Ji Wenzhen was caught off guard by the little drunk’s straightforwardness. Staring at the face so close to his, he froze for a moment.
But the boy kept urging, “Doctor Ji, hurry up~!”
Hurry up with what?
Hurry up and kiss.
Despite being an adult, Doctor Ji found himself at a loss when faced with this unexpected situation.
The boy was drunk and could say whatever came to mind, but Ji Wenzhen was sober and couldn’t just play along. He had to patiently coax him, “I’ll kiss you later. Let’s go home first, okay?”
The boy, not getting his kiss, looked aggrieved. With tear-filled eyes, he shook his head like a rattle, “No, nope, no way.”
At that moment, Bo Xinghang resembled a puppy that hadn’t been fed, sticking out his tongue and drooping his ears, listlessly waiting for his owner’s attention.
Pitiful beyond words.
This was the first time Ji Wenzhen had encountered someone so troublesome when drunk. Unlike the last time when everything had been normal, this time the boy seemed to be acting as if he’d been provoked, constantly whining and acting spoiled.
…He really felt like he was going crazy.
He had even started to imagine kissing the young man passionately, right there in front of everyone at this noisy barbecue restaurant. He pictured making the boy’s thin lips turn a deep red, leaving him breathless, gasping for air, and pleading for him to be a little gentler.
But reason told him he couldn’t.
He had to remain calm.
He had to restrain the filthy thoughts swirling in his mind.
The 8-year age difference was like an insurmountable chasm. Although the other side of the chasm felt like a spring breeze, the gap was so deep that even a light step would lead to a fall into the abyss.
Ji Wenzhen gently rubbed his temples, forcing himself to calm down.
When he spoke again, his voice was hoarse but still gentle. “Let’s go home, okay?”
Bo Xinghang’s eyes were watery and red as he looked at him. “…”
“…Fuck.”
His 26 years of being a gentleman ended at that moment. He completely threw away all his manners and swore under his breath.
He didn’t know what to do.
Click—
The lights suddenly dimmed.
He heard cheers erupt around him, followed by chants of “Marry him! Marry him!” Turning his head, he saw a young man kneeling on one knee, holding a ring and smiling at the girl beside him.
The lights all focused on the couple, leaving the surrounding area in darkness.
The girl was surprised and shy, standing there in stunned silence, while the young man gazed at her intensely, making a nervous yet heartfelt confession.
“We met here for the first time. To others, this might just be an ordinary barbecue restaurant, but meeting you has given it a special meaning.”
“…So, will you marry me?”
“Marry him!”
“Marry him!”
“Marry him!”
The onlookers, eager for excitement, joined in with clapping and cheering, making the atmosphere instantly heat up.
The atmosphere was unbearably ambiguous.
Ji Wenzhen turned his head. In his line of sight, the young man staring at him with a wronged expression was now just an outline. In a trance, Bo Xinghang took a step closer, his warm breath brushing against Ji Wenzhen’s face.
Before Ji Wenzhen could react, a soft sensation landed on his lips. It was like freshly made cotton candy, sweet and warm, or like a feather gently brushing against him.
The kiss landed softly and then moved away gently.
It was so light it seemed like an illusion.
Ji Wenzhen’s whole body stiffened, but the young man didn’t seem to notice. Under the dim light, Bo Xinghang stared intently at Doctor Ji’s face.
Bo Xinghang smiled innocently, his breath, tinged with the smell of alcohol, spreading across Doctor Ji’s face. As Ji Wenzhen closed his eyes for a moment, he heard the boy’s sweet voice.
“Okay~ I’ll marry you.”
–
Ring, ring, ring—
The phone on the bed wouldn’t stop vibrating.
“Fuck… Who the hell is calling at this hour?”
Bo Xinghang reached a hand out from under the quilt, fumbling around until he finally grabbed the phone. With a careless swipe, he answered the call.
“Who?”
“Ai-yo, you finally picked up! You have no idea how many times I’ve called you. What were you doing yesterday? Taking leave and being late. Why do I feel that you’ve been—”
“Shut up.” Bo Xinghang’s head throbbed from Xu Yi’s loud voice. Speaking from under the covers, he mumbled, “Spit it out.”
The other end of the line was quiet for a few seconds before speaking again, this time with a hint of teasing. “Oh, you’re still in bed?”
“So?”
“It’s already eleven o’clock.” Xu Yi began hinting wildly, “So what exactly did you do last night that you’re still not up? You must have had quite an energetic night…”
“Your mom’s the energetic one…”
His head was spinning, and his memories from the previous day were all fragmented. He vaguely recalled ordering two more bottles of beer and then, to impress Doctor Ji, attempting to walk in a straight line.
Crap.
He buried his head deep into the quilt, too embarrassed to face reality.
This time, he had really embarrassed himself.
He couldn’t even remember what other humiliating things he did afterward. Just five bottles of beer, and he was completely blackout drunk? If word got out, the staff at the bar would laugh their heads off.
Yeah… who would believe that?
Tsk.
Bo Xinghang’s head throbbed.
“Wait a minute.” Despite his headache, he asked, “Did you just say… What time is it now?”
“It’s eleven o’clock!”
“Fuck.” Bo Xinghang immediately sat up, and the sudden movement made his head hurt even more. He endured the pain and looked around.
This wasn’t his messy house but instead a place that was predominantly white, neat, and clean.
He realized it at once.
This was Doctor Ji’s home.
So he… had once again ended up at Doctor Ji’s house.
This house, where he had stayed countless times before, was cold in tone but felt incredibly cozy.
Bo Xinghang lowered his head and took a shallow breath. It… felt as if this guest room had been prepared especially for him.
He felt awkward again.
The person on the other end of the line continued to chatter, “Hang-ge! Do you remember that today is the weekly exam?”
“…What weekly exam?”
“What do you mean? We have weekly exams every Monday. Yesterday’s flag-raising ceremony delayed it to today. Hang-ge, did you sleep yourself into amnesia?”
This was the exam routine in senior year: a small test every three days and a big one every five days. The goal wasn’t anything other than to make these struggling students numb to exams.
Each subject’s teacher would say, “You’ve reviewed enough. I’m doing this to get you used to exams! Get numb to exams! That way, you won’t be afraid in the examination hall.”
At that time, the whole class would agree bitterly while secretly feeling like crying inside.
Bo Xinghang’s eyelids drooped as he yawned and stretched. “…Amnesia, my ass.”
It would be nice to have real amnesia and forget all the stupid things he did yesterday.
He got up and made his way to the door with practiced ease.
When Bo Xinghang reached the living room, he saw a bag of breakfast on the dining table. The food seemed quite abundant, and through the bag, he could see various lunch boxes.
Doctor Ji remembered that Bo Xinghang had been drunk the previous day, so he specifically prepared breakfast, which was all light and gentle on the stomach.
Next to the breakfast was a note. Although Bo Xinghang hadn’t seen this handwriting before, he instantly recognized it as Doctor Ji’s.
—Eat your food without fuss as soon as you get up. If it gets cold, heat it in the microwave. Don’t eat it cold.
The note reflected Doctor Ji’s thoughtful care. Bo Xinghang fiddled with the silver stud on his earlobe, staring at the breakfast for a long time before muttering to himself, “Damn, if you keep doing this…”
If you keep doing this, I’ll suspect that you like me.
It’s unfair.
Xu Yi thought Bo Xinghang was talking to him, but the phone was quite far away, and he didn’t hear clearly, so he asked again, “What? Say that again.”
“…”
All the little thoughts he shouldn’t have had instantly vanished. Bo Xinghang picked up the phone again and said in a kind tone, “Could you please shut up for a bit?”
Xu Yi: “…Oh.”
Fine.
I’ll shut up then.
“Hurry up and get here. You’ve already missed two exams.”
Xu Yi left one last piece of advice before pitifully hanging up the phone.
Because it was just a simple weekly test, there was no need to change rooms or rearrange seats, and all six subjects were squeezed into one day.
They had two main subjects in the morning, including brain-draining math. The moment they put down their pens, everyone collapsed on their desks, not even having the strength to rush to the cafeteria.
They were utterly exhausted.
Honestly, it wasn’t even worth eating at this point.
Xu Yi had just hung up the phone when a girl sitting behind him poked his back with her pen. Turning around, he saw the girl looking at him with eyes sparkling like stars. “Xu Yi, were you just on the phone with Bo Xinghang?”
“Yeah, why?”
As a slacker, Xu Yi couldn’t relate to the brain-drained feeling of the top students.
He was about to get up to eat when he heard her calling his name, so he stopped and turned to look at her.
“It’s not a big deal…” The girl felt embarrassed and fidgeted awkwardly. “Oh, I just wanted to ask if Bo Xinghang will be back later?”
Xu Yi didn’t understand her actions and felt there was something indescribably strange about them, so his answer was a little hesitant, “…I told him to come back, so he should. Do you need him for something?”
“Mm… Mmn.”
The girl looked around. Some were eating, and some were slumped over from exhaustion, but no one was paying attention to them.
Feeling relieved, she leaned in and whispered, “Actually, I wanted to ask Bo Xinghang about his brother.”
Xu Yi’s eyelids twitched, and before he could even start to complain, he heard the girl exclaim involuntarily.
“He’s so handsome… and such a gentleman.”
In fact, Bo Xinghang was also quite handsome, but with his reputation as a “school bully” and a report card full of zeros, anyone who liked his looks could only admire him from afar.
But this heaven-sent brother was different. He was both handsome and gentle. Every move he made while speaking was secretly captured and posted on the school forum, instantly making him famous.
Xu Yi: “…”
They say heroes are powerless against beauties, but the truth is that beauties are powerless against handsome guys.
Doctor Ji’s influence was even greater than expected.
For the next few days, wherever Bo Xinghang went, he heard girls talking about his “handsome gege.”
…Crap.
Bo Xinghang scowled, his face full of displeasure. He walked with a dark cloud of resentment hanging over him.
Then, the forum began to buzz with talk of how the brothers were polar opposites: one was gentle and refined, while the other was fierce and intimidating.
Bo Xinghang glared at the screen with his amber eyes, occasionally letting out a snort that made Xu Yi think he was having some kind of episode.
After finishing reading, Bo Xinghang slammed his phone down on the table with a loud “thud,” deliberately making a noise.
He was just annoyed. Who would be happy if the person they liked was constantly being ogled by others?
Tsk.
After a moment of hesitation, Bo Xinghang decided to send Doctor Ji a message.
—When are you free? I’ll come see you.
Doctor Ji was slow in replying, probably because he was working.
—?
—Just tell me yes or no!
Doctor Ji laughed, seemingly helpless against the childish young man. He pressed his finger to the screen and replied with indulgence in his calm voice, “Yes.”
