Chapter 63#
The Storyteller (15)#
Ye Sheng: “…”
Right now, apart from regret, he had no other thoughts.
Ye Sheng hated being the center of attention in a crowd. He despised any kind of gaze, any kind of scrutiny. He was used to being the weirdo isolated in a corner.
Being “unnoticed” in social situations gave him a sense of security, as if he were building walls around himself.
But Ning Weichen was his complete opposite.
—How could someone’s personality, aura, and way of speaking be so incompatible with his?
Ning Weichen looked down at him, a thoughtful smile playing on his lips. “Not done yet? Should I keep waiting?”
Ye Sheng tossed his pen aside and said coolly, “No need.”
Just being with Ning Weichen attracted countless gazes.
If he didn’t get him out of there, Ye Sheng would sooner or later be annoyed to death by the onlookers.
“I have something to do, I’m heading back to the dorm first.”
Ye Sheng stood up and spoke to a stunned senior a few steps away.
Ye Sheng had been sitting under the scorching sun all day. Even the laziest person wouldn’t have the nerve to ask him to stay on duty any longer. Besides, the senior was currently dazed and confused. Looking into Ye Sheng’s cold, sharp eyes, he shivered and nodded.
“O-okay.”
Ning Weichen smiled gracefully, thoughtfully picked up Ye Sheng’s keys from the table, and handed them over. “Here.”
Ye Sheng’s mouth twitched. He looked down and said, “Thanks.”
Ye Sheng didn’t even want to ask where they were going to eat.
Like hell we’re eating.
Go to the supermarket, buy two cups of instant noodles, and eat them in front of the old gymnasium.
Leaving the square, Ning Weichen blinked and said with a smile, seeking credit, “How was it? Am I not very obedient? I made a special trip to register today.”
Ye Sheng’s expression was hard to describe. “Not good at all. I called to ask when you were coming so I could avoid you, so we wouldn’t have to meet.”
“Oh.” Ning Weichen smiled, unconcerned, his tone light and questioning. “Are you deliberately avoiding me because you don’t want people to discover our relationship?”
Ye Sheng retorted, “Do you enjoy being the center of attention and gossip?”
Ning Weichen: “I don’t like it, but you get used to it.”
Ye Sheng said indifferently, “I’ll never get used to it.”
Ning Weichen said, “When everyone is looking at you and talking about you, you can just look at me.”
Ye Sheng was taken aback.
Ning Weichen thought for a moment and smiled. “Gege, sometimes I’m quite glad you’re so unsociable. Because I’m used to people’s eyes on me, but I’m not used to their eyes on you.”
Ye Sheng: “…Don’t worry, I’m even less used to it than you are.”
He didn’t realize at all that this was a flirtatious line. After spending so much time with Ning Weichen, he had indeed developed a resistance to sweet talk.
As they walked along the tree-lined path.
Ning Weichen looked around and asked, puzzled, “Where are you taking me?”
Ye Sheng: “The supermarket.”
Ning Weichen: “Is there a restaurant in the supermarket?”
Ye Sheng: “No. We’re going to eat in front of the old gymnasium.”
Ning Weichen was silent for a moment, then laughed, his tone full of meaning. “How heartless, gege. I want to take you on a date, and you want to take me to see ghosts.”
Ye Sheng was so annoyed by this form of address that he wanted to curse. He decided to solve the problem once and for all, saying calmly, “Ning Weichen, I spoke with Huang Yiyue on the phone. I’m not her biological son. My birth date is probably wrong, so you don’t have to call me ‘gege’ anymore.”
Ning Weichen nodded. “Mm, if you’re younger than me, then I really can’t call you ‘gege’.”
“Actually, more than ‘gege,’ I’d rather call you by your nickname.” Ning Weichen’s lips curved. His peach-blossom eyes looked deeply at him, the aggression in them unconcealed. Hidden behind the coquettish calls of “gege,” perhaps this was what he really wanted to say.
“Darling, what was your nickname again? Oh, right.”
He broke into a smile, the two words rolling between his lips and teeth, intimate, affectionate, and incredibly ambiguous.
“Sheng Sheng, wasn’t it? Sheng Sheng.”
Ye Sheng: “…”
Ye Sheng: “…”
Fuck. When Ning Weichen called him ‘gege,’ there was still some restraint. But when he called him ‘Sheng Sheng,’ it was purely the private talk of lovers, and from the more aggressive party at that.
Ye Sheng said expressionlessly, “Even though my birth date is wrong, I’m definitely older than you. Let’s not mess up the seniority.”
Ning Weichen couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
Ye Sheng didn’t want to be embarrassed with him any longer. “Hurry up.”
After they left, everyone at the welcome area in the square was still dumbfounded.
It wasn’t until the two of them had completely disappeared from view that everyone belatedly came to their senses.
The student union group chat also exploded.
[WTF WTF WTF WTF, they actually know each other?]
[I’m as surprised as you are, my god, those two know each other?!]
[Yeah, how is that possible? Why would they know each other? I remember junior Ye Sheng has never left Yinshan since he was a child. And that young master went abroad when he was one, his entire education was overseas, and he only came back this year. There’s no way these two could know each other?!]
[And their relationship seems pretty good. Did you notice Ning Weichen smiling later? After the young master finished registering, he was just smiling and looking at Ye Sheng.]
[…Someone just said he barely looked at us when he was signing.]
[I have a photo, that look has really gone beyond just normal friends.]
[Uh, not necessarily. Junior Ning’s eyes are the kind that are called ‘passionate eyes,’ he looks at everyone the same way. You’re overthinking it. I don’t think junior Ning and Ye Sheng are from the same world, no need to force them together.]
[Actually, I want to say, the way he looks at Ye Sheng is really different! When he looks at Ye Sheng, his gaze is extremely focused. So focused it’s as if he’s the only person in the world, without a trace of frivolity.]
At this, many people in the group chat fell silent.
[You’re all just focused on the young master’s difference, but have you noticed junior Ye Sheng’s abnormality? Let me ask you, in all the days you’ve been in contact with him, how many expressions have you seen on junior Ye Sheng’s face!]
[I’ve only ever seen junior Ye Sheng working with a blank expression.]
[There you have it. After junior Ning appeared, Ye Sheng was like a numb, cold weapon come to life. I’m sure their relationship is definitely very good.]
[…]
After a heated discussion, the more everyone thought about it, the more absurd and incredible it seemed.
[So the genius young nobleman we’ve been discussing for so long yesterday and today, we’ve actually already been in contact with someone close to him?]
[Haha, didn’t you guys say you wanted to get him to join the student union? This is a great opportunity. You can ask Ye Sheng for his contact information.]
[??? He hasn’t spoken to anyone for so many days, and now you suddenly want to ask for a contact number, is that appropriate?]
[………]
[Sigh.]
[Hahahahahaha, let’s not talk about this anymore, I just find it hilarious. To the anonymous person in the group, did you see that? They’ve known each other for a long time. The person you’ve been trying so hard to suck up to is good friends with the person you look down on. I’ll use your own sentence structure to refute you: the person with the best family background isn’t a snob, so what are you barking about?]
[We’re all university students, let’s all have a better attitude. Don’t be so hostile.]
[Off-topic, but do you guys really think they’re just friends?]
Ye Sheng took Ning Weichen to the supermarket, intending to buy instant noodles.
Ning Weichen maintained his composure and politely refused with a smile.
“Aren’t you hungry if you don’t eat dinner?”
Ning Weichen said, “I’m not hungry.”
In the end, Ye Sheng bought two bottles of water. After handing one to him, he pulled him towards the old gymnasium.
Ning Weichen followed behind him and asked, “Did something happen at the old gymnasium recently?”
Throughout August, Ning Weichen had been busy with other things and hadn’t spent much time with Ye Sheng, so he didn’t know much about what was happening at Huai’an University.
Ye Sheng shook his head. “No, I just think this place is strange.”
When they arrived, they didn’t expect to see people in front of the abandoned old gymnasium on the edge of campus at this hour. The gymnasium’s main entrance was sealed, and a group of people with flashlights and notepads were observing the building nearby.
Some of their conversation drifted over with the wind, and Ye Sheng realized they were observing the structure of the old gymnasium and the materials used in each part.
Ye Sheng remembered what Huang Qiqi had told him. Recently, the civil engineering and architecture departments had been doing a project nearby, wanting to write an interesting “chronicle” for each building on campus.
A male student said.
“If we really want to write the history of the old gymnasium, besides what we can observe of its exterior now, we also need to interview the workers who built it. The Ministry of Education spent 300 million on it. It was such a huge project, there must have been a lot of people involved. Let’s go ask the people in charge of the construction back then and see if we can get a list of the workers.”
“It’s been so long, getting a list will be difficult. The designer of the old gymnasium is a big shot in the industry and won’t have time for interviews, but the names of some of the main construction personnel should be available. But who do we ask?”
“Let’s go ask the vice-principal. He should have it.”
“The vice-principal?”
“Yeah, Vice-Principal Yuan Shou. He handled this matter more than ten years ago; he was the person in charge of the whole project.”
Ye Sheng saw Su Wanluo in the crowd.
Su Wanluo was wearing a white dress today. Unlike the poised and graceful person in the haunted house, her face now looked unwell. There were many osmanthus trees in front of the old gymnasium, their flowers blooming in clusters, releasing a rich, fresh fragrance. A few blossoms had fallen into her hair. With her black hair, the small pale-yellow flowers, her pale face, and the dark circles under her eyes, she looked sick and tense.
“Su Wanluo, are you okay?” Many boys in her class had a crush on her, and one of them stepped forward to ask with concern in a low voice.
Su Wanluo put away her paper and pen, just turning her head to ask him, “I’m fine. Was Vice-Principal Yuan Shou the person in charge of the entire project back then?”
The boy was taken aback, not knowing why she was asking this. He nodded, “Yes, after the Ministry of Education allocated the funds to the school, he was the first person in charge of the financial accounting. Why do you ask?”
Su Wanluo said, “It’s nothing. This event is being held together with Huaicheng TV Station, and it will be on the news. We have to do a good job. I think that person’s suggestion is quite good. I’d like to interview Principal Yuan Shou.”