After his teenage years, Chi Yu had almost never provoked Chi Tong this directly again.
He ran his tongue over the broken skin inside his mouth. Even though he spat several times, the metallic taste of blood still wouldn’t go away. The swelling on his face had grown even more obvious.
From the rearview mirror, Xiao Zhao looked at the brooding Chi Yu and asked, “Do you think he’ll go back and say something to your grandfather about what we did in the private room today?”
Chi Yu didn’t care. “I didn’t shove anything down his throat.” If anything, he’d wanted to force it right down Chi Tong’s throat, he simply wasn’t capable of pulling it off.
Still, he gave a brief explanation for why he wasn’t worried: “He’s mentally ill. You saw it today, didn’t you? When we were kids, he almost killed me. When my grandfather sent him for treatment, the diagnosis said that during episodes he can have visual and auditory hallucinations. So even if he says anything, it won’t be credible.”
Besides, Chi Tong wouldn’t say anything. He wasn’t the kind of person who would complain to others and have them fight his battles for him. He handled things directly himself. Chi Yu understood him well.
Hearing “hallucinations,” Xiao Zhao looked surprised and widened his eyes slightly. “Then what happened just now… are we sure it’s okay leaving him there? Could something go wrong?”
Xiao Zhao still wasn’t fully convinced that Chi Tong truly had a mental illness. Everything about him seemed controlled and restrained. Even though he’d hit Chi Yu earlier, Xiao Zhao had to admit that if someone insulted his own mother the way Chi Yu had, he might not have been able to stop himself from beating them senseless either.
It was just that Chi Tong’s loss of control looked far more frightening than an ordinary person’s, and Xiao Zhao couldn’t deny that.
Chi Yu let out a cold laugh. “It’s possible.”
If Chi Tong was truly in the middle of an episode, there would be a period where he turned aggressive. If he couldn’t quickly come out of that state, it could be dangerous. Even if Chi Yu had been beaten, he couldn’t report it, and might even have to defend Chi Tong in front of their grandfather. But if Chi Tong actually hurt someone outside, in an age where information spreads rapidly online, it would become a public scandal worth watching.
Chi Yu hadn’t finished speaking, but his intention was obvious, he was hoping something would happen to Chi Tong. In fact, after the treatment he’d received in childhood, Chi Tong had shown no further direct issues. But the absence of an outburst didn’t mean the underlying problem had been eliminated. With his mother’s death as a trigger, Chi Yu would have been more than happy if Chi Tong truly relapsed into madness.
An otherwise favored heir couldn’t be a madman.
With his face still swollen, Chi Yu showed a genuine smile from the depths of his eyes. Xiao Zhao withdrew his gaze and suddenly felt the car’s air-conditioning was too strong. Uncomfortable, he shifted his shoulders.
Lin Xing pressed his hand over his phone, mentally wanting to “kill” Luo Tengfei.
Let Half Pool see his D homepage? Absolutely impossible. Even if aliens came to Earth and demanded it as the condition for sparing humanity, Lin Xing would choose for everyone to ascend together on the spot.
Sorry, dear fellow humans, but he really needed to preserve his dignity in this world.
“I think it’s a bit abrupt to just walk up and ask to add someone on WeChat like that,” Lin Xing said sternly, keeping a straight face as he redirected the topic. “Don’t put people on the spot.”
He could still feel Half Pool’s gaze lingering on his face, so Lin Xing had no choice but to maintain a serious expression. He even put on a look of mild disappointment, shaking his head slightly at Luo Tengfei, as if to say, “I didn’t expect this from you.”
Luo Tengfei had thought Lin Xing would back him up, but instead Lin Xing had suddenly taken the moral high ground.
“…Uh, alright then.”
After thinking it over, Luo Tengfei felt Lin Xing did have a point. Besides, Half Pool didn’t seem like he was going to agree anyway. Lin Xing’s “betrayal” actually gave him a graceful way out of the awkward situation.
Then he said, “Alright, so when are you coming back to eat? The beef tendons are already served. If you don’t hurry back, they might be gone.”
Beef tendons!
Spicy, fragrant, and satisfyingly chewy—Lin Xing was seriously craving them. He’d originally planned to go back in with Luo Tengfei, but Half Pool was still right there, and the conversation had just shifted to whether he’d eaten dinner. Leaving now felt a bit rude.
But since this meal was being treated by Luo Tengfei, he couldn’t just casually invite Half Pool in. And Half Pool didn’t seem like the type to lack boundaries and accept a stranger’s invitation anyway.
In the end, Lin Xing’s hesitation still came from wanting to avoid social embarrassment while also not wanting to miss the chance to get closer to a handsome guy.
Now that the risk of embarrassment had eased, his earlier restraint was starting to loosen again.
“I’ll treat you to dinner,” Lin Xing finally said, the scales in his mind tipping decisively to one side. He spoke seriously. “As a fan treating an idol.”
Chi Tong didn’t like having too much interaction with strangers. But then he remembered the moment Lin Xing had grabbed his hand, the cold, damp touch of water droplets, and the face he’d seen when he first regained clarity.
A slightly timid expression, an embarrassed smile that looked both lively and a little foolish. Most importantly, it seemed like this person had been standing right beside him during his loss of control, had seen him in that state, and hadn’t left.
Lin Xing’s hand was cold, but he himself looked soft and warm.
The body ultimately had an instinct for self-preservation. Just as he could feel a lingering attachment because of someone’s mistaken @ mention online, in that moment Chi Tong blurted out, “Okay.”
Luo Tengfei wasn’t overthinking things the way Lin Xing was, nor did he understand Lin Xing’s inner conflict. He simply felt regretful that, despite such a coincidence, he still hadn’t managed to get the “big shot’s” WeChat. His gaze flicked back and forth between Chi Tong and Lin Xing in confusion, but he still didn’t try to stop them, he only asked, “So you’re not coming back to eat?”
“Mm.” Lin Xing patted Luo Tengfei’s arm, feeling a bit guilty toward his good brother in the end. “Just eat my share for me.”
He knew his friends in the private room would definitely save his portion for him.
“Tch, you make it sound like I’m the one benefiting here,” Luo Tengfei grumbled. Still, he felt a subtle sense that something didn’t add up.
No WeChat, but agreeing to a meal invitation?
And it was also strange that Lin Xing was the one initiating it. From a straight man’s perspective, it would make more sense if Half Pool were a beautiful woman.
He shook his head and decided to go back and eat the beef tendons anyway.
The descending elevator was still nearly full.
Lin Xing and Chi Tong stood inside near the back again, though both of their moods were different from when they’d come up.
Lin Xing stared at the back of the person in front of him, the corners of his mouth curling up despite himself. The world was small, strange, and ever-changing, this moment was no longer the same as the one before.
“What do you feel like eating?” Lin Xing asked. He wasn’t familiar with this mall, and had originally planned to take Chi Tong straight to a restaurant he knew well and liked. But as they were about to leave the elevator, he remembered to ask.
Maybe the other person had something he wanted to eat right here.
Chi Tong shook his head.
“Then is there anything you don’t like to eat?” Lin Xing asked.
Chi Tong shook his head again.
His face showed no expression, yet Lin Xing somehow read a trace of obedience in it. Given his tall, cold demeanor, it was hard to say exactly where that “obedient” feeling came from, but Lin Xing still felt that Chi Tong’s gaze toward him carried trust.
Lin Xing’s heart gave a few extra beats, not from nervousness, but from something lighter. If anything, Chi Tong’s simple shake of the head made him relax.
“Then I’ll decide,” Lin Xing concluded.
Chi Tong lowered his gaze to Lin Xing’s hand. Only then did Lin Xing realize he was still holding the unfinished popsicle he’d carelessly stuffed back earlier.
It had been delicious, but now the ice and water had completely separated. At least the wrapper hadn’t torn. Lin Xing sighed with regret. “Wait for me a second. I’m going to throw this away.”
He went to the men’s restroom area to dispose of the wrapper, made sure to wash his hands, then hurried back.
“That restaurant isn’t far from here. We can just walk,” Lin Xing said.
“Okay,” Chi Tong replied.
The mall’s air-conditioning was strong, but the moment they stepped outside, waves of scorching heat surged over them, almost making it hard to breathe. So the instant he walked out, Lin Xing already began to regret suggesting they walk.
But the distance really wasn’t far, no need to take a taxi. Then he remembered how Chi Tong had looked at the ice-cream wrapper earlier, and thought he might want one.
“Wait for me again,” Lin Xing said. “I’m going to buy a popsicle.”
He quickly ran to a nearby 24-hour convenience store, picked out a pineapple-milk-flavored popsicle that was somewhat similar, paid, and hurried back out.
Chi Tong was standing not far from the entrance, looking up at the night sky.
In a city, the night sky had long become a place where only a few faint stars could be seen with the naked eye. After staring for a while, Chi Tong could pick out only a handful of dim points of light.
Then he found it a bit amusing, he was about to go eat dinner with someone he’d just met, practically a stranger. And now that person had gone off to buy ice cream while he waited outside, as if they were already familiar with each other.
It felt a little childish, but unexpectedly relaxing. Even the muggy summer night couldn’t dissolve that sense of ease in his chest.
“Don’t move,” came a voice from behind him. The words sounded suspicious, but it wasn’t a robbery.
Lin Xing frowned, staring at a mosquito on Chi Tong’s arm that was feeding for all it was worth. “There’s a mosquito on your arm. I’m going to smack it.”
Immediately after, Chi Tong felt a cold hand, just like before, slap onto his arm with a sharp sound. The crisp smack seemed to scatter even the summer heat.
“Wow,” Lin Xing exclaimed. He reached out from behind Chi Tong and showed him his palm, where a large mosquito corpse and a smear of blood were stuck. “That’s a lot of blood. What a nasty thing.”
“Start walking,” Lin Xing said. “If we keep moving, mosquitoes won’t land on us.”
As he spoke, he was already marching in place, demonstrating his “method,” his feet tapping against the ground like a grade-schooler doing drills.
Chi Tong almost smiled again, but at that moment a popsicle was suddenly pressed into his hand.
“It’s milk-flavored, but really refreshing,” Lin Xing said, then turned his head to figure out which direction they should go next.
But Chi Tong suddenly said, “You’ve already had dinner, haven’t you?”
Lin Xing was about to say he could still eat plenty, when Chi Tong added, “Actually, I’m not hungry and don’t really have an appetite. We can put the meal off until next time, when you haven’t eaten yet either.”
Lin Xing felt a little disappointed at first, thinking this was Chi Tong turning him down. But unexpectedly, Chi Tong took out his phone and said, “Let’s add each other on WeChat. We can use it to set a time.”
Lin Xing’s mood instantly brightened again. He immediately pulled out his phone, showed Chi Tong his QR code, and soon received a friend request.
It was Half Pool’s friend request, the handsome guy’s friend request.
Lin Xing felt light-headed with joy. He felt like a balloon filled with happiness, and after saying goodbye to Chi Tong, he practically floated all the way back to the dorm.
Things had taken a turn for the better. Not only had he avoided social embarrassment, he’d also added Half Pool on WeChat. The only thing that puzzled him in hindsight was how Half Pool had known he’d already eaten dinner.
He clearly could have arrived at the barbecue place without having started eating yet. But Half Pool had said it so confidently that Lin Xing had subconsciously forgotten to argue.
It wasn’t until he was about to shower, standing in front of the dorm bathroom mirror, that he saw a ring of red oil from the barbecue and a small speck of chili powder still stuck around the corner of his mouth.
“Ahhhhh!”
The inflated balloon instantly deflated, his frustrated cry dropping to the ground along with it.