Twenty-two

By the time I realized what was happening, the unsmoked cigarette in my hand had already burned down to the butt, and the dangling ash almost burned my fingers.

"Thank you... um..." As he walked out of the kitchen, Song Moxiao had just started playing a single-player racing game.

"You're welcome. You can call me by my name; I don't mind." Song Moxiao stared at the TV screen, glancing at him out of the corner of his eye. "You're quite quick to understand."

"Then do you think I have...?"

"No!" The supercar in the picture made a sharp turn, and Song Moxiao's body also leaned to the left.

"No, not exactly, but definitely not before June 9th. If you dare to delay Ning Yi'en's college entrance exam, I'll fly 10,000 kilometers back and beat you to a pulp."

"Never mind... good luck." The race car crossed the finish line, Song Moxiao put down the handlebars, and gave him another meaningful look.

“You only say half of what you mean…” Lu Yunian said somewhat hastily, “Can’t you finish what you’re saying?”

Perhaps it was the long-suppressed seeds of emotion that finally sprouted, and he was eager to know everything about himself.

"So what do you think of Ning Yi'en...?"

Perhaps it was because the topic of conversation was easy to evoke emotions, or perhaps because the two of them were too familiar with each other, Lu Yunian suddenly realized that they had only known each other for less than two hours... friends of friends.

So after a few seconds of deliberation, Lu Yunian swallowed his blunt question and said things that he didn't think were so straightforward.

"Would he... like me?"

Although asking this question doesn't seem very tactful.

"Aren't you two getting along pretty well now?" Song Moxiao said while selecting a level. "Making friends with Ning Yi'en is usually not an easy thing, as everyone around us knows."

"Then I'm not..."

"Not satisfied?" He smiled faintly. "That's fine too. It's a spirit that many people can learn from. Play a game with me, and if you win, I'll tell you something you probably don't know."

“That’s fine.” Lu Yunian sat cross-legged on the floor at the other end of the sofa. “Then I’m determined to get it.”

"Actually, I can tell you now."

On the screen, Lu Yunian once again surpassed Song Moxiao by a large margin.

"Wait two minutes, I'm determined to win."

"Actually... at least in all the time I've known Ning Yi'en, from what I know, in his nineteen years and one day of life, there have been at least two people who liked him, and the one he was attracted to..."

Song Moxiao continued talking to himself, but his eyes remained fixed on the game interface.

This also successfully drew Lu Yunian's attention to what he was saying.

"It's probably zero. There was a discussion on the confession wall before about whether Ning Yi'en has no heart. But actually she does have one, it's just not in terms of feelings."

"Ah, well..." My mind was a little foggy from thinking so much.

“I won.” A golden “win” appeared on Song Moxiao’s half of the screen. He put down the controller. “But I still think you’re the best, classmate.”

Have you ever been in a relationship?

As another game began, Lu Yunian asked Song Moxiao.

"Me? What do you think?"

"Looks like you're quite skilled, maybe..." He pondered for a moment, "No, usually these kinds of people don't play by the rules. I heard from others that there were several posts on the school bot saying that I'm the kind of player who can date three or five girls at once."

"No, actually I have." Song Moxiao's voice sounded sweet as he smiled. "But if you want to ask me about my experience, then you'd better not think about it."

"What? Why?"

Do I look like someone who needs to chase after others?

"He should be back soon. How about we make a bet?"

The game ended with Lu Yunian winning by a narrow margin. As he put down the controller, Song Moxiao asked him a question.

"Sure, what should we bet on?"

"Then let's gamble..."

"I'm back." When Ning Yi'en entered the door, two people stood on either side of the door, staring intently at him.

"Weren't you playing games? Why are you all out here?" He shoved a bag into someone's hand. "Go inside, don't crowd here."

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Ning Yi'en looked at the two of them, puzzled. "What little tricks are you trying to pull?"

"Why are you so quick-witted? Come on in." Song Moxiao put his hand on his shoulder. "Thank you for your hard work, Ning Yi'en. Go and sit down."

"Did you do something to my family that you need to repent for? It's very strange, you know?"

"Oh, did you buy any alcohol?"

"In the bag." Ning Yi'en pointed to the bag in Lu Yunian's hand.

"There's so much, won't you feel unwell tomorrow if you drink it?"

"Are these few bottles enough for Ning Yi'en to drink by herself?"

The three people sat around the coffee table, and Song Moxiao opened the shopping bag.

"That's not enough. Do you want to be a desert camel?" Ning Yi'en pretended to tap him on the head.

"Can you really drink this much?" Lu Yunian squatted on the ground, looking up at Ning Yi'en.

"perhaps……"

“Hmm…” Song Moxiao looked to the left and right. “Even if he drinks twice as much, he won’t be in much trouble.”

"screw you."

"Isn't it...?"

"Eat yours." Ning Yi'en sat on the ground and handed chopsticks to Song Moxiao.

"Okay." He walked around to Ning Yi'en's left and sat down.

"There are drinks in the refrigerator, just help yourself to whatever you want," Ning Yi'en said to Lu Yunian. "Also, it's best not to smoke before June 17th next year."

"Why the 17th? The 17th is almost the day of the high school entrance exam, right?" Song Moxiao interrupted.

"Birthday." He turned his head to look at him again. "You should smoke less too, it's addictive."

"What's wrong with addiction? It's even better when it makes people crave it." He looked at Lu Yunian with a smile. "It's okay, little brother. We'll do it quietly. No, we don't need to do it secretly. We don't need to listen to him at all."

“You,” Ning Yi’en opened a can of wine for him, “didn’t you use this stuff to relieve your addiction because you were addicted before?”

"Oh." He put away his playful expression. "Then you still have to listen to our classmate Ning Yi'en, our anti-smoking ambassador."

"Actually, I still occasionally..." He added a line to defend himself.

"I won't smoke..." Lu Yunian's words were somewhat muffled, and the last half of his sentence was so soft that it was completely drowned out by the game's background music. "I'll listen to you from now on."

“Hey Ning Yi’en…”

Skipping over this topic, the two started bickering again, and Ning Yi'en, sitting between them, felt like she was listening to a crosstalk performance.

"Shh." Ning Yi'en gestured for silence and picked up her phone to answer the call.

"Merry Christmas," came a male voice from the other end of the phone.

Happy first day of your nineteenth year. I've prepared a gift for you to bring back home.

Will you be going back to Jingzhou this year?

"This year... it probably won't work out."

"who?"

"Qi Yun."

Actually, Lu Yunian asked the question subconsciously, but Ning Yi'en still answered him quietly.

“Not my boyfriend.” Lu Yunian looked up and met Song Moxiao’s smiling eyes.

He seemed to see through the thoughts of the young man experiencing his first love, and whispered to him, mouthing the words to him.

...

"Let's leave it at that for now."

"Okay, I'll come visit you guys when I get back. You two look forward to it, um, if he happens to be in the country too. See you."

"goodbye."

"Don't hang up." Just a second before Ning Yi'en pressed the hang-up button, Song Moxiao took the phone from her.

"Someone clearly forgot to send a birthday greeting yesterday and is trying to make up for it during Christmas, isn't that right?"

"Bullshit! I specifically checked the time difference yesterday to make sure it was posted right on time, I can even screenshot it for you."

"Wait, when did I call you?"

"Wait, are the two of you together?"

“Yes, that’s right, the two of us will stay together,” Song Moxiao corrected.

"It's all the same. When did you return to China?"

"I sent you so many messages, did your dog reply for you?"

"Oh, I forgot."

"Are you really not coming back this year?"

"I was going to go back..."

“Go out and play with your new friends.” He raised his voice, “Now that my brother has new friends, he won’t want us anymore…”

"You're crazy." Qi Yun mimicked his tone, "When your father found out you were coming back, he didn't want to come back."

"Alright, alright, go ahead and eat," Ning Yi'en said, snatching her phone away before their friction could ignite a fire that would burn half the earth. "You can have your coffee too. I'm hanging up now."

"Hey!" Qi Yun called out to him again, "I also want to eat Zhuzhou cuisine. Can I bring you over to cook for me?"

"Go ahead and think about it! Even if he makes it for me, will you even get to eat it?" Song Moxiao shouted from the side.

"Get out! We're breaking up."

"Bye-bye-bye, I'm really hanging up." Ning Yi'en didn't give the two a second to argue and decisively hung up the phone.

"I bet a dime," Song Moxiao said, chewing a bite of cucumber, "that they're definitely dating."

"What can you buy with a dime?"

"The loser of that piece gets a lollipop each."

"One yuan and fifty cents, please." Two seconds later, he added, "One for each of the three of us, I can buy you the green apple flavor." He said to Ning Yi'en.

“You’re really generous,” Ning Yi’en said, placing a piece of food on his plate. “I’ll give you another 50 cents, you can have some too.”

"?" Song Moxiao stared wide-eyed at Ning Yi'en. "What do you mean? Fine, forget it. Otherwise, who do you think I'm going to buy it for? Her boyfriend is your boyfriend."

The beer was poured into the glass rather roughly, and the white foam was about to overflow.

"Punish yourself with a drink, Ning Yi'en. There's no love left between us." He feigned two sobs. "And yet I..."

“OK, we can stop now.” Ning Yi’en raised her glass before he could act out his dramatic self. “Cheers.”

"Oh right, you lost just now."

Ning Yi'en went to the kitchen, and Song Moxiao moved a little closer to the middle and said to Lu Yunian.

"Why?" Lu Yunian put down his phone and looked at him. "The outcome is still uncertain."

"I've already given you the first name; you asked for it yourself."

"This counts?! I just thought her voice sounded really familiar." Lu Yunian still wanted to defend himself.

"Volkswagen... or so it is." Song Moxiao chuckled to himself, "Anyway, you lose."

"But the name actually sounds very familiar, I just can't remember it."

"Then you can think about it slowly, anyway, I won."

“What are we comparing?” Ning Yi’en tossed the peeled apple to Song Moxiao. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

"Guess." Song Moxiao started trying to find the right angle to break the apple. "I bet you can guess."

"The knife is in the kitchen." Ning Yi'en watched him grimac as he peeled an apple.

"It's okay, I can drive it." Song Moxiao shook his slightly reddened right hand and prepared to switch to the other hand to continue. "Dreaming back to school, I feel like I've become much younger."

—When Song Moxiao was in his senior year of high school, his younger brother always liked to put some snacks or fruit in his schoolbag every morning.

But he remembered that he was always in class when he wanted to eat, so he simply hid from the teacher and ate secretly, which was a little bit of fun in the boring study.

The challenge of breaking open an apple and randomly distributing it to classmates in front, behind, left, and right takes the fun to another level—if you ignore the fact that you were repeatedly caught by the head of the grade and made to stand at the back of the classroom as punishment.

"Just go back to school for me in a few days. I can experience it directly without having to reminisce."

"Alright, guess now." He stuffed half an apple into Ning Yi'en's mouth. "I don't want to see Zhang Zixu scold me again, and he definitely doesn't want to see me either."

Guess……

Ning Yi'en stared at Song Moxiao for a while, then turned to look at Lu Yunian, who seemed to be lost in thought.

Lu Yunian was pondering why the name seemed familiar, but after only two seconds, his thoughts returned to it—he liked it.

In fact, before today, he hadn't had time to seriously consider these feelings.

Even when I sometimes see couples secretly holding hands on campus and I think for a moment about my own longing for that kind of relationship, I never associate myself with "the man I like" in the slightest.

Even when I see guys around me being intimate with each other, I feel a bit disdainful, even though I know it's just pure brotherhood.

But if everything now needs a reason, he felt that he was Ning Yi'en, and he was willing to stand there, and that was enough.

Sudden,

Without warning,

Ning Yi'en moved closer to him.

What hit me was the sound of breathing and an almost countable number of eyelashes.

"Lu Yunian, your face is so red."

Perhaps because of the alcohol, Ning Yi'en's eyes were red, and her upturned voice was particularly alluring, "What are you thinking about, hmm?"

Lu Yunian didn't have time to examine his exquisitely sculpted face again before Ning Yi'en quickly stepped back, even ruffling his hair in the process.

"Like a puppy."

The world seemed to consist only of his ever-accelerating heartbeat, the faint touch between their shoulders, and the blush on his cheeks extending all the way to the tips of his ears.

like……

He silently watched him, confirming his own thoughts once again.

—So it turns out it was liking.

That's great, I like it.