chapter 39

At first, Huo Ran thought that Kou Chen had a normal temper. In reality, though, he was the kind of person who didn’t get mad often, but if he was pushed far enough, he would eventually blow up. The version of Kou Chen he saw today was one he had never seen before.

A sulking Kou Chen.

His temper suddenly flared up, completely different from that of a husky, turning him back into the rumored fighting king.

He was awfully indifferent.

Kou Xiao and Lao Yang took them to eat Sichuan hot pot, and they also drank some wine. Kou Chen, who should’ve been the most talkative, was indifferent, as if he was eating ice.

At the beginning, Huo Ran didn’t have anything to say, so he tried to think of something.

“Could you pass me that plate of beef?”

“If you don’t want this sauce, should I eat it?” he tried.

This was a little hard for Huo Ran. After all, he had never really tried to coax people before, and if he were Kou Chen, he wouldn’t be enticed by just a few sentences either. It seemed he had to give up.

He was, after all, a ‘Lil Cutie’ himself. Ever since he was little, he had gotten used to being spoiled and cuddled by his parents, teachers, friends, and classmates

After eating, Kou Xiao ordered a few plates of barbecue to take back to the dormitory for their classmates to eat, and the whole time Kou Chen didn’t utter a word.

When they wanted to take them back to the dormitory, Kou Chen followed Lao Yang to the car, while Huo Ran and Kou Xiao waited behind the screen in front of the store.

“Don’t worry about him,” Kou Xiao said, “He’s been like this since he was a kid; angry at the weirdest things, sensitive as hell, or else how would he have so few friends?”

“The thing is… I’ve never deliberately tried to make him angry for so long.”

“He’s angry because you didn’t let him look at what was on your phone and he was embarrassed.” Kou Xiao said with a smile, “He was angry for so long because he was stuck in an embarrassing situation.”

“… I already tried to talk to him.” Huo Ran frowned, “But he didn’t even pay attention to me.

“You only said a few sentences, just say a few more and it’ll be fine.” Said Kou Xiao. “To be honest, from a young age my father felt that boys didn’t need much coaxing, so after he grew up a bit he felt a bit of a craving for it, but he was still like my dad, super tough to crack.”

“I would have a temper, too, if I grew up like that.” Huo Ran tsked.

“So you shouldn’t mind him, he’ll be fine in a while.” Kou Xiao patted his shoulder, “Don’t tell him I told you about him, or he’ll get mad at me.”

“Mhm.” Huo Ran nodded.

When the car arrived, Shuaishuai poked his head out from the backseat after having been picked up from the pet store, panting and smiling so much that his eyes almost disappeared.

Huo Ran pulled open the door, and he jumped on Huo Ran’s shoulder.

“Get in, get in.” Huo Ran pushed him back into the car and got in only to find that Kou Chen was actually sitting in the passenger seat, expressionless as if he was a spacecraft co-pilot.

Kou Xiao pulled open the passenger and also froze for a moment, then she slapped him. “Get in the back, this is my seat!”

“You get in the back.” Kou Chen gripped the handle above the car door and didn’t let go.

“I’m not gonna squeeze in with your stupid dog, you hurry up and get in the back.” Kou Xiao said.

“No.” Kou Chen endured.

“Fine,” Huo Ran said as he opened the car door, “I’ll call a taxi back.”.

“Kou Chen!” Kou Xiao yelled.

Kou Chen glanced behind him, only to find out Huo Ran had already exited the vehicle from the left door.

“Hey.” Kou Chen called. He didn’t even get out the normal way, but directly jumped from the passenger seat to the back seat, getting out of the car and immediately chasing after him. “Huo Ran!”

Huo Ran ignored him and continued walking. He suddenly felt something warm, wet, and a little rough on his hand. He hurriedly retracted his hand and realized that Shuaishuai had also gotten out of the car.

He lowered his head and put his head on Shuaishuai’s head, and the dog immediately began to circle around his legs. Shuaishuai’s head rubbed his legs a few times before he fell directly to the ground, with his tummy facing up. He twisted on the ground, pantingly and grinning.

“The ground is dirty!” Huo Ran grabbed his paw and pulled it upwards. “Get up, Shuaishuai, you’re a good boy.”

Shuaishuai didn’t listen to his words and just turned away.

”

”

Huo Ran glanced to the side and saw Kou Chen, who was standing next to him, gesture at Shuaishuai.

He turned his head around and Kou Chen jerked to a halt, not having any time to pull back his hand. After two seconds of staring, Kou Chen raised his hand and scratched the dog’s hair.

“Get him to get off the ground,” Huo Ran glared at Kou Chen. “It’s really dirty!”

“If you call a taxi I won’t make him get up.” Kou Chen said.

“… Then should I walk home? Neither of you want to sit in the back seat…” Huo Ran felt he was simply being unreasonable.

“I’ll sit,” Kou Chen said, “I’ll sit in the back.”

Huo Ran stared at him and didn’t say anything.

“My temper is just like this, to be honest, you… don’t need to mind me.” Kou Chen tilted his head and cleared his throat in embarrassment.

“Princess Chen.” Huo Ran said.

“I’ll smack you,” Kou Chen immediately turned his head back, staring at him, “Did you say something?”

“Not letting you look at my phone, isn’t because my secrets are private, not that I have any in the first place.” Huo Ran thought that he would at least explain it to him, “The main thing is that it has to do with others.”

“Got it,” Kou Chen waved his hand impatiently, “Am I the kind of person who’s unreasonable?”

“You’re not?” Huo Ran thought that he asked this question quite confidently and audaciously.

“Shuaishuai,” Kou Chen didn’t continue the Q&A session and snapped his fingers. Shuaishuai, who was lying on the ground and rolling around, got the instruction and jumped up, standing by Kou Chen’s legs. He pointed towards Huo Ran. “Go, bring brother Ranran back to the car.”

“Wha…” Huo Ran didn’t even have the time to ask when Shuaishuai bit the hem of his jacket and started dragging him back to the car.

Alaskan Malamutes were definitely worthy of being part of the “Triple Sled Idiots1”. The strength was definitely there, and the first tug made him stagger.

“Go with him,” Kou Chen said as he held the car door, “Or he might rip your clothes off.”

Huo Ran hurriedly got into the car, Shuaishuai following suit and jumping into the back seat, sitting next to him. Kou Chen got into the car from the other side and pushed Shuaishuai out of the car seat and sat down next to Huo Ran.

“How’d you train him, huh?” Halfway through the car drive, Huo Ran really couldn’t hold it back anymore. “The triple idiot thing is false, this isn’t an idiot at all.”

“I’m not sure about other Alaskans, but Shuaishuai is really stupid,” Kou Chen originally didn’t say anything at all, his face pulled into a tense expression, looking ahead. He seemed unable to find the words to say. He opened his mouth, and Kou Chen immediately leaned towards him, grabbed the hair on Shuaishuai’s head so he could pull him over and rub it. “Do you know how old this stupid dog is?” he asked.

“Mm?” Huo Ran was a bit intrigued.

“Eight years old, I’ve been training him for eight years.” Kou Chen’s hand reached out towards him forming an 82. “Eight years, big brother. In addition to shaking hands, sitting up and lying down, which other dogs would know in three months, he only knows to act stupid and bring so-and-so to the car. If this was an eight-year-old Border Collie, with the extent of my training, they could fly a plane.”

Huo Ran looked at Shuaishuai, whose head was rubbed by Kou Chen until his face showed an expression that was drunk off of happiness, and his tongue hanging out. Huo Ran couldn’t hold in his laughter.

“Still pretty handsome, right.” Kou Chen said.

“Yeah,” Huo Ran nodded, then thought again and looked at him. “Are you talking about you or your dog?”

“…Dog.” Kou Chen said.

“Yeah.” Huo Ran nodded.

“Then what about me?” Kou Chen asked.

Old Yang who was driving at the front cackled.

“Handsome.” Huo Ran sighed.

After returning to the dormitory, Kou Chen’s room was full of people, occupying the two lower bunks and playing cards.

Kou Chen put the barbecue he brought back on the table. “Anybody want to eat?”

“Yeah!” A room full of people chorused.

Huo Ran took a peek inside the room, then turned around and went back to their dorm room across the corridor.

Kou Chen also looked around the room. Hu Yi, Jiang Lei, and three other people were in the room, along with a few from next door. He didn’t see Xu Zhifan.

“Xu Zhifan didn’t come and play?” He asked as he sat down next to Xu Chuan.

“Mhm,” Xu Chuan responded, “He’s playing games in the dorm.”

“Oh.” Kou Chen nodded and lay down next to him.

Huo Ran went back to his dorm and didn’t come back at all, even when the lights went out. The people in his dorm were gone, and Kou Chen didn’t see Huo Ran.

It seemed that the 'secret” he couldn’t let him see on his phone, had something to do with Xu Zhifan.

Kou Chen washed up and laid down on his bed, but he felt a bit unsettled.

He wasn’t someone without secrets, but he didn’t have any secrets he had to keep to this extent. Even when he was little he did all sorts of unspeakable things, and he wouldn’t let Huo Ran tell anybody, but if it really needed to be known, he didn’t think that there was anything wrong with that.

Huo Ran certainly wouldn’t tell just anyone. Just like he was protecting Xu Zhifan’s privacy, Huo Ran would also protect his little secret this way. He had never seen it before, but he saw it just now. Huo Ran hurriedly hid the phone to keep him from seeing Xu Zhifan’s little secret.

Kou Chen suddenly felt a bit sour.

Huo Ran and Xu Zhifan, to him they’re all friends. Huo Ran was a friend who could help him block a knife, but they both had a secret they couldn’t tell him.

Tsk.

“Brother Chuan.” He rolled over and stuck out half of his body, hanging upside down on the side of the bed, looking at Xu Chuan in the lower bunk.

“Mm?” Xu Chuan opened his eyes and was startled to see him. “Oh fuck, what are you doing?”

“Do you have a secret?” Kou Chen asked.

“Lemme think,” Xu Chuan wrinkled his brow and thought for half a day, “There don’t seem to be any.”

“If I had a secret and told you about it, would you help me keep it a secret? Without letting anyone know, like a particularly strict kind of guard. Would you?” Kou Chen asked.

Xu Chuan didn’t immediately respond, but sat up and looked at the people in the dormitory. Everyone had fallen asleep after tossing and turning all night.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?” Xu Chuan asked softly. “If there’s something, tell me, I’ll be sure to keep it a secret.”

“Nothing happened,” Kou Chen said, “I was just asking.”

“Are you sure?” Xu Chuan asked.

“Really.” Kou Chen said, laughed and rolled back onto his pillow.

Xu Chuan in the lower bunk was silent for a while, then he kicked his bed board. “If there’s something, tell me. Don’t hold back. Do you know what friends are for?”

“What are they for?” Kou Chen asked.

“They’re for you to order around,” Xu Chuan said, “Keeping secrets, taking on burdens; the whole shebang3.

Kou Chen smiled. “Got it.”

The regular program of the sports meeting was two days long, followed by two days of basketball, but when they got up early the next morning, they found that the field was full of fog.

“We received a notice, these days there’s haze, so the basketball game is postponed, and indoor venues can’t accommodate so many spectators,” Old Yuan put his arms across his chest, “Today’s individual projects are also cancelled, and we’re working towards finishing up the team events before the fog thickens.” he finished.

“The team events are…” The sports councilman turned over the schedule in his hand next to him. “Relay, and the three-legged race. The three-legged-race’s requirements are more flexible, so it was changed to indoors.”

“That’s good, that’s good.”

“Are you gonna hug me and run?” Wei Chaoren said.

“Can’t you give me some face, Lu Huan is coming to cheer for me!” Jiang Lei said.

“If you hug me and get first place, you can gain so much face…” Wei Chaoren said.

“I,” Jiang Lei started, “am shorter and thinner than you. If you make me hug you while running, I’ll be gaining your face for you!”

Wei Chaoren laughed half-heartedly. “Rookie.”

Kou Chen was a little bit upset about the basketball postponement; he quite liked the team events. It was fun to see everyone competing with each other, and there was even a relay.

The relay race was divided into male and female groups by grade, and although there were quite a few girls in their class, they were not as strong as Humanities 4. the boys’ group was quite strong though, and Old Yuan and the class had high hopes for them.

Huo Ran was the first runner, Kou Chen was the last, and in the middle were Wei Chaoren and sports councilman Luo Feiyu. There was still a good chance of them winning the championship.

“Luo Feiyu, you’re the second runner, right?” Wei Chaoren asked. “You’re a bit more explosive, and the first two runners should have a stronger might, so Kou Chen can have it a bit easier.”

“Alright,” Luo Feiyu said, “when you’re handing over the baton, I need to see it clearly. Let me grasp it firmly before letting go.”

“Ok.” Huo Ran nodded.

“Why am I not running second?” Kou Chen whispered into his ear.

“Because in case someone falls behind you can still catch up at the end,” Huo Ran replied in a whisper, and looked at him again. “I wanted to ask when you ate breakfast, did you not sleep?”

“What?” Kou Chen was a bit surprised, “Do I have eyebags?”

“No, but you just don’t look very good, it looks like you stayed up all night.” Huo Ran said.

“Oh,” Kou Chen rubbed his face, “Yesterday Superman4 snored a lot and made so much noise.”

“I snored?” Wei Chaoren was very shocked. “Brother Chuan, I snore? Isn’t it Guo Zijian who snores every night!”

Xu Chuan laughed and didn’t say anything.

“Then it’s Guo Zijian.” Kou Chen said.

“Shit.” Wei Chaoren sighed.

Kou Chen glanced around again. “Where is Xu Zhifan?”

“Took off early in the morning and went home,” Huo Ran said, “He had some things going on back there.”

“What things?” Xu Chuan asked, “Does he need help?”

“It shouldn’t be anything too big.” Huo Ran said.

Because the team events were basically the last events of the sports meet, everybody’s sense of honor and their ‘join-the-fun’ cells were activated. Before the relay started, both sides of the track were already filled with people raising banners of each class.

Humanities class 1’s female students were led by Wu Xiaochen gave their best effort and got fourth. Tang Wei also almost twisted her foot, and he couldn’t even stand, so he squatted at the end and wanted to cry.

A group of people gathered around to comfort her.

“Fourth is good,” Kou Chen went over and pulled her up, grabbing her arm and holding it. “Don’t cry, twelve classes ranked fourth.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Everyone also nodded.

“I could’ve been a bit faster,” Tang Wei said with a sob, “I ran out and twisted my hip… so I ran slowly…”

“Is it hurt?” Huo Ran asked.

“No, fortunately it wasn’t, or else we wouldn’t even be able to get fourth.” Tang Wei continued while sobbing.

Huo Ran listened to her aggrieved tone, and he suddenly wanted to laugh a little. He hurriedly went to the starting line and endured.

“Hey, don’t be sad, you’re not the only one who ran, we all ran. You should think of it this way, this fourth place is something we worked hard for, ran hard for to get, got it?” Wu Xiaochen said. “You should be happy~”

Worthy of being Old Yuan’s class leader, Huo Ran admired.

“Mm.” Tang Wei nodded.

“You accomplished something great today.” Li Yi said.

“What?” Tang Wei looked at her.

Li Yi used her gaze to stare down at her arm. “The touch of the male god.”

Tang Wei froze and jerked her head up.

Kou Chen also froze, hurriedly released his hand and took three steps back.

“Oh my god,” Tang Wei’s sobbing immediately stopped. “Kou Chen pulled me up! Oh my god, I’ve been resurrected.”

“… Holy fuck,” Kou Chen turned around and walked away, “Quick, go go go.”

Humanities class 1’s boys’ relay received a lot of attention. In the past, because there were many boys in the science classes, they were more likely to emerge in the sports meet as dark horses, but this time the two dark horses from the humanities classes were not only strong in sports, but also handsome…

“Not only black! And a horse!” Wu Xiaochen said, “How flashy.”

“The fuck,” Said Tang Wei, “ the other class came out with a black donkey, though black, but a donkey.”

Huo Ran had been a little nervous, but was amused by their conversations and wanted to laugh a little.

However, as he walked toward the starting line, he became nervous again, and he looked back and saw Kou Chen, who was walking toward the fourth stop.

“Kou Chen.” He shouted.

”Hmm?” Kou Chen immediately stopped, turned around and walked over.

“… Good luck.” Huo Ran said.

Kou Chen looked at him without speaking, and after two seconds he suddenly laughed. “You’re nervous, aren’t you.”

“A little bit.” Huo Ran answered truthfully.

“No problem, “ Kou Chen’s eyebrows jumped up and down, “I promise to catch up if we really lag behind.”

Huo Ran extended his hand. Kou Chen’s bragging was so fitting that it instantly gave him a burst of confidence.

Kou Chen patted his hand. “Good luck, Ranran.”

An individual race event definitely wouldn’t have made Huo Ran feel this way. The gunshot was heard, and the moment he rushed out from the starting line, he abandoned all his thoughts and just ran wildly towards Luo Feiyu in front of him.

The sound of the wind whistling in his ears and the cheers that came crashing down like an unstoppable wave without any gaps occupied all of his thoughts. It was only when he reached Luo Feiyu’s back that he noticed he was first place.

“Catch!” He thrust the baton towards Luo Feiyu’s hand with force.

Luo Feiyu grabbed the baton and rushed out of the changeover section, and started to run wildly.

“Let’s go Humanities 1! Let’s go Humanities 1!” Huo Ran followed the roaring from the class next to him.

Luo Feiyu’s speed was good, but during the second passover Science class 2’s baton cut through like a knife with a whoosh, passing over the baton around the same time as Luo Feiyu. Huo Ran suddenly started to sweat.

Wei Chaoren’s athletic skill was okay, but he was still pretty average. If he fell behind with this baton, Kou Chen would have a hard time catching up.

Huo Ran already could barely hear what the people around him were yelling, and just stared at Wei Chaoren. Today, this person was quite competitive, and when he passed over the baton they were third. He wasn’t behind by much.

The moment Kou Chen took the baton, Huo Ran felt the sound of cheers clearing away the thick haze of smog.

“Go Kou Chen! Go Humanities 1!” Huo Ran jumped and shouted.

He didn’t participate much in the events during his freshman year, and didn’t experience any particularly exciting moments.

However, right now, he suddenly felt that this may become one of his most memorable moments in his high school career, jumping and roaring, cheering on his teammates, watching Kou Chen cross the line through the sound waves, haphazardly hugging whoever was next to him, then running over towards him.

Kou Chen gasped, laughing, and opened his arms wide, pouncing and wrapping them around him, followed by the class piling on, one after another and wrapping them all in the middle.

“I told you! You guys have me!” Kou Chen shouted in his ear. “I told you I was a man of my word!”

“Fucking awesome.” Huo Ran laughed and patted him on the back.