Content

Part 70

"Chao ge—" Wanda urged from the side, "Are you done yet?"

Henry Howard smiled and replied, "Almost," then reached out to pat Ethan Young's head, and before leaving said, "Watch closely, let me show you just how handsome your boyfriend is."

""

Maybe not that handsome, but definitely shameless.

Throughout the whole game, Henry Howard acted like he was desperately trying to attract the girls' attention, playing fiercely and aggressively. Especially when he did a three-step layup, he leapt into the air, slicing through the wind, his waist flashing in and out of view as he moved.

He went wild snatching the ball, and once he got it, he’d run all over the court. Sometimes he’d dribble past people, and when there was no one, he’d dribble past thin air.

"Very good, now we see Chao ge dribbling past the air again, this is truly a perfect dribble past the air, his moves are dazzling and spectacular, as if there’s really someone standing over there." Luke Carter was a substitute player this game, sitting on the side with nothing to do, so he started commentating, "Amazing, let’s give Chao ge a round of applause."

Ethan Young laughed and cursed, "Nutcase."

After shooting, Henry Howard turned and looked in Ethan Young's direction, sweat dripping down from his forehead. He pressed his index and middle fingers together, touched them to his lips, and blew a kiss.

A big crowd that had been watching for a while all shouted in unison, "Ah—"

Everyone started whispering, guessing who the kiss was meant for, especially those standing in that direction, glancing at each other, trying to find a clue.

But the real target of the kiss looked completely unfazed.

Ethan Young leaned on the edge of the flower bed, thinking, He is pretty handsome.

After a pause, he thought: Forget it, let’s be merciful and drop the "pretty".

Handsome.

A certain drama king, really dazzling. Like he was glowing.

Henry Howard played for a while, but the guys playing with him really couldn’t take it anymore, especially Wanda. He felt like he was completely useless on the court, could even take off his jersey and sit next to Luke Carter for a break, since Henry Howard was carrying the whole game and didn’t even need any support.

And all those flashy moves and fakes—his teammates couldn’t even figure out what he was going to do next.

"You go rest, Chao ge," Logan Wright advised, and before Henry Howard could reply, he waved at the substitute, "Haozi, come on!"

Henry Howard: "Are you guys even human? Who was it begging me to come in the first place?"

Logan Wright: "I admit I was wrong, okay? Now I finally understand why you said you were too good and didn’t want to come mess with us. You really do know yourself well."

The price of Henry Howard's show-off session was being permanently kicked off the Class Three basketball team by the PE committee, and making the committee realize, loud and clear, that the two big shots from the East and West buildings were not people he could control.

Henry Howard left the court, a little exhausted: "They’re not human."

Ethan Young: "You’re not human either. Did you enjoy dribbling past the air?"

The court got lively again. Luke Carter tried to dribble past someone, but didn’t make it and got the ball stolen.

Henry Howard turned his head and asked, "Wasn’t it handsome?"

Ethan Young: "Like an idiot."

""

The two of them sat on the side watching the game for a while. Henry Howard took a few gulps, then casually handed the bottle to Ethan Young: "Want some?"

Ethan Young wasn’t thirsty, but Henry Howard handed it over so naturally that he just took it.

When his lips touched the bottle, the rim was a little wet, the cold water sending a chill up—this spot, Henry Howard had just touched it.

At the same time, the same thought popped into both their minds: Shit. Indirect kiss.

Suddenly, Henry Howard felt like the half bottle of water he’d just drunk was completely useless, his throat inexplicably dry. Especially since the kid’s lips were still moist, looking tempting—better not look.

Henry Howard cleared his throat, forcing himself to keep watching Haozi and the others play.

Ethan Young wasn’t doing much better. He held the bottle in his hand for ages, his fingertips going cold, before finally remembering to hand it back to Henry Howard.

Henry Howard fumbled to put the cap back on, but his fingers tangled with the cap for ages, and in the end, he didn’t hold it steady—the cap fell straight down and rolled onto the lawn.

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53. Chapter Fifty-Three

Ethan Young had lived so many years and never realized he had the potential to be such a pure-hearted teenager. Back when Ray Jones and the others would secretly rent those adult movies, hiding from Ms. Miller and Ray's MomRay's Dad, locking the door and barely daring to breathe.

At that clueless age, Big Ray would watch, blushing and heart pounding, eyes glued to the screen. Ethan Young would glance at it, then turn to the old TV next to him and keep playing Nintendo.

Back then, what did Big Ray say? He said, "Boss Xie, don’t tell me you’re asexual."

"What’s so special about it," Ethan Young was unfazed, "Isn’t it just mating?"

Ray Jones: ""

Belle: ""

And now, isn’t this just dating?

Isn’t it just drinking from the same bottle?

Why does my heart feel a little fast?

With a sharp whistle, PE class was almost over.

The PE teacher walked out of the gym, waved at Logan Wright, and Luke Carter grabbed the ball, trying to get one last shot in before time was up. He jumped and shot, right into the basket.

"Class is over, dismissed," the PE teacher reminded, "PE committee, collect the equipment."

All the class’s sports equipment was managed by the PE committee. Logan Wright couldn’t carry it all himself, so Henry Howard jumped down from the flower bed to help: "I’ll take the rackets. Old Young, give me a hand?"

Ethan Young took half the rackets, and the group headed to the equipment room. Luke Carter was still clutching a basketball, spinning it on his palm with a few fingers, "Hey, do you guys think they’ll really cancel the basketball tournament this year?"

"It’s all because of those two classes last year, idiots, fighting over nothing."

"I was there, it was wild. In the end, they just threw the ball away and both teams started brawling. Even the referee was stunned."

The equipment room was pretty big, organized by type. The badminton rackets were on the innermost shelf. Henry Howard reached up to put the rackets away, then shifted to the side to make room for Ethan Young: "I was at last year’s basketball tournament too."

Ethan Young said, "Oh, no wonder your class didn’t make the finals."

""

"The guys from Class Two played too dirty, it was no fun. We dropped out in the first round," Henry Howard started reflecting on how he’d become a drag on the team, "It wasn’t because we weren’t good enough."

"Yeah, yeah, you’re strong," Ethan Young put the rackets back, then compulsively straightened them, "Super strong."

The space between the shelves was tight, barely enough for two people. At some point, Henry Howard had ended up right across from him, and when Ethan Young finished tidying up and turned around, he was practically in Henry Howard's arms.

Henry Howard chuckled, "Kid, are you throwing yourself at me?"

"Throwing my ass," Ethan Young said, "Good dogs don’t block the way, move?"

Henry Howard put his hand on Ethan Young's waist, gently pinching through the fabric, guiding him toward the corner. Both of them were pretty tall, but luckily the corner was hidden enough. Logan Wright and the others were still chatting by the basketballs, not paying any attention.

It was exactly this privacy that made the thought sparked by that bottle of water on the court flare up again.

"I’m not a dog," Henry Howard said, "I’m not moving."

The mood was just right, and the spot was perfect. Ethan Young slowly closed his eyes, then opened them again, seeing Henry Howard's face getting closer and closer. He smacked Henry Howard on the head, "Idiot, there’s a camera."

Henry Howard: ""

There were cameras in the equipment room, more than one, in fact. Because it was hard to manage, they mostly relied on students’ honesty, and every class, the PE committee had to record who borrowed and returned equipment.

From Ethan Young's angle, there was one camera pointed right at them.

Henry Howard was cursing a thousand times in his heart.

Logan Wright and the others finished filling out the form and came over, "Chao ge, are you guys done yet—"

Aside from Logan Wright's loud voice, Ethan Young could also hear Henry Howard muttering curses under his breath, basically saying something like, "Screw this early romance crap, I’m having a proper relationship here."

As Henry Howard was cursing, seeing the PE committee about to come over, he was about to let go when Ethan Young suddenly leaned in and kissed him on the ear.

Warm, and very soft.

From the camera’s angle, it just looked like one person whispering to another, you couldn’t tell what they were really doing.

Henry Howard's "damn it" got stuck in his throat, and he couldn’t finish the curse.

Ethan Young leaned back again, looking at him with narrowed eyes.