Bravura: boldness; as in con bravura, boldly, flaunting technical skill.
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Zhou Yongliang arrived at the schoolyard along with his three friends. It was already the time to go home, and the picked-up cars for the students already lined up in the yard. Of course, none of the cars was coming for the brown-haired student.
"Why don't you go home with your boyfriend today?" Ren Weisheng asked Chen Guangli, who was walking beside him.
"My parents asked me to go straight home after school. There will be a family dinner tonight, so they didn't let me go anywhere after school."
"The family dinner sounds so important. Will they arrange a marriage for you in the dinner, Guangli?" Huang Bo chimed in innocently.
The innocent question made Chen Guangli glare at him furiously. "Don't jinx it! It's just a normal family dinner!" He scolded the taller boy.
Huang Bo just shrugged and turned his head to look ahead once again. That was the time when a question mark formed on his head.
"Why are there two cars coming to pick me?" The blonde student asked curiously.
His three friends followed his gaze and found two identical black sedans parked side by side. They recognized the cars as well.
No one answered Huang Bo's question as they kept walking toward the two cars. Not long after, two people got out of the car, and the four students recognized the two men. The first man was Huang's family driver, while the other man was Hwang Jihyuk.
"Why did you come with two cars, gege?" Huang Bo asked his older brother as soon as he arrived in front of his brother. "Am I that special that you need two cars to escort me?"
Ren Weisheng and Chen Guangli rolled their eyes when they heard their friend's stupid question.
But, their expressions were different from Hwang Jihyuk's bright expression. He chuckled as he ran his hand to ruffle his brother's blonde locks.
"You are indeed special, but sorry, I didn't come for you today."
Both Ren Weisheng and Chen Guangli laughed out loud as soon as Hwang Jihyuk finished speaking. They didn't even bother to hide their laughter when they saw Huang Bo pouted in disappointment. Instead of feeling bad, they found it funny to tease the blonde student.
"Then, who did you come for, gege?" The blonde student asked his brother again.
Hwang Jihyuk smiled sweetly as his gaze moved toward a quiet boy, who was standing beside his younger brother.
"I came for Zhou Yongliang today."
The four boys widened their eyes in surprise. Ren Weisheng, Chen Guangli, and Huang Bo turned their heads to Zhou Yongliang, and they could see how the boy's expression looked tense.
"You came for Yoangliang instead of me, gege? Uh, I'm hurt."
Hwang Jihyuk just chuckled at his brother before he turned to Zhou Yongliang. "I want to escort you to your house today, Yongliang."
Zhou Yongliang's expression didn't change even after the older guy spoke to him. He was still on guard. After coming up with the possibility that Hwang Jihyuk might be the one who deliberately separated him from Yang Liu, he could no longer see the older guy with the same eyes. He was not sure whether Hwang Jihyuk was still an angel or he had turned into a devil.
Even so, he had to admit that Hwang Jihyuk was quite bold today.
"Liangliang lives so far away. Is it okay for gege to send him home?" Ren Weisheng, who seemed to notice the tension between the two guys, decided to butt in.
"It's okay, Weisheng," Hwang Jihyuk answered while smiling at the chubby-cheeked boy. "Tongzhou is not that far from here, and I will send Yongliang home safely."
Ren Weisheng turned to Zhou Yongliang. The latter seemed to notice the gaze, so he turned to the boy and smiled at him. "If Hwang Jihyuk gege doesn't mind, then I won't mind as well. Moreover, I can save my money if I go home with Hwang Jihyuk gege," he said to the shorter boy.
Ren Weisheng frowned as he kept looking at the taller boy. It seemed that he could sense Zhou Yongliang's oddity. In normal circumstances, Zhou Yongliang would have rejected that kind of offer. Zhou Yongliang was a soft boy who didn't want to bother others, so it was quite surprising to see the handsome boy immediately accepted Hwang Jihyuk's offer.
Ren Weisheng could tell that there was something strange with his friend, but he didn't say anything. He just sighed and turned to Hwang Jihyuk.
"Liangliang has agreed, so I have no objection anymore," said the bronze-haired boy. "I'm so thankful that you're being nice with our brother, gege," he continued.
Hwang Jihyuk smiled as he patted Ren Weisheng's shoulder. "Yongliang will be my responsibility soon, so you don't have to thank me for that," he replied.
The strange replied made the three boys frown, but Zhou Yongliang's expression remained the same. He was still staring at Hwang Jihyuk with an indescribable gaze. He knew what's the meaning of Hwang Jihyuk's words, but he kept it for himself. No need to tell his friends about it.
"I think we better go now, gege. We still have a long way to go," Zhou Yongliang chimed in.
Hwang Jihyuk turned to him and smiled. He nodded his head before turning back to the three boys and said, "We'll leave first. Be careful on your way home, alright?"
Ren Weisheng and Chen Guangli simultaneously nodded their heads, but Huang Bo seemed too reluctant to let his brother go with his friend. He remained quiet when he saw his brother and his friend got into the black sedan.
He suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to his side and found Chen Guangli frowned at him.
"Are you okay, Ah-Bo?" The pretty boy in raven hair asked the blonde student.
Huang Bo sighed as he looked back at the black sedan, which started to move slowly toward the school gate.
"Something is not right here. There's something wrong with my brother."