Chapter 50: Uncontrollable Feelings

Faced with such an angry interrogation, Lin Hexi felt a bit guilty, but he still didn’t remove his hand from Fang Qingning’s shoulder. He even began introducing her, “This is Fang Qingning, you met her before when we were eating in the cafeteria.”

You Chong turned around and walked away furiously. 

Seeing the situation unfold like this, Xia Chengfeng didn’t bother to delve into the truth of Lin Hexi’s words any further and also turned to chase after You Chong.

After the two of them disappeared outside the store, Lin Hexi finally put away his nonchalant expression, and quickly placed the items in his hand back on the shelf. He and Fang Qingning then left the store and stood by the roadside, glancing around in both directions.

Fortunately, You Chong hadn’t gone far, and it seemed that Xia Chengfeng wasn’t heading in the same direction as him.

As Lin Hexi’s gaze swept over You Chong’s gradually shrinking figure in the distance, he turned to Fang Qingning and asked, “Will you be okay going back to school by yourself?”

Fang Qingning nodded absentmindedly, “No problem.”

Without saying anything more, Lin Hexi hurriedly bid Fang Qingning farewell and then set off in pursuit of You Chong’s figure.

Up ahead was an intersection with traffic lights, and You Chong had already crossed the zebra crossing, heading to the opposite side of the street. Lin Hexi quickened his pace to run over, but by the time he reached the crosswalk, the green light had already turned red. He was forced to stop at the zebra crossing, silently counting down the seconds remaining on the red light, with a hint of anxiety flashing across his face.

Luckily, there were many pedestrians around University Town, so the red light wouldn’t last too long.

In the last three seconds, Lin Hexi watched helplessly as You Chong was about to turn the corner and disappear from sight. He suddenly raised his voice and shouted across the street, “You Chong!”

The person on the other side paused slightly, finally stopping and turning back to look at him, still waiting at the red light.

As the countdown numbers disappeared, the traffic light turned green. Without a second thought, Lin Hexi stepped straight onto the crosswalk.

From the left, a motorcycle suddenly swerved into the right-turn lane. The rider hadn’t expected anyone to dart out onto the crosswalk and hurriedly slammed on the brakes, but it was already too late—the motorcycle was heading straight toward Lin Hexi.

On the opposite sidewalk, You Chong’s pupils contracted as he turned and sprinted toward the crosswalk.

In the blink of an eye, Lin Hexi reacted swiftly, stepping back quickly just in time.

The motorcycle brushed past Lin Hexi’s arm and pant leg, kicking up a strong gust of wind before coming to a stop about ten meters away, narrowly avoiding an accident.

The rider turned back and yelled curses at him, then drove off, looking annoyed.

Lin Hexi stood still, waiting for his rapidly beating heart to calm down. Only then did he realize that at some point, You Chong had already returned to the crosswalk. You Chong was now standing in front of him, and his expression was dark and angry. He grabbed Lin Hexi, pulled him across the road, and finally stopped at the edge of the sidewalk. He turned his head and, with a grim face, he scolded, “Are you trying to get yourself killed?”

Lin Hexi replied honestly, “I’m not.”

You Chong’s anger hadn’t subsided. “If you know it’s dangerous, why were you running so fast?”

Lin Hexi glanced up at him with a sheepish expression. “I was just afraid you’d walk away too quickly.”

You Chong was so angry that he let out a sarcastic laugh, “I was walking this slowly, and you still couldn’t catch up. Are your legs just for show?”

The obediently scolded Lin Hexi suddenly dragged out his response, letting out a long, drawn-out “Oh.”

You Chong shot him a glance. “Talk properly.”

Lin Hexi didn’t respond directly but instead looked at You Chong with a subtle expression, the corners of his lips curling up slightly. “So, you slowed down on purpose to wait for me?”

You Chong choked on his words, his face turning cold. “When did I ever say anything like that?”

Lin Hexi grinned, “Wasn’t it just now?”

After seeing the smile on Lin Hexi’s face, the earlier displeasure surged back into You Chong’s heart. With a cold tone, You Chong asked, “Where’s your girlfriend? Why aren’t you with her?”

Following his words, the smile on Lin Hexi’s lips deepened. “What girlfriend? Whether I have a girlfriend or not, you already know.”

You Chong remained unmoved. “Who was it that got caught entering a love hotel with her last time?”

“From the time I was secretly photographed to when I met you, there was less than half an hour in between, not to mention the time it takes to walk from the hotel to the bar street.” Lin Hexi looked puzzled. “Do you really think I’m that quick?”

You Chong raised his eyebrow slightly. “How would I know if you’re quick or not?”

Lin Hexi turned his head to look at him, deliberately lowering his voice. “If you don’t know, why don’t you try and find out?”

You Chong, who was vompletely immune to the things Lin Hexi always had on his lips, stuffed his hands into his pockets, lowered his voice, and deliberately emphasized his words as he spoke slowly, “Since you want to try, there’s no time like the present. How about tonight?”

The one who fell silent this time was Lin Hexi.

As he catching the look on Lin Hexi’s face, You Chong chuckled, then turned and started walking forward. “It’s going to rain. Let’s head back.”

After recalling the incident at the store a few minutes earlier, You Chong thought about Xia Chengfeng’s tone and expression when speaking to Fang Qingning. He also vaguely remembered that she had once invited him to join her in asking Xia Chengfeng out. It wasn’t hard to guess that Lin Hexi’s actions were merely to stand up for the girl in front of Xia Chengfeng.

Such a simple and obvious thing, yet You Chong couldn’t understand why he hadn’t noticed it at the time.

Lin Hexi called out to him from behind, “Wait a minute.”

You Chong stopped in his tracks and turned to glance at him. “What is it now?”

Lin Hexi seemed a bit embarrassed and rubbed the tip of his nose. “Could you come back to the store with me to buy something? I left in such a hurry earlier that I didn’t get anything.”

As he walked back in front of him, You Chong said concisely, “Let’s go.”

It seemed that he wasn’t the only one who had been distracted at the time. With this thought in mind, You Chong’s lips curled slightly in a barely noticeable smile.

After buying the drawing paper and paints, as they were walking back, You Chong’s words once again proved true.

Sure enough, it started to rain.

Fortunately, the rain wasn’t as heavy as it had been by the seaside last time. The drawing paper was safely tucked in a packaging bag, so there was no worry about it getting wet, and the two guys didn’t need to seek shelter under eaves to avoid the rain.

However, there was still quite a distance from University Town back to their residential community, and Lin Hexi’s hair was quickly soaked.

He had gone out wearing a long-sleeved, hoodless sweatshirt, and now his damp hair clung messily to his forehead, causing a slight discomfort. He couldn’t help but reach up to adjust it, only to find his fingertips coated with moisture.

When he noticed Lin Hexi frequently raising his hand, You Chong turned his head to look at him.

You Chong’s hair was slightly shorter than Lin Hexi’s, so he didn’t have to keep brushing it away.

Without a word, You Chong took off his jacket.

Lin Hexi had just wiped the water off his forehead when he noticed You Chong’s actions out of the corner of his eye, and turned his head in confusion.

The next second, You Chong’s jacket was tossed over, landing directly on Lin Hexi’s head.

The dry and warm scent of the jacket enveloped his face. Lin Hexi stopped in surprise, pushing aside the hem of the jacket that hung in front of his eyes.

As his vision cleared instantly, he glanced at You Chong, who was now wearing only a long-sleeved shirt. Lin Hexi reached up to pull off the jacket from his head. “I don’t need something to block the rain. It’s getting colder lately, and it’s easy to catch a cold. You should wear your jacket—”

You Chong pressed the jacket back onto Lin Hexi’s head, securing it firmly, and stated calmly, “This little bit of rain won’t give me a cold.”

Lin Hexi said, “I won’t catch a cold either—”

You Chong interrupted him again, “I’m giving you the jacket; it has nothing to do with whether or not you’ll catch a cold.”

Lin Hexi paused for a moment, and his fingers instinctively brushed lightly over the fabric of the jacket. In the end, he didn’t take it off from his head.

He wanted to ask, then what does it have to do with?

Lin Hexi’s lips parted slightly but then closed silently again, and in the end, he didn’t ask anything at all.