At the dinner table, Qin Fang could barely take Xing Yan's words as a joke given the atmosphere at the time, despite the seriousness in his eyes.

But at this very moment, with the heavy heart in his hands, those dizzying and confusing words, and the kiss Xing Yan placed on his shoulder... All of this made Qin Fang realize that it was all real.

It was very sudden, without any preparation, and he had never thought about it from this angle before.

Qin Fang looked down at the starry-like ore in his hand and called out, "Yan-ge."

"Mm." Xing Yan responded.

After calling out to him, Qin Fang didn't say anything else, truly not knowing what to say. His mind was a bit blank, but his entire chest was agitated, his heart beating fiercely, out of sync with his mind.

"You don't need to say anything else." Seeing his current confusion, Xing Yan said softly.

Originally standing straight by the bed, Xing Yan bent down after speaking to look at Qin Fang's face. He chuckled lightly and asked, "Stunned?"

"Yeah, who wouldn't be." Qin Fang crooked his finger and scratched the tip of his nose. "Blown away."

"Don't be stunned, I'm not asking you to respond." Xing Yan pressed down on his head and shook it, speaking to him in a natural tone as if joking around like usual. "I just wanted to give you a gift, we can talk about the rest later."

"Thank you, Yan-ge." Qin Fang took a deep breath, then smiled self-deprecatingly. "Actually, I... I don't even know if this is real right now, or if I'm just having a dream from drinking too much."

"You dream about me?" Xing Yan said with a smile, "Then whether it's real or a dream, you're in a lot of danger, kid."

Qin Fang didn't deny it and nodded, also smiling, "I think so too."

It was indeed very dangerous.

If this was real, it meant that Qin Fang had already stepped into the hunter's crosshairs. His buddy had confessed to him with extremely affectionate words, and his buddy was cool, handsome, and charming. If this was just a dream, to be able to dream of such content, Qin Fang was also quite deserving of his straight man status.

So the first thing Qin Fang did when he opened his eyes and woke up the next day was to look for the bedside table to see if the stone was there.

Qin Fang closed his eyes again—it was there, so it was all real.

Xing Yan hadn't stayed in this room last night, afraid that Qin Fang wouldn't be able to sleep. When Qin Fang finished washing up and went out, Xing Yan had already finished breakfast and was playing pool with Hua Tong. When he came out, Hua Tong greeted him first, "You're up?"

"You guys are quite early?" After speaking to him, Qin Fang's gaze accidentally collided with Xing Yan's. He quickly turned his eyes away, but felt it was a bit deliberate, so he turned his eyes back again.

Xing Yan looked at him without much expression. Qin Fang felt that his gaze had shifted too stiffly just now, so he smiled and said, "Good morning, Yan-ge."

"Morning." Xing Yan asked him, "Did you sleep well last night?"

A pretty normal sentence, but to Qin Fang's ears, it always felt a bit... ambiguous. After experiencing last night's events, this sentence made one inexplicably feel their ears heat up.

"Pretty well." Qin Fang pretended to be natural, casually said a few words to them, and went downstairs with the others to eat.

In any case, they were still on vacation, and they could have stayed here to play for another day or two. But Qin Fang's heart was too chaotic, and he couldn't quite stay, so he returned to school in the afternoon.

Hua Tong didn't return to school and went straight home with someone else's car. So only Qin Fang and Xing Yan were left in the car.

The atmosphere was different from when they came. At that time, whether they spoke or not, everything was very natural, and there was no need to think too much. Two very close friends, a pair of close brothers.

Now it was the complete opposite. Whether they spoke or not, the atmosphere was always tinged with a bit of deliberateness and awkwardness. Qin Fang didn't want it to be like this, so he kept finding topics to talk about to make them seem more natural.

Social butterfly Qin Fang spent the entire day folding in front of Xing Yan, unable to find a topic, and when he did, he didn't know how to chat naturally.

"Do you mind?" Xing Yan suddenly spoke up after a long period of silence.

Qin Fang almost instantly understood what he was asking about. He cleared his throat and then shook his head, "What's there to mind... No."

"That's good, you can talk to me directly if you have something to say." Xing Yan looked ahead and said, "Anything."

Xing Yan was telling him that if he didn't accept it, he could say so directly. Qin Fang understood. But he only slightly furrowed his brows, truly not knowing how to express himself. He hadn't sorted out his own thoughts yet, so he didn't want to say anything for the time being.

"Yan-ge," Qin Fang licked his lips and organized his words, "I... I really never thought about these things before, never."

Qin Fang felt uncomfortable talking about these things, his whole body felt uneasy. For a straight man to say these kinds of things to his buddy now, it was too suffocating. Qin Fang took a deep breath before continuing, "For me... Before, when it came to... dating and whatnot, my targets were always girls."

"Mm." Xing Yan nodded, indicating for him to continue.

"And we're too close," Qin Fang smiled bitterly, "I can't transition to this kind of relationship. Right now, my biggest feeling is just awkwardness, everything is awkward, it's all messed up."

Qin Fang stopped talking there. Xing Yan understood his meaning and didn't need him to continue. Xing Yan said, "Okay."

"I hope we can still be like before," Qin Fang stopped the car at the bottom of Xing Yan's dorm building without turning off the engine, "If I lose a friend because of this, I would find it very, very regrettable."

Xing Yan smiled at Qin Fang before getting out of the car. Qin Fang pursed his lips, and Xing Yan reached over to press down on his head and shake it again. Yan-ge's smile was really, really handsome.

This matter was sealed in Qin Fang's heart, and he didn't tell anyone, including Hua Tong. He couldn't open his mouth. How could he talk about this? There was no way to say it, and he didn't want to say it. In the end, this was a matter between him and Xing Yan.

Thinking of Hua Tong, Qin Fang felt bursts of anger in his heart. He even blindly cheered them on, like an idiot.

Hua Tong was completely unaware of everything that had happened and stupidly asked Qin Fang, "Hey, how come you're looking for me again? Where's your Yan-ge?"

"Shut up," Qin Fang frowned slightly, "Weren't you the one looking for me?"

"I was looking for you, but before when I looked for you, you weren't free either." Hua Tong drank his juice, slurping noisily through the straw, "Your new flame dumped you? Thinking of your old rice again?"

Qin Fang picked up the small square tissue box and threw it at him, "Can you shut up."

With one sentence, Hua Tong directly hit Qin Fang's irritation point. Since that day, Qin Fang hadn't seen Xing Yan again. It had been half a month, and they still hadn't met.

Thinking about this matter made Qin Fang feel a bit irritated, not knowing how to handle it. He sent Xing Yan a few messages, but Xing Yan's responses were quite cold, making it difficult for Qin Fang to continue the conversation. They had agreed to meet for a meal, but Xing Yan said he had to go to the lab and didn't show up.

It was like this the past few times Qin Fang tried to meet up, and Xing Yan never actively sought him out either. Qin Fang hadn't received a call from Xing Yan in half a month. Their relationship had abruptly changed from the "passionate period" to the "frozen period".

This drastic change actually made one feel somewhat disappointed. Although Qin Fang's mind was in a mess, his words were all true. He really cared about Xing Yan, whether as a friend or a brother. Now that they had become like this, Qin Fang truly felt uncomfortable, but there was nothing he could do.

This wasn't a matter of being sentimental or not. This matter was impacting Qin Fang's beliefs of over twenty years.

Actually, it wasn't like no man had pursued him before. In high school, there was a boy who pursued Qin Fang very aggressively. At that time, Qin Fang rejected him decisively and straightforwardly, telling the other party with a wry smile: "Really, don't come after me anymore. I'm straight. Even if you keep pestering me, there's no chance."

At that time, in Qin Fang's view, there was a wall between being straight and being gay. The matters on either side of that wall couldn't be resolved just by trying hard. It completely separated two spaces.

But if the other party was Xing Yan, Qin Fang was really a bit dazed. It was a very complex emotion. He couldn't say a straightforward rejection and had many misgivings. At the same time, there were other thoughts tugging at him, making Qin Fang unable to sort things out every day, his train of thought tangled into a mess.

Although their relationship had cooled, the habits left over from when they were close before were still there. Sometimes, without even realizing it, the message had already been sent out.

For example, one late night, Qin Fang was browsing Weibo and saw that a friend had bought a motorcycle which looked pretty good. He casually forwarded the picture to Xing Yan.

Only after sending it did he see that their chat window had been silent for many days, still stuck on the last time Xing Yan said he was going to the lab. Qin Fang had replied: Okay.

But since the picture was already sent, he had to say something. Qin Fang sent: Dong bought a motorcycle and is showing off on Weibo.

Xing Yan replied a few minutes later: Looks good but impractical.

Qin Fang responded: Haha, he doesn't understand at all, just playing around.

Xing Yan said: Why are you still not asleep?

Before receiving this message from Xing Yan, Qin Fang was just chatting normally, still feeling a faint awkwardness given their current relationship. But when Xing Yan sent this message, a nerve in Qin Fang's heart suddenly twinged.

Xing Yan hadn't taken the initiative to bring up a topic like this for quite a while. Before, they chatted every day about anything, whether there was something to talk about or not. Now, for Xing Yan to take the initiative to send such a simple message, Qin Fang even felt it was unexpected.

Qin Fang scratched the side of his phone with his finger and replied: Not sleepy yet.

Xing Yan took a few minutes to respond again: Sleep early, don't you have class tomorrow morning?

Qin Fang replied: Good night, Yan-ge.

Xing Yan: Good night.

The brief conversation ended, totaling less than ten sentences including the picture. After saying good night, Qin Fang didn't continue looking at other things and directly locked his screen and put down his phone.

Qin Fang had been pursued by quite a few girls, but he really hadn't dealt with a relationship like his current one before. It was a headache.

He was giving Xing Yan the cold shoulder, but Han Xiaogong wasn't doing the same to him, sending him messages from time to time.

One day, Qin Fang had just finished class and was holding his books, ready to return to the dorm. At this time, a voice call from Han Xiaogong came through.

Qin Fang picked up: "Hello?"

Han Xiaogong's voice always carried a hint of laughter, sounding a bit alluring and also lazy: "Hi, what are you doing?"

"Just got out of class." Qin Fang asked him, "What's up?"

"Help me take some photos?" Han Xiaogong said, "It's not for free, there's a reward."

Qin Fang laughed and asked him: "Taking photos is fine, but what's the reward?"

Han Xiaogong chuckled lightly on the phone and said: "I'll introduce a girl to you, how about that?"