucked in his uniform's pockets, his eyes drifting from time to time to the handsome, straight-backed figure on his left. They were walking too close together and occasionally would brush against each other, and whenever this happened the chilly wind that swept fiercely past Lin Feiran's neck seemed to become warm.

The affirmation of their relationship last night had really been outside of Lin Feiran's expectations. He had already become conscious of his feelings for Gu Kaifeng, but he had not antic.i.p.ated he would enter into a relationship with him so quickly. The feeling of having a boyfriend was too foreign and made his heart pound.

Lin Feiran had not slept well at all; he kept tossing and turning as he mulled things over. In one moment, he would be torturing himself by questioning hundreds of thousands of times how he could enter a gay relationship with his dormmate without any psychological burden. In the next, he would be repeatedly reliving his sweet memories of the evening, feeling as though flowers were blossoming and filling his heart.

In the second half of the night, though Lin Feiran was incredibly tired, every time he was on the verge of falling asleep he would be jolted awake by the thought that "starting from today, Gu Kaifeng is my boyfriend". He could tell that Gu Kaifeng did not sleep well either, but when they got up the next morning they were both in glowing spirits, and when their eyes met it was as if they were both br.i.m.m.i.n.g with electricity.

How did I not notice before that Gu Kaifeng is so handsome? Only three seconds after Lin Feiran averted his gaze, he could not resist the temptation to secretly look over from the corner of his eye.

"Baby, what are you looking at?" Gu Kaifeng turned his head, his gaze sweeping over Lin Feiran's face both tenderly and suggestively. Though he asked, he already knew the answer.

Since waking up this morning, Lin Feiran had been stealing glances at Gu Kaifeng in what he thought was a surrept.i.tious manner. His cautious yet primed manner was like that of a little hamster who wanted to catch a big cat.

"No…" Lin Feiran initially denied it reflexively, but afterwards realized it was wrong to have done so. They were now officially dating, out in the open, and there was nothing embarra.s.sing about having looked twice. So with his head high and chest out, he took a deep breath and said, "Yes, I was looking at you! I was looking at my boyfriend. So what?"

As Lin Feiran finished, he shivered at his own sappiness!

Gu Kaifeng had been viciously teased while his guard was down, and his heart beat wildly. "Nothing. Is your boyfriend good-looking?"

“Silly, of course he's good-looking." Lin Feiran's little tail quirked as he said proudly, "Look whose boyfriend he is."

A burst of fire rose in Gu Kaifeng's heart, but on the busy path he could do nothing but forcibly tamp down the impulse to push Lin Feiran into a corner and kiss him fervently. He stretched out his hand and twisted Lin Feiran's earlobe.

Lin Feiran, who had a domineering air just a moment ago, now shrank back as if he had finished displaying a great skill. He held onto his earlobe and jumped back three steps, shy as a little mushroom. The moment Gu Kaifeng approached him, he shied away, and the more he avoided him the more Gu Kaifeng could not help but tease him. In the end, one of them ran while the other one chased.

Gu Kaifeng was tall and his legs were long, so he ran slightly faster than Lin Feiran, but he intentionally acted as though he could not catch up. Just before the bell rang marking the beginning of morning self-study, the two chased each other into the cla.s.sroom, laughing happily… The visual effect was so gay that even the pa.s.sersby were unable to bear repeatedly casting them sidelong glances!

The three morning periods went by, one of which was literature cla.s.s, Lin Feiran's headache. Lin Feiran took notes till his hand cramped. When the bell rang for dismissal, he threw down his pen, rotated his wrist and shook his head.

"Tired?" Gu Kaifeng asked.

Lin Feiran's heartbeat quickened just from hearing Gu Kaifeng speak, but his face remained calm as he replied, "A little."

"I'll give you a ma.s.sage."Gu Kaifeng's voice had hardly died away when Lin Feiran felt a warm hand cover the back of his neck, worming its way with difficulty beneath the collar of his shirt. It stopped at the place where his shoulders met his neck, and kneaded for a moment. Lin Feiran was so shocked by this sudden a.s.sault that half his body went numb. He quickly shrank back trying to free himself from that hand, but Gu Kaifeng spoke seriously and calmly, "This is the Jianzhongshu acupuncture point. It's to relieve fatigue."

Lin Feiran did not want to give the impression that his head was full of R-rated things, so he awkwardly worked to relax his body and said in a low voice, "Oh."

"On the neck is the Jingbailao acupuncture point." Gu Kaifeng's voice seemed somewhat indifferent, but his hands were as hot as fire. His hand worked its way back and forth over Lin Feiran's shoulder and neck for quite some time before he pulled it back and took Lin Feiran's hands. He pressed a hand against each of Lin Feiran's pale, slender wrists and whispered, "This is the Neiguan point. It can relieve fatigue too. In the future, press it for me too."

Li Feiran's face was thoroughly red, but he replied properly, "Got it. I'll remember."

Gu Kaifeng applied pressure for a while. Then, since they were sitting in the last row and had n.o.body behind them, he snaked his hand beneath the hem of Lin Feiran's uniform jacket and pushed aside his sweater, his fingers coming to rest on Lin Feiran's waist with only the thin material of his shirt between them. He caressed Lin Feiran suggestively, the restraint he exhibited a moment earlier vanishing without a trace as he said lightly, "This is the Yaoyan point. Is it comfortable?" As he spoke, his fingers breached the barrier of Lin Feiran's belt and slipped straight beneath Lin Feiran's pants. Lin Feiran was totally unprepared letting Gu Kaifeng get the advantage. He rested his fingertips on the edge of Lin Feiran's underwear and asked Lin Feiran shamelessly, "What 'point,' is just below this?"

Lin Feiran understood what he meant instantly. His mind worked on autopilot as he reached out to restrain Gu Kaifeng's dishonest claw which was wandering beneath his clothes. He glared at Gu Kaifeng ineffectually, "Take it out."

Gu Kaifeng laughed lightly and obediently pulled his hand out immediately. He admitted frankly, "I actually just wanted to touch you."

Lin Feiran grit his teeth. "I knew it!"

What 'this point' and 'that point,' it's all bulls.h.i.t!

Gu Kaifeng blinked innocently. "It's a matter of time. I'm just looking for the door ahead of time."

This can be said to be especially shameless!

"I don't even understand what you're talking about." Lin Feiran opened the book with the practice questions they might review in the next cla.s.s and pretended to look them over, but his mind was filled with the scenes of him and Gu Kaifeng doing that thing in the future.

It's too scary, d.a.m.n it! It hurt to even think about it! Lin Feiran, who actually had a modic.u.m of understanding of how gay s.e.x worked, thought about it worriedly. When I come of age, will I have to say goodbye to all kinds of delicious spicy foods?

"If you don't understand, then what are you being shy about?"Gu Kaifeng did not show any mercy and poked Lin Feiran's b.u.t.t.

"When did you see me being shy?" Red-faced, Lin Feiran scooted his chair into the aisle. The leg of the chair let out a squeak as it grated against the floor, a very sharp sound that successfully attracted the gazes of the entire cla.s.s…

When dating a pervert such as Gu Kaifeng, one must keep a safe distance of more than 1 meter at all times!

Due to the confirmation of their relationship, touching Gu Kaifeng to absorb Yang energy had become much easier. He was his boyfriend after all, so he could touch him however he liked. Lin Feiran absorbed Yang energy audaciously and without restraint, not knowing that all the while he was courting his own death. But he did not neglect working on increasing his tolerance for seeing ghosts, either; these days, he still made sure to open his Yin-Yang eyes for a little while. But maybe he was lucky. Since obtaining the Yin-Yang eyes, he had yet to see a ghost with ill intentions — the ghosts only looked frightening. So the more he saw them, the more at ease he became.

Lin Feiran still remembered what his grandfather said when he went back to visit him. The right path is to become strong. That person with strong Yang energy cannot protect you for a lifetime.

…Thinking about it now, his grandfather's words were a giant flag!

Lin Feiran was not worried that Gu Kaifeng would change his mind and break up with him causing him to be unable to absorb Yang energy anymore, or anything like that. But after the incident with the little ghost girl, he really did want to use his Yin-Yang eyes to do something for these departed ones. And not being afraid of ghosts was the precondition for all of this. These past days, when Lin Feiran opened his Yin-Yang eyes, he saw the little girl's ghost many times. He was not sure if it was his imagination, but her body seemed to be even more insubstantial and translucent than before. Lin Feiran thought that this might be because the little girl's ghost's unfulfilled wishes were continuing to reduce and she was nearing the time she would head to her next life.

Today was Sat.u.r.day. After the second period that afternoon, Lin Feiran dragged Gu Kaifeng, who had been teased nearly to death every day since affirming their relationship, to the P.E. storage room on the first floor. After looking left and right to confirm that no one was watching, he pushed the door open a crack, swiftly pulled Gu Kaifeng in, and put his back to the door to hold it shut.

According to the reliable math cla.s.s rep's report, spanning the next two self-study periods, the math teacher was going to have a pop quiz — the sort that would determine their cla.s.s rank at that.

…I'm just doing this so I can absorb more Yang energy and I focus better in the next two periods, truly.

…Gu Kaifeng had looked especially handsome when he went up to the blackboard to answer questions last period. He did them quickly, his handwriting was nice, and even the way he walked was dashing. Lin Feiran wanted to kiss him.

—Lin Feiran's inner tsundere and soft adorkable person were at each other's throats!

Lin Feiran lifted his head slightly, and his shining black eyes met Gu Kaifeng's for a moment.

"No one will come in here, right?" Lin Feiran asked as he scratched the tip of his nose and averted his gaze.

He had hardly finished speaking before Gu Kaifeng had one hand on the door to hold it shut and the other caressing Lin Feiran's face as he bent down to kiss him. Lin Feiran parted his lips obediently in response. His misty-eyes were half-lidded, and a soft moan or two escaped his throat. Gu Kaifeng could not resist this sound and lifted a hand to loosen Lin Feiran's tie. He unb.u.t.toned the top two b.u.t.tons of his shirt and left several strawberries on Lin Feiran's pretty collarbone.

"Cla.s.s is about to start… Enough, we have a math test next period…" Lin Feiran, the little demon who had absorbed his fill of Yang energy, now pushed Gu Kaifeng away.

Gu Kaifeng was breathing heavily as he straightened up, reb.u.t.toned Lin Feiran's shirt, and secured the little tie properly around his neck. A pair of wolf-like eyes stared at the spot where he had just left hickeys and as he pointed to them with his finger he said, "Only I can see."

Lin Feiran nodded sincerely. "Of course. Why would I let anyone else see?"

Gu Kaifeng's possessiveness was fully satisfied, and his momentary expression of discontent was now somewhat eased. The corner of his lips lifted and he ruffled Lin Feiran's hair. "Let's go back to the cla.s.sroom."

Lin Feiran felt as if he were watching a big wolf leisurely wag its tail.

After the conclusion of the math test, the students welcomed the wonderful weekend. The two of them went to their dorm, packed up their things, then walked off the campus together. Lin Feiran excitedly suggested places they could go later to have fun. Gu Kaifeng had his bag slung over one shoulder, both hands stuck in his pockets, and was looking tenderly at Lin Feiran. He nodded along no matter what Lin Feiran said.

"I'll call a cab." When they got to the school gates, Gu Kaifeng stuck his hand in his bag to get his phone, but after rummaging around he could not find it. He checked all his pockets and said with frustration, "Maybe I left it in the dorm. I'll go find it."

Gu Kaifeng turned and ran towards the dorm. Lin Feiran waited happily at the school gates, mentally planning out the evening. First he would go eat hot pot at XX Restaurant with Gu Kaifeng. Then, they would see a movie. Recently, a sequel to a sci-fi film they both enjoyed was released, and Lin Feiran had even already gotten them tickets. That movie theater sold very delicious popcorn, including a type of savoury sesame popcorn that was especially suitable for someone like Gu Kaifeng who disliked sweet things…

As Lin Feiran was happily lost in his thoughts, the Yin energy in his body which had been suppressed for two whole periods suddenly awakened. At this time of day there were many students at the gates, and the sun was just slipping below the horizon. The light of the setting sun painted the surrounding scenery in a soothing warm orange, so Lin Feiran was not afraid. He merely gazed steadily in the direction of the dorm, hoping that Gu Kaifeng would come back soon.

But the person who arrived first was not Gu Kaifeng, rather, it was another familiar 'someone'.

It was the old school founder with half a head.

When the old gentleman appeared, Lin Feiran almost failed to recognize him because he looked a little different than usual. Right now, on the old gentleman's neck rested a full and complete head without any sign of injury. His face even seemed free of the ghostly look of death. Aside from appearing somewhat transparent, he seemed no different from a living person.

"Ah?" Lin Feiran looked at the old man in surprise. His first thought was that the old gentleman's wishes had been fulfilled by someone, so like the little girl's ghost, he had regained a more normal appearance.

But Lin Feiran quickly rid himself of that notion, because the old gentleman's expression did not seem like that of someone who had just put down his burden. He was so angry that his hair seemed to stand on end and his eyes looked ready to pop out of their sockets. The face which should have been scholarly and refined was now twisted and distorted with rage. He walked and walked, then suddenly dashed toward the school gates. When he got close to Lin Feiran, he stopped abruptly and made a motion like he was s.n.a.t.c.hing something away from someone and hiding it behind his back. After this, he threw his arms wide and looked ahead with his head held high, as if he were standing in front of something to protect it. His thin chest heaved as he fluently and indignantly spat out a string of foreign words.

Every move the old man made was very real even though there was nothing in front of or behind him, aside from air and students who did not know the truth…

Lin Feiran was stunned as he watched this scene unfold. He did not understand at all what was happening right before his eyes.

Lin Feiran was at a complete loss for what to do. Suddenly, the old gentleman leapt forward with a violent shout. He seemed to have become entangled in a fight with someone, but after all he was old and his body was thin, so it appeared he was quickly subdued by the other party. Breathing heavily like an ox, he stood frozen on the spot. From his movements it looked as if he had been completely immobilized by several invisible people, though his gaze was still as sharp as an eagle's. Immediately after, a ray of cold light flashed over the old gentleman's head, as if something sharp were cutting downward. With a light 'chaa' sound, half of the old gentleman's head rolled to the ground, the remaining half still wearing a resolute expression. His lone eye radiated a bone-deep hatred and unwavering fiery rage as it glared straight ahead.

He had died, but he had not fallen. The old and stiff body was firmly rooted at the school gates, like an ancient tree…