Chapter 55 He Likes You

Chapter 55 He Likes You

"Ye Man!" Jiang Hao shouted.

He overheard the man talking about a date or something similar and saw an expression on Ye Man's face that he had never seen before.

It wasn’t the sweet smile that often caught people’s attention, nor was it the mischievous, provoking grin that occasionally appeared when others weren’t looking, making people both annoyed and intrigued... It was a very restrained, subtle smile.

He looked away, no longer flaunting that stunningly beautiful face, yet it made people’s hearts race more than ever. However, that emotion didn’t belong to Jiang Hao; it belonged to another man.

With a mix of discomfort and complexity, he shouted, "Ye Man, your pencil case! I found your favorite thing for you!"

He took a few steps forward, holding the pencil case from years ago, deliberately emphasizing that it was Ye Man’s favorite.

Just a couple of years had passed, but the once fashionable design now looked old and worn out, something that would get you laughed at if you brought it out.

Moreover, at their age, who still carried a pencil case?

But Jiang Hao knew Ye Man would want it—it was a gift from his mom. Ye Man didn’t get along with him, but when he once brought him a chocolate wafer, the next day, the bag ended up in his paper box. He cherished anything given to him, even if it was just a casual gift.

Besides, he had been really harsh that day, telling him to go back to his own home, asking if he didn’t have his own parents to care for him, calling him a pitiful, unwanted kid, and even snatching his pencil case and stomping on it... But it wasn’t just because his basketball class got canceled.

It was because the day before, Ye Man had smiled and asked his friend for candy. Jiang Hao had told him not to talk to them, but he still approached them... He could have bought it for him, so why didn’t Ye Man ask him?

He just didn’t want Ye Man to be so much nicer to others than to him.

After all, they had grown up together, shared a bond, and Ye Man had even let him teach him basketball. At the very least... at the very least, Ye Man still liked his parents. Despite leaving so decisively, today he was here because his parents had come over for dinner.

Ye Man’s confused mind barely registered Jiang Hao’s voice, and he finally lifted his head, which had almost buried itself in his clothes.

He looked stunned, like he hadn’t understood what the other guy was saying.

Jiang Hao continued, "Ye Man, once I get settled in Xu City, I... I’ll come back to see you over the holidays, and we’ll play basketball together again. You always loved watching me play, and I’ll take you out. And that chocolate you always wanted to eat, I can buy you a lot of it. If your new family isn’t good to you, you can still come to my house—"

Xu Huaiting could clearly see the boy’s hostility. He narrowed his eyes, his lips curling in a silent smirk, and raised his hand to touch Ye Man’s ear, leaving it there, softly stroking it.

"Xiao Man, he... your old friend is calling you. Aren’t you going to respond?"

Ye Man felt a little ticklish from his touch, pulled away slightly, then hesitantly leaned back in.

What had Jiang Hao said?

"Oh, the pencil case."

Jiang Hao’s heart dropped.

Ye Man reached out his hand, "Give it to me."

Before the pencil case reached his hand, the hand on his ear squeezed a bit harder.

Ye Man shivered.

He wanted to tell him not to squeeze; his ears were sensitive, and touching was the limit, but he couldn’t handle squeezing.

After a moment of thought, he only said with dissatisfaction, "Be more gentle."

"Sorry." Xu Huaiting took the pencil case from Jiang Hao’s hand and handed it to him.

Even though Xu Huaiting handed it to him, Ye Man still accepted the pencil case, and Jiang Hao’s heart warmed again.

He was about to say that if Ye Man was still upset, he’d keep apologizing in any way necessary until Ye Man was satisfied. Why couldn’t they just move past those little mistakes and issues from their teenage years? He was just young and didn’t know how to handle his feelings back then. Why couldn’t he be given another chance?

But then, a cold shiver shot up his spine.

Ye Man opened the old, yellowed stationery box and pulled out a photo from a secret compartment.

Then, he tossed the stationery box back to Jiang Hao and said flatly, "Thanks for holding onto it. I don’t need it anymore—keep it or toss it, whatever. Hurry up, Uncle Jiang and Aunt Wang must be worried."

A broken stationery box that had been trashed? No way he’d take it back.

Ye Man couldn’t wrap his head around Jiang Hao’s logic. Aunt Wang had given him the stationery box, and he’d loved it, but not enough to fish it out of the trash.

Outwardly calm, he was seething inside, ranting to the system: "Brother Tong, he’s probably thinking I’m some trash collector. He even dug up that old stationery box just to embarrass me!"

"I’ve only grabbed water bottles and bakery leftovers. I’d never touch a stationery box!" Ye Man shouted angrily.

The system sighed: "Maybe he didn’t mean it like that."

"He did!" Ye Man fake-sobbed, "Brother Tong, whose side are you on? You’re defending him!"

The system groaned: "Fine, fine, he humiliated you. He’s the worst!"

Ye Man continued to grumble: "If it weren’t for Aunt Wang and Uncle Jiang, I wouldn’t have let him off the hook. I’d make sure he paid for it!"

But Ye Man wasn’t the type to just run away after being handed a stationery box in front of others.

Jiang Hao would never know—

"I snuck back late at night and swiped his homework—no one saw a thing," Ye Man sneered darkly. "All five subjects. He’ll get chewed out five times. No teacher would buy that his homework was stolen. Even if he blamed me, the teachers would just think he’s making excuses."

"I watched from the corner the next day, and he came back in tears."

Making a tough jock cry was a walk in the park for Ye Man.

"Brother Tong, not to brag, but have you ever seen a better villain than me?"

The system stayed silent.

"Why’s it so dark all of a sudden?"

Ye Man: "Brother Tong, what’s my score?"

The system: "Beep."

Ye Man was happy.

However, this happiness only lasted until he got into Xu Huaiting’s car.

After seeing off the Jiang family, Ye Man got into Xu Huaiting’s car.

The big shot hadn’t said a word since they got in the car, and the tension was thick.

Ye Man sat in his seat, only hearing some trivial sounds from the person beside him.

"Lift your hand," Xu Huaiting leaned over to fasten his seatbelt.

A breath reached him, and the man’s voice was flat, showing no emotion.

"Xu... Ricardo, are you mad?"

Xu Huaiting froze, "No."

Ye Man insisted, "You're angry." He asked, puzzled, "Why are you angry? Because... of what I said earlier about us being good brothers?"

"Not because of that," Xu Huaiting kept his head down and tried to fasten the seatbelt. For some reason today, he couldn't get the seatbelt to buckle, no matter how hard he tried.

"Then what is it?"

This seatbelt is such a pain.

Xu Huaiting finally gave up on the strap, allowing it to retract, and looked up at the person in front of him.

"You weren't going to come see me earlier, because of that family? Or that boy, your childhood buddy?"

Ye Man indeed had planned not to see Xu Huaiting because of Uncle Jiang's family, but somehow, when it came out of the other's mouth, it sounded strange.

"He's not my childhood buddy," Ye Man firmly denied.

But Xu Huaiting didn't like hearing that.

"So you really didn't come to see me because of him, is that it?" He pursed his lips, "You two seem very close."

He lowered his head and focused on what he was doing, "He knows things about you that I don't."

"What's wrong with that?" Ye Man was even more confused.

"He likes you."

"The kind where he wants to date you."

Ye Man was stunned, and after a moment, his chest rose and fell heavily as he angrily said, "You're talking nonsense!"

He had never spoken so loudly to Xu Huaiting, this big shot, before, which showed he was truly angry, too angry to care.

Xu Huaiting said, his voice cold, "He likes you."

Ye Man: "Impossible!"

Xu Huaiting: "He does like you, he wants to chase after you, to date you, he even wanted to confess to you in front of me, if I hadn't shown up in time... and you were planning not to see me because of him, can't I be unhappy?"

Ye Man grabbed Xu Huaiting's clothes, pulling Xu Huaiting down slightly, having to support himself with his elbow on the back of the seat, bringing them closer.

Ye Man's voice uncontrollably rose: "You... don't talk nonsense, do you think I'm stupid, can't I tell if he likes me or not? Someone like him, could he really like me!"

"Couldn't he?"

"No!" Ye Man shot back: "Someone who likes me should be like you—"

The heated argument came to an abrupt halt.

Ye Man seemed unable to understand what he had just said, his eyes wide, his hands trembled as they gripped Xu Huaiting's collar.

Xu Huaiting also fell silent.

In the car, there was only the sound of their breathing and heartbeats.

After a while, Xu Huaiting calmly said, "You're right."

His anger was snuffed out instantly, leaving no trace of rage. Ye Man's eyes widened further as a blurry shadow loomed over him.

The car dipped slightly to one side under the weight.

His back pressed against the car door, and a hand gently lifted his chin.

Warm breath brushed against his lips.

He kissed him.

One kiss, then a pause, only to press back together, lingering, nibbling at his lips.

Ye Man's grip on Xu Huaiting's collar tightened and relaxed, his body gradually melting.

After what felt like forever, their heated breaths parted slightly.

Ye Man stayed silent, eyes downcast, not a word spoken, his face and ears burning red.

His full lips glistened with moisture, looking utterly kissable. Xu Huaiting's expression darkened as he rubbed and pressed his thumb against Ye Man's slightly swollen, flushed lips.

"Xiao Man," Xu Huaiting said in a hoarse voice, "I wanted to confess to you in a more romantic, beautiful setting, but now I’m stuck saying this in a car."

His finger pressed a bit harder on Ye Man's lips: "This is all your fault. You ruined my perfectly planned confession."

"Xiao Man, I—"

Ye Man’s heart skipped, and he panicked, clapping a hand over Xu Huaiting’s mouth, "Don’t say it yet! It’s not ruined, you can’t say it! Take it back! Hurry, take it back! I don’t know anything!"

Xu Huaiting mercilessly removed his hand: "Too late. You already know, so there’s no point hiding it. Xiao Man, I lo—"

The man beneath him tilted his chin up, wrapped his arms around his neck, and clumsily pressed for a kiss, "Don’t say it, you’re not allowed to say it…"

Xu Huaiting pulled him closer, one arm around his waist, the other cradling his head, deepening the kiss.

Alright.