Ji Liao bit his lip in silence, looking like he was uncomfortable to speak.

  He wasn’t deliberately hiding the truth from Yu Jin ⁠— he just didn’t know how to say it. The situation seemed so preposterous that he himself hadn’t entirely accepted it.

  Yu Jin saw his embarrassment and did not pursue the matter any further. He knew that although Ji Liao looked a little cowardly, he was actually very stubborn. It was useless to interrogate him about something he didn’t want to talk about. “Forget it. Anyway, it’s not disadvantageous for you to be friends with He Cheng Ming!”


  , Yu Jin thought.

  Ji Liao hummed and nodded. To express his gratitude, he shared half of the sausage from his bread with him.

  Yu Jin was flattered and accepted it without further thought.

  At noon, Ji Liao quickly tidied his desk and moved with the after-school crowd to go and hide in the library. His phone had been left in the drawer of his classroom desk and not brought with him. He had done this on purpose as he didn’t want to see another message from He Cheng Ming and didn’t want to accept his invitation to eat with him.

  He used this as a silent rebellion, hoping that the other party would understand his intentions, and be merciful in letting him go.

  While doing his homework, two hours passed quickly. Ji Liao left the library as he hadn’t eaten lunch and his stomach was rumbling with hunger. He turned towards the cafeteria, bought two pieces of bread and ate it on the way back to class.

  When he climbed up the stairs, he was startled by what he saw in the corridor.

  At the entrance of Class Twelve, a tall and powerful youth was leaning against the white wall. The loose school uniform could not conceal his broad shoulders. One long leg was straightened while the other was slightly bent, indicating a waiting posture.

  Ji Liao did not dare to think about it. Had he been waiting here for him?

  As if in response, the youth turned his head and met Ji Liao’s eyes.

  At his expression, Ji Liao’s heart throbbed. Perhaps He Cheng Ming’s eyes were too clear, but he easily read his loss and sadness, like a loyal dog that had been abandoned by its owner.

  Ji Liao averted his eyes. He felt a little scared but also a bit regretful. It seemed like he had really hurt him&#k2026;

  He Cheng Ming looked at the person in front of him and his eyes fell upon the bread in his hands for two seconds. Only then did he give up and turn to leave.

  At that moment, Ji Liao realised He Cheng Ming had been carrying some takeout. There was a trash can in a corner of the corridor. When He Cheng Ming passed by it, he threw the cold takeout away. He didn’t want anything that Ji Liao didn’t want.

  Back in his own class, He Cheng Ming flew into a rage and kicked over his chair.

  Ji Liao was stunned for some time, then recovered and checked his phone. There were four messages sent by He Cheng Ming at noon.

  After reading through all the message, Ji Liao’s mood became gloomier.

  He really didn’t think that He Cheng Ming would wait for him at noon.

  Originally, they had not interacted at all. Then, out of nowhere he had said that he wanted to pursue him. If it was anyone else, would they have accepted it immediately?

  Distressed, Ji Liao slumped on his desk and used a book to cover his face.

  His mind was filled with images of He Cheng Ming’s sad departure. He was obviously a proud person but was willing to reveal the soft and hurt side of him.

  It seemed like his own heart was softening.

  “Ji Liao.”


  Suddenly being called for attendance, Ji Liao hurriedly lifted his head and looked at the teacher who was staring at him with a frown.

  He immediately sat upright to pay attention and emptied his mind, not daring to think about it further, to the extent that the slight softening of his heart had disappeared.

  Ji Liao only recalled the unresolved matter when he was lying on his bed after his shower that night.

  He picked up his phone and opened He Cheng Ming’s WeChat page. The last message was “I’ll wait for you” at 12:43 pm.

  He was hesitating as he typed and deleted, always lacking the courage to send the message. Ji Liao felt extremely fretful and rolled around, hugging his pillow.

  On the other end, He Cheng Ming was also staring at his phone, motionless. He had already been staring at the screen for nearly half an hour but there were still no signs of activity. Finally, he lost his cool and sent over two words:

  Two words he had written before countless times.

  Ji Liao was frightened at first, then surprised and immediately replied:

  Followed by:

  After that, he didn’t have anything else to say.

  He Cheng Ming stared at the screen of his phone. He knew that Ji Liao didn’t like him ⁠— he had said that he liked girls, although he didn’t know the reason he retracted that message, he was still happy. When he had said that he would consider it instead, he treated it as a ray of hope.

  He thought he had a chance, but he didn’t expect it to be so out of reach.

  Putting the phone down, he leaned against the sofa, closed his eyes and thought back to the summer of that year.

  It had been very sunny and the sky was blue. The sound of construction drilled into his ears. He was sitting in the car, glancing around when he saw Ji Liao for the first time.

  He was lying on a broad stone pillar with his clothes rolled up, revealing a clean and slim waist. Further down were his prominent hip bone and slightly protruding bottom, then his slender legs. He had worn shorts, making his legs appear very long and white.

  Subconsciously, he swallowed his saliva.

  He had thought it was a girl until the person had shouted, “Dad!”


  It was a crisp and youthful voice.