It was deep into the night, and in the spacious bedroom, even the sound of his heartbeat seemed clearly audible.
His lively heart throbbed uneasily.
He Siheng stood foolishly in front of his desk, head lowered as he stared at the message Little Strawberry had sent, motionless like a statue that had forgotten time.
He liked Tan Jing?
How was that possible?
He wasn’t some emotionally inexperienced newbie who had never liked anyone before—how could he not know if he liked Tan Jing or not?
Speaking from the heart, Tan Jing was indeed good-looking with a great figure, and he was the object of admiration for many. But He Siheng had his own good looks and physique, so those things couldn’t be the reason his heart raced for Tan Jing.
Moreover, those people who openly or secretly crushed on Tan Jing only saw his surface. As for He Siheng, who had grown up with Tan Jing since childhood, he had seen all sides of him—the good, the bad, the serious, and the obnoxious—so he was completely immune to Tan Jing’s fake uprightness.
Based on his past experience liking Tan Wan, the starting point of liking someone had to be a heartbeat skip, that feeling where the whole world faded away leaving only the person in front of you. He had never felt that for Tan Jing at all, so how could it be considered liking him?
He Siheng thought for a moment and replied to Little Strawberry: Are you hallucinating from being too heartbroken?
He had phrased it politely, without directly saying his brain had gone haywire from grief, but it still left the other utterly speechless.
Little Strawberry: =_=
Little Strawberry: You’re absolutely sure you don’t like him at all?
He Siheng was about to reply affirmatively without hesitation when it hit him—he was still in Tan Jing’s Fan Support Group. Saying that outright would give him away.
He Siheng answered rigorously: Actually, I joined the group to use him as a role model to motivate myself to study hard and improve every day.
Even he felt like vomiting from blowing that rainbow fart.
Little Strawberry: So if he dates someone else in the future, holds hands with them, hugs them, kisses them—you won’t feel jealous? =^=
He Siheng froze. He didn’t think he had ever considered that.
No, it wasn’t “didn’t think”—he really never had.
If someone had asked him that before, he would have shot back in disgust: Why would I think about something so gross?
Now…
He Siheng closed his eyes and tried to imagine Tan Jing holding hands with someone else, hugging, kis…
His eyelids snapped open, and He Siheng pounded his chest. Weird, why did just thinking about it make his chest feel so stuffy?
Perhaps because he had been silent too long, Little Strawberry didn’t wait for his reply and sent another message.
Little Strawberry: Got it. I was the one overthinking it for him.
He Siheng glanced at the message but didn’t reply. He just sat back down in his chair in a daze, his gaze unfocused.
The next morning.
Sunlight that awakened the day poured through the floor-to-ceiling windows, spilling onto the light blue bed. The person who needed no waking had already opened his lifeless eyes when the sun rose from the east, staring blankly at the snow-white ceiling.
He Siheng had been sleepless all night.
He usually slept well. When he occasionally suffered from insomnia, he would drink some wine to help, but the lesson from last time made him afraid to drink casually this time. He could only force himself to sleep.
The result was him sprawled like a pancake on the bed all night.
That feeling of being unable to sleep no matter what, watching the sky gradually lighten, was truly awful.
And today was New Year’s—no sleeping in allowed.
He Siheng yawned listlessly and dragged himself out of bed to freshen up.
His bedroom had no en-suite bathroom, so he shuffled out listlessly, wandering like a ghost to the shared bathroom on the second floor. Yawning as he pushed open the door, his mouth halfway open, he locked eyes with the person inside who had just finished brushing his teeth.
“Morning.” Tan Jing had just gotten up too, his voice much lower than usual.
“Sorry, didn’t notice someone was in here.”
He Siheng immediately stopped yawning and was about to back out when Tan Jing stepped aside, making room at half the sink.
“Come on, I’m almost done.”
He Siheng hesitated for two seconds but eventually walked over and grabbed his toothpaste and brush.
Tan Jing put away the used mouthwash cup and toothbrush, then glanced from the mirror at the guy beside him squeezing toothpaste.
His chestnut short hair stuck out messily from sleep, his eyelids drooped from lack of sleep, and the dark circles under his eyes stood out starkly against his fair skin.
Tan Jing withdrew his gaze and casually asked, “Didn’t sleep well last night?”
He Siheng shoved the toothbrush into his mouth and mumbled an affirmative.
Not just didn’t sleep well—he hadn’t slept at all.
Tan Jing asked again, “Something bothering you?”
He Siheng paused in brushing and kept his eyes down, avoiding his gaze. “Played on my phone too much.”
Tan Jing paused, then let out a low, ambiguous chuckle. “Played on your phone, huh…”
His tone was loaded, clearly showing disbelief.
He Siheng couldn’t help feeling a bit guilty.
“He Siheng.”
Tan Jing suddenly called his name.
He Siheng instinctively turned his head, heart pounding as he looked at him. “Wh-what?”
But Tan Jing didn’t look at him; he faced the mirror at the sink.
He Siheng followed his gaze to the mirror and met eyes with his reflection.
The guy’s expression was half-smirking with a hint of mockery. “Next time you try fooling someone, practice in front of a mirror first.”
He Siheng froze, not getting a chance to respond before Tan Jing finished washing his face, turned off the tap, and walked out of the bathroom.
At the door, he paused again.
“By the way,” he half-turned his face, “I’m planning to head back to Qi Nan tomorrow. Next time we meet, I’ll be your lackey for a month.”
He Siheng didn’t process the bombshell right away. “You—”
Before he could ask, Tan Jing walked out without looking back, pulling the door shut behind him.
He Siheng stood there stunned.
Being his lackey for a month meant… Tan Jing was conceding voluntarily? Giving up the pursuit?
Wasn’t the bet for three months? It hadn’t even been three months yet—why?
Right, even if it wasn’t three months, Tan Jing had every right to quit.
He Siheng pressed his thin lips together, unconsciously clutching the front of his shirt as that familiar stuffiness from last night welled up in his chest again.
The He Family’s New Year’s tradition was making phone calls to pay respects. On New Year’s Eve, Shu Qiu’s phone never stopped ringing.
In previous years at this time, He Siheng would message Tan Wan to wish her a happy New Year.
Actually, he had always wanted to video call, but considering she had a boyfriend, he stuck to texts. Now that he no longer had those feelings for her, there was no need to avoid anything—calling was more convenient.
He Siheng hesitated a bit: continue with text or call?
As he pondered, his peripheral vision caught Tan Jing coming downstairs. He Siheng pursed his lips and directly dialed a video call to Tan Wan, frantically turning up the volume.
The call connected quickly. Tan Wan’s smile was as gentle as ever, her frank voice coming through the phone: “Hey, Little Heng, Happy New Year!”
In He Siheng’s peripheral view, the guy’s figure clearly paused, as if noticing.
Before Tan Jing turned to look, He Siheng quickly averted his gaze, smiling at Tan Wan on the screen with a brighter voice than usual. “Can’t see Wanwan Sis on New Year, so it’s not that great.”
“You’re such a sweet talker,” Tan Wan laughed frankly. “If you miss me that much, come over to our place for New Year.”
He Siheng politely declined: “Qi Nan winters are too cold. I’ll head back when school starts.”
Tan Wan agreed: “It is cold—I’ve been driving lately, and the motorcycles in the garage are gathering dust.”
Mentioning motorcycles reminded He Siheng of something. He sneaked a glance at Tan Jing standing nearby, subtly quirking his lips before deliberately saying loudly, “Wanwan Sis, teach me to ride next time too.”
Tan Wan agreed readily: “Sure, it’s not hard. A Jing picked it up in middle school.”
The curve of He Siheng’s lips flattened a bit, his tone tinged with defiance: “I’ll definitely learn faster than him.”
Tan Wan was used to his competitive streak with Tan Jing and laughed helplessly: “You two really are always competing.”
Then, thinking of something, her smile turned ambiguous. “But on one thing, you’re probably going to lose to him.”
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