SSD Chapter 46. A Kiss

Of course there was no beer.

At eleven thirty at night, He Jiang dragged Xu Fanming, who was wearing the most miserable expression imaginable into the elevator. Once they reached the apartment, he opened the door, shoved him inside, and locked it behind them.

Xu Fanming was still muttering, “Hurry up and give me the card. Dorm curfew’s at midnight!”

“Silly Fanming,” He Jiang stood at the entryway, blocking the door completely with his body. His brows lifted, lips curved into a smug grin that begged to be punched. “You’re at my place. Since when do I let people leave?”

Xu Fanming’s face turned dark. “You—”

“I’m kidding.”

He Jiang smiled at him, then calmly kicked off his shoes and walked inside. Something about him felt weirdly cheerful tonight, unusually upbeat.

Once inside, Xu Fanming looked around. The place He Jiang rented wasn’t big, but it wasn’t cramped either—about forty square meters. One bedroom, a kitchen, and a bathroom. For one person, it was more than enough. The furnishings were clean and minimalist, everything in muted tones of black, white, and gray. A soft carpet covered the floor. The only odd detail was the curtains, which seemed to be permanently drawn shut.

Xu Fanming sat down on a white leather couch. He Jiang went over to the fridge, opened the door, and rummaged around for a bit before pulling out a meal card and tossing it toward him.

The card hit him square in the chest, cold from being in the fridge. Xu Fanming flinched and muttered irritably, “What the hell is wrong with you? Who puts a meal card in the fridge…”

He Jiang smiled again and didn’t explain. The atmosphere gave Xu Fanming a sudden chill.

He Jiang reached into the fridge again, this time pulling out two cans of strawberry milk. He handed one over. “Try this. It’s a specialty from my hometown.”

Xu Fanming looked down. The packaging was unfamiliar. But the soft, pink, milky color made him lose interest on the spot.

“I don’t like overly sweet drinks.”

“It’s more tart than sweet,” He Jiang said, settling onto the couch beside him with a cushion. “Just try it.”

Xu Fanming reluctantly cracked it open and took a small sip. The taste wasn’t as bad as he expected, and he followed it with another.

Without even noticing, he had already drunk half the can.

Just as he was about to get up, He Jiang, who had been adjusting the music reached over and grabbed his wrist. “Where are you going?”

Xu Fanming slipped the meal card into his pocket. “Going back to campus.”

“The gate’s locked by now anyway.” He Jiang gently pulled him back down onto the couch. “Stay. Talk with me for a bit.”

Xu Fanming was about to find another excuse when the speakers kicked in, playing soft and steady:

We are runnin’ so fast
And we never look back
And whatever I lack, you make up
We make a really good team
And though not everyone sees
We got this crazy chemistry
Between us…

The song playing was For Him by Troye Sivan. The upbeat, easy melody smoothed out the mood in the room a little.

He Jiang cleared his throat. “How about staying another ten minutes?”

Xu Fanming hesitated for a moment. After half a minute of indecision, he finally relaxed his shoulders and sat back down on the couch. He Jiang smiled, reached over to ruffle his hair, then set the half-finished glass bottle of strawberry milk off to the side.

He changed the subject. “During today’s game, when the others dropped into a 2-3 zone, you spotted Tian Yi’s movement right away and blocked him at the key moment.” He gave a rare, genuine compliment. “That was a solid read.”

Xu Fanming blinked but didn’t say anything, as if waiting to hear more.

So He Jiang continued, “There’s something I’ve been curious about. In those last ten seconds when you stole the ball from Tian Yi and took the three, what were you thinking in that moment?”

He rested an elbow on his knee and turned his head to look at Xu Fanming.

After a pause, Xu Fanming answered quietly, “I wasn’t thinking at all. I just saw the ball could be taken, and my feet were already moving.”

He Jiang smiled.

Then, Xu Fanming added, “Tian Yi kept his composure throughout the game. Watching him made me think maybe I should learn from that too.”

He Jiang gave a small nod. “It’s a good mindset to have.”

“But what cost Tian Yi the game today was his hesitation. He started second-guessing himself at the worst possible moment and let the opportunity slip away.”

Xu Fanming’s thoughts became a little tangled. “Maybe so.”

He Jiang looked at him and, almost without realizing it, felt the urge to share something he hadn’t said aloud before.

“Have you noticed?”

Xu Fanming looked up. “Noticed what?”

“Tian Yi is confident most of the time, but his confidence is conditional. He knows where he has the upper hand and where he falls short. When it comes to his strengths, he’s proud. But when it comes to his weaknesses, he falls into doubt. That’s why, even at the very end, he couldn’t decide whether to take the shot. That hesitation gave you the chance to take the ball, and the game.”

Xu Fanming thought about it for a moment. He had to admit there was truth in what He Jiang said. He really had a sharp eye for reading people.

Maybe that was the difference between a rookie and someone seasoned.

And then He Jiang said, “But you’re different.”

He Jiang looked deep into Xu Fanming’s eyes and slowly said something that struck straight to the core.

Xu Fanming blinked, a little dazed. “What do you mean?”

“Your confidence… it’s different from Tian Yi’s. Yours seems to come from trusting yourself. Or maybe, from how much you love this game.”

That sentence hit something soft inside Xu Fanming.

He Jiang saw the way he froze, eyes flickering in confusion, and his own expression softened into a smile. “Am I right?”

Not only was he right, he had hit the mark. It was like peeling open Xu Fanming’s chest and finding the truth laid bare. Like that match against Shuanglan, even though their forward, Gao Nan, was tall and ruthless in the paint, Xu Fanming still refused to back down. He had thrown himself into the block with everything he had.

And just like this game against Tian Yi, he had known exactly how dangerous it was, how hard it would be to snatch the ball from a lockdown defender with seconds left on the clock. But he had believed in himself completely. His body moved before his brain could catch up.

All of it had come from that same instinctive, stubborn love for the game.

A strange feeling stirred in Xu Fanming’s chest. It almost felt like He Jiang understood him better than he understood himself.

That thought left a ripple behind. Something delicate and hard to name.

While Xu Fanming sat with his head slightly bowed, still deep in thought, He Jiang stepped forward. He came closer, his voice warm. “You played really well today. You even outperformed Tian Yi.”

He sat down beside him, still smiling as he looked at him. “Fanming, you really were born for this game.”

The praise was so direct that Xu Fanming couldn’t hide the way his face flushed. The heat crept up his cheeks, and for a moment he didn’t know what to do with his hands.

Then He Jiang leaned in.

“And you’re also… my small forward.”

Suddenly, Xu Fanming felt a strong arm wrap around his waist.

And then He Jiang’s face was right there, drawing closer, inch by inch.

Fuck.

Compliments were one thing, but why the hell did he have to start touching him?

Xu Fanming scrambled out of He Jiang’s arms in a panic. “I’m going back to campus.”

“It hasn’t even been ten minutes,” He Jiang said, still blocking him. His eyes stared straight at him, voice low and coaxing. “I’m tired after the game. Fanming, let me kiss you.”

He was seriously trying to act cute?
Wait. What the hell did he just say?

Xu Fanming stared at him, completely lost. The next second, just as He Jiang leaned closer again, Xu Fanming came to his senses and chucked a throw pillow square into his face.

He Jiang winced and rubbed his temple. The little raptor was back. He was wide awake and fighting!

“If you’re tired, go to sleep!” Xu Fanming was flailing in every direction now, grabbing whatever he could reach and tossing it at He Jiang’s face. “Don’t mess with me! I’m going back! I’m going back to the dorm! Fuck, He Jiang, you son of a—”

“Quiet,” He Jiang said. “You’ll piss off the neighbors.” His hand was already slipping under the hem of Xu Fanming’s hoodie. His palm brushed over bare skin and scratched once across his belly button.

Xu Fanming nearly kicked him in the knee, but it gave He Jiang just enough room to slip between his legs and lock him down.

“Be good. I’m just going to kiss you a few times.” He Jiang’s fingers traced along the corner of his mouth. “If you behave, I won’t do anything else.”

“No.” Xu Fanming’s face burned. “Absolutely not.”

“But I want to kiss you.”

Goosebumps crawled up his neck. Xu Fanming shoved at his chest. “I said no.”

“Just one.”

“No. Fuck off. Don’t come near me.”

“Fanming. Close your eyes.”

All the curses bubbling up inside him got swallowed back down.

Before Xu Fanming could even react, He Jiang shoved him down, pinning him against the back of the couch. His lips came down hard, warm and hungry, flooding the air around Xu Fanming with his scent.

This was He Jiang’s idea of sugar-coated coercion, mixing sweetness with brute force.

It wasn’t even their first kiss, but Xu Fanming still acted like He Jiang was about to swallow him whole every damn time.

Good thing He Jiang had plenty of patience.

The warmth of his tongue teased past clenched teeth, his lips biting and sucking in turn. Breath tangled with breath, heat passed back and forth until Xu Fanming’s brain felt completely taken over. By the end of it, he was panting softly, unable to think, his breathing all out of sync.

He forgot to resist. He forgot the ten minutes. All he could do was try to hold in the sounds slipping out of his throat while He Jiang held both his hands down. The strange shiver running through him scared him, but He Jiang only stroked his cheek as if to say, It’s fine.

Xu Fanming wanted to bite that damn tongue off.

He had no idea how long it went on. The heat kept rising and rising until it finally faded. At last, He Jiang pulled back, satisfied, watching as Xu Fanming wiped at his mouth in his arms. The sight made a wave of sweetness ripple through his chest.

Unable to help himself, He Jiang kissed his forehead again, held him for a bit, and murmured, “Fanming, stay over tonight.”

“No.” Xu Fanming’s lips were flushed from being kissed, and his expression was pure fury. The second He Jiang spoke, he snapped out of it, shoved him off, and staggered straight for the door without even looking back. “I’m going back to the dorm.”

He Jiang blinked. “It’s so late already. You really think the dorm warden’s going to let you back in?”

“None of your business!”

But before Xu Fanming could make it to the door, he suddenly misstepped. His foot slipped sideways and he staggered hard, catching himself on the cabinet and nearly landing flat on his ass.

He winced from the pain.

He Jiang rushed over to catch him. Xu Fanming was fuming, glaring at the slipper that had tripped him up. His eyes were red, his face taut with both rage and embarrassment.

“There, there.” He Jiang forced back a laugh, softened his voice, and gently wrapped an arm around him. He dipped his head to plant another kiss. “Just stay. If you don’t want to sleep with me, I’ve got a folding bed.”

After a pause, he added, “You get the big bed. I’ll take the folding one.”

Xu Fanming ignored the coaxing. His mind was racing, thoughts spiraling faster and faster. The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became that He Jiang had planned this all along. That the whole thing had been a trap.

His voice was hoarse with fury. “You fucking did this on purpose…”

He Jiang lifted his hands in a helpless shrug and let out a short laugh. He had, in fact, stalled on purpose, hoping to drag things out until Xu Fanming would give in and stay the night. His little raptor was sharp as ever, calling him out without missing a beat.

But that wasn’t the point.

So He Jiang decided to change the subject and steer the mood back on course.