Jing Tian stared blankly at these few lines of text, his mind buzzing.

Beside him, Yang Yue seemed to still be saying something, but it didn’t register in Jing Tian’s mind at all.

The last two sentences in the chat window were separated by sixteen minutes and thirty-two seconds.

Several months ago, when Jing Tian had no expectations, Zheng Xunqian had earnestly pondered for a long time and arrived at a conclusion that Jing Tian had since contemplated countless times in his heart.

Jing Tian stared at those four words for a while, then lowered his head and smiled foolishly.

All the long-standing doubts, hesitations, and anxieties turned out to be nothing but self-inflicted torment.

His eyes welled up with tears, a bit of shame still lingering, but compared to the overwhelming happiness welling up in his chest at this moment, it all seemed insignificant.

He thought, a clear confession was indeed very important and meaningful.

Those simple words, when uttered by the right person, became a magical incantation that was effective only for him, bringing him an unparalleled sense of joy.

At this moment, he was the happiest person in the world.

“What are you laughing at?” Yang Yue, who was frowning beside him, asked in confusion.

“Huh?” Jing Tian hurriedly closed the computer screen, turned his head, and said, “Nothing, I…”

“What did Zheng Xunqian say to you?” Yang Yue squinted and asked.

Jing Tian opened his mouth, then quickly closed it again, lowered his head, and smiled again.

There was no need to hide what couldn’t be hidden. He was very happy now, indeed because of Zheng Xunqian.

“You heartless person,” Yang Yue scolded, “I’m still worried here, and all you can think about is dating!”

Jing Tian scratched his chin and reached out to grab Yang Yue’s finger.

“Being with someone who likes you and whom you also like will truly make you happy,” he told Yang Yue.

Yang Yue shuddered, withdrew his hand, and looked uncomfortable, as if covered in goosebumps. “Turn right if you want to show off, left is fine too. Anyway, I’m not interested.”

“It’s not about showing off. I just want to say… uh…” Jing Tian’s mind was filled with flying soap bubbles, colorful and chaotic. For a moment, he couldn’t sort out any logical sentences.

He just wanted to tell Yang Yue that love is really great, being in love is so fulfilling, and he hoped that you would try it soon, and he hoped that everyone in the world would try it.

“Anyway,” he looked sincerely at Yang Yue, “never miss any chance for happiness in your life!”

Yang Yue stared at his face for a while, raised his hand, touched his forehead, quickly withdrew it, and shook his head.

Jing Tian felt like he would say in the next second, “It’s hopeless, let’s just let it go and wait to die.”

“I’m serious!” he emphasized.

Yang Yue sighed, “Lowering your intelligence to this level isn’t an attractive example.”

Jing Tian had no words. He turned his head, sighed like Yang Yue, and pretended to be like him.

Yang Yue couldn’t help laughing. “People forget the pain when the scar heals. Being in a relationship isn’t always happy, you’ve forgotten how miserable you looked just a while ago?”

Indeed, he had forgotten. Jing Tian felt a moment of daze, even if he brought it up now, it didn’t feel real, and he felt a bit silly thinking about his past self.

Zheng Xunqian’s earnest affection for him had turned all his past grievances into mere complaints.

“I hope someone will make you as happy as I am,” he said to Yang Yue.

Yang Yue seemed like he wanted to tease Jing Tian a few more times, opened his mouth, but quickly changed his mind.

He looked at Jing Tian, smiled faintly, nodded, and said, “Thank you.”

After that, Jing Tian secretly admired the one-sided chat record many times.

Then he found that some details in the previous parts of these messages were different from what he remembered.

The “It’s up to you” that had infuriated him before was missing from the dialogue box, replaced by a system prompt indicating that the message had been deleted.

-“Let’s not contact each other in the future.”

【The other party deleted a message】

“I won’t give it to you. Your ID card is with me.”

At that moment, they were both foolish, because of poor communication, they got angry and said angry words.

Even the intelligent Zheng Xunqian could be so clumsy at times.

Jing Tian suddenly felt grateful.

If he hadn’t fallen down, and Zheng Xunqian had resentfully sent the message again after calming down, all he would have seen was a red exclamation mark. Given the attitudes and tempers of the two at the time, perhaps they would have lost their chance.

The intimacy they now possessed was so precious.

Jing Tian picked up his phone, deliberately logged out of the computer before sending the message, to preserve the independent integrity of that record.

“Are you free? I need to talk to you.”

Zheng Xunqian quickly replied.

“What’s wrong?”

Jing Tian took a deep breath, his heart beating fast as he typed, partly out of nervousness and partly out of excitement.

-“I want to hear you say you like me.”

As he pressed send, his face was already burning.

Such a simple sentence, he had thought of it before, but had been unable to say it out of spite and self-doubt.

He waited quietly for half a minute, and a new message appeared in the chat box.

-“I like you.”

It turned out to be such a simple and easy thing.

Jing Tian laughed like a fool again.

Before he could reply, Zheng Xunqian sent another message.

“I even like the water that enters your brain.”

Jing Tian’s smile froze on his face.

“???”

Zheng Xunqian casually changed the subject.

“Have you returned to school?”

Jing Tian persisted.

“What do you mean!”

Zheng Xunqian evaded the question.

“Do you want to meet?”

Jing Tian frowned, feeling humiliated yet honest as he replied.

“Okay.”

The sky had darkened, but the campus wasn’t deserted.

With no particular agenda, they met at the dormitory area entrance and went for a stroll around the nearby small playground.

“What good thing happened?” Zheng Xunqian asked him. “You seem so happy.”

“Did something happen?” Jing Tian turned his head to the side, still smiling, and said, “Maybe it’s just because the weather is nice!”

Indeed, the weather was pleasant, neither cold nor hot, with a gentle breeze blowing, and only a few stars faintly visible in the sky.

“Yeah,” Zheng Xunqian said, “This weather is perfect for an outing. Are you free tomorrow?”

“…No,” Jing Tian said with some regret, “I have to accompany my mom. She’s staying for a few more days.”

Zheng Xunqian nodded without objection.

“Why don’t you suggest coming along?” Jing Tian asked him intentionally.

Zheng Xunqian smiled at him. “You’re having a family reunion. How can I intrude?”

Jing Tian lightly snorted and suddenly remembered something. “Can you send me a photo of yourself?”

“Why?” Zheng Xunqian asked, puzzled.

“My mom wants to see what you look like.”

“Why?” Zheng Xunqian was surprised.

What other reason could there be? Wei Shengnan asked many questions related to Zheng Xunqian today, and Jing Tian couldn’t help but boast a little. Since his personality didn’t allow him to brag, he first praised Zheng Xunqian’s academic achievements and appearance.

When he mentioned that “he’s quite handsome,” Wei Shengnan suddenly became curious and said she wanted to see him.

“How did you introduce me to her?” Zheng Xunqian asked.

Jing Tian looked down at the plastic running track, hesitated, and refused to answer directly.

“…I remember you said you wanted to kill me in the email you sent her,” Zheng Xunqian said.

“Don’t be so petty,” Jing Tian patted him, “That’s in the past.”

Zheng Xunqian was speechless, so he asked, “What did you tell her about me?”

“Just tell the truth,” Jing Tian said.

Zheng Xunqian stopped and grabbed his hand. Jing Tian took a step forward and had to stop as well, turning to look at Zheng Xunqian.

Feeling embarrassed under Zheng Xunqian’s gaze, he kept his eyes lowered as he spoke, “I just said… I said you’re my boyfriend.”

Zheng Xunqian slightly widened his eyes.

He didn’t ask Jing Tian why he had told his mom about their relationship so directly. He just remained silent for a moment, then said, “I’ll go check if i have one.”

After that, he continued walking forward, still holding hands with Jing Tian.

“…Let me confirm,” Zheng Xunqian said, “You’re really not angry anymore, right?”

Jing Tian muttered with his head down, “I have a sense of responsibility. After careful consideration, I decided to take responsibility for you.”

“…Thanks,” Zheng Xunqian said with a restrained smile.

“There’s no other way,” Jing Tian continued, “since I even like the holes in your brain.”

For a moment, Zheng Xunqian couldn’t discern whether this was a confession, coaxing, or malicious revenge, or perhaps all of them, so he just smiled and didn’t respond.

It turns out that conveying feelings can also be a joyful thing. Jing Tian walked briskly, took a few steps, and said, “I want to drink milk tea!”

Zheng Xunqian nodded at first but soon voiced his opposition, “You’ve been eating out these past few days, which is already greasy. For the sake of your stomach, let’s hold off.”

Jing Tian pursed his lips, feeling reluctant.

“A few days later, let’s drink, my treat,” Zheng Xunqian coaxed him.

Jing Tian sighed, then quickly remembered something and said, “Are you a bit obsessive about splitting bills?”

Zheng Xunqian didn’t understand, “Why do you say that?”

“Every time I treat you to a meal, you always find a way to treat me back,” Jing Tian said. “I just treated you to bubble tea a few days ago, and now you’re saying you want to treat me.”

“Really?” Zheng Xunqian thought for a moment. “Maybe it’s just a coincidence?”

Judging by his expression, he probably wasn’t pretending. Jing Tian couldn’t really tell if they had achieved a true split-bill arrangement between them. He was still concerned about something that happened earlier.

“Then… why did you send me a red envelope back then?” he asked Zheng Xunqian.

Zheng Xunqian looked puzzled, “When?”

“Forgot already?” Jing Tian sighed with a smile, “The day I fell down the stairs, you sent me a red envelope of a hundred yuan, saying it was half of the room fee.”

Only then did Zheng Xunqian remember, looking nonchalant, “Seems like there was such a thing.”

“It was so sudden!” Jing Tian finally expressed his thoughts bluntly, “So inexplicable!”

Zheng Xunqian chuckled, “Just found a reason to talk to you.”

Jing Tian was speechless. After a while, he said, “Can I have my ID back from you?”

“okay,” Zheng Xunqian sighed, “I don’t know what I was thinking back then.”

“You might have been… kind of liking me,” Jing Tian said.

Zheng Xunqian turned his head to look at him, “What’s wrong with you today?”

These were things he definitely couldn’t say before. Jing Tian glanced at him with a suppressed smile, then looked away, saying, “Nothing, really.”

“Surely something good happened,” Zheng Xunqian said.

Jing Tian didn’t answer, continuing with the previous topic, “I’m curious, why do you actually like me?”

Zheng Xunqian fell into silence at his question.

Jing Tian pressed on, “I was quite weird back then, wasn’t I?”

“Indeed,” Zheng Xunqian nodded. “I often reflect on that question too, but I can’t find a reasonable explanation.”

“…”

Zheng Xunqian glanced at him, “Maybe there’s really a hole in my head.”

“…”

The previously sweet atmosphere slightly soured.

Jing Tian let go of his hand, huffing as he walked ahead. After a while, he noticed that Zheng Xunqian was still quietly following behind, showing no signs of anything.

This is too much, Jing Tian thought, is this guy fearless now?

He turned his head to look back and found Zheng Xunqian still smiling.

Zheng Xunqian looked at his back, hands in his pockets, walking leisurely as if nothing happened.

Jing Tian stopped, turned around, and looked him in the eyes, taking a deep breath, and said seriously, “I want to hear you say you like me.”

Zheng Xunqian was stunned for a moment and also stopped walking.

Although he was decisive in sending messages earlier, now he hesitated for some reason. After a few seconds of staring at Jing Tian, he awkwardly turned his head away.

Jing Tian said nothing, quietly watching him.

After a while, Zheng Xunqian finally spoke up, “…What’s wrong with you today?”

Jing Tian’s mood couldn’t help but sink.

He looked at Zheng Xunqian’s slightly reddened face under the warm-colored streetlights, feeling a bit skeptical. He opened his mouth but swallowed back what he was about to say.

Just as he was about to stubbornly tell Zheng Xunqian to forget about it, Zheng Xunqian glanced at him quickly and then looked away again.

That less than half-second of brief eye contact made a clear, crisp sound in Jing Tian’s mind. Frowning, he walked forward a few steps with his hands behind his back, looking inquisitive.

Seeing him approaching, Zheng Xunqian unconsciously took a half step back, “What’s up?”

The color of this light is too deceptive.

As the two gradually approached each other, Jing Tian’s brows relaxed, and a smile crept onto his lips.

Is Zheng Xunqian blushing?

This discovery made him feel like he had just successfully played a prank, filling him with secret delight.

He walked up to Zheng Xunqian eagerly, about to hold his face earnestly and scrutinize it, but Zheng Xunqian suddenly hugged his waist.

Zheng Xunqian hugged him tightly, leaving no space between them.

Jing Tian just wanted to struggle, but Zheng Xunqian’s lips were close to his ear, speaking in a volume only he could hear, whispering, “I like you.”

With the final note, Zheng Xunqian took a shallow breath.

Jing Tian blinked, his brain instantly becoming lively after a brief moment of blankness. He tried to create some distance between himself and Zheng Xunqian. He wanted to see Zheng Xunqian’s expression at this moment and also wanted to kiss Zheng Xunqian’s lips.

But Zheng Xunqian didn’t allow it.

He hugged Jing Tian tightly, almost forcefully, pressing his head against his shoulder, not letting him move.

Jing Tian’s face buried in his neck, his sight filled with his fine short hair on one side and the dim plastic track behind them on the other.

Zheng Xunqian didn’t want him to see his current expression.

Jing Tian closed his eyes and smiled.

How silly, he thought. They were so close, their chests pressed tightly together, and Zheng Xunqian had long been completely exposed by the intense beating in his chest.

He was fascinated by this seemingly calm, cool, even indifferent, and unpredictable man, who he pursued with all his might, finally caught him, only to find out he was a mouthy, thin-skinned, and quirky brat.

It’s really a mismatch, like a fraud.

A limited edition Zheng Xunqian that only he could see.

Jing Tian also reached out and hugged him with a smile.

Such fortunate things exist in this world.

END

^[1]Author’s Note: The story of these two characters comes to a temporary end, and there will be a little more of Yang Yue and Shu Ziqin’s parts next. During the process of writing this … Continue reading