Chapter 47: Heartbeat Loading

The heavy rain gradually stopped after half an hour, and the air was filled with a thick, damp scent. In the night sky, a bright moon slowly emerged from behind layers of clouds, revealing its complete outline. The stars adorning the night sky sparkled brightly, as if freshly washed by water.

You Chong took out his phone and called Zhou Xuan. After learning that the other four were eating at a late-night snack shop, he and Lin Hexi decided to return to the hotel to shower.

The two walked back to the hotel, stepping through the deep puddles on the road.

After the downpour ended, the temperature in the air gradually rose. Their soaked clothes clung to their skin, and surprisingly, they seemed to be warming up again with their body heat.

Lin Hexi raised his hand to brush aside his still slightly damp bangs, then looked at the moon hanging in the sky and said with a slight curve of his lips, “The moon by the seaside is especially beautiful.”

You Chong raised his eyebrows and mocked, “That’s because it just rained.”

Lin Hexi wasn’t annoyed at all. He responded cheerfully, then, thinking of the sudden downpour, couldn’t help but add, “It’s a pity we didn’t get to see the tide rise.”

You Chong said, “If we don’t see it this time, we can just come again next time.”

After a brief silence of two seconds, Lin Hexi casually curled his lips, “Who knows who I’ll come with next time.”

Upon hearing this, You Chong turned his head and looked at him silently.

Noticing You Chong’s gaze, Lin Hexi also turned his face and looked up at him. “What’s wrong?”

Perhaps it was because the moonlight was too gentle that night; under the soft and hazy light within their view, You Chong saw that Lin Hexi’s eyes also seemed as if they had been washed by water—clear and bright.

After a brief pause, You Chong spoke, “I’ll come with you.”

Lin Hexi’s eyes flashed with obvious surprise, as if he couldn’t quite believe it. He asked, “Are you serious?”

You Chong found it amusing. “If it’s not real, would it be fake?”

Lin Hexi said, “Alright, then it’s settled. Just don’t break your promise when the time comes.”

After showering and washing his hair, Lin Hexi came out to find that his phone’s battery was critically low, so he plugged it into the power strip by the bedside to charge.

There was a projector in the downstairs living room that could play movies. He went downstairs to check it out but, after realizing he didn’t know how to use it, circled back to the master bedroom upstairs.

The bathroom was filled with the loud hum of a hair dryer; You Chong was probably inside drying his hair.

After touching his own damp hair tips, Lin Hexi grabbed a dry towel and roughly wiped his hair twice before sprawling on the bed to play on his phone.

When You Chong finished drying his hair and came out, he saw that a small patch of the bed sheet was already wet from the water dripping off Lin Hexi’s hair.

The culprit was still engrossed in playing games on his phone, completely unaware that he had soaked the bed sheet.

You Chong stopped behind him, reached out to hook Lin Hexi’s collar, and tugged him up a bit. “Dry your hair before getting on the bed.”

Lin Hexi muttered softly, “I’ll dry it after I finish this round.”

You Chong said, “You’ve made the bed sheet wet; how are you going to sleep tonight?”

“Isn’t there a dividing line on the bed?” Lin Hexi replied without turning his head, still sounding a bit puzzled. “If it’s wet, I’m the one sleeping on it, not you.”

The person behind him didn’t respond, but judging from the footsteps, it sounded like You Chong had gone into the bathroom.

Lin Hexi maneuvered his game character to hide in the bushes, then turned his head to look at the bed sheet beside him. Seeing that the darkened wet area wasn’t very large, he turned back and focused on the game screen on his phone.

Footsteps sounded again from behind, and You Chong walked over with a hair dryer in hand, bending down to plug it into the power strip by the bedside.

Out of the corner of his eye, Lin Hexi caught sight of the hair dryer in You Chong’s hand and instinctively looked up at You Chong’s hair.

You Chong’s hair was already dry and soft, clearly not needing another round with the hair dryer.

After realizing this, Lin Hexi finally shifted his gaze away from his phone. While looking up with a cheerful smile, he asked, “Are you going to help me dry my hair?”

The person standing by the bed snorted, turned on the hair dryer, and precisely aimed the airflow at the damp spot on the bed sheet next to Lin Hexi. “Keep dreaming.”

Lin Hexi was at a loss for words for a couple of seconds, then lowered his head in disappointment.

You Chong glanced down at him, taking in the full expression on his face. The hair dryer continued to blow at the bed sheet without any change in direction.

Only when the wet spot on the sheet gradually lightened and eventually disappeared did You Chong move the airflow away, directing it instead at the back of Lin Hexi’s head.

The warm breeze instantly blew from behind, causing the pores on Lin Hexi’s skin to relax involuntarily. Forgetting about the game still running on his phone, Lin Hexi closed his eyes in comfort.

You Chong looked down thoughtfully, raised his hand to pinch the back of Lin Hexi’s neck, and suddenly recalled the image of drying the family’s Alaskan Malamute after a bath, with its fur fluffing up under the dryer.

Under his hand, Lin Hexi turned his head and, quite naturally, pointed to his temple, saying, “This part didn’t get blown.”

The hair dryer’s nozzle shifted toward his temple.

Lin Hexi lowered his head again, revealing the short hair at the nape of his neck. “This part too.”

The warm breeze followed, blowing toward his hair ends.

Finally, Lin Hexi turned over and sat up from the bed, turning to face You Chong. He closed his eyes, sat cross-legged in front of him, and with a bright smile on his lips, he said, “Blow the bangs on my forehead too.”

This time, You Chong’s hand didn’t move. His gaze fell directly on Lin Hexi’s face, whose eyes slightly closed, and lips slightly curved.

A faint and inexplicable restlessness stirred in his heart.

After coming back to his senses, he switched off the hair dryer and tossed it into Lin Hexi’s lap, feigning impatience. “Give you an inch, and you really take a mile.”

Lin Hexi opened his eyes with a smile, casually picking up the hair dryer from his lap and drying his hair himself.

Not particularly wanting to see his face at the moment, You Chong turned around and went downstairs to get a drink of water.

After drying his hair, Lin Hexi realized that his character in the game had already died, so he exited the game screen. Then, he noticed that his phone’s battery was now more than half charged, so he unplugged the charging cable from the socket. He lay on his back and started rolling around on the bed.

It wasn’t until his lower back bumped into the pillow You Chong had placed in the middle of the bed that he remembered the bed didn’t belong solely to him.

Thinking that You Chong probably wouldn’t want to sleep in the spot he had just occupied, Lin Hexi shifted further to the side and lay on his side, looking at his phone.

When he opened the photo album to view the pictures taken at the beach earlier that evening, he remembered the candid photo he had taken of You Chong, which was still sitting in the trash. He navigated to the album’s recycle bin and restored that photo.

To be honest, Lin Hexi didn’t have a talent for photography. The reason You Chong’s photo turned out well could probably be attributed to three factors.

First, the high resolution of his phone’s camera; second, the beautiful background of the sunset and the sea; and third, You Chong’s naturally good looks.

Lin Hexi slowly zoomed in on the photo, and stared closely at You Chong’s face in the picture for a moment. Suddenly, he felt a slight itch in his heart—a desire to draw him.

But it could only remain a thought.

With no drawing tools at hand, Lin Hexi gazed at the photo almost absentmindedly and sighed regretfully.

It was at this very moment that You Chong happened to walk in.

After entering, You Chong placed two glasses of water on the table, but it was clear that the person on the bed hadn’t noticed anyone coming in, as his gaze remained fixed on his phone screen.

You Chong stopped at the foot of the bed and glanced down at Lin Hexi’s phone. Then, on the screen, he saw his own face in the photo.

As if suddenly realizing something, You Chong called his name in a dangerous tone, “Lin Hexi, what are you looking at?”

Startled, the person on the bed sat up, still holding his phone, and belatedly looked at him.

As he became more convinced that the evening photo hadn’t been deleted and that Lin Hexi had lied to him, You Chong sat down on the edge of the bed and reached out his hand. “Give me your phone.”

Lin Hexi tried to play dumb. “What do you want with my phone?” He smiled meaningfully, “Only my boyfriend can look at my phone.”

You Chong responded calmly, “Really?”

Lin Hexi raised his chin slightly. “Of course.”

You Chong nodded, saying nothing.

Mistaking his silence for giving up, Lin Hexi gradually let down his guard.

At that very moment, You Chong suddenly got up, kneeled onto the bed, and, taking advantage of Lin Hexi’s delayed reaction, snatched the phone from his hand.

Lin Hexi stared in shock, stretching out his arm in an attempt to snatch the phone back.

You Chong deftly dodged, switching the phone from his right hand, which was closer to Lin Hexi, to his left hand, which was further away.

Lin Hexi abruptly paused, feeling a sense of déjà vu.

It seemed that he had once snatched You Chong’s phone in the same manner, and You Chong had been infuriated by his overly intimate approach.

After pulling himself out of the hazy memory, Lin Hexi narrowed his eyes slightly, and decided to repeat the same trick.

With a swift movement, his right arm wrapped around You Chong’s neck, using his shoulder for support. Lin Hexi got up and straddled You Chong’s legs while stretching out his left hand to grab his phone.

Seeing that his right hand alone wasn’t enough to restrain Lin Hexi, You Chong simply let go with his left hand.

The phone brushed past Lin Hexi’s fingertips, slipping quickly through You Chong’s palm and dropping onto the soft bed.

In an instant, You Chong turned the tables, pulling Lin Hexi off his legs and pushing him down onto the sheets. He firmly pinned Lin Hexi’s wrists with both hands and rolled on top, looking down at him from above.

Lin Hexi immediately froze.

You Chong didn’t move either.

Their gazes met, and for a moment, both of their faces showed a hint of distraction.