The horizon was painted in the vibrant colors that only follow a storm, with shifting halos of light weaving a romantic, ethereal spectacle. Passersby, no matter how hurried, could not help but stop and look up.
Only the two people closest to the scene remained still.
Lu Huai and Chi Yuan stared at each other, both seeing surprise in the other’s eyes. After all, neither of them looked like the type to care about the Lover’s Tree.
Lu Huai was the first to look away. His gaze fell upon the red ribbons covering the tree, and he felt a sudden, inexplicable tension.
Chi Yuan, on the other hand, chuckled softly, suppressing the deep emotions in his eyes. “How did you know I was here?”
So he did not notice? Lu Huai’s lashes drooped, and he offered a faint smile. It was true: among so many red ribbons, the chance of him seeing his own was incredibly slim. There was no such thing as fate.
“Intuition.” Lu Huai replied. He turned around, glancing back with his peach-blossom eyes before airily saying, “Let us go.”
Chi Yuan acknowledged this, but his gaze swept back toward the tree. He recognized Lu Huai’s handwriting; in their youth, their exam papers were often compared. Sometimes, seeing a one-point difference, he would glance at the other’s paper. Over time, he had formed an impression.
Chi Yuan felt a rare moment of confusion. If his eyes had not deceived him, one of those ribbons had been written by Lu Huai.
The two walked away, the wind never ceasing, blowing the red ribbons up and down. Three years had passed, yet the handwriting had become even clearer on the fading ribbon. Exactly where Chi Yuan had been standing, a ribbon hung from a branch; perhaps the owner had not tied it tightly enough, and it had drooped down. On it, four words were written clearly: Quietly awaiting good news.
.
.
They entered the conference hall one after the other. As they looked up, they spotted quite a few acquaintances.
Lu Huai was about to find a seat when he saw their former class assistant walking toward them. He instinctively glanced at Chi Yuan, only to see the other man frowning.
“I did not expect the two of you to appear together,” the assistant greeted with a smile, though his tone hinted at their history of animosity. He turned to Chi Yuan and asked, “Where is Fang? Did he not say he was coming? I thought he would be with you.”
A persistent ghost, Chi Yuan thought to himself, though he had to maintain a facade in front of the man. He smiled thinly and said, “Does the assistant not know? We broke up.”
“Oh? Then I apologize for the intrusion.”
Lu Huai saw it clearly: the man’s apology was superficial, but his eyes were filled with blatant hostility. Before Lu Huai could speak, the man asked again, “May I ask the reason?”
You certainly do not look like you do not know the reason, Chi Yuan thought, sensing the man’s malicious intent. He was not someone to be trifled with; he had no intention of offering his face to be slapped. Just as he was about to brush the man off with a dismissive “it is not your business,” Lu Huai stepped in front of him, blocking the man’s malevolent gaze.
“Do you have a problem?” Lu Huai’s eyes lowered, his pale irises filled with deep disdain. “You came here to pry into other people’s private lives. Could it be that you do not have enough to focus on in your own life?”
Lu Huai intentionally lowered his voice, making his disdain even more cutting. The assistant was rendered speechless. He had hoped to see them make a fool of themselves, but instead, he was the one left burning with anger. He knew Lu Huai was cold and had never interacted with him much, but were the two of them not supposed to be at odds? Why was Lu Huai coming to his trouble instead of taking the opportunity to kick Chi Yuan while he was down?
Chi Yuan heard every word clearly. Was he protecting him? The frustration that had been clogging his chest suddenly vanished. A glint of interest flashed in Chi Yuan’s eyes as he stared at Lu Huai’s back, lost in thought.
“I did not mean it like that…” Facing the formidable Lu Huai, the assistant’s rebuttal was stammered. Having lost face and feeling miserable, he could only wave his hand and walk away in defeat.
Lu Huai finally looked up at Chi Yuan, who had remained silent. Thinking the other man was upset about his wound being touched, he pursed his lips and offered a somewhat awkward, defensive comfort: “There was no need…”
“Why did you suddenly help me out of the goodness of your heart?” Chi Yuan smiled, carefully choosing his words.
Lu Huai lowered his lashes to hide his true emotions and replied smoothly: “I do not want outsiders meddling in the enmity between us.”
Lu Huai paused slightly on the word “enmity” before finishing. Seeing Chi Yuan still fixed on him, he felt a tightness in his chest and gestured toward the crowd: “Do you not need to go see people?”
Chi Yuan was more socially adept than him. Unless necessary, Lu Huai preferred quiet places to work, while Chi Yuan enjoyed being in the center of the crowd. Lu Huai glanced at him, thinking about how Chi Yuan’s flamboyant personality beneath his modest, polite exterior probably needed the spotlight to be satisfied.
Chi Yuan, however, felt that Lu Huai was much more interesting than those people. He did not shift his gaze, but just as he was about to say something, he caught sight of something on Lu Huai’s wrist.
“What is that?” Assuming the other had been injured somewhere and knowing how fragile Lu Huai’s health was, Chi Yuan grabbed his hand to examine it, only to discover a tattoo.
“Étoile? French?” Chi Yuan frowned and read it aloud. “You have a tattoo?”
Lu Huai’s heart skipped a beat. He tried to pull his hand back but was held firmly. His voice turned cold: “Let go! Do not force me to use force.”
They had competed since childhood. Over their dozen years of life, neither had neglected their self-defense training; they both had the same Taekwondo master. It was hard to say who would win in a real fight.
Seeing Lu Huai so guarded, Chi Yuan felt a strange sensation in his heart. He released his hand and said casually, “I did not expect you to get a tattoo. Does Uncle Lu know?”
Chi Yuan had always felt that Lu Huai being raised into a biting, poisonous ice block had everything to do with Father Lu’s old-fashioned educational philosophy. Given the family’s traditions, could Lu Huai really tattoo something on his body? Then again, was Lu Huai doing it just because he thought it looked good, or was it for someone? And who could possibly be worth that?
A moment later, Lu Huai covered the tattoo completely. His long lashes hid his eyes, making his emotions unreadable. He said coldly: “He does not know.”
Why hide it so carefully? Chi Yuan found Lu Huai’s attitude even more annoying. Moreover, this tattoo did not exist before he went abroad. Was Lu Huai abroad? He acted as if he did not care, but his eyes kept darting back to the spot. He probed: “A star? The name of your sweetheart?”
The moment he said it, he suddenly remembered Lu Huai’s earlier proud statement: “My taste is not that poor.” It seemed he really did have someone he liked. Chi Yuan smiled self-mockingly. He had actually believed Lu Huai might like him. The man had even left a permanent mark on his wrist in French; it could not possibly be for him.
Lost in thought, Chi Yuan did not notice Lu Huai’s body stiffen at his question.
A trace of mockery flashed in Lu Huai’s eyes; he felt that the other man truly had no memory at all. He closed his eyes, tired, and could not be bothered to engage with Chi Yuan further.
“Yes.”
After that clean, crisp reply, he did not look at Chi Yuan again, walking toward the preparation area with a cold face, leaving Chi Yuan’s probing questions to fall into thin air.
“This person is really…” Chi Yuan muttered, not knowing where his anger and disappointment were coming from. He huffed and walked in the direction Lu Huai had pointed; he was not without company, after all.
“Chi Yuan? Hello.”
“Hello…”
Chi Yuan greeted people one by one, answering them clearly, but his emotions were a tangled mess. He kept a smile on his face and casually agreed with everyone’s talk about international economics, but his mind remained on Lu Huai.
Could it be that after all these years, I have never seen Lu Huai favor anyone else? Is that it? Am I failing in my own love life, so I cannot stand to see my old rival find happiness?
Chi Yuan could not figure it out. He only felt a hollowness in his chest, as if something were slipping through his fingers.
“Chi Yuan? Chi Yuan?”
Pulled back to reality, Chi Yuan froze, only then noticing everyone was looking at him.
“What do you think?”
He had been completely lost in his own thoughts and had not heard the question, so he could only curl his lips vaguely: “I think it is all quite good.”
It really does not do to think about Lu Huai.
Chi Yuan’s gaze dimmed. In his mind, he could only see Lu Huai’s naturally smiling eyes. Whenever Lu Huai looked at him, it was always with focus, because he was his only rival. No one understood Lu Huai better than him, just as no one could replace the decades they had spent together. But now, that gaze was going to be taken away by someone else, was it not?
Chi Yuan had not wanted to admit the weight Lu Huai held in his heart, but they had always liked to peel back the layers and clarify everything. Chi Yuan clenched his fist, his expression darkening for a moment.
He wanted to see exactly what kind of person could make Lu Huai care so much.
Chi Yuan thought of the tattoo on Lu Huai’s wrist, so sharp against his pale skin. He felt the other was truly ruthless; such a mark would never be wiped away. With Lu Huai’s cold-to-the-bone personality, how much must he have loved them?
Without realizing it, the group’s high-minded discussion ended. They all noticed Chi Yuan’s silence and exchanged glances, confirming they all knew the unspoken rumors. They pulled Chi Yuan aside: “Come, come, we are putting a group together. Do you want to join?”
Chi Yuan was mindful of his upcoming speech, but for some reason, he could not refuse their enthusiasm. He smiled and agreed, though his eyes darted toward Lu Huai, who was standing on the stage watching the technicians adjust the equipment.
It had always been like this.
Lu Huai always seemed so far away from him and the others, holding his chin up with noble grace. His amber pupils reflected no one. He had originally provoked him, aside from his natural competitive streak, simply because he wanted to see himself in Lu Huai’s eyes.
Not the polite, distant, omnipotent Lu Huai.
But…
Chi Yuan lowered his lashes and smiled, the meaning unclear.