Chapter 89: A Photo

Michael left early, citing an unexpected matter.

That left only Lin Hexi and You Chong in the tennis facility. They spent about twenty minutes in the lounge, each playing on their phones. As it got closer to dinner time, Lin Hexi decided to return to his room to take a shower.

He stood up and asked You Chong, “How should I return the clothes to you after I wash them?”

Without explicitly mentioning that the clothes were brought by the hotel staff, nor refuting Lin Hexi’s assumption, You Chong naturally accepted it as if it were the case. He then casually gave the detailed address of his company, saying, “You can either mail it or drop it off.”

Lin Hexi nodded. After a brief moment of silence, sensing the conversation had run its course, he said, “I’ll be heading back now.”

Just as he was about to leave, You Chong stood up and stopped him, asking with a hint of doubt, “Did you really remember the address I just gave?”

Lin Hexi replied, “I remembered.”

Although it had been a year since his last visit, You Chong’s company’s location wasn’t hard to find.

Still, You Chong didn’t let him leave. Out of nowhere, he said, “I’m not used to showering at the tennis facility.”

Lin Hexi paused for a second, quickly catching the implication behind You Chong’s words. He followed up, “Do you want to use my room to shower?”

Getting the answer he wanted, as if afraid Lin Hexi might change his mind, You Chong nodded, “Let’s go, then.”

Lin Hexi stood still, saying nothing.

You Chong, having already taken a few steps, sensed something was off and turned back to look for Lin Hexi. Seeing that he was still standing in the same spot, You Chong frowned slightly, suspicious that Lin Hexi might want to back out. “What’s wrong?”

Pulled out of his thoughts by You Chong’s voice, Lin Hexi hurried to catch up, replying somewhat distractedly, “Nothing.”

Whether it was an illusion or not, Lin Hexi thought he saw You Chong smile briefly when he nodded in agreement earlier.

He then led You Chong back to his hotel room.

You Chong called the hotel staff to bring up some clothes, while Lin Hexi went ahead to take a shower.

He had worked up quite a sweat during the tennis game, so he washed his hair while showering.

The rack holding the body wash and shampoo was a bit far from the showerhead, so midway through, Lin Hexi stepped out of the hot water to grab some shampoo. He squeezed the bottle a little too hard, and the thick shampoo quickly overflowed his palm, dripping down the edges of his hand.

Lin Hexi wiped the excess shampoo onto the top of his head, not paying attention to the shampoo that had fallen to the floor. He turned back to the warm water, raised his hands, and gently massaged the shampoo into his scalp.

A moment later, Lin Hexi rinsed the white foam from his hair, quickly washed his body, and then turned off the shower. He grabbed a towel to dry himself and walked over to the cabinet where he had placed his clean clothes.

As he passed by the shelf holding the shampoo, unaware of the spilled liquid on the floor, his foot suddenly slipped on the slick surface. He lost control, falling backward.

Fortunately, he managed to grab the shelf beside him just in time, preventing a hard fall to the ground. Even though he didn’t fall, the sudden movement caused his slipper to slam heavily against the bathroom tiles.

The bottles and containers on the shelf, knocked by his arm, fell and clattered noisily to the floor in succession.

Lin Hexi quickly regained his composure and bent down to pick up the scattered bath products. However, before he could gather them, the sound of hurried footsteps reached his ears.

The footsteps grew louder, coming closer until they stopped directly outside the bathroom door.

The next moment, a rapid knocking, like a sudden downpour, fell heavily on the bathroom door, followed by You Chong’s deep voice calling his name.

Even through the thick door, Lin Hexi could faintly sense a slight tension in You Chong’s voice.

Realizing this, Lin Hexi gripped the shelf, momentarily lost in thought.

After waiting for a response from inside the bathroom for what felt like an eternity, You Chong reached out to twist the doorknob.

The lock turned under his hand but quickly encountered resistance— the bathroom door was locked.

His voice grew slightly more urgent. “If you don’t say anything, I’m kicking the door in.”

Finally realizing the situation, Lin Hexi responded in a calm tone, “I’m fine.”

As if still concerned that Lin Hexi might not be telling the truth, You Chong didn’t leave immediately. Instead, he pressed on, “What was that noise in the bathroom just now?”

Lin Hexi paused for a moment, a strange feeling washing over him, as if he were still dating You Chong.

Suppressing that thought, Lin Hexi answered truthfully, “The shampoo and body wash fell to the floor.”

As he said this, he didn’t even notice that there was a slight hint of amusement in his voice.

Catching that playful tone, You Chong seemed momentarily taken aback, as if the relaxed mood had stirred old memories.

Unaware of You Chong’s thoughts, Lin Hexi bent down to pick up the scattered bottles on the floor and swiftly began getting dressed.

After changing into his clothes and opening the door, You Chong was no longer outside.

Lin Hexi grabbed the towel hanging in the bathroom, draped it over his head, and walked to the sofa, still wrapped in the warm steam from the shower. He sat down and turned to look at You Chong, who was sitting on the other end of the sofa.

Before Lin Hexi could say anything, You Chong stood up on his own, picked up his change of clothes, and headed into the bathroom.

As Lin Hexi withdrew his gaze from You Chong’s disappearing figure, he reached for the jacket he had casually draped over the back of a chair earlier in the afternoon. From the pocket, he pulled out the watch he had fished out of the fountain.

The water on the watch’s face and strap had completely dried. Lin Hexi glanced down at the watch, intending to put it away in his luggage, but as he stood up, he realized something felt off. His gaze returned to the old watch face.

The hands of the watch—the hour and minute hands—were frozen at some afternoon time, no longer moving forward.

A look of surprise crossed Lin Hexi’s face. He remembered that this watch was supposed to be waterproof. In the past, he had forgotten to remove it before showering, but the watch had always remained perfectly fine.

But now, it seemed the watch had been damaged after being submerged in the water fountain.

He rubbed the glass face of the watch harder, but the hands inside remained still, unmoving.

After staring at the watch for a long time, Lin Hexi exhaled slowly and, in the end, followed his original plan, placing the broken watch back into his luggage.

However, as he closed the suitcase, the look of disappointment on his face was unmistakable.

Putting the matter of the watch aside for the moment, he leaned back into the sofa and picked up his phone from the nearby round table to scroll through his unread messages.

You Chong finished showering quickly. When he emerged from the bathroom, he was no longer wearing the outfit he had on earlier by the fountain but had changed into a more casual look with a hoodie and jeans.

The soft strands of hair that should have been swept back naturally fell over You Chong’s forehead, making it seem as though the person standing before him wasn’t the You Chong of three years later, but the one from three years ago.

And just like in the past, when they would occasionally stay at a hotel together, Lin Hexi passed the time waiting for You Chong to finish showering by sitting cross-legged on the sofa, playing a game.

Back then, when You Chong came out of the bathroom, Lin Hexi would always drop the game halfway, wrap his arms around You Chong’s waist, and fall into his embrace. Only later would he realize he had gone AFK again and get a notification from the game that he had been reported by teammates.

But the You Chong standing in front of him now wasn’t the same one from three years ago, and Lin Hexi himself rarely played games anymore.

Lin Hexi lowered his head again, looking back at the work emails on his phone.

His boss in the U.S. had sent him a new work assignment on short notice.

In about a week, there would be a large fashion show in his city, and the company would send someone to attend. His boss hoped that he could join that foreign colleague for the event.

Lin Hexi pondered for a moment, then started composing a reply email to his boss, completely unaware that You Chong had approached him.

The sense of time distortion was not felt by Lin Hexi alone; You Chong also instinctively took a few steps closer. It wasn’t until he clearly saw that Lin Hexi’s phone displayed a work email interface rather than a dizzying game screen that he suddenly came back to his senses, looking at the person in front of him with an unreadable expression.

Lin Hexi was still focused on replying to his email, a deep blue towel draped over his head, with some areas already dampened by water.

From You Chong’s perspective, all he could see were Lin Hexi’s high nose bridge and lightly pressed lips peeking out from under the towel.

In the days since their reunion, the emotions that had been suppressed for over three years began to show signs of breaking free. In this moment, with Lin Hexi completely unaware, You Chong’s gaze resting on his nose and lips grew increasingly intense and difficult to suppress.

He slowly bent down.

Sensing something was off, Lin Hexi looked up from his phone and met You Chong’s dark, deep-set eyes. He even caught a glimpse of the complex emotions that had yet to be concealed.

But those emotions were fleeting, and Lin Hexi barely had time to analyze or explore them.

As You Chong realized he had been caught off guard, he simply extended his arm to reach around Lin Hexi’s side, placing the phone he had been holding back on the table. Then, with a composed expression, he straightened up and took a step back.

The scent of the body wash that lingered around You Chong seemed to still hover near Lin Hexi’s nose. Amidst these distracting thoughts, Lin Hexi once again envisioned You Chong’s eyes, which had not yet hidden their emotions.

Pressing his tongue silently against his teeth, as if making a decision, Lin Hexi suddenly lifted his gaze to look at him. “Do you know of a reliable watch repair shop?”

Caught off guard by the mention of the watch, and sensing something was amiss in his own heart, You Chong’s eyes deepened as he slowly replied, “You want to repair your watch?”

Not shying away from You Chong’s gaze, Lin Hexi took his time to explain, “My watch is broken.”

You Chong asked again, “What brand is the watch? Do I know it?”

Lin Hexi replied, “You do.”

A slight ripple of emotion appeared in You Chong’s eyes, but his voice remained steady. “Show it to me first.”

Lin Hexi pressed his hand against the sofa armrest, preparing to stand up.

However, a clear vibration sound came from the round table beside him, causing Lin Hexi to pause. He couldn’t help but glance at You Chong’s phone resting on the edge of the table.

Accompanying the vibration was the illumination of the phone screen.

You Chong’s phone received a new call from an unrecognized number, one that had no label attached to it.

It was clear that You Chong had no intention of answering the call, as he simply let it ring.

The phone only rang twice before falling silent.

The waiting screen for the call quickly disappeared, revealing the lock screen wallpaper on You Chong’s phone.

Lin Hexi saw the photo.

It was a picture of two people sitting by the seaside, kissing in the sunset, captured from behind.

He had never taken such a photo with You Chong.