Chapter 83
Wait… what did “together” mean again… It meant they were dating.
Who was together with who? His two best brothers?
Weren’t his two best brothers just childhood friends? Had one bamboo horse turned into a wife?!
Liu Zhengnian and Zhang Yunqiu both wore utterly blank expressions. It was as if he could hear the rusty gears in their brains screeching as they struggled to think.
This had gone far beyond the limits of their understanding. It felt like if this went on for even one more second, they would completely crash.
Feeling sorry for them, Lin Huaixi said, “Sorry, I know this is really sudden. I just hadn’t figured out how to tell you before, so I kept putting it off.”
Liu Zhengnian opened his mouth wide, about to say something, but accidentally choked on the air and hiccupped first.
Lin Huaixi: “……”
After realizing how improper that looked, Liu Zhengnian blushed in embarrassment. “That was just an accident. Forget it happened!”
Zhang Yunqiu scooted away from him in disgust, then stared fixedly at the intertwined hands of Qi Wang and Lin Huaixi for a long while before finally speaking. “This is a good thing, though. The first time I met you guys, I already felt your relationship was kind of unusual. So you were already together back then?”
Lin Huaixi said dryly, “Actually, back then we weren’t together yet.”
Now it was Liu Zhengnian and Zhang Yunqiu’s turn to freeze.
Lin Huaixi had no room to laugh at their wooden heads. He himself had been just as slow. He almost wanted to travel back in time and smack his old self on the head. Maybe he’d even hear water sloshing around in there.
Worried that Lin Huaixi might dwell in negative emotions for too long, Qi Wang smiled and smoothly took over the conversation. “We only just got together. A lot of complicated things happened in between.”
Even though Liu Zhengnian was dense, his ability to accept things was extremely strong. While stuffing his mouth full of meat, he asked, “Which one of you confessed first? I’m guessing Qi Wang.”
Qi Wang nodded.
“Then Huaixi must’ve agreed right away!” Zhang Yunqiu said in an absolutely certain tone.
Lin Huaixi lowered his head even further. Qi Wang kept smiling, but still cast him a pretend-hurt glance. “No. But at least I didn’t have to wait too long.”
With his mouth still stuffed full of meat, Liu Zhengnian gave his blunt review. “Honestly, Huaixi, it’ll be hard for you to find another person who understands you better and treats you better than Qi Wang. Hesitation leads to defeat!”
Lin Huaixi was also looking back on the past. He was thin-skinned and had been too embarrassed to make his feelings clear before, so now, in a burst of urgency, he blurted out, “I regret it too. If I got another chance, I’d definitely agree to Qi Wang right away.”
Qi Wang got the answer he wanted, and the corners of his lips curved up slightly. Meanwhile, Liu Zhengnian and Zhang Yunqiu, two miserable single dogs, were struck hard.
Wuwuwu, suddenly they wanted to date too, orz.
Zhang Yunqiu thought of the key issue. “Then how are we supposed to interact with you guys from now on?”
He stared at Lin Huaixi seriously for a few seconds, then tested the waters. “…Sister-in-law?”
Lin Huaixi instantly broke out in goosebumps and hurriedly waved his hands. “No need to change anything. Just treat us the same as before.”
Zhang Yunqiu nodded. “I think that sounds gross too.”
After talking this long, he was already thirsty, so he instinctively reached his chopsticks into the pot—only to come up with nothing.
Not only was the pot empty, the plate of meat was also completely wiped clean.
Liu Zhengnian, the glutton that he was, had not neglected his mouth while everyone else was talking. While no one was paying attention, he had polished off an entire plate of meat.
Zhang Yunqiu instantly snapped. Throwing down his chopsticks, he lunged at Liu Zhengnian with a savage expression and grabbed him by the neck. “Give my meat back! The hatred of meat theft is irreconcilable!”
Lin Huaixi hurried over to break them apart, and the three of them quickly descended into chaos again.
After dinner, Liu Zhengnian and Zhang Yunqiu voluntarily took over the job of cleaning up and directly chased Lin Huaixi and Qi Wang out of the dorm.
When Qi Wang got downstairs, he glanced back, still feeling a little guilty.
Lin Huaixi secretly laughed behind his back.
Since when was Liu Zhengnian that loyal? He was just afraid his wardrobe might not be able to hold up under the pressure and “collapse in one great landslide” in front of Qi Wang.
To preserve Liu Zhengnian’s dignity, Lin Huaixi did not expose him. He just patted Qi Wang on the shoulder. “Let’s go back.”
Qi Wang nodded. The two of them walked side by side, chatting as they went.
“Have you bought the tickets already?”
“Yeah. We’ll pack in the morning tomorrow, and we should be home by the afternoon.”
Just thinking about it made Lin Huaixi happy. “It feels like it’s been forever since we stayed at Grandma’s house. Do you still remember our little room?”
Qi Wang gave a helpless laugh. “We’ve only been away for half a year. My memory isn’t that bad.”
“Only half a year?” Lin Huaixi asked in surprise. To him, it felt like a lifetime ago.
“Then this winter break, we’re not going anywhere. We’ll just stay with Grandma and Grandpa the whole time,” Qi Wang said.
Mention of Grandma made Lin Huaixi drift into old memories. “Whenever we go back to Grandma’s house, it feels like returning to childhood. It’s like neither of us has changed at all.”
Qi Wang smiled, naturally took Lin Huaixi’s hand, and laced their fingers together. “There has been a change.”
Lin Huaixi’s heart was filled with something soft, so full it was almost spilling over. His clear eyes reflected the Milky Way, as if they were the brightest thing in the world.
Just as Lin Huaixi was about to say something, his gaze dropped and landed on the hair in front of Qi Wang’s forehead.
He lifted a hand and caught a snowflake on his fingertip. “It’s snowing!” he said in delight. “This is the first snow of the year!”
Joy lit up his brows, and like a child seeing snow for the first time, he could not resist standing on tiptoe and stretching out his arm, wanting to catch the falling flakes.
But the snowflakes were mischievous, drifting through the air with the wind, drawing elegant arcs. Several times they rose again just as his hand reached for them. Lin Huaixi stretched his fingers straight, yet still could not catch one.
He could not help showing a troubled, anxious little expression. Just then, he suddenly felt his legs being held, and the next second his whole body rose as his view rapidly changed.
Lin Huaixi’s heart stirred. He opened his palm, and this time he finally caught that naughty snowflake.
Lowering his head, he braced himself with his other hand on Qi Wang’s shoulder and looked down at him from above, excitedly sharing, “Look, I caught one!”
The snowflake had already melted in his palm. Qi Wang gazed at him with a smile in his eyes. His voice was lighter than the wind. “Mm. I caught one too.”
Lin Huaixi blinked in confusion and looked around. “When did you catch a snowflake?”
Qi Wang thought for a moment, then answered with perfect seriousness, “About fifty-two days ago.”
Lin Huaixi tilted his head in puzzlement.
This was the first snow of the year. How could Qi Wang possibly have caught a snowflake nearly two months ago?
After thinking for a few seconds, his brows suddenly relaxed, and his eyes widened. “You mean…”
There was not the slightest trace of shyness in Qi Wang’s tone, as if he could openly confess his love to the whole world. “That snowflake’s name was Xixi. I stretched out my hand and waited for so, so many years before he finally fell into my palm.”
For a long while, Lin Huaixi could not say anything.
The two of them quietly looked at each other. No one knew who started it first, but the curve of their lips grew bigger and bigger. Snow drifted gently down, settling in their hair, on their eyelashes, and over their shoulders.
Lin Huaixi raised a hand and brushed the snow from Qi Wang, his fingertips trailing from his forehead downward, slowly tracing his handsome brows and high nose bridge before finally stopping on Qi Wang’s lips.
Something stirred in Lin Huaixi’s heart. His fingertip lingered at the corner of Qi Wang’s mouth, rubbing lightly.
Qi Wang looked cold and distant on the outside, but his lips were softer than Lin Huaixi had imagined. The memory of it made Lin Huaixi restless, and his breathing grew heavier.
Qi Wang had no idea how lethal he looked like this. There was deep affection in his brows and eyes, and in his gaze there was only one reflection—Lin Huaixi alone—as if he were whispering love words into his ear: Nothing in this world can compare to you.
Lin Huaixi’s fingers curled slightly, wrinkling the smooth fabric beneath them. Lowering his head, he rubbed his nose gently against Qi Wang’s. Their breaths mingled, stained with each other’s warmth.
His eyelashes trembled softly. He examined Qi Wang’s expression from below, and when he saw the desire rolling in those eyes, he suddenly smiled, wanting to tease him a little.
But Qi Wang did not give him the chance. He lowered his head and kissed him, almost like retaliation, lightly grinding his teeth over that soft lower lip, while the wet sound of the kiss disappeared between their mouths.
…
After they got back, Lin Huaixi went to shower first.
He had already felt his lips burning a little, but it was only while changing clothes that he finally saw himself in the mirror.
His natural lip color was on the pale side, with gentle, clean lines, and when he parted them slightly, the curve of his lip bead was only faintly visible. But now his lips were a vivid red, and that little lip bead stood out especially clearly.
It was all Qi Wang’s fault!
Lin Huaixi let out a soft huff through his nose and went to settle the score with Qi Wang. But the moment he pushed open the door, he saw Qi Wang walking toward him carrying a cup of milk.
He lifted his brows and tried to glare at him fiercely. “Just look—”
The living room lights were off. Qi Wang walked out of the dim darkness and toward him, and the first thing that caught his eye was the wound at the corner of Qi Wang’s lips.
Lin Huaixi instantly fell silent, staring fixedly at that spot.
His own lips were only slightly swollen, but the injury at Qi Wang’s lip corner was a real wound. And the location was especially suggestive. Anyone could tell at a glance it had been bitten.
For a moment, Lin Huaixi’s mind went blank, and he could not help replaying pieces of the kiss in his head.
When had he bitten him? He had not even tasted blood… but he’d lost control at the time. His eyes had only been on Qi Wang. He had not noticed anything else. It was only after getting home that he realized even his clothes had ended up wrinkled.
Lin Huaixi only let himself think about it for a few seconds before his mouth went dry and hot. His gaze kept drifting back to Qi Wang’s face, and he even wanted to throw his arms around him again. He coughed lightly, forcibly suppressing the chaotic thoughts in his heart, and, pretending to be perfectly serious, reached out to take the cup. “Thanks.”
He had just turned to walk away when Qi Wang stretched out a foot and blocked him.
“What?”
Qi Wang’s face had too much power over him. Lin Huaixi did not even dare turn around and look at him.
“Help me put medicine on it.”
Lin Huaixi’s heart tightened at once. He spun around and looked at him with concern. “Where does it hurt?”
The corner of Qi Wang’s lips lifted, but he accidentally tugged the wound and sucked in a breath. He looked at Lin Huaixi like some helpless girl bullied by a villain, pitiful and wronged.
Lin Huaixi froze in place and understood instantly.
His brain shut down for a few seconds. He did not know whether to move his right foot first or his left. Stiffly, he walked over. “Which ointment should I use?”
He sat down on the sofa and began rummaging through the medicine kit. He was so focused that he did not even notice when Qi Wang had moved over.
The sofa dipped. Qi Wang sat beside him, his gaze dark and steady as he watched him, then casually pointed to the ointment in the corner. “Use that one.”
Even though it was only a small wound, Lin Huaixi took it very seriously. He carefully read the instructions before finally nodding. “This one should work.”
Holding a cotton swab, he moved so carefully for fear of hurting Qi Wang that every now and then he stopped to check his expression. “Does it hurt?”
Only after Lin Huaixi had finished applying the ointment did Qi Wang speak in that slow, lazy drawl of his, his low voice even heavier in the deep night. “It does.”
Qi Wang used to speak and act in such a proper manner. Hearing that dragged-out tone from him, Lin Huaixi instinctively looked up at him, completely puzzled.
Who had Qi Wang learned this from?
“Is the wound deep?”
“No.”
“Is it still bleeding?”
“It stopped bleeding a long time ago.”
During this back-and-forth, Qi Wang kept getting closer. One hand braced itself on the sofa behind Lin Huaixi.
Qi Wang’s aggressiveness was too strong. It felt as if he had stripped him bare and was invading him without restraint. Lin Huaixi could not help lifting his hands to shield his chest, then turning his face away from Qi Wang.
Qi Wang continued, “Why did you bite me?”
Lin Huaixi finally could not take it anymore. He turned back to glare at him. “I didn’t do it on purpose! Besides, you used a lot of force too. My lips are swollen!”
Qi Wang lifted a brow, looking unconvinced.
Lin Huaixi refused to back down. “Your wound is so shallow it doesn’t even need medicine.”
As he said that, he puffed out his lips and gave Qi Wang a full demonstration of how swollen they were.
Their bodies were pressed close together. Qi Wang let out a soft laugh right by Lin Huaixi’s ear, and an instant current shot through him, making his chest go numb.
“Then next time I’ll make the wound deeper.”
The next second, Lin Huaixi tasted the cool flavor of mint.
