Chapter 21: Like Kissing

Lin Hexi’s eyes brightened, and the previous look of dejection on his face vanished completely.

As You Chong snapped back to reality, his gaze swept over Lin Hexi’s face, which seemed to shine even more brilliantly in the sunlight. A sense of regret began to creep into his heart.

That wasn’t what he had meant to say. On the contrary, he had wanted to avoid frequent private interactions with Lin Hexi. But somehow, when he opened his mouth, the situation spiraled in the opposite direction.

Feeling a bit irritated, You Chong turned and started walking ahead.

Sensing the obvious shift in his attitude, Lin Hexi quickly caught up and asked, “You’re not planning to go back on your word, are you?”

You Chong shot him an exasperated sideways glance, “You can trick me so many times, and I can’t change my mind even once?”

Lin Hexi looked somewhat sulky. “I didn’t trick you on purpose.”

You Chong didn’t waste any more words with him.

The two remained silent for the rest of the walk, until they entered the elevator in the community. Watching as You Chong reached out to press the button for the 18th floor, Lin Hexi finally couldn’t hold back and tentatively asked, “Are you really going back on your word?”

You Chong, with his back to him, didn’t respond.

Standing slightly behind him, Lin Hexi lightly pressed his lips together and adopted a tone that sounded both disappointed and pitiful, “Then could you please press the button for the 17th floor for me?”

You Chong didn’t move to press the button for him either.

Lin Hexi stopped talking as well. He quietly stepped forward and reached over You Chong to press the button for the 17th floor.

You Chong finally reacted, lowering his gaze as he slapped Lin Hexi’s hand away. “What are you pressing that for?” His voice was low and impatient, yet to Lin Hexi, it sounded like music to his ears. “I live on the 18th floor, not the 17th.”

Lin Hexi retracted his hand and smiled contentedly.

After they exited the elevator, You Chong went inside to get the dog, while Lin Hexi squatted outside the door, waiting for him.

Two minutes later, the beautiful Alaskan Malamute, now on a leash, came bounding out of the house happily. Hearing the leash dragging on the floor, Lin Hexi suddenly appeared from behind the door, spreading his uninjured right arm wide to catch the large dog that was unable to slow down in time.

Although Lin Hexi wasn’t particularly weak, he had underestimated the weight and force of a full-grown large dog. As a result, the big dog knocked him over, and he ended up sitting on the ground at the doorway.

The Alaskan Malamute lifted its head in confusion from where it had knocked into Lin Hexi, clearly not understanding why it had suddenly run into someone.

Still sitting on the ground, Lin Hexi raised his arm and wrapped it around the dog’s neck, giving it a gentle rub. He then squinted his eyes contentedly.

You Chong followed the dog out of the house, changing his shoes as he called the dog by its name, “Fantuan,” pulling the dog away from Lin Hexi’s embrace. Lin Hexi stood up, supporting himself with one hand, and brushed off the thin layer of dust from his palm. He leaned against the elevator, and teased You Chong, “Fantuan is such a silly name.”

You Chong glanced at him coolly and retorted, “Not as silly as you getting knocked over by a dog.”

Lin Hexi remained unfazed by the remark and defended himself, “I’m a disabled person.”

You Chong let out a faint chuckle and handed the leash to him. “I didn’t name the dog; a friend of mine did.” When the elevator door opened, he pressed his hand against the door, signaling for Lin Hexi to lead the dog inside first. “The dog was raised by him, but last year the dorm supervisors were strict, so he sent the dog to stay with me. The dog has been with me so long that it doesn’t recognize him anymore, so he just left the dog for me to take care of.”

Lin Hexi nodded thoughtfully, with a mix of suggestion and humor in his tone, “If it’s inconvenient for you to keep the dog during the holidays when you go home, you can always let it stay at my place.”

You Chong quickly shattered his daydream, “Keep dreaming.”

Lin Hexi couldn’t help but curve his lips into a smile.

When he was told to walk the dog, You Chong really just left it to him, and sat on a bench under a tree playing on his phone. Midway through, Yang Juan called, saying he was in the dorm signing up for the public CET-6 exam and asked if he wanted to register.

You Chong replied, “Sign me up.”

He quietly recited his personal information to Yang Juan while his gaze slowly drifted over the layers of overlapping shadows on the ground. The signal on Yang Juan’s end seemed poor, as he didn’t catch everything the first time and asked him to repeat it.

Just as You Chong was about to recite his information a second time, he noticed out of the corner of his eye that the shadows at his feet seemed to darken slightly. He instinctively paused, and before he could take a closer look, a faint tickling sensation brushed against the right side of his chin.

It felt as if someone had quietly leaned in from behind, with soft strands of hair lightly grazing his chin.

You Chong’s first thought was that it had to be the notorious troublemaker, Lin Hexi.

Suppressing his growing irritation, he turned his head, ready to let out some harsh words that were already on the tip of his tongue. But instead of Lin Hexi, he was met with the close-up sight of the Alaskan Malamute’s head.

The dog had stood up on its hind legs behind the bench, with its front paws resting on the backrest, tilting its head and staring intently at him.

All his anger dissipated in an instant. He leaned back into the bench and continued to give Yang Juan his ID number over the phone. Yang Juan carefully noted it down on the other end and read the numbers back to him to confirm.

Just as You Chong was about to focus on listening to Yang Juan’s voice over the phone, he felt that warm, moist breath again near his chin.

He slightly turned his face, trying to concentrate on the conversation, while reaching out to pet the Alaskan Malamute’s head. But instead of the familiar fluffy texture, his fingers met something warm and soft—a cheek.

His fingers froze in place, and You Chong, bewildered, lowered his hand and turned to look.

The Alaskan had been pushed aside by Lin Hexi and was now sitting nearby, looking around with a pitiful expression. As for Lin Hexi, the instigator, he had taken the dog’s place, leaning over the back of the bench, positioned very close to You Chong.

The soft sensation lingered in You Chong’s palm, and the warmth left behind by Lin Hexi seemed to seep into every pore, filling him with a deep sense of discomfort and unease.

His face tensed as he was on the verge of exploring, but he quickly realized that Lin Hexi wasn’t even looking at him.

It seemed as though from the beginning, Lin Hexi’s gaze had been focused solely on You Chong’s phone.

At that moment, Yang Juan’s voice, slightly distorted by a bit of static, came through the phone, “Is the ID number correct?”

“Correct,” You Chong replied tersely.

Yang Juan continued, “If there’s nothing else, I’ll hang up now.”

Before You Chong could respond, Lin Hexi, who was leaning in close, suddenly called out near You Chong’s ear, “Wait!”

Hearing an unexpected voice, Yang Juan was momentarily confused and froze.

Lin Hexi leaned further over the back of the bench, stretching out his arm to reach for You Chong’s phone. Throughout the process, his slightly parted lips came dangerously close to brushing against You Chong’s chin several times.

You Chong felt both inexplicably offended and intruded upon. He switched his phone from his right hand, which was closer to Lin Hexi, to his left, which was farther away. He parted his lips to say something, but whatever words he had planned were abruptly swallowed back due to what Lin Hexi did next.

Lin Hexi had already placed one hand on the back of the bench, lifted one leg, and with a swift, clean movement, vaulted over the back of the bench. He landed in a kneeling position on the bench, reaching out his right hand toward You Chong.

Still irritated, You Chong’s voice carried a clear note of anger as he snapped, “What are you—”

Before he could finish, he realized belatedly that Lin Hexi wasn’t reaching for the phone in his hand but rather reaching for him.

Lin Hexi’s right hand smoothly wrapped around You Chong’s neck, with his elbow pressing down on You Chong’s shoulder, effectively restraining him. At the same time, Lin Hexi used his injured left hand to snatch the phone from You Chong’s grasp.

Reacting instinctively, You Chong forcefully shoved away Lin Hexi’s arm that had been around his neck, then grabbed hold of Lin Hexi’s collar, pulling him close. His voice seethed with anger as he warned, “Lin Hexi, control your hands and feet. If you don’t need them, I can help you take them off.”

Lin Hexi instantly fell silent, looking at You Chong with a surprisingly straightforward gaze. “I thought that guys putting their arms around each other’s necks was pretty common? Zhou Xuan has done that with Lin Tong and Yang Juan.”

“And I only wanted to borrow your phone to talk to Yang Juan. But,” he shrugged slightly, disappointed, “it seems he’s already hung up.”

Then, deliberately lowering his voice, he slowly blinked and added, “And don’t you think that we’re so close now that it looks like we’re about to kiss?”

You Chong’s expression changed dramatically, and as if he had touched a hot potato, he abruptly shoved Lin Hexi away from him.