Zheng Xunqian’s smile became more apparent.

He nodded and said, “Yeah.”

Seeing Jing Tian sneakily raise his eyes to glance at him, he unconsciously reached out his hand, smoothed out a small unruly strand of hair beside Jing Tian’s cheek, and carefully tucked it behind his ear.

Jing Tian slightly recoiled his neck but didn’t avoid it.

He lowered his gaze, earnestly looking at the bubble tea cup in his hands. Some new black hair had grown at the roots, and the previously extensive light pink color had become uneven over time and repeated washing. The tips of his hair had almost faded back to silver-white, giving his whole head a layered look from dark to light. He wore three small metal accessories on the lobe of the ear closer to Zheng Xunqian, two silver hoops of different widths, and a bottom earring studded with diamonds, reflecting dazzling light under the sun. Several rings of different styles adorned his fingers as he held the bubble tea cup.

His avant-garde and pioneering attire made him seem unconventional, but his facial features and current expression exuded a sense of purity and submissiveness.

Zheng Xunqian looked at his face, his slightly drooping long eyelashes, his fair skin with a hint of blush on his cheeks, and his slightly pursed lips revealing a trace of uneasiness.

Adorable, pitiable, someone you wanted to touch and protect.

Zheng Xunqian increasingly understood what the emotions surging in his heart represented.

These feelings were initially too vague, and during the time when he couldn’t accurately define them, he often felt restless due to this strange involuntary feeling.

After twenty years of being judged as a weirdo by others, he finally realized for the first time that he was truly strange.

How would you describe Jing Tian?

Clumsy, boisterous, always nervous, speaking loudly but with wandering eyes.

Quite annoying.

To Zheng Xunqian, people without boundaries were quite annoying.

Introverted people fell into two categories: those who didn’t know how to communicate with others and those who simply didn’t like to communicate with others. Zheng Xunqian might be the latter, provided he could be classified as introverted at all.

He never hesitated to express his negative emotions, didn’t mind awkward situations, and cared even less about what others thought of him, adhering to the principle of “as long as I’m comfortable, who cares if you’re not.” He was happy to be carefree.

To most people, this was undoubtedly “weird.” He could recognize this, but he didn’t care at all.

But Jing Tian was even weirder.

Jing Tian didn’t care about his blatant mockery and rejection, like a determined little tank rumbling toward him, displaying the most fearless posture with an expression that both surprised and intimidated him.

It was maddening, like having an illness.

“Why aren’t you drinking?” Jing Tian glanced at him again, “I’m treating you, aren’t you giving me face?”

Although it sounded like a complaint, his tone was soft, sounding almost coquettish.

Zheng Xunqian lowered his head and took a sip lightly. He didn’t like overly sweet drinks and had ordered a sugar-free oolong milk cap. After putting down the cup, Jing Tian still looked at him, his gaze seemingly on his lips.

“…Is it good?” he asked.

Zheng Xunqian smiled at him.

But Jing Tian seemed dissatisfied for some reason and asked again with a slightly louder tone than before, “Just answer me straightforwardly, is it good or not!”

Zheng Xunqian was taken aback for a moment, then nodded, “It’s pretty good.”

Jing Tian was slightly more satisfied now and looked back at his bubble tea cup, saying, “You’re obviously ten thousand times weirder than me!”

Zheng Xunqian didn’t agree but didn’t want to argue either, so he remained silent.

“You’re really weird,” Jing Tian continued, “Sometimes you seem like a normal person.”

Zheng Xunqian didn’t understand. “How should I interpret that?”

“When you’re in front of the teacher, you seem to understand the ways of the world,” Jing Tian said, “But it’s different when you’re with me.”

Zheng Xunqian chuckled. “They’re not the same.”

Not wanting to adhere to social norms didn’t mean he was clueless about them. He observed how people behaved in different situations and what kind of words and actions were more socially acceptable to gain more approval. When necessary, he could pull them out and use them.

This once made him think that dealing with the world was so easy.

But Jing Tian was different. When facing Jing Tian, he couldn’t find any reference points to follow, couldn’t imitate anything, and even if he wanted to perform well, he didn’t know what the standard answer was.

“Sometimes it seems like you’re deliberately trying to annoy me,” Jing Tian said.

“…Really?” Zheng Xunqian denied, “You used to be more like that. Remember?”

Jing Tian immediately glared at him. “See! Now! Now you’re deliberately trying to annoy me!”

Zheng Xunqian thought to himself, arguing for the sake of arguing. Then he thought again, I didn’t say those words out loud, so it’s evident I didn’t really want to annoy you.

After holding back for a while, seeing Jing Tian still maintaining a confrontational posture, he couldn’t help but speak, “You’re just arguing for the sake of arguing.”

After saying this, he thought, Not good.

Fortunately, Jing Tian’s reaction wasn’t too intense. After glaring at him for a while, he turned his head slightly awkwardly to the other side. “…I didn’t deliberately annoy you before.”

He quickly added, “You must have often been annoyed by me, that’s why you feel that way!”

Zheng Xunqian earnestly recalled for a moment, then shook his head. “No.”

“Liar,” Jing Tian said.

Zheng Xunqian repeated, “Really didn’t.”

At first, he felt puzzled, then helpless, and then, he began to anticipate faintly.

Only the feeling of restlessness accompanied him throughout.

Initially, he found Jing Tian very annoying, but later, he found himself annoying for harboring ambiguous feelings about it.

“I didn’t say you deliberately annoyed me, you just seem like it,” Zheng Xunqian continued, “I know you like me, you want to attract my attention.”

This was said too bluntly, and Jing Tian’s slightly flushed face quickly turned completely red.

Seeing he was about to explode, the phone rang abruptly at this moment.

Jing Tian took out his phone from his pocket, frowned slightly after seeing the words on the screen.

After hesitating for two seconds, he answered the call.

Zheng Xunqian wasn’t very close to him, so he couldn’t hear the voice from the other end, but he could see Jing Tian’s somewhat conflicted expression.

“Something suddenly came up, I won’t come over,” he said to the other end.

Zheng Xunqian lowered his head and took a sip of his bubble tea, then leaned slightly towards Jing Tian.

After vaguely hearing a male voice from the earphones, he deliberately, loudly asked, “Who is it? Can’t they see it’s not a good time?”

Jing Tian looked at him speechlessly and said to the phone, “Let’s talk when I get back, you… you… Let’s not talk about it for now, goodbye.”

After saying that, he quickly hung up the call and then set the caller’s number to “Do Not Disturb”.

Zheng Xunqian was in a good mood and took another sip.

“I don’t have anything with him,” Jing Tian put his phone back in his pocket and said proactively, “I came out with him for some… very boring reasons…”

Zheng Xunqian interrupted him, “Are you hungry?”

“Huh?”

“We’ve just had bubble tea, but that’s not enough. Let’s go eat something,” Zheng Xunqian stood up, “Your stomach needs proper food.”

“…Oh.” Jing Tian obediently stood up.

He followed behind Zheng Xunqian for a few steps and asked, “Why are you so good to me?”

Zheng Xunqian thought to himself, what kind of question is that, why does there need to be a reason.

Jing Tian always asked these aimless questions.

“Who else should I be good to?” he countered.

Jing Tian didn’t answer immediately. The two of them walked forward silently for quite a while before he said, “No one else, you can only be good to me.”

Zheng Xunqian nodded, “Okay.”

After responding, he turned his head and glanced at Jing Tian.

Jing Tian’s gaze was on his hand.

Their hands naturally swung by their sides as they walked, sometimes far apart, sometimes close together.

The desire in his eyes was so obvious, and Zheng Xunqian was thinking the same thing.

As he reached out his hand, Zheng Xunqian asked, “Are you not mad at me anymore?”

Jing Tian’s hand, which had already begun to rise, instantly froze, then quickly pulled back.

The air became awkward.

Zheng Xunqian sighed, “It’s really difficult.”

Jing Tian turned his head, hummed lightly, quickened his pace, and walked ahead of him.

He looked somewhat adorable. Zheng Xunqian looked at him, increasingly wanting to touch him.

They used to not only hold hands every day but also hug and kiss. Less than a week ago, he could naturally touch every inch of Jing Tian’s skin.

Zheng Xunqian secretly guessed that Jing Tian must still remember something from that time.

The way he was in front of him now was completely different from before the first amnesia.

Softer, calmer, more rational, no longer prickly all over.

No longer as troublesome as before.

But if Jing Tian really remembered, then why would he still quarrel with him?

Could it be because Jing Tian not only remembered the “liking” for him at the beginning but also remembered the subsequent “not liking”?

Clearly, it’s precious affection, yet it can easily change or even disappear with time, circumstances, or memory, fleeting.

Jing Tian’s current attitude towards him, would it be like his own at the beginning? Feeling nervous when too close, missing when slightly apart. Unable to locate oneself, not knowing what one really wants, feeling muddled.

“For you, am I at least a bit more important than that person?” he asked Jing Tian.

Jing Tian tilted his head, “Who?”

“…forget it,” Zheng Xunqian said.

It’s good that he couldn’t remember. He didn’t like Jing Tian thinking about him.

Unfortunately, Jing Tian remembered anyway. He abruptly stopped walking, turned around, facing Zheng Xunqian squarely, and spoke with a serious expression, “From the past till now, there’s nothing between me and him. I’m meeting him today… because… because of some immature thoughts from my past… Anyway, it’s not because of any liking for him.”

As he spoke, he turned his head away again, quietly adding, “Don’t compare yourself with him.”

This was the second time he said this.

“Because you still like me, right?” Zheng Xunqian asked.

Similar words, he had repeated countless times with different tones, and so far, he had only received one subtle response. He wasn’t sure if Jing Tian still remembered that moment, so it was necessary to repeat it constantly.

Jing Tian suddenly became very helpless. He glanced at Zheng Xunqian, said nothing, and turned back to continue walking.

Zheng Xunqian walked behind him and asked, “Are you free this weekend?”

Jing Tian immediately replied, “No, I already have plans this weekend!”

Zheng Xunqian couldn’t help but make some unfavorable assumptions.

“…Take me with you then,” he said.

Jing Tian smiled for some reason, “It’s not very convenient.”

Digging too deep would seem annoying, not the attitude a pursuer should have. But what happened today was really hard for him to let go of.

After enduring for a while, he still asked, “Who are you meeting with, and why is it not convenient?”

Jing Tian seemed to have been waiting for him to ask this question specifically, and he could hardly contain his laughter as he spoke, “Do you remember when I sent emails to scold you with someone?”

“Uh-huh.”

“I’m going to meet the person I sent those emails to,” Jing Tian said.

Zheng Xunqian furrowed his brows slightly.

Jing Tian laughed, “…It’s my mom, she’s coming to see me.”

“…”

Jing Tian was extremely satisfied with his current expression. With a smile on his face, he leaned close to him and asked with his head tilted up, “Are you still willing to come along?”

No, Zheng Xunqian thought, but I also don’t advise you to approach me with such a cute expression.

He raised his hand, lifted a finger to his lips, and whispered quickly, “Be careful.”

Jing Tian, puzzled, immediately stopped smiling and asked vigilantly, “Why?”

While he was frozen in place, Zheng Xunqian quickly leaned over and kissed him on the lips.

Even after he returned to his original position, Jing Tian still hadn’t snapped out of it, his eyes still wide open like before.

After a moment, those big eyes blinked twice rapidly.

So adorable. As Zheng Xunqian thought so, he smiled, “Be careful next time.”