SBS chapter 46

Half an hour later.

Ye Xi had finished off a bag of chips, downed a can of cold cola, and even chewed on a few mint candies — yet he still hadn’t calmed down.

Impossible…

How could Bai Yue possibly like him?

He absentmindedly kept shoving dried mango into his mouth, still stunned as he thought.

The examples Li Rui had rattled off kept replaying in his mind.

Bai Yue’s gaze under the fireworks.

The time at the rest stop, when Bai Yue handed him that opal brooch.

That night in the living room, when he sat chatting with Bai Yue in the middle of the night, and drank a sip of beer straight from Bai Yue’s hand…

And the time he was drunk, when Bai Yue had held him gently, taking care of him all night without the slightest impatience.

Ye Xi crunched the dried mango between his teeth, staring blankly at a pen lying on the table.

Rationally, even now, he couldn’t believe Bai Yue actually liked him.

Even if Bai Yue really had kissed him, it didn’t count.

It was only on the forehead, not the lips.

That was like stamping a seal on a blank page — hard to present as evidence in court.

But emotionally…

Ye Xi’s eyelashes fluttered faintly, and a ripple stirred in his heart.

And before he could think it through, his phone buzzed on the table.

For some reason, his senses felt unusually sharp at that moment. Even before looking at the screen, he had a hunch it might be Bai Yue.

He hesitated, then picked it up. Sure enough, it was Bai Yue.

“Are you asleep? Our dinner just ended, I’m heading back to the hotel now. The restaurant we went to today is a local specialty, a local friend brought us. Next time I bring you to F City, we can go together.”

Bai Yue’s voice came through in a voice message, but maybe because he was walking, his breathing sounded a little unsteady.

Ye Xi was just starting to wonder about it when another message came in.

“Sorry, I actually drank a bit too much today, so I just wanted to talk to you. If I’m bothering you, you don’t have to reply.”

At the end of the recording, Bai Yue let out a soft laugh. He said he was apologizing, but there was a trace of quiet confidence in his tone.

That laugh was like a feather, slipping nimbly into Ye Xi’s ear.

Ye Xi gripped his phone tighter. It had grown warm from charging, and his wrist trembled slightly from the heat.

He stared at the blank wall in front of him.

His heartbeat was so loud, it was deafening.

[It’s okay.]

He didn’t send a voice message back, afraid Bai Yue might hear the unevenness in his breathing.

He could only type, one message at a time:

[I’m not asleep, and you’re not bothering me.]

“Really?”

Bai Yue’s voice message came again. “Then can I call you?”

Ye Xi froze. For a moment, he panicked, his hands fumbling clumsily.

[Yes. But wait a second, I need to step out onto the balcony.]

He quickly grabbed his earphones, sneaking away under Li Rui’s suspicious, hawk-like gaze, and slipped onto the balcony.

Out there in the still, desolate quiet, he fit his Bluetooth earbud into his ear.

“Bai-ge.”

He called softly, signaling that he was ready.

But on the other side, there was silence — only steady breathing.

“Did you drink a lot today?” Ye Xi couldn’t help asking first.

“Mm… I got dragged into drinking by some classmates, couldn’t really refuse.”

Bai Yue let out a helpless laugh. He was standing in the hotel garden, moonlight streaming faintly down, the greenery and fountain glistening like falling pearls.

He really was a little drunk.

But not so far gone as to lose his senses.

If anything, the alcohol was just flushing away his usual calm composure, leaving only the reckless side beneath.

“Actually, I don’t have anything in particular to say. I just wanted to hear your voice.” Leaning back against the garden bench, his eyelashes lowered halfway. “Now that I’ve heard it, I feel better.”

Ye Xi’s breath caught.

The phone in his palm burned hotter, scorching even his ear.

Those words… no matter how you put them, they sounded ambiguous.

Who says something like that to someone they only see as a younger brother?

He parted his lips, wanting to reply, but nothing came out.

“Did I scare you?” Bai Yue asked softly, apologizing again. “Sorry, making you deal with a drunk.”

But his apology wasn’t sincere at all — since he had no intention of hanging up.

“No,” Ye Xi finally managed to speak, voice strained. “I just… don’t know what to say.”

He racked his brain for a topic. “Was your gathering big? Did everyone else head back too?”

“Mm.”

Bai Yue’s voice was low. “Our group was there, and some others too. Since we’re all staying in the same hotel, we just went out together. I wasn’t the only one who drank too much — another guy did too. He saw your photo and thought you were a girl.”

He chuckled. “But I guess I can’t entirely blame him.”

Ye Xi’s heart pounded wildly. He leaned against the balcony railing, the night wind brushing across his forehead.

“Why would he see my photo?” he asked softly.

“Because I set our photo as my wallpaper.” Bai Yue seemed to find the question adorable, laughing under his breath. “The one we took at the base of the snowy mountain, on the last day.”

Ye Xi’s palms broke into a sweat.

They had taken two pictures there — one with all four of them, including Zheng Yang and Li Rui, and one with just him and Bai Yue.

He hesitated, wanting to ask which one Bai Yue meant.

But just then, he heard voices on Bai Yue’s end, someone calling him. The words caught in his throat.

Half a minute later, Bai Yue let out a helpless laugh.

“Sorry, my teammates came looking for me. They’ve thought up a new plan and insist I join the discussion now, even though I told them I’m drunk. They practically dragged me out of the garden.”

“I have to hang up first. I’ll reach out again in a few days, is that okay?” Bai Yue asked softly.

Ye Xi stared at a patch of moonlight on the railing, absentmindedly tracing circles with his finger.

He didn’t want to hang up.

He even wanted to say “No,” just to see how Bai Yue would react.

But in the end, he only murmured, “Okay.”

There was a pause on the other end, like Bai Yue too was reluctant.

“Then go to bed early,” Bai Yue’s voice dropped low. “Goodnight.”

The call finally ended, leaving Ye Xi alone on the balcony, dazed.

He looked down at the sidewalk below. Despite the late hour and heavy dew, there were still boys and girls standing together beneath the trees, reluctant to part, bold in their own way.

A few minutes later, Ye Xi pushed open the curtains in a rush, locking eyes with Li Rui, who was slurping instant noodles.

“I think I really do suspect that Bai Yue likes me,” he said to Li Rui.