Chapter 99: Never Closing Down

You Chong and Lin Hexi slept in until noon, waking up just in time for lunch, which served as a testament to the fact that after more than three years, his bedroom skills had not declined.

He called the housekeeper and gave her the day off, ordering food directly from a nearby restaurant for delivery.

When the food arrived, Lin Hexi was still lying in bed, holding a cat and looking at his phone. The Alaskan Malamute, drawn by the smell of the food, jumped onto the chair by the dining table. You Chong picked it up and put it back down, grabbing an empty food bowl from beside the table leg, letting the dog hold it in its mouth, and sending it off to call Lin Hexi to get up.

The Alaskan, understanding the instruction, carried its food bowl upstairs, stood by the bedroom door, and used the bowl in its mouth to knock against the door nearby.

The bottom of the bowl hit the door frame, making a crisp “bang, bang” sound, reminiscent of someone knocking a bowl to remind that it’s time to eat.

Lin Hexi had already showered in the middle of the night, so he sat up from the bed, picked up the clothes and pants piled by the headboard, and put them on. As his gaze swept past the picture frames hanging on the wall, he unexpectedly froze for a moment.

A moment later, he averted his eyes from the two paintings, maintaining a calm expression as he lifted the blanket, got out of bed, and went downstairs for his meal.

After lunch, the two of them, along with a cat and a dog, sat on the sofa, each busy with their own tasks. The well-fed dog and cat lay between them, looking drowsy and yawning sleepily.

A subordinate had returned from out of town and was reporting the final wrap-up of the work to You Chong.

Lin Hexi also borrowed a laptop from You Chong and was typing away at the keyboard without a moment’s pause.

After the report ended, You Chong stood up to get a drink of water, and out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Lin Hexi’s focused expression in front of the computer. He asked, “When does your vacation end?”

Hearing this, Lin Hexi looked up from the computer and replied, “In a week.”

You Chong then asked, “What are your plans after that?”

Lin Hexi smiled and gestured for him to come closer. “Come here.”

You Chong walked over with a glass of water in hand and casually handed another glass to him.

After taking the glass and sipping from it, Lin Hexi turned the laptop so that the screen faced You Chong.

You Chong lowered his gaze to the computer screen and quickly focused on the subject line of the email written in English—Lin Hexi was drafting a resignation letter to his boss.

The corners of his mouth lifted slightly as he said to Lin Hexi, “This company’s women’s clothing brand has quite a reputation in the industry. Are you sure you want to resign?”

Lin Hexi looked surprised. “You know about fashion brands too?”

You Chong explained briefly, “The company’s various businesses are involved in a bit of everything.”

Lin Hexi nodded and didn’t ask further. “Since I plan to develop my career back home, staying there wouldn’t be of much use. Besides, the company has plenty of well-known and talented designers. I’m just a latecomer, so they wouldn’t allocate the best resources to me.”

“As long as you’re sure about it,” You Chong replied, not intending to interfere much in his work or life, except for one crucial point. “When are you planning to check out of the hotel?”

Lin Hexi had already turned the laptop back around. After pressing the send button on the keyboard, he stood up from the sofa with the laptop in hand, a slight smile on his lips. “I’ll go now.”

You Chong took the laptop from his hands. “Go change your clothes. Feel free to wear mine.”

Hearing this, Lin Hexi suddenly remembered the last time he came to You Chong’s place. At that time, You Chong had also told him to go upstairs to get some pajamas, but then stopped him halfway.

Now, Lin Hexi raised his eyebrows slightly and brought up the old incident. “That night, why didn’t you let me into your room?”

Caught off guard by the sudden question, You Chong paused for a second, unable to answer immediately.

Not giving him any time to think, Lin Hexi pressed on step by step. “Could it be—” he deliberately stretched out the tone, “that you didn’t want me to see something in your room?”

You Chong felt both amused and exasperated. “Didn’t you already see everything? Why are you still asking?”

“I just wanted to double-check with you,” Lin Hexi’s smile grew even more pronounced, the corners of his lips curling higher. “Also,” he suddenly coughed lightly, mumbling softly as he added, “I saw the cufflinks too.”

Not catching what he said, You Chong asked, “What?”

“Cufflinks,” Lin Hexi raised his eyes to look at him, his gaze filled with amusement. “I saw the cufflinks you kept in the walk-in closet.”

The picture frames hung in the room, and anyone entering or leaving would have noticed them if their eyesight was fine. But Lin Hexi noticing the cufflinks was something that You Chong hadn’t expected.

You Chong looked back at him thoughtfully. “You went into my walk-in closet?”

“I didn’t go in there on purpose,” Lin Hexi immediately clarified, his expression innocent and sincere. “Fantuan pushed open the closet door, and Shousi snuck inside. I only went in to find the cat.”

“Why are you so nervous?” You Chong snorted with a laugh. “I never said you couldn’t go in.”

Lin Hexi relaxed, intentionally teasing him, “Some people still keep the cufflinks I gave them, but they hide them so I won’t find out.”

“Reciprocation,” You Chong glanced at him, “didn’t I learn that from you?”

Lin Hexi was taken aback. “What?”

Mimicking Lin Hexi’s phrasing, You Chong retorted bluntly, “Some people still keep the watch I gave them, but they hide it so I won’t find out.”

Lin Hexi’s face reddened slightly, and for once, he stumbled over his words. “The reason you hid the cufflinks is the same reason I hid the watch.”

As his words fell, the two of them stared at each other in silence for a couple of seconds before they both sighed and then burst into laughter.

Lin Hexi, feigning casualness, asked, “I wore the watch every day while I was abroad. Did you ever wear the cufflinks I gave you?”

You Chong stared at his face for a moment before suddenly asking, “Did you search online for the news about my engagement to Zhuang Yixia?”

The sudden change of topic caught Lin Hexi off guard, and he nodded a bit slowly, “I did.”

You Chong frowned in dissatisfaction. “How come I didn’t know my boyfriend is nearsighted?”

Lin Hexi looked puzzled. “Both of my eyes are 2.0.”

You Chong said, “Then why couldn’t you see it?”

A vague answer seemed to surface in Lin Hexi’s mind, but he only moved his lips slightly, without responding.

You Chong had already pulled out his phone, searching online for photos from the engagement ceremony.

After zooming in on the photos, he realized that the details weren’t very clear. He looked up with a complicated expression and said, “Since the photos are too blurry, I can’t blame you for that.”

After saying this, You Chong opened the photo gallery on his phone and searched using a keyword.

Very quickly, photos matching the keyword appeared, including one taken by Zhou Xuan on the day of the engagement.

In the photo, You Chong was dressed impeccably in a suit, but the cuffs of his shirt bore a pair of gear-shaped cufflinks that clashed with his outfit that day.

With the answer in his heart confirmed, Lin Hexi’s eyes softened, and he leaned in to kiss him.

The attention-seeking orange cat suddenly appeared out of nowhere, swishing its tail and landing squarely in You Chong’s lap, effectively separating the two of them.

Lin Hexi’s lips twitched slightly. He picked up the cat and placed it back on the sofa, then spent a full half-hour in a session of cat discipline.

Half an hour later, the two of them drove to the hotel to check out.

On the way, as they passed through Lin Hexi Road, the car stopped at a red light at an intersection. Lin Hexi pointed to a spot diagonally across the street and said, “That hospital used to be right there.”

You Chong asked, “Did you visit it after you were born?”

“I remember that the hospital was already torn down when I was old enough to have memories,” Lin Hexi shook his head. “It’s something I heard from the elders in the courtyard when I was a kid.”

As the red light countdown ended, the car drove straight through the intersection and soon passed by the subway entrance for Lin Hexi Station.

Noticing Lin Hexi looking out the window and realizing which subway station it was, You Chong suddenly mentioned, “In your second year abroad, I visited Lin Hexi Station again.”

Lin Hexi’s expression faltered slightly. “When was that?”

You Chong casually mentioned a date. “That day, Lin Hexi Road Station happened to be closed, and no subway trains stopped there, so I couldn’t get off at that station.”

It wasn’t any significant holiday, nor was it their anniversary. Lin Hexi was surprised that he would remember such an ordinary date so clearly. He couldn’t help but start wondering what might have happened in his second year abroad.

In his second year abroad, Lin Hexi graduated from a foreign university, quietly retrieved his passport from someone else, and secretly planned to return home, only to see the news of You Chong’s engagement to Zhuang Yixia back in China.

He had always remembered the date of their engagement vividly.

And suddenly, he understood—the date You Chong mentioned was exactly the day before that engagement.

He couldn’t help but turn his head to look at You Chong. His expression was calm, as if he hadn’t given this small event much thought. When he mentioned it, it wasn’t to hint that he hadn’t given up easily back then.

He could tell that You Chong saw it as nothing more than an insignificant detail, mentioning it with his usual tone.

He even remembered the time when he and You Chong, on a whim, took the subway together, and he had casually made a joke without thinking.

He had said to You Chong that the train headed for Lin Hexi Station was actually headed toward his heart.

Perhaps You Chong had once felt restless and uneasy. Perhaps he had wavered during their long period of lost contact. And the temporary closure of Lin Hexi Station might have been the final straw that led You Chong to make his decision.

Lin Hexi collected his thoughts and suddenly murmured, “Lin Hexi Station will never close again.”

His voice was soft, but You Chong still heard it.

His hand tightened slightly on the steering wheel, and he feigned a teasing tone, “Which Lin Hexi Station?”

Lin Hexi kept his eyes forward, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “You know exactly which one.”

You Chong turned the steering wheel sharply, bringing the car to a sudden stop in a temporary parking area by the roadside, his deep, dark eyes fixed intently on Lin Hexi.

Lin Hexi’s smile lingered on his face, but a silent trace of confusion appeared in his eyes.

“I suddenly remembered that interrupted kiss back at home,” You Chong said with a low laugh. “Can we make up for it now?”

Lin Hexi unbuckled his seatbelt and leaned closer to him. Just before kissing him on the lips, he closed his eyes and replied with a smile, “Of course.”

That afternoon, Lin Hexi checked out of the hotel and moved all the luggage he had brought back to the country to You Chong’s home.

On the way back from the hotel to You Chong’s place, they drove to a watch repair shop to pick up the repaired watch, and Lin Hexi left the watch that You Chong had given him at the shop for repairs.

A week later, You Chong drove him to the airport, and Lin Hexi flew back to the United States to handle his job transition and the remaining resignation procedures.