TAO | Chapter 65

Wei Xiaochi watched Jiang Zhan’s furious figure disappear into the crowd, his silhouette growing smaller and smaller until it vanished completely.

Standing in place for a long time, Wei Xiaochi moved sluggishly, like a puppet with stiff limbs. He slowly took out a stack of flyers from his bag.

Clutching the flyers, he walked aimlessly under the scorching sun, handing them out to passersby one by one. He had originally packed 300 flyers, and although he had distributed half of them, the bag still felt oppressively heavy, nearly bowing his back.

He didn’t know how long he walked before a security guard approached him. The guard spoke politely, “Excuse me, but you can’t distribute flyers here.”

Wei Xiaochi slowly looked up, watching the guard’s lips move, but the words sounded muffled, as if his ears were stuffed with wet cotton.

It wasn’t until the guard repeated himself that Wei Xiaochi snapped back to reality, hurriedly offering a flustered apology. “I’m sorry. I’ll stop.”

The guard didn’t give him any trouble and returned to his post.

Wei Xiaochi prepared to leave the amusement park, but as his hand brushed against his pocket, he felt the VIP cards Jiang Zhan had given him—two in total.

Jiang Zhan’s pockets weren’t deep, so he had handed the cards to Wei Xiaochi for safekeeping.

Wei Xiaochi stared at the two sturdy cards, a wave of unprecedented confusion washing over him.

After standing there for a while, he wiped the sweat from his face and went back to ride the rafting attraction alone.

As the inflatable raft slid down from a great height, water splashed against Wei Xiaochi’s face, feeling like coarse sand striking him.

He hugged his knees, burying his face against them. The safety belt tightened painfully against his ribs.

After finishing the rafting ride, Wei Xiaochi wandered the park, playing several attractions by himself, alone and unaccompanied.

Navigating the maze-like amusement park with the help of the map, he eventually made his way to the back exit. There, he handed out the remaining flyers before taking the subway to the flyer company to settle accounts.

By the time Wei Xiaochi arrived, the office was about to close for the day. The supervisor frowned at him. “Why are you back so late?”

Wei Xiaochi mumbled, “I’m sorry.”

Thinking he was slacking off because of his young age, the supervisor used his tardiness as an excuse to dock his pay by 20 yuan, only handing him 40 yuan instead of the full amount.

Wei Xiaochi pressed his lips together tightly. In the end, he said nothing, quietly accepting the money before heading home.

Early Monday morning, Wei Minzhen was stationed at the school gate, keeping an eye on students.

Although Wei Xiaochi’s haircut wasn’t particularly stylish, it met the school’s regulations for length. Wei Minzhen gave him a glance but said nothing.

Over the weekend, Wei Xiaochi had walked over 30,000 steps. When he returned to the classroom, he slumped onto his desk without a word, silently reading his textbook.

The second period bell rang, signaling the end of class. Without thinking, Wei Xiaochi glanced toward the door, then quickly looked away and began organizing his worksheets.

For the past few weeks, he had spent every recess meeting Jiang Zhan in the small grove behind the sports equipment room.

But now that they had fallen out, he doubted Jiang Zhan would be waiting for him.

By the third period, the phone in his desk pouch remained completely silent.

Normally, by now, Jiang Zhan would have sent a dozen WeChat messages asking why he hadn’t shown up yet.

But all day, Jiang Zhan didn’t contact him. And Wei Xiaochi didn’t reach out to Jiang Zhan either.

Wei Xiaochi quietly returned to his two-point routine—school and home—without lingering anywhere else.

This uneasy calm persisted until Wednesday. Neither of them made any effort to reach out.

However, since they were both at the same school and in the same teaching building, their paths inevitably crossed.

While fetching water after class, Wei Xiaochi ran into Jiang Zhan on the second-floor staircase.

The moment he saw Jiang Zhan, Wei Xiaochi froze like a small animal encountering a predator. His body tensed, and his breath caught in his throat.

Jiang Zhan, standing at the bottom of the stairs, was on his way back to class. He glanced at Wei Xiaochi for a brief second before coldly averting his gaze and walking away without a word.

Han Ziyang, following behind Jiang Zhan, witnessed the tense encounter and looked utterly bewildered.

Once Jiang Zhan left, Han Ziyang lowered his voice and asked, “What’s going on with you two?”

No wonder Jiang Zhan had been in such a foul mood lately. He wasn’t sneaking off during recess or lunch breaks anymore, which meant the two had definitely fought.

Han Ziyang felt like he was in a fog of confusion. Even an alien invasion wouldn’t have shocked him as much as the sight of these two bickering.

Wei Xiaochi didn’t respond. Pressing his lips together, he sidestepped Han Ziyang and headed downstairs to fetch water.

“Hey, Wei Xiaochi!” Han Ziyang called after him, but Wei Xiaochi didn’t look back.

What was this supposed to mean? A breakup?

Scratching the back of his head, Han Ziyang was filled with questions. How had this pair’s ending been just as incomprehensible as their beginning?

The reason for their breakup was unclear, just as their sudden relationship had been inexplicably strange.

Unable to resist, Han Ziyang pulled out his phone to update Li Suilin on the news of their breakup.

“Swift as the Wind”: Hmm.

A single “hmm” was all the composed Li Suilin offered.

“Your Brother Han”: You knew already?

“Swift as the Wind”: Just guessed.

“Your Brother Han”: …

Han Ziyang still couldn’t wrap his head around it. Why had they broken up? Just days ago, they had been inseparable. How had things fallen apart so quickly?

He wasn’t exaggerating when he said he had already mentally prepared a wedding gift for them.

Life was truly unpredictable.

Over the next few days, Jiang Zhan’s temper grew even more explosive. As his deskmate, Han Ziyang suffered the brunt of it and felt like he was living in hell.

Desperate, Han Ziyang approached Wei Xiaochi several times, hoping to mediate and push for reconciliation. But Wei Xiaochi, stubborn in his own quiet way, refused to budge.

“Damn it,” Han Ziyang muttered to himself. “They break up, and I’m the one who suffers. Where’s the fairness in that?”

Despite his soft-spoken demeanor, Wei Xiaochi was surprisingly resolute. Not even Han Ziyang could sway him.

Their stalemate lasted a full week, with no signs of reconciliation even by Friday. Han Ziyang’s anxiety hit its peak.

The last class of the morning was PE, conveniently scheduled alongside Wei Xiaochi’s class.

Due to the hot weather, the class was held indoors. Seeing this as an opportunity, Han Ziyang planned to nudge them toward making up.

Jiang Zhan maintained his aloof demeanor, but his gaze kept darting toward Wei Xiaochi.

Han Ziyang saw this as a positive sign and was about to make his move when Jiang Zhan’s expression suddenly darkened. The rage in his eyes practically boiled over.

Confused, Han Ziyang followed Jiang Zhan’s line of sight and saw Wei Xiaochi standing with a tall, broad-shouldered alpha.

The alpha looked vaguely familiar—Han Ziyang thought his name was Xu Yang.

Why was Xu Yang standing so close to Wei Xiaochi? They seemed to be chatting, their postures suggesting a level of familiarity.

Out of nowhere, Jiang Zhan slammed the basketball in his hand to the ground with a resounding thud. His voice rang out, filled with hostility.

“Stay the hell away from him!”