OCY - Chapter 26

Chapter 26, Looking for Someone

With something on his mind, Gu Hengzhi hastily ate a few bites of cake before putting down his plate. He sat closely beside Ji Linxue, using his body to block the glances that occasionally came from the side.

"Why aren't you eating?" Ji Linxue didn't notice this, looking at the more-than-half-eaten cake. "Don't waste it."

Gu Hengzhi's body stiffened. He wasn't particularly fond of desserts. If this weren't Ji Linxue's birthday cake, he probably wouldn't have finished it, let alone asked for a second slice.

Fortunately, Ji Linxue had just said it casually and then went to join the lively atmosphere with Lu Yu.

A card table had been set up at Lu Yu's side at some point, and a few people were gathered around playing poker.

Gu Hengzhi, like a shadow, obediently followed.

The card table was buzzing with excitement. Lu Yu, who was usually quiet and aloof, was surprisingly talkative while playing cards,

"Wait, I'm going to press!"

"Can't you count cards? I clearly only have a 5 left, and you're playing a higher card. If you played that three of hearts, we would have won."

"You're such a pig teammate! He's the landlord, why are you bombing me?"

His face was flushed with excitement, a rare sight for such strong emotions. Pink Hair was scolded into silence, his expression wronged.

With so many cards, who could possibly count them all?

A crowd of people around them were chattering. Ji Linxue looked at Gu Hengzhi, leaning in and whispering, "Was he always like this before?"

Gu Hengzhi shook his head, "My uncle is quite strict. He believes all card games are gambling, so he never let him near them."

This was Lu Yu's first time playing poker?

His posture was so skilled. Indeed, intelligent people learn everything quickly.

After a few rounds, Lu Yu's phone on the table suddenly vibrated. He looked down to see it was a call from his dad.

He quickly threw his cards to Gu Hengzhi, holding his phone, "I'm going out to take a call. You play for me."

Gu Hengzhi sat down in his original spot. He had a good hand, winning several rounds in a row. Each time he won, he would turn his head to look at Ji Linxue, watching him expectantly.

If he had a tail, it would definitely be wagging furiously.

Ji Linxue would always praise him with a smile, "Impressive."

A new game quickly began. Gu Hengzhi held his cards, staring intently at the table. Suddenly, Shen Shaoyan's surprised voice came from behind him, "Heng Ge, you're playing cards too?"

Gu Hengzhi didn't even raise his head, "It's not me playing. Lu Yu went out, so I'm filling in for him for a bit."

"Oh." Shen Shaoyan was silent for a moment, then suddenly realized something, "Where's Xiaoxue? I don't see him."

Gu Hengzhi and Ji Linxue were always inseparable. At first, he would complain, but now he was used to it and even asked if he couldn't see him.

"Wasn't he right behind me..." He said halfway, then turned his head to find that the person behind him was gone.

Gu Hengzhi stopped playing cards. He stood up and searched around but didn't see that familiar figure.

In just a blink of an eye, Ji Linxue's figure had vanished from the private room.

Suddenly remembering something, Gu Hengzhi looked around again. As expected, Zhao Xinye was also gone.

His face darkened almost instantly. He asked the people around him, but they all said they didn't know when Ji Linxue had left.

"What's wrong?" Shen Shaoyan looked at his expression and asked, "Did something happen?"

Gu Hengzhi shoved the cards into his hand, pushing through the crowd, "You play. I'm going out."

Shen Shaoyan was utterly confused. After taking the cards, he watched blankly as Gu Hengzhi left the private room.

As soon as Gu Hengzhi stepped out, he bumped into Lu Yu, who had just finished his call. Lu Yu held up his phone to him, "My dad asked when we're going back. He's arranged positions for us at the company. Not high positions, just for us to learn first."

Gu Hengzhi's mind was filled with other matters now. He absently hummed in affirmation, "Did you see Ji Linxue?"

"What's wrong?" Lu Yu said. "I did see him when I came back just now. He seemed to have gone towards the stairwell."

Gu Hengzhi took a few steps in the direction he pointed, then stopped again, turning to ask him, "Was he alone?"

Lu Yu looked at him in confusion.

Gu Hengzhi's face was grim, "Was there a very dark-skinned, very ugly man with him?"

At the end, he couldn't help but grit his teeth.

Lu Yu, "..."

Lu Yu already realized what was going on. Suppressing a smile, he said, "I don't know about the person you're describing, but Ji Linxue was indeed with someone. That person is very tall, has a good physique, and his features are quite handsome. You could say he's a ruggedly handsome type."

Gu Hengzhi looked at him expressionlessly, "Very handsome?"

Lu Yu cleared his throat, "Of course, not as handsome as you."

Only then did Gu Hengzhi let him go, striding quickly away.

Normally, he didn't mind being compared to anyone else, but regarding this suddenly appearing Zhao Xinye, he just couldn't accept defeat. His competitive spirit soared to a degree that even he found strange.

The stairwell was not far ahead. As he approached, Gu Hengzhi gradually slowed his steps.

Almost instinctively, his movements also became light and cautious.

Voices faintly drifted from behind the door.

"I was ignorant in junior high, doing many foolish things," Zhao Xinye nervously lowered his head. Despite being nearly 1.9 meters tall, he seemed to shrink before Ji Linxue.

He looked up at Ji Linxue, then quickly lowered his head again, stuttering nervously, "You, you're not mad at me, are you, for not going to No. 1 High School? They all said you chose No. 1 High School when you filled out your preferences."

Ji Linxue looked at him, too shocked to speak.

In junior high, Zhao Xinye was the school's recognized troublemaker. Ji Linxue had never seen him speak to anyone with such a submissive tone.

He admitted honestly, "It wasn't because of you. I intended to study out of town from the beginning."

He hadn't told anyone about going to Deyin, not even his parents. In his third year of junior high, for some reason, everyone started spreading rumors that he wanted to go to No. 1 High School. At the time, Ji Linxue felt there was no need to explain, so he didn't bother.

Who knew it would lead to such a misunderstanding for Zhao Xinye.

Zhao Xinye visibly sighed in relief, "Really?"

Ji Linxue smiled, "Really."

Seeing his smile, the unease on Zhao Xinye's face finally dissipated. He earnestly apologized, "I'm sorry."

Ji Linxue didn't consider himself a magnanimous person, when Liu Qingyang pushed him into the water, he retaliated. But Zhao Xinye's actions were so minor he could barely remember them.

So he smiled, his tone light, "It's okay."

Looking at his face, Zhao Xinye's Adam's apple bobbed. He took out a gift bag from behind him, elegantly wrapped, "Happy Birthday."

"Thank you," Ji Linxue accepted the gift, chatting casually, "I remember that girl used to be your girlfriend, right? Are you two still on such good terms?"

He had just asked casually to make conversation, but to his surprise, Zhao Xinye reacted as if he'd stepped on his tail, hastily saying, "She and I are just good friends. We were young back then and didn't understand anything, it wasn't really a relationship. And I already have someone I like."

His words were consistent with what the girl had said, but Ji Linxue was still a little startled by his anxious attitude, "You don't need to explain to me, I understand."

Zhao Xinye's body stiffened, his smile strained, "Okay."

"If there's nothing else, I'll head back first."

Ji Linxue glanced at the time. They had been out for ten minutes. Gu Hengzhi wouldn't be able to find him and would get angry again soon.

Bitterness spread in his mouth. Looking at the handsome boy with excellent temperament in front of him, Zhao Xinye felt incredibly pained.

In junior high, he was ignorant about relationships. To attract Ji Linxue's attention, he did many foolish things. For example, as soon as he heard a girl liked Ji Linxue, he would check what she looked like.

If she was very beautiful, he would feel uncomfortable. At that time, he mistook this feeling for jealousy. 

Driven by a surge of defiance, he would pursue the girl and even bring her in front of Ji Linxue to show off.

But Ji Linxue always ignored him, and he would lose interest in an instant, which was why his relationships were always short-lived.

It wasn't until he heard Ji Linxue was going to No. 1 High School that he started to panic. His grades were very poor, almost at the bottom of the class. Not to mention No. 1 High School, he couldn't even get into the slightly less competitive No. 2 High School.

In the last semester, he desperately studied and barely scraped into No. 1 High School.

But when school started, he went to the announcement board and searched, but Ji Linxue's name wasn't there. He finally managed to inquire about his home address, but Ji Linxue's mother told him that Ji Linxue had gone to study out of town.

He had missed another opportunity.

Now that he had finally seen him, he couldn't miss out again.

"Wait," Zhao Xinye's heart pounded wildly. He nervously licked his lips. "Can you give me a few minutes? I have something I want to tell you."

"What?" Ji Linxue tilted his head, his eyes full of confusion.

Zhao Xinye's voice was dry, "Actually, I..."

'Bang bang—'

A sudden knock on the door interrupted his words, making both of them instantly look towards the sound.

Gu Hengzhi leaned against the door panel. The light was dim, obscuring his expression.

"Are you done chatting?"

He walked in from the stairwell, his features exposed in the light, a handsome, somewhat sharp face. At this moment, his beautiful thin lips were slightly curved, looking at Zhao Xinye with a half-smile.

Zhao Xinye's body tensed almost instantly.

A strong intuition made him realize that the person in front of him was not someone to be trifled with, perhaps even a formidable rival.

Ji Linxue said, "Why are you here?"

"You have the nerve to ask," facing Ji Linxue, the previously wolf-like youth instantly transformed into a docile large dog, his eyes filled with discontent. "You didn't even tell me before you came out."

Ji Linxue was also helpless. At the time, he was watching Gu Hengzhi play cards when a girl poked him – the one who was very close to Zhao Xinye.

She said Zhao Xinye had something urgent to talk to him about. Ji Linxue didn't think much of it and just followed her. Only after they had left did he remember that he had forgotten to tell Gu Hengzhi.

"I just forgot. Why did you come looking for me?"

"I want candy," Gu Hengzhi said.

Ji Linxue took out the tin box from his pocket, "I knew you'd want to eat it."

Gu Hengzhi always used the excuse of wanting candy to find him. Ji Linxue was now firmly convinced that he had a sugar addiction.

Listening to their undisguised intimacy as they spoke, Zhao Xinye's smile disappeared. He pursed his lips, "And this is?"

"Oh, I forgot to introduce you. This is my high school classmate, Gu Hengzhi," Ji Linxue looked at Gu Hengzhi. "This is my junior high classmate, Zhao Xinye."

Gu Hengzhi said discontentedly, "High school classmate 'and' roommate 'and' good brother."

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