Chapter 5: Going Home for Dinner

You Chong dropped off Lin Hexi at the south gate of A University, then drove the car to the underground parking garage of the residential area.

After getting out of the car, he went around to the back seat to retrieve something. When he opened the door, he caught a faint whiff of lingering smoke inside the car.

The smell wasn’t as pungent as men’s cigarettes. You Chong recalled the girl Lin Hexi had taken away from the bar, frowned slightly, and a mocking expression appeared on his face.

He took the elevator up from the underground garage. The elevator slowly stopped and opened its doors on the first floor. Someone stepped into the elevator, and upon seeing You Chong inside, paused slightly.

You Chong glanced at the person who came, also momentarily taken aback, then coldly curled his lips, “There are still ten minutes before the curfew. Can’t you take a taxi back to the dormitory in time?”

Lin Hexi’s dark eyes shifted slightly. He stood calmly in the elevator and, in a somewhat pitiful tone, tried to cover up, “By the time I got back, the dormitory gate was already locked.”

You Chong said nothing, but reminded impatiently, “You didn’t press a floor button.”

Following his words, Lin Hexi looked at the buttons inside the elevator. The number eighteen was faintly lit with a red glow. Lin Hexi raised his eyebrows knowingly and turned around, lowering his voice, “I have nowhere to go.”

You Chong was surprised for a second and asked in a deep voice, “You followed me here?”

Lin Hexi didn’t say yes or no, just looked up and stared directly at him. His long, narrow eyes now drooped slightly, looking somewhat pitiful, “Can you let me stay at your place for a night? The sofa will do.”

You Chong’s face darkened, “There are plenty of hotels and inns nearby.”

Lin Hexi looked distressed, “I didn’t bring my ID card.”

The elevator had already stopped and opened its doors on the eighteenth floor. You Chong walked straight out of the elevator, with Lin Hexi following closely behind.

Each floor had three households. You Chong stopped in front of the door at the end of the hallway. As he activated the password lock to enter the code, he turned his head and said, “Why are you following me?”

Lin Hexi looked at him expectantly, “Just let me stay for one night.”

You Chong stood still, and his sharp gaze scrutinized him.

Lin Hexi openly spread his arms, allowing him to scrutinize as he pleased.

You Chong’s gaze lingered for a moment on the slightly bulging pocket of Lin Hexi’s jeans.

Lin Hexi asked again, “Have you decided?”

You Chong didn’t say anything, but suddenly took a step forward, bent over and leaned towards him.

Lin Hexi stood still, not moving.

You Chong had already extended two long fingers, pinching the edge of the device, and pulled the phone out of Lin Hexi’s jeans pocket. He lit up the phone screen, glanced down at the battery percentage at the top of the screen, and sneered, “Phone died and shut off?”

He tossed the phone back to Lin Hexi, and looked at him with sharp eyes, “Full of lies.”

For once, Lin Hexi felt a pang of guilt and touched the tip of his nose without saying anything.

You Chong ignored him, entered the password, went inside, and shut the door, leaving him outside.

Not particularly bothered, Lin Hexi memorized the apartment number on the door, turned around, and pushed open the door to the emergency exit, taking the stairs down to the seventeenth floor, then entered his own place.

Life seemed to return to normal. The takeout was properly placed in the dormitory lobby, his name no longer appeared on the attendance sheet during skipped classes, and the counselor stopped frequently checking the dorms, returning to their usual indifferent attitude towards him.

Until Friday morning, when Mrs. Lin suddenly called, asking him to come home for dinner.

On the phone, the other party greeted him with insincere concern, and Lin Hexi responded in kind with the same insincerity.

He did not refuse Mrs. Lin’s invitation.

He knew well that the real reason for the invitation was not genuinely wanting him to come back for dinner, but rather two reasons. First, they were likely worried that he would quietly slip out of the Lin family’s control. Second, it was probably because Lin Yuanwei had returned home.

As usual, Mrs. Lin instructed him over the phone to return in the afternoon with Lin Tong in the Lin family’s car. Lin Hexi casually agreed but put the matter of the ride out of his mind after hanging up.

Not to mention whether he wanted to share a car with Lin Tong, the Lin family driver was coming to pick up Lin Tong, and Lin Tong had never waited for him on a Friday afternoon.

At noon, he had lunch with Ning Nan at a tea restaurant near the school. Ning Nan invited him to join a mixer with girls from the neighboring department that evening, but Lin Hexi shook his head and declined.

Ning Nan spoke unhappily, “Why won’t you go? I already told them you’d be there.”

Lin Hexi didn’t even lift his eyelids, gently stirring the milk tea in his glass with a straw, “My dad is back. I have to go back to the Lin family for dinner.”

“Your dad? You mean Lin Tong’s dad, right?” Ning Nan sneered, raising his voice persistently, “Why do you have to go tonight? Can’t you go back for dinner any other day?”

It was then that Lin Hexi finally looked up, and said calmly, “I promised the Lin family I’d go back for dinner, but I don’t recall ever promising you I’d attend the mixer tonight.”

Ning Nan was left speechless by his response, and his face turned quite unpleasant.

Without finishing lunch, Ning Nan left in a huff.

Lin Hexi, unperturbed, watched him storm off, then finished his milk tea and sat on the sofa playing with his phone.

Until the floor-to-ceiling window beside him was tapped by someone.

Lin Hexi looked up at the sound and saw a young girl with a delicate and fair face standing by the window outside the shop.

Squinting through the transparent glass, he scrutinized her. It was only when his gaze passed over her beautiful, dark curly hair that a faint sense of familiarity surfaced in his memory.

Fang Qingning pressed her palm against the glass, signaling him to come out of the shop. Two of her friends stood a few steps away, pretending to casually observe him.

Lin Hexi got up, walked around his seat, and pushed open the shop door towards the street.

Fang Qingning quickly walked up to him, stuffed something into his arms, took a couple of steps away, and then turned back. She waved and called out with a cheerful smile, “This is a thank-you for treating me to yogurt.”

Lin Hexi smiled faintly and waved back, “Thanks.”

Having just had a milk tea, he naturally couldn’t drink another. Lin Hexi carried the milk tea and started walking back towards the school, but as he stepped forward, he suddenly sensed a gaze from across the street.

He stopped and looked across the not-too-wide road.

The popular cold drink shop had people lining up outside. Among them, You Chong stood under the eaves with his hands in his pockets, avoiding the sun while observing Lin Hexi’s movements.

Just two minutes ago, Lin Hexi was sitting in the tea restaurant, finding his mobile game uninteresting. Now, seeing You Chong, he smiled.

He stood still, with half his face hidden in the shadow of the eaves and the other half exposed to the sunlight.

The golden light danced around his hair and forehead, filtering through his dark, long eyelashes, casting dappled shadows on the corner of his eyes and the tip of his nose.

This made his smile even more dazzling.

You Chong, who had been indifferent all along, now slowly narrowed his eyes, not knowing what Lin Hexi was smiling about.

Lin Hexi, carrying the milk tea, crossed the road towards him. Before he could speak, You Chong’s indifferent voice reached him first, “You certainly don’t lack people to give you milk tea.”

“But I don’t want to drink her milk tea.” Lin Hexi responded with a playful tone. Then he said with a smile in his eyes, “I’d rather drink the one you give me.”

You Chong glanced at him with a cold and somber expression.

Lin Hexi then restrained his smile a bit and shrugged, “I just wanted to ask if anyone here wants some milk tea.”

You Chong ignored him.

Undeterred, Lin Hexi went on to ask You Chong’s two roommates who were in line. As expected, none of them responded to him. Lin Hexi moved to the next person, who happened to be Lin Tong.

Lin Hexi maintained his usual expression and skipped him.

Just as he lifted his foot, he heard Lin Tong speak unexpectedly, “At five o’clock in the afternoon outside the north gate of the school, don’t be late.”

Although Lin Tong did not mention his name or even look at him, Lin Hexi quickly understood that Lin Tong was talking to him.