MNL Chapter 20
by VolareChapter 20: Flower Sea, Let Brother Check For You.
As far as the eye could see, the entire field was covered in flowers. The clear light of the half-moon shone from the sky, enveloping the entire garden. He felt like he was about to be submerged by this vibrant scene. The gardens in the city center, although large, were far less beautiful than this place.
Whenever the wind blew, it was like rolling waves, revealing layers of whitecaps, chaotic yet orderly, a beauty with a strong sense of regularity.
“Snap out of it.”
A voice filled with laughter entered his ears, and Xu Jing regained his senses, asking, “Where is this?”
Shen Yan didn’t answer, but continued to lead him forward. The night path was difficult to walk, and their hands had unknowingly intertwined again. Xu Jing looked down at his tightly held fingertips, his expression a little awkward. He then moved, trying to pull his hand away.
At the same time, he heard Shen Yan’s low voice from ahead.
“If you want to fall, you can keep moving.”
Xu Jing subconsciously paused. His night vision was poor, and he bent down to examine the ground closely before discovering several bottomless pits hidden by the roadside.
He was sensible and indeed stopped moving.
At the end of the flower sea was a neat clearing. The two walked one after the other, and when they arrived, Shen Yan let go of his hand. He then squatted down and rubbed the soil on the ground, finding that it wasn’t damp, so he sat down without hesitation.
Xu Jing’s body stiffened.
Shen Yan unbuttoned two buttons on his school uniform with one hand, his tone casual. He looked at the motionless person and suddenly laughed, “Or do you want to sit on my lap?”
“…”
After a long while, Xu Jing took off his coat, folded it neatly into a square, and placed it on the ground before his expression became less unpleasant.
“You still haven’t answered my question,” Xu Jing said.
For someone with a cleanliness obsession, the psychological barrier to overcome in that action was considerable. Moreover, with Xu Jing’s personality, he should have turned around and left long ago.
Shen Yan’s thoughts were a little chaotic, and he said nonchalantly, “These were all planted by my grandfather. I always come here to sit for a while when I’m in a bad mood.”
After listening, Xu Jing hummed and asked, “When are you in a bad mood?”
Shen Yan smiled, “Perhaps you should ask me when I’m in a good mood.”
Xu Jing gave him face and continued to ask, “So, when are you in a good mood?”
“Now, maybe.”
As soon as he said this, Xu Jing turned to look at Shen Yan.
Was it because of himself?
After thinking for a long time, Xu Jing wanted to ask, but he was afraid that if the other party said no, the atmosphere would become awkward, and he would be embarrassed.
He wouldn’t risk doing something that would likely be self-defeating.
“Want to ask something?”
Xu Jing: “?”
Did this person have telepathy?
“Don’t look at me with such worshipful eyes, I can indeed read minds.”
Having his thoughts guessed again, Xu Jing already had a resigned expression, saying, “Shen Yan, if it were someone else, I would have beaten you to death already.”
“Oh?” After listening, Shen Yan asked in a very subtle tone, “So, because it’s me, you won’t beat me?”
This person was obviously getting carried away. Xu Jing was annoyed and said in a bad tone, “If you keep yapping, I’ll beat you right now.”
Shen Yan’s shoulders twitched a few times, seemingly stifling a laugh, his eyes curving into a beautiful arc.
Xu Jing didn’t know what he was laughing at and raised his head expressionlessly.
The moonlight shone directly on his face, making his eyes uncomfortable. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Xu Jing’s gaze returned to Shen Yan.
“How old are you?”
“I dropped out of school for two years before.”
Clearly, it wasn’t a good topic.
Although Xu Jing was curious about the reason, he refrained out of some sort of consideration.
Shen Yan slowly approached Xu Jing, joking, “Shouldn’t you call me ‘Brother’ to hear?”
His heart rate soared uncontrollably. Xu Jing pretended to be calm and said coldly, “Get lost.”
Obviously, these two words had no deterrent effect. Shen Yan impolitely pulled Xu Jing back, even touching his abdomen, his tone playful, like a hooligan, “Come on, let brother check your body for you.”
“Shen Yan!”
Xu Jing almost jumped up. He grabbed the hand that was about to reach inside. Because he was too flustered, even the tone of his voice changed when he said his name. Shen Yan was just joking, not using much strength, like teasing a child.
But Xu Jing took it seriously and pushed the person down with force. The two unexpectedly rolled on the ground. Shen Yan subconsciously protected Xu Jing with one hand, but his back accidentally hit a rock, causing him to groan in pain. At the same time, this gave Xu Jing an opportunity to lift up his clothes extremely quickly.
Feeling a chill on his abdomen, Shen Yan: “…”
Clear and beautiful muscle lines were exposed. Xu Jing pinched the corner of his school uniform top, frowning as if thinking about something. After two seconds, he reached out and poked them as if possessed.
His finger was warm, and the wind was cold. Xu Jing rubbed his fingertip, a hint of praise appearing on his face before disappearing again.
“Not bad.”
Hearing this evaluation, Shen Yan narrowed his eyes and then reached out to pull Xu Jing towards him. Xu Jing was startled, his dark and bright pupils half-covered by trembling eyelashes.
They were so close that even the slightest expression could be seen clearly. Shen Yan tugged at Xu Jing’s collar with a bit of force, his double eyelids lowered, his tone restrained, “Was my body comfortable to sit on? Did you touch enough?”
The current position was terrible. Xu Jing planned to get down first and then settle the score, but Shen Yan’s real strength was too great. He struggled for a long time without success.
Not hearing a response, Shen Yan asked again, “Why aren’t you talking?”
Xu Jing was about to curse, but he slowly felt a certain rising heat.
“?”
Although they hadn’t experienced some things, they were well aware of them.
Their eyes met, and Xu Jing wanted to get down as if escaping, but because he had been in this position for too long, his calves were numb. His body was extremely stiff, and the small movements were like scratching an itch through boots. Shen Yan hadn’t felt anything at first, but now he really couldn’t laugh. Skin-to-skin contact, even with a barrier in between, sent a current through his body. Shen Yan’s throat tightened, and his eyes darkened.
He let go and said in a hoarse voice, “Get down.”
Pain spread relentlessly. Xu Jing’s tightly pursed lips leaked a faint gasp. Shen Yan noticed something was wrong, propped himself up, and wrapped his arm around the other person’s waist to pull him down.
Xu Jing frowned, unable to stand, his expression very pained. Shen Yan realized it was a cramp and, disregarding their earlier antics, knelt on one knee and rolled up Xu Jing’s trouser leg, skillfully massaging his calf.
The feeling of cramping made Xu Jing unable to say a word. Xu Jing wanted to do it himself, but he quickly succumbed to the strength of that hand.
The moonlight cast a layer of silver shadows on Shen Yan’s deep face, the light mottled, flowing over the smooth and distinct contours, making him look particularly handsome. After the pain passed, Xu Jing lowered his eyes, unknowingly becoming somewhat engrossed.
There were no cicadas chirping in the autumn night. The earlier playful fire was so simple it felt like it could be carried away by a gust of wind. Fortunately, in this season, they could completely conceal all the truths they didn’t want others to know.
Why was he hot, why was he flustered?
That subtle emotion sank to the bottom of the sea, and because it was too sudden, it was ultimately attributed to other things. They tacitly chose to forget, also ignoring certain important reactions, such as their heartbeats.
·
The sports meet on the second day was clearly more interesting than the first. In addition to the sprints, there was also the basketball game that everyone was looking forward to.
Cha Fei’ang found out that Zhang Dong had originally signed up for the basketball game, but after discovering that they were playing against Class Four, he withdrew the next day. He laughed about it all morning.
Xu Jing was stretching and warming up. After listening, he didn’t say anything. He didn’t like fighting, nor did he have a penchant for bullying others for fun.
However, everyone should be responsible for their inappropriate words. He chose to verbally warn Zhang Dong that night instead of directly hitting him, not because he was afraid of punishment, but simply because he felt it wasn’t necessary. If this person could stay away from Shen Yan and keep his mouth clean in the future, why would he need to beat him black and blue to achieve the same result?
Originally, Class Four’s overall score was far ahead of the entire grade, but later, Class Eight, with first place in the women’s four hundred and eight hundred meters and second place in the men’s shot put, slowly caught up. In addition, the basketball game was worth a lot of points, and no one wanted to see their hard-earned first place taken away.
Now, only Class Four and Class Eight remained in the basketball competition. Liang Yin walked over from a distance wearing a small flower hat, comforting Xu Jing and the others who were about to take the field, “Just do your best. The process is more important than the result.”
“Don’t worry, teacher. We’ll definitely bring you back a first place,” Cha Fei’ang patted his chest, full of confidence.
Liang Yin smiled and nodded.
Xu Jing had just tied his shoelaces and stood up when he met Shen Yan’s gaze, which had been fixed on him for a long time, as if he had something to say.
He stepped forward and opened his mouth, imitating Cha Fei’ang’s tone, “What instructions does God Yan have?”
Shen Yan hummed and said seriously, “Don’t cramp again.”
“…”
This person really knew how to rub salt in the wound.
“At the critical moment, don’t pass the ball to Cha Fei’ang.”
This was true. Cha Fei’ang was fast and strong, good at stealing the ball, but terrible at shooting.
“Okay, anything else?”
Shen Yan paused and then said, “Be careful on the court.”
After all, this wasn’t like the friendly matches they played before, which had a playful element. Different classes, competing for points, no one wanted to screw up, so it was easy for accidents to happen.
“Got it.” Xu Jing glanced at the time, his heart suddenly moved, and he said casually, “Want to bet?”
Shen Yan smiled, “Bet on what?”
“Bet on whether we can win this game.”
“What’s the stake?”
Xu Jing couldn’t think of anything for a moment. The referee was already blowing the whistle, so he could only hurriedly leave a sentence, “To be discussed later.”
The spirited figure of the youth strode across the playground, every step radiating endless vitality. The person behind him stood in place for a long time, his gaze pure, but hiding an imperceptible envy.
As the game began, the entire field was instantly surrounded by cheers. Shen Yan was far away, but he could still see everything clearly.