To help me shake off the gloom, Yi Taitai invited me out for karaoke that evening. I didn’t decline. When I pushed open the door to the private booth, I was met with a cacophony of wailing and a dizzying array of neon lights, as if I’d stumbled into a spider’s den. Yi Taitai called out to me from the sofa. Although the room was large, there were only four of us including myself; the flamboyant voices were coming from a pair of guys belting out songs in front of the big screen. I stared at their faces for a good while before realizing that not only were they decent-looking, but they were also identical twins.
Yi Taitai gave me a brief introduction. The one on the left was the older brother, Xie Yong, and the one on the right was the younger, Xie Yuan. Seeing the Rolexs on their wrists, I initially pegged them as wealthy playboys, but after talking to them, I realized they were just a couple of dorks. I listened to them sing "The People of Our Village," then went up myself to sing "Onion." But as soon as I got to the part about peeling the layers, a wave of sorrow washed over me, and I decisively switched the track to "Serving the Country with Supreme Loyalty." Dammit, bringing glory to my country was my only life goal now!
Once we grew tired of singing, we started playing cards. I was usually a perennial loser when playing with Lao Qi and Da Pang, but this time I actually won quite a bit. With my pockets full, I slapped my chest and declared that the drinks were on me. The twins looked at me with tearful gratitude; Yi Taitai whispered to me that these two always forgot they were rich the moment they got drunk.
In the small hours of the morning, we switched to Truth or Dare. I’d used up all my luck during the card game and lost the very first round. When asked about my "first night," I blurted out, "Hasn't happened yet!"
"No way?" The older brother looked me up and down with a look of pure wonder.
"I'm an athlete. I have to practice celibacy."
The brothers gave me a look of understanding, but then the younger one leaned in gossipily. "Then tell us about your first kiss. Where? How did it happen? Was it a guy or a girl?"
I couldn't talk about a first night, but I should have been able to say something about a first kiss. Yet, I had nothing. The more I thought about it, the angrier I got, and I couldn't help but launch into a tirade against Ling Xiao. Bastard, heartless prick, cold-blooded jerk... I used every insult in my vocabulary. After finishing, I took a swig of Breezer; it felt incredibly cathartic.
The two brothers sat stunned at the other end of the table. Yi Taitai coughed. "Why are you cursing him? He asked about your first kiss!"
"I know!" The booth was stiflingly hot, so I loosened my collar. "My first kiss was practically reserved for him, but the bastard flirted with me and then ran for the hills!"
Xie Yuan thought I was making excuses and tutted. "Whoa, even for an athlete, that's some extreme celibacy..."
Xie Yong shoved his brother. "Hey, that campus heartthrob you chased in college was the same way. Heartless, cold-blooded..."
The high-spirited Xie Yuan suddenly looked dejected. "Ugh, don't even bring him up."
The brothers loved to contradict each other. Since the younger one said not to bring it up, the older one insisted on it. He joined me in my drunken grumbling. "That heartthrob he used to chase... he walked around with a frozen face all day, like the whole school owed him a blood debt. My brother chased him like a lost puppy, and the guy wouldn't even give him the time of day! My brother is so handsome—" (I had to admire such blunt self-praise) "—he caught the junior high belle and the high school belle with ease! Even the school beauties weren't that stuck-up!"
"You can't say that, my 'Grass' had his reasons," Xie Yuan said. He was clearly wasted, but his tone suggested he still had lingering feelings. "But it was infuriating. If something was wrong, he’d never tell you. Ask him anything and he’d just go silent. On the rare occasion he actually gave you a nice look, you felt like you’d hit the damn lottery!"
Yi Taitai was curious. "Do people like you even care about hitting the lottery?"
"I've never bought a ticket," Xie Yuan hiccuped. "Isn't that just what people say?"
I felt a deep sense of kinship. This was Ling Xiao 2.0. "Exactly! He’s a total dud! You’re over here lighting firecrackers, hoping for a bang on his end, and he doesn't even let out a puff of smoke! Dammit, I’m being turned into a masochist! Come here, let's hug it out! Mwah!"
Xie Yuan commiserated with me. "I'm telling you, people with that kind of eccentric, cold, antisocial personality either have psychological trauma or a mental disorder. I've given up, and you should stop pining too. Just think of him as 'gold and jade on the outside, rot and decay on the inside,' and it won't hurt as much."
Spoken like a true veteran. At the thought that Ling Xiao might be some kind of sadistic freak, I decided I was better off just admiring him from a distance.
Xie Yong snorted. "Didn't you pine for him for ages?"
Xie Yuan said shyly, "That's only human. A classic Eastern beauty like my 'Grass'... how did the ancients put it? A gentleman as fine as jade upon the road..."
I raised a glass in a toast to Ling Xiao. "A peerless lord without equal!"
"Too bad both the man and the lord are defective!" Xie Yong chimed in gleefully.
***
We carried on like this until midnight. Despite having the worst tolerance, I was the most sober because I’d chosen "Truth" every time and only had half a glass of wine. The two brothers, however, were completely wasted. Eventually, Yi Taitai and I each hauled one of them up and stumbled out of the booth.
According to Yi Taitai, these two had been competing since childhood. I believed it. As we reached the elevators, they both suddenly felt nauseous. They fought over a single trash can, and after vomiting, the older brother pointed at his mess and claimed he’d produced more. The younger one refused to be outdone and kept retching. *My god, give me a break, you two...*
Neither could drive, so we had to call for a designated driver. As they sat on the sofa by the entrance to sober up in the breeze, the older brother suddenly sat up and shouted, "Yuan-yuan, look! Isn't that your 'Grass'?"
Xie Yuan squinted, then snapped his head up. "It really is! Heartthrob? Hey, Heartthrob!"
Yi Taitai and I looked over, and I nearly dropped my phone in shock. Walking out of another booth were Ling Xiao and Li Xin!
Li Xin spotted me immediately and waved excitedly. "Qiao Mai! You guys are here too!"
Xie Yong and Xie Yuan were already racing toward Ling Xiao before Yi Taitai or I could stop them.
"It's been years, and you're still so handsome!" Xie Yong sobbed, grabbing Ling Xiao’s right hand with both of his.
Xie Yuan seemed devastated. He slumped down and hugged Ling Xiao’s leg. "Why didn't you accept me back then? Why?" He looked at the startled Li Xin. "You said you couldn't do relationships! Was it all a lie?! If you like this kind of girl, I could have had a sex change for you!"
I saw the dark clouds gathering on Ling Xiao’s face and rushed to pull Xie Yuan away. After much effort, I managed to separate them, but Xie Yuan just sat back on the floor, looking up at Ling Xiao’s cold, towering gaze with tears streaming down his face. "How can you still be so heartless...?"
I looked up and asked Ling Xiao cautiously, "You guys know each other?"
Ling Xiao withdrew his gaze with forced restraint. "I don't know them."
Yi Taitai rubbed his chin. "But he's still so handsome, still so heartless, still the 'School Grass'... sounds exactly like you."
"I don't know these two, and I was never a 'School Grass'."
Ling Xiao stared at me as he spoke. I stiffened up, my heart in my throat. I thought to myself: *Yi Taitai is the one teasing you, not me! Why are you glaring at me?*
Xie Yuan finally found some backbone and stood up. He leaned one hand on my shoulder and pointed at Ling Xiao with the other. "I haven't got the wrong man! I have a new love now too~" With that, he suddenly grabbed my face, using all his strength to pull my cheeks apart. "Look, he has dimples when he smiles! Hey, where are the dimples?"
I winced in pain. "Get a grip—"
Yi Taitai moved to help, but Ling Xiao beat him to it. He reached out, grabbed Xie Yuan’s wrists, and forcibly pried them off my face.
Now it was Xie Yuan’s turn to wail. Ling Xiao held his hands high, forcing him into a kneeling position like he was surrendering. "Ow, ow, ow—" Xie Yuan turned to me for help. "Anata, save me!"
*Who's your 'Anata'?* I rubbed my cheeks. "Don't call me that! We just met today!"
"Bro, are you just going to watch?" the younger one howled in pain. "My hands are gonna break! Are you for real, Heartthrob?!"
Ling Xiao didn't let go. He simply freed one hand to dial a number on his phone while keeping the other pinned. He sounded like he was calling for backup, but he was actually just calling a designated driver.
I saw the tendons straining in Xie Yuan’s wrists and worried that Ling Xiao might end up in another assault case. While he was distracted by the phone, I tried to step forward to pull them apart. To my surprise, Ling Xiao turned his head mid-call, saw me, and violently yanked Xie Yuan away, preventing me from touching him at all.
That was a brutal move. What was the grudge? I began to suspect he really did know these two troublemakers.
Xie Yong lost his temper too. "Heartthrob, fuck you! You're still the same piece of work. I should have found someone to take care of you in college! If I'd taken some compromising photos of you, you wouldn't be so arrogant!"
Ling Xiao’s expression turned murderous. A threat that clearly read *'You want to take compromising photos of me? You're asking for death'* was written all over his face.
Xie Yong rolled up his sleeves and balled his fists. I was at my wit's end. "Enough! You've got the wrong guy! He's not your Heartthrob!"
Xie Yong clutched his face, stunned by my intervention. I looked at my own hand. *Oops, sorry big brother, I just meant to push you back, I might have misjudged my strength...*
Li Xin, being the only girl in this chaotic scene, couldn't take it anymore. She tugged on Ling Xiao’s arm. "Ling Xiao, let's go."
Facing the innocently involved Li Xin, Ling Xiao’s expression softened considerably. "I'll walk you down."
Yi Taitai and I hurried to help the brothers up. I said we should leave and stop making fools of ourselves. Before Yi Taitai could respond, Ling Xiao suddenly stopped and said to me, "Wait for the driver here!"
He was so fierce that Yi Taitai and I immediately let go. "We'll wait for the driver!" The two brothers slid back onto the floor.
Once Ling Xiao and Li Xin headed downstairs, I breathed a sigh of relief. Yi Taitai looked at me with disdain. "You're useless!"
I slumped onto the sofa, letting him scold me. I *was* useless!
The driver was efficient. Two minutes later, the elevator dinged. I hurried to help the wobbling Xie Yuan up, but when the doors opened, Ling Xiao was standing there. I was startled. "Why didn't you leave...?" Without a word, he stepped out, grabbed my wrist, and dragged me toward the restroom.
This "overbearing CEO on a bicycle" was scarier than one in a Rolls-Royce. Before I could figure out how I’d offended him, I was forced over to the sink. He held my arm firmly with one hand and turned on the tap with the other, splashing cold water onto my face.
It was violent. Water ran down my collar.
Splashing me wasn't enough; he pulled me under the light as if he couldn't see clearly. I saw his eyes darting all over my face, avoiding my gaze. I wondered if there was something on my face he was trying to wash off, but the mirror only showed water droplets rolling down my skin.
Ling Xiao kept splashing water. The automatic tap only ran for a few seconds at a time; whenever it stopped, he slapped the sensor impatiently.
My face, neck, and collar were soaked. "Enough! I'm not drunk! I can wash my own face—"
As I pulled my hand away, he suddenly turned toward me. Then, all my burgeoning anger was shoved back down my throat by a soft, irresistible force...
I had thought that after our showdown in the elevator, the closest we would ever get again would be an accidental collision on the fencing strip. I thought that would be the most intense spark we’d ever share. I never imagined that in this lifetime, we would ever be this close again.
I thought he would use his hand to shut me up, or even his fist, but I never expected him to use his mouth.
I didn't know if he was a regular at this. The way he pinned one of my hands behind my back while the other pressed against the back of my head held me in a death grip. But honestly, he didn't need to do all that—not if he knew that I was trembling so hard my limbs had gone weak.
Ling Xiao smelled faintly of alcohol, but it wasn't strong. Despite working at the bar, I’d never seen him drink, not even a cocktail. I should have punched him so he’d explain himself, but when he opened his mouth and I knew what was coming, I didn't have an ounce of will or strength to refuse.
Ling Xiao hadn't been drinking; the scent came from others. He was still as fresh and clean as a pine tree. The only trace of alcohol in our mouths came from me.
The sweet cocktail was churned into something bitter and spicy. Ling Xiao’s lips were wet with the water he’d gathered from mine—icy and sharp—but his hot tongue and the fiery breath in his mouth made me feel like I was caught between ice and fire. Being pressed against him was like hugging an iceberg, only to take a lick and realize it was made of the world’s strongest liquor.
I looked at his tightly closed eyes and his furrowed brow, my mind filled with a million questions.
*Why?*
Footsteps sounded outside the restroom. Ling Xiao let me go. Water droplets still clung to his chin and the corners of his mouth—the very water he’d splashed on me had ended up on him.
My mind felt hollowed out. I only saw his lips, once again sealed into an impenetrable line. I had no memory of him turning and walking away.
I stood by the sink for a long time until I saw Yi Taitai at the door. He was shouting at me anxiously, "What are you standing there for?! Chase him!"
I snapped out of it, cursed, and sprinted out. The elevator was already going down. By the time I caught up, Ling Xiao was already in a taxi. Out of breath, I yelled toward the retreating car, "Run to Zimbabwe for all I care! You can run, but you can't hide! *Achoo!*"
On the way back to the base, my mind was stuck on two sentences. One was: *Ling Xiao, do you have a split personality?* The other was: *Then just wait for me to cure it!*
***
Back at the base, I knocked unceremoniously on Ling Xiao’s dorm door. Zhang Ting opened it in his pajamas. I felt a bit embarrassed, realizing how late it was, and peered past him into the room. "Where's the Captain?"
"He's not back yet..."
I was puzzled. I apologized to the awakened Zhang Ting and trudged back to my own room.
My phone was vibrating on the desk. I stared at the number for a moment; it was Li Xin. It had been two weeks since she last called. Seeing her out at karaoke with Ling Xiao at least meant they were on good terms; her fears about him hating her were clearly unfounded. But I was becoming more confused than ever.
Li Xin sounded relieved. "Yeah, I'm glad he's not mad at me. I guess I was overthinking. I'm so careful when I talk to him now; I don't say a single word about my brother."
Now it was my turn to be confused. I couldn't imagine where Ling Xiao would go in the middle of the night if he wasn't back at the base, so I asked Li Xin if he was with her.
"No, I went straight home after the KTV. He's not back yet?"
I ran my hands through my hair in frustration. Forget it, no use guessing. He’d have to come back eventually. "It's fine, he'll probably be back soon. Why did you call?"
Li Xin hesitated for a moment before whispering, "Qiao Mai, you're Ling Xiao’s best friend, right? I wanted to ask... does he have a girlfriend?"
The question stumped me. I didn't know how to answer. "Why do you ask?"
"If he doesn't have one, I want to try and pursue him."
The words "pursue him," coming from a girl, sounded both shy and brave. It made my heart flutter. A girl like Li Xin, with her looks and family background—when had she ever had to chase a guy?
"Qiao Mai?"
I realized I’d spaced out. "Oh, he shouldn't have one." He barely had friends, let alone a girlfriend.
"Really?" Li Xin asked. "But he's such a mystery. You said he doesn't know how to be a gentleman, but I feel like he's actually quite nice. He was more patient than I expected when teaching me fencing, and he's always patient when I call to ask about sabres. He doesn't refuse when I ask him out for dinner or karaoke. When I said I wanted to go to the hospital with him to see Xiao Guan and bring some fruit, he agreed. But I just feel... like there's someone in his heart."
I stood on the balcony in the cool night air, listening to Li Xin’s secrets, wishing I could say something in response—something about the Ling Xiao that others didn't know. But what could I say? There was that inexplicable kiss, but to me, he was still as much of a mystery as he was to her.
"Would you give up just because there's someone else in his heart?" I said. "Since there's no one physically by his side, who cares who's in his heart? If you've made up your mind, go for it. That's what I would do."
This was the only kindness I could offer her. Since we liked the same person, we might as well both give it our all.
Ling Xiao didn't return to the dorm that night, but he would eventually show up for training. I thought about it for a long time and decided not to press him for the motives behind his contradictory words and actions. I couldn't understand him anyway, and he wouldn't answer. A mortal like me falling for a chosen one like him—I just had to accept my fate. Not understanding him didn't mean I couldn't love him.
I took the guitar out of my locker, glad I hadn't given it away yet.
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Point to Point: The Fencer’s Heart | Chapter 45 | An Unexpected Kiss | Novela.app | Novela.app
