Chapter 7
1353 Words
"Bro, I have run away from home. Could I stay here for the night?" Archer dialed Charles's number.
"Of course, I'll come down and get you," Charles agreed readily.
Archer smiled warmly. This was truly a blessing.
If he were no longer in this world, his bro would be deeply saddened!
"What has happened to you?" Downstairs in the apartment complex, Charles saw Archer's face smeared with blood, his expression filled with concern and worry.
"It's nothing, I have just been feeling a bit feverish lately," Archer replied casually.
"You'd better take good care of yourself; I'm still counting on you to take care of me in my old age," Charles joked.
True friends feel uncomfortable if they don't exchange a bit of playful banter.
In simpler terms, it is like a father and son connected by a yoke.
Archer, feeling melancholic, did not respond to his joke.
He had visited Charles's home many times before, each time feeling envious.
The parents were loving, the family warm, and laughter filled the room.
Unlike him, who could only retreat to his room and face the cold, empty walls alone upon returning.
"Mom, Archer is sleeping with me tonight; he hasn't had dinner yet," Charles called to his mother, Fan Ling, as soon as he entered the house.
"Haven't you eaten yet? I'll make you a bowl of noodles," Charles’s mother replied from the kitchen.
"Thank you, Aunt." Hearing Auntie's gentle voice, Archer felt a tingling sensation of emotion in his nose.
If only he had a mother as gentle as that!
Winnie spent the entire day working hard to earn a living and had little energy left to nurture her relationship with her son.
Charles's father, followed them out. Noticing the bloodstains around Archer's mouth and nose, he appeared alarmed and asked numerous questions with concern.
He told his son to get some ice and called to Archer, "Come here, I'll put some ice on you to prevent further bleeding."
"Thank you, Uncle," Archer said with a bow.
Charles’s father applied ice to Archer's forehead and the back of his neck, then patiently cleaned the blood with a damp towel, sighing repeatedly with heartache, "You must take good care of yourselves at school. If you feel unwell, please inform tell your teachers and parents. Don't try to endure everything on your own."
These words immediately shattered Archer's defenses.
He had endured a terrible accident and seemed to have no one rely on but himself.
Just now at home, Archer had managed to hold back his tears while facing his indifferent father.
However, upon seeing Charles's kind parents, he could no longer restrain himself; tears streamed down his face, and his body trembled uncontrollably.
Charles’s father hugged him tightly and said, "Good boy, don't cry."
Nestled in his uncle's comforting embrace, Archer struggled to contain his emotions.
He repeatedly reminded himself, "A man does not easily shed tears."
"I am unable to cry, simply cannot..."
"Archer, come and eat some noodles!" Charles’s mother said softly.
Two poached eggs were placed atop the steaming noodles.
All members of the Charles family were aware of Archer's family situation.
To avoid upsetting Archer, they were very considerate, refraining from questioning the reasons behind his situation and instead engaging him in casual conversation about trivial matters at school.
"Charles is truly fortunate to have you as a friend."
"Yes, how are you so amazing? You always come in first place!"
"If you were our son, we would be overjoyed."
Archer looked up and asked, "Auntie, are you serious? Do you want a son like me?"
"Of course! Having a son like you is every parent's pride," Charles’s mother answered without hesitation.
"Ahem..." Charles’s father coughed twice and gave his wife a wink.
Charles’s mother then realized she had spoken out of turn, inadvertently on Archer's sore spot.
He was such an outstanding son, yet his own parents treated him like a ball, kicking him around.
After finishing their noodles, Charles led Archer back to the bedroom.
He had noticed the exquisite strawberry cake the moment they met.
"Bro, you came all this way and even brought something, so I won't stand on ceremony." Charles eagerly cut the small cake in half and handed one piece to Archer.
Archer felt guilty and wanted to explain that the cake wasn't originally bought for him, but he couldn't bring himself to say it.
Suddenly, he felt a cool sensation on his cheek.
Charles was the one who had smeared a dollop of cream on his cheek, loudly mocking, "What are you daydreaming about, kid?"
"how dare you ambush me!" Archer retorted, seizing the cake and smashing it into Charles's face.
Charles dodged repeatedly, letting out a hearty laugh.
The two chased each other around the room like playful schoolchildren.
Archer's immediately felt a release of inner pressure. Only with Charles was there no one to remind him that he was growing up or to demand that he be more sensible.
Tired from playing, the two lay sprawled out the bed.
Panting, Charles asked, "Hey, where did you go this afternoon?"
"I didn't want to attend class, so I went fishing by the river," Archer reply honestly.
"What? Archer with your thick eyebrows and big eyes, are there times when you don't want to go to class?" Charles asked in disbelief.
"Well, I've been a good student for over ten years, I'm a bit tired," Archer said meaningfully.
Then he added, "I met a girl under the ginkgo tree on the playground who is even prettier than Phoebe. We spent the entire day playing together."
"Daydreaming! Is there any girl in our school who is prettier than Phoebe?" Charles said, his face filled with disbelief.
Archer was taken aback by Charles's skepticism.
His words served as a wake-up call.
Phoebe was the school’s beauty; if there truly was a girl named Jocelyn who was prettier than Phoebe, he could not possibly have never heard of her.
Was her name even fabricated?
Or is she not a student at our school?
Seeing Archer remain silent for a moment, Charles asked again, "Which class is that girl in?"
Archer stammered, "She said she is in class 23."
"What complete nonsense." Charles shook his head, convinced that Archer was out of his mind.
He pulled out his phone and waved it, "It's still early; do you want to play a game?"
Archer frowned and asked, "Aren't you afraid I'll betray you?"
"You can play support while I carry you to victory." Charles said with confidence.
"My only support hero is Fish."
Archer, a model student, seldom played games and was therefore poor at them.
However, since he dared to skip class today, playing games was not a big deal.
"TiMi!" The two of them played the game "Honor of Kings" together.
Charles was Diamond III, and Archer was Platinum IV, making it challenging for them to duo queue.
"Fish" is the nickname of the support hero Zhuang Zhou.
As one of the most renowned "easy" heroes, he is ideal for beginners looking to use to climb the ranks.
"Is watching a group of people fighting in someone's dream entertaining?"
Charles and Archer began their enjoyable journey as a duo queue.
"Hey, why did you choose to equip Purify on Zhuang Zhou?"
"Is it wrong to remove crowd control effects, is that so wrong?"
"Use your ultimate ability! Use it when Lu Bu jumps in!"
"Sorry, I had to purify myself and forgot about you guys."
The first game ended in a narrow defeat.
The second game ended in a heartbreaking loss.
The third game resulted in a straightforward defeat.
Until Charles dropped to Diamond IV and Archer to Gold I, making duo queue impossible.
"You played Zhuang Zhou very well; please don't play it again next time." Charles threw his phone to the ground.
"Oh!" Archer believed he was being praised.
It's getting late; it’s time to go to sleep!
The real world can be harsh, so it is better to dream, for in dreams, anything is possible.
A beautiful, long sleep worthy of a song...
- Writer
