Can I still be saved? [Transmigration] - Chapter 27

When it came to Fu Hanzhou’s acceptance of him, Su Yunjing first felt it was unreal.

Once that feeling of disbelief passed, what followed was sheer joy.

Back when the book-travel system said he hadn’t completed the task, Su Yunjing did feel a little doubtful.

But now, it seemed—

Little cool cub showed no signs of turning dark or yandere.

Though he appeared quiet and aloof, in reality, he was quite easy to get along with.

….

The next morning after breakfast, Su Yunjing didn’t wait for Fu Hanzhou. He went and sat in the car first.

Five or six minutes later, Fu Hanzhou came out, still sleepy and holding the breakfast Aunt Wang had prepared.

As soon as he got in the car and tilted his head to lean against the window for a nap, Su Yunjing placed a pillow there.

Fu Hanzhou lifted his pretty eyes and glanced at Su Yunjing.

Su Yunjing smiled. “Using this will be more comfortable.”

Fu Hanzhou said nothing and closed his eyes, leaning back.

Seeing that he didn’t reject his kindness, Su Yunjing’s last bit of worry vanished.

He had mentally prepared for a long, drawn-out battle but things turned out surprisingly smooth.

That also indirectly showed that Su Yunjing had healed Little Cool cub’s childhood wounds, resulting in a change in his personality.

The more Su Yunjing thought about it, the better he felt.

The system thought he hadn’t completed the task, so it sent him back into the novel world. But in reality, Fu Hanzhou was already doing fine.

And he had picked up an extra life for free.

….

During the second big break, Su Yunjing eagerly went to the office to find Zhang Zhigang, hoping he’d adjust his seat.

Zhang Zhigang was surprised when he heard Su Yunjing wanted to sit with Fu Hanzhou.

“Why the sudden change? Not getting along with Li Xueyang?”

Su Yunjing shook his head. “No, it’s not that. It has nothing to do with Li Xueyang. It’s just that Hanzhou and I are neighbors, and our families are quite close. I’d like to sit with him.”

Zhang Zhigang was surprised they had that kind of relationship.

“Well,” Zhang Zhigang seemed a bit hesitant. “In theory, since you just transferred, it does make sense to pair you with someone familiar so you can integrate into the class faster.”

Su Yunjing’s heart tightened a bit upon hearing that.

Sure enough, Zhang Zhigang followed with a “but.”

“Being familiar has its advantages, but sometimes too close a bond can affect learning. I looked over your academic record— your grades are pretty good.”

Su Yunjing caught the implication— he was worried Fu Hanzhou might drag him down.

Yesterday, Su Yunjing had observed Fu Hanzhou for an entire day and found that he didn’t pay attention in a single class.

No matter how smart Little Cool cub was, there was no way he could score high without listening in class.

“Teacher, I actually want to switch seats because Hanzhou’s grades aren’t great. I’d like to tutor him a bit.”

Then he added, “His dad thinks the same way.”

Zhang Zhigang weighed the pros and cons and eventually agreed.

Su Yunjing returned to the classroom and started packing up his stuff.

Even though Li Xueyang didn’t like him much, he still asked, “What are you doing?”

Su Yunjing replied without raising his head: “I switched seats. I’ll be sitting next to Fu Hanzhou now.”

Li Xueyang forced a smile. “Heh.”

Su Yunjing could tell Li Xueyang wasn’t happy but didn’t bother with it.

Yesterday, Li Xueyang had just gossiped about Fu Hanzhou’s bad reputation, and today he went to sit with him. Anyone would be upset.

Fu Hanzhou was lying on his desk asleep. Su Yunjing quietly sat down next to him.

Fu Hanzhou hadn’t had a desk mate in a long time. The whole class was confused by the homeroom teacher’s decision to rearrange the seats.

The person sitting in front of Li Xueyang poked him and asked in a low voice, “Why did your new seatmate move?”

“How would I know what he’s thinking?” Li Xueyang replied sarcastically.

Just then, the long-haired boy who was sleeping on the desk moved.

Li Xueyang immediately tensed up like a startled quail.

Fu Hanzhou didn’t sleep well. When he lifted his eyes, his thin eyelids had a faint crease.

The tail of his eye is thin and hooked.

Seeing the slight double eyelid, Su Yunjing smiled and was tempted to smooth it out for him.

“The teacher arranged for us to sit together,” Su Yunjing explained.

Fu Hanzhou said nothing, closed his eyes again, and switched arms to sleep on.

Su Yunjing hadn’t expected a warm welcome. As long as he wasn’t rejected, that was enough.

During the following classes, Fu Hanzhou did not listen to any of them, and lay on the table to catch up on his sleep.

A few days ago, South High had a placement exam, so every period today was dedicated to going over the test.

Fu Hanzhou’s test paper was spread out on his desk, untouched.

Su Yunjing, who didn’t take the test, asked Fu Hanzhou to borrow it.

Fu Hanzhou’s overall scores were extremely low. His highest was 45 points in English.

That was only because the English test had a lot of multiple-choice questions.

His learning was poor, but he had great luck. His random answers (A, B, C, B) happened to hit quite a few right.

The last English question was an essay. He copied the first two paragraphs of the previous reading passage and still got one point.

Su Yunjing: “…”

It really was a hard-earned point.

For the math section, he only wrote one character: “solution.”

For the science section, all his calculation problems were answered with Newton’s second law: F = ma.

And surprisingly, that formula was correct for one of the questions.

Su Yunjing: This… how can I put it?

At least he didn’t hand in a blank paper. He tried to get some points that showed he still cared, even if just a little.

After convincing himself, Su Yunjing calmly continued listening to the class.

The cool boy playing Tetris lifted his eyelids slightly and glanced at him.

Su Yunjing’s hands were long and slender.

Right now, he was holding a pen, correcting mistakes on the paper.

His side profile was clear and defined, his jawline and neck forming graceful lines.

Fu Hanzhou’s gaze lingered on the faint bluish vein on his neck before he finally looked away.

After the papers were handed out, Su Yunjing looked at Fu Hanzhou’s score and felt a headache.

They were shockingly bad, definitely the  last in the grade.

Su Yunjing had been hoping they could one day get into a good university together. But with these grades, they’d be lucky to get into a junior college by paying extra.

He had to help him improve.

Honestly, Su Yunjing had forgotten most of what he’d learned in high school, but the original host was a top student, and he had inherited all his memories.

That evening after dinner, Su Yunjing took his homework and test papers and knocked on Fu Hanzhou’s door.

“Hanzhou.”

He called twice before hearing a lazy voice from inside. “Not here.”

Su Yunjing: “…”

“Wanna do homework together? If you don’t understand anything, I can help.”

“No!”

“Then… Do you have a computer in your room? I have a physics question I need to look up.”

“No.”

Fine.

Seeing that Fu Hanzhou didn’t want to open the door, Su Yunjing had no choice but to go back.

Back in his room, Su Yunjing rubbed his temples, looking helpless.

Sure enough, switching identities made everything harder.

Before, when he asked a little cool cub to study with him, he’d get excited. Now, he didn’t want to learn at all?

Fu Hanzhou’s current personality was neither the paranoid madness from the novel nor the clingy little cub from his memory.

If they were to rebuild the bond they had before, he needed to understand what kind of person Fu Hanzhou had become.

As a child, he liked drawing strange, abstract pictures.

Now, he likes sleeping in class with headphones on.

To understand him better, Su Yunjing wanted to know what kind of music he listened to.

Su Yunjing: “What are you listening to? Can I hear a bit?”

Fu Hanzhou had just woken up and looked drowsy. His beautiful phoenix eyes were slightly drooped, and the tails of his eyes extended naturally.

Seeing him unresponsive, Su Yunjing hesitated, then reached out and removed one of his earphones.

Fu Hanzhou glanced at him, and his phoenix eyes were particularly dark.

Su Yunjing put the earphone in his ear.

The volume was low, but the genre shocked him.

It was an incredibly cringey, shout-rap-style song, similar to what would be popular in livestreams ten years ago.

“Life is like a play, brought together by fate.

Brothers gotta stick together, don’t waste time with hate.

Don’t fight over small stuff, it’s not worth a dime.

True bros ride or die, every single time…”

Su Yunjing: “…”

It sounded like a remix of “Don’t Be Angry,” paired with that loud, shouty delivery, it made Su Yunjing’s scalp tingle.

He looked at the handsome, dark-haired boy beside him with a complicated look.

He really hadn’t expected little cool cub to be into this.

….

At lunch, Su Yunjing found out that the MP4 actually belonged to Tang Wei, and he had given it to Fu Hanzhou, along with all the music.

“Not to brag, but there’s not a single bad song on my phone. If you like to listen, I will send it to you via Bluetooth later.” Tang Wei said.

Tang Wei was a die-hard fan of hot-blooded anime.

His phone was full of cheesy “brotherhood” songs.

Su Yunjing worried that Tang Wei’s unique taste would ruin Fu Hanzhou’s aesthetics.

So during computer class, he downloaded some piano pieces and soothing instrumental music.

But Fu Hanzhou had no reaction.

“Don’t you feel that the song in the headphones has changed?” Su Yunjing couldn’t help asking him.

Fu Hanzhou was playing Tetris. Hearing this, he raised an eyebrow and looked at Su Yunjing.

That look clearly said he hadn’t noticed at all.

Su Yunjing: “…”

After two days of being around him, Su Yunjing realized that Fu Hanzhou’s temper had really improved.

Other than showing his claws in the cafeteria that one time, he hadn’t lashed out at anyone since.

He even accepted Su Yunjing’s friendly gestures most of the time.

Before computer class, when Su Yunjing asked to borrow the MP4, Fu Hanzhou didn’t object either.

At first, Su Yunjing thought this was great. But now, he was starting to feel something was off.

He no longer bristled like a cactus, ready to stab you the moment you got close.

But he was now too indifferent, like nothing mattered.

He wore headphones every day, but didn’t actually listen. He didn’t even notice when the songs were changed.

Su Yunjing felt a brief sense of confusion.

Fu Hanzhou’s changes made him feel like he was dealing with a stranger.

Still, even if little cool cub had grown lazy and disinterested, he was nowhere near the dangerous, obsessive ‘yandere’ the system warned him about.

So Su Yunjing didn’t overthink it. Ten years had passed, it was normal not to understand the new Fu Hanzhou.

After all, people change.

…

Shen Nianyun and Wen Yanlai were planning to get married next month.

Wen Yanlai had mostly stepped back from the spotlight. She hadn’t acted or appeared at events in two years.

The recent interview she did was only because a blockbuster movie she filmed three years ago was about to release, and she had to help promote it.

During this period, Wen Yanlai has been busy with movie promotion and wedding matters, and rarely stayed at home.

Shen Nianyun had gone to Jinghang for the World Internet Conference, so only Su Yunjing and Fu Hanzhou were at home.

Su Yunjing had been trying to help Fu Hanzhou improve his grades. But the little cool cub still seemed guarded, he never let Su Yunjing into his room.

Fu Hanzhou was a person with a strong sense of territory.

Until he fully accepted someone, he wouldn’t let them into his personal space.

Still, Su Yunjing had gotten close with Tang Wei and Lin Lie. They always ate together at school.

The East Cafeteria had better food than the West’s big batch meals, but after a year of it, they were tired of it too.

Tang Wei bought two portable alcohol stoves and brought them to school for hotpot.

These were the same kind of burners restaurants used for spicy boiled dishes. You just lit a solid alcohol block underneath.

The school forbade open flames, so Tang Wei sneakily chose the abandoned rooftop of the old science building.

“You sure the school won’t find out?” Su Yunjing asked, a little nervous about breaking the rules.

Tang Wei waved him off. “Relax. We all use the new science building now, so no one even comes here anymore. Hey, the pot’s boiling!”

He grabbed a handful of thick lamb slices and threw them in.

The alcohol stoves did not have the style of a double-flavored pot, so Tang Wei bought two,  one spicy, one mild.

A large block of solid alcohol was placed beneath the stove, and the hot pot soup in two stainless steel pots was already bubbling.

The red chili oil broth was fiery and fragrant, giving even the aloof boy playing Tetris a smoky, down-to-earth vibe.

The curling steam lingered around his elegant features.

The tips of his thick eyelashes curled up, slightly fogged from the heat.

At that moment, Su Yunjing felt a little familiar.

He seemed to see the seven-year-old little cool cub, sitting quietly under the orphanage tree, waiting for him to bring dinner.

Su Yunjing smiled and tossed some fish balls into the pot.

Tang Wei asked, “Who’s eating spicy? Who’s not?”

“I’m spicy. Hanzhou should be mild, right?” Lin Lie had never seen him eat spicy food.

“What about you?” Tang Wei elbowed Su Yunjing.

“I like spicy food,” Su Yunjing replied.

But even as he said that, he placed more fish balls into the mild pot.

He liked spicy food, but Fu Hanzhou preferred things light, and he loved fish.