How Dare You?

Yu An looked up and saw Song Yuechi.

He stood frozen in the doorway with a document bag in his hand, his pupils trembling as he stared at Yu An and He Li'an.

"Y-you..." Song Yuechi pointed at them with a shaking hand. "Senior He, I never thought you were this kind of person!"

He looked like he was about to fall apart.

Yu An turned to He Li'an in confusion.

He Li'an had just removed Yu An's tie. Half of it still hung around Yu An's neck, while the other half rested over He Li'an's long fingers. They had been sitting close together to make it easier to remove the tie, and the entire scene looked like the prelude to something suggestive.

"Ah!!!!"

Song Yuechi screamed and ran away.

He even pulled the door shut behind him.

With a bang, the room fell silent again.

He Li'an withdrew his gaze and turned back as well.

Their eyes met. He was the first to look away, silently gripping the tie and slowly pulling it free until it was entirely in his own hands.

Yu An reminded him, "Song Yuechi misunderstood us. He thinks we were doing something improper."

For someone as popular as He Li'an, his reputation was important.

Song Yuechi had an active imagination and seemed to have nothing but getting a room and sleeping together on his mind. He also did not look like someone who could keep a secret.

Yu An felt that He Li'an should hurry and explain things clearly to Song Yuechi.

His overly frank and upright tone left He Li'an stunned for a moment. "You... know?"

"Of course." Yu An said, "He thought you were taking off my clothes, and that next you were going to... mm?"

Huh?

He had not even finished speaking.

Why had He Li'an suddenly covered his mouth?

"Sorry." He Li'an cleared his throat and removed his hand.

"You..."

"I was teaching you how to tie a tie."

He Li'an lowered his head and began adjusting Yu An's tie.

Yu An could not see his expression. Tilting his head, he curiously leaned closer, only for He Li'an to press a hand against his forehead and push him back. "Watch carefully."

His voice had already returned to its usual calm gentleness.

After demonstrating it once for Yu An, he handed the tie over for Yu An to do it himself. Yu An took it and began tying it, unable to stop himself from asking, "You do not care if people misunderstand you?"

He Li'an reached out to smooth the wrinkles in his tie. "Why would I care?"

Yu An thought about it and said, "If people misunderstand you, maybe not as many people will like you."

"Why do so many people have to like me?" After saying that, He Li'an seemed to think of something and slowly raised his eyes. "If it were me sitting here with someone else today, would you believe what that blond-haired male student said after misunderstanding us?"

But Yu An was a little distracted.

He realized that He Li'an's eyes were actually very dark—dark enough to seem sharp.

If he looked at them for too long, they felt as though they might cut him.

Yu An blinked. "But it is me right now."

"I said if."

"You would not teach anyone else how to tie a tie."

Yu An was doing two things at once, tying his tie while talking, so he seemed absentminded. He did not notice the change in He Li'an's expression. Leisurely tugging at the finished knot, he smiled in satisfaction and praised himself, "Wow! I tied it so well!"

He looked very childlike.

He Li'an's gaze deepened slightly. "Why do you say that?"

"Hm?" Yu An held up the tie for him to see. "Do you think I did not tie it well?"

"You tied it very well." He Li'an undid the tie and draped it around his neck, signaling for him to tie it properly himself. "That was not what I was asking."

Yu An gave an "oh," realizing that He Li'an was asking about what he had said earlier: "You would not teach anyone else how to tie a tie."

"A lot of people at school like you, but no one dares pursue you openly. Even when they enthusiastically gather to watch you, they do not dare get close. That means you actually have very strong boundaries. Being gentle and mild only means you are kind and well-mannered. It does not mean you are easy to provoke, so they do not dare behave offensively toward you. Under normal circumstances, they do not even dare ask anything of you, and even if they did, you would not necessarily agree..."

Yu An was still tying his tie, slowly and carefully, so he was a little distracted.

By the end, he could not even spare attention to keep talking and focused solely on tying the tie.

"Then why do you dare offend me?" He Li'an's voice lowered, and an invisible pressure slowly closed in around Yu An.

Yu An's hands paused, and he did not dare look up.

He had already sensed the change in He Li'an's presence. That intimidating aura suppressed him, making him instinctively want to avoid his gaze.

This side of He Li'an was unfamiliar.

Though he had only known He Li'an for a little over a week, the person before him felt like someone else entirely.

He had always regarded He Li'an only as a paper-thin character from a book who would die young. After a superficial observation, he had prematurely assumed that He Li'an was a man so kind that he posed no danger. Now, it seemed he had been careless.

Yu An quickly calmed down again and pretended nothing was wrong as he retorted, "I did not."

He Li'an said, "Who was the one who looked at photos of my bare upper body right in front of me and told me they looked especially good?"

Yu An defended himself, "I just..." really thought they looked good.

He Li'an said, "And who was the one who used my photo to draw a phone case?"

Yu An said, "..."

He had originally drawn that phone case from thin air based on his own aesthetic preferences.

Who knew He Li'an would look exactly like the person on his phone case?

He Li'an curved his lips in a faintly amused smile. "Nothing to say now?"

Yu An said, "..."

This was so unfair.

He was simply the most wronged person in the world.

But he had no way to explain.

"So..." He Li'an leisurely helped him straighten the tie that had been pulled crooked, then asked unhurriedly, "How dare you?"

Yu An lowered his eyes and stole a glance, confirming that He Li'an had not done anything else to his tie and had only adjusted its position.

Yet he still felt tightly constricted, as if an invisible chain had looped around his neck and made even breathing require effort.

It was a very novel feeling.

Yu An was a little scared, but he also found it a little thrilling.

He raised his head and looked straight at He Li'an. "Maybe because I am very brave."

When such bright, clean eyes looked at someone without dodging or avoiding them, no matter what nonsense they said, people would instinctively want to believe them.

It was precisely because those eyes were so deceptive that He Li'an often could not quite figure out what Yu An was thinking.

He Li'an remained silent, and Yu An felt that he had gained the upper hand again. Deliberately leaning closer to provoke him, he said, "I am not even afraid of ghosts."

Without much expression, He Li'an extended one finger, poked his forehead, and pushed him away.

"Then you really are brave."

"Do you like someone as brave as me?"

Yu An happily accepted the compliment. His eyes curved as he smiled at He Li'an, looking soft, obedient, and painfully lovable.

He Li'an narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze sharp. "You want me to like you?"

"Mm." Yu An nodded, his expression calm and ordinary, as though they were discussing whether to have cherry tomatoes or baby carrots for fruit after dinner.

For some reason, He Li'an felt annoyed. He gave a cold snort. "What does a child know about liking someone?"