Chapter 81

Chapter 81

When Mo Yi Kai and Yuan Xiao arrived, they saw Cheng Nan Yi with his arm propped on Yuan Ting’s shoulder, standing close. Mo Yi Kai raised an eyebrow: "What’s up, made up?"

"What's it to you?" Yuan Ting walked past him with his head held high, swaggering.

Mo Yi Kai casually hooked his arm around Yuan Ting's neck, whispering, "Hey, which of those two girls do you actually like?"

Yuan Ting gestured with his finger for Mo Yi Kai to come closer, and when he did, Yuan Ting whispered in his ear, enunciating each word, "Perpetual - single - dog."

Mo Yi Kai chased after Yuan Ting out of the Temple of the Matchmaker.

He was determined to thrash the brat today.

Exhausted from the climb, everyone decided to take the cable car down the mountain. While in line, Duan Wen Ze's eyes kept darting between Yuan Ting and Cheng Nan Yi.

Gu Yu Qi and Dou Xin were ahead in the queue. When it was their turn, there were only two spots left in the car ahead.

Gu Yu Qi, pulling Dou Xin forward, saw Duan Wen Ze suddenly push both Yuan Ting and Cheng Nan Yi out: “They’ll go first.”

The staff, not bothering with the details, saw the two step forward and ushered them into the car, closing the door immediately.

The remaining people glanced at Duan Wen Ze. Before anyone could speak, the next car arrived, and they were all ushered in.

"Nice move, kid. Kick out the rival, then share the cable car with the girl you like," Mo Yi Kai patted Duan Wen Ze’s shoulder, "Well played."

Duan Wen Ze gave a forced laugh.

He swore, that wasn't his intention.

He hadn't been thinking about the girls at all; his mind was on his and Yuan Ting's decade-long brotherhood.

A brother liking men was surely a tough path. After all, men generally like women, and finding a man who likes men is hard. So, if Cheng Nan Yi genuinely liked Yuan Ting, that would be the best option for Yuan Ting.

Of course, Cheng Nan Yi couldn't compare to him, but sadly he was genuinely straight. To prevent Yuan Ting from continuing his futile crush, it was time to let Yuan Ting shift his affections.

Yuan Ting had no idea how much Duan Wenzhe's imagination had run wild. If he knew, he would surely give him a good beating.

After getting on the cable car, Yuan Ting had the neat freak sit by the window, while he himself sat in the middle, next to a girl.

Cheng Nanyi turned sideways and stared at Yuan Ting.

Yuan Ting felt uncomfortable under his gaze. "Why are you looking at me when the scenery is so beautiful?"

"What's wrong, can't I look at you?" Cheng Nanyi replied calmly.

Before Yuan Ting could react, a few girls sitting across from them let out a very soft "wow."

Yuan Ting: "..."

Yuan Ting reached out to pinch Cheng Nanyi's chin in an attempt to turn his face away, but Cheng Nanyi stubbornly refused to look elsewhere.

Wow!!!

Yuan Ting suddenly had a flash of inspiration: "Brother, you're not afraid of heights, are you?"

Cheng Nanyi, having been caught out, gave up pretending and leaned his forehead on Yuan Ting’s shoulder, murmuring lowly, "Yeah, I'm afraid of heights."

Yuan Ting laughed heartlessly and quickly pulled out an instant camera from his bag, handing it to a group of girls who were discreetly observing them. "Could you beauties help us take a photo? Thanks!"

Wrapping an arm around Cheng Nanyi’s shoulder, Yuan Ting raised his arm to show off a little mouse tattoo on his upper arm.

Now that’s a real man.

After the girls took their photo, Yuan Ting chuckled and tucked the picture into his wallet, then started taking selfies from every angle with his phone.

After he finished, he posted on his social media: "Attention, please! Those afraid of heights, beware. Those who aren't, feel free to laugh."

Not satisfied with just showing off, Yuan Ting took advantage of Cheng Nanyi's 'weak' state, pulled out his phone from his pocket, took a selfie, and posted: "A day protected by my younger brother for a guy afraid of heights. Yay, feel so safe!"

Yuan Ting did this just for fun, setting the post visibility to only himself.

Without waiting, a slender hand reached over to hit the post button.

Surprised, Yuan Ting turned his head towards the person leaning on his shoulder, pale from acrophobia: "What are you doing?"

"What, don’t have the guts to post it?" Cheng Nanyi asked.

"It’s not that I don’t dare," Yuan Ting replied incredulously, "I was trying to save your face... but I suddenly realize, you're quite shameless." His thoughts were unconventional.

"Thanks for the compliment," Cheng Nanyi said, accidentally glancing at the transparent glass under his feet and immediately closing his eyes.

Yuan Ting quickly wrapped his arms around him, teasingly saying, "Come on, brother hug, there, there, don’t be afraid..."

The girls across from them were laughing so hard they were falling over, while Yuan Ting raised an eyebrow at them smugly.

After arriving, Cheng Nanyi's legs turned to jelly as he clung to Yuan Ting’s arm while stepping off the cable car. Yuan Ting touched his hand, feeling the sweat in Cheng Nanyi’s palm.

Yuan Ting hadn't realized before that Cheng Nanyi suffered from acrophobia.

"Why didn’t you tell me earlier?" Yuan Ting said, slightly annoyed, "If I had known, we wouldn’t have taken the cable car."

"It’s just a mild fear, not bad enough to avoid cable cars," Cheng Nanyi regained his usual composure.

Yuan Ting just scoffed, thinking how Cheng Nanyi also claimed he didn't have a cleanliness obsession, yet clearly, he was a perfectionist.

"You okay?" Mo Yikai approached and patted Cheng Nanyi’s shoulder, "I told you, you should have walked down instead of insisting on the cable car."

"Why did you suggest he walk down?" Yuan Ting immediately asked.

"Are you sick?" Mo Yikai glared at him, "He’s afraid of heights."

"How do you know he's afraid of heights?" Yuan Ting frowned, perplexed since he himself was unaware of it.

"We've grown up together since we were kids, what don’t I know about him?"

"We also grew up together, how come I didn’t know?" Yuan Ting retorted.

"Oh ho..." Mo Yikai clicked his tongue and looked at him meaningfully, "Buddy, you two didn’t exactly grow up together."

His tone was clearly meant to sow discord.

Cheng Nanyi shot him a glare: "Shut up."

Yuan Ting was left speechless and frustrated, opening and closing his mouth several times without a comeback. Finally, he turned and walked away, vowing to remember this grudge.

Lunch on the mountain was simple, so everyone headed to a restaurant after descending for a meal. By the time they were ready to leave, night had fully set in.

This time, Yuan Ting sat in the last row, and Cheng Nanyi took the seat next to him after boarding the bus.

Everyone was exhausted from a day of hiking; no one felt like talking. Once on the bus, they all quickly fell into a deep sleep. The snoring of Duan Wenze and Mo Yikai was staggered, a testament to their fatigue.

Yuan Ting was also incredibly tired, his head resting against the window, swaying back and forth. Mo Yikai was right; who hikes for fun?

His legs felt like they didn’t belong to him anymore.

Every bump of the bus made Yuan Ting’s head thump against the window. It was a bit painful, but still bearable, so he didn’t bother moving.

He wanted to see which would give in first: the window or his head.

Before he could hit his head a second time, a hand reached over, gently guiding his head to rest on the shoulder of the person beside him.

Yuan Ting stiffened momentarily but remained silent.

Cheng Nanyi wasn’t asleep, sitting upright. His arm, which had moved Yuan Ting's head, now casually rested on Yuan Ting's waist, while he took out his phone with the other hand.

The post Yuan Ting had shared earlier had garnered a lot of comments and likes.

Most comments were from high school and college classmates, shocked and teasing: “Cheng Nanyi, are you possessed? Yikes! I’m getting goosebumps.”

In the photo, only Cheng Nanyi’s shoulder was visible, leaning on Yuan Ting, while Yuan Ting's face was clearly visible in a close-up.

Those who didn’t recognize Yuan Ting asked, “Who’s this?”

And those who knew Yuan Ting commented, “Cheng Nanyi, your brother is getting more and more handsome.”

Among these, Mo Yikai’s comment stood out: “This kid posted it, right? Smells like an attention-seeker.”

Just as Cheng Nanyi was about to put away his phone, a hand reached over and jabbed the screen fiercely: "Be careful with your words."

Cheng Nanyi turned to look at him.

The bus was still moving, dimly lit inside, with only the fleeting shadows of streetlights passing by.

Yuan Ting's head was still resting on his shoulder; as Cheng Nanyi turned, his lips brushed over Yuan Ting’s hair.

Cheng Nanyi's chest rose and fell, and the hand resting by Yuan Ting’s waist clenched in restraint.

Suddenly, Yuan Ting rose, arching his back and stealthily moved towards Mo Yikai's seat.

Cheng Nanyi grabbed his wrist, asking in a whisper, “What are you doing?”

Turning back, Yuan Ting also whispered, “To scare him.” This was a perfect opportunity for revenge, and he had said before, he holds grudges.

With a sense of resignation, Cheng Nanyi tugged him back, “Come back here.”

Yuan Ting didn’t expect to be pulled, nor did he anticipate the bus jolting, causing him to lose balance. He fell backward, ending up sitting on Cheng Nanyi’s lap and leaning into his embrace.

Instinctively, Cheng Nanyi wrapped his arms around Yuan Ting’s waist, both of them collapsing back onto the rear seat.

Yuan Ting, not wanting to crush Cheng Nanyi, instinctively tried to get up, pushing his hand beside him...

Cheng Nanyi let out a muffled grunt, swiftly grabbing Yuan Ting’s hand and pulling it away.

Yuan Ting: !!!

"Damn..."

Yuan Ting was utterly shocked.

He even forgot that he had intended to get up.

It was as if he had just touched something he shouldn't have...

It wasn't until Cheng Nanyi's voice sounded somewhat resigned, "Get off."

Yuan Ting then rolled off him and sat to the side.

Cheng Nanyi shifted to the side, making his intentions quite clear—to distance himself from the troublemaker.

Yuan Ting gazed at the rapidly passing lights and shadows outside the window, feeling as though his troublesome hand didn't belong to him anymore, awkwardly resting on his lap.

After a while, Yuan Ting shifted his body to the side, and his eyes couldn't help but glance at a certain part of Cheng Nanyi.

Cheng Nanyi turned his head, his expression emotionless as he looked at Yuan Ting.

Yuan Ting quickly averted his gaze, cleared his throat, and then leaned closer to Cheng Nanyi's ear, whispering, "Brother, are you okay? Do you need to go to the hospital? If there's anything wrong, don't keep it to yourself. We're all men here, so don't be shy..."

"Shut up."

"Alright then."

Yuan Ting leaned back in his seat, quiet for a while, but he couldn't resist leaning in again, "Brother, there's something I haven't told you. When we left the restaurant, I didn't wash my hands, and I touched a lot of things along the way. I might be dirty..."

Cheng Nanyi covered his mouth with one hand and pressed him against the backrest with the other, pinning him down. He squinted at him and said, "Yuan Ting, try saying one more word."

Yuan Ting blinked his eyes, a mischievous smile playing on his lips, as he moved his lips in Cheng Nanyi's hand, "I dare not."

After provoking Cheng Nanyi, he felt completely at ease.

Cheng Nanyi gave him a deep look and then released him, moving to sit in the front seat.

Yuan Ting leaned against the back seat, silently smiling.

Author's note:

Thanks to the little angels who voted for me or gave me nutrient solutions from 2023-09-23 20:08:03 to 2023-09-25 20:32:10~

Special thanks to the little angels who gave nutrient solutions: No Refusal 21 bottles; Cute White, Passerby A, Boatless 10 bottles; Rice Ball 3 bottles; Su Fourteen, 404 Big Ghost Head, ⌒. Serenely, Bitter Brother So Sweet, Jiang Fang 1 bottle;

Thank you all very much for your support. I will continue to work hard!