Chapter 40

Xie Huai brought Qi Xu into the backstage area. They’d barely walked a few steps when Qi Xu suddenly stopped, braced himself against the wall—and dry-heaved.

Xie Huai immediately opened a tissue packet and handed one over, then twisted open a bottle of water for him with practiced ease, like he was taking care of a pregnant woman.

“The cologne made you puke?”

“Don’t even mention it. I’m about to hurl again.” Qi Xu grimaced. “Those two lines I just said seriously made me sick. I can’t believe I said that out loud—ugh, just thinking about it makes me want to throw up again.”

Sometimes, even Qi Xu had to marvel at himself.

Xie Huai chuckled.
“Honestly, I thought you were going to punch him.”

Qi Xu took a sip of water.
“I thought I would too. But he’s not worth it—feels dirty.”

After saying that, Qi Xu poured the rest of his mineral water onto the sleeve Shen Zeyu had grabbed earlier. His eyes were cold as he tried to wash off that disgusting scent.

Water was still dripping from his sleeve when his hand was suddenly caught.

Xie Huai held his wrist and immediately rolled up the damp sleeve, then used a handkerchief to stop the water from soaking further in.

The temperature had dropped by evening. A splash of water like that was enough to feel chilly—but Xie Huai’s palm was warm, pressing firmly against Qi Xu’s forearm. The contrast evened out, and Qi Xu didn’t feel cold at all.

The wet sleeve was a lost cause. Qi Xu took off his jacket and held it loosely in one hand. Right then, Xie Huai tossed his own jacket into Qi Xu’s arms.

“Put it on. It’s windy tonight.”

The coat landed right on Qi Xu’s face, carrying that familiar scent.

Qi Xu pulled it down and looked at Xie Huai’s now exposed white shirt.
“You going on stage?”

Xie Huai led him into the backstage lounge.
“The cellist from the music club isn’t feeling well. I’m filling in.”

Qi Xu set his own jacket aside and slipped into Xie Huai’s. As he zipped it up, he said,
“You’ve got a lot on your plate—student council and performing? You’re like a brick, huh? Wherever there’s a gap, you fill it.”

Qi Xu never zipped his jackets all the way—his personal limit was at the chest.

Xie Huai stepped in close and hooked a finger around the badge hidden inside the jacket.

Qi Xu could feel the plastic tag dragging upward, inch by inch, against the thin fabric of his t-shirt—from his stomach, past his chest, leaving a faint ticklish sensation in its wake.

He lowered his eyes and watched Xie Huai’s hand. His fingers were slender and well-shaped. Qi Xu had seen them plenty of times, but for some reason, today they felt unusually captivating.

What Qi Xu didn’t know was that Xie Huai’s eyes never left his face, a subtle smile tugging at his lips.

Xie Huai finally pulled out the badge and pressed it lightly against Qi Xu’s chest.
“Don’t wander off.”

Someone outside called Xie Huai’s name, saying they needed to run through things before going on stage.

Xie Huai left with them, and only then did Qi Xu look down at the badge. It had Xie Huai’s name on it—but no photo.

This room must’ve been the student council’s backstage lounge. With the performance about to start and everyone out managing the crowd, it had taken some effort to get in here.

Of course, Qi Xu wasn’t planning on just staying put.

Qi Xu wandered out and strolled around. One of the event organizers spotted the staff badge around his neck and stuffed two glow sticks into his hands.

He followed the crowd to the backstage entrance, where a bunch of staff members were stationed.

The host walked on stage while Qi Xu leaned against the wall, quietly watching Shen Zeyu. Despite their brief confrontation ten minutes ago, his expression remained calm and indifferent.

After the host’s opening remarks, the lights dimmed. The opening act was about to begin.

Qi Xu scanned the backstage hallway just in time to see a slender man being escorted to the stage with great care.

Only then did he realize why tickets to this welcome gala were so hard to come by—one of the hottest singers in the country had returned to perform at his alma mater.

Even someone like Qi Xu, who didn’t follow entertainment news, knew who this guy was. That said enough about his fame.

A spotlight landed on the singer. The equipment wasn’t quite on par with a full-blown concert, but the giant screen was top-tier. When the singer’s face appeared onscreen, the stadium went dead silent for a beat—and then the crowd erupted in a thunderous cheer.

The 5,000-seat gym roared with a wave of deafening screams.

Qi Xu crossed his arms and quietly enjoyed the singer’s breakout hit. It was genuinely good.

As the final note faded, the crowd chanted, “Encore!”

But not wanting to delay the following acts, the singer simply promoted his upcoming tour and exited the stage.

The next few performances were all from student clubs: street dance crews, choirs, group dances, and more.

Qi Xu glanced at the program. The music club was fifth in line. There was still time, so he decided to wait a bit.

Unexpectedly, as he wandered backstage, he thought he heard someone mention “Xie Huai’s family.” Curious, he stepped closer to check it out.

Just as he looked in, a girl caught sight of him and locked eyes.

“You’re Xie Huai’s family friend, right?” she asked without hesitation.

Before he could react, she shoved a bouquet into his hands.
“When they finish their piece, go up and give him these.”

Qi Xu: “……”

Looking dazed and mildly confused, he ended up trailing after her without much resistance.

In the performer waiting area, he finally spotted Xie Huai, who had his cello resting on its side. Seeing Qi Xu’s baffled expression, he smiled.

Qi Xu scowled.
“You really passed me off as your family member?”

Xie Huai replied casually,
“The pianist for our set is a retired professor who came back this semester. It’s his first time performing since rejoining, so the music club planned a little tribute with flowers. We had a budget surplus, so everyone performing gets some. You thought being my plus-one was just a title with no responsibilities?”

Qi Xu’s eyes narrowed.
“If you’re hiring me as your family rep, shouldn’t there be some sort of compensation?”

Already used to Qi Xu’s temperament, Xie Huai came prepared.
“Two pieces of candied fruit.”

Qi Xu frowned.
“You’re ridiculously stingy. Come on—at least five.”

Xie Huai was moments away from going on stage. He picked up his cello and handed his phone to Qi Xu.
“Password’s 001229. Buy whatever you want.”

Qi Xu raised an eyebrow—not at Xie Huai’s generosity, but at how casually he handed over his passcode. Was he not the least bit concerned about what someone might do with that kind of access?

After all, as the eldest son of the Xie family, Xie Huai had been carefully groomed by both the Xie and Qin households. His network had to be impressive. If Qi Xu stumbled across some world-shaking message on his phone… should he pretend he didn’t see it—or take a peek?

While stagehands set up chairs and music stands, the host stepped down, gentlemanly helping the female host in heels off the stage.

Qi Xu stood off to the side with the rest of the “family and friends” waiting to go up with flowers. Shen Zeyu noticed him—and had probably seen the rumors floating around the forum, too. This time, he didn’t come over to stir anything up. He sulked and headed backstage.

Technically, Xie Huai wasn’t part of the music club—he was just filling in last-minute—so his role wasn’t a major one.

Still, the moment he appeared on stage, the audience buzzed with excitement. After his memorable speech as the freshman rep at the opening ceremony, Xie Huai had become a bit of a campus celebrity.

The performance officially began as the stage lights came on.

Violins and cellos began to play—the melody drifting between deep resonance and lingering softness. The crowd was so focused that no one even waved their glow sticks.

Xie Huai sat with his head slightly bowed, expression solemn and focused. He looked like a noble knight, completely in command of his cello. His slender fingers danced across the strings, each pluck and pull tugging at the audience’s hearts.

Qi Xu watched the glowing figure on stage.

Yes—Xie Huai was glowing.

It was undeniable. No matter the field, this person was exceptional.

He didn’t know if this performance had happened in his past life—he’d never paid attention back then. But in this life, he hadn’t missed it. He was here, seeing it with his own eyes.

And he was grateful not to have missed it this time.

Xie Huai hadn’t played the cello in a while, but muscle memory kept him from slipping up. After a day of practice, he’d grown comfortable with the unfamiliar instrument and delivered a flawless performance.

He casually rested his bow across the cello and glanced toward the side stage.

Over by the stage entrance, the family-and-friends group was getting ready to go up and present flowers. Xie Huai glanced over and spotted someone who definitely didn’t look the part—Qi Xu, leaning against the wall, holding a bouquet in one hand, head tilted with a faint smile as he stared right at him.

In that moment, it felt like the whole world had gone silent. Just the two of them remained.

As the performance neared its end, the final part was a piano solo—specifically arranged as a tribute to the returning professor.

When the pianist struck the last note, the audience erupted into enthusiastic applause. The performers on stage rose and took their bows.

The president of the music club led the friends and family group onto the stage to present flowers.

As Qi Xu stepped onto the stage, he felt… a little weird. Especially when he realized the person he was supposed to hand flowers to was Xie Huai. It was hard to put into words.

This was honestly the first time in both of his lives he’d ever done something like this. It was… a novel experience.

Xie Huai took the bouquet from him and—still had the nerve to make a request:
“Give me a smile. Otherwise, people might think I forced you up here.”

Qi Xu shot him a glare and muttered under his breath,
“Isn’t this exactly what forcing looks like? What kind of person does this?”

Xie Huai replied coolly,
“You can just think of me as one of your kind.”

Like hell you are. You’re a robot.

After handing over the flowers, Qi Xu stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked off the stage with the cold detachment of a man who had just completed an unfortunate obligation.

Thanks to the earlier commotion backstage, everyone now knew he was “Xie Huai’s family.” The staff even handed him some welcome gala merch—and a few people even asked for a photo with him.

Qi Xu found it baffling. He’d just given someone flowers, not performed. Whatever it was, he turned them all down.

He wandered around backstage a bit, and somehow ended up with bag after bag of freebies from different student clubs—like he was here on a wholesale run.

Worried about the crowd after the show, Xu Yichen led their group to leave a little early.

Qi Xu had already gotten the message and was waiting at the gate. From a distance, he spotted them coming out.

Fang Qian was still riding high from the opening act—it featured one of her favorite celebrities. She was staring down at the pictures she’d taken, totally oblivious to where she was walking, until Xu Yichen caught her and pulled her into his arms.

He kept a steady hand on the small of her back and snapped,
“Can you put your phone down for two seconds and watch where you’re going?”

Fang Qian didn’t even look up.
“Just make sure you watch me.”

Qi Xu watched Xu Yichen fuss over Fang Qian like she was made of glass, and finally sensed that… yeah, something was up.

Xu Yichen noticed the mountain of stuff Qi Xu was lugging and said,
“Wow, you brought us souvenirs? I saw you giving flowers to Xie Huai earlier. The girl next to me screamed so loud—I swear people thought they were watching a live wedding proposal.”

The stage director had zoomed in with a close-up of the flower handoff between Qi Xu and Xie Huai. Their entire moment had been broadcast for everyone to see.

Not to mention, the whole gala was live-streamed on the school’s official video channel. Between in-person and online viewers, nearly ten thousand people had been watching.

Qi Xu rolled his eyes at Xu Yichen’s terrible Chinese phrasing and handed him one of the merch bags.
“Here. From the Chinese literature club. Maybe read a book or two.”

Xu Yichen happily took it.
“Thanks, I promise to live up to the gift.”

Earlier, Qi Xu had run into Li Yan and handed him some of the extras. Now, with three more people to offload to, he finally managed to get rid of it all.

Someone suggested going out for a late-night snack—no one objected.

Xie Huai was still busy wrapping up, so they waited in the small plaza outside the gym.

Fang Qian dragged Jiang Zimu over to the event’s cardboard photo backdrop. She was dead set on getting a good picture tonight, relentlessly squeezing labor out of her art-major cousin.

Jiang Zimu tried every angle—crouching, squatting, shooting from up close and from far away—but who knew what the photos actually looked like. Fang Qian gave him a kick anyway.

Xu Yichen laughed out loud at the scene—right as someone nearby, leaning casually against the stairs, suddenly said:

“You like Fang Qian?”

Xu Yichen’s smile froze. He quickly tried to play it cool:
“Why, do you like her?”

Qi Xu: “…”

He kicked Xu Yichen. “Can you not be such an idiot?”

Xu Yichen clutched his butt, grimacing in pain as he glared at Qi Xu. “I was just making sure I didn’t have a rival! Did you have to actually kick me?”

“You confessed already?” Qi Xu asked.

That question really got Xu Yichen going.

“I was going to confess during her coming-of-age ceremony…” he said, then quickly glanced around to make sure Fang Qian wasn’t nearby before continuing. “But that dumbass Song Ruoming had to go and mess everything up. I didn’t even get the chance—crashed and burned before I even got out of the gate.”

Funny how his Chinese is just fine when it comes to himself, but the second it’s about someone else, it turns into total nonsense.

Qi Xu leaned back on his elbows, resting against the steps. Rarely did he show much interest, but now he looked curious. “So when are you planning to confess?”

If he remembered right, ten years from now, those two had never ended up together—not even rumors about them being a couple.

At a party years later, he’d run into Fang Qian. They’d just cleared up some old misunderstanding from that same coming-of-age ceremony, so naturally, that’s how the conversation started.

As they talked, they eventually got to the topic of Xu Yichen—who had once fought him fiercely back then.

Fang Qian sat on a garden swing and said softly, “Honestly, he really wanted to apologize to you. We were just reckless and immature back then… But he’s been really busy lately—he’s getting engaged.”

He stood there beside her, and in her eyes, he caught a flicker of sadness, of quiet disappointment. He didn’t know why she’d let her emotions show in front of him—maybe because to her, he was just a stranger. A bystander.

Looking at it now, it was clear: Xu Yichen liked Fang Qian. Fang Qian liked Xu Yichen. Two people in love… so why hadn’t they ended up together?

Qi Xu didn’t plan to interfere. But he knew one thing—missing your chance hurts.
Not everyone gets a second shot.

He still felt bitter about missing that negotiation because he was sick. Li Kaixing ended up signing the contract with a 0.2% lower profit margin. When Qi Xu found out, he almost wanted to fly straight out of his hospital bed.

Xu Yichen was tangled in his thoughts. “There just doesn’t seem to be a good time. Stuff like this… shouldn’t it be planned carefully?”

The very next second, a guy with a shy look walked up to Fang Qian holding his phone. Before he could even open his mouth, Xu Yichen jumped to his feet and stormed over, chasing away the “male intruder” and dragging Fang Qian back, fuming the whole way.

He even muttered while walking, “You can tell he’s no good just by looking at him. That outfit screams basketball-court playboy—definitely not the faithful type.”

Fang Qian rolled her eyes. “He just wanted to ask where I got the event merch bag. What’s wrong with you?”

Xu Yichen: “…”

He faltered, “Really? But you really like that bag, right? I was just being assertive for you. You’re welcome.”

Fang Qian couldn’t deal with his nonsense anymore and decided to distance herself, going to sit next to Qi Xu instead. She showed him the photos she’d taken earlier and asked for his opinion.

Xu Yichen gave Qi Xu a pitiful puppy-dog look. Qi Xu gave him back a deadpan “are-you-stupid” stare.

Sighing, Xu Yichen went and sat next to Jiang Zimu. “Let me call Ah Huai and see how much longer he’s going to be.”

Now, all he could do was rely on his best bro—hopefully he’d pick up the phone and save him from drowning in awkward silence.

The call rang.

From right behind them.

Qi Xu pulled a phone out of his pocket and gave them a casual wave. “Oops, forgot. His phone’s with me.”

Xu Yichen stared at the phone in Qi Xu’s hand like it was a ticking bomb. The shock he hadn’t managed to voice the last two times finally burst out.

“…What the hell.”

Even Fang Qian put down what she was holding and looked toward Qi Xu, as if she suddenly realized something—something beyond what they’d seen so far.

Just how close were these two?

Let’s put it this way: even now, Xie Huai had never given his phone to anyone. And with who they all were, none of them would hand their phones over lightly—there was too much private info involved.

Fang Qian noticed more than the guys did. She looked closely: Qi Xu was wearing Xie Huai’s jacket, had his event badge around his neck, and was holding his phone. There was something unspoken starting to take shape—on the verge of becoming clear.

But the person at the center of it all didn’t seem bothered at all. He ended the call with a joke, “What? Never seen a phone before?”

Fang Qian wasn’t convinced. At the very least, Qi Xu didn’t seem like he was pretending.

Maybe Xu Yichen noticed something too, because he asked, “Qi Xu, have you ever liked anyone?”

Qi Xu replied, “Nope. Never liked anyone. But I’ve always liked money. If I could, I’d marry it and spend the rest of my life with it.”

Everyone: “…”

Maybe they were just overthinking things.

Jiang Zimu, ever the innocent one, said, “I’ll draw you a big picture full of money for your birthday. Sound good?”

That gift hit the sweet spot. Qi Xu nodded. “I’ll hang it by my bed and look at it every night before I sleep.”

Just like that, the two happily agreed. Jiang Zimu even asked for Qi Xu’s birthday so he could plan ahead. Fortunately, it wasn’t until March—six months to go.

Fifteen minutes after the performance ended, Xie Huai finally came out.

Xu Yichen said, “First I had to wait for Qi Xu this morning, now I’m waiting for you at night. You two married or something? Always late…”

At that moment, he finally understood why Qi Xu always said his Chinese sucked.

Xu Yichen walked ahead, head down, reflecting hard on all the things he’d said recently.

Qi Xu and Xie Huai walked side by side at the back.

Qi Xu returned the phone first, then took off the event badge around his neck and handed it to Xie Huai. As he reached for the zipper on the jacket, Xie Huai grabbed his wrist.

“You’re acting like you owe me something, giving everything back all at once. I’m not a debt collector. And you don’t need to take the jacket off now. Just keep it on.”

Qi Xu noticed Xie Huai was carrying his jacket and finally agreed to change. “Aren’t you cold?”

Xie Huai, knowing full well Qi Xu had only a T-shirt on underneath, reached out and zipped the jacket up for him. “Not cold.”

Hearing the movement behind them, Xu Yichen and Fang Qian instinctively turned around—just in time to catch that little moment. Their eyes met in silent shock.

It was a totally normal exchange. Totally.

Yet… there was something off.

Xie Huai looked up and casually cast a glance in their direction.

They both snapped back forward, walking stiffly, eyes glued to the road ahead.

Oh no.
That feeling was back again.