Page 46

Fortunately, reason told him that the president of a real estate development company probably wouldn't be interested in the pharmaceutical industry.

Chi Ning poked at the vermicelli in his bowl with his chopsticks.

He suddenly recalled the flavors of the food in the thermos.

There had been pigeon soup strained clear of solids; carefully rolled preserved-vegetable pork wrapped around rice; and congee with a stock base that had clearly simmered for at least eight hours.

By the second year Qin Heng brought him meals, his stomach problems had never flared up again.

Chi Ning blinked, then said softly, "They're all pretty good."

Xu Jiahao was delighted. His little fan began fluttering with a "kuakua" sound as he lifted his chin and pointed it at Qin Heng, saying to Chi Baichuan, "Your son knows how to praise people. Top students who get recommended admission really are different—their compliments are sweeter too."

Chi Baichuan: ...

The sarcastic remarks he had thrown out were meant to make Xu Jiahao and Qin Heng back off! They weren't meant to make these two smug when they got praised!

Papa Chi felt a little sour.

How had this happened? Was the cooking at home not good enough? Could a bowl of vermicelli really lure Chi Ning away? How could that be?

This Qin guy was deeply calculating.

Qin Heng met Chi Baichuan's gaze and smiled. "The ingredients are good, so anything tastes good. It's not my credit."

Chi Baichuan choked.

You father and son have said all the good and bad things yourselves. How annoying.

Qin Heng then placed the cooked food originally meant for Xu Jiahao in front of Chi Baichuan. "Uncle Chi, I'll have to trouble Chi Ning to look after me more in the future. Sorry for the trouble."

Chi Baichuan nearly snapped his chopsticks.

Chi Ning lightly glanced at the two of them.

Chi Baichuan merely smiled and, with restrained movements, stuck his chopsticks into the vermicelli. Smiling, he said, "Classmates should help each other. All of my brothers were people I met in high school and college. Friendships formed when you're young last the longest. The people you meet after growing up, though—the relationships aren't as pure."

Qin Heng pretended not to understand. With a smile on his face, he nodded. "You're right, Uncle."

Then he turned and sat back down beside Chi Ning, tilting his head as he asked, "What else do you want to eat?"

Chi Ning paused mid-slurp.

He glanced sideways, staring into Qin Heng's eyes as his father's words circled through his mind.

In his previous life, he hadn't made many sincere friends. His life had been filled with lies, and even the one person he had believed sincere had deceived him with falsehoods.

Were relationships formed in youth really purer and more lasting?

Instead of answering, Chi Ning asked softly, "Qin Heng, have you ever lied to me?"

Qin Heng froze.

Chi Ning immediately regretted asking. A little liar like Qin Heng, who was good at playing both sides and lied as easily as breathing, probably spoke more polite lies than truths. How could he possibly never have lied?

"Forget it." Chi Ning slurped up some vermicelli. "It's nothing."

Sometimes lies really were useful. For example, [I have someone I like] and [I spent the money on the person I like] had helped him solve plenty of problems.

Qin Heng pressed his lips into a straight line.

By reflex, he ran through every word and action of his since getting to know Chi Ning.

Surprisingly... he had never lied to Chi Ning. At most, he had kept things from him.

Even those omissions had been compromises—saying something ambiguous rather than making up a pretty lie to deceive him outright.

Distracted, Qin Heng stuffed a grilled chicken gizzard into his mouth.

It was too salty.

Chi Ning was a little too full. He stood up and kicked out his leg. "Brother, I'm going to see whether the desserts are ready."

Chi Yang said, "Go ahead."

Big grown men didn't care for desserts, so the kitchen had only prepared portions for the younger generation and the women accompanying them.

By the time Chi Ning returned to the courtyard carrying a plate, the gathering was nearly over.

Chi Baichuan was showing off the rockery he kept in the courtyard to his old friends. "You have to spray this every day. Look at the moss here—isn't it cute?"

Chi Ning glanced at it but couldn't see what was cute about that green, fuzzy stuff.

His dad's hobbies were pretty unusual.

Chen Mingxian took a row of mung bean sweet drinks to share with her sisters and scolded with a smile, "Look at your father, acting so childish."

Her voice brimmed with cheerfulness and contentment.

Chi Ning curled his lips into a smile as well.

The daylight had completely vanished. The dark sky blanketed all of Yangcheng, while lights came on in the courtyard of the Chi Residence. The charcoal brazier crackled, with foil-wrapped beef bones roasting on top.

There was already too much food to finish.

"Take some home," Chi Baichuan called out, inviting the uncles to pack up leftovers.

President Lu was staggering from drink. "Hey, hey, hey, we can't waste food."

He grabbed six marrow bones and put them into a takeout container, saying as he packed them, "These taste even better than what my chef makes at home."

Alcohol had numbed the brains of these workplace elites. Once they drank too much, they dared to say anything.

President Lu grinned and reached for the shrimp in front of Qin Heng. As he took them, he said, "You kid, you're really good at this. Whoever ends up with you will be over the moon."

Chi Ning shifted his little stool and suddenly felt that the chair he had sat on all evening was a little uncomfortable.

President Lu kept talking. "So? Do you have a girl you like? You're an adult already, right? Want me to introduce you to someone?"

Qin Heng swept all the skewers in front of him into President Lu's container with remarkable speed. "President Lu, I'm in my senior year of high school. I'm not thinking about that."

Looking at the lights glowing in the courtyard, Chi Ning felt the chair become comfortable again.

It was just a little upsetting that all the skewers had been given away. He poked Qin Heng and whispered, "Save some."

Qin Heng ignored him. Only after sending President Lu away did he say, "I accidentally put too much salt in those."

Chi Ning: Pfft.

"Fine."

Qin Heng smelled of charcoal smoke, completely unlike the polished man from his previous life. The dim courtyard light fell over him, lending him an easy, lived-in warmth.

Chi Ning's gaze fell on his high nose bridge. When he looked higher, he unexpectedly met Qin Heng's eyes.

Not far away, Chi Baichuan was still bragging to his brothers about the fungi that had unexpectedly grown on the rockery. Those voices had been close, but in that instant, they seemed to drift far away.

Muffled, as though covered by a layer of cloth.

The courtyard was spacious, yet Chi Ning felt as if he had been shut inside the enclosed space of a fitting room. He even thought of the time, a few months ago, when he had been taking photos at Mo Yuanzhou's place and Qin Heng had pushed him into a fitting room, pinning him against the wall.

Back then, he had only been confused, even impatient. But this time, it seemed different.

This time, it was as if he had been trapped in a small, unlit fitting room, so hot that even his breath burned.

"Wh-what are you..." Chi Ning stammered. "Why... why have you been staring at me?"

The adults had all left. The fathers' generation was gathered around Chi Baichuan, while the mothers' generation had been led indoors by Chen Mingxian.

Only Chi Yang sat beside Chi Ning.

Chi Yang watched the scene with an inscrutable gaze, nearly grinding his back teeth to pieces.

He didn't dare interrupt. He was afraid that the moment he stepped in, his little brother would have a massive awakening.

Liking two people would become liking one person.

Then there would be no taking it back.

Don't intervene, don't speak. At least this was the Chi family home. No matter how bold Qin Heng was, he couldn't confess puppy love to the host family's younger son while visiting their house, could he?

Qin Heng curled his fingertips. "I..."

Chi Yang stared fixedly at Qin Heng.

Qin Heng looked away, pulled out a wet wipe, and handed it to Chi Ning. "Wipe up."

"...Oh." Chi Ning accepted it and casually rubbed at his mouth.

He was certain that wasn't what Qin Heng had wanted to say just now.

Why had he stopped?

What had the Qin Heng from before wanted to say?

When Chi Ning turned to toss the used wipe into the trash, he met Chi Yang's evasive gaze.

Chi Ning: ...

No wonder Qin Heng hadn't said it. It must have been something inconvenient to say with elders around.

Chi Yang smiled, rising in a good mood. "I'll have someone come clean up."

Chi Ning gave an absent-minded "oh." He was still thinking about Qin Heng.

What could he not say in front of elders? Tutoring? Definitely not. What was inconvenient about that?

Studying hard was perfectly aboveboard.

It couldn't be a confession.

Chi Ning's ears reddened, and his gaze drifted. That was probably impossible too. Qin Heng hadn't shown any signs of liking him at all, and besides...

Who said that someone who liked him in his previous life would definitely still like him in this one?

They hadn't even known each other for the same amount of time. Maybe their story had changed too.

It was pretty good to be friends in this life.

As Chi Ning thought that, President Lu's earlier teasing of Qin Heng suddenly echoed in his ears.

[Do you have a girl you like? If not, want me to introduce you to one?]

If the timeline had changed, could a person's sexual orientation change too? It probably couldn't, since sexual orientation was innate.

Then who would Qin Heng like in the future?

Chi Ning glanced at him.

Qin Heng raised a hand and pulled out a wet wipe.

Chi Ning froze, licking his lips. "Did I not wipe it clean just now?"

Qin Heng said, "No."

He reached out, hooked an arm around the back of Chi Ning's neck, and pulled him forward.

Chi Ning moved forward with the force, meeting Qin Heng's eyes directly.

Their gazes crossed for an instant, then both immediately looked away.

The cool wet wipe pressed against the corner of his mouth and lightly swiped. Chi Ning shivered at the coldness of it, suddenly finding that chill strangely electrifying.

He instinctively wanted to lean back, but Qin Heng's hand at the back of his neck kept him from moving. He could only watch as Qin Heng folded the wipe one-handed and tossed it into the nearby trash can.

Chi Ning swallowed. His mouth was unbearably dry, and even his throat seemed to have developed a foreign sensation.

Just as he was about to speak, the scorching hand at the back of his neck loosened.

He froze.

Qin Heng casually picked up the last egg from above the flickering charcoal fire. Its shell had not been removed, so it had gone untouched for looking too ordinary.