Chapter 41: Alcohol
Huai Dan just chuckled at his response.
It was unclear whether he believed him or not.
…It seemed like he didn’t.
Luo Jing sat there, lowering his eyes guiltily, not daring to look at him, feeling like he was awaiting judgment.
But the judge was still sitting there, waiting for his defense.
Then, remembering the real reason he was avoiding Huai Dan… he started brainstorming, trying to come up with a reasonable excuse.
Seeing him thinking, Huai Dan didn’t interrupt, sitting there waiting for his explanation.
After a pause, Luo Jing looked up and glanced around to hide his nervousness and guilt. After hesitating for a moment, as if having made up his mind, he said, “Brother.”
“Mm,” Huai Dan replied patiently.
The receptionist came over and served them two cups of coffee. Huai Dan took a sip, waiting for Luo Jing’s next words.
The passing employees tried their best not to look in their direction, pretending to be focused on their work.
But everyone’s attention seemed to be focused here.
It was rare to see Mr. Huai sitting in the lobby at this hour.
Who was the person opposite him? He seemed unfamiliar.
Could it be his younger brother?
But they didn’t look very much alike.
Work was always boring and tedious, so this small change in their daily routine piqued everyone’s interest, and various emotions spread through the crowd.
“…” Luo Jing also took a sip of coffee, then, as if ready, mustered his courage and said—
“Are you busy?”
Huai Dan: “…”
“Not really,” he smiled.
But the smile didn’t seem very sincere.
“But aren’t you usually very busy?” Luo Jing muttered softly. “Don’t you have any important meetings later?”
“Not so busy that I don’t even have time to talk to you… Or do you think I’m a robot who works 24/7 in the office?” Huai Dan said helplessly.
“…Oh.”
Luo Jing replied, then fell silent again.
After a moment of silence, Huai Dan seemed to have finally run out of patience. He said calmly, his tone neither light nor heavy, as if reminding him, “Luo Jing.”
Huai Dan rarely called him by his full name. Luo Jing flinched and instinctively replied, “Me?”
Huai Dan: “Is there another Luo Jing here? Find him and show him to me.”
“…” Luo Jing looked at him guiltily.
…Then shamefully realized that even after so long, his heart still raced when he saw him.
From their first meeting in junior high, Luo Jing had felt that Huai Dan was the most handsome person he had ever seen in real life.
He still felt that way.
Luo Jing suddenly wondered how Huai Dan would react if he confessed now.
Would he look surprised and ask if he was joking, then try to talk him out of it, saying he only saw him as a younger brother?
Or would he also be at a loss?
The best outcome would be Huai Dan accepting his confession even if he didn’t like him back.
Because he seemed to fulfill all his requests.
Would this be included too?
Then it wouldn’t be him struggling anymore, but Huai Dan.
Leaving all the problems to him, letting him consider and worry, was indeed the easiest but also the most selfish solution.
This seemed a bit too mean.
But perhaps because they hadn’t seen each other for so long, Luo Jing felt a sudden impulse.
“Distracted again,” Huai Dan said, then tapped his knuckles on the table, trying to bring the other person’s wandering thoughts back.
Luo Jing’s scattered thoughts were successfully gathered.
He froze, and thinking about what he might have to face next, his courage instantly vanished, and he obediently tucked his thoughts away.
I’m still not brave enough.
Luo Jing thought.
…So did Huai Dan know that his “second sister” was actually him?
During university, after Luo Jing decided on a school, Luo Zhang and Lin Xue bought him an apartment abroad.
The apartment complex was very close to the main gate of Luo Jing’s college and had good security and facilities.
But perhaps because the complex was too new and expensive, there weren’t many residents yet, and the surrounding area wasn’t very developed. Luo Jing often found himself bored at home when he wasn’t in class.
It was nearing Christmas, and it had been snowing for a week. Luo Jing really wanted to have a fireplace and a lounge chair in his apartment, just like in the movies he had seen, but unfortunately, the fireplace in his apartment seemed to be purely decorative, and the vent didn’t seem to work.
But it was also possible that he needed to find someone to fix it.
“…So I want to find a worker to check it out, maybe it can be used,” Luo Jing excitedly shared his idea with Huai Dan.
But he was met with disapproval.
“No, it’s too dangerous,” Huai Dan said, easily dismissing Luo Jing’s idea. “What if you accidentally burn yourself or set something on fire?”
So Luo Jing could only suppress his desire and obediently turned on the floor heating, watching the snow outside.
Although… if he did it secretly, Huai Dan wouldn’t know.
When the weather turned cold, he no longer had the energy to go out. He would go to class, then lie at home reading, watching TV, and chatting with Huai Dan and other family and friends, utterly bored.
Xie You’s group was becoming increasingly successful, even expanding into the international market. He heard they were currently on a concert tour.
Xu Xing was the baby-faced boy who had first added Luo Jing on WeChat. They were both extroverted, so they had a lot to talk about. Even though one was increasingly busy with work and the other was studying abroad, they still kept in touch occasionally, maintaining a very good relationship.
One weekend, he suddenly told Luo Jing that they were coming to his country for a concert tour and might stay for a few days, then asked if he wanted to meet up for dinner.
Luo Jing immediately perked up and agreed.
On the day they arrived, Luo Jing chose the best restaurant he had found so far and treated the boys and their staff to a meal, fulfilling his duties as a host.
That day was the first time in a long time that Luo Jing had seen so many people from his home country in a foreign land, and most of them were familiar faces.
Having been abroad for so long, he felt a long-lost sense of coming home.
Even though there was a small incident that day.
The dinner was enjoyable for both the host and the guests. As it ended, Luo Jing went to the counter to pay, but Xie You silently followed him and said he wanted to pay for the meal.
Luo Jing asked him why, and after a moment of silence, he lowered his head and said because he was the leader.
It didn’t make sense to have them earn money for his family’s company and then pay for the meal, so Luo Jing insisted on paying himself.
But this scene happened to be captured by the ubiquitous paparazzi.
Because Luo Jing was wearing a hoodie that day, a relatively neutral color, and was wearing a hat while paying because he was cold, and because he was slightly shorter than Xie You, he was somehow mistaken for a girl by the gossip media.
The next day, the photo trended online.
Due to the time difference, Luo Jing only learned about it after waking up.
The poster was vague, not explicitly claiming that the “girl” was Xie You’s girlfriend, but implying that Xie You was in a relationship and how close they were.
They didn’t mention that there was a whole group of people having dinner with them that day, and that the two hadn’t had any physical contact at all.
Luo Jing reposted the Weibo post, adding a group photo of everyone at the restaurant.
The baseless rumors were instantly debunked, and the gossip account was flooded with angry fans. At the same time, some netizens started shipping them.
But Luo Jing wasn’t very free at the time. It was the end of the semester, and although he had finished most of his assignments, he still needed to study for his exams. He hadn’t been on Weibo for a long time, and seeing that the incident had subsided, he didn’t pay much attention to it.
But for some reason, Huai Dan’s chat frequency seemed to have decreased in those two days.
On both his main and alternate accounts.
Perhaps Huai Dan was also busy, just like him, he thought.
Meeting old friends in a foreign land was a joyful experience, but after parting, a deeper sense of loneliness washed over him.
Snowy weather had a unique atmosphere. The world was a hazy white, and there weren’t many people on the streets. Every pedestrian was bundled up, silently walking towards their respective destinations.
Luo Jing sat by the window, watching the people and cars come and go, thinking about the friends who had left a few days ago, feeling a bit melancholic…
And he missed Huai Dan.
As Luo Jing was wallowing in his melancholy, there was a knock on his door. Luo Jing opened the door, and the person outside handed him a glass of unknown liquid.
Luo Jing: “?”
This boy lived across from him. He was also an international student, and they happened to be in the same major. The two had already formed a revolutionary friendship of mutual support and dependence.
He looked at the brightly colored liquid in his hand with suspicion: “What is this?”
“I just mixed a new drink, do you want to try it?” the boy asked enthusiastically.
Luo Jing: “…”
This person seemed as idle as he was.
But he still politely took a sniff and then a sip.
The taste of peach mixed with orange, sweet and not unpleasant, he could barely taste the alcohol.
“It’s quite good,” Luo Jing gave him a thumbs-up.
The boy gave him an “I told you it was good” look, accepting Luo Jing’s praise: “I won’t bother you anymore, I’m going to continue developing new drinks.”
Luo Jing closed the door with amusement and helplessness, then went back to the sofa, pressed play, and continued watching the movie he had paused halfway.
Because the drink tasted so harmless, Luo Jing didn’t have any reservations about it, assuming it was just a mixture of fruit juices with a bit of alcohol, so he unconsciously finished it.
Then, when Huai Dan sent him a message: [What are you doing?], he directly called him.
The call was connected, and the man on the other end was silent for a moment.
“Brother, I miss you a little,” Luo Jing said.
His voice was low and slow, as if he had been greatly wronged.
