Chapter 46
Xia Chenxi came out of the kitchen, set the dishes on the table, and sat down. He immediately sensed that the way Ye Xuan was looking at him was off.
His heart tightened, but he asked Ye Xuan as if nothing had happened, “What is it? Why are you looking at me like that?”
Ye Xuan shook his head, walked to the dining table, and began shoveling rice into his mouth.
“You’re that hungry? Your face is almost buried in the rice.”
Xia Chenxi watched Ye Xuan eat very quickly, sweeping through the food like a storm.
“Yeah. Very hungry.”
Ye Xuan said nothing else and only kept stuffing rice into his mouth.
In truth, he did not know how to ask Xia Chenxi.
Was he supposed to directly ask whether Xia Chenxi liked men?
That was too rude.
Ye Xuan used his bowl to cover his face and secretly glanced at Xia Chenxi from time to time.
Naturally, Xia Chenxi noticed.
Unable to stand it anymore, he put down his bowl and looked at Ye Xuan.
Ye Xuan immediately buried his face into the bowl again.
Xia Chenxi simply got up, took Ye Xuan’s bowl down, and placed it on the table.
Without the bowl blocking him, Ye Xuan was face to face with Xia Chenxi. He had the feeling that he had been seen through.
“Very hungry?”
Ye Xuan nodded.
“You’ve been shoveling rice for so long, and you’ve only eaten a little bit of the side dishes. That’s called very hungry?”
Ye Xuan awkwardly turned his head away.
“If you want to ask something, just ask. I told you before, your thoughts are like a child’s. They’re always written on your face.”
Under Xia Chenxi’s gaze, Ye Xuan slowly opened his mouth.
“Xia Chenxi, do you like men?”
?
Xia Chenxi’s expression changed. His whole body tensed.
Had Ye Xuan discovered it? Was he that obvious?
Just now, he had been hiding behind the door. How had Ye Xuan noticed?
Seeing Xia Chenxi’s unusual reaction, Ye Xuan confirmed the thought in his heart.
He continued asking, “Is it someone from the base?”
?
Xia Chenxi’s suspended heart relaxed slightly. So Ye Xuan thought he liked one of those rough men at the base.
“Why would you think that?”
In Ye Xuan’s eyes, this indirect question was an admission.
“I guessed.”
Xia Chenxi let out a mocking laugh. “Your little brain suddenly became clever.”
Ye Xuan hesitated for a long time, then said loudly, “Xia Chenxi, the butt is for pooping. You absolutely must not be the one on the bottom.”
Xia Chenxi: “?”
“???”
Ye Xuan did not dare look at Xia Chenxi’s expression at all. He felt that Xia Chenxi would be angry. Very angry.
Xia Chenxi would not think he was a pervert, right? Caring about his butt like this.
But he was doing it out of goodwill!
“Heh.”
A cold, thin laugh entered Ye Xuan’s ears. Ye Xuan carefully lifted his head and saw Xia Chenxi looking at him with a smile that was not quite a smile.
“Thank you for your concern, but you seem to have misunderstood me. I don’t know how you came to the conclusion that I like men, and specifically men at the base.”
Hm?
He did not?
So he had guessed wrong.
Ye Xuan dared even less to look directly at Xia Chenxi.
A dark-green knife sheath was handed to him.
“A gift for your first mission. For your short blade.”
“Th-thank you.” Ye Xuan accepted it. The sheath was leather and felt very comfortable to the touch. It must have cost quite a few virtual funds.
“And thank you for your gift. I like it very much.”
Xia Chenxi put on the gloves. They fit his hands perfectly. He clenched his fists and discovered the clever design around the knuckles.
“You put thought into it.”
Ye Xuan shook his head, indicating there was no need to thank him.
Then he raised his head again and told Xia Chenxi, “The salesperson said there’s flexible metal in the glove’s interlayer. It sounded pretty impressive and can block fatal attacks. You’re a strength-type ability user, so I thought it suited you.”
“Mm. It does suit me.”
Xia Chenxi took off the gloves and placed them in his pocket. But he would never use them. He was going to treasure them properly.
A scorching gaze landed on him. Xia Chenxi lifted his eyelids and saw Ye Xuan staring at him foolishly.
Those eyes were especially captivating, seductive without knowing it, yet carrying a silly kind of purity.
Xia Chenxi blurted out, “Ye Xuan, do you like men?”
Ye Xuan subconsciously denied it. “No, I don’t.”
It was the answer he had expected. Xia Chenxi did not show any special reaction, but if one observed carefully, they would notice that his face had turned a little colder.
Ye Xuan startled himself. Why had he answered directly?
“Uh, what I mean is, I’m straight.”
That seemed to mean about the same thing.
“Got it.” Xia Chenxi restrained his emotions. “Go rest. I’ll clean up.”
“I’ll help you.”
“No need. Go rest.”
His tone left no room for argument.
Ye Xuan stood up from the chair. “Alright, then I’ll go rest first. Good night. I hope you have a good dream.”
Xia Chenxi watched Ye Xuan enter his room. Only then did the expression on his face turn completely cold.
There was no news in this world more terrifying than hearing the person he liked was straight.
If there was, then it would definitely be the news of Ye Xuan getting married.
He was afraid of piercing through that thin layer of paper, yet he was also afraid that he and Ye Xuan would forever remain brothers.
Many times, he despised himself and cursed himself.
He was a coward.
Xia Chenxi brought the gloves into his room, carefully covered them with a protective cover, and placed them deep inside the drawer.
After Ye Xuan returned to his room, he threw himself onto the bed and looked at the knife sheath again and again.
He had given Xia Chenxi a gift today because he wanted Xia Chenxi to be happy.
But somehow, he had messed things up.
Xia Chenxi had even been so considerate of him, letting him rest after his mission and not even making him wash the bowls.
Yet just because of a bouquet of flowers and Xia Chenxi’s late return, he had started guessing Xia Chenxi’s sexual orientation.
Clearly, part of the reason Xia Chenxi had returned late was to choose a gift for him.
While he had been thinking of giving Xia Chenxi a surprise, Xia Chenxi had also wanted to give him a surprise.
And he had ruined it just like that.
Ye Xuan, you’re really too inhuman.
The more Ye Xuan thought about it, the more regretful he became. He should not have asked that question.
What if Xia Chenxi was straight like him and was just very good to his brother?
Ye Xuan, you’re really too inhuman.
He cursed himself in his heart again.
The next day, when Xia Chenxi walked out, he saw Ye Xuan sitting on the sofa, smiling as he asked whether he had slept well last night.
“Not bad.”
Ye Xuan’s smile was strange, as if he had ulterior motives. Xia Chenxi did not know what scheme he was cooking up, so he went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.
When breakfast was served, Ye Xuan took a bite and praised him exaggeratedly. “Xia Chenxi, this is so delicious. How did you make this sandwich?”
Such an exaggerated expression.
Xia Chenxi said, “Bread, fried egg, salad dressing, sausage.”
The air seemed to freeze.
Ye Xuan laughed dryly twice, then praised him again. “It must be because your cooking skills are good. I feel like the ones you make are especially delicious, better than any I’ve eaten before.”
Xia Chenxi did not know what Ye Xuan was trying to do, so he silently finished his breakfast.
After eating, the two prepared to leave. Xia Chenxi picked up the bouquet of lilies and planned to take it with him.
“I’ll do it, I’ll do it.”
Ye Xuan eagerly snatched the bouquet from Xia Chenxi’s arms and held it in his own.
“My hands are free. I’ll help you.”
Xia Chenxi glanced at him without saying anything and changed his shoes.
On the way to the training field, because Ye Xuan was holding such a large bouquet, quite a few people cast their gazes at him.
If it had been before, Ye Xuan would definitely have felt embarrassed.
But today, he walked especially calmly.
