Mistaken Canary Chapter 82
Chapter 82
During morning exercise, Zhuo Shu was leading the student council members to inspect the sports field and noticed Ying Tongchen was missing from the lineup. He immediately returned to the classroom to look for him.
Just as he reached the window, he saw Ying Tongchen lying face down on the desk, asleep.
“Hey—” he started to call out but couldn’t bring himself to wake him.
A gentle breeze blew in, softly stirring Ying Tongchen’s hair. His slender frame looked somewhat fragile; as if in a nightmare, his brow was furrowed tightly, and a faint sweat dotted his forehead.
Zhuo Shu reached out his index finger and smoothed the crease between Ying Tongchen’s brows.
Ying Tongchen slowly woke, lifting his head cautiously, eyes alert. “What are you doing?”
Zhuo Shu panicked slightly and poked Ying Tongchen’s forehead hard. “Why aren’t you at morning exercise?”
Ying Tongchen pondered for a moment and replied, “I’m sick; not going.”
“What sickness?”
“A terminal one.”
“!”
Ying Tongchen had only been joking, but unexpectedly, Zhuo Shu took it seriously and anxiously dragged him to the infirmary.
“I’m kidding, I’m not sick,” Ying Tongchen struggled as they walked, trying hard to pull his hand free, but he couldn’t break loose.
“You looked so pained just now, there has to be something wrong,” Zhuo Shu said, pulling him up to the infirmary door. “Don’t worry, whatever your illness is, I won’t pry. But you have to see the doctor.”
Unfortunately, the doctor was absent and the infirmary was empty.
Ying Tongchen thought Zhuo Shu would give up, but to his surprise, he went to the homeroom teacher to ask for leave, saying he wanted to take him to an outside hospital for a checkup.
Ying Tongchen: “…”
After being forced to go to the hospital for blood tests and scans, he sat in the corner, swearing never to lie again. One lie had cost him two vials of blood...
Could there be anything worse?
There was.
While waiting for the test results, Zhuo Shu went out to buy food, and Ying Tongchen sat there quietly, reflecting on his ordeal.
Suddenly, a shadow stopped in front of him and called out his name in a surprised manner, “Ying Tongchen, what are you doing here?”
Ying Tongchen looked up and saw it was his classmate from his previous school, Bea Liar. His face immediately darkened. “Get lost.”
“Are you sick?” Bea Liar sat down beside him without asking, showing a concerned expression. “Is it serious? Why didn’t you tell anyone when you suddenly dropped out? I actually wanted to talk to you and apologize—”
Ying Tongchen got up before the other could finish and headed toward the exit. Bea Liar hurriedly caught up with him, yapping nonstop.
At his breaking point, Ying Tongchen stopped near the roadside. Just as he turned to strike, a hand clamped down on his shoulder.
Zhuo Shu popped up from behind, seemingly oblivious to the tense atmosphere between the two. With a serious expression, he asked, “What are you doing here? To make it harder for me to find you?”
“It’s no big deal, just ran into a cockroach so I had to leave,” Ying Tongchen answered coldly.
Bea Liar’s expression darkened.
“A cockroach, huh? That is pretty disgusting,” Zhuo Shu nodded, then glanced at Bea Liar, “Is this Mister Roach?”
Bea Liar: You’re (the) Roach! Your whole family’s surname is Roach!
“My surname is Bea,” Bea Liar clarified, “I’m his old classmate.”
Zhuo Shu glanced at Ying Tongchen, who just said he didn’t know Bea Liar. Ying Tongchen went back inside the hospital to get his report.
Zhuo Shu stayed where he was and asked, “What were you looking for him for?”
“Just ran into him by chance. Are you his new classmate?” Bea Liar eyed him with ill intent. “Do you know why he transferred schools?”
“No, and I don’t want to know.”
Bea Liar forced a smile and sized him up again. “You’re not bad-looking.”
Zhuo Shu replied, “That’s right.”
Bea Liar: “.” Couldn’t you be a bit more humble?
Regaining his composure, Bea Liar asked, "Did you know he’s gay?"
“I’m aware.”
“Then do you know who he likes?”
“I know.”
He’d known since yesterday.
Zhuo Shu looked at him with a meaningful glance. “I get it now. Since you’re his old classmate, you’re here to be his matchmaker, right?”
Bea Liar: ???
Matchmaker?
Zhuo Shu sighed heavily, his expression earnest. “Please tell him that our most important task right now is studying. I’m not ready to start dating.”
Bea Liar: ?????
What on earth are you talking about?!
“Am I being too harsh?” Zhuo Shu reconsidered, worried about hurting his young Classmate Ying’s feelings and possibly making him lose faith in life. So he switched to encouragement. “No, tell him that if he can get into the top thirty in this midterm exam, then I might consider dating him.”
Judging by Ying Tongchen’s habit of sleeping in class and smoking during breaks, even making the top fifty would be tough—unless number fifty skips the exam.
Bea Liar: “What exactly are you talking about?!”
Just then, Ying Tongchen returned with his report. Zhuo Shu quickly took it and said, “I’ll go talk to the doctor. You two old classmates catch up.” Before leaving, he gave Bea Liar an encouraging look.
Ying Tongchen noticed their odd behavior and frowned. “What did you tell him?”
Bea Liar, dazed: “I just told him you’re gay.”
Ying Tongchen used his arm that was not used to draw out blood to slam Bea Liar against a tree, threw a few punches, then asked, “Anything else?”
Bea Liar didn’t expect such a brutal response. He really wasn’t spared a shred of mercy!
Ying Tongchen coldly remarked, “You don’t really think I like you, do you? Dream on. Now tell me, what else did you guys talk about?”
Bea Liar’s gaze toward him changed. He looked like a scorned woman staring at a heartless playboy who dumped her without a second thought and immediately moved on to someone new.
Beaten and defenseless, Bea Liar struggled to say, “He said he wants to date you.”
Ying Tongchen froze, full of question marks: “What???”
He and Zhuo Shu were on completely different wavelengths, so the dazed and bewildered Bea Liar repeated the part he remembered, “He said he might consider dating you. Hah! Congrats to you; I wish you two mutts all the best—may you never take first place again!”
Such a nasty curse.
Just as Zhuo Shu returned from handling the doctor’s matters, he heard Bea Liar’s last curse and stepped forward to add, “That’s downright cruel. Don’t let me see you around here again!”
Bea Liar: “...”
Zhuo Shu pulled Ying Tongchen toward the direction of their school, reciting, “The doctor said it’s nothing serious, just a bit of anemia. It’s because you’re too skinny—you need to eat more.”
He waited a long time but got no response.
Zhuo Shu glanced back and saw Ying Tongchen staring at him, his eyes filled with confusion and disbelief. Then his gaze fell on their intertwined hands. He quickly let go, his ears flushing bright red.
What’s going on? When did they even hold hands?
Seeing him blush and walk ahead alone, Ying Tongchen’s heart skipped a beat. He kicked the stone at his feet, hitting Zhuo Shu’s back. “Hey, what did you two talk about?”
Zhuo Shu rubbed his back, not daring to look back, and kept walking with his head down. Worried he might fall behind, he kept a distance of one or two meters, listening to his footsteps. “What did he say we talked about?”
“He said you’re considering dating me?” Ying Tongchen raised an eyebrow, his eyelashes fluttering slightly. “Is it true?”
“Mhm.” Zhuo Shu replied quietly.
Suddenly, Ying Tongchen stopped in his tracks. “Why? Do you also think I’m also fun to mess with?”
Zhuo Shu turned around and blurted out, “What’s fun about you? Who would dare mess with you?”
“You.”
Hearing that, Zhuo Shu felt a bit lightheaded, thinking to himself that he really was too irresistible—he’d clearly sparked a fire in Ying Tongchen’s heart.
Classmate Ying, you really don’t hold back, do you?
o(*////▽////*)o
“Let’s talk about all this after midterms. Let’s hurry back to school.” Zhuo Shu took a couple of steps forward. Seeing Ying Tongchen still standing frozen, he paced around and came back to stand behind him, pushing him forward. “Behave, or I might stop liking you.”
Ying Tongchen: “?”
…
When they reached the school gate, Zhuo Shu suddenly asked, “The checkup didn’t show any problems, so what kind of terminal illness do you have? Are you lying to me?”
Ying Tongchen saw him reaching for his discipline notebook and said, “I’m infertile.”
Zhuo Shu froze for a moment, then put his notebook away.
…
After school, Ying Tongchen returned home and could smell the delicious aroma of dinner from far away.
He pushed open the door and saw teacher and his lover busy in the kitchen. After greeting them, he went back to his room to do homework.
Before long, teacher called him for dinner and asked about how things were going at school.
As soon as Ying Tongchen mentioned Zhuo Shu, both adults burst into laughter.
Lae Leon said, “Ever since you transferred, you talk about this person every day. Is he really that special?”
Ying Tongchen replied, “He’s especially annoying.”
“Hmm~ especially annoying~” Tei Cher pointed at Lae Leon with a knowing smile, “He always thinks I’m especially annoying too.”
Ying Tongchen knew he’d been teased and poked at his bowl with his chopsticks. “I’m done talking.”
The adults laughed for a while, then asked about the upcoming parent-teacher meeting. Ying Tongchen replied it would be after the midterms.
…
After midterms, Zhuo Shu left school and caught a glimpse of Ying Tongchen walking alone, looking every bit like someone who’d just tanked a test and lost his crush.
He stepped forward to encourage him. “It’s okay. One bad exam doesn’t matter. After all, I’m not that easy to get.”
Ying Tongchen: “??”
Zhuo Shu opened the car door, waved his hand, and said, “Goodbye. The final exam is your last chance!”
…
Sunday afternoon, all the grades had been posted, and the homeroom teacher shared the results in the class group chat.
Zhuo Shu had zero interest in his own ranking; either he was first or the top in the entire school.
He started scanning from the bottom up, looking for Ying Tongchen’s name. When he still hadn’t found it by the 30th spot, he was momentarily stunned.
No way… Could he really be in the top 30?
His eyes moved upward, his heart pounding higher with every name—until finally, at second place, he saw Ying Tongchen’s name!!!
Cheating was impossible. Ying Tongchen couldn’t have copied off of him because their seats during the exam were at opposite ends of the room, front and back. Completely impossible.
Could this really be the power of love?
But what about all the harsh words he had thrown out?
He had assumed Ying Tongchen was a hopeless student, which gave him the confidence to make those bold promises. Who would’ve thought he’d underestimated how strong love’s influence could be, turning a reckless youth into a repentant one overnight.
Suddenly looking back, the biggest fool turned out to be himself.
That night, after the Zhuo family had finished dinner, Zhuo Shu called a family meeting. The atmosphere was unusually heavy.
Zhuo Shu began, “Zhuo Zi, put down your toys. What I’m about to say is serious, so I want you to listen carefully.”
Zhuo Fu and Mu Qing quickly coaxed the five-year-old Zhuo Zi to set aside her toys.
Only then did Zhuo Shu begin to lay out the facts: “Mom, Dad, I solemnly inform you, I’m about to be in a romantic relationship."
“That’s wonderful news! The Zhuo family has something to celebrate about!” Mu Qing exclaimed excitedly.
“Wait, hear me out first. It’s a classmate of mine—”
“A classmate is good! Someone who knows you well, grows up with you, facing storms and rainbows together like unyielding roses*!” Zhuo Fu started singing as he spoke.
(TLN: Is from the song ‘Rainbow after Storms,Unyielding Roses (风雨彩虹铿锵玫瑰)’ by Tian Zhen. Here’s the song time-stamped: https://youtu.be/DYtSM9Uo1eI?si=h2FJu3OSm6eDG9ca&t=64)
Zhuo Shu replied, “He’s a transfer student. In class, he’s either sleeping or pulling my hair.”
(TLN: The Chinese pronouns—she (她), he (他), and it (它)—while written differently, are pronounced the same, all as “tā”. In other words, they are homophones like ‘there, their, and they're’.)
Mu Qing said, “That means she likes you a lot. She’s devoted, someone you should cherish.”
“Yeah, that’s what I think too. He never used to pay attention in class, but lately he’s been oddly hardworking—just because I told him I’d date him if he made the top thirty. And guess what? He came in second. Now he’s completely at my mercy."
Zhuo Fu said, “An ambitious one. I approve of this match.”
“Thank you, Mom and Dad,” Zhuo Shu nodded respectfully. “I hope you won’t blame me for dating early. It’s out of necessity; a man’s promise is worth its weight in gold, and I can’t ruin my own credibility.”
“Exactly, exactly,” Zhuo Fu nodded vigorously. “Credibility is crucial. A man must be brave enough to shoulder responsibility.”
Mu Qing beamed with joy. “Aside from that, what’s she like as a person?”
“As a person?” Zhuo Shu paused. “He’s very kind. Never hits people without reason. Usually, others bully him first, and then he fights back right away. Every time, he agrees to pay for medical expenses and never shirks responsibility.”
Zhuo Fu weakly commended, “Ah, that’s the behavior of a true virtuous person. Impressive.”
Zhuo Shu continued, “Though he’s thin, he runs fast—a little sports prodigy. Plus, he’s really good looking. I’ve never seen anyone so graceful and refined.”
Mu Qing was enchanted, eagerly hinting, “Ah, such a girl is rare these days. I want to meet her.”
“Oka–wait…” Zhuo Shu blinked. “He’s not a girl.”
“Oh is she older?” Zhuo Fu waved his hand. “No problem. A three-year age gap makes for a golden match.”
(TLN: 女大三抱金砖 is a Chinese proverb meaning, “If the woman is three years older, it’s like hugging a brick of gold.” It suggests that if the woman is three years older than the man, the marriage is likely to be happy and fulfilling.)
“No, he’s definitely not a girl.”
“Then are you saying he’s a boy?!” Mu Qing nearly cracked her voice.
“Exactly,” Zhuo Shu added, "he’s a good-looking, kind-hearted, excellent student—and a skilled fighter to boot."
Zhuo Fu: “......”
Mu Qing: “......”
“Alright, that’s what I wanted to say. Thanks for your support, Mom and Dad.”
Feeling refreshed, Zhuo Shu went back to his room, leaving the two elders holding their heads and comforting each other.
…
Monday at school came around, and it was time for the big meeting of the ‘Eliminate the Villains’ club. But this time, Ying Tongchen didn’t get called, which sparked some curiosity.
After the meeting, he asked Zhuo Shu, “Did you not note my name down?”
Zhuo Shu smiled gently, “This is your reward.”
“What reward?”
“The reward for being my boyfriend.”
“!” Ying Tongchen was startled. “What nonsense are you talking about?!”
Zhuo Shu dragged him from the cafeteria back to the empty classroom.
“What exactly did you mean just now?” Ying Tongchen pressed.
Zhuo Shu smiled without answering and pulled out a thermos from under the desk. Opening it released a fragrant aroma, it was a steaming pot of pork rib soup.
He poured the soup into the cup cap and handed it to Ying Tongchen. “You’re too skinny, you need to eat more.”
Ying Tongchen eyed him warily but couldn’t refuse such a delicious-smelling soup. After a couple of sips, his eyes flickered, and he started drinking more quickly.
“You prepared this?”
“No. Don’t worry, I’ll take responsibility for you,” Zhuo Shu said. “I’ve already told my family about us. This soup was made by your mother-in-law. She heard you were too thin and specially cooked this for you.”
Ying Tongchen: “Pfft—”