Lin Zhexia did well on her final exam.
After the exams ended, they welcomed a brief three-day holiday.
“Are we going home for the break?” Lin Zhexia asked as she came out of the exam room, where Chi Yao was leaning against the hallway, waiting for her. “You can stay at my place.”
Chi Yao didn’t take the opportunity to comment: “I already talked with He Yang. I’m staying at his place.”
“Why? Wouldn’t it be better to just stay at my place?”
Lin Zhexia was about to say, “After all, you stayed over when we were kids,” but Chi Yao pressed a finger against her forehead, warning her: “Not good.”
“…What’s not good about it?”
“Not good for you,” he said. “I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to control myself.”
“…”
Lin Zhexia was stunned for a moment, then stepped back, avoiding his hand: “I think you’re right. You should stay at He Yang’s place. Staying at my home isn’t quite appropriate.”
Speaking of He Yang, she remembered something else: “That post you shared earlier, and your signature change, there were a lot of comments. How did you respond?”
As they talked, the two walked downstairs.
Chi Yao: “I didn’t.”
Lin Zhexia sighed in relief: “That’s good. I didn’t know how to explain it to them.”
“When I say I didn’t respond, it’s not because I didn’t know what to say,” Chi Yao glanced at her. “It’s because I didn’t know when you wanted to make it public.”
He added coolly: “What? From what you’re saying, you’re not planning to give me official status, are you?”
“Of course, that’s not what I meant.”
Lin Zhexia chose her words carefully, “I just thought they might find it hard to accept right away. If we’re going to make it public, maybe we should do it gradually.”
Chi Yao: “You’re quite strategic.”
It wasn’t that she was being strategic, but rather that the two of them being together might be hard for the people from Nanxiang Street to accept.
Good buddies who grew up together suddenly announcing they’re a couple.
It sounded pretty shocking, no matter how you thought about it.
Lin Zhexia finally said, “Is He Yang going home too? Let’s tell him first and see how he reacts.”
For Lin Zhexia and Chi Yao’s plan to go public with their relationship, the first person they chose to tell was He Yang.
However, they didn’t know how awkward the only person already in the know, He Yang, felt inside.
He Yang thought that the day they went home for the holiday would be just an ordinary day.
He packed his things simply, and before leaving, was invited out for a meal by his two good friends.
“Why are you treating me to a meal again?” he happily went to freeload. “You’re too kind.”
He Yang: “Is this what they mean by ‘distance makes the heart grow fonder’? When we’re close by, you don’t pay attention to me, but now that I’m at Lianyun Normal University, you miss your buddy, huh?”
Lin Zhexia kept her head down, silently staring at the food in her bowl: “…Mm. You could say that.”
He Yang: “I’ve packed all my things. After we finish eating, we can head out directly.”
Lin Zhexia had so much to say but didn’t know where to begin.
Finally, she looked up at Chi Yao.
Chi Yao received her distress signal, so he put down his chopsticks and tapped his knuckles on the table: “Hey.”
He Yang: “I have a name, it’s not ‘hey,’ you can call me Little Yangyang.”
“…”
Chi Yao couldn’t be bothered to say more to him. He uncurled his fingers in front of He Yang, and then wordlessly reached for Lin Zhexia’s hand.
Lin Zhexia’s hand had been hanging below the table, but after he held it, he boldly brought it up to rest on the table. After placing it on the table, Chi Yao naturally changed the position to a more intimate interlocking of fingers, right in He Yang’s line of sight.
“……”
The food in He Yang’s mouth became difficult to swallow.
Actually, from the hints in their social media posts and Lin Zhexia’s sudden one-sided profile picture change, he could roughly guess what had happened between these two lately.
But he hadn’t expected to face such a blatant announcement.
He Yang continued mechanically putting food in his mouth, his brain slowly processing: his current character setting was that of an innocent childhood friend who knew nothing.
He should act according to this character setting and show the normal reaction that someone would have in this situation!
The next second—
He spat out his food.
Lin Zhexia and Chi Yao both dodged simultaneously.
Chi Yao: “Even food can’t shut your mouth.”
Lin Zhexia: “Be more civilized.”
He Yang delivered the most brilliant performance of his life. He suddenly stood up and tremblingly pointed a finger at them: “You… what are you doing! In public, suddenly holding hands, what are you trying to do?”
Chi Yao: “…”
Lin Zhexia: “…”
Lin Zhexia somewhat regretted saying “be more civilized” earlier; she should have directly said “act more normal.”
Chi Yao remained calm in the crisis, displaying an extremely steady attitude when it came to showing affection.
He gently rubbed his fingertip over Lin Zhexia’s knuckle, then asked ambiguously: “What do you think we’re doing?”
“What, trying to fool me? Am I, He Yang, someone who’s easily deceived?”
“…”
Chi Yao pressed his lips together, suppressing the urge to beat him up first, and said flatly: “No one has the time to fool you.”
“It’s exactly what you see,” he added. “We’re together now.”
At this moment, He Yang’s brain continued to race at high speed.
What should he do now?
What reaction would seem more authentic?
He thought for half a second, slowly sat down, then deliberately fell off his chair to express his level of shock: “What—you two, you two are together?!”
“Oh my goodness, I’m just so shocked. Are my ears working properly? Did I hear that right, or am I dreaming right now?” After getting up, He Yang spun around in place, as if searching for his lost soul. “I’m so surprised.”
“Aren’t we best friends—my best friend and my other best friend are together, how is this possible, what happened between you two, when did you get together, how did you get together?”
Chi Yao: “…”
Lin Zhexia: “…”
This reaction seemed a bit off.
Lin Zhexia hesitantly asked Chi Yao in a low voice: “Is he… going crazy?”
Chi Yao, watching He Yang spinning in place, didn’t contradict her: “Remove the question mark and you can use a declarative sentence.”
“…”-
They had originally planned to tell Lin He and Wei Ping next.
After experiencing He Yang’s on-the-spot breakdown, Lin Zhexia was a bit afraid to tell Lin He.
What if Lin He also collapsed…
When she got home, Lin He and Wei Ping had specially arranged time off to wait for her: “You’re back! I originally thought since Lian University is in the same city, you could come home often, but I didn’t expect college to keep you so busy.”
“Mom, Uncle Wei,” Lin Zhexia put down her things and hugged each of them, “I just started school, so it’s been busy. Once things settle down, I’ll come back more often.”
Lin He: “Alright, between mother and daughter, there’s no need for such pleasantries that even you don’t believe.”
Lin Zhexia: “Little He, you’re as sharp as ever.”
Lin He: “Back home and already being naughty, huh?”
Lin Zhexia smiled and sat on the sofa, eating the fruit that Wei Ping had cut for her in advance.
Being back home again brought more comfort and familiarity.
Earlier, when the three of them returned to Nanxiang Street and walked side by side past the street sign, they met several other childhood friends who had also come home for the holiday. Everyone gathered at the entrance of the neighborhood to chat for a while, and she had the illusion that no one had ever left this place.
“Mom,” Lin Zhexia ate fruit while tentatively speaking, “Many people are dating in college.”
Lin He turned to the kitchen to prepare dinner: “That’s normal. College is a time when you can date, but as a girl, you must protect yourself well.”
Lin Zhexia continued asking: “What if I date someone too?”
Lin He: “Then date.”
Lin Zhexia: “Oh.”
After her “Oh,” she deliberately waited a moment before saying: “Chi Yao came back too.”
Lin He wasn’t surprised at all: “Is he at He Yang’s place? Perfect, call him over for dinner later. You’re at the same school, I’m sure you’ve been giving him plenty of trouble.”
Lin Zhexia protested quietly: “You make it sound like I’m a troublemaker.”
“…”
The house grew quiet.
Wei Ping went to get something, and Lin He started cutting vegetables.
Lin Zhexia walked to the kitchen doorway with a toothpick in her mouth, watched Lin He for a while, and said: “Mom, what do you think of… Chi Yao as a person?”
Lin He: “He’s great.”
Lin Zhexia’s heart hadn’t had time to settle when it was lifted up again by Lin He’s next words: “I look at him just like I would my own son.”
“……”
Calculating it that way…
That would mean, to Lin He, her daughter was dating her son.
“What’s up? Is he dating someone in college?” Lin He asked again.
“Uh,” the words Lin Zhexia had prepared got stuck in her throat, and she couldn’t say them. She avoided the topic, “How long until dinner? I’ll go call him.”
“About half an hour, you can message him now and ask him to come over.”
Lin Zhexia curled up on the sofa and messaged Chi Yao: Dinner in half an hour, want to come over now?
Boyfriend: Got it
Lin Zhexia continued typing: By the way, I haven’t told my mom yet-
Because-
She thinks of you-
Like her own son.
Boyfriend: …
Lin Zhexia hesitantly typed a line: Maybe we shouldn’t… go public after all? It feels a bit like incest.
Chi Yao didn’t respond to this message.
About five minutes later, their doorbell rang.
Wei Ping went to open the door: “Ah, Chi Yao, uncle hasn’t seen you for so long, let uncle take a good look—you’ve become even more handsome after a year.”
Wei Ping might have overheard her conversation with Lin He earlier, because he immediately added: “Now that you’re in college, are you dating anyone?”
Lin Zhexia coughed and squeezed past Wei Ping to pull Chi Yao inside: “Uncle Wei, don’t pry into other people’s privacy. He’s very shy about these things and doesn’t like to discuss them.”
Wei Ping: “Huh?”
He didn’t get the impression that Chi Yao was shy.
After Chi Yao came in, he received even better treatment than she did, because after not seeing each other for a long time, Lin He and Wei Ping had a lot they wanted to say to him.
Chi Yao sat right next to her, unable to directly express their relationship, only able to interact with her through small gestures that only the two of them knew about.
“Have you resolved the family matters? How is your mother’s health?”
“Mm, resolved. Her health is quite good now.”
While speaking, Chi Yao used a toothpick to pierce a piece of fruit and handed it to her.
Lin Zhexia was caught off guard as he stuffed it into her mouth, with no time to explain: “…I’ve already eaten quite a lot.”
A second after releasing his hand, taking advantage of Wei Ping looking down and not paying attention, his fingertip pressed very lightly against the corner of her mouth, wiping away the fruit juice that had stuck there.
Lin Zhexia felt guilty, sensing that the two of them seemed to be doing something bad.
Wei Ping was still chatting across from them: “Tell your mom to rest more and not work all the time.”
Chi Yao acknowledged with a sound: “It’s useless. Before she left the hospital, she also said she would put aside work and go out to experience life more, but after just a few days she couldn’t sit still.”
“That’s true,” Wei Ping thought for a moment. “It’s not easy to be idle. With nothing to do every day, it’s better to find something to keep busy. Besides, it’s not like before; you’re grown up now, studying at Lianyun University, and able to take care of yourself. She doesn’t need to worry about you.”
During Wei Ping’s speech, Chi Yao seemed to sense her awkwardness and deliberately teased her, reaching his hand around from behind to touch her hand from an angle that others couldn’t see.
Lin Zhexia was so nervous that her hair stood on end.
“Stay away from me,” she shifted her position. “Don’t sit so close.”
Chi Yao said softly: “Such a scaredy-cat.”
Is this about being scared or not?!
This is…
This is flirting behind their parents’ backs.
Just as she was about to find an excuse to leave the living room, Lin He called from the kitchen: “Old Wei—we’re out of soy sauce, go to the supermarket and buy a bottle.”
Lin Zhexia jumped up: “I’ll go!”
Wei Ping: “Usually, you avoid going if you can. Why are you so enthusiastic today?”
Lin Zhexia righteously stated: “I’m a college student now, I’ve grown up and become more responsible.”
“…”
She took her wallet and had just walked outside when the door behind her was pulled open, and she saw Chi Yao following her out: “I’ll go with her.”
Lin Zhexia didn’t say much, just deliberately stood to the side while waiting for the elevator.
She was afraid Wei Ping might suddenly open the door and come out.
But fortunately, the door remained tightly shut.
Then.
“Ding—” the elevator arrived at their floor.
After the two entered the elevator, Chi Yao stood behind her.
He put his arms around her waist, leaned down, and his whole body “hung” on her.
Although there were only the two of them in the elevator,
Lin Zhexia stiffened for a moment.
Sensing her tension, the person behind her said in her ear, “Let me hold you for a while, there’s no one here.”
“But…”
“Uncle and auntie won’t check the surveillance cameras.”
“But…”
“If someone comes in, I’ll let go.”
“…”
Fine.
She couldn’t find any other reasons, so she had to let him hold her.
After a while, she reminded him again: “But remember to keep some distance from me when we’re in the neighborhood later.”
The person behind her was reluctant.
The young man rested his chin on her shoulder, his breath spreading to her neck as he spoke. He clicked his tongue and said, “Your mom sees me as a son?”
Lin Zhexia: “…Mm.”
Chi Yao: “You think we’re committing incest?”
Lin Zhexia: “…There is a bit of that, wrong feeling.”
“Since you feel that way,” surprisingly, Chi Yao readily accepted it, then raised one hand and gently pressed it on top of Lin Zhexia’s head, even saying with some anticipation, “Then—call me ‘big brother’ and let me hear it?”
“…”
Author’s Note:
Little Chi: When will my dream come true?