"Do you like boys?"
This message from Lin Tiao was nine words plus a punctuation mark—short and to the point. Jiang Yan stared at it for a full ten minutes.
A whole ten minutes.
He finally realized that she was asking if he liked boys, not if he liked any particular girl or classmate.
"Damn it."
Jiang Yan sometimes really wondered if his little desk mate's thought process was different from that of normal people. Everything about her was different.
He remembered the first time he saw her at the school supermarket. The girl was neatly dressed in her uniform: a blue and white short-sleeve T-shirt, uniform pants, and white sneakers.
Her skin was very fair. Standing there, talking with friends, she had a faint smile, and she seemed lazy and indifferent.
He thought she was just a gentle little bunny, but who knew that even a bunny could bite and show its claws when provoked?
Her thoughts were unconventional, and she often did things in unexpected ways, making people speechless with just a few words.
Yet, she remained completely unaware of it.
Just like now.
A simple message had left him speechless, but strangely, Jiang Yan found himself not only unangered but almost amused.
He felt this strange feeling was just too peculiar.
How peculiar?
If someone like Hu Hanghang had asked a question like "Do you like boys?", Jiang Yan was sure they might not be alive anymore.
But now.
Jiang Yan looked down at his phone, which had gone dark. The screen reflected his own facial features.
The room was lit only from one side, and although the light was dim, he could still clearly see the faint smile at his lips and the lingering warmth in his eyes.
Jiang Yan sighed softly, leaning back on the sofa, his gaze resting on a small shadow on the ceiling.
He sighed again, low and resigned.
There was nothing he could do.
—
When Lin Tiao received the friend request, she was still stuck on the elevated highway with Fang Yi and Song.
It was Friday, and combined with the evening rush hour, the highway was a long, slow-moving line of cars, barely moving forward.
She lowered her window but quickly closed it again after smelling the strong odor of gasoline. She then opened the friend request.
The note only had one character, "Jiang."
Among the people Lin Tiao knew, there was only one prominent figure with the surname Jiang. After accepting the request, she sent a message back.
There was no reply for a while.
Lin Tiao opened his profile picture. Jiang Yan's WeChat profile picture was very minimalist—just a black image with no pattern.
She zoomed in on the image and noticed a tiny dot in the lower right corner. It was really small, almost invisible unless looked at closely.
After examining the profile picture, Lin Tiao had no hesitation. She clicked on Jiang Yan's profile card, edited the note, and then checked his Moments.
A line of light gray text appeared.
"Friends only show recent three days of Moments."
The Moments were very sparse, so Lin Tiao exited and not long after, Hu Hanghang suddenly added her to a group called "Haicheng, We're Here."
"Handsome as Peng Yiyan" Hu Hanghang: "Sister Tiao, have you confirmed your travel dates for National Day? We need to book tickets early, or we might not get any."
"Handsome as Peng Yiyan" Hu Hanghang: "Sister Tiao, wait for me."
After replying to the messages, Lin Tiao looked up at Fang Yi and asked, "Mom, will you and Dad be working during the National Day holiday?"
Fang Yi, who was driving, glanced at her. "Yes, the company is quite busy lately, especially at the branch office…"
Realizing she shouldn't be discussing this with Lin Tiao, Fang Yi quickly changed the subject. "Do you have any plans for the holiday?"
"I'm planning to go to Haicheng with some classmates from my class for a few days," Lin Tiao replied, looking at the messages in the group. "By the way, Mom, could you help me buy a few tickets to Haicheng?"
"My classmates said that it's hard to find suitable flights now."
"Alright, send me your classmates' ID numbers, and I'll have your dad's assistant handle it."
"Okay."
Lin Tiao mentioned the flight situation in the group, and soon Hu Hanghang and the others replied.
"Handsome as Peng Yiyan" Hu Hanghang: 1xxxxx
"Handsome as Wu Yanzu" Xu Chuanchuan: 2xxxxx
"Handsome as Liu Dehua" Song Yuanyuan: 3xxxxx
Lin Tiao: "..."
Each one was more showy than the last.
Lin Tiao noted down all their numbers. After waiting for a while without hearing from Jiang Yan, she reopened his chat and sent a message.
Then, while chatting casually in the group, Hu Hanghang started a video call.
Lin Tiao initially didn't want to answer, but since they were stuck on the elevated highway and had nothing else to do, she pulled out her headphones and answered the call.
After a few exchanges, Hu Hanghang mentioned he was going to find Jiang Yan.
The video call was still ongoing, and Lin Tiao heard Hu Hanghang's distinctive loud voice, "Brother Yan, Sister Tiao said she has…"
The sudden pause made Lin Tiao look up. She realized Hu Hanghang had unknowingly turned the camera towards a sofa where two boys were entangled.
"?!"
"Oh my God."
The four of them were clearly stunned.
The two figures were in a rather ambiguous position. The one on top, with a pair of peach blossom eyes, was gazing affectionately at the boy lying underneath.
The boy below had his arm resting on the top one's chest, adopting a posture of hesitant embrace.
Lin Tiao was shocked.
Hu Hanghang was the first to react, babbling a long string of words incoherently.
Lin Tiao didn't respond, watching as the boy with peach blossom eyes, after rising from the black-clad boy, walked towards her and greeted her.
"..."
Lin Tiao ended the video call, stunned, and after a while, the prominent figure suddenly sent her the ID information without any further explanation.
She was shaken by the unexpected revelation.
After struggling for a long time, Lin Tiao finally asked her burning question, but after waiting for a long time, there was no response from the prominent figure.
She thought the prominent figure must be annoyed and embarrassed.
It must be that way.
—
The trip to Haicheng was quickly arranged. On the second day of the holiday, with Lin Tiao's father's help, the group of seven boarded their flight to Haicheng smoothly.
Haicheng was far from Xicheng.
The flight took over seven hours, and they arrived at Haicheng Airport in the afternoon. As soon as they left the plane, a warm breeze greeted them, warm and humid, carrying a hint of the sea.
Haicheng has a tropical climate with warm weather year-round, and it's even hotter in summer. The seven of them had all changed into summer clothes before boarding the plane.
They laughed and chatted while collecting their luggage. Though the trip wasn't long, it wasn't short either. Lin Tiao and Meng Xin each had a large suitcase.
The five boys collectively had only three suitcases.
Standing by the baggage carousel, Lin Tiao waited for her luggage while Jiang Yan stood to her left, looking down at his phone.
The boy was dressed in a white T-shirt and black pants, with black earphone cords tangled around his chest. He seemed a bit tired, with drooping eyelids and a weary expression.
"Are you very tired?"
"Yeah." Jiang Yan lifted his eyelids to look at her, his eyes slightly reddened and his voice heavy with fatigue. "Yeah, I'm really tired."
—
Lin Tiao's luggage was the last to come out. As the conveyor belt quickly delivered the suitcase, she bent down to pick it up.
Someone next to her reached out first, took the suitcase down, pulled out the handle, and stood it by his side. "Let's go."
"Okay."
The airport was quite a distance from the beach villa they had booked. Lin Tiao's father had arranged for a minibus to wait outside the airport.
As they exited the airport, they saw a minibus across the street that was very beach-themed in both style and color.
There was also a driver and a guide standing next to the bus, dressed in floral shirts and shorts.
Lin Tiao wasn't sure how her father had instructed them, but when she saw the two holding a banner that read "A Warm Welcome to the Seven Little Friends Arriving in Haicheng," she really wanted to pull her dad out.
Never mind, her father controlled the finances, so she couldn't just drag him out.
Under the gaze of the airport crowd, the seven of them hurriedly boarded the bus.
Inside the bus, there were only eight seats, including the driver's and co-driver's.
Lin Tiao and Jiang Yan were the last to get on, and the other six people had very considerately left the last row for them.
After Lin Tiao sat down, she looked back at Jiang Yan, hesitating to ask, "Do you want me to switch seats with Guan Che?"
"..."
Jiang Yan's jaw tightened slightly. He lowered his gaze, his expression indifferent as he looked at her without speaking.
Lin Tiao suddenly understood the meaning behind his gaze.
Low profile.
Got it.
She understood.
When out and about, maintain a low profile.
In the midst of the crowd, keep a low profile.
Lin Tiao didn't say anything more. She quickly moved to the last row and sat down, with Jiang Yan following and sitting beside her.
The space immediately became very cramped.
At first, Lin Tiao didn't feel much, but when the bus made a sharp turn, she was uncontrollably tilted sideways.
Their legs pressed tightly against each other without any gap.
Lin Tiao had changed into denim shorts before boarding the plane, so her long, white legs were exposed, with well-shaped knees and smooth calves.
At this moment, the minibus was driving steadily on the asphalt road.
With frequent sharp turns, Lin Tiao often brushed against Jiang Yan's leg, her knee touching the edge of his pants, her calf against his.
The contact was intimate and ambiguous.
During another sharp turn, Lin Tiao was lost in thought and accidentally tilted into Jiang Yan's arms, her arm resting against his waist, her cheek pressed against his warm chest.
She could hear the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.
"I think this driver doesn't know how to drive." Lin Tiao quickly straightened up, tucking her stray hair behind her ear, her face flushed unnaturally.
Jiang Yan turned his head to glance at her and gave a low "mm."
Haicheng's days were long and hot, and the sunlight was still strong in the evening. The light was bright, and tropical trees flashed by outside the window.
The people sitting in the front seats had been wearing headphones and eye masks to sleep as soon as they got on the bus.
Lin Tiao had slept on the plane and wasn't very tired. Leaning against the seat and watching the passing scenery outside the window, she suddenly felt a weight on her shoulder.
"?!"
Lin Tiao froze completely.
She slowly shifted her gaze and saw that Jiang Yan had somehow fallen asleep, his head resting on her shoulder, his cheek rubbing against it.
The sunlight outside cast a soft halo on his black hair, which occasionally brushed against the back of her neck with the movement of the bus, creating a tingling sensation.
From this angle, she couldn't see his expression.
The boy was deeply asleep, his fingers interlaced over his abdomen, pale and well-defined, with prominent veins on the back of his hands, and neatly trimmed nails.
The gap between the seats was a bit small, and his slightly bent legs caused his black shorts to ride up a bit with his movements.
Lin Tiao looked quietly, then silently withdrew her gaze, her nose filled with the familiar scent of mint.
Outside, the sunlight was abundant, the tree shadows danced, the sea breeze was warm and comfortable, and the sky was a clear, cloudless blue.
The inside of the bus was quiet and peaceful.
Lin Tiao could hear the sound of her own heartbeat.
Thump, thump.
It seemed out of order.
—
After more than two hours, the minibus stopped in front of a villa.
As the sun set, its earlier dazzling light faded, and the entire sky was shrouded in twilight, with the evening glow beautifully enchanting.
The seven of them got out of the bus, bathed in the dusk.
Lin Tiao was the last to get out. She had fallen asleep in the latter part of the journey and only woke up to realize she had been resting on Jiang Yan's shoulder.
The person who had fallen asleep first had somehow woken up and was now looking down, playing on his phone.
Lin Tiao glanced at his phone screen.
"..."
He was actually browsing physics problems.
He must be some kind of devil.
Lin Tiao was so surprised that she immediately sat up, her voice soft and groggy from just waking up. "Jiang Yan, I'm starting to believe that you earned that top place in the competition by yourself."
Jiang Yan's eyes were lowered, his long eyelashes casting shadows, and he looked a bit lazy from just waking up. His lips curved into a faint smile.
He didn't say anything but just put away his phone and glanced at Lin Tiao.
Lin Tiao looked up, meeting his light-colored eyes, momentarily at a loss for words. Her lips parted slightly but no sound came out.
The two fell into silence again.
The only sounds in the bus were Xu Yichuan and the others playing games and Hu Hanghang and the guide Hu Qiba chatting.
Lin Tiao felt increasingly unsettled.
Just looking at Jiang Yan had caused her heart to race uncontrollably, beating rapidly.
And before that.
That evening after the exam, when the boy stood in the hallway, bending over and asking her if she listened to the words of her deskmate.
She had also experienced a moment of heart racing uncontrollably, with her mind going blank, as if whatever he said was gospel.
This was too strange.
Lin Tiao wasn't unfamiliar with sitting next to boys, but they had all felt the same—just classmates, and at most, deskmates.
But Jiang Yan was different.
He was a classmate, a deskmate, and more often, a friend.
And yet.
Her heart raced to such a high speed when faced with this person. It was almost unbelievable.
Lin Tiao wasn't dense.
She thought she should know what was causing this.
With a long sigh, Lin Tiao turned away, pulled out her phone from her bag, and quickly tapped on the screen with her delicate, slender fingers.
Jiang Yan only saw her open WeChat and send a message.
Half an hour later, Fang Yisong, who had just finished a meeting, returned to his office and casually checked his phone. He saw a message from Lin Tiao:
"Mom, do you know any cardiologists?"
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