【108】He Kissed Nan Xi?!
Nan Xi actually didn’t like this kind of touch. They hadn’t reached such a level of intimacy, so psychologically, he found it hard to accept Orange’s behavior.
But since this was Wen Ran’s teammate, Nan Xi couldn’t simply pull the scarf off. He could only let the thing stay around his neck for now.
Nan Xi asked, “Why did you come here?”
“I watched the match.” Orange chose his words carefully. “You were already very amazing.”
Nan Xi didn’t reply, frowning slightly.
“Do you want to take a walk together?”
Orange’s tone was gentle. Nan Xi saw a few snowflakes hanging on his long eyelashes, carrying a hazy beauty under the illumination of the streetlamp.
Nan Xi hummed in agreement.
The two walked side by side in the snow.
Nan Xi remained silent, not saying a word, while Orange stayed by his side.
Nan Xi was somewhat surprised by his state. Orange was usually quite lively and bouncy, but at a time like this, he didn’t chatter non-stop like he did at the birthday party. Instead, he just stayed quietly by his side.
Orange reached out to catch two falling snowflakes and took the initiative to speak. “WK went through a losing streak before too. Back then, so many people online scolded me for being trash.”
Orange spoke calmly, as if those experiences didn’t belong to him. “Every day I opened my DMs, it was an overwhelming flood of comments telling me to retire, saying I wasn’t worthy of playing professionally.”
Listening to these words, Nan Xi had never known that the optimistic and cheerful Orange had gone through such things.
“I’m not a talent-based player. When I first started playing professionally, my hero pool was shallow too. Just one Siren, and I couldn’t play it right no matter what.”
Nan Xi fell silent. He didn’t know what to say to comfort Orange.
“Jian Yu, I’ve lost before too. I can understand you.” Orange hooked the corner of his lips at him. “Losing now doesn’t mean you won’t win later. Just vent it out and you’ll be fine.”
Orange knew in his heart that no one can truly empathize with another’s suffering unless they cut themselves open and said, ‘I’ve been through the same as you, I have the same feelings.’
Nan Xi seemed moved by his words. “How… do I vent?”
His personality had always been reserved. He hid everything in his heart and wouldn’t actively bring it up to others, only digesting it himself.
In the past, he vented by playing games. But now that gaming had become his profession, he had to train and analyze opponents every day until late at night.
Orange crooked his finger at him. “I haven’t taught this method to anyone else. It’s very precious!”
“Come closer, I’ll tell you quietly.”
Seeing his mysterious expression, Nan Xi’s curiosity was piqued, and he couldn’t help leaning in a bit.
But just as he got close, Orange suddenly bent down, grabbed a handful of snow from the ground, and smashed it into his face.
Nan Xi: “?”
“Dummy!” Orange lifted his chin triumphantly. “Do you know now?”
In that instant, Nan Xi suddenly became incredibly relaxed. He also bent down, scooped up a handful of snow, and threw it at Orange.
Orange froze for a second. “Alright, Jian Yu, you learn fast!”
Snowball fights were practically an innate skill, but clearly, Orange had played more than once. He kept packing snowballs and throwing them at Nan Xi. They were next to a park where there were almost no cars and no people, so they could play recklessly without worry.
Nan Xi felt very relaxed now. He shed the burden of the team and stopped caring about winning or losing. There was only the world before his eyes and the person before his eyes.
Aside from Wen Ran, this was the second person to forcefully barge into his world.
Snow was still falling from the sky, getting heavier. Both of them were throwing snowballs at each other with force. Snow dyed their hair and shoulders white, slipping into their collars when hit.
The icy sensation made Orange grimace. “Jian Yu, you’re done for! I, the Snowball Fight Prince, have never suffered such injustice!”
Orange had fun too. He ran while scooping snow from the ground to make a snowball. He was going to give Nan Xi a “big surprise!”
Orange kept getting hit by snowballs. He chanted internally: Suffer a little now, get revenge for everything later!
After dodging and simultaneously crafting his “heavy weapon,” Orange finally made a snowball the size of his palm.
Nan Xi had just thrown a small snowball at him and was bending down to scoop more snow. The time was now!
Afraid he would miss, Orange ran over with the snowball. “Die!”
He had intended to smash it directly onto Nan Xi, but with so much snow on the ground, just as Orange neared Nan Xi, his foot suddenly slipped. “Oh crap!”
His center of gravity pitched forward. The snowball in his hand flew out. Nan Xi had just stood up and, before he could react, was tackled by Orange, crashing into the snow.
The soft and cold sensation on his lips, along with the exquisite features magnified before his eyes, announced what had happened.
Orange’s pupils dilated abruptly. Had he… kissed Jian Yu?
Really kissed?!
But this was his first kiss!
Nan Xi wasn’t doing any better, stiffly frozen on the ground. He felt his limbs and even his brain go completely rigid.
He had never had a partner. Since childhood, he had only liked Wen Ran. But now, right here in the snow, he was tackled by another boy and had given away his first kiss.
Orange’s eyelashes were so long, like butterflies. In his dark eyes, Nan Xi’s own reflection was clearly printed.
The two remained deadlocked in a stare for a full five seconds before Orange jumped up as if electrocuted, turning his back, afraid to look at Nan Xi. “S-sorry… I did it on purpose… no, I mean, I specifically…”
“Aiya!”
“I… sorry.”
Orange wanted to sew his mouth shut. He stumbled over his words, not knowing what he was saying.
His face was completely red. Despite the heavy snow, Orange felt feverishly hot.
“It… it’s okay.” Nan Xi stood up as well, brushing the snow off his body. He also didn’t dare look at Orange, so Orange failed to notice that the tips of Nan Xi’s ears were red.
Orange let out a small “Oh” and immediately changed the subject stiffly. “Are you hungry? Do you want to go eat?”
“Yeah.” Nan Xi naturally took the out. “What do you want to eat?”
“I… I’ll have soup.” Orange said whatever came to mind. He had actually eaten dinner already, but since he brought it up, he had to go through with it.
Nan Xi had no objections. “Okay, we’ll listen to you.”
There happened to be a soup pot restaurant nearby. In such cold weather, drinking some warm soup was nice.
Orange drank his soup spoon by small spoon, his head lowered, his mind completely elsewhere.
He stole a glance at Nan Xi sitting opposite him. Since it was warm in the shop, Nan Xi had taken off his coat. The scarf Orange gave him was folded neatly and placed on top of the clothes.
Nan Xi looked elegant even when drinking soup. Orange found Nan Xi increasingly pleasant to look at.
At first glance, he was a handsome guy. Looking closely, he got even handsomer.
Unlike the Captain’s handsomeness, Nan Xi seemed to have a cooler, more aloof temperament.
His gestures were full of nobility.
No wonder he spoke so little and rarely did business promotions, yet still had so many people who liked him.
When they left, Nan Xi discreetly wrapped the scarf back around Orange’s neck.
He even thoughtfully adjusted it. “Thank you for earlier. Now it should be returned to its owner.”
Orange was wearing a low-collared light-colored sweater underneath, so from Nan Xi’s angle, he could just see the other’s exquisite collarbone.
Further up was his fair neck and soft, thin lips.
Nan Xi clenched his hand into a fist, brought it to his lips, coughed once, and uncomfortably looked away.
It was already very late. He asked Orange, “Do you want me to send you back to the base?”
Of course, Orange couldn’t tell Nan Xi that he had blocked all his own exits when he came out. Otherwise, what would Nan Xi think of him?
He had to say, “It’s so late, and the roads are slippery and unsafe. How about… we stay out?”
Nan Xi thought for a moment and felt Orange made sense. He gave a soft hum of agreement.
They intended to find an esports hotel, but the nearest one was two kilometers away, and the snow showed no sign of stopping. They had to settle for a random hotel nearby.
“Only this room is left?” Orange couldn’t believe his ears when he heard the receptionist. “Could you check again? It doesn’t matter if it’s more expensive.”
Even though two guys making do for a night was nothing, sharing a double bed with Nan Xi seemed weird no matter how he looked at it, right?
The receptionist shook her head. “It’s the pre-New Year holiday. Most people are buying tickets and transiting home from City B.”
“Double rooms are all gone except this one. If you want to book it, hurry up. With the snow this heavy, it won’t be easy to find another hotel.”
“But…”
“Alright, we’ll take this one. Thank you.”
Orange looked at Nan Xi, who agreed so readily, in horror. He couldn’t believe those words came out of his mouth.
“Okay.” The receptionist processed it quickly and said with a smile, “Here is the key.”
Orange was very apprehensive. When Nan Xi went out for competitions, he always had his own room and never shared. Orange subconsciously felt he was a very private person. Troubled, he tugged gently on his sleeve. “Jian Yu, are you really okay with this?”
Orange only held a corner of his sleeve. His exposed fingernails were trimmed round and full, tinged with pink. His slightly frowning expression looked like a cute little rabbit.
Nan Xi inexplicably felt his heart soften along with it.
“If you’re okay with it, why wouldn’t I be?”
“Oh.” Orange stopped talking. Turned out he overthought it. Although Nan Xi valued privacy, he wasn’t some spoiled young master.
However, after swiping the card and opening the door, Orange discovered this hotel was truly playing a perverted game. Leaving aside the sleazy ambient lighting, the special chair, and the full-length mirror, the bathroom was actually transparent!
How was anyone supposed to shower?!
Orange felt that even if he had skin as thick as a wall, he couldn’t bring himself to live-stream a shower in front of someone else. This wasn’t the same as a public bathhouse!
He only did a simple wash-up and took the initiative to go to one side of the bed.
He tried to reassure Nan Xi. “Jian Yu, don’t worry, my sleeping posture is very good.”
The room was filled with an aura that didn’t belong to single dogs. Orange was so awkward he didn’t know where to look, so he just lay down to play on his phone. But as soon as he touched the pillow, he felt something cold touching his neck, making him uncomfortable.
Orange reached out and pulled it. It was a pair of pink handcuffs.
Orange: “……”
You couples play really kinky!
Since there was only one blanket, Nan Xi went downstairs to ask the receptionist if there were any extras. Seeing no one at the door, Orange blushed and secretly examined the handcuffs.
His theoretical knowledge was even worse than Wen Ran’s—Wen Ran had at least read a few smutty novels. Orange had lived for twenty years as a pure-love warrior. This item, which fell into his knowledge blind spot, really piqued his curiosity.
The key was attached to the handcuffs. Orange relaxed and cuffed one onto his hand. It didn’t feel like anything special.
Was he supposed to cuff both hands?
Wouldn’t that be like going to jail?
Orange held the other cuff, debating whether to put it on. Since he had tested it and the key opened it with a light turn, it should be fine.
Suddenly, the sound of the door opening startled Orange, who was “doing something bad.” Click. He accidentally snapped the other cuff onto his wrist.
Orange: “??!”
He panicked a bit and frantically tried to open the cuffs. But when he held the key in his mouth, he couldn’t turn it no matter what.
Orange was so anxious he was about to cry. If Nan Xi saw him like this, how could he face anyone ever again?
Click. The door was pushed open, and Nan Xi’s footsteps got closer.
“She said there are no more blankets. You use the blanket tonight, I’ll cover up with my clothes.”
“An Chenxia?” (Note: Likely a typo in source or mumbled name, context implies asking ‘Safe/Okay?’)
Orange was desperate to unlock the cuffs and wanted to answer Nan Xi to send him away. But opening his mouth in a rush caused the key to fall out, dropping to the floor with a clang.
When Nan Xi walked over, what he saw was Orange with red-rimmed eyes, glistening with tears, lips red and swollen—looking as if he had been bullied to tears.
Looking down, his hands were placed before his chest, bound by handcuffs. His legs were curled up, one in front of the other, pressing against his arms. His fair toes were tinged pink, looking utterly pitiful.
The impact of this image was too great. Nan Xi didn’t know where to look. His ears turned bright red. He held back for a long time before speaking. “You… did I come back at a bad time?”
Orange wished he could slam his head into a wall and die. Why did he have to be curious!
Now Nan Xi definitely misunderstood!
He could only grit his teeth and smash the pot (give up on saving face). “I wasn’t doing anything weird! Just help me open this first!”
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