Constant Gaze

Just how rebellious was Wu Shijiu? The records his previous school had kept until now, which could be opened up and unfolded into a long line that would reach the ground, mentioned skipping class, getting into fights, disregarding authority, and being nonconformist and stubborn. Bringing this problem student up caused teachers and parents (including other family’s parents) to get an awful headache.

And the reason why he hadn’t yet been completely rooted out by the contemporary education system was purely due to his good looks.

Only good-looking people were entitled to dye their hair, get a row of earrings, wake up at 6 o’clock to take a shower, wash their face, fix their eyebrows, spray on cologne, and then leisurely go downstairs to eat breakfast with their fingers wrapped around a small notebook with vocab words to memorise, then say “bye bye” to Xu Xing while putting on headphones to go out and catch the metro.

Xu Xing didn’t like meddling, he didn’t seem to have either time or interest in it, which suited him perfectly.

The daily interaction between the two was very limited, they only lived under the same roof, but spent their days doing their own thing. Xu Xing was very busy with work. Wu Shijiu heard his mom say he was a designer, and judging by his image and demeanour he must have been involved in some kind of high middle-class job. His quality of life was linked with his level of income, he looked impressive and at ease every day, as if he had everything under control, and he had a very regular routine for his life. Occasionally he would come home late from working overtime, but he would be able to be back at his best the next day after a night of sleep.

Of course, Wu Shijiu didn’t want to make trouble for him.

Unexpectedly, he was caught smoking at the gate of the school by the dean on the second week of the term.

“Student!” The dean pointed at him in a rage, hand trembling with anger, “Why are you smoking at such a young age?!”

Wu Shijiu skilfully tapped the ash off his cigarette and answered honestly, “I’m in senior year, there’s a lot of pressure.”

“You’re under a lot of pressure, so you just stand at the school gates and smoke???”

“You guys don’t let us smoke inside. It’s posted on the hallways.”

“……”

“Is it not allowed even if I go outside? I was trying to be considerate.”

“……”

“I’m sorry, then. Don’t get angry, professor, look, your face is getting red…”

“…Tell your parent to come in on Friday.”

To sum up, “This is sinister entrapment.”

Wu Shijiu had never encountered such unyielding and intolerant treatment, so he thought about ways to deal with the situation while holding the remaining half-pack of cigarettes.

What would happen if he didn’t have anyone come? This school was much stricter compared to his old one, they had to sit and study in the time between classes, they weren’t allowed to talk to the opposite gender in the hallways, and there was no strike system for committing offences — not even sweeping the bathroom for a month would win them any leniency, it was just straight expulsion.

What would happen if he told his mom?

If he did, he might be expelled from the school of life.

Wu Shijiu returned home with a lot on his mind.

Xu Xing got off work on time today, and was already seated at the living room on the first floor watching TV. The television was broadcasting international news, and the news anchor, who looked neither Western nor Chinese, was speaking in a foreign language, so he could only pick out a few of the words. The lights in the kitchen were on, and there was a still-hot portion of dinner set aside for him on the dining table.

“I already ate.” Xu Xing picked up the remote and changed the channel, “I grabbed some takeout for you at the restaurant.”

“Thanks.”

Wu Shijiu threw his backpack on the chair next to him and washed his hands before he began to eat. He smacked his lips after tasting a few mouthfuls, Xu Xing shouldn’t have known what he liked, but surprisingly all the dishes he ordered were to his taste.

He lowered his head as he held his bowl and pushed the food into his mouth, focused on his thoughts, and chewed slowly for a while, then finally put down his chopsticks.

“Uncle Xu.”

This rare, solemn tone successfully attracted Xu Xing’s attention, so the man muted the TV and turned his head to focus on what he had to say, “Yes?”

He found it hard to speak again after Xu Xing turned to look at him, feeling like this was really cowardly and unmanly. It was embarrassing to say it out loud, and it was an insult to his own arrogant, cocky façade.

“Can you… go to school in place of my parents?”