Chapter 178 IF Line: Childhood Sweethearts (The End)
Upon hearing those words, Lin Yao's eyes widened.
What is Xie Xingchen saying? What does it mean that he arrived first and that he likes it the most?
But when he heard a noise outside the door, Lin Yao didn't have time to ask any further questions. His eyes met those of the person behind him, and he was so startled that his back stiffened.
Pei Yizhong, carrying the bag after buying the inhibitors, immediately turned red on the spot.
That brat!!! How dare he!!! Take advantage of this opportunity to bully his son!!!
"Let go first..." Lin Yao struggled even more violently, vaguely reminding, "Xie Xingchen, my dad..."
Xie Xingchen was blinded by jealousy at this moment, and his mind was filled with only one thought: he was actually trying to hide, he was rejecting him, he didn't like him.
She tightened her arms around him, pulling him close, and whispered, "Choose me, don't choose anyone else. Are you feeling unwell? I'll help you."
Lin Yao closed his eyes:
Stop talking, or my dad will tear you apart, bro.
Seeing that his eyes were fixed on what was behind him, Xie Xingchen raised her hand to cover his eyes and gave him a light kiss: "Don't look at him, you're mine."
The next second, a hand reached out from behind and grabbed his shoulder, and he was thrown to the ground by a powerful force.
Xie Xingchen felt provoked, frowned, and turned his head with a hint of anger to meet the gaze of the person who had come.
Pei Yizhong was still fuming when he looked at the person on the ground, his face flushed with anger: "What are you doing?!"
Xie Xingchen was momentarily stunned: "Uncle Pei? What are you doing here?"
"If I weren't here, would you have raped Yao Yao?!" Pei Yizhong blurted out, pressing his hand to his chest, his temples throbbing.
Xie Xingchen: ""
For a moment, such an impulse flashed through my mind, but I suppressed it with reason.
Pei Yizhong looked at his son, whose face was flushed and clothes were disheveled, and became angrier the more he thought about it. But Xie Xingchen was someone he had watched grow up since he was a child, so he couldn't bring himself to scold him, and it would hurt him to hit him.
So he directly called Xie Hengzhi, wanting his own father to lecture him: "Old Xie, your son is taking advantage of my son's vulnerable period! He's trying to force himself on him! You'd better watch out!"
"Dad, it can't be that bad!" Lin Yao nervously protested, "He really didn't mean it that way!"
Xie Xingchen felt extremely guilty.
Yao Yao is so innocent, he really is.
Pei Yizhong snorted coldly, gripping his phone, and complained to the other end with a pained expression: "I saw it all. He pinned you down, forcibly kissed you, and even said... never mind, I can't bring myself to say it."
Xie Hengzhi, on the other end of the phone, listened to the fragmented retelling and fell into a long silence.
After a long pause, he finally spoke: "Send me an address, I'll go catch him right now."
"Wan Yan, 3502, waiting for you." Pei Yizhong hung up the phone, pointed at Xie Xingchen, "You little brat, I won't scold you, wait for your father to punish you."
Xie Xingchen then recalled the photo and figure, which overlapped with the person in front of her. It turned out that it wasn't her boyfriend at all, but Pei Yizhong.
As expected, concern leads to confusion; the slightest provocation completely shuts down one's IQ.
He looked at Lin Yao helplessly and said in a low voice, "You lied to me again."
Lin Yao swallowed hard. With his father beside him, he didn't dare say anything more provocative, only whispering, "I'll... change my clothes first... and take the suppressant..."
"No, what are you two, father and son, doing booking a room?" Xie Xingchen found this behavior utterly absurd; how could anyone not misunderstand?
Pei Yizhong frowned: "We were cycling around the island when he suddenly felt unwell, so we found a hotel nearby. What did you think?"
Xie Xingchen spoke gently, trying to explain his earlier thuggish behavior: "I thought Yaoyao had been tricked by bad people, which is why I lost control a bit."
Pei Yizhong looked at him with disdain: "Oh, I thought he met a bad guy, but you ended up biting him. You're the worst one."
Xie Xingchen: ""
This is truly inexplicable. Oh well, it was bound to happen sooner or later, so I'll just have to take the criticism.
Lin Yao changed his clothes and came out, sat on the edge of the bed, took out the inhibitor to inject, but kept glancing at Xie Xingchen out of the corner of his eye.
Did the things he said and the reactions he had during that chaotic moment prove that he really liked me?
I wanted to get to the bottom of this, but Pei Yizhong was there, and he even called Xie Hengzhi over. It was so annoying.
Pei Yizhong was very concerned and immediately changed his expression, looking down at his condition: "Are you alright now?"
Lin Yao nodded slightly and threw the used inhibitor into the trash can: "I'm much better. I'm really fine. It was just a kiss. Don't make such a fuss and tell Uncle Xie. That's too much."
"He was kissing you and you're still okay?" Pei Yizhong got angry at the mention of this, his gaze falling on his lips. "They're all swollen from being bitten!"
Xie Xingchen sat half-on the ground, his fingers supporting his forehead:
Stop reading it, stop reading it. Bad luck means you'll have bad luck no matter what you do. Just accept it.
Five minutes later, the door was pushed open again, and Xie Hengzhi and Yun Qing stood outside. Their expressions were very subtle, like a child who had made a big mistake and was embarrassed, apologetic and speechless.
Lin Han, who had been notified at some point, followed behind, and all the parents were present.
"What's wrong with you, kid? You're usually so gentlemanly and polite." Yun Qing pulled Xie Xingchen up from the ground, then turned to look at Lin Yao sitting on the edge of the bed. "Besides kissing you, what else did you do?"
Lin Yao's cheeks, which had finally cooled down, became burning hot again: "I didn't do anything. My dad was just being dramatic. I just gave him a kiss. Actually, it wasn't the first time."
Pei Yizhong: ? ? ? ? ?
He gasped, "What do you mean, 'not the first time'?"
Xie Heng slapped his son on the forehead with considerable force: "You even forcibly kissed her several times? How dare you!"
"Yeah, this is the third time today," Xie Xingchen admitted, resigned to his fate.
If Lin Han hadn't stopped him, Pei Yizhong would have already wanted to punch someone.
Having said all that, there was no going back, so Lin Yao simply laid it all out: "The first time was just a game, the second time was voluntary, so today... it really isn't what you're thinking."
Pei Yizhong nearly fainted: "You volunteered???"
Lin Yao coughed lightly: "Yes, I took the initiative that time."
After he finished speaking, his gaze met Xie Xingchen's for a second before he hurriedly looked away, as if the ambiguous lights and alcohol of that night were surfacing again.
Yun Qing sensed the subtle ambiguity and asked gently, "Are you two dating?"
"No," Lin Yao added very carefully, "not yet."
Pei Yizhong then realized something was amiss, and after reviewing the situation again, he discovered something was wrong: "So you were so resistant just now because you saw me, right? If I weren't here, would you...?"
This pretty little bok choy was completely devoured!
Lin Yao remained silent.
The adults present instantly understood everything from this reaction, and then fell into a long silence.
Xie Xingchen couldn't really fall out with his father-in-law, so even though the timing wasn't right, he still solemnly confessed.
"I don't know what Yao Yao is thinking, but I like him, I like him a lot. It's not the kind of liking between brothers or friends, it's the kind of liking between lovers, the kind that doesn't allow a third person to exist."
"Today it was purely a misunderstanding that he went out with someone else, and my mind went blank, which is why I acted that way. I didn't mean to bully him, really."
Upon hearing this, Lin Yao's heart skipped a beat.
His heart felt like it was being squeezed and then slowly released, a mixture of soreness and throbbing. He looked up at the other person, their eyes met, and a silent, unspoken understanding blossomed between them, a tender, budding affection.
It turned out that it wasn't an illusion or a dream; Xie Xingchen really liked him.
Just thinking about it makes me want to smile.
It turns out, this whole mess wasn't just one-sided infatuation. Nothing is more joyful than mutual affection.
However, Xie Hengzhi, who was standing next to him, gently reminded him: "He is an Alpha, and so are you."
Xie Xingchen hummed in agreement, saying nonchalantly, "I know, I've known for years, but what does it matter? Do I need to know someone's gender beforehand if I like them?"
He still couldn't be sure of Lin Yao's feelings, but having come this far, there was no turning back.
Pei Yizhong was still struggling: "You've been spending too much time with Yaoyao every day, and you've developed a misconception. What do you mean by liking or not liking? Even if you lived with a dog for sixteen years, you would still develop feelings for it."
Lin Yao: "...Is this how you use a metaphor?"
Xie Hengzhi stood on the same side: "That's definitely the case. Maybe your feelings will change when you meet more people."
Yun Qing was also unsure, saying, "Could it be because we keep joking about that video of you when you were little, which made you have this vague idea that you want Yao Yao to be your wife?"
Lin Yao also looked at him nervously.
He hadn't dared to speak up before because he was afraid they were too young and wouldn't be able to tell whether his feelings stemmed from liking or dependence.
"Come with me to a place." Xie Xingchen stood up and looked at Lin Yao. "You come too."
"Where are we going?" Lin Yao asked, completely bewildered.
Xie Xingchen didn't say anything, but simply opened the door and walked ahead.
Lin Yao followed him with small steps, lightly brushing his fingers across the back of his hand, and whispered, "Were you serious just now?"
“You think you’re like me, you little liar,” Xie Xingchen said.
Pei Yizhong frowned as he watched his son rush to whisper something to him. Even though Lin Yao hadn't responded, his heart had already sank.
He whispered, "This isn't right. Yao Yao isn't a completely straight, hard A-type, so how could she accept Xie Xingchen?"
Lin Han watched their backs and analyzed, "Putting aside whether Xingchen is serious or not, I think Yaoyao is smitten. Don't you know your son? If he disliked her, he would have jumped up and refuted Xie Xingchen when he confessed, how could he have remained silent until now?"
"Do you think I'm letting them train together every day so they can develop feelings for each other and fall in love?" Pei Yizhong's vision went black again and again.
His expression looked even more heartbroken and desperate than if his ancestral graves had been dug up.
Xie Xingchen drove Pei Yizhong, with Xie Hengzhi's car following behind, and they all arrived at a temple on the mountain.
Upon seeing the destination, Lin Yao became very wary and asked him in a low voice, "What are you doing here? Were you following me the other day?"
"What?" Xie Xingchen turned to look at him. "I didn't know you had been here."
Lin Yao was speechless.
If he wasn't lying, this is just too perfect a coincidence.
Xie Xingchen walked straight toward the Wishing Bridge. Dense red ropes were wrapped around both sides, making it look like a festive magpie bridge from a distance.
He bent down and found his wishing plaque, explaining, "This is what I wrote to pray for Yao Yao before. I can really tell the difference. I just like Lin Yao."
On that wishing plaque, the words were written with sharp yet earnest strokes:
"I hope Lin Yao is happy and free, and I pray that we can stay together forever."
The signature is Xie Xingchen, and the date is three years ago.
Xie Hengzhi and Yun Qing exchanged glances and remained silent for a moment.
They often feel that promises made when one is too young are meaningless, but the affections of youth are often the most touching.
"You really are..." After all, they were children who grew up together. Faced with such a sincere wish, Pei Yizhong couldn't say anything more hurtful. "But it also depends on Yao Yao's wishes, right?"
Lin Yao looked away from the wishing plaque and stared at Xie Xingchen for several seconds before saying, "Wait a minute."
He squatted on the other side, buried his head in his work and searched for a while. He found the one that belonged to him, pulled it out, and found that the ink on it was still very fresh, a mark left just a few days ago.
Pei Yizhong leaned closer, uncertainly asking, "You have some too? You two aren't acting against me, are you? You can buy these wholesale?"
Lin Yao couldn't help but laugh: "No, maybe we really do have a tacit understanding. I just came to write it a few days ago."
He Li said that praying to Buddha would work, but he didn't believe in that. However, he couldn't sleep all night, so he eventually came anyway.
The wishing plaque read:
"Xie Xingchen, I like you so much, will you like me too?"
When Xie Xingchen saw the wishing plaque, the corners of his mouth practically turned up to the sky: "Okay."
Originally intending to confess quietly, Lin Yao's face was burning hot with the sight of so many people watching. He covered his face with his hands and rubbed it repeatedly.
Yun Qing reached out and hooked her arm around Xie Hengzhi, her eyes crinkling with laughter as she said, "So cute! It's so nice to be young."
Xie Hengzhi hummed in agreement, then looked at Pei Yizhong and spoke up for his son: "Alpha is fine, it's not a big deal. Are you really bothered by it? Our Xingchen is quite good, you should consider it."
"How did it become my decision?" Pei Yizhong was speechless. "You all agree? Wife, you too?"
Lin Han looked at the two who had just confessed their feelings to each other, their eyes meeting cautiously, their love restrained yet surging. It was really hard for her to say anything more to stop them. She nodded and said, "I think it's fine too. They grew up together, know each other well, and are both good kids."
Pei Yizhong closed his eyes and sighed deeply: "You're all ganging up on me, huh? Fine, I won't be the bad guy. Let it be. When you two are in your vulnerable period, you'll know how tough it is to be a double A."
Rarely hearing him agree, Xie Xingchen ignored the rest of his sentence and, overjoyed, pulled Lin Yao into his arms and gave him a solid kiss.
"Xie Xingchen really likes you, want to date?"
Lin Yao raised his hand to cover his mouth and whispered, "Mom and Dad are still here, how dare you be so bold."
Xie Xingchen pushed his hand away and then kissed him very loudly.
"Yaoyao, I like you. Will you date me?"
After a long period of ambiguity, I'm incredibly determined to get a definite answer.
Lin Yao looked at the adults laughing and wished he could disappear into a hole in the ground, but he was also really excited, so he whispered, "Talk about it, the kind where we never break up."
From the time they can remember, they have been by each other's side for sixteen years, and they will continue to spend the rest of their lives together. This is probably the most romantic thing in the world.
Xie Xingchen smiled slightly, reached out and pulled the person into his arms, and murmured, "Lin Yao, baby, boyfriend."
Lin Yao feigned reluctance, but didn't forget to whisper a reminder: "This is a sacred Buddhist place, don't be too presumptuous."
Xie Xingchen didn't care, he just lowered his head and kissed him deeply, carefully and sincerely.
"Between heaven and earth, with Buddha as witness, I will fight against my instincts to love you."
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I've combined the two chapters into one. The IF storyline ends here, and there are two more chapters of main story and side stories before it's completely finished! It's the beginning of the month, so how about I get a little free gift? *rubbing hands*
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