Chapter 22

On New Year's Eve, the surrounding commercial areas became increasingly noisy, but the quiet DL base was also busy. Colorful lights were hung at the gate, and the large terrace on the high floor was decorated with sparkling lights.

The so-called brand event, to put it bluntly, is to give the players a chance to relax. The five teenagers were originally immersed in their daily training, but as soon as they stepped onto the terrace, they suddenly felt the New Year approaching, and realized that the year had come to an end.

Le Anyi got into the mood instantly, walked forward, took out a can of soda, shook it wildly, and first sprayed the terrace with sweet fragrance.

Qu Xing felt a few splashes of water and quickly dodged backwards with a smile. He also subconsciously used Ling Yin to block it with malicious intent. When he had blocked it halfway, he suddenly realized that it was his idol.

Ling Yin and Qu Xing paused at the same time.

Ling Yin is unable to grasp Qu Xing's fickle standards. Qu Xing is simply moved.

Inexplicably, the scent and body temperature he hadn't noticed just now began to penetrate his pores again. Qu Xing suddenly loosened his grip and smoothed out the wrinkles on Ling Yin's clothes like wiping dust off a valuable ornament. Then he quietly moved away and stayed close to Jiang Lin.

Ling Yin glanced at him sideways, his face calm, and took a deep breath kindly.

The staff bustled around setting things up. Zhou Si helped put up the brand logo. Li Furui set up his camera not far away and then, as if by magic, disappeared instantly: "I'm starting filming."

No one noticed at all.

After everyone was seated, Zhou Si picked up a stack of cards and said, "As you can see, today is a brand event. But everyone should eat and drink. Before we start, let's play a little game."

Everyone's eyes turned to him. Ling Yin stared blankly at the table, indifferent. Qu Xing pulled Jiang Lin to sit on the other side. Not long ago, she even insisted on squeezing in with him on the bus, but now she was trying every possible way to avoid him. It was obvious that she was avoiding him.

"German Heart Attack. Ever played it?" Zhou Si began to deal the cards. "Our deck is custom-made, with brand-name icons on it."

"Everyone takes turns placing cards down. When five identical elements are gathered on the field, a bell is rung. The first person to ring the bell scores."

Zhou Si waved his hand and took the five childish little gift bags from yesterday. He suddenly laughed and said, "The four people with the lowest scores will wear designated accessories throughout the whole process."

"What?" Le Anyi shouted, "That means only the first place winner doesn't have to wear it."

Zhou Si: “That’s right.”

Qu Xing's memory of the rabbit ears resurfaced. He glanced at Ling Yin with a wicked smile, and happened to meet Ling Yin's focused gaze.

!

Qu Xing quickly looked away.

“…”

Ling Yin gritted his teeth and took a deep breath again.

The game begins.

Le Anyi put down the first five cards. He hurriedly pressed the bell, only to hear a ding. Qu Xing's hand had already brushed against his palm and was withdrawn.

"Is this how you play it?" Qu Xing looked up and asked.

Zhou Si nodded: "What a quick reaction."

Qu Xing smiled and said, "You guys, just wait and watch."

The second round begins.

Ling Yin didn't even look at the cards, staring absentmindedly at Qu Xing's hand. This hand was the source of his heartbeat a year ago. She was so beautiful, yet she dared to flaunt it in front of him so brazenly, and not only flaunt it, but she also had to stay away from it.

The atmosphere grew increasingly tense. Everyone held their breath as they placed their cards, pausing for a moment until Ling Yin placed his. A clamor erupted in the scramble for the bell. Unfortunately, Qu Xing, with his quick reaction like a reincarnated cat spirit, was still the first to swat the bell. Ling Yin, whose eyes hadn't left his hand, reacted second. His target wasn't the bell at all; he instinctively reached out, brushing his palm against the back of Qu Xing's hand before retracting it.

The feeling was different from what Le Anyi had just touched. The place where Ling Yin touched seemed to be particularly itchy, and then it began to burn from the inside out.

Qu Xing felt like he was going crazy from the inside out.

He lowered his eyes and calmly covered the back of his hand. While he nonchalantly watched everyone place their cards, the other half of his brain was already wandering, so confused that he didn't know what he was thinking.

Soon, the five elements were gathered again. Qu Xing was the first to ring the bell again, and Ling Yin covered his hand with his entire hand instead of just grazing his fingertips across it.

Qu Xing was stunned.

Ling Yin was also a little confused. His fingertips curled up subconsciously, and then he withdrew his hand as if nothing had happened.

"How can we play this!" Le Anyi was dissatisfied: "Can we take Qu Xingcha out?"

"Don't be as skilled as others." Zhou Si smiled and said, "It's not over yet. If you lose, you will lose."

Le Anyi complained that cheating like Qu Xing would make the game less competitive, but he discovered that Qu Xing was starting to slow down.

He grabbed the bell and looked at Qu Xing's hand, which fell to the side hesitantly, in confusion.

Qu Xing made up a story: "I didn't see it clearly."

"oh."

In the next round, Ling Yin was the first to take the photo. Qu Xing had already picked up a skewer of meat and started eating it, looking like he had given up. Meeting Le Anyi's puzzled gaze, Qu Xing said, "I'm hungry."

Le Anyi thought that Qu Xing was being considerate of them, the rookies, and said with a grin, "You're so sensible. Everyone must want to see you wearing a headband, so just wear it."

Ling Yin felt that Qu Xing did it on purpose, just to avoid him.

He was extremely unhappy. There was no way he was going to wear those lousy rabbit ears to cheer up Qu Xing. He finished the rest of the game with a serious expression, just like someone killing people in a team.

Ling Yin took first place.

Qu Xing put on the headband without any psychological burden. The top of the fluffy round-ear headband was connected to a spring, and a fat star was bouncing on it.

Ling Yin couldn't help but laugh at the cuteness, but when he saw Qu Xing avoiding his gaze again, his smile suddenly dropped and he sat back with his arms folded.

"Okay, okay." Zhou Si finished admiring the whole circle with satisfaction, and fixed his eyes on Ling Yin: "Tsk, what a pity."

Zhou Si: "Next... there are still many steps, it's too troublesome, let's go straight to the last step. Once the advertisement is played enough, the machine will be removed."

A box of colorful little beans was stuffed into Qu Xing's hand.

Zhou Si: "Because you got the lowest score just now, so use the most difficult one."

Qu Xing: “Oh.”

Le Anyi: "Hahahahahahahahahaha."

Qu Xing shook the small box and asked, "What are we going to do?"

Zhou Si finished sending out the remaining materials: "I'll send a few links to the group, and you just need to follow them."

Qu Xing flipped through the list and saw that they were just several models of the DL brand. He just had to put together a small car and put a logo on it.

Without a word, he sat down cross-legged and began to piece together the beads one by one according to the blueprint. The small beans were small, requiring patience. But for him, it wasn't a difficult task. The world was quiet for a long time as the colored beans fell one by one. When most of the car models were revealed, Qu Xing's brain suddenly moved restlessly. He subconsciously followed his brain's instructions and looked in Ling Yin's direction.

Ling Yin was assigned the simplest origami.

A paper car, its model indistinguishable, covered in stickers, stood precariously in the middle of the fruit bowl. Its owner's deep lack of care was evident. Ling Yin, holding a few twisters he'd snatched from Le Anyi, absentmindedly tweaked them. The shape in his hand was surprisingly a star.

Just as the corners of Qu Xing's mouth curled up halfway, Ling Yin suddenly seemed to lose his patience, pinched the star with two fingers, and held it in his hand without moving.

"..." Qu Xing retracted his lips, his eyes shifting back and forth between the deformed Xingxing and Ling Yin's face. Suddenly, he noticed that Fengshen seemed to be in a bad mood.

Qu Xing was stunned for half a second while holding the small bean. He raised his hand and slapped his forehead: "Tsk!"

The little bean rolled along the ground to the corner.

A group of people looked over.

"Too difficult?" Jiang Lin held out his hand: "Let me help you."

"Okay." Qu Xing handed Jiang Lin a pair of tweezers. He felt conflicted.

What should he do? He only remembered that Feng Shen was his idol, forgetting that he was also his idol. Although his heart was pounding with excitement over this succubus and he didn't dare approach her, Qu Xing quickly recalled and suddenly realized that he had been a bit too obvious. Did Feng Shen think he hated him?

Oh, oh, oh, oh, that's not going to work. If that's the case, he can't just stay too far away from him. He can't tell Ling Yin, "I have to stay away from you, or I'm afraid I'll fall in love with you."

What's this? It makes him look like a pervert.

Zhou Sidao: "When you're done, put your handicraft on the table in front, and we can call it a day."

"Thank you, Linlin." Qu Xing picked up his puzzle piece and stood up. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ling Yin also stand up.

The fluttering paper car was placed next to his exquisite puzzle car. Qu Xing was struggling with whether he should say something to Ling Yin to prove that he definitely didn't hate him.

Suddenly, a slender hand grabbed his arm. Qu Xing's heart skipped a beat, and the next second he was being dragged forward.

Qu Xing: "Feng Feng Feng... Wind God, Captain... Brother Ling."

Qu Xing called out several times, but Ling Yin kept forcing him to sit down next to his seat before he said "hmm".

Le Anyi, who lost his seat, was stunned: "..."

He ran over to sit in Qu Xing's original seat, and after a moment's pause, he whispered worriedly to Jiang Lin, "Given Ling Yin's personality, if Xing Xing doesn't obey him, he won't bite her, right?"

In return, Jiang Lin slapped him harshly: "Don't slander the team leader."

Le Anyi: “Oh.”

Qu Xing now realized that Ling Yin was really unhappy.

Qu Xing moved closer to Ling Yin: "That...the God of Wind."

Ling Yin leaned back in his chair, glanced over, and said softly, "Come closer."

Qu Xing moved his chair and looked at him.

Ling Yin looked down at him and whispered, "Come closer."

Qu Xing was nervous about his posture and moved closer. Only when their bodies were pressed against each other through the fabric did Ling Yin smile: "Do I have thorns on my body?"

Qu Xing's heart skipped a beat, and he subconsciously jumped back a little. Seeing Ling Yin's eyes that weren't smiling, he quickly grabbed his arm and moved back, shaking his head: "It's not..."

Ling Yin retracted his gaze: "Then don't stay so far away from me."

“…”

The person next to him held his arm motionlessly for a long time, and suddenly knocked his forehead against his shoulder.

"Ah——" Qu Xing lowered his head and said, "You're so annoying."

“…” Ling Yin turned his head to look at him.

The man beside him lowered his head and didn't move. Yesterday he had his hair dyed back to black and had it trimmed. It was a little shorter, but the back of his head still looked fuzzy.

Qu Xing felt very uncomfortable.

He buried his head for a while, then suddenly raised his head: "I..."

"oh!!!!!!!!!"

Someone suddenly turned on the music, and the few ambient lights that had been used as decoration were also turned on. Without the cameras, the terrace suddenly became even more lively than before, and a group of people sang loudly along with the speakers.

Ling Yin leaned close to his ear and asked, "What?"

"..." Qu Xing felt a tingling sensation in his ears, and he couldn't bear it any longer: "Wind God, I have to tell you something solemnly."

Ling Yin couldn't help but straighten up, a little nervous: "Yeah."

"Let me make it clear first, I don't hate you, but...but..."

The music was so loud that Qu Xing couldn't help but shout louder: "I have to stay away from you!"

Ling Yin didn't know if it was a psychological effect or something else, but the surroundings seemed to suddenly become quiet. When he came to his senses, the music was still as loud as ever. But the roaring voices nearby had disappeared, and several pairs of eyes were fixed on him.

Qu Xing didn't notice what was behind him, and said to himself: "It's not your problem, really." Qu Xing said insincerely: "It has nothing to do with you."

"There are just some things I need to digest on my own." Qu Xing looked at Ling Yin steadily: "Wind God, you understand, right?"

Ling Yin looked at him without saying anything.

Qu Xing: "It will be fine after a while, really!"

Ling Yin lowered his eyes, turned around and pulled out his arm: "Yeah."

After a pause, Ling Yin added: "Don't digest it for too long, I will be sad."

Looking at his profile, Qu Xing suddenly felt a surge of discomfort in his heart. It was much more uncomfortable than the discomfort he felt every time he was close to him.

He opened his mouth, about to say something, when his phone on the desk suddenly vibrated.

Qu Xing glanced at it and found it was his phone. The caller ID showed Qu Chen. He remembered that he had told Qu Chen not to contact him unless necessary... and not to contact him even if necessary.

He frowned and raised his hand to hang up. At this moment, a message popped up.

Qu Chen——Dad is sick.

Qu Xing couldn't help but frown. He gritted his teeth and hesitated for a moment before picking up his phone: "You guys play first, I'll go answer the call."

The author has something to say:

----------------------