Chapter 81
When Chi Aibei received Zhuang Yuan’s message saying “Kawaii isn’t suited to be a Top,” he was sitting below the stage at the venue with Meng Huaiqing.
Meng Huaiqing had suddenly invited him to his home as a guest for no apparent reason. Chi Aibei asked, “Is it Brother Wheelchair’s birthday?”
Meng Huaiqing smiled. “No.”
Chi Aibei: “Is your family hosting a banquet?”
Meng Huaiqing shook his head. “Not that either.”
Chi Aibei looked at him blankly.
Meng Huaiqing: “There’s no special reason. I just saw that you’ve been at school all holiday, so I wanted to invite you over to play.”
An opportunity to visit the Meng family was rare. Chi Aibei hesitated for a moment. “Then… is Di Zuo going?”
Meng Huaiqing had always known about Aibei’s perfunctory attitude toward Di Zuo. He laughed, “Do you want him to go, or do you want him not to go?”
Chi Aibei gave a dry twitch of his lips, his foot lightly kicking the ground. “I’m a little afraid of him.”
Meng Huaiqing thought to himself: You’re not afraid of him, you’re just annoyed by him.
Seeing how subtly Aibei put it, Meng Huaiqing didn’t call him out. “Then I won’t invite him.”
Chi Aibei nodded and looked at Meng Huaiqing. He once again felt that Meng Huaiqing was a warm, big-brother figure.
Chi Aibei asked, “Can I bring Brother Lin Xiu along?”
Chi Aibei had always wanted Lin Xiu and Meng Huaiqing to have more contact. On one hand, it was because of Di Zuo; on the other, it was because Meng Huaiqing would eventually take over the Meng family. The two giants of West City—Meng Huaiqing and Chi Wendong—if Lin Xiu could win both of them over, would he ever have to worry about his future prospects again?
Meng Huaiqing said, “If I said no, would you still come?”
Chi Aibei hemmed and hawed. “Probably, but I still want Brother to go too.”
Meng Huaiqing patted the top of his head. “I’m teasing you. I already talked to Lin Xiu, and he told me to ask you.”
Meng Huaiqing had looked for Lin Xiu before coming over. However, Lin Xiu wasn’t as easy to fool as Chi Aibei. When he invited them over, Lin Xiu had stared at him expressionlessly for a long time before dropping a blunt “Not going.” It was only when Meng Huaiqing mentioned Chi Aibei that Lin Xiu finally relented, saying he would go only if Chi Aibei went.
Wang Yunmiao drifted past him like a ghost, her deliberate presence making it hard not to notice her.
After she walked past, she looked back at Chi Aibei. Chi Aibei was stunned by that “catching an affair” look in her eyes. The phrase “forbidden love” that she’d mentioned during military training suddenly popped into his head for no reason.
He hadn’t understood back then, but thinking about it now—was she talking about him and Lin Xiu?
Because they had the same “attribute,” it was forbidden?
Chi Aibei looked at Wang Yunmiao with admiration… So impressive. She can even tell that? Hidden behind those glasses must be a pair of Fiery Golden Eyes!
Lin Xiu received a message from Chi Aibei regarding Meng Huaiqing’s invitation.
The first few messages were normal, until the last one where Chi Aibei said he was going to find Chi Wendong to help him buy a gift for the visit, and that Lin Xiu shouldn’t wait for him for dinner.
Normally, even if he were buying a gift, he would ask Lin Xiu to accompany him. But this time he went to Chi Wendong and didn’t even invite Lin Xiu.
Lin Xiu: [Where are you? I’ll go with you.]
Chi Aibei sent a photo of himself in a taxi: [No need! I can go by myself. You stay busy, Brother.]
Looking at the photo that didn’t even show the person, Lin Xiu let out a bitter laugh.
He had originally wanted to push the boy a little, but now it seemed it had backfired.
It was already past eight in the evening.
Lin Xiu sat on his dorm bed and made several calls, but Chi Aibei didn’t pick up. Lin Xiu called Chi Wendong, only for Chi Wendong to say that Chi Aibei hadn’t looked for him at all.
Lin Xiu stood up abruptly. Zhuang Yuan had just returned from a date and was startled by Lin Xiu’s sudden movement. “What? Did Chi Aibei cheat on you?”
Lin Xiu glared at him and walked out, clutching his phone.
Zhuang Yuan shrugged. “People in the ‘ambiguous stage’ are such a hassle.”
…
Chi Aibei got out of the taxi, clutching the gift box bag as he walked toward the dorm. His mind was filled with the confusion left behind after someone had tried to “enlighten” him.
He shook his head, not wanting to think about those things for now, lest Lin Xiu notice something when he got back to the room.
He walked back, and after a few steps, he saw Lin Xiu standing not far away. A boy was standing across from him, and the two were talking about something.
It was already dark. Chi Aibei walked closer with his back to the light and realized that the person talking to Lin Xiu was that boy who said he wanted to pursue Aibei last time!
Chi Aibei’s head throbbed. Before he could react, his legs were already carrying him toward them, driven by his brain.
Did they already know each other?
Was he confessing to Lin Xiu?
Did Lin Xiu accept?
Absolutely not!
Voices of resistance screamed in his heart. He rushed in front of Lin Xiu and shouted at the boy, “I already told you that you’re not a good match! Why did you come looking for him? You…”
Looking at the bewildered boy, Chi Aibei froze… Wait a minute. He doesn’t look like the guy from last time.
Lin Xiu looked at the rampaging Chi Aibei, then at the boy who had joined the Student Union at the same time as him. The boy had only approached Lin Xiu because there was an issue with the poster dimensions and he couldn’t find Meng Huaiqing. “Do you two know each other?”
The boy shook his head blankly. “I don’t.”
Chi Aibei stood there awkwardly, wishing he could dig a hole and bury himself… What do I do? If I say I got the wrong person, will I look like an idiot?
Although the boy said he didn’t know Chi Aibei, he didn’t really not know him. After all, Aibei had been quite famous during military training.
He looked at Chi Aibei, then at Lin Xiu. Suddenly, he had a flash of insight and quickly explained, “I was looking for Lin Xiu because the dimensions for the anniversary poster were reported incorrectly. I wanted to ask if he knew the right size. We weren’t talking about anything else.”
Chi Aibei gave an awkward smile and silently backed out from between the two, keeping his head down. “I… I’ll go back to the dorm first.”
Lin Xiu grabbed him and said to the boy, “I’ll check when I get back and send it to you.”
The boy said okay and then tactfully left first.
Lin Xiu looked at Chi Aibei, who was hanging his head in embarrassment, and felt strangely in a good mood. “Where did you go?”
Chi Aibei tilted his head to peek at him. “Didn’t I tell you? I went to buy a gift for when we go to Brother Wheelchair’s house.”
Lin Xiu looked at the item in his arms. “Is this alcohol?”
Chi Aibei nodded. “There must be adults at his house, right? So I bought a bottle of wine.”
Lin Xiu: “It took you until this late just to buy a bottle of wine? Your brother said you didn’t go to see him. You’re getting more and more daring.”
Lin Xiu’s hand hadn’t let go of his arm. Chi Aibei stared at it, feeling quite self-conscious.
Yes, he was daring—so daring it was practically treacherous. For the longest time, he had clearly been raising Lin Xiu like a son, but now he had ulterior motives. How was that different from being a beast?
“I’m talking to you,” Lin Xiu said. “What are you dazing off for?”
Chi Aibei lifted his head, blinking his eyes in confusion, trying hard to remember when these “beastly” thoughts of his had even started.
Lin Xiu didn’t know what he was brooding over. “What did you mean just now about not being a good match?”
Chi Aibei’s eyes darted uncomfortably to the side. He whispered, “I thought he was confessing to you.”
Whether it was jealousy or envy, Chi Aibei couldn’t tell for sure yet. But he knew that if Lin Xiu really started being good to someone else, as Zhuang Yuan had said, he would be frustrated to death.
Lin Xiu watched him. It seemed those words from today hadn’t been entirely ineffective. He asked Chi Aibei, “You think he isn’t a good match?”
Chi Aibei glanced at him. “He doesn’t suit you.”
Lin Xiu: “Then who does?”
Chi Aibei frowned. “No one suits you.”
Previously, he had always used “focusing on studies” to advise Lin Xiu against early dating. At the time, he felt that as long as Lin Xiu didn’t end up with He Chenjiang, he could be with anyone. But after Lin Xiu said he would date in university, Chi Aibei felt that no one was good enough for him.
He had even considered Meng Huaiqing, who was the most presentable among everyone, but even thinking about him made Aibei feel unhappy.
Chi Aibei wasn’t the type to make things difficult for himself. Since he was unhappy, he would follow the path that made him happy. Although he had intended to plan it out slowly, his plans were now in disarray.
Lin Xiu was the protagonist of a masochistic novel. Aibei didn’t know how many more unfair things he would encounter in the future. Today a mother popped up wanting his kidney; tomorrow, a father might show up to drain his blood. If things continued like this, what if his future partner was someone who only knew how to leech off him?
For Lin Xiu’s safety, he decided: he would pursue Lin Xiu himself!
Translator’s Note: “Fiery Golden Eyes” (火眼金睛 – huǒyǎn-jīnjīng): A reference to Sun Wukong from Journey to the West, meaning eyes that can see through any disguise or see the truth. Wang Yunmiao’s “fujoshi” senses are tingling!
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