NASAY CH 14

After feeding Luo Xing, Huo Xingzhou felt pretty good and chuckled.

“What kind of massage parlor? We’re just eating. If you’ve got something to say, say it. If not, I’m hanging up.”

Feng Jia responded with an “oh” and thought, True.

If Huo Xingzhou really wanted to date, there’d be enough girls lining up to last him months without repeating anyone. 

Why would he bother with something like that?

“I just saw Xue Jian back at school today. Can you believe he has the guts to show his face here again? Seriously, when a person becomes shameless to a certain level, you run out of words to describe them.”

“You didn’t go up and say hello?” 

Huo Xingzhou asked with a grin.

“Hello, my ass! Not beating him up is already a mercy. What he did wasn’t something a decent person would do. After what happened back then, he should’ve disappeared forever. You think he’s back to beg you for reconciliation?”

Huo Xingzhou listened absentmindedly, glancing at Luo Xing out of the corner of his eye.

Luo Xing looked nervous, as if terrified that someone would discover they were eating together.

Tsk, this little ingrate. Am I that embarrassing to be seen with?

Huo Xingzhou thought about teasing him but couldn’t bring himself to blame him after seeing that pitiful expression.

 Helpless, he picked up a dessert from the nearby tray and handed it to him. 

“Don’t eat too much, or you’ll get a stomachache later.”

Luo Xing nodded obediently.

Huo Xingzhou took his gaze off him, poured himself some cola, and turned off the speakerphone. Holding the phone to his ear, he said, 

“If Xue Jian wants to come back, that’s his business. It’s got nothing to do with me. There’s no point in talking about reconciling or not. It’s meaningless.”

Feng Jia was unusually silent. After a long pause, he finally asked, 

“After what he did to you, you don’t hate him?”

Huo Xingzhou sneered, 

“Of course I hate him. If I wanted to get a spare key made, it’s three yuan per key at the shop by the school gate. Ask him how many keys he’s worth. Ten yuan for three—how many should I get?”

Feng Jia was speechless for a moment. 

“I’d say he’s not worth a single one.”

Huo Xingzhou put down his chopsticks. 

“Besides, he didn’t wrong me. Don’t throw labels around and make it sound like there’s something between us.”

The weekend break lasted until 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, just in time for evening self-study. Some students from out of town didn’t go home and stayed at school instead.

Luo Xing walked through the campus toward the dormitory building, his footsteps echoing in the hallway.

A classmate noticed him and greeted him with a smile.

 “Hey, Luo Xing! Want to join us for some gaming?”

Luo Xing shook his head. 

“Nah, you guys go ahead.”

He hugged the autographed book by Huo Yansheng, opened the dorm room door in high spirits, and sat at the desk, lost in thought for a while. After that, he climbed onto his bed and carefully took out a small box.

Inside were a candy wrapper, an old test paper, a crumpled and then flattened letter of self-reflection, and a bunch of other random things.

Luo Xing gently placed the book at the bottom of the box, his face flushed. In a soft voice, he whispered, 

“Brother Xingzhou.”

Biting his lip, his heart raced, thudding in his chest. It felt as if the air around him had grown eyes and ears, watching him and hearing him call out “Brother Xingzhou.”

Even the dove tree branch swaying beside him seemed to mock him.

Luckily, luckily no one could hear.

***

“Huo Xingzhou, come set the table!” 

Wu Suyan called from the living room without even looking up. 

“All you do is play games. Look at Qinghe—good grades, obedient, and well-behaved…”

Huo Xingzhou grabbed a piece of sweet and sour pork rib from the plate and popped it into his mouth. Speaking through a mouthful, he said, 

“Wake up, Mom. Lu Qinghe is only good at studying. He’s mediocre at basketball, terrible at gaming, and as for being obedient? Please. He listens to no one.”

Ye Qiaoqiao stood to the side, laughing with her eyes squinted.

“He’s not only terrible at video games, but his ability to mock people is nowhere near yours, right?”

 Wu Suyan sneered and slapped away his hand.

Huo Xingzhou humbly replied,

 “It’s just a reputation, nothing more.”

“Did I give you permission to boast?”

Huo Xingzhou naturally nodded. 

“Of course.” 

He carried out the last dish while saying, 

“Haven’t cooked in a while. Not sure if I’m rusty.”

Wu Suyan grinned as she glanced at the two people across the table, joking, 

“Qinghe, don’t be so reserved. Eat more. If Ji Changan finds out I didn’t feed you well, she might refuse to renew our agreement.”

Lu Qinghe smiled faintly.

Ye Qiaoqiao pouted while holding her rice bowl, acting spoiled. 

“Auntie, you only care about Qinghe. You don’t care about me anymore. You didn’t tell me to eat more.”

“Don’t be jealous!” 

Wu Suyan quickly placed a piece of sweet and sour pork ribs in her bowl, smiling. 

“Everyone knows you’re Lu Zhen’s future daughter-in-law. If you complain, I’ll have to work overtime for three months to make up for it!”

“Auntie, stop teasing me!” 

Ye Qiaoqiao blushed and buried her face in her bowl. 

“Qinghe doesn’t even like me like that.”

Wu Suyan squinted, throwing a knowing look at the quiet Lu Qinghe.

 “Nonsense. Qinghe’s eyes practically scream, ‘I want to treasure Ye Qiaoqiao.’ Unlike my son, who probably didn’t bring the love gene with him from the womb.”

Huo Xingzhou choked on his food. “…”

Wu Suyan rested her chin on her hand, full of envy. How did Lu Qinghe have such a perfect life, growing up with his childhood sweetheart who adores him? 

She glanced at her son and sighed, deciding it was better not to look.

“Qiaoqiao, has your dad been busy again lately? Another case at the bureau?”

“Yeah, I heard them say it might be a copycat case of a serial curse murder from over a decade ago.”

 Ye Qiaoqiao paused while chewing some vegetables.

 “Anyway, he’s always busy. I’m used to it.”

Wu Suyan sighed deeply.

Lu Qinghe, Ye Qiaoqiao, and Huo Xingzhou were all about the same age.

Both Lu and Ye grew up without mothers, and their families were busy with work, leaving Wu Suyan genuinely concerned for them.

When they were little, Huo Xingzhou often got into mischief, dragging Ye Qiaoqiao along for trouble—like peeing into mud puddles. If Wu Suyan hadn’t stopped them in time, they might’ve even competed to see whose puddle was bigger.

Lu Qinghe, on the other hand, was always quiet, following behind her obediently.

“You and Qinghe can treat this place like your home. Come over for meals whenever your dads aren’t around.”

Wu Suyan added food to their plates, deliberately skipping over Huo Xingzhou.

Huo Xingzhou protested, 

“You’re siding with them too much! Ye Qiaoqiao is Uncle Lu’s daughter-in-law, not yours!”

Wu Suyan sneered. 

“I wish I had a daughter-in-law like Qiaoqiao—sweet, obedient, and soft-spoken. She never mocks me or makes me angry.”

After a pause, she added, 

“Can you fulfill that wish for me? If not, shut up.”

“…Sorry, that’s one wish I can’t grant.”

Huo Xingzhou quietly ate, but suddenly, an image popped into his mind—a pale, delicate face and small bites of dessert.

The last time, that person ate a shapeless piece of bread. Today, just a few bites of food and claimed to be full. So thin, not even two ounces of meat on him—hugging him would feel like holding a skeleton.

But soft-spoken and obedient… as for being a “future wife”…

Huo Xingzhou went to the kitchen, lifted the lid on a pot of sweet soup, and saw it was still half-full. He took out a thermos, washed it clean, and started pouring the soup in.

“I’m heading back to school.”

“Isn’t class tomorrow?”

 Wu Suyan frowned at his back, muttering softly. Then, lowering her voice, she asked Ye Qiaoqiao mysteriously, 

“Qiaoqiao, you’re in the same class as Xingzhou. Does he have a crush on any girl?”

Ye Qiaoqiao thought for a moment and shook her head.

“A boy, then?”

“Hey…!” 

Ye Qiaoqiao almost spat out her tea. Lu Qinghe frowned slightly and gently patted her back while handing her a napkin.

Wu Suyan rested her chin on her hand, watching the two childhood sweethearts with sparkling eyes. 

“So sweet, too sweet. That little rascal Huo Xingzhou will never have such a tender side in his life. Poor thing.”

Ye Qiaoqiao finally caught her breath, her face flushed. 

“I don’t think Xingzhou is, you know, bent. Auntie, your imagination is running wild. I think he’s just… not interested in anyone.”

Wu Suyan pondered for a second. 

“Maybe he really forgot to pack the ‘gentleness’ and ‘love’ skills when he came out of the womb.”

Ye Qiaoqiao: …

“Did he accidentally put all his skill points into sarcasm and shamelessness?”

Lu Qinghe:

***

Huo Xingzhou held the thermos, caught a ride back to school, and arrived in less than 20 minutes. The guard recognized him and let him in after hearing he’d left something behind.

It wasn’t early anymore, and there weren’t many people on campus.

He wasn’t sure if Luo Xing was in the dorm. He pulled out his phone, intending to call and check, only to realize he hadn’t saved Luo Xing’s number.

Putting his phone away, his eyes caught sight of the kid stepping out of a black car parked across the street. 

That car had been there for quite a while. When he arrived earlier, it was already parked there, and as he got out of the cab, he vaguely heard a woman’s voice shouting from inside the car.

Huo Xingzhou shifted to hide behind a tree.

The car door slammed shut quickly. He only managed to glimpse a cold, haughty-looking woman who said something with disdain before driving off.

Luo Xing stood there, staring at the car, lost in thought. His slender figure seemed frail under the night sky, his shadow stretched and distorted by the streetlamp.

After a while, he glanced around to make sure no one was watching. Then he gently raised a hand to wipe the corner of his eye, quickly pulling it back.

Huo Xingzhou watched his side profile. In the cold streetlight, Luo Xing’s face looked pale and delicate. His arms and waist were so thin they seemed like they’d snap with a touch.

Cold on the surface, but hiding somewhere to cry in secret?

Huo Xingzhou’s phone vibrated. It was a message from Feng Jia, who sent him a link to some sensational gossip: “Innocent Male University Student Kept by Rich Woman, Abused and Toyed With.”

Recalling the bruises on Luo Xing’s face and that insulting WeChat message, Huo Xingzhou felt a surge of anger and replied irritably: “…You’re the one being kept.”

Feng Jia: “???”

When he saw Luo Xing walking his way, Huo Xingzhou quickly put away his phone and stepped further into the shadows, waiting for him to pass by before coming out.

He deliberately slowed his pace, letting Luo Xing get back to the dorm first. If he showed up too soon, with Luo Xing’s sensitivity, he’d definitely suspect that Huo had seen something, which would only make him anxious for no reason.

Once he felt enough time had passed, Huo Xingzhou leisurely made his way upstairs.

Luo Xing sat in his chair, exhausted.

It was October 28th. Every year on this day, Zhao Jiulan would become even more aggressive than usual. When he was little, he didn’t understand and never dared to ask.

Later, as he grew older, he could more or less guess the reason.

He didn’t have a father. There were no photos of a man at home, no traces of any man having lived there. He had never been inside Zhao Jiulan’s room and didn’t know if there were any clues there.

Luo Xing figured that the man hadn’t died—he had just left them.

Zhao Jiulan’s hatred for him must have come from that man—the man who abandoned her and didn’t want him either.

It had been over ten years. Did that man even know he had a son?

Maybe he knew. Maybe he didn’t.

Luo Xing stopped himself from thinking further. He quickly composed himself and stood up, preparing to take a shower.

Click.

Hearing the sound of the door opening, Luo Xing turned around and saw Huo Xingzhou standing in the doorway. Startled, he quickly pulled down the shirt he had just lifted and asked nervously, 

“Y-you… why are you back?”