TVDC 62: Thought About Me

Qiu Xuning didn’t know how He Zhiyuan was feeling. Just holding that big box full of things in the room made him extremely nervous.

After thinking it over, he decided to pick up the box and go downstairs to return it to Qiu Shouhai.

Downstairs, Zhou Mingmei was talking with Qiu Zhaozhao, while Qiu Shouhai lay on the sofa and playing on his phone, looking completely relaxed.

Qiu Xuning hugged the box and carefully glanced at Qiu Zhaozhao and the others before walking over to Qiu Shouhai. He slightly raised his voice and said, “Here, I’m giving this back to you.”

Qiu Shouhai shifted his gaze from his phone to Qiu Xuning, his face showing disbelief. “You’re actually giving it back to me?”

Qiu Xuning pressed his lips together, placed the box on the coffee table, stepped back a few paces, and then said, “I don’t need this. You take it back, I don’t want it.”

Qiu Zhaozhao walked over in a few steps and reached out to take the box. “What’s this? Did you buy this for Ningning, ge?”

Qiu Shouhai snatched the box in one hand and said angrily, “What’s wrong with you? I gave this to you and you don’t want it? Who used to peek at it secretly before? Now you’re acting all high and mighty?”

Qiu Xuning’s rosy lips turned slightly pale. He pressed his lips straight and said stubbornly, “I said I don’t want it. Take it back.”

He didn’t notice that He Zhiyuan had also come downstairs. He walked over and stood not far behind him.

Qiu Shouhai’s face darkened as well, and he said, “If you don’t want it, fine, I already begged you to take it. Don’t regret it later!”

As he said this, he stepped past Qiu Xuning and was about to go upstairs.

Qiu Zhaozhao asked, “Ge, what did you give Ningning? He doesn’t want it, right?”

Qiu Shouhai said angrily, “Get lost. It’s none of your business.”

Qiu Xuning had just started to relax when he suddenly heard Qiu Shouhai’s voice change. “Damn, what are you doing?!”

Qiu Xuning turned his head to look and saw that He Zhiyuan had snatched the box from Qiu Shouhai’s hand in one swift motion.

Qiu Xuning’s face turned pale. His gaze met He Zhiyuan’s in midair and his eyes were full of panic. He blurted out, “Don’t open it!”

He Zhiyuan’s expression darkened, and his fingers gripping the edge of the box tensed slightly.

Qiu Shouhai reached out to snatch it but the edge of the box was very smooth. He grabbed it and it slipped from his hand instantly. The box, carried by the momentum, fell to the ground, and a stack of CDs tumbled out, scattering across the floor like blossoms thrown by a goddess.

The color drained from Qiu Xuning’s face instantly. He stepped forward a few paces, then froze, his whole body stiff and unsure what to do.

Zhou Mingmei also saw the CDs. She stepped forward, pushing aside Qiu Shouhai, who was flustered and trying to crouch to pick them up. Just lowering her gaze made the veins on her temple bulge. “Qiu Shouhai!!!”

She almost used all her strength to shout out.

Qiu Shouhai’s shoulders shook, but he forcibly acted calm. “Actually, there’s nothing inside…”

Zhou Mingmei’s expression was unpleasant, and she grabbed his ear in one motion. “Qiu Shouhai, are you out of your mind?!”

Her strength was very strong, almost lifting Qiu Shouhai’s whole body. Qiu Shouhai screamed continuously and shouted, “You treat me like this, am I still your son or not?”

Zhou Mingmei’s voice was sharp. “If you weren’t my son, you would be finished today!”

She pulled Qiu Shouhai to the kitchen, grabbed a stick, and started hitting him. “You gave your brother this kind of thing? Do you want to harm him? You little bastard, not learning properly and still wanting to hurt people?!”

She scolded and hit at the same time, hitting Qiu Shouhai until he started crying and wailing. He tried to struggle but was quickly held down by Zhou Mingmei again.

The scene was somewhat cruel but no one went to stop it.

It’s not surprising that Zhou Mingmei was so angry because that stack of CDs scattered all over the floor were all highly explicit erotic CDs with images of women’s nudity boldly printed on them, shocking anyone who looked at them.

He Zhiyuan’s gaze fell on Qiu Xuning. Qiu Xuning’s hands were twisted together, and he didn’t dare look at him. His head was hanging down and his slender neck was slightly bent, giving off a sense of fragility.

From He Zhiyuan’s angle, one could also see that the side of his cheeks and the tips of his ears were tinged with a deep red.

He Zhiyuan walked over to Qiu Xuning’s side and said in a low voice, “Did you look?”

Qiu Xuning suddenly raised his head to look at him, wanting to speak but stopped.

He Zhiyuan said, “You looked?”

Qiu Xuning slowly exhaled a breath. “…I didn’t look.”

His face turned red with shame. This kind of thing was undoubtedly very embarrassing, and now everyone had seen it, which made Qiu Xuning feel an indescribable sense of awkwardness and shame.

He Zhiyuan said, “Just this and you hid it from me?”

Qiu Xuning’s voice was as soft as a mosquito’s buzz. “What’s there to say?”

He Zhiyuan didn’t speak. After a while, he finally said, “Why did you return it again?”

Qiu Xuning was silent. After a while, he said, “I don’t like this kind.”

“Don’t like it?”

Qiu Xuning didn’t speak.

He Zhiyuan said, “Then if it was something you liked, you would accept it?”

Qiu Xuning was stunned. His face seemed even redder and his breathing became somewhat rapid. “No… I wouldn’t accept it!”

He took a breath and said, “When I say I don’t like it, it means I don’t like it. This kind of thing is a person’s privacy—a person’s secret. No matter which kind he gives me, I don’t like it.”

He also didn’t want to talk about this kind of topic anymore. He said, “I’ll go back first,” then hurriedly passed by He Zhiyuan and left.

He Zhiyuan stood in place, watching him run out of sight. The emotion in his eyes slightly darkened but it quickly disappeared without a trace.

The scolding over there was still continuing. The CDs scattered all over the floor were tidied up by Qiu Zhaozhao, her face flushed, and placed on the table.

Qiu Shouhai came back this time but couldn’t stay long because of the CD incident. Zhou Mingmei and Qiu Shunming increasingly felt he couldn’t stay at home, otherwise, he would corrupt Qiu Xuning sooner or later. Thus he had only been back less than a week, and no matter how resentful and unwilling he was, his luggage was still packed and sent out of the house.

If asked whom to choose between the two sons, the couple were consistent in choosing Qiu Xuning, so Qiu Shouhai became the one who was abandoned.

Qiu Xuning didn’t know that this incident would lead to such a result. It looked like a pretty good ending, but he wasn’t really happy.

He couldn’t feel happy and even felt somewhat down.

He Zhiyuan noticed his low-tide-like mood. One day after school, he didn’t take him home but instead turned to the foot of Mount Meng.

Mount Meng is a landmark scenic spot in this county. People often come here to climb the mountain. At the top of the mountain is a delicate flying-eaves pavilion which emits golden light at night, making it especially conspicuous against the black night sky.

Qiu Xuning had never climbed Mount Meng. First, he wasn’t good at sports and also somewhat avoided exercise. Second, the mountain was somewhat high, and going up and down would take a lot of time. Therefore, even though he had this memory, he had never come to climb Mount Meng.

Qiu Xuning, seeing He Zhiyuan come to this kind of place, felt somewhat puzzled. “What are we doing here?”

He Zhiyuan locked the electric bike. After hearing Qiu Xuning’s words, he lifted his eyelids slightly and said, “Climb the mountain.”

Qiu Xuning was somewhat puzzled. “Climb the mountain at such a late hour?”

He Zhiyuan glanced at the steps at the foot of the mountain and said, “It’s not late; people climb the mountain at any time.”

Qiu Xuning heard this and followed his gaze, then he saw quite a few men and women walking up the mountain. He pressed his lips together and didn’t say anything further.

He Zhiyuan led him and began climbing to the top.

In summer, it gets dark late, but school also ends late. When they climbed halfway up the mountain, it had already begun to get dark.

“Aren’t we going back? If it gets later, Mom will scold us,” Qiu Xuning said softly.

He Zhiyuan said, “We can’t give up halfway.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Qiu Xuning’s phone rang. He took it out and saw that it was indeed a call from Zhou Mingmei.

Qiu Xuning hesitated for a moment then answered, “Hello?”

Not knowing what was said on the other end, Qiu Xuning hesitantly glanced at He Zhiyuan, pressed his lips tightly in nervousness, and said, “I’m still at school. I’ll finish my homework before coming back.”

“Mm, I’ll come back immediately. You don’t need to wait for me to eat.”

After saying these things, Qiu Xuning finally hung up the phone. He looked at He Zhiyuan and saw the smile at the corner of his mouth as if he knew what he was smiling at. He said, “If I said I came to climb the mountain with you, she would get angry and make us go back.”

He Zhiyuan said, “I know.”

Although Qiu Xuning is said to be obedient, he isn’t actually very obedient. He also lies sometimes, but when he lies, it’s too easy to see through.

Qiu Xuning put his phone away. The steps were equipped with streetlights so the path was brightly lit and clearly visible. He lowered his head and looked at his own shadow. Because he was very close to He Zhiyuan, their shadows lightly overlapped.

Just as Qiu Xuning lowered his head to look at his shadow, He Zhiyuan gently grabbed his hand that was hanging at his side.

Qiu Xuning’s fingers trembled slightly. He looked up at him and said, “What are you doing?”

He Zhiyuan said calmly, “Holding your hand.”

Qiu Xuning lowered his eyes and looked at their hands overlapping, and even their shadows were connected together.

Just then, a couple walked past them, frequently looking back at them and seemingly smiling.

Qiu Xuning felt uncomfortable and he wanted to pull his hand away but He Zhiyuan was holding it tightly. He simply couldn’t pull it out.

Qiu Xuning had no choice but to say, “Your hand is sweaty.”

He Zhiyuan said, “No.”

Qiu Xuning felt the scorching hot temperature of his palm, as if it were hotter than at any other time. His own palm had broken out in sweat from the grip and he couldn’t help but continue, “I’m sweating, it’s hot.”

He Zhiyuan heard it but didn’t make any movement. He just lowered his head and glanced at him, then said softly, “Then let it be hot. Anyway, you’re going to sweat.”

“…”

Qiu Xuning’s physical strength was actually not very good. By the time they reached the top of the mountain, his legs were weak and he held onto the railing, slightly panting. He Zhiyuan, however, had no reaction. He was standing beside him and watching him pant.

Qiu Xuning steadied his breathing, straightened his waist, and raised his hand slightly. He Zhiyuan was still holding his hand. “Aren’t you going to let go?”

Finally, He Zhiyuan pinched the soft flesh on the back of his hand and then let go.

Qiu Xuning took out his water bottle and took a sip. Then he extended his hand beyond the railing and used the water from the bottle to wash the hand that had become sticky from He Zhiyuan holding it.

After washing, he looked up and asked He Zhiyuan again, “Do you want to wash?”

He Zhiyuan responded with a ‘mm’ and reached out his hand. Qiu Xuning held his hand, extended it beyond the railing, and turned it over to let him wash it.

After doing all this, Qiu Xuning leaned on the railing and looked down at the night view of this small county from above.

“Why did you suddenly think of bringing me to climb the mountain?” Qiu Xuning rested his chin on the hard red-lacquered wooden railing. After a short while, his chin started to hurt so he had to lift his head and support it with his palm.

He Zhiyuan answered, “I also want to ask you—why are you always wearing a stern face as if someone owed you millions?”

Qiu Xuning was silent for a while, then said, “When have I ever been wearing a stern face all the time?”

He Zhiyuan lowered his eyes to look at him. “Tell me the truth, what exactly are you thinking?”

Qiu Xuning said softly, “What else could I be thinking?”

He Zhiyuan didn’t speak anymore.

After a while, He Zhiyuan said softly, “I hope you can rely on me, trust me, and open your heart to me, instead of hiding things from me… Qiu Xuning, I don’t like this feeling.”

Qiu Xuning looked up at him, lowered his voice, and said, “You’re hiding things from me too. You don’t say it yourself yet you want me to say it. This is double standards on your part.”

He Zhiyuan stared at him and smiled. “Double standards? Who did you learn that from?”

Qiu Xuning saw him smile. He slightly pressed his lips together, then released it, and said vaguely, “Anyway, this is double standards on your part.”

He Zhiyuan was silent. After a while, he said, “I haven’t hidden anything from you but you really are hiding something from me.”

Qiu Xuning said dryly, “No.”

He Zhiyuan reached out and cupped his face, forcing him to look at him. “Can you look me in the eyes and say no?”

Of course, Qiu Xuning couldn’t say it; lying in front of He Zhiyuan was meaningless.

He Zhiyuan’s tone softened considerably. “Talk to me, I want to know what you’re thinking.”

Qiu Xuning hesitated for a long time, then said, “I’m just thinking… thinking about a lot of messy and chaotic things.”

He Zhiyuan stared into his eyes, his voice deepening. “Have you thought about me?”

Qiu Xuning’s clear, bright eyes flickered, his voice carrying a slight tremor. “…Yes.”