We headed down the mountain and found a park, sitting together under a streetlamp. In truth, I was the only one eating; whatever I handed to Ling Xiao, he would hold for a moment before setting it aside. He clearly had a lot on his mind.
"What did Mr. Li want you to consider?" I asked curiously. "Was it about the endorsement?"
"Mm."
I wasn't sure how to proceed, fearing I might step on a landmine again. I said cautiously, "If you take the endorsement, the breach of contract fee wouldn't be an issue anymore, right?"
Ling Xiao fell silent for a while, then turned to look at me. "Do you think I’m difficult to get along with? Is that why you’re always walking on eggshells?"
"Uh? No!" Crap, I hadn't expected him to be so blunt. I tried to laugh it off, but his gaze was so earnest, as if he were pinning me down and demanding the truth. I had no choice but to be honest. "Maybe a little..."
"If you say 'a little,' then I must be quite difficult." He actually let out a soft laugh. "I’ve been like this since I was a kid. You don't have to be so formal with me."
I’ve never been the formal type myself. It wasn't so much that I was being polite; it was more that I had a guilty conscience where he was concerned...
"Do you think I’m incredibly thick-skinned?" I asked.
Ling Xiao thought about it and chuckled. "A little."
"If you say 'a little,' then I must be incredibly thick-skinned."
Ling Xiao rested his arms on his knees. "Yeah, you are. In all my years, I’ve never met anyone as clingy as you."
*I’ve never met anyone as hard to cling to as you,* I thought. Thinking of it that way gave me a strange sense of accomplishment. "So, that means we’re a perfect match."
Ling Xiao’s expression froze. I realized I’d let my excitement get the better of me. "I mean as friends! Haha, a perfect match as friends!" I quickly stuffed a dumpling into my mouth to change the subject. "That Lilong Electronics endorsement—are you really not going to consider it?"
Ling Xiao let out a long breath and stood up. "Don't mention that. Walk with me."
It was already one in the morning, and there wasn't much scenery to speak of, so we just walked along the riverbank. Ling Xiao still looked preoccupied, so I tried to distract him.
"There are so many stars tonight."
He stopped beside me, gazing at the starlit sky reflected on the river. "Yeah."
A gentle breeze blew past, smoothing his slight frown and leaving his features clear and bright. If he hadn't taken up fencing, a person like him surely wouldn't have been lost in the crowd. Would he have been discovered by a talent scout and started a completely different life? If he appeared on screen, he would surely be the most dazzling star of all, and the two of us would be like people on opposite sides of the galaxy, gazing at each other from afar.
Fate is a strange thing.
As he looked at the stars, the corners of his mouth suddenly curled up. "Are there stars on my face?"
The sound of the wind and the tide gave his cool voice a touch of warmth, as if it were carrying subtle ripples of emotion. He turned to look at me. Ling Xiao’s eyes were a contradiction; usually, they looked at everything with a cold detachment, but when he truly looked at you, they seemed bottomless and intense—not the eyes of a heartless man at all.
It was rare for us to get along so harmoniously. An impulse felt like it was about to burst from my chest, but then I remembered what happened to him in middle school. Did he hate his brother? Would he take his anger out on others because of what happened? Or did he, perhaps, harbor a secret that could not be spoken, just like his brother...
Being with this man was like a gamble—a bet on whether I’d win it all or lose my life trying.
Suddenly, my phone started shouting cheerfully in my pocket. It was Old Seven.
"Holy crap, Qiao Mai, where are you? Old Hu is coming to check the dorms!"
***
Ling Xiao and I were caught red-handed by Old Hu right at the dormitory entrance. It was all Ling Xiao’s fault. I told him to hurry, but he acted like he didn't have a care in the world. When we saw Old Hu waiting like a predator for its prey, I told him to hide in the shadows with me. This guy, however, walked straight toward the gate, tossing back a single sentence: "Don't bother. You can't hide."
And so, rather than saying Old Hu caught us, it was more like we delivered ourselves right into the old man's line of fire.
Ling Xiao was the same as ever, his back as straight as if it were physically incapable of bending. He walked calmly up to Coach Hu and stood there to receive his punishment.
Old Hu looked at him with heavy eyelids. "Give me an explanation."
"We went to an internet cafe!" I rushed forward. "We got carried away and lost track of time..."
"An internet cafe? You're in your twenties; what are you doing hanging around internet cafes?" Old Hu asked. "What were you doing there?"
I said, "Nothing much, just played LoL all night~"
Who would have thought that Old Hu’s face would change instantly upon hearing that? His voice jumped an octave. "You two went to watch porn?!"
"No! It's a game! We were gaming!" I wanted to lung forward and cover his mouth. The whole dormitory could hear him!
"LoL. It's short for League of Legends," Ling Xiao clarified.
Old Hu’s suspicious gaze darted between me and Ling Xiao, finally landing on Ling Xiao. "I can understand Qiao Mai playing games, but why would *you* go to an internet cafe in the middle of the night to play?"
*Your precious student is way worse than you think,* I thought. *I'm the good boy here! I only hit the internet cafe once in a while...*
Ling Xiao didn't bat an eye. "I haven't played in a long time. I wanted someone to play with, so I asked Qiao Mai."
Old Hu was a bit puzzled. "And how did you end up hanging out with Qiao Mai?"
"He’s too thick-skinned."
Old Hu was left speechless, staring at him. I couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Old Hu smacked me on the back of the head. "He calls you thick-skinned and you're happy about it!"
***
Sigh. Scrubbing windows in the middle of the night as punishment. But being alone with Ling Xiao—even if it was for a punishment—was something I’d do gladly.
The dormitory entrance had glass doors. We stood on opposite sides, brushes in hand, scrubbing the glass. Ling Xiao worked in silence. It was a bit awkward being face-to-face, but I soon began to shamelessly enjoy this "special treatment." Holding my brush, I scrubbed back and forth, up and down, right where Ling Xiao’s face was on the other side of the glass. Watching the water and white foam slide down over his features felt like I was washing his face for him. Finally, I exhaled a breath of hot air onto the glass in front of his face and wiped it with a newspaper.
After all, he was in the light while I was in the dark; I could see his face perfectly, but he couldn't necessarily see my expression clearly.
Every time I breathed on the glass, Ling Xiao’s neck would stiffen, his discomfort written all over his face. Haha, teasing an iceberg is addictive!
I blew one last puff of air onto the glass. Ling Xiao lowered his head and put his brush in the water. "Stop messing around." He frowned as he spoke, but this time it lacked any bite. With that tone and expression, no one would ever listen to him.
Usually, when he was being mean, I didn't want to listen to him, but now that he had finally softened, I decided to behave.
"OK." I pulled the newspaper away gleefully. Looking at the face behind the spotless glass—a face that looked strikingly handsome, as if seen through a filter—I nodded. "It's clean."
He just looked at me through the glass, his eyes filled with many things I couldn't read. But at this moment, I didn't want to read them anymore.
I don't know what's on your mind, but right now, I don't care. Because I know exactly what's on mine. We can keep things unconfessed and unexplained, just like this very moment.
