“Then why didn’t you send me?” Zhou Bin grinned and patted Mao Xian on the shoulder, saying, “Alright, I’ll definitely send you next time—I’ll send you a whole box!”
“Now that’s more like it!”
After finishing the hotpot, Zhou Bin and Nie Chuan saw Mao Xian off, as he lived farther away, and then the two of them walked along the street.
Zhou Bin spoke up, “Hey, you two still haven’t… done that, right?”
Nie Chuan immediately knew what Zhou Bin meant by “that.”
“Not yet… If we had, I probably would’ve died by now,” Nie Chuan replied with a little frustration.
“Huh?” Zhou Bin looked at him incredulously. “Then how do you guys usually handle it?”
“…With our hands,” Nie Chuan lowered his head.
“With your hands!” Zhou Bin’s voice went up by an octave, attracting a lot of attention from people around. Nie Chuan nudged him, and Zhou Bin lowered his voice. “What else do you do?”
Nie Chuan knew Zhou Bin would never let him get away with anything, so he had no choice but to admit it. “And with our mouths… he’s used my legs for… that too…”
After a few seconds of silence, Zhou Bin asked, “Reese can actually hold back?”
Nie Chuan swallowed nervously. He’d been wondering the same thing himself for a while.
“Seems like… he’s almost at his limit… What do I do, Bin? I can’t beat him. I want to be on top, but he definitely won’t let me.”
Zhou Bin looked at him sideways. “You want to be on top of Reese? That guy’s been wanting you for a while, you idiot. Think about it, every day, you’re sleeping next to the person you want, and he’s been holding back for almost four months without touching you. You’re already a winner in life, A-Chuan.”
Hearing Zhou Bin say that, Nie Chuan just wanted to die.
“Reese’s body looks like he has… strong needs in that area.”
“How can you tell from his body?” Nie Chuan asked, suddenly curious.
“His abdomen’s firm, no excess fat around his waist, smooth lines, and a powerful feeling.”
Nie Chuan looked down at himself. “Well, I have that too!”
“You? If you’re a domestic dog, Reese is a Tibetan mastiff. Don’t even try comparing,” Zhou Bin said, giving him a side-eye.
Nie Chuan was speechless.
“If you keep rejecting him, he must be having a hard time holding it in. He won’t fall for someone else anytime soon, but that doesn’t mean he won’t give in to someone else.”
“Reese won’t,” Nie Chuan replied firmly.
“Why?”
“Because he never settles for less.”
Zhou Bin laughed, “It’s a good thing you trust him like that.”
Though he said that, Nie Chuan felt a deep, unsettling anxiety welling up inside him.
He remembered the love letter signed “v” and the text messages in Reese’s phone. That night, Nie Chuan tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
He stared at his phone, flipping through the messages Reese had sent him. They had pretty much been in touch every day, but when Nie Chuan opened the messages, the only one he saw was Reese’s message saying, “I’ve arrived,” right when Reese had gotten to New York.
Nothing else. Not even a single message worth lingering on.
Nie Chuan dialed Reese’s number, but to his surprise, no one picked up!
He sat up in bed, staring at his phone, tilting his head. Based on his experience, Reese would usually answer within three seconds. If he missed the call, he’d call back within half an hour.
But… half an hour passed, and his phone didn’t even vibrate once.
Had Reese gone out and forgotten his phone?
Or maybe he was playing basketball, and the phone was in his bag, so he couldn’t hear it?
Or maybe the phone had run out of battery?
Nie Chuan waited an hour, and still no response.
Even if the phone had run out of battery, it should’ve been charging by now!
He kicked his phone in frustration, grabbed the blanket, and decided to go to sleep!
At first, he couldn’t fall asleep, but soon enough, he began to feel drowsy and eventually fell asleep.
It wasn’t until just before noon that Nie Chuan woke up from a full bladder.
He grabbed his phone to check the time, and the screen showed twelve missed calls, all from Reese. Nie Chuan was so shocked he almost peed himself right there.
Nie Chuan quickly redialed, and this time, it only took one second for the call to connect.
“Nie Chuan, why didn’t you pick up my calls?” Reese’s voice was a little deeper than usual.
Nie Chuan had missed Reese’s calls before, but twelve calls… this was a record.
“I… I fell asleep waiting for you to call me back…”
“I thought something had happened to you.”
“I’m fine, it’s vacation! How could something happen? Ha ha!” Nie Chuan laughed awkwardly.
“You usually don’t call me unless something’s wrong.”
“It’s not like that!” As soon as Nie Chuan said that, he felt guilty and quickly changed the subject. “So, what were you doing last night?”
“We had a Christmas dinner here.”
The moment Nie Chuan heard “dinner,” he felt uneasy.
He remembered that Larvin had once mentioned how James hoped to “market” his son to the rich girls at a dinner.
“How was the dinner?”
“Boring,” Reese’s standard reply.
“Was there a lot of good food?” Nie Chuan asked, trying to get Reese to talk more.
“The desserts were really good. Especially the meringue cake.”
Nie Chuan felt a little tempted but didn’t forget the question he really wanted to ask. “How was it boring? Didn’t your father, James, introduce you to any new friends?”
“I don’t attend events with my father. He’s always thinking about maximizing his profits. It was my brother-in-law’s charity dinner.”
“Oh…” Nie Chuan relaxed a little. “Was the charity dinner for donations?”
“Yes. They auctioned off some items to raise funds.”
“Did you buy anything?” Nie Chuan asked, curious.
“No. My brother-in-law took one of my jerseys and sold it.”
Nie Chuan almost spat out his drink.
“They sold… your jersey?”
But Reese wasn’t a famous basketball player!
“Yeah.”
“How much did it sell for?”
“Over five thousand dollars.”
Nie Chuan almost choked on his own spit.
“F… five thousand dollars?”
“Do you think my jersey isn’t worth that much?” Reese’s voice rose slightly.
But Nie Chuan knew Reese wasn’t angry; he actually sounded amused.
“Of course not!” Nie Chuan immediately thought about the upper-class people at the dinner, who probably didn’t care what was being auctioned off, and maybe someone really would pay that much for Reese’s jersey.
“Your jersey isn’t worth five thousand dollars,” Reese said.
“But to those people, it’s priceless.”
“Then if it were priceless, would you be willing to buy it for five thousand?”
Nie Chuan laughed, “I don’t need to buy it. I’m already wearing your jersey!”
Nie Chuan always threw the jerseys he changed out of into a pile, and most of the time, they ended up getting washed with Reese’s jerseys. Reese always “forced” Nie Chuan to pick out the same style of jersey as his. Nie Chuan’s size was only a little smaller than Reese’s, so sometimes, he’d pick up the wrong jersey. But Nie Chuan never gave it back; most of the time, he just wore it until it was washed again, and then Reese would claim it.
The line on the other end of the phone suddenly went silent.
Nie Chuan scratched his head, thinking he hadn’t said anything wrong.
“Hey, Reese, are you still there?”
“I’m here. A-Chuan, do you know what I think about when I’m bored at a dinner?”
Reese’s voice was soft, and it was the tone that always made Nie Chuan’s heart race.
“What do you think about?”
“I think about you. I close my eyes and kiss you in my mind. I hold you. I listen to your breathing. And I make you cry.”
“Make me cry? I won’t cry!” Nie Chuan was so angry, he almost hung up the phone.
“Are you sure you won’t cry? Then when we’re back at school, I’ll have to test it out.”
Nie Chuan instantly knew what Reese meant by “test it out,” and his face turned bright red.
“You can test it on yourself!”
After hanging up with Reese, Nie Chuan felt much better.
He stretched, had lunch, and then played basketball with Larvin. This guy was really good at basketball, and Nie Chuan got played a few times, though he also had his moments of surprise victories.
They played for a long time. When they got tired, they sat down to drink some water, played some games on their phones, and then continued playing after resting.
Larvin often made an annoyed expression and said, “I feel like my skills are just being absorbed by you. It feels like I’m training an enemy!”
At this, Nie Chuan would comfort him, saying, “Based on how the finals are shaping up, either your team or ours, DK, is bound to face off with AZU, and someone is going to make Sethston Lindt look like he just ate a fly. You’re not training an enemy; you’re training an ally.”
“This doesn’t comfort me at all,” Larvin swatted Nie Chuan’s hand away.
Nie Chuan laughed. He used to find Larvin annoying, especially when he was so full of himself in front of sports reporters. But now, he thought Larvin was kind of cute—at least when it came to practice.
In a league match, though, Nie Chuan knew that the serious Larvin would be far more intimidating.
“Hey, Reese’s really living the life! He’s hanging out with some sports brand founder’s daughter!” Larvin suddenly said.
“Huh? What are you talking about!” Nie Chuan leaned over, and sure enough, Larvin’s phone screen showed a picture of Reese in a black tux, holding a glass with a well-dressed girl of about his age, her hair styled up.
Reese’s expression was calm, but his eyes seemed to be distant, as though time was slipping by unnoticed.
This was a side of Reese that Nie Chuan had never seen before. His hair was tucked behind his ears, exposing his forehead and his sharp nose. The angles of his features were even more pronounced.
“It seems like Reese isn’t going to be lonely this Christmas,” Larvin sighed, leaning on Nie Chuan’s shoulder, like they were comrades in arms.
“They’re just clinking glasses,” Nie Chuan couldn’t tell if he was defending Reese or comforting himself.
“What do you think?” Larvin winked. “With Reese’s resources, anyone around him would be there by mutual consent. Does he have any reason not to enjoy himself?”
“Reese’s not like that,” Nie Chuan said seriously, looking at Larvin.
He and Reese had been roommates for a long time; he knew Reese well. Not everyone could be welcomed into Reese’s world.
“Hahaha! Look at your face, you really defend that guy Reese!” Larvin messed up Nie Chuan’s hair, “I wish I had a cute teammate like you!”
Nie Chuan lowered his head and didn’t say anything.
He realized that, more than ever, he missed Reese.
And the person who had written the love letter to Reese, who still had a place in his phone contacts under the name “v.”
“I’m going home.”
“Going home?” Larvin stood up. “Are we still playing basketball tomorrow?”
“No, you go ahead. I have other places to go tomorrow.”
“Huh? Where to?”
“None of your business,” Nie Chuan turned toward Larvin, slung his sports bag over his shoulder, and backed away step by step. “If you can’t find anyone better to play basketball with, you can always find a girl and go watch a movie or have some steak!”
Larvin was left stunned, and Nie Chuan couldn’t help but feel a bit satisfied.
Back home, Nie Chuan began packing his luggage. Underwear, sweaters, basketball shoes—everything went into his suitcase.
He opened the closet, and Reese’s wool coat was still hanging there. Nie Chuan pressed his face against it, and he could almost smell a trace of Reese’s scent.
Nie Chuan booked a flight for the same day, grabbed his suitcase, and rushed to the airport.
By the time he reached New York, it was already dusk.
Luckily, he remembered the street where Reese’s apartment was. After taking the subway and walking for a long time, he finally arrived at the building under Reese’s apartment.
Nie Chuan looked up at the building. The windows were tightly shut, and Reese didn’t seem to be there.
He felt disappointed.
Maybe Reese was still with his sister and brother-in-law.
Nie Chuan grabbed his suitcase and walked up. He knew where Reese hid the keys—under the tile at the bottom right corner of the door.
He opened the door, lugged the suitcase inside, and checked the shoe cabinet in the hallway. He found the slippers Reese had prepared for him, still there, placed right beside Reese’s. The sight made Nie Chuan’s heart feel warm.
He entered the small bedroom, purposely rolled on the bed, and felt satisfied seeing the wrinkled sheets.
Then he moved to the window, opened it, and looked at the pumpkin lantern across the street, now dusted with snow. He took out his phone.
One second, two seconds… Until the tenth second, Reese’s phone finally connected.
“Hello? This is Reese Redington. Who’s calling?”
A soft female voice answered.
Nie Chuan’s heart skipped a beat, and across the street, he saw a tall figure in a gray coat walking toward the pumpkin lantern. He was carrying a woman, dressed fashionably, her scarf wrapped around Reese’s neck, and in her hands was Reese’s phone. Their posture was so intimate, as if they couldn’t wait to become one.
At that moment, it felt like Nie Chuan’s chest was filled with crushed ice, then squeezed tightly, unable to melt.
His fingers trembled, and he opened his mouth but didn’t know what to say.
“Hello? Why aren’t you speaking?”
Even from across the street, Nie Chuan could clearly see the mocking smile on the woman’s lips. He had a feeling she knew about him.
He almost said, “Wrong number,” but it felt unnecessary.
Just then, Reese looked up, their gazes meeting through the window.
