Ji Xu lay on the bed, breathing heavily, staring at the ceiling. His mind kept replaying the image of Cheng Yue pushing him away and running out earlier.
He knew how absurd that sentence must have sounded, but he didn’t want to say anything to Cheng Yue while reeking of alcohol. Besides…
Ji Xu furrowed his brows, pressed his temples with his fingers, sighed deeply, and slowly sat up from the bed. Fighting the drunkenness, he grabbed some clothes and went to the bathroom.
After taking a shower, he still felt a bit dizzy. He went to the fridge and drank a bottle of water, which not only cleared his mind but also cooled his throat.
After finishing the water, Ji Xu paused in front of Cheng Yue’s closed bedroom door, frowning and lost in thought.
Cheng Yue sat stiffly at the edge of his bed, staring at his clenched fists.
He heard Ji Xu open the door, the faint sound of water, and then the footsteps approaching his door before they faded away.
Ji Xu was standing right outside his door.
The thought made Cheng Yue’s ears flush even redder. He couldn’t help but press his hand over his heart, hoping it would beat slower so he could hear more clearly what was happening outside the door.
Suddenly, footsteps sounded again from outside the door. Cheng Yue jumped, diving under the covers and curling up.
But the footsteps grew fainter, and only when Cheng Yue heard the sound of Ji Xu’s bedroom door closing did he peek out from under the covers, looking confused.
He couldn’t make sense of his situation.
Maybe he was subconsciously aware of it, but Cheng Yue was afraid to think too deeply. He was hesitant and scared.
The next morning, Cheng Yue woke up unusually early. After getting ready, he looked at Ji Xu’s tightly shut bedroom door. After much deliberation, he decided not to check on Ji Xu and left the house, heading to school.
As he stood in front of the elevator, he kept thinking about whether he should go back and check on Ji Xu. After drinking so much the previous night, Ji Xu might be feeling unwell or have thrown up…
Cheng Yue bit his lip, about to turn back, when the elevator dinged.
The elevator arrived, and before Cheng Yue could leave the elevator door, it opened.
Inside the elevator stood a person. When Cheng Yue saw who it was, he lowered his head awkwardly.
“Up already?” Ji Xu asked in surprise.
“Yeah.” Cheng Yue answered vaguely, not daring to meet Ji Xu’s eyes.
“Why are you leaving?” Ji Xu stepped out of the elevator, holding a bag of breakfast. “Have breakfast first.”
“…My classmate said they’d bring it for me.” Cheng Yue spoke hesitantly, staring at the floor. “I’m leaving now.”
Ji Xu frowned, about to say something, but seeing Cheng Yue’s clearly off demeanor, he decided to hold back. After a moment’s thought, Ji Xu handed one of the breakfast bags to Cheng Yue. “Remember to eat.”
Cheng Yue took the bag and quickly jumped back into the elevator.
Ji Xu watched the elevator doors close slowly, his expression thoughtful. At first, he had thought Cheng Yue was just being moody and that it would pass in a day or two.
But the situation had exceeded his expectations. Ji Xu noticed that Cheng Yue had been carefully avoiding him every day, sometimes pretending not to see him when he couldn’t avoid it.
Once, when watching a movie, Cheng Yue laughed alone on the sofa but tried to stifle his laughter and put on a serious face when Ji Xu came over.
Another time, when Cheng Yue came out in the middle of the night to raid the fridge, Ji Xu caught him, and Cheng Yue ran so quickly that he banged his head against the door.
There were many such incidents. In just four or five days, Cheng Yue’s little temper had made Ji Xu both amused and helpless.
That Friday afternoon, after finishing work, Ji Xu planned to pick up Cheng Yue from school and have a good talk with him. However, he received an unexpected call.
It was from the private investigator he had contacted earlier.
Ji Xu raised an eyebrow, took the call, and set up an appointment. He then headed straight to the address.
Both arrived at the coffee shop almost simultaneously. Ji Xu sat down with the private investigator named Xiao Chen, who promptly began reporting the information.
“Tan Minmin is indeed connected with Liang Siwei, but they don’t meet often. In the time I’ve been watching, they’ve only met once. The meeting took place in a private club with high privacy, and I only managed to capture a photo of them leaving together.” Xiao Chen said, pushing a file folder across the table.
“Moreover, I discovered that Tan Minmin might have some mental health issues. She stayed home for three days without going out, and her brother came by several times causing a commotion. Recently, Tan Minmin has been consulting psychological experts, but the results seem unsatisfactory; she’s changed three experts in just two days.”
“Mental health issues?” Ji Xu was surprised, immediately thinking of a possible solution.
If Tan Minmin really had mental health problems, it would make things much easier.
“It seems so.” Xiao Chen nodded and pointed to the file folder on the table. “The list of hospitals and psychologists she has contacted is inside.”
Ji Xu opened the folder and reviewed it carefully. After paying Xiao Chen, he immediately drove to Cheng Yue’s school to pick him up.
Upon arriving at the school, Ji Xu was about to call Cheng Yue when his peripheral vision caught sight of a cool motorcycle on the street. On the motorcycle was a boy he had seen a few times before, with Cheng Yue standing next to him holding a helmet.
The two were chatting and laughing.
Ji Xu’s face darkened as he watched. He took out his phone and dialed Cheng Yue.
The call connected quickly, and Ji Xu looked through the car window at Cheng Yue answering the call.
“Where are you?” Ji Xu asked.
“Just got out of school.” Cheng Yue adjusted the helmet he was holding.
“I’m at the school gate,” Ji Xu said.
“You came to pick me up?” Cheng Yue’s face lit up with joy. He threw the helmet to Bai Zhen and quickly looked around for Ji Xu’s car.
Ji Xu’s expression softened a bit as he watched Cheng Yue’s actions.
Cheng Yue spotted the car parked on the other side of the road and said, “I see you. I’ll be right there.”
“Okay.” Ji Xu hung up, rolled down the car window, and looked at Cheng Yue.
From a distance, Cheng Yue said something to the boy, who then patted Cheng Yue on the shoulder before driving away on the motorcycle. Cheng Yue then ran towards Ji Xu.
Ji Xu quickly turned his gaze away, and not long after, the other side of the car door opened.
Breathless, Cheng Yue climbed into the car and asked awkwardly, “Why didn’t you call me earlier today? I almost went home first.”
“Forgot.” Ji Xu said, then noticed Cheng Yue hadn’t fastened his seatbelt. He leaned over, intending to pull the seatbelt for him, but Cheng Yue suddenly pushed him away.
Ji Xu stopped his action, looked down at Cheng Yue who seemed lost in thought, and asked softly, “Are you avoiding me?”
Cheng Yue was startled by the question, and his fingers gripping the seatbelt turned white from the force.
He had indeed been avoiding Ji Xu these past few days because he couldn’t understand what was wrong with him. Since that night, whenever he faced Ji Xu, he felt out of sorts, especially his ears, which would always flush red.
“Cheng Yue.” Ji Xu called his name.
“Hmm?” Cheng Yue turned his head to look at him.
“Are you…” Ji Xu glanced at the road ahead, hesitated, and couldn’t bring himself to speak. He had no reason to make Cheng Yue stay away from that boy, nor did he have the right to interfere with Cheng Yue’s friendships.
After they got home, despite thinking about different things, they both fell into an unspoken silence.
After dinner, Cheng Yue went straight into his small room. The oil painting he was working on was nearly finished and should be completed in a couple of days.
Ji Xu didn’t have time to think about other matters. The situation with Tan Minmin had opened a can of worms, so a swift resolution was best.
So, the next morning, Ji Xu left early.
When Cheng Yue woke up the next day, Ji Xu had already been gone for quite some time.
Ji Xu had left a note as usual. Cheng Yue stared at the note for a while, then sighed and put it away in his room.
He finished his homework, then lay on the sofa, aimlessly pressing the remote control, wondering when Ji Xu would return.
By the evening, after taking a shower and still waiting for Ji Xu on the sofa, Cheng Yue grew increasingly restless and began pacing around the house.
Cheng Yue felt like he was losing his mind. He was uncomfortable when he saw Ji Xu and uncomfortable when he didn’t see him.
By ten o’clock, after pacing the house a few times, Cheng Yue finally called Ji Xu.
The call was quickly answered, so fast that Cheng Yue didn’t even have time to figure out what he wanted to ask.
“Hello? Cheng Yue?” Tang Jing’s voice came through the phone.
Cheng Yue was taken aback by the voice and quickly asked, “Where’s Ji Xu?”
“He went to the restroom,” Tang Jing replied with a laugh. “He’s having dinner with us. Don’t worry, have you eaten yet?”
Cheng Yue had eaten, but after thinking about it, he said, “No.”
“Oh, you haven’t eaten yet this late? Come over quickly, we’ve just started. Ji Xu shouldn’t have left you alone; he should have taken care of you first,” Tang Jing complained.
“I’ve sent you the address. It’s quite close, just take a cab over. Be safe.”
After hanging up, Cheng Yue quickly changed his clothes, ran downstairs, and took a cab to the restaurant Tang Jing had mentioned.
When he entered the restaurant, he told the waiter the private room number and followed the waiter upstairs. As soon as he opened the door and saw the room full of people, he felt a bit of regret.
There were about ten people in the room, all of whom looked at him. Cheng Yue hesitated and took a step back.
“He’s here.” Tang Jing smiled and stood up, waving at him.
Cheng Yue didn’t move, scanning the room for Ji Xu.
“Come over here.” Ji Xu stood up and pulled out a chair next to him.
Seeing Ji Xu’s familiar face, Cheng Yue’s mood lightened, and the smile at the corners of his mouth grew uncontrollably.
“Have you not had dinner yet?” Ji Xu frowned as he saw Cheng Yue sit down and served him a bowl of rice.
“Why didn’t you order takeout?”
Cheng Yue took the rice, feeling a bit embarrassed. “I forgot.”
“Forget what?” Ji Xu gave him a disapproving look and then asked, “What do you want to eat?”
Cheng Yue looked around the table and pointed to some shrimp in the distance.
Ji Xu turned the table and served the shrimp to him.
“Does anyone remember the time when Tang Pang got into a fight with Zheng Yu over a girl from the neighboring class?”
“Who could forget! Tang Pang used the cafeteria lady’s ladle to hit Zheng Yu. Who the hell could forget that?”
When the conversation started, Cheng Yue focused on eating the shrimp Ji Xu had peeled for him. He loved shrimp, and these were particularly delicious.
“Isn’t it normal to fight for a woman?” Tang Jing said angrily. “No one here can say they’ve never fought over a girl.”
“Chang Sheng has never fought; he’s only fought for Ji Xu!”
At this remark, everyone in the room laughed.
The person named Chang Sheng, who was called out, also laughed, looking at Ji Xu and the boy opposite him. His smile grew wider.
“I’d still fight for him now.”
The room erupted in cheers and clapping. Cheng Yue, startled by the sudden noise, dropped a shrimp he was holding and was left feeling confused by the commotion.
“You’ve scared the only pure child in the room!” Tang Jing laughed and scolded everyone. “Quiet down!”
After the room settled, Chang Sheng looked at the boy sitting next to Ji Xu and asked, “Who is this?”
“Ji Xu’s nephew,” Tang Jing suddenly remembered, slapping his forehead. “It’s my fault for forgetting to introduce him. Ji Xu was too busy eating to think about it.”
“Your younger brother is quite handsome,” Chang Sheng said with a smile. “He must be popular at school. Has he ever fought over a girl?”
Cheng Yue didn’t know how he suddenly became the topic of conversation, but the way the man looked at him made him uncomfortable.
But Cheng Yue couldn’t quite pinpoint what that look meant.
“Is your younger brother embarrassed?” Chang Sheng asked with a smile. “But I can guess he must be good with girls. Just wondering if he has ever actively pursued a girl…”
Cheng Yue looked at him, then at Ji Xu beside him, suddenly realizing something. He frowned, looking down at the shrimp in his bowl, feeling a bit distressed.
Ji Xu placed a freshly peeled shrimp into Cheng Yue’s bowl, inadvertently glancing at Chang Sheng with an unfriendly and warning look.
Realizing something was wrong, Tang Jing quickly tried to smooth things over.
“Our Cheng Yue is truly outstanding, so handsome and beautiful…”
Chang Sheng nodded in agreement. “Indeed, very attractive to girls…”
Cheng Yue furrowed his brows, put down his chopsticks, and directly interrupted, “I don’t like girls.”
Author’s Note:
Next, I announce the annual jealousy competition is officially starting!
First up is contestant number one, Old Ji!
His performance today is quiet jealousy, subtle and flawless, without leaving any traces.
In the end, Old Ji’s jealousy was almost pathological…
Next, we have contestant number two, Silly Yue!
His performance is to pour a bucket of jealousy over himself, done flamboyantly and wildly!
In the end, Silly Yue’s jealousy led him to come out…
Post-competition commentary: Anyone who has inappropriate thoughts about the main character is an accomplice!
Thank you all for your support!
