MDPWU Chapter 5

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The two of them were staring at each other when Pei Yun walked in, holding a small quilt.

"Zhou You's bed is wet—there's a leak upstairs," Pei Yun explained. "He'll be sleeping in your room tonight. Tongtong, help tidy up a bit."

Tong Tong didn't move, clutching the T-shirt he'd just taken off, clearly unwilling.

"Tong—"

"It's okay, Auntie," Zhou You interrupted with a smile. "I can sleep on the couch in my room. It's hot in the bedroom anyway—I was planning on sleeping on the couch." He winked at Tong Tong, playfully hinting that he had no intention of sharing a bed with him. "I just came over to let him know."

"No way. That couch?" Pei Yun frowned. "Your couch is the same as the one here—barely big enough for two people to sit. Are you planning to sleep sitting up all night?"

"I'm practicing martial arts lately—sleeping sitting up is just what I need." Zhou You grinned, turning to leave. "Besides, my couch can be taken apart. It gets bigger when you do."

Tong Tong tilted his head and noticed the white bandage wrapped around Zhou You's left forearm.

"Can it really be taken apart?" Pei Yun was skeptical.

"Of course! It just goes crack, crack, crack, and it's done," Zhou You said.

"Then—"

"Mom, give it to me." Tong Tong snorted, tossing aside his T-shirt and snatching the small quilt from his mother's arms.

Zhou You was momentarily stunned.

Pei Yun chuckled, then turned and walked out.

"Here." Tong Tong, his face still cold, tossed the quilt to Zhou You and climbed up the wooden ladder to tidy the top bunk.

The bed in Tong Tong’s room was a bunk bed, like the kind for kids—left behind by the previous occupants.

There wasn’t much on the top bunk, just a violin and some books.

Tong Tong carefully took the violin case down and placed it in the wardrobe. Then, without much thought, he grabbed all the books and stacked them on the highest shelf of the bookcase.

"Thanks, buddy." Zhou You placed a grateful hand on his shoulder.

"I'm not your buddy," Tong Tong said with distaste, shaking off his hand.

"Then sis!" Zhou You wrapped an arm around him forcefully.

"Get lost." Tong Tong pushed him away, pulled his T-shirt back on, and walked to the living room.

Pei Yun had just finished making some warm milk, ready to bring it to the two of them.

"This one's for Zhou You," she said, handing a cup to Tong Tong.

Tong Tong didn't take it. Instead, he bent down and took a big sip from both cups while they were still in his mom’s hands.

"Such a little kid," Pei Yun teased.

"I am a little kid," Tong Tong huffed, finally taking his cup.

"School starts tomorrow. I won’t be going with you," Pei Yun said, reaching out to touch his face.

"I didn’t ask you to. It's just school," Tong Tong muttered, rubbing his cheek against his mom's hand.

"True. My son can handle anything. School is nothing." Pei Yun waved her hand grandly. "Alright, off to bed. And no fighting."

Back in the room, Zhou You had already finished tidying up the top bunk and had even rearranged the books Tong Tong had stacked haphazardly.

Tong Tong felt a little satisfied with that. He raised his chin slightly and handed Zhou You his cup of milk, like he was bestowing a gift. "Drink."

Zhou You took the cup from Tong Tong’s hand and downed it in two gulps like it was hard liquor. "I don’t know why, but the milk at your house tastes especially sweet."

Tong Tong froze, his gaze drifting slightly to Zhou You’s cup, suddenly remembering that he had taken a sip from it earlier.

He vaguely nodded and changed the subject. "You brought your clothes, right? I’ll shower first, then you can go."

"Got it." Zhou You waited for him to finish drinking before carrying both cups out to the sink.

Tong Tong found Zhou You to be rather considerate, which put him in a slightly better mood. Humming a tune, he grabbed his clothes and headed to the bathroom.

When he came out, Zhou You picked up his own clothes and went in.

He had originally planned to shower in his own room, but when he went back to grab his things, he found the water wouldn’t come out, so he gave up and came back.

After finishing his shower, Zhou You returned to the room. Tong Tong was packing his schoolbag and didn’t even look up. "No snoring, no teeth grinding, or I’ll throw you out."

"I don’t even breathe when I sleep. As soon as I close my eyes, it's like I’m dead," Zhou You said.

"…"

Tong Tong zipped up his bag and turned to scold him.

But before he could, Zhou You didn’t bother with the ladder—he just grabbed the edge of the bed, bent his waist, and vaulted up in one smooth motion.

Boys naturally admired cool and impressive moves like that. Tong Tong secretly envied him for a moment but tried his best to keep a straight face.

Still, there was something he couldn’t hold back. He hesitated, then finally asked, "Didn’t you break your arm?"

"Did I? Well, the doctor didn’t find anything wrong with it," Zhou You replied.

Tong Tong fell silent.

After a long pause, the only response from below was a small huff. Zhou You chuckled and explained good-naturedly, "It’s fine, not broken. They took an X-ray—the doctor said I just need two weeks of rest."

This time, there was no sound at all from the lower bunk.

Big eyes, big temper, but a good person—just a bit silly.

Zhou You blinked, suddenly feeling that this city wasn’t so bad after all.

With a "click," Tong Tong reached up and turned off the light.

The room slowly quieted down, with only the rustling of leaves in the breeze from the open window.

Now and then, the honk of a car horn echoed from the street outside.

Zhou You heard movement from the lower bunk. Half an hour had passed, and he had almost fallen asleep when he realized that Tong Tong still wasn’t asleep yet.

He suddenly remembered the delicate violin case that Tong Tong had taken down earlier.

"Was that your violin?" Zhou You’s voice broke the silence.

Tong Tong flinched in surprise.

"You know how to play?" Zhou You asked again.

"No," Tong Tong replied offhandedly, turning over in bed, his mind preoccupied with the thought of school tomorrow.

"I don’t either."

"… What a shame."

"Thanks for your concern." Zhou You chuckled.

Tong Tong, hearing that laugh, was speechless. He didn’t want to respond anymore.

With his mind drifting, he finally fell asleep.

In this dream, there were no longer large clusters of black lines.

The wind blew against Tong Tong’s face, and he instinctively took two steps forward.

Around the corner was a classroom, bustling with noise.

Tong Tong wasn’t sure if he was dreaming or not.

The scene felt too real.

He slowly walked into the classroom. The faces of everyone inside were both strange and familiar.

Standing on the podium, Tong Tong suddenly felt a pang of unease. He was truly afraid.

Everyone looked at him strangely—not approaching, yet staring.

“I... I...” Tong Tong wanted to say something but didn’t know how to begin.

Suddenly, a boy entered the classroom, holding a steamed bun.

But it was as if he didn’t see Tong Tong at all—he walked past him, stood in the center of the podium, and began introducing himself.

After listening for a while, Tong Tong realized he was a transfer student.

When the boy finished speaking and was about to step down, he noticed Tong Tong and held out the steamed bun to him.

“Want some?” the boy asked.

Tong Tong wasn’t sure if he was just hungry or what, but he opened his mouth and took a bite.

“That’s how it is,” the boy said again. “Now that you’ve eaten my bun, you belong to me.”

Tong Tong was horrified. He quickly spat it out and even wiped his mouth several times.

The boy, now angry, grabbed him and leaned down to kiss him.

Tong Tong was completely stunned.

“I’ve had a crush on you for a long time. Let’s be together,” the boy said.

Tong Tong wanted to call him crazy.

But in the blink of an eye, the scene changed—a carousel, a glowing Ferris wheel, a pitch-black movie theater, a hospital corridor, the large courtyard of his old home.

Before Tong Tong could react, the scene shifted back to the classroom.

“Let’s break up,” the boy said.

Tong Tong couldn’t breathe. He felt deceived. That bun wasn’t tasty at all.

“Hahaha! I was just messing with you the whole time,” the boy suddenly burst into laughter like a lunatic, his bright white teeth making him look a bit silly.

As his laughter echoed, the pixelated background around them began to distort.

The entire class started laughing too, pointing at him, baring their teeth.

Tong Tong finally woke up. His face was pale, drenched in cold sweat. His chest rose and fell rapidly as he gasped for air.

With trembling hands, he panickedly reached for the asthma inhaler in his drawer.

In his haste, his elbow slammed hard against the bedside table, but he didn’t care. Clutching the inhaler, he propped himself up and took a deep breath from it.

Three minutes later, Tong Tong had finally calmed down. He tried to recall his dream, but it was already fading—bizarre yet vivid.

He chalked it up to his fear of the new school term. What a ridiculous dream.

After all—

At his school, students either moved up from the affiliated junior high or got in through the high school entrance exams.

There was absolutely no way a transfer student could appear, let alone in the second year of high school.

School regulations were absolute.

If transfer students didn’t exist, then there was no way one would feed him a steamed bun, nor would everything else that followed have happened.

After resting and letting his mind wander for another two minutes, Tong Tong—aside from his back being drenched in sweat—looked completely fine.

Full of energy, he jumped out of bed in just his underwear.

But just as he stood up, something suddenly struck him, sending a chill down his spine.

Instinctively, he looked up at the top bunk.

It was already empty. The blanket was folded neatly, like the perfectly squared ones in the military.

Tong Tong let out a sigh of relief. He glanced at the time—just 7 AM.

School started today, but the gathering wasn’t until around 8.

He took his time showering and then went to the living room. His family was already gone.

Eating breakfast alone, Tong Tong couldn’t help but think of Grandma Liu, who used to cook for them.

Grandma Liu always liked to nag him while he ate—one moment saying he was too skinny, the next reminding him to study hard at school, and then warning him not to fight and to get along with his classmates…

Tong Tong sighed. He wondered how Grandma Liu was doing after going back home.

After finishing breakfast, he stripped down to just his underwear again and started changing into his school uniform in the living room.

The uniform had already been ironed and hung up in the living room last night by Pei Yun.

Mingde High School was the best private school in the city. Aside from students preparing for the national college entrance exam, it also had international classes for those planning to study abroad.

Because of this, Mingde’s uniforms were much fancier compared to those of other schools in the city.

Each season had four different sets, all designed by overseas designers.

The one Pei Yun ironed for him yesterday was one of the summer sets—white shirt, black trousers.

He didn’t really like this set because it came with a tie. He found it troublesome and could never tie it properly.

After getting dressed, Tong Tong grabbed his schoolbag and stepped out.

Right at that moment, the door across from him opened as well, and Zhou You stepped out.

Zhou You looked cold and serious at first, but then quickly put on a smile.

He even whistled. “Nice outfit—looks sharp!”

Tong Tong felt a little embarrassed but still deliberately struck a proud pose, as if to say, "I know."

“Your tie’s wrong,” Zhou You said as he reached out to fix it.

Tong Tong took a step back, but Zhou You tugged him back in by the tie. “Stop moving.”

Tong Tong rolled his eyes but looked down to watch him tie it. He was about to complain that Zhou You wasn’t doing a good job either.

But surprisingly, Zhou You did it well.

Alright… not just well. It was actually really good.

Zhou You had big hands, with long fingers.

“So, where are you going all dressed up?” Zhou You finally asked.

“School’s starting,” Tong Tong said, pleased with how neatly his tie was tied. In a good mood, he returned the question, “What about you?”

“Me?” Zhou You grinned. “I’m heading to the construction site for work!”

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