Hearing Lin Zong’s tone full of interest, Huo You felt a little more at ease.
He guessed Lin Zong’s parents wouldn’t have such a peculiar decoration aesthetic either.
Huo You continued rinsing. To avoid getting the cast wet, he could only keep his leg lifted, and this posture wasn’t easy.
The doorway fell silent, and before long, another shadow appeared on the glass.
He didn’t know which part of his body Lin Zong had leaned against the door this time.
Something that should have taken ten minutes to resolve ended up taking half an hour. After finishing his shower, Huo You let out a long sigh of relief.
His leg had been lifted the whole time until it was completely sore, and it felt a bit itchy too.
Huo You slowly moved toward the door, seeing that the small patch of shadow on the door was still there, and he hesitantly knocked on the door.
There was no movement outside.
Huo You waited a few seconds, then gently twisted the knob.
The bathroom door opened inward. Huo You lowered his gaze, and a fluffy black ball tumbled inward along with the door.
The position wasn’t very ideal.
Hadn’t Lin Zong already slept for a whole day?
How could he fall asleep even while sitting on a low stool?
Huo You watched helplessly as his head dropped toward his crotch, and his entire body turned to stone.
If his leg were still fine, he definitely could have dodged, but right now, they had already collided.
Before Huo You could even feel awkward, something even more suffocating arrived, as the culprit opened his eyes.
Lin Zong felt his forehead go a bit numb and even hurt.
Just now, it seemed like he suddenly stepped on empty air, his body swayed, and he even felt like he had hit something, which jolted him awake.
Lin Zong groggily raised a hand, wanting to figure out what was wrong with his forehead.
A harsh warning suddenly came from above his head: “Don’t move.”
Lin Zong: “?”
How dare someone speak to him like that?
Unless he was willing to, no one could order him around.
Lin Zong’s brain was still asleep and full of rebellion, so he raised his hand and pressed it right against his forehead.
The back of his hand brushed against unfamiliar fabric, still somewhat warm.
Half a second later, that warmth scrambled backward in a fluster.
Lin Zong slowly raised his head, and met Huo You’s trembling eyes.
Especially on the blue side, even with his hundred-degree nearsightedness, Lin Zong could tell that his pupil had visibly contracted.
Huo You tilted his head to avoid Lin Zong’s gaze, his ears burning hot, and even his breathing was faster than usual.
Just as he thought.
It felt great.
Even through his athletic shorts, and even with the awkward position, any physical contact brought a wonderful sense of comfort.
Huo You scolded himself fiercely in his heart.
How could he be so perverted?
Lin Zong didn’t take his avoidance to heart. Looking down, he saw a pure white long-sleeve shirt, nothing special.
Moving further down, Huo You had changed into shorts for his lower body.
Since he was still sitting down, looking straight across presented nothing but Huo You’s legs.
“Your legs…” Lin Zong wanted to ask if his legs were okay, but as soon as the words left his mouth, they turned into, “are quite long.”
Huo You steadied the door.
Lin Zong belatedly realized something was off, quickly stood up, and scratched his cheek. “Sorry, I accidentally fell asleep.”
Huo You closed his eyes for a moment, nodded, and grabbing onto the door frame, edged around him to head outside.
Lin Zong pushed the low stool aside with his foot and considerately stepped forward to offer support.
But for some reason, Huo You’s avoidance this time was extremely obvious.
Lin Zong looked at his own hand suspended in mid-air.
He was rejected.
Yet again!
Lin Zong ground his teeth. He had a little anger building up that he needed to vent!
“Lin Zong,” Huo You walked over to the desk, sat down, turned to look over, and with a slightly raised corner of his mouth, solemnly said, “Thank you.”
Hiss.
Huo You smiled again. He actually knew how to smile.
But why was it a thank you again?
Thanking a machine.
Lin Zong curled his lip. Whatever, he would vent this little anger next time.
Huo You’s pre-sleep work was already finished, so Lin Zong didn’t need to wait on him anymore and withdrew from Huo You’s room.
Li Jianbing had just finished walking the dog and was wiping its paws in the backyard.
Lin Zong passed by and tossed out a question: “Games?”
“Sure,” Li Jianbing tilted his head. “But we can’t stay up all night. I have to go home tomorrow, or else my mom and dad are going to transfer my household registry over to Uncle and Auntie.”
“Go ahead and transfer it,” Lin Zong smiled. “Anyway, I already have an extra brother, one more won’t make a difference.”
The dog was cleaned up, and Li Jianbing patted its butt. “Come on, go back to sleep.”
The Border Collie let out a woof and trotted toward its small wooden house with the clean ball in its mouth.
Li Jianbing walked closer and whispered in a low voice, “Did you really wash him?”
With that familiar shady tone, Lin Zong glanced at him and raised an eyebrow: “Spit it out.”
“Hey, hey, hey, keep it down,” Li Jianbing hooked his arm around Lin Zong’s neck, holding him hostage as they entered the bedroom, before continuing to ask, “What’s his figure like?”
Lin Zong walked over to the window, plopped down into the single-seater armchair, and stretched lazily. “What kind of focus is that?”
“I’m asking for a friend,” Li Jianbing said. “Haven’t you noticed he always dresses so tightly? Everyone’s curious.”
“Who’s the friend?”
Li Jianbing kept his mouth shut.
“Your favorite Chinese rose?”
Li Jianbing corrected him: “The class belle!”
“You’re spying on another man’s physique for the person you like?” Lin Zong clapped in amazement. “Congratulations, you’ve managed to become ‘just bros’ once again.”
Li Jianbing paused, pretending to spit out a large mouthful of blood, and pressed both hands against his chest: “My rose is bleeding.”
“I don’t know,” Lin Zong answered his question anyway. “Didn’t look.”
“Hey, you’re not being a good buddy here.”
“I really didn’t look.”
Lin Zong’s every word was the truth, but Li Jianbing looked like his paranoia was acting up and simply refused to believe it.
To squeeze out the truth, he even resorted to a scheme.
The two of them continued playing yesterday’s game.
When the game reached its most tense part, Lin Zong was utterly focused: “Hold on, wait until I plant my feet before you move your leg. Hey, no, no, if we slide down at this angle, we’re going river-rafting straight back to grandma’s house.”
“I know, I know,” Li Jianbing replied repeatedly, then abruptly shifted the topic: “What is Huo You’s figure like, though?”
Lin Zong was genuinely speechless.
“Don’t you really think your question is super weird?”
He hadn’t quite figured out what was so weird about it yet.
Li Jianbing blinked in thought for a moment: “I guess it is a little?”
“Glad you know,” Lin Zong threatened him with a fake smile. “From now on, you aren’t allowed to say anything unrelated to the game, or I’ll beat you up.”
Li Jianbing raised a hand to zip his lips shut.
The two battled until past two in the morning and still failed to clear all the levels.
The next morning.
Li Jianbing went home, his mom and dad went to work, and the entire house was left with only Lin Zong, Huo You, and the dog in the backyard.
After waking up, Lin Zong played games for a bit, but always felt bored and wanted to go out for a stroll.
But freedom wasn’t quite like before; his parents had given instructions that going out was fine, but he had to take Huo You with him.
He couldn’t let him feel lonely, nor could he leave him stranded without help when he needed it.
Lin Zong didn’t want to bring him along, but he couldn’t bring himself to leave him all alone at home.
If only their dog knew how to take care of people.
Lin Zong even dug out the yo-yo he had been obsessed with a couple of years ago and played with it for over an hour before finally losing his patience and knocking on Huo You’s bedroom door.
With a click, the door opened.
“Going out to play?” Lin Zong went straight to the point.
Huo You looked down at his own leg: “Play?”
“Yeah!” Lin Zong’s eyes shone brightly, making it hard for anyone to refuse.
“Alright.”
“Huh?” Lin Zong’s paranoia flared up too; he stroked his chin and looked at him suspiciously. “Suddenly so agreeable?”
“Just in time.” Huo You didn’t want him digging for the bottom of it and found an excuse. “To see someone.”
Lin Zong gave an “oh,” leaned in close with a thoughtful expression, and pressed on: “Who?”