2 CADENZA

Cadenza: a moment in a musical piece where an instrumentalist or singer is given the opportunity to play a solo freely and with artistic license to go outside of a rigid tempo or rhythm.

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The atmosphere was tense. No one dared to make a sound after the 'fat' student's sudden exclaim. They just silently watched the show in front of the class without wanting to interrupt it. It looked like in the concert when the main singer was given the opportunity to sing solo freely.

Actually, the angry student was not that fat. Don't imagine a fatty with a big belly who walking around with chips in his hands. No, that student was not that fat even though it was obvious that he did not have abs and only had a cute belly.

The student was short and had a chubby face, so perhaps the cute appearance gave off the fat vibes. His bronze hair length surpassed his ear, and he looked like a girl at a glance.

The teacher could only shake his head at the argument between the two students in front of him. Before things dragged on, he intervened, "The score is 1-1. Ren Weisheng, let go of Zhou Yongliang and come back to sit down quietly."

Even though he was a bit puzzled, but the student named Ren Weisheng freed Zhou Yongliang's collar and looked at the teacher in confusion. "What's score is that, Laoshi[1]? We are not playing games," asked the boy confusedly.

"You called Zhou Yongliang a countryman, and Zhou Yongliang called you fat. You two have both beaten each other by saying the facts about each other. The score is even now."

Ren Weisheng gave a loud snort, while Zhou Yongliang was grinning in satisfaction. Actually, Zhou Yongliang had been relaxed even though the short man in front of him looked very angry as if he wanted to take his life without a trace. In his eyes, Ren Weisheng's angry face looked cute instead of intimidating.

"Your business is finished here, okay? I don't want to hear any news of bullying after this. You know that this school doesn't tolerate bullying, right? So, it's best to forget everything and take your seats—Zhou Yongliang, you can take the empty seat in front of Ren Weisheng."

"Why should it be in front of my desk, Laoshi? Why not in another place?"

"Do you see any empty seats besides in front of your desk, Ren Weisheng?"

The bronze-haired boy looked around, and sure enough, there was only one empty seat left in his class. Each class in their school could accommodate 25 students. There were 25 desks and chairs in the room, and 24 desks and chairs had been occupied by other students. So, it was true that the desk in front of Ren Weisheng's desk in the second row was the only empty desk.

And in the end, Ren Weisheng could only sigh and ready to give up. But, the chubby-cheeked boy flinched in surprise when his right hand was suddenly grabbed and forcibly be shook by someone.

"I'm sorry, Ren Weisheng gege[2]. I was just kidding. Now we are friends, alright?"

Other students in the class were shocked to hear that innocent question. Zhou Yongliango forcefully shook Ren Weisheng's right hand and asked him an unexpected question.

The new student was smiling broadly until his two smooth cheeks were pulled to the side. His big eyes sparkling, his nostrils were cutely inflating and deflating. That view was very cute that Ren Weisheng involuntarily removed his hand from Zhou Yongliang's grasp and moved it to Zhou Yongliang's cheek—pinching it amusedly.

"Why are you so cute, huh? Be my didi[3] from now on!"

That sudden statement got the whole class dumbfounded. Earlier, Ren Weisheng went berserk and wanted to finish off Zhou Yongliang, but now the short man was playing Zhou Yongliang's chubby cheeks as if he were playing squishy.

Also, why did Zhou Yongliang go around calling Ren Weisheng 'gege' and Ren Weisheng also claimed Zhou Yongliang as his didi? They didn't even know who was older and who was younger. Really, the drama that was just aired in front of the class ended anticlimactically. It's not fun anymore.

Zhou Yongliang finally could only surrender when his smooth cheeks pulled exasperatedly from two opposite directions.

'It will be red,' he thought helplessly.

The tall young man unconsciously looked to all corners of the classroom to forget the pain he was suffering, and without realizing it, his eyes were fixed on Yang Liu's figure who was also looking at him.

Zhou Yongliang suddenly just couldn't turn away. A chunk of invisible magnetism seemed to be continuing to draw his attention to the pale-skinned youth sitting at the back corner. That was right, at least people would be stunned for ten seconds when they first saw Yang Liu, and in detail, Zhou Yongliang was stunned for nineteen seconds before the teacher interrupted and asked him to sit down.

"The kid is pretty cute, huh?"

Yang Liu blinked after hearing a low whisper from his front. "Who?" He asked back instead of answering.

"Zhou Yongliang, the new kid. How could he tame the angry Ren Weisheng in just six minutes and eleven seconds since they met? We all know how wild Ren Weisheng could be when he was angry. The Zhou Yongliang kid is indeed pretty adorable, right?"

"Stop praising another boy when you already have Chen Guangli."

Ah, right. Fang Xing was one of the students with a 'special preference' at the school. The young boy with the surname Fang had a secret relationship with one of his classmates who had the same gender as him. Yes, it was a secret. Only a few people knew about it since it was still considered taboo to have that kind of relationship in China.

It was difficult for Yang Liu to accept that reality at first. Yeah, the reality that one of his closest people chose to walk on the 'rainbow path.' You were free to call him homophobic or something, but the black-haired young man was indeed feeling uncomfortable seeing two guys act lovey-dovey.

But, Yang Liu also knew that he couldn't blame Fang Xin for his orientation. Yang Liu didn't believe in love for himself, but at least he still believed that love was a natural feeling that came naturally from the heart and couldn't be controlled. That was why he gradually accepted the reality that his close friend was gay.

And, it was not Fang Xing's fault to fall in love with a boy named Chen Guangli. The owner of Fang Xing's heart had a face that was no less beautiful than any girl. Chen Guangli was quite short—as short as Ren Weisheng and had a slim body with bright and smooth skin just like a girl. No wonder Fang Xing fell under the feet of the young man with a beautiful face.

"Oh, man. I was just praising another boy, not looking for a concubine," Fang Xing defended himself at the end. "It's not the first time I praise other boys, but it's the first time you seem so care about it. What's up, bro? The new student got your attention?" The tan-skinned young man teased his friend with his naughty smile.

But, Yang Liu only glared at him and replied, "What's so good about that boy to attract my attention? Just focus on the lecture. I remember you got 20 in the last exam and you had to take the remedial test."

Fang Xing's eyes widened at that counterattack. Of course, he also remembered his embarrassing score from the last exam. Fang Xing wasn't smart enough in Chemistry to get a higher score than that. In fact, he was not smart enough for every subject. He was lucky to have a genius friend like Yang Liu to help him, so he could barely pass the last exam even though he had to take the remedial test.

The shorter boy could only curse silently in his heart, then angrily turned his body back to the front. He left his best friend who, for some reason, glanced mysteriously in one direction. To be precise, at the new boy's direction.

Yeah, Yang Liu silently stared at Zhou Yongliang's back with his sharp eyes. Secretly, he made descriptions about the new student. The new student was facing the front and he could only see his back, but he still remembered his face. He could tell that the new student would be included in the pretty boy list in his class along with Ren Weisheng and Chen Guangli.

He was probably 180 centimeters tall, had straight brown hair, a pair of round eyes, a cute button nose, and a pair of thin pink lips. He had a slim body, but it looked proportional and sturdy. He wouldn't be surprised if someday the new student was scouted by a talent agency.

The new student was handsome, but the handsomeness couldn't attract him. He was straight and not so desperate to fall for another man even if there were only male students in this school. Moreover, he also did not believe in love anymore. He did not want to be hurt by a stupid thing called love again. Once was enough, no twice, no thrice.

Yang Liu shook his head when he realized that he just wasted his precious time analyzing the new student. He then opened his book and started reading its content while listening to the teacher in front of the class. It was gonna be a long day.

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Footnote:

[1] Laoshi: teacher.

[2] Gege: older brother.

[3] Didi: younger brother.