Lingbo Boardwalk Part 1

The two almost started fighting. Yue Zhishi, without a second thought, stood up and shielded Song Yu. Fortunately, Qin Yan, Shen Mi, and the other boys pulled the two conflicting parties apart in time, preventing a real fight from breaking out.

Having been on the Basketball Team for so long, Song Yu had always been like a ghost. If it weren't for Qin Yan, he probably would have remained forever detached from the group, neither speaking nor socializing, with no interaction beyond training and games. Despite his aloofness, he had never had a conflict with any other team member.

This outburst was so unlike him that many people were surprised. Of course, what was even more unexpected was that this mixed-race junior, who was so well taken care of by Qin Yan, was actually Song Yu's younger brother.

“Alright, alright, this is just the first day, let's not ruin the harmony.” Qin Yan mediated, patting Wang Zhi's shoulder. “Brother Zhi, the kid wasn't lying when he said he can't drink. You don't know this, but we went to the same high school. Lele had an allergic reaction during the opening ceremony and almost went into shock. It was terrifying. It was thanks to his brother being there that he managed to pull through. We're all here to have a good time, right? If something really happened, whose fault would that be?”

His words were like a needle hidden in cotton—soft on the surface but with a sharp point, subtly warning Wang Zhi. He then turned to the other team members and said, “Tonight's drinks are on me. Everyone, drink as much as you want. If you don't want to, don't force yourselves. I'll ask the waiter to bring some Coke and Sprite in a bit. Let's all just enjoy the food.”

“Why buy Coke?” Nan Jia glanced at him, a hint of pique on her face. “Is no one going to drink the milk tea I bought earlier? If you all love drinking so much, then I won't bring milk tea for everyone anymore. All my effort wasted and unappreciated.”

Wang Zhi's expression changed. His already stiff face now looked even more uncomfortable, but he seemed to want to say something. The other boys, upon hearing this, immediately said things like, “Of course not, I love milk tea and don't like to drink.”

“I really dislike it when guys pressure others to drink at the dinner table. Whether it's pressuring guys or girls, it's going against their will.” Nan Jia looked at Wang Zhi. “You're a law student too. You should know how many civil disputes arise from drinking, right?”

Although reluctant, with Nan Jia having said her piece, Wang Zhi still backed down with some annoyance. “Fine, fine, it's all my fucking fault for starting trouble.”

“Alright, alright, let's just pretend nothing happened.” Qin Yan glanced at Shen Mi and laughed. “Look, Little Shen is already tipsy. He drank more than half a bottle and his face is all red.”

While making polite conversation to smooth things over, Qin Yan grabbed Song Yu's arm, as if afraid he would storm off in a huff, and shot him a look. ‘Don't be angry, don't be angry.’

Song Yu's face was still cold, and he couldn't be bothered to say another word to them. He glanced at Yue Zhishi. “Go sit next to me.”

“Mm.” Just a moment ago, he was still shaken, terrified his brother would fight with that Wang Zhi. Now, Yue Zhishi was happy again, contentedly following behind Song Yu. The junior with a lot of questions who had originally been sitting next to Song Yu, upon hearing he could switch to a seat beside Senior Nan Jia, started grinning like a fool, absolutely delighted.

“As expected, no matter how charming a senior is, he can't compare to a senior sister.” Qin Yan sat down and sighed, then couldn't help but laugh when he saw Yue Zhishi. “The moment Lele came over, you came back to life. When you were over there, I glanced at you a few times. You looked like someone had pulled out all your tendons.”

“I wanted to sit with you guys.” Yue Zhishi was being a little dishonest. He actually just wanted to sit with Song Yu, so he quickly changed the subject, trying to lessen the guilt of his lie. “Senior Qin Yan, what did you guys order? I want to eat grilled green peppers.”

“We ordered them. It's all stuff you like to eat.” Qin Yan glanced at the silent Song Yu, then leaned over the table and said to Yue Zhishi, “You sure have a lot of pull. Your brother has been to the team so many times but has almost never come to a gathering. He only came because you're here. This is also the first time he's ordered any food. Usually, he's just a hands-off boss who doesn't care about anything.”

After speaking, he looked at Song Yu again. “Sigh, don't be angry with Wang Zhi. With that reckless personality of his, he's bound to cause trouble sooner or later. No need to argue with him, it'll sound bad if it gets out.” After advising him, he nudged Song Yu lightly with his shoulder and said with a grin, “Others get angry, but I won't. If you ruin your health from anger, no one can replace it for you.”

He thought Song Yu wouldn't respond, but to his surprise, he actually said, “Is that so? Then who found a replacement for me the moment I left?”

“Hey, you're so petty.” Qin Yan couldn't stop laughing. “Lele, look at your brother! Quick, stand up for me!”

Yue Zhishi, who had been chewing on the end of his chopstick, started laughing too. Gazing at Song Yu's side profile, he said, “Who told you to leave in the first place?”

Song Yu turned his head and gave Yue Zhishi a displeased look. Yue Zhishi immediately raised a hand to pat his arm, putting on an appeasing little expression and whispering, ‘My bad, my bad.’ After being coaxed a couple of times, Song Yu finally turned back and silently took a sip of plain water.

The grilled skewers arrived one after another. The aroma of cumin and chili was very appetizing. Yue Zhishi picked up the skewers on their metal sticks, used his chopsticks to slide all the food into his bowl, set the sticks aside, and then slowly ate with his chopsticks.

“How was your fieldwork this time?” Qin Yan chatted as he ate. “I heard you guys even slept in tents. Is that true?”

“Mm.” Song Yu said the mountainous area they went to had special terrain; the villages were all at the foot of the mountains and sparsely populated.

“You should learn rock climbing or wilderness survival or something. What if something bad happens...” Qin Yan didn't get to finish his joke before Song Yu jabbed him with an elbow, knocking the rest of his words back down his throat. At first, Qin Yan thought Song Yu couldn't take a joke, but he quickly realized and glanced at Yue Zhishi past Song Yu.

Song Yu looked over as well. Fortunately, Yue Zhishi was really focused when he ate, as if he were wrestling with a grilled chicken foot, and hadn't heard Qin Yan's words.

He changed the subject, his voice a little louder. “Song Yu, you're not a true friend. Going out for fieldwork counts as a long trip, right? You didn't even bring me back any local specialties or anything.”

Yue Zhishi, having just finished his chicken foot, happened to hear Qin Yan. “He didn't bring you a gift?”

Song Yu turned and shot Yue Zhishi a look, as if warning him not to say anything, but Yue Zhishi paid his intention no mind and focused only on showing off to Qin Yan. “Brother brought me one.”

“As expected, you can't be friends with a die-hard doting brother,” Qin Yan retorted.

As he spoke, Yue Zhishi enthusiastically pulled the small rock out of his pocket and stretched his arm across Song Yu to show it to Qin Yan. “Look!”

The moment Qin Yan saw the rock, he burst out laughing without even taking it. “What's this? I thought it was something good, but he just picked up a plain old dark rock for you.”

“It's not!” Yue Zhishi was very displeased with Qin Yan's comment and wanted to explain, but Song Yu, who was between them, pulled Yue Zhishi's hand away. But Yue Zhishi was very stubborn. After being pulled away, he reached around from behind and forcefully made Qin Yan look at the other side. “Senior, look here. It looks very ordinary on the outside, but it's very beautiful on the inside.”

“Ah...” Only then did Qin Yan see it. “It's blue inside.” But his novelty lasted only a few seconds. “But isn't it still just a rock?”

Yue Zhishi felt he couldn't win the argument. It was clearly a very precious stone, but Qin Yan didn't take it seriously.

Noticing Yue Zhishi's disappointment, Song Yu turned his head and said casually to Qin Yan, as if it were nothing: “It's Turquoise.”

Qin Yan also came from a well-off family. He couldn't recognize the raw material, but he naturally knew what it was upon hearing the name. “For real? Turquoise? What's the market price for this?”

Song Yu said lightly, “High-porcelain, high-blue grade costs several thousand a gram. This one is high-porcelain, sky-blue. You can estimate it yourself.”

“Holy shit.” Qin Yan's face changed instantly. “Brother Yu, you're awesome! You can get rich just by picking up rocks. Got any more? Give me some. That one's too small, got any watermelon-sized ones?”

Song Yu ignored him and went back to eating silently.

“So it's that expensive.” Yue Zhishi leaned very close to Song Yu, almost pressing against his arm. “Did you really just pick it up?”

“What else?” Song Yu put a piece of grilled green pepper in his bowl. “Stop looking, eat.”

Yue Zhishi obediently listened. Over the course of the meal, he discovered that most of the team members were actually nice people, and they spoke with humor and wit.

However, everyone was somewhat curious about Yue Zhishi's appearance and his brotherly relationship with Song Yu. This was only natural, and Yue Zhishi was used to it.

What he wasn't used to was that Song Yu now started to explain that they weren't biological brothers and had no blood relationship. He almost never used to say this, not caring how others understood it, as long as it didn't bring up Yue Zhishi's deceased parents.

So now, hearing Song Yu admit it himself, Yue Zhishi felt a sense of unfamiliarity. It wasn't regret that they weren't biological brothers, but an indescribable emotion.

It was as if Song Yu was publicly acknowledging their relationship on one hand, while silently resisting the definition of 'brothers' on the other. It was very contradictory.

The gathering ended, and everyone went back to their respective dorms. Nan Jia said Shen Mi seemed to be drunk and offered to take him back with another guy from the Law School.

“Maybe something's going on between Nan Jia and that newcomer, Shen Mi.” Qin Yan gossiped jokingly. “I think they look quite good together.”

'That's probably not the case,' Yue Zhishi thought.

“It'd be good if there was.” Song Yu's voice was very low, and he mumbled a bit when he said this.

“What did you say?”

“Nothing.”

Yue Zhishi strolled along with Qin Yan and Song Yu. The campus was huge, so they just wandered around aimlessly.

“Where's your girlfriend?”

This was already the third time Song Yu had asked this question.

“Why do you keep asking about my wife?” Qin Yan completely failed to get Song Yu's meaning. “She went next door to hang out with her best friend today, leaving me all alone and pitiful.”

After a few fake sobs, Qin Yan slung an arm around Song Yu's shoulder. “As kind as I am, even after you've stood me up for so many years, I'll never abandon you, or your cute little brother.”

Yue Zhishi said very directly, “I don't need you to accompany me, Senior Qin Yan.”

“What's with you, kid?” Qin Yan laughed in exasperation and threatened him, “I'm going to sell your little rock.”

The group was nearing the side gate close to East Lake when a breeze picked up, the moist air brushing against their faces. Qin Yan suddenly got a call, which seemed to be from his girlfriend. Yue Zhishi noticed that although he was usually roguish and loved to joke around, he was always especially gentle and soft-spoken whenever he talked to his girlfriend.

“Ah, you went? Don't go by yourself, wait for me. You'll get taken advantage of if you're alone. Okay, I'll be right there.”

Seeing Qin Yan hang up, Song Yu raised an eyebrow. “What? Your girlfriend went to a brawl?”

“Are you kidding me?” Qin Yan put his phone away. “She's preparing for the grad school entrance exams and doesn't want to live in the dorm. And aren't I also thinking about internship interviews? So we talked about renting a place outside, which would be more convenient.”

Yue Zhishi was very curious. “Are you guys going to live together?”

“Of course. Otherwise, would we each rent a separate room?” Qin Yan laughed. “She just said she scheduled a viewing on her way back for a place she found online. I'm going to go with her now. Sorry, Comrade Xiao Song, this time it's finally my turn to stand you up.”

Song Yu couldn't have been happier, and asked in passing, “Which complex? Is the apartment nice?”

“It's decent. A loft, with two floors, looks pretty cozy. The main thing is she likes floor-to-ceiling windows, so she can see the lake.”

Before Qin Yan left, Song Yu added, “Take a video, I'll take a look later.”

“You want to move out too?” Qin Yan said. “Didn't you already get accepted into the graduate program? Things should be pretty much settled for you.”

Yue Zhishi was a little surprised. Song Yu had never told him about these things.

“Just taking a look.” Song Yu didn't say much and quickly sent him on his way.

Suddenly, only the two of them were left. Yue Zhishi was about to speak when Song Yu's gaze shifted to the distance. “Let's go over there. You probably haven't been.”

Yue Zhishi's attention was indeed diverted. He looked in the direction Song Yu had indicated, where quite a few people were coming and going. “Where is that?”

“Lingbo Gate.”

Song Yu led Yue Zhishi over. As soon as they stepped out, their view opened up to a vast expanse of rippling lake water. The sky had already darkened; the sun had completely set, leaving only a dark blue sky that merged with the lake.

On the lake outside Lingbo Gate, there were many narrow, winding boardwalks crisscrossing the water's surface. Yue Zhishi understood almost instantly why this place was called Lingbo Gate. The risen lake water was only a few dozen centimeters from the surface of the boardwalks. Many students and tourists stood on them, looking as if they were truly walking on water, treading on the waves.

“Let's go up too.” He pulled Song Yu's wrist and ran over, only to find that these boardwalks were even narrower than he had imagined, only about half a meter wide, long and thin. The stone walkway had no railings at all. It was supported by many stone pillars sunk into the lake, one every half meter, holding up the winding path.

It was Yue Zhishi's first time walking on it, and he was a bit timid, afraid he would fall. He unconsciously stretched out his arms for balance. As he walked forward, he kept looking back. “I won't fall, will I? I haven't swum in a long time, and I've only worn this jersey once.”

'He really cherishes his life.' Song Yu found him noisy and grabbed his hand. “You won't fall.”

Just like that, one behind the other, they walked hand in hand toward the deeper part of the lake. At a certain turn, Yue Zhishi stopped. “I want to sit here.”

Like many others at Lingbo Gate, they sat down right there on the boardwalk. The sky darkened a little more, the deep blue growing richer. The September wind, mixed with the damp scent of the lake, brushed softly against their faces. On the far shore of the lake, lights came on, brilliant and gentle.