After leaving the fireworks show, Lin Qing’an and the other two didn’t head back right away; instead, they opted to go to a KTV.
Even though there were only three people in the private room, listening from the outside made it sound like an army of ten thousand troops. The KTV manager paused outside the door for a moment and placated the nervous waiter beside him.
“It’s fine, they’re probably just drunk. Judging by the racket, it doesn’t sound like a fight.”
Lin Qing’an just happened to overhear this remark on his way back from the restroom, and his lips twitched speechlessly.
Good grief, this ungodly ghost-howling actually made the waiter mistake it for a brawl and summon the manager?
Facing the manager and waiter with a polite smile, Lin Qing’an stepped past them and pushed open the private room door.
The moment the door swung open, that wailing screech—tragic enough to rival someone getting beaten blasted out once more. Rolling his eyes inwardly, Lin Qing’an walked over to Duan Xuan, and the two of them sat side by side on the sofa, watching Qin Zhiyi belt out his song with full, unbridled passion.
Song after song, Qin Zhiyi’s enthusiasm showed no signs of abating; if anything, it only grew more fervent.
“Drag him over to drink some water, don’t let him shred his vocal cords.” Lin Qing’an gave Duan Xuan a shove, urging him to stop Qin Zhiyi.
As it turned out, Duan Xuan was just as hyped up as Qin Zhiyi; the two of them ended up harmonizing together, their voices piercing straight through the ceiling.
Fortunately, the private room was stocked with noise-canceling headphones. While they couldn’t completely block out the sonic-boom-level singing, at least it took the sharp edge off the screeching.
Slapping the noise-canceling headphones over his ears, Lin Qing’an let out a massive sigh of relief. At least my eardrums won’t be deafened by tomorrow morning.
Browsing through the videos and photos he had captured earlier, Lin Qing’an picked and chose, managing to salvage only a single video one he had accidentally recorded by mistake.
After forwarding the video to Xie Tingchuan, Lin Qing’an settled in to wait for a reply. Going by the guy’s usual lightning-fast response times, this time would surely be no exception.
However, one minute passed.
Five minutes passed…
Half an hour ticked by, yet Lin Qing’an still hadn’t received a peep from Xie Tingchuan.
Since he wasn’t replying, Lin Qing’an simply stopped waiting.
Reaching for an open bottle nearby, he found it filled with low-alcohol fruit wine that was practically non-intoxicating.
Sweet-and-sour plum wine, fragrant passion fruit wine, rich and mellow grape wine…
“Huh? This smells amazing, it’s the scent of roses!”
Glancing pleasantly at the label on the bottle, Lin Qing’an confirmed it really was rose wine, and the aroma was truly intoxicating.
The passionate singing had ceased at some point. When Duan Xuan and Qin Zhiyi returned to the couch, they found their friend curled up in the corner, holding a wine glass in one hand and a wine bottle in the other, sipping away happily all by himself.
Qin Zhiyi reached out to snatch the bottle away, only to be rebuffed. Clutching the bottle tightly to his chest like a mother hen guarding her food, no matter how Qin Zhiyi coaxed him, Lin Qing’an refused to let go.
“Qing’an, are you drunk?”
“I’m not drunk.” Lin Qing’an smiled softly and shook his head. “My alcohol tolerance is great. Besides, this is fruit wine, low ABV, it doesn’t get you drunk at all.”
“Low ABV or not, Qing’an drank way too much of it.” Duan Xuan surveyed the empty bottles scattered around; at a quick glance, there had to be at least ten of them.
“Qing’an doesn’t usually drink much, what’s got into him today?”
Duan Xuan had asked as a casual remark, but it prompted Lin Qing’an to lift his chin.
“He’s ignoring me.”
Dropping his head in a look of grievance, Lin Qing’an allowed Qin Zhiyi to smoothly confiscate the wine bottle and glass from his hands.
“He’s not replying to my messages at all.”
“Who’s ignoring you?” Duan Xuan asked, before immediately latching onto a possibility. “That online dating partner of yours? You still haven’t broken up with him yet?”
“Alright, this isn’t the time for that.” Supporting Lin Qing’an as he wobbled to his feet, Qin Zhiyi looked at his unsteady gait and squatted down resolutely.
“Hop on, I’ll carry you.”
“No need, I can walk.” Trying to put on his jacket, Lin Qing’an kept missing the sleeves, spinning in circles on the spot.
Qin Zhiyi: “Alright, alright, stop moving and let me help you.”
Once zipped into his jacket, Lin Qing’an staggered toward the exit, making sure not to leave his phone behind.
Stepping out of the KTV, fine snowflakes drifted down from the midnight sky, melting into tiny droplets the moment they brushed against human skin.
Tilting his head back to gaze at the dark sky, Lin Qing’an murmured softly, “It’s really snowing.”
Then, lowering his head, he snapped a quick photo of the snowy scenery and fired it off to Xie Tingchuan.
“It’s snowing, did you see?”
Squatting down by the roadside, snowflakes steadily accumulating across his coat, the cold began slowly gnawing at Lin Qing’an’s body.
Xie Tingchuan, why are you still not replying to my messages?
“So cold.” Standing back up, Lin Qing’an carefully stretched his numb, squatted legs, feeling a bit more sober now that the freezing wind had bitten through him. He turned to his worried friends and spoke up.
“It’s getting late, let’s head back.”
“Let’s go, Qing’an. Tonight, Duan Xuan and I will stay over with you.” Still uneasy, Qin Zhiyi refused to let go.
Shaking his head, Lin Qing’an let out a yawn and flatly rejected the offer. “No need, my buzz has pretty much worn off. I’m going straight to bed once I’m back, and I’ll call you guys if anything comes up.”
Duan Xuan frowned slightly. “Are you really going to be fine?”
“It’s fine,” Lin Qing’an flagged down a passing taxi and said to the two of them, “You guys head back yourselves, I’m taking off.”
“Wait, I’m still not con—”
Before Qin Zhiyi could finish his sentence, the taxi had already sped away.
“Is he really going to be alright by himself?”
“It’ll be fine, he’s a grown man, is he going to vanish into thin air?” Duan Xuan wrapped an arm around Qin Zhiyi’s shoulders. “If you’re still worried, just give him a call later to check if he made it home safely.”
Qin Zhiyi nodded. “That’s all we can do.”
“Zhiyi, we’re not heading back to the dorm tonight, remember?” Duan Xuan murmured, resting his heavy head against the crook of Qin Zhiyi’s neck. His hot breath brushed against Qin Zhiyi’s earlobe, watching the flawless jade-white skin flush a delicate pink, and Duan Xuan’s lips curled into a satisfied smirk.
“I checked the map earlier, there’s an inn right around the corner, I’ve already booked a room.”
Arriving at the hotel shortly after, Qin Zhiyi dialed Lin Qing’an’s number.
“Qing’an, made it home yet?”
“I’m at the complex.” Flipping his phone screen to show the security guard, Lin Qing’an replied, “See the security guard? I’ve made it back safe and sound, so you can stop worrying.”
“Alright, let me or Duan Xuan know if anything comes up.”
“Yeah, hang up now.”
Ping. The elevator paused on the fifth floor, but instead of stepping out, Lin Qing’an pressed the button for the sixth floor.
Perhaps driven by the alcohol, Lin Qing’an found himself harboring an intense, overwhelming urge to see Xie Tingchuan tonight.
Usually, the guy was a second-replier; why on earth had he ignored his messages all evening?
Had he grown tired of “Xiao Qinggan”?
Ping. The sixth floor arrived.
Knock, knock, knock.
“Is anyone there? Xie Tingchuan, open the door!”
“Xie Tingchuan, hurry up and open the door…”
As it happened, New Year’s Day was a lively, bustling occasion, and Xie Tingchuan’s night was no different.
The group of friends who had originally planned to go out for dinner had temporarily relocated their gathering to Xie Tingchuan’s apartment, where they lively cooked hotpot and gamed together.
Unfortunately, Xie Tingchuan’s luck seemed thoroughly abysmal tonight; he lost more rounds than he won, and even suffered a temporary confiscation of his phone.
The exact second the door was knocked upon, Xie Tingchuan was still locked in negotiations with Sheng Jun, trying to force his little cousin into returning his phone.
“Hold on, I’ll go check the door. Keep it down you guys, probably a neighbor complaining about the noise.”
Striding over to the entryway, Xie Tingchuan swung the door open, only for a warm, pliant body to tumble straight forward against him by momentum. Reflexively, Xie Tingchuan reached out to catch the intruder.
A heavy reek of alcohol washed over him. Taking in the flushed face, Xie Tingchuan frowned instinctively.
“Lin Qing’an? Did you take the wrong floor? Your apartment is one floor down.”
“I didn’t.” Trying to stand straight, Lin Qing’an felt like he had turned boneless, his hands gripping tightly onto Xie Tingchuan’s forearms. Yet, lacking the strength of sobriety, he could only lean his weight entirely against the other man for support.
“谢庭川, I came to see you.”
Xie Tingchuan tried to steady him on his own two feet, finally giving up after a few failed attempts and settling for supporting him with one hand while guiding him to sit down on the entryway shoe-bench.
“What do you want?”
I want to be friends with you.” Lifting his chin to gaze up at Xie Tingchuan, Lin Qing’an reached out tentatively as if wanting to catch the man’s arm, only to pull his hand back right before making contact.
I can’t get that close, physical contact is forbidden.
A sour ache surged straight to the bridge of Lin Qing’an’s nose, prompting a tiny sniffle as warmth flooded his eye sockets. He furiously sniffed again, trying his absolute best to press down the bitter sting rising in his chest.
Yet grievances and unspoken stubbornness kept egging him on, roaring inside his mind. Lin Qing’an struggled for a long, hard moment before finally choking out a single sentence to Xie Tingchuan.
Why don’t you want to be friends with me?”
Of all the things Xie Tingchuan expected, this wasn’t one of them. He simply felt that his neighbor was acting completely out of his mind.
First came the inexplicable, stubborn insistence on wanting to be friends, followed abruptly by total radio silence refusing to acknowledge him even when passing on the street. Fine, if you don’t want to be friends, whatever.
Later on, he started shooting him all sorts of bizarre, unreadable glances that left him completely baffled, occasionally earning him a few cold glares for good measure.
Harmless enough, completely painless, so Xie Tingchuan hadn’t given it much thought.
And now, here he was, roaring drunk in the middle of the night, demanding to be friends all over again, and interrogating him over why he refused!
Weren’t you the one flip-flopping all over the place?!
Quite exasperated, Xie Tingchuan walked into the kitchen, poured a glass of water, and handed it over.
“Drink some water and head back down.”
Pausing mid-sip, Lin Qing’an asked, “So you’re not going to be friends with me?”
Letting out a dry chuckle, Xie Tingchuan found the persistence genuinely amusing.
Leaning in with curiosity, he asked, “Why are you so hell-bent on being friends with me?”
“Because you look good, I like you, and I want to be friends with you.”
Snorting softly, Xie Tingchuan took the cup right out of Lin Qing’an’s hand, set it on the rack, and hauled Lin Qing’an to his feet by the arm.
“Let’s go, I’ll walk you back.”
“I don’t wanna walk, you still haven’t agreed to be my friend.”
Shaking his head, Lin Qing’an clung desperately to Xie Tingchuan’s arm. Through the thin fabric of his hoodie, he could clearly feel the compact, powerful contours of solid muscle—warm and robust.
Lin Qing’an knew it wasn’t just powerful; those muscle lines were absolute perfection, as proven by the countless bathroom selfies Xie Tingchuan had sent him revealing that his physique was genuinely top-tier.
“Alright, alright, I’ll walk you down first.”
Dragged forcibly back to his apartment, Lin Qing’an still kept a death grip on Xie Tingchuan’s arm, whimpering aggrievedly,
“So, did you agree or not?”
Taking in his pitiful, bullied-bunny expression, Xie Tingchuan suddenly felt a playful urge to tease the drunkard.
“Agree to what?”
“Agree to be friends.”
Shoving his hands deep into his pockets with an attitude that screamed what are you gonna do about it, Xie Tingchuan tilted his chin down toward Lin Qing’an. “What if I refuse?”
“What if?” Lin Qing’an repeated stupidly, having never once considered what he would do if Xie Tingchuan flatly rejected his friendship.
Turning it over and over in his alcohol-addled brain, he couldn’t come up with a single viable solution.
Noticing his hesitation, Xie Tingchuan raised an eyebrow and repeated, “Yeah, what if?”
“What if I don’t want to be friends with you?”
“It’s fine, it’s totally fine.” Mumbling as he slid slowly down the door panel, Lin Qing’an kept repeating the same words over and over under his breath.
“It’s fine, it’s really fine…”
Stepping back agilely to avoid getting crushed, Xie Tingchuan looked down at the closed door before him, rubbing his nose in lingering suspense. That was close, almost got my nose smashed by the door.
Chuckling softly and shaking his head, Xie Tingchuan turned around and climbed the stairs back up to the sixth floor.