Chapter 13
Jiang Zhong was stunned by her question: “Uh…”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean any harm.” Yan Xiaoxing immediately apologized, “I just saw you two together all day, and just now… I couldn’t help but ask. If I offended you, I’m really sorry.”
“It’s fine.” Jiang Zhong straightened up, without answering Yan Xiaoxing’s question, he simply pointed to the barbecue on the table with his chin, “These are already cooked, but you can’t eat them. There are some uncooked ones over there, you can grill them yourself.”
“Okay, okay.” Yan Xiaoxing sensed the “answer” herself and became so excited that she started babbling, “Oh no, it’s fine, you guys eat, I’ll be going now.”
“Alright, take care.” Jiang Zhong said politely.
Yan Xiaoxing waved her hand and walked towards her girlfriends, even hopping a little as she walked.
Jiang Zhong: “…”
Xi Qin: “…”
The two exchanged a glance, then a few seconds later, they both awkwardly turned their heads away.
“Ahem,” Jiang Zhong awkwardly rubbed his nose, “Turns out she didn’t come over to confess.”
Xi Qin chuckled lightly and placed a piece of freshly grilled meat into Jiang Zhong’s bowl, saying, “Who confesses on the first day of meeting someone?”
“Some people fall in love at first sight though,” Jiang Zhong replied.
“Would you?” Xi Qin asked.
“Probably not, at least I haven’t experienced it,” Jiang Zhong said, lowering his head to eat. After a moment, he added, “But when I first met you, I thought you were pretty cool.”
“Really?” Xi Qin asked back, though he was a bit nervous that day.
“Yeah.” Jiang Zhong recalled, “It was the day we started college. You helped me carry my suitcase upstairs, lifted it and just went ahead, totally ‘silent but fierce.’”
“That’s what you consider our first meeting.” Xi Qin smiled slightly, “It wasn’t the first time I saw you.”
“Oh right.” Jiang Zhong looked up at Xi Qin, “Why didn’t you tell me back then that we were high school classmates?”
“How was I supposed to tell you? You didn’t even know me.” Xi Qin glanced at him and smiled, “Was I supposed to say, ‘Wow, you’re Jiang Zhong! The campus star! I’m your fanboy!’?”
Jiang Zhong couldn’t stop laughing, his hand shaking as he held his chopsticks. “Then never mind, if you said that, I definitely wouldn’t think you’re cool. I’d probably want to punch you.”
“I don’t believe that,” Xi Qin said. “You don’t look like someone who would hit anyone.”
Jiang Zhong had never hit anyone, mainly because no one had ever made him want to.
“You look like someone who’s been pampered since childhood,” Xi Qin remarked, “Very innocent.”
“You’re overthinking it,” Jiang Zhong quickly denied, “Any guy over fifteen who seems innocent is just faking it.”
“I didn’t mean that kind of innocent. I meant you’re not malicious.”
“You talk like you’re some kind of villain,” Jiang Zhong replied indifferently. “Did you used to bully people or something?”
“Yeah, I used to bully my… brother a lot,” Xi Qin turned his head slightly, speaking in a low voice, “Pretty much every time I went home, I’d beat him up once.”
Jiang Zhong casually replied, “That’s normal, a lot of brothers are like that. I’ve got a friend who argues with his brother every three days, has a big fight every five days, and they get into a fistfight at least once a week…”
“No, I’m serious,” Xi Qin avoided Jiang Zhong’s gaze. “Once, I even sent him to the hospital.”
Jiang Zhong: “…”
“Is he your biological brother?” Jiang Zhong asked cautiously.
“He’s… my dad’s son,” Xi Qin said with difficulty.
Jiang Zhong more or less understood. It was true what they say… every family has its problems.
Looking at Xi Qin, who kept his face turned away, Jiang Zhong felt a small ache in his heart.
He lightly elbowed Xi Qin, and when Xi Qin turned to look at him, Jiang Zhong raised a piece of meat with his chopsticks and brought it to his mouth, “Ah—”
Xi Qin quietly stared at Jiang Zhong for a moment, then opened his mouth and ate the meat.
“It’s alright,” Jiang Zhong smiled and softly reassured him.
Although Jiang Zhong didn’t know why Xi Qin beat up his brother, he believed Xi Qin wasn’t the type to hit someone without good reason.
Um, no—before Xi Qin mentioned it, Jiang Zhong hadn’t even imagined Xi Qin would ever hit someone. For him to get so angry that he’d hit his brother, that younger sibling must’ve been quite a handful.
—
After nightfall, the group prepared to head back to school. Before leaving, they divided the tasks and cleaned up the area they had used for the day.
There were no classes until the next afternoon, and Jiang Zhong was debating whether to stay at home for the night and return in the morning.
“Look at you,” Xi Qin hadn’t been in the best mood since bringing up that matter in the afternoon. “If you’re tired, just stay tonight. Don’t tire yourself out.”
“Never mind, I’ll go back with you all,” Jiang Zhong said.
The whole day, Xi Qin had stuck close to him, barely talking to anyone else, and had even brought up a painful memory.
If Jiang Zhong stayed at home, Xi Qin might end up sitting in a corner, quietly wiping away tears on the way back.
Though it wasn’t that far, just thinking about it… it made him feel a little sorry for him.
Fortunately, Xi Qin didn’t know what Jiang Zhong was thinking. If he did, he would have definitely forced him to stay and added, ‘You’re overthinking it.’
When they reached the dormitory area at school, the boys and girls had to go their separate ways. Yan Xiaoxing, taking advantage of the confusion, walked up to Jiang Zhong and Xi Qin, clenched her fist and placed it against her chest, and said earnestly, “Good luck!”
Jiang Zhong stared at her speechlessly.
Yan Xiaoxing’s eyes were filled with righteous determination as she encouraged them, “Don’t worry about what others think.”
Just as Jiang Zhong was about to object, Xi Qin responded seriously, “Thank you.”
After she left, Jiang Zhong laughed and said, “What do we need luck for? It’s not like we’re in a competition.”
“She meant well,” Xi Qin replied.
“Yeah, and you actually thanked her,” Jiang Zhong laughed, “Do you even know what she was talking about? And you just thanked her.”
“Of course I know, I’m not dumb. It’s obvious she was shipping us.”
Jiang Zhong: “You even know about shipping?”
“…How ignorant do you think I am? Just because ¹I don’t live under a rock doesn’t mean I don’t know,” Xi Qin shot back.
“No, no,” Jiang Zhong waved his hand, “It’s just that hearing you say that… sounds kinda cute.”
“Also,” Xi Qin glanced at Jiang Zhong, “I heard her ask if we were a couple earlier.”
Jiang Zhong: “…”
True, she had asked that right next to Xi Qin, and she’d only lowered her voice slightly, so of course Xi Qin had heard.
The thing was, Jiang Zhong had purposely dodged the question to avoid answering Yan Xiaoxing, but why couldn’t Xi Qin just pretend he hadn’t heard it? Instead, he just brought it up so openly!
It made things so awkward.
“Seems like she misunderstood something,” Jiang Zhong laughed awkwardly.
Xi Qin made an ambiguous “hmm” sound and softly said, “A misunderstanding, huh?”
Jiang Zhong thought Xi Qin was going to say more, but even after they returned to the dorm, Xi Qin didn’t speak again.
On the contrary, Deng Letian was bursting with excitement: “Jiang Zhong, I didn’t expect you to be a hidden rich second generation! You’re usually so low-key.”
“I’m not a rich second generation,” Jiang Zhong quickly denied. “My family is just an average wealthy family.”
Deng Letian: “…”
Is this explanation for real?
“Anyway, thanks a lot for your ‘selfless contribution.’ We had a great time today.”
Jiang Zhong nodded, “Glad to hear that.”
“But you two, really—” Deng Letian pointed at Jiang Zhong and Xi Qin, shaking his head with a sigh, “You’re both so handsome, you’ll never have trouble finding girlfriends, but still, this was a great chance to make more friends.”
Deng Letian said, “You two are something else, sticking together all day as if there’s a barrier around you, keeping everyone out.”
What a clear perspective from an outsider, Jiang Zhong was starting to feel shy from Deng Letian’s offhand remarks.
Deng Letian continued, “It’s one thing for you to be all lovey-dovey normally, but why can’t you spare a little time for others today? I saw a few girls who are really pretty. You two are practically wasting the opportunity.”
“Especially you, Brother Qin,” Deng Letian turned his focus to Xi Qin. “You can’t keep acting like this.”
Xi Qin: “?”
“Several girls have tried to say hi to you, but you were cold to them. Although a lot of girls nowadays like the aloof type, if they get no response at all, no matter how handsome you are, they’ll lose interest,” Deng Letian said. “I see you and Jiang Zhong can talk just fine. Why can’t you do the same with others?”
Jiang Zhong was really feeling shy now.
Xi Qin thought for a moment and nodded seriously, “Yes, I only act for Jiang Zhong.”
Damn, Jiang Zhong blushed.
Deng Letian wanted to say more, but Xiao Yuan couldn’t stand it and interrupted him, “You should hurry up and calculate how much we spent today. Everyone needs to split the cost, someone brought it up in the group.”
“Oh, okay,” Deng Letian replied.
Since they saved money on the venue rental, the overall expenses were much lower than expected, making it even more affordable when split.
After gathering everyone’s opinions, Deng Letian didn’t have Jiang Zhong share the cost, and naturally, Jiang Zhong didn’t insist.
That night, Jiang Zhong couldn’t help but keep thinking about Xi Qin’s words, ‘I only act for Jiang Zhong.’
Jiang Zhong was sure Xi Qin was doing it on purpose. Tsk, what a flirt—Deng Letian actually called him aloof.
Aloof? Ha.
One gay person saying that to another gay person—how shameless.
But thinking it over, it seemed like Xi Qin’s words weren’t directed at him, he was responding to Deng Letian… flirting with him from a distance, which made it even more flirtatious.
Such rogue behavior. If he weren’t so handsome, Jiang Zhong would definitely…
Jiang Zhong rolled over in bed, troubled, thinking about how he blushed because of that comment, wondering if Xi Qin noticed.
The phone under the pillow suddenly vibrated. Jiang Zhong, eyes closed, didn’t want to deal with it, his head was already a mess, and looking at his phone would definitely keep him from falling back asleep.
“Cough.” Xi Qin, in the bed opposite him, gently cleared his throat.
Jiang Zhong opened his eyes at the sound. He happened to be lying on his side, facing Xi Qin’s bed, and as soon as he opened his eyes, he saw the light from Xi Qin’s phone screen illuminating his face.
Feeling somewhat compelled, Jiang Zhong took out his vibrating phone to check, and saw a message from Xi Qin sent a minute ago:
【Can’t sleep?】
【Jiang Zhong: Hmm, aren’t you?】
【Xi Qin: I was planning to sleep.】
【Xi Qin: I heard you tossing and turning.】
【Xi Qin: What are you thinking about?】
Jiang Zhong certainly couldn’t say he was thinking about whether Xi Qin was into him.
【Jiang Zhong: Not thinking about anything.】
【Jiang Zhong: A little excited.】
After sending the message, Jiang Zhong watched as his phone displayed “The other party is typing” for a long time without receiving a reply. Unable to help himself, he turned to look at Xi Qin’s bed.
It seemed like Xi Qin’s fingers were constantly typing. Jiang Zhong thought, what is he doing?
【Xi Qin: Go to the bathroom to take care of it.】
Jiang Zhong: “?”
Jiang Zhong: “!!!”
【Jiang Zhong: Damn, I didn’t mean that kind of excited!】
—
¹”I don’t live under a rock” means that the speaker is aware of what is happening in the world or current trends.