His face flushed as pink as a peach, and he stammered out an answer. "I, I don't know..."
Apart from Li Hanwen, whom he had once thought he liked because he mistook gratitude for love, he had never experienced romance. He did not even know what liking someone was supposed to feel like.
Qi Sijing leaned a little closer and said with a soft chuckle, "But I like you, Star~"
[Aaaaaah!]
His cheeks were bright red, and he did not dare speak, but he was screaming quite loudly in his head.
Luckily, he had not actually screamed aloud, or he would have ruined the mood.
Still, Qi Sijing was delighted. Did this mean his flirting had gotten through to Star?
Lin Xingye did not dare look up at him. He was afraid he would lose control.
[Get away from me! I'm a total horndog! Keep this up, and I, Nicholas Xingye, am going to transform!]
[I'm a man of principles! Under normal circumstances, I don't go against them!]
[Not even for a handsome face!]
Qi Sijing planted a sudden kiss on his cheek. His secret little inner monologue was so adorable.
Lin Xingye: !!!
[Aaaaaaaaaah!]
[He kissed me again! Keep this up, and I'm going full horndog and putting my hands all over you!]
[I'm a man of principles...]
"Mmph..."
Qi Sijing could barely stand holding himself back anymore. He gently cupped the back of Lin Xingye's neck and kissed him.
[It's not like I can't bend my principles a little.]
[I'm definitely not losing out by kissing him.]
[Come here, handsome. Kiss, kiss, kiss!]
He had never dated in his previous life, had precious little physical intimacy with anyone, and had then been treated that way by Li Hanwen.
Star's dream of a pure, innocent romance had abruptly mutated into an ambition to hook up with every male model in the world.
He no longer minded physical intimacy as much as he once had, but that did not mean just anyone would do.
Yet, for some reason, he did not resist being close to Qi Sijing.
Qi Sijing kept the kiss restrained, only pressing their lips together for a moment before pulling away.
Looking at Lin Xingye, whose eyes were tightly shut as though he were facing a mortal enemy, he suddenly wanted to tease him and mischievously nipped his lip.
Lin Xingye did not understand, but he refused to lose out. He had to bite him back.
The temperature around them gradually rose. He had thought Qi Sijing only intended to give him one kiss, but the other man kept clinging to him, rubbing against him and teasing him.
It made his head spin...
But he still had some willpower left.
He thumped Qi Sijing's chest a few times with his almost-healed right hand in protest.
[Let go of my mouth! Let go! Are you an octopus? Do you have built-in suction cups?!]
The person in his arms began struggling harder. Afraid he would pull at his wound, Qi Sijing reluctantly released him.
Lin Xingye's lips were slightly swollen and glistening, looking utterly tempting. His face was flushed pink, and even his glare seemed to hook Qi Sijing's soul and tug it out of him.
Unable to control himself, he leaned in for another kiss.
Lin Xingye turned his head to dodge, only to freeze stiffly on the spot, letting Qi Sijing shower his face with kisses.
[You idiot, stop kissing me. We're about to get beaten up.]
[This is so embarrassing. How do I talk my way out of this?]
[It wasn't because I couldn't resist temptation, but because Qi Sijing is too handsome. No, no, it was because I couldn't resist temptation, not because Qi Sijing is too handsome.]
Forget it. The more he tried to explain, the worse it sounded.
At some point, An Shi had reached their room on his rounds. He stood in the doorway, and there was no telling how long he had been there.
The mothers were staring at them in a daze too. Even the sunflower seeds in Aunt Liu's hand had fallen to the floor.
An Shi trembled with rage, his fists clenched tight. "Qi. Si. Jing!"
Fuming, he strode over and grabbed Qi Sijing by the hair. "If you harass Star again, I'll move you to the room farthest from here!"
Qi Sijing's mother hurried forward. "Hey, hey! An Shi, don't be angry! I, I'll definitely give him a scolding later!"
With how much the Qi Family spoiled their children, there was no way she would actually scold him.
Gritting his teeth, An Shi pulled a clean handkerchief from his pocket, held Lin Xingye's face, and wiped his mouth.
Lin Xingye said, "Mmph, I..."
[Let me talk my way out of this!]
Mother Lin looked grave. "Star, are, are you dating Sijing?"
Judging by all his mental chatter just now, it did not really sound like it.
Everyone's gaze instantly shifted to him.
Lin Xingye glanced at An Shi's resentful expression, not daring to turn around and look at Qi Sijing. "N-no, we're not."
He was embarrassed, but a certain someone had skin thicker than a city wall. "Auntie, I'm pursuing Star."
Mother Lin stayed silent, neither approving nor objecting. She simply looked at Lin Xingye with concern.
For a moment, no one spoke.
An Shi broke the silence with a cold snort. "Qi Sijing, since you're only pursuing him, keep your hands off Star!"
The shameless man leaned pitifully against Lin Xingye, putting on a sweet, affected voice as he wheedled, "Star~ I'm sorry~"
Lin Xingye's face instantly turned red.
[I have seen the light, master.]
[In my youth, I didn't know how good younger men could be, and mistook a scumbag for a treasure.]
The happier Qi Sijing's smile grew, the darker An Shi's expression became. The nauseating display gave him goose bumps all over.
"You'd better behave yourself. Once you've recovered, I have some unfinished business with you." An Shi stormed out, finally understanding what Cheng Yu meant by losing years off his life with every extra second he looked.
Qi Sijing's mother clearly wanted to say something to him, but this was hardly the right moment for that conversation. She made an excuse and went home first.
Mother Lin and Aunt Chen said nothing either. They returned to the sofa to watch television, though neither could stop glancing back.
Embarrassed, Lin Xingye pinched Qi Sijing's abs, then lay back down.
Qi Sijing: Hehe.
Mother Lin could not quite describe how she felt. As far as they were concerned, all that mattered was that Star liked him. After all, they had never imposed many restrictions on him growing up.
It was just so sudden that they were having trouble taking it in. Then she remembered how desperately Star had tried to save Qi Sijing.
So it had been because he liked him.
She lost all interest in watching television and changed to a random channel.
"Early this morning, a man's body was discovered in a residential complex in City A. An investigation determined that he had died by suicide, and a suicide note was found among his belongings.
"After his identity was verified, the deceased was confirmed to be-"
"Qin Ke."
Both men on the bed froze, then whipped their heads toward the television.
His headshot was on the screen.
"This was the same man involved in the racing accident that circulated online recently..."
Lin Xingye stared blankly at the familiar face on the screen, too shocked for words. "That can't be real..."
"He left a suicide note, stating..."
"He was using his death to prove his innocence. He had done nothing, and Hu Kai's family had continually attempted to shift the blame onto him to lessen Hu Kai's culpability..."
"During this time, he suffered abuse from countless internet users and others unaware of the facts. He was only an ordinary person..."
"He had no way to prove himself, and no one believed him. He could no longer carry on..."
"We therefore urge all internet users, regardless of the circumstances, especially when the facts remain unclear, to refrain from making personal attacks..."
Qi Sijing's brows knitted tightly. Clearly, he was just as surprised by this. "How is that possible?"
He hurriedly opened his phone to check the news. Sure enough, the internet users had switched sides remarkably fast.
They paid no attention whatsoever to official appeals. Seeing someone prove his innocence in such a tragic way had frightened them again.
What little conscience they had left stirred, and under the pressure of their guilt, they turned their attacks toward Hu Kai's parents and Duan Peng's family, who had helped them.
They had completely forgotten the harm they themselves had done by blindly following the crowd.
All they knew was that they must have been deceived.
[Like father, like son! Someone must have taught Hu Kai to be this vicious!]
[Exactly! Give him a harsh sentence already! Qin Ke's death after being falsely accused should count against him too!]
[How vile! You used us to drive someone to his death! This is all your fault!]
What a spectacle.
Never mind their disbelief-the news hit Hu Kai's parents like a crushing blow.
Before you continue