Lin Weiyi hesitated for a moment. Initially, he wanted to scold him for carelessly tormenting his stomach, but seeing his current state, he thought it might be better to let it go. He sat down opposite him and began his psychological counseling, “Come on! What’s wrong? If it’s just a blind date, there’s no need to feel this low to the point of drinking away your sorrows, right?”
Huo Qijun looked very much like a child who had done something wrong. After closing his eyes and hesitating for a long time, he finally confessed, “It’s nothing much, I just accidentally said one wrong thing…”
He had caused a minor trouble—nothing serious. At least his mother didn’t take him seriously after hearing that he had a boyfriend. She was just mad that he had disappointed her in such a ridiculous way. Fang Yueyue was very curious about his so-called boyfriend and kept pestering him for contact information, so the situation wasn’t as bad as it could have been.
He had come to drink in silence, more so because he felt lost in his own thoughts. For example… he wasn’t even sure himself whether those three words had really slipped out ‘accidentally’. He felt like a tiny person who, after realizing his best friend had feelings for him, couldn’t reciprocate yet felt giddy, wanting to boast to everyone around him.
However, he also knew that he didn’t take Lin Weiyi lightly at all. In fact, he was increasingly anxious about it. He hoped Lin Weiyi wasn’t interested in him but secretly sought evidence in various details that proved he actually was.
He didn’t know what he was thinking; it felt like he was going insane.
“I told Fang Yueyue you’re my boyfriend!” Huo Qijun tugged at the corner of his mouth, “Oh, Fang Yueyue, that’s my blind date today!”
Lin Weiyi momentarily questioned if he had heard wrong, “Did your mother force you to register for marriage on the spot? Otherwise, there’s no need to resort to such a ridiculous excuse… right?”
“What’s ridiculous about it?” Huo Qijun was unhappy; his emotions were heightened in his tipsy state, “I said you’re my boyfriend—do you think it’s ridiculous?”
“… Just shut up, young master!” Lin Weiyi gasped, glanced around, and upon seeing no one had noticed them, he breathed a sigh of relief. He couldn’t let him continue to embarrass himself here, so he hurriedly got up, walked over, and helped the drunkard away.
“You…!” Huo Qijun wanted to say something more, but once Lin Weiyi helped him up, he became compliant and allowed Lin Weiyi to take him back to the car.
It wasn’t until Lin Weiyi buckled his seatbelt and stepped back to a safe distance that Huo Qijun could subtly relax his tense body.
He had nearly sobered up.
“Forget what just happened,” Huo Qijun said coldly while rubbing his temples.
Lin Weiyi could see through his bluff but kindly allowed him the last bit of dignity, saying nothing and simply agreeing with him.
His nonchalance ignited a surge of unnamed frustration within Huo Qijun. Yet with nowhere to vent it, he ultimately felt deflated. Deep down, he understood that Lin Weiyi had always been consistent, never demanding anything from him.
Why was he angry? Was he mad at Lin Weiyi’s indifferent attitude? Did he expect Lin Weiyi to ask him for something he couldn’t provide?
Huo Qijun irritably pinched the bridge of his nose, forcing himself not to think about it.
Lin Weiyi sensed his turmoil but didn’t quite grasp what he was bothered about. Asking wouldn’t yield any results; if Huo Qijun could voice it, he wouldn’t have been able to hold it in for so long. Since he couldn’t bring himself to speak it, digging the thoughts out of the prideful young master was a bit tricky.
As silence enveloped the car, it was Huo Qijun who eventually broke it.
He stared at the swiftly passing scenes outside the car window. After hesitating for a moment, he asked, “Lin Weiyi, do you have someone you like?”
“No.” Lin Weiyi denied it without a second thought. After saying this, he suddenly realized Huo Qijun’s unusual mood today might be related to this question, so he cautiously probed, “Do you still like Xiao Qing?”
That seemed to be the only thing he could think of. Maybe the blind date had prompted him to realize that he still favored the type of girl Xiao Qing was, but sadly, he had missed the opportunity.
However, Huo Qijun shook his head without hesitation to this question.
Lin Weiyi was puzzled, “Then why were you in a bad mood today? Can you tell me?”
If Huo Qijun truly didn’t want to share, he wouldn’t have brought it up; he just didn’t know how to articulate it so that it wouldn’t sound too pitiable.
After a moment of internal struggle, he bit his lip and finally said, “If you knew someone liked you, would you be able to pretend you didn’t?”
Frankly, it sounded pretty vague, but Lin Weiyi felt like he understood a bit: “Someone likes you, but you don’t like them, so that annoys you?”
“I’m not annoyed!” Huo Qijun instinctively retorted, but the frustration on his face was almost spilling over. Maybe even he felt it was unconvincing, so he added, “I’m bothered by myself. I don’t find him bothersome.”
“Do you like her?” Lin Weiyi slowed down the car and asked slowly.
“No…” He didn’t like the same sex. Huo Qijun had never doubted his sexual orientation.
Lin Weiyi was too focused on driving to notice his expression, so he didn’t pick up on anything unusual. Hearing that answer, he soothed, “Since you don’t like her, you don’t need to be concerned about it. The one who should be worried is the person who likes you; it has nothing to do with you.”
Huo Qijun still felt downcast, “But if I treat him as a friend, I don’t want him to feel unhappy because of this, right?”
“Ah Qi,” Lin Weiyi called out to him, trying to pull him out of his emotional turmoil, “There aren’t that many win-win situations in this world. Liking someone is inherently a matter of self-burdening.”
“But do you feel that this… is only a loss?” Huo Qijun turned to look at Lin Weiyi, whose expression remained consistently gentle.
Lin Weiyi smiled at this, “This isn’t really a business transaction! However, matters of the heart are unpredictable. If you never get a response, one day you will come to realize it’s not worth it, right?”
As feelings fade, rationality starts to weigh gains and losses naturally.
Though he spoke leisurely, Huo Qijun felt a dull ache in his heart at those words. He wanted to say it would be better if that day came sooner, but he couldn’t find the words to express it.