Qin Fang blurted out his words, and when Han Xiaogong asked him what he had instigated, he couldn't answer.

But since he had already said it, so be it. So Qin Fang said to him, "Anyway, you instigated it, I'm not going in, just pass me my backpack and I'll leave with Yan-ge."

"Okay." Han Xiaogong handed it over to him, "Go quickly, so I don't continue driving wedges here."

Qin Fang took his backpack and went downstairs with Xing Yan.

They hadn't seen each other for a long time, let alone sitting together in a car like this. Qin Fang thought he would feel very uncomfortable, but he didn't, at least not as awkward as when they returned to school from outside on the second day of his birthday.

Xing Yan was already a senior, and he actually didn't have many classes at school. But he still often went to the library and laboratory. Qin Fang thought he shouldn't be too busy now, but he still couldn't catch him every day.

"I see my roommates have nothing to do except prepare for the postgraduate entrance examination," Qin Fang tried to find a topic to chat with Xing Yan, and asked him, "Are you taking the exam?"

"Mm." Xing Yan just nodded.

"I haven't heard you mention it," Qin Fang asked him, "Where are you applying?"

Xing Yan didn't answer immediately. After a while, he looked out the car window and said, "Let's talk about it later."

"If you're taking the exam, you should have already registered," Qin Fang laughed a little, "How come you haven't decided where to apply at this point?"

Xing Yan didn't continue this topic, and Qin Fang didn't ask more after he finished speaking.

Zhou Siming and Xing Yan were both from the School of Chemistry, they were in the same year. Thinking of him, Qin Fang asked, "I haven't seen Zhou Siming since the holiday, did he go out for an internship?"

Xing Yan said, "He went out to make money, he's short of money."

Qin Fang remembered that when he and Xing Yan went out during the summer vacation, someone asked Xing Yan for money. When they encountered a red light, Qin Fang stopped the car, "He's short of money... because of school and stuff?"

"School doesn't cost much," Xing Yan was still looking out the window, saying, "He borrowed a lot of money outside."

"Why?" Qin Fang was a little surprised.

Xing Yan said, "He also has a grandfather whose health is not very good."

"Ah..." Qin Fang asked, "How much money did he borrow?"

"I don't know, he doesn't talk about these things." Xing Yan said these things calmly, "We won't ask him either."

Indeed, among these four people, Zhou Siming seemed to be more aloof, and he didn't usually contact them much. Qin Fang remembered that Xing Yan had said before that they were not friends, but they grew up tied together. They were indeed independent individuals, each growing on their own, but their roots were connected. They couldn't be separated, but they weren't close either.

Qin Fang didn't continue chatting about Zhou Siming. Although he was not as hostile to Zhou Siming as before, they were no closer than strangers anyway.

Si Tu's residence was not far from the college, at most a ten-minute drive. After Qin Fang drove into the school gate, he suddenly asked Xing Yan, "Wanna play a game, Yan-ge?"

Xing Yan looked at him, and didn't respond for a long time. Qin Fang thought he was going to refuse, but in the end, Xing Yan nodded.

Qin Fang's racket was in the trunk, he didn't even need to go back to get it. He parked the car directly by the sports field.

With their current relationship status, playing ball was a quite suitable way to interact. After all, chatting was not as casual as before. If they accidentally touched on a related topic, it would be a bit awkward, and the tone of speech, whether close or distant, would be inappropriate.

Playing ball would avoid these awkward moments. The two of them didn't need to say anything, just swing the racket hard, back and forth, communicating through actions.

Both of them were holding back their anger, both feeling unhappy. The court was filled with the dull "bang bang" sound of tennis balls hitting the rackets and the floor, one sound after another.

Every time Qin Fang swung his racket, he used all his strength, even frowning a little. Inadvertently, the frustration in his heart was reflected on his face, with a small spark of anger in his eyes.

He was angry in his heart, and cared a lot about Xing Yan, so he more or less blamed the other party for making their relationship like this. They were originally good brothers, but he unilaterally changed this relationship, and then unilaterally distanced himself, making them neither close nor distant, stiff and awkward now.

It's all him, why did you have to do this... Can't we just be good brothers?

The balls he hit, Xing Yan could catch and return. Xing Yan didn't say a word, his face was as cold and calm as ever, his jaw clenched, the veins on his neck bulging when he exerted force, his eyes piercing through the net and staring at Qin Fang.

Qin Fang hit the ball, and in the gap of watching Xing Yan's movements to predict where the ball would land, he would also look at his face.

Every time Xing Yan's gaze collided with his, he would stare straight at him. Qin Fang could catch his balls, but he couldn't always withstand his gaze. The more he couldn't stand it, the more he put his energy into the ball, venting in this way.

Xing Yan used a lot of force on the last ball, and Qin Fang simply didn't catch it, letting the ball eventually hit the wall with a "bang" and then bounce onto the floor.

Qin Fang threw his racket on the ground, stood in place panting, every breath he exhaled was hot. He looked at Xing Yan holding his racket across the net and asked him roughly, "You're going to stay like this, right?"

Xing Yan didn't move, also standing in place, taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly, shaking the sweat off his head, and asked, "Like what?"

Qin Fang let a game of ball stir up his temper. He usually looked easy to talk to and had no temper, but in fact, he was also a hothead. He just didn't easily lose his temper with people he was familiar with.

The ball from earlier slowly rolled to his feet, and Qin Fang kicked it hard, asking Xing Yan, "If I don't fucking fool around with you, you won't be my brother anymore?"

There was a distance between them, but not too far, they could clearly see each other's expressions and eyes. Xing Yan saw Qin Fang's chest heaving violently, saw the drop of sweat condensed on the tip of his chin, and his slightly trembling hands.

Xing Yan also threw his racket down, stepped over the net, walked straight up to Qin Fang, and the two stared at each other.

Qin Fang had a big temper and Xing Yan was no pushover either. He suddenly raised his hand and Qin Fang was caught off guard, but he didn't dodge. Xing Yan forcefully pinched Qin Fang's chin, his fingers fiercely wiping over that drop of sweat, the pads of his fingers rubbing over Qin Fang's chin, wet and slippery.

"What fucking brother," Xing Yan pinched Qin Fang's chin without letting go, gritting his teeth before speaking, the muscles on the side of his cheeks twitching twice, and said in a deep voice, "...I never took you as a brother."

Qin Fang frowned, Xing Yan's hand pinched his bones painfully, but Qin Fang didn't back down a single step.

"From the very beginning... I never wanted to be your brother." Xing Yan chuckled lightly and continued, "Don't be naive, little cutie."

Qin Fang swatted his hand away, his eyes appearing even brighter due to anger, "Why?"

Xing Yan said, "No reason."

If the person in front of him wasn't Xing Yan, wasn't the one who played ball with him and helped him with problems, wasn't the one who led him to find comfort, Qin Fang would have already taken action by now.

But now the person standing in front of him was Xing Yan. No matter what, Qin Fang couldn't bring himself to raise his hand against him.

The point that angered Qin Fang wasn't that Xing Yan had impure motives towards him. The reason he was furious today was because of Xing Yan's cold treatment, forcing him into the current situation - either take a step forward or a step back. But for Qin Fang right now, he was unwilling to do either.

If they hadn't played this match, Qin Fang's temper probably wouldn't have flared up for a long time. Exercise really does make one's head hot and blood flow.

The anger in Qin Fang's eyes couldn't dissipate, and there was also a bit of unaware grievance. He just wanted to ask Xing Yan why. Xing Yan looked into his eyes for a long time before finally being the first to stand down. He lowered his head to pick up the racket.

After retrieving the racket from the other side, Qin Fang still stood there without moving. Xing Yan sighed, walked over, and very lightly pushed the back of his head. "Let's go."

Qin Fang's stubborn temper was also provoked, very obstinate.

Xing Yan said to him, "I said I don't need you to respond."

Qin Fang retorted, "Bullshit."

"What did I do to you?" Xing Yan raised an eyebrow. "Did I not reply to your message or what did I do to you?"

"Reply or don't reply as you like," Qin Fang also said.

"I really don't need you to respond now," Xing Yan frowned. "If it wasn't for wanting to give you that stone for your birthday, I wouldn't be telling you this now."

"But you still said it?" Qin Fang said, a bit irritated.

"Mm, I didn't just say it." Xing Yan said mildly, "I also kissed you."

Qin Fang was blocked by that sentence and couldn't continue. The words he wanted to say were all swallowed back.

"Think it over slowly. I've said before, you can tell me anything." Xing Yan stood in front of Qin Fang with his racket and said to him, "I will respect any decision you make."

Qin Fang made an "mm" sound and used words to prick at him: "Respect and then cut ties."

Xing Yan ignored his words and continued, "Let me say a few things to you upfront."

Qin Fang raised an eyebrow and waited for him to speak.

"From that day until now, you haven't given me a clear rejection. You can't bear to be ruthless. As for why, I won't say. You can slowly think about it yourself. I'll wait for you to figure it out."

Xing Yan pursed his lips. His eyes suddenly didn't seem as calm as before. His voice lowered a few degrees. "But before that, if you chase girls again, then I won't want your conclusion anymore."

Qin Fang frowned and said coldly, "I haven't."

"Mm," Xing Yan nodded. "I know you haven't today. I'm talking about the future."

It was the first time Qin Fang returned from playing ball with the frustration in his heart not relieved at all, but instead intensified. Even exercise couldn't dispel the messy emotions in his heart. This had never happened before.

He went straight to take a shower and change clothes after returning, then lay on the bed without doing anything.

When his roommate returned from outside and saw Qin Fang lying down so early, he was quite surprised and asked, "What's wrong, Fang?"

"It's nothing," Qin Fang's nose was a bit stuffy. "Just a bit tired from playing ball."

"Your voice doesn't sound right," Shen Dengke came over and looked up while holding onto his bed railing. "Are you feeling unwell?"

"No," Qin Fang sniffled. "I'm quite normal."

At the time, Qin Fang still told his roommate he was normal. It really didn't seem like anything then. But in the middle of the night, he had a dream about his grandfather. Only after waking up did he start to feel a bit uncomfortable.

When he showered after returning from playing ball, he didn't wait for the hot water. The hot water still needed some time to flow through the pipes, so he didn't wait.

He didn't know if it was because of that or because he sweated too much while playing and was exposed to the cold wind afterwards. Qin Fang rarely got sick and had a sturdy body, so he usually didn't pay much attention to these aspects.

His head felt heavy and breathing labored. He was indeed uncomfortable.

Trying to sleep again, he couldn't fall asleep. Being awake was also a bit uncomfortable. It was unpleasant either way.

Qin Fang picked up his phone and casually looked at it. It was 2:30 in the morning. Everywhere was quiet at this time. There weren't many night owls posting on Moments.

It was about the same on Weibo. Qin Fang scrolled down and saw that Han Xiaogong had posted the photos taken today on Weibo.

There was a photo with him in it. He was even smiling at the camera. Qin Fang thought to himself while sniffling, Fang-ge's looks are still on point.

In the comments, some people were discussing his CP with Han Xiaogong, and some were "@Yan-ge".

Seeing those @Yan-ge comments, Qin Fang recalled how Xing Yan had pinched his chin while talking today. He felt the anger rising again.

"Mm, I didn't just say it... I also kissed you."

Xing Yan's words suddenly flashed through his mind. Qin Fang turned off his phone, stuffed it under his pillow, and closed his eyes.

What the hell kind of words are those.