CoP 38

Sui Cannong rarely experienced such a long mental shutdown in his life.

Actually, Ji Ling spoke very slowly, and his voice was clear, but Sui Cannong’s world suddenly became very quiet, so quiet that he could hardly hear anything.

He even felt that the air he exhaled was cold.

Compared to Sui Cannong’s brain freeze, Ji Ling seemed emotionally stable. However, perhaps due to the cold, Ji Ling’s fingers unconsciously clenched the cuffs of his coat.

After a long while, Sui Cannong finally spoke.

“So,” Sui Cannong’s Adam’s apple moved, “that time when you were drunk, you told me you had a plan, and that you weren’t brave enough to continue waiting…”

Ji Ling was taken aback.

“The plan… was to pursue you,” Ji Ling said after a moment. “But from the results now, it seems the plan was a complete failure. Whether it was giving you flowers or any of our previous outings, the outcome was always… that I scared you.”

Sui Cannong stammered, “Not really, not really…”

Sui Cannong felt his ability to form coherent sentences had collapsed. He looked into Ji Ling’s eyes, his mind was working, but his mouth couldn’t form a single comprehensible sentence.

Ji Ling averted his gaze.

“You once said that meeting in the game was fate,” Ji Ling turned and looked back at the lake. “But in reality, if two parallel lines are to intersect, one of them must actively change direction.”

“I overheard from a student that you were playing a certain game and your in-game ID,” Ji Ling said.

He paused, then continued, “So you might think our meeting was a coincidence and fate, but to me, it was an opportunity I had carefully planned for a long time.”

Ji Ling had never thought he would ever say these words to Sui Cannong, but at this moment, he felt unusually relieved.

“At first, I didn’t expect you to propose meeting me in person,” Ji Ling said, “and I certainly didn’t expect we would come this far.”

“I was always afraid that a sudden pursuit might burden you, so initially, I just wanted to interact more with you in the game, help you build houses, and make your gaming experience better,” Ji Ling placed his hand on the bridge railing, lowered his head, and said, “But liking someone makes you greedy, and you can’t help but want to get closer to them.”

Sui Cannong turned his face away and took a deep breath.

Sui Cannong’s mind was gradually accepting this reality, but it was still too sudden, and his brain hadn’t fully processed it.

Sui Cannong was silent for a moment, then murmured, “Then… you always liked taking photos, saying you wanted to keep memories because you thought there wouldn’t be any more opportunities, you…”

Sui Cannong’s remaining words died in his throat as he suddenly realized the answer.

Ji Ling just smiled.

The bridge railing was icy cold, and Ji Ling’s grip was slipping, so he lifted his hand. He looked at his fingers, which were slightly red from the cold, and after a moment, he tucked his hand back into his sleeve.

The outdoor temperature in winter was very low. Ji Ling exhaled, and the faint white mist blurred his profile. When the mist dissipated, his features became clear again.

He said, “Because in my eyes, every opportunity to meet you is precious.”

Ji Ling’s voice was light, almost like the dissipating mist, but Sui Cannong heard it clearly.

He said, “I’ve been thinking these past few days, and it seems my way of expressing myself could easily lead to such misunderstandings.”

“I’ve never been good with words,” Ji Ling said, “and the person I was talking to was someone I liked, so I was nervous. I cared a lot about how I came across to you, whether my words sounded natural, and in the end, I just made things worse.”

Sui Cannong was silent for a long time.

“When did it start…” Sui Cannong’s throat felt tight, and his voice was hoarse, “I mean, we didn’t really…”

Sui Cannong’s words got stuck in his throat. He looked at Ji Ling’s face, hesitating, unsure if he should say it.

Ji Ling seemed to see Sui Cannong’s hesitation and spoke first, “We didn’t really have much interaction, right?”

“…I’m not sure,” Ji Ling tilted his head slightly, “maybe it was just the right time. I just happened to like someone who helped me paint my walls white and gave me a lemon plant, someone tall and warm.”

Ji Ling thought for a moment and added, “Maybe it was love at first sight. But as we got to know each other, I realized that liking you was worth it.”

“Sui Cannong,” Ji Ling called his name, “you can’t imagine how happy I’ve been every day for the past three months.”

“From the moment I realized I liked you, every day suddenly had something to look forward to,” he said, “so falling in love with you has been a source of happiness for me.”

Sui Cannong stared at Ji Ling’s face, dazed.

“But I’ve thought about it a lot,” Ji Ling said, “and I think the foundation of our relationship is a bit off.”

“From the beginning, we both had our own secrets,” Ji Ling said. “You were always worried and anxious, afraid I might do something to hurt myself, while I was always wondering why you proposed a relationship and what would happen after these three months.”

Ji Ling’s face was expressionless, but Sui Cannong suddenly had a bad feeling.

“A healthy relationship shouldn’t make one person anxious and both of us feel unstable,” Ji Ling said.

Sui Cannong felt something was off about Ji Ling’s tone. He was uneasy because he could almost predict what Ji Ling would say next.

“That’s not true,” Sui Cannong said urgently, “listen to me—”

But Ji Ling shook his head.

“Regardless, we can’t continue like this,” he said. “We need to reassess our relationship.”

Sui Cannong’s heart sank, and he was desperate, “Ji Ling, listen to me, I had a crush on you even before Halloween…”

Ji Ling looked at Sui Cannong’s face quietly.

After a moment, he shook his head and said, “I don’t know.”

Before Sui Cannong could speak, Ji Ling said, “So this time, I want to make sure for myself.”

“But before that,” Ji Ling looked into Sui Cannong’s eyes, “I want to make sure that my actions won’t cause you any trouble in the future.”

Sui Cannong’s heart skipped a beat, and his expression became confused again because he didn’t understand what Ji Ling meant.

The sky was growing darker, and the streetlights cast a dim, faint glow. Ji Ling walked up to Sui Cannong and tilted his face up.

The distance between them became very close, so close that the sound of the wind could be ignored, and they could feel each other’s warm, rhythmic breaths.

Ji Ling looked at Sui Cannong, his eyes clear and resolute.

“Sui Cannong,” he asked, “can I formally pursue you from today?”