25 : Meeting

 Before he was even fully awake, his phone rang. Song Shi groggily opened his eyes and reached for it.

The screen only showed a phone number, no contact name.

But the person lying in bed knew who was calling. Song Shi answered the phone with his eyes still closed.

"Hello?" A lazy, hoarse voice came from the other end. The person at the airport didn't expect the other to pick him up; he knew Song Shi definitely wouldn't be able to get up.

The wind outside was a bit strong. These past few days had begun the autumnal equinox, and the wind carried a faint chill. Tan Xiuyuan dragged his suitcase to the car that was already parked by the roadside.

The wind blew his hair. He had dyed his hair back to black before coming back, partly because he didn't want to be too flashy, and partly because he wanted to present his best side to Song Shi.

The people in the car got out, put his luggage down, and then opened the door.

Originally, the leaders and teachers from No. 3 Middle School were supposed to pick him up when he returned, but he wasn't used to such a grand display, mainly because he didn't want to make things too awkward.

He knew those people were only doing it because of his father's influence.

The driver in front turned around: "Young Master, straight to Xia City No. 3 Middle School?"

He hadn't put the phone down, and chuckled at the steady breathing on the other end: "Where?"

There was a long pause before a reply came through; the irritability of someone still half-asleep was like dough with too much water, sticky and uncomfortable, even through the phone.

After hearing an address, the other person hung up impatiently.

Tan Xiuyuan sat in the car. He'd only been in Xia City for about a month, and hadn't originally planned to come back.

But he'd heard that Song Shi had sent him here.

People outside the circle might not know what kind of person Song Jinming was, but as someone who'd lived next door to him since childhood, he knew it all too well.

Before coming back, he'd also found out why Song Shi had come to Xia City—he'd just beaten someone, and he'd heard about the person when he went abroad.

No good.

Xia City is located in the north. He wondered how Song Shi was doing here. If things weren't going well, he'd take him away this time.

Song Shi, lying in bed, was disturbed and wanted to go back to sleep, but his phone rang again after only a few seconds of silence.

The contact name was Chen Muzhou.

This person had disappeared early this morning, leaving to buy breakfast while he was still asleep.

But he hadn't returned yet.

He answered the phone; the other person's voice was slightly muffled by the wind, but he could still hear clearly: "What do you usually like to eat for breakfast when you're in the south?"

"Anything."

"Do you eat spicy food? Onions, ginger, and garlic?"

"No spicy food, but onions are okay."

"Okay." After a moment of silence, he continued, "Your childhood sweetheart is coming back today, isn't he?"

"Yeah, if you see him when you get back, bring him up..."

"I won't see him, I'll hang up now."

Before Song Shi could say anything, the other person hurriedly hung up.

Chen Muzhou was wearing a black trench coat he'd never worn before, exquisitely made, perfectly tailored, but the brand was unknown.

He got up very early this morning for no other reason than to go to Manager Liu's place to choose clothes and get his hair done.

His clothes were all custom-made, tailored last night and shipped back from abroad this morning.

He hired the best stylist and even spent some time creating a "no-makeup" look, as he hadn't slept well last night and had covered up any blemishes.

Now, he was decked out in haute couture, and even sprayed on some cologne before leaving.

He exuded an air of expensive sophistication from head to toe.

Chen Zhoumu walked to the mirror: "Tsk, strikingly handsome."

Manager Liu rubbed his chubby hands together, smiling brightly: "Young Master, are you going on a date?"

The hand that was tossing his hair in the mirror paused: "Don't worry about that. And don't tell them. Go buy some breakfast."

He then took out his phone, opened the notes app, and saw several large headings: Favorite Things, Favorite Colors, Dislikes...

The entire heading was: "Things About People I Like," followed by an "S."

He then clicked on "Dislikes" and wrote down "I don't eat garlic" and "I don't eat ginger."

Back at the hotel, Chen Zhoumu casually glanced at the person standing at the entrance taking photos with their phone. The person was quite tall, with a small suitcase beside them.

Most notably, they were also wearing a black trench coat.

Chen Zhoumu, who was walking over, paused, remembering what Song Shi had said on the phone earlier.

It seemed that his childhood friend was also coming to the hotel. He looked up and remembered that the person had dyed their hair blue.

Good, black hair.

The person also looked up at him. Chen Zhoumu narrowed his eyes. He admitted that the person was indeed somewhat threatening in appearance, but as long as it wasn't his childhood friend, he didn't care.

The two brushed past each other.

Tan Xiuyuan had already arrived at the hotel entrance that Song Shi had mentioned, but he remembered that he hadn't asked for the room number, so he could only take a photo to let the other party know that he had arrived. He

looked up and noticed a tall person with an unusual aura staring at him intently. He thought it was someone from No. 3 Middle School who had recognized him.

The hotel wasn't far from No. 1 Middle School, and No. 1 Middle School wasn't far from No. 3 Middle School, so there were bound to be some No. 3 Middle School students around here.

But seeing the other person glance at him, then sigh with relief and walk inside,

Tan Xiuyuan shrugged, feeling somewhat bewildered, and then continued calling Song Shi.

*

Song Shi had just finished brushing his teeth, his phone, already on silent, was in his room when a knock sounded. When he opened the door, he was almost blinded by the person in front of him.

Well-fitting clothes, slightly damp hair, and his already striking face was now even more radiant.

Except for the breakfast he was carrying, which seemed a bit out of place, this person was about to attend Milan Fashion Week.

Song Shi was casually still wearing his pajamas. He leaned against the doorframe and looked at Chen Zhoumu: "What? Did you have a date this morning? Why all the fuss?"

Chen Zhoumu raised his hand to his mouth and coughed lightly: "No, just dressed casually. Come in, it's gotten really cold today, don't catch a cold."

The person inside nodded and went in. The door closed, and Chen Zhoumu went over and placed the breakfast on the table: "I bought quite a lot, eat it while it's hot."

He turned around, opened his phone, and clicked on that webpage from yesterday. Why did the person he liked have to like him back?

The first step is to dress neatly every day, giving the person you like a presentable and energetic impression, thus gaining their favor.

Chen Zhoumu calmly put his phone back in his pocket, walked over, sat down next to the other person, picked up the cup on the table, and took a sip.

Then, looking at Song Shi, he asked casually, "What do you think... how I look today?"

Upon hearing this, Song Shi, who was drinking soy milk, turned his face to the side and said, "It's alright."

"What do you mean by 'alright'? Is it good or bad?" " How do youa want me to answer?" 

"Just answer according to your feelings." 

"Not bad, very handsome. And why are you acting so strangely today?" After answering, Song Shi finally noticed his phone screen was lit up and opened it. 

There were dozens of missed calls and messages. 

He casually sent the room number to the other person. 

Turning his head, he saw the person sitting beside him, head down in thought. Looking at the other person's appearance today, Song Shi initially thought he looked like someone he liked and was going on a date. 

But upon closer inspection, the other person had only dressed up slightly; it was just that face that made him stand out. 

Song Shi put his phone away, a strange emotion welling up inside him, like buying the biggest-looking durian at the supermarket, only to find at home that the flesh was pitifully small. 

This feeling prompted him to ask, "You...have someone you like?" 

The man, who had been lost in thought, was startled, then quickly regained his composure. Chen Zhoumu wondered if he had revealed something or if the other person had discovered something. But he definitely couldn't let the other person know now. 

Putting aside whether he actually had someone he liked, this person was his brother, his deskmate, his roommate. And most importantly, the other person was also a boy. 

Even if no one said anything, bringing it up like this might lead Song Shi to call him a pervert or something— at the very least, if they couldn't even be friends, it would be completely over. 

So this was something he couldn't say, absolutely couldn't. He needed to build a good impression first; maybe he could confess and still remain friends. After figuring this out, Chen Zhoumu feigned calmness and said, "No, I don't have anyone I like." 

This explanation, after the silence, seemed weak and unconvincing to Song Shi, almost like a random excuse. But he had no right to ask. 

He had just happened to meet Dui Fan in Xia City, happened to become good brothers with Dui Fan, and happened to be well taken care of by him. 

It would be impolite to pry into other people's privacy. So he swallowed his questions, along with a little bit of disappointment that he didn't know where they came from, along with his soy milk. 

He would digest it all together. 

The awkward silence between the two did not last long. The quiet room was suddenly broken by a loud knocking. 

Chen Zhoumu answered first, said "I'll go open the door" and walked straight to the door. 

Without thinking, he opened the door, and the familiar black figure he had just seen downstairs slowly appeared in front of him. 

Tan Xiuyuan had rushed upstairs as soon as he saw the message, and after finally finding the room number, he found that the person who opened the door was not the figure he remembered, but the boy who had been staring at him so brazenly. 

Without thinking, he would not connect this person with Song Shi. 

Tan Xiuyuan frowned, glancing down at the room number on his phone again: "It's correct, could he have mistyped it?" 

He looked at Chen Zhoumu apologetically: "Sorry, wrong number." 

He then dialed the number in his contacts, and the familiar ringtone came from the room where the door hadn't been closed yet. 

His hand moved faster than his brain, blocking the door that was about to close: "Song Shi?!" Footsteps approached. The figure he had imagined countless times appeared before him. 

Tan Xiuyuan looked at Song Shi holding the phone, then at the tall figure blocking the doorway. 

Wait a minute? Alone man and alone man! A hotel? Sharing a room?

← Previous Chapter Next Chapter →