Restless

"Turns out I'm not the only one living in constant anxiety." A gentle yet dominant wolf pup x a cunning little butterfly who knows how to reel him in. Childhood friends reunite, harboring secret affections they don’t even realize—older love interest. **** Lin Huang returned to his hometown hoping to quietly graduate, but on his very first day at the new school, he became infamous—Shao Mingyao, the new top dog of No.9 High, stood outside the classroom, glaring at him for a full five minutes. Back then, this kid would squat in the neighbor’s yard like a mushroom. Shao Mingyao sat on the wall, pelting him with apricots, but not even that could make him react. The next day, the century-old apricot tree in the Shao family’s yard was wrecked by a slingshot. Instead of hunting down the culprit, Grandpa Shao took his belt to Shao Mingyao, leaving him unable to sit for three days. Before the welts on his backside even faded, the little troublemaker moved away—and stole the last sweet apricot. For five years, Shao Mingyao sent threatening texts, but not a single reply ever came. Now, reunited, Shao Mingyao had grown tall and strong, excelling in academics and sports. Lin Huang… was still just as quiet and unreadable. Lin Huang wanted a low-key life. Shao Mingyao wanted to keep up his cold demeanor. The two tacitly ignored each other. But old grudges have a way of resurfacing. When some delinquents cornered Lin Huang one day, Shao Mingyao happened to walk by. The bullies invited him to join—so he did. Amid the chaos of scattering birds in the alley, Shao Mingyao pinned one down and finally spoke his first words since their reunion: "Come on, Huang, hit him." The pinned delinquent: ? Lin Huang’s racing heart finally settled with a *thud*. He turned away stiffly. "You hit him." ** Everyone knew they were at odds, but no one knew their history. Deskmate: "So… are you two close or not?" Lin Huang hesitated. "Close… but not." Childhood friend: "Is that kid a friend or foe?" Shao Mingyao’s eyes turned cold and fierce. "For now, a foe." "And later?" "Later… depends on whether he ever learns to reply to my messages." “Or returns that apricot.” ** He was a defiant little wolf—unimpressed by anyone, yielding to no one. Yet he lost his heart to a silent, unresponsive kid. Looking back or forward, Shao Mingyao only ever treated Lin Huang well.