Chapter 75: Are You Angry?

You Chong didn’t speak. His gaze passed over Lin Tong, who was standing in front of him, and landed directly on Lin Hexi, who had already stepped onto the sidewalk. His face showed little emotion.

It was likely because You Chong was standing in such dim lighting that, the moment Lin Hexi met his eyes, his footsteps faltered slightly, and an inexplicable sense of panic welled up in his heart.

For a moment, he couldn’t quite tell whether You Chong was genuinely angry or if it was just the darkness playing tricks on him.

Sensing something, Lin Tong, who had his back to You Chong, turned around to look at him. Still upset about the fact that You Chong had been deceived, he immediately reached out and pulled Lin Hexi closer to You Chong. “I’m not making this up about the bet,” he said, his voice still brimming with frustration. Then, with a cold expression, he asked, “You did say those things to me, didn’t you?”

Lin Hexi thought about it carefully and did indeed recall such an incident.

At the time, he had only said those things to provoke his spoiled younger brother standing before him. It was something he had said casually, and he had forgotten about it soon after.

What he hadn’t expected was that Lin Tong would actually take it seriously and remember it for such a long time.

Although he hadn’t actually gone to the trouble of pursuing You Chong, as he had told Lin Tong, now that he thought back on his rather flirtatious behavior toward You Chong, combined with Lin Tong’s confident “testimony,” it did seem a bit like he had ulterior motives.

Lin Hexi’s expression remained calm. “I did say that, but it wasn’t for a bet.” There was a faint hint of pity in his eyes as he looked at Lin Tong, as if he were looking at an idiot. “It was simply to provoke you. Couldn’t you tell?”

Lin Tong was so angry that his chest heaved violently.

Lin Hexi withdrew the emotion from his eyes and coldly spoke, dismissing him: “If there’s nothing else, you can leave now.”

Lin Tong’s face darkened even further as he stood still. “This place isn’t something you bought. Am I not allowed to stand here?”

“Of course you can.” Lin Hexi curled his lips into a smile. “But standing here like this, I thought you were planning to go back with us. Of course,” he casually shifted the tone of the conversation, his expression one of mock amusement, “if it were a normal day, inviting you over to sit at our place wouldn’t be a problem. It’s just that we’re heading home to make love now—are you planning to join us?”

Lin Tong’s face stiffened, and without wanting to stay even a moment longer, he left in a fit of embarrassed rage.

After confirming that Lin Tong had gone far enough, Lin Hexi finally put away the smile on his lips and turned to look at You Chong beside him. He explained, “Those jokes I said to Lin Tong were from three months ago. And,” he paused for a moment, chuckling with a hint of meaning, “at that time, you really hated me, didn’t you?”

You Chong was startled but didn’t respond.

Noticing his silence, Lin Hexi raised his eyes suspiciously, studying him. “Are you angry?”

You Chong replied, “No.”

Lin Hexi didn’t say anything further and handed him the other cup of milk tea he was holding. “I picked the flavor for you.”

“You hold it for now.” You Chong kept both hands in his pockets, not reaching out to take the drink, instead glancing up at the milk tea shop across the street.

Completely unaware of anything unusual, Lin Hexi held onto both cups and turned around to look back.

Just then, Yang Juan and Zhao Du pushed open the door of the milk tea shop and crossed the street, walking toward where they stood.

The four of them walked a short distance along the food street. Midway, Lin Hexi’s shoelace came undone. He grabbed Zhao Du, who was closest to him, signaling for him to hold the milk teas, then bent down to tie his shoe.

Zhao Du picked up the unopened cup of milk tea and glanced at it, casually asking, “Whose milk tea hasn’t been drunk yet?”

Without looking up, Lin Hexi replied, “You Chong’s.”

Zhao Du called out to You Chong, who was walking ahead with Yang Juan, and handed him the bag of milk tea. “Aren’t you going to drink this?”

Just as Lin Hexi finished tying his shoelaces and noticed Zhao Du’s action, he raised his hand to stop him, the words “he’s not drinking it right now” already forming on his lips.

But You Chong glanced at Zhao Du, took the milk tea from his hand, pulled out the straw, and inserted it into the cup. He then took a sip.

Lin Hexi’s raised hand froze in midair, and the words lingering on his lips were silently swallowed back. He narrowed his eyes slightly, casting a thoughtful glance at You Chong’s sharp, handsome profile.

At the intersection at the end of the street, the four of them parted ways. Yang Juan and Zhao Du continued straight back to school, while Lin Hexi and You Chong turned right, heading back to Chengnan Community.

The pedestrian light at the crosswalk was still red, so Yang Juan and Zhao Du waited on the sidewalk. Lin Hexi deliberately engaged Yang Juan in conversation, speaking a few more sentences, without intentionally asking You Chong to stop and wait for him.

You Chong, in fact, really didn’t stop or turn around to wait for him. He continued walking right down the street after turning the corner.

Lin Hexi immediately found the situation both amusing and clear. This behavior was anything but “not angry”—You Chong was obviously upset, just waiting for Lin Hexi to come and soothe him.

After saying goodbye to the two people in front of him, Lin Hexi lifted his legs and started chasing after You Chong’s retreating figure.

He had only taken two steps when he suddenly changed his mind, deliberately slowing his pace, and eventually even stopped altogether, crouching down. From the increasing distance between them, he called out You Chong’s name, his voice neither too loud nor too soft.

Hearing Lin Hexi call, You Chong halted, turning his head. But with his hands still in his pockets, he simply stood there, watching Lin Hexi without moving.

Lin Hexi, with a weary tone, said, “My stomach hurts.”

You Chong walked back to him, lifted Lin Hexi’s face for a quick glance, and immediately knew he was lying. He tried to release his grip and continue walking.

Lin Hexi quickly reached out, grabbing his arm and using the leverage to stand up. His right hand slid from You Chong’s elbow down to his palm, his fingers slipping between You Chong’s, tightly interlocking with his. His voice carried a clear hint of amusement, “Really angry?”

You Chong didn’t respond but also didn’t pull away from the hand that Lin Hexi had voluntarily clasped. With a calm expression, he held Lin Hexi’s hand and led him forward.

Lin Hexi’s voice gradually softened, and the amusement faded. “I thought I’d explained it clearly enough. Or is it,” his tone seemed laced with disappointment, “that you don’t trust me?”

You Chong still didn’t speak.

Just as the two of them walked from the dimly lit area into the glow of the streetlamp, Lin Hexi subtly turned his head to glance at You Chong’s face under the bright light.

The warm yellow light cast a soft glow on You Chong’s brows and eyes, and Lin Hexi could clearly see that his expression was calm as usual. His well-shaped lips were lightly pressed together, not giving the impression of someone who was truly angry.

Thoughtfully, Lin Hexi averted his gaze, noticing out of the corner of his eye that two pedestrians were approaching under the streetlamp ahead.

After a moment’s hesitation, Lin Hexi gently tried to pull his hand out of You Chong’s grasp, intending to slip free.

Sensing his intention, You Chong’s grip suddenly tightened, holding Lin Hexi’s hand even more firmly, and led him forward, passing by the two strangers without letting go.

Lin Hexi raised his eyes again, surprised, and looked at You Chong.

He saw that You Chong’s expression had darkened slightly, and his lips seemed to be on the verge of drooping, looking somewhat upset.

It seemed that the trouble caused by Lin Tong was nowhere near as frustrating to You Chong as the idea of Lin Hexi letting go of his hand in front of others.

Lin Hexi relaxed, a silent smile tugging at the corners of his lips, and he chose not to say anything more.

Neither of them spoke, nor did they let go of each other’s hands. In silence, they walked home together, hand in hand.

After entering the house, You Chong went to take a shower. Lin Hexi stayed in the living room, playing with the dog for a few minutes. Then, recalling the missing painting, he took out his phone, found the phone number of a member of the Art College’s student committee, and dialed it.

While waiting for the other party to pick up the phone, Lin Hexi walked into the bedroom with his phone in hand.

The bedroom light was still on, and Lin Hexi immediately noticed the pajamas lying by the bedside.

It seemed that You Chong had gone to shower without taking his clothes with him.

Lin Hexi walked over to the bedside and picked up the pajamas.

Just as he did, the call was answered, and he straightened up, about to ask about the whereabouts of the missing painting.

As he raised his eyes, he noticed something new on the wall opposite him.

Momentarily forgetting that the phone call was still connected, Lin Hexi focused on the wall in front of him.

He saw his missing painting, the one that had disappeared from the display window, now perfectly framed and hung on their bedroom wall.

Who had hung it there was obvious.

Lin Hexi was silent for a couple of seconds, then apologized to the person on the other end of the phone, “Sorry, wrong number.”

After hanging up, he glanced again at the painting on the wall and couldn’t help but smile.

Tossing his phone onto the bed, Lin Hexi took off his shirt and pants, then, holding You Chong’s pajamas in hand, walked barefoot to the bathroom door and knocked. “You forgot to take your pajamas.”

Footsteps inside the bathroom grew closer and finally stopped by the door.

The door was pulled open from the inside, and You Chong extended his hand to take the pajamas.

Lin Hexi placed the pajamas in his palm but didn’t leave. Instead, he followed the motion of You Chong retracting his arm, and squeezing through the bathroom door. As he nudged the door shut with his foot, he pressed You Chong against the wall, leaning in close to his damp chest, and his tone laced with amusement as he said, “I thought about it and realized my explanation still wasn’t clear enough, so I came to explain it to you now.”

His gaze swept over You Chong’s bare shoulder as You Chong slowly asked, “And how exactly do you plan to explain?”

“How about I explain it with my body?” Lin Hexi’s voice was soft, with a slight upward lilt at the end. “After all, I already said in front of Lin Tong that if we didn’t make love after coming back, I’d be going back on my word.”

You Chong stared at him for a moment, and in the end, he couldn’t hold back. His long fingers slid up to rest on Lin Hexi’s shoulder blades, and he lowered his head, moving in to kiss him.

But Lin Hexi suddenly cupped You Chong’s face with both hands, stopping him from coming any closer. For the third time that night, he asked, “First, tell me-are you angry?”

You Chong’s voice was low and slow, “A little.”

Lin Hexi laughed, releasing his hold and kissing You Chong’s lips, his words coming out muffled, “Do you need me to explain it again?”

You Chong frowned slightly. “No need.”

Lin Hexi asked again, “Then, are you still angry now?”

“I’m not angry.” You Chong paused for a moment, then kissed him back more forcefully.

“Rather than being mad at you,” You Chong’s voice was deep as he explained, “I’m more angry at the version of myself from three months ago.”