Chapter 35 - First stalk.
The light from his mobile phone was reflected on his face. Gently, You Liangxing tilted his head and unconsciously reached upwards to cover his mouth with his hand. As he stared at the like he had accidentally given, he no longer felt as embarrassed.
In fact, he really wanted to laugh.
Since his praise has already been exposed, there was no need for any misgivings; You Liangxing calmed his mind and tapped on the WeChat moments that he had been glimpsing through and started working his way to the bottom.
[don’t want to move] posted a lot of content on his Moments. Preceding yesterday’s match history, the daily records of his match history were arranged in order, starting from the latest to the oldest. You Liangxing swept through them and realised that the other party would always cut up a picture from the matches they had played together to preserve it.
The game screenshots were frequently accompanied by a string of text which were vivid and interesting. After reading it, You Liangxing could swiftly recall what had happened during the game.
【I am not your Yu Ji, I am your Seeing~ Ends~ Ji.】
【Having seen your gaze, you are the one I want to kill.】
【Who gave you the audacity to go against me.】
Arrogant and noisy. You Liang could not help but smile while blinking a few times.
When You Liangxing first added him on WeChat, he felt a little unfamiliar. After going through his WeChat moments, that unfamiliarity rose by half before it gradually lowered. There were some places he recognised and yet, there were other parts that he never seemed to have understood.
It was an intriguing sensation because it was like he was solving a jigsaw puzzle; with every piece put in place, a better understanding of the person as a whole could be acquired.
This was also the first time You Liangxing used such a method to approach a person.
The pictures of the game match histories only persisted until the early days of mid-June, and when he calculated backwards, it happened to be the day where they started gaming together. Before that, [don’t want to move] should have already started gaming, but there was no record of it on his Moments. Instead, it was merely bits and pieces of his daily life, like which flavour of candy was particularly sweet, or which poetry collection was very enlightening.
Sweets and poetry, no matter which one it was, You Liangxing had never discussed it with [don’t want to move] to close up the distance between them.
After viewing all the contents, You Liangxing felt like he was trapped in a sea fog, and no matter what did, he could not construct an image of [don’t want to move]. The other party was both quiet and noisy, he was thoughtful yet arrogant; he was twisted and mixed with thick contradictions.
It reminded You Liangxing of something Liang Chulin said: The personality that they display in the game is very different from how they truly are in real life, it was very normal.
It was normal...
Was it supposed to be this?
You Liangxing switched off his phone and closed his eyes. Then, he slept without dreaming.
The next morning, You Liangxing was awoken by his biological clock. Because he woke up early, Liang Chulin was still asleep. While his complexion was still weak and weary from the illness, he no longer looked like he was in pain.
After You Liangxing finished putting everything in order, he went downstairs for a run. His daily routine mandated a morning run of forty minutes, twenty minutes to run in a certain direction and another twenty to return, and the journey he took was just right since there were not a lot of people milling on the streets.
In the middle of his run, You Liangxing stopped to buy some breakfast. While he was waiting, he took out his phone to check the time and noticed that there was a notification for WeChat. The message came from [don’t want to move] and the timestamp stated that it was sent around four o’ clock last night, after You Liangxing had fallen asleep.
You Liangxing entered the chat and saw that the other party only left a simple “Goodnight.”
From the looks of it, he was well-aware that neither of them had truly slept considering how they had mutually liked each other’s Moments, and he had re-issued the message when he actually went to bed.
Gazing at the skies and the morning light, You Liangxing typed a reply: — Morning.
There was no movement from the other end.
Not everyone could be as energised as You Liangxing was after waking up at this hour. In spite of that, You Liangxing still waited quietly for two minutes, even though there were no results to show for it.
Feeling a subtle sense of loss, You Liangxing took the breakfast and ran back to the hospital.
Despite the fact that Liang Chulin slept until it was around eight or nine, You Liangxing accompanied him until he woke up. And while the boy was no longer hindered by his ailment, he was still listless, and his face only scrunched up even further when the doctor told him that he could only have porridge.
To make matters worse, when he had finished his breakfast with much difficulty, the nurse carted in two bags of saline solution again. Therefore, Liang Chulin could only pitifully stay on the bed, wearing an ugly expression throughout the entire process. After staying sullen for a long time, the boy who was about to enter university soon unexpectedly teared.
Assuming that it was due to the discomfort from being sick outside, You Liangxing consoled him, “Just tough it out today.”
Liang Chulin wiped away his tears before he spoke, “No, I just feel like I’m troubling you too much. Brother Liang Liang, I’m sorry.”
Originally, he was supposed to be travelling but he met You Liangxing, a school senior who he grew to admire. However, not only did he not leave a good impression, he ended up causing a lot of trouble for him. While You Liangxing did not express it, making You Liangxing run for the entire night and continue taking care of him today was a source of great embarrassment for Liang Chulin.
The more Liang Chulin ruminated about it, the more he felt like he was burdening You Liangxing. After suppressing these thoughts for one night, he finally apologised in the morning.
You Liangxing said: “It’s fine.”
Liang Chulin’s lips quivered and he still felt unhappy about it. Retrieving his phone, he fiddled with it for a while before he finally decided: “Brother Liang Liang, I’m going home in the afternoon.”
“Going home?”
Liang Chulin nodded his head, “I’ve been here for more than a week; the things that should be played have already been played, so it’s a good time to go home.”
You Liangxing paused for a bit before he eventually said: “Okay.”
While Liang Chulin might seem childish, he would never turn back on a decision he made in actuality. He and You Liangxing happened to become acquainted on the road, and after being in frequent contact, they were relatively familiar with each other. And since they were already familiar with each other, there was no need to persuade the other person to stay.
Liang Chulin was slated to finish his IV therapy by noon, so he booked a train ticket that would leave at two. You Liangxing’s itinerary was rather relaxed, and he was about to prepare to send him off when Liang Chulin adamantly refused his offer.
“No, no way, I can’t inconvenience you further. I’ll go to the train station on my own while you enjoy the rest of your time. When school opens later in the year, we’ll meet in A University.”
You Liangxing nodded and only sent Liang Chulin to the bus stand. Before leaving, Liang Chulin took out his phone and solemnly said: “Brother Liang Liang, can we take a picture together?”
He could openly sneak a photo when they were not even acquainted, but now that they knew each other, he used the greatest care to ask for one. You Liangxing walked over to his side, and Liang Chulin immediately perked up and smiled for the camera before clicking.
“Really handsome!” Liang Chulin smiled happily. Then, the bus arrived and the boy waved his goodbye.
At such a timing, there were a lot of people on the bus but Liang Chulin was really fast and he managed to snatch a seat. Once he was seated, he promptly turned his head back to look at You Liangxing. His figure was standing upright in front of the signboard at the bus stand and he seemed to carry himself well. Although he was standing like everyone else, the aura he exuded was vastly different from ordinary people.
Liang Chulin could only summarise that the special temperament he had was the aura of a handsome young man, and he continued staring until the bus drove away and You Liangxing disappeared from view. Overcome with the reluctance that came with parting, Liang Chulin sighed.
With nothing to do on the bus, he turned on his phone before he placed the picture they had taken just now into the photo editor for WeChat Moments. In the photograph, he and You Liangxing were standing together, but by virtue of the fact that he was taller, You Liangxing had to stand further back. As a result, his torso was captured in the frame, and the longer Liang Chulin stared at it, the more he felt that his school senior was a S-Class handsome older brother with how he was put together in both apparel and looks.
Liang Chulin added a caption to the photo:【Life Model!】and inserted a string of clenched fist emotes before sharing it.
The Moment quickly garnered a lot of praise. And perhaps because You Liangxing’s visage was too lethal, Liang Chulin felt that the number of likes from females were proportionally higher.
Someone even made an inquiry below: — Who is this?
Liang Chulin replied: — The future me.
His friend replied with a few emotes of them rolling their eyes and Liang Chulin could not help but laugh, mood brightening considerably.
To be honest, Liang Chulin admired and liked You Liangxing wholeheartedly. Initially, he only liked him because of his appearance and the fact that he was tall, but once they got to know each other, the boy realised that everything about him was excellent. He had too many good points; countless even, since he knew how to do everything and he did it well, and to say that it was perfectly executed was not far off.
Furthermore, he had been imposing on the other person’s tenderness and affection as of late, and he did not even know how to return it...
Liang Chulin was a little dazed as he flipped through his thoughts, when the person he had noted as【Older Sister】on his WeChat, sent a message over.
[Monthly Refreshing Breeze]: — Lin Lin.
[Monthly Refreshing Breeze]: — You know You-xuezhang?
Liang Chulin was lost for a moment. He only reacted when he realised that Liang Chuhan probably saw his recent Moment. However, that did not clarify why his older sister suddenly asked the question, and he replied back, confused: — Sis, are you talking about Brother Liang Liang? Yi, you know of him as well?
Liang Chulin was not the only one who was confused; Liang Chuhan was extremely confused herself. Truthfully speaking, when it came to her little brother’s WeChat Moments, there was nothing more startling than having to see the person she was interested in be featured in a picture alongside her little brother.
Liang Chuhan typed at a rapid pace: — You-xuezhang, You Liangxing, A University’s Economic Management Faculty Senior, haven’t you seen him before?
Something in Liang Chulin’s mind clicked, and suddenly, everything started piecing together. So that was the reason why he thought You Liangxing’s name sounded familiar when he first heard it on the train. Previously, when he had been browsing through A University’s web forum, he had seen quite a few posts about him. The legendary male god of A University, wasn’t his name called You Liangxing?
The points of information connected into a line, and Liang Chulin suddenly saw the light. Back then, had he not been curious what the person in the legends was like? Hadn’t he questioned how the person managed to become legend in the university? But now that he thought about it, he felt that calling him a ‘legend’ was not enough!
Liang Chulin replied: — I know of him, I met him on the train.
Whenever the siblings talked to each other as of late, Liang Chulin would briefly mention the happenings of their encounters to Liang Chuhan. Since they shared a close relationship, there was nothing they could not talk about. And when it came to their own idols, they were more than happy to share their thoughts.
— Sis, Brother Liang Liang is really, really kind. Previously, didn’t I tell you I met a super nice person? It’s him, You Liangxing, University’s A Legend, and I even asked you if you want to play games together with him!
How could Liang Chuhan forget? She remained shocked for a long time, unable to utter a single word. She did not expect that life would have such a coincidence, and the opportunity to interact with You Liangxing would slip away like this.
Liang Chuhan kept quiet for a long while before she finally said: — Lin Lin, the next time you’re playing together, can you please call me?
The information that could be interpreted from the message was huge. Liang Chulin considered it for a moment, and asked: — Sis, do you have some interest in Brother Liang Liang?
Towards the three words ‘Brother Liang Liang’, Liang Chuhan had complicated feelings about it. The distance between her and You Liangxing was ‘You-xuezhang’, whereas the distance between her little brother and You Liangxing had become ‘Brother Liang Liang’ with a few days’ work.
Liang Chuhan deflected the question, only replying: — Just call me next time.
The intentions Liang Chulin previously had changed in a flash. He placed his foot down and said solemnly: — Sis, this won’t do, Brother Liang Liang has a girlfriend! You should give up!
Yes, Liang Chulin had intended for You Liangxing and Liang Chuhan to meet. But now, Liang Chulin resolutely chose to stand on You Liangxing’s side because he remembered the content of the messages between You Liangxing and his ‘girlfriend’ which he had stolen a few glances at while they were on train.
Liang Chulin: — The next time they meet, Brother Liang Liang is going to marry his girlfriend!
Liang Chuhan: — !!!
* * *
Oblivious to the fatal blow being dealt to Liang Chuhan, You Liangxing was very relaxed.
After sending off Liang Chulin, You Liangxing decided to take a stroll in the park that was along the road back. From the bench he was sitting on, there just so happened to have a good view of a man-made lake. As he was quietly observing, his WeChat made a soft noise.
The time now was three o’ clock in the afternoon, and [don’t want to move] just responded to the message he had sent in the morning.
[don’t want to move]: — Good morning.
You Liangxing stilled before he replied with some uncertainty: — ... Just woke up?
T/N: When the difference in name is one character _(:3 」∠)_