Picking Up Stars

捡星星

picking-up-stars

Chapter 58 Part 2

After the photoshoot, only the two of them were left in the private room. Qin Fang let out a sigh of relief: "I can finally eat now."


 "You eat your food, let him take his photos." Han Xiaogong had taken too many photos and no longer took the camera seriously.


 Qin Fang smiled and said: "I'm afraid he'll take ugly photos of me."


 They were so familiar with each other. Eating together and chatting together always felt very natural, even with the current state of Qin Fang and Xing Yan's relationship. It didn't hinder their normal interactions.


 After finishing the food, Qin Fang poured a cup of tea and drank it slowly. Han Xiaogong finally brought up Xing Yan. They hadn't mentioned him since they met up.


 "Yan-ge did something stupid, right?" Han Xiaogong asked quite directly.


 Qin Fang lowered his eyes as he drank the tea and shook his head.


 "You broke up?" Han Xiaogong asked.


 Qin Fang looked up and said: "Did he ask you to come ask me?"


 "How could that be," Han Xiaogong laughed. "He doesn't talk either. We haven't spoken for many days. He's now back to the old Zhou Siming, leaving early and returning late, a lone ranger."


 Qin Fang felt an inexplicable pain in his chest. He put down the cup and lightly rotated it by the rim.


 "I'm not here to speak on his behalf. I never do such things." Han Xiaogong played with the chopsticks, moving them around on the table. "Before you two got together, I gave him a boost. That was the first time I interfered in someone else's relationship, because it was Xing Yan, so I helped. I saw how much effort he was putting in. He doesn't know how to date."


 Qin Fang laughed upon hearing this and blinked, asking: "He doesn't know how to date?"


 Han Xiaogong nodded: "What else? You think he does?"


 Qin Fang thought about the journey he and Xing Yan had taken. He couldn't nod and say that Xing Yan didn't know how to date.


 The speeding on the highway, the birthday stone, the words that made him struggle but also moved his heart from time to time. This was before they got together. After getting together, it was even more remarkable. Xing Yan practiced every day how to make him fall deeper in love.


 "He really doesn't know. You overestimate him." Han Xiaogong shook his head with a smile, his fingers flicking the chopsticks to make a small flip on the table.


 Qin Fang also shook his head and said: "You underestimate him. Compared to you, he may not be enough, but he's more than enough for me."


 Han Xiaogong was still smiling, looking at Qin Fang: "He's not as good as you."


 Qin Fang said: "Stop messing around. I'm not good, I'm just a fool."


 Han Xiaogong spoke with some seriousness: "Who's smart or foolish, how do you judge that? Relationships aren't determined by who's smarter or more foolish."


 Qin Fang didn't respond to his words, so Han Xiaogong didn't continue.


 He originally didn't come over to speak on Xing Yan's behalf. And in fact, he really didn't know what was going on between the two of them. Xing Yan hadn't said a word. It was all Han Xiaogong's rough guess.


 Today, he came out to have a meal with Qin Fang, just a simple meal. They had known each other for a year. Just because he broke up with Xing Yan, it didn't mean their friendship over the past year was in vain.


 Indeed, they each had their own stance, but this didn't prevent them from also being friends. Qin Fang was a very good person. If he and Xing Yan broke up, and from then on he and Si Tu acted like they never knew him, it would make people feel the world was too cold.


 The world is indeed cold, but sometimes there needs to be some warmth.


 Afterwards, they didn't deliberately talk about Xing Yan, just drank tea and chatted.


 Han Xiaogong said Zhou Siming was recommended for graduate school and would stay here to continue his studies. He and Si Tu would go back, not staying here.


 Qin Fang nodded: "The climate here isn't very suitable for you guys either."


 "I'm the same wherever I am. Si Tu indeed isn't suited to live here," Han Xiaogong said.


 "What about Xie Zhe? Will he still frequently come to find you in the future?" Qin Fang asked with a smile.


 Han Xiaogong waved his hand: "We broke up."


 Qin Fang was a bit surprised: "When?"


 Han Xiaogong said: "Last week."


 "Why? He's so..." Qin Fang thought for a moment and said, "So infatuated with you."


 "Infatuated*?" Han Xiaogong laughed and shook his head. "Not quite, and it's not important."


 T/N: Qin Fang said '迷你', which he meant as infatuated with Han Xiaogong. But Han Xiaogong heard it is 'Mini', which is the pinyin, he thought Qin Fang was saying he's small...


 Qin Fang blinked before reacting to what he was saying. His face turned a bit red: "I meant 'mi', as in fascinated by you."


 "Ah." Han Xiaogong was still smiling. "I was wondering, you were thinking quite a bit."


 Qin Fang's face was hot. Han Xiaogong stopped smiling and said: "It was indeed unsuitable. The kid was too inexperienced, made me a bit tired."


 "Clingy?" Qin Fang raised an eyebrow and asked.


 "He's not very mature. With my personality, I can't coax kids. I'm not into someone too childish," Han Xiaogong said.


 Qin Fang said, "But he seems to really like you."


 However, Han Xiaogong said, "How should I put this to you, you naive straight guy. Some feelings come very inexplicably, like love at first sight that often feels fierce and overwhelming, to the point of crazily liking someone without even understanding them. His longing and sincerity may indeed be moving, but you should know that this kind of feeling also has a drawback - it lacks a foundation. It's turbulent, but for a long time it's just floating. It can give you a sense of satisfaction, but it's equally dangerous. I'm being a bit roundabout, did you not understand?"


 It was the first time hearing this from Han Xiaogong. He rarely talked about relationships, much less his own matters. The people in their small group all had the same characteristic of not liking to talk about themselves. They never dissected themselves to others, none of them.


 But Qin Fang still understood what he said. He replied, "In other words, he can't give you a sense of security."


 "Yes, he makes me feel unsettled. It's not just because he's young - he's only a year younger than you, the same age as you last year. But even last year, you made people feel at ease."


 Qin Fang said, "It's determined by personality."


 Han Xiaogong shook his head, "His feelings themselves also make me feel ungrounded."


 As a player in the game of life, his words always carried some truth. But his words made Qin Fang subconsciously think of himself and Xing Yan.


 What kind of relationship did they have?


 Han Xiaogong could tell at a glance what he was thinking, so he smiled and said, "That building of ours, our den, is the root of our decay. We won't let outsiders touch that place. In all these years, you and Gong Qi are the only outsiders who have been there, the only ones to have touched their rotten roots."


 Qin Fang blinked, pondering his words. This statement was not easy to digest. He recalled how on New Year's Day, Xie Zhe suddenly barged in hugging a huge bouquet of flowers, so bright and passionate, but Han Xiaogong frowned and said, "I don't like it."


 It wasn't that he disliked flowers, but that he disliked others intruding.


 When Qin Fang dropped Han Xiaogong off, Han Xiaogong invited him up to sit for a bit. Qin Fang shook his head, saying he couldn't. Han Xiaogong nodded, "That's right, if Yan-ge is home, you two might fight without room to maneuver."


 Qin Fang chuckled, "Why would we fight?"


 Han Xiaogong tutted, "You beat him up like that, and now you say this without feeling guilty? When he came back the other night, he couldn't even straighten his shoulders."


 "I don't feel guilty," Qin Fang said frankly. "What he owes me, I have to pay back. Once paid, we're even. We won't fight anymore."


 "What do you mean?" Han Xiaogong raised an eyebrow. "Broke up?"


 Qin Fang was silent for a moment, not denying it.


 After Han Xiaogong got out of the car, Qin Fang sat in the car for a while longer. He had recently taken to quietly spacing out, maybe for ten minutes or maybe half an hour, with no concept of time.


 Hua Tong called after finishing his exam, asking what he wanted to eat.


 After hanging up, Qin Fang started the car to leave. The community's driveway was not wide, with parking spaces on one side, allowing only single lane traffic. Qin Fang wasn't driving fast when suddenly a person appeared at the intersection ahead.


 He was too familiar with that figure. No matter how far, Qin Fang could recognize at a glance who it was.


 Qin Fang stared straight ahead, his face expressionless, showing no intention of stopping the car.


 The person just stood in the driveway, not moving either.


 For a few seconds, the two briefly confronted each other. When they got close enough to see each other's eyes through the glass, Xing Yan still didn't move, standing straight at the very front.


 Qin Fang stepped on the brakes.


 The two remained motionless. They had countless times fallen into each other's eyes. This time, they stared at each other across a short distance.


 A car came from behind, its horn sounding short and sharp.


 The two still looked at each other. Xing Yan raised an eyebrow at Qin Fang, a hint of inquiry.


 Qin Fang shook his head slightly.


 So Xing Yan nodded, took two steps back, then moved to the side, clearing the driveway.


 Xing Yan still stood in place, but Qin Fang had already left.


 Looking back, this was much like the love Xing Yan had planned out for Qin Fang.

Picking Up Stars

Picking Up Stars

Chapter 68 - Chapter 58 Part 2

Windwalker