Everything he’d felt that was strange about Xie Lanzhi before now made perfect sense.
When he got burned, he put on a tough act in front of others, but in front of Xie Lanzhi he turned into a crybaby. When Xie Lanzhi was angry, he’d rather give up “ChengNing” sugar than not coax him. When he thought Xie Lanzhi had fallen for some player, that “screwed-over” feeling only grew worse the more he thought about it. He wanted to show Xie Lanzhi his best side. He wanted to sit in his lap, be taught hand-in-hand to become a wild king. He could walk around half-naked in front of Baby without a care, but if Xie Lanzhi happened to see him like that, he’d curl up on the bed like a worm.
And then there were countless moments of blushing, heart racing, butterflies in his stomach—all brought by Xie Lanzhi.
He had probably liked him for a long time already. He always thought, as someone obsessed with appearances, that he only liked Xie Lanzhi’s face. He still liked his face—but not just his face anymore.
He liked everything about him.
This was probably that saying: attracted by looks, trapped by talent, loyal to the person.
But why did he have to realize it now, right in front of Xie Lanzhi! This was like running naked into a boss battle, with zero preparation, and then being hit with a sudden-death question!
The more unsettled he felt inside, the blanker his face looked outside. Xie Lanzhi didn’t push him, didn’t say anything else. He just watched him quietly, waiting for an answer.
What to do? Should he take a bold step?
No, it wasn’t the time. He needed space to process liking Xie Lanzhi. Besides, Xie Lanzhi was straight—h*ll, he even liked some player. Being “bold” now was definitely not the right move.
Qin Shu steadied himself and gave a half-true answer: “Take a guess. Anyway, it’s someone really good-looking.”
Xie Lanzhi slowly smiled. “Then let me guess…”
The doorbell rang at exactly the wrong time. On the monitor, Mrs. Xie’s face appeared, magnified. Xie Lanzhi seemed a little helpless. “My mom’s here.”
Qin Shu tensed. “Sh*t—what do I do?”
“What do you mean? You saw her at lunch.”
“That’s different.” At noon she was just his senior’s mom. Now she was the mom of the person he liked. Staying calm was impossible.
Xie Lanzhi saw another figure behind her. “My dad’s here too.”
Qin Shu: “……” Help. Somebody save me.
Xie Lanzhi opened the door. “Dad, Mom, why are you here?”
His mom was changing her shoes as she said, “We happened to be passing by, so we dropped in. Also brought you the flowers. A bridal bouquet only works its magic if you keep it at home.” She spotted Qin Shu cowering in the living room and smiled. “Oh, Qin Shu is here too.”
Qin Shu forced a stiff smile. “Hello, Uncle, Auntie.”
Mr. Xie was tall, with a cold, ascetic look, his sharp gaze exuding pressure. Standing beside him, Mrs. Xie looked especially petite. Even though Xie Lanzhi was already twenty, his parents seemed much younger than expected. Mr. Xie looked like he was in his thirties at most; if Mrs. Xie claimed to be Lanzhi’s older sister, no one would doubt it.
Qin Shu never imagined he’d meet a real-life domineering CEO and his delicate wife. Of course only they could have a son like Xie Lanzhi.
Mr. Xie inclined his head slightly, acknowledging Qin Shu’s greeting.
Since the family was together, Qin Shu felt it wasn’t right to intrude. “Um, Uncle, Auntie, I’ll head back to campus now. If it gets too late the dorm will lock up.”
“What, you’re leaving just because we showed up?” Mrs. Xie teased. “Is Lanzhi’s dad too scary—did he frighten you?”
Mr. Xie: “……”
Qin Shu felt wrongly accused. “No, not at all!” He turned to Xie Lanzhi for help. “Brother…”
“Mom,” Xie Lanzhi said, “don’t scare him.”
Mrs. Xie raised her hands in surrender. “Alright, alright, my fault. At least have some fruit before you go. I brought some really sweet melons.”
Xie Lanzhi asked Qin Shu, “Want some?”
Asked that way, how could he refuse? “…Okay.”
Xie’s mom went to the kitchen to cut fruit. Qin Shu wanted to help, but she shooed him out: “Guests should just sit in the living room and wait to eat. Lanzhi, come help mom.”
In the living room, only Qin Shu and Xie’s dad were left. Qin Shu sat perfectly upright, like a first-grader on his first day of school; Xie’s dad sat properly a short distance away, expressionless, silent.
Qin Shu turned into the very picture of awkwardness. This scene could definitely rank in the top three of his “Most Awkward Moments in Life.” Xie’s dad clearly wasn’t the type to start a conversation. But should he say something? Sitting in silence wasn’t an option either. But what the hell could he even say?!
D*mn it, why hadn’t Xie Lanzhi and his mom come back yet? He couldn’t hold out much longer.
After holding it in forever, Qin Shu finally managed a sentence: “Uncle, have you eaten yet?”
Xie’s dad: “Yes.”
Qin Shu: “Oh, that’s good then.”
Xie’s dad: “You and Lanzhi are at the same school?”
Qin Shu smiled, “Yeah, even the same department. I’m a year below him.”
Xie’s dad: “Mm.”
Qin Shu: “……” He suddenly wondered how Xie Lanzhi usually communicated with his father.
About two years later (?), Xie Lanzhi and his mom finally came out carrying fruit, and Qin Shu had aged two years from sheer awkwardness. With Xie’s mom there, the atmosphere instantly changed. To take care of the guest, most of the topics she picked were ones Qin Shu could join in on, and he easily slipped into the family’s conversation. In his heart, she had already become an actual angel.
After the fruit, Qin Shu finally had an excuse to leave. Xie Lanzhi said, “I’ll walk you back.”
“No, if the dorm supervisor sees me again, she’ll diss me—besides, your parents are still here.”
Xie Lanzhi didn’t insist, “Message me on WeChat when you get back to the dorm.”
“Mm-hm.”
Before leaving, Qin Shu gave a few more glances at the bridal bouquet Xie’s mom had brought. Miscalculated—he should’ve kept the flowers. He wanted to fall in love too!
Qin Shu was mentally and physically exhausted. Too much had happened today. First he got drunk, then after sobering up realized he actually had someone he liked. Then out of nowhere he even met the parents. And now, back at the dorm, he had to endure Lu Rulu’s soul-crushing interrogation.
“Little Love Letter, I thought of you as a brother, but you—!” Lu Rulu spoke with tragic betrayal, eyes full of sorrow. “Let me give you some words: ‘betrayed man’s way.’ Don’t thank me.”
Qin Shu: “???”
“Did you tell Brother Lan that I was the one who told you he liked the player?”
Qin Shu needed a moment to parse Lu Rulu’s words. “No, I didn’t.”
“Huh? But he said…”
Lu Rulu showed him their chat record. After reading it, Qin Shu was also stunned. “I really didn’t say anything… wait, could it be I said it while drunk?”
“See, see! And you still deny it.” Lu Rulu looked aggrieved. “It’s over, Brother Lan’s angry. He’s going to banish me to the cold palace.”
Qin Shu ignored him, rereading Xie Lanzhi’s words carefully.
Why had Lan Zhi asked Lu Rulu about his reaction? And that last line, ‘won’t change’—did that mean he really liked that player so much?!
F*ck f*ck f*ck f*ck, a whole d*mn forest.
Qin Shu was so pissed he wanted to punch Baby, while Lu Rulu kept buzzing in his ear: “This is all your fault, how are you going to take responsibility?!”
Qin Shu screenshot the chat on Lu Rulu’s phone and sent it to himself for further study. “How do you want me to take responsibility?”
Lu Rulu reluctantly said: “Let me borrow your account for a couple matches?” Qin Shu’s Honor of Kings account had every hero, every skin—he’d coveted it forever.
Qin Shu just unlocked his phone and handed it over. “Take it, take it.”
Lu Rulu instantly brightened. “Qin Shu, you’ll always be my brother!”
Qin Shu, still lost in thoughts of Xie Lanzhi, didn’t notice the sudden hush around them.
Chu Cheng came back carrying a pile of packages. Seeing Qin Shu sitting and Lu Rulu standing in a daze, he asked, “Did I just step into an alternate universe?”
Lu Rulu was first to recover, his gaze complex. “Qin Shu… do you like Brother Lan?”
Chu Cheng’s packages dropped to the floor with a thud. “Huh?”
Qin Shu was shocked into blurting, “Wha—what?”
He’d only realized his feelings an hour ago. Was Lu Rulu living inside his brain? How the h*ll did he know?!
Lu Rulu held up Qin Shu’s phone, pointing at the photo on it. “Otherwise why would you set Brother Lan’s photo as your wallpaper?”
A thousand words condensed into one: “Sh*t.”
He looked at Lanzhi’s photo every day, so used to it he’d forgotten entirely about it!
Chu Cheng, by contrast, stayed calm. “So what? Brother Lan’s good-looking. Lots of people use his photo as wallpaper.”
Qin Shu nodded furiously, “Right, exactly! That’s all it is! What’s wrong with drooling over a pretty face?!”
Lu Rulu: “Yeah, except those are all girls.”
Qin Shu: “Girls can like handsome guys, but guys can’t? That’s gender discrimination!”
“But Brother Lan knows you so well—don’t you think it’s weird to use his photo as wallpaper?” Lu Rulu said. “What if he sees it? Wouldn’t that be super embarrassing?”
“He won’t see it…” Qin Shu’s face suddenly went blank. “…right?”
He vaguely remembered Xie Lanzhi had used his phone to play games. Back then—did he see it? If he did, what would he think? Qin Shu kept claiming he liked Xu Ning, but then had another guy’s photo as wallpaper. That made him look like a total player.
A… player?
Player…?
Qin Shu silently opened his drawer, pulled out one of his few remaining oxygen canisters, took a deep drag, collapsed onto the desk, and started thumping his forehead against the table.
Lu Rulu had never seen such a sight before—his face distorted in shock. “Qin Shu?! You you you—”
Chu Cheng stayed calm. “Sit down, it’s routine. He does this a lot. He’ll be fine after a bit.”
Lu Rulu stared, dumbfounded. “The h*ll, this is normal?!”
The phone on the desk buzzed. Seeing the caller ID, Qin Shu’s breath caught again. He rushed to the balcony, and by the time he pressed accept his face was already burning hot.
“Brother.”
“Back at the dorm?”
Xie Lanzhi’s voice was as clear and cool as usual, but in Qin Shu’s heart it lit a fire. “Yeah, I’m back.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Forgot.”
Xie Lanzhi was quiet for a moment. “Then next time I’ll just send you back myself.”
“Okay… Did your parents leave?”
“They left.”
Qin Shu bit his lip. “Brother.”
“Mm?”
Looking at the lit windows of the dorm opposite, Qin Shu asked: “Do you really like the ocean king?”
Xie Lanzhi seemed to laugh. “I like him.”
Qin Shu felt like his heartbeat had stopped. “Oh…”
“Anything else you want to ask?”
Qin Shu opened his mouth but couldn’t find the words. After a long pause, he could only say: “Nothing.”
“Go to bed early.”
“Good night, Brother.”
“Good night, Ocean King.”
Qin Shu’s eyes flew wide open.
Author’s note:
Ready to start dating yet~!
