Chapter 115 Don't Push Me Away
Xie Xingchen's lips curved slightly: "So fierce, are you going to fight?"
Lin Yao genuinely thought he had gone mad.
Having weathered the previous four years, now appearing during this three-month training camp where they'll be spending so much time together makes it too easy for him to slip up. I don't know what he's thinking, but I can't ask him now in public.
But I really miss him.
For the past few days, I've been having dreams about him. The dreams are intermittent, sometimes dating back to seven years ago, when I was still at odds with Xie Xingchen. But now, with the filter of a lover, I can't bring myself to hate him.
He saw Xie Xingchen squatting in a park near the school feeding cats, so he went over and joined him. One of the cats had a very prickly temper and would scratch people if it was slightly unhappy.
"It just scratched me," Xie Xingchen said with a smile. "It has the same temper as you."
Lin Yao grunted in agreement and said curtly, "Who told you to insist on feeding me?"
Xie Xingchen raised his hand, placing his palm on the top of Xie Xingchen's head, and said something very pleasing: "It's what I like, I'm willing, and I'm happy even if I get caught."
Lin Yao should have scolded him, but he just squatted there without moving.
When he woke up, he thought that if only he had discovered it sooner, he would have wasted three years of time that he spent together day and night.
It's not like we're now separated by a distant galaxy, relying on that one phrase, "002," to get through several more years.
At this moment, a long time had passed between them, and neither dared to be sure if the other's feelings remained the same. So they looked at each other in endless silence.
Lin Yao moved his lips, forcing himself to remain calm: "I think you're pretty asking for a beating."
Why did you come here so impulsively?
How long are you planning to meet this time?
Do you still like me the same as before?
Is it to end the past or to rekindle the old flame?
Too many questions were stuck in my throat. Four years had made us strangers to each other, and I couldn't bring myself to ask a single one.
"Then beat me up." Xie Xingchen looked into his eyes. "You decide the time and place."
"Forget it, forget it." He Li has matured a lot in the past two years. She reached out and pulled him to mediate the fight. "We haven't seen each other for years. Let's not hold it against him."
To onlookers, both men were dressed in crisp military uniforms, their belts cinching their waists, their military trousers tucked into sturdy military boots, and they were about the same height. Their tone was quite aggressive as they stood there, and they certainly looked like they were about to fight.
Lin Yao wondered what Xie Hengzhi would want them to do if they ran into each other's exes.
Not saying a word to each other is too deliberate and avoids suspicion. If they get any closer, it will seem ambiguous no matter how you look at it. The only way is to go back to their original way of getting along, which is the most suitable and genuine approach.
So he nodded slightly: "Okay, let's do it at 2 pm today, just in time to set an example for the new students."
Xie Xingchen hummed in agreement, his expression gentle: "No problem, I'll go report for duty first."
After he walked away, Lin Yao felt a fine layer of sweat on his palms. It was June, not yet the height of summer, but he felt dizzy.
"Why do you two start arguing the moment you meet?" He Li muttered. "Even if you take everything out of the ordinary, you've known each other for seven years. Isn't seven years enough to ease the tension between you?"
Duan Zheng, who was in Lin Yao's squad, had a lot to say: "It's probably because they can't see each other, but they keep hearing news of each other's success from afar. It must be quite annoying. Every time Lin Yao sees news about Xie Xingchen, he turns around and leaves without any expression on his face, just like now."
Lin Yao: "."
"Ah, Xie Gou is quite pitiful too." He Li stroked his chin.
In fact, Xie Xingchen returned to Chongqing once later. At that time, Lin Yao was in the army, so the two did not meet. When He Li returned to the dormitory, he saw Xie Xingchen standing silently by Lin Yao's empty bed, lost in thought.
How can I describe that expression?
Despite his usual arrogant and condescending demeanor, he seemed hollow, with a silent sadness spreading through his expression.
Even though He Li disliked Xie Xingchen, at that moment, she felt sympathy for him.
"Thank you..." Just as he was about to speak, he saw Xie Xingchen pull out Lin Yao's chair and sit down. He just sat there blankly, his fingers tracing the desk that Lin Yao had used, seemingly lost in thought.
He Li didn't greet him and quietly closed the door.
He ran over to Cheng Boyan and said, "Xie Gou is truly the highest level of simp. He's so affectionate that he doesn't seem so annoying anymore. 'Simp' has even become a compliment. It's the highest level of deep affection."
Cheng Boyan looked at him with disbelief: "You can actually say something so philosophical."
After that incident, He Li inexplicably changed her opinion of Xie Xingchen a little.
He's just a pitiful person who can't have the one he loves. He must have come all this way just to catch a glimpse of his sweetheart. Unfortunately, his brother Yao is a blockhead who only knows how to fight.
"When you beat him up this afternoon, please go easy on him," He Li pleaded on his behalf.
"Why?" Lin Yao turned to look at him.
He Li opened his mouth, then stammered, "Because..."
"He Li." Someone called his name from behind.
He turned his head and saw Cheng Boyan. He felt a huge weight lifted off his shoulders, and his sluggish mind came to a head: "After all, we used to be roommates. It wouldn't be good if word got out that we weren't united and friendly."
Lin Yao almost laughed, and the corners of his lips curled up slightly.
It's been so long since we shared a dorm room.
"Soy milk." He Li reached out and handed it over, wrinkling his nose as he said, "You're so fussy, insisting on grinding it by hand. You're getting harder and harder to please."
Lin Yao, with a straw in his mouth and an expressionless face, said, "Oh, you ground it yourself. So I was just doing it on the side."
He Li gesticulated wildly as he explained, "No, he threatened me, and I had no choice. Who would willingly do such a thing?"
"I promised to bring you a gift, this is an exchange." Cheng Boyan handed him the bag in his hand, "A limited edition camera, with your idol's autograph."
He Li immediately beamed, inserted a straw and fed it to him: "Drink, drink as much as you want, I'll take care of you for half a month."
“Hmm, anything else?” Cheng Boyan raised an eyebrow.
"Thank you, brother." He Li was several months older than the other person, but he called him that without any hesitation. He took the camera and looked at it from left to right, clearly admiring it.
Lin Yao followed slowly behind, glancing sideways at Cheng Boyan.
This guy, he's too lazy to even pretend anymore. This is what they mean by "boiling a frog in lukewarm water," isn't it?
He hesitated for several seconds before finally reminding her, "Don't bully him."
Cheng Boyan smiled innocently: "I didn't, he asked for it himself."
Lin Yao clicked his tongue softly and commented, "Don't think I don't know what you're here for."
"What are we here for? To watch a show, of course," Cheng Boyan said meaningfully. "What could be more worth the ticket price than a reunion with an old flame?"
Lin Yao: ".........."
It's true what they say, bad guys and scoundrels can become good friends; they're full of wicked schemes.
This time it was a double room, so Lin Yao naturally shared a room with He Li. After packing his things, he went into the bathroom to change into white athletic shorts, half-naked, and washed his face with cold water.
This gathering brought together officers from various departments of the military region, and they still didn't know which one was Xie Hengzhi's spy. The afternoon's battle would attract a crowd, so they couldn't afford to reveal the slightest flaw.
Lin Yao looked up at himself in the mirror, his fingertips hooking the necklace around his neck. He always wore it when he wasn't on a mission, but he couldn't today in front of everyone.
He took it down and put it in his suitcase, took a deep breath, and then turned and went to the training ground.
"Incredible! Xie Xingchen versus Lin Yao, we can already see such an exciting scene on the first day of training."
"I'm from Chongqing. There are so many rumors about the two of them at school, like they stabbed each other in the back and ended up in the hospital."
"Wouldn't those three months be a recipe for something exciting? How thrilling!"
"Hurry, hurry, I can't wait any longer, let's fight!"
......
The audience was making a lot of noise, but Lin Yao stared intently at Xie Xingchen, who was coming up from the other side. He was wearing black, which looked like a matching outfit with his own white one.
The two men, wearing boxing gloves and half-naked, stood facing each other, boldly displaying their muscular physiques and unrestrained hormones. Just seeing them standing there was enough to send adrenaline soaring.
"Captain Lin, please enlighten me." Xie Xingchen gestured for him to speak.
In a daze, Lin Yao felt countless 1V1 fighting scenes flash before his eyes, from their first meeting seven years ago, when Xie Xingchen said that he had liked him back then.
What about today?
Do we still hold onto our original aspirations?
Lin Yao slightly tucked his chin in, raised his eyelids, and launched an attack with a beautiful side kick.
Why did you come?
Xie Xingchen dodged to the side, then countered with a swift and decisive punch, showing no intention of yielding.
"I suddenly want to see you."
Lin Yao grabbed him with his hand and threw him to the ground: "You've been too willful. Now that you've seen it, get back to your place tonight."
He was truly heartbroken. So much time had passed in the darkness, and if all that effort was wasted because of one impulsive act, what would all that suffering have amounted to?
"I won't do anything." Xie Xingchen rolled over and stood up, his boxing gloves pressed against the other man's chin. "I just came to see you. Four years, I'm going crazy."
The two disagreed, and the atmosphere suddenly became tense. Fists slashed through the air, accompanied by heavy breathing and muffled groans.
Cheng Boyan propped his head up and muttered to himself, "Why are these two behaving so fiercely after being apart for so long?"
“Brother Yao probably has a lot of pent-up resentment. Last month, our news department did an exclusive interview and chose the two of them. They argued for ages about whose article got more coverage.” He Li sighed. “In the end, Xie Gou won. Brother Yao must be really angry.”
Cheng Boyan stared at the two men fighting fiercely on the stage and said in a low voice, "He is angry, but not because of this."
He Li looked bewildered: "Then why?"
Cheng Boyan remained silent.
He remembered that he had been thinking last time, "Lin Yao is such a cold person, we haven't had any contact for years, and it's impossible to tell if he has any feelings for me. How could Xie Xingchen have persisted?"
At this moment, it became clear that the reason why the ever-calm Lin Yao could lose control like this after just one meeting was self-evident.
After a long and agonizing ordeal, Lin Yao swiftly pinned the man to the ground, his legs firmly pinning him down. Looking down at him, he breathed heavily and said, "No progress whatsoever."
As in most of the past, he won.
Xie Xingchen slightly raised his eyes, biting his boxing gloves and throwing them aside, his palm gripping the narrow waist that had appeared countless times in his dreams.
The next second, he flipped over and pinned him down, his hands gripping his neck and tightening around him. To onlookers, it was a very strong counterattack, full of competitive spirit.
Amidst the deafening screams of the crowd, he bent down as if making a threat, and whispered a plea in his ear.
"Yaoyao, don't push me away, I really miss you."
-
I've added a super sweet Mid-Autumn Festival bonus chapter of 2,000 words, remember to check it out! It's in the super topic 【暗星长曜】.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com