Chapter 78
Su Bin repeatedly read through the less than ten messages exchanged between him and Allen. He sent an offline message to Allen, “Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. Did you go home?”
As he typed the word “home,” Su Bin also felt a little homesick…
Looking at the time, it was already close to 10 PM, but due to the time difference, Su Bin didn’t feel sleepy at all. Today wasn’t a holiday or a weekend, so most university students were probably still on campus, either studying or back in their dorms.
Su Bin put on his hat, wrapped a scarf around his neck, and quietly sneaked out. He passed through the familiar East Gate and entered the familiar campus. He navigated his way to his dormitory like an old pro…
Using his key to open the door, a strong odor of feet and sweat hit him. Su Bin couldn’t help but wrinkle his nose. He noticed one of his roommates sitting at the desk playing a game, while the other two weren’t around.
Hearing the noise, the person sitting at the desk turned his head slightly and casually said, “Back already.” Then, he focused his attention back on the screen. After a couple of seconds, he realized something was amiss and abruptly turned his head, “Fuck! Su Bin!”
Su Bin made a hushing gesture toward him, reached out to close the door, and the roommate, who had stopped playing the game, jumped up. His eyes widened, and he exclaimed, “Why are you back?”
Su Bin sat down on a stool, placed two big bags of chocolates on the desk, and smiled, “Can’t I come back?”
The roommate quickly peeled a chocolate and ate it, “Of course, of course you can. You finally came back. No one has cleaned our dorm for three months!”
Su Bin: “…” Three months? Damn, that means no one has cleaned since I went abroad? No wonder it’s so smelly!
The roommate was straightforward. Before Su Bin could explain his return, the roommate brought up the topic himself, asking if it was about Chen Xiaotian. Su Bin shook his head, neither confirming nor denying.
The roommate took it as a confirmation and cursed, “That girl is really something! You’ve only been abroad for three months, and she’s already with someone else… And I heard it was your buddy who put the green hat on you? How could there be such scumbags!”
Most of their college classmates didn’t know the full story, assuming that Huang Zhengming had swooped in on Su Bin’s girl.
Hearing him rant so angrily about Chen Xiaotian and Huang Zhengming, Su Bin couldn’t find any happiness in it. Those two had been his favorite girl and his closest buddy. They had been the two most significant people in his life…
His unhappiness wasn’t about the “slander” from others; it was more about feeling “foolish.” Despite the immense public pressure, Chen Xiaotian and Huang Zhengming had still chosen to be together, as if to emphasize Su Bin’s insignificance.
“Never mind them,” Su Bin interrupted his roommate with a dejected face. “I’m not just back for them. I actually missed you guys, so I came to see you.”
The tall young man was almost moved to tears by Su Bin’s words, especially seeing Su Bin standing there alone, looking so forlorn. He sympathetically hooked his shoulder and comforted him, “Good horses don’t eat old grass. Don’t have any more dealings with them in the future!”
Suppressing the urge to push his roommate away (because of the smell), Su Bin mumbled an agreement and waved his hand, “I’m going now. Say hi to the other two for me… Let’s keep in touch.”
The roommate watched Su Bin’s departing figure and munched on the chocolate he brought. Despite knowing that Su Bin would come back after a year, he still felt like Su Bin was gone for good…
By the time Su Bin left the dormitory, it was already 10:30 PM. He passed by the open field on his way back to the hotel and stopped there for a moment. In the past, after finishing their evening self-study sessions, he and Chen Xiaotian used to take walks here. The field used to be bustling with people exercising, losing weight, circling the field again and again. Despite the darkness, it was lively… unlike now.
Su Bin had never walked on the field alone at this time. Even those who jogged at night seemed to have disappeared, leaving the place eerily empty, giving him a sense of desolation akin to the end of a performance.
He suddenly felt like he was at a loss, that everything was so meaningless. He wondered why he had been fooling around every day before, as if he had never known sadness… Was it because he was foolish?
…Hangzhou was so cold. It looked like just wearing a coat wasn’t enough; he would have to go back home tomorrow and get a down jacket to keep warm. He also wanted to visit his dad while he was at it.
Su Bin took out his phone, intending to call his father, but he didn’t know what to say. In the end, he gave up and sent a dry text message, “Dad, take care of yourself.”
His dad wasn’t accustomed to checking messages, and Su Bin didn’t expect him to reply. In any case, he could talk about it when he went back tomorrow.
As he walked past the dormitory area of the Foreign Languages Institute while leaving the campus, Su Bin was very familiar with this place—more so than his own dormitory. However, he didn’t dare to linger for a moment this time. He hurriedly walked with his head down until he was far away, then he sighed in relief and took off his hat.
On his way back to the hotel, there were many cafes and dessert shops with a touch of elegance and refinement. Chen Xiaotian loved these places, but they were a bit pricey, so they weren’t crowded at this hour, and most had closed for the night.
Su Bin leisurely strolled along the road by himself. Suddenly, he noticed two figures not far away. Even in the darkness, Su Bin would recognize them anywhere—even if they were burned to ashes. It was Chen Xiaotian and Huang Zhengming!
…Damn, what an unbelievable coincidence! OAO|||
Su Bin quickly put his hat back on and hid to the side, pretending to be a statue. He didn’t even know why he was hiding. After successfully hiding, he stamped his foot in frustration. He had impulsively bought a ticket to come back to tear into Chen Xiaotian and bother Huang Zhengming. But now, faced with the two of them, his instinctive reaction was to hide away?
Damn it! Su Bin wanted to give himself two slaps and curse himself—coward!
But he couldn’t help it. He had no idea what he could do or say if he saw them. No matter what, he felt like a clown, making himself look foolish in front of them!
…Just admit it. He was scared! He was afraid that they would hurt him again. Oh no, they didn’t even need a knife. Just their presence alone would make Su Bin explode!
Su Bin crouched by the side, watching the two “dog men” (or rather, no, they were a legitimate couple, he was the third-wheel fool) stand face to face. He didn’t know what they were saying, but then he saw Chen Xiaotian extend her arm and hook it around Huang Zhengming’s neck. She tiptoed and leaned in… and they kissed!
Su Bin: “…” QAQ
He was hit by a “paralysis spell,” standing frozen in place. He couldn’t escape, and he could only watch as the two of them showed affection in the darkness.
It felt like his eye sockets were so sore that his eyeballs might melt, but he couldn’t shed a single tear…
What should he do? It was so painful, so agonizing that he felt like he was about to die…
Oh heavens, please, no matter who it is, just take me away at this moment…
As long as I can escape from this hell, I’m willing to do anything afterward!
Phone: “Ding dong~”
——The paralysis spell was lifted.
Su Bin: “…”
The two figures in the darkness were disturbed by the sound of a phone nearby, and they separated. Su Bin’s heart jumped into his throat—don’t let them spot me!
“I… I think I saw Su Bin…” the guy said.
“It can’t be… He’s abroad…” the girl said.
…These were the last two sentences Su Bin heard. He sprinted through the sparsely populated street until he was out of breath, hands on his knees, hunched over, and panting heavily…
He had thought that hearing about betrayal was the most painful thing in the world, but Su Bin was wrong. There was something even more painful—seeing it with his own eyes!
He had always thought that Chen Xiaotian was reserved, not liking physical contact with others. So, he had respected her, cherished her, maintained his distance, and even refrained from thinking about her in inappropriate ways. He never imagined she could be so forward with someone else…
This only further confirmed that the girl he had wanted to love for a lifetime had never truly liked him.
…And yet, they managed to devastate him like this! You two are ruthless! (ಠAಠ)
Su Bin wiped his face and took out his phone. The voice he had heard was a Skype message notification. He only had one friend on Skype, so it was obvious who had “saved” him—
all.89: “M, brace yourself.”
all.89: “…Why are you running around?”
Looking at these two message records, Su Bin was a bit puzzled… “???”
all.89: “Stand still, don’t run anymore.”
Su Bin: “…” How did Allen know he was running? Su Bin looked up at the sky in bewilderment. Could that guy have a god’s eye view or something?
The phone rang again, and Su Bin looked down—
all.89: “What’s up in the sky? Do you think I can fly?”
Su Bin: “…” Oh my god!
all.89: “Turn around.”
Su Bin turned around, and in the middle of the empty street stood a figure.
Black hair, black coat, black leather boots… only his handsome face was illuminated by the faint light of the phone screen, revealing an air of mystery and stunning beauty.
The man’s face didn’t show any expression; he just stared straight at Su Bin, as if he were a demon descending from the heavens to claim human souls or a specter in the night coming to steal the lives of nocturnal wanderers.
If this were the first time Su Bin had seen him, he might have been scared to the point of running away in panic…
But this wasn’t the first time, and he never expected that he would come to anticipate this person’s appearance like this.
“Allen…” Su Bin softly called out his name. He could hardly believe what he was seeing in front of him, so his voice was barely audible, afraid that the illusion would shatter with even the slightest sound.
He didn’t run, and he wasn’t afraid. On the contrary, he took step after step toward the figure…
“Allen…” he called again, and the figure in the darkness didn’t disappear.
Until they were face to face, with only one step’s distance between them.
Allen looked at him, not saying a word, but slowly extended his arms toward him.
In that moment, Su Bin felt a sense of release and redemption… He mustered his courage and took another step forward, reaching out and embracing Allen tightly. In an instant, tears overflowed from his eyes, unable to be contained any longer.
