NH chapter 050

Chapter 50 Parallel Ending HE (2)

An impulse shattered reason. Shen Tingyu pushed himself forward, forcing Huo Ye against the marble bench behind him, his knee bending naturally as resistance met his body, causing him to lie down amidst the dizzying chaos.

The little kitten in his arm was so frightened that it exploded in fluff, letting out a loud “meow” and escape from the squeeze between the two.

Shen Tingyu’s arm was pressed against Huo Ye’s ear as he leaned in recklessly and kissed him back, as if wanting to vent all the longing and grievances from the past few months. He bit down hard on Huo Ye’s lips, prying open their mouths like an uninvited intruder, and his tongue eagerly darted inside, stirring and rummaging within.

Enough already, what was the difference from bandits invading a village—Huo Ye had to endure it, gasping for breath in the gaps, his breathing shattered by the kiss, almost ten times more exhausting than before.

Before long, he couldn’t help but push away and signal for him to stop.

But Shen Tingyu thought this was a passionate response, and instead of stopping, he became even more excited. He grabbed Huo Ye’s hand, pulling it up to the back of his neck, forcing him to embrace him with no intention to halt.

“…”

Forget it, Huo Ye sighed.

He tilted his chin up slightly and truly embraced Shen Tingyu around the neck, patiently accepting him.

They kissed for several minutes before Shen Tingyu, finally showing some mercy, let him go. He licked his lips as if he had been guilty, especially cherishing and pitiful, as if the strong man from a few minutes ago was not himself at all.

“Huo Ye, I didn’t know you could endure so much. You’ve wanted to kiss me for a long time, right?” Shen Tingyu was tightly pressed against him, his tone lacking confidence, insisting on seeking an answer he wanted to hear.

Huo Ye’s eyelids flickered, his breath uneven, he silently looked at him, his chest rising and falling unsteadily.

“Say it.”

Shen Tingyu pushed him, anxious: “Say it, say it.”

“You actually miss me a lot, right? Why are you so hard-headed? More than ninety days, not even one call or one message… do you even have feelings?”

Huo Ye gazed quietly into his eyes, neither affirming nor denying. Then, he slowly slid one hand down from Shen Tingyu’s neck, gently gripping his wrist.

Shen Tingyu was puzzled and a bit nervous, his throat moving up and down. Huo Ye held his wrist over where his heart was beating hotly, separated by a layer of fabric, as if yearning.

“Can’t you feel it?”

Huo Ye’s voice was deep and pleasant, exposing unhidden sincerity.

In the late March day, Shen Tingyu’s delicate nose was damped with thin perspiration, his skin glowing like soft jade in the night.

He lowered his long eyelashes, feeling like there were deer dancing wildly in his chest, his eyes shimmering with moisture.

“I can feel it. It says you like me.” Shen Tingyu used his hand like a stethoscope, pretending to be a doctor seriously explaining to a patient.

Huo Ye smiled, nodding: “It’s right.”

After waiting so long, finally hearing the answer, in front of the person he had been longing for, Shen Tingyu felt at a loss for the first time.

He felt a bit happy, a bit resentful, a whole heap of heartfelt words stuck in his throat. His hand lingered hesitantly on Huo Ye’s chest before moving to cup his face.

Shen Tingyu lowered his head and kissed Huo Ye’s forehead, moving down to his eyes and the high bridge of his nose, finally landing on his slightly parted, breathless lips.

Like a child who had lost and then regained something dear.

But this child was particularly insatiable, as he kissed, he started to lift the hem of Huo Ye’s shirt. Huo Ye, feeling sensitive, quickly caught that restless hand, coaxing softly, “Okay, okay, can you get off me first? If you keep sitting like this, my waist hurts.”

Shen Tingyu lifted his head, only then realizing that this position was utterly an imposition; he was straddling Huo Ye’s waist and abdomen, comfortable for himself, but making Huo Ye’s back pressed against the cold stone bench.

“…” Shen Tingyu’s face tightened, rolling off, then pulling Huo Ye up, pressing at his lower back, forcing him to lean into his embrace.

Shen Tingyu seldomly said, “It’s my fault.”

The heated body temperatures were transferring between them, filling up the emptiness.

“Huo Ye, I did pretty well this time in the exam. I shouldn’t disappoint you again. I will catch up to you, not letting myself fall behind.”

After rehearsing this many times in his head, Huo Ye finally remembered the words he wanted to say, leaning more than half his weight onto Shen Tingyu.

“Not disappointed, I won’t be disappointed in you.” Shen Tingyu buried his face in Huo Ye’s neck, his hands wrapped tightly around his waist.

He tried hard to keep his tone steady, “It’s fine if you don’t chase, I’ll wait for you.”

“Don’t wait for me. What if I don’t get into Beijing and end up going to school somewhere far away from you?” Huo Ye asked.

Shen Tingyu replied, “Then I’ll wait. At worst, we can do long-distance dating.”

“But long-distance relationships are tough.”

“Not tough. A lifetime is so long, what’s a few years?”

Huo Ye thought for a moment, then asked, “If a lifetime is so long, can you bully me a bit less? Don’t always be mean to me.”

“Where have I been mean? Stop being so greedy.”

Shen Tingyu was quite confident, unable to bear even the slightest criticism; he suddenly started digging old accounts, “By the way, who is that paramour of yours?”

“…What paramour?”

“That one with the surname Zhou, Class Five, Year One, lives at No. 27 Huangpu Backstreet, parents deceased at an early age, only lives with his grandmother—”

The more Huo Ye listened, the more uneasy he felt, his scalp tingling. He pushed Shen Tingyu aside, puzzled, “Wait, you’ve even investigated him?”

Being pushed away clearly displeased Shen Tingyu, who wore a grim face, indignant, “So what if I did? I’ve checked everyone around you for a hundred miles. Someone like Zhou who toys with others’ feelings, doesn’t cherish himself but tries to take advantage after we fight. He actually dreams of prying into my corner?”

“No, it’s not like you think…”

Shen Tingyu was boiling with anger, “I saw it with my own eyes!”

“I’ve been keeping an eye on you these past few months—I’ll be keeping an eye on you forever. I allowed you to be indifferent and ruthless, leading me on and then expecting me to give up. Fine! It’s all okay. If you don’t want me, then don’t care about me. But if you dare to provoke others and act all high and mighty in front of me, Huo Ye, I swear I will kill him, I will definitely kill him…”

Huo Ye had only met Zhou Shengyi a few times, and mostly left with unpleasant feelings. He had no idea how Shen Tingyu could fantasize so many unfounded things and even think he was wearing a green hat. It was too much; he felt wronged.

Shen Tingyu paced back and forth, kicking a small stone on the ground, “thud,” it flew into Crescent Lake.

When he returned, he seemed to be quietly losing his mind, using an intense scrutinizing gaze to question, “Huo Ye, tell me, where exactly do I fall short of him?” Shen Tingyu found it hard to understand, looking at Huo Ye as if he were a fool, “Is it because I’m not as rich as him, not as young, not as good-looking, or not as tall?”

What on earth was he even talking about? Huo Ye wanted to sew shut that mouth spouting nonsense. “Can you stop talking nonsense…”

“Oh, I get it,” Shen Tingyu sneered.

Huo Ye’s head was spinning: “What did you figure out now?”

“Could it be that your taste is a bit peculiar, preferring this underprivileged, ugly kid, who barely scored two subjects higher than me in the exams?” he said maliciously.

Huo Ye already knew Shen Tingyu spoke harshly, but he was still shocked by his sharp words.

Huo Ye found it hard to laugh, pale and explaining, “I didn’t…”

Shen Tingyu was about to say more, but Huo Ye got scared and hurriedly stepped forward to wrap his arms around his neck, quickly sealing his lips.

The atmosphere suddenly shifted, and Shen Tingyu immediately fell silent.

Huo Ye innocently kissed him, reaching up to soothe the back of Shen Tingyu’s head with a few gentle rubs, running his fingers through that fuzzy hair.

When their lips parted, a silver thread accidentally slipped away, but it was quickly licked clean by Shen Tingyu. Their eyes met, and Huo Ye smiled, softly saying, “I only like you, no one else.”

Hearing this, Shen Tingyu deeply understood that he was likely to be entangled with this person in front of him for a lifetime.

“…Huo Ye.”

Shen Tingyu’s voice trembled slightly, “I want a label.”

“Here you go, I am all yours.” Huo Ye sighed, rubbing his nose against Shen Tingyu’s. “After the college entrance exams, let’s be together.”

Shen Tingyu felt as if he had just been proposed to.

“Okay.”

The little kitten, feeling bored, tiptoed around in circles, suddenly alert with its ears perked, looking towards the grass a short distance away.

Hesitating for a few seconds, it finally walked over, only to see a young man seemingly half-seated there, with furrowed brows, casually tying his bleeding hand with a removed tie, finally biting it into a delicate little bow.

Sensing its approach, the young man lowered his head, reaching out to scoop it into the crook of his arm, saying in a deep voice, “Little one, long time no see.”

The little kitten, seeing him, was a bit dazed.

The man’s brows were deep, his dark eyes like thick ink, through the years, his features had become sharper and clearer, shedding his youthful naïveté, exuding a composed, melancholic, and restrained aura.

Like an ancient well, weathered by time, no longer bothered by trivial matters, no longer picky nor demanding everything to meet his desires.

The little kitten looked at this face, identical to Shen Tingyu’s but with a vastly different feeling, then turned to see the youthful Shen Tingyu, who was still being affectionate with Huo Ye, just turned eighteen.

Left and right, still feeling confused.

Its fingers loosely gripped, fresh blood quickly soaked through the tie from self-harm, but Shen Tingyu felt delighted within, thinking, if it could feel pain, maybe it wasn’t a dream after all?

He tried his best to steady himself, turning back, automatically treating his eighteen-year-old self as a backdrop, staring solely at Huo Ye, so vibrant, capable of smiling and speaking.

—Even if it was a dream.

Shen Tingyu watched in reluctance for a long time in the shadows.

“Long time no see.”

In his eyes, shadows lingered, and he gritted his teeth, “…Huo Ye.”