Chapter 51
Sun Baiyi’s head was full of beautiful fantasies. He had clearly worked hard all day and was already exhausted, yet now a sudden surge of energy welled up in him, making him impatient to do something.
He casually tossed aside the towel and ran out like a big happy dog set loose. Only when he reached the door did he remember to wave goodbye to Lin Huaixi.
Lin Huaixi stared blankly at his retreating back and felt even more that Sun Baiyi resembled a golden retriever. The golden retriever next door was just like this too—one second it would nudge him with its nose, and the next it would shoot off like an arrow and go crazy in the yard.
Lin Huaixi chased after him a few steps, only to find that Sun Baiyi was too fast. By the time he reached the courtyard gate, Sun Baiyi was already nowhere to be seen.
Grandma had originally wanted to keep Sun Baiyi for dinner, but it looked like that wish had gone up in smoke.
When Lin Huaixi came back, Qi Wang happened to be coming out of the house. Standing on the steps and looking down at him, his gaze was still gentle and mild. “Where’s Sun Baiyi?”
“He suddenly ran off.”
As he washed his hands, Qi Wang asked as if by chance, “Did he say anything to you?”
Lin Huaixi treated them all as good friends and answered without any guard at all, “Sun Baiyi said he booked a private room for me and wants to celebrate my birthday together.”
Lin Huaixi had been looking forward to his eighteenth birthday. The corners of his mouth lifted unconsciously, but when he thought of something, a trace of worry appeared on his face.
“What’s wrong?” Qi Wang asked.
Lin Huaixi pressed his lips together and said with a bitter smile, “I counted the dates. My birthday happens to be the same day they release the college entrance exam results.”
Just imagining that scene made him collapse. He covered his head with both hands. “Checking exam results on the day of my birthday—if my score turns out to be terrible, then my first adult birthday present will be the worst one possible, and I’ll end up traumatized by my birthday forever.”
Qi Wang smiled and comforted him, “No. Your results will definitely be very good.”
Lin Huaixi had been confident before, but now he was no longer sure. “Not necessarily. What if I messed up?”
“Don’t overthink it.” Qi Wang was still like he had been in childhood. He came over and took Lin Huaixi by the hand, leading him to wash up.
Lin Huaixi let Qi Wang take hold of his wrist and place his hand under the running water, but his mind was occupied with something else. He muttered softly, “My memory is so bad. I’ve already completely forgotten what state I was in during the exam. No, I think the answers are online. I’m going to check them now, so I won’t be totally unprepared on my birthday.”
He did not even have time to dry his hands before he immediately ran next door. Worried, Qi Wang followed after him.
After Lin Huaixi found the official answer key online, he started checking his answers one by one according to what he remembered selecting, but he got stuck on the last question.
“Did I choose C or B?” Lin Huaixi narrowed his eyes and tried to recall.
Qi Wang glanced at it and said without hesitation, “You picked B, which is the correct answer.”
Lin Huaixi turned to look at him. “How do you know?”
“You told me when you came out.” Qi Wang summed it up concisely. “You said you miscalculated at first, then discovered the problem while checking, and in the end you picked the right answer.”
Only then did Lin Huaixi let out a breath of relief.
He only checked the multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank questions for each subject, but the result he got more or less satisfied him.
Still, the college entrance exam held special meaning for every student. It was an earth-shaking matter, and hidden pressure had taken root in Lin Huaixi’s heart. On the night before his birthday, he had a nightmare.
The next day, on the way to the private room in his new clothes, he still seemed somewhat listless.
This was his eighteenth birthday, the first day of adulthood, and having it start like this felt a bit awful.
Lin Huaixi yawned, his brows drooping. The corners of his eyes and the tip of his nose were tinged red, making him look like someone who had been thoroughly ravaged.
Qi Wang looked at him and asked with concern, “Are you all right?”
Lin Huaixi blinked, stared fixedly at Qi Wang for three seconds, then abruptly raised his hand and slapped his own face hard.
He hit himself so forcefully it was as if the face belonged to someone else. Lin Huaixi immediately let out an “owww” and nearly jumped.
Qi Wang was startled by what he had done. Seeing the red handprint blooming on Lin Huaixi’s cheek, he instantly cupped his face in distress to check on him. “What are you doing? It’s already red. It might even swell later.”
Lin Huaixi had not expected it to hurt this much either. His eyes grew hot, and tears gathered at the corners, but he still stubbornly said, “It’s fine. It worked really well. I’m not sleepy at all now.”
Qi Wang sighed and looked at him helplessly. He did not scold him, only said, “Wait here,” before hurrying off.
Once Qi Wang disappeared from sight, Lin Huaixi immediately dropped his idol act and clutched his face, baring his teeth in pain.
Ow ow ow! How had he managed to be so ruthless to himself?!
Qi Wang moved quickly and was back in under a minute. As soon as Lin Huaixi caught sight of him from the corner of his eye, he immediately adjusted his expression and pretended nothing was wrong.
Qi Wang had clearly seen it, yet did not expose him. He simply handed over the ice he had bought.
Lin Huaixi’s cheek was burning hot with pain. Under the sunlight, it felt as if it were on fire. At the sight of the ice, his eyes immediately crinkled with delight, and he instinctively reached out for it.
But just as his fingertips were about to touch it, Qi Wang pulled the ice back. Under Lin Huaixi’s puzzled gaze, he took off his outer shirt and wrapped it around the ice.
Lin Huaixi’s eyes widened in shock. He hurried to stop him, but he was too late.
“If it touches your skin directly, it might cause frostbite. This is better.” Qi Wang gently pressed the wrapped ice to Lin Huaixi’s cheek. His movements were soft, and his eyes carefully traced every change in Lin Huaixi’s expression, afraid of hurting him.
Sensing Qi Wang’s tenderness, Lin Huaixi sniffed and felt deeply moved.
Seeing that look on his face, Qi Wang became afraid he would suddenly blurt out something like “Qi Wang, you’re too good to me” or “Qi Wang, how would I survive without you?” and unsettle him all over again, so he interrupted him before he could cast the spell. “Hold it yourself. Ice it on the way there. By the time we get to the private room, it should be better.”
Lin Huaixi nodded and held the ice through Qi Wang’s shirt.
By the time they reached the private room, Lin Huaixi’s cheek no longer burned, though the flush had not completely faded. Under the dim lighting in the room, when he pushed the door open and stepped in, Sun Baiyi only thought his cheeks looked like peach blossoms in bloom, his face glowing with spring warmth, his brows and eyes brighter than usual.
It felt like a response of some kind. Sun Baiyi’s confidence immediately soared, and he sprang up from the sofa, excitedly going to greet Lin Huaixi at the door.
Lin Huaixi was a little flattered, but then he remembered he was the birthday boy today and accepted it with peace of mind.
“Xixi, sit in the middle.”
“Xixi, I ordered a fruit platter. The watermelon here is super sweet, try some.”
“Xixi, those are new clothes, right? They look so good.”
“Xixi, want to sing? I picked a few of your favorite songs.”
Sun Baiyi buzzed around Lin Huaixi like a bee, his heart so sweet it was practically melting as he tried every possible trick to make Lin Huaixi happy.
One second Lin Huaixi had a piece of watermelon shoved into his hand. He had only just taken a bite when he was dragged over to the song station, forcing him to set the watermelon down and pick a song.
Sun Baiyi noticed and thoughtfully put the watermelon back into his hand. Just then, the intro of the song started playing, so Lin Huaixi could only hurriedly swallow the watermelon and grab the microphone.
After several rounds of this, Lin Huaixi ended up ridiculously busy, yet he had no idea what exactly he was busy doing. He was simply spinning in circles on the spot.
Seeing this, Qi Wang got up and walked outside. Three minutes later, a waiter pushed in a birthday cake.
The cake had been jointly ordered by Qi Wang and Sun Baiyi. They had pooled together all their pocket money. It was a full three layers high, covered in candles, and the warm candlelight illuminated half the room.
Lin Huaixi’s face filled with astonishment, his eyes moving back and forth between Qi Wang and Sun Baiyi. When he realized the kindness behind it, he was so touched his heart almost swelled.
This was one of the best and most meaningful birthdays he had ever had.
Seeing Lin Huaixi still standing there, Qi Wang and Sun Baiyi, in a rare moment of abandoning their hostilities, stood behind him and gently nudged him forward.
Lin Huaixi turned to look at them. The clear, pure eyes lit by candlelight reflected both of them.
Qi Wang and Sun Baiyi both nodded at him, telling him to go ahead bravely. They would always stay behind him.
Only then did Lin Huaixi step forward and stop in front of the birthday cake. When he saw the little black-haired figure on top, his mouth opened slightly, too delighted to know what to say.
His memory was like an album whose pages had been turned by the wind, stopping on one particular picture. And this round-faced, adorably silly-looking little boy holding a basketball was his elementary-school self.
When Qi Wang saw that he still had not recovered, he reminded him, “Hurry up and make a wish.”
Lin Huaixi clasped his hands together and shut his eyes gently. As Qi Wang and Sun Baiyi sang “Happy Birthday” for him together, the smile on his lips grew wider and wider, and his nose felt a little sour.
It seemed he had no wish at all.
Mom’s career was going better and better, Grandma and Grandpa were healthy, and his two best friends were both by his side celebrating his birthday with him. Everything was wonderful. Everything he wanted, he already had.
So after thinking about it, Lin Huaixi gave his wish to Qi Wang and the others instead:
He hoped Sun Baiyi’s college entrance exam results would turn out exactly as he wished, and he hoped Qi Wang could be happy every single day and no longer be haunted by everything from the past!
After making his wish, Lin Huaixi opened his eyes, puffed out his cheeks, and blew hard.
But there were too many candles on the cake. The flames only wavered twice, shrinking into tiny sparks, then immediately swelled back to their original size right before his eyes, trembling as if showing off and taunting him.
Lin Huaixi was dumbfounded.
He had not managed to blow out even a single candle!
Sun Baiyi came over laughing and stood on one side while Qi Wang stood on the other. “We’ll help you.”
The three boys celebrated the birthday together and blew out the candles together. Only then did the last of the candlelight vanish from the room.
Qi Wang went to the door and turned the lights on.
Sun Baiyi was already calling out for the cake to be cut. “Xixi, which piece do you want?”
That was basically a pointless question. Lin Huaixi’s eyes were fixed the whole time on the little figure on top.
As he cut the cake, Sun Baiyi could not resist taking credit. “Xixi, this was my idea. I went through three cake shops before finally picking one with good skills, and they made the little figure especially cute too. Doesn’t the face look just like you?”
Holding his slice of cake, Lin Huaixi examined it for a moment, then opened his mouth and took a huge bite out of the little figure’s head.
Sun Baiyi: “…”
Lin Huaixi loved cream. The cloudlike texture melted sweetly on his tongue, and he squinted in pure bliss.
Sun Baiyi glanced at him and shoveled a huge scoop of cream into his own mouth as well.
Lin Huaixi did not just eat by himself—he also stuffed a big piece of cake into Qi Wang’s hand.
All three boys had pretty decent appetites, and Lin Huaixi in particular seemed to have a second stomach reserved for desserts, but the three-tiered cake was simply too big. After eating for quite a while and seeing that the cake hardly seemed any smaller, Lin Huaixi was completely dumbstruck.
Qi Wang smiled and said, “It’s fine. We can bring the rest back and share it with Grandma and the others.”
“Yeah, yeah, and your neighbors too. Let them help celebrate your birthday,” Sun Baiyi quickly added, afraid of falling behind.
Lin Huaixi nodded.
He had just drunk two cups of something and eaten a slice of watermelon, and suddenly he needed the bathroom. He stood up and walked out.
Sun Baiyi happened to need some time to prepare. Once he had eagerly waited until Lin Huaixi was gone, he immediately dug out a jar of stars with great difficulty from a large black schoolbag beside him.
Every single star had witnessed one of those nights over the past three years when he lay awake thinking of Lin Huaixi. Every single star contained the love in his heart. He had waited and endured for so long. At last, today, he would confess!
Sun Baiyi took a deep breath. Suddenly, he grew nervous, and his heart started pounding faster and faster.
He tried to steady himself, his gaze wandering until it finally landed on Qi Wang. With nothing better to say, he opened his mouth anyway. “Why are you still here? I’m about to confess to Xixi.”
From the moment Sun Baiyi had taken the initiative to book the private room, Qi Wang had already guessed his purpose, but he had done nothing. Even now, he only sat opposite him, his eyes dark and unreadable as they rested on Sun Baiyi.
Sun Baiyi raised his brows. “You’re not going to stop me from confessing, are you?”
After three seconds, Qi Wang’s slightly hoarse voice sounded. “No.”
Lowering his head to look at the glass jar in his arms, Sun Baiyi held it like a treasure and muttered in a small voice, “That’s more like it. Just because you don’t have the courage to confess yourself doesn’t mean you should stop me. I’m confessing today. I’m getting together with Xixi!”
Qi Wang kept his calm only because he had forcibly detached his emotions from himself. Right now, he felt like a soul floating in midair with nothing to hold onto, watching the scene below with detached calm.
He heard himself ask, “And have you never thought about the possibility of failure?”
“Impossible.” Sun Baiyi was full of confidence. “If Xixi doesn’t like me, does that mean he likes you instead?”
Hearing this, Qi Wang arrived at a conclusion.
Sun Baiyi was blindly optimistic—even naïve.
He had convinced himself over and over that there would only be a good outcome. He had never considered a Plan B, nor had he ever thought about the terrifying possibility that if his confession failed, he and Lin Huaixi might not even be able to remain friends.
But Qi Wang was different.
He could not honestly praise himself for being calm and rational. In fact, Sun Baiyi was right—he did not dare take that step because he was a coward.
The mere thought of losing Lin Huaixi made him prefer that they remain friends for life, even if, as the years passed, they slowly grew more distant.
The result would be the same either way, yet he still did not dare take that step. Lacking that kind of courage, he naturally had no right to stop Sun Baiyi.
So this was the punishment he deserved—to sit here and watch Sun Baiyi confess to the person he loved most. It was like a sword hanging over his head. If Lin Huaixi said yes, that sword would come down.
The two of them, with completely different emotions, waited together for Lin Huaixi’s return.
Sun Baiyi was not nearly as confident and brave as he acted. He was so nervous he could hardly breathe. It felt as though there were needles in the sofa, and every few seconds he had to shift position. He stared fixedly at the door, hoping Lin Huaixi would come back quickly, and at the same time hoping Lin Huaixi would move more slowly and give him just a little more time to prepare.
But Lin Huaixi knew nothing. He pushed open the door and came hurrying in.
The moment Sun Baiyi saw him, he reflexively jumped to his feet with the jar of stars in his arms, pressed his lips together, and gazed deeply at Lin Huaixi—
But Lin Huaixi was carrying his phone and looked even more anxious than him. Before Sun Baiyi could speak, Lin Huaixi blurted out first, “The college entrance exam results are out. Do you want to check them?”
Faced with the panic in Lin Huaixi’s voice, Sun Baiyi’s words got stuck in his throat.
Back when he had confirmed his feelings, he had made grand heroic vows. He would study hard, become better, become worthy of standing beside Lin Huaixi, and get into the same university as him. That way, they would not have to suffer through a long-distance relationship once they were together.
Sun Baiyi had believed that a real man ought to show that sort of responsibility and think for the other person in advance.
Thinking of it this way, he realized how close he had come to making a mistake. He hurriedly hid the glass jar behind his back and sat down quietly.
Lin Huaixi noticed the movement at once. Curious, he asked, “What are you holding?”
“It’s your birth—” Sun Baiyi cut himself off and forcibly changed the subject. “Right, let’s check the results first.”
For students who had just taken the college entrance exam, nothing mattered more than this. Lin Huaixi immediately shared the link, and the three of them sat shoulder to shoulder.
Lin Huaixi and Sun Baiyi were both equally nervous. Their movements were equally stiff, and they froze on the sofa like sculptures, seeming unable even to breathe.
Qi Wang had already entered his admission number. Noticing that the other two had not moved, he turned to look at them. “Why aren’t you checking yet?”
Lin Huaixi and Sun Baiyi turned their heads toward him like rusted robots and stared fixedly at him, the light already gone from their eyes.
“…” At the state those two were in, a stronger gust of wind would probably have turned them to dust on the spot. Qi Wang had no hope at all of them taking initiative and could only helplessly stretch out his hand. “Do you need me to enter your admission numbers for you?”
Lin Huaixi’s tongue had gone dry, though his throat still bobbed up and down twice. He stared at Qi Wang, who seemed like some perfect machine devoid of all emotion. “You… you’re not nervous at all?”
Qi Wang’s tone remained as steady as ever. “Being nervous won’t change the result.”
Though that was true, no one could control their emotions perfectly. At that moment, Lin Huaixi was once again struck by how formidable Qi Wang was, and the look in his eyes turned full of shock and admiration.
Ever since childhood, Sun Baiyi had treated Qi Wang as his greatest imaginary rival. Seeing him still putting on that lofty act now, he let out a disdainful huff.
Such a simple task as entering an admission number made him actually roll up his sleeves as though he were heading into battle to the death. At first he put on a brave front, but toward the end his fingers trembled so hard he had to grit his teeth to press each number.
Lin Huaixi looked at Sun Baiyi with pity. He wanted to tell him not to force himself so hard, but then remembered that he himself was hardly doing any better, so he swallowed the words.
“I’ll just forget it. I really don’t have the guts. Qi Wang, you do it for me.” Lin Huaixi put his phone into Qi Wang’s hand, but just as Qi Wang was about to close his fingers around it, Lin Huaixi snatched it back.
“No. I’ll do it myself after all.”
No matter what the score turned out to be, he wanted to be the first one to know.
So Lin Huaixi copied Sun Baiyi and entered his admission number digit by digit. By the end, both of them looked completely exhausted, pale as ashes as they stared at their screens, as though they had just been through a brutal battle.
Qi Wang paused, then said, “So… shall we check now?”
So soon?!
Lin Huaixi was utterly unprepared, but a quick pain was better than a slow one. If he kept suffering like this any longer, he would not be able to stand it.
“All right.” His voice was so dry the last syllable shook.
Clenching his teeth and squeezing his eyes shut, he pressed the query button. But the expected page did not appear at once. Too many people were checking their scores at the same time, so the network lagged.
Sun Baiyi complained unhappily, “How long is this going to freeze for—”
Before he could finish, the page loaded.
When he had been mentally prepared, the scores had not appeared. Now that all the tension he had built up had dissipated, the results sprang into view without warning.
The same thing happened to Lin Huaixi.
For that instant, his mind went utterly blank. It was as if his body had turned into a giant vat of dye—every hormone surging wildly, mixing together until his whole state became dazed and unreal.
He saw the score, yet his thoughts were too sluggish to register whether it was good or bad.
Almost unconsciously, he turned his head to look at Qi Wang’s score sheet.
His score was exactly the same as Qi Wang’s.
Before his brain could fully start working again, he had already let out a breath of relief.
No matter what happened, Qi Wang was always the benchmark. If his own score was the same as Qi Wang’s, then it had to be a very good result.
Qi Wang spoke in the same calm tone as usual, but in this situation it came off almost absurdly understated. “With this ranking, you can get into A University.”
The moment Lin Huaixi heard the words “A University,” he blinked slowly. The wandering soul that had left his body came flying back in, and color returned to his world.
“Really? I can get into A University?!”
The curve of Lin Huaixi’s mouth grew larger and larger. Delighted beyond words, he jumped up and flung himself straight at Qi Wang.
Qi Wang caught him with helpless ease and patted his back as if soothing a child. “Yes. All those years of hard work weren’t for nothing.”
A University was the best university in the country. Their province was one of the fiercest battlegrounds for the college entrance exam, and over the past ten years, the number of graduates from their school who got into A University had never exceeded three in a single class.
Lin Huaixi had set that as his goal from the moment he entered high school in his first year. Now that the wish had come true, it still felt unbelievable.
In a school like theirs, at most three people could get into A University. And this year, by some incredible coincidence, both he and Qi Wang had made it!
“We can still be classmates in the future.” Lin Huaixi was radiant with happiness, the dimples in his cheeks deep and obvious.
Faced with exam results, Qi Wang had shown no emotional reaction at all. But now, seeing Lin Huaixi’s expression, the ice and snow in his face finally thawed, revealing deep gentleness. “When we get back, we’ll immediately tell Auntie and Grandma the good news, and after that we can start choosing majors.”
“Okay!”
Only then did Lin Huaixi remember Sun Baiyi. He quickly suppressed his own grin, turned to look at him, and saw Sun Baiyi staring fixedly at his phone, his whole person spaced out.
Lin Huaixi thought that meant he had done badly, and his heart jolted. He moved over toward him little by little, desperately trying to think of comforting words, and at the same time looked down at the score.
But…
“Sun Baiyi, your score is also really good!”
Sun Baiyi’s name and score were both unexpectedly impressive. Although he had fallen just a little short of them, it still counted as performing above expectations and was more than worthy of the hard work he had put in for three years.
Lin Huaixi threw an arm around his shoulder and shook him happily. “No wonder you’re our school’s rising star. Your ranking jumped forward a huge amount in the college entrance exam. When Old Li finds out, he’ll definitely blow up your picture as big as possible and put it on the school bulletin board. He might even make you give a speech to the younger students.”
Lin Huaixi had thought Sun Baiyi was simply so overjoyed he could not react, but Sun Baiyi’s response turned out to be the exact opposite. Slowly, he turned his head, his eyes red, wearing an expression as if the sky had just collapsed.
“What do I do? I can’t get into A University!”
A true man does not cry lightly, only when the sorrow cuts deep enough. Sun Baiyi tipped his head back toward the ceiling, and if he had been any younger, he would already have been howling loudly.
Lin Huaixi had been ready to celebrate for him and had never expected him to be this distressed. For a moment, he did not know what to say.
“Actually, your score is excellent. It’s just that you can’t get into A University. And besides, isn’t your favorite major aerospace manufacturing? A University doesn’t have that program because of its location, while B University’s aerospace manufacturing program is a top specialty. With your score, you can definitely get in. Wasn’t that your dream all along?”
“But B University…” Sun Baiyi did not finish the rest.
B University is too far away from you. That would become a long-distance relationship.
Lin Huaixi’s thoughts were nowhere near the same track, so he asked in confusion, “Then what university do you want to go to?”
A University was the best school in the country, but the region it was in—and even the surrounding cities—did not have many other especially strong universities. So Sun Baiyi chose the best of the lesser options. “I want to go to C University.”
The moment Lin Huaixi heard that, his eyes widened in shock. “Have you lost your mind?!”
His expression turned stern, almost fierce, like he was scolding a disobedient child. “Even if I don’t know the reason, you absolutely cannot gamble with your future like this. Your current score is practically double C University’s cutoff line. Why would you pass up B University and go to some middling school instead? And what about your dream? What about aerospace manufacturing? Doesn’t that matter? You know better than anyone how much your dad has done for you these past few years. He found you all those tutors and stayed up late studying alongside you. Your skyrocketing grades came from your intelligence and your hard work, yes, but he also deserves part of the credit. Doesn’t that matter too?”
Under one pointed question after another, Sun Baiyi could not lift his head.
It all matters. But Xixi, you matter too. I want to be with you. I don’t want to go to another city.
Sun Baiyi was full of contradictions, as though a giant hand had ripped him cleanly into two pieces.
One voice told him that even though he had not made it into A University, his score was still good enough. He was worthy of Lin Huaixi now. He could confess.
But the other voice told him that he had failed to fulfill the bold promise he had once made. He did not deserve to confess, and he could not bear making Xixi suffer through the pain of distance.
No matter which voice won out, though, Sun Baiyi was in no state to confess now. This was not the right moment.
He forced a smile. “I was joking. Don’t get mad, Xixi. B University has such a good environment, and it has my favorite major too. Why wouldn’t I go?”
Only then did Lin Huaixi relax. He began talking excitedly about the future. “Then whenever I have holidays or time off, I’ll take the train to visit you, and we can hang out together. And I heard some projects let students from different universities team up. When that happens, we can work together!”
Sun Baiyi’s smile was still somewhat strained, but he forced the atmosphere back to life. “Then it’s a deal!”
Qi Wang took the whole scene in and understood that Sun Baiyi would no longer confess.
Shamefully, he felt a wave of relief.
He himself did not dare confess, and all he could do was secretly be grateful that other people were not confessing either. That way, Xixi could remain by his side a little longer.
Both of them had excellent scores, the kind that would make parents and teachers go out to set off firecrackers in excitement, grinning so widely they would not be able to sleep at night. Yet at this moment, two of the three people present were carrying their own private worries, and the mood turned strangely subdued.
Lin Huaixi looked from left to right and could not understand why, with results this good, they were still dissatisfied.
Pressing his lips together, he thought to himself that if anyone else had been sitting here today, they would already have smacked those two silly people upside the head.
He folded his arms deliberately and gave an exaggerated humph, putting on a spoiled and dissatisfied expression. “Today is my birthday, you know. Don’t forget to give me my presents.”
Both Qi Wang and Sun Baiyi knew full well that Lin Huaixi was intentionally trying to ease the atmosphere and cheer them up. At once, they pushed aside all the irrelevant feelings they had been carrying and smiled again.
Sun Baiyi was a naturally cheerful puppy, excellent at livening up the mood. He even added his own little soundtrack, making dramatic sound effects as he grandly presented the glass jar full of stars to Lin Huaixi.
“Knowing it was your birthday, I spent three whole nights folding this giant jar full of stars!” Sun Baiyi smiled on the outside, though inwardly he felt like crying. Against his true feelings, he declared, “Every star stands for safety and light. I hope your future will be bright as brocade, that you’ll make lots of money, drink imported liquor every day, and eat abalone!”
Lin Huaixi knew that Sun Baiyi had always been careless and sloppy and hated detailed handicrafts. Yet for his sake, Sun Baiyi had folded so many stars. Deeply touched, he carefully and solemnly took the glass jar, his eyes shining as he thanked him sincerely. “I’ll definitely take very good care of this from now on. And I also believe this jar of stars will bless me so I can drink imported liquor, eat abalone, sea cucumber, hairy cr—”
Lin Huaixi’s foodie nature burst out fully. He kept chattering on and on, but watching his smile, Sun Baiyi no longer felt the ache in his heart quite so sharply.
Even though his confession had not happened today, and Lin Huaixi still had not understood the true meaning of the stars, once he straightened out his feelings, there would still be another chance.
A cheerful puppy never stayed sunk in bad emotions for long. Sun Baiyi smiled too, just looking at Lin Huaixi made him happy.
Qi Wang gave him a pair of basketball shoes. Compared with Sun Baiyi’s gift, his carried less special meaning.
He was the person who understood Lin Huaixi best. Whatever Lin Huaixi lacked, he would immediately rack his brains and exhaust every effort to get it for him. He had already given Lin Huaixi more than enough over the years. Precisely because of that, it was hard for an eighteenth-birthday gift to stand out as something extraordinary.
But at the moment, this pair of shoes was exactly what Lin Huaixi needed and wanted most.
Cradling the shoes, Lin Huaixi lovingly examined them twice, then immediately made plans with them. “They just built a basketball court near our place. Let’s go play there together this weekend.”
“Sure!” Sun Baiyi agreed at once. “I’ll call a few more friends too. We’ll just make two teams and play against each other. Who knows, after one vacation, one of our teams might get scouted into the NBA!”
Lin Huaixi had the jar of stars in one arm and the basketball shoes in the other. On the table, his phone screen was still lit with his college entrance exam results. Beside him were his two best friends, talking about his favorite subject in the world—basketball.
His eighteenth birthday felt absolutely perfect.
Lin Huaixi was floating on air, as if stepping on clouds. At first, they were only singing in the private room, but later Sun Baiyi got carried away and bought an entire case of beer.
All three of them were adults now. Curious about the world of grown-ups, Lin Huaixi grabbed a bottle without hesitation and gulped it down. Egged on by him, Sun Baiyi also drained a whole bottle with a few forceful swallows.
Drinking boldly somehow made them feel more manly, but Lin Huaixi and Sun Baiyi both secretly thought it tasted far worse than sweet-and-sour soft drinks.
Still, alcohol had a kind of magical power. The more Sun Baiyi drank, the better it felt. He loved the dizzy, floating sensation, the way he could rely on the alcohol and do whatever he wanted and say whatever was in his heart.
With a face as red as an apple, his eyes half-shut, he slid silently off the sofa. He tried to throw his arms around Lin Huaixi, but instead ended up hugging the table leg. Gazing at it with deep affection, he froze for a few seconds before some unknown thing plucked at his heartstrings, and suddenly he wailed, “Xixi, I’m sorry! I’ve had a secret for so long and never dared tell you. I was scared that if I told you, you wouldn’t want to play with me anymore and would think I was a terrible bad guy!”
“In first grade, the time I fought with Qi Wang and the parents got called in, it was because I said you didn’t have a dad, and I wanted to tell the other kids too so they’d laugh at you and not play with you…” Sun Baiyi burst into loud sobs. “I’ve had that nightmare for years now! Every time I wake up, I just want to slap myself. I don’t know how to tell you, but I really feel awful about it. I’m so sorry!”
Lin Huaixi had also drunk a lot and was too drunk to think clearly, though it did not show as obviously on the outside. The corners of his eyes and the tip of his nose held a faint flush, and his gaze was unfocused.
He picked up the glass jar of stars at his side and hugged it as though it were Sun Baiyi. “It’s okay. Not having a dad isn’t some secret, and it can’t hurt me, because I have…”
He counted on his fingers as he spoke. “I have you, and Qi Wang, and Grandma, Grandpa, Mom, and Aunt Wen…”
There were still many more people he wanted to name, but he only had five fingers to work with. Agitated and distressed, he poked uselessly at the empty air, unable to find any more fingers. Before long, tears pooled in his eyes, and he started making soft whining noises through his nose.
When Qi Wang came back in from outside, this was the absurd scene that greeted him. He froze where he stood and remained silent for a long moment.
One drunken fool was hugging the table leg and crying his heart out while mumbling apologies. The other was whining like a puppy, tears dropping patter-patter onto his hands as he quietly begged for his missing fingers to be returned.
There was no way he could just ignore them. Qi Wang walked over and tried to pull them both away with one hand each, but both drunkards were unexpectedly strong, and instead he ended up trapped in a stalemate with them.
For the first time in his life, Qi Wang found himself in such a sorry state. Sweat covered his forehead, and he nearly wished he had eight hands.
At the same time, he bitterly regretted indulging them.
When Sun Baiyi had ordered the alcohol, Lin Huaixi had immediately agreed, but Qi Wang actually had had a chance to stop it.
He had just thought that since it was Lin Huaixi’s eighteenth birthday, the birthday boy’s wishes ought to be fulfilled. Besides, Sun Baiyi looked like he needed to drown his sorrows in drink, and Qi Wang had hoped that by letting him vent this way, he could prevent him from losing control of his emotions.
But the outcome had turned out far worse than expected.
After paying the bill and asking the staff for help, Qi Wang finally managed, with great difficulty, to drag Lin Huaixi and Sun Baiyi outside.
There was no way he could look after two drunks by himself, so with very little loyalty, he called Sun Baiyi’s father.
Sun Baiyi’s father rushed over in a panic. Seeing his son drunk to this state, he frowned hard enough to kill flies.
Qi Wang was not trying to throw Sun Baiyi into a pit of fire, so he quickly explained, “He was very happy after checking his exam results and seeing he did really well. He can get into B University’s aerospace manufacturing program, so he drank a few too many cups. He just overestimated his tolerance.”
The instant he heard that, Sun Baiyi’s father was overjoyed. Looking at his son, now drunk into a puddle, he somehow found even his little eyes and nose adorable, as if he were looking at him swaddled up as an infant. He immediately bent down and picked him up gently. “How did you do so well? I can barely take it! Ah, never mind, we’ll talk about it at home. And what about you two? Do you need Uncle to give you a ride?”
“No need, Uncle. Just take care of Sun Baiyi. Our place is very close, so we can get back by taxi.”
A taxi happened to pull up just then. Supporting his son, Sun Baiyi’s father waved to them and left.
Lin Huaixi was so drunk his legs were weak and he could barely walk. Qi Wang wanted to take a taxi with him too, but Lin Huaixi refused no matter what, acting as if he would sit right down on the ground and throw a tantrum.
Qi Wang had no choice. He cancelled the ride on the spot and laboriously supported Lin Huaixi as they started walking.
The night was already very deep. After a few steps, Lin Huaixi leaned limply against Qi Wang and suddenly lifted his eyelids, looking at him with drunkenly unfocused eyes.
There were hardly any people on the street. Under the streetlights, their shadows stretched long and tangled closely together.
Someone who had gone out for a riverside walk after dinner turned the corner and suddenly heard someone barking like a dog.
It was a very clean, bright young voice, and even the barking sounded crisp. When he turned to look, he saw a flushed young man with extraordinarily pretty features, his skin under the moonlight almost like white porcelain. He had one arm slung around another boy’s neck, his body swaying back and forth as he kept barking away.
The one with him was another boy whose looks were equally striking, the sort of beauty rare enough to outshine TV stars.
He was tall and broad-shouldered, his presence a blend of youthful freshness and adult steadiness. His eyes were gentle and quiet as he watched the drunken boy, as though he were gazing at a treasure.
Every time the drunken boy barked once, he answered once. After watching them for a while, the passerby finally realized that it was not random barking at all—they were calling a name.
Calling someone by a dog’s name sounded ridiculously insulting, yet that other boy kept responding to it.
Though one of them was drunk, the pair was so good-looking that the whole scene was strangely pleasing to the eye. Unable to resist glancing at them a few more times, the passerby sighed to himself that youth really was wonderful, then went on his way.
Lin Huaixi’s legs were so weak he could not stand straight. Afraid he might fall, Qi Wang had one hand supporting his shoulder and the other gripping his waist. Only by doing that could he stop Lin Huaixi from dropping to the ground like some devolved ape.
Lin Huaixi was so drunk that his mind was a blur. Everything else had faded away, and in his vision only Qi Wang remained.
Tilting his head in confusion, he asked in a soft, slurred voice, “Why aren’t you angry?”
Qi Wang laughed helplessly. “Why would I be angry?”
“The first time we met in kindergarten, when I called you Wangwang, you got angry!” Unable to think of any other way to describe his pouting rage, Lin Huaixi pinched his own soft cheeks and pulled them outward, even wrinkling his brows in demonstration.
Qi Wang was charmed to death. He reached out and gently pulled Lin Huaixi’s hands away, rescuing his cheeks from his own abuse, then soothedly rubbed them. “I’ll never get angry again.”
Lin Huaixi tilted his head and stared at him for a while, then tried another tentative, “Wangwang?”
“I’m here.”
“Wangwang!”
“I’m here.”
“Wangwang!!”
“I’m here.”
There was no reasoning with drunks. For some reason, Lin Huaixi suddenly became happy and toppled smiling into Qi Wang’s arms.
Though Lin Huaixi was a little shorter, he was still a long-limbed teenage boy. When all his weight came down at once, Qi Wang’s body tipped back slightly, and his arms had no choice but to circle around Lin Huaixi’s sides and hold him tightly.
Lin Huaixi rubbed against him twice, then fell silent, seeming to have dozed off.
Qi Wang had no choice but to shift him upward with difficulty and ask softly, “Should I carry you back?”
Even Lin Huaixi felt this position was uncomfortable. The soft hair on top of his head bobbed twice before he finally lifted his face and squinted at him.
Seeing that Lin Huaixi was at least cooperating now, Qi Wang finally relaxed a little. He stepped in front of him. “Get on.”
Without the slightest hesitation, Lin Huaixi bent over and flopped onto Qi Wang’s back like a little bear.
Qi Wang carried him forward, walking slowly and steadily, not letting Lin Huaixi feel even a little jostled.
Resting his chin in the hollow of Qi Wang’s neck, Lin Huaixi rubbed against him and found a comfortable angle. After dozing for a bit, he became a little clearer in the head. “Wangwang, I still remember when I got lost as a kid, and you carried me back just like this too.”
He dragged out the sentence so much that it took him half a minute to say it all.
“You still remember something from that long ago?” Qi Wang said quietly.
“I remember!” Lin Huaixi gave him a huge thumbs-up with complete generosity. “You’re way better now than before!!”
“What’s better?” Qi Wang asked, puzzled.
“Back then my legs were dragging on the ground.” Lin Huaixi giggled stupidly twice and shook his calves. “Now they’re up in the air.”
When they first met in kindergarten, the two of them had barely any height difference, and Lin Huaixi had still been a little chubby dumpling. It had already been impressive enough that Qi Wang could carry him back at all. There had been no room then to care about posture.
Qi Wang could not help drifting back to those old memories too, the corner of his mouth lifting. “What else is different?”
Lin Huaixi wrapped his arms around Qi Wang’s neck and raised his head slightly, rubbing his chin against Qi Wang’s ear like a kitten acting spoiled. “Nothing. Your shoulders are still the same, your ears are still the same, and your face is the same too.”
After drinking, Lin Huaixi’s breath had turned even hotter, brushing against Qi Wang’s ear again and again.
Qi Wang’s ears had always been sensitive. They instantly turned bright red, and half his body went numb with them. He could only stop walking altogether, afraid his arm would soften and fail to hold Lin Huaixi’s legs properly, sending him tumbling down.
“Why did you stop?” Lin Huaixi turned his head at him in confusion, but he still could not see Qi Wang’s face clearly. All he could make out was a red flush spreading from his ears downward, his neck turning red too.
Qi Wang’s neck was smooth and elegant, his skin cool white, his Adam’s apple prominent, making the whole line of it look especially attractive. In front of him, the image from that night flashed back into Lin Huaixi’s mind. He gave two silly little giggles, then, like some tiny lecher, reached over and ran his thumb around the raised Adam’s apple, while his other hand started sneaking inside Qi Wang’s collar.
Qi Wang’s body jerked. Unable to withstand such stimulation, he said sharply, “Don’t move!”
Only then did Lin Huaixi stop. He looked at Qi Wang blankly, still unable to see his expression.
Qi Wang drew in a deep breath. He had not drunk any alcohol, but just from smelling the drunken breath Lin Huaixi exhaled, he felt drunk himself—his whole body burning hot and swollen. And the source of all that sinful torment was the hand Lin Huaixi had slipped just barely inside his collar.
“Xixi, be good.”
Qi Wang’s voice was hoarse and dry, carrying yearning and desire, the first time he had ever failed to hide his emotions. Unfortunately, Lin Huaixi was far too drunk now to notice any of it.
And on top of that, his mind worked only in fragments at the moment. All kinds of stray thoughts were popping up chaotically.
Lin Huaixi lifted his head to stare at the night sky overhead and blinked several times. Then he realized the stars happened to connect into the shape of a present.
Ah—he remembered!
Suddenly alarmed, Lin Huaixi blurted, “Wangwang, what about your birthday?”
Qi Wang’s birthday had fallen a few days before the college entrance exam. Neither he nor Aunt Wen had neglected Qi Wang’s coming-of-age birthday because of the exams, but Qi Wang had not wanted Lin Huaixi to be distracted, so he had firmly stopped him.
Lin Huaixi had been unable to overrule the birthday boy himself, so he had no choice but to give up.
Now that the memory suddenly surfaced, Lin Huaixi immediately felt it was a matter of earth-shaking importance and that they absolutely had to make up Qi Wang’s birthday at once.
“Come on!” Lin Huaixi pointed ahead of him with a grand sweep, his words slurring. “Let’s go find Sun Baiyi and drink, and make up your birthday!”
Qi Wang: “…”
Being flirted with and then abandoned by a drunk probably was not the greatest crime in the world. The heat in his body had still not gone down. He could only keep enduring it in this sweltering summer while soothing Lin Huaixi first. “How about we go find Sun Baiyi another day? Both of you are already drunk.”
“No! We have to make up your birthday today!” Lin Huaixi latched on stubbornly like a mule and refused to let go. He wiggled around on Qi Wang’s back, trying to get down.
Left with no choice, Qi Wang crouched down.
The instant Lin Huaixi’s feet touched the hard ground, he seemed freed from all restraint. Staggering like a drunk little top, he began walking forward in wide looping circles with his legs, pointing grandly toward poetry and the horizon. “Come on, let’s go celebrate your birthday!”
Qi Wang hurried after him, grabbed his arm, and guided him over to the steps by the riverbank.
The two of them sat by the water, facing the distant flowing river and the lush grass along its edge. A bright moon was reflected on the river’s surface. Ripples spread it outward until it looked like a whole pool of shattered diamonds.
At last Lin Huaixi quieted down. Supporting his chin in one hand, he narrowed his eyes at some meaningless point in the distance.
Qi Wang, meanwhile, was in an even sorrier state than he was. In the muggy summer night, he was drenched in sweat, his collar stuck tightly to his neck.
Trying to cover it up, he tugged at his collar and shifted his posture, hoping the night breeze would cool his face down.
Lin Huaixi was a high-maintenance drunk. He only stayed quiet for a few seconds before deciding Qi Wang was not paying enough attention to him.
He leaned limply onto Qi Wang and lifted his face toward the sky. Mumbling softly, he asked, “You still haven’t said it. What birthday present do you want?”
Qi Wang’s mind was in utter chaos. He did not look at Lin Huaixi, only used one arm to push him away and create some distance between them again.
Lin Huaixi had him so disturbed that he could no longer control his emotions. Frowning at the distance, reason told him not to keep entertaining these delusions, yet with shameful greed he still wanted more.
At that moment, his cheek suddenly felt something soft and cool and slightly damp, carrying a faint smell of alcohol.
Qi Wang’s eyes flew wide open. His pupils constricted. Very slowly, he turned his head, and that kiss slid from the side of his face to the corner of his mouth.
Qi Wang seemed to turn into a sculpture, completely motionless on the outside, while inside a storm of towering waves crashed wildly.
On the very night Lin Huaixi came of age, under the cover of darkness, all his desire and sin tangled together, turning into a black hole that wanted to swallow up everything around it.
Though he thought of it as everything, the truth was that from beginning to end, there had only ever been one person he wanted—Lin Huaixi.
Yet the culprit behind all of it blinked innocently, still a little dazed.
He had been staring at Qi Wang the whole time. For some reason, Qi Wang’s face had seemed to rise higher and drift closer and closer. With his drunken brain unable to think straight, Lin Huaixi did not even realize he had lost his balance and tilted sideways into him.
The kiss had only been an accident. Drunk little Lin Huaixi did not take it seriously at all. He steadied himself by pressing a hand to Qi Wang’s shoulder, barely managing to sit upright again, licked his lips, and then kept waiting patiently.
This time, thankfully, Qi Wang did not ignore him. At last, he seemed ready to tell him what gift he wanted.
Lin Huaixi smiled happily. Looking into Qi Wang’s eyes, he suddenly thought they looked just like the river beside them, light rippling through them in wave after wave, bright enough to dazzle him and keep him from looking clearly, yet all the more irresistible for it.
But his wish was denied. His vision went dark.
Qi Wang put one arm around his shoulders and pulled him into his embrace. Lin Huaixi’s forehead came to rest against Qi Wang’s chest, and by his ear echoed the sound of a heartbeat growing faster and faster, mingled with the breeze from far away and Qi Wang’s quiet words.
“Thank you. I’ve already received the best gift.”
