TVDC 67: Closeness

“Why are you calling me a fool?” Qiu Xuning glared at him. He hadn’t even asked about Liu Yulu’s situation yet, but He Zhiyuan started talking about him first.

He Zhiyuan said, “Why are you saying so much to her?”

Before Qiu Xuning could respond, He Zhiyuan nodded to himself and said, “She’s quite pretty, don’t you think so?”

Qiu Xuning’s eyes widened. “What do you mean?”

He Zhiyuan looked into his eyes and smiled, “She’s so pretty that she has you completely smitten, and you even exchanged WeChat?”

Qiu Xuning choked up for a moment, slowly realizing. At first, he just planned to change the topic to avoid having Liu Yulu and He Zhiyuan find common ground, but instead, he and Liu Yulu kept chatting more happily, even exchanging WeChat.

If Liu Yulu sends dog food or wants to buy some snacks for An’an, and asks for his address…

The more Qiu Xuning thought about it, the more frustrated he became.

He Zhiyuan watched the various changes in his expression, remaining quite calm. He even appeared somewhat indifferent. “Delete her.”

Qiu Xuning looked up, a bit surprised and troubled. “Delete her now?”

He Zhiyuan nodded and said, “Now.”

Qiu Xuning thought for a while, then shook his head and said, “Forget it, I won’t delete her.”

He just couldn’t bring himself to do something like this.

He Zhiyuan lowered his eyes and looked at him. After a while, he said, “It’s up to you.”

Qiu Xuning suppressed his frustration and asked, “Is she your classmate?”

He Zhiyuan made a sound of acknowledgment, “Mhm.”

Qiu Xuning pressed his lips together, whispering, “She’s indeed quite beautiful, tall, gentle, and seems to have a lot of grace.”

He Zhiyuan glanced at him and said, “Speak plainly.”

Qiu Xuning coughed lightly and said, “She likes you.”

“So?”

Qiu Xuning’s voice became much softer. He said, “You… you shouldn’t get too close to her.” He paused and then, stuttering, he said, “I–I will get jealous.”

His voice had a slight tremor. He was clearly embarrassed.

He Zhiyuan noticed his cheeks turning slightly red and couldn’t help but laugh. “You exchanged WeChat with her, aren’t you afraid I’ll get jealous?”

Qiu Xuning raised his eyes, looking at him in surprise. “She likes you, not me. Why would you get jealous?”

He Zhiyuan said softly, “I’ve told you, I don’t want you focusing on anyone else.”

Qiu Xuning muttered, “This is different.”

He Zhiyuan clearly didn’t want to argue about this topic anymore. He glanced at the time and said, “Let’s go home.”

Qiu Xuning murmured “mm” while holding the little golden retriever, and walked slowly in the moonlight with He Zhiyuan, heading home.

The next morning, Qiu Xuning woke up late. By the time he got up, the sun had already come out. The sun was very strong that day, and the sunlight was warm. Qiu Xuning took off his coat, wearing only a long-sleeve shirt, and could still stay on the balcony for a while.

He carried the bedding to the balcony frame, slowly spread it out, smoothed out the wrinkles, and patted it a few times. A cat was rubbing against his feet. Qiu Xuning looked down at it—afraid it might run off and fall from the balcony. He quickly scooped it up and put it in the bathroom.

He carried out everything that needed to be dried, one by one. Apart from his own, he also brought out things from He Zhiyuan’s bedroom. Qiu Xuning knocked on He Zhiyuan’s door. It wasn’t locked, so he opened it right away.

He Zhiyuan was practicing calligraphy. Qiu Xuning often saw him writing calligraphy practice sheets, which had stacked up into a thick pile. He stored them in a cardboard box and placed them in the corner.

Qiu Xuning walked over quietly. He was careful not to make any noise and whispered, “Do you want to dry the bedding?”

He Zhiyuan paused for a moment and said, “Yes.”

Qiu Xuning glanced at the calligraphy He Zhiyuan had written and said, “Your handwriting is already beautiful, why do you keep practicing?”

He Zhiyuan answered, “Because of restlessness—practicing calligraphy helps to calm the mind.”

Qiu Xuning glanced at the place where the cardboard box was stored, feeling a bit confused. If this is the case, then He Zhiyuan is restless every day. Isn’t this state of mind a bit dangerous?

“Is it because of your studies?”

He Zhiyuan neither confirmed nor denied.

Qiu Xuning became worried. “Your studies are going well, what are you still worried about?”

He Zhiyuan turned to look at him, put down his pen, and said, “Go dry the bedding.”

He Zhiyuan spoke while walking to the bedside. He carried the bedding out of the room.

Qiu Xuning followed behind him and said, “The sun is so nice today, do you want to go out and have some fun?”

He Zhiyuan shook the bedding and laid it next to Qiu Xuning’s bedding. Upon hearing Qiu Xuning’s words, he looked at him and a faint smile appeared on his lips. He said in a low voice, “Alright, get ready, we’re going out.”

Upon hearing this, Qiu Xuning went back to his bedroom to change out of his pajamas.

He grew quickly, and his old pants were all a bit short. He always ended up showing a strip of his slender white ankle. He was sensitive to the cold and couldn’t stand the wind, so in the end, He Zhiyuan dragged him to buy two new pairs of pants.

He Zhiyuan had a good eye. He knew what kind of pants would look good on him, accentuating his straight legs without making him look too thin. No matter what he wore on top, it always made him look youthful and fresh.

Mainly, he was young and fresh-looking too.

Qiu Xuning wore a thin sweater, then put on a light white work jacket—he was all ready.

Guys don’t have as many options, they can just put on clothes and shoes and head out.

He Zhiyuan was wearing only a black sweatshirt. He wasn’t afraid of the cold, so there was no need, like Qiu Xuning, to take much time. He came out of the bedroom and looked at Qiu Xuning, who stood before him looking fresh and youthful. He said, “Bring your ID.”

“ID?” Qiu Xuning was stunned. “What do you need that for?”

He Zhiyuan answered, “To take you to play games.”

Qiu Xuning was stunned. “‘…Play games? I–I don’t know how.’”

He Zhiyuan looked down at him and smiled slightly. “I’ll teach you.”

After speaking, he slightly raised his chin and said, “Go get your ID.”

Qiu Xuning pressed his lips together and went back to his bedroom to get his ID.

Nowadays, you can get an ID at 16. When Qiu Xuning first arrived, he didn’t have one. It was only when he moved out with He Zhiyuan that he got an ID. The photographer at the photo studio told him to wear something eye-catching, and he didn’t know what Zhou Mingmei was thinking when she gave him a red cloth to wear. The photo turned out to be a bit unflattering. When Qiu Xuning first saw his ID, he almost cried because of how ugly he looked.

He took the ID out, but when he saw He Zhiyuan’s gaze on him, he nervously stuffed the ID into his pocket.

Qiu Xuning had always been anxious about his ID photo, so He Zhiyuan had never seen it.

He Zhiyuan reached out his hand and said in a low voice, “Let me see your ID.”

Qiu Xuning shook his head and said softly, “I won’t let you see it.”

He Zhiyuan pinched his ID between two fingers and held it out in front of Qiu Xuning. He said concisely, “Exchange.”

Qiu Xuning only had time to glance at his ID. He Zhiyuan suddenly pulled his hand back so quickly that Qiu Xuning could only see a blurry shadow.

“Exchange.” He Zhiyuan emphasized the words a bit more.

Qiu Xuning had never seen He Zhiyuan’s ID. He was indeed a bit curious, but he felt that a person like him would look good from any angle—even his ID photo would be handsome. If that photo were shown to others, he wasn’t sure if He Zhiyuan would be teased for it.

Thinking of this, Qiu Xuning shook his head and said softly, “I won’t exchange.”

He Zhiyuan put the ID away and said, “Then forget it, let’s go.”

He gave up so easily, which surprised Qiu Xuning. He didn’t say anything, lowering his head and leaving the house with He Zhiyuan.

There were the most internet cafes near the school, but Qiu Xuning didn’t dare to go to one nearby because there were teachers who would catch students at any time—even on weekends. They were very dedicated to their jobs. Qiu Xuning had heard of many cases where people were caught by teachers for going there.

So the two of them rode an electric scooter and went to an internet cafe much farther from the school.

Qiu Xuning really had never played games. When he was younger, some of his classmates bought handheld game consoles. He was tempted and wanted to play, but he didn’t dare to. He was afraid of getting addicted and then delaying his studies. He didn’t want to disappoint Mrs. Qiu Yanru, so no matter how much he wanted to play, he held himself back and never reached out to his classmates to ask to play.

Now, at just over ten years old, he hadn’t tried many forms of entertainment. Yet he dared to go to an internet cafe with He Zhiyuan now to play games.

If Mrs. Qiu Yanru found out, she would probably be disappointed or angry, right?

Qiu Xuning was lost in uneasy thoughts. Before he knew it, they had already arrived at the entrance of the internet cafe.

He Zhiyuan got off the scooter, and Qiu Xuning followed him off. He still felt a little intimidated in front of the internet cafe and wasn’t quite brave enough to go in.

He Zhiyuan didn’t know what he was thinking. He locked the electric scooter and was the first to walk into the internet cafe.

Qiu Xuning closely followed behind He Zhiyuan as they entered the internet cafe. It was different from what he had imagined. The cafe was very tidy with a fake tree in the middle, grass spread underneath, and plenty of flowers and plants. Even though the greenery was artificial, it really added a touch of charm to the cafe’s environment.

“You need an ID to go online, 5 yuan per hour,” said the young man at the front desk, sizing up Qiu Xuning and He Zhiyuan. He Zhiyuan’s age was hard to guess, but Qiu Xuning behind him was easy to tell his age at a glance.

Actually, the internet cafes usually don’t enforce the ID rule too strictly. If the authorities outside are strict, the cafes will follow suit. However, if there’s no strict enforcement outside, you can even go in without an ID.

He Zhiyuan took out his ID, and the young man glanced at it. “Hmm, you’re an adult.”

When it was Qiu Xuning’s turn, he had a nervous expression and his cheeks were slightly flushed. His slender fingers were tightly gripping his ID, and he was about to reach out to hand it over. Yet suddenly, He Zhiyuan reached out and snatched the ID from his hand.

Qiu Xuning panicked. “Give it to me!”

He wasn’t as tall as He Zhiyuan. He Zhiyuan raised his arm high, and Qiu Xuning stretched his hand but couldn’t reach He Zhiyuan’s fingers. “Give it to me, you’re not allowed to look!” Qiu Xuning’s voice changed with urgency.

At this moment, He Zhiyuan also saw the ID photo on Qiu Xuning’s card. He looked at it a few times, then gave it back to Qiu Xuning. “It looks pretty good,” he said casually, as if it was no big deal.

Qiu Xuning snatched the ID back, glaring at him with his eyes wide in annoyance. “I told you not to look and yet you still did.”

He Zhiyuan looked at him, chuckling lightly. “I’ll let you see it back.”

He said while taking the ID back from the counter and handing it to Qiu Xuning.

Qiu Xuning hesitated for a moment but still couldn’t resist and reached out his hand to take He Zhiyuan’s ID.

He lowered his eyes and looked at the somewhat cold ID. His gaze landed on the ID photo, and at the first glance, he couldn’t hold it in and laughed out loud.