Chapter 50
Human joy and sorrow were never truly shared.
For three whole days, Lin Huaixi clung to Qi Wang and made him play games with him. During the day, they were together every single moment. Whenever they won, Lin Huaixi would cheer and clap hands with him. Whenever he got annoyed, he would simply collapse onto Qi Wang. If Qi Wang failed to catch him in time, Lin Huaixi would end up lying straight across his lap.
At night, they still had to squeeze together on that one-point-two-meter-wide little bed.
Qi Wang raised objections twice.
The first time, Lin Huaixi worried that he would spend the whole night cleaning, so he wanted to go help him. Qi Wang didn’t want Lin Huaixi to tire himself out, so he suppressed the thought.
The second time he brought it up, Lin Huaixi said he would sleep on the floor instead. Qi Wang couldn’t bear the thought of him sleeping on the hard ground and also worried that the chill from the floor would make him catch cold, so he compromised once again.
Fortunately, Lin Huaixi improved at astonishing speed. In only three days, he had cleared the entire game. Once the sense of achievement disappeared, he fell out of love with it just as quickly and stopped pestering Qi Wang to keep playing.
Qi Wang should have felt relieved.
But at exactly this moment, Sun Baiyi came over and inserted himself right between the two of them, sticking to Lin Huaixi every second of every minute.
Sun Baiyi had come over to the house to play many times during primary school and junior high, so Grandma knew him well enough. She immediately brought out fruit and warmly entertained him. But compared with Qi Wang, she was still less familiar with him.
After the college entrance exam, Sun Baiyi had completely released his true self. Although he still hadn’t confessed, he had already seriously begun treating Lin Huaixi as the person he wanted to pursue. So the moment he saw Grandma casually pat Qi Wang on the head and tell him to go get snacks, in the easy manner one used with family, he instantly felt triggered and couldn’t bear it.
In the future, if he ended up together with Lin Huaixi, then he too would become Grandma’s real grandson. So what was Qi Wang, that annoying outsider, doing putting on this act here?!
For once, Sun Baiyi left Lin Huaixi alone and instead hovered around Grandma. His personality had always been like that of a bright, cheerful big dog. Even when he had very clear motives, he still came off as a little silly and sincere, which made him easier to like. He sweet-talked Grandma so much that she laughed nonstop, took off her glasses, and wiped away the tears from laughing. Then she lightly patted the back of his hand. “How wonderful, I’ve gained another grandson, and such a handsome one too. This old woman is truly so happy. All right, I’m not going to keep you company. Hurry and go find Xixi.”
The moment Sun Baiyi heard that, he was over the moon. It felt as though a tail had sprung up behind him and was standing high in the air, all fluffy and wagging. He couldn’t hide a single thought in his heart.
Grandma patted him on the back, handed him the fresh bunny cakes she had just made, and shot him a meaningful glance.
Sun Baiyi understood immediately. Grandma wanted him to borrow flowers to present to Buddha. His lips instantly turned sweet as honey, and after thanking her over and over, he finally carried the plate of bunny cakes toward Lin Huaixi’s bedroom.
Lin Huaixi’s bedroom wasn’t particularly small, but once three grown boys crowded into it, it started to feel cramped. Lin Huaixi and Qi Wang were sitting cross-legged on the floor. Carrying the plate, Sun Baiyi greeted them and floated in like he was on air, then carelessly moved to sit on Lin Huaixi’s bed.
Qi Wang’s expression immediately darkened.
Afraid the two of them would erupt into a major war, Lin Huaixi helplessly stopped him. “Come sit over here instead. I already laid out the cushion.”
Sun Baiyi didn’t overthink it at all. Seeing that sitting on the floor would actually put him even closer to Lin Huaixi, he immediately moved over happily.
He sat down in one great big lump, stretching his long legs out carelessly so that they lay straight across between Lin Huaixi and Qi Wang.
Qi Wang’s face turned even uglier. His brows furrowed so tightly they could have squashed a fly.
Lin Huaixi could only pat Sun Baiyi’s leg again. “Move over a little.”
Sun Baiyi almost never got an invitation from Lin Huaixi to come closer on his own initiative. He was so happy he practically bubbled, and he immediately scooted over until his shoulder pressed right against Lin Huaixi’s, so close that if he turned his head, he could kiss him.
Lin Huaixi did feel that Sun Baiyi’s body was radiating heat, and being pressed so close made it easy to start sweating, but he didn’t think too much about it. He simply picked up a bunny cake and started eating happily.
Sun Baiyi had just recently begun awakening to love, but he had been suppressing himself for a full three years and had almost become twisted in silence. Now he turned to look at Lin Huaixi eating cake so obediently, and his eyes practically burst into hearts. He had clearly planned a careful confession ritual, but in this moment his blood surged hot. His Adam’s apple rolled twice. He licked his dry lips, and without any finesse at all, was just about to blurt it out—
Qi Wang noticed immediately. His pupils tightened, and he said urgently, “Go sit on the bed!”
Sun Baiyi was so full of nothing but Lin Huaixi that he didn’t even bother putting Qi Wang in his eyes, and he didn’t even hear the sentence clearly. Instead, Lin Huaixi turned to Qi Wang in surprise.
A medical miracle—Qi Wang’s severe cleanliness obsession had suddenly been cured?!
After swallowing the cream in his mouth, Lin Huaixi asked quietly, “Sun Baiyi can’t change into pajamas, so he’s still wearing outside clothes. You really don’t mind?”
At this point, Qi Wang didn’t have the energy to care about things like that. His expression looked terrible. “I don’t mind.”
Though Lin Huaixi still had no idea what was happening, he had been intimidated by Qi Wang’s expression, so he turned directly to Sun Baiyi. “Then go sit on the bed.”
The mood Sun Baiyi had just worked up was broken off midway. His expression turned a little blank, and he clearly still hadn’t caught up with what the two of them were saying.
Lin Huaixi, however, was honestly thinking of him. “The floor’s too hard, and there’s nowhere for your legs to go either. Sitting on the bed will be more comfortable.”
“How about we both sit on the bed?” Sun Baiyi suggested instinctively.
Lin Huaixi lowered his eyes to look at the clothes on his body. “Forget it. I’ve already worn this set of pajamas all day.”
Even if Sun Baiyi were stupid, he could still vaguely sense that something wasn’t right.
That bed in the bedroom felt almost like some holy place—it seemed it couldn’t be stained with even the slightest bit of dust.
Sun Baiyi understood Lin Huaixi. He knew Lin Huaixi didn’t have those fussy little habits, so that left only…
His gaze moved between Lin Huaixi and Qi Wang, and suddenly a thought exploded in his mind. His eyes widened completely. “He—he, Qi Wang, sleeps on this bed at night?!”
Lin Huaixi nodded casually.
Sun Baiyi’s reaction was incredibly exaggerated. He shot up from the floor in one bounce, huffing and puffing with rough breaths. His whole body shook. He stretched one hand out, clenched it into a fist, then let it drop helplessly, repeating the motion several times.
Lin Huaixi was infected by his emotion and his own heart tightened too. “What’s wrong?”
Sun Baiyi suddenly turned as fragile as Sister Lin Daiyu. His eyes reddened, and he pointed at Qi Wang, half aggrieved and half resentful, roaring, “How can he sleep on your bed?!”
The force of his voice made Lin Huaixi’s ears ring for a moment. Blinking, he asked in confusion, “Why can’t he?”
“He just can’t!” The thought of his beloved, precious Lin Huaixi lying on the same bed as Qi Wang—the big-tailed wolf—made Sun Baiyi so panicked he nearly burst into tears. He quickly crouched down and started checking Lin Huaixi from top to bottom with both hands on his shoulders, terrified he might have already been taken advantage of.
Lin Huaixi found this deeply strange. Just as he was about to ask why, Sun Baiyi’s hand brushed one of his ticklish spots. He immediately started laughing so hard his whole body shook. “Hey, what are you doing? Don’t touch my ribs, it’s too ticklish—hahaha.”
Seeing Lin Huaixi look so open and untroubled, Sun Baiyi understood that Qi Wang had at least been behaving and hadn’t done anything.
Even so, he still turned back and glared viciously at Qi Wang.
If he were honest with himself, if he himself were lying on the same bed as Lin Huaixi right now, he probably wouldn’t be able to control either his hands or his mouth. He would definitely say unnecessary things and do unnecessary things. So how much less could someone like Qi Wang—a beast in gentleman’s clothing, completely insane, hypocritical to the core—control himself?!
Sun Baiyi instantly grasped the seriousness of the issue, and his expression turned grave and severe. “Xixi, you absolutely have to listen to me. You can’t let Qi Wang keep sleeping on your bed.”
Actually, the bed really was too small, and the weather was getting hotter and hotter. Sleeping squeezed together was uncomfortable. Lin Huaixi had already been thinking of helping Qi Wang clean up the place next door and having him move back there.
But Sun Baiyi’s tone and expression were all wrong, as if this were some matter of heaven-and-earth importance. That only stirred Lin Huaixi’s curiosity even more. “Why are you so against Qi Wang sleeping with me?”
Sun Baiyi almost let slip the secret between him and Qi Wang, but at the crucial moment, Qi Wang kicked him from behind. Completely unprepared, Sun Baiyi lost his balance and crashed to the floor. Even the ground trembled a little.
This sudden change startled Lin Huaixi badly. His lips pressed tight as his gaze moved between the two of them.
Qi Wang’s face was still calm, but his posture was obviously provocative. Sun Baiyi’s face had filled with anger as he rolled up his sleeves, clearly ready to fight. Lin Huaixi was far too familiar with this scene. He could already vaguely guess what would happen next. He opened his mouth, then silently shut it again, and finally covered his eyes with his hands.
Forget it. Better not to see.
The room was too small and there wasn’t enough space to really do anything. Besides, they were both in Lin Huaixi’s bedroom, standing right in front of him, and neither of them wanted to leave a bad impression, so neither chose to throw the first punch.
“Qi Wang, you bastard! Why’d you kick me?!”
“Control your mouth.”
“What I meant was… stop changing the subject. Why are you sleeping on Xixi’s bed?”
“You’re overthinking it.”
“How am I overthinking it? Qi Wang, come outside. Let’s have a proper talk out there!”
Since there were too many things they couldn’t say openly in front of Lin Huaixi, Sun Baiyi felt terribly stifled. Grabbing Qi Wang by the collar, he dragged him toward the door.
Once they got somewhere spacious, it wouldn’t be a matter of words alone anymore.
How could Lin Huaixi possibly let them go outside? He immediately set down what he was holding, wedged himself between them, and started trying to calm them down.
“It’s summer. Why are you getting this worked up? Aren’t you hot? Sun Baiyi, look at all this sweat on you—here, eat a piece of watermelon and cool down. It just came straight out of the fridge.”
“And you too, Qi Wang. Didn’t you used to just ignore him?”
He shoved a chilled slice of watermelon into each of their hands. Sun Baiyi, without even thinking, bit right into his. Only then did Lin Huaixi let out a breath of relief. He took one for himself as well and bit into the sweetest part at the center.
The room immediately quieted down, with only the soft rustling crunches of watermelon being eaten.
Seeing both of them calm down, Lin Huaixi finally relaxed.
He still had no idea what Sun Baiyi was actually angry about, so he chose the most straightforward way of solving it. “The place next door still hasn’t been cleaned, so it’s not fit to live in. That’s why Qi Wang’s only been staying here these past few days.”
Sun Baiyi spat out a watermelon seed. “Then hurry up and clean it! He moves back tonight!”
“But cleaning takes a long time. And on top of that, I kept dragging Qi Wang into playing games with me these past few days, so it still hasn’t been finished.”
The moment Sun Baiyi heard this, he grew agitated again.
He didn’t even dare imagine what Qi Wang might do if, after he himself left, Qi Wang kept staying in Lin Huaixi’s room and sleeping on the same bed.
“Then we clean it right now. He moves back tonight!” Sun Baiyi couldn’t sit still even for a second longer. He didn’t even bother finishing his watermelon and immediately grabbed Lin Huaixi to drag him outside.
Actually, this had already been the plan Lin Huaixi and Qi Wang had discussed together. It was only Sun Baiyi’s sudden arrival that had interrupted it. Now everything had fallen right back on track, and with Sun Baiyi helping as well, it became even easier.
The three boys went next door together.
No one had lived there for over three years. Dust coated every surface, and the amount of work it needed was terrifying.
When Sun Baiyi saw Lin Huaixi choking and coughing from the dust while trying to move things around, he felt so distressed he absolutely refused to let him do any more work, insisting that he go sit in the courtyard and supervise instead.
In order not to worry Lin Huaixi, Sun Baiyi worked even harder. The two of them sweated all over in the summer heat and ended up filthy with dust before they finally managed to clean up one usable room.
Straightening up, Sun Baiyi slowly let out a long breath and rolled his stiff shoulders and back.
Damn it, this was ridiculous.
He had actually worked this hard helping Qi Wang clean his room!
For a moment, Sun Baiyi felt a little dazed and had no idea how things had ended up like this.
He had been busying himself for half the day and was almost ready to go back and eat when he suddenly remembered the real reason he had come in the first place.
Leaving Qi Wang behind at once, Sun Baiyi ran into the courtyard to find Lin Huaixi, his eyes shining brightly as he looked at him.
Lin Huaixi first fed him a piece of watermelon and then handed him a cup of water. Only after Sun Baiyi had finally caught his breath did he say, “You really worked hard today. You basically did all my share for me.”
“It’s nothing.” Sun Baiyi suddenly grabbed Qi Wang’s wrist, the emotions in his eyes so strong they could no longer be hidden.
Lin Huaixi froze. Looking into Sun Baiyi’s eyes, his mind went blank.
“Xixi, next weekend is your birthday. I’ve already booked a private room. How about we celebrate it together?”
Lin Huaixi hadn’t expected Sun Baiyi to help him celebrate his birthday so grandly. He was touched and grateful. “Of course, that sounds great. Thank you.”
But to his surprise, Sun Baiyi looked even more excited than he did. His body shook twice, and his eyes burned bright like floodlights.
“That’s wonderful, Xixi—you agreed!”
Then he could give Lin Huaixi the perfect confession on his eighteenth birthday.
