“For example: I like you so much.”
Wen Qi’s breathing paused briefly as he watched his own reflection in Duan Linrang’s deep, affectionate eyes. In a daze, he gently withdrew his finger from Duan Linrang’s tight grasp.
“Are you referring to… that kind of purity?” Wen Qi stammered.
“Yes.” Seeing right through Wen Qi’s thoughts, Duan Linrang asked, “Did what I said make you uncomfortable?”
Wen Qi looked up. “Wh, what?”
“I always struggle to strike the right balance with my words,” Duan Linrang explained. “My original intention was just that I like you, but right now, I’m not begging you to give me an answer.”
Wen Qi was dumbfounded. “What if I do give you an answer?”
“No matter what kind of answer it is, I will still make you stay by my side.”
This was Duan Linrang’s true thought, as well as his selfish desire.
“Huh?” Wen Qi almost fell into Duan Linrang’s gentle trap. Suddenly, the words “forced love” flashed through his mind—Duan Linrang didn’t seem like the type of person who would force him into anything, though…
Where on earth had things gone wrong?
Clumsily and stuttering, Wen Qi said, “I think I’d better not give an answer right now.”
Duan Linrang replied, “Alright, I can wait.” He could wait for Wen Qi to slowly grow up, until Wen Qi was able to respond to his love head-on.
As for why he was willing to wait, somewhere along the way, Duan Linrang would surely find the standard answer to define it.
“Speaking of which, you just graduated this year, right?”
Wen Qi nodded.
“Are your scores out?”
Wen Qi shook his head. “I checked a few days ago, but there were no results.” Glancing at the date on his phone, he added, “I think I can try again now.”
“I’ll check them with you.”
Standing beside Duan Linrang, Wen Qi recited his student ID number and password, curling his body inward. “I’m afraid I didn’t do well, but honestly, I don’t care anymore.”
The hand Duan Linrang had been about to use to press the query button paused. He comforted Wen Qi, “I care. If you don’t do well on the exam, I have my own ways of sending Qiqi abroad to study. Your older brother has plenty of methods.”
Older brother… huh? Wen Qi silently repeated to himself. His subconscious sense of safety truly came from Duan Linrang; the only person left who could give him peace of mind was Duan Linrang. He shifted closer to Duan Linrang’s side.
Duan Linrang pulled up his finger and pressed the enter key on the keyboard.
The moment the inquiry system began to load, Wen Qi squeezed his eyes shut.
Duan Linrang scanned the computer screen quickly. The instant he saw the total score and ranking, he lowered his gaze to look at the youth leaning closely against his side. “Qiqi.”
“Hm?”
“Let me send you abroad,” Duan Linrang said.
“Ah…” Wen Qi sighed first. “Good thing I mentally prepared myself for performing below average.”
He raised his head to look at the computer screen, deciding to face reality.
“7, 4, 1” Wen Qi suddenly lunged forward toward the screen. “Seven hundred and forty-one!”
He whipped his head around to look at Duan Linrang, too excited to string his words together properly. “I scored forty-one points higher than I expected! Duan Linrang, I—I actually scored this high! Duan Linrang!!!”
Duan Linrang carefully reached out and pulled him back into a seated position. “Watch your wound.”
“It’s already healed, you don’t need to worry about me so much,” Wen Qi said, though he obediently sat right back down next to Duan Linrang.
Leaning forward slightly, Wen Qi read his scores from top to bottom. “My English dropped so many points, and physics is a lot lower too. It didn’t reach my expectations before the exam.”
Duan Linrang raised an eyebrow. Mimicking Wen Qi’s posture, he leaned forward. “You’re completely ignoring the subjects where you got a full score. Qiqi has very high standards for himself, doesn’t he?”
Wen Qi gave a light hum, fishing for a compliment from Duan Linrang. “Don’t you think I’m amazing?”
“More amazing than I imagined,” Duan Linrang said, making me clearly realize that even beauty cannot overshadow Qiqi’s brilliant talent.”
Beauty was merely the first threshold that made Duan Linrang infatuated with Wen Qi.
Perhaps next came the charm radiating from his personality, his internal temperament, and the manifestation of his talent and intelligence.
The corners of Wen Qi’s lips curved upward. “Average! Among the group of friends I usually hang out with and play games with, I’m not even considered the smartest.”
“Oh?”
Wen Qi replied, “There’s also Number Four.”
Changing the subject abruptly, he asked, “Why did you talk about sending me abroad just a moment ago?”
Duan Linrang answered, “I wanted to tease you.”
“Weren’t you afraid I’d cry for you to see?” Wen Qi feigned a reproachful tone.
A soft warmth filled Duan Linrang’s heart. “If you want to cry, cry all you want. I’ll figure out all sorts of ways to coax you.”
“You don’t play by the rules.” Wen Qi exited the score-checking interface. “I mean, hypothetically speaking, if I really hadn’t done well on the exam, would you have really sent me abroad?”
“Reluctant to separate from me?” Duan Linrang murmured softly.
“I was just asking. But it doesn’t exclude…” His voice trailed off, growing quieter and quieter, terrified that Duan Linrang might catch it.
“Even if Qiqi hadn’t done well, studying abroad was just a conservative option I prepared for you before the issue fully surfaced,” Duan Linrang said. “I respect any choice you make, including discarding the path I paved for you.”
Wen Qi pressed his lips together. “How do you always…”
“What?” Duan Linrang gazed at the youth’s averted face, watching his trembling eyelashes flutter. Shifting his gaze downward, he took in the youth’s cicada-wing-thin clothing, feeling the rhythmic rise and fall of the other’s breathing through eyes completely devoid of impurity.
Wen Qi wanted to say that Duan Linrang always gave him a long-lost sense of comfort and was exceptionally good at speaking words that coaxed him.
In the end, Wen Qi never voiced those words. Shaking his head, he dragged out the end of his sentence, “I’m so hungry, let’s go eat.”
“Alright.”
“Later on, I want to share this good news with my friends!”
“Okay.” With endless indulgence, Duan Linrang agreed, “Let me pick out a gift for Qiqi, too.”
“No gifts.” Wen Qi made his stance clear. “I’m living at your house, eating your food, and using your things. You’re already good enough.”
Righteous and solemn, Duan Linrang argued, “It’s different. I’m the very first person to know this piece of joy, and I want to celebrate it with you in my own way.”
Sitting on the opposite side of the dining table, Wen Qi looked straight into Duan Linrang’s eyes:
“Duan Linrang, sharing this joy with you is the best gift you could possibly give me. Let’s treat this dinner as our celebration, okay?”
Duan Linrang was slightly stunned. Hearing this, his shoulders shook as he chuckled softly. Unable to tear his gaze away, in the quiet moments of mutual silence where words were left unsaid, the time that had rushed ahead tacitly slowed down at this moment of pledged devotion.
“I promise you,” he said. “I’m so happy, Qiqi.”
Wen Qi’s earlobes gradually turned red as he echoed Duan Linrang:
“Me too.”
In the blink of an eye, Wen Qi sent a message to the group chat.
[Wen Qi: Have your scores come out yet?]
[Jiang Hengxuan: They came out ages ago. Family discipline has already been enforced, I’ve been banished from home, and my parents refuse to acknowledge me as their biological son anymore. By the way, since you guys went quiet the other day, we thought you became autistic, I was this close to transferring money to comfort you.]
[Zhang Sui: I’m done for. I scored 200 points lower than expected.]
[Wen Qi: ?]
[Zhang Sui: I lost 200 points. I’m going to cry. Boss, transfer some money to comfort me; Wen Qi definitely tested well. TvT]
[Jiang Hengxuan: Hang on, Number Two, you scored 550 and you have the nerve to ask me for money? I don’t have money, but I’ve got one life to give! Do you want this cheap life of mine or not?]
[Zhang Sui: I do.]
[Jiang Hengxuan: Get lost, I’m not gay. Where the hell did Number Three go?]
[Zhuo Fan: 1]
[Jiang Hengxuan: Exactly how much did Number Five and Number Four get?]
Wen Qi and the so-called Number Four sent their messages almost simultaneously.
[Wen Qi: 741.]
[Zhou Changxiao: 747.]
Total silence fell across the group.
There is always someone better than the best.
Wen Qi read out the string of numbers Zhou Changxiao sent, syllable by syllable.
The corners of his mouth twitched violently. Zhou Changxiao was absolute demon-tier in their group; getting a near-perfect score on the college entrance exam seemed like nothing out of the ordinary for him.
[Jiang Hengxuan: ……So basically, the top science student in Beijing with a 747 is Number Four.]
[Zhou Changxiao: Mn.]
[Zhang Sui: ……]
[Jiang Hengxuan: Wen Qi must have cracked the top ten in Beijing, too.]
[Wen Qi: Just checked today, not entirely sure.]
[Zhang Sui: Tsk tsk, Number Four and Number Five are absolute numerical monsters. Number Five and I usually hang out and play games all the time, yet I’ve just suffered the greatest backstab of my life. Were the only three of us actually going to the internet cafe? Did you guys even play games seriously?]
[Zhuo Fan: I have to go to work. Congratulations to Number Four and Number Five for placing as top scholars and podium winners in the examinations.]
[Jiang Hengxuan: How does Number Three know Number Five is the third place laureate? Is the third place laureate the third highest in the whole province? The five of us are basically two phoenixes picked out of a flock of chickens. We have to get together sometime; after filling out our college applications, a meetup is an absolute must!]
[Zhang Sui: I’ve got time, depends on you guys. Right now I’m just curious how Number Four and Number Five plan to fill out their college choices. This is the kind of score where schools fight over you while you keep your eyes closed.]
Staring blankly at the text messages sent by Zhang Sui, Wen Qi realized he hadn’t actually thought about where he wanted to go to university.
[Wen Qi: Considering it.]
Unlike Wen Qi, Zhou Changxiao had already decided to head to the most elite institution in Beijing.
Zhou Changxiao didn’t say much; after throwing out a few words that chilled the chat atmosphere, he stopped speaking altogether.
As for Wen Qi, his scores were more than enough for him to attend the exact same school as Zhou Changxiao.
Originally, he had intended to just go with the flow and end up wherever life took him.
Yet now, with the dramatic turn of events, he was forced to consider things for himself.
Ambition sprouted, growing completely out of control.
Of course, all of this had to be built on the foundation of wanting to work hard so he could stand shoulder to shoulder with Duan Linrang and possess an equal status.
Even if the probability was extremely low, he wanted to climb up step by step.
He began comparing top-tier universities on his computer.
Meanwhile, his college entrance exam scores quickly caught the attention of the school leadership.
Over the next few days, Wen Qi received phone calls from admissions offices of quite a few universities.
They were keen to offer him perks like four years of waived tuition fees, or direct bachelor’s-to-doctorate consecutive programs, inviting Wen Qi to enroll in their schools.
Faced with all kinds of wonderful offers, Wen Qi found himself caught in a dilemma.
Fortunately, with Duan Linrang keeping him company, he closed the folder and remarked, “Look at our Qiqi, worried sick.”
“Yeah, I’ve never had to consider such important matters before,” Wen Qi complained. “By the way, did you stress over this back then?”
“No,” Duan Linrang said. “My scores weren’t as good as Qiqi’s, and my college choices were entirely decided by my mom and dad.”
“It wasn’t even under your own control?”
“To be precise, my scores were just too terrible.” Duan Linrang briefly organized his thoughts in his mind. “Does Qiqi think I’m very incompetent?”
“Of course not!” Wen Qi asked, puzzled. “Actually, your bright spot…”
Duan Linrang listened expectantly.
“…is power. It’s money.”
Duan Linrang: “…”
Wen Qi: “And being handsome.”
With a blank expression, Duan Linrang couldn’t say Wen Qi was wrong. “Qiqi is right.”
With a little burst of haughty pride, Wen Qi replied, “Obviously!”
Ding-ding-ding,
A ringtone disrupted their conversation.
Duan Linrang picked up the phone and answered:
“What is it?”
“President Duan, since the banquet hosted by the Qi family has been moved up to tomorrow night, and there’s an important auction tomorrow afternoon, I’m calling specifically to ask if you need to postpone your work for tomorrow morning?”
“Push it back.”
After all, it was the Qi family’s banquet, and since Duan Linrang and Qi Yunyuan were close friends, he had no choice but to go.
“Understood, I’ll make the adjustments promptly. Please get some rest early, President Duan.”
Sitting to the side, Wen Qi alternated between looking at Duan Linrang and deep in thought about his own university applications.
Once the call ended, Wen Qi leaned forward, his heart filled with curiosity and a sense of tender pity:
“President Duan, you’re so busy. Having to go to an auction and then attend a banquet—aren’t you tired?”
Duan Linrang took it as childish teasing, but a man who never once claimed to be tired let out a rare complaint: “So tired, so tired. If someone were willing to accompany me, though, I wouldn’t be tired at all.”
Wen Qi caught the subtext immediately. “I’m not going. I refuse to become your burden; you’re already tired enough.”
If he ended up causing any more trouble for Duan Linrang, goodness only knew what would happen.
Duan Linrang did the exact opposite. Leaning behind Wen Qi’s shoulders and neck, his hand with prominent veins stealthily hooked and tightened around Wen Qi’s index finger, the cool temperature sweeping like an electric current across every inch of Duan Linrang’s skin.
It left him itching with desire.
He said, “I want to become Qiqi’s burden first, that way our work tomorrow won’t separate us—”
With a hint of disdain, Wen Qi muttered, “You’re so childish, Duan Linrang.”
“I have countless bad habits, and this is just one of them.”
“I’m not going…”
“I hate people who reject me. I hate you.” Mimicking Wen Qi’s tone, Duan Linrang acted spoiled, showing it off to Wen Qi.
It was getting scarily similar.