# The Name of the Oil Painting
**Author: Human Jingachi**
**Tags:** Original Novel, BL, Medium Length, Completed, Modern, Healing, Unrequited Love, Reconciliation, Bone Brothers
**Synopsis:** The restrained elite older brother and the foolish younger brother who dared not pursue love reunite after a long separation.
The name of the oil painting is — *"Suitable for Sleeping"*
Zhu Yimian ✕ Gu Chengrui
The person he was looking for was standing right across from him, watching him quietly.
Zhu Yimian anxiously waited for the traffic light to change, afraid that by the time the signal turned green, the other person would already be gone.
His fingers trembled slightly as he rushed through the pedestrians to stand before him.
"Long time no see." Gu Chengrui said.
Zhu Yimian felt like crying.
"Long time no see."
---
**1**
"Mianmian, does it hurt?"
The man stared at his face.
The person before him had already dampened his lashes, eyes like ripe black grape jade, cheeks flushed crimson, white teeth biting down hard on his lower lip.
"Speak," he kissed the tear mole at the corner of Zhu Yimian's eye, "Will you ever stay out all night again?"
"Mmph…" Zhu Yimian endured what he considered humiliating, his body covered in a thin layer of sweat. He opened his eyes to look at the other with grievance, his expression revealing a hint of helplessness and resistance.
Being watched with those teary eyes, Gu Chengrui lifted his hand, then simultaneously gripped both of Zhu Yimian's wrists, pressing his body down forcefully, pinning him flat against the long-pile carpet.
"Brother, don't…"
Gu Chengrui kissed him fiercely, suckling his soft tongue as punishment. Both bodies trembled slightly from the impact, but he didn't go any further.
Pain and pleasure intertwined like a quilt. Zhu Yimian lost his strength; the room held only intimate panting sounds.
"Brother…"
The man finally stopped, dark eyes fixed on him. "Why didn't you come home last night?"
"I stayed at Xiaoyu's place."
The man said nothing more, just looked at him, then brushed the stray hair from his forehead back before standing up.
Zhu Yimian felt a tiny sense of loss bloom in his heart.
He sat up, lowering his head to fiddle with the buttons on his collar, as if needing something to do to feel less awkward.
Gu Chengrui didn't leave immediately. He crouched down, tilted Zhu Yimian's chin up, and pressed down another damp kiss.
"Next time, don't stay out so late. Come home early."
"Oh."
His butt still ached faintly, which made it difficult for Zhu Yimian to think clearly this morning. He could only obeyingly agree to all of his brother's instructions.
He'd arrived home just past five in the morning. Unexpectedly, the moment he opened the door after showering, he came face to face with Gu Chengrui. The disapproving Gu Chengrui naturally pushed the door open and walked in.
Zhu Yimian inexplicably endured his brother's anger over his sleepless night, got his butt spanked, was kissed aggressively afterward, and even responded without resistance.
Would he think I'm cheap and trash?
Gu Chengrui didn't leave right away, which left the already awkward Zhu Yimian at a loss for what to do, having intended to remove his clothes and check the damage.
Seeing Gu Chengrui frown again, Zhu Yimian wanted to say something, but the sound of cars and voices coming from the small bathroom window made both of them freeze.
Zhu Yimian panicked: "Your mom—"
Gu Chengrui raised an eyebrow slightly, thinking he looked just like a child who'd done something wrong, who might cry if teased.
"How are you cursing me?"
"Aunt Ling… Aunt Ling is back." Zhu Yimian quickly corrected himself, face pale as he instinctively grabbed his arm.
Zhu Yimian's bedroom was on the second floor of the small villa. The room's soundproofing was good, but the small bathroom window had only one layer of glass and one layer of screen opening outward. Ever since they'd started having these unusual intimate contacts, Zhu Yimian hadn't opened it again, and had even换上 thicker curtains, terrified of what might be heard outside.
Gu Chengrui looked down at his hand—fine, pale, slender fingers clutching nervously at himself. Only at times like this would he show a hint of seeming to really need his brother.
He was tall, and compared to Zhu Yimian still in the growth stage of a seventeen-year-old, he was very imposing.
Zhu Yimian's heart was only focused on the urgency: "Is the door locked or not…"
The words were堵在了唇舌间。
Gu Chengrui kissed him again.
He dragged Zhu Yimian to the bed, pressing him down into the quilt.
"Wh-what's wrong?" Zhu Yimian was being stared at up close, but couldn't understand what he wanted.
"Do you know what you look like right now?"
Too close.
Zhu Yimian couldn't think.
He unhappily tried to push Gu Chengrui away.
But the man caught his hand—lingering, unhurried—his long fingers tracing across his palm and fingers, then curling his hand into a small fist, wrapping it in his large palm.
Suddenly falling quiet, Gu Chengrui watched him without speaking.
Zhu Yimian couldn't guess his emotions, but he felt like Gu Chengrui seemed different from his usual aloof appearance.
So he dropped his lashes too, breathing softly, but in his heart he was making great effort not to think too much.
After all… once they left this room, everything would return to how it was.
---
**2**
Later, how Gu Chengrui had left his room, Zhu Yimian had no memory of it at all, drifting in and out of sleep.
He slept until three in the afternoon. When he woke, it was dark and gloomy outside; autumn rain and heavy clouds were like undilutable sorrow.
On his desk was a huge stack of exercise books.
Every subject for third-year high school was there, all in complete sets.
Zhu Yimian sat on the bed in a daze, lips pressed together, his thoughts wandering everywhere. He locked all the books in the desk cabinet before groggily going to the bathroom to wash up.
For him, high school life was repeating the same week endlessly. To avoid the awkwardness at home, the moment he was transferred to the affiliated school by Gu Jiang, he applied for boarding. The school's schedule suited him perfectly—released every Saturday afternoon, had to return Sunday evening, so the time he spent at home in a whole week might not even reach twenty-four hours.
Yesterday he'd stayed at Xiaoyu's place, thinking that during these few hours at home he wouldn't run into anyone. Unexpectedly, this week he just had to bump into Gu Chengrui in the morning, and now the moment he reached the stairs he encountered Fang Jinling.
"Good afternoon, Aunt Ling." Zhu Yimian instinctively gripped the stair railing.
Fang Jinling merely nodded her chin at him.
She had been magnanimous enough to agree to let Gu Jiang bring Zhu Yimian home, but asking her to treat him like nothing had happened and speak kindly to him was something she couldn't do.
His existence was like a slap to her face and a raw, painful brand on her heart. Secretly, she remembered the pain of being betrayed by the person she loved and being laughed at by others.
Fang Jinling withdrew her gaze and continued the previous topic with Gu Chengrui sitting on the sofa. Zhu Yimian pursed his lips, caught between advancing and retreating.
Should he go downstairs, or go back to his room?
But before he could make a choice, he heard Gu Chengrui's calm voice.
"Mom, it's almost time."
"En." Fang Jinling grabbed her bag, still that elegant, noble businesswoman.
The hand that Zhu Yimian had stiffened from excessive vigilance slowly relaxed. He didn't walk downstairs until she left. Since it wasn't a meal time, he couldn't very well ask someone to cook for him, so he just poured a glass of water to tide himself over, planning to go to the school cafeteria later.
He stood at the kitchen counter in a daze, then turned and was startled by Gu Chengrui walking over with rolled-up sleeves.
"Eat with me." Gu Chengrui said while taking ingredients from the refrigerator.
Zhu Yimian was overwhelmed with gratitude. In the several years he'd been in this house, except when Gu Jiang was home, Fang Jinling and Gu Chengrui never ate at the same table with him. Usually the cook would set aside a separate portion for him, waiting until the mother and son had finished eating before calling Zhu Yimian down.
Zhu Yimian stood frozen for a while before slowly moving to his side, embarrassedly asking: "Do you need help?"
"No." Gu Chengrui was rinsing tomatoes. Seeing he hadn't gone out, he said: "Get me the apron."
He took down the apron and handed it over, but Gu Chengrui didn't take it—only looked at him. Though nothing was said, Zhu Yimian seemed to understand his meaning. Hesitantly, he stepped in front of Gu Chengrui.
The man微微低头，等祝宜眠为他套上围裙的带子。
Gu Chengrui turned to continue his work, and Zhu Yimian stood behind him tying the strings, all while nervously looking back to make sure no one was watching.
Gu Chengrui had already skillfully cut the meat into cubes and tomatoes. With nothing to help with, Zhu Yimian stood to the side observing—
Not exactly stealing techniques, because his gaze couldn't tear away from those knuckles and long fingers.
How does he know how to do everything?
By this time the cook had gone out shopping. There wasn't much in the refrigerator either, so Gu Chengrui made the quickest possible dish: egg noodles.
The two sat silently at the same dining table, with no sign of intending to converse with each other.
Zhu Yimian suddenly realized this seemed to be the first time they'd eaten together with no one else present. He also hadn't known that Gu Chengrui could cook. It seemed to suit his taste better than the cook's too.
A quiet atmosphere settled over the home's dining room, until Zhu Yimian noticed three complete egg yolks in his bowl.
He knew this was an extremely tiny thing, yet it brought him an indescribable feeling, like little flowers blooming on the tip of his heart. Tender little flowers, three of them bloomed.
"Thank you… brother." This was the first time Zhu Yimian called him that outside the bedroom. Actually, he wasn't sure if Gu Chengrui would be angry.
"It's nothing." Gu Chengrui put down his chopsticks and casually asked, "What time do you return to school tonight?"
"Seven." Zhu Yimian also stopped eating, too embarrassed to continue.
"Eat something now first," Gu Chengrui looked at his watch, "then have dinner again at six, and I'll drive you after."
"Hm?" Zhu Yimian widened his eyes, showing a surprised, puzzled expression.
Gu Chengrui explained: "Uncle Zhang is sick and took leave, so Xiao Li will be following my mom for the next two days." Xiao Li was the usual driver who picked him up and dropped him off.
"En…" Zhu Yimian thought about it, then added: "Sorry for the trouble."
The person across from him suddenly broke into a brilliant smile. Gu Chengrui awkwardly looked away.
When they went out, the rain had stopped. Gu Chengrui drove Zhu Yimian to school on time. But Zhu Yimian sat quietly in the passenger seat holding his schoolbag, falling asleep. This made it very hard for Gu Chengrui to decide to disrupt his sleep just for evening self-study.
He waited a while. Soon the school's evening study bell rang, and other students who had just arrived at the gate ran inside. Gu Chengrui began trying various ways to poke his cheek, trying to wake him up.
Zhu Yimian awoke groggily, face red, quickly saying: "Thank you brother, goodbye brother."
He only started regretting inside the teaching building—how could he have fallen asleep so trustingly in his brother's car? They left quite early, and now the bell had rung. Why didn't Gu Chengrui wake him earlier? Would he… dislike it when other people slept in his car?
Zhu Yimian was full of questions. But the small emotions in his heart dispersed the moment he saw his deskmate.
Taking advantage that the teacher wasn't looking, Zhu Yimian poked his arm: "Xiaoyu, have you eaten dinner?"
Jiang Yu nodded: "Yeah."
"…"
Looking at Zhu Yimian's欲言又止的样子, Jiang Yu was completely confused: "?"
Zhu Yimian lowered his voice, with a hint of resentment: "Why didn't you ask me."
"…" Jiang Yu顺势弱弱一问: "Then what did you eat…?"
Zhu Yimian smiled: "My brother made egg noodles. He made them himself."
"…" Oh, that really wasn't necessary.
"I knew you seemed to be walking a bit cheerfully today." Jiang Yu捶胸顿足, "You're so easily pleased! It's just egg noodles, I could make you ten bowls."
Zhu Yimian patted his shoulder: "En, I've always believed you could eat ten bowls."
Jiang Yu: "?" Suspected personal attack.
After Zhu Yimian finished speaking, he sat up contentedly and continued his English test paper. Jiang Yu silently wept for him inside—look at how my deskmate has been bullied, trash dad, trash stepmother, trash stepbrother, not a single one is good.
*
The midterms came quickly. This week was exactly the first provincial mock exam for third-year students.
Exam seating was arranged by grades. Zhu Yimian had only transferred in near the end of sophomore year, so initially his exam seat was at the very end of the row. Of course, every subsequent ranking placed him firmly at this position.
Proctor teachers also always liked to linger near Zhu Yimian, often accompanied by sighs. He clearly seemed to be working quite seriously, so why were there so few correct answers on the answer sheet?
After finishing the math exam and coming out, Jiang Yu rushed over, a piece of draft paper in hand: "Zhu Yimian, the last fill-in-the-blank question—should the answer be 0 or 1?"
The two walked side by side downstairs. This was the nearest stairwell from the third-year teaching building to the cafeteria. At lunch time, most students took this route. Crowds pressed together, chatter rose and fell. Their voices weren't deliberately controlled, and someone behind them snickered.
"I don't think I misheard—someone in the top ten is comparing answers with the person at the very bottom."
Someone continued joking: "How isn't that comparing answers? Different answers are the only way to prove you're right."
After making others laugh, another person's gaze fixed on the back of Zhu Yimian's head: "Then I'd like to compare answers too, I wonder—"
Jiang Yu tightened his fist and turned back, eyes sweeping over them. The person's words immediately stopped.
His build was tall and perhaps a bit on the plump side, normally making him look gentle and harmless, but when displeased he could be quite intimidating.
The other person didn't continue. Zhu Yimian pressed Jiang Yu's hand, pulling him back. "Let's go, no need to get angry over someone like this."
The two walked away quickly. Throughout, Zhu Yimian never looked back or glanced at anyone. If it were someone else, they might think the person was afraid and ashamed, but the more infuriating thing about Zhu Yimian was that people always felt he simply wouldn't care about anyone or any outside voices.
Four exams took two days. It would take about a week for the provincial unified exam results to come out. This timing also happened to be the final relaxation opportunity for third-year students. Before the results came out, the school would organize a group camping trip for third-years.
After all, it was a tradition of the high school division of the affiliated school. After the last exam, the homeroom teacher gathered everyone to assign tasks, giving time to go back and pack supplies, then assembling at school the next day before departing together.
Zhu Yimian actually had no concept of hiking, camping, or these kinds of outings. He didn't know if he needed to bring some kind of essential supplies. He had no parents to ask for advice, and the one brother he might have been able to consult wasn't around. He could only randomly search online to see.
The next day, Zhu Yimian woke very early. Actually, he had no interest in the group outing at all, only that there was a tiny, hidden anticipation in his heart—just a sliver. He didn't even know what he was anticipating.
Not until the housekeeper mentioned that breakfast had been prepared for one person and he was the only one eating in the dining room, did he realize that the little spark of anticipation triggered just now probably stemmed from his isolation in human society. Seemingly many people were around him, but every single person had nothing to do with him—even in the place called "home," it was unsettling.
When a person has to walk on thin ice to survive, utterly alone, it's very easy to develop anticipation toward someone with whom they've had intimate contact.
But he also knew—they were merely two lines that had intersected temporarily. However many times he anticipated, that many times he would be disappointed.
Zhu Yimian lifted his backpack and stepped out of the house already at peace.
I don't need anything. It's fine to be alone too.
---
**3**
The school's activity leaders had scouted the locations in advance, dividing suitable campsites for each class.
The girls in the bus had been excitedly chattering the whole way. The bus radio played songs of youth.
Zhu Yimian got carsick on the coach; the hour-plus felt like suffering through torture. After arriving, there was still hiking uphill. Fortunately, the path going up had been well paved.
Zhu Yimian took a deep breath, the crisp mountain wind filling his chest—anyone would feel reborn.
A drone circled overhead. Groups of young people walked in an orderly fashion, from the first class at the front to the teacher bringing up the rear, the line stretching nearly half the total mountain path length.
"Xiaoyu—" Zhu Yimian wanted to call Jiang Yu to look at the little sparrows, but turning his head, he could only use his hand to block the camera Jiang Yu was shoving in his face, amused and helpless: "Stop filming me, your mom said to film scenery."
"No way," Jiang Yu stepped back, changing angle: "My mom told me to help classmates take photos. Come on, smile, hurry, or our classmates will jump into the frame."
"Go, go." Zhu Yimian pushed him forward, barely getting through, but in his heart he was thinking—did his brother walk this path too? Did he see the same scenery? Did someone come ask him for a photo together? He has so many friends, he must have had a great time.
Why am I thinking about this again? Zhu Yimian sighed inside, immediately dispersing the scene in his head.
Fortunately, shortly after climbing, they saw the sign the school had posted ahead. Their class was assigned to an area not far from the riverbed.
The homeroom teacher emphasized precautions once more before letting everyone set up camp.
Zhu Yimian and Jiang Yu were arranged by the teacher into a group with four other girls. The team had divided work in advance, each carrying cooking utensils, ingredients, etc. They gathered in a circle, selecting a small patch of ground.
Jiang Yu propped open the tent, but saw Zhu Yimian still crouching on the ground: "Zhu Yimian, what are you doing?"
Zhu Yimian grimaced, opening his backpack to show him.
He'd left home absent-minded this morning and actually forgot to bring the tent.
Jiang Yu giggled, putting on an innocent act: "Eh, what's wrong? Did you bring everything? Do it yourself, I'm not teaching you."
"…" Zhu Yimian sighed: "I'm so pitiful, chose the wrong friend."
Jiang Yu lifted his chin, gesturing toward the military-green tent swaying in the wind: "My mom packed me an extra-large double tent. You can share with me."
Zhu Yimian hugged his round arm: "Wah wah wah, thankfully Aunt overestimated your build, Aunt is so nice."
Jiang Yu angrily flicked away his chubby hand: "Get lost, you'd better sleep with both eyes open tonight, or you'll definitely end up in the river by morning."
"Oh," Zhu Yimian patted his stomach: "I'll be responsible for setting up and arranging. How's that?"
Jiang Yu let out a wail, dodging his "evil claw": "Looks like you just want to murder me to inherit my tent!"
"…"
In the end, Jiang Yu sat to the side as supervisor while Zhu Yimian diligently worked to set up a little nest for him.
Zhu Yimian studied the tutorial video on Jiang Yu's phone once. He worked quickly, the ground cloth and moisture barrier all done nicely. When he finished, several girls had gathered nearby, suddenly under crowd observation and loud praise. Zhu Yimian wasn't used to this. The girls' voices seemed to draw even more gazes. He smiled awkwardly, his eyes seeking help from Jiang Yu.
Jiang Yu quickly rescued him. But the girls asked for tips and still didn't leave, even asking if Zhu Yimian could help them too.
Since they were classmates, though daily interactions were few, the school organized these extracurricular activities precisely to build classmate bonds. Zhu Yimian couldn't refuse, and after agreeing, also signed Jiang Yu up.
Jiang Yu wept by the little river: "Poor me, just a tool person. I did the mental and physical labor, but all the credit goes to Zhu Yimian."
Zhu Yimian was satisfied: "If you hadn't enslaved me just now, how would you have fallen from landlord to hired hand?"
Jiang Yu悲愤拍地: "How was I supposed to know you'd do it so well! I was still waiting to see you sweat and beg me!"
Zhu Yimian lowered his head and smiled. He wasn't going to tell Jiang Yu that he couldn't sleep last night and had watched several tent-assembly videos. Jiang Yu stopped complaining, elbow nudging him, gesturing with his chin: "Hey, do you know him?"
"Who?"
There were quite a few people over there, but besides those低着头专注做事，其他都是背影。
"Seems like someone was looking at you," Jiang Yu shook his head: "Maybe I was seeing things."
Actually, the fact that classmates would actively come find Zhu Yimian, and with a friendly attitude at that, made Jiang Yu quite happy for him. But he hadn't expected trouble to come so quickly.
After helping the girls with their tent, the two went to look around the area. In the evening, the group leader sent them to fetch water and gather firewood.
The cooking equipment and gas canister stove heads were already fully packed. Gathering firewood was just so they could sit together by the campfire for evening chat.
As the only two boys in the group, the two naturally had no complaints. They ate a bit and headed up the mountain.
There were many students from other classes coming and going on the small forest path. Zhu Yimian basically didn't recognize anyone, but occasionally he could feel暗暗打量投来的目光。 He didn't care, walking and picking up branches along the way. His arms full, when he turned around, he found Jiang Yu picking flowers, with a big handful already in his other hand.
"…" Zhu Yimian was shocked: "Xiaoyu?"
Jiang Yu struggled on tiptoes, finally barely managing to pull back before nearly falling in: "This one is the prettiest."
Zhu Yimian paused: "This… you'd better think it through. What if you picked a nationally protected wild plant…"
Jiang Yu also stammered: "This… I used an app to check the species before picking, it should… probably not be, right?"
Zhu Yimian held back a laugh: "What are you picking flowers for? Weren't we supposed to gather branches together?"
"I was thinking of bringing them back for my mom to make dried flowers," Jiang Yu suddenly became embarrassed, shifting his gaze and touching the flowers in his hand: "It's just that you can't see these wildflowers anywhere in the city."
"En," Zhu Yimian nodded, recalling his movements: "A tiger roaring, smelling a rose."
Jiang Yu immediately started mental calculation衡量此语境的"猛虎"是说他大只还是说他威猛，想不通，瞥见他抱着的一堆残枝，回道："那你这叫拣尽寒枝。"
Zhu Yimian laughed, helplessly: "Do you even know that poem—" Someone slammed into him from behind, cutting off his words.
The person rushed over forcefully. He couldn't help but pitch forward, barely catching himself, but his forearm pressed against fallen dead branches, getting scratched several times.
"I damn—" Jiang Yu immediately ran over to help him up: "Are you okay?"
Zhu Yimian shook his head, brushing off the tiny gravel stuck to his arm, regretting taking off his windbreaker.
"You guys, what's the matter? Was that intentional?" Jiang Yu glared at those people, angry and annoyed—both at their recklessness and at himself for not warning Zhu Yimian to dodge earlier. Why did he only see the person charging toward Zhu Yimian just now?
"No, no, that… sorry classmate," the person who knocked down Zhu Yimian glanced once at his friend: "There's a bit of a slope here, really accidental, running too fast, couldn't stop."
"It's fine." Zhu Yimian saw his panicked expression and felt an uncomfortable premonition, but he didn't want to read too much into it. After they left, he patted Jiang Yu's shoulder.
"I'm helping you get revenge," Jiang Yu fished out tissues from his pocket and handed them over: "Wipe it quickly, avoid infection."
"Don't seek revenge. Help me pick these up first." Zhu Yimian said with a smile.
Jiang Yu stacked the branches neatly, then placed the flowers he'd just picked on top: "Watch my flowers, I'll look for more over there."
"…" Zhu Yimian used a tissue to press on the scratches, looking down in a daze at the slightly wilted flowers.
But the wind blew, and the flowers flew away too. Zhu Yimian snapped back to his senses reaching for them, but felt a sudden dull pain in his ankle.
Zhu Yimian gasped in pain.
A group of people passed by laughing and joking. Someone's bundle of thick dead branches swung and hit his ankle.
Branches scattered everywhere. The sudden, sharp pain made Zhu Yimian reflexively bend down and crouch.
Seeing him not stand up for a long time, the surrounding people also seemed to realize it was serious. They immediately put on smiling faces to apologize: "Sorry, hand slipped."
For a moment, Zhu Yimian felt like he might cry from the pain, but he didn't. Tears couldn't heal anything, and couldn't make others stop their malice toward you.
Jiang Yu came running back at the sound, seeing Zhu Yimian's state—the messy stuff at his feet, and those several people still joking around—his heart suddenly ignited like a prairie fire. Without thinking, he threw down his things and drove those people away: "What the hell are you doing?!"
"The road isn't good, stepped on a stone, the stuff in my hand accidentally hit him."
"With so many people running around, young master is so precious, standing here is so dangerous."
Jiang Yu helped Zhu Yimian up, grimacing with worry and anxiety, forehead already beaded with sweat: "How about I carry you back to camp? Let's get the roaming doctor to check you first. If it's serious, I'll take you to the hospital."
White socks faintly showed red bloodstains. Zhu Yimian rubbed his ankle with his palm, trying to relieve the pain.
"En, just help me walk. I can manage."
"That bunch of trash from Class 6 are really asking for a beating." Jiang Yu also let him rest in place for a while before helping him stand.
"You haven't taken your flowers." Zhu Yimian didn't move.
Jiang Yu looked at him, then grabbed that handful of somewhat wilted flowers.
It didn't take long to return to camp, but Jiang Yu rambled on the entire short stretch, saying the most curses in seventeen years.
Sitting by the tent, Zhu Yimian finally relaxed his frown slightly. The homeroom teacher had called over the roaming doctor, who rolled up his pants leg—only to find the ankle already swollen significantly, plus the scraped skin oozing blood. It seemed more serious than imagined.
Those branches were too heavy.
When the doctor was cleaning and applying cold compress, he had a clear picture in his mind, but didn't expect Zhu Yimian to speak first: "Doctor, I think I'm okay, no need for the hospital."
"En, we can observe first. But I'd still suggest going directly to the hospital. You sprained it, and you should avoid walking for a while." The doctor said.
The homeroom teacher remained worried. Any student getting hurt, of course a teacher would worry. "Shall I take you to the hospital? I'll contact your family afterward."
"No, no need," maybe because he walked unsteadily earlier and twisted on a small slope, it really hurt now, but Zhu Yimian still didn't hesitate, insisting: "Maybe after resting tonight I can recover. For now, I won't go to the hospital. I'll go back with everyone when we return to school. No need to notify my… family."
"En, then rest. Don't walk around for now. If you need anything, find me." After the homeroom teacher finished speaking, she frowned, then instructed Jiang Yu and the class monitor to look after him, walking back to the teacher camp alone.
After careful consideration, she still opened the class group file, finding the parent contact list.
She typed the first call, and after it rang with no answer repeatedly, had to dial a second number. This was a landline number, but it was nonexistent.
She froze for a moment, didn't even hear other teachers come over to greet her, until the teaching director patted her shoulder.
"Xiao He, what are you spacing out for, come take the group photo." The teaching director noticed her expression and sensed something off: "What's wrong?"
The homeroom teacher snapped back to reality, remembering something and asking him: "Mr. Li, you were Gu Chengrui's homeroom teacher before, right? That student from a few years ago."
"Chengrui was my student, why?" The teaching director was quite proud.
"Do you still have his contact? Could you give me his phone number?"
The teaching director一边安慰她边搜索联系人: "What's going on, don't be anxious. What exactly happened?"
"His younger brother hurt his right foot. He doesn't want to go to the hospital. I still need to inform his family."
The moment the call connected, she breathed a sigh of relief.
"Hello, who is this?"
---
**4**
The sky was pitch black. Even with all the camp lighting equipment turned on, it couldn't illuminate half the mountain.
Gu Chengrui walked all the way up, then stopped at their class's sign. He hadn't figured out what transportation options were available, hadn't thought about how to carry him down. This was the first time he'd been so poorly planned. But before he could think of a descent plan, he saw from afar Zhu Yimian sitting alone on a small folding chair in front of the tent, looking up at the sky.
This Zhu Yimian looked even more fragile. Around him was laughter and joy, but he wore a layer of coldness.
This feeling同时伴随着没由来的心慌。 So Gu Chengrui walked quickly over.
His deep black suit merged into the crow-like night. As he got closer, moonlight and tree shadows cut light and dark across him.
Zhu Yimian sensed someone approaching, withdrew his stargazing gaze, and naturally met his eyes.
Seeing his eyes round and wide, long lashes fluttering twice, looking silly, Gu Chengrui felt his heart grab, and his expression unconsciously softened.
The surroundings unchanged, the noise continued. Zhu Yimian didn't know how to react. That calm lake of his when observing the sky was rippled by the visitor, one circle after another.
This person in his impeccable custom suit, out of place with everything around him—how did he get up here?
This made Zhu Yimian find it hard to choose between "it's too dark today and I'm too tired, so I'm hallucinating" and "he really came." Because he clearly knew—the latter's probability was very small, very small. He shouldn't believe it.
Until a warm palm covered his head—
Gu Chengrui rubbed his hair, crouching to be at eye level with him: "Where does it hurt? How did you get hurt?"
Zhu Yimian blinked, lips moving, finding his voice: "You…"
He said something very quietly. Gu Chengrui couldn't hear it, but waited patiently until he finished, then looked at his bandaged ankle.
"Severe? Let's go to the hospital first. If you don't want to go to the hospital, we go home and let Dr. Su come over." Gu Chengrui asked for his opinion.
Just as Zhu Yimian was about to speak, the homeroom teacher ran over.
"Are you Zhu Yimian's brother? Chengrui?"
Gu Chengrui stood to shake her hand: "I am."
The aloofness face-to-face overlapped with the cold voice on the phone, leaving her momentarily stunned.
"I came to check on him half an hour ago. I called several teachers and classmates, planning to send him down when you arrived. I thought you were waiting at the foot of the mountain. It's难得你还能找到这来. Actually, we could send Zhu Yimian down."
The other person said they'd arrive in two hours and were exactly on time. There were more than a dozen classes, more than a dozen areas, yet the person on the other end of the call accurately found the person they'd been discussing in their conversation.
Zhu Yimian heard her words and only then noticed classmates watching them. He glanced over—those people immediately looked away.
"Thank you, I'll take him down." Gu Chengrui declined, taking off his suit jacket and draping it over Zhu Yimian: "Where's your backpack?"
Zhu Yimian turned his head to point.
Gu Chengrui picked it up, placing the small blanket that had been draped over Zhu Yimian's legs into the bag: "Any important things? Let me help you pack them. Someone will come up to bring these back, okay?"
"No, nothing." Zhu Yimian shook his head. Seeing he only wore a thin shirt, he then returned the suit jacket to him: "It's cold at night here, you'll catch a cold…"
Before he finished, Gu Chengrui had already crouched in front of him: "Get on."
The path they came on was now lined with ground lights only activated for search and rescue. Gu Chengrui silently carried him down step by step.
Zhu Yimian was still wearing his jacket, as if feeling unprecedented peace because it carried his scent.
The steady woody oriental fragrance pulled Zhu Yimian's thoughts back to that moment of eye contact just now—Gu Chengrui in his straight suit, long legs, standing quietly in the endless moonlight.
And… he took him away from that place where unpleasant things happened.
Zhu Yimian suddenly remembered something: "Put me down, am I too heavy… and I picked branches and carried stuff today, I might get your clothes dirty."
The boy was thin. Carrying him was still relatively easy.
"When I can lift you like this," Gu Chengrui paused meaningfully, "…I never felt you were heavy."
Zhu Yimian hadn't reacted yet when he continued: "Besides, this isn't the first time Mianmian got my clothes dirty."
"…" Gu Chengrui hadn't explicitly said it, but it was enough to make Zhu Yimian extremely embarrassed. His head nuzzled, mumbling: "You're talking nonsense."
After Gu Chengrui bullied him verbally for a while, he brought up: "How did you hurt your ankle?"
Zhu Yimian lowered his eyes. Unhappy memories were dredged up, his mood immediately fell to the bottom. But since Gu Chengrui couldn't see, he pretended nothing was wrong: "Just… accidental."
He was angry too, and unwilling to be bullied. But this matter really wasn't suitable to bring to the teacher… they were all third-year students, not young enough to be unreasonable. Besides, he had no direct evidence. Besides Jiang Yu, probably no one else would be willing to be his witness.
Before he could say anything, Zhu Yimian changed the topic: "How did you know to come? Did Teacher He call you?"
Gu Chengrui was dissatisfied with his answer, frowning: "En."
"Did I disrupt your schedule? Sorry."
His meticulous outfit—it was either work or a date. To trouble him like this, disrupt his original plans—this was something Zhu Yimian had never imagined, never dared to imagine.
Gu Chengrui really disliked hearing him say "thank you" and "sorry." Every time he accidentally bumped something at home, or felt he did something wrong—even if it was something so small he'd forget about it the next second—he always apologized instinctively.
He said it to Gu Jiang, to Fang Jinling, to the housekeeper, to the servants, to the driver. This was the posture of treating the other person as a stranger.
Zhu Yimian's heart was a bit nervous, because Gu Chengrui didn't immediately accept his apology.
"Brother…"
Zhu Yimian lay on his back, calling him quietly, then said: "Sorry. I said not to contact family, I don't know why Teacher He called you… I'm not saying