On the way back, Sui Ning kept thinking about it.
Cheng Wensheng’s sudden series of moves had thrown his mind into complete chaos. All he wanted was to find somewhere quiet and calm down.
Taking advantage of the moment when TL and PNG were both hailing cabs and the scene was at its most chaotic, Sui Ning turned down Ji Yunyu’s offer to accompany him and left on his own, under the other man’s flustered, bewildered gaze.
Ji Yunyu stared at his retreating figure, his hand still half-raised in the air, his face full of disbelief.
The slowest one to leave, Lin Zhaoxu, finally came out of the restaurant. At a glance, he caught sight of Ji Yunyu’s stunned, drained expression and asked curiously, “Huh? What’s going on—why’s my Brother Yun all alone?”
He looked around again and didn’t see Sui Ning. “Where’s Feng-bao?”
“…He went back first.”
Lin Zhaoxu didn’t react at first. “Huh?”
Ji Yunyu turned his head and hooked a cool, distant smile. “He left.”
Lin Zhaoxu froze for a moment, then turned pale in shock. “…Holy shit?! Why didn’t he go with you? Did you two fight? He dumped you? Did PNG’s mid–jungle duo really split up too?!”
He dumped you—those few words hit like five thunderbolts, nearly making Ji Yunyu spit blood on the spot.
He forcibly suppressed the headache, closed his eyes briefly, and said, “Get lost.”
Lin Zhaoxu hurriedly shoved a takeout can of cola into Ji Yunyu’s hand.
He could tell their jungler-dad was in a terrible mood, fists itching to move—now was definitely not the time to step on a landmine.
And indeed. If Cheng Wensheng hadn’t slipped away so fast, he’d already have been solo-killed offline by Ji Yunyu.
…So what exactly did Cheng Wensheng say to Feng-bao?
Ji Yunyu pressed his lips into a thin line, completely devoid of his usual puppy-like cuteness and coquettishness.
——
“…”
Once in the taxi, Sui Ning leaned silently against the window. The driver in the front seat tried enthusiastically to strike up a conversation, but Sui Ning, for once, responded rather rudely with perfunctory hmms and ohs.
“There’s another Rongcheng hotpot place nearby that’s really authentic, it’s just… uh.” The driver stalled, momentarily unable to recall the name. When he finally quieted down, he realized that the passenger in the back wasn’t in a good mood.
The driver sneakily glanced at the rearview mirror and saw the young man looking weighed down with thoughts, gazing quietly out the window.
The bustling night market and pedestrian streets sped past, neon lights between Shanghai’s buildings reflecting in the young man’s dark jade-colored eyes, making them seem even more inscrutable.
The driver gave an awkward chuckle and stopped talking.
In truth, Sui Ning wasn’t really looking at the scenery outside at all. He hadn’t taken in anything the driver had introduced along the way. He was just unconsciously staring at the glass, and gradually, a certain person’s figure began to emerge in it—
Unrestrained and flamboyant on the stage, meticulous and considerate in private.
Sui Ning: …
What the hell is wrong with me? How am I seeing a human shape just from looking at glass?!
The young man snapped back to his senses and guiltily looked away.
Don’t think about Ji Yunyu for now, Sui Ning told himself. His phone kept vibrating. He lowered his gaze and opened WeChat—at the very top was a message from Ji Yunyu’s chat… Wait a second, when did I pin him to the top???
Sui Ning’s temple twitched. His hand trembled slightly as he held the phone, and for reasons he couldn’t quite explain, he didn’t dare tap into it.
The second message was from an old friend he hadn’t spoken to in a long time, Xu Hexuan.
Xu Hexuan had previously suffered under the entertainment giant MET along with that batch from Idol Gas Station, dragging along a 180th-tier rookie just to make a living. He’d recently succeeded in jumping ship.
[Xu Hexuan]: Congrats, Ning-zi!! Oh no—Brother Wind, my God Wind!! First place in the regular season, solo-kill king!!
[Xu Hexuan]: [Cat: awesome]
[Xu Hexuan]: From now on my bro is the HPL’s number one mid laner—so much face for me!
[Xu Hexuan]: You’re insane, holy shit. Even if you gave me ten guts I’d never dare fantasize that the guy who used my computer to game in my rental apartment back then would reach this level!! I’m going home right now to lock that old computer of ours in a safe!!
Sui Ning couldn’t help but laugh softly.
[Go With the Flow and Be at Peace]: [Cat: impressed]
[Go With the Flow and Be at Peace]: Cut it out—stop with the fake business mutual flattery. How’ve you been lately?
[Xu Hexuan]: Sigh, that idiot MET—you know them. PUA every damn day. I was already planning to switch careers! [Cat picking nose] But a few of MET’s old rivals seem to be teaming up to make a big move, poaching people everywhere, so I took the chance to bounce.
But even after successfully changing jobs, Xu Hexuan couldn’t stop venting in the chat window. He had a whole bellyful of complaints about his former employer MET. Especially these past six months—the company’s hottest rookie was Xu Meng. Once Sui Ning left, Xu Hexuan had been left alone to face Xu Meng and his manager’s two perpetually sour faces every day.
[Xu Hexuan]: Isn’t that disgusting??
[Go With the Flow and Be at Peace]: Oh
[Xu Hexuan]: Sigh, I really… Wait, gotta go—new boss is calling people. We’ll talk on the phone later. [Cat waving]
[Go With the Flow and Be at Peace]: Mm, talk later. [Cat waving]
[Xu Hexuan]: Oh right
[Go With the Flow and Be at Peace]: ?
[Xu Hexuan]: Hehehe [Cat lewd]
[Xu Hexuan]: I watched your old streams and today’s interview videos. Cloud follow the Wind yyds—Wind–Cloud mid–jungle best in the world! You guys had a celebration dinner today too, right? Not having a little drink?—Hehehe, wishing you and Cloud hehehehe.
[Xu Hexuan]: But seriously, I’m a career fan, okay? You’re not allowed to do that with him before matches! [Cat warning]
[Go With the Flow and Be at Peace]: ?????
[Xu Hexuan]: I’m out!
[Go With the Flow and Be at Peace]: No—what are you talking about?
[Go With the Flow and Be at Peace]: What do you mean by se—forget it, I’ll call you!
[User [Go With the Flow and Be at Peace] initiated a voice call… The other party declined.]
[User [Go With the Flow and Be at Peace] initiated a voice call… The other party declined.]
“—Pick up the phone!!”
Sui Ning shouted at his phone, both embarrassed and angry.
The driver, who had been secretly observing him the whole time, burst into laughter and teased, “What’s wrong, handsome? Your girlfriend?”
Sui Ning froze for a moment, then instinctively frowned and retorted, “He’s not my girlfriend… I don’t have a girlfriend.”
The driver immediately understood, gossip lighting up his eyes. “Oh, then it’s your boyfriend. Not picking up your calls, huh? Let me tell you something, kid—these days, couples, men or women, same thing really. No matter the gender, it’s all about feelings. Everyone just wants their other half to be considerate.”
“And you too—if you’re hurt in love, don’t go hiding by yourself. Young people need to communicate more—”
“…I’m not hurt in love. He’s just a friend of mine.”
The driver raised an eyebrow, looking like someone who’d been around the block. “Not hurt? Then why are you riding alone late at night looking all spaced out? If I took a detour or even drove you somewhere else, you probably wouldn’t even notice! Sighing all the way—I’m already feeling sorry for your partner!”
“A fight’s just a fight, I’ve seen plenty of that. Last time there was this pretty girl—”
“…We didn’t fight.” Sui Ning’s temple twitched. He held it in for a long time, but in the end couldn’t help snapping back, “My boyfriend and I are doing just fine.”
The words slipped out, and Sui Ning froze.
The air went quiet for half a second.
By the time the driver started dispensing relationship advice again, Sui Ning let out an embarrassed groan and lowered his head, covering his face.
But soon he realized—there was still someone else here.
With his hand still over his face, Sui Ning forced himself to sit up straight and put on an air of calm nonchalance.
The driver glanced at him out of the corner of his eye—once, twice—clearly amused but holding it back.
…I’ve lost my mind.
His face burning red, the young man did his best to avoid the driver’s teasing gaze.
He had a thousand ways to deny it. He could’ve just said, “I’m single.”
But he didn’t. When the driver’s noisy chatter drowned out his ability to think, his instincts had already made the choice for him.
Buzz, buzz—
The heat on Sui Ning’s face hadn’t faded yet when he peeked at his phone screen through his fingers. The call was from Ji Yunyu.
It’s all your fault.
Biting his lip, the young man hung up the call.
……
Ji Yunyu’s expression darkened as he gripped his phone, the gloom around him almost solid enough to see. The temperature inside the car seemed to drop several degrees, giving Lin Zhaoxu—who was riding with him—a midsummer taste of an Antarctic vacation.
Lin Zhaoxu shrank into the corner, cautiously poking his head out. “Uh, so… Feng-bao didn’t, um… didn’t pick up?”
Ji Yunyu turned to look at him expressionlessly.
Caught by that cold, inorganic black gaze, Lin Zhaoxu swallowed hard and didn’t dare say another word.
H-help! Let me out of the car!!
Only after Ji Yunyu lowered his head again to fiddle with his phone did Lin Zhaoxu dare press against the window, wearing a face on the verge of tears. If he’d known it would turn out like this, he never would’ve dawdled at the end packing up snacks—he’d have fought to squeeze into Brother Chen’s car no matter what!!
——
Just before getting out of the taxi, Sui Ning finally got through to Xu Hexuan.
“What do you mean you didn’t know? You two are obvious as hell, okay—”
Xu Hexuan sounded both amused and exasperated, his voice slightly distorted over the line. “All those videos from before—‘the first thing after waking up is tucking in your wife,’ ‘waiting is the most implicit confession’—they’ve been everywhere forever. The comments are all people shipping like crazy. Your CP tag even hit the trending list. Don’t tell me you didn’t know?”
Sui Ning was momentarily speechless.
Xu Hexuan didn’t care. “You’re still pretending in front of me? Didn’t you used to like Pei… that guy, too? The Party and the people all know your orientation. And Cloud obviously likes you like crazy—I feel grossed out just watching!”
“…He likes me?” Sui Ning murmured, repeating it softly, his mind flashing back to Ji Yunyu’s look at the end of the night.
Hearing this, Xu Hexuan sensed something was off.
He raised his voice in surprise. “No way, Ning-zi—what’s going on with you?? Don’t tell me you two have never actually been together, Ji Yunyu’s been secretly in love with you this whole time, and you never noticed??”
He used the word “always” three times.
Sui Ning felt inexplicably guilty and didn’t dare answer.
But silence was already the best answer.
Xu Hexuan almost laughed from sheer disbelief. “You—did a car hit your brain or something? Was this ever your character setting?”
I didn’t date in my last life either, okay!!
Sui Ning retorted silently in his heart, then said a bit self-destructively, “…Anyway, that’s how it is.”
Once the floodgates opened, he couldn’t help telling Xu Hexuan about the confusion weighing on his heart.
Even if Ji Yunyu really did feel that way, he wasn’t sure whether he could respond to it.
After listening for a long while, Xu Hexuan summed it up: “So what you’re actually worried about is—your own orientation?”
“I shouldn’t be gay,” Sui Ning said righteously.
“What the hell are you talking about? …Fine, you’re not gay—then go strip in front of Cloud.”
Sui Ning’s leg went weak as he stepped out of the car, nearly tumbling to the ground.
His cheeks burned crimson, his tongue tying itself in knots. “What are you saying?! How could that—no, how could you do that in front of someone—”
Xu Hexuan laughed. “Are you trying to kill me, Ning-zi? You didn’t have this many hang-ups when you lived with me before. In college dorms, guys go shirtless all the time. Straight men all over the world aren’t this uptight! Don’t you get it yet?”
“…” Sui Ning opened his mouth, but for a long while no words came out. Even his breathing turned clumsy.
“What does ‘straight man’ have to do with you at all?” Xu Hexuan asked.
Sui Ning fell silent. A vague answer had already formed in his heart—he was just missing the final step…
As if sensing his awkwardness, Xu Hexuan sighed and offered another suggestion. “If you’re still hesitating, then try this trick. See how Cloud reacts.”
…This…
Sui Ning wanted to refuse, but when the words reached his lips, they came out as, “Will this really work?”
…
He unconsciously licked his lips. His heart was beating fast, his voice carrying a trace of nervousness and anticipation he himself hadn’t noticed.
For some reason, he felt more eager to try than ever before.
“It will!” Xu Hexuan answered decisively.
Only then did the young man hang up.
……
Xu Hexuan glanced at the darkened phone screen and smiled, hiding his merit and fame.
He immediately logged into his alt account on Weibo and clicked into the #CloudFollowsTheWind# tag.
[HeHeHasACry]: Damn it, this couple is way too real! Wind is like a little dummy—does he seriously not realize that when he shyly asked “Will this work?” that was already a sign of falling for someone??? Otherwise, what reaction are you even expecting, huh? I’m really shipping this live on the front lines hahaha. But still, same old rule—no doing that, okay!
Comment: Wuwuwu, is this Teacher He’s new candy?? What kind of play is this time??
Comment: “Can’t do that”—damn it, they’re adults, why can’t they!!
Comment: Probably original e-sports AU. After awakening: seductive uke vs. diamond-hard high school boy whose little brother stands up every day—Teacher He’s favorite.
Comment: Teacher He has been shipping for this long and still hasn’t written a single car fic—can you believe it?
Comment: Ambiguity is delicious, but I also want to see puppy top 1 hungry tiger pounce straight to (censored)!
Comment: Why are there so many pants in this thread? Did everyone throw theirs away?
Comments: Teacher, I’m sick—if there’s no that, I’ll die——(loud crying)
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