AD Chapter 23

The boy leaned against the door, his figure elongated by the setting sun. Backlit, his expression was unclear, only the beautiful outline of his shoulders and neck could be seen, and his clear eyes reflected the golden afterglow.

At that moment, time seemed to stand still. Qin Yi remained in the position of standing up, not moving for a while.

Seeing that the other person didn’t respond, Shen Du looked at him in confusion. “What’s wrong? Let’s go.”

“…”

Qin Yi quietly listened to the sound of his own heartbeat, his Adam’s apple slightly moving. He lowered his head and tucked his phone into his pocket.

When he looked up again, the boy had changed from leaning against the door to leaning with his back against it. He leisurely stretched, his arms reaching behind his head. The hem of his shirt lifted with the movement, revealing a small section of his white, toned waist. He tilted his head slightly, unconsciously letting out a relaxed “Hmm” sound.

“You’re so tired, are you still not going?” Shen Du yawned, looking at him with teary eyes.

He just wanted to go home, eat, and then sleep.

Qin Yi pressed the corners of his lips down, his voice hoarse when he spoke, “Let’s go.”

“What’s wrong with your voice?” Shen Du suddenly straightened up, looking at him with concern. “Are you okay?”

Qin Yi’s eyes hid a storm of emotions, and the veins on his forehead stood out.

He quickly turned his head, rubbing his brow, trying to act as if nothing was wrong. “I’m fine.”

But it didn’t look like he was fine.

…Could it be because he didn’t help him out today, and that’s why he’s so tired?

Shen Du suddenly remembered the missed WeChat messages and calls from earlier.

“Did you call me for something?” He felt guilty. “I didn’t mean to not answer your calls. I just haven’t driven in a while, so I got a bit excited. I even got a little sunburned outside, but it’s not too bad, right?”

He apologized just at the right moment. Qin Yi’s feelings, which had just calmed down, seemed to resurface when he saw the innocent and sincere expression on the boy’s face.

Qin Yi exhaled heavily, “Really, it’s nothing. If you like driving, then go ahead. I can even drive you, whatever you want.”

He casually mentioned giving away a car worth millions like it was nothing, but how could that be considered “nothing”?

“Boss Qin,” Shen Du’s voice softened, and sensing that it wasn’t enough, he added a friendly “brother” and asked in a sticky tone, “Are you really okay? Don’t tell me you’ve caught a fever, turning into a money-spending fool.”

He reached out to touch him.

Qin Yi dodged.

“…”

It must have been intentional.

The man’s eyes darkened, and his tone became heavier, “Shen Du, are you a broken record?”

“Can a broken record have a voice as nice as mine?” Shen Du asked seriously.

Qin Yi was speechless. He looked at him for a while, then suddenly smiled, a little embarrassed and angry.

Shen Du felt like he had driven him crazy.

“You didn’t see his face, hahahaha, that was satisfying!”

Once they got home, Shen Du immediately called Xu Qingluo to share what had just happened.

Xu Qingluo was packing to go back to the countryside. If Shen Du had called him half an hour later, he probably wouldn’t have been able to take the call.

“What kind of face?” Xu Qingluo thought for a moment, realizing he really couldn’t imagine it.

In his mind, Qin Yi had always been the tall, handsome, cold city guy—reserved and indifferent. He couldn’t imagine him getting flustered and helpless.

This was beyond his expectations.

But that didn’t stop him from laughing with his buddy. “Hahaha, you really have guts, you dared to provoke someone like that.”

“What kind of person?” Shen Du didn’t care.

“I don’t know, but from what you described, Qin Yi doesn’t seem like the type to take things lying down. He’ll always find a way to get back at you. Aren’t you afraid that one day, when you piss him off, he’ll stop pretending and just deal with you directly?”

There’s a saying, “It’s not that there’s no revenge, it’s just that the time hasn’t come.” Xu Qingluo sometimes worried about his buddy’s mental state. He knew that Shen Du was gay, but he still dared to dance on the high-voltage wire.

If he didn’t know Shen Du for so long, he might even suspect that his buddy was a deep closet case.

“Hey, there’s something you might not like to hear, but I still have to say it.”

Xu Qingluo sounded like a mother lecturing a rebellious teenager, “You’re a straight guy, so don’t go provoking gays. If you really piss him off, you’ll be the one who suffers.”

Shen Du frowned. “Why are you saying that too?”

Xu Qingluo was taken aback. “Who else has said that to you?”

Shen Du didn’t answer. He didn’t want to press the issue. Instead, he talked about some other things and then said meaningfully, “We’re all adults now.”

He shouldn’t have said anything, but once he did, Shen Du couldn’t help but think back to the strange events from the other morning, and that dream.

“…”

“How boring. Can’t we just have some fun?”

Xu Qingluo sighed. Sometimes he thought that when Shen Du acted up, he really resembled a three-year-old. “Brother Shen, do you know what we gays are most afraid of?”

His voice was soft. “It’s straight guys like you, who flirt without any feelings.”

In the next room, Qin Yi had taken off his clothes and was preparing to take a shower.

He closed his eyes, letting the water cascade down from his head, flowing over his eyebrows, eyes, and nose, down his sharp jaw, chest, and following the grooves of his abdominal muscles, stopping just before the forbidden zone.

His usually indifferent face now had an unusual flush, and the veins on his arms and forehead were prominent. His eyes betrayed an unhidden desire.

The scent of the shower gel in the bathroom diluted his own scent.

“…”

Qin Yi came out of the bathroom, shirtless, holding his freshly washed underwear.

After thinking for a moment, he went to the bedroom closet and grabbed a hanger.

Shen Du finished his call with Xu Qingluo and felt a little bored. Qin Yi hadn’t messaged him yet to come over for dinner. He wondered if it was because he had gone a little too far this afternoon, and Qin Yi was angry.

But that shouldn’t be the case.

Qin Yi couldn’t have figured out that it was intentional.

He had hidden it so well…

Shen Du rolled around on the couch, sweating all over. While rolling, for some reason, he suddenly remembered Xu Qingluo’s words, “You’ll be the one who suffers.” His face instantly turned bright red.

Memories that he had long forgotten flooded his mind.

Back when he and Xu Qingluo had just started junior high, 13 years old, in the throes of puberty, their minds were wild. After watching a few DVDs at a classmate’s house, Xu Qingluo had come to him with a worried expression, saying that he didn’t feel anything for the women in the videos.

Shen Du loved to play, and while others were falling in love, he was playing games in an internet café.

“It’s nothing, I’m not really interested in those women either.”

He said it carelessly, too busy playing games to notice his friend’s stiff expression.

After that, Xu Qingluo acted strangely every day. He started dragging Shen Du to follow Korean boy bands, voting, and boosting data. The craziest thing was one summer vacation, when they secretly had Xu Qingluo, who had just turned 18, take them to Hong Kong to see a concert.

That night, Xu Qingluo told him that he thought he liked men. Shen Du, who was always clueless about relationships, didn’t understand the seriousness of the statement until he showed him a video.

It was of two men.

“…”

How could two men… Shen Du suddenly jumped up from the sofa.

He slapped his head, trying not to think about it, and used his foot to pull his phone closer, but there was still no message. He rubbed his slightly hungry stomach, then, barefoot, ran to the balcony to see what Qin Yi had been doing for so long.

Shen Du opened the balcony door. “Boss Qin, you—”

His words were cut off.

Outside, the sky was slightly darkening, with a hint of golden-red sunset on the horizon. On the neighboring balcony, some potted plants had appeared, and on the clothesline meant for drying clothes, there was a lone pair of plain black boxer shorts, gently swaying in the breeze.

“…Damn!”