Chapter 104

Chapter 104

This summer, the Xiang family's company was exceptionally busy. The couple was so occupied during the summer break that they couldn't make it home. They finally managed to come back for two days, just a week before Ji Mian was set to leave, only to head out again shortly after.

Xiang Yanming treasured the only two dinners they shared.

At the center of the dining table, Auntie Lin had prepared several hearty dishes, with a fragrant and light seafood porridge in the middle.

The four of them chatted about family matters for a bit, mostly with Xiang Yanming and Luo Zhishu asking questions while Ji Mian answered, and Luo Ye sat silently by, quietly listening.

After asking about his studies, Xiang Yanming cleared his throat and dove into some gossip: "Have you made any friends at school yet?"

Ji Mian got up to serve himself some porridge, but before he could hand over his bowl, Luo Ye took it and said, "I’ll get it," reaching out to serve him.

The couple exchanged a glance, seeing the relief in each other's eyes.

As for Xiang Yanming's question, Ji Mian was momentarily distracted and only caught the surface meaning, so he replied, "Quite a few."

Everyone at the table turned to look at him. Luo Ye, standing by himself, had the most intense gaze, and his porridge-serving action also paused.

"What?"

"What's wrong?"

Xiang Yanming pressed, "How many is 'quite a few'?"

Ji Mian was a bit confused, "About a dozen."

After answering, he looked at Luo Ye, waiting for his porridge.

Luo Ye’s expression was odd, a mix of confusion and disbelief, as if his world had been turned upside down.

Xiang Yanming's face was full of disapproval, "You young folks are into these quick flings, but you need to be responsible with your feelings."

"Oh," Ji Mian finally got it, "You mean girlfriends?"

"Yes."

Ji Mian paused for a few seconds, unsure of how to respond. He didn’t have any, but the original character in the story had a few flings overseas.

But if he said yes, Xiang Yanming would keep digging and he’d be caught.

He just brushed it off with a laugh, "Let’s not get into that—it’s private."

Xiang Yanming shook his head with a smile, "You’re keeping secrets from your own dad?"

Ji Mian changed the subject, looking at Luo Ye, "Porridge."

Luo Ye snapped out of it at the word and served Ji Mian a bowl of seafood porridge.

He piled almost all the fish slices into Ji Mian’s bowl.

*

Xiang Yanming and Luo Zhishu came back and left again after just two nights.

Only the two brothers and Auntie Lin were left at home.

Luo Ye had been studying upstairs for hours, and his focus was fading, so he decided to call it quits before dinner.

Coming downstairs, the television in the living room was on, but the person watching it had already dozed off on the sofa.

Ji Mian stayed up late painting upstairs last night and was dead tired. Watching TV downstairs, he clutched a soft pillow and began to nod off. His body was initially just lazy, slumping against the pillow in a relaxed posture, but before he knew it, he dozed off after a few blinks.

Luo Ye didn’t have the heart to wake him.

The person on the sofa happened to be sleeping near the cold air vent of the air conditioner, and sleeping there too long might give him a cold. After a moment’s thought, Luo Ye tiptoed over, adjusted the direction of the air conditioner, and then went upstairs to grab a light blanket. He covered Ji Mian with it.

Not expecting to fall asleep there, Ji Mian was still wearing slippers, his long legs dangling awkwardly off the sofa, his calves hanging in the air.

He didn’t look very comfortable in that position, and Luo Ye thought about helping him adjust, but in the end, he didn’t dare to move, afraid it might wake him.

He sat down near Ji Mian, watching TV to unwind. Unfortunately, the timing was off, as it was just a few minutes before the commercial break.

The remote control was tightly gripped in Ji Mian’s hand, so Luo Ye couldn’t change the channel. He had no choice but to look around to kill time.

His first thought was of his long-unseen brother.

Luo Ye sat at the foot of Ji Mian’s side, his head tilted toward those straight legs. The ankles beneath the pant cuffs, having been hidden under fabric for a long time, were unnaturally pale. It was clear that Ji Mian hadn’t been very active during his years studying abroad, as a bit of softness was visible on his calves when relaxed.

Luo Ye stared at Ji Mian’s exposed ankles. So delicate.

His own ankles might seem slender at first glance, but they were completely different from Ji Mian’s and still two sizes bigger.

Luo Ye had long Achilles tendons, legs well-suited for running. Every night at school, he ran long distances, leaving no excess fat on his calves. The curves formed by his tendons and muscles extended all the way to his ankles, a kind of tightly muscled, powerful slenderness.

In contrast, Ji Mian’s legs were simply thin-boned, as if they could break with a twist.

Luo Ye calmly thought, no wonder his legs shook so much when he carried me through the hospital for check-ups.

He still remembered what Xiang Yanming had said at the dinner table the previous night.

Ji Mian hadn’t mentioned whether he had a girlfriend or not. Luo Ye believed he didn’t.

The thought of a girlfriend seemed too absurd when it came to Ji Mian.

Why absurd? He couldn’t quite explain it.

Luo Ye thought more deeply, as he was prone to overthinking, and after much contemplation, he concluded from his subconscious: unworthy.

He couldn’t imagine anyone who could be worthy of Ji Mian.

…Just standing next to this person, everything else seemed dull in comparison.

At least in Luo Ye’s eyes, they did.

He couldn’t picture someone standing beside Ji Mian.

The commercial break on TV had long passed.

Luo Ye still kept his eyes lowered, thinking how beautiful those fragile joints were.

He often spent his evenings at the school track, and although he never deliberately paid attention, the exposed calves and ankles of summer inevitably caught his eye while running.

Among them, some had a strong, muscular beauty, but none were as captivating as the pair before him now, like a delicate, breakable piece of art.

In his sleep, Ji Mian’s leg suddenly twitched, his calf stretching out as if giving a light kick to the peeping observer.

Luo Ye also felt as if he had been kicked by this person, blinking twice and looking away, no longer watching.

*

On the day Ji Mian left, Luo Ye was the only one to see him off. His parents, who were away on business, couldn’t make it back.

Ji Mian hadn’t wanted Luo Ye to see him off, but the latter quietly carried his suitcase and accompanied him to the airport.

"Bro, are you going for a master’s?"

"Nah."

"After you graduate next year, are you staying abroad?"

"Nope, I’m coming back. Dad wants me to learn how to manage the company," Ji Mian said.

He was a little stressed about it.

Luo Ye continued walking, thinking: Then he won’t have to go next year.

After helping Ji Mian check in, he couldn’t go any further. The only thing left to do was to say goodbye.

"Go back and study, I’m off," Ji Mian said to him.

Luo Ye gave a soft "Mhm," but lingered, not leaving immediately. He stood there for a few seconds, unsure of what he was waiting for.

Ji Mian stared at him, confused.

Luo Ye started to get impatient.

He stopped waiting, his gaze briefly brushing past Ji Mian’s left cheek, then decisively stepped forward, leaned down, and kissed Ji Mian’s cheek.

His nose grazed Ji Mian’s soft cheek, and he caught Ji Mian’s scent—maybe some face cream, different from the scent of his neck, but both were kind of addictive.

For some reason, Luo Ye, after the farewell kiss ended and he stood up, felt that he didn’t want it to end too quickly. So he leaned down again, slipped his arm around Ji Mian’s neck, and let his lips brush against Ji Mian’s delicate skin.

The second kiss felt different.

Luo Ye’s eyes remained locked on Ji Mian’s, capturing every subtle change in his expression.

All he saw in Ji Mian’s eyes was pure shock, and he felt a twinge of annoyance: When Xiang Chen kissed him, Ji Mian didn’t have this expression.

However, Luo Ye also remembered that in the past two years, since Xiang Chen left the Xiang family, Ji Mian hadn’t kissed him anymore.

He couldn’t figure out why…

Finally, Luo Ye pulled away and stood straight. "See you, bro."

Ji Mian froze, his eyes darting around awkwardly.

A blush spread from his ears to his cheeks, and soon his entire face was flushed.

In the airport, a few people who noticed them cast curious glances.

Ji Mian mumbled an awkward "Mhm," then bolted like he was running away.

Luo Ye stood in place, watching him leave.

Ji Mian’s reaction completely threw him off.

What was up with that?

*

During the years Ji Mian was abroad, he didn’t return for winter break. His school’s holiday was less than three weeks and didn’t overlap with the Chinese New Year. While people in China were celebrating the festival, Ji Mian was busy with classes at school.

That year during the Spring Festival, Xiang Chen came to visit Xiang Yanming and spend time with his father. Luo Ye opened the door for him.

"Hey, Luo Ye," Xiang Chen said with a big smile.

Xiang Chen had just turned fourteen after Chinese New Year, growing steadily, unlike Luo Ye who'd had a sudden growth spurt.

Without Ji Mian around, the two maintained a good relationship, and they didn't feel awkward even after not seeing each other for a while.

After saying hi to Xiang Yanming, Xiang Chen went to find Luo Ye.

Xiang Chen looked a bit like Ji Mian, both taking after their mother. However, the former, having been raised by Ji Mian since childhood, grew up to be lively and endearing, and loved to laugh. In a few years, he'd be a tall, cheerful teenager, very different from his older brother's personality.

Xiang Chen was only planning to stay for half a day, originally intending to leave in the afternoon. But unfortunately, it had snowed that day, and the driver, worried about the roads getting icy at night, wanted to leave while it was still light out.

The two boys, about the same age, often ended up talking about Ji Mian.

As the afternoon sky darkened, Xiang Chen knew it was time to go.

Luo Ye walked him out.

The driver's car was parked downstairs, the wheels already several centimeters deep in snow.

"See you, Luo Ye," Xiang Chen said, waving.

It was a normal farewell.

Out of nowhere, Luo Ye asked, "These past two years..."

Xiang Chen stopped with his hand on the door and turned around. "Huh?"

"When he came back, it seems like you didn't kiss him anymore."

Xiang Chen didn't expect Luo Ye's question to be about this, his face immediately turning red. "Well..."

Luo Ye interjected, "You didn't want to?"

Xiang Chen was embarrassed. "It's not like I didn't want to..."

After saying this, his face turned even redder. "But I'm... I'm too old for that now. Kissing my brother would be weird."

He was older now, and naturally saw things differently than when he was a kid. Ji Mian had noticed this too, realizing that Xiang Chen no longer greeted him with a kiss on the cheek as he used to, understanding that the child had grown up and hadn't initiated such actions during their separations in the past two years.

Weird...

Luo Ye saw his reflection in the car window, a head taller than Xiang Chen.

Xiang Chen was only fourteen and already found such behavior strange. When Ji Mian was kissed by him, he probably showed that expression for the same reason.

But why didn't he feel the same way?

"And when you're older, you don't kiss your brother anymore..." Xiang Chen mumbled.

He still loved his brother just as much as when he was little. But they weren't as close as they used to be.

No brothers keep hugging and holding each other after they grow up.

Xiang Chen cautiously asked, "Luo Ye, you don't think my brother's upset about this, do he?"

"Nah, just wondering."

Xiang Chen visibly relaxed. "Oh, good."

He got in the car and drove off.

After seeing Xiang Chen off, Luo Ye stood downstairs, his feet sinking into the fluffy white snow.

Having grown taller and exercised daily at school, his physical condition had improved over the past two years. Even in winter, wearing just two thin layers outside, he didn’t feel the cold.

He looked down at his shoes sinking into the snow. The cold air crept up his pant legs, but the chill couldn’t touch him.

Suddenly, Luo Ye remembered Ji Mian pulling his pant leg here, those icy hands brushing against his ankle and calf.

His body was warm, but the memory of those hands sent a shiver through him.

‘Adults wouldn’t want to be that close with their brothers…’

Luo Ye’s gaze dropped, his eyes reflecting the pure frost, clouded with a hint of confusion.

Then why was it the opposite for him?