Chapter 27, Love Letter
"Good brothers?"
Zhao Xinye's expression was somewhat subtle. Had he misjudged?
"What, doesn't it look like it?" Gu Hengzhi thought he was being questioned. He reached out and draped an arm around Ji Linxue's shoulder, posing as if they were close buddies.
Then, he watched as Zhao Xinye's expression grew even stranger.
Gu Hengzhi, "?"
He pulled Ji Linxue even closer, moving away from this strange person.
Ji Linxue almost lost his footing because of him, but out of politeness in front of others, he still saved his face. Without wanting to scold him, he silently removed Gu Hengzhi's hand, then said to Zhao Xinye, "What were you going to say just now?"
Zhao Xinye glanced at Gu Hengzhi, the meaning very clear, with others present, he couldn't say what he wanted to.
Ji Linxue understood, but he didn't tell Gu Hengzhi to leave, "He's not an outsider."
Gu Hengzhi nodded in agreement, his restless hand quietly reaching for Ji Linxue's waist, causing the latter to finally lose his patience and swat it away.
"Don't mess around," Ji Linxue warned in a low voice.
Zhao Xinye really couldn't figure out their relationship. If they were brothers, they were too intimate. If they were a couple, they acted too naturally, openly and without any hint of ambiguity.
Completely different from the same-sex couples he knew.
In the end, what he wanted to say remained unspoken, "Let's exchange contact information. After all, we were junior high classmates. We can come to future class reunions together."
Ji Linxue hadn't spoken yet, but Gu Hengzhi already beat him to it, "Can't add yours. His phone's dead."
Ji Linxue, just about to take out his phone from his pocket, "…?"
It was perfectly normal for classmates to want to exchange WeChat. But he hadn't expected Gu Hengzhi's reaction to be so extreme, almost to the point of strict defense.
Gu Hengzhi wasn't such a rude person at all.
For example, with Su Muqing, Gu Hengzhi treated her that way for a reason, but Zhao Xinye was just someone he had just met. Ji Linxue couldn't understand why Gu Hengzhi was doing this.
But out of trust for him, Ji Linxue still followed up, "Sorry, maybe next time."
Zhao Xinye wasn't so easily dismissed, "Then tell me your WeChat ID, I'll search for it and add you."
Ji Linxue hadn't thought of an excuse yet, but Gu Hengzhi had already answered for him, "His search function is off. You can't find him by WeChat ID or phone number."
With such successive rejections, Zhao Xinye obviously realized something. He raised his eyebrows, pointing at Gu Hengzhi's left hand, "It's okay, then I'll add you. You definitely have his WeChat ID. You can send it to me later."
Gu Hengzhi, "..."
He looked down at the phone clutched in his palm, whose screen had lit up at some point, wishing he could throw the thing away right now.
Gu Hengzhi didn't speak, but Zhao Xinye directly walked over. The two men, of similar height, stood together, creating an inexplicable sense of confrontation.
In the end, they did exchange contacts.
Gu Hengzhi looked at his phone with the exact same look of disdain that Lu Yu had given his "pig teammate" earlier.
When the three returned to the private room, the party was already nearing its end.
Lu Yu had an old-fashioned routine, at this hour, he was already sleepy and kept yawning. Shen Shaoyan, however, was full of energy. Seeing them return, he even raised an eyebrow gossipy.
After the party ended, the group said goodbye at the club entrance, each returning home. Zhao Xinye was somewhat reluctant to leave, his gaze following Ji Linxue's figure.
After a moment of thought, he still walked over and said to Gu Hengzhi, "Could you please send me his WeChat when you get back? Thank you."
Gu Hengzhi gave a forced smile, "You're welcome."
Once the person left, Shen Shaoyan leaned in, "Who's WeChat did he ask you for? Which girl did he fancy?"
Gu Hengzhi's gaze shifted, and Shen Shaoyan followed it, seeing Ji Linxue's back.
"He wants Xiaoxue's?" Shen Shaoyan was instantly disappointed. "If he wants it, just give it to him. What can a guy do?"
Gu Hengzhi's sharp gaze swept over him.
Shen Shaoyan's trailing voice awkwardly changed, "Of course you can't give it to him! Is Xiaoxue's WeChat something anyone can ask for?! No!"
His voice was so loud that it attracted Ji Linxue and Lu Yu, who were chatting.
Lu Yu, originally overcome with sleepiness, was jolted awake by Shen Shaoyan's howl, "Shen Shaoyan, what are you going crazy about in the middle of the night?"
Shen Shaoyan silently mimed zipping his mouth shut.
Because it was too late, the three decided to stay overnight and return the next day. On the way to the hotel, Shen Shaoyan said, "Xiaoxue, it's so late already. Why don't you just not go home? The hotel has enough room anyway."
Ji Linxue thought it made sense. Anyway, he still had to send them to the airport tomorrow. So he said, "Then I'll tell my mom."
His mother trusted him greatly. Hearing that his high school roommates had come, she readily agreed, though she still reminded him to be careful.
An hour later, the four arrived at the hotel.
A City's prosperity was far from that of S City. This hotel wasn't part of the Gu family's properties, but its advantage was its proximity to the airport. Gu Hengzhi originally wanted to book a suite but was told only a family suite was available.
"Actually, you can book two double rooms," the sweet-smiling front desk lady said.
Lu Yu was already too tired to walk much. Hearing this, he said, "Double rooms it is, then. It's just for one night anyway."
No one else objected. When allocating rooms, Ji Linxue naturally ended up in a room with Gu Hengzhi.
The hotel's soundproofing was decent. Once the door was closed, all noise from the hallway was blocked out.
Ji Linxue placed the gift bag on the table, making Gu Hengzhi look at it a few times, "He gave you that?"
"Yeah, a birthday present," Ji Linxue said. He then stared at him for a while, making Gu Hengzhi feel uneasy, before slowly speaking, "Speaking of which, what's wrong with you today? Why are you so strange?"
Gu Hengzhi stiffened his neck, "I'm not."
"Still not admitting it," Ji Linxue said. "I noticed your strong hostility towards Zhao Xinye. How did he annoy you?"
Exposed, Gu Hengzhi simply stopped hiding it, "I just don't think he looks like a good person. He must have ulterior motives for you."
Ji Linxue laughed softly. So it was such a simple reason. He felt Gu Hengzhi was overthinking things. What could he possibly have that Zhao Xinye would covet?
"Then you should have told me earlier," he already didn't have much interaction with Zhao Xinye, let alone that Gu Hengzhi disliked him so much. "I just won't interact with him in the future."
Gu Hengzhi's eyes lit up, "You said that."
He wasn't sure if it was Ji Linxue's imagination, but he increasingly felt that Gu Hengzhi resembled a big dog. For instance, now, he was so well-behaved that one felt like patting his head.
Ji Linxue resisted the urge to reach out and ruffle his hair, then stood up, "I'm going to take a shower. Are you showering?"
"You go first."
Gu Hengzhi was still thinking. After Ji Linxue entered the bathroom, his gaze slowly fell on the gift bag on the table.
That bag was like a Pandora's Box, exuding a great allure, tempting people to open it.
Gu Hengzhi reluctantly averted his gaze, then a moment later, slowly turned it back.
Just as he was hesitating, the phone in his pocket suddenly vibrated.
From a newly added contact.
[Zhao Xinye : Hello, Linxue's WeChat?]
A burst of anger shot from his chest straight to the top of his head. Gu Hengzhi typed with a cold smirk.
[zzz : Why are you calling him so affectionate? Are you close?]
[Zhao Xinye : ...]
[Zhao Xinye : Okay, can you send me Ji Linxue's WeChat now?]
Having asked so many times, he was starting to get impatient. If Ji Linxue hadn't been there just now, he wouldn't have been so humble and polite.
On the other side, Gu Hengzhi, who saw his reply, became even more annoyed.
Actually, he knew it was just a WeChat ID. Ji Linxue was sensible in his actions and had high vigilance. Even if Zhao Xinye wanted to do something, he wouldn't succeed.
But he just didn't want to give it.
His gaze shifted, falling on the bag again, his heart stirring.
In the end, Gu Hengzhi didn't dare to touch it. Ji Linxue would definitely scold him if he found out, and he didn't want to make Ji Linxue angry.
The sound of water in the bathroom stopped at some point. Until a click of the door, Ji Linxue walked out, drying his hair.
He hadn't brought clothes, so he could only temporarily wear a bathrobe. Fortunately, the hotel had a dryer, so he could wash his clothes and wear them tomorrow morning.
"I'm done showering. You go ahead."
"Okay," Gu Hengzhi responded, but his gaze was still fixed on the bag not far away.
Ji Linxue looked over and smiled, "What, curious?"
Gu Hengzhi nodded repeatedly.
"Perfect, I wanted to open it and see too."
Ji Linxue hadn't expected Zhao Xinye to send him a birthday gift, as they weren't particularly close. But if it was an apology, it made sense.
He opened the bag, and inside lay a black velvet box. Next to it was something resembling a greeting card.
Ji Linxue didn't pay attention to the thin paper, assuming it was a birthday greeting. He directly opened the velvet box. Inside, a red woven hand string came into view.
In the middle of the red string, there was a small golden peach blossom, with two lucky beads next to it.
The hand string was clearly a feminine style, and coupled with the peach blossom, Ji Linxue hadn't even reacted, but Gu Hengzhi already had a bad premonition.
Ji Linxue held the bracelet and looked at it for a while, then suddenly remembered the greeting card he had overlooked.
It was densely covered with black writing. It was clear the writer had tried their best to write neatly, but it was still very ugly.
The first long paragraph was an overly verbose birthday greeting, seemingly copied from somewhere. Ji Linxue skimmed through it quickly and soon reached the last paragraph.
[You are like a gentle breeze entering my heart, you are like a small stream flowing into my soul, you are like sunlight pouring into my heart's river. Ji Linxue, there's something I want to tell you, actually, I've liked you for a long time.]
So corny.
But more surprising than this corny love letter was that Zhao Xinye actually said he liked him.
Gu Hengzhi had excellent eyesight. Standing nearby, he saw the content clearly. Of course, Ji Linxue wasn't guarding against him at all.
His mind was in chaos, a complete blank. This news was like a monstrous wave, leaving him completely flustered.
One moment he thought, Zhao Xinye truly had ulterior motives, good thing I didn't give him Ji Linxue's WeChat. The next moment he thought, what will Ji Linxue do? Will he agree? Or refuse? Will he date Zhao Xinye?
Just thinking about this possibility, his heart felt squeezed by a large hand, sore and swollen, making it hard to breathe.
Gu Hengzhi was extremely agitated, standing frozen in place, until Ji Linxue spoke, and he was jolted awake.
"You didn't give him my WeChat ID, did you?"
Comments Box