under the filth

Tang Cen was hiding from Lu Sheng.

Not only Lu Sheng, but everyone who followed them noticed it.

Tang Cen's performance was too obvious. Except for some unavoidable classes, Tang Cen was not seen around Lu Sheng at other times, and even the previous scene of five people sitting together never appeared again.

That unusual behavior made people have to notice the problems between them.

"What happened to them?" Some people tried to ask something from the American couple or the Nat brothers, but they also looked blank and knew nothing about what happened between the two.

"I don't know. Don didn't tell me anything. He didn't even come to afternoon tea on weekends." This was Andy and Lily's answer to everyone who came to ask.

The Nut brothers are more direct: "We rarely talk about personal relationship issues with Lu."

As for the two parties involved, Tang Cen was busy with his studies, and Lu Sheng changed the subject in different ways, one was difficult to ask, and the other couldn't.After hitting the wall repeatedly, someone finally grasped the point of the matter.

"Lu, are you still chasing Tang?" Before class, when there was no one in the classroom, Andy approached Lu Sheng and asked in a low voice.

Hearing this, Lu Sheng raised his head, looked at him with a half-smile and then nodded slowly: "But he hasn't made up his mind about his choice yet, so we haven't seen each other for the time being."

"Oh..." Hearing what Lu Sheng said, Andy knew that he had put the matter on the surface, and Tang Cen avoided him because he didn't know how to make a choice. It didn't seem like a big problem.

Andy patted Lu Sheng on the shoulder: "When you came that day, I knew that you would definitely take the initiative to chase him, but in the words of you Chinese, Tang is more conservative, I wish you good luck."

"Thank you." Even though he said that, Lu Sheng knew that he still needed an opportunity, an opportunity for Tang Cen to let go of his prejudice against him.Only when Tang Cen stopped avoiding him could everything return to the original track and things would continue to develop according to his ideas.

But Tang Cen's side was a little different from what they thought. Tang Cen did consciously avoid meeting Lu Sheng, but when he was really busy, he completely ignored the people and things around him.

Having had dinner with Lu Sheng that day, Tang Cen was really confused about how to get along with Lu Sheng in the future.He walked aimlessly on the street and didn't return to school until it was completely dark.

Tang Cen closed the door of the dormitory, and he was relieved to return to his own small space.He took off his coat and wanted to go to the bathroom to take a shower to calm himself down, but at this moment the phone rang inappropriately.

Looking at the familiar number above, Tang Cen's heart skipped a beat. Before his brain could react, he had already pressed his finger quickly.Hearing the tiny voice coming from the small hole of the speaker, Tang Cen quickly picked it up: "Father?"

Tang Songyuan's voice came from the other end of the phone. The voice was a bit loud, and some leakage could be faintly heard in the room, but the content could not be heard clearly.I don't know what Tang Songyuan said, Tang Cen lowered his head, his back and calves were tense, and he even breathed carefully.

Tang Songyuan talked for a long time, and after a long, long time, Tang Cen said slowly in a submissive and reassuring tone: "...I'm sorry, I will pay attention."

They said a few more words over there, and Tang Cen responded one by one: "Well... I see, goodbye, father."

But Tang Cen didn't relax his back and calf muscles until the busy sound had passed and the phone automatically hung up for several minutes.The tense muscles suddenly relaxed, and a feeling of soreness and weakness hit.

He crouched on the ground, burying his head between his knees.The presence of Andy and Lu Sheng made Tang Cen overly relaxed and began to get carried away.He almost forgot, forgot why he came here.

Except for class time and necessary daily activities, Tang Cen spent almost all his time in the library.It's obviously not the end of the term, but Tang Cen can often be seen studying all night in the library of the University of Bath.

On a misty morning, Tang Cen, who had stayed up almost all night in the library, yawned and left the library with a book in his arms.The sweltering air in the library made him feel sleepy. Tang Cen shook his head, intending to blow on the cold wind to wake him up, and then walked towards the lake.

After walking along the lake for a short distance, Tang Cen felt vaguely familiar with the person sitting on the grass in front of him, and he hesitated whether to continue walking.Finally, he took two steps closer, only to find that it was Lu Sheng.

There was no one around the lake in the morning, Lu Sheng sat alone on the grass and looked at the wild ducks in the lake in a daze, he didn't notice Tang Cen who was walking towards him.

Unexpectedly meeting Lu Sheng here, Tang Cen turned around in a panic, wanting to leave before Lu Sheng found out.But maybe it was because he turned around a little too much, or because he stepped on fallen leaves and made a noise, Lu Sheng glanced at him when he turned his head.

"Tang Cen!" Seeing that he was about to leave, Lu Sheng hurriedly shouted from the air.

After three weeks, he heard his own name from Lu Sheng again. The familiar shout made Tang Cen stop in his tracks, and his feet hung in mid-air.Tang Cen looked at his toes, took two deep breaths and silently put his feet back. He turned around and looked at Lu Sheng with the book in his arms.

Lu Sheng stood up and patted the grass clippings on his body: "Long time no see."

"Hmm... Long time no see." Tang Cen's voice was barely audible when it came from a distance away.Lu Sheng watched him pacing, walking towards him bit by bit.After several weeks of not being able to speak properly, Lu Sheng wanted to take the initiative to get closer but was afraid of scaring Tang Cen, so he stood there and waited.

Tang Cen walked very slowly, looking a little reluctant, he took two or three minutes to get to the 1-minute distance.

Lu Sheng saw the book in his hand: "Busy recently?"

"A little bit." When talking to Lu Sheng, Tang Cen subconsciously hugged the book in his arms.

Even though the fog was lingering, Lu Sheng could clearly see the thick blue and black under Tang Cen's eyes.He stretched out his hand to touch it, but as soon as he stretched out his hand, Tang Cen immediately took a step back.

Lu Sheng withdrew his hand, sat cross-legged on the grass, and patted the empty seat next to him: "Your complexion looks bad, haven't you had a good rest recently?"

"It's okay." Tang Cen sat down next to Lu Sheng about a person away. The grass was a bit damp. He put the book on his knees before recalling Lu Sheng's question, "Again?"

Lu Sheng raised his eyes to look at him, and when he looked closer, he realized that Tang Cen was exhausted and exhausted.Lu Sheng rubbed his neck, took out a book from Tang Cen's lap, and flipped through it. He couldn't understand a single word of the entire page in French.

"Since you started school, you have often looked a little bit wrong, and recently you suddenly started studying all night, don't put so much pressure on yourself." When putting the book back on Tang Cen's lap, Lu Sheng leaned in front of Tang Cen and said.

Lu Sheng got a little closer. Since Tang Cen knew that he was pursuing him, Tang Cen began to feel uncomfortable with such close contact with him.He caressed the small piece of skin with a different temperature, and looked at the misty lake: "The result did not reach the expected goal, and the family is a little... dissatisfied, so I can only keep myself busy."

"At home?" Lu Sheng followed his line of sight, and a few shadows of wild ducks could be vaguely seen on the lake.

Lu Sheng didn't answer.He thought about many reasons why Tang Cen would avoid seeing him, but none of them were like this, maybe there were other factors, but Tang Cen is so busy that he can't even sleep, it shows how much he cares about his family the opinion of.

"It's good, there are still people who care about your studies." After a long time, Lu Sheng choked out such a sentence, his tone was flat but there was a hint of envy in the words.

"What's the matter?" Tang Cen heard the meaning, and wondered why Lu Sheng had such a tone.The family's expectations, or demands, had already overwhelmed Tang Cen. He didn't understand why some people still envied him.

Lu Sheng lowered his eyes and stared at the grass, making Tang Cen unable to see his expression at the moment.Lu Sheng didn't speak, and Tang Cen didn't know how to change the topic, and the exhaustion after the whole night gradually came up.Sitting on the grass, Tang Cen began to feel drowsy.

It wasn't until the mist gradually dissipated and the warm yellow light shone on the two of them that Lu Sheng slowly said, "I don't seem to have told you that I only enrolled in Bath's preparatory course for a year. When I came, I I have already graduated from high school, so I should be one year older than you."

"No." Tang Cen shook his head, but suddenly remembered something, "The only thing I remember is what you said in the park last time. You were also in Bath at this time last year."

He didn't deliberately mention it, nor did he hide it, but Lu Sheng was a little surprised that Tang Cen was always extraordinarily sensitive to these details.

"Yes, Nat and I also met last year. Little Nat's fiancée told me about Huahai." Thinking of his friend's fiancée mentioning Huahai to him, Lu Sheng couldn't help but chuckle.

Even though Lu Sheng was smiling now, Tang Cen was keenly aware of the expression behind the smile: "You...why did you come here?"

Maybe it's the same as him.

Lu Sheng looked into his eyes and asked back, "Do you want to know?"

"No... I'm just a little weird. It's okay if you don't feel comfortable talking about it." Tang Cen didn't tell anyone about his past, nor did he have the habit of prying into other people's secrets.

There is no need to re-open the freshly scabbed wound and get the pus and blood on the hands again, even if the wound heals better after squeezing the pus and blood.

"I haven't mentioned these things to Nat, it's fine to talk to you, as long as you don't get bored." Lu Sheng touched the small stone in his hand, weighed it twice before throwing it in lake.The stone was so small that it sank without making any sound, and lay quietly at the bottom of the lake.

The morning sun shone through the mist on the lake, creating golden ripples behind the wild duck and where the stones fell, and ripples appeared in Tang Cen's eyes.

Tang Cen is not good at telling others, but he is a good listener.

"No," he replied.