CS - 69

In the evening, Lin Zhe Xia lay on her familiar bed, chatting with Chi Yao.

• Your dad sent me a red envelope. Should I accept it?

Boyfriend: Why not?

• I feel a bit embarrassed.

Boyfriend: Accept it.

Boyfriend: And call him Dad.

Lin Zhe Xia: ...

Lin Zhe Xia didn’t have his thick skin. No matter what, she couldn’t bring herself to say it. In the end, she sent a message: Thank you, Uncle Chi.

Chi Hanshan: You’re welcome.

Chi Hanshan: If Chi Yao bullies you, just tell me. I’ll buy a ticket and come over to beat him up.

...

On the other side.

Chi Yao slept in He Yang’s room, with He Yang’s mother laying out a blanket for him on the floor.

Occasionally, when he was younger, he would stay overnight at He Yang’s place, usually after they played video games too late. They would even fight over the bed.

He Yang’s room was still decorated the same way. A poster of Slam Dunk hung on the wall, worn and yellowed by time, its corners curling up. The desk by the window used to be piled high with books, but now it was empty, replaced by a collection of miscellaneous items placed there by He Yang’s mother.

He Yang went to bed early. Half-asleep, he noticed the faint glow of Chi Yao’s phone screen from under the bed: “Aren’t you sleeping yet?”

Chi Yao: “Chatting with my girlfriend. You wouldn’t understand—you’re single.”

“…” He Yang’s drowsiness was immediately dispelled by the insult. “Shit.”

He Yang: “I’m just focusing on my studies right now. It’s not like I can’t find a girlfriend.”

Chi Yao: “Is that so?”

He Yang: “Can your reaction get any more dismissive?”

Chi Yao: “Oh.”

In the end, He Yang gave up: “Goodnight, bro.”

But Chi Yao didn’t let him continue sleeping. He pressed the power button on the side of his phone, turning off the screen and extinguishing the only source of light in the room: “Hey.”

“Say it again—I have a name.”

He Yang turned over and said, “What do you want to call me for?”

Chi Yao suddenly threw out a question: “When did you find out?”

He Yang continued to play dumb: “What are you talking about?”

Chi Yao: “Stop pretending.”

“You didn’t act very well that day,” he added. “You could only fool that idiot.”

At first, he hadn’t realized what was going on—after all, He Yang was often scatterbrained.

But later, upon reflection, he realized He Yang’s reaction had been far more exaggerated than Lin He’s, unnaturally so.

“…”

He Yang opened his eyes and stopped pretending: “The day you left, I accidentally pushed the door open and saw.”

The situation was almost exactly as Chi Yao had guessed.

With the truth out, He Yang finally released the feelings he’d suppressed for over a year. He sat up on the bed: “You said nothing happened, so why were you kissing her? Did you consider my feelings? Even if you wanted to kiss her, couldn’t you close the door first? Couldn’t you be more careful and avoid unnecessarily troubling your good friend?”

“Do you know how hard it was for me to pretend I didn’t know? And then you two had to announce it right in front of me!”

No wonder.

No wonder, during the year-plus they were apart, He Yang frequently shared updates about Lin Zhe Xia with him.

For example, the time a classmate confessed to her, but she didn’t accept.

…

Although Chi Yao hadn’t replied much to his messages, he read every single one related to her.

“Thanks,” Chi Yao finally said.

He Yang paused for a moment, then quickly responded: “We’re brothers—it’s what I should do. Remember to keep an eye out for me at Lian University. If you see any suitable girls, introduce them to me. I plan to target both schools simultaneously.”

The only response from his brother was two icy words: “Goodnight.”

“…”

Lin Zhe Xia stayed at home for two days.

On the third day, she, Chi Yao, and He Yang were heading back to school.

Before leaving, she packed her things in her room while Chi Yao leaned against the doorway waiting for her.

“What do you need to bring?”

“Just a few seasonal clothes,” Lin Zhe Xia said. “Sit for a bit—I’ll be done soon.”

Chi Yao sat for a while on the chair in front of her desk, then stood up and wandered around her room. Eventually, out of boredom, he stopped in front of the bookshelf, opened the glass cabinet door, and prepared to pick a book to read.

Lin Zhe Xia felt a jolt in her heart as she packed her things. She wanted to stop him, but his hand had already reached for the fairy tale book—

The book contained a photo and a wish card tucked inside.

Though it wasn’t a big deal if he saw it, she still panicked.

She hadn’t figured out how to tell him yet.

“Wait.”

She quickly pulled out the fairy tale book. “Pick another one—I’m taking this one with me.”

Chi Yao’s hand met empty air. His fingers paused, then landed on another book: “How old are you? Still bringing fairy tale books?”

Lin Zhe Xia: “Mind your own business.”

She held the book and stuffed it into her suitcase.

She thought to herself that she couldn’t bring herself to say it before.

Now that they were boyfriend and girlfriend, it seemed even harder to find the right moment.

Her secret crush on him during high school was her most private secret from her teenage years.

After adapting to the university study pace, freshman year passed quickly.

With busy coursework, the two often met at the library to do homework together.

Lian University’s library had five floors, two of which were study rooms.

This time, they had agreed on a time beforehand, and Lin Zhe Xia went ahead to save seats for them.

The weather had gradually turned cooler, and winter was approaching once again.

When Chi Yao arrived, he brought her a cup of hot milk tea.

The study room required silence, so Lin Zhe Xia, while sipping her drink through a straw, wrote two words on a piece of draft paper: “Thank you,” followed by a big smiley face. After finishing, she slid the paper across to him.

Chi Yao was researching. With a pen hooked between his fingers, he circled the “thank you” she had written.

He added a note beside it: [Who are you thanking?]

Lin Zhe Xia wrote another line and pushed the paper back: [Thank you, Big Brother.]

A moment later, the paper was pushed back again.

[The title doesn’t fit. Who wants to be your big brother?]

They hadn’t been in the same class, so they rarely passed notes like this.

Usually, when she went to Chi Yao’s house to do homework, she just spoke directly to him.

The only time she remembered passing notes with him was after they had a fight and were giving each other the silent treatment.

She couldn’t recall the specific reason for the fight, but she remembered sitting face-to-face doing homework without speaking to each other.

After half a day, she couldn’t hold back and slipped him a note.

The note simply said: I have a question I don’t understand.

Just those five simple words, and Chi Yao surrendered, opening his mouth to ask her: “Which question?”

Thinking back to that moment, Lin Zhe Xia mustered her courage and deliberately wrote on the paper again: [Thank you, Brother.]

After all… it was just writing.

It wasn’t real.

And she didn’t have to say it out loud.

But these four words clearly disrupted Chi Yao’s focus on his research.

And she noticed that this person, who always wanted her to call him “Brother,” suddenly fell into an odd state of “shyness” upon seeing the word “Brother.” The pen he had been twirling in his hand suddenly stopped spinning. He abruptly put down the pen, raised his hand, zipped up his collar to cover half his face, and leaned back into his chair.

At first, Lin Zhe Xia felt a bit awkward, but seeing his reaction amused her. She continued writing: [Why isn’t Brother saying anything?]

Chi Yao’s ears grew warm.

There were people around, and some glanced their way, but no one knew what they were secretly writing on the paper.

Though he was usually calm when teasing Lin Zhe Xia, he hadn’t expected her to actually use that title.

He quietly exhaled, cracked his knuckles, grabbed the paper, and wrote: [Call me that when we go outside.]

Lin Zhe Xia: [I won’t!]

That was the end of their note-passing. Both focused on their study materials.

The study room was open 24 hours.

Before exams, many people came to cram all night.

This day, they planned to pack up and head to the cafeteria for dinner by evening. Before eating, Lin Zhe Xia received a message from Lan Xiao Xue: Are you there?

• Yes, what’s up?

• We’re planning a weekend trip nearby. Do you and Chi Yao want to join?

• Reply quickly—we’re about to book tickets.

Lin Zhe Xia, worried Chi Yao might bring up the note-passing earlier, immediately changed the subject when they left: “Xiao Xue asked if we want to join a weekend trip. There’s a famous scenic spot nearby, and we’d need to stay overnight.”

“Do you want to go?” Chi Yao asked her.

Lin Zhe Xia thought for a moment: “I don’t mind either way. I heard it’s pretty nice, especially in autumn and winter. Mom and Uncle Wei once talked about going…”

Chi Yao: “Then let’s go.”

So during dinner, Lin Zhe Xia replied to Lan Xiao Xue: We’re going.

That night, in the girls’ dormitory.

Lan Xiao Xue curled up under her blanket planning the trip and asked: “I’m booking the hotel. Both Qin Lei and I want single rooms—she snores, and I can’t handle it in the dorm. What about you? Should I book a room for you two?”

Even though they had been dating for most of the semester, Lin Zhe Xia still wasn’t ready to share a room.

She just felt… unprepared to face it.

Lin Zhe Xia quickly said: “No, we won’t share a room.”

Lan Xiao Xue thought she was worried about being judged: “It’s fine.”

Lin Zhe Xia: “…Really, it’s fine.”

Lan Xiao Xue sensed she genuinely didn’t want to and said: “Alright, then four single rooms it is.”

Lan Xiao Xue’s plans were thorough, and there were no issues with booking the hotel or train tickets. However, on the weekend, after arriving and placing their belongings in the hotel rooms, Lin Zhe Xia and Chi Yao spent half the day exploring the area. When they returned in the evening, halfway through her shower, Lin Zhe Xia discovered the water heater was broken.

With a head full of unwashed bubbles, Lin Zhe Xia froze for a moment: “….”

Hastily putting on her clothes, she called the front desk. They apologized and said, “Sorry, guest. We’ll send someone to check it as soon as possible.” But despite their promise, no repairman arrived after ten minutes of waiting.

She couldn’t stand there with a head full of bubbles forever, so she called Lan Xiao Xue: “Are you in your room? I…”

Before Lin Zhe Xia could finish, Lan Xiao Xue’s side was filled with noisy sounds.

“We’re still outside! There’s a night market here. You guys went back too early—what’s wrong?”

Lin Zhe Xia swallowed the rest of her sentence: “Nothing. Just wondering when you’ll be back. Never mind, keep having fun.”

After hanging up, her only remaining lifeline was one person.

Her boyfriend.

Logically, she should have called Chi Yao first, given their closeness.

But her current predicament was embarrassing, and she didn’t want to look foolish in front of him.

Beyond that, showering was such an intimate act… She wasn’t prepared.

It was strange—despite becoming closer and more comfortable with Chi Yao, she found herself increasingly reserved in certain ways.

Five minutes later.

Lin Zhe Xia, with wet hair and shivering slightly from the cold, knocked on Chi Yao’s door.

Chi Yao had just finished showering. When he opened the door, his freshly dried hair was still slightly messy. Upon seeing Lin Zhe Xia, he instinctively frowned: “What happened to you?”

Lin Zhe Xia, holding her damp hair, said: “Bad luck—the water heater broke halfway through my shower.”

The next part was harder for her to say: “So… can I borrow your bathroom?”