He suddenly stopped. "You said we're twins, so you turned eighteen last month too, right?"
Lin Fengzhi grew interested. "What presents did you get for your birthday?"
On the day of his eighteenth-birthday coming-of-age celebration, Lin Fengzhi had received a great many formal outfits.
The gifts from friends and family alone had filled a room.
His parents had given him a seaside vacation villa because he liked diving.
His eldest brother, Lin Fengxian, had given him ice hockey equipment.
His second brother, Lin Fengyi, had handed him a car key, giving him a car to get around in. It wasn't expensive, just over nine hundred thousand yuan.
Lu Muchi's gifts had been more unique: a white ceramic watch, and a star as well.
On his birthday, an asteroid at sixty-one degrees north latitude could be found with a telescope.
Lu Muchi had bought the naming rights as a gift for him, a star called Lin Fengzhi.
The more Lin Fengzhi talked, the more excited he became. "Do you have a telescope? I'll adjust it for you. We might even be able to see my star."
"No," Yan Heqing said evenly.
His enthusiasm doused, Lin Fengzhi felt a little disappointed. "Oh. Come to my place next time, then. I have one."
Yan Heqing finished making the bed and picked up a change of clothes. "Go to sleep first. I'm taking a shower."
Lin Fengzhi couldn't sleep.
After Yan Heqing went to shower, he sat on the sofa, not wanting to move.
It was too cold. The moment he moved away from the radiant heater, he felt cold all over, and his feet soon grew chilly too.
He really couldn't understand why Yan Heqing hadn't found a place with underfloor heating.
There was nowhere left to explore in the tiny room. If this were his room, they could look at his collection of limited-edition shoes or use the telescope to find stars.
With nothing to do, Lin Fengzhi picked up Yan Heqing's tracksuit. It smelled of soap pod powder as always, and it was very soft.
The patter of water came from the bathroom, and Lin Fengzhi changed into the tracksuit.
The trouser legs and sleeves were all a little long, so Lin Fengzhi rolled them up once.
To his surprise, the clothes didn't chafe his skin.
Lin Fengzhi tried rubbing a sleeve against his wrist. Nothing unusual happened; there was no allergic reaction or outbreak of red spots.
What was going on?
Lin Fengzhi studied it for ages. The material didn't seem to be the Pima cotton he usually wore, or any other high-end fabric. It was just ordinary cotton, so why didn't it chafe his skin?
The water stopped. Before long, the bathroom door opened and steam drifted out. Lin Fengzhi turned back to ask, "Your clothes..."
He broke off abruptly.
With a dry towel draped over his head, Yan Heqing came out in clean pajamas, drying his hair as he walked.
His damp hair curled naturally, looking completely different from usual.
His solid-black pajamas set off the translucent, snow-white fairness of his skin and his slender neck. After the hot shower, his lips were now rosy and glossy, and his long, fine lashes, damp with moisture, rested lightly against his eyelids.
Lin Fengzhi had always thought his own features were refined enough, but looking at Yan Heqing made him feel inferior.
How could he put it? Their surface looks were similar, but their bone structure was worlds apart.
Yan Heqing also had a quiet, unassuming air that came from within. One glance told you he had read a great many books and was the sort of top student who did very well academically.
T University, where Lin Fengzhi had gotten in, was good, but he had taken the arts entrance exam. His academic subjects were only at an ordinary level, neither poor nor outstanding.
Yan Heqing's grades must have been outstanding, to get into the flagship program at the country's top university.
Lin Fengzhi suddenly thought of Lu Lin.
Lu Lin was also a high-achieving Beijing University graduate... from another flagship program, law.
Lin Fengzhi instantly felt very envious of Yan Heqing.
If he also attended Beijing University, even though Lu Lin had graduated years ago and they weren't in the same department, he could just about count as Lu Lin's junior, couldn't he?
Then Lu Lin would at least remember his name.
Lin Fengzhi's gaze wandered, and he began missing Lu Lin again.
What was Lu Lin doing right now?
"What about my clothes?" Having dried his hair halfway, Yan Heqing pulled the towel down and draped it around his neck.
Lin Fengzhi let out an "Ah." "What?"
"You just asked about my clothes."
Lin Fengzhi remembered and tugged at the fabric. "Oh, right. I wanted to ask what material your clothes are made of. My skin is sensitive, and lots of clothes give me allergic reactions, but yours don't."
"Old."
Lin Fengzhi froze. "There's a material like that?"
"When clothes have been worn for a long time, all the friction makes them soft against the skin," Yan Heqing explained evenly.
Lin Fengzhi was surprised. So that was what he meant.
He glanced down at the clothes. Yan Heqing had kept them in such good condition that he hadn't realized they were very old.
Looking up again, he saw Yan Heqing heading toward the kitchen. Lin Fengzhi picked up the white ceramic watch and checked the time. It was past eleven. Puzzled, he asked, "Are you having a late-night snack?"
"Boiling water."
Yan Heqing had just put the water on when a knock came at the door. His gaze shifted slightly.
Here he was.
Lu Muchi.
Yan Heqing filled a small cup with tap water and slowly watered the pots of succulents on the windowsill.
At the same time, he called from the kitchen, "Fengzhi, get the door."
This was a first for Lin Fengzhi. The bed faced the door, and he could hear every knock clearly.
It felt very novel.
But it was so late. Who would still come to visit?
Yan Heqing's classmate, coworker, or friend?
"Okay." Lin Fengzhi got up and went to answer the door, curious.
When the door opened, Lin Fengzhi's pupils suddenly widened in astonishment. "Lu Muchi?"
Outside, Lu Muchi stood covered in a light dusting of snow. He froze, all the blood in his body seemingly turning to ice, his limbs going cold.
He had come to make trouble, never expecting to run into Lin Fengzhi.
Lu Muchi frowned. Running into the person he loved at a "strange man's" home-how was he supposed to explain this? What if...
Lin Fengzhi was equally alarmed.
For now, he didn't want to tell Lu Muchi about his relationship with Yan Heqing.
How had Lu Muchi found this place?!
Had he found out?
Lin Fengzhi's face twitched slightly, and his fingers tightened uneasily around the door handle.
Both felt guilty, and for a moment, neither spoke, in tacit agreement.
Just then, Yan Heqing's voice came from the kitchen. "Who is it?"