Chapter 55
The wind drove the clouds back overhead, thick and heavy, blocking out the bright moonlight. Darkness returned in force, curling around them in soft, threadlike layers like fine silk.
Lin Huaixi’s lashes trembled twice. He was sure he had not seen wrong, yet reason made it hard for him to believe his own eyes. Without thinking, he leaned forward, wanting to get a closer look and make sure.
Zhong Chongqiu took a hurried step back, looking oddly flustered.
“I…” He only managed a single word before suddenly turning his head aside. He rubbed his face twice against his arm, then slowly turned back, eyes lowered, refusing to meet Lin Huaixi’s gaze.
Zhong Chongqiu’s features were still sharp, his face still stern and imposing, the kind that naturally looked intimidating even when expressionless. But in Lin Huaixi’s eyes right now, he looked more like a big, clumsy bear that had done something wrong.
The image amused Lin Huaixi. The corner of his mouth twitched upward, and he let out the faintest little sound. The room was so quiet that Zhong Chongqiu noticed immediately and looked up at him.
Worried Zhong Chongqiu might think he was being laughed at, Lin Huaixi hurriedly straightened his face again, coughed twice, and said, “Um… thank you.”
His gaze dropped to the milk tea Zhong Chongqiu was holding.
“Do you like it?” Zhong Chongqiu passed the cup to him.
“This is jasmine green milk tea, right? Half sugar, less ice, with coconut jelly.” Lin Huaixi smiled and spoke in an easy, conversational tone. “I heard this shop has been open for ten years, and every drink on the menu is popular. Right after I got here, I saw one of those milk tea guides recommending it, so I bought it once. It really does taste way better than the stuff sold elsewhere.”
It was rare for the two of them to chat like this, and the atmosphere eased considerably. Zhong Chongqiu seemed to relax into the moment too, though his voice remained unreadable. “As long as you like it.”
He set the milk tea into Lin Huaixi’s hand, label facing up, and only then saw the sticker on the cup.
Zhong Chongqiu’s expression froze. He shot Lin Huaixi a quick glance, then immediately looked away. “Sorry. I ordered regular ice. Is it too cold?”
“It’s fine.” Lin Huaixi was not comforting him; he meant it.
Who knew how long Zhong Chongqiu had been holding the cup in his palm? It had already been warmed by his body heat. Compared to the less-ice version Lin Huaixi had bought before, this one was actually even warmer.
Since Zhong Chongqiu had rarely taken the initiative to show goodwill, Lin Huaixi wanted their relationship to become a little more harmonious too. He immediately stuck in the straw and took a big sip.
His foodie side came online again. The moment the fresh sweetness and faint jasmine fragrance touched his tongue, Lin Huaixi was won over completely. His eyes curved into crescents, cheeks puffed full, and while chewing the coconut jelly, he swallowed in little mouthfuls. “It’s really good.”
Watching Lin Huaixi eat could make even someone with no appetite at all feel oddly happy. Zhong Chongqiu seemed bewitched, all of his attention captured, the smile on his lips widening more and more.
The instant he realized it, he abruptly turned his head away again and rubbed his face roughly against his arm. His expression returned to its usual calm, but the tips of his ears kept getting redder, the flush showing signs of spreading down his neck.
At that point, no matter how dark the night was, it could no longer hide it. Zhong Chongqiu hurried off and went to stand by the window to catch the night breeze.
The mountain air was cool, brushing away the heat on the surface. He secretly wiped his face with his hand and smiled into his palm.
But from Lin Huaixi’s angle, all he saw was Zhong Chongqiu storming off in apparent frustration and standing by the window sulking, unwilling to speak to him.
…What a strange temper.
If they argued on the second floor, they might alert the other club members downstairs. As for fighting… Lin Huaixi had no desire to bankrupt himself for life paying for damaged equipment.
His personality had always been good, so he did not take it to heart. He simply sat on the steps, sipping milk tea and inspecting the telescope in a leisurely mood.
Three minutes later, Zhong Chongqiu came back. The two of them tacitly ignored what had just happened. Following Lin Huaixi’s line of sight, Zhong Chongqiu took the initiative to ask, “Want to try it?”
Lin Huaixi had already given up trying to analyze Zhong Chongqiu’s moods. He nodded. “Can I?”
“You can. Come here. I’ll adjust it for you.”
As expected of the president of the Astronomy Club, Zhong Chongqiu was extremely reliable in this area. Lin Huaixi had no idea what he was doing, only that Zhong Chongqiu fiddled here and there, and before long the telescope was ready.
After a pause, Zhong Chongqiu said, “The weather is really good tonight. There’s a chance we might see Cancer.”
Lin Huaixi leaned forward. The starry sky, once so impossibly far away, now crossed the vastness of time and appeared before him in an entirely new form.
He was stunned by the grandeur and boundlessness of nature. His mind went blank, as if some special force were pulling at him, his soul slowly floating free of his body and wandering through that galaxy.
He could not bear to blink. He stared in silence for more than ten minutes before finally coming back to himself.
“It’s incredible!” He was so overwhelmed that he could not come up with any better description. He just kept repeating the same word.
A lot of people reacted that way the first time, so Zhong Chongqiu was not surprised. “Did you find Cancer?”
Lin Huaixi had completely forgotten all about that and pressed his lips together, embarrassed. “No.”
Zhong Chongqiu seemed even more fixated on it than he was. He spent a full half hour searching through the telescope before finally saying in a low voice, “Sorry. Usually you can see it at this time. I don’t know why tonight…”
“It’s okay,” Lin Huaixi interrupted him. “You don’t need to apologize to me.”
Zhong Chongqiu looked at him but said nothing.
Lin Huaixi picked up on the disappointment hanging around Zhong Chongqiu again, and the image of that clumsy bear returned. His heart softened. Reaching out, he patted Zhong Chongqiu lightly on the shoulder. “There’s an event like this every year when the freshmen come in. I can always come again next year.”
Zhong Chongqiu still did not answer. He only looked up at the night sky with unreadable eyes.
Downstairs, people were still lined up eagerly to look at the stars, but Lin Huaixi had already seen enough. He did not dare go downstairs yet for fear of being caught red-handed. So he sat on the steps with his milk tea, quietly enjoying the mountain breeze at night.
At first Zhong Chongqiu stood beside him like a telephone pole, his presence impossible to ignore and constantly disturbing Lin Huaixi’s state of mind. It was not until Lin Huaixi had looked over at him for the eighth time that Zhong Chongqiu finally sat down too.
Even then, he stuck close to the edge, as though if he lost his balance even slightly, he might fall off the steps.
Lin Huaixi found it both funny and baffling. He truly could not tell how much Zhong Chongqiu disliked him to deliberately sit so far away.
Anyone else might have felt affected by that and gradually kept their distance too, but Lin Huaixi acted as if nothing were wrong. His feet swung twice, and he continued gazing up at the night sky in a perfectly good mood.
Unexpectedly, Zhong Chongqiu spoke first. “Do you… like stars?”
“I do.” This time it was the truth, not a polished answer prepared to get into the Astronomy Club.
“So do I.” Zhong Chongqiu’s voice grew softer and softer. After saying it, he even pressed his lips together lightly. There was a strange brightness flickering in his eyes as he looked at Lin Huaixi.
“You free next month too?”
Lin Huaixi turned sharply to look at him, eyes wide. “Wait, wasn’t it supposed to be that these instruments are expensive, the approval process is complicated, and that this event only happens once a year so the new students can have a chance to enjoy the observatory? How is there another one next month?”
Zhong Chongqiu paused, then stammered a bit, “I wanted to organize… no, the Astronomy Club wanted to organize an event. Not that—more like a benefit for internal members. We can come to the observatory again in batches.”
Lin Huaixi thought it over for a few seconds, then nodded in agreement.
“That does make sense. There are so many people in the Astronomy Club, and each person only gets about five minutes.” He muttered quietly, “I was all the way at the end of the line earlier. If you hadn’t called me upstairs, I probably wouldn’t have gotten to see anything.”
As he spoke, he suddenly realized something he had overlooked.
Why had Zhong Chongqiu called only him upstairs?
Come to think of it, they had only met once before, during the interview, and that interaction had not exactly gone smoothly. So why had Zhong Chongqiu opened a back door for him specifically?
Lost in thought, Lin Huaixi stared at Zhong Chongqiu.
Under his gaze, every muscle in Zhong Chongqiu’s body tightened. His lips pressed into a line, his lashes fluttered nonstop, and the ear on the other side turned completely red, the breeze brushing over it and making it tingle.
By instinct, he lifted his arm and rubbed his ear against his sleeve.
By the time Zhong Chongqiu’s whole face had gone red as if he had a fever, Lin Huaixi had reached his conclusion.
It must be because Zhong Chongqiu had seen Qi Wang dropping him off!
There was always some kind of built-in attraction between a scumbag male lead and the main character. Tsk, tsk. Zhong Chongqiu had probably fallen in love with Qi Wang at first sight and wanted to use him as a bridge to get closer to Qi Wang and show him goodwill.
But that was not happening. Until he was sure things were safe, not a single scumbag was getting anywhere near his childhood friend!
Lin Huaixi cleared his throat and said in a businesslike tone, “Thank you for the milk tea tonight, and thank you for letting me look at the stars. But I’m me, and other people are other people. I hope you can tell the difference.”
Zhong Chongqiu looked thoroughly confused. After a moment, he said cautiously, “I know. I don’t act like this with other people.”
Lin Huaixi gave him a scrutinizing look, trying to determine whether they were even talking about the same thing.
“You really understand?”
“I understand,” Zhong Chongqiu said at once, suddenly jumping to his feet. His jawline tightened, and his hands clenched into fists as if he were swearing a blood oath. “I won’t mix them up!”
The two of them were talking past each other entirely, yet somehow still managing to communicate. Once Lin Huaixi confirmed that Zhong Chongqiu was not planning to use him, he finally nodded in satisfaction.
When Lin Huaixi did not continue the conversation, Zhong Chongqiu seemed reluctant to let the atmosphere end there. He opened his mouth, but because he was so bad with words and could not find a topic, he could only sit there anxiously, scratching at his ears and temples.
“You said earlier that person is your best friend. When did you meet?”
Lin Huaixi: “…”
So right after promising him one thing, he was already sneaking around trying to ask about Qi Wang!
Hmph. Scumbag.
“We’ve known each other since we were little. We’re more than just friends—he’s as important as family,” Lin Huaixi answered vaguely, then turned the question back on him. “What about you? Who do you have at home?”
They were nowhere near close enough to talk about private family matters, but after looking at him once, Zhong Chongqiu answered very quickly, as if afraid Lin Huaixi might change his mind.
“My dad went abroad. At home, there’s only my mom and my little sister.”
Hearing the keyword little sister, Lin Huaixi sucked in a breath.
There it was. There it was. He had finally managed to get there.
He turned his head, eyes bright with a strange light. “How old is your sister?”
“Four.” At the mention of his sister, Zhong Chongqiu unconsciously softened into a smile. “She’s really cute, though a little naughty. She hates going to kindergarten. Every time school starts for me, she clings to me and wants to come here with me.”
Lin Huaixi had read the original story and knew Zhong Chongqiu’s family situation was complicated. His little sister was adorable, the family’s little sun, the one who got them through their darkest period and became their emotional anchor.
Zhong Chongqiu was very close to his sister, and that was exactly why, after her death, he completely lost his mind. Under the verbal guidance of the other two scumbags, he redirected all of his hatred onto Qi Wang.
Now Sun Baiyi had changed for the better. Lin Huaixi was sure he would not stir trouble anymore. But Zong Nanze was another matter.
Rather than trying to block Zong Nanze, it would be better to prevent the tragedy itself. A bright, lovable little girl like that should grow up happily, not end up as a black-and-white photo.
With deliberate emphasis, Lin Huaixi said, “At that age, kids love running around and jumping nonstop. As a family member, you absolutely have to keep an eye on her at all times. Never let her out of your sight, not even for a second. Especially if you go somewhere dangerous, like the mountains!”
He deliberately stressed the last two words. Zhong Chongqiu noticed and looked at him, puzzled.
Since Lin Huaixi could hardly tell him, We’re all living inside a novel and I already know the plot, and your adorable little sister is going to die on a mountain trip, he could only keep going along the same line. “Places like the seaside can be dangerous too. And in daily life, you need to be careful and teach her more safety awareness.”
Lin Huaixi had gone on at such length that he sounded like some overenthusiastic older brother. Zhong Chongqiu’s expression softened further. “All right. I’ll thank you on Youyou’s behalf for your concern.”
Lin Huaixi smiled outwardly, but inside he was frantic, wishing he could grab Zhong Chongqiu by the shoulders and carve Don’t take your sister hiking into his forehead.
Zhong Chongqiu was too taciturn, and Lin Huaixi’s gaze was too direct, so the topic naturally died off. But the atmosphere was not awkward. They simply sat side by side by the window, watching the night sky together.
At last, the line downstairs came to an end. The older students began counting people and gathering everyone up to head back.
Lin Huaixi’s nerves kicked in at once. He was terrified someone would discover he had secretly slipped up to the second floor and make a fuss about it. Standing at the stairway, he craned his neck and peered around, practically itching to flatten himself against the ground and dart out like a little mouse.
Seeing his worry, Zhong Chongqiu stepped forward.
Under Lin Huaixi’s puzzled gaze, Zhong Chongqiu walked down the stairs in a broad, open manner, forcing Lin Huaixi to bend low and curl himself into a little ball behind him.
A few freshmen were standing near the staircase and immediately spotted Zhong Chongqiu. His face looked fierce, and his presence was too strong. They only dared glance at him once before quickly lowering their heads.
Lin Huaixi trailed tightly behind him like a little tail, and not a single person noticed him.
Only when both his feet landed on the solid wooden floor of the first level did he finally let out a long breath of relief.
When they counted heads, Lin Huaixi was the very last one to raise his hand high.
His appearance was too memorable. One of the senior girls recognized him instantly and frowned slightly, unable to remember seeing him in the line to view the stars.
But in front of so many people, she did not say anything. She merely smiled and nodded.
The group set off together. Zhong Chongqiu stayed at the very back, while Lin Huaixi sped up a few steps to rejoin the main group.
He was immediately surrounded by the other freshmen, all chatting together. Zhong Chongqiu glanced over more than once, but in the end he did not step forward and interrupt him.
Just as he lowered his gaze, he noticed Lin Huaixi’s arm slide subtly backward, two fingers lifting into a V behind his back.
Zhong Chongqiu froze for a few seconds before the corners of his mouth rose uncontrollably, his whole expression softening.
He knew what that meant.
Lin Huaixi was thanking him for helping him just now.
When Lin Huaixi came back from the observatory, he even stood in line for fifteen minutes just to buy Qi Wang a cup of jasmine green milk tea too.
Qi Wang looked a little surprised when he received it. “Why did you suddenly buy this for me?”
“I thought it was really good, so I wanted you to try it too.”
Qi Wang paused in the middle of inserting the straw, then asked in what sounded like a casual tone, “Did you drink it tonight? Was it someone else who bought it for you?”
Lin Huaixi was sitting across from him, yawning. He nodded.
Qi Wang did not continue the topic. “Sleepy?”
Lin Huaixi had draped himself over the desk like a puddle of melted dough, one whole table not enough to contain him, his arm even sprawled over Qi Wang’s workbook. “A little. I kind of want to sleep, but I still haven’t done my reading.”
“You can do the reading tomorrow. It’s not like this little bit of time matters.”
Still stubborn, Lin Huaixi pulled out the book anyway and lowered his forehead onto it, as if trying to force knowledge to seep into his brain on its own.
When Liu Zhengnian returned and saw the scene before him, he was stunned by the two academic monsters. “My god, you two are still studying? This is insane!”
Lin Huaixi arched a brow. “I’m not even going to expose you. You just came back from the library, didn’t you?”
Liu Zhengnian gave a sheepish laugh. “The thing about studying is, it only tastes right when you do it in secret.”
The moment he finished speaking, Zhang Yunqiu came back sweaty and carrying a basketball. “Zhengnian, how was the movie?”
Lin Huaixi perked up. “What movie?”
Without any guard up, Zhang Yunqiu answered, “Liu Zhengnian said he went to see a movie. I think it was some action blockbuster.”
Lin Huaixi gave a cold snort and could not be bothered to expose him.
Liu Zhengnian could not quite save face. He coughed and awkwardly changed the subject. “Speaking of which, our dorm hasn’t really had a proper meal together yet. When are you all free? Let’s go out and eat.”
The mention of food instantly revived Lin Huaixi. He raised his hand enthusiastically. “I’m free anytime. I await instructions from the organization!”
All four of them were extremely cooperative about it, but their majors were merciless. Lin Huaixi and Liu Zhengnian sat down together with their class schedules, and after comparing them, their eyes both dimmed.
“This is going to kill me. How can first-year students have this many classes? Looks like we either have to go out on the weekend or lower our standards for now and have a dorm meal in the cafeteria.”
Liu Zhengnian gave him a pitying look, then stabbed another knife into his heart. “Let me tell you a ghost story. Next month, we’ll have military training in the daytime and classes at night.”
Lin Huaixi: “…” You might as well just kill me now.
He had nothing left to say. Tearfully, he collapsed sideways onto Qi Wang. Qi Wang caught him steadily and patted his back twice like he was soothing a child. “It’s okay. Second year will be more relaxed.”
Lin Huaixi lifted his fluffy head from Qi Wang’s shoulder. “Really?”
“Really.”
As Qi Wang soothed him, he also settled the time with Liu Zhengnian. “Then let’s eat together in the cafeteria this Wednesday evening first, and go out somewhere on the weekend.”
Lin Huaixi managed to revive just a little. “I want hot pot.”
“Fine. Whatever you want,” Qi Wang said, as always indulging him.
Only then did Lin Huaixi flop back down in satisfaction.
…
The campus was huge. Lin Huaixi had not taken the initiative to add Zhong Chongqiu’s contact information, and after that night at the observatory, the two of them never ran into each other again—until Wednesday, when they were having dinner.
Their cafeteria was famous for having great food. The four of them split up and lined up at different counters, sweeping up everything delicious until the table was completely full.
This was technically their first real meal together, so there ought to have been some kind of opening speech. But the three of them had all been tortured by classes the entire afternoon and were starving. The instant the smell of food reached them, their eyes went blank with hunger, and they picked up their chopsticks in perfect unspoken coordination.
With his mouth stuffed full, Liu Zhengnian made an emotional review: “Mmmrghblblrrr—”
Lin Huaixi instantly found a kindred spirit and nodded repeatedly. “%?#&*!…?@! mmm!”
Liu Zhengnian nodded along in agreement and reached his chopsticks for the next dish.
Zhang Yunqiu was dumbfounded. “How are you two even communicating? I can’t understand a single word!”
Smiling, Qi Wang explained, “Huaixi said the sweet-and-sour ribs are delicious, but still not quite as good as Grandma’s.”
Liu Zhengnian’s eyes widened. “Wait, was that what he meant? No, I’m on Team Steamed Pork. I think this one’s the best!”
Zhang Yunqiu: “…” Then what exactly were you nodding for just now?
By now he had figured something out: among everyone present, the only person who could understand Lin Huaixi’s encrypted speech was Qi Wang. Unlike the other three starving wolves, Qi Wang still moved with calm elegance, currently using his chopsticks to pick every last fish bone out of a piece of fish.
A handsome guy eating really was something else.
That thought had barely crossed Zhang Yunqiu’s mind when he saw Qi Wang place the boneless piece of fish into Lin Huaixi’s bowl. Lin Huaixi took it as if it were the most natural thing in the world and stuffed it straight into his mouth.
Once he finished the fish, he casually took Qi Wang’s plate.
Neither Liu Zhengnian nor Zhang Yunqiu knew that Qi Wang avoided cilantro, so they had both piled plenty of it onto the dishes. Lin Huaixi had deliberately grabbed three extra pairs of chopsticks, one pair per dish, and began picking out the cilantro, taking great care of Qi Wang’s obsessive neatness and mild cleanliness issues.
Lin Huaixi was even more practiced at removing cilantro than Qi Wang was at removing fish bones. He did not make a single unnecessary move. The three pairs of chopsticks moved through his hands like a trick performance, never once getting mixed up. In only five short minutes, all the cilantro had been neatly stacked into a little pile off to the side, while Qi Wang’s plate had filled up again.
The two of them had grown up together. This kind of scene had happened countless times, and only that kind of history could create such natural ease and coordination.
Liu Zhengnian and Zhang Yunqiu, two lonely bachelors, had never seen anything like it before. Their eyes nearly popped out of their heads, mouths hanging open in silence.
Lin Huaixi had long since grown used to it. “Qi Wang doesn’t eat cilantro,” he said casually. “If you ever buy food for him on your own later, just remember to ask the vendor to leave it out. If you forget, that’s okay too. I’m really good at picking cilantro out.”
When they were little, Qi Wang used to voluntarily pick the fish bones out for him. Lin Huaixi had always felt too embarrassed about it. Later, when he discovered Qi Wang disliked cilantro, he finally found a way to return the favor. Over time, he developed an unmatched personal skill in picking cilantro.
Sometimes he even found himself wishing Qi Wang disliked scallions too. Then he would have even more room to show off.
Liu Zhengnian opened his mouth, then thought better of it. He felt as though he simply did not belong in this atmosphere, so he lowered his head and obediently focused on his own food.
After Lin Huaixi handed the plate back to Qi Wang, he was just about to go for another sweet-and-sour rib when the corner of his eye suddenly caught a familiar figure.
It was the middle of the dinner rush. The cafeteria was full of students coming and going, and the lines at the counters were packed so tightly no water could flow through them. Zhong Chongqiu stood not far away holding his tray, his gaze passing through the crowd and landing squarely on him.
The two of them looked at each other for several seconds. Lin Huaixi’s eyesight was absurdly sharp, and he caught precisely how Zhong Chongqiu’s gaze shifted away and then settled on Qi Wang, who was sitting beside him.
…As expected!!
The feeling was like the cabbage he had painstakingly raised with such care had been spotted by a pig again. Lin Huaixi’s heart instantly ached with both pain and bitterness, and he nearly wanted to pull open his shirt and hide Qi Wang inside it.
