Lin Yu stared at the bushes for a long while and said, “You really are…”
“Shameless, clingy, and incorrigible.” Lu Ziqing naturally completed his sentence.
A night breeze swept past, rustling the edges of their clothes.
The late autumn night carried a chill, growing colder as they walked.
Lu Ziqing pulled Lin Yu’s open collar together and zipped it up from the bottom to the top. “Alright, we’ve been out for quite a while. You should head home now, or your family will start worrying.”
Lin Yu instinctively said, “Then you—”
Halfway through, he stopped himself.
He never seemed to learn his lesson, always giving this little troublemaker an opportunity to take advantage of.
Lu Ziqing chuckled softly. “What? Afraid I’ll shamelessly sleep over at your place?”
Lin Yu said nothing, just stared at him with his round eyes.
“On the way here, I saw a chain hotel nearby, with a barbecue joint and snack stalls right downstairs. Ah, I was just thinking of experiencing the local flavors of L County properly,” Lu Ziqing took a step back, turned around, and waved. “See you tomorrow, Xiao Yu.”
He shoved his hands into his jacket pockets and strolled leisurely toward the entrance of the residential area.
His tall figure gradually disappeared at the end of the bushes.
…
Lin Yu walked home, clutching his sleeve as he did, pressing his fingertips against the warm, thick lining of the jacket.
“Xiao Yu.”
…
Every time Lu Ziqing’s voice echoed in his ears, his heart would suddenly skip a beat.
He couldn’t tell if it was annoyance or helplessness.
…Who allowed him to call him that?
Seriously…
So presumptuous.
…..
Lin Yu hadn’t been back to his hometown for a long time.
The nights in L County quieted down early. After nine o’clock, the shops in the streets and alleys gradually closed.
Household lights flickered off one by one, like scattered clouds fading into the night. Occasionally, a few remained lit, perhaps belonging to high school seniors burning the midnight oil.
Eight years ago, Lin Yu had been one of them.
He had been intelligent since childhood, with outstanding academic performance, diligence, and determination. He was the famous “model student” in his neighborhood, and in his senior year, he had been admitted to a prestigious university’s foreign language department as the top humanities student in the county.
After starting work, he rarely returned home, only visiting a handful of times each year. However, every month when his salary was credited, he would immediately transfer half of it to his family to help with expenses and support Lin Rui’s education.
When Lin Yu arrived home, his father was washing the dishes, and his mother was taking a bath.
Lin Rui stood by the table, quietly wiping it.
Lin Yu took the cloth from her hand. “I’ll do it.”
Lin Rui tugged the cloth back with force.
“No need,” she said, lowering her head. “That guy with the surname Lu, where is he?”
Lin Yu vaguely sensed something unusual. Lin Rui’s tone was cold, almost as if she was unhappy.
Had he been away from home for too long?
In his memory, Lin Rui was always quiet and reserved, but she spoke gently and politely.
Yet now, she sounded… almost sharp.
“He went to stay at a hotel,” Lin Yu said. “We don’t have a spare guest room at home anyway.”
“Oh,” Lin Rui replied. “Next time you bring a stranger home, at least give me a heads-up.”
Lin Yu frowned slightly. “I told Mom and Dad.”
“Then they didn’t tell me,” Lin Rui said. “Maybe they think kids don’t have the right to know.”
Lin Yu explained, “I only told them today. They were probably busy and forgot to mention it to you.”
“Maybe,” Lin Rui finished wiping the table and tossed the cloth onto it. “Or maybe you could have told me yourself. But you didn’t. Probably too busy.”
“Rui Rui,” Lin Yu’s expression grew serious. “You’re acting strange today. Did something happen?”
The sharpness in Lin Rui’s tone was hard to ignore.
Lin Rui seemed to realize she had spoken too harshly.
Her long, jet-black hair cascaded over her shoulders. She lowered her gaze, remained silent for a moment, then said, “It’s nothing. I’m going to bed.”
With that, she turned and walked into her room, slamming the door shut.
Mr. Lin, hearing the noise, peeked his head out from the kitchen. “What’s going on?”
“…Nothing.” Lin Yu walked into the kitchen to help wash the dishes, lowering his voice. “Has Rui Rui been going through something lately? She seems upset.”
“Ah, teenage girls are moody. One day happy, the next day sulky,” his father chuckled. “Don’t mind her. She’ll be fine by tomorrow.”
Lin Yu hesitated. “She has an art entrance exam coming up. Maybe she’s stressed. Just don’t put too much pressure on her.”
“Who’s putting pressure on her?” Mr. Lin said. “Back when you were home, your word carried the most weight. Then it was Rui Rui, then your mother, and I came last.”
“Now that you’re away, Rui Rui’s practically ruling the house like a little empress.”
Lin Yu still felt something was off. “She’s acting differently today…”
His father lowered his voice. “Who knows, maybe she confessed to some handsome boy at school and got rejected.”
Lin Yu was exasperated. “Dad…”
“Ahem,” his father cleared his throat. “Anyway, don’t overthink it. We take good care of Rui Rui at home. You finally got a break from work—just relax. Tomorrow, take your colleague out for a stroll. A new shopping mall just opened at Central Plaza, and they’ve got discounts every day.”
Mr. Lin was quite interested in Lu Ziqing as well. “That colleague of yours looks pretty sharp. Does he have a partner?”
…
Of all the things to bring up.
Lin Yu remained silent for a few seconds. “I’m going to the balcony to bring in the laundry.”
Without hesitation, he dried his hands and made his escape.
“Hey, hey!” Mr. Lin watched as Lin Yu quickly fled the scene, muttering, “…Brat, why are you already impatient after just a couple of questions?”
….
After spending an entire day on the high-speed train, Lin Yu was sore all over. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he fell asleep.
The next morning, he slowly woke up, feeling completely relaxed and too lazy to move.
…He overslept.
That realization hit him instantly.
Not wanting to be disturbed the previous night, he had turned off all his phone alarms.
Still groggy, Lin Yu reached out with his left hand, fumbling for his phone on the bedside table.
He remembered placing it in the upper left corner of the bed…
Unexpectedly, his fingers touched something warm.
It was soft, but also slightly firm.
His half-awake mind didn’t quite register it yet—just that it felt nice to the touch, like a little dog’s belly.
When he was in elementary school, his family had a small pup that always drooped its ears, looking a bit unlucky and pitiful.
Instinctively, he spread his five fingers and gave the thing another squeeze.
…
It was a large area.
Smooth, warm, and—skin?
And slightly raised in places…
“Good morning, Xiao Yu.” A calm male voice spoke from above, on his left. “Although I’m glad you’re finally accepting me, waking up and groping my chest muscles first thing in the morning might be a bit too fast.”
[mfn]
[Author’s Note]
Not too fast, not fast at all!
[/mfn]
