Chapter 39: Embrace
Even though Huai Dan seemed serious, seeing that he was still sick, Luo Jing mercifully decided not to cook himself.
Besides, he didn’t really have much of an appetite himself…
It was a bit unrealistic to have a chef come at this hour, so Huai Dan ordered takeout from a restaurant they occasionally ordered from.
They ate together and then watched TV on the sofa for a while.
Thinking about not knowing when they would meet again, and that this time together was a result of his… third lie, Luo Jing cherished it immensely and didn’t suggest going back to his room.
Strangely, Huai Dan also didn’t seem to want to go back to his room.
Finally, Luo Jing, remembering that Huai Dan hadn’t fully recovered from his fever, and that it was getting late, said he was a bit sleepy and said good night.
“What time is your flight tomorrow?” Huai Dan asked after replying. “I’ll take you to the airport.”
“11 a.m.,” Luo Jing replied. “But don’t you have work tomorrow?”
“It’s on the way.”
“Oh.” Luo Jing paused, then asked, “Will you be late?”
Huai Dan chuckled: “Your brother isn’t afraid of being late.”
After that meeting, Luo Jing no longer had any excuse to see Huai Dan.
But perhaps because his seemingly inexplicable and sad confession that night had worked, or perhaps because Huai Dan wasn’t as busy anymore, their chat frequency increased significantly.
Although he didn’t know the reason, Luo Jing was very happy with the result.
Besides being happy, he also felt a bit frustrated.
With their daily greetings and sharing of everyday life, Luo Jing felt their… brotherly bond deepening.
So he resorted to his alternate account, trying to gain a sense of false warmth from this huge deception.
Although, for some reason, their interaction pattern wasn’t very different from his main account.
But nominally, they were in a relationship, so Luo Jing used this as an excuse to deceive himself, at least no longer feeling the sense of brotherly affection.
Even so, he didn’t dare to overthink it.
Why had Huai Dan never shown any curiosity about his “second sister”? He never asked for her name, never mentioned meeting, and never asked for any real-life information.
He didn’t even care where his “second sister” was studying abroad or when she would be back.
Suppressing a vague premonition, Luo Jing swallowed.
Perhaps he really didn’t care about this “online dating partner” who had come out of nowhere.
In his third year, almost all his classmates received their university offers, and life became much more relaxed, especially in the second semester, when morning and evening self-study sessions turned into movie time, and everyone, both teachers and students, relaxed considerably.
Luo Jing would often note down movies he found interesting and watch them online with Huai Dan when he wasn’t busy.
He vaguely realized that Huai Dan’s indulgence towards him seemed to have no limits. He would agree to almost any request he made.
He was truly a good brother, even his sister wasn’t this good to him…
Thinking this, he once said this to Luo Feng and, unsurprisingly, received a mental beating.
Wu Li, struggling with his studies and preparing for the college entrance exam, would feel the urge to sever ties with Luo Jing every time he saw him sharing his happy daily life.
But when he received takeout, snacks, and milk tea from Luo Jing on school days, he shamefully forgot his resentment.
And in a sense, Luo Jing was also quite pitiful.
Ever since that meeting between him and Huai Dan, Wu Li knew his friend had truly fallen for him.
But the other person seemed to only treat him as a younger brother, even closer than a real brother.
Luo Jing had wanted to see Huai Dan several times, but remembering how he acted when they met, he was worried about messing things up, like making Huai Dan mistakenly think he didn’t want to talk to him or something.
He didn’t want his personal feelings to affect their relationship.
He couldn’t tell him the real reason, but he couldn’t control his true emotions either, so he could only procrastinate, continuing to chat online, occasionally making calls or video calls, until graduation.
He had also thought about pursuing Huai Dan, but besides the fact that it wouldn’t work… he would be going abroad soon, for three or four years.
Wu Li said, isn’t that perfect? It fits your “second sister” persona even better.
Luo Jing sighed dejectedly and said, am I doomed to live like this forever?
“Not necessarily, maybe you’ll meet someone you like more abroad,” Wu Li said, doing his homework while drinking the fruit tea Luo Jing had sent him, offering half-hearted comfort.
“No, I won’t,” Luo Jing said seriously. “No one can make me feel this way again.”
Wu Li: “…”
After packing his luggage, getting his visa, buying his plane ticket, and preparing everything, the day for Luo Jing to go abroad finally arrived.
His parents and Luo Feng were all at the airport.
There were still two hours until his flight. They arrived early, but Luo Jing didn’t rush in, asking them to wait at the cafe.
Then he went to stand at the airport entrance alone.
He stood by the automatic door, looking down at his phone, typing. For some reason, he seemed nervous.
As if waiting for someone.
Luo Feng, holding a cup of coffee, slowly walked over: “What are you doing standing here?”
Luo Jing: “Nothing…”
“Waiting for Huai Dan?” she asked casually, taking a sip of coffee.
“!” Luo Jing looked at her in shock: “How did you know? Did brother tell you?”
“No,” Luo Feng glanced at him. “Who else could you be waiting for like this? When is he arriving?”
Although Luo Feng might just be stating a fact, it somehow hit a nerve, and Luo Jing felt a sense of being seen through. His ears involuntarily turned slightly red: “Can’t I be waiting for Wu Li?”
Luo Feng chuckled, about to say something, when she was interrupted.
“Aren’t you waiting for me?” Huai Dan’s voice sounded behind Luo Jing.
Luo Jing froze, instinctively turned around, and met his gaze.
Although they hadn’t seen each other for a while, perhaps because the intervals between their meetings were always about the same, Luo Jing felt that Huai Dan was the same as when he first met him, seemingly unchanged.
Still the same handsome and aloof person.
But when facing him, he would show some gentleness and patience.
“I am waiting for you,” Luo Jing lowered his eyelashes, then looked up at him. “Didn’t you say it would be another five minutes? You arrived so quickly, brother.”
“I found a parking spot,” Huai Dan replied simply, a faint smile on his lips. “Isn’t it good to be early?”
“…Yes,” Luo Jing felt inexplicably awkward.
“…” Luo Feng stood there, watching them talk, suddenly feeling like she shouldn’t be here.
These two seemed to have their own little world.
She looked at them suspiciously but couldn’t see anything wrong, nor did she know what she was supposed to be looking for, so she gave up: “Are you going to stand here blocking the way? Come in, come in.”
Huai Dan looked at her and nodded slightly as a greeting. Luo Feng also nodded briefly: “What do you two want to drink? I’ll go order.”
After checking in their luggage, they sat together and chatted for a while, but even though Luo Jing didn’t want it to, it was soon time to go through security.
“There will be an uncle, the one Dad mentioned before, waiting for you at the arrival gate. Just follow him, he’ll arrange everything for you.” Luo Zhang looked at his youngest son, feeling a rare sense of reluctance. “If your mom and I weren’t busy, we would have gone with you for a few days.”
“It’s okay, I can handle it myself…”
Probably.
Actually, Luo Jing hadn’t felt anything initially.
But now that the moment was truly approaching, the moment he had to go to a faraway, unfamiliar environment alone, he couldn’t help but feel a bit down.
It was also the first time Lin Xue was sending her son so far away, and she was almost in tears: “Xiao Jing, call your mom and dad every day, okay?”
She reached out and hugged Luo Jing.
After a few moments, she let go, wiping her tears with a tissue. Luo Zhang also stepped forward and hugged his youngest son: “Be careful when you’re alone out there.”
“I know,” Luo Jing replied to each of them.
After the hugs, seeing Luo Feng, Luo Jing hesitated, then walked over and looked at her expectantly.
Luo Feng paused, then reached out and hugged Luo Jing, as if slightly disgusted: “Why are you so sad? Is your allowance not enough or something? You can always come back whenever you want.”
“…” Luo Jing looked at her: “You’re really good at ruining the atmosphere.”
Although what she said made sense, and Luo Jing’s sadness lessened by half.
But when he turned to look at Huai Dan, the other half of his sadness seemed to return.
They looked at each other for a moment, then Huai Dan smiled: “Want a hug?”
Luo Jing’s nose suddenly tingled. To prevent others from seeing, he almost frantically walked over.
Huai Dan reached out and caught him.
Huai Dan was half a head taller than him and easily enveloped him in his arms.
He smelled clean, like laundry detergent, nothing else, but it still made Luo Jing’s heart race.
Then the racing turned into a deep sadness.
Luo Jing tried to hold back his tears and sniffed slightly.
Huai Dan’s hand, which was gently holding the back of his head, paused, then ruffled his hair.
“Remember to contact your brother when you’re abroad,” he said.
It was just a simple hug, but it seemed to be enough to comfort Luo Jing for a long time.
“…I will,” Luo Jing paused, then let go of Huai Dan, looked up at him, and said with all his courage, “Brother, wait for me.”
Huai Dan ruffled his hair and replied, “Mm.”
Luo Jing lowered his eyelashes.
He knew Huai Dan probably didn’t understand what he meant, or perhaps he had interpreted it in a completely different way.
But he had said it, and he had received the response he wanted. That was enough.
