Chapter 81

Chapter 81

Xie Hang stopped taking the long way.

A little over ten minutes later, he arrived at the school gate.

The area near the entrance was bustling with students, so he let Ji Mian down.

"Are you awake?"

Ji Mian wasn’t sure how to respond, so he lowered his eyes and murmured a soft "yeah."

Xie Hang gazed at the top of his head for a while, then shifted his focus to his eyebrows and eyes, his eyes lingering on the faintly glowing earring before speaking again, "You heard me earlier, right?"

"..."

Ji Mian neither confirmed nor denied it.

"I like you," Xie Hang’s lips twitched into a faint smile, "I wasn’t planning to tell you yet."

Song Yu had just gotten together with He Chang, and Xie Hang knew that Ji Mian hadn’t moved on from it yet.

Ji Mian, still tipsy, struggled to clear his foggy mind, finding it hard to gather his thoughts.

Xie Hang’s confession came out of nowhere.

Ji Mian had received many confessions before and had encountered some unexpected situations, but he’d never felt this thrown off.

"Brother Heng, I thought you weren’t into guys?"

"You’re the exception."

"How so? I’m still a guy."

Xie Hang laughed softly, "That’s not what I meant."

Ji Mian paused, unsure what to say, "Brother Heng, I..."

"I know the answer, so don’t apologize." He didn’t want to hear Ji Mian’s apology, no matter how gentle it might sound.

"As long as you’re single, I’ve still got a chance, right?"

"..."

Ji Mian wasn’t sure how to break the truth to Xie Hang, but if Xie Hang kept waiting for him, it would be too cruel.

"What if..." he tentatively asked, "What if you knew it could never happen in this life?"

"Am I that bad?" Xie Hang frowned, unable to help doubting himself, "Are you so sure you’ll never like me in this lifetime?"

He knew he couldn’t compare to Song Yu in Ji Mian’s heart, but he didn’t expect the gap to be so big... so much so that Ji Mian would say something like "never in this lifetime."

He had seen Ji Mian reject others’ confessions before, but he had never heard him say anything like that to them. Why was it that when it came to him, Ji Mian wouldn’t even give him a sliver of hope?

"No, of course not... Brother Heng, you’re not bad at all, not even a little. It’s just that I..." Ji Mian was overwhelmed by the alcohol and the current situation, his words starting to become incoherent.

Halfway through, he took a light breath and stopped.

Xie Hang held his gaze, his tone calm, "If not in this lifetime, then I’ll wait for the next."

Ji Mian's eyelashes fluttered.

He sighed...

The system silently sighed as it watched. If Xie Hang had hesitated even a little, things might have been different.

"Sorry," Ji Mian said, his voice hoarse.

When Xie Hang heard Ji Mian's apology, his heart sank.

Ji Mian's voice was soft but firm, almost cruel: "Don't fall for me, Brother Heng. It's hopeless."

Xie Hang's feigned composure faded, "Why?"

"You're so kind to everyone else," Xie Hang said, his smile faltering. "Why are you so cruel only to me?"

"Because you're not like them."

Ji Mian knew others would move on, find new loves and lives.

But Xie Hang was different; they were the same. With even a shred of hope, they'd stubbornly follow it to the end.

He couldn't let Xie Hang walk down a dead-end road.

Xie Hang stayed silent for a long time.

Only when a tear fell did Ji Mian look up, startled, his pupils shrinking.

Xie Hang's smile was gone.

"Hen..." Ji Mian managed only a whisper before his voice broke.

He'd never seen Xie Hang cry, never imagined he could.

Catching Ji Mian's shocked look, Xie Hang turned away, wiping his tears.

When he faced Ji Mian again, his expression was calm, though his eyes were red. "I get it."

After a pause, Ji Mian said, "I'll head back, Brother Heng."

"Yeah."

Ji Mian turned toward the school gate but stumbled after a few steps, his left foot catching his right.

Xie Hang caught him by the waist before he could fall.

"Still weaving like a drunk," Xie Hang muttered.

Ji Mian: ...

Xie Hang sighed and said, "I'll take you back."

Ji Mian was really embarrassed and had just said "No need," when Xie Hang's hand moved from his waist to support his arm.

Ji Mian had no choice but to lower his head and say, "Thank you, Brother Heng."

Xie Hang forced a smile.

Even while drunk, he didn’t hesitate to turn him down.

*

For over a month after that, Ji Mian no longer sat with Xie Hang. Xie Hang also stopped bringing breakfast in the morning.

They both knew perfectly well that from the moment the truth came out, they could no longer continue being friends.

The change in their relationship was noticed by the entire Class 4.

Especially Fan Tao and a few others who were close to Ji Mian even went to ask him the reason, but the responses they got were pretty vague, revealing nothing.

As for Xie Hang, few people dared to approach him.

The person most concerned in the class was none other than Jia Wenbo.

As their roommate and classmate, he knew all too well how close Ji Mian and Xie Hang used to be. Seeing them barely speaking even when they crossed paths now, he couldn’t help feeling sad.

Jia Wenbo was certain that something must have gone wrong between them.

One day, when only Ji Mian and he were in the dorm, Jia Wenbo couldn't help but ask, "Xiao Zhou, what’s up with you and... Xie Hang?"

"Huh?"

"Because it seems like you haven’t sat together in class in a while."

"Oh, it's nothing, just... figured it’s easier to go solo."

Jia Wenbo pressed his lips together.

Easier to go solo? It didn’t seem like it. Several times, he had seen Xie Hang sitting behind Ji Mian, his gaze always fixed on Ji Mian's back, as if trying to burn a hole through his clothes.

And sometimes, when Ji Mian was behind Xie Hang, he’d occasionally glance his way.

The vibe was too subtle, Jia Wenbo always felt it wasn’t just about wanting to go solo.

"You’re sure there’s no beef between you?"

"No, really not."

"Alright... By the way, Xiao Zhou, my birthday’s in two days."

"Oh!" Ji Mian turned around, "I remember it's November... the 17th?"

"Right. I was thinking of treating everyone to a meal, will you come?"

"Sure."

"Then I’ll invite Xie Hang, just the four of us from the dorm, cool?"

"..."

Even though Xie Hang had talked about moving out last semester, for some reason, his spot was still kept until now.

So, strictly speaking, even though Xie Hang hadn’t lived in the dorm for almost a year, he was still their roommate.

Ji Mian’s gaze wavered, but he still said, "Of course, why would there be a problem?"

Jia Wenbo let out a sigh of relief, picked up his phone, and worked up the courage to text Xie Hang.

When he opened the chat, he saw that the last time he’d messaged Xie Hang was six months ago...

Talking to Xie Hang really takes some courage, and only someone like Ji Mian could break the ice with Xie Hang in just a few days.

"Jia Wenbo": Xie Hang, are you there? [smiling emoji]

"Jia Wenbo": My birthday is on the 17th this month, and I want to invite our dorm to have a meal together. Will you come?

Two seconds later.

"Xie Hang": I’ll be there, thanks.

Another two seconds later.

"Xie Hang": Happy birthday [cake emoji]

Jia Wenbo was surprised, not expecting Xie Hang to be so agreeable.

"Jia Wenbo": [grinning emoji]

*

On the evening of the 17th, the four dorm members arrived at the restaurant Jia Wenbo had reserved, the priciest and nicest spot near their school.

Jia Wenbo, who usually seems introverted, is actually the wealthiest one in the dorm. The other three roommates’ living expenses combined don’t even come close to his.

Ji Mian and Chen Xu only discovered last semester that there was a rich kid living in their dorm.

Later, when they asked, Jia Wenbo explained that due to his personality, he had the same plan as Xie Hang at the beginning of the semester, wanting to move out. He even planned to ask Xie Hang for advice on renting, but unexpectedly found dorm life so enjoyable that he eventually dropped the idea of moving out.

Jia Wenbo had booked a square table for four, with two people sitting on each side.

He followed Chen Xu and quickly sat next to him after Chen Xu took a seat.

That left Ji Mian and Xie Hang sitting together on the other side.

Normally, Ji Mian keeps the conversation going, so awkward silences are rare, but today, sitting next to Xie Hang, he was unusually quiet.

Jia Wenbo couldn’t help but feel there was some tension between Ji Mian and Xie Hang.

"Alright, let’s order first. What’s everyone in the mood for?" He picked two dishes and passed the menu to Chen Xu.

However, Chen Xu looked at the dishes on the menu, most of which were unfamiliar to him, and the prices were all quite high. Finally, he sighed and shook his head. "You decide—I’ll eat anything."

Jia Wenbo glanced at Xie Hang, who nodded, "Same here."

"..."

Finally, the menu landed with Ji Mian, the least picky eater in the dorm.

He skimmed the menu, then looked up to check with everyone, "How about we get a fish? Is everyone okay with that?"

"Yes."

"Sure."

Xie Hang also nodded in agreement.

Jia Wenbo added a few more dishes and handed the menu to the waiter.

About half an hour later, their dishes were finally all served.

The guys had huge appetites and polished off half the food in just ten minutes.

But Jia Wenbo noticed one thing—Xie Hang seemed to have avoided touching the fish placed in front of him the entire time.

Jia Wenbo's heart skipped a beat.

Had things between them gotten this bad? Unwilling to even take a bite of the dish the other had ordered?!

It was fortunate that Jia Wenbo was quite perceptive; other guys probably wouldn’t have paid attention to such a trivial matter. Like Chen Xu beside him, who kept his head down and focused on eating, completely unaware of the tension at the table.

What was worse was that he noticed Ji Mian seemed to have caught on as well. His eating pace slowed, and his gaze lingered between the fish and Xie Hang, deep in thought.

"What's wrong?" Noticing Ji Mian looking at him, Xie Hang paused mid-bite and turned to face him.

Jia Wenbo quickly jumped in to smooth things over: "Xie Hang, don’t you like fish?"

"Yeah." Xie Hang was still staring at Ji Mian’s dazed expression. It had been over a month since he last looked this person in the eye, and his heart couldn’t help but race.

"Oh, is it because of the bones?" Jia Wenbo did his best to keep the peace, worried that Ji Mian might take this the wrong way.

Xie Hang casually replied, "I’m not good at picking out bones."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xie Han watched as the person he was staring at suddenly flinched.

With a loud clatter, the chopsticks hit the floor.