Chapter 25

Song Wenzhou and Qi Ling stayed at Mu Chi’s house until evening. Originally, Song Wenzhou had planned to go home by noon, but Mu Chi gave him many excuses to stay.

For example, they were leaving tomorrow, and they had too much food at home that they couldn’t finish. If Song Wenzhou and Qi Ling didn’t stay to help them, it would be a waste of food.

Another example was that he missed his parents and was reluctant to leave his friends in the country, but unfortunately, he couldn’t have both. He didn’t expect that Song Wenzhou wouldn’t even want to stay a few more hours with him, which made him extremely sad.

—

In short, he made himself sound like a poor little cabbage in the garden, pitiful and miserable.

Song Wenzhou knew he was faking it, but he couldn’t help but wonder if there was any real feeling behind what Mu Chi said, hidden under his playful expression.

The more he thought about it, the more Song Wenzhou couldn’t bear it, so he reluctantly agreed to stay.

As for Qi Ling, it was needless to say. He was always restless at home, and Mu Chi didn’t stop him, so he wouldn’t leave either.

In winter, the days were shorter, and after dinner, it was already getting dark.

Qi Ling patted his round belly and cheerfully said to Grandma Mu, “Thanks for the hospitality, Grandma. My mom called me, I have to go home now.”

Before Grandma Mu could respond, Mu Chi interrupted, “Then hurry up and go, don’t make Aunt worry.”

It sounded like he was concerned about Qi Ling, but Qi Ling couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.

The next moment, Song Wenzhou also stood up and said to Qi Ling, “I’m going back too, let’s go together.”

“Ah?” Mu Chi reluctantly said, “You’re leaving already? Stay and play a little longer.”

Qi Ling: “…”

He knew what was off. Why didn’t Mu Chi try to keep him here?

“No need,” Song Wenzhou smiled and said, “It’s getting late, goodbye, Grandma.”

Grandma Mu smiled and said goodbye, reminding them to be careful on the way.

Mu Chi, seeing that he couldn’t keep Song Wenzhou, quickly stood up. “Then, then I’ll see you off…”

“Oh wow,” Qi Ling, who had never received such treatment before, was flattered. “Such courtesy, Brother Chi. Actually, I can just grab a cab at the corner, no need to send me.”

“Heh,” Mu Chi sneered, “Stop talking, I said I’m sending you off, so I will.”

The snow on the ground had melted into a thin, transparent layer, and the road was wet with melting snow, reflecting the streetlights.

The three boys, wrapped up warmly, quickly hailed a taxi at the corner. Qi Ling, with his usual Chinese modesty, was about to offer the ride to Song Wenzhou, but Mu Chi immediately shoved him into the backseat.

“Your mom’s urging you to go home, huh?” Mu Chi said with a forced smile, “You should sit first, my deskmate isn’t in a hurry.”

Qi Ling’s voice came from behind the car: “Actually, my mom didn’t urge me that much—”

Song Wenzhou: “…”

What is going on here?

Mu Chi watched the taxi drive away, then turned and glanced at Song Wenzhou. He scratched his nose, meeting his clear gaze, and muttered, “Hm.”

Song Wenzhou looked at him in confusion.

“Um, Zhouzhou,” Mu Chi asked, feigning casualness, “Are you feeling too full?”

“A little,” Song Wenzhou replied.

Mu Chi pretended to suggest nonchalantly, “Then how about I go for a walk to help digest?”

His intention was too obvious, and Song Wenzhou nodded lightly. “Mm.”

The cold wind bit at them, and Song Wenzhou lowered his head slightly, burying the lower half of his face in his scarf, his bangs blowing askew from the wind.

He seemed to remember something and turned to look at Mu Chi. As expected, he saw Mu Chi’s natural curls all messy, no matter how hard Mu Chi tried to fix them, it didn’t help.

“Heh…” Song Wenzhou couldn’t help but laugh.

Mu Chi, hearing the sound, turned his eyes toward him and, displeased, opened his hand to press down his hair, baring his teeth and saying, “Don’t laugh!”

Song Wenzhou’s smile grew wider, his eyes crescent-shaped with the reflection of the streetlights.

Mu Chi froze for a moment, then gave in, thinking to himself, laugh, laugh, since Song Wenzhou enjoys seeing him with messy hair so much, he won’t cut it anymore and won’t press it down to stop it from blowing in the wind.

After laughing for a while, Song Wenzhou cleared his throat and stopped smiling.

They had walked quite a long way, and on this winter night, there weren’t many people on the road, just a few passing by in a hurry.

Song Wenzhou pulled his scarf up from his pocket and said, “You can go back now, no need to send me.”

Mu Chi hesitated, “Wait a little longer, it’s not far.”

“It’s not far, so you don’t need to send me,” Song Wenzhou chuckled.

“No,” Mu Chi said seriously, “I brought you from home, so it’s my responsibility to make sure you get home safely.”

Song Wenzhou didn’t argue, figuring that Mu Chi would always have a counterpoint to whatever he said.

For some reason, Mu Chi didn’t speak for the rest of the way. While Song Wenzhou wasn’t one to talk much, the silence between them was starting to feel a little awkward.

After thinking for a moment, Song Wenzhou asked, “What time are you and Grandma leaving tomorrow?”

“Nine in the morning.”

“Then…” Song Wenzhou hesitated and asked, “Should I come see you off?”

Mu Chi glanced at him and smiled. “No need, I woke you up early this morning. Tomorrow, you should sleep in.”

Song Wenzhou nodded without insisting, since he was just asking casually. He believed that if Mu Chi wanted him to send him off, he would definitely say so.

Mu Chi sent Song Wenzhou to the downstairs, stopping at the building’s entrance. He politely declined Song Wenzhou’s invitation to come upstairs and waved with a smile as he said goodbye.

Song Wenzhou stood on the steps, smiling faintly, and told Mu Chi to go ahead, but no matter what Mu Chi wouldn’t budge, so he reluctantly turned and entered the building first.

As he pushed open the glass door, Mu Chi called out to him again.

“Zhouzhou,” Mu Chi yelled loudly, “Don’t forget what you said.”

“…?” They were only a few steps apart, so there was no need to shout so loudly. Song Wenzhou was confused, “What did I say?”

“You said I could contact you anytime,” Mu Chi said, with a calm face, “and that you would always chat with me, and ignoring me would make you a little puppy.”

Did he say that? Song Wenzhou thought to himself, but the first part wasn’t something he couldn’t do. “Alright, I’ll remember.”

Mu Chi laughed happily, his smile so bright that not even the darkest of nights could hide it. “Alright, go up now. See you at the start of the term.”

“Mm,” Song Wenzhou nodded. “See you at school.”

Before entering the elevator, Song Wenzhou turned around and took one last glance through the glass. Mu Chi was still standing there, waving one hand and mouthing “bye.”

As the elevator doors closed, Song Wenzhou’s reflection appeared on the metal door, and he stared at his face, noticing that the smile at the corners of his mouth hadn’t changed for a long time.

Mu Chi had idealized the situation, but before leaving, both he and Song Wenzhou overlooked the fact that not only was there a distance of over eight thousand kilometers between the UK and China, but there was also a time difference of several hours that couldn’t be crossed.

Because of the time difference, Song Wenzhou and Mu Chi were only awake for about one-third of the day at the same time, and each of them had their own things to do.

Especially Mu Chi, who became far busier after arriving there. Before he left, he had said that Song Wenzhou couldn’t ignore him, but in reality, it was often Song Wenzhou waiting for him to contact him.

Whenever Mu Chi sent a message or called for a video, Song Wenzhou would pretend to be busy with homework or something else, acting aloof and distant.

They mostly contacted each other at night before Song Wenzhou went to sleep, when Mu Chi had just finished his day’s “business” and would chatter on about how busy he was. His parents had arranged all kinds of activities for him, and it wasn’t as relaxed as when he was living alone with his grandmother.

Song Wenzhou mostly just listened without responding. He didn’t understand what Mu Chi was talking about, but he felt like Mu Chi’s parents were paving the way for his future life there.

A cold wind blew in, and Song Wenzhou realized he had left the window slightly open while doing homework earlier to stay awake. He tucked the corners of his blanket and lazily didn’t feel like getting out of bed.

Mu Chi was still talking, mentioning a few times that he had made new friends there, including a very handsome British boy who was his neighbor.

Song Wenzhou yawned.

Mu Chi stopped and asked, “Are you tired?”

“Mm.” Song Wenzhou squinted his eyes.

“Then sleep,” Mu Chi lowered his voice. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Okay.” Song Wenzhou replied flatly.

Mu Chi seemed to remember something and said, “By the way, I sent you something. It should arrive tomorrow.”

“What is it?”

“Look for yourself,” Mu Chi said, chuckling. “Hurry and sleep. Good night.”

Song Wenzhou was about to respond with “Good night,” but then realized that Mu Chi probably hadn’t had dinner yet, so he just muttered an “Mm” and hung up the phone.

After putting the phone down, Song Wenzhou propped himself up on one side and looked at the gap in the window. He eventually decided not to worry about it, turning over and wrapping himself completely in the blanket to fall asleep.