Chapter 41
The faint sound of the elevator doors closing swallowed Jing Huan’s words; Xiang Huaizhi didn’t catch them clearly and frowned, asking, “What?”
The alcohol was taking stronger hold; Jing Huan was already a little tipsy, eyes closed, his mind filled only with the voice he longed to hear.
Jing Huan: “…Next time, wait for me, brother.”
Xiang Huaizhi heard it clearly.
Jing Huan was calling him “gege” (older brother), and the boy deliberately lowered his voice, saying it very softly.
Xiang Huaizhi took a deep breath and asked again, “What did you call me?”
Jing Huan frowned, a little impatient, but still obediently called him once more, “Gege.”
Influenced by little sweet Jing, Xiang Huaizhi knew very well that “ge” and “gege” were two different forms of address.
“……Why do you call me that?”
Jing Huan said inexplicably, “I—haven’t I always called you that?”
After speaking, he let out a small drunken hiccup.
“……”
No.
Jing Huan had never called him “brother.”
Xiang Huaizhi pursed his lips. “You just asked me to wait for you?”
Jing Huan nodded weakly a couple of times, then remembered that when he had nodded, the longing in his heart was unseen.
So he spoke up, murmuring resentfully, “If you don’t bring me on runs… then I’ll have to join pickup groups. I… don’t like those pickup groups, and I don’t want to run with Qiu Feng and the others.”
Xiang Huaizhi was silent for a moment, then repeated in a hoarse voice, “…Qiufeng?”
“He told me everything,” Jing Huan said. “You… this afternoon you went and made a scene at the Heavenly Palace. You didn’t tell me.”
Xiang Huaizhi slowly lowered his head and looked at the head leaning on his shoulder.
There was too much information; for once he was a little overwhelmed and didn’t quite know how to react.
“Jing…” Xiang Huaizhi tried to call his name, then stopped himself, “Who am I?”
Jing Huan: “Huh?”
“Who am I.”
“You,” Jing Huan, still drunk, didn’t forget to flatter, “you are electricity, you are light, you are my superstar.”
Xiang Huaizhi felt he no longer needed to ask.
But his subconscious still felt it impossible. “…I mean, my name.”
What was this scumbag up to again.
His head ached terribly — could he stop asking him these childish, nonsensical questions?!
“You are my No.1, you are—” Jing Huan’s voice lengthened, delivering a heavy blow to Xiang Huaizhi, “the one my heart yearns for… my brother.”
The elevator doors opened and closed, closed and opened again; the people inside still didn’t come out.
A guest from room 2012 stepped out and, seeing the elevator doors just opening, hurried toward them to get in, but was startled by the two people standing inside.
The tall young man looked puzzled and bewildered, his head bowed as he looked at the person leaning against him, while the one leaning there had already let down their guard and fallen asleep with their eyes closed.
Handsome, yes—terrifying, too. Before she came over, she had vaguely seen a warm light by the elevator and thought she’d imagined it; now, looking back, it must have been the light spilling out when the elevator doors opened.
The woman stood outside the door, unwilling to step in, unable to speak, even breathing with extreme caution.
She didn’t know that the person inside was just as shaken as she was.
Xiang Huaizhi came to himself, gripped the person beside him, steadied them with a strong hand, and wordlessly walked out of the elevator.
At the door, Xiang Huaizhi asked softly, “Where’s the key card?”
The man in his arms made no move.
Xiang Huaizhi sighed, bent down, fished the card out of his pocket, and swiped it to open the door.
No sooner had they stepped into the room than Jinghuan opened his eyes.
He was parched, had been drinking, his whole body hot; taking advantage of the moment when Xiang Huaizhi was inserting his card and closing the door, he tipped himself to the side and slipped into the bathroom.
Xiang Huaizhi grabbed him: “What are you doing?”
“Not feeling well.” Jing Huan felt awful. “Want to drink water, want to wash my face…”
Xiang Huaizhi’s mind was a mess too; he let go and let him go. He watched Jing Huan walk straight past the sink and head for the shower.
By the time Xiang Huaizhi rushed in, it was already late; water was spraying from the showerhead, and Jing Huan’s pants were half soaked, turned a darker shade.
“……”
After a bout of chaos, Xiang Huaizhi carried the person out of the bathroom and tossed them straight onto the bed.
Jing Huan let out a few muffled groans, seemingly bothered by her pants sticking to her, and started wriggling from side to side.
Xiang Huaizhi, frowning as he dabbed at the water on his clothes with a tissue, suddenly heard the crisp sound of a zipper behind him.
He froze, turned, and saw Jing Huan briskly kick off her pants, boot them under the bed with a single shove, then pull the blanket over herself and fall silent.
He slept soundly, but Xiang Huaizhi was left rattled by his few words, his mind in turmoil, unable to sort things out.
In fact the truth was already in front of him, yet Xiang Huaizhi still… couldn’t believe it.
The girl in the game who clung to him and confessed every day—how could she suddenly become the drunken young man standing before him?
Not to mention anything else, even the gender didn’t match!
Xiang Huaizhi’s gaze involuntarily flicked to the blanket covering Jing Huan.
His Adam’s apple bobbed; a thought popped into his head.
No—it’s not appropriate.
Change the gender, and everyone in bed could accuse him of sexual harassment or voyeurism.
Xiang Huaizhi thought this as his hand already reached the bedding.
Then he gently lifted a corner and, like a pervert, peered inside—
Under the quilt, Jing Huan’s long, pale legs lay casually; he had very little leg hair, not a single mark on his thighs, but from the lines one could still tell these were a man’s legs—anyway, they weren’t as slim as in the photos.
But that didn’t make Xiang Huaizhi feel relieved.
Because he was on the outside of her thigh, he saw a small mole.
He stared fixedly at that mole, unmoving for a long while, so Jing Huan felt cold and flapped twice.
“Ding——”
Xiang Huaizhi heard the laptop on the sofa make a soft sound.
Jing Huan hadn’t turned off the computer.
At this point Xiang Huaizhi no longer bothered to respect anyone’s privacy; he went over to the sofa and opened the computer.
Not only was the computer on, but there were programs running—one of them called “Nine Heroes Client.”
Xiang Huaizhi clicked into the game. The little fox spirit that had been pestering him lately was gracefully sitting in the Penglai wonderland, her tail casually draped on the ground. Surrounded by green trees and red flowers, it was the spot Xiang Huaizhi most often AFK’d.
Now that things had come to this, Xiang Huaizhi finally had to admit—
Jing Huan really was Xiao Tianjing.
Thinking of it that way, even the names matched…
Xiang Huaizhi had just solved one problem when another sprang up.
Why did Jing Huan pretend to be a girl in front of him?
Even go after him??
Did Jing Huan know he was the one she longed for? After all, his voice was so similar… Or did Jing Huan already know that was his account from the start, so she deliberately created a female account to look for him?
Xiang Huaizhi keeps the game and reality very separate. In these years, aside from Lu Hang, no one knows his game ID.
He got up, took his phone into the bathroom, and called Lu Hang.
The other side answered quickly; it was very quiet around him, so he must have returned to his room.
“What’s up?” Lu Hang had also been drinking quite a bit and was feeling dizzy.
Xiang Huaizhi lowered his voice: “Have you ever told anyone my in-game ID?”
Lu Hang was taken aback: “No, you said you didn’t like games being tied to reality… What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Xiang Huaizhi crossed off the second possibility in his mind. “Going to sleep.”
“Hey, wait—”
Before Lu Hang could finish, Xiang Huaizhi had already hung up.
He stepped out of the bathroom; the person on the bed was still in the same position, breathing evenly, not even snoring.
Xiang Huaizhi suddenly calmed down.
The little liar was sleeping soundly—what did he have to worry about? Besides, he couldn’t very well wake the person up to question them.
And anyway, if Jing Huan liked then, really, the “longing of the heart” from the game… wouldn’t that mean Jing Huan’s sexual orientation is toward men?
The more he thought, the further his mind wandered. Xiang Huaizhi pulled his thoughts back, hesitated for a moment, and put the computer on the desk back in its place.
——
When Jing Huan woke up, his head throbbed faintly.
He habitually dazed for a while every morning before getting up, and today was no different. Lying on his side, he stared at the bedside lamp, feeling unbearably irritated.
There was no other reason: he had been dreaming all night.
What was worse, he dreamed about the one he longed for, and this scumbag—like a pervert—kept wanting her to call him “brother.”
He didn’t know how long passed before he suddenly remembered there was someone else in the room.
Afraid of waking the other person, Jing Huan carefully turned her head, and unexpectedly their eyes met with the person behind her.
Xiang Huaizhi was lying on his side, propping his chin, looking at him quietly; she wasn’t sure how long he’d been awake. Whether it was Jing Huan’s imagination or not, he kept feeling that there was… quite a lot of emotion in the other man’s eyes.
Jing Huan also noticed that between them it was as if a Chu–Han border separated them, the extra space wide enough for another Lu Wenhao to sleep in.
“Um,” Jing Huan pondered, then asked, “Did I… make a scene last night?”
Xiang Huaizhi: “No.”
Jing Huan: “Was I sleepwalking? Talking in my sleep? Grinding my teeth?”
“No.”
Then why were you so far away from me?
The question sounded a bit odd, and Jing Huan thought for a moment before keeping quiet. He sat up, ruffling his hair. “Sorry, senior, I think I drank a little too much last night.”
He’d never been one to brag about his drinking, and now that he thought back, he couldn’t even remember when he’d gotten drunk.
Xiang Huaizhi’s expression was complicated. “You… forgot what you said yesterday?”
Jing Huan thought for a moment. “What did I say?”
Xiang Huaizhi’s Adam’s apple bobbed; after a long pause he said, “Never mind.”
Jing Huan glanced at his phone—check-out time was approaching. Lu Wenhao had left him a message saying they wanted to soak in the hot springs once more before checking out.
He threw back the covers and was hit by a sudden chill; only then did he realize he was wearing just his underwear on the lower half.
He swung his legs off the bed, picked up his trousers and held them loosely in front of him, then casually called back, “Senior, I’m using the bathroom first, okay?”
Xiang Huaizhi: “…Mm.”
Watching Jinghuan walk into the bathroom barefoot, Xiang Huaizhi couldn’t help but wonder, are gay people so open these days? He had assumed they’d still feel shy in front of someone of the same sex.
After finishing his grooming, Jinghuan felt alive again.
While packing his luggage he asked, “Senior, they’re soaking in the hot spring. Do you want to join them? It’s pretty nice.”
“No.” Xiang Huaizhi sat on the sofa and replied to a message, then casually asked, “I remember them saying you used to play Jiuxia before?”
Jing Huan nodded: “Yeah, I played for five or six years.”
Xiang Huaizhi asked, “Why did you stop playing later?”
“My family was strict. My mom said if I kept playing, after I graduated high school I’d only be able to pick through trash,” Jing Huan said matter-of-factly. “She said she didn’t want to be the mother of a trash king, so she cut off my internet.”
“…” Thinking of Little Sweet Jing’s miserable background, Xiang Huaizhi fell silent for a moment and didn’t pursue the topic of quitting the game further. “Now that you have time, have you thought about coming back to play?”
“I’ve thought about it… maybe after some time.” Jing Huan stammered, then suddenly looked up and asked him, “Senior, which server is Jiu Xia on?”
Which server I’m on—you should know that best.
Xiang Huaizhi said, “Huahaoyueyuan.”
Jing Huan smiled, “Jiu Xia’s planners really have no imagination; the server names are always either ‘Flower’ or ‘Moon’.”
The boy’s expression was very natural; he showed no surprise or suspicion at his having lied about the district.
Xiang Huaizhi nodded in agreement. “It is pretty tacky.”
After packing their bags, the two were about to go downstairs to check out when Jing Huan suddenly remembered something and pulled her phone out of her pocket.
“Senior, let’s add each other on WeChat,” Jing Huan said with a smile. “We can play basketball together from now on.”
Xiang Huaizhi hesitated for a moment, then took out his phone.
Jing Huan promptly opened her QR code: “You scan mine?”
Xiang Huaizhi looked at that familiar pink avatar, expressionless, opened his secondary WeChat account, and added her.
The rain had stopped; after being washed by the downpour, even the air seemed considerably fresher.
Lu Wenhao and the others had already checked out and were sitting in the lobby waiting for them.
“Huanhuan, how was it, told you you couldn’t beat me at drinking, right?” Lu Wenhao said with a chuckle when he saw them.
Jing Huan snorted, “Don’t be so smug, we’ll have a rematch next time.”
After all the check-out formalities were done, Lu Hang said, “Thanks for letting us stay last night. When we get back, senior will treat you to something good.”
“No problem.” Gao Zixiang put an arm around his shoulder. “And there must be booze!”
Lu Hang blinked. “Consider it arranged.”
The few of them went to the parking lot together. Lu Hang walked up to a Land Rover, opened the door, and got in.
Starting the engine, Lu Hang rolled down the window. “How did you get here? Do you want me to drive you back?”
“No need, no need.” Lu Wenhao shook his head. “We drove here as well.”
“All right then,” Lu Hang waved to them. “Let’s go, bye.”
Xiang Huaizhi was silent the whole way; only when saying goodbye did he lift his hand toward the people outside the window, as if to acknowledge them.
The Land Rover pulled out of the parking lot. Lu Wenhao stared at its rear, shook his head and sighed, “Other people’s commuter car is a Land Rover, mine’s a Volkswagen.”
“Be grateful — neither Huanhuan nor I have a car,” Gao Zixiang said.
Lu Wenhao: “That’s just because you two are lazy; damn it, you had to make me the driver.”
The three of them chatted and laughed as they got in the car and set off back to school.
Partway there, Gao Zixiang suddenly remembered something and turned to ask the person in the back seat, “Huanhuan, did you get drunk and act crazy last night?”
Jing Huan covered her mouth and yawned: “Really?”
“I don’t know, I think Xiang Huaizhi looks pretty tired, and he has dark circles.”
“I saw that too,” Lu Wenhao glanced at Jing Huan through the rearview mirror, “but you—full of energy. When you two came down to the lobby, I almost doubted my memory of last night… Tell the truth, did you secretly drain Xiang Huaizhi’s qi last night?”
“Shut up,” Jing Huan laughed and scolded, “I don’t drain qi, I just take people’s lives.”
Xiang Huaizhi was sitting in the passenger seat with his eyes closed, pretending to nap.
“What’s wrong with you?” Lu Hang noticed his fatigue. “Didn’t sleep well last night?”
It wasn’t just that he hadn’t slept well—he hardly slept at all.
The morning grumpiness lingered around Xiang Huaizhi; he answered faintly, “Mm.”
Lu Hang didn’t dare bother him and stayed silent.
The phone in his pocket suddenly vibrated. Xiang Huai narrowed his brows and slowly opened his eyes.
Xiao Jing: Good~morn~ing, big brother~
Xiao Jing: Today is another day of loving big brother! *^0^*/
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