Chapter 33
Xi Qin’s voice was full of amusement: “What do you want to say?”
“It’s about my cousin and them today, it reminded me of you.” Jiang Zhong added, “That doesn’t sound quite right, I should say, I’ve been reminded of you these past couple of days because of things others have done or said.”
“Really?” The corners of Xi Qin’s mouth lifted high. “Next time you think of me, just message me right away, that way I’ll know.”
“Then I guess I’ll be messaging you 24/7.” Jiang Zhong laughed.
“That’s fine,” Xi Qin glanced at his phone. “I’ll be on 24/7 for you.”
Jiang Zhong leaned against the headboard, looking at Xi Qin’s face on the phone screen, suddenly feeling a bit uncomfortable inside.
Would he and Xi Qin end up like Bai Xuyang and his cousin?
“By the way, what happened with your cousin?” Xi Qin asked.
“Sigh, it’s a long story.” Jiang Zhong sighed. “I’ll tell you when I come see you in a few days. I might be going home the day after tomorrow.”
In the game, xixixi had entered the final circle. Xi Qin was too focused on the game to ask Jiang Zhong much and just replied, “Okay.”
“I’ll head back on my own if it gets too late,” Jiang Zhong said casually while skillfully searching for Xi Qin’s room number on the XX live-stream platform. “Haven’t seen you for a few days, I miss you.”
Xi Qin, deeply absorbed in the computer, didn’t notice Jiang Zhong lower his head in the video, secretly pleased by Jiang Zhong’s words.
Jiang Zhong clicked into “xixixi live room,” and since Xi Qin was completely silent both in the game and out, Jiang Zhong didn’t notice anything unusual at first.
However, when he clicked into the “chat” interface…
【I already said it’s not me seeing people as gay】
【It’s really gay!】
【The little brother’s voice is so sweet】
【I can’t believe I ship a couple in a game live stream】
—
Jiang Zhong: “……”
Jiang Zhong: “Xi Qin, you lied to me!”
Xi Qin’s hand shook, and the enemy took advantage of the moment to eliminate him with a quick burst of bullets.
The game ended, and Xi Qin lost a chicken dinner.
“What?” Xi Qin turned to look at Jiang Zhong, who was glaring at him through the phone.
“You were live-streaming with your mic on,” Jiang Zhong said, both embarrassed and annoyed. “Everyone heard it!”
【Hahaha, Xi Shen crashed!】
【The little brother was spying on the screen!】
【No, no, we didn’t hear anything at all】
—
“I…” Xi Qin, caught in the act, couldn’t make any excuses and quickly exited the game. “Today’s stream is over, thank you for the gifts, bye.”
【…】
【？？？？？】
【Young man, no honor!】
—
“I’m sorry, baby,” Xi Qin said, holding his phone and apologizing to Jiang Zhong in the video for the eighth time after ending the stream. “Next time I’ll tell you if I’m going to turn it on, I won’t lie.”
Jiang Zhong: “Hmph.”
As it turns out, video calling your boyfriend while playing a game does indeed add a buff, but you must never lie to your boyfriend.
Otherwise, when your boyfriend “explodes,” all you’ll get is a chicken dinner.
As Jiang Zhong expected, that evening, Aunt and Uncle, along with Zheng Yinqiu and Bai Xuyang, calmly talked again for half the night.
Although Aunt and Uncle still couldn’t fully accept it, they ultimately decided not to interfere with Bai Xuyang’s love life.
Unfortunately, Zheng Yinqiu, as Bai Xuyang’s aunt, didn’t feel she had the right to control his personal affairs, so during the discussion, she only asked objective questions and didn’t express her opinion.
Jiang Zhong still didn’t know how Zheng Yinqiu viewed the issue of homosexuality, and he felt a bit anxious about whether coming out in the future would go smoothly.
Bai Xuyang’s issue was resolved, and originally, Zheng Yinqiu and Jiang Zhong could have returned the next day. However, Aunt insisted on them staying a few more days, and since Zheng Yinqiu still had some vacation time left, they stayed an extra day before returning.
As the year-end approached, the Jiang family became very busy.
Zheng Yinqiu and Jiang Chengye were busy wrapping up their year-end work, and Jiang Zhong was busy preparing for his boyfriend’s birthday.
When Jiang Zhong received a message from Peng Siyuan, he was alone in the mall, buying a gift for Xi Qin.
【Peng Siyuan: Jiang Zhong, can you help me with something?】
Jiang Zhong was a bit surprised since he wasn’t very close to Peng Siyuan.
【Jiang Zhong: What do you need help with?】
【Peng Siyuan: You should know that tomorrow is Xi Qin’s birthday, right?】
It really was related to Xi Qin.
【Jiang Zhong: Mm, what’s up?】
【Peng Siyuan: I have two birthday gifts for him. Could you help me deliver them to him?】
【Peng Siyuan: I remember your home is in XX district, right?】
【Jiang Zhong: Yes】
【Jiang Zhong: Why don’t you give them to him yourself?】
【Peng Siyuan: I have something to do tomorrow and can’t make it, and I happen to be in XX district.】
【Jiang Zhong: Alright, send me the address and I’ll come by to pick them up tomorrow.】
The next morning, Jiang Zhong took a taxi to the address provided by Peng Siyuan, finding a two-story independent shop with no sign yet installed.
Two electricians were outside installing circuits, and Jiang Zhong’s arrival didn’t distract them, they stayed focused on their work.
Jiang Zhong avoided the scattered wires and fallen wall plaster on the floor and walked through the “front door,” which hadn’t been installed yet.
The interior was spacious, with three or four people gathered in a corner, all wearing dark-colored work uniforms.
Jiang Zhong didn’t immediately recognize who Peng Siyuan was: “Excuse me, is Peng Siyuan here?”
“I’m here.”
Following the voice, Jiang Zhong saw Peng Siyuan holding a tool, applying something to an unknown object in front of him… Jiang Zhong couldn’t tell what it was, but it was certainly some unidentified object.
“Wait a moment,” Peng Siyuan said while continuing to apply whatever it was. “I’ll finish filling this piece and then give it to you.”
“Okay.”
As Jiang Zhong got closer, he realized that the object in front of Peng Siyuan was likely a sculpture, about 1.5 meters tall. It hadn’t taken shape yet, and Jiang Zhong couldn’t tell what it was supposed to be.
What Peng Siyuan was applying was likely resin, which gave off a strong, unpleasant odor.
“Alright,” Peng Siyuan said after finishing, putting down his tool and walking towards Jiang Zhong. “The items are upstairs, come up with me to get them.”
“Okay,” Jiang Zhong said, noticing the white resin on Peng Siyuan’s dark-colored clothes. “So you’re studying sculpture?”
“Yeah,” Peng Siyuan nodded toward the incomplete piece in the corner. “The client is busy wanting the finished product, so I couldn’t spare time to go to Xi Qin’s place.”
“Have you started taking on work already?” Jiang Zhong marveled. “That’s impressive.”
Peng Siyuan humbly shook his head. “Not really, my senior’s been guiding me, and my internship report depends on this.”
“Did you guys start interning in your sophomore year?”
“I’m in my third year,” Peng Siyuan glanced at Jiang Zhong.
“Third year?” Jiang Zhong was surprised. “Then why do you call Xi Qin… I thought you two were classmates before.”
“We were classmates before, in elementary and middle school,” Peng Siyuan said. “But Xi Qin took a year off during high school, so he’s only a sophomore now.”
“Take a year off?!” Jiang Zhong stopped going upstairs and stared at Peng Siyuan. “Xi Qin took a year off during high school? Why?”
“Because of his family,” Peng Siyuan answered vaguely. “In the summer of his first year of high school, something happened at his home, so he stayed home for an entire year and then went back to finish his second year of high school.”
Jiang Zhong frowned tightly. “Wh-what happened?”
“You can ask him yourself later,” Peng Siyuan continued up the stairs. “But if he wants to tell you, he’ll say it. Don’t pry too much. He’s been fine these past few years, anyway.”
Jiang Zhong, following behind him, felt uneasy. “No wonder I have no memory of Xi Qin from high school…”
“Hm?” Now it was Peng Siyuan’s turn to be surprised. “Wait, what do you mean? You and Xi Qin were at the same high school?”
“Yeah.”
Peng Siyuan turned to look at Jiang Zhong’s face, studying it with the same level of seriousness he would when working on facial details of a sculpture.
“What are you doing?” Jiang Zhong asked, confused and cautious.
“Oh~” Peng Siyuan smiled as if he had just realized something. “No wonder you looked a little familiar when I first saw you. So that’s how it is. Tsk tsk tsk.”
“How is it?” Jiang Zhong almost lost his temper.
Staring at someone for a long time, then just saying “tsk tsk tsk.”
How rude!
Peng Siyuan chuckled, then opened the door to an office-like room on the second floor. “Jiang Zhong, do you know what I accidentally saw in Xi Qin’s phone when I graduated from high school, right after your second year ended?”
“How would I know?” Jiang Zhong said, not very interested.
“I saw your photo,” Peng Siyuan handed Jiang Zhong the two gift bags, smiling. “A lot of photos. Tsk tsk tsk.”
Jiang Zhong: “!!!”
Jiang Zhong: “What do you mean?!”
“I had almost forgotten about it,” Peng Siyuan ignored Jiang Zhong’s question. “But when you just said you and Xi Qin were at the same high school, it came back to me.”
“What do you mean?” Jiang Zhong insisted.
“I asked Xi Qin who the person in the photos was,” Peng Siyuan continued, “Do you know what he said?”
“I don’t know!” Jiang Zhong snapped again, “Can you get to the point?”
Peng Siyuan: “…”
Peng Siyuan paused for a moment, then dropped his slow tone and said directly, “He said it was the person he liked.”
Jiang Zhong was silent for a while, squeezing the string of the gift bag. “Really? Is it really me?”
“If you don’t believe it, you can ask him yourself,” Peng Siyuan said.
Actually, Xi Qin didn’t say it quite like that at the time.
Back then, Xi Qin had just come out of a family situation, and his mood was occasionally a bit gloomy.
When Peng Siyuan asked who the person in the photo was, Xi Qin casually flipped through the pictures and recalled how lively and full of energy Jiang Zhong was.
“It’s a little kid from our school. I hear people talk about him every day. Every time I see him, I feel like life is so interesting, and being alive is quite meaningful.”
At that time, Peng Siyuan saw the smile on Xi Qin’s face that hadn’t appeared in a long time, and automatically translated it as “liking.”
However, when he asked again later, Xi Qin shut up about it, and Peng Siyuan thought maybe he had misunderstood.
He never expected that the person in the photo was Jiang Zhong.
It’s funny how fate works—if high school couldn’t stop it, university couldn’t either.
On his way to Xi Qin’s apartment, Jiang Zhong was lost in thought, trying hard to recall if he had ever met Xi Qin in high school. When did they meet? What had happened between them?
He couldn’t believe that Xi Qin liked him for no reason, even though sometimes he was a little narcissistic.
But no matter how much he searched his memories, he couldn’t find any trace of Xi Qin.
The problem was, Jiang Zhong’s high school life had been too colorful. He couldn’t even remember some of his classmates’ names now without thinking for a while, let alone someone like Xi Qin… Well, he still didn’t even know which class Xi Qin had been in.
Xi Qin liked him back in high school?
This made Jiang Zhong a little happy, but more upset.
Why did Xi Qin like him earlier than he liked Xi Qin?
He liked Xi Qin too, but it sounded like Xi Qin liked him a bit more.
What made him angrier was that Xi Qin had never told him!
If Peng Siyuan hadn’t happened to see his photo in Xi Qin’s phone, maybe Xi Qin would have kept it from him forever.
Damn Xi Qin.
Jiang Zhong pressed the elevator button to go up and, while waiting for the elevator, furiously took out his phone and sent a voice message to Xi Qin: “I’m coming up right now, open the door for me quickly!”
Not only did Xi Qin open the door for him in advance, but he also came personally to greet him at the elevator.
Without a word, Jiang Zhong grabbed Xi Qin’s hand and pulled him into the apartment. As soon as the door closed, he dropped what he was holding.
Without even taking off his shoes, Jiang Zhong shoved Xi Qin against the wall in the foyer and angrily said, “I like you, not any less than you like me, do you hear me?”
Xi Qin blinked, not having time to say anything before Jiang Zhong jumped on him and kissed him fiercely.