Chapter 65 Inseparable

Wei Nanxing had just taken a solid blow from Huo Zhanyan on his face, leaving a somewhat bruised and swollen mark.

Coupled with his gloomy expression, it made a classmate who accidentally bumped into him too nervous to even utter a complete sentence, let alone dare to laugh.

It was only after Wei Nanxing had walked some distance away that the student dared to stare at his receding back for a few moments.

Although on the surface Wei Nanxing did not look as flamboyant and aggressive as Huo Zhanyan, his aggression seemed hidden beneath his skin, not easily displayed.

Moreover, the impression he gave people was mostly of a chilling indifference that kept others at a distance.

This matter spread like wildfire almost immediately, and someone on the school forum started discussing how Wei Nanxing got the injury on his face.

3L: I still find it hard to believe. Who would dare hit Wei Nanxing? Did he fall down by himself?

4L: Why don't you act it out yourself and try taking a fall.

5L: I don't know if you guys have thought of this, but the moment someone said Wei Nanxing got beaten up, a certain person immediately popped into my head...

6L: Who? Huo?

7L: Huo Zhanyan is the one I thought of too.

10L: Didn't the two of them play a basketball game just the day before yesterday? It ended in a tie—was Huo Zhanyan unsatisfied?

19L: Someone just said they saw Huo Zhanyan with colorful bruises on his face too, looking like he got punched. Could the two of them be beating each other up?

20L: I have a hunch that staying out of their way for the next few days is definitely the right move.

30L: Why are they fighting? Is it because of Wen Xiao?

32L: I actually really admire those guys. They can manage friendships like they're dating, unlike me who would only betray friends for the sake of a partner.

......

At 5:30 in the afternoon, Wen Xulai was still in his office dealing with his paperwork. Once he finished, he habitually clicked into the St. Laurent school forum.

This was a habit he had recently developed to better understand his students.

The campus forum was not only open to students; teachers could browse it as well, though they almost never posted. Occasionally, one could see students complaining about their own classes.

Since the forum was anonymous, even if someone posted, nobody knew who it was, so the atmosphere within the forum remained quite relaxed and casual.

Furthermore, this forum covered the entire school, including all four campuses: primary school, middle school, senior high boys' department, and senior high girls' department.

If one didn't view the main forum, they could select sub-forum boards based on campus localization, but the sub-forums required a student ID.

Wen Xulai also saw the post about Wei Nanxing supposedly being beaten up, and seeing the replies underneath, his heart skipped a beat.

There were only two teachers left in the office; the other taught advanced mathematics. He couldn't help asking, "Teacher Lin, what do you think of the relationship between Wen Xiao and Huo Zhanyan and the others?"

The other person nodded and said, "I don't understand student matters very well, but I always see them hanging out together. Their relationship should be pretty good."

"There were quite a few times during class when I saw Huo Zhanyan leaving my class early, and I later found out he went to wait for Wen Xiao outside his classroom until class ended."

The teacher laughed while speaking, his expression a mix of exasperation and helplessness.

"Take Huo Zhanyan, for example. He's usually unruly, always late for class, but he's certainly devoted to his friends. Still, I don't advocate coming late and leaving early. Rules are rules, and I still have to lecture them when necessary!"

Wen Xulai could only sigh, thinking to himself that of course he knew they had a good relationship.

It's just that too much of a good thing can have the opposite effect; no matter how he looked at it, if their relationship was *too* good, it felt rather ominous.

He could be considered the teacher in the school who knew them best, having practically watched them grow up.

Sometimes he also felt that time passed way too quickly. The little kids who used to be only this tall seemed to have suddenly grown taller than him, and if you plucked any one of them out and threw them onto the street, they were all tall and handsome.

They were all a bunch of good kids, and of course he hoped they could find happiness.

Rather than embarking on a path destined for potential loneliness and mutual destruction.

Wen Xulai took off his glasses, pinched the bridge of his nose, put his glasses back on, and walked out of the office.

As soon as he stepped out of the building, he saw the setting sun sinking bit by bit below the treetops, casting a blanket of orange twilight across the ground.

He walked onto a path through the woods and suddenly spotted a familiar figure under a tree.

The boy in the black uniform stood beneath the tree, his head slightly tilted up, staring intently into the branches.

Hearing the footsteps behind him, Wei Nanxing turned his head to glance at Wen Xulai, but said nothing and continued staring at the tree branches.

"Wei Nanxing, what are you looking at?"

"Haven't come back," Wei Nanxing said.

Following his line of sight, Wen Xulai finally spotted a small treehouse hidden among the layers of dense foliage.

It was made of wood, concealed within the lush green leaves, making it hard to notice.

"What hasn't come back?" Wen Xulai asked. He found that communicating with Wei Nanxing still posed a bit of a challenge.

Because it seemed as though he never cared whether others could understand him, frequently omitting so many details that it was difficult to keep up with his train of thought.

"The pigeon," Wei Nanxing said, then lowered his head, acting as if he had merely come by to take a casual look and was now ready to leave.

"Wei Nanxing, what's wrong with the injury on your face? Would you like teacher to take you to the infirmary to put some medicine on it?" Wen Xulai stared at the slightly swollen bruise near the corner of his lips and couldn't help speaking up.

Wei Nanxing shook his head, having no intention of speaking further.

Seeing that Wei Nanxing didn't want to talk about it, Wen Xulai changed the subject, intending to chat about something else. He smiled and said, "Can you tell teacher about the pigeon?"

He thought of Wei Nanxing standing under the tree looking up at the treetops, and that little wooden house hidden in the leaves.

Perhaps he wasn't like Wen Xiao, who could always guess Wei Nanxing's thoughts at a glance, but since he couldn't guess, he would ask. Then he would leave the choice to Wei Nanxing, letting him decide whether or not to tell him.

This was already the clumsiest yet smartest method he could come up with for getting along with Wei Nanxing.

After saying this, he caught up with Wei Nanxing. As he walked alongside him, Wen Xulai couldn't help marveling inwardly that Wei Nanxing was actually taller than him now.

Clearly, when they first met, he hadn't even reached his chest.

"Its name is Qiuqiu," Wei Nanxing said. "We found it together with Xiaoxiao."

Wen Xulai smiled and said, "I know there are many white doves near the chapel, and people often go to the square to feed the pigeons. Plus, there's a specialized dovecote nearby; it probably went over there."

Wei Nanxing remained silent upon hearing this, leaving Wen Xulai unable to guess his thoughts and wondering if he had said the wrong thing.

"You don't need to be too sad, after all, that's where its own kind are. Living with other white pigeons might actually be a good thing for Qiuqiu."

"Its own kind... huh?" Wei Nanxing suddenly spoke up.

Wen Xulai suddenly felt that Wei Nanxing's expression was somewhat peculiar, and he ventured to ask, "What if I insist on keeping him with me?"

Just as Wen Xulai was still pondering the meaning behind Wei Nanxing's words, he saw Wei Nanxing suddenly smile. Only, this smile was far from relaxed—it looked like a smile, yet resembled crying.

"If we aren't of the same kind, I still want to keep him by my side."

Wen Xulai froze, acutely realizing that Wei Nanxing might not be talking about the pigeon anymore.

Yet this was not a good time to bluntly ask, so he weighed his words and followed along with Wei Nanxing's train of thought.

"If you aren't of the same kind, and you force him to stay by your side, he will suffer. Since you like him, you surely wouldn't want to see him suffer."

Wei Nanxing reverted to his previous cold expression, as if that trace of an unsightly smile just moments ago had merely been an illusion on Wen Xulai's part.

He felt somewhat as though he had grasped onto something and was about to understand what Wei Nanxing was truly implying in their conversation.

"I know," Wei Nanxing said.

Wei Nanxing's hand suddenly trembled slightly, but before Wen Xulai could notice, he clenched it into a tight fist and shoved it into his pocket.

The pigeon was gone and would never return; he could choose not to look for it.

If Xiaoxiao left him, would he also be able to stand guard under a tree like this, waiting for him to come back?

"I think... I've long since been unable to live without him," Wei Nanxing said, meeting Wen Xulai's shocked gaze.

"You mean..." You're referring to Wen Xiao?

In that fleeting instant, Wen Xulai felt a flash of sudden insight, belatedly understanding the truth.

Yet because of the turbulent emotions surging in the dark depths of Wei Nanxing's eyes, the words he was about to speak choked in his throat.

"Teacher, it means exactly what you think it does." Wei Nanxing continued walking forward, but turned his head to look at him, saying coldly, "You can help me, or you can ignore me, but don't get in my way."

His face still carried a faint bruise, slightly swollen, yet at this moment, it only lent a fierce edge to his gloomy and aloof expression.

Wei Nanxing walked fast, disappearing from sight shortly after.

Wen Xulai propped his head in his hand, only then reacting to the fact that he had actually been shaken by Wei Nanxing just now. He thought to himself that children truly became different once they grew up.

The faces of those kids flashed through his mind in sequence, spanning all the way from childhood to the present.

He suddenly felt that he should have realized this much earlier, and should have been prepared for today's answer.

How could someone who had been inseparable from you since childhood bear to part ways with you upon growing up?

Rather than attributing this outcome to years of shared life and companionship, it was more like...

Wen Xulai thought back to a long time ago, shortly after they first enrolled. Before Wen Xiao arrived, every single one of them had been a problem student, save for Song Jingbai, who was slightly less worrying.

The fact that the few of them could miraculously gather together in the end felt as though the magnetic fields they radiated were mutually attracting one another.

Rather than bonds forged through spending time together, it was more akin to... destiny.

Wen Xulai couldn't help letting out a wry smile, followed by a faint sigh.

"What kind of mess is this..."

True to form, these kids had never been easy to manage, from childhood to now.

If word of this ever got out—even the slightest whisper—it would be shocking enough to rock society. And would the people from those influential families ever agree? The larger the family, the deeper the entanglements of interest.

A teacher naturally only hoped that they could live out ordinary and happy lives.

Wei Nanxing walked expressionlessly along the bluestone path. The mottled sunlight falling upon him failed entirely to dispel the icy, brooding aura that clung to his body.

Suddenly, the phone in his pocket vibrated lightly.

The moment Wei Nanxing answered the call, an aged voice belonging to an elderly man came through the receiver.

"It's me."

"How long has it been since we, grandfather and grandson, had a proper chat?"

Wei Nanxing remained silent. The other party seemed long accustomed to Wei Nanxing's reticence and simply continued speaking.