Editor: MinMin
One
A day after they got their marriage license, Bai Xi and Qi Xun passed the S University’s main gate on their way home.
Even after their graduation a few years later, there were no major changes to the school. Young students took taxis at the school gate in groups, and the pomegranate trees on the sidewalks were filled with the fiery-red flowers of this season.
Qi Xun slowed down when he saw Bai Xi staring at their university. He asked, “Do you want to stop by and have a look?”
“Yes please.”
Qi Xun found a place to park. Since the two had graduated many years ago, they had to enter the university grounds by handing over their ID cards to the security guard, which they could get back on the way out.
The last time Bai Xi came, he visited his professors with Liang Song. As he was younger than Qi Xun by two years and had come once already, he still did not have this feeling of revisiting old haunts yet. But now, with his lover beside him, he found some areas that were different from his memory.
Because the temperature was getting hotter, Bai Xi bought ice cream at the small supermarket, held it in his hand, and went to the basketball court with Qi Xun.
During the summer vacation of his last year at high school, he secretly watched Qi Xun’s basketball game here.
The twenty-year-old Qi Xun wore a sports uniform. With a serious expression, his throw was accurate and his blocking was ruthless. He repeatedly scored so handsomely that the crowd was in a frenzy. Bai Xi mingled with the cheerleading team and cheered with them. His palms were turning red from clapping.
As his gaze fell on the young students on the basketball court, Bai Xi shook his head in criticism. None of them were as handsome as Qi Xun at the peak of his year.
When something like this popped into his mind, it was natural for him to share it with Qi Xun.
Qi Xun listened to it and smiled.
He asked, “Do you prefer me back then or me right now?”
Bai Xi clicked his tongue as he quietly looked at Qi Xun. Do you think I would fall for such a deadly question?
“I like them both,” Bai Xi mumbled while taking a bite out of his ice cream. “Each has its own merits.”
Qi Xun smiled affectionately and stopped his teasing.
But he brought up, “Did you start sneaking on our campus since the summer of your last year of senior high school? Why don’t I have an impression?”
Bai Xi lamented, “That is because there are too many people watching you play. You cannot remember everyone. I also blended in with the group, so I did not stand out in your mind.”
He was also still short at that time. The college students next to him knew that he was younger at a glance. They even stuffed him full of snacks, asking him if one of the players was his older brother and if he was here to cheer them on.
Bai Xi recalled, “But you did notice me this one time.”
Qi Xun asked, “When was that?”
“When I suffered from heatstroke. It was my sophomore year. You were about to graduate from college, so it was the last time for you to play with the basketball team.” Bai Xi shared, as he thought about what happened four years ago and smiled unconsciously, which made him look softer. “It was summer and a very hot day. I got a heat stroke from standing too long in the sun, but it was not serious. The people around me did not notice it, but you did. You were the only one who noticed something was wrong. Then you stopped the game, walked over to me, and took me to the infirmary.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
It was from four years ago. He could not remember all the details of that day.
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The next second, he felt a pair of powerful hands holding him.
He tried to focus his eyes with difficulty and found Qi Xun squatting in front of him, looking at him with an indifferent face. Because he was playing basketball, his forehead was stained with sweat and his palms were very hot.
Qi Xun raised his hand and touched his face, saying, “You may be experiencing a heatstroke. Are you feeling unwell?”
Bai Xi blinked, feeling dizzy and tight in his chest.
“Yes, I am not feeling very well.” He muttered in hindsight.
Qi Xun seemed amused by his words. He probably had never seen such a slow-reacting person.
He said to his basketball captain, who was right behind him. “You guys continue playing. I will take Bai Xi to the infirmary.”
The basketball captain was not familiar with Bai Xi and asked, “Is he your friend?”
Qi Xun was in the process of carrying Bai Xi and answered off-handedly, “You can say he is my didi.”
Bai Xi could feel his cheeks turning hot as he recalled that memory.
He was dizzy because of his heatstroke that day. Later, when Qi Xun took him to the infirmary, his dizziness intensified when he leaned against Qi Xun’s chest.
He kept answering the doctor’s questions for a beat. So Qi Xun helped answer the questions in his place.
When the school doctor prescribed medicine and asked him to rest in the infirmary, Qi Xun did not leave. He sat in a chair nearby and watched over him, just like that.
Other things in his memory were blurry, but for this one, Bai Xi still clearly remembered that afternoon when he was lying in bed. The small crack left open in the infirmary’s window, the light beige-colored curtain blown by the breeze, and how the room was not too bright. Qi Xun sat by the bed with his head lowered to read the book in his hands. His profile was as perfect as any masterpiece sculpture, and his pair of lovely peach blossom eyes had long, thick eyelashes.
Bai Xi was not interested in striking up a conversation. He was content to watch the other man quietly.
That afternoon was quiet and long, yet time still passed in a flash.
Bai Xi couldn’t help but smile as he remembered. For what reason did he need to stay in love with Qi Xun for a long period of six years? Because Qi Xun was nice to him. He might appear unapproachable, but there was this hidden gentle thoughtfulness in him.
But Bai Xi did feel regret and patted his thigh.
At that time, Qi Xun was back to being single, and his relationship with the other man was close to that of friends. If he took advantage of his sickness and fever to confess on impulse, there was a chance that Qi Xun might have agreed!
Regret. He was filled with so much regret.
Bai Xi nibbled on the last mouthful of ice cream sadly.
Qi Xun remembered once Bai Xi mentioned it.
He did take Bai Xi to the infirmary. In his eyes, it was just him doing a good deed. At that time, Bai Xi had changed from an ordinary junior to a pretty adorable didi from a next-door neighbor.
So when Bai Xi appeared on the basketball court, he took notice of the young man. Bai Xi’s appearance was, after all, particularly eye-catching even among the crowd, as if there was a glowing halo around him.
Qi Xun patted Bai Xi’s head and whispered, “You were pretty dumb back then. You don’t even know you got a heatstroke.”
Bai Xi complained in a whisper, “You are all on my mind. You are about to graduate soon, and I did not know how often we could meet after you finish college. I felt sad when I came to see you play basketball on that day.”
Fortunately, he was still pretty thick-skinned and messaged Qi Xun to hang out many times, keeping in touch instead of losing contact.
A faint smile appeared on Qi Xun’s face.
While they were talking, the students on the court were resting.
He stood up, walked over, and said a few words to the players, then one of them gave him the basketball.
Today, he was not wearing his uniform but simple casual wear. He could still move back smoothly with a ball and throw a three-pointer with ease. He was no longer a young man in his early twenties and had become more mature and calm.
But after the basketball entered the hoop, he turned his head and smiled at Bai Xi. For a moment, Bai Xi could see Qi Xun, who showed off his skills openly during school.
Bai Xi could not resist smiling back.
He could no longer mix in with the girls on the cheerleading team and scream, but it did not stop him from secretly throwing air kisses at Qi Xun.
The college students who played just now could not see the ambiguous aura from inside the court and out of the stadium. They just applauded vigorously and praised Qi Xun’s skills.
Qi Xun smiled, returned the ball to them, and came back to Bai Xi’s side step by step.
Bai Xi looked up at him.
Under the sunlight of early June, Qi Xun bent down and the two exchanged a kiss that tasted like a sweet strawberry from the ice cream.
“Now, you can watch me play whenever you want.”
Two
Before the wedding, Liang Song and Qi Xun had a meal with just the two of them.
It was a coincidence that Qi Xun was on a business trip and Liang Song happened to be in the city for something. They ran into each other at the hotel and ate a meal together in the restaurant.
The two were not very familiar with each other.
Because of Liang Song’s relationship with Bai Xi, he knew everything about Qi Xun. From his birthday, astrological signs, likes, and dislikes.
But even after being in the same social circle for so many years, they could only be regarded as acquaintances, neither too hot nor too cold.
Liang Song disliked Qi Xun for being too cold and prideful.
Qi Xun probably thought of him as noisy, a loiterer, and hot-tempered.
In short, they could pass off as strangers.
But soon, this person would become Bai Xi’s husband.
Oh, wait, no. Liang Song corrected it in his head. Qi Xun was already Bai Xi’s husband.
They have got their marriage license.
Bai Xi, the little bastard who valued sex over friends, shared his marriage license in his Moments. In all nine squares, he made sure there were no missed blind spots like it was his life goal to make sure everyone could see a pair of silly faces on the red book.
As Liang Song thought of this, he smiled gently.
The meal was coming to an end. He and Qi Xun had nothing to talk about, but they survived this meal by talking about Bai Xi.
Liang Song leaned back in his chair and studied Qi Xun, who sat on the opposite side.
They were seated in the outdoor garden, with the green walls acting as a separator to create this small private space. Accompanied by the faint moonlight, this was not a bad environment.
Liang Song smiled at Qi Xun and said, “I hate seeing your face in the past.”
Qi Xun raised his eyebrows without much surprise.
Liang Song continued, “Let’s see it from my biased point of view as Bai Xi’s childhood friend. I always thought he could find a better and nicer partner, who could love him dearly and take great care of him, but he fell for you, of all people. And he stubbornly clung to his feelings for you. Even at the start of your relationship with him, I was always worried that he would not have a good ending with you.”
“But now I know I am wrong.” Liang Song looked at Qi Xun honestly. “There is happiness in each day he is with you.”
He raised his glass of wine towards Qi Xun. “So I want to apologize to you. I was wrong before. Now that you are Bai Xi’s husband, you are considered a family to me.”
Qi Xun raised his glass and clinked it lightly against Liang Song’s.
He found that he liked this ‘Bai Xi’s husband’ identity.
He chuckled and said, “Then I also need to apologize because I also once detested you.”
Liang Song was amused. “How so?”
Qi Xun answered unhurriedly, “Because you took up a lot of Bai Xi’s time and you also grew up with him. I even suspected that you may have feelings towards him.”
Liang Song burst into earth-shaking laughter.
This was the funniest joke he had heard this year.
It took a long time for his laughter to die down, and once it did, he posed, “If I do have feelings towards Bai Xi, there will not be a part for you to play!”
This was where the hateful emotion came from. Qi Xun thought.
If Liang Song pursued and won Bai Xi over before Qi Xun realised his feelings, then he might have missed a chance for a life with Bai Xi.
But he did not say anything.
Maybe it was because of this short heart-to-heart meeting that the atmosphere between him and Liang Song was a little friendlier.
Liang Song told Qi Xun many stories of Bai Xi during high school and university, while Qi Xun listened quietly.
Some he had heard from Bai Xi, but most of them were ones he had never heard of before.
After the meal, Qi Xun’s business trip continued with business negotiations, and Liang Song, on the other hand, packed up and rushed to the next destination.
But when they returned to the city, they tacitly agreed that neither of them should tell Bai Xi about this conversation, as it was like an insignificant secret.
Translator has something to add:
Teo: Luoyuan, thank you so much for the ko-fi!
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Happy happy happy 🥰🥰🥰
Thank you for the chapter ❤️
Widepeepohappy
Thank you for the chapter <3
Aaaaaaah, cute! I like reading about little moments like those
Thank you for your translation 🤍🤍🤍
They’re so cute!!
thanks for the chapter! (人´∀｀)｡ﾟ+
Thank You for the new chapter (｡’▽’｡)♡
».. to play with the basketball team. ”Bai Xi shared..« team.” Bai
»from his birthday, astrological signs, likes, and dislikes.« From
Those flashbacks are kinda nice :3
Thx for the ch ٩(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )و
I caught the bugs hiding in this chapter. Thank you owo/
For some reason, when LS said “If I do have feelings for Bai Xi, there will not be a part for you to play!”, It got me thinking… What if…?😳
Now i want to read their alternate universe
Lovely 🥰✨