23

"Ning! Yi! En!"

“Hmm,” Ning Yi’en turned to look at him, “How was it? Did I guess right?”

"How dare you laugh!" Song Moxiao glared at him. "We're breaking up! Immediately! Right now!"

"Just tell me if it's right or wrong."

"Shut up!" Song Moxiao stood up and shook Lu Yunian's shoulder, who was staring blankly across from him. "Brother, let me tell you, people like this—who are fickle, ungrateful, and opportunistic—even if they're as handsome as an angel, don't be attracted to them..."

“You’re drunk,” Ning Yi’en said, pulling him down to sit and turning to look at Lu Yunian. “Don’t listen to him.”

“You’re drunk…” Song Moxiao wanted to say something more to Lu Yunian, but he suddenly stood up and ran away, leaving the other two looking at each other in bewilderment.

"Where is he going?" Song Moxiao asked.

"I don't know," Ning Yi'en shook her head.

"So I guessed right after all."

“Yes, yes, yes!” Song Moxiao reached out his hand to him. “But I need an explanation.”

"Didn't he just lose? I was thinking I had to make sure you tied."

"Nonsense! But I still won, because we bet on the other side." He smiled smugly. "I understand. Actually, Ning Yi'en's scales always tip in her favor..."

"What does this have to do with scales? Are you really drunk..." Ning Yi'en stood up. "He didn't take his clothes, I'll take them back to him."

"Sigh..." He let out another long sigh. "I'll never play this kind of game again, where you seem to win but actually lose completely."

"Hey, Yan..." Just as Lu Yunian ran back to knock on the door, Ning Yi'en opened it.

Perhaps because he had just leaned against the door, he almost fell into Ning Yi'en's arms. Fortunately, he reacted quickly and grabbed the door frame to steady himself.

Wait, is this considered "fortune"? — Lu Yunian suddenly thought.

But he didn't have much time to ponder these rather useless questions, because...

He and Ning Yi'en are now very close again.

"Why did you suddenly run away?" Ning Yi'en took a small step back. "Why aren't you wearing a coat?"

“It’s nothing,” he smiled, “it’s just a few steps, no problem…”

"...not...big."

This isn't a major problem, but something seems amiss—

Just as Lu Yunian was speaking, Ning Yi'en suddenly had the idea to put her coat over Xingxing's head, but perhaps she underestimated the weight of the coat. When she threw it up, both of them were covered up inside.

The motion-activated lights in the hallway had gone out at some point, and the light from the living room spilled over, making his eyes visible in the dim space.

The cold wind outside seeped in, but all Lu Yunian could feel was Ning Yi'en's breath so close to him, and his own incredibly hot heartbeat.

"I...I..." Lu Yunian didn't know what to say for a moment, and just kept looking at him.

Neither of them moved.

Perhaps it was just his imagination, but Lu Yunian felt that they were getting closer and closer. He really wanted to hug him and feel his body temperature and heartbeat, but it was clear that now was not the time.

But... will there really be a good opportunity in the future?

"If only I had drunk with them, that way even if I impulsively hugged him and he pushed me away, I could justify it by saying it was the alcohol," Lu Yunian thought with a hint of regret for a second.

"Hey! His phone too..." Song Moxiao leaned out from the sofa, holding up his phone, and saw this scene.

"Sigh..." He frowned and prepared to sit back down silently.

"Yanyan..." Both of them heard the commotion inside. Lu Yunian carefully raised his hand and wrapped the clothes around Ning Yi'en's head. "I'm sorry."

“You didn’t do anything wrong, so I should be the one apologizing.” Ning Yi’en reached out and ruffled Lu Yunian’s hair, which was flattened by his clothes. “It’s too cold, come in.”

"I'd better go back first... Honey, you can make some to drink after you finish drinking." He stuffed a bottle of honey into Ning Yi'en's arms, put on his clothes, and tried to run away as fast as he could.

"My phone!" Song Moxiao shouted helplessly from inside.

"Thank you." He quickly ran back in, grabbed the phone, and said, "You guys can play with the controller first. You can return it anytime."

"Goodnight then." Ning Yi'en looked at him, a smile playing on her lips.

They're kind of cute, silly little kids.

Lu Yunian took a shower and lay in bed tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. But no matter whether he opened or closed his eyes, all he could see in his mind were those deep brown eyes.

So beautiful...so handsome...so attractive...

Since he was awake anyway, he simply got dressed and took a walk to the riverbank alone.

Zhuzhou was already quite cold at the end of December, and the river wind at night was especially biting.

The cold wind gradually calmed him down.

—When my heartbeat calms down, I realize that liking you is neither an impulse nor a passing fancy.

However, he has no plans for the next step, or rather, he is afraid that moving closer will only lead him further away.

It was still too cold outside, so he pulled his coat tighter. He wanted to go to a quiet bar by the river, but unsurprisingly, he was turned away because he was underage.

It doesn't matter.

He shrugged and, as a second choice, pushed open the door of the 24-hour convenience store next door.

Perhaps because it was Christmas, and it was a Friday, plus this is considered the city center, there were still quite a few people on the street at this time.

Lu Yunian casually bought a bottle of soda and wandered out onto the street—he ordered himself not to think about it anymore, at least not now.

Lu Yunian stared blankly at his scarf, wondering if it was just his imagination, but he felt that his clothes and scarf were now covered with the faint lemon scent of Ning Yien's house.

"Sorry." Distracted for a moment, I bumped into someone.

"Eh..."

Two minutes later, the two were sitting in the convenience store.

"Thank you." Qiao Song took a small bottle of wine and mixed it with juice to drink.

"It's okay, you're Ning Yi'en's friend, so you're my friend too." Lu Yunian gave a standard toothy smile.

"Wow!" Qiao Song turned around and looked him over.

Lu Yunian didn't quite understand what he meant. "If it's not good... just consider it as me wanting to be friends with you."

“No,” Qiao Song said, seeing that he seemed to have been misunderstood, but he was too lazy to explain. He raised his glass and said, “Cheers, friend.”

"Does Senior Qiao study locally?"

"I had originally planned to come back to Jingzhou to celebrate Christmas with someone."

"Oh, that's so wonderful."

Yes, I also hope to be that happy...

Qiao Song thought for a moment, then took a big gulp of wine, not uttering the discouraging words, "Actually, I stood you up, but I still wanted to come back and see, maybe I'll be luckier..."

"Let's not talk about this anymore... Can we change the subject?" Qiao Song took another sip of wine and smiled helplessly.

“Let’s try something else…” Lu Yunian thought for a moment, “Well… I have a friend.”

"Hmm, what's wrong?"

"My friend!"

Lu Yunian suddenly realized that he seemed to subconsciously feel nervous whenever he was around people or things related to Ning Yi'en.

Moreover, it seems that this has been the case for a long time.

“My friend, he… he’s always been straight.”

"Um."

You think you're straight? Qiao Song silently highlights the key points for him in her mind.

"But today he suddenly realized that he actually likes men."

"Mmm, and then?"

"And then...?" Lu Yunian asked, puzzled. "Just liking someone is... shocking enough."

"So what? He likes you, that's all. It just means he's not straight anymore." Qiao Song smiled at him. "Being straight before isn't a terrible crime."

"Huh?" Lu Yunian opened his mouth, "That's not what I meant..."

“I understand, but society is much more enlightened now,” he said, tapping his cup rhythmically with his fingers. “When I first met you, I thought you were already Ning Yi’en’s boyfriend. I never imagined you were a feudal kid with a mindset from the last century.”

"Is it really that obvious?!"

"Really, it's that obvious."

"I have to say, you have pretty good taste," Qiao Song teased him with a smile after a long while. "But the difficulty level must be off the charts."

“Then I…” Lu Yunian tentatively cast a pleading look at him.

"Given my past romantic experiences and current situation," Qiao Song shook her head, "giving you advice would probably only make things worse. Just follow your heart and don't leave yourself with regrets."

"Okay." He clinked glasses with him. "Thank you."

"When are you planning to go back?" Ning Yi'en brought out two glasses of honey water from the kitchen.

"Probably after New Year's Day."

"What are the plans for the rest of the time?"

“I’m planning to…” Song Moxiao pretended to think seriously for two seconds, “and just stay at your house and freeload off you.”

"So, are you happy to see me?" When Ning Yi'en handed him the cup, he looked up at him with wide eyes.

“Sure,” Ning Yi’en smiled. “Let’s keep you here and not go back to China.”

“What do you mean by returning home! Please watch your words, sir,” he mimicked the tone of a dubbed translation. “I am leaving my homeland! I am going to a foreign land without hesitation.”

"Yes, Mr. Song, you've worked hard."

"Okay, I was just kidding. I'm going to my aunt's house tomorrow morning, and I plan to take the high-speed train to Yuhang in the afternoon."

He looked up at the empty ceiling: "When I was little, my mom often told me how much she loved that place and how much she wanted to take me there to settle down... but I still haven't been there yet."

Ning Yi'en reached out and patted his back reassuringly, and he waved his hand dismissively, "Hey! That was so long ago, I'm fine."

“Then…” he folded his fingers, “I’ll go back to Jingzhou to see my mom. You should go back for New Year’s Day too.”

"Hmm, let's go see Grandpa."

"Ning Yi'en," the main light in the living room was turned off, leaving only a small table lamp, and the TV screen was switched to playing a heartwarming movie, "I might not come back often in the future. Do you think you can all forgive me?"

“I’ve never blamed you, and you’re not allowed to blame yourself, do you hear me?”

"Mmm~ Little Nie, you're so nice. We'll be best friends forever."

“Okay, Yu Yu.” Ning Yi’en tilted her head and smiled.

"Hey! I said no... Okay, I called you by your name first, so I forgive you."

"If we were kittens, this name wouldn't be so bad," he suddenly said, his thoughts drifting. "At least... after diligently grooming themselves, their fur really does get clean. Sometimes I don't understand it; we try so hard, yet it still..."

"This won't be the outcome, it won't be."

“That’s true,” Song Moxiao was probably a little drunk, his thoughts were jumping around unusually, “As for the cat owner, why not just give such tiring work to Qi Yun, since humans do it so hard?”

11:58

The movie was still playing.

Ning Yi'en sat under the desk lamp, quietly flipping through the novel.

Song Moxiao wrapped himself up tightly in the blanket, only his eyes showing as he watched TV absentmindedly.

"Ning Yi'en, it's so wonderful to spend Christmas with you, even with a third wheel, it's still wonderful."

“Okay,” Ning Yi’en selectively ignored the third wheel issue, “We’ll be happy forever from now on.”