TLSOTMTKOGAYWHTDI Chapter 119
by VolareChapter 119 Extra 4: Li Yang is Despised
When the morning sunlight streamed in through the gap in the curtains, Liu Jinchen was hanging off the edge of the bed in an extremely contorted position.
He hadn’t dared to turn over all night, for fear of waking the person sleeping next to him.
“Are you always this tense when you sleep?” Yu Fengran suddenly said, startling Liu Jinchen so much that he almost fell out of bed.
“I, I wasn’t sleeping!”
Liu Jinchen, sporting dark circles under his eyes, said, “I was afraid of crushing you…”
Yu Fengran reached out and grabbed his pajama collar, pulling him back onto the bed: “Get some more sleep now.”
Their noses almost touched, and Liu Jinchen’s breathing instantly became erratic: “Fengran, I…”
“Ding-dong—”
The doorbell rang at just the right moment.
Qi Yanwang’s detestable voice came through the door: “You two, if you don’t get up soon, the best Crossing-the-Bridge Noodles in Ancient City will be sold out!”
It wasn’t really the case, he just wanted to suggest a four-person date today!
Qi Yanwang took the blame because Lao Liu was nervous!
“Why do we have to be with them?” Yu Fengran said, chewing on his straw and glaring at the gooey couple opposite him.
Zhuo Huaimo was meticulously picking out the cilantro from Qi Yanwang’s plate, strand by strand. Hearing this, he looked up: “Because someone sent eighteen voice messages in the group chat last night, keeping us awake.”
Liu Jinchen immediately lowered his head like an ostrich, his ears turning red as if about to bleed.
“Eighteen minutes and thirty-six seconds of voice messages,”
Qi Yanwang added with a mischievous smile, “From ‘Fengran’s eyelashes are so long’ to ‘His pajamas are so soft’…”
“Qi Yanwang!” Liu Jinchen suddenly stood up, almost knocking over his soy milk.
Yu Fengran leisurely wiped his mouth: “So, what’s the plan for today?”
The first stop was the Ancient City Photography Exhibition.
“This composition is good.” Zhuo Huaimo commented, standing in front of a photo of a snowy mountain.
Qi Yanwang suddenly leaned in: “Better than the one I took last night?”
“What did you take a picture of?” Liu Jinchen asked curiously, craning his neck.
Zhuo Huaimo quickly covered Qi Yanwang’s mouth: “It’s nothing.”
Yu Fengran narrowed his eyes and saw in Qi Yanwang’s phone album a photo of himself and Liu Jinchen kissing under the moonlight—taken from a tricky angle with perfect lighting.
“Delete it.” He said coldly, holding out his hand.
“Don’t!”
Qi Yanwang nimbly dodged, “This is a memento of Lao Liu and Lao Yu’s first kiss… Ouch!”
Zhuo Huaimo stomped hard on his foot.
At the corner of the photography exhibition, Zhuo Huaimo deliberately slowed his pace, waiting for Yu Fengran to catch up.
“So,”
Zhuo Huaimo said in a low voice, “Are you serious?”
Yu Fengran glanced at him: “About what?”
“Don’t play dumb.”
Zhuo Huaimo chuckled, “You know what I’m asking.”
Not far ahead, Qi Yanwang had his arm around Liu Jinchen’s neck, saying something that made Liu Jinchen’s face turn red and jump up, almost knocking over an exhibition stand’s information board.
Yu Fengran’s gaze landed on Liu Jinchen, and the corner of his mouth unconsciously lifted slightly.
“He’s quite noisy.” Yu Fengran suddenly said.
“Mm.”
“Acts impulsively, without thinking.”
“Indeed.”
“And always likes to act on his own, sending all sorts of strange things.”
“Like?”
Yu Fengran paused: “Like soy milk and fried dough sticks bought at five in the morning after standing in line, even though I don’t like sweet things at all.”
Zhuo Huaimo laughed: “Then you still ate it?”
Yu Fengran didn’t answer, but continued: “His past love affairs could fill three magazines.”
“Do you mind?”
“I do.”
Yu Fengran said frankly, “But I mind even more that he doesn’t even go to bars anymore for my sake.”
Zhuo Huaimo raised an eyebrow: “Just because of these things, you agreed?”
“No.”
Yu Fengran shook his head, “It’s because he’s clearly afraid of the dark, but dares to go get documents left at the film set late at night for me; he clearly hates waiting for people the most, but can sit in a cafe for four hours, just because I casually mentioned wanting to drink their hand-drip coffee.”
Zhuo Huaimo listened quietly, his gaze gentle.
“He’s completely different from the people I liked before.”
Yu Fengran continued, “Not smart enough, not calm enough, sometimes even ridiculously childish.”
“But you were moved.”
Yu Fengran was silent for a while before saying softly: “Mm.”
Zhuo Huaimo looked at him and suddenly smiled: “That’s good then.”
“Good for what?”
“Good that you didn’t agree because of being touched, or on a whim.”
Zhuo Huaimo said seriously, “Liu Jinchen looks carefree, but he’s actually more serious than anyone else. If you didn’t think it through before agreeing to be with him, I’m afraid you’ll fall even harder in the future.”
Yu Fengran raised an eyebrow: “Thanks, Huaimo! I think, I should do what I am doing!”
From the front came Qi Yanwang’s shout: “You two directors! If you don’t come over, this group photo will just be the two of us!”
Liu Jinchen stood next to him, holding a camera in his hand, smiling brightly: “Fengran! Look here!”
Yu Fengran subconsciously looked up, meeting Liu Jinchen’s lens.
Click—
The moment was frozen.
Zhuo Huaimo, looking at Yu Fengran’s slightly softened expression in the photo, said softly: “Looks like you really do like him.”
Up ahead, Liu Jinchen jogged over, holding a newly bought ice cream: “Fengran! You’ll definitely like this flavor!”
Yu Fengran took it, tasted it, and frowned: “Too sweet.”
“Ah?”
Liu Jinchen panicked immediately, “Then, then I’ll go exchange it for another one!”
“No need.” Yu Fengran stopped him, “I’ll just make do.”
Liu Jinchen’s eyes lit up, smiling like a large dog that had been rewarded.
Zhuo Huaimo watched them, suddenly feeling that the stuffiness that had been in his chest for a long time had finally dissipated a bit.
Perhaps love is like this—there’s no standard answer, no set template, and it may even completely defy your past imagination.
But as long as that person makes you feel that every day spent with them is worth looking forward to, that’s enough.
As soon as the four of them returned to the inn’s courtyard, they heard a familiar wail.
“I’ve been dumped!”
Li Yang was sprawled on a wicker chair, holding half a bottle of whiskey, his tie askew.
“She actually despised me!”
Liu Jinchen rushed up to him: “Holy crap, why are you here?”
“I’m here to heal!”
Li Yang slammed the bottle on the stone table, “You guys be the judge—”
He started counting on his fingers: “Last week I met a part-time girl at the convenience store, I just wanted to mess around, but she wouldn’t even add me on WeChat! Saying something like ‘None of you rich kids are any good’!”
Qi Yanwang burst out laughing: “And then?”
“Then I went to that convenience store every day!”
Li Yang frantically ruffled his hair, “I finally got her to go to dinner yesterday, but she saw photos of my ex-girlfriends on my phone and left right away!”
Zhuo Huaimo raised an eyebrow: “You still have photos of your ex-girlfriends on your phone?”
“No!”
Li Yang was so anxious he jumped, “It was a group photo taken at a team building event last week! She insisted that the one wearing the red dress was my ex-girlfriend!”
Yu Fengran slowly poured himself a cup of tea: “So?”
“So I explained!”
Li Yang took a swig of liquor, “But the more I explained, the angrier she got, and finally she said—”
He pinched his throat and mimicked a female voice, “‘President Li, we’re not from the same world’!”
Liu Jinchen was trying so hard not to laugh that his shoulders were shaking: “And then you chased her all the way to Yunnan?”
“Bullshit!”
Li Yang’s ears were red, “I’m here… here to inspect projects!”
Qi Yanwang pulled out his phone with a mischievous smile: “Want me to help you analyze it?”
“Get lost!”
Li Yang pounced on him to grab his phone, “You dare call her and try!”
The four of them burst into laughter.
Li Yang sat down angrily: “You guys tell me, is she playing hard to get?”
“No.” Yu Fengran said decisively.
“Absolutely not.” Zhuo Huaimo added.
“She just despises you.” Qi Yanwang concluded.
Liu Jinchen patted him on the shoulder: “Bro, you’re done for.”
Li Yang reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on: “What nonsense! I’m just pissed off at being rejected!”
“Oh?”
Qi Yanwang raised an eyebrow, “Then why did you change your phone’s lock screen to a screenshot from the convenience store’s security camera?”
Li Yang instantly froze.
Zhuo Huaimo leaned in to take a look: “And you specifically took a screenshot of her side profile as she was organizing goods?”
“I… I…”
Li Yang stammered for a long time, then suddenly deflated and slumped back, “I’m finished, I’m truly screwed.”
Liu Jinchen poured him a cup of tea: “Tell me, how screwed are you?”
“Well…”
Li Yang stared at the teacup, “Her eyes were especially bright when she scolded me, her fingers were especially pretty when she handed me oden, and…”
His voice grew softer and softer, “She has a really good memory, she remembered not to add scallions the second time I went…”
Qi Yanwang whistled: “Our young master Li actually remembers what a girl’s fingers look like?”
“Shut up!”
Li Yang threw a cushion at him, “You guys who are in relationships don’t understand a thing!”
Yu Fengran suddenly asked: “What’s her name?”
“Lin Xiaoyu.” Li Yang blurted out, then regretfully covered his mouth.
The four exchanged glances.
“Send me the convenience store address.” Yu Fengran took out his phone.
“What for?!”
“To help you chase her.”
Li Yang jumped up: “Who wants to chase her! I… I just…”
“Just what, you’ve been squatting at the convenience store for seven days straight?”
Liu Jinchen exposed him, “Lao Li, you never spent more than three days trying to pick up girls before.”
Li Yang opened his mouth, then suddenly sat back down dejectedly: “…She’s different.”
Qi Yanwang put his arm around his shoulder: “How is she different?”
“She…”
Li Yang scratched his head, “She looks at me like I’m trash, but she’s especially gentle when she feeds stray cats…”
Zhuo Huaimo chuckled: “So you’re jealous of that cat?”
“Bullshit!”
Li Yang flared up again, “I’m… I’m…”
“You like her.” Yu Fengran hit the nail on the head.
The courtyard suddenly fell silent.
Li Yang stared at his shoelaces, and after a long while, he said in a muffled voice: “…Mm.”
Liu Jinchen patted him: “It would have been better to admit it sooner, right?”
“Admitting it doesn’t do any good!”
Li Yang said frantically, “She already blocked me!”
Qi Yanwang shook his phone: “I just checked, that convenience store is a chain, Lin Xiaoyu is being transferred to the branch in the west of the city next week.”
Li Yang suddenly looked up: “How do you know?!”
“Because…”
Qi Yanwang showed a devilish smile, “I acquired that convenience store group.”
“Holy crap, why didn’t you say so sooner!”
Li Yang pounced on him to grab his phone, “Quick, transfer her back!”
Zhuo Huaimo held him down: “Are you sure you want to chase her like this?”
“Then what should I do!”
Yu Fengran put down his teacup: “First, delete all those women from your phone.”
“I already did!”
“Then,”
Liu Jinchen added, “Don’t drive your flashy sports car.”
Li Yang looked aggrieved: “I specifically changed to a Volkswagen yesterday…”
The four of them simultaneously facepalmed.
“Finally,”
Qi Yanwang held up a finger, “Remember—her despising you is just the beginning.”
Li Yang looked confused: “Huh?”
Zhuo Huaimo chuckled: “It means, you’re in for a long haul.”
Under the moonlight, Li Yang said with a mournful face: “…What sins have I committed.”
Liu Jinchen handed him a glass of wine: “Welcome to the Pure Love Club.”
Five wine glasses clinked in the air, startling the swallows under the eaves.
In the distance, the outline of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain was faintly visible in the night…
Zhuo Huaimo nudged Qi Yanwang, “Is this called being influenced by good people or bad people?”
“Hm?”
“I mean, it seems like you’ve single-handedly gotten all the playboys around you to settle down!”
Qi Yanwang raised an eyebrow, thinking he made a good point. He kissed Zhuo Huaimo’s forehead and said with a smile,
“I’ll take that as my wife complimenting me!”