Ever since he found out his upstairs neighbor was Xie Tingchuan, Lin Qing’an gradually reduced the frequency of his replies, while video calls were uniformly rejected across the board.
Despite noticing something odd about it, Xie Tingchuan was easily brushed off by Lin Qing’an’s perfunctory, few-word excuses.
Lin Qing’an figured nobody could withstand cold-tactic neglect from their romantic partner; given enough time, Xie Tingchuan’s already shallow affection for “Xiao Qinggan” would surely be worn down to nothing.
When that time came, breaking up could follow as a natural course of action.
This way, he wouldn’t have to worry about a rash confession provoking Xie Tingchuan into a relentless manhunt, and breaking up from Xie Tingchuan’s own subjective standpoint would also serve as a favor—helping him move forward much faster toward meeting, knowing, and falling in love with the female protagonist.
Right, who was the female protagonist again? How did they meet?
Lin Qing’an thudded his fists against his head, trying desperately to recall, but absolutely nothing came to mind.
Renewing his complaints once more, “What kind of bullcrap conscious awakening is this? Awakening past-life memories halfway through is truly absurd completely, utterly ridiculous!”
Yet, Xie Tingchuan never actually detected Lin Qing’an’s growing distance. Or rather, if he did notice, he simply tightened his grip on Lin Qing’an’s updates even more aggressively.
Even though Lin Qing’an barely replied to him, every single time he opened his phone, ten-odd unread messages would be waiting for him.
The sweet nothings were sticky enough to induce a cavity, and photos arrived one after another: sometimes it was a picture of him brushing his teeth, a layer of white toothpaste foam coating his lips, his chin tilted slightly upward with a haughty, arrogant posture, while his damp hair continued to drip water, soaking a patch of his shoulder and leaving his muscle contours faintly visible.
Sometimes it was a photo of him gripping a ballpoint pen in the classroom, the protruding veins across his large, well-defined knuckles fully exposed, inexplicably radiating a trace of raw, sultry temptation.
Sometimes it was a photo from a gathering with friends, his long legs stretched out casually, carrying the distinct vibe of limbs with nowhere to rest.
Yet, without exception, every single one of them was an effort to share his daily life with Lin Qing’an.
Even though Lin Qing’an suspected that a subtle hint of seduction lurked beneath the surface of these shares, he lacked any concrete proof.
New Year’s Day arrived. Lin Qing’an had arranged with Duan Xuan and Qin Zhiyi to go watch a fireworks display together.
Given the current strict regulations banning fireworks and firecrackers across the board, securing a government-approved public fireworks show was an exceptionally rare opportunity.
Promotional campaigns had kicked off as early as the beginning of December, leaving Lin Qing’an and the others overwhelmingly excited, counting down the days just for tonight.
Ring-ring-ring, ring-ring-ring…
The incoming call displayed Qin Zhiyi’s name. Glancing at the time, Lin Qing’an saw it was only a little past 4:00 PM!
Well… heading out now made sense; by the time they grabbed a bite to eat, it would practically be dark anyway.
As for the fireworks show, it wasn’t scheduled until 9:00 PM.
“Qing’an, hurry up and come out, we’re waiting for you at the residential complex entrance.” Qin Zhiyi’s voice sounded exceptionally excited, accompanied by the faint, muffled sound of Duan Xuan speaking in the background.
With a smile, Lin Qing’an agreed, “I’m heading out right now.”
Hanging up the phone, Lin Qing’an threw on a thick coat and prepared to step outside.
Just as his hand closed around the doorknob, Lin Qing’an suddenly recalled the weather advisory Xie Tingchuan had sent that morning a cold snap was scheduled to hit tonight, carrying a high probability of snow.
Hesitating for a second, Lin Qing’an sighed, trotted back to his bedroom to swap into an even thicker coat, and finally stepped out of his apartment to wait for the elevator.
The elevator descended from above, and the moment the doors slid open, Lin Qing’an wasn’t sure whether he should feel relieved that he hadn’t run into Xie Tingchuan, or regretful that he hadn’t.
The tangled, wordless thoughts in his chest ultimately melted into a quiet sigh.
Ding. The elevator reached the ground floor. Stepping out, Lin Qing’an spotted Xie Tingchuan right inside the courtyard grounds.
Looking relaxed and carefree, Xie Tingchuan was holding a takeout order in one hand while bringing his phone to his mouth with the other, clearly recording a voice message.
Ping. Lin Qing’an looked down at his own phone, then back at Xie Tingchuan, who was still talking into his device over there. Why does he look so nervous?
Ping.
Xie Tingchuan: [Photo]
Xie Tingchuan: “An’an, I ordered seafood noodles. This place actually tastes pretty decent.”
Xie Tingchuan: “Baby, when can we finally meet up? I can’t wait a second longer.”
Xie Tingchuan: “Today is New Year’s Day, hope you have fun.”
Xie Tingchuan: “We’ve been dating for half a year now. Have you finished your evaluation and assessment of me as a boyfriend yet?”
Xie Tingchuan: “Am I doing passably well? So, when are we meeting up?”
“Meet up, meet up!” Lin Qing’an muttered under his breath, jabbing his finger repeatedly against the chat background wallpaper with enough force to practically shove Xie Tingchuan backward through the screen.
“We’ve run into each other so many times in real life, yet not once have you ever been this enthusiastic toward me. Total two-faced hypocrite—one persona online, a completely different one offline!”
Xiao Qinggan: “Let’s wait a bit longer, I haven’t figured it out yet.”
Ping. Xie Tingchuan’s reply arrived almost instantly.
Xie Tingchuan: “What is An’an thinking about? Are you worried that I won’t be able to satisfy you?”
Ping. A voice message followed closely behind.
Xie Tingchuan: “An’an baby, you should have confidence in my physique, and even more confidence in my stamina. I will definitely make you…”
The sudden, unfiltered dirty-talk made Lin Qing’an fumble frantically to lock his phone screen, cutting the explicit voice note off mid-sentence, though the lingering ambiguous atmosphere refused to dissipate for a long, long time.
This is out in public! Is saying stuff like this even appropriate?!
Guiltily checking his surroundings to ensure the coast was clear, Lin Qing’an let out a breath of relief, quickened his pace toward the residential gate, and spotted Duan Xuan and Qin Zhiyi waiting far in the distance huddled inside a wind-sheltered nook, munching on candied hawthorn skewers.
Candied hawthorns? Lin Qing’an double-checked the scene before his eyes.
Fine, it really was candied hawthorns.
Noticing Lin Qing’an’s arrival, Qin Zhiyi handed over a wrapped skewer. “Qing’an, here, yours.”
“Thanks.”
Accepting it without standing on ceremony, Lin Qing’an tore open the packaging to reveal an assortment of colorful fruits encased in a layer of crystalline sugar syrup: cherry tomatoes, green grapes, purple grapes, hawthorns, and a couple of kiwi slices.
“It’s freezing, let’s go grab dinner first,” Duan Xuan said, tying Qin Zhiyi’s gray scarf securely around his neck with a neat knot on the side.
“Right after we eat, we’ll head over to watch the fireworks, and go for drinks afterward.”
Lin Qing’an nodded indifferently, biting down on the top cherry tomato. The sweet-and-sour juice burst across his palate not bad at all.
Meanwhile, having just returned home, Xie Tingchuan unpacked his takeout and prepared to send a photo to “Xiao Qinggan” when an incoming notification sounded.
Ping.
Xiao Qinggan: [Photo]
It was a picture of a candied fruit skewer. The background was entirely blurred out, leaving only the colorful skewer and a pair of fair, slender fingers.
Xie Tingchuan let out a long huff, feeling his throat instantly turn parched.
Walking down the street with his friends, Lin Qing’an felt his phone vibrate continuously with notification after notification: ping, ping, ping.
The alerts kept chiming, yet Lin Qing’an showed no intention of checking them. Duan Xuan looked at him quizzically. “Aren’t you going to check that?”
“Check it, checking it right now. Let me see who’s spamming me.”
Lin Qing’an didn’t even need to guess; it had to be Xie Tingchuan.
Opening the chat, sure enough, it was him. Lin Qing’an’s lips curved upward in a smug little smirk.
A voice note? Glancing sideways at Duan Xuan and Qin Zhiyi, Lin Qing’an hesitated for a second before giving up on voice-to-text, pulling his Bluetooth earbuds from his pocket and plugging them into his ears.
Xie Tingchuan: “An’an’s hands are so pretty, but the stick she’s holding is way too thin. She should switch to something a bit thicker, and I happen to be able to provide one.”
The rich, magnetic masculine voice drilled straight into his ears. Way too steamy, seriously way too steamy.
Pulling out his Bluetooth earbud, Lin Qing’an plucked out the microscopic shred of guilt left in his heart along with it. Xie Tingchuan talking like this had to be his natural, unadulterated baseline personality; it had absolutely nothing to do with him!
Up ahead, Duan Xuan and Qin Zhiyi suddenly realized their friend had fallen behind. Turning around, they saw Lin Qing’an lagging several paces back.
Qin Zhiyi waved. “Qing’an.”
“Coming.” Lin Qing’an took a deep breath, lightly slapping his cheeks with both hands as if trying to beat away the faint blush dusting his skin.
Duan Xuan looked him up and down twice, then suddenly burst into a snicker. “Lin Qing’an, if you swapped your skin for an animal pelt right now, passersby would definitely mistake you for a baboon.”
Seeing the two of them staring, Duan Xuan continued, “Seriously, why does that monkey’s butt look so red right up top?!”
“Eat this!” Lin Qing’an threw a mock punch, half-amused and half-annoyed, feeling a tickle of embarrassment as he shoved Duan Xuan forward.
Duan Xuan didn’t fight back, leaning into the push and letting his momentum carry him backward until he was caught by Qin Zhiyi standing behind him.
“Zhiyi, look at him bullying me.” Standing 1.87 meters tall, Duan Xuan buried his face in the crook of Qin Zhiyi’s neck, rubbing back and forth and whining playfully.
This was the first time Lin Qing’an had ever witnessed Duan Xuan acting spoiled like this, and he felt a wave of genuine astonishment. The next second, Duan Xuan was punished by an innocent-looking pinch from Qin Zhiyi who, out of Lin Qing’s sight, had clamped his fingers firmly onto the soft flesh around Duan Xuan’s waist, attempting to stop the guy from taking advantage of him in broad daylight.
Since they finally managed to slip away to hang out with Qing’an today, Qin Zhiyi certainly didn’t want to get dragged back to the dorms early where protest was futile and soundproofing made yelling useless.
After much hustle and bustle, afternoon quickly bled into 9:00 PM. An LED mega-screen flashed a one-minute countdown, and surrounded by a dense sea of people, everyone erupted in synchronized excitement, shouting out the final numbers.
“Ten, nine, eight… three, two, one!”
Accompanied by a deafening boom, the very first firework streaked up into the night sky, blooming into a dazzling golden-red floral pattern. Right behind it came the second, the third, the fourth…
Lin Qing’an had no idea how many firecrackers were set off during this grand show; he only knew that the faint, sweet scent of gunpowder hung suspended in the crisp night air, refusing to dissipate.
Multicolored fireworks burst across the midnight canvas, weaving and intertwining into a dreamy, fantastical spectacle.
“So pretty!” Lin Qing’an stared in absolute awe, entirely forgetting to turn off the video recording button on his camera app, accidentally converting what was supposed to be a photo into a moving video.
“Qing’an.”
Qin Zhiyi’s call pulled Lin Qing’an back to his senses. Automatically releasing his grip on the phone, he was instantly grabbed by the wrist and yanked out of the crowd.
“Let’s get out of here, there are way too many people.”
“Got it.”