There was prying born of jealousy in Frederick’s eyes, and a faint reluctance. Chi Lanyi knew that, compared to the venomous Sacha, Frederick was always the one who disliked him more overtly.
So Chi Lanyi didn’t intend to explain anything to him, just: “…Mm.”
Frederick looked at him for a long moment, then suddenly sneered: “Still so aloof? Figures. You haven’t been coming to the studio much lately. We were starting to think you felt this place was beneath you.”
After saying this, he yanked his stool noisily and sat back down in his spot.
Coldness spread throughout the studio. Chi Lanyi just lowered his head and continued packing his things.
He thought to himself, move out quickly. He didn’t want to stay here a moment longer.
In the past, Chi Lanyi could have tolerated the competitive environment here. He knew he was excellent but not good at socializing. He understood there was a lot of socializing he had to do, and a lot of things he had to endure.
But now, after experiencing the complete relaxation and warmth at Gao Rong’s place, Chi Lanyi didn’t want to endure anything anymore.
He wanted to go back, to work in the studio Gao Rong had built for him. He wanted to kiss Gao Rong, tell him he loved him, and thank him. Thank Gao Rong for being willing to kiss his lips even when he was at his dirtiest and most wretched.
In that moment, Chi Lanyi thought, he truly wanted to be with Gao Rong. Just the two of them, forever and ever, for a lifetime.
At 12 noon, his phone rang right on time. Secretary Liu brought him lunch.
In the cafeteria, Secretary Liu’s smile was kind and gentle. She was also a beautiful girl, slender and tall, different from the curvaceous Leah. She fit Chi Lanyi’s second aesthetic for women.
Amidst her professional, soft speech, Chi Lanyi felt it was very necessary to build a good relationship with the secretary by Gao Rong’s side.
He also suppressed his introverted impulses, striving to be polite and friendly in conversation with her, suppressing his anorexic tendencies and eating all the food he didn’t want to eat.
At the end of the meal, Secretary Liu said, “Mr. Gao said it’s too tiring for you to move things alone. He had me find two students at the school to help you move.”
“But…” Chi Lanyi was a bit overwhelmed. He didn’t want to stand out.
“These two students are already collaborating with another project of the ANI Group. They’ll think you’re moving out of the student studio to better complete the project using the studio resources provided by ANI.” Secretary Liu reassured him. “You don’t need to worry. Everything will go very smoothly.”
Chi Lanyi was stunned, and said, “Thank you.”
“These two students are also very outstanding. They’re a man and a woman, both good students at F University, with bright futures and clean backgrounds. If you’re willing to be friends with them, they could be very helpful to you.” Secretary Liu smiled again. “Sometimes, chatting more with friends is also a way to alleviate your own stress.”
Chi Lanyi was even more speechless.
He knew these weren’t Secretary Liu’s words to him, but Gao Rong’s words to him. These two students were “suitable friends” Gao Rong had found for him after background screening.
Chi Lanyi had very few friends. He wasn’t sociable and always moved much faster than his peers. Even with the few friends he could talk to, Chi Lanyi mostly only discussed technical matters, rarely delving into his personal life.
Now that he thought about it, Gao Rong was the first person he had talked to about family matters. Gao Rong was also the first person to see his pain in socializing with peers. Gao Rong even understood his inability to defend himself in the Renault incident and had fairly helped him get justice.
Chi Lanyi didn’t want to stay at school anymore. He wanted to go back immediately to see Gao Rong, to work in the studio Gao Rong had given him, to pour all his emotions onto his design sketches.
Even as he was moved beyond words, there was still a faint, lingering bewilderment in Chi Lanyi’s heart. He thought, what if he didn’t like these two people?
Had Gao Rong considered, if these two weren’t the friends he wanted to make, what should he do?
This question quickly resolved itself in the afternoon. The two students who came to help were very nice. The girl was cheerful, the boy was gentle.
The girl was named Élodie, the boy Clément. Their personalities were exactly the type Chi Lanyi would want to get close to, yet not so enthusiastic as to feel too pushy. During their chat, Chi Lanyi was even more pleasantly surprised to find they had many points of connection.
For example, the girl said she really liked Ryuichi Sakamoto’s music. She said she loved that damp, embraced feeling. Listening to such songs on rainy days made her feel very comfortable.
Chi Lanyi felt as if electricity coursed through his entire body. That similar feeling made him want to cry.
The boy remained gentle and clean throughout. He didn’t judge, wasn’t dangerous. While carrying a semi-finished piece for Chi Lanyi, he nearly collided with someone. He sacrificed his own shoulder, slamming it against the wall, to save Chi Lanyi’s work.
But he didn’t say a word about it. Chi Lanyi noticed his action, and an indescribable sense of empathy welled up in his heart.
They were both a little like him in some ways, and different in others. But precisely because of that, they were very suitable to become friends.
So, Chi Lanyi exchanged contact information with them.
The intense pain he had felt when stepping into school that morning seemed to have been washed away. During his afternoon class, Chi Lanyi thought, today he not only ate lunch on time, moved out of the suffocating public studio, but also gained two new friends.
When he had decided to throw himself at Gao Rong’s mercy, he had absolutely never imagined he would be treated so well.
His heart was so soft, it felt like little flowers could break through the soil at any moment. Chi Lanyi wanted to cry. He even wanted to cut himself, just to confirm if this was real.
So, in this class, he defied his usual behavior. When called up by the teacher, he confidently went to demonstrate, and compared to his usual reticence, he even said more.
“…When stitching, I use a little technique like this. It makes the seams more concealed and neater.” Chi Lanyi gave a demonstration beyond the curriculum. “The textbook method is standard, but it makes your hand tire easily. So, I created this little trick myself…”
The classmates’ exclamations made Chi Lanyi feel shy. He hurriedly finished his demonstration and went back down. After class, two students approached him.
“Thank you so much for sharing this. Generally, in school, very few people are willing to sincerely share their techniques with others like this,” the girl said. “Would you be willing to add my contact info? Actually, I’ve wanted to be friends with you for a long time.”
Chi Lanyi broke out in a cold sweat of embarrassment. He said, “I don’t have… any intention to hide it. I’m just not good at expressing myself.”
Another boy also laughed: “Haha, me and my few friends are the same as her. They all say you’re unapproachable, that you must be too lazy to talk to us. Chi, would you be willing to give me your contact info? They’ll definitely be so jealous!”
This boy was also a famously eccentric genius in their grade. Unlike Chi Lanyi, he loved hanging out with people on his wavelength, quirky but sincere, and had many friends.
Chi Lanyi’s hands were trembling, but he still added these two people. Even though he prayed in his heart they wouldn’t send him too many messages, he still looked forward to receiving news from them.
The three of them walked along talking. The boy suddenly said, “Chi, I heard you moved out of the public studio for the ANI project?”
“How do you know about that too…”
“Frederick said it. That guy, he’s practically dying of jealousy over you.” The boy laughed heartily. “Congrats, you finally don’t have to squeeze in with people who have such poor taste.”
Chi Lanyi was stunned again. After a long moment, he smiled shyly.
The boy didn’t think he was strange.
“You rented a studio outside? Will I still be able to see you often at school then?” The girl said worriedly. “Ahhh, seriously, I was looking forward to working with you.”
Even though he was so looking forward to moving into Gao Rong’s studio, seeing the girl’s sincere expression, Chi Lanyi couldn’t help but speak.
“…I will,” he said. “I’ll come back.”
Soon, he realized what he had just said.
The girl’s face lit up with joy, and the boy was also very happy. Chi Lanyi just thought, with complicated feelings, that he seemed to have made a false promise.
He furrowed his brows, his fingers twisting uncomfortably.
But looking at their smiles, Chi Lanyi eventually smiled softly too.
“So good,” he thought. “So good.”
His phone vibrated. Chi Lanyi looked down at the message and said goodbye to the two.
“Who sent you a message? Your eyes are so bright?” The girl teased. “It wouldn’t be a girlfriend, would it?”
Chi Lanyi suddenly stammered: “N-no, a friend.”
He was briefly flustered, a growing sense of strangeness spreading in his heart—but this feeling, in the end, was bittersweet and blissful.
Friend.
He silently repeated his own word in his heart, but secretly added a hidden word.
Boyfriend.
Chi Lanyi passed the two of them, stepping into the night, hurrying toward the street where Gao Rong was. The two behind him laughed loudly, teasing his fleeing behavior.
Chi Lanyi, shy and embarrassed, started laughing himself.
He couldn’t stop smiling more and more. Beneath his feet, he tread on the light of stars, the night wind seeing him off. In that moment, Chi Lanyi wanted to bury himself in the tulip bushes beside him.
Perhaps in his life, the brightness wasn’t just the constant stars, but also the constant Gao Rong.
In the night, Chi Lanyi walked quickly, his eyes glistening, a happiness he couldn’t hide at the corners of his lips.
Tonight, Chi Lanyi wasn’t thinking of anything else.
He was only thinking of Gao Rong.
He just wanted to see him soon.
So good. Chi Lanyi thought.
And he believed, no matter how long it took him to arrive—
Gao Rong would be in the car waiting for him.
