Gu Xiao brought him down on the brick pile beside the internet café and rummaged through his bag.
Watching Gu Xiao throw and pull out many questionable things, Lan Yuning even thought one paper he pulled out was an exam from last year.
"Oh wait, it's in the other layer," Gu Xiao mumbled to himself, and quickly unzipped the front layer of his bag.
Gu Xiao pulled out a white plastic bag packed with so many bandages and ointments of all types. Even now, he was still humming and smiling like an idiot while trying to find the cream to decrease the swelling.
"Here." He twisted open a small ointment bottle and grabbed a cotton swab.
When he approached closer, Lan Yuning backed away and rejected, "It's... fine."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I'm actually very good at this, you know? I always do this for my dad. Come closer."
Gu Xiao tugged his arm to draw him in closer. Since he was still hesitant, Gu Xiao leaned in and began softly dabbing his cheek with the ointment. This was truly bad timing. Lan Yuning's eyes fixed on the boy in front of him.
Upon closer look, he noticed how every time Gu Xiao smiled, his eyes would form into the shapes of crescents, and there were two shallow dimples every time his lips curved.
Their faces were only inches apart, yet he was somehow still beyond reach. He was too far away in the light that was so detached from everyone and everything.
"My dad always ends up getting beat all over, and a lot of the time, I will see him lying on some random street," he ranted, "One time, he even came to my old junior school with bruises all over and collapsed at the front entrance."
Lan Yuning knew he had a big mouth, but he really had nothing to hide. Knowing that he probably spoke like this to everyone made him realise he was simply a deskmate—nothing more, nothing less. But how come the moment he kept this clear distance between them, the other would always pull him closer little by little?
...
Gu Xiao slapped the band-aid patch on his cheek and patted it a few times. "All done!"
"Are you trying to kill me?" Lan Yuning seethed, rubbing his face to soothe the pain after he slapped it again, even though it didn't hurt at all.
"Wait, one more thing."
He rummaged through his pockets and grabbed out a packet of tissues before pulling out his water bottle to dampen them.
With his vacant palm, Gu Xiao supported the back of Lan Yuning's head and pulled him closer once again, nuzzling the dried blood that stained the corner of his nose and upper lip.
Lan Yuning's back stiffened as he felt the firmness of Gu Xiao's hand supporting the back of his head.
It was only now that Lan Yuning noticed how large Gu Xiao's hands were compared to his. Feeling his fingers brush along his hair while he cleaned his nose and lips numbed his muscles, and before he knew it, all energy escaped through his fingertips.
Gu Xiao was talking, or rather, rambling once again, and strangely, Lan Yuning found himself listening for a long time instead of feeling aggravated.
After ensuring the blood was all gone, Gu Xiao leaned back and nodded his head in amazement at his efforts.
"Now, it's done."
As their faces were no longer close, Lan Yuning immediately relaxed his hands and shoulders.
Lan Yuning knew Gu Xiao probably wasn't even aware that his body was tense, but he was glad his face always appeared bitter, so it didn't show how flustered he was.
"...I," Lan Yuning started.
This was truly a bad timing. Gu Xiao waited for him to continue his sentence patiently with a smile while he tried to construct and choose his words correctly.
Perhaps it was because his muscles were relaxed that Lan Yuning's head no longer had any control over his mouth, but his words no longer went through a thorough process through his head before allowing them to leave his throat.
After a brief moment, Lan Yuning blurted, "I want strawberry milk."
"Strawberry milk?"
Upon hearing the request, Gu Xiao's eyes lit up, and he grabbed another bag that he pulled out when he was looking for the ointment, pulling out a small pink drink.
"Do you have everything in your bag?"
"Hey, I bought this from the convenience store back there. I was just going to drink it, but I'll give it to you because I'm a good person."
Gu Xiao stabbed the straw in and lightly nudged it in Lan Yuning's mouth without hesitation. Lan Yuning, who was flustered by this gesture, didn't even have the energy to retaliate and just obediently drank it, taking tiny sips at a slow rate.
The wind set off from the far-off sky, washing the cars and buildings with a distant frost from the breaths of the stars.
At first, Lan Yuning found this chilling breeze disconcerting as he was dressed relatively lightly in his school uniform. However, he no longer felt cold.
His fingertips were pink, though he was unsure if it was from the chill of the drink or from the uncontrollable fluster. He continued sipping the milk, wrapping the beverage with both his hands.
Lan Yuning noticed that Gu Xiao was looking at him in shock, shaking his head in fear.
"Student President, let's go!"
"Go?"
"Play games."
"End-of-semester exams are in a few weeks, and you are still playing games?" he asked, with eyes smeared in confusion.
"Didn't evening study just end an hour ago? You need to relax sometimes, you know? Stop sitting down."
Gu Xiao pulled him off the bricks and dragged him into the place that had a glowing sign in bold letters which read 'Little Lemon Internet Bar and Arcade.' The moment Lan Yuning stepped into this foreign environment, he simply allowed the tall boy who was holding his wrist to guide him.