Chapter 77
Lin Huaixi’s Adam’s apple bobbed. His whole body went stiff, but the words had already left his mouth, and it would be awkward to take them back now. He could only brace a hand on the ground and push himself up.
The moment he moved, he realized his legs felt a little weak.
…Was he really this cowardly?
Lin Huaixi shut his eyes hard, completely threw caution to the wind, and inched toward Qi Wang little by little.
Qi Wang knew Lin Huaixi far too well. Lin Huaixi could face almost anything with bravery and honesty, but at certain moments his skin turned terribly thin. Like a little snail, the moment someone lightly brushed those feelers that sensed danger, he would immediately shrink back into his shell and refuse to come out again.
Qi Wang knew Lin Huaixi had already pushed past his limits and taken the initiative to step forward. He did not want to stimulate him too much. He had wanted to wait until everything happened naturally, until they could simply fall into place together.
But now Lin Huaixi was sitting right beside him, within arm’s reach and unbearably adorable. Qi Wang’s heart itched, and he could not resist wanting to tease him a little.
Who would have thought that once Lin Huaixi gritted his teeth, he would actually go through with it?
Just moments ago Qi Wang had still looked perfectly at ease, but now he panicked. Watching Lin Huaixi sit down with his eyes tightly shut, Qi Wang shifted an inch to the side before he could fully settle.
Lin Huaixi sat down on the sofa. The sensation felt wrong, and he opened his eyes in confusion. Meeting Qi Wang’s gaze, he asked, “Did you move?”
Qi Wang lied calmly, “No.”
“…Even if I’m a bit timid, I really can’t handle anything too intimate yet.” Lin Huaixi licked his lower lip and murmured softly, “Let’s still take it step by step. We haven’t even moved from holding hands to the next stage yet. This feels a little too…”
Qi Wang nodded, showing understanding and agreement. “That’s true. This goes beyond our plan.”
Then he abruptly changed direction and caught Lin Huaixi off guard. “What comes after holding hands?”
Lin Huaixi had absolutely no experience in this area. He blankly stretched out his hand and ventured, “Interlocking fingers… is that okay?”
Qi Wang nodded. Then he slowly reached out his own hand, his gaze fixed directly on Lin Huaixi. Lin Huaixi immediately understood what he meant, and his tongue felt dry.
Qi Wang moved very slowly, gentlemanly, leaving Lin Huaixi every chance to refuse or pull away. But Lin Huaixi’s mind was blank, and for some reason he stayed where he was, motionless.
Qi Wang’s palm pressed against his. Long fingers slid through the gaps between Lin Huaixi’s fingers, and his fingertips locked firmly against the back of his hand.
“Like this?” Qi Wang asked, as if they were seriously working through some research topic together.
Lin Huaixi opened his mouth, but only after a few seconds did sound finally come out. “Mm. I think this is okay.”
Neither of them spoke again, nor did they move. They simply sat there with their fingers interlocked for ten minutes.
Fifteen minutes.
Twenty minutes.
…
The room was utterly quiet. The air itself seemed to have substance, flowing slowly around them. Their feelings blended into it, wrapping them tightly together, turning the atmosphere soft and tender, full of unspoken intimacy.
Only when both their palms had begun to sweat and their arms felt a little stiff did they naturally let go.
They exchanged just one glance, and some kind of silent understanding passed between them. Almost at the same time, they stood up, said goodnight to each other, and returned to their own rooms.
Lin Huaixi went straight to the bathroom to wash up. But when he changed clothes and looked at himself in the mirror, he froze.
The bathroom was filled with drifting white steam. Perhaps because the heat was too high, his cheeks had been steamed pink. His eyes, however, looked as though they were veiled with a thin layer of mist, bright and sparkling. His whole person looked different than before—fresh, radiant, and far better-looking.
Not only that, but the corners of his mouth simply would not come down. Just moments ago, he had even been humming under his breath without realizing it.
Lin Huaixi stared blankly, then reached up and rubbed his face, trying hard to flatten his smile. But the second he let go, his lips curled upward again.
He repeated the motion several times, until in the end he gave up on himself and laughed at his reflection.
What exactly was there to be this happy about? Why was he smiling like this?
Lin Huaixi let himself indulge in it, and with that smile and good mood, he fell asleep.
It was a night of sweet dreams.
When he woke the next morning, everything seemed as usual. The two of them ate breakfast, then went separately to their own classes. At noon they met in the cafeteria for lunch, rested a little in the dorm, and then headed off again for afternoon classes.
After a full day of intense studying, Lin Huaixi felt slightly dazed by the time class ended. He let out a long breath before finally starting to think about what to do next.
Should he eat dinner at the school cafeteria? Or go home? In the end, maybe it was better to ask Qi Wang—
The ringing of his phone interrupted his thoughts.
Lin Huaixi looked at the caller ID, froze for a long moment, and only answered just before the ringtone ended.
Sun Baiyi’s voice came through. “Xixi, do you have time tonight? Um…”
He stammered awkwardly, unable to get the words out. Lin Huaixi immediately understood what he meant. “I do. Why don’t we meet up? There’s something I want to tell you.”
Sun Baiyi instantly brightened. “Sure! Then let’s go back to that beach from the other day. I thought the scenery was really beautiful, and I want to walk it again.”
After hanging up, Lin Huaixi made his way toward the beach with a complicated mood. So lost in his thoughts was he that he forgot how much time had passed. By the time he finally arrived, burdened with worries, he looked up and saw Sun Baiyi standing there with the sunset at his back, his figure long and upright.
Like a cheerful golden retriever, Sun Baiyi rushed over the moment he saw him, his hair blown wild by the wind. “Xixi, you’re here!”
Lin Huaixi nodded and looked at him with a serious, earnest expression. Since he had already made up his mind, there was no point in hesitating anymore.
“Baiyi, I’m sorry. I told you I would think carefully and give you an answer, but a few things happened, and I got distracted. I ended up dragging it out for several days. I’m really sorry.”
Sun Baiyi froze where he stood. The amber light from the setting sun that had filled his eyes dimmed at once.
Lin Huaixi had wanted to explain everything clearly, but Sun Baiyi had already guessed.
Sun Baiyi only looked carefree and thoughtless; he was not actually stupid at all. In fact, he was very sharp. “Y-you… did you and Qi Wang get together?”
Lin Huaixi had his lines stolen away from him. His lips parted, but no words came out. He could only stare dumbly at Sun Baiyi.
“So it really was him!” Sun Baiyi burst out angrily. “We agreed on fair competition. How could he steal a march on me? Xixi, when exactly did you two get together?”
Lin Huaixi thought it over and answered, “That night when we went to his place to clean up, he confessed to me. I only said yes two days ago.”
Sun Baiyi fell silent.
He had thought Qi Wang had broken the rules and stolen the lead. He had never imagined that Qi Wang had confessed only one day earlier than he himself had.
At that time, Sun Baiyi had also been by Lin Huaixi’s side. In that sense, it really had been fair competition. He had simply been too slow and too dense to notice.
Sun Baiyi had always been a silly, carefree, happy big dog. Seeing his face now, seeing the dark clouds rolling in his eyes, filled with countless repressed negative emotions, Lin Huaixi felt his own heart sink with him.
Sun Baiyi had once been one of the scumbag gong in the story, and there had once been conflict between them. But that was all in childhood. After Sun Baiyi changed for the better, the two of them had grown up together. Lin Huaixi genuinely considered him one of his very best friends. He did not want Sun Baiyi to be hurt. But this was something he was destined to do to him anyway.
Lin Huaixi struggled inwardly, his heart aching. His brows drew tightly together.
Sun Baiyi noticed and suddenly smiled. He walked over and pressed a finger between Lin Huaixi’s brows, smoothing out the crease as if he wanted to rub away every trace of his worry.
“You just don’t like me that way. You didn’t do anything wrong, so don’t look like that.” The clearer and purer a person’s heart was, the more capable they were of cutting through complicated problems in the simplest way. “Qi Wang knew you before I did, and he liked you before I did. The two of you have also spent more time together. There’s a certain logic in me losing to him. I’m not convinced, sure, but Xixi, you’re not some prize, and you’re not an object. We don’t get to fight over you.”
Lin Huaixi looked at Sun Baiyi in silence, his emotions growing even more tangled.
But Sun Baiyi did not give him the chance to dwell on it. He waved a hand dismissively. “The counselor just called and gave me a scolding, told me to hurry back to class. Can’t help it, studies are serious business. I’ve got to go. How about this—when we’re on break, I’ll treat both of you to a meal!”
He did not give Lin Huaixi any chance to respond. He turned and hurried off. Lin Huaixi instinctively took half a step forward, but in the end he still stopped where he was.
The sun sank lower and lower until it drew a thin orange line across the surface of the sea. Their shadows stretched long across the sand, drifting farther and farther apart, until Sun Baiyi became nothing more than a dark dot in Lin Huaixi’s eyes.
…
Night deepened, and the lights of countless homes flickered on. Qi Wang had already finished cooking, yet Lin Huaixi still had not returned.
At first Qi Wang had assumed Lin Huaixi must still be studying and had not urged him. But now that it was this late and he still was not back, Qi Wang could not help growing worried.
Qi Wang frowned slightly and had just picked up his phone to call Lin Huaixi when the apartment door opened.
Lin Huaixi smiled at him, lowered his head to change his shoes, and said, “Sorry. I was studying and lost track of time, so I came back late.”
He did not dare meet Qi Wang’s eyes again. He hurried inward as if trying to escape, but Qi Wang remained standing where he was, watching him with a deep, unreadable gaze. “What happened?”
Lin Huaixi froze for a moment, then forced himself to keep smiling. “Nothing happened. Why would you ask that?”
Qi Wang did not expose him. He only looked at him with a gaze that was gentle, patient, and all too understanding.
Lin Huaixi had spent so long by the sea breeze that he had finally managed to calm himself down, and he had almost succeeded in pretending nothing was wrong. But the walls he had so painstakingly built up crumbled in an instant before Qi Wang.
Lin Huaixi held himself together for as long as he could. Then, slowly, the smile faded from his face. In an almost inaudible voice, he finally confessed:
“What am I supposed to do? I made Baiyi sad.”
