FLME Ch94

Chapter 094 – Childhood Friends IF Route: (4)

Yu Wen often received love letters and was quite adept at handling such matters. No matter what type of love letter it was, it would not stay in his schoolbag for more than a week.

But that time was an accident.

The owner of the love letter had an accident and broke a bone, staying at home to recover, so he couldn’t find the person.

While riding bikes with Xie Heyu on the way home from school, they happened to run into a classmate of hers. Yu Wen remembered this and quickly said, “Wait for me a moment,” then stopped her classmate to ask for a contact number.

Before leaving Xie Heyu, they had been talking about the flowers that Yu Wen’s mother carefully tended in the yard. Some varieties were in bloom, and Yu Wen said he would make a flower crown for Xie Heyu to wear later.

Xie Heyu responded indifferently, but there was a rare trace of a smile in her eyes.

Yu Wen’s thoughts were always all over the place. When he returned after getting the contact number, he had completely forgotten about the previous small talk. Seeing Xie Heyu looking at him, waiting for the next words, he blankly asked, “Aren’t you leaving?”

“……”

This casual remark was left unresolved.

A few days later, Xie Heyu found the love letter in his schoolbag and naturally asked, “Which class is this from? Do you want me to help you return it?”

Yu Wen had just added the girl’s contact number and was looking down, typing a message. He absentmindedly shook his head and said, “I won’t return it for now.”

Xie Heyu asked him who he was chatting with, and Yu Wen casually replied, “The owner of the love letter in your hand.”

That’s when things started to go wrong.

Yu Wen had added the girl, and they had agreed that when she returned to school, he would return the love letter. The girl was generous and didn’t feel awkward about being rejected. While chatting on voice, she joked with him:

“Hahahaha, you didn’t open the love letter, right? I wrote at the end that if you don’t return the letter within ten days, it’ll be as if you’ve agreed to it, and then we’ll be in a relationship… Then I purposely broke my leg so you couldn’t find me, this was all my plan, hahaha…”

Yu Wen knew she was joking, so he laughed along, and neither of them took it seriously. However, Xie Heyu, who overheard the voice message, took it seriously.

While they were chatting, he was playing games at Xie Heyu’s house, with the voice on speaker. Xie Heyu came out of the kitchen with some soda water and heard this part. She stood still, not moving.

Yu Wen explained, “I was just joking.”

Xie Heyu didn’t say anything, and after finishing a round of the game with Yu Wen, she nonchalantly said, “I don’t think it’s funny.”

For a moment, Yu Wen didn’t know if she was talking about the game or the earlier joke.

Three days before the ten-day countdown ended, Xie Heyu once again found the love letter in Yu Wen’s schoolbag. She asked, “Aren’t you returning it?”

Yu Wen replied, “She’s at home recovering. I’ll return it when she’s back at school.”

Xie Heyu asked, “Where does she live? I’ll help you deliver it.”

Yu Wen felt she was making a big deal out of it and waved his hand, saying, “No need.”

On the second-to-last day, Xie Heyu asked again, “Aren’t you returning it?”

Yu Wen, irritated, covered his ears, “Stop nagging like a living Tang Seng… Even if I don’t return it, is it really going to turn into a relationship?”

Xie Heyu replied, “……You could have avoided this possibility.”

On the last day, Xie Heyu didn’t ask him anymore.

Yu Wen received a call from his mother.

“Received a love letter? I haven’t!” Yu Wen angrily shouted, “Who! Who is spreading rumors about me!”

His mother replied, “Xiao Xie said so.”

Yu Wen: “……”

Good job, Xie Heyu.

Yu Wen went to settle the score with him.

“Xie Heyu, you’re so childish, going to complain to my mom. The last time you were this childish was when we were in elementary school.”

“……”

“Aren’t you going to apologize? If you don’t apologize, I’ll really get angry.”

“……”

Yu Wen grabbed Xie Heyu’s schoolbag strap, only able to see his silent back. He finally realized, a bit late, that Xie Heyu seemed, maybe, possibly… might be… giving him the silent treatment.

How long had this been going on?

They walked for a long time, but Xie Heyu still showed no sign of speaking.

Yu Wen couldn’t hold back anymore and said, “What does this have to do with you? Why are you angry?”

He racked his brain but couldn’t figure it out.

Xie Heyu had a possessiveness over their friendship, which Yu Wen understood and accepted. However, why would that possessiveness extend into a romantic relationship?

If that’s the case, wouldn’t Xie Heyu get even angrier if he started dating someone?

He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but as soon as he said this, the already tense atmosphere seemed to tighten even more.

Xie Heyu ended the one-sided cold war and quietly said four words: “I’m leaving first.”

Yu Wen stared at his quickly disappearing figure, stunned.

As graduation approached, the two of them resumed their usual way of getting along—going to and from school together, doing homework together, and playing a couple of rounds of games during breaks.

The awkwardness from before seemed like a mere illusion, something that had never existed in reality.

But Yu Wen knew very well that it wasn’t an illusion. And… there was now a distance between him and Xie Heyu.

On the eve of the college entrance exams, all the senior students were on edge, but Yu Wen, who had received an early admission, still had the leisure to think about all these unrelated matters.

After the exams, the class organized a large dinner, followed by a trip to KTV. The atmosphere was just right, and Yu Wen secretly drank two sips of fruit wine.

He wasn’t drunk, but his homeroom teacher immediately noticed. His pale, dumpling-like face had suddenly turned as red as an apple. It was hard to miss.

The teacher told him to call someone to come pick him up. Yu Wen, feeling guilty, didn’t dare to call his parents and instead called Xie Heyu.

He sat on the sofa outside KTV, knees pressed together, obediently waiting for someone to pick him up.

When Xie Heyu arrived, he immediately emphasized, “Don’t tell anyone.”

“……”

Xie Heyu reached out and touched his face. “It’s fine, it’s red, but not hot.”

They walked home along the riverbank. Yu Wen swayed the hem of Xie Heyu’s jacket, watching the shimmering lights of the city reflected on the river, sparkling like stars.

“Xie Heyu… I’ve graduated, and you’ll be in your second year of high school soon. You’ll be an adult.”

Xie Heyu replied, “… I’ve always been an adult.”

Yu Wen wanted to enjoy the view of the river and refused to leave. Xie Heyu stopped as well. The two of them stood side by side, very close, and the scent of laundry detergent mixed with the breeze.

Yu Wen leaned on the railing, like a lazy fish trying to beach itself. He said, “I’m going to study in another city… What will you do alone? Xie Heyu, I’m really worried about you…”

Xie Heyu replied, “You’re just saying nonsense.”

“I’m not drunk.” Yu Wen had to prove it, standing up straight and walking along a slightly raised narrow platform. “Look, I can still walk straight—”

One should never be too confident.

Before he could finish his sentence, Yu Wen staggered and swayed, then Xie Heyu caught him.

The body temperature of a summer night’s youth was higher than usual. Yu Wen felt Xie Heyu’s breath rhythmically moving across his chest, and the clean, calm scent unique to Xie Heyu enveloped him, tight and steady.

Xie Heyu didn’t let go.

“Xie Heyu,” Yu Wen called, his hand on the other’s shoulder curling up helplessly. He didn’t notice that the hand around his waist tightened a little in response.

“Are you sure you don’t have any psychological issues? Both me and Uncle are really worried about you.”

“… Hm?”

His response was so close that Yu Wen was at a loss, babbling, “You seem to care a lot about me… but of course, that’s because Yu Wen is loved by everyone and is easy to like. But your possessiveness is too strong, I’m worried you might have psychological issues. You’ve always been someone who can distinguish what’s important, so if you think something’s wrong, you need to see a doctor. Don’t hide your condition.”

“… Hm.”

That one sigh, tinged with helplessness, unexpectedly calmed Yu Wen.

Although he himself felt that his words made no sense, Xie Heyu seemed to understand what he meant, and understood his current awkwardness and helplessness.

Yu Wen continued to remember small things and rambled on.

Xie Heyu occasionally responded, his voice muffled by the wind, faint and distant.

Each of his responses was too close.

There was a faint fragrance at the collar, and the shadows on the ground intertwined, lingering.

Yu Wen, from this awkward and stiff embrace, sensed a trace of something indescribable… ambiguity.

*

The university Yu Wen was admitted to was in another city, not far from Nan Cheng, but not exactly close either.

He could only come back during holidays. In just one year, Xie Heyu had grown a lot taller.

During this time, they kept in touch online. Xie Heyu never actively asked about Yu Wen’s college life, but Yu Wen knew that he wanted to hear about it.

Whenever Yu Wen talked about the milk tea at the school gate, the snacks on the backstreet, or the city’s tourist attractions… Xie Heyu would ask a few more questions.

“How much sugar? How spicy? Is it fun?”

Yu Wen grinned and replied: [What’s up? Are you making plans? Are you thinking of coming here to study in the future?]

Xie Heyu replied: [Mm.]

Yu Wen wasn’t sure if he was being truthful or just joking.

If it was true… then perhaps this city had already developed a great attraction to Xie Heyu, without Yu Wen knowing.

During the first summer break of his freshman year, Yu Wen didn’t tell anyone he was coming home.

He thought he’d surprise his parents, but when he arrived, they weren’t home. He sat by the door, waiting for half an hour, until Xie Heyu rushed over.

Under the scorching heat, Xie Heyu’s forehead was covered with sweat, his eyelashes wet. He stared at Yu Wen as if trying to confirm whether the person in front of him was real or just a figment of his imagination. He looked for a long time.

Yu Wen was surprised, unsure how Xie Heyu had found out.

“Auntie called me, told me to come home early after school, or you’d have nowhere to stay…”

Xie Heyu opened the door with his back to Yu Wen. He had taken off his jacket, and his short-sleeve school uniform was soaked with sweat, outlining the clear contours of his back.

Yu Wen thought he had gotten thinner.

Without thinking, he reached out and poked Xie Heyu’s spine, saying, “But it’s not even after school yet.”

“Mm.” Xie Heyu replied, “I took time off to come back.”

Yu Wen pursed his lips. “You’re still so dramatic.”

Xie Heyu, used to his bluntness, didn’t argue.

After they entered the house, Xie Heyu went to get ice cream, and Yu Wen followed behind, mimicking his movements.

Xie Heyu asked, “What are you doing?”

Yu Wen took the ice cream, scooped a spoonful into his mouth, and looked at Xie Heyu expectantly, saying, “Did you miss me?”

Others, after being apart for a long time, might greet each other with a warm embrace, but Yu Wen didn’t expect to see such uncontrolled behavior from Xie Heyu.

Still, he just wanted to tease him.

“……Yes.”

Xie Heyu’s answer was unexpectedly frank.

Yu Wen froze, with half a spoonful of ice cream still in mid-air, unable to react. “Huh?”

Xie Heyu tugged at his sweat-soaked bangs.

“I missed you. Can’t you tell?”