MM | Chapter 39

Brothers

“Where’s your phone? Got confiscated?” Gao Tianyang looked at his empty hands.

“Yeah.”

“Big Mouth is practically a public enemy!” Gao Tianyang lamented, clutching his own pocket nervously. “By the way, who were you chatting with on WeChat just now?”

Sheng Wang paused, then countered, “Why?”

“Did Big Mouth see the chat? If you were talking to someone outside school, it’s fine. But if it was someone inside, like Tian-ge, Big Mouth might go after another phone,” Gao Tianyang said.

Sheng Wang: “…”

He cursed under his breath and dashed toward the classroom.

On Road No. 3, students strolled leisurely. Girls linked arms, chatting and laughing. Sheng Wang nearly bumped into someone, sidestepped with a “pardon me,” but didn’t slow down.

He cut through the flower beds for a shortcut, his school jacket flapping in the wind, disappearing down the path in no time.

Gao Tianyang, a step behind, couldn’t catch him. He waved vigorously toward the sports field, shouting, “Old Song! Let’s go!”

Then he took off in pursuit.

Gao Tianyang, famous as the P.E. committee member, had won first place in every event he entered during the sports meet in his first year, single-handedly boosting his class’s score.

Even so, chasing Sheng Wang was a struggle. He only caught sight of Sheng Wang’s jacket disappearing up to the second floor of Mingli Building.

“Did Big Mouth really see it?” Gao Tianyang bounded up three steps at a time, following closely. “Who was it?”

“Jiang Tian,” Sheng Wang replied.

“Really?! That’s not good—” Gao Tianyang panted after the long run. “My Tian-ge earns his own money; his phone can’t be confiscated!”

*

In the classroom, Jiang Tian glanced at the WeChat interface again. The conversation had stopped at “Black Man Marching,” and there was no update from Sheng Wang. He wasn’t sure if Sheng Wang was engrossed in the performance or something else.

He turned off the screen, tossed his phone and the envelope into his backpack, and caught a glimpse of someone rushing into the classroom.

He looked up, seeing Sheng Wang sprinting over, stopping with one hand on his desk, bringing a gust of wind mixed with body heat and the lingering summer warmth.

“Did Big Mouth come by?” Sheng Wang panted, hands on the desk, sweat beading at his temples.

“No,” Jiang Tian said, puzzled. “Why are you in such a hurry?”

Just then, Gao Tianyang burst in, asking, “Tian-ge, did Big Mouth take your phone?”

“No,” Jiang Tian instantly understood, looking at Sheng Wang. “Yours got taken?”

Sheng Wang nodded, but his expression relaxed.

“I’m exhausted, more tiring than a 3000-meter run.” He looked relieved, slumping down, his neck muscles tightening with each breath, lips dry and pale.

Jiang Tian pulled a bottle of water from his desk, opened it, and handed it over. “Did you run back from the sports field?”

“Yeah.” Sheng Wang took it without hesitation, ready to drink.

He often borrowed Jiang Tian’s water. Among guys, it wasn’t a big deal. Sometimes he’d remember to keep the bottle away from his lips, other times he’d drink directly.

“I was typing away, and Big Mouth suddenly appeared.” Sheng Wang tilted his head back, lips almost touching the bottle, then paused.

His dark eyes glanced sideways, sweeping over Jiang Tian’s face before retracting. He hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to lift the bottle a bit.

“What’s wrong?” Jiang Tian asked.

Sheng Wang snapped back, shaking his head. “Nothing.”

He shifted his fingers slightly, ultimately changing nothing, and took several big gulps from the bottle.

In the end, Big Mouth’s words were just to scare the students, and Sheng Wang had only half-listened. It wasn’t worth overthinking. Like the breeze by the sports field, it passed and was gone.

At most… it might fleetingly resurface in rare moments.

Gao Tianyang slumped into his seat, muttering, “Big Mouth actually spared Tian-ge? Has he changed?”

As he spoke, the warning bell rang, and people filed into the classroom. Sheng Wang also sat down. He was about to pull out his physics paper when Song Sirui rushed in, shouting, “Big news! Big Mouth is coming with two teachers to confiscate phones!”

“I saw it too!” Another student who came in right after him shouted, “They’re on the third floor, already collected a bunch, using plastic bags.”

“What the heck?” The whole class cursed in unison.

Their first reaction was to push their phones deeper into their bags, the second was to laugh.

“Really using plastic bags? How many did they confiscate? That’s brutal.”

“First time I’m glad we’re on the top floor.”

“Top floor’s great, gives us time to get the news.”

“Thanks to the allies downstairs. Seems like only Old Gao’s phone has been taken in our class, right?”

“Don’t jinx it. Sheng Wang just lost one,” Song Sirui said. “That’s why we ran back so fast. Everyone, hide your phones. If we don’t panic, then—”

Before he finished, a student rushed in from the stairs, “This is crazy! Big Mouth brought a metal detector!!!”

Everyone: “???”

There had been many teachers confiscating phones, but bringing a metal detector was a first!

Sheng Wang was stunned. “Is the Affiliated High School’s Political and Educational Office always this bold?”

The previously calm Class A turned into ants on a hot pan, scratching their heads and pacing in their seats.

“What do we do?”

“Run with the phones!”

“Run where? The class bell’s already rung.”

“Bathroom, just say it’s urgent!”

“The whole class going to the bathroom? Do you think the teacher’s an idiot?”

“Hurry! Big Mouth’s in Class B!” The student by the back door peeked out and reported.

“Hurry where?”

Sheng Wang, with his innocent face, was best at quick thinking in such moments. He grabbed his backpack from under the desk, leaving it open, and said to Jiang Tian, “Throw your phone in here.”

Jiang Tian hesitated. “Why?”

Sheng Wang gestured toward the window with his chin.

Before the others could react, Jiang Tian understood. He lifted a hand, saying, “Wait.”

He quickly took off his school jacket, rolled it up, stuffed it into Sheng Wang’s backpack, and pressed it to the bottom, then tossed his phone in.

Sheng Wang said, “Anyone else with a phone, throw it in here, quick!”

Though they didn’t fully understand, Gao Tianyang responded immediately, handing over his phone without a word. Then a dozen or so others scrambled over, hurriedly stuffing their “contraband” into Sheng Wang’s bag.

“Hurry! They’re coming up the stairs!” The student by the back door warned again.

Some hesitated, but Sheng Wang couldn’t wait any longer. He rushed to the window on the classroom’s inner side, opened it, and tossed the backpack out.

Everyone was stunned.

The students by the window leaned out to look. This side of Mingli Building had large green areas with soft soil. Even if someone jumped from the fourth floor, they’d land on the soft ground without serious injury.

At that moment, Sheng Wang’s backpack lay in the soft soil among the flowers, hidden by large leaves.

Only then did they understand his plan. They immediately dragged out another backpack and tossed the remaining phones into it.

Just as they opened the window to send the bag down, Big Mouth coughed and entered the classroom with the detector through the back door. The entire class sat upright, instantly silent.

“I’m telling you, Class A is a disaster zone,” Big Mouth said.

Two other teachers followed him, each holding a plastic bag filled with at least thirty or forty confiscated phones.

Big Mouth pulled another plastic bag from his pocket, shaking it open as he glanced toward Jiang Tian and Sheng Wang. “Some of you think you can do whatever you want because of your good grades. I saved a bag just for you! I bet your class alone can fill it. Let me see—”

He said, starting to walk around the classroom with the detector.

All of Class A remained silent, pretending to be well-behaved as they watched him walk through the first row, the second, the third… and their faces grew increasingly green.

After five rows, Big Mouth found nothing.

He seriously checked the detector, wondering if it was broken.

He especially circled around Jiang Tian three times, still with no reaction.

Big Mouth finally realized he’d been played by these kids.

He was so angry he pointed around Class A, finally stopping between Jiang Tian and Sheng Wang, saying, “No phones, but ghosts sent those WeChat messages, right? You two troublemakers, just wait. Next time I see you—”

“What are you doing?” He Jin entered, holding a stack of physics papers, and looked Big Mouth up and down. “Quite the ensemble, Director.”

These famous teachers were known for not fearing school leaders. Big Mouth grumbled, “I’m having a heart attack!”

He Jin stepped aside, saying, “Then you should go rest.”

The director’s face turned even greener.

He snapped the bag shut and left with the two teachers, fuming.

Once they were gone, He Jin closed the back door, glanced around the class, and asked, “Tired of holding it in?”

As soon as he finished, the whole class burst into laughter.

“How did you hide the phones?” He Jin asked again.

“Can’t say,” Song Sirui muttered, “We’re counting on this trick to survive.”

He Jin rolled his eyes, saying, “Fine, so everyone did something wrong, right? Stand up. If I’m not sitting, neither are you.”

Li Yu cleared her throat, obediently saying, “All rise.”

The class stood up in unison, saying, “Thank you, teacher!”

He Jin, exasperated, said, “Out of control and shameless, that’s you guys. Reflect on it.”

The class chuckled, and then laughed even harder at the absurdity of their situation.

In the midst of the laughter, Sheng Wang turned to Jiang Tian, raising his chin, “Am I smart?”

“Too smart,” Jiang Tian replied casually.

Sheng Wang clicked his tongue and turned back around.

After a moment, he reached his hand behind him, palm open toward Jiang Tian.

“What?” Jiang Tian leaned slightly forward.

Sheng Wang leaned back a bit, watching the podium, and said through his lips, “I saved your phone, so where’s my thank-you gift? Be considerate.”

His hand waved like a fan, teasingly.

Unexpectedly, after only a few waves, someone grabbed his fingers.

Jiang Tian’s seat was right under the air conditioner, the coldest spot in the class. He hadn’t left the classroom, so his fingertips were a bit cool.

He held Sheng Wang’s fingers lightly, the touch of their skin particularly distinct.

Sheng Wang’s eyelids lifted slightly and then drooped, so subtly it seemed like just a flutter of his lashes.

He felt something metallic placed in his palm, and then Jiang Tian released his fingers.

“No thank-you gift, just the dorm key,” Jiang Tian said.

“Oh.” Sheng Wang withdrew his hand, pocketing the key. “Alright then.”

As He Jin continued lecturing, Sheng Wang only pulled his hand from his pocket when it was time to take notes, grabbing a pen to write.

*

As soon as the physics class ended, two students rushed downstairs to retrieve the tossed backpacks. Everyone got their phones back, with no losses except for Sheng Wang.

He wasn’t too concerned about his phone being confiscated, but Jiang Tian and Gao Tianyang were more worried.

Gao Tianyang pestered Small Mouth Xu right after class, while Jiang Tian, confident in his top grades, directly asked Old He in the office, “How do I get a confiscated phone back?”

Old He was straightforward, “Either write a reflection until Director Xu is satisfied, or have a parent retrieve it from the Political and Educational Office.”

Sheng Wang thought he was doomed. He’d annoyed Big Mouth several times recently, so satisfying him seemed unlikely. As for calling a parent… even more impossible.

Sheng Mingyang didn’t have that kind of time. He’d probably prefer transferring money to Sheng Wang’s account for a new phone over spending hours in a meeting.

Sheng Wang considered his options and planned to drag Jiang Tian to the west gate during dinner. Near the Wutongwai subway station was a commercial street with many phone stores.

He could buy one to use temporarily.

Unexpectedly, just as they left the school gate, they received a call from Uncle Xiao Chen, saying his car was already outside. Sheng Wang thought only Xiao Chen was coming to deliver the dorm luggage, but when the car door opened, the first to step out was the “no time” Sheng Mingyang, followed by Jiang Ou.

When was the last time Sheng Mingyang came to the school? Sheng Wang could hardly remember.

He paused for a while before walking over, asking, “Weren’t you on a noon flight to Shenzhen?”

Jiang Ou gently replied, “Your dad spent the morning on calls, pushing everything to tomorrow morning. We rescheduled our flight to 11:30 tonight.”

Sheng Mingyang used to drink a lot at social events, and his health wasn’t great for a while, so he rarely stayed up late or booked such late flights.

Sheng Wang was a bit thrown off, standing there silently for a long time.

Sheng Mingyang, pulling a suitcase, patted his head as he passed. “I’ve been talking with your Aunt Jiang, and we’ve been reflecting. Why don’t you evaluate our progress?”

Sheng Wang said nothing, eventually walking with Jiang Tian into the school, keeping a respectful distance behind the two parents.

He watched Sheng Mingyang’s back, muttering to Jiang Tian after a while, “Reflecting at their age.”

Jiang Tian called He Jin, asking for an evening self-study leave. The family, with their luggage, headed to the boys’ dormitory building 2. Their presence drew a lot of attention.

Everyone knew Sheng Wang and Jiang Tian were close, so seeing them together wasn’t surprising. But with two parents, the scene was striking.

Friends? Relatives? Or family friends?

Everyone passing by had curiosity in their eyes.

Sheng Mingyang hadn’t been to a school in a long time and was unaccustomed to the open attention from young people. As they entered the dorm courtyard and registered with the dorm manager, he couldn’t help but ask, “I see a lot of people registering for dorms today, and many with luggage. Why are so many kids watching us?”

Sheng Wang: “Because we’re handsome.”

Sheng Mingyang: “…”

If it weren’t his son, he’d have asked if he had any shame, but he found it amusing.

Distracted by the topic, they didn’t pay much attention during registration and assumed room 601 in building 2 was just for Jiang Tian and Sheng Wang. But when the family reached the sixth floor, they found the door open, with someone already inside unpacking.

“Did we get the wrong room?” Sheng Wang muttered, about to leave when Jiang Tian knocked on the door, saying, “We didn’t. There’s a name list here.”

Sheng Wang looked up and saw a chart on the door, listing names and classes.

The dorm was a six-person room with three bunk beds, but 601 wasn’t full, only listing four names.

The other two were Shi Yu from Class B and Qiu Wenbin from Class 11.

They had arrived early and claimed the two lower bunks. Sheng Mingyang politely greeted them, then examined the only empty bunk bed, suggesting, “Xiao Tian is taller, so he should take the lower bunk. Wang Zai, you take the upper. How about that?”

“I don’t mind,” Jiang Tian said.

Sheng Wang shrugged, muttering, “I’m still growing. What if I get taller soon?”

Jiang Tian glanced at him, saying, “Fine, I’ll just saw my legs off faster.”

“Damn.”

Sheng Wang felt like sawing him off right there.

Jiang Ou wiped the cabinet with wet wipes, laughing. “How will you arrange your luggage?”

Sheng Wang instinctively looked at Jiang Tian, then replied, “We’ll handle it ourselves. You two should go back; don’t you have a flight to catch?”

Jiang Ou hesitated, and after Sheng Mingyang took a call on the balcony, he quietly spoke with her, then told Sheng Wang, “I just spoke with Director Xu. He said your phone’s with him. We’ll stop by the Political and Educational Office.”

“Just remember to get my phone,” Sheng Wang waved them off.

Teenage boys often felt awkward about having parents linger, as if whoever got more help from their parents lost. So most parents came and went quickly.

Sheng Mingyang and Jiang Ou weren’t exceptions, but their parting words surprised the other two dorm students.

Sheng Mingyang said, “You two brothers take care of each other.”

He said it casually.

Shi Yu, stacking books on the top bunk, almost fell off the ladder.

He exchanged wide-eyed glances with Qiu Wenbin.

Qiu Wenbin exaggeratedly mouthed, “What did he say their relationship is???”

Brothers???