Part 2
“Why ask this?”
“If there is desire in the heart, you won’t care about things that make you unhappy.”
He paused, weighing his words, and told Shi Ye carefully, “I’m sorry. I used to say you were emotional, but now I know you might have suffered a lot of grievances. You can tell me if you’re unhappy.”
Actually, he didn’t just find out; Wen Rong had sought Shi Ye out during the mountain climb last time. But compared to saying “I knew,” saying “now I know you might have suffered grievances” should make Shi Ye feel more comfortable.
Shi Ye crossed his arms and leaned back on the sofa. “You’re a bit weird today.”
“I just want to care about you.”
“Why care about me? Don’t you like Leon more?”
“…”
Mentioned the Senior.
Before, Wen Rong would have definitely nodded; after all, the Senior was indeed more important than Shi Ye. But after last night, Wen Rong couldn’t say those words easily.
“Hey—” Shi Ye called again.
“I don’t like him more.”
It was Shi Ye’s turn to be silent.
The central air conditioning was effective; the villa had heated up. Wen Rong was wrapped in thick clothes, and heat steamed out from his collar.
Opposite him, Shi Ye was cool, wearing only a black tank top, sweating from hitting the sandbag.
Wen Rong explained, “Senior is very good, and you are very good too. I think after such a long period of adjustment, we are already…”
After careful consideration, he finished, “Friends.”
“Friend” was the best relationship in Wen Rong’s book. By assigning this title, he felt he was worthy of Shi Ye’s “like.”
“Like Lin Qizheng and the others?”
“Of course.”
“Like Zhang Jincheng too?”
Wen Rong said strangely, “Senior Lin Qizheng and the President are the same.”
“Leon and I are the same too?”
Against his conscience: “Mm.”
“Then why did you stay in his room for so long yesterday?”
“…”
Shi Ye suddenly became alert. “Did you guys watch pornographic films together?”
Of course not!
Senior wouldn’t drag me to watch… but Senior would share them with me.
Wen Rong thought of the video the Senior sent him a long time ago and felt embarrassed, his cheeks burning from the hot air.
“Fuck, he actually dragged you to watch that stuff.”
“No,” he hastily denied.
“What do you mean ‘no’? Your reaction says ‘yes’.”
“Senior said only you love watching those things.”
“I don’t watch that crap.”
“…”
“…”
They stared at each other for two seconds before Shi Ye awkwardly looked away. “I never watch that stuff.”
“Oh.” Don’t really believe it.
“I really don’t watch that stuff. I don’t even watch idol dramas. I’m busy training; where would I have the time?”
“Oh…” Believe it a little.
“Then if you didn’t watch videos, what were you doing in the room all that time?”
“Chatting on the balcony.”
“Chatting about what?”
Wen Rong thought for a moment. “Just normal chatting. He also reminded me to behave myself and not cause trouble.”
“Oh.”
Shi Ye responded. His excitement just now seemed to be a momentary rally; once the energy passed, he wilted again.
The topic ended there.
The butler brought breakfast. Shi Ye didn’t eat and went back to hit the sandbag.
Wen Rong realized his “repayment” had failed and felt a bit depressed. He sat at the dining table, slowly stuffing food into his mouth.
The butler noticed something was wrong and asked thoughtfully, “Do you not like the breakfast?”
Wen Rong shook his head and chewed faster.
Breakfast was finished quickly. Wen Rong had no reason to disturb them further. After forcibly helping the butler clear the table, the sky outside had thoroughly brightened.
He walked to the door, telling himself he had done his best. Maybe Shi Ye only wanted to tell his heartfelt thoughts to the Senior he grew up with.
Thinking this, he suddenly noticed the sound of footsteps.
Wen Rong turned around and found Shi Ye following more than a meter away.
A strong premonition improved his mood. He stopped deliberately and said, “Thank you for the hospitality.”
“Mm.”
Shi Ye’s eyes darkened slightly, his tightly closed lips loosening a bit.
Wen Rong had plenty of patience and waited for him to struggle.
For a long time, the wind blew until his face was cold. Half of Wen Rong’s hair was lifted up, standing on end.
He couldn’t wait any longer, so he asked proactively, “Do you need a hug?”
The sharp brows trembled lightly. “What?”
“I didn’t have many friends before, so I don’t know how to comfort a friend in a bad mood. But I saw that when female classmates cried, other girls would hug them… You don’t want to talk, so do you need a hug?”
Eye roll. “I’m not a girl.”
“Alright then. If you want to talk later, you can contact me on Black Pigeon.”
“Wait.”
Just as Wen Rong turned, Shi Ye called him back.
Wen Rong opened his mouth and took a breath.
Shi Ye was always flip-flopping like this. It wasn’t a principled flaw; he could tolerate it—
“Did you hug Leon?”
“?”
To answer honestly, yes. In the Zero Gravity Experience Hall, I relied on Senior to keep my balance.
But Wen Rong didn’t want to answer because he felt the question carried ambiguity, insulting their normal behavior that day.
Wen Rong didn’t understand the world of people like Shi Ye. He thought hugs between the same sex weren’t strange. Sometimes, out of politeness, hugs between opposite sexes weren’t strange either. He simply wanted to use a hug to replace words to comfort Shi Ye. But coming from Shi Ye’s mouth, this behavior seemed to become some unspeakable couple’s act from a pornographic film.
“Forget it. Hug me too.”
“…”
Don’t want to hug anymore.
Shi Ye probably sensed his rejection and lowered his head. “Today is my mom’s birthday.”
“…………”
Wen Rong’s eyelids fluttered. He couldn’t help spreading his arms and leaning toward Shi Ye.
His skin was very cold, like ice. When he touched the black tank top, he suddenly felt that Shi Ye was even “bulkier” than he imagined; his arms couldn’t even close around him.
“Is that okay?”
Wen Rong’s arms were sore, and he quietly retracted them.
Slam. Shi Ye put his hand behind him and closed the door, leaning back against it, his face almost parallel to Wen Rong’s.
Darkness appeared on the horizon. At first, it was just a small patch, but in seconds it expanded madly, growing larger and larger like a quilt completely covering overhead. The surroundings dimmed again.
Boom—
A clap of thunder, flashing light.
Wen Rong was grabbed by the waist and pulled forward. The wind whistled past his neck. A chill rose on his back, yet he felt hot.
That wasn’t wind; it was Shi Ye resting on his shoulder, breathing.
Raindrops jumped from the clouds in lines. Their remnants accumulated into mountains on the ground, splashing everywhere.
Falling onto Wen Rong’s pants, onto his back—terrifying to the extreme. His heart beat violently.
Thump, thump, thump, thump.
Thump, thump, thump.
Thump, thump, thump, thump.
The clock tower vibrated, sound waves ringing lonely in the rain.
Zhou Xie got out of the car holding an umbrella. Just as he was reminding Li Ao not to tell Leon about this, he looked up and saw a car coming from the distance, parking obediently behind the vintage car.
Surprising, yet not surprising.
Surprising because it was such a coincidence.
Not surprising because in his mother’s tea parties, the most important days were each other’s birthdays. The four of them had to meet many times a year because of this.
Leon got out of the car, nodding with a smile.
Zhou Xie breathed a sigh of relief imperceptibly.
This was why he didn’t have many conflicts with Leon. Leon wasn’t like Shi Ye, who would always say something annoying like “What are you doing here?” at times like this.
Leon even brought a cake.
The rain was too heavy, so Zhou Xie could only walk up to him and warn, “He’ll smash that thing of yours.”
Leon ducked under the umbrella. “Desensitization therapy for him.”
“…”
Zhou Xie was speechless. Just as he was thinking it was strange that Leon brought a cake while he came empty-handed, his gaze inadvertently glanced at the villa gate—
Through the curtain of rain, Zhou Xie could barely make out Shi Ye leaning against the door with legs spread, a person standing between his legs.
The figure was a size smaller than Shi Ye, locked there, unable to move a muscle.
It didn’t look forced; occasionally there were compliant movements like lowering the head.
The hands on the back changed from resting on the waist to clutching tight.
“Someone beat us to it.”
After drawing his conclusion, Zhou Xie realized there was one less person under the umbrella.
Leon stood half a step away, staring dead at the direction of the main gate, motionless.
Zhou Xie realized who was in Shi Ye’s arms.
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