NASAY CH 46

Luo Xing raised his hand and gently pushed aside a branch of dove tree flowers, then leaned down and whispered to it: “Tell me, why is Huo Xingzhou so nice?”

“He’s good-looking. His temper… although sometimes he can be a bit hot-tempered and loves to mock people, he’s still really great. How can there be someone like him in this world…”

“Oh.” Huo Xingzhou came out of the bathroom and, at first glance, saw him lying on the bed, talking to that dried branch.
“What are you talking about? Can I listen in?”

Huo Xingzhou walked over while drying his hair. Since the dormitory was warm, he was only wearing a cotton linen pajama, with a few buttons on the collar undone.

Luo Xing was startled and quickly sat up. From this angle, he could see Huo Xingzhou’s waist and abdomen through the open collar. His face flushed red instantly.
“You… When… when did you come out?”

“Since you said you like me.”

Luo Xing froze, panic tightening his fingers. Then, seeing Huo Xingzhou raise his eyebrows with a mischievous smile, he realized he had been tricked again. Under the blanket, he pinched his fingers and whispered,
“I didn’t say that.”

“Who says you didn’t? I heard it clearly. You were telling that broken branch, ‘Ah, Huo Xingzhou is so handsome. I like Huo Xingzhou. I want to date him…’”

Luo Xing couldn’t listen anymore and quickly covered Huo Xingzhou’s mouth, half-kneeling as he pressed his palm against his lips. The warmth of Huo Xingzhou’s breath softly tickled his palm like little kisses.

Startled, Luo Xing hurriedly tried to pull away, but Huo Xingzhou grabbed his wrist. Caught off guard, Luo Xing tumbled down from the top bunk. He instinctively closed his eyes, but the expected pain never came. Instead, he was caught firmly in Huo Xingzhou’s arms.

Feng Jia opened the door and saw this scene.
“Holy crap! Sorry, I came back too early.”

Feng Jia covered his eyes with one hand, staggering forward like a blind man, knocking over two chairs and a water bottle before finding his way into the bathroom.

Huo Xingzhou ignored Feng Jia’s passing comment—“Shameless”—and calmly looked down at Luo Xing.
“Are you scared?”

Luo Xing thought he was about to ascend to heaven in that moment. His mind went completely blank, and even after being caught, he hadn’t recovered. He gulped nervously and nodded. “A little bit.”

Huo Xingzhou had only casually tugged at him, not expecting him to get up and almost fall. He was frightened too, breaking out in a cold sweat. Thankfully, he caught him in time. He breathed a sigh of relief.

“I…” Huo Xingzhou looked at Luo Xing’s pale face, his heart aching as he gently pressed his forehead against Luo Xing’s and said softly,
“Luckily, I caught you.”

Luo Xing was still shaken, but hearing Huo Xingzhou’s words made him pause. He hurriedly checked Huo Xingzhou’s arm.
“You caught me. With that impact, are you hurt?”

Huo Xingzhou moved his arm to show him.
“I’m fine.”

Luo Xing nodded, but then added,
“Just to be safe, sometimes injuries don’t hurt immediately. You might feel it tomorrow. Don’t hide it from me.”

“Got it, you nag.”

Luo Xing thought for a moment, feeling like he should tell Huo Xingzhou something, but he hesitated, unsure how to say it. He looked at him, then swallowed the words back down.

“Is there something you want to tell me?” Huo Xingzhou asked.

“How did you know?”
Luo Xing was surprised. He was still deliberating how to say it, yet Huo Xingzhou had already figured it out.

“There’s nothing you can hide from me. That’s why I said you told me you like me. You don’t believe me, but you must’ve said it in your heart. I heard it clearly.”

“Shameless,” Feng Jia said, coming out of the bathroom with a snort.
“There’s a third wheel in this dorm, you know. Can you not treat the lights like they’re off?”

Huo Xingzhou shot him a glance and chuckled.
“A third wheel is a third wheel. Who gave you permission to speak? Do you want to become a spirit?”

“No, no, I don’t dare. I’m not worthy.” Feng Jia immediately surrendered.
“Please, carry on.”

Huo Xingzhou was about to say something else, but Luo Xing tugged at his sleeve and gently shook his head. Huo Xingzhou’s expression immediately softened, a broad smile spreading across his face, and he said nothing more.

Feng Jia stared in shock at his sudden change, unable to bear watching any longer. He turned his head and went to grab some clothes and take a shower.

Seeing him leave, Luo Xing finally took a deep breath and said softly,
“My mom… she usually asks me several days in advance when I’ll be coming home. This time, she hasn’t reached out at all. Even when I told her my holiday schedule, she didn’t respond. Do you think something might have happened to her?”

Huo Xingzhou lowered his eyes with a smile and then looked up, saying,
“She’s not keeping an eye on you—what’s so bad about that?” After a pause, he added,
“Since she doesn’t seem to care, why don’t you spend the New Year with me at my place?”

“Spend the New Year… with you?”
Luo Xing was stunned for a moment, staring blankly at him as if he didn’t understand. After a long silence, he finally said,
“That’s probably… not appropriate. New Year’s should be spent with family. I wouldn’t want to disturb your parents.”

“Disturb? Not at all. My mom—”
Huo Xingzhou suddenly stopped mid-sentence. Under Luo Xing’s curious gaze, he changed the topic.
“My dad has been struggling for inspiration for his new book lately and wanted to chat with you, but he felt embarrassed to disturb you.”

Luo Xing’s eyes lit up with excitement, grabbing Huo Xingzhou’s hand.
“Really? Did Uncle really… say that?”

Of course not, Huo Xingzhou thought to himself, forcing a smile with a hint of jealousy.
“Yeah, but you know how people like him are. They care about saving face. If you refuse, it would be awkward for him.”

“I…”
Luo Xing hesitated, thinking about his mom. If she found out, he wasn’t sure he could agree.

“Then let’s call your mom. If she agrees, you can’t say no, okay?”
Huo Xingzhou coaxed softly, his fingers gently squeezing Luo Xing’s wrist.
“Little darling.”

Those two words seemed to strike Luo Xing right in the heart. Every time he called him that, it wasn’t just a simple nickname. It always made his heart flutter, his legs turn weak.

“Why do you always call me ‘Little darling’?”
Luo Xing asked awkwardly. Only Grandma Zhou used to call him that, treating him like a grandson. But Huo Xingzhou was only two years older than him, so it felt too intimate.

“Because you’re…”
Huo Xingzhou grabbed his waist and placed him on the table, leaning in close and lowering his voice.
“Soft, cute, and… makes me want to—”

“Stop!”
Luo Xing covered his mouth in a panic, afraid he’d say something even more outrageous. Feng Jia was still in the bathroom and could come out at any moment. Luo Xing instinctively tried to get down from the table, but Huo Xingzhou stood in front of him, blocking him from moving.

“I want to get down,”
Luo Xing pushed him, trying to free his legs from Huo Xingzhou’s sides, but Huo Xingzhou quickly held him in place, glancing at the bathroom. He deliberately scared him, saying,
“Feng Jia already finished his shower. Say something sweet, and I’ll let you down.”

Startled, Luo Xing pushed him harder, his eyes wide as he glanced toward the bathroom. Huo Xingzhou grabbed his shoulders to stop him from looking and whispered urgently,
“I was lying. He just started showering. Don’t be afraid.”

“What?”
Luo Xing froze, instinctively turning his head to check.

At the same time, Huo Xingzhou’s cool fingertips slipped under Luo Xing’s pajama top, pressing firmly into his waist.

Caught off guard by the sudden touch, Luo Xing gasped sharply, the sound slipping out uncontrollably. Instinctively biting his lip, he collapsed weakly onto Huo Xingzhou’s shoulder, his soft, trembling voice barely audible as he pleaded,
“My waist… feels uncomfortable.”

Huo Xingzhou chuckled softly.
“Do you remember what you’re supposed to call Uncle?”

Luo Xing immediately remembered, his face turning red. He pushed Huo Xingzhou shyly, blinking his misty eyes while shaking his head.
“I don’t remember! I don’t remember! Let go of me!”

Hearing him say he felt uncomfortable, Huo Xingzhou’s heart softened instantly. He loosened his grip but didn’t let him down, keeping his hands on Luo Xing’s shoulders as he asked gently,
“Then, will you call your mom?”

Afraid that Huo Xingzhou might go too far, Luo Xing forgot even to catch his breath and quickly agreed.
“I’ll call! I’ll call! If you don’t let go, I’ll get mad!”

Huo Xingzhou finally released him and walked to the bed to grab the phone. After Luo Xing unlocked it, he took it without waiting for permission.
“I’ll call for you. It’ll save you some stress.”

Luo Xing nodded. He didn’t really know how to communicate with Zhao Jiulan anyway. But if it was Huo Xingzhou, everything would probably go fine.

The call connected. Zhao Jiulan’s voice sounded a bit tired, but her tone was as sharp and sarcastic as always.
“What’s this? You’ve always been scared to talk to me. But now you’ve grown bold for the sake of that little brat?”

“Who are you calling a brat?” Huo Xingzhou’s cold chuckle passed clearly through the phone, causing Zhao Jiulan to flinch.

She pulled the phone away to check the caller ID, nearly choking on her breath. Grinding her teeth, she asked,
“I’ve already listened to you and stopped contacting him. What else do you want?”

“Nothing much,”
Huo Xingzhou said calmly.
“The little one wants to ask if he can spend New Year’s at my house this year.” He chuckled lightly.

“Would you consider it?”

“Consider?”
Zhao Jiulan sneered.
“Do you even give me a choice? If I say no, will you let him come back?”

Huo Xingzhou laughed softly.
“What kind of joke is that? Of course not.”

Luo Xing couldn’t hear what they were talking about clearly. But judging from Huo Xingzhou’s expression, it didn’t seem like an argument, so he relaxed and quietly watched.

“Then what’s the point of this call?”
Zhao Jiulan tightened her grip on her phone. If it weren’t for what Huo Xingzhou had on her, she would’ve…

Huo Xingzhou casually turned his back to Luo Xing and said with a smile,
“Of course, there’s a point. I’ll trouble you to send Luo Xing a message on WeChat later.”

Furious, Zhao Jiulan hung up the phone.

A moment later, a WeChat message popped up on Luo Xing’s phone.

— I have no objection.

Luo Xing stared at the screen, reading the message over and over again before finally exhaling in relief. So… that’s a yes.

He should have been happy. For the first time, Zhao Jiulan had so easily agreed to let him go to someone else’s house for New Year’s. He wouldn’t have to go back and could spend a long time with Huo Xingzhou. But for some reason, an ache stirred in his chest.

New Year’s was supposed to be a time for family reunions.

Zhao Jiulan’s cold response—”I have no objection”—made it clear that she didn’t care whether he was with her during the holiday.

After all, in the past, they had never spent New Year’s together. Each year, they stayed in their separate rooms, living the same monotonous life, day after day, year after year.

Luo Xing exhaled softly, lowering his head to put away his phone. Just then, another notification popped up—this time from Weibo.

He didn’t even need to look to know who it was from.

It made sense. Winter break was approaching.