Tan Jing lifted his eyelids, his pitch-black eyes gazing at him with a mix of mock reproach. “How old are you? Still needing to sit on laps?”
The onlookers who’d been secretly watching the drama couldn’t hold it in and let out stifled chuckles.
He Siheng: “…”
He Siheng hadn’t expected this jerk to pull such a sneaky trick, targeting him out of nowhere. Hadn’t they cooperated perfectly on the court just yesterday? And now war was declared again?
Choked up like that, He Siheng gritted his teeth and stood up from him.
Playing dirty on purpose, huh? Just you wait!
He Siheng held his breath all the way to the hotel, only to feel even more stifled at the front desk—they’d been assigned the same room.
After getting the key card, He Siheng grabbed a random male classmate and asked, “Name your price. I’ll swap rooms with you.”
The guy who’d been pulled aside perked up at the good deal and was about to nod when he suddenly heard Tan Jing say coolly from nearby, “I’m pretty worried you’ll sleepwalk and strangle me in the middle of the night.”
Seeing that He Siheng’s roommate was Tan Jing, the guy immediately changed his mind, waved his hands frantically, and slipped away like a rabbit.
He Siheng caught that Tan Jing was dissing his poor sleeping habits and ground his teeth, about to fire back, when Teacher Li, leading the group, called out from over there, “He Siheng, what are you doing? No fighting! Rooms are already assigned. Hurry up and unpack in your room. We have a lecture this afternoon, so everyone rest up while you can.”
“…”
No matter how much of a young master temper he had, he had to follow the group’s arrangements. He Siheng swallowed his frustration for now and unwillingly headed to the room to drop his luggage.
The private school spared no expense on students’ food, clothing, lodging, and transport. The hotel was decent enough. Though a double room, it was spacious, with an open balcony, two single beds. He Siheng claimed the one farther from the window first, unceremoniously flopping onto it.
He liked window seats on buses, but beds couldn’t be by the window. Besides, He City had just had rain, the ground was still damp, the sky overcast. It might pour tonight with thunder and lightning—he always felt like sleeping by the window would get him struck.
Of course, if it struck Tan Jing, that would be divine justice.
Tan Jing didn’t care which bed he took and methodically unpacked his luggage.
Not only was it going to rain in He City—it had already cooled down. He Siheng hadn’t thought of that at all, only packing short sleeves and wearing one. Not long after lying down, he felt cold and pulled the blanket over himself.
Hearing the rustling of the blanket, Tan Jing glanced at the guy who’d wrapped himself up like a silkworm cocoon, pulled a long-sleeved hoodie from his suitcase, and tossed it onto He Siheng’s bed.
Was this a sudden olive branch?
He Siheng inexplicably felt awkward. “What are you doing?”
Tan Jing replied flatly, “Afraid you’ll sleepwalk and wipe snot on me.”
He Siheng: “…”
Any awkwardness He Siheng felt vanished instantly. He threw off the blanket, bounced up from the bed, and snarled defensively, “This young master doesn’t have snot, and I never sleepwalk!”
“You wouldn’t know what happens when you’re asleep,” Tan Jing said deadpan. “You’ve never slept with anyone else besides me.”
He Siheng choked. It… actually made sense?
But why did it sound kinda weird?
He Siheng couldn’t figure it out for the moment and couldn’t hold back a sneeze. Helplessly, he grudgingly put on the hoodie first.
Tan Jing’s hoodie was freshly washed, but it still inevitably carried his pheromones—like a pine forest rinsed by rainwater, a refreshing woody scent that cleared the mind.
He Siheng had an extremely high compatibility with his pheromones, instinctively accepting the scent without reservation.
Even unwillingly, he had to admit that being enveloped in his scent felt comfortable, a pleasure from body to soul.
He Siheng cleared his throat unnaturally. “Thanks for the clothes. I’ll wash them clean and return them when we get back.”
He had a slender frame, and Tan Jing’s hoodie was loose-fitting, making him look even more delicate. The sleeves were a bit long, but He Siheng was too lazy to roll them up. He just wore it as is, covering half his palms and leaving only slender fingertips exposed.
Looking at the scene, Tan Jing felt a subtle sense of satisfaction.
He shifted his gaze away, licked his canines imperceptibly, and gave a low hum.
After resting at the hotel, the group followed Teacher Li to He City Third Middle School for a literature lecture. Students from various schools gathered, a sea of people.
He Siheng thought he’d be dozing off the whole time, but sitting there, he inexplicably felt uneasy.
After entering the auditorium, he kept feeling a gaze fixed on him, unnaturally hot. But whenever he turned to look, nothing seemed off—just other schools’ students behind him there for the lecture.
Seeing him constantly looking around, Tan Jing beside him asked, “Who are you looking for?”
“No one.” He Siheng straightened up, not wanting to say more.
If he remembered right, that person was in He City too, but it probably wouldn’t be such a coincidence, right?
The afternoon lecture dragged on. They ate dinner outside and finally returned to the hotel by evening, where a light drizzle had indeed started.
He Siheng hadn’t eaten much that evening. He’d rushed out in the morning and completely forgotten Tan Jing’s reminder last night about bringing an umbrella. Seizing the moment before it poured, he headed downstairs to the convenience store for some snacks to fill his stomach and to buy an umbrella.
Seeing him about to head out, Tan Jing reminded him, “It’s raining outside.”
He Siheng slammed the door without looking back. “That’s why I’m buying an umbrella.”
There was a chain convenience store right by the hotel—no risk of getting too wet. He Siheng hurried in, grabbed a long-handled umbrella, picked some snacks, and after a thought, added a bottle of orange-flavored soda.
Tan Jing seemed to like orange flavor lately. Consider it thanks for borrowing the hoodie.
He Siheng paid for it all, bagged it up, and stepped out. As he was about to open the new umbrella to head back to the hotel, a familiar gentle male voice came from behind.
“Xiao Heng, long time no see.”
He Siheng froze mid-motion and turned around to see the boy waiting by the convenience store door.
The boy had pale skin, faint freckles dusting his nose and cheeks, looking as frail and timid as ever.
Yet those pitch-black eyes, sunk deep, blatantly revealed the obsession at their depths.
As He Siheng’s gaze landed on him, a manic joy flashed in his eyes. His bloodless lips slowly curved into a sickly smile.
“I’ve missed you so much…”
