BRUSCAMENTE

Bruscamente: brusquely, suddenly.

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It was Sunday, a holiday for all students. Zhou Yongliang was also one of the students who enjoyed his weekend. Moreover, he didn't have to work on Sunday. Sunday was a great time to rest both his mind and his body.

The brown-haired student wanted to relax in his room today. He would do some homework for a while, then he would sleep all day afterward. That was the way he enjoyed his favorite Sundays.

He had no other activities to do in his humble residence. He had no television to watch, so he couldn't enjoy dramas or music programs on Sundays. He also didn't have a cell phone, so he couldn't surf the web for the latest gossip. He was just Zhou Yongliang, an innocent young guy who had nothing.

Zhou Yongliang was just about to open his math book when he heard a knock on the door of his small place. The tall student furrowed his brows in confusion.

"Who is visiting?" He asked himself. "I haven't had a guest since the first day I moved to Beijing. Is that the landlord grandpa? But, it hasn't even been a month since I had occupied his house, so there's no way the grandpa is charging his rent now."

Zhou Yongliang was confused, but he didn't want to make the guest wait for too long. The kind-hearted boy finally got up and walked towards the door, then opened it slowly. He was very surprised when he saw who was visiting.

"Hwang Jihyuk gege?"

The guest smiled sweetly at him. Yes, the unexpected guest on this lazy Sunday was Huang Bo's older brother, Hwang Jihyuk.

"Hello, Zhou Yongliang," the guest greeted the shorter guy, who until now was still staring at him with his round eyes.

Zhou Yongliang blinked quickly and immediately invited his guest to enter his humble place. "Sorry, gege. My place is only small," he said shyly.

Hwang Jihyuk smiled and followed the owner to enter the house. He then sat down on the only couch in the place. His eyes wandered for a moment before he patted his side lightly, motioning Zhou Yongliang to sit down next to him.

The younger guy complied. He sat down beside his guest. "Um... How did you find this place, gege?" He then asked.

"Huang Bo told me your address," the older guy answered calmly. "He saw your data from your files in the teacher's room."

Zhou Yongliang was quite surprised by the answer. "Really? When did he do that? Why didn't he tell me about that?"

Hwang Jihyuk shrugged and looked around again, inspecting Zhou Yongliang's small but neat and cozy residence.

"Hwang Jihyuk gege, why did you suddenly come here?" Zhou Yongliang asked again after a few minutes none of them speaking.

Hwang Jihyuk stopped inspecting the room and shifted his gaze to the guy who was sitting beside him. "I happened to have an appointment nearby, so I stopped by," he answered while smiling a little.

"You didn't take Huang Bo with you? He said that he really wanted to visit my place."

Hwang Jihyuk shrugged and replied, "He's lazy."

Zhou Yongliang nodded despite he was still confused why the older guy suddenly decided to stop by so early in the morning.

"Do you live alone here, Zhou Yongliang? Don't you have any relatives in Beijing? Huang Bo had told me about your parents, so I will not ask about them."

Zhou Yongliang smiled. The guy who was sitting beside him was really nice and thoughtful. "Yes, gege. I live alone here. I know no one in Beijing, but people in this neighborhood are nice, so I'm happy living here," he then answered.

"Huang Bo once told me that he had asked you to live with us, but you refused. Why did you refuse, Zhou Yongliang?" The taller guy asked again.

"I don't want to be a bother, gege," Zhou Yongliang answered. "I want to be independent, that's why I chose to live alone here."

"You don't know this city yet, Zhou Yongliang. This is a big city, and there is a lot of crime here. Moreover, you have to travel a long way to go to school. That's very dangerous. There could be people who target you and want to hurt you."

Zhou Yongliang was pensive at Hwang Jihyuk's unexpected warning. He was indeed reckless because he dared to live in a city that he had never even visited before. But, he had no other choice. He didn't have anyone here, and he didn't want to bother anyone either.

"I can take care of myself, gege," the younger boy replied after a long pause.

Hwang Jihyuk stared at Zhou Yongliang intently, staring at how the boy looked down at his toes that were not wrapped in footwear.

He then sighed and slowly rubbed the boy's head. "Sorry," he said softly. "I'm just worried about you. Every day Huang Bo talks about you, and I can't help but think about you a lot."

Zhou Yongliang's eyes bulged at the statement. His body was stiff due to Hwang Jihyuk's unexpected touch and words. He didn't know Hwang Jihyuk that much, so he couldn't guess the exact meaning of what the older figure said.

"What do you mean, gege?" The younger guy decided to ask.

Hwang Jihyuk gave a crisp laugh and took his hand away from Zhou Yongliang's head. "Later, you will know what I mean." He smiled meaningfully. "By the way, there is one thing Huang Bo said that really bothered me." Zhou Yongliang was still silent, waiting for Hwang Jihyuk to continue. "It's about Yang Liu."

Zhou Yongliang's body stiffened again. He blinked confusedly, guessing that maybe Hwang Jihyuk would react the same way as Ren Weisheng. who was reluctant to accept the fact that he liked Yang Liu.

"I hope Huang Bo's words are not true. I hope you don't really like Yang Liu, Yongliang."

Hwang Jihyuk suddenly called him by his first name. That was the first time he did that. But, aside from that matter, Zhou Yongliang had guessed it right. His guest who came uninvited this morning was against his feelings to Yang Liu.

Why couldn't everyone accept his feelings? What was the problem with his feelings? Hwang Jihyuk, a guy who he didn't know well, was also participating in rejecting his feelings for his classmate. Zhou Yongliang couldn't understand why they all acted that way toward his feelings.

"I know Yang Liu, Yongliang. He is not the right person for you."

"So what, gege?" Zhou Yongliang boldly challenged the older guy. "What's wrong with Yang Liu? Why did Ren Weisheng also insist on going against my feelings for Yang Liu?"

"Ren Weisheng? Is he still unable to forget his memories of Yang Liu?"

Hwang Jihyuk's reply to questions made Zhou Yongliang startled and even more confused. "Memories of Yang Liu?" He asked.

"Ah, you don't know about that? Ren Weisheng hasn't told you yet?" Zhou Yongliang shook his head at the question. "Then, I have no right to divulge that secret. Just wait until Ren Weisheng tells you everything."

Zhou Yongliang wanted to argue, but Hwang Jihyuk didn't seem to want to share what he knew with Zhou Yongliang at all. The older guy still wanted to cover up the mystery which made Zhou Yongliang confused.

In the end, Zhou Yongliang chose to nod. "I understand, gege," he stated softly. "But now please give me a reason why Yang Liu is not the right person for me."

This time, Hwang Jihyuk looked helpless. His pretty eyes, which were usually calm and soothing, were suddenly agitated. His pair of brown irises couldn't even look up to meet Zhou Yongliang's dark irises. His hand squeezed the hem of his shirt nervously. Perhaps, cold sweat also started to run down his bangs-covered forehead.

Zhou Yongliang was still waiting patiently. Waiting for whatever the figure who was still sitting beside him would say. He was ready. Whatever Hwang Jihyuk had to say, he was ready to hear it.

"Yang Liu is not the right person. I'm the right person for you, Zhou Yongliang. I like you."

No, it turned out that Zhou Yongliang was not prepared for the brusque confession.