ASPWWD Chapter 62

“Are you still worried you can’t win over Lin Fengqi?”
Can’t win over Lin Fengqi…
Can’t win over…
Lin Fengqi—who is that?

Wait… isn’t that his own name?

But why does this sentence sound so unfamiliar when strung together like that? Lin Fengqi was suddenly disoriented, unsure if what he just heard was real or some figment of his imagination. A fuzzy memory floated up from the depths of his mind—he had heard something similar before…

But where?

When Wen Xia returned, he was carrying several small keychains. He handed one to each person, saying, “A souvenir for clearing the game.”

When it was Lin Fengqi’s turn, he hesitated for a moment before taking it. The keychain was made of acrylic, featuring an adorable chibi version of his character, John.

Lin Fengqi raised his head to look at Wen Xia, but the latter’s attention had already shifted elsewhere. He was now handing out keychains to the two young girls who were about to leave.

“Wen-ge, are you guys heading home now?” Xiao Ma asked. “Want to grab a meal together?”

They had arrived early in the morning, waited for two hours, and spent over an hour clearing the escape room. It was now lunchtime.

Wen Xia turned to Lin Fengqi, intending to get his opinion, but noticed that the man was spacing out again.

Wen Xia nudged him with his elbow, snapping him out of his daze. “Huh?”

“Do you want to join us for lunch?” Wen Xia asked.

Lin Fengqi responded with a simple “Mm,” agreeing to the plan, but his mind was clearly elsewhere.

The four of them walked out together, with the couple leading the way. After Lin Fengqi nearly missed a step on the stairs, Wen Xia grabbed him and frowned. “What’s wrong with you? Are you feeling unwell?”

Lin Fengqi jolted, turned his head with a dazed expression, and replied as if in a trance, “It’s… nothing.”

“Really? Are you sure I didn’t actually hurt you when I fell on you in the basement?” Wen Xia reached out to touch the spot where he had landed on him, but Lin Fengqi caught his wrist.

“Really… it’s nothing,” Lin Fengqi insisted.

Wen Xia frowned. “You’re acting really strange.”

“…”

“Forget it, do what you want.” Wen Xia shook off his hand and strode ahead.

He was slightly annoyed. Lin Fengqi was becoming easier to read, and this was definitely something serious. Moreover, it seemed like it involved him.

What could it be that he couldn’t say?

Lin Fengqi followed behind, half a step behind Wen Xia, staring at the back of his head while still replaying that line from Zou Boyan—“Are you still worried you can’t win over Lin Fengqi?”

That can’t be true.

How could that be possible? Wen Xia chasing after him? Back in high school?

How could that be…

How could Wen Xia have taken any interest in the high school version of him, a gloomy, silent kid whose family was drowning in debt, who was good at nothing but studying?

The difference between them was like heaven and earth.

Humans can reach out to touch sunlight, but they can never truly grasp the sun.

Lin Fengqi had no idea how he managed to get through that meal. His thoughts were chaotic, even more so than the day he woke up after drunkenly confessing to Wen Xia. He ate in a daze, vaguely responding to whoever spoke to him. When he finally came to, Xiao Ma and his wife were gone, and he was sitting in the front passenger seat of a car.

Wen Xia started the car and glanced at him briefly, instructing, “Seatbelt.”

Lin Fengqi blinked, taking two seconds to process, then fastened his seatbelt. He belatedly asked, “Where are they?”

“They went on a date,” Wen Xia replied, his tone heavy on the word “date,” as if emphasizing something.

But Lin Fengqi couldn’t even recall his plans for today’s “date.” His head felt like mush, sloshing around with the motion of the car.

That mush was too runny.

“Where are we… going?” He finally remembered to ask after they had driven quite a distance.

“The sanatorium,” Wen Xia replied. “Didn’t you mention it yesterday?”

Lin Fengqi stirred the mush in his head slowly. “Oh… right, I did.”

They stopped by a flower shop on the way, where Wen Xia bought a bouquet of lilies. There was a fruit stand nearby, and after some thought, he grabbed a bag of fruit as well, placing everything in the backseat where no one was sitting.

The fragrance of the flowers tickled his senses, and Lin Fengqi’s foggy mind seemed to clear a little when he noticed Wen Xia slipping on the wedding ring before starting the car again.

Unconsciously, Lin Fengqi started recalling moments from high school when he had interacted with Wen Xia. Once more, it all felt surreal—like a dream. He didn’t dare to speak, afraid that it would all vanish.

When they arrived at the sanatorium, a nurse was just finishing up routine checks on Ye Shixue’s blood pressure and blood sugar—all normal, except for a bit of anemia, which was her chronic issue.

“I keep telling you not to come so often,” Ye Shixue said, accepting the lilies Wen Xia handed her and placing them on the TV stand. “And you, Xia, you’re already here, so there’s no need to bring so many things.”

“It’s Lin Fengqi who comes frequently. I rarely visit, so of course, I need to bring you some small gifts,” Wen Xia replied, putting down the fruit and placing a book on the bedside table. “By the way, Mom, I found this poetry collection that I thought you might like. It seems to be your style. I’ll leave it here for you to enjoy when you have some free time.”

Ye Shixue picked up the poetry collection and glanced at it, her face lighting up with delight. “I’ve heard of this poet before, but I remember this edition is out of print…”

“Just happened to come across it. I hope you don’t mind that it’s a bit old.”

“Not at all, I love it! I can’t wait to start reading it,” Ye Shixue said warmly. “But you shouldn’t have gone to such trouble…”

“It’s no trouble at all, as long as you like it.”

Lin Fengqi watched from the side, once again feeling a bit out of sorts.

He remembered seeing Wen Xia take out a book this morning before they left. He hadn’t paid much attention at the time, thinking it was just something Wen Xia wanted to read if he got bored. But that wasn’t it…

Just then, an older lady from the neighboring room came over to visit. She was a bit older than Ye Shixue and had met Lin Fengqi before but not Wen Xia. Curious, she asked, “Xiao Ye, who’s this?”

“This is my younger son,” Ye Shixue replied with a smile. “Ah Qi’s partner.”

The lady looked at Lin Fengqi, then at Wen Xia, and exclaimed in admiration, “You’re really blessed. Your son is so handsome, and your son-in-law is just as dashing.”

The lady had come to give Ye Shixue some freshly made scallion pancakes. When she saw Lin Fengqi and Wen Xia, she quickly went back to get more, her enthusiasm uncontainable.

Ye Shixue quickly assured her that it was enough and that she should save some for herself.

The lady waved it off, saying, “It’s no problem. I’m making more anyway. My granddaughter is visiting today, and she loves my scallion pancakes. I need to make extra for her to take home.”

As they spoke, a little girl suddenly peeked around the door, calling out in a crisp voice, “Grandma—”

“Ah, Grandma’s right here!”

The voice was familiar, and when Wen Xia turned to look, he met a pair of bright, wide eyes. The little girl’s face lit up when she recognized him, and she ran over, hugging his leg. “Wen Xia-gege!”

It was the little girl from his old neighborhood who loved martial arts stories.

The older lady, surprised, asked, “You know each other?”

Wen Xia crouched down to pat the little girl’s head. “We used to be neighbors.”

“Oh, I see! So you’re the big brother she always talks about, the one who lived next door!” The older lady exclaimed, looking pleased.

Wen Xia hesitated for a moment. The description was a bit strange, but it was probably him, so he nodded. Technically, the girl should have called him “uncle” given the age difference, but she insisted on calling him “big brother.”

The older lady was overjoyed, going on about how fated they all were. Ye Shixue was just as amazed by the coincidence after Wen Xia explained briefly.

“Gege, come play with me,” the little girl pleaded, tugging on his arm. “I want to hear more stories about your adventures!” She was still holding onto the tales he had spun for her before.

Wen Xia sighed helplessly, glancing back at Ye Shixue and at Lin Fengqi, who had been standing silently like a statue since they arrived.

“Go ahead,” Ye Shixue said with a smile, sounding like a parent giving permission for their child to go out and play.

Dragged away by the little girl, Wen Xia went off to tell her more martial arts stories, and the lively atmosphere quickly quieted down.

After Wen Xia disappeared from sight, Lin Fengqi refocused and opened the bag of fruit. “Mom, want me to peel an apple for you?”

Ye Shixue didn’t answer right away, just smiled at him knowingly, which made him pause. “What is it?”

“Did you two have a fight?” Ye Shixue asked.

Lin Fengqi froze for a moment. “No.”

“Really? Then what’s with this spaced-out look? You might as well buy some glue and stick your eyes on Xia,” Ye Shixue teased, her motherly instincts sharper than ever. “I know you too well. You were just like this when you were a kid whenever you messed up.”

Lin Fengqi wanted to insist that nothing was wrong, but the truth was, Wen Xia wasn’t particularly happy with him.

Seeing his son’s hesitation, Ye Shixue sighed. “You always bottle things up.”

Lin Fengqi stayed silent.

“I can’t believe you managed to win Xia over with that attitude,” she said with a mix of exasperation and concern. “It’s a good thing Xia has a good temper and can put up with you. Anyone else would have left, no matter how good-looking or rich you are.”

The word “win” made Lin Fengqi tense up again.

Ye Shixue watched him quietly before speaking. “So, what happened between the two of you?”

That was a tricky question. If he answered honestly, the truth about their fake marriage would come out.

But wasn’t he trying to turn that “fake” into “real” right now?

His gaze fell on the bouquet of lilies by the TV. For some reason, it felt… odd.

He couldn’t explain it, but something felt off. He glanced at the bag of fruit and the poetry collection by Ye Shixue’s pillow.

These were all things Ye Shixue liked.

From the very first time he had brought Wen Xia to visit Ye Shixue at the hospital, Wen Xia had always seemed to know exactly what to bring. Every item was precisely what Ye Shixue liked, even though Lin Fengqi had never mentioned her preferences.

Every time, Wen Xia had claimed it was just a coincidence, a lucky guess.

Noticing his wandering gaze, Ye Shixue asked, “What are you looking at?”

“Just… the flowers,” Lin Fengqi replied.

Ye Shixue looked over at the bouquet of lilies and smiled warmly. “They’re beautiful, aren’t they? Xia has great taste.”

“Mom,” Lin Fengqi suddenly asked, “Did you exchange contact info with Wen Xia?”

“Hmm? Of course we did. Have you really gone silly today?” Ye Shixue chuckled. “Don’t you remember? We added each other on WeChat right in front of you the first time you brought Xia to visit me.”

Lin Fengqi continued staring at the flowers, his voice tinged with complex emotions. “But… the first time he came, he brought you a bouquet of lilies.”

No one knows their child better than their mother.

Maybe there’s a kind of understanding between mother and son that’s hard to put into words.

Ye Shixue seemed to catch onto something, giving him a meaningful look before replying slowly, “Yes, that’s because we’re already old friends. Otherwise, who do you think left those lilies on my windowsill when you were in high school?”

—

It took nearly exhausting all his energy to finally satisfy the little girl. When Wen Xia returned to Ye Shixue’s room, his first priority was finding some water to drink.

Ye Shixue couldn’t help but laugh. “That little one really likes you.”

“Maybe it’s because the first time we met, I climbed a tree to get her balloon down,” Wen Xia sighed. “Ever since then, she’s seen me as some kind of martial arts hero who can leap over rooftops.”

Ye Shixue found this incredibly amusing.

It was nearly dusk by the time they left the sanatorium. Zhou Yixian, who usually wasn’t at the sanatorium, had mostly handed over the management of the family business and was now running his own company, focusing on smart medical devices—similar to Fenghang Technology, but catering specifically to hospitals.

Wen Xia noticed that ever since he returned from telling the little girl stories, Lin Fengqi’s behavior had been off.

He was even quieter than usual, more withdrawn, with a gaze more intense than ever before. It was as if his eyes were dark pools filled with unreadable emotions, ready to erupt like a volcano.

For some reason, Wen Xia found himself hesitant to meet Lin Fengqi’s gaze directly.

But I’m the one who’s upset, Wen Xia thought. Why am I the one who’s avoiding him now?

This is so weird.

Wen Xia drove them home, with Lin Fengqi gazing out the window the entire time. Even when they stopped at traffic lights, he didn’t glance in Wen Xia’s direction. The atmosphere was oddly tense.

It wasn’t the kind of tension that weighed down on you, but rather a sense of impending eruption, like someone was gradually compressing the air around them.

When the light turned green again, and the car started moving, so did Lin Fengqi.

But instead of facing Wen Xia, he took out his phone and opened Wen Xia’s WeChat Moments.

Wen Xia focused on driving, unable to split his attention to see what Lin Fengqi was doing.

Lin Fengqi scrolled through Wen Xia’s Moments, one by one. Most of the posts that had once caused him so much misunderstanding had been deleted—almost all of them, except for one.

It was the one where Wen Xia had posted a photo from a Western restaurant he had visited with his coworkers, with the caption: “Want to bring someone here.”

He clearly remembered that the post right before this one was a screenshot of a chat where Wen Xia had invited Fang Huai to dinner.

Lin Fengqi compared this post with Wen Xia’s other Moments.

Now that he had added Zou Boyan as a friend, he noticed that Zou Boyan had liked or commented on every single one of Wen Xia’s Moments—except for this one.

Not only that, but this post, which had been up for so long, had no likes or comments at all. It was like a deserted island in the middle of an otherwise bustling timeline.

As if Lin Fengqi was the only one who could see it.

Lin Fengqi’s heart started to race as he thought about the posts Wen Xia had deleted—those seemed to follow the same pattern.

It was as if they were meant for his eyes only.

It might seem a bit selfish, but he… really wanted to confirm his suspicion.

They returned home in silence.

This time, Lin Fengqi didn’t even have the energy to greet A Mo, who had come bounding over to welcome him back. When Wen Xia returned from changing into his home clothes, Lin Fengqi took a deep breath and said, “Can I borrow your phone for a moment?”

Wen Xia was caught off guard by the request. “For what?”

Lin Fengqi calmly pointed to the living room surveillance camera. “Something seems to be wrong with mine. I can’t view today’s footage. I want to try using yours.”

There was nothing unusual about this, so Wen Xia handed over his phone without hesitation. “Sure. I’m just going to feed Wen Da Ge. Just leave my phone on the coffee table when you’re done.”

Lin Fengqi nodded, secretly relieved.

As soon as Wen Xia walked into the kitchen, he bit his lip and opened Wen Xia’s WeChat—not the surveillance app.

He didn’t check the messages, going straight to the Moments.

He scrolled down and finally found the “Want to bring someone here” post. Beneath the photo, there was a small icon indicating that this post was only visible to specific people.

Lin Fengqi’s heart pounded so hard it felt like it might burst out of his chest. He closed his eyes briefly, as if preparing for the most significant decision of his life. After taking a deep breath, he tapped on the little icon.

The screen changed—

[Visible to: Observed Person.]

Observed… Person?

Lin Fengqi blinked in confusion. The avatar next to this note was all too familiar. When he tapped on it, it led to his own profile page.

It was him.

It was Lin Fengqi.

This post had been visible to Lin Fengqi alone.

In that instant, countless pieces of information connected in his mind, like a meteor shower streaking across the sky, leaving brilliant trails that converged into a spectacular display in the Milky Way.

In just one moment, the night lit up like daylight.

—

Wen Xia had just begun cutting the thawed raw meat when he heard hurried footsteps approaching from the living room. The sound quickly grew closer, and before he could react, the room went dark.

Lin Fengqi’s embrace was sudden and overwhelming, tight as if he wanted to merge their bodies into one.

Startled, Wen Xia inhaled sharply as the fresh scent of mint filled his nostrils. His mind blanked out, and all he could think to do was put down the knife he was holding.

“…Lin Fengqi?” It took him a while to find his voice.

The embrace only tightened.

He could feel the man’s heavy breaths, laden with suppressed emotions, and Wen Xia’s mind remained blank. His hands were greasy from the raw meat, so he hesitated, not knowing where to put them. He awkwardly let them hover in the air, instinctively wanting to hug Lin Fengqi back.

In just a few seconds, those ragged breaths shifted to his shoulder and neck.

A tingling shiver ran down Wen Xia’s spine and up to his scalp. Just as he was about to speak, he felt the person holding him tremble.

Even his breath began to shake.

The next moment, something cool and wet touched the hollow of his neck.

Wen Xia froze, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed, and all he could do was call out his name, “Lin Fengqi.”

In response to his call, a heavy sigh was buried deep into his neck.

The embrace finally loosened.

When Lin Fengqi lifted his head, Wen Xia had never seen him look so disheveled. His eyes were bloodshot, his long lashes damp with tears, and his face bore streaks of tear stains. His nose was red, and his usually deep and cold eyes were now filled with moisture, gazing at him as if looking at a lost and found treasure.

“I’m sorry,” Lin Fengqi’s voice was hoarse. “May I kiss you?”

Wen Xia couldn’t make sense of how those two sentences were connected, but Lin Fengqi didn’t wait for an answer. Those reddened eyes closed in on him, and the next thing he knew, Lin Fengqi’s lips were on his.

---

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