Chương 3: HARMONY

Harmony: the sounding of two or more notes at the same time.

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The bell rang loyudly, indicating the launch break finally came. As soon as the teacher left the classroom, three heads seemed to circle the new boy's desks. Ren Weisheng, Chen Guangli, and Huang Bo. Those were the three names written on the name tags of the three students' uniforms.

It was Monday in Summer, so the students wore their Summer formal uniform. They consisted of a white short sleeve collared shirt with a checkered navy blue tie and also navy blue long pants. If it was not Monday and there were no special occasions, then students could wear their white-blue tracksuits uniform.

"So, you are from the village, huh? Why did you move to Beijing after a semester has passed? Is living in the village unpleasant?"

"That's right. Why did you suddenly move to Beijing? Are you tired of living in the village? There aren't any beautiful women there, huh?"

"Guangli, Xiao[1] Bo, stop it. Liangliang[2] is now confused because of your questions."

The first guy who asked the question was Chen Guangli. He was Fang Xiang's boyfriend. They were boyfriends, but they rarely spent time together at school.

Chen Guangli had a pretty little face with a pair of round eyes, an aquiline nose, and a pair of thin lips. He had a relatively calm and mature character. Probably the most normal within the trio.

And, the second one who asked the question was Huang Bo. Unlike Ren Weisheng and Chen Guangli that had short posture, Huang Bo was tall, maybe around 180 centimeters. He had short blond hair—yeah, their private school let the students coloring their hair, a pair of slanted eyes with single eyelids, and thin lips. His body was tall and slender just like a model. He had a mature physical appearance, but don't easily be fooled by that. Huang Bo was a giant baby who was very childish and innocent. Many people had been fooled by his appearance, especially when they just met the blonde guy.

The third one who stopped the endless question was Ren Weisheng. He was the oldest one in the trio. Sometimes he acted maturely, but sometimes he was so childish. Just like when Zhou Yongliang entered their classroom for the first time a few hours ago. One thing needed to be noted from Ren Weisheng: he was hot-tempered.

Zhou Yongliang smiled at the arguing of the three students who had been noisy around him. 'The kids in this class are cute,' he thought.

"What's wrong with you, Ren Weisheng? You just knew him today, but you acted like you had known him for years. Aren't you ashamed?"

"Just leave it! You are jealous because you can't get a didi as cute as him, right, Chen Guangli?"

"Hey, what do you guys talking about? Is it so important to have a didi? You guys can adopt me if you want to have a didi."

Ren Weisheng and Chen Guangli turned at Huang Bo with a lazy gaze. The latter also stared at them while blinking his eyes innocently. But, why didn't it look cute just like what Zhou Yongliang did before?

"Hey, guys. No need to argue over me. It doesn't matter if I have to be the didi of everyone here. I'm fine with that."

Ren Weisheng, Chen Guangli, and Huang Bo suddenly stopped arguing over insignificant matters and turned to stare at Zhou Yongliang. The new student was currently looking up at them with his adorable puppy eyes.

"Geez! Why can you be this cute, Liangliang? Now I understand why Ren Weisheng fell for your cuteness instantly."

Zhou Yongliang could only laugh hearing the response. His new friends were a little weird, but he didn't mind at all. The trio seemed so nice to him, and he felt relieved to meet them. Have fate 1,000 li together meet[3].

Now, Huang Bo felt so wronged seeing his two friends' unfair treatment toward him. "Am I not cute enough to be a didi?" He whispered sadly to himself for a moment, but then he looked up again and spoke to Zhou Yongliang. "But, it's okay, I also don't want to be a didi because I'm not cute. I'm handsome. Right, Zhou Yongliang?"

Zhou Yongliang only nodded obediently as an answer to the blonde guy's question, while the other two guys in the classroom showed an expression full of disgust hearing that question. The two short guys then ruffled Huang Bo's blonde hair roughly.

The new student could only smile at the sight. His new friends were indeed weird. He then cleared his throat to interrupt the 'torture.' "Guys, can you stop for a moment? I want to answer your questions earlier. Can I?" He asked with his soft voice.

The trio stared at him dumbly, but a moment later, they hastily looked for a seat to sit, and then sat calmly on the seats. They were ready to hear Zhou Yongliang's answer, just like kindergarten kids ready to hear their teacher's story.

"So, I do come from the village, and I moved to Beijing because of my late grandfather's wish two months ago. He asked me to move here. Living in the village was fun, but unfortunately, I had to travel a long way to the city for school. And, there are a lot of beautiful women in the village, Huang Bo. I didn't move here for that reason."

The new student summed up the answers to Chen Guangli and Huang Bo's questions earlier, and the three other guys tried to digest his rather lengthy explanation.

"So, you moved here because of your late grandfather's wish? But, why did he ask you to leave the village and move to the city? The distance between Shanxi and Beijing is over 400 kilometers, I guess?" Ren Weisheng was the first to give a response.

"Yeah, to be precise, the distance is almost 500 kilometers." The new student nodded in approval. "Since I was eight years old, I lived with my grandfather because my parents passed away at that time. And, two months ago my grandfather also passed away. Before he passed away, my grandfather gave me some money and asked me to move to Beijing for some reason. That's why I have to move here even though Beijing is very very far from my hometown."

Now, Chen Guangli nodded in understanding. "What is the reason? It seems like the reason is not just a simple reason?"

"You are right, the reason is not just a simple reason, but it's a secret. I can't tell you guys," Zhou Yongliang answer with a guilty expression.

"Uh, Zhou Yongliang is hiding secrets from us!"

"Huang Bo, don't be like that! Zhou Yongliang has the right to keep secrets!"

Huang Bo pursed his lips in annoyance at Ren Weisheng's rebuke. Zhou Yongliang just smiled seeing his new friends' unique behavior.

"Then, who do you live with in Beijing now?" This time Chen Guangli asked another question.

"I live alone here. My grandfather didn't give me much money, so I rented a small house in Tongzhou."

"What? You live in Tongzhou?" Ren Weisheng asked in disbelief. "This school is in Haidian District and the distance from Tongzhou District is over 40 kilometers! How did you go to school this morning?"

"I took line 6 of Beijing subway. It only took about an hour, so it's no problem. From the station, I boarded a bus to get here. The public transports in the city are very comfortable, and I enjoy the journey."

The new student grinned happily even though his life was not easy. He had to travel long distances with various types of transportation.

"Aren't you tired with the long journey? It's better to live with me in my family's house. It's not far from here. Moreover, my brother will take us to school in the morning and will pick us in the afternoon. That's so convenient, right?"

Zhou Yongliang smiled showing a row of white teeth in response to Huang Bo's kind offer. "I thank you for your offer, but I can't accept it," the new student politely refused the offer. "When I lived in the village, the distance from my house to school was way farther than that. I'm okay with it. After this, I will find a part-time job to make a living. You guys take it easy."

It was a little weird. The three people had only just gotten to know Zhou Yongliang today, but they already cared a lot about Zhou Yongliang. It seemed like they had made harmony. At this moment, they were even looking at Zhou Yongliang with sorrow. Without warning, the three unique students stood up and ambushed Zhou Yongliang with a tight hug. Zhou Yongliang staggered a little at the sudden movement.

Even though he was a bit taken aback by the action, but in the end, the mushroom-haired guy smiled and returned the group hug. The smile only faded when his doe eyes framed by round glasses caught the sight of two male figures of different heights walked silently out of the classroom. To be more precise, those pretty eyes stared at the figure of the tall, pale-skinned youth who previously occupied the back corner of the classroom.

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Footnote:

[1] Xiao: using xiǎo + given name is popular among friends, especially if there's a younger one in the group.

[2] Liangliang: a possible nickname by doubling the given name. It's a nickname for Zhou Yongliang given by his new friends.

[3] Have fate 1,000 li together meet: from Chinese sayings "Yǒuyuán qiānlǐ lái xiānghuì" that means "Fate brings people together from far apart"

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Doubling the given name as nicknames is mostly used for girls, but it doesn't matter to use it for a cute boy, I guess? Please correct me if I'm wrong.

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