Because they were standing so close, and one of his arms was still being held, Feng Xingyun instinctively turned his head to look at Liu Duanhe’s watch.
Liu Duanhe raised his arm in front of him, the black leather strap setting off his slender, jade-white wrist with its delicate, bony elegance. “It’s 4:12 in the afternoon.”
He felt the arm Liu Duanhe was holding burn with an unusually vivid presence, though Feng Xingyun remembered he had never had any issues with cleanliness.
Following Liu Duanhe’s hand with his gaze, he replied, “It’s fine. It starts at 4:30, and besides, this is just a match between our two colleges. The timing isn’t that strict.”
Liu Duanhe looked up, his dark pupils coated with a film of light, his eyes narrowing slightly in a hazy squint as he considered it for him. “But it’s still better not to be late. It’s easy for others to start gossiping.”
His hands really were beautiful, the joints smooth and boneless, not prominent at all, tinged with a faint pink. Slender and long, with tapered fingertips, white and delicate like mutton-fat jade, as if they had never done a day of work in his life, flawless in every way.
Feng Xingyun couldn’t help but look at him again, his gaze drifting from the hand to Liu Duanhe’s phoenix eyes, which always seemed to hold the tender warmth of spring water. “Okay.”
The bitter, green fragrance of grass and trees mingled with the clean scent emanating from him as he lowered his eyes in agreement.
The moment they entered the gymnasium, the thumping sound of balls hitting the floor filled the air. The venue was already quite full.
Hearing the door open, everyone turned to look, and their eyes widened in surprise.
Someone couldn’t help but let out a “Holy shit!”
As they walked forward, one of the people there joked, “Since our school’s heartthrob showed up today, we’re definitely not going to be short on spectators later.”
Liu Duanhe smiled and said, “I can at most serve as a brick to attract jade, responsible for providing you all with a platform to showcase your skills.”
Actually, some members of the team knew that Feng Xingyun and Liu Duanhe didn’t get along. Seeing the two of them appear together today, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say they were shocked. After all, Feng Xingyun’s dogshit temper was not something to mess with. The fact that their relationship had actually improved, who knew how the ice had been broken.
At first, they were a bit reserved. Even in a university like theirs, where almost everyone was a top scorer, Liu Duanhe was outstanding enough to stand at the pinnacle of the pyramid. His appearance and attire alone made him seem so refined and noble that people felt they had to weigh their words before speaking to him.
Moreover, they had all witnessed Feng Xingyun’s hostility toward Liu Duanhe. Having trained together in the same team for so long, and with Feng Xingyun as captain, they didn’t know what was going on. Initially, as they talked, they would steal glances at Feng Xingyun’s expression.
But Liu Duanhe truly had high emotional intelligence and a wonderful temperament. Even when they accidentally misspoke, he could smoothly smooth things over for them, making them talk more and more enthusiastically, feeling like they couldn’t say enough, as if they had found a kindred spirit. They had completely forgotten their earlier reservations.
While he was naturally conversing with the team members, Feng Xingyun felt someone nudge his arm.
He looked up and saw Zhao Yi.
Zhao Yi pulled him aside and whispered, “Why is Liu Duanhe here today?”
Before Feng Xingyun could speak, he asked nervously, “How do I look right now? Presentable? I should have gotten a haircut.”
Feng Xingyun let out a cold laugh, feeling a bit uncomfortable, and replied dismissively, “You’re fine.”
“Is this because you two made up after what happened last time? I’ve always said Liu Duanhe is a great person. If you just take the time to get to know him, you’ll see his charm.” He said smugly.
“His temper is ridiculously good, he’s gentle and polite, and he’s way too handsome. Honestly, I used to be straight, but the first time I saw Liu Duanhe, I realized gender isn’t really that important.” He chattered on, as if a bit nervous.
Feng Xingyun turned his head to look at Liu Duanhe, who was bowing his head with a faint smile. He was like a meticulously carved white-jade beauty, or perhaps a divine sculpture from the Renaissance, so strikingly handsome that even without speaking, he was a pleasure to behold, making people want to talk to him endlessly.
At that moment, he was quietly listening to the people gathered around him, occasionally interjecting a word or two, and those who spoke with him would grin so wide their teeth showed.
Feng Xingyun unconsciously smiled as well, though with his naturally fierce features, a smile only made him look more like a villain.
Zhao Yi couldn’t help but say, “What kind of bad thing are you thinking about? You look like you’re up to no good.”
“Did I smile? You’re mistaken. I didn’t smile.” Feng Xingyun’s smile faded, and he looked down at Zhao Yi with a blank expression.
“I need to change. It’s almost time.” Then he walked around Zhao Yi and headed to the locker room.
Liu Duanhe’s conversation with the others wasn’t without gains, he sent out a few offers, pulling in a few promising individuals he’d noticed for internships.
At their university, they had absolutely no worries about finding work after graduation. The extremely high admission scores made it highly likely to filter out talented people; at the very least, most of them had sufficient learning ability.
Talents are meant to be seized and cultivated, so Liu Duanhe’s process of making friends was also a way of selecting the employees he needed, investment projects, and so on.
Times are evolving. The Liu family might still be standing at the pinnacle now, but if they didn’t introduce fresh blood, they would inevitably fall sooner or later. His grandfather was indeed getting old, lacking energy, and his health was deteriorating. Over the past two years, the group’s business had already begun to show a downward trend.
As the sole heir, Liu Duanhe had been groomed as the successor since childhood, and he absolutely would not allow the Liu family to fall.
By the time he had roughly figured out their backgrounds and personalities, they were laid bare before him.
The noise in the venue gradually grew louder. Liu Duanhe glanced back and, with a hint of feigned familiarity, said, “A lot of people have shown up. I won’t disturb your competition, you should warm up quickly.”
With that, he waved his hand and walked back to find a seat. Zhao Yi had also exchanged a few words with him and had received an offer from Liu Duanhe. Of course, he agreed without hesitation, stepping forward quickly and saying, “You should sit in the first row, that’s the family and friends’ section for our team.” He deliberately tested him.
Liu Duanhe’s expression remained unchanged. He couldn’t tell at a glance that Zhao Yi was interested in him, but within a few exchanges, the nervousness, unease, and shyness in his eyes gave it away.
But Liu Duanhe wasn’t interested in him. In fact, he had never been interested in anyone. Recently, though, there was a Feng Xingyun who was somewhat intriguing.
Still, he kept business and personal matters separate. He’d had too many admirers since childhood to care about one more or one less, there were plenty in the company too, so he could still extend an internship invitation without issue.
“Alright, thank you. Where’s your team’s seating area?” Liu Duanhe didn’t particularly want to go to the middle or back rows, where he’d be surrounded by crowds. The first and second rows were left empty for the players’ bags and some bench players, so there were fewer people, it was more suitable.
Zhao Yi pointed in a direction and then asked with warm concern, “I’ll take you there. By the way, how’s your head recovering? Are you okay?”
“I was scared to death when I drove you to the hospital back then. Good thing nothing happened.”
Liu Duanhe said in surprise, “You were the one who drove me to the hospital?”
Zhao Yi explained, “Feng Xingyun was afraid something might happen to you and there wasn’t time, and I’d gotten my driver’s license early and had a car, so he asked me to help take you from the dormitory building.”
“But I was really worried about you too.” Realizing his words had all become praise for Feng Xingyun, he quickly added a line for himself.
Liu Duanhe’s memory of that time was already a bit hazy, likely due to the injury mechanism. He vaguely recalled that after going downstairs, there was indeed someone talking to Feng Xingyun.
Zhao Yi asked with slight confusion, “Did Feng Xingyun never mention me?” He remembered that back at the hospital, Feng Xingyun hadn’t told Liu Duanhe when he was transferred, there was precedent for this.
After recalling it, Liu Duanhe didn’t say Feng Xingyun had never mentioned him at all, since it was possible he’d simply forgotten. He said naturally, “I wasn’t clear-headed back then, and after returning to school, I was too busy and forgot. When you have time, I’ll have Feng Xingyun and me treat you to a meal to properly thank you.”
Zhao Yi keenly caught the key word and said in confusion, “Ah, but…” He hesitated, not finishing the sentence. Why bring Feng Xingyun along?
Was it because Feng Xingyun had carried him downstairs and taken him to the hospital, so they should eat together? He actually wanted to have a meal with Liu Duanhe alone.
Liu Duanhe said gently, “Is there a problem?”
He looked down slightly at Zhao Yi. His silk shirt shimmered brilliantly under the dome lights, with excellent texture, and his gray dress pants had not a single wrinkle, pressed perfectly smooth.
Even just standing there casually relaxed, his bearing was impeccably elegant, loose yet filled with the confidence of someone who gets what he wants. He was clearly a favored child of heaven nurtured by money and power, and very attractive.
Zhao Yi’s ears turned red. He shook his head. No matter how outgoing a person was, it would probably be hard to say in front of Liu Duanhe that he’d rather eat with him alone.
Liu Duanhe smiled and said, “Then when you have time, just send Feng Xingyun a message ahead of time and have him tell me, and I’ll book a spot.”
Zhao Yi nodded hastily. “Okay.”
Actually, the most convenient thing would have been for Liu Duanhe to add him on WeChat, but Liu Duanhe felt that since he now had a boyfriend, and this person was clearly interested in him and also acquainted with Feng Xingyun, he should keep some distance, unlike with work.
After all, even if Zhao Yi came to intern at his company, he wouldn’t be a direct subordinate Liu Duanhe needed to contact. If his work ability truly proved outstanding enough for Liu Duanhe to consider promoting him, then these things wouldn’t be a problem.
They lifted their feet and continued walking toward the first row. Liu Duanhe found a seat in the middle and sat down.
“They’re almost done warming up. Don’t worry about me, go ahead.” Seeing Zhao Yi standing in front of him looking a bit awkward, as if he had something to say, and estimating that Feng Xingyun had probably finished changing by now, he urged him along.
Zhao Yi had no choice but to swallow the words he’d been hesitating to say and returned to the team to stretch out his muscles.
Having extricated himself from the social interactions, Liu Duanhe pulled out his phone from his pocket, first approving the friend requests from a few of the more promising people he’d just met, then tapping into the work matters his secretary had newly sent over to begin handling them.
When he focused on a single task, he would become completely immersed, paying no attention to the outside world, until a shout rang out beside his ear, laced with alarm: “Watch out!”