Chapter 25: A Love Letter, Two Years Late
Bai Qi checked the backpack again, confirming that the letter was the only thing inside. Thinking he must have missed something important, he quickly sat down by the window and carefully opened it.
The gold sealing wax had been applied with an elegant, neat touch. Bai Qi tried his best not to damage the beautiful envelope, his slender, pale fingers gently peeling it open.
Inside was a black letter with words written in a brilliant gold, the calligraphy strong and powerful. The first thing Bai Qi saw was the line in the top-left corner.
A love letter to my dear classmate, Bai Qi.
It really was a love letter…
Bai Qi had never been one to ignore someone’s feelings. In the past, whenever someone confessed to him, he would always politely decline. This time, he had left the sender without a reply for two whole years.
Though the person had probably forgotten about him by now, Bai Qi still felt a pang of guilt as he continued to read.
This love letter was different from the flowery confessions he’d received before. The content was as serious and restrained as the black envelope it came in.
He read each word carefully. The writer was a boy he had met once. On the first night of the school year, during a heavy downpour, the boy had been standing in the rain, his family having just suffered a misfortune. He had been on the verge of dropping out to start a business, but Bai Qi had held an umbrella over him and talked with him for a long time, offering comfort and guidance.
In the letter, the boy expressed his sincere gratitude to Bai Qi and confessed that it was the first time he had ever had feelings for someone. He wrote that he really, really liked him and thought about him all the time.
But sensing that Bai Qi was a little afraid of him, the boy had thought it over and decided that confessing in person would be too intimidating. In the end, he chose to express his feelings through a letter.
Bai Qi couldn’t help but bite his lip as he read. He could feel the sincerity in every word.
He tried to recall the memory, but it was a little fuzzy after two years. After a long while, he vaguely remembered that there had been such a person.
On his first night at the university, he had seen a tall, thin figure standing by the lake in a spot where there were no streetlights.
Even though the memory was hazy, he could still recall the desperate, fierce aura around the boy, like an abandoned wolf. The other students passing by had been too scared to go near him.
Bai Qi had been scared too, but he was more worried that something bad would happen to him. So, he had gathered his courage, walked over with his umbrella, and started a conversation. He couldn’t even remember what they had talked about.
The boy had been wearing a baseball cap and a mask, so Bai Qi hadn’t seen his face clearly. He only vaguely remembered that he had a very nice voice.
He never expected that the boy would write him a love letter.
Bai Qi regretted not having gone through this bag sooner. Leaving a love letter unanswered for so long was disrespectful, but after two years, the sender had probably already graduated.
He shook his head and continued reading. The boy wrote that if Bai Qi was willing to contact him, even just as a friend, he hoped he would add him on WeChat, to give them a chance to get to know each other.
A WeChat ID was included at the end.
Bai Qi really wanted to be friends with him. He felt another pang of regret. After two years, he was too embarrassed to add him now.
With a sigh, he looked down and finally saw the boy’s name.
Signed—Bo Yan.
The love letter slipped from his fingers, landing on the floor with a soft thud.
Bai Qi’s expression went blank for a moment. He dazedly picked it up, reading the name “Bo Yan” over and over again.
This was a love letter from Bo Yan?
How could it be Bo Yan?
Bai Qi was stunned, desperately trying to piece together the past. The tall, thin figure from his memory gradually merged with Bo Yan’s.
He had rarely seen a boy that tall.
It really did seem like him…
In disbelief, Bai Qi stood up and quickly pulled out the WeChat contact he had for Bo Yan, comparing it with the one in the letter. His beautiful eyes darted back and forth, checking each number one by one.
They all matched. It really was Bo Yan’s WeChat, and he was still using it.
Bai Qi sank back into his chair, defeated. In an instant, so many things clicked into place.
He remembered Bo Yan seemingly casually asking if he had ever received a love letter, remembered Bo Yan saying he wasn’t homophobic, and remembered Bo Yan’s unusual anger towards Lin Feng.
He was such a neat freak, yet he was willing to do so many intimate things with him.
Two years had passed, and it seemed Bo Yan still liked him, and was even clearly and deliberately getting closer to him, step by step.
The realization left Bai Qi completely at a loss, with no idea how to respond.
He had never considered the possibility of being with Bo Yan. They were from different worlds, with completely different personalities. There were too many reasons why they couldn’t be together.
His mother had warned him long ago not to get involved with people who were too different from him, especially those who were far more capable. He couldn’t compare in terms of knowledge or experience, and even if they did get together, it would end badly.
Besides, comforting Bo Yan was probably one of the bravest things Bai Qi had ever done in his life. He wasn’t a brave person by nature, and if they were really together, Bo Yan would be disappointed.
But to reject Bo Yan… would they not even be able to be friends anymore?
He looked out the window helplessly, at a complete loss.
The thought of Bo Yan leaving his life terrified him, leaving an empty, hollow ache in his heart.
Bai Qi’s breathing grew heavy, his thin shoulder blades trembling slightly, and his eyes unknowingly started to turn red.
The room was completely silent, as if even the wind had died down, leaving only the sound of Bai Qi’s soft, stifled, and confused sobs.
After what felt like an eternity, his phone rang.
Like a startled rabbit, Bai Qi looked at the caller ID with red-rimmed eyes and saw that it was the class monitor.
He wiped his eyes and answered the call.
The class monitor’s cheerful, teasing voice came through the phone. “Hey, little Qi, are you back at the dorm? Man, you guys were lucky you left early, or you would’ve been stuck.”
“We’re back,” Bai Qi said, trying to compose himself, but his voice was still thick with emotion.
The change in his tone didn’t escape the class monitor. His voice immediately turned serious. “What’s wrong?”
At that moment, having a friend to talk to, Bai Qi couldn’t hold it in any longer. He grasped at this last straw.
“I-I just found out that a good friend of mine wrote me a love letter two years ago, and he might still like me.”
His voice was filled with confusion. “I don’t know what to do.”
The moment Bai Qi spoke, the class monitor’s heart skipped a beat. He was sure it was a love letter from Bo Yan! Otherwise, Bai Qi wouldn’t be this flustered.
Wow, two years ago, Bai Qi was just a freshman. He had his eyes on him even back then?
He thought for a moment and then asked, “How do you feel about this friend? Do you want to be with him?”
Bai Qi’s voice was timid. “I don’t know.”
“Are you going to tell him you found the letter?”
Bai Qi thought about it, still confused and distressed. “I don’t know. It feels like whatever I do will be wrong.”
The class monitor chuckled. It wasn’t surprising. With Bai Qi being so clueless about relationships, it would be a miracle if he suddenly figured it all out.
Let Bo Yan chase his own wife.
His voice softened, coaxing him gently, “Since you don’t know what to do, why not give the choice to your friend? Tell him you found the letter, have a serious talk with him, and see what he does.”
“If he really likes you, he’ll come up with a solution.”
His words were like a revelation.
Bai Qi’s frantic heart calmed down a bit. Worried about interrupting Bo Yan’s work if he called him now, he sat in his dorm room and waited obediently for Bo Yan to return, trying to figure out how to bring it up.
His thoughts were still a jumbled mess. The pros and cons of being with Bo Yan swirled in his mind, but whenever it came to his own true feelings, Bai Qi was lost again, and everything he had managed to sort out became a tangled mess once more.
He tidied up the room distractedly, and gradually, it grew dark.
After what felt like a long time, the dorm room door suddenly opened.
Bai Qi’s heart fluttered, and he immediately turned around. Bo Yan had rushed back, looking a little tired from the journey but seeming to be in a good mood. “Why didn’t you turn on the light?”
He casually flipped the switch.
The dim yellow light illuminated Bai Qi’s slightly red-rimmed eyes and the opened black and gold-foiled envelope on the desk.
The envelope that held countless feelings of love, buried for two whole years, had appeared so suddenly, without any warning.
The room fell silent.
Bai Qi’s long eyelashes fluttered. Now that he was actually face-to-face with Bo Yan, all the words he had practiced that afternoon vanished from his mind. The color drained from his rosy cheeks.
He stammered, his question innocent and direct, “Do-do you still like me?”
He foolishly thought that if Bo Yan didn’t like him anymore, it would be great if they could just stay friends.
But when Bai Qi gathered the courage to look up, he was met with a gaze so thick with a terrifying intensity of love that it was almost shocking.
It was the first time he had truly, genuinely perceived this feeling, so rich and overwhelming it was almost frightening, as if it would burst into flames at any moment.
Bai Qi’s gaze wavered as if he’d been burned. He instinctively took a step back, then quickly stopped himself.
He bumped into the chair, knocking it askew and making a sharp, grating sound.
Seeing Bai Qi’s reaction, Bo Yan’s expression, for a fleeting moment, looked almost fragile.
“I do.”
His Adam’s apple bobbed, his voice hoarse. “You’re the only one I’ve ever liked. I’ve always liked you. Every morning when I wake up, I want to kiss you.”
Red veins appeared in Bo Yan’s eyes as he stared intently at Bai Qi. The usually cool and aloof man now seemed almost humble.
“What are you going to do with me?”
Bai Qi already felt guilty towards Bo Yan, and seeing him like this made his eyes well up with even more guilt. He shook his head frantically. “I don’t know. I don’t want to lose you as a friend, but we’re too different. We can’t be together.”
“Different?” Bo Yan pressed.
Bai Qi nodded, trembling. “My family background and my experiences are nothing compared to yours, and our personalities are different.”
“We’re destined to have no future.”
Bai Qi’s heart ached. He thought Bo Yan would back down after hearing this, but to his surprise, Bo Yan paused, looking utterly astonished. “Is that all?”
Is-isn’t that enough?
He outclassed him in every single way. How could two people like that possibly have a good relationship? They weren’t a good match at all.
Bai Qi looked up, bewildered, and was suddenly pulled into a tight embrace by Bo Yan.
The Bo Yan who had seemed so fragile just a moment ago was now incredibly fierce, the terrifying desire in his eyes erupting.
Through their two layers of clothing, the frantic thumping of their hearts was clearly audible to both of them, accompanied by a rushing sound of blood that made their breathing quicken.
“It’s fine. Soon, there won’t be any difference.”
“Actually, I bought you a villa and a car a long time ago. I can transfer them to your name at any time. I was just afraid of scaring you by moving too fast. We can have your mother move in right now.”
“Half of the company’s shares are yours. The hotels and manors under my name are all yours. I can give you my bank cards right now.”
“If you think our experiences as celebrities are too different, I’ll announce my retirement from the entertainment industry tomorrow and just be a student.”
Bo Yan’s voice was deep. “All the external differences can be erased. Please don’t push me away because of these things, okay?”
Bai Qi was completely stunned.
“N-no, you don’t have to,” he stammered, his rosy lips parted in shock, unable to form a complete sentence. “How can I take your things?”
“Okay,” Bo Yan nodded, his tone as calm as if he were throwing away ten yuan. “Then I’ll donate all my assets. That way, there won’t be any difference.”
Bai Qi was stunned by this gangster logic. He quickly stopped him, his face flushing with urgency. “Are you crazy?!”
“I’m not crazy.”
Bo Yan’s expression was solemn as he looked at Bai Qi’s face with incredible seriousness, his voice softening.
“Every penny I’ve ever earned, I earned thinking I could spend it on you. If those things have become an obstacle to us being together, then I don’t want them.”
“Besides these external things, can you tell me what else about me you can’t accept?”
“Otherwise, how can I be content?”
Bo Yan lowered his head, his face stern as he tried to find something about himself that Bai Qi might not be happy with.
Bai Qi stared at him, a bittersweet feeling blooming in his heart, making him feel incredibly soft.
How could someone be so good to him?
This kind of unreserved favoritism made the tip of Bai Qi’s nose sting. He gently shook his head. “There’s nothing I can’t accept.”
Bo Yan’s breathing suddenly became ragged.
He lowered his gaze and stared intently at Bai Qi, the ambition in his eyes almost impossible to suppress.
Like a beast that had been lying in wait for a long time, about to make its final move, even his heartbeat seemed to slow. “Then it’s a personality issue. You don’t like physical contact?”
Bai Qi thought about all the times Bo Yan had pulled him into those acting scenes, and he couldn’t help but nod, his ears turning red.
Bo Yan didn’t seem like the type of person who would be content with a purely platonic relationship.
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