Chapter 4 - Strike Hard

But when Liao Yucheng ran into the situation He Bing had warned him about, he didn't follow through on his promise. So when He Bing opened his eyes the next morning, he found half his body sprawled on top of Liao Yucheng, with one leg shamelessly thrown over both of Liao Yucheng's, his arm pinning down his chest, and face buried against his neck.

He Bing nearly jumped out of his skin and quickly scrambled off. He wasn't exactly lightweight, and he was scared he might have suffocated Liao Yucheng. Luckily, the guy was tougher than he looked and seemed unharmed. He sensed He Bing's movement, eyelids fluttering a couple times before slowly opening. The second he saw He Bing, he smiled. "Morning."

That smile just made He Bing feel worse. "I told you to kick me if I was crushing you."

Liao Yucheng looked completely puzzled. "You were crushing me?"

"Yeah." He hadn't even noticed? He Bing was surprised.

Sure enough, Liao Yucheng said, "I slept like a rock last night. Didn't wake up once."

He Bing let out an embarrassed laugh. "Ha ha, you're a really heavy sleeper then. My ex would've been pissed enough to shove me right off the bed."

Liao Yucheng nodded. "Guess I'm better at sharing a bed with you than she was."

Since they'd gone to bed early last night, they were both up early now. He Bing got out of bed first, and only after he left the room did Liao Yucheng start rubbing his leg. Damn, that guy really was heavy—his whole leg had gone numb.

But even as he complained to himself, Liao Yucheng felt a warm, sweet feeling spreading through his chest. After working the feeling back into his leg, he rolled over to where He Bing had been sleeping and buried his face into the pillow, taking a few deep breaths. A satisfied grin spread across his face before he finally hauled himself up.

Liao Yucheng made noodles for breakfast. After eating, he headed out without saying where he was going, and He Bing didn't ask. Maybe meeting up with old friends, maybe apartment hunting with a realtor.

He Bing and Liao Yucheng had barely kept in touch over the years, and even back in school they hadn't been that close. But after just one day together since reconnecting, He Bing was discovering that Liao Yucheng was actually pretty thoughtful. Always smiling, really warm and considerate—and he had a way with words that didn't sound fake at all. Being around him felt easy and comfortable.

On top of that, Liao Yucheng was great with household stuff and really hardworking. Even though he'd basically invaded He Bing's apartment without warning, He Bing did not find it annoying at all. If anything, he felt like he was getting the better deal.

Liao Yucheng had possibly mastered the art of being the perfect houseguest.

After Liao Yucheng left, He Bing didn't have much else to do, so he booted up his computer and gamed like usual. He didn't realize how much time had passed until the doorbell rang in the late afternoon—Liao Yucheng was back.

Liao Yucheng came through the door grinning, holding up what he was carrying. "Got us some watermelon."

He Bing's face lit up—watermelon was his absolute favorite. "That looks perfect!"

Liao Yucheng stepped inside, still smiling. "Let's chill it in the fridge first. We can have it after dinner."

That evening, Liao Yucheng pulled the watermelon out of the fridge. It was the perfect size—small enough to cut in half so they could each take a piece and eat it with spoons. He grabbed a knife and was about to cut when he noticed He Bing scowling at his phone. "What are you looking at?"

He Bing put his phone down. "This guy from college won't spamming me on WeChat trying to sell me stuff. One day it's Adidas and Nike knockoffs, the next day it's makeup. It's whatever if he just posts on his Moments, but he has to personally message everyone. God knows if any of it's even real. I have to deal with his sales bullshit every single day. It's annoying as hell."

"I know the type." Liao Yucheng nodded. "They prey on people they know, selling overpriced junk. Friends and family buy it out of obligation, then when they realize they got ripped off, there's nothing they can do about it."

He Bing made a disgusted noise. "What a scumbag move."

Liao Yucheng positioned the knife along the watermelon's center line, lining up the blade against it. "That kind of scheme only works once, though. After people get burned, they won't fall for it again."

Liao Yucheng gripped the knife tighter, the corner of his mouth quirking up. "You only get one chance. So if you want maximum profit, you have to be ruthless. Strike hard and strike true."

With that, he slammed the knife down decisively. The blade gleamed as it sliced clean through, splitting the watermelon perfectly in half.

Something about watching that knife fall sent a chill through He Bing. For a split second, it felt like the blade was coming down on him instead. His heart skipped, followed by a chill creeping up his spine.

Liao Yucheng handed him half the watermelon with a warm, gentle smile. "Here, dig in."

The living room felt a bit stuffy, so they headed out to the balcony. The weather in late May wasn't too hot yet. He Bing savoured his ice-cold watermelon while the evening breeze played across his skin, feeling pretty content. There was a bench where they both settled down.

Liao Yucheng suddenly spoke up. "Remember when we were little? We were together constantly. I'd always finish my homework first, then go find you. You were so slow with yours and always trying to sneak out—your mom always dragged you back by the ear."

Not exactly He Bing's finest moments, but the memories made him grin anyway. "That was so long ago."

Liao Yucheng scooped up some watermelon. "In summer, my grandma would always keep chilled watermelon waiting for us. When we got tired from playing, we'd sit and eat it together—half each, with spoons. Just like now."

A wave of nostalgia hit He Bing. "Crazy how fast we grew up."

"I remember in middle school," Liao Yucheng continued, "Around eighth grade, you seemed to want less and less to do with me. Sometimes when school ended and I'd wait to walk home with you, you'd insist on leaving by yourself. I'd ask you to play basketball and you wouldn't want to come anymore. I had no clue what I'd done wrong. We used to be such good friends, but you kept pulling away. I was pretty hurt by it."

This was the first time in years that Liao Yucheng had been this open about his feelings, and it hit He Bing like a punch to the gut. He swallowing hard, before stammering, "No, no, it wasn't like that. School just got more intense back then. My grades sucked compared to yours, so I figured I should focus more on studying instead of playing around so much."

Liao Yucheng chuckled softly. "Later in college, when I ended up right next to your school, I'd sometimes play basketball on your campus. I used to wonder if I randomly bumped into you there, if you would even recognize me anymore?"

"Of course I would." He Bing's guilt intensified. He stared down at his watermelon, poking at it with his spoon. "I might not recognize other people, but I'd always know you."

Liao Yucheng leaned in closer, eyes searching his face. "Really?"

"Absolutely." He Bing's chest felt tight with reget. The longer he'd been out in the world, the more he understood how rare it was to have someone who'd known you since childhood. He could have had a real friend, a brother who'd have his back no matter what, but he'd thrown it all away because of his own stupid jealousy. "I'm so glad we're back in each other's lives. You can stay here as long as you want. And even after you move out, if you need anything, just say the word. Let's not lose touch again—we can be just like when we were kids again, okay?"

He Bing had never been good at hiding his feelings, so his eyes were always completely sincere when he looked at people. Liao Yucheng loved that look in his eyes. He said quietly, "Deal."

He shifted a little closer to He Bing and reached toward his face. He Bing instinctively leaned back, not sure what was happening, but Liao Yucheng just plucked a watermelon seed from the corner of his mouth. His smiling face was suddenly inches away. "You had a seed stuck there."

"Oh." He Bing pressed his lips together, feeling oddly flustered.