TVDC 52: Liking

Qiu Xuning’s eyes were covered by He Zhiyuan, and he couldn’t see anything. Because He Zhiyuan loosened his grip around his waist, he couldn’t stand very well, and his two hands could only grab his arm more forcefully. Hearing He Zhiyuan say this, he was still a bit confused and asked, “Why can’t I look?”

He Zhiyuan asked in return, “Do you think he swims well?”

Qiu Xuning honestly nodded and said, “It’s quite nice to watch, like a butterfly.”

He Zhiyuan didn’t say anything.

Qiu Xuning struggled a bit and managed to pull his face away from He Zhiyuan’s palm. He had his hand hooked around He Zhiyuan’s arm, and with his other hand, he rubbed his eyes before finally looking up at He Zhiyuan’s face. He asked in a soft voice, “Don’t you think so?”

He Zhiyuan glanced down at him and said, “I look better than him.”

Qiu Xuning heard this, and an odd emotion couldn’t help but appear in his eyes. He withdrew his gaze and looked over at Qin Shouze. At this moment, Qin Shouze had already swum to the opposite shore and was waving at them.

Without thinking, Qiu Xuning raised his arm, but before it reached over his head, He Zhiyuan grabbed his finger and pressed it against his firm abs.

Qiu Xuning’s eyelids twitched slightly, and his face instantly turned red. “Wh-what are you doing?” he stuttered as he spoke.

He Zhiyuan’s abs were very beautiful, each muscle clearly defined, yet not exaggerated. The lines were also extremely smooth, and because his swim trunks were slightly low, you could still see his V-shaped lines spreading.

Qiu Xuning had glanced at it a few times out of the corner of his eye, but he didn’t dare to look closely.

Yet at this moment, He Zhiyuan suddenly grabbed his hand and pressed it against that area of his abs. His palm was filled with the smooth and delicate feel of his skin.

Qiu Xuning felt like he had fallen into a furnace, and his whole body felt like it was burning.

“I look better than him,” He Zhiyuan’s voice lowered a few notches and slightly hoarse as he said, “Look at me.”

Qiu Xuning swallowed a few times and didn’t know where to look. He stuttered and said, “Yo–you’re being very boring.”

He wanted to pull his hand away, but he couldn’t pull it back no matter what. He Zhiyuan tightly pinched his fingers. The force wasn’t very strong, but it was enough to trap his hand between his waist and abdomen.

The more Qiu Xuning struggled, the redder his face became, and it wasn’t just his face—his entire body seemed to have a faint pink hue, like a shrimp that had been cooked.

He Zhiyuan lowered his gaze and looked at the red-faced Qiu Xuning, and the corners of his mouth curled into a slight smile. He slightly bent down and spoke near Qiu Xuning’s ear, “Aren’t you always peeking? Now you have the chance to touch, don’t you want to?”

Qiu Xuning’s breath caught, and immediately a layer of faint mist appeared in his eyes. His heart thumped like a drum, and he stuttered as he said, “I–I didn’t peek!”

He Zhiyuan said, “Hmm, you didn’t peek, you want to touch.”

Qiu Xuning’s voice cracked from urgency, “I–I didn’t want to touch either!”

His breath became a little more rapid, and the mist in his eyes grew thicker. He glanced at He Zhiyuan, then quickly lowered his gaze, and his voice became much softer. “Are you doing this on purpose?” Do you want to watch me make a fool of myself?

The curve at the corners of He Zhiyuan’s lips grew larger and larger. He lowered his gaze and looked at Qiu Xuning. Though he could only see his blue and white swim cap, he could still imagine the expression on his face at that moment.

He Zhiyuan paused for a moment and released the hand that had been holding Qiu Xuning’s. The smile at the corners of his mouth faded slightly, and his tone became much gentler. “I saw you peeking.”

The moment Qiu Xuning’s hand was released, it immediately recoiled as if he had been shocked by electricity. As for He Zhiyuan’s words, he didn’t try to argue anymore.

He had indeed secretly looked at He Zhiyuan’s abs because they were too close, and it was impossible to resist not looking. Yet he didn’t expect to be caught by He Zhiyuan.

The redness on Qiu Xuning’s face hadn’t faded yet, even his neck and shoulders above the water were tinged with pink.

Qin Shouze swam back and stood next to Qiu Xuning and He Zhiyuan. He wiped his face and opened his eyes to look at Qiu Xuning, only to see his cheeks red and his gaze all watery.

Qin Shouze’s heart felt as if it had been struck all at once, and it felt like a little deer was hopping around, making him feel a bit dizzy. His voice became a bit nervous, “Did you… did you see it? The part I just swam?”

Qiu Xuning lowered his gaze and was about to speak when He Zhiyuan spoke first, saying, “He didn’t look.”

Qin Shouze was momentarily stunned, and his gaze landed on He Zhiyuan. He Zhiyuan locked eyes with him and said coldly, “We are talking, not looking at you.”

Qiu Xuning looked up at him for a moment, his lips moved slightly, but he didn’t rebut.

The light in Qin Shouze’s eyes dimmed, but he still smiled and said, “You can consider it, if you don’t understand, I can teach you.”

Qiu Xuning said softly, “Thank you.”

Qin Shouze heard his words, and his mood clearly brightened. He glanced at He Zhiyuan, lowered his voice, and said, “Do you want goggles? With goggles, your eyes won’t hurt.”

The skin around Qiu Xuning’s eyes was already red all around, looking somewhat pitiful. “Goggles?”

Qin Shouze took the goggles off his hand, intending to put them on for Qiu Xuning. His hand reached halfway up when He Zhiyuan reached out to block him, saying, “He doesn’t need them.”

Qin Shouze finally felt something strange. He was somewhat slow to catch on, but he wasn’t so slow that he couldn’t understand when someone wore their emotions plainly on their face. This older brother seemed to not really welcome him, and even appeared somewhat wary of him.

Qin Shouze scratched his face and turned his gaze to Qiu Xuning. “Don’t you want them?”

He had clearly seen that Qiu Xuning was moved just now, looking like he wanted it. However, Qin Shouze was disappointed.

Qiu Xuning glanced at He Zhiyuan again, coughed softly, and said to him, “No need, thank you. You use it yourself?”

Qin Shouze was a bit disappointed, he hadn’t expected that Qiu Xuning would also pay attention to his brother’s signals.

Just thinking about this, Qin Shouze felt a bit uncomfortable inside, why did he have to be so guarded against him? His expression clearly darkened a lot.

Qiu Xuning saw that his face didn’t look good and felt a bit embarrassed inside. He pressed his lips together and softly said, “I still don’t know how to swim, so I don’t need this yet.”

Qin Shouze smiled a bit awkwardly and said, “That’s true, you still don’t know how to swim, so having this wouldn’t be of any use.”

Qiu Xuning looked at his expression and felt a bit uncomfortable too. When he was about to say something, He Zhiyuan spoke in a cold tone, “He’s here to learn how to swim, not to chat with you. If you have nothing else, please don’t disturb us.”

Qin Shouze heard him say this, and his face became even more embarrassed. He tried to put on a nonchalant expression and said to Qiu Xuning, “Then study hard, and next time, we’ll come to the swimming pool together.”

Qiu Xuning softly said “hmm.” Qin Shouze finally got out of the water, gave him a reluctant glance, then turned and left.

After Qin Shouze interrupted like this, Qiu Xuning’s mood became much calmer. The redness on his face faded by more than half. He gave He Zhiyuan a slightly resentful glance and said, “Why were you so harsh with him?”

He Zhiyuan glanced at him, then said, “Do you like him?”

Qiu Xuning’s breath caught, and he couldn’t help but glance at him. If it was normal to ask him before if he liked Yang Siyue, then what does it mean to ask him now if he likes Qin Shouze?

Qiu Xuning couldn’t help but think more about it, but it was only for a moment. He quickly pulled his wandering thoughts back.

He tried to calm himself down, but as if he couldn’t help it, he quietly extended a probing question. He asked softly, “The kind of like you’re talking about, what does it mean?”

He Zhiyuan lowered his gaze and stared into Qiu Xuning’s eyes. “In your heart, does liking have any other meaning?”

“…” Qiu Xuning’s eyes flickered, but he held himself back from looking away, and maintained eye contact with He Zhiyuan. He quietly answered, “…I do like him, he is my only male friend.”

“Only?” He Zhiyuan chewed on these two words, and the color in his eyes darkened significantly before suddenly smiling again. “You’re lying.”

Qiu Xuning froze for a moment, then immediately his face turned red. “I–I, where did I lie?”

He Zhiyuan said softly, “You lied everywhere.”

Qiu Xuning puffed up his cheeks. “I didn’t lie, how can you say I lied?”

He Zhiyuan looked at him, his gaze becoming a bit deeper. “Do you want me to give you a reason?”

Qiu Xuning met his gaze and instinctively avoided it for a moment. “Y–you tell me.”

He Zhiyuan’s voice lowered a few notches, and he almost whispered into his ear, “The one you like, isn’t it me?”

Qiu Xuning’s eyes widened, and his face turned bright red. “W-what did you say?”