After the two of them were seated,
An Qingyu lowered his gaze to the food on his plate, lightly tapping his fingers on the table, his brows slightly furrowed.
He didn’t like eating fish.
Using his chopsticks, An Qingyu picked up the fish and placed it onto Lin Qiye’s plate.
Lin Qiye looked puzzled. “An Qingyu, may I ask… am I a cat?”
Giving all the fish to him was basically asking him to consume the food An Qingyu didn’t like.
An Qingyu stared at Lin Qiye and curved his lips into a faint smile. “You are.”
He’s as cute as a cat, An Qingyu thought silently.
After a moment of silence, Lin Qiye picked up the fish on his plate and ate it.
It wouldn’t do to waste food.
The inmates nearby noticed this and began whispering to each other.
Inmate 1 nudged the person next to him. “Look at how Boss An and Boss Lin are interacting… it’s like giving the food you don’t like to someone else.”
Inmate 2 frowned, sensing something odd. “Wait, are you sure? What if Boss An and Boss Lin are just really close friends?”
Inmate 1 didn’t hesitate “Because my ex used to do the same thing, he loved giving me food he didn’t like.”
Inmate 2’s expression suddenly turned a little horrified. “You… you’re gay! No wonder I always felt something was off at night.”
Inmate 1 chuckled. “You noticed.”
As An Qingyu withdrew his arm, his fingertips lightly brushed against Lin Qiye’s Adam’s apple.
“Boss Lin, Master Chen is looking for you,” a young inmate called out loudly from the entrance of the Fasting Institute.
“Alright, got it,” Lin Qiye replied.
He lightly patted An Qingyu on the shoulder. “I’ll go see him.”
A dark gleam flashed briefly in An Qingyu’s eyes, but his voice remained calm. “Okay, I’ll wait here for your return.”
After Lin Qiye left,
An Qingyu lowered his gaze for a moment, then straightened his white coat, covering up any unusual signs on his body.
Fortunately, he hadn’t let Qiye notice anything amiss.
After Lin Qiye spoke with Master Chen, he learned that the Domain-Suppressing Stele of the Fasting Institute was present within the mental landscape.
He memorized this critical information and stepped down from Master Chen’s carriage.
Night had seeped into the cracks between the stone and brick.
Returning to the free activity area of the institute, he found An Qingyu still standing in the same spot, like a large, pitiful dog waiting for its owner to return.
Border Collie.
The word popped into Lin Qiye’s mind.
The breed’s sharp intelligence seemed to match An Qingyu quite well.
“You… you’ve been waiting here all this time?”
Lin Qiye looked at An Qingyu, still stationed in place, feeling a bit surprised.
He and Master Chen had spent hours tasting and chatting inside the carriage.
Could it be that An Qingyu had stood there the entire time, motionless, waiting for him to return?
An Qingyu nodded obediently. “Yes, Qiye, I’ve been waiting for you all along.”
“I’ve been waiting for the day you fall in love with me,” An Qingyu said silently in his heart.
Lin Qiye lightly patted his shoulder. “Qingyu, you’re starting to have a bit of that bookish, rigid vibe.”
“You could’ve gone back to rest earlier. Standing here all this time, your legs must be killing you.”
Lin Qiye couldn’t understand it. An Qingyu was clearly very clever, so why did his intelligence seem to regress at a time like this?
Tilting his head, An Qingyu savored the warmth lingering on his shoulder.
“Qiye, I’m not like this with just anyone.”
“I don’t abandon mysteries to go dissect them; I stay here waiting for someone to return.”
“In the past, I would’ve thought doing something like this, waiting aimlessly, was a waste of time and life.”
“But if the person I’m waiting for is you, everything feels worth it.”
As he spoke, the mole at the corner of his eye swayed slightly, like a captivating enchantress.
Lin Qiye was momentarily stunned. After a pause, he hooked his arm around An Qingyu’s shoulder.
“Good brother… I’m really glad I met you.”
An Qingyu immediately understood. Lin Qiye had taken his words as the heartfelt confession of a close friend.
But he wasn’t in a hurry.
He had all the patience in the world.
He would wait for his love to slowly realize.
Suddenly, An Qingyu’s legs went weak, and he instinctively wrapped his arms around Lin Qiye’s waist.
“Qiye, I’ve been standing too long… my legs are numb. Could you help me back?”
He asked cautiously, looking every bit like a stray dog afraid of being abandoned by its owner.
Seeing this, Lin Qiye couldn’t bear it.
He gently supported An Qingyu:
“Of course I can. You’re my good brother, this little thing is nothing for me to help with.”
Lin Qiye sighed quietly to himself.
See? Sometimes An Qingyu really does act like a fool.
Now his legs were numb from standing too long.
Lin Qiye supported An Qingyu by the shoulders, walking toward the room.
“Take it slow, be careful not to fall.”
If An Qingyu slipped, and they both fell, that would be bad.
Seizing the opportunity, An Qingyu rested his head on Lin Qiye’s shoulder and wrapped his arms tightly around his waist.
From a distance, it looked less like Lin Qiye was supporting An Qingyu, and more like An Qingyu had drawn Lin Qiye into his embrace.
Once they returned to the room,
An Qingyu, as usual, heated a cup of milk for Lin Qiye.