Mu Nian let out a long sigh of relief. “So you already like someone?”
“Mhm.” Bai Shijin nodded, then asked, “And you?”
“Me? What about me?”
“How did you figure out that you like guys?”
Mu Nian fell silent.
Bai Shijin’s eyes dimmed. “Could it be because you realized you had fallen for Ye Qinfan?”
Mu Nian shook his head. “Not really.”
His voice dropped a bit. “When I was in college, we didn’t have conditions as good as you kids do now. Back then, there were six people to a dorm room, and we often ran out of time or hot water for showers. They would often shower together in pairs.”
“I couldn’t stand it. I couldn’t stand showering with them, I couldn’t stand having my body seen completely, and I couldn’t stand them gathering around to discuss girls.”
“Later on, when I discovered that my male friends were dating, I finally understood. Oh, guys can like guys. Gradually, I realized that I might be one too.”
This was the first time Bai Shijin had heard Mu Nian say so much. To a certain extent, it could also be considered a way for the two of them to understand each other better.
He couldn’t suppress a wave of happiness, and the corners of his mouth curved upward slightly.
Mu Nian took a deep breath and asked, “What is the boy you like like?”
Bai Shijin sized Mu Nian up for a moment and described him on the spot. “Very gentle, very kind, and exceptionally pretty, the kind of pretty that makes you fall in love at first sight.”
“That’s wonderful,” Mu Nian said. “I think you’re great too. Haven’t you chased him down yet?”
Bai Shijin let out a low chuckle and said, “I will.”
The air grew quiet. When Bai Shijin spoke again, his eyes carried some obscure emotions, and his voice deepened. “One day, I will catch him.”
“Then let me congratulate you in advance,” Mu Nian bit his lower lip. “When you win him over, as your boss, I’ll treat you both to a meal.”
Is he treating me?
Bai Shijin nodded solemnly and raised his right pinky finger. “It’s a deal, then.”
“How childish.” Mu Nian looked helpless, but he indulged Bai Shijin anyway, extending his finger to hook pinkies with him.
“Alright, it really is late this time. Go straight to sleep, and no playing on your phone under the covers.”
Bai Shijin cleaned up the glass shards on the floor, watched Mu Nian take his medicine, and went back to his room.
Mu Nian opened his phone. The two messages from Valley Valley were still hanging in his chat list:
“I happened to see you once at the intersection near the school. You look like someone I like.”
“So I tried every possible way to get your WeChat.”
Mu Nian stood in silence for a moment and asked: “The person you mentioned before, who you have a secret crush on, is?”
Not Valley: “You.”
Mu Nian’s brain instantly felt stuffed with mush.
I treat you like a brother! And you secretly have a crush on me!
It seemed all those previous instances of care and concern had a trail to follow. Right, who would have nothing better to do than care about an online friend every single day?
So that line “Do you have a lighter?” was actually a cheesy pickup line?
Huh?
This was terrifying. Someone was harboring a secret crush on you behind your back, and you didn’t even have a clue who they were.
It took Mu Nian a long time to digest this. Standing there for ages, he tossed his phone onto the bed, grabbed a clean set of clothes, and headed to the bathroom to shower.
When he came out after his shower, Not Valley had sent him two more messages:
“Did I scare you?”
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said it.”
Mu Nian simply replied: “I have a boyfriend.”
Bai Shijin felt a sharp tug at his chest through the wall. Clenching his palms, he frantically typed out:
“Then now that you know, will you block me?”
Long-Distance Years: “I really did treat you as a friend, but since you are hiding in the dark, I feel rather uneasy. I won’t block you, but let’s chat less from now on.”
Bai Shijin bit his lip bitterly.
Crap, he had overplayed his hand.
Trembling and shaking his fingers, he typed out a single word, “Okay,” and sent it.
After that, Mu Nian didn’t reply anymore.
Bai Shijin wasn’t willing to let it go. Even if “Not Valley” had botched things, he had to drag someone down with him.
At 1:00 AM, Not Valley sent another new message: “I know Ye Qinfan, the notorious player at our school. I don’t mean to sow discord, I’m just afraid you’ll get hurt.”
Early the next morning, Mu Nian saw this message and narrowed his eyes.
He felt completely unfazed, didn’t take it to heart, and promptly forgot about it afterward.
After washing up, Mu Nian got dressed and walked out to the living room. There wasn’t a sound to be heard.
He knocked on the guest room door, but received no response.
“Shijin, Shijin, time to wake up.”
Mu Nian pressed his ear against the door to listen for any movement. Hearing nothing, he grew anxious and pushed the door open directly.
Bai Shijin was lying on the bed with his eyes tightly shut, looking like he hadn’t woken up yet.
Mu Nian walked closer and noticed a pool of water near Bai Shijin’s nose, with several distinct tear tracks beneath his eyelids.
He frowned. Was he crying?
Mu Nian reached out and shook him gently. “Shijin, wake up.”
Bai Shijin slowly opened his eyes. Seeing Mu Nian, he looked startled. “Brother Mu?”
“It’s me. You didn’t answer when I called from outside, so I came in. What’s wrong? Did you have a nightmare?”
Bai Shijin propped himself up into a sitting position. The tears accumulated near his nose slid down his cheeks with his movement, making him look exceptionally fragile and stirring a trace of heartache in Mu Nian.
“Were you crying secretly last night?”
Bai Shijin wiped away the tear stains with his palm and spoke in a dry voice, “No. It must have been a dream. I must have dreamed of something touching, I forgot.”
“As long as you’re okay.” Seeing that Bai Shijin’s serious expression didn’t look like he was lying, Mu Nian turned and headed out. “Well, hurry up and get up. I’ll find you a clean set of clothes.”
Mu Nian searched through the wardrobe for a long time without finding clothes suitable for Bai Shijin. To be frank, although he was older than Bai Shijin, he actually worried that his own clothes would be too small for Bai Shijin to wear.
Rummaging through boxes and cabinets, he finally found a set of grey athletic wear he used to wear for working out. “It’s a bit big on me, but it should fit you just right. Try it out.”
Right after handing them over, Mu Nian remembered that Bai Shijin had mild germaphobia and hurriedly added, “Ah, I’ve worn them before. Is that okay with you?”
Bai Shijin snatched them away instantly. “It’s fine.”
“Good.”
Bai Shijin’s physique suited any clothes. Once he put them on, he looked unexpectedly handsome, except that it accentuated his masculine features a bit too much.
“Cough.”
Mu Nian helped him loosen the waistband of the pants and glanced guiltily at the wall clock. “We’re already late, so there’s no point in rushing over early. The fruit and vegetables at the supermarket are fresher in the morning anyway. Come with me to the supermarket to fill up the fridge.”
Bai Shijin had no reason to refuse. Overjoyed, he replied, “Okay.”
Mu Nian hadn’t expected Bai Shijin to be good at cooking and also skilled at picking out vegetables and fruit. Watching him push the shopping cart and look around, Mu Nian inexplicably felt at ease.
In this day and age of advanced internet, fewer and fewer people went to supermarkets to shop. Most young people placed orders on their phones for direct home delivery, so the supermarket in the morning was extremely sparse, filled only with elderly folks or young couples walking hand in hand.
Mu Nian thought to himself that he had been with Ye Qinfan for two years, and they had never strolled through a supermarket like this.
He and Ye Qinfan called themselves a couple, but in reality, they felt more like an anxious older brother and an immature younger brother.
Sometimes, he felt that this relationship was quite exhausting.