Dead Pretend
The next morning, Jiang Yibai was completely alive and kicking. He woke up before the alarm went off, lying on his side, his head propped up, staring at Lin Xiyan, who was still sleeping next to him. The sun hadn't quite made it in yet, but the room was filled with a soft morning light. Lin Xiyan's breathing was even, and her eyelashes were drooping obediently, looking particularly soft.
Jiang Yibai felt itchy in his heart and couldn't help but reach out and touch his eyelashes lightly with his fingertips.
Lin Xiyan's eyelids twitched, but he didn't wake up.
Jiang Yibai chuckled and touched the tip of his nose again, then his lips. His movements were as gentle as possible, as if he was afraid of disturbing his sweet dream.
Now Lin Xiyan finally woke up, opened her eyes in a daze, and looked at him blankly with a layer of mist in her amber pupils.
"Good morning." Jiang Yibai's voice was hoarse from just waking up, and filled with uncontrollable joy.
Lin Xiyan was a little slow to react, and only said "hmm" softly. She subconsciously wanted to rub her eyes, but Jiang Yibai gently held her wrist.
"Don't rub it." Jiang Yibai moved closer and kissed him on the eyelid. "Did you sleep well?"
They were so close that their breaths mingled. Lin Xiyan's face felt slightly hot, and she nodded. She'd actually slept very well, much better than in her own small rental apartment. Warmth, security, and...
There is also a human-shaped stove and pillow next to me.
The two of them got up and washed up. Jiang Yibai was like a large pendant, following Lin Xiyan wherever she went. When brushing her teeth, he would put his arm around her waist from behind, resting his chin on Lin Xiyan's shoulder, and grinning at the two of them in the mirror with foam in their mouths.
Lin Xiyan let him make a fuss, and the tips of his ears remained red.
After finishing the hearty breakfast prepared by Xu Panting, the two went out to school together. Jiang Yibai naturally took Lin Xiyan's hand, interlocking their fingers. Lin Xiyan's fingertips shrank slightly, but she finally let him hold her hand quietly.
The morning air was chilly, but the sun was shining brightly, warming them. They walked side by side, their shadows lengthening behind them as they clung to each other.
Not long after walking, a deliberately drawn-out, sinister voice came from behind.
"Hey—who is this? Isn't this our 'seriously ill', 'broken hand', and 'needs his wife to feed him' Young Master Jiang?"
"Isn't it? You look pretty good. You're so nourished by love that you can take off on the spot, right?"
Lin Xiyan's body stiffened, and he subconsciously tried to pull his hand back, but Jiang Yibai held it tighter. He turned around and saw Lu Panji and He Yunling walking towards him, arm in arm, both with sly, no-holds-barred smiles on their faces.
The gentleness and smile on Jiang Yibai's face disappeared instantly, and he returned to his expressionless and cold look. He only glanced at the two people, then looked away and said two words in a flat tone:
"It's so noisy."
Lu Panji immediately covered his heart in a pretentious manner: "Oh my, it hurts! My brother cares about you, and you say we quarreled?"
He Yunling echoed: "That's right! He values women over friends! He forgets his brothers after he gets a wife!"
Jiang Yibai didn't bother to pay attention to them. He pulled Lin Xiyan and continued walking forward, leaving the two of them with only a cold look at the back of his head.
Lu Panji and He Yunling quickly caught up and followed him, one on the left and one on the right.
"Brother Jiang, are you feeling better? Weren't you the one who was whimpering with fever and insisted on being held yesterday?" Lu Panji winked.
Jiang Yibai: "Shut up."
He Yunling looked at Lin Xiyan, whose ears were red and who wanted to hide herself, and said in a sincere tone: "Lin, you have worked hard! It's not easy to take care of such a giant baby. If he does this again next time, just call us and we will help you throw him out."
Lin Xiyan opened her mouth, wanting to defend Jiang Yibai, but she didn't know what to say. Her face turned even redder, and she could only whisper, "...He, he didn't..."
"Nothing," Lu Panji said with a big wave of his hand. "Xiyan, you are just too kind! You were deceived by him! You don't even know how dead he looked in the group yesterday..."
"Lu, Pan, Ji." Jiang Yibai stopped and glanced at him coldly with a warning look in his eyes.
Lu Panji immediately raised his hands in surrender: "Okay, okay, I won't say anything. Some people only allow the officials to set fires, but not the people to light lamps."
He Yunling chuckled and said to Lin Xiyan, "But seriously, Xiyan, your words yesterday, 'He's very gentle,' really shocked my whole family for the whole year." He imitated Lin Xiyan's tone, "And with emoticons! So cute!"
Lin Xiyan: “!!!” He instantly turned red from head to toe, wishing he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into, his fingers unconsciously digging into Jiang Yibai’s palm.
Jiang Yibai felt the movement in his palm, looked down at Lin Xiyan who wanted to curl up into a ball, then looked up at the two childhood friends who were laughing so hard that they were staggering, his eyes became even colder.
"Want to die?" His voice was flat but full of threats.
"I don't want to, I don't want to." Lu Panji stopped when he saw that things were going well, but he still suppressed his laughter and bumped Jiang Yibai with his shoulder. "Honestly, as long as you're fine. I was really worried about you yesterday."
He Yunling also nodded: "Well, even though you are pretending to be so stubborn, brothers are still brothers."
Jiang Yibai's expression softened slightly, and he hummed a very soft "hmm" from his nose, accepting this awkward concern.
Lin Xiyan quietly looked up, observing the three of them. Although Jiang Yibai was quiet and cold, and Lu Panji and He Yunling were always teasing him, he could sense the unbreakable bond between them, a friendship unique to boys. It was noisy, yet genuine.
This feeling was very new and something he had never experienced before.
"Let's go." Jiang Yibai didn't want these two people to tease Lin Xiyan anymore, so he pulled them and quickened his pace.
"Hey, don't be so anxious!" Lu Panji came up again, this time to Lin Xiyan, "Xiyan, are you free this weekend? Let's go out and play ball? Or play games? Let Brother Jiang treat us!"
Lin Xiyan was stunned for a moment and subconsciously looked at Jiang Yibai.
Jiang Yibai also looked at him with a questioning look.
"...anything's fine," Lin Xiyan whispered. He felt a little uneasy, yet also a faint sense of anticipation. Going out with them...?
"Then it's settled!" Lu Panji clapped his hands. "Brother Jiang, you pick the place and you pay the money. Is that okay?"
Jiang Yibai: "Yeah."
Be brief and to the point.
"That's very kind!" He Yunling smiled and hit Jiang Yibai on the shoulder. "Then we won't disturb your world of two. We'll leave first!"
The two ran away laughing, and Lu Panji's voice could still be heard faintly: "See... It's confirmed that he values love over friendship..."
The surroundings finally became quiet again.
Lin Xiyan breathed a sigh of relief, but the heat on her face had not completely subsided.
Jiang Yibai squeezed his palm and said, "Ignore them. They're used to making trouble."
"...Yeah." Lin Xiyan nodded. He actually...didn't dislike it. He just wasn't used to it yet.
Jiang Yibai looked at his slightly red cheeks and sparkling eyes, and his heart softened. He knew that Lin Xiyan still needed time to slowly adapt to this kind of liveliness and kindness.
"Want to go this weekend?" he asked, his voice much slower. "If you don't want to go, then don't go. Don't pay any attention to them."
Lin Xiyan hesitated for a moment and shook his head gently: "...You can go."
The sound is small but clear.
Jiang Yibai was a little surprised, then he smiled and said, "Okay. Then I'll take you out to play."
The sunlight shone through the gaps in the leaves and landed on the two people's clasped hands, feeling warm.
Lin Xiyan looked at the familiar school gate in front of him, feeling the warmth of the palms of the people around him and the occasional inquiring and caring glances. The small, dark corner in his heart seemed to be illuminated a little again.
Maybe, trying to go out, is not so scary.
Because he is here.
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