Huo You avoided his gaze, obviously unwilling to answer.
Lin Zong stared at him for another few seconds, confirming that there was likely nothing more he would say, and remembering that he wanted to go out and play early, he let the matter go.
He pushed Huo You out and stopped at the backyard entrance.
“I need to tell the dog.”
Huo You could not help glancing sideways.
“If everyone leaves the house and no one is left behind, the last person has to say hi to it, otherwise it will get mad,” Lin Zong pushed the door open and swept his gaze across the backyard. “When it gets mad, it will rip the backyard lawn bald.”
Just as he was speaking, he suddenly yelled at the top of his lungs, “Lai!”
Huo You’s heart skipped a beat as he looked at Lin Zong’s back with confusion.
Lai? What was a lai?
He rocked his wheelchair forward and stopped right behind Lin Zong.
To his surprise, Lin Zong mustered his breath and shouted again, “Lai!”
Huo You hesitantly moved forward a bit more. With just ten centimeters left, his foot would touch Lin Zong’s trouser leg.
“Hey!” Lin Zong took two steps forward, still shouting at the top of his lungs, “Lai, lai, lai!”
Huo You sighed, following close behind, until he was pushed to his absolute limit and had no choice but to speak up, “What is wrong?”
“Huh?” Hearing the sound, Lin Zong turned his head back, lowering his gaze to look at him with a face full of bafflement. “Nothing is wrong.”
Huo You: “You kept shouting lai.”
Lin Zong retracted the foot he had just stepped out, burst out laughing, and even laughed so hard he doubled over, supporting his knees with both hands as he continued.
Lin Zong’s unrestrained laughter echoed throughout the entire backyard.
The Border Collie was startled awake, crawling out from behind a tree near the garden wall with a leaf still dangling from its head.
It stood and watched for two seconds before running over with a wagging tail, squatting right in front of Lin Zong, looking as though it was wondering why Lin Zong had suddenly gone crazy.
Naturally, Huo You’s confusion at that moment was no less than the dog’s.
With no other choice, he had to actively question him once more, “What is going on?”
Lin Zong maintained his posture of leaning on his knees, lifted his gaze to look at him, and slowly reined in his laughter.
After a long while.
He finally composed himself, straightened up, took a deep breath, and pointed at the Border Collie. “It is called Lai.”
Huo You: “?”
“You did not hear wrong; my parents’ dog possesses an exceptionally precious single-character ID,” Lin Zong said with squinted eyes and a smile. “Its name is Lai.”
Huo You: “…”
His silence made Lin Zong mistakenly think he did not understand, so Lin Zong scanned the surroundings and pointed at the koi fish swimming in the distant pond. “The lai that swims back and forth.”
Before Huo You could react, Lin Zong clapped his hands and pointed straight at him. “Hey, and your name is Huo You, which has the lai from you-come-you-go.”
Huo You really dared not stay silent anymore, fearing what other random nonsense Lin Zong might spout, so he hurriedly reminded him, “Did you not say you wanted to say hi to Lai? Hurry up and say it so we can leave.”
Lin Zong swept his gaze over him like a scanner.
Saying such a long sentence and acting so impatient really did not sound like him.
It seemed his influence was still too great, so great that Huo You could now string full sentences together.
He self-affirmingly nodded in his heart with satisfaction, then squatted down to bump heads with the Border Collie for a bit and gave it a few parting instructions.
Looking down at the crown of Lin Zong’s head, Huo You suddenly realized that Lin Zong had long eyes, a straight bridge of the nose, and a pair of faint little moles right below his left eye and on his earlobe.
Aside from that, his visible skin was as clean as a blank sheet of paper, just like the person himself.
Huo You understood a little better why he enjoyed Lin Zong’s touch.
Perhaps long before any conscious judgment could be made, his body had already made the clearest choice.
The moment Lin Zong finished talking to the dog and looked up, he caught Huo You’s direct, unmasked gaze.
It was an extremely rare sight.
Yet, Lin Zong frowned.
That look had clearly been lingering for a long time, to the point of being spaced out.
However, Huo You snapped back to reality in an instant, blinking and shifting his gaze elsewhere.
Lin Zong rubbed his face.
Was there something dirty on his face?
Lin Zong closed the backyard door, pushed Huo You through the corridor, and even glanced at his reflection in the full-length mirror near the living room entrance to make sure he was dressed neatly and his face was completely clean.
Then what the hell was he staring at?
The weather outside was mediocre, overcast with heavy clouds, making it look dimmer than usual.
Lin Zong pushed Huo You toward a nearby park. No sooner had they entered through the north gate than a dragonfly smashed right into his face.
“Is it going to rain?” Lin Zong muttered to himself.
Lowering his head, he noticed Huo You’s nose bridge was not visible.
Looking closer, he saw a glowing object in Huo You’s hand.
Lin Zong was far too familiar with this item.
“Did you not say you did not have a phone?” Lin Zong stared menacingly at the crown of Huo You’s head.
Huo You was genuinely startled this time, his fingers trembling slightly. The message he had originally intended to send, “Cannot come,” was accidentally sent as just “Come.”
He was completely jinxed by the word “come” today.
He hurriedly tried to recall the message.
Unfortunately, the other person had already seen it and fired back a rapid response: It is so great that you can come!
Huo You had no choice but to explain.
You_Walking: [Apologies, sent the wrong thing just now. I cannot come.]
“Huo You!” Left hanging for several seconds, Lin Zong threw a minor temper tantrum. “You are actually ignoring me!”
“No,” Huo You had to quickly appease the ruffled-feather Lin Zong and explained, “The phone arrived yesterday after you left.”
Lin Zong rested one arm on the wheelchair’s push handle, his fingertips tapping unconsciously on Huo You’s shoulder. “Really?”
It felt quite comfortable.
Huo You wanted to shift away, but his body refused to move.
“Yeah,” since he had already told one lie, Huo You felt no guilt whatsoever. “You were right, keeping in touch via phone is much more convenient.”
Lin Zong fell silent for a few seconds, let out an “oh,” tapped his finger on Huo You’s shoulder a couple more times, straightened up, and resumed pushing him.
After walking for nearly ten minutes, just when Huo You thought Lin Zong simply wanted to come out for some fresh air, Lin Zong stopped right next to a cluster of seemingly retired grandfathers.
“Wait for me here. If you are bored, you can play on your phone,” Lin Zong’s earlier hint of displeasure vanished, replaced by an expression of pure excitement. “I am going to contend for the chess saint summit.”
Huo You: “?”
Lin Zong did not wait for an answer, squeezing himself directly into the cluster of grandfathers.
The relatively quiet atmosphere was instantly shattered. Lin Zong had a honeyed mouth, greeting each and every grandfather in turn.
Before long, Lin Zong was seated on a small wooden stool belonging to either Grandpa Zhang or Grandpa Wang.
Huo You was quite surprised. He had never expected Lin Zong to enjoy playing Chinese chess.
Moreover, he surveyed his surroundings.
And in an environment like this, of all places.
He had assumed that if Lin Zong liked anything, it would have to be in a quiet, professional setting.
Through the gaps in the crowd, parts of Lin Zong were visible: sometimes his hand, sometimes the lower half of his profile as he bent forward.
Huo You stared for a while and noticed that he liked to pinch his chin when he was deep in thought.
He pressed down quite hard; even through the two-meter-wide gap, the skin looked a bit red.
The phone tucked inside his pocket vibrated.
Huo You pulled it out to check; it was still the same person he had been messaging earlier.
oio: [May I ask why?]
Huo You did not hide it: [My leg is injured.]
oio: [! Is it very serious? I am planning to head over to your side later anyway, can I come take a look? Just a quick look.]
You_Walking: [I am not home.]
Fortunately, staying at Lin Zong’s house right now gave him a polite reason for refusal; otherwise, he would have had to say “no,” which might have sounded a bit too heartless.
oio: [Then where are you? I will come find you. Do not worry, I am not trying to cling to you. My older brother is on a business trip, and before he left, he asked me to bring the money to you.]
Huo You paused, and the words of refusal vanished from his fingertips.
He still urgently needed the money.
Thus, he sent his location and asked: [Can you come right now? Sorry for the trouble.]