Chapter 60 Exchange

Chapter 60 Exchange

The other party never turned back, leaving Zhou Liao alone to rage behind him.

Looking at Qin Zhan's silent and resolute back, Zhou Liao's eyes were already red with anger. After several heaving breaths, he tore the two movie tickets into shreds and threw them in the trash.

In the end, he didn't go in to watch the movie but drove home and canceled the dinner reservation for that evening.

Two hours later, he received a WeChat message from Ling Yang asking where he was and if he wanted to have dinner together, since it would be two men and two women.

Seeing this message, Zhou Liao recalled Qin Zhan's terse text and his expression earlier, and his just-calmed mood plummeted again.

After that day, the two of them no longer contacted each other.

If they didn’t want to see each other, it was very easy. Zhou Liao only needed to go directly to the agreed restaurant to meet Chen Xian, rather than sneaking a glimpse of Qin Zhan as before to alleviate his inexplicable need.

He wouldn't seek out Qin Zhan, and naturally, the other party wouldn't seek him out either.

It could be said that Qin Zhan had never taken the initiative to contact him.

Their lives intersected only through the same university; otherwise, there was no overlap.

At noon, Zhou Liao ordered some dishes and sat playing with his phone. Soon, Chen Xian and the others came in, arm in arm, through the front door. Chen Xian hadn't been hanging out with Zhou Liao these past few days and hadn't come out when invited.

"Hey, didn't sleep well again?" Chen Xian pulled out a chair, "Did you order the Spicy Blood Tofu?"

"Of course."

"What's up, Brother Liao? Why do you have dark circles under your eyes these past two days?" The person beside him looked at Zhou Liao in surprise, "Didn't you say your sleep improved? Is the old problem acting up again?"

Zhou Liao’s face was extremely sullen; Qin Zhan was like a disease rooted in his organs.

Not seeing him for a long time might eventually ease the pain, but it left a void in his heart.

Seeing him, yet feeling distant and estranged, brought back countless nightmares of being abandoned, flooding him like a raging flood.

Seeing him, talking things out without clarity, made him feel closer, and his whole body felt lighter, as if he had returned to his whole self.

But now, with their relationship back to square one, his state was dragged back uncontrollably.

Seeing Zhou Liao still looking carefree, Chen Xian, considering it had been over a year, didn't think he still had any issues. He nudged Zhou Liao with his elbow, "Who got on your nerves? Did you take your medicine?"

"Took it."

"Took it and still can't sleep? Last week, weren't you fine when I came to your place?"

Zhou Liao looked away, irritatedly lighting a cigarette, not wanting to explain: "Stayed up late gaming."

"Staying up too much can lead to kidney deficiency; no wonder you don't hang out with women much anymore." Chen Xian sincerely advised, "By the way, your birthday is coming up soon. How do you want to celebrate? That freshman you were flirting with talked to me about it, but now it seems she won't be joining us."

"How else? Same as every year."

"Going to a club? Or a nightclub?"

"Wherever you guys want to go," Zhou Liao exhaled smoke, "I don't mind."

"A club then. Nightclubs are too noisy, and there are always people trying to crash."

"Fine." Zhou Liao didn't care either way.

"Oh, Brother Liao, heard from Ling Yang that you've reconnected?" The person who had introduced Ling Yang to Zhou Liao's birthday party was curious, "She said she saw you at the cinema last weekend watching a romantic comedy with another guy?"

Chen Xian raised an eyebrow, "Didn't you tell me you were doing homework at home?"

"..."

"Who did you go to the movies with?" Chen Xian crossed his legs, "Since we met, you've never gone to the cinema with another guy. I've only watched movies with you at home."

"No one." Zhou Liao felt dizzy and irritable hearing this topic, even looking at the steaming fish in the bowl made him feel nauseous, "Just someone I'm not close with."

"Not close with, and you went to the movies with him?" Chen Xian was skeptical, unable to guess who it could be.

"So we didn't watch it, okay?" Zhou Liao frowned, stubbing out his cigarette.

Seeing no juicy gossip, everyone at the table was disappointed, but that person didn't give up.

"What about Ling Yang? Will she be able to come?"

"Come to what?" Zhou Liao lifted his eyelid.

"For your birthday."

"Why doesn't she ask me herself?"

"She said you seemed in a bad mood. When she asked you to have dinner after the movie, you responded coldly, so as a girl, she didn't want to push it."

Zhou Liao stabbed his chopsticks into the fish, replying expressionlessly, "She can come anytime, of course."

In the afternoon, while waiting for Zhou Liao to finish class, Chen Xian played basketball at the gym. After dinner, the group headed to their usual billiards place, and by the time they left, it was already nine o'clock.

"I'm going to buy a bottle of water. Want to come?" Chen Xian turned to look at Zhou Liao.

"Can we go to the convenience store up ahead?"

"Why?" Chen Xian was puzzled by his question, "We usually go here, and I have membership points."

"Do you care about a few cents?"

"Penny-pinching where it counts, spending where it matters."

Chen felt that Zhou Liao had been acting strange all day. He seemed much more irritable than usual, his face sullen, and most importantly, he kept zoning out. Tonight, he missed several shots during their pool game, and once he even hit the cue ball straight off the table. It was clear he wasn't focused.

"So, are you buying it?"

"No."

Zhou Liao looked at the figure organizing goods inside the convenience store through the glass. He gritted his teeth, feeling a tightness in his chest.

The other person always acted like an emotionless machine, unaffected by anything. But Zhou Liao knew he wasn't even qualified to affect him. Even Bai Ling's mother would be more worthy than him.

But he couldn't swallow this indignation. He felt he hadn't done anything wrong. Qin Zhan had agreed, but then backed out at the last minute.

The other person even asked why he wanted him to stay? Ridiculous. After that day, he had been very proactive, but did he really think Zhou Liao couldn't live without him?

At worst, it was those unpredictable emotions that drove him crazy again.

"Oh, then I'll buy a bottle. Do you have any cigarettes left?"

"Get me a pack."

Zhou Liao looked away as Qin Zhan turned from the shelf.

After Chen Xian went in, it took a while before the automatic door of the convenience store opened, and Chen Xian poked his head out.

"The brand you usually smoke is out of stock. Do you want another kind?"

In the moment Zhou Liao lifted his head, he felt his gaze meet Qin Zhan's through the glass. Before he could see clearly, he immediately lowered his eyes.

"No thanks."

"Oh." Chen Xian pushed the cigarettes back. "He doesn't want them."

Qin Zhan didn't say anything, about to pay, when Chen Xian grabbed two boxes of twelve condoms: "Add these too."

"Young man, buying so many?" The middle-aged man behind them joked.

"For my friend too," Chen Xian awkwardly laughed in response.

The other person's gaze lingered on the condoms for only two seconds before moving away.

"Seventy-two yuan."

"I'll pay with WeChat."

After Chen Xian scanned the code, the items were pushed towards him. When he looked up, the cashier's face was still covered, and he couldn't see the eyes due to the movement.

Usually, he wouldn't pay attention to what a cashier looked like, but when his gaze fell on the person's Adam's apple, he saw a scar that hadn't healed despite the passage of time.

His heart suddenly skipped a beat, and irrelevant associations flooded his mind.

A tall figure like Qin Zhan, using AI voice, having a grudge against Zhou Liao, Zhou Liao's strange illness starting after the first day of school, the cashier's back he stared at when looking for Zhou Liao in the restroom, and countless times Zhou Liao turning onto this street from another, and the moments he looked at Qin Zhan and Bai Ling's backs.

Chen Xian, holding the water, suddenly found himself speechless.

"Anything else? Sir?" A cold, familiar voice, devoid of emotion.

Chen Xian took a deep breath, quickly pocketing the items. "No."

As he left, he felt stiff all over. It was strange, but all the fragments suddenly pieced together, and his sixth sense was guiding him.

"What's wrong, Brother Chen? You look like you have something to say." The others noticed his hesitation and curiosity got the better of them.

"... That was Qin Zhan."

"What?"

"The cashier was Qin Zhan." Chen Xian frowned.

The one who had beaten up Qin Zhan and ended up in jail with the group paused, then turned his head reluctantly. "What's so unusual? He's so poor, he'd work at a convenience store to make money."

"Was it him before too?"

"Yeah, I saw the scar on his Adam's apple."

Everyone looked at Zhou Liao. No one knew better where that scar came from.

Zhou Liao's throat felt dry, and he didn't respond.

"If it's him, so what? Big deal." The person shrugged. "Do you think he'd poison your water as revenge, Brother Chen? Don't overthink it. Besides, can he even mess with you guys? Can he mess with Brother Liao? He took so many beatings; he must have learned his lesson by now."

"Yeah, these things happened so long ago. Last time we were in jail, we knew how easy it was to step on ants. He didn't even make a sound despite the beating..."

"Shut up."

Zhou Liao suddenly spoke, his expression fierce.

"What..."

"I said shut the fuck up."

Zhou Liao repeated, clenching his fists so tightly that veins bulged at his knuckles.

He knew better than anyone how badly Qin Zhan had been beaten because of his past arrogance, making everyone close to him think Qin Zhan was just a pushover.

He also knew better than anyone that day when he knelt down, repenting, licking the blood that trickled down Qin Zhan's Adam's apple.

The others fell silent almost instantly, thinking Zhou Liao simply didn't want to hear that name.

"But don't worry, he's leaving soon. We won't see him again." One of them tried to console him.

Zhou Liao instantly lifted his eyes to look at him.

"Where are we going?" Chen Xian furrowed his brows.

"The other day when I went to the office to see the counselor, I heard Old Liu talking to him about studying abroad next semester. From what I gathered, it seems he's been talking about it for some time."