Chapter 1
I Didn’t Mean to Touch Your Hand In the first week of senior year of high school, the weather still carried the lingering warmth of midsummer. The ceiling fan in the classroom creaked and turned non-stop. Kai was lying on his desk doing his homework, and the sunlight slanted through the window and shone on his slender neck, as if draping a layer of soft light over him. “Hey, top student.” The sound of a pair of sneakers kicking the chair interrupted the quiet lunch break. Kai didn’t even raise his head and continued to work on his math paper. “Don’t call me top student. I haven’t finished yet.” “You’ve already written so much and you’re still not done? Are you a problem-solving machine?” Eli’s tone was exaggerated. He threw a basketball at Kai’s feet, and with a thud, it rolled under the desk. “Come and play basketball. Don’t always stay in the classroom. Having good grades won’t make you grow taller.” Kai finally looked up and frowned slightly. “I’m planning to get into university with my brains, not by playing basketball.” Eli leaned in, resting his elbow on Kai’s desk, and his tone softened. “Come on, bro. I’ll take you to relax. Later, I’ll treat you to some ice cream.” “You just want me to do your history homework, right?” Kai glanced at him, tossed the paper aside, and said, “I know what you’re up to.” “Ah, you’ve found me out.” Eli wasn’t angry but instead smiled brightly. “But I really am doing this for your own good. If you do badly in the exams, I’m sure my mom will drag me out of your house and give me a good scolding.” Kai didn’t respond, but the corner of his mouth curved up a little. Just then, Cyrus peeked in from the doorway. “Eli, hurry up! The basketball court is almost being taken over! If you dilly-dally any longer, we’ll have to compete with those junior third-year kids for the court!” “Coming, coming!” Eli stood up and grabbed Kai’s arm casually. “You’re not allowed to run away today.” Kai struggled resistantly but couldn’t break free. His voice dropped. “I still haven’t finished my math problems...” “You can teach me how to solve problems, so what else do you need to write?” Eli almost dragged the other person out. Kai had no choice but to sigh in resignation, put his pen into the pencil case, and obediently followed out of the classroom. — By the side of the playground, Cyrus, Luna, and Mia were already waiting there. As soon as Mia saw Kai coming out, she immediately smiled as if she had seen the God of Wealth. “Oh, our future Tsinghua University top scorer is willing to come out and soak up the sun?” Kai’s face turned a little red. “Don’t talk nonsense.” “Ah, he’s blushing, he’s blushing!” Mia smiled and nudged him. “Hurry up, hurry up. Luna and I are in a team. You three can divide yourselves up.” “I refuse to be in a team with Eli.” Kai immediately raised his hand in protest. “Why?” Eli threw the ball and wiped the sweat off his face handsomely. “Didn’t you say my shooting posture is quite handsome?” “That’s what my mom asked me to say to praise you.” Kai pouted. Everyone burst into laughter. Luna looked at them indifferently and didn’t say anything, but her gaze kept shifting back and forth between Kai and Eli. She noticed a detail: when Kai was speaking, Eli would always unconsciously lower his head, get closer, and the corners of his mouth would turn up. That wasn’t the smile between brothers; it was... something else. And as for Cyrus, when Kai smiled with his eyes curved, his eyes showed a trace of loneliness for a moment, as if they were about to shatter. — After playing basketball, Kai went back to the classroom all sweaty, and he was holding an iced green tea that Eli “didn’t want anymore”. “I don’t want to waste it.” Eli threw the empty can into the trash can. “You don’t drink coffee, so you should at least accept something sweet.” Kai took a big gulp and felt a warmth in his heart, but he still said stubbornly, “You always say ‘I don’t want it anymore’, making me feel like a scavenger.” “I don’t care if you’re a scavenger or not, as long as you pick me up.” Eli said half-jokingly. Kai was taken aback and turned to look at him. Eli, however, had already lowered his head and pretended to look for his schoolbag, and the tips of his ears turned red quietly. — During the lunch break. Cyrus leaned against the chair and pretended to be asleep, but he secretly peeked at Kai and Eli sitting at the same desk reviewing. He heard Eli explaining a math problem, and Kai said irritably, “Your train of thought is like my mom reversing a car, making three turns.” Then Eli laughed as if he had won the jackpot. He stared at Kai’s focused and bright face, and suddenly felt a bit stuffy in his chest. Is this what it feels like to like someone? You watch him laugh with others, but your heart feels blocked as if something is pressing on it. And you can’t say anything because you mean nothing to him. He quietly turned his head, trying not to let the tears fall. Luna opened her eyes, glanced at him, and didn’t say a word. — Before school was over, the math teacher handed out the test papers. “The first in the class — Kai. It’s still you.” Eli, who was sitting next to him, clapped his hands and yawned. “I told you there’s no harm in playing basketball with me.” Kai held back a laugh. “It’s me teaching you how to do the problems, not you teaching me.” “You teach me how to do problems, and I teach you about life.” Eli said seriously. “Pfft.” “I didn’t mean to touch your hand.” Eli suddenly said in a low voice. Kai was taken aback. “What?” “When we were playing basketball today.” Eli bit his lips and looked at the blackboard. “…I just wanted to test your reaction.” Kai looked at him and didn’t say anything. The classroom was very quiet, only the sound of the fan turning could be heard. Between the two of them, their fingers approached each other faintly but then stopped. — Luna walked out of the classroom and faced the setting sun in the evening. She lowered her head and wrote a sentence in the memo on her phone: “Eli’s eyes light up when he looks at Kai.” She raised her head and the corner of her mouth curled up slightly. “This is getting interesting.”
