Chapter 26: The Closer, the Better…

In his memory, Lin Zhi had never seen Lu Liu angry, and of course, he still hadn’t now—he could only tell that Lu Liu was angry from the tone of his voice.

Actually, the tasks Lu Liu had assigned him weren’t that many. After all, Lu Liu understood his temperament, and Lin Zhi knew that as long as he focused a little, he could finish everything before 10 p.m.

The more Lin Zhi thought about it, the more guilty he felt. Rather than saying that Lu Liu didn’t have the right to control him, it was more accurate to say that Lu Liu had no obligation to help him to this extent.

【Lin Zhi: I didn’t not want to do it】

【Lin Zhi: I’ll start earlier next time】

【Lin Zhi: Is that okay?】

There was silence on the other end of the phone, and Lin Zhi wasn’t sure whether Lu Liu didn’t want to talk to him or had fallen asleep.

Lin Zhi gritted his teeth and continued to type:

【Lin Zhi: It’s getting late, you should sleep】

【Lin Zhi: Sorry, please don’t be angry…】

Not long after, Lu Liu couldn’t hold back anymore.

【Lu Liu: I’m not angry】

【Lu Liu: Forget it, you should sleep too, do it tomorrow】

【Lin Zhi: Okay, good night】

Lin Zhi obediently responded, but after putting down the phone, he still finished the remaining questions on his test paper.

After this lesson, Lin Zhi made sure to complete his daily tasks before feeling free to do anything else, even during the Spring Festival.

After all, Lu Liu wasn’t “Zhi,” and wasn’t his boyfriend, so there was no reason for him to tolerate Lin Zhi’s repeated stubbornness.

For Lin Zhi and his father, the Spring Festival wasn’t much different from any other time of the year.

Perhaps it was because there wasn’t a female head of the household, but neither of the two men had thought about preparing for the holiday season. It was the same as before, and now that Lin Qingye had opened a small shop, it was even more so.

On New Year’s Eve afternoon, Lin Zhi took some snacks from the store back home and then cooked a few small dishes. It wasn’t a grand meal, the two of them didn’t eat much anyway, and Lin Qingye preferred lighter food.

After dinner, Lin Qingye went downstairs to play chess with Uncle Li. Uncle Li was in his fifties, much older than Lin Qingye, who was in his early forties. He had two daughters, both married or working, so the house was usually just left with two elderly people.

After Lin Qingye quit his previous job, he became familiar with many neighbors, both inside and outside the building, and became good friends with Uncle Li. They often visited each other to play chess.

During Lin Zhi’s break, he stayed at the store, and Lin Qingye spent his days playing chess with Uncle Li, who was also on vacation. If a day went by without a game of chess, his hands would itch.

“My dad went to play cards after dinner,” Yao Wenjing said on the phone.

Lin Zhi, munching on sunflower seeds, put his phone on speaker mode on the coffee table and said in a muffled voice, “I’m the same, my dad went to play chess with someone.”

“It’s different,” Yao Wenjing said. “Uncle plays chess to cultivate his mind, my dad plays cards to gamble.”

Lin Zhi wasn’t sure how to comfort Yao Wenjing and hesitated for a moment, changing the topic.

Yao Kangping had been playing cards for years, so Yao Wenjing was already used to it.

“How about we go out to play? We’re both home alone anyway,” Yao Wenjing suggested. “I heard there’s a light and fountain show at Duyang Lake.”

“Sure,” Lin Zhi said without hesitation, since Duyang Lake was not far from his home. “Come over now, I’ll wait for you under the overpass.”

The so-called light fountain show involved the fountain changing shapes while colored lights shot up from the bottom of the water, creating patterns and blending with the background music to form a video performance.

It was quite a spectacle, and many people stood or sat by the lake to watch, but since it was free, the effects were always the same during holidays, and with Lin Zhi living so close, he had seen it many times before. By now, he wasn’t particularly moved by it.

At first, Yao Wenjing watched with great interest, but gradually, he became distracted. Occasionally, he would sneak glances at Lin Zhi. As soon as Lin Zhi turned his head and caught his gaze, Yao Wenjing would immediately look back at the fountain.

“What’s wrong?” Lin Zhi chuckled, finding Yao Wenjing’s behavior childish. “Do you have something on your mind?”

“N-no,” Yao Wenjing stammered.

“No?” Lin Zhi shrugged. He had planned to clear things up with Yao Wenjing after the college entrance exams, but if Yao Wenjing couldn’t wait, he was ready to talk at any time. “Well, then.”

A few minutes later, Yao Wenjing couldn’t hold back any longer and muttered, “Xiao Zhi, actually, there’s something I want to tell you.”

Lin Zhi tilted his head and looked directly into Yao Wenjing’s eyes. When Yao Wenjing started to look away, he slowly spoke: “Follow me to a place.”

At this moment, nearly everyone was gathered by the lake, and Lin Zhi led Yao Wenjing down a secluded stone path, where the dim yellow streetlight bathed the area in a warm glow.

Yao Wenjing, feeling a bit nervous, called out, “Xiao Zhi…”

Before Yao Wenjing could say more, Lin Zhi quickly turned and embraced him, causing Yao Wenjing to step back in surprise. His arms opened awkwardly, and his voice changed in pitch. “Xiao Zhi?”

“How do you feel now?” Lin Zhi asked.

Yao Wenjing, still dazed, responded, “Huh?”

“Did I scare you?” Lin Zhi asked again.

Yao Wenjing, still in shock, answered, “Yeah.”

“What else?” Lin Zhi gently coaxed.

“What’s going on with you?” Yao Wenjing, not understanding Lin Zhi’s intentions, asked with concern, “Why suddenly…”

Lin Zhi felt a warmth in his heart. He released Yao Wenjing and stepped back two paces. Yao Wenjing furrowed his brow slightly, and aside from the worried expression on his face, nothing else was visible.

“What did you want to say?” Lin Zhi asked with a smile.

“It’s not important anymore,” Yao Wenjing hurriedly replied, “Is something wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” Lin Zhi continued smiling. “I’m asking you—how did you feel when I hugged you just now?”

“Huh?” Yao Wenjing seemed to just realize what had happened, his face slowly turning red. “Just now… I… didn’t have time to feel anything…”

He had been too preoccupied with wondering what was wrong with Lin Zhi to focus on the fact that Lin Zhi had just hugged him.

“Do you want me to hug you again?” Lin Zhi said with a big, open gesture.

“N-no, that’s okay,” Yao Wenjing stepped back a little, waving his hands, “It’s fine.”

“Why?” Lin Zhi playfully accused, “Don’t you like me? Why won’t you even hug me?”

Yao Wenjing stiffened, his eyes wide in surprise. “You know?”

“I know.” Lin Zhi replied.

“Then you…” Yao Wenjing hesitated for a long moment, finally forcing out the words, “Do you like me?”

“Poof—” Lin Zhi didn’t expect Yao Wenjing to be so straightforward. He smiled and nodded, “I like you.”

Lin Zhi was thinking Yao Wenjing might clumsily blurt out something like, “Then we’re mutual in our feelings,” but Yao Wenjing was not only not foolish but quite clear-headed. He said, “But you told me last time that you liked someone I don’t know.”

“Yes,” Lin Zhi admitted, “But liking him doesn’t stop me from liking you.”

Yao Wenjing didn’t speak but his face was full of the expression “Why?”

Sometimes, Lin Zhi really hated Yao Wenjing’s father. Yao Wenjing, a beautiful flower of the motherland, had been ruined before he even had a chance to bloom.

Of course, Yao Wenjing’s mother wasn’t any better. She had poor judgment in people, and although she was also a victim, once she ran away, she was relieved but left the innocent young Yao Wenjing in the hands of a demon.

“Sigh,” Lin Zhi sighed deeply and explained, “My feelings for you aren’t the same.”

“I like you, and when I’m with you, I feel at ease. Whatever you need, I’ll help you, just like how you care for me.” Lin Zhi paused for a moment, a little awkwardly continuing, “But when I like… him, just thinking about him makes me feel good. If I were close to him, at first, I might feel a little nervous, but over time, maybe I’d loosen up.”

Lin Zhi glanced down at his right hand and smiled, “I’d want to hold his hand, hug him, kiss him, do everything involving close physical contact, in short, the closer, the better.”

That was fine at first, but when Yao Wenjing heard the latter part, his face and ears slowly turned red. He instinctively swallowed and said, “This… we’re still in high school!”

Even though they were high school students, his psychological age was already that of an adult. Lin Zhi rubbed his nose, glanced at Yao Wenjing, and asked, “Do you feel anything right now?”

Yao Wenjing widened his eyes, looking at Lin Zhi in disbelief, hurriedly shaking his head and denying, “No!”

“No,” Lin Zhi quickly realized that Yao Wenjing misunderstood. He laughed, “I’m not asking if you feel anything physically, I’m asking if you feel… anything in your heart.”

“None!” Yao Wenjing interrupted.

“Can you let me finish?” Lin Zhi wanted to hit him. “What I’m asking is, after hearing what I just said, does it make you feel uncomfortable? Like… jealousy?”

“Um…” Yao Wenjing thought for a moment, “No, not really.”

He just felt a little embarrassed. He and Lin Zhi had never discussed this kind of thing before.

The school didn’t teach it, and no one at home explained it to him. Yao Wenjing wasn’t particularly curious about such matters and knew very little about love and relationships. What little he did know came from what he heard from the boys in his dorm or saw in small pop-up ads on his phone browser.

“So,” Lin Zhi spread his hands, “Actually, you don’t really like me in that way.”

“What kind of liking is it then?”

“Like how good brothers like each other, the same as how I like you.” Lin Zhi patted Yao Wenjing’s shoulder casually, speaking in an annoying tone, “You’re still young. In a year or two, when you’re in college, you’ll understand a lot more.”

“…” Yao Wenjing unceremoniously swatted his hand away, pretending to be displeased, “Xiao Zhi, you’re only a few months older than me.”

“A few months is a long time.” Moreover, if you really calculate it, he should be over three years older than Yao Wenjing.

“By the way, I’m really happy that you know this now,” Yao Wenjing said.

Lin Zhi smiled a little, he was also happy. He had been worried that if Yao Wenjing truly liked him in that way, it would be difficult. Of course, he couldn’t reciprocate such feelings out of sympathy, but he didn’t want to hurt him either.

Fortunately, the situation that could have put him in a dilemma didn’t arise.

“That day, Lu Liu said I shouldn’t have kept this thought from you,” Yao Wenjing unwittingly betrayed Lu Liu, “I was afraid you’d mind if you found out.”