I Can Still Salvage It

After Shen Mian woke up from his nap, he realized that it was already dark outside. There were shallow puddles on the road, and young students were coming from nearby training classes to have their meals. Colorful umbrellas were scattered everywhere, resembling little mushrooms jostling under the eaves.

Pei Zhiyi held Shen Mian’s hand and accompanied him to the subway station.

In fact, he asked Shen Mian if he wanted to stay. The dormitory for training wasn’t so strict, and Meng Yi could cover for them and they could stay together in a hotel nearby.

The only problem was that the nearby hotels weren’t great, and Pei Zhiyi felt it would be unfair to Shen Mian.

But Shen Mian declined. He was always particularly considerate in such situations and felt that he had already disrupted Pei Zhiyi’s afternoon. It would be too much to bother him for the whole night.

Pei Zhiyi didn’t insist any further. The meeting that afternoon had smoothed the chaos in his heart, and he no longer felt the urge to keep Shen Mian in his embrace all the time.

He couldn’t help but think that even if he let go of Shen Mian’s hand, Shen Mian wouldn’t run away. Shen Mian had become used to being by his side that even if he released his grip, Shen Mian would come bouncing over on his own.

The subway station was not close to the bus stop, but they would get there by walking.

Shen Mian stood at the entrance, hesitating to go in.

He looked up at Pei Zhiyi, feeling that the afternoon had passed by so quickly. Several hours had flown by in a rush, and he hadn’t even had a chance to say much to Pei Zhiyi.

He knew that he was always clingy towards Pei Zhiyi, far beyond the attachment of ordinary childhood friends, but he didn’t want that to change.

The two of them stood at the busy subway entrance for a while. Pei Zhiyi reached out and touched Shen Mian’s head, asking, “Did you come all this way just to have a meal with me?”

He always felt that Shen Mian had something to say, but couldn’t bring himself to ask.

Shen Mian looked stunned, not understanding how Pei Zhiyi could read him so well.

After hesitating for a while, he slowly took out an ugly scarf from his bag. It was ginger-yellow and very short, only long enough to wrap around the neck once.

It was obviously made by Shen Mian.

Shen Mian hesitantly handed the scarf to Pei Zhiyi. “007 asked me to knit this scarf. I finished it, but it’s a bit ugly. If you don’t like it, you can throw it away.”

In fact, he didn’t want Pei Zhiyi to throw it away. Although the scarf was hard on the eyes, it was the first thing he made by himself and had some sentimental value.

Fortunately, Pei Zhiyi didn’t hate it.

Pei Zhiyi took the scarf from him, his gaze falling on Shen Mian’s neck, where he was also wearing a ginger-yellow scarf.

The scarf in his hand was also ginger-yellow.

Both scarves matched the couple’s color.

“I’ll wear it during the competition,” Pei Zhiyi smiled.

Shen Mian thought to himself, hoping he wouldn’t, otherwise, the whole world would know how bad he was at knitting.

But since the gift had already been given, it was up to Pei Zhiyi to decide what to do with it.

So he simply hugged Pei Zhiyi, his face against Pei Zhiyi’s neck, and whispered softly, “Don’t stress yourself too much with the competition, it doesn’t matter if you don’t come first.”

Pei Zhiyi also hugged him, his eyes filled with a smile. “What if I come last?”

“That’s still amazing.”

Pei Zhiyi laughed again.

Shen Mian had always unreasonably stood by his side, a fact he had known since childhood.

When he was young, with a bad temper and his parents often absent, Shen Mian would be the only one by his side unconditionally.

After so many years, he managed to control his temper, but he knew that if one day he suddenly fell from the clouds and had nothing, Shen Mian would still never abandon him.

He suddenly wanted to kiss Shen Mian, even if it was for a mission or an accident, giving him a reason to kiss those soft lips.

It was at that moment that the icy mechanical voice of 007 resounded in his mind: “Random mission: Host Shen Mian, give a farewell kiss to Host Pei Zhiyi, worth 3 points.”

Pei Zhiyi suspected that the system must have spied on his innermost thoughts and fantasies.

But before he could react, Shen Mian’s eyes were already gleaming with excitement because of the 3 points value.

Shen Mian pulled him into the aisle beside the subway entrance. There were almost no people there, only the cold autumn rain endlessly falling on the ground.

A large umbrella sheltered their upper bodies.

In this crowded intersection, in the area without light, Shen Mian stood on his tiptoes and gave him a kiss.

The kiss was cold, mixed with the misty breath of autumn rain.

He heard Shen Mian complaining softly against his lips, “Brother, you’re too tall, it’s so hard to reach you.”

The complaint was light and soft but, in an instant, it drowned out the torrential rain and struck straight into Pei Zhiyi’s heart.

In the end, Shen Mian managed to board the subway before 8 o’clock. That subway station was relatively remote, so luckily he managed to find a seat.

The journey didn’t feel long when he was going there, but on the way back, he found the time sluggish and boring.

When he finally got off the train, he received a message from Shen Yu, asking him to bring a cake from the strawberry dessert shop on Guangyan Road.

“Brother, I beg you. I forgot to buy it this afternoon. But I really want to eat it.”

Shen Yu rarely pleaded with him so cutely, it seems that she really wanted to eat it.

Shen Mian found it amusing and obediently turned a corner, heading towards Guangyan Road.

He was already a regular customer at that shop. He not only bought the chestnut cake that Shen Yu wanted to eat but also bought butterfly pastries and chocolates.

When he was about to leave with the cake in his hand, Shen Mian directly walked into the nearby alley instead of going to the subway station. It was only a twenty-minute walk from there to his home, and it was faster to walk.

But Shen Mian didn’t expect that as soon as he entered that alley, he would run into a couple kissing under the streetlight.

Encountering such a situation, the most sensible thing was to walk away.

But what was frustrating was that he recognized one of the two people.

It was Xu Yuanfan.

His grandmother’s favorite student, the older brother next door who had guided him in doing homework and climbed mountains with him.

As for the person kissing Xu Yuanfan, Shen Mian didn’t know them.

But it didn’t stop him from noticing that it was a good-looking… guy.

A guy.

The cake in Shen Mian’s hand splattered on the ground.

Attracting the attention of the two people who were leaning against each other.

Xu Yuanfan initially had a slightly impatient and even unfriendly look in his eyes, but when he clearly saw Shen Mian’s dumbfounded face, his expression turned into astonishment.

After another two seconds, he smiled and said something to the person leaning on him. That person seemed reluctant, but in the end, they touched Xu Yuanfan’s face and left.

Xu Yuanfan leisurely walked over, picked up the cake box that Shen Mian dropped on the ground. The cake inside had already spoilt, so he threw it into the nearby trash bin.

“Scared you, huh?” he asked Shen Mian.

Shen Mian nodded and shook his head, not knowing what expression would be appropriate.

Xu Yuanfan patted his head and said, “It’s rare to run into you. The last time we met was during National Day. Let me treat you to a meal and make up for your cake.”

Shen Mian hesitated and asked, “It won’t be a trap, will it?”

Xu Yuanfan burst into laughter, finding Shen Mian just as interesting as before.

Five minutes later.

Shen Mian and Xu Yuanfan were sitting in the dessert shop he was just in.

Since Shen Mian had already had dinner with Pei Zhiyi and couldn’t eat a second meal, Xu Yuanfan treated him to a drink instead.

Shen Mian sipped the pearls in his milk tea and curiously looked at Xu Yuanfan.

He and Xu Yuanfan couldn’t really be considered close. Although he liked Xu Yuanfan quite a bit, the two had only known each other for three days.

But he unexpectedly stumbled upon Xu Yuanfan’s secret.

He thought for a moment and assured Xu Yuanfan, “I won’t go around telling people.”

He said it solemnly, as if he was about to raise his hand and swear to the heavens.

Xu Yuanfan chuckled as he ordered coffee for himself.

He leisurely took a sip of coffee and teased Shen Mian, “What do you mean by ‘go around telling? so what if he is my boyfriend?.”

Shen Mian was shocked. He had never encountered such a complicated relationship in his life.

He didn’t know how to respond, and in his fluster, he took a sip of milk tea, almost choking on the pearls, coughing loudly.

Xu Yuanfan kindly handed him a tissue.

Xu Yuanfan remained calm and composed, playing with a lighter in his hand, although he didn’t smoke.

He asked Shen Mian, “You’re not that young anymore, you’re already in high school, so you shouldn’t be scared encountering a scene like that, right? Or do you find it disgusting?”

He asked the question with a calm expression, without any signs of frustration, as if he were just asking about the weather.

Shen Mian quickly shook his head. “No.”

He looked at Xu Yuanfan. “It’s your own business.”

But he added in a low voice, “But it wouldn’t be good if you have a boyfriend.”

Xu Yuanfan laughed again. Every time he met Shen Mian, he found it amusing. That kid was good-looking, but his words and actions always had a comedic effect.

“I don’t have a boyfriend,” he told Shen Mian, “I just have consensual relationships with others and don’t involve emotions.”

Shen Mian didn’t know how to respond anymore. His expression even became a bit heavy.

Those adult topics were really too complicated for him. He was still an inexperienced virgin and didn’t want to open the door to the new world.

The atmosphere fell silent for a moment.

Shen Mian sucked on the pearls again. When he sucked up the last few pearls, he looked up at Xu Yuanfan with curiosity.

“Why do you like guys?” he asked innocently, simply out of curiosity.

“Why do I need a reason? During my adolescence, I only had eyes for guys, so it started naturally.”

Shen Mian just said, “Oh.”

He didn’t ask any more questions, and his curiosity ended there.

He obediently ate the cake on the table, finished eating, burped, and felt a bit full.

Xu Yuanfan waited for Shen Mian to rest for a while before they walked out of the dessert shop together.

His car was outside, so he naturally drove Shen Mian home.

It was already ten o’clock, and Shen Mian’s parents and Pei Zhiyi had all messaged him asking where he was. Shen Mian replied to each of them with his head down.

Before he could finish, he heard Xu Yuanfan say, “You don’t have to feel burdened or keep any secrets. I have already come out to my family, so it doesn’t matter.”

Shen Mian exclaimed, “Ah?”

He turned his head to look at Xu Yuanfan, feeling a bit conflicted, and asked, “Did your family get angry with you?”

Xu Yuanfan smiled and said, “Angry is an understatement. They beat me up and kicked me out of the house.”

Shen Mian frowned; he thought it was too much.

But he didn’t know how to comfort Xu Yuanfan, so he could only gently say, “I don’t think it makes a difference whether you like boys or girls.”

Xu Yuanfan also glanced at Shen Mian.

Shen Mian obediently sat in the passenger seat, holding the cake he was going to give to Shen Yu, afraid of accidentally spilling it.

He naturally had a well-behaved face, and his look in a white shirt was even more delicate and gentle. However, he was wearing an obviously oversized black jacket.

Several thoughts crossed Xu Yuanfan’s mind.

Although he didn’t ask anything, he seemed to have guessed who the black jacket belonged to.

He quickly dropped Shen Mian off at home, and the car stopped outside Nanhu Alley.

Shen Mian thanked Xu Yuanfan and was about to open the door and get out.

But Xu Yuanfan suddenly held him back.

Shen Mian turned around, thinking that Xu Yuanfan had something else to say.

However, he saw Xu Yuanfan leaning against the driver’s seat, in the dark interior of the car. Xu Yuanfan’s facial features were deep and handsome, with a lazy and sexy aura.

He smiled and said to Shen Mian, “Actually, you’re also my type. If you ever find yourself liking boys, you can come find me.”

Shen Mian was stunned, and after coming back to his senses, he pressed himself against the door.

“No, there’s no need… Thank you for your kindness.”

He foolishly thanked him.

Xu Yuanfan laughed even louder.

He continued to tease Shen Mian, deliberately getting closer, with a seductive glimmer in his eyes and eyebrows.

He asked, “So, do you want to kiss me? Just to confirm your sexual orientation.”

This time, Shen Mian didn’t say anything. With a snap, he opened the car door and ran away without looking back.

He kept running until he reached the entrance of an alley. Only then did he turn around, politely waved goodbye to Xu Yuanfan, and considered it as a farewell.

Then, with a burst of energy, he rushed into the alley as if there were stray dogs chasing after him.

Xu Yuanfan laughed for a full three minutes before stopping.

Suddenly, he felt that that evening wasn’t so bad after all.

As he drove away, he thought that if he had met a boy like Shen Mian in high school, he might have come out of the closet two years earlier.

He would have been naturally attracted and would have pursued him relentlessly.

But unfortunately, such an adorable boy wasn’t meant for him.

The smile in his eyes faded a bit, and while waiting at a traffic light, he sent a message to Shen Mian.

“I was just teasing you earlier, don’t take me seriously. I apologize if I scared you. Next time, I’ll treat you to a meal.”