NASAY CH 24

Luo Xing was completely stunned by his sudden action. His eyelashes fluttered slightly as he stared at him blankly, unable to say a word.

“Do you remember now?”

His back was tightly pressed against Huo Xingzhou’s chest, enveloped in his warm embrace.

Luo Xing raised his hand to push him away but was immediately caught by the wrist, his arm pinned above his head, unable to move. Nervously, Luo Xing stared at him, feeling like his heart was about to lose its rhythm.

“Tell me, do you remember?”

His mind was too scattered to think clearly. He could only stare at him in a daze and stammer,

 “Y-yes, I remember.”

Huo Xingzhou sighed theatrically. 

“You clung to me last night asking me to hold you, and now you’re avoiding me? Even if I were just a life-sized pillow, I wouldn’t deserve to be abandoned so quickly.”

“I didn’t… I didn’t mean it that way.”

“Then what did you mean?” 

Huo Xingzhou felt the boy on his lap stiffen like a statue. He shifted slightly, pulling him closer into his arms.

“I… you… let me go first.” 

Luo Xing was so nervous he could hardly breathe. He unconsciously licked his lips, afraid that if he stayed too close, his feelings might be exposed. His eyes began to turn red with anxiety.

Huo Xingzhou looked at his misty eyes and red-rimmed gaze. He looked so pitiful that it only made him want to tease him more. Resisting the urge to kiss him, Huo Xingzhou chuckled softly and released him.

As soon as Luo Xing was free, he quickly moved a safe distance away, sitting down like a frightened little rabbit, pitifully staring at him from a distance.

Huo Xingzhou’s mood improved. He curled his finger at him. 

“Come here. I won’t hug you.”

“Really?” 

Luo Xing was doubtful.

“Really.” 

Huo Xingzhou extended his hand, his voice soft and coaxing. 

“Come on.”

Luo Xing hesitated for a few seconds before slowly moving toward him. Just as he reached out his hand, Huo Xingzhou pulled him back, almost causing him to fall into his arms again. Luo Xing glared at him, flustered.

 “You—you lied to me again!”

“I didn’t lie.” 

Huo Xingzhou helped him sit upright, ruffling his hair. 

“See? I didn’t hug you. Are you going to stop letting me hold your hand too?”

Luo Xing was speechless, turning his head away.

Huo Xingzhou tapped his arm, his voice soft and coaxing. Luo Xing refused to look at him, lips pressed tightly together as his face flushed red. If this went on any longer, he knew he would fall for him.

Huo Xingzhou squeezed his waist gently and pulled him closer.

 “Luo Xing, how about we apply to the same university in the future?”

Luo Xing froze.

Huo Xingzhou turned him to face him, brushing his soft, curled eyelashes with his fingers. Luo Xing blinked, his eyelids trembling slightly, making Huo Xingzhou’s heart melt.

“What university do you want to apply to? Tell me.”

Luo Xing pulled his hand down and hesitantly asked, 

“Do you mean… you want to apply to the same university as me?”

“Yes.”

“But I’m not sure… I haven’t thought about it.” Luo Xing bit his lip. He hadn’t considered which university to apply to. With his grades, he could get into most schools without much trouble.

Huo Xingzhou said, 

“Then think about it now.”

He remembered Luo Xing’s mother and added, 

“Actually, I don’t want to stay in Jiangcheng in the future. I think it’d be nice to explore somewhere far away. How about we find a university far from here?”

“Really? I… I’ve always wanted to do that too.” Luo Xing tried to suppress his excitement and instinctively grabbed Huo Xingzhou’s hand. 

“But you’ll have to study hard. No more skipping classes to go out and play.”

Huo Xingzhou chuckled helplessly.

 “Haven’t you noticed that I haven’t skipped class recently? I can’t even leave the classroom without you asking where I’m going or telling me I’m not allowed to. You even nag for two whole periods if I get a couple of questions wrong.”

Luo Xing blushed at his teasing and muttered, “No, I don’t.”

Huo Xingzhou leaned in again.

 “I’m just saying… my grades aren’t as good as yours. What if you get tired of teaching me?”

Luo Xing quickly shook his head.

 “No… I won’t.”

Huo Xingzhou’s heart softened at his earnest denial. He leaned closer, brushing his fingers across Luo Xing’s lips with a smile. 

“Really? You won’t get tired of me?”

Luo Xing tried to answer but accidentally licked his finger, his face turning even redder as he turned away.

Huo Xingzhou chuckled. 

“But who knows? When we get to university, there’ll be plenty of pretty girls around. We might not be in the same class, and then you’ll probably only hang out with them and forget all about me.”

“I won’t!” 

Luo Xing blurted.

 “I won’t hang out with them.”

Huo Xingzhou smiled, saying nothing more. In his heart, he thought: Forget the future… right now, your heart is already full of someone else.

He snorted softly to himself. Sooner or later, he would completely steal Luo Xing’s heart.

Make him think of no one but himself. Whoever tries to invade will be beaten up.

Before long, the phone rang.

The luxurious fried rice they had just ordered arrived. Huo Xingzhou answered the call, said he’d be right down, then reached out a hand to pull Luo Xing up from the floor.

“Let’s go back to school after eating,”

 Luo Xing said.

 “You still have lots of ‘essays’ to write for me.”

“…”

 Huo Xingzhou thought for a moment and said,

 “Alright, there’s not much to do at home anyway. We can get some medicine for your hand on the way back.”

Luo Xing couldn’t suppress the joy in his heart and eyes. He had just said that he wanted to go to university and attend the same one as him.

That way, they could be together for another four years.

Luo Xing pressed his lips together, smiling lightly. When Huo Xingzhou returned with the food, he noticed his expression and teased him:

 “What’s so funny? Are you laughing at the idea that I might not get into college? That’s a bit too much.”

Luo Xing hurriedly withdrew his smile, stammering, 

“N-no, I’m not.”

“Then what’s so funny?” 

Huo Xingzhou opened the takeout box, poured half a glass of milk from the fridge, and set it down in front of him with a light knock on the table. 

“Tell the truth, or you’ll pay for it.”

Luo Xing knew he was only trying to scare him and wouldn’t actually do anything, so he bit his lip and said, 

“I was just thinking how happy I’d be if we could go to the same university in the future.”

Huo Xingzhou paused. He hadn’t expected such a straightforward answer and stared at Luo Xing’s delicate face as he shyly lowered his head. He smiled.

That’s all it takes to make him happy?

If I spoil him even more in the future, how ecstatic would he be?

Silly boy.

After finishing their meal, they tidied up briefly and headed back to school.

Luo Xing’s clothes were dirty, so he changed into one of Huo Xingzhou’s shirts from the morning. It was a bit big on him, hanging loosely, which made him look even thinner.

Huo Xingzhou sat in his chair and glanced at the shadow on the frosted glass of the bathroom door as the sound of running water echoed.

Suddenly, he remembered the last time he returned to school and saw Luo Xing taking off his clothes.

His arms stretched upward, revealing his slender waist and smooth, pale skin. His lower back curved slightly, forming a delicate line.

Huo Xingzhou subconsciously rubbed his fingers together, lightly coughed, and looked away. His gaze fell on a few books on the desk, and he spaced out for a moment.

He suddenly recalled Feng Jia’s words, picked up his phone, and typed “Luo Xing” into the search bar.

The search results were filled with news articles and videos. The titles were all similar—about him winning various competitions.

He clicked on a video, lowered the volume, and watched.

In the video, three children were being interviewed together. Judging by their age, Luo Xing was probably seven or eight at the time.

When the host asked questions, Luo Xing looked directly at the camera and answered clearly and logically. Especially when talking about the key points, his eyes seemed to sparkle like stars—proud and captivating.

But the moment the interview ended, he refused to speak any further. 

Unlike the other children next to him who arrogantly fought for the spotlight, Luo Xing remained humble and quiet.

It was too extreme.

Huo Xingzhou closed the video and opened another. In this one, Luo Xing was a bit older.

This time, he didn’t look at the camera as much, instead focusing on the host. His delicate eyebrows were slightly furrowed, and his hands were clenched tightly in his lap.

It was obvious that by this point, he couldn’t hear anymore. He wasn’t very skilled at lip-reading yet, so he inevitably missed some questions.

There were comments under the video.

— “What’s with this Luo Xing ignoring the host? Not even looking at the camera. Acting so arrogant.”

— “He just won some award, what’s the big deal?”

— “Clearly a nerd. All he knows is how to study. Once he enters society, he won’t be of much use.”

Huo Xingzhou’s heart tightened. He wanted to rush in, scoop up that little boy, and hold him in his arms, shielding him from the judgment of those behind the camera.

He sat up straight, rubbing his hands together, ready to fight back in the comments. But he realized he needed to register an account first. After fumbling around for a while, he finally succeeded.

He chose the username: I’m Your Dad.

I’m Your Dad: Reply: Winning an award is a big deal. Who are you to judge? Memorized your multiplication table yet? Don’t come here being salty, loser.

I’m Your Dad: Reply: Hey buddy, wanna come work on a construction site with me? You seem pretty good at lifting… arguments.

Huo Xingzhou was having fun roasting commenters when Luo Xing came out of the bathroom. Seeing his smirk, Luo Xing was startled and asked softly,

 “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, just a troll trying to provoke me.” Huo Xingzhou looked up, turning off his phone and immediately switching to a warm expression.

Luo Xing hesitated, then tentatively said,

 “Did you… mock someone again? Not everyone’s as good at games as you are.”

“I didn’t.” 

Huo Xingzhou chuckled. 

“I was just playing normally. They were the ones looking for trouble. Don’t you think they needed a lesson?”

“Uh, I guess… yeah.”

Whenever Luo Xing was alone with Huo Xingzhou, he couldn’t help but feel nervous, not knowing where to put his hands and feet.

“Don’t always mock others. It’s not good to cause conflicts.”

“Got it, little chatterbox.” 

Huo Xingzhou raised his hand and ruffled Luo Xing’s hair.

Luo Xing blinked, his face turning red as he dodged his hand. 

“Um… how about you work on some practice questions later? I made a test for you myself.”

Huo Xingzhou raised an eyebrow.

 “Oh? You made your own test?”

Luo Xing blushed a little.

 “I’m not sure how good it is, but I based it on the types of questions you usually get wrong. I’ve done it myself to check—there shouldn’t be any mistakes. Will you try it?”

Huo Xingzhou stayed silent for a few seconds.

Luo Xing thought he was backing out and whispered, 

“You promised…”

Looking down at Luo Xing’s slightly upturned face, trying so carefully to convince him, Huo Xingzhou felt his heart soften instantly.

“You made it just for me. How could I say no?”

Luo Xing’s eyes curved into a smile. He immediately rummaged through his backpack and pulled out a brand-new notebook filled with three pages of neatly written math problems.

They shared the same desk, sometimes bumping elbows when one of them moved too much.

Luo Xing quietly typed on his keyboard, lowering the volume to avoid disturbing Huo Xingzhou. His eyes occasionally drifted to his face, then quickly darted away.

He had explained these types of problems to him before. But math required flexible thinking, and he wasn’t sure how much Huo Xingzhou had grasped.

Seeing him concentrating seriously on the questions eased Luo Xing’s worries. He resumed translating.

The sky gradually darkened. Luo Xing got up to turn on the lights and poured two glasses of water.

When he returned, Huo Xingzhou had already completed more than half of the test. The scratch paper beside him had been flipped over, covered in his aggressive-looking handwriting.

Luo Xing always felt that his writing had an air of dominance—just a glance would pull you in and refuse to let go.

“Take a break and drink some water. There’s no need to rush.”

Huo Xingzhou took the glass, tilted his head back, and drank half of it in one go. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed.

Luo Xing suddenly recalled the time he accidentally touched his Adam’s apple when he was drunk. His eyes flickered, and he quickly looked down.

Huo Xingzhou put the glass back and continued working on the test.

Luo Xing took the glass and placed it aside, sneaking a glance at him.

Sometimes he thought he was really lucky—so lucky to have met Huo Xingzhou and ended up in the same school as him. That made him luckier than a lot of people.

“Finished.”

Huo Xingzhou slammed the pen down with a loud snap and sighed,

 “Damn, this is exhausting. Can’t you give me some easier questions?”

His voice was soft, almost inaudible.

Luo Xing read the words from his lips, and his cheeks flushed at the curse.

 “If it’s harder, you’ll understand it better. It’s okay if you get it wrong—I’ll explain it to you again.”

Huo Xingzhou chuckled, pressing down on the test paper as he leaned closer to him, holding his hand.

 “If I get everything right, what reward will you give me?”

Luo Xing hesitated, his eyes darting nervously before whispering,

 “Why do you always want a reward?”

Seeing how tense he looked, Huo Xingzhou laughed. 

“Even kids get candy when they behave. If I do well on a test, why shouldn’t I get a reward? If you don’t give me one, I won’t study anymore.”

Afraid that he really would stop studying, Luo Xing hurriedly pressed down on the paper and blurted, 

“I’ll give you one! Don’t stop studying!”

Hearing this, Huo Xingzhou’s mood instantly improved. He let out a long hum, deliberately keeping him in suspense.

Luo Xing nervously swallowed.

 “Then… tell me what you want.”

Huo Xingzhou wrapped an arm around him, lowering his eyes with a sly smile. 

“Last time, I accidentally saw that you have dimples on your lower back. I didn’t get a good look… let me see them again.”