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Join the ServerLin Chuji’s lips opened and closed—it was unclear what he was saying, but his mouth kept brushing against Xie Yan’s palm.
“You really…”
Xie Yan’s face flushed, unable to find the right word, stuck again.
But the soft touch made his scalp tingle, his whole body stiffen, and he unconsciously held tighter.
Lin Chuji struggled on his own, his arm hitting the tent pole, causing another moderately loud noise.
Xie Yan released him, his other hand holding the back of Lin Chuji’s neck.
He sat up and warned him, “Do you really want everyone to come watch?
Fine, I have a clear conscience anyway—I’m open and honest, aboveboard.
I’m just worried you’ll be embarrassed.”
Lin Chuji mumbled something, probably annoyed that he was too noisy, his expression discontent.
“Boss Xie, was that noise coming from your side?
I’m coming over!”
A beam of flashlight shone straight through the layer of fabric.
Footsteps shuffled outside the tent.
Xie Yan had no choice but to cover Lin Chuji’s mouth again with his hand to keep him from making more noise.
At that moment, he met Lin Chuji’s eyes and realized that he was clearly awake, but his pupils were hollow and confused, devoid of any emotion.
The sensual atmosphere from moments ago vanished.
Xie Yan fell into thought.
Lin Chuji didn’t look at all like someone trying to take advantage of him on the last night.
He looked more like a pitiful little thing hiding from being bullied—even his eyelashes were damp, making Xie Yan inexplicably soften.
Xie Yan poked Lin Chuji’s cheek with his finger, about to ask what was wrong, when a voice came from behind.
“I’m coming in.”
Shen Yinan reached out to unzip the tent.
With no other choice, Xie Yan quickly grabbed his own sleeping bag and stuffed Lin Chuji into it.
But the other wasn’t very cooperative—two pale, straight calves were still sticking out.
With no better option, Xie Yan covered them thoroughly with his jacket, hiding everything.
The zipper was pulled open, and Shen Yinan poked his head in, groggy.
“What’s up?”
Xie Yan’s expression was calm, his palm pressed on top of his jacket to signal Lin Chuji not to move, but his heart was racing.
“I accidentally dropped my camera.
Don’t make a big deal out of it.”
“Really?
I thought I saw two shadows.
Wasn’t it just one person?”
Shen Yinan shook his flashlight and craned his neck to look inside.
Xie Yan leaned forward and pushed his head back as if pushing a dog.
“You’re dreaming.
That’s the shadow of my sleeping bag.”
Shen Yinan squinted, scrutinizing him for a few seconds, then concluded, “You’re acting strange.
Your eyes just shifted five millimeters to the left.
Are you hiding someone?”
“Hiding who?”
Hearing this, Shen Yibei from the next tent turned his head, instantly wide awake.
Several other tents also popped out curious heads, shouting, “Boss Xie, are you playing that rough out here?
Who is it?
Who is it?”
Xie Yan: …
For the first time, he realized that being too well understood by friends wasn’t necessarily a good thing.
He said expressionlessly, “No one.
Keep making up rumors and I’ll sue you for defamation.”
“Fine, I’m going back then.”
Shen Yinan withdrew his head and called out for everyone to stop gawking.
“Go back to sleep.
Nothing’s happening.”
Giving up the interrogation so easily struck Xie Yan as odd.
He knew this guy too well—he was definitely lurking somewhere outside, waiting to catch him red-handed.
But for now, he couldn’t send Lin Chuji back either.
“How are you so much trouble,” Xie Yan muttered softly.
He reached out and first freed Lin Chuji’s messy-haired head from the sleeping bag.
In that short time, Lin Chuji had already completely closed his eyes, looking like he was sleeping soundly.
Xie Yan was speechless.
“Great.
You fall asleep yourself and leave me with all the mess.”
He rested his elbows on his knees, propped his chin on his hand, and just stared at Lin Chuji for twenty minutes.
When the outside had grown quiet except for the sound of the waves, he suddenly snapped out of it.
Wait a minute.
He’s a guy, and Lin Chuji is also a guy.
So what if they’re in the same tent?
They don’t know Lin Chuji is gay.
It’s perfectly normal.
Lately, I’ve been so jumpy I’ve gotten off track.
Xie Yan came to his senses and patted Lin Chuji’s cheek.
“Wake up.
You need to go back.”
Lin Chuji impatiently brushed his hand away and turned his head to burrow into the jacket.
Xie Yan lowered his voice and threatened, “If you don’t go yourself, I’ll carry you over.”
Seeing no movement, he waited two seconds, then truly wrapped Lin Chuji in the sleeping bag, hoisted him over his shoulder, crawled out of the tent, and strode toward Lin Chuji’s tent.
He hadn’t taken two steps before two beams of flashlight lit up from the two tents next door, aimed directly at the two suspicious subjects—a blatant caught-in-the-act scene.
Xie Yan looked up and saw the Shen brothers’ two smug, grinning faces.
Now he was completely speechless.
He frowned and complained, “You two are so boring.
You stayed up for half an hour just to wait?”
“Aren’t you waiting too?”
Shen Yinan was extremely excited, not a trace of sleepiness left, his eyes gleaming like 1000-watt bulbs.
“Straight guy, what are you running around carrying him for, straight guy?”
“Keep your voices down.
Don’t wake everyone else up,” Shen Yibei said, still rather considerate of his brother’s dignity, teasing, “Straight guy, you two are playing really fancy.
This is a scenario I never imagined.”
Xie Yan: “……”
He gave them both a big eye-roll.
He lowered his gaze, took a few strides to Lin Chuji’s tent, bent down, put him back inside, took Lin Chuji’s sleeping bag, then expressionlessly zipped it shut and returned the way he came.
Shen Yinan winked and raised his eyebrows.
“Straight guy, you—”
“Don’t talk.”
Xie Yan raised his hand, mercilessly signaling him to shut up, his temples throbbing.
“I want to be alone with Jingjing.”
Shen Yibei nodded and whispered, “Straight guy, is Jingjing Lin Chuji’s new nickname?”
Xie Yan: “……”
I can’t go on like this even one more day.
When the first light appeared on the horizon, everyone gradually woke up.
The noise roused Lin Chuji.
He groggily woke up and didn’t notice anything unusual about the sleeping bag he was in—they were all bulk-issue, dark-colored, indistinguishable.
After a few seconds to compose himself, he rubbed his face, got up, and crawled out of the tent.
He saw Xie Yan already standing at a good vantage point.
Lin Chuji walked over slowly, trying to clear up the inexplicable misunderstandings of the past few days.
“Did you sleep well last night?
See?
I told you I wouldn’t come to you last night, and I didn’t.
I do what I say.”
Xie Yan gave him an incredulous glance, then slowly looked away.
His game is really on another level.
Now he’s advanced to the point of just spouting nonsense.
Sure enough, he’s still the same Lin Chuji who uses his substitute and then discards him at night.
Good for you.
Seeing that Xie Yan wasn’t speaking, Lin Chuji’s voice dropped.
“I…
I didn’t, did I?
I stayed properly in my own tent.”
Xie Yan nodded perfunctorily, hands in his pockets, looking cool.
“Right.
You didn’t.”
Lin Chuji looked at him suspiciously for a few seconds, then quietly put some distance between them.
So aloof.
Definitely just morning grumpiness from not being fully awake.
After a moment, he still asked hesitantly, “You’re not disappointed that I didn’t come to you?”
Xie Yan curled the corner of his mouth slightly, adopting a “if you can’t beat them, join them” attitude and teased, “Terribly disappointed.
I wish you had come running to me in the middle of the night, lying down with me, the two of us all clingy under the same blanket.”
Lin Chuji: “……”
I can’t out-shameless him.
I probably couldn’t learn this level of nonsense even after reading ten thousand e-books.
His cheeks flushed a faint red from the rambling.
He called Xie Yan’s name softly, but with a bit more boldness than before.
“Xie Yan… you really are kind of perverted.”
The Shen brothers, who had just come out yawning, heard this and nearly burst out laughing.
Xie Yan sighed slightly.
“Before I came here, I never thought that word would be used to describe me.”
He turned his head toward the sky, raised his camera, pressed the shutter, and reminded, “The sun is coming out.”
Lin Chuji also looked over, unable to tear his eyes away.
In the distance was the dark, churning sea, teasing the pale blue sky.
That ray of dawn light was like a sword splitting heaven and earth, suddenly spreading out layers of golden light.
From darkness to light—in an instant, everything opened up.
Wishing for happiness.
Wishing for freedom.
Wishing for someone to love me like the blazing sun, without holding back.
He made a wish in his heart.
Lin Chuji stared straight into the distance, feeling a sense of ease he had never experienced before.
He exclaimed, “It’s so beautiful.
I’ve never seen a sunrise before.”
“Hurry, hurry, Boss Xie, take a picture of me!” a nearby guy shouted.
Xie Yan set up the tripod next to him, placed the camera on it, and smiled.
“Everyone, let’s take a group photo.
We’ll share it in the chat later as a keepsake.”
“Come on, come on, girls in front, guys in back,” someone directed.
“I want to stand next to her.
Move aside, don’t block my stunning good looks,” someone else joked.
And just like that, Xie Yan’s very ordinary words were like a snapped string, tightening in one’s chest.
Only now did Lin Chuji belatedly realize that this group of people had crashed so boisterously into his journey, only to rush past him in a fleeting moment.
To be precise, the other Jing University students might still run into each other on campus, but the three people he had interacted with the most—he would probably never see them again.
That seemed a pity.
After all, before this trip, he couldn’t have imagined a single happy detail, let alone hoped to become even temporary friends with anyone.
“Lin Chuji, come over here!”
Shen Yibei called his name.
Lin Chuji looked up and saw Xie Yan being pushed to the very center by everyone.
He was always generous, open, and completely natural—standing there with the corner of his jacket lifted by the sea breeze, his back straight, a picture of youthful spirit.
Lin Chuji recalled the only group photo he had taken before, just to satisfy Zhan Wanqiu.
It wasn’t very good.
Back then, because he had completely misunderstood Xie Yan, his expression was stiff, his whole body full of resistance and awkwardness.
“Coming,” Lin Chuji answered and slowly moved toward Xie Yan’s spot, wanting to keep a nice group photo.
Seeing his intention, Shen Yinan smiled and pushed aside the people nearby.
“Hey, move aside.
Let our two best-looking faces stand in the center, okay?”
Lin Chuji looked at him with immense gratitude, slowly shifted next to Xie Yan, and awkwardly made small talk.
“The sun is out, it’s pretty hot.”
Mm-hmm, it’s really hot in the morning at a dozen degrees.
Forced conversation.
“Wanting to stand in the center again today?
Last time you were so unwilling,” Xie Yan said, looking down at him.
“Shen Yinan told me to stand here.
I didn’t want to spoil everyone’s fun,” Lin Chuji defended quietly.
Xie Yan thought to himself, Lin Chuji really doesn’t miss any opportunity to make a keepsake.
At least my time as a substitute has come full circle, a proper ending.
He looked straight ahead.
“If you want to take a group photo with me, just say so.”
“Huh?”
Lin Chuji’s heart jumped.
He was still wondering how Xie Yan knew what he was thinking when an arm hooked around his shoulder.
The guy’s fingers pressed firmly, pulling him slightly closer, easily turning them into a shoulder-to-shoulder pose.
Lin Chuji grew nervous again.
“What are you doing…”
Xie Yan had a hint of a smile on his face, his eyes also curved.
He reminded him, “Last time I’m cooperating with you.
You’d better smile nicely.”
Lin Chuji took a deep breath, flashed his most genuine smile at the camera, and shouted along with the other students, “Erudition, deliberation, discernment, sincerity!”
Xie Yan also shouted along as if joining the fun, then pulled his hand back and stuffed it in his pocket, saying slowly, “Two academic slackers mooching off someone else’s school motto.”
“Because I still don’t know the motto of Tieling Excavator Tech,” Lin Chuji said quietly.
“Probably doesn’t even have one.
Our run-down sports academy certainly doesn’t,” Xie Yan said with a laugh.
Lin Chuji looked back into the distance.
The morning sun was now hanging in midair, its brilliant golden edges outlining a cloud that looked like a human figure.
Nearby, a temple struck the hour—six chimes.
The solemn toll drifted away with the wind.
When he looked up again at that spot, for a moment, it was as if a divine spirit had manifested.
***
The cruise ship was about to return.
They hurriedly packed their things and rushed back on board.
The looping route took them back to their starting point.
The entire way, Lin Chuji barely spoke, just quietly listening to the Shen brothers chatter endlessly beside him.
Even after they dragged their suitcases off the ship, their mouths didn’t stop.
“Don’t forget us when you get back.
Find a chance to hang out again,” Shen Yinan said, pretending to wipe tears. “Yeah, even if you don’t miss us, you can miss our brother Xie Yan,” Shen Yibei said meaningfully.
“It’s a bit of a shame.
Such a wonderful trip ended so abruptly.
Feels like something’s missing.”
Xie Yan had wanted to kill these two brothers since last night, so he wasn’t in a good mood.
“Missing the part where I tie you both up and throw you in the sea to feed the fish.”
Shen Yinan put on a terrified look.
“So you really do like exciting, thrilling bondage play.
So perverted.”
Lin Chuji: “……”
This is truly coming full circle.
He handed each of them their gifts, explaining softly, “I didn’t know what to get, so I bought these little recording conch shells.
They’re not worth much.
Inside each one, I recorded our own voices as a keepsake.”
“Look at him!”
Shen Yinan slapped Xie Yan on the back.
“Reflect on yourself!”
Shen Yibei delivered another heavy blow.
Xie Yan nearly collapsed on the spot.
He coughed twice, took off the sports watch from his wrist, and handed it over.
“I’ll take the conch.
Here’s this back.
As for a souvenir for you, those two photos should be enough, right?”
Lin Chuji reached out and took it, saying sincerely, “Of course.
I really like them.”
Xie Yan stared at his bright eyes for a while.
There were many things he wanted to say.
Like how Lin Chuji had turned his nights upside down, how using someone and then discarding them was really heartless, how all his actions had only been out of kindness, and how he was sorry for telling some white lies.
Also, that even if you like someone, you shouldn’t go looking for substitutes—it’s not fair to anyone.
But he swallowed all those thousands of words.
They were just strangers passing by briefly.
No need.
In the end, after all that reduction, only a simple sentence remained: “Well, goodbye, then.”
Lin Chuji nodded and said with a smile, “Goodbye.”
He stood there, waved at them, and watched the three figures disappear from view.
His eyes grew a little moist, and inexplicably, he felt like crying.
Only when they were completely out of sight did he look down, open Xie Yan’s WeChat, and carefully type.
[lark]: Meeting you and your friends was really lucky.
I was incredibly, incredibly happy on this trip.
I think for a long time, I’ll be savoring every detail over and over.
[lark]: I’m not good with words.
If I’ve offended you in any way, please forgive me.
[lark]: Oh, and here’s the abbreviated version of the social phobia guide I bought.
A lot of the ways I interacted with you were based on this content.
It was incredibly useful!
[lark]: Words can’t express it all.
Wishing you all the best!
After editing and sending the message, Lin Chuji shared the document.
Then he opened the online bookstore seller’s chat, about to give a five-star review, when he saw several unread messages from a few days ago.
[Dear, are you there?]
[Dear, I’m really sorry.]
[Dear, please respond, dear.]
[Dear, the version of the social phobia communication guide I sent you earlier was wrong.
That was the social phobia dating guide.
I don’t know if you’ve looked at it, but if you have, you’ll notice a watermark on the last page saying ‘Dating Guide.’
Since you haven’t replied, maybe you haven’t seen it.
I’ll send you three additional e-books as compensation and give you a refund.]
Lin Chuji’s pupils dilated.
He nearly couldn’t catch his breath.
Then he re-examined the e-book.
Every strange line suddenly made sense.
Social phobia what guide?
Where did you put the watermark?
Say that again?
Treating a social phobic this irresponsibly—you’re going to be punished by karma aaaaaah!!!
The slight moisture in Lin Chuji’s eyes instantly vanished.
And he had just smugly sent that stupid e-book to Xie Yan.
If Xie Yan so much as glanced at it, every word and every action of his over the past few days would be seen as deliberate, affected seduction.
Heavens.
I absolutely must never see Xie Yan again in this lifetime.
Lin Chuji sniffled, feeling like a dead man walking.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Xie Yan sat lazily in the back seat of a taxi, slowly reading Lin Chuji’s messages.
They were quite sentimental, stirring a bit of emotional melancholy in him too.
[Crab Boss]: The mountains remain, the waters flow.
May fate bring us together again—
[lark]: Xie Yan, this is really undignified.
Let’s delete each other.
Before Xie Yan could finish typing, he received another message from the other.
[Crab Boss]: The mountains remain, the waters flow.
May fate bring us together again?????????
A red exclamation mark.
A cold reminder.
“Message sent, but was rejected by the recipient.”
You’ve got to see this next! I Want To Bite You will keep you on the edge of your seat. Start reading today!
Read : I Want To Bite You
