I Only Want You chapter 32
The cafeteria incident, witnessed by many and recorded on some phones, caught the attention of the counselors. After reviewing the videos, they identified that those guys were the instigators, verbally abusing and physically harming their classmates. The school’s punishment was a single criticism warning, requiring a reflective essay of no less than 1,500 words, and an apology to Yang Xiaole and Yan Lan.
Yang Xiaole reluctantly accepted the punishment. The next day, after their lunch, they were called to the mentor’s office. The guys who caused the trouble lined up and bowed to apologize. The matter concluded with this arrangement.
Before leaving, Yang Xiaole gave those guys a fierce look, and with Yan Lan, left the scene.
Their afternoon classes ended early, at 3:30 PM, because Yan Lan needed to buy a cactus as a gift for Xie Yun Zhi. Yang Xiaole was worried about him going alone, so he accompanied him.
To reach the nearest flower and bird market from the art school, they had to take a bus for four stops and then walk 200 meters.
On the way, they spotted a stall selling egg hamburgers, and Yan Lan bought two, eating and walking together.
“Will you tell Xie Yun Zhi about the cafeteria incident?” Yang Xiaole asked.
Yan Lan shook his head.
Yang Xiaole thought for a moment and rephrased, “Will he find out?”
Yan Lan nodded.
Arriving at the flower and bird market, Yan Lan went straight to the cactus shop. He skipped the taller ones and bought a small pot of Mammillaria, a popular variety of cactus known for its strong flowering ability and long blooming period. It was said to bloom throughout the year with proper care, and the flowers would increase over time, making it very attractive.
Listening to the shop owner’s introduction, Yang Xiaole also became interested, so Yan Lan bought him a pot as well, suggesting he keep it in the dorm.
After buying the cacti, the two went to a nearby coffee shop and ordered two iced lattes and a small portion of Tiramisu.
Using a small spoon to scoop Tiramisu, Yang Xiaole asked, “Do you have any plans?”
Biting the straw of his iced latte, Yan Lan nodded.
“Tell me about it. Let me see if there’s anything that needs improvement.”
Yan Lan took out his phone and typed: “I want to tease him. Whatever makes me angry, I’ll make him angry the same way. This way, he might understand.”
After reading, Yang Xiaole chuckled, “for him its belts. What are you planning on your end?”
Yan Lan lowered his eyes and typed: “A piece of clothing that doesn’t look like something I’d buy and a keychain that doesn’t look like something I’d use. I also need Lin Jianxing to help me.”
“Our junior hasn’t been around much lately.”
Yan Lan: I have his WeChat. He doesn’t need to do much. Just show up and let Yun Zhi see him.
“Is that enough?”
Yan Lan nodded: It’s enough.
After leaving the coffee shop, the two went to the mall to buy clothes and keychains. To find something that didn’t look like what Yan Lan would buy or use but was still eye-catching, Yang Xiaole dragged him from store to store. In the end, they bought a thin, light yellow shirt jacket.
Yan Lan trusted Yang Xiaole’s judgment, and most importantly, he hadn’t bought such a brightly colored piece of clothing before, let alone worn it.
After buying the clothes, the two walked to a stall selling small items. Yang Xiaole picked up a keychain with a hanging Stewie doll and asked Yan Lan, “Do you have any ideas for the keychain? Do you want one with words on it?”
Yan Lan shook his head and picked up a keychain with a hollow star pattern.
Yang Xiaole covered his face and chuckled.
For dinner, they didn’t go back to school. Yan Lan took Yang Xiaole to eat his favorite red wine steak. During the meal, Yan Lan received several WeChat messages from Xie Yun Zhi, asking what he was doing and whether he had eaten.
Thinking for a moment, Yan Lan didn’t take a picture of the steak to send to him. Instead, he replied that he had eaten. “What about you?”
Xie Yun Zhi replied after a while.
[Attending a reception, it’s a buffet, not my favorite. I wish you were here. I saw a fruit tart in the buffet area, and I think you’d like it.] [Can you taste it for me?] [Do you prefer more strawberries or more mangoes?] [Mangoes.]After this, Yan Lan received responses over half an hour later. Both he and Yang Xiaole had already returned to school.
[Very sweet.] [Is it over?] [Yeah, just finished.] [Good night?]Since Xie Yun Zhi publicly announced that Yan Lan was his boyfriend and also his first love, Yan Lan had been mostly alienated by the majority of the students in the Fine Arts College.
People who used to greet him as “senior brother” now treated him like air, pretending not to see him.
When he went to the library to do his homework, the seats around him were often left empty, as if an invisible wall or barrier separated him from others.
With the cafeteria incident as an example, perhaps people were genuinely afraid he might tell Xie Yun Zhi. Nobody dared to bully him, but no one paid him any attention either.
Even on the college forum, discussions about him used the term “you know who.” Yang Xiaole, upon discovering this, registered an account and scolded them as crazy. Many people recognized his forum account, knowing they couldn’t win an argument with him, so they chose to ignore him.
Yan Lan consoled an infuriated Yang Xiaole, “It’s okay; I’m not letting it bother me.”
Yang Xiaole, still displeased, said, “What does Xie Yun Zhi’s wealth have to do with you? Do they need to care?”
Yan Lan smiled, closed the forum page for him, and poured him some water.
Although Yang Xiaole didn’t tell him, Yan Lan could guess what people were discussing on the forum – probably about his scheming nature, how he managed to get a part-time job during the summer, and insinuations about him using Xie Yun Zhi.
The next day, after classes, Yan Lan took the potted cactus and went to Xie’s house.
Tiantian was supposed to attend a Chinese class that day, but since the new Chinese teacher had not been found yet, he had to study on his own. No one bothered him, and he locked the door to the small study room and played by himself.
Auntie brought him fruit and snacks and discovered he had locked the door. She couldn’t get in and didn’t dare to inform Xie Yun Zhi. She waited until Yan Lan arrived and reluctantly told him about it.
Yan Lan asked her to find a spare key and used it to open the door to the small study room.
Upon seeing Yan Lan entering, Tiantian was about to throw a tantrum, thinking it was Auntie. However, when he realized it was Yan Lan, he begrudgingly handed over the tablet that still displayed the racing game.
Standing in front of the desk, Yan Lan reached out towards him, and Tiantian frowned. He reluctantly handed over the tablet.
Yan Lan checked the usage time and found out that Tiantian had played for almost two hours. His brows furrowed in displeasure, and he put down the tablet, saying, “You’ve played for too long. If you spend your time playing games, what about your studies?”
Tiantian, feeling guilty, lowered his head and played with his pen without saying a word.
Auntie brought in a fruit tray, carefully glancing at the clearly upset Yan Lan. She didn’t dare to say anything for Tiantian and left the room.
Xie Yun Zhi returned home after dinner. Yan Lan, as always, stood at the door to greet him.
“Yan.” Xie Yun Zhi, seeing Yan Lan, was very happy. Without waiting to enter the house, he hugged him, and kissed him.
Yan Lan didn’t tell him about Tiantian playing the tablet for two hours. He only asked Auntie to put away the tablet and then inquired about the new Chinese teacher.
“Secretary Lin has already conducted interviews. There should be a suitable candidate in the next two days.”
Yan Lan nodded, handing him the potted cactus.
Xie Yun Zhi took the small flowerpot, looked left and right, seemingly satisfied, and happily kissed Yan Lan, saying, “Thank you, I really like it. I’ll take good care of it.”
Hearing that it would bloom, Xie Yun Zhi raised his eyebrows in pleasant surprise, “Really looking forward to it.”
Yan Lan then reached out and took a look at his wristwatch, “It’s getting late, I have to go.”
Xie Yun Zhi couldn’t hide his disappointment, furrowing his brows, “Can’t you stay a little longer? I just got back.”
Yan Lan smiled and shook his head, “I have an early class tomorrow.”
“Then I’ll drive you.”
Xie Yun Zhi found a place to put down the cactus and insisted on taking Yan Lan back to school.
Yan Lan refused, “You’ve been working all day; a driver is enough to take me.”
“It’s okay, I’m not tired.”
Yan Lan insisted, “If you’re not tired, you can spend some time with Tiantian.”
“I’ll play with him, and after I send you, I’ll come back to be with him. If I send you back to school, we can have some time together in the car.”
Xie Yun Zhi’s words left Yan Lan with no way to refuse.
In the car, Xie Yun Zhi held his hand and played with his fingers, “When can you move in with me?”
Yan Lan shook his head, indicating he didn’t know.
“Didn’t you say you were considering being a day student?”
Yan Lan nodded.
“How’s the consideration going?”
Yan Lan shook his head again.
“Why can’t you decide?”
Yan Lan still shook his head.
Unable to understand, Xie Yun Zhi released his hand, “What does shaking your head mean?”
Yan Lan replied, “It means I haven’t figured it out yet.”
Xie Yun Zhi frowned slightly, “What’s making you so hesitant?”
Yan Lan answered, “Many reasons.”
“Can you tell me?”
Yan Lan shook his head again.
Xie Yun Zhi suddenly looked puzzled, unable to understand why he couldn’t tell him.
When they arrived at the entrance of the art academy, Yan Lan got off the car, took a few steps, suddenly turned around and waved to him, then walked into the school gate without looking back.
Due to the strange conversation they had, Xie Yun Zhi couldn’t help but think that Yan Lan might not be willing to live with him. Did he not miss him like he did? If Yan Lan had been considering it for so long and couldn’t tell him why, what should he do?
Similar questions lingered in his mind overnight, and the next day, he didn’t look too good when he went to work.
Every morning, Secretary Lin needed to report the day’s work arrangement to him, and after the report, he would go back to his seat to attend to his own affairs.
But today, after he finished reporting, he didn’t leave; instead, he stood in front of Xie Yun Zhi’s desk with a hesitant expression.
Xie Yun Zhi didn’t lift his head. “You have something to say?”
“It’s related to Teacher Yan.”
Xie Yun Zhi instantly raised his head. “What happened to him?”
“Early this morning, someone posted a video on Weibo. I think you might not know about it yet.”
Xie Yun Zhi reached out to him, “Let me see.”
Secretary Lin opened the video on his tablet and handed it to him.
The video was obviously taken in a cafeteria, with many people in the video. However, Xie Yun Zhi immediately spotted Yan Lan, surrounded by several sturdy boys.
The progress bar of the entire video was not very long, but after he watched it, his face turned dark.
Secretary Lin cautiously took the tablet back. “Teacher Yan didn’t tell you?”
Xie Yun Zhi shook his head, asking in a deep voice, “When was the video taken?”
“About three or four days ago. I’ve checked it. The academy’s response was swift. The result is that the boys in the video received a verbal warning, wrote a self-criticism, and apologized to the parties involved.”
Xie Yun Zhi nodded. “Anything else?”
“No.”
After Secretary Lin left, Xie Yun Zhi tried several times to open Yan Lan’s WeChat directly to ask him why he didn’t tell him about such an incident. However, he ended up not sending out any messages after multiple revisions and deletions.
The way Yan Lan protected Yang Xiaole in the video, and the anxious look on his face as he watched Yang Xiaole fall to the ground, lingered in his mind, causing a dull and tingling pain in his chest.
He couldn’t help but think, what if his roommate wasn’t with him at that time? What would he do? A mute person could hear what others said about him, but he couldn’t even retaliate verbally. If someone like those in the video pursued him to humiliate him in public, he could only endure being bullied.
And all of this was because of him.
Yan Lan, an excellent and proud person, was deliberately harassed because of him, publicly humiliated.
If it weren’t for him, Yan Lan wouldn’t have been called a male third party first and then accused of selling himself. It was because he didn’t consider Yan Lan enough, didn’t handle everything well, that made him suffer so much, and made his situation embarrassing.
No wonder Yan Lan had to consider again, no wonder there were many reasons, no wonder he was bullied and didn’t tell him. It was he who disappointed Yan Lan, he who made him choose to endure all of this in silence.