After My Childhood Friend Misunderstood That I Had a Boyfriend - Chapter 12

Chapter 12: How could I be moved by my childhood younger brother

The brilliant light of the fireworks showered down from the sky, landing on Chu Xi’s soft cheeks and bathing him in a gentle glow.

The fireworks in Chu Xi’s eyes flickered and flared, eventually returning to tranquility moments later.

As the grand proposal ceremony concluded, Chu Xi still felt a lingering excitement. Once the gathered crowd began to disperse, the two of them followed the flow of people away from the scene.

Chu Xi was still clutching his “Top-Tier Good Luck” stick, his mind wandering back to the drone and fireworks display: “That proposal ceremony was so romantic. Especially the fireworks didn’t it look like the kind of scene you’d see when the leads in a movie finally get their Happy Ending?”

The two walked down the steps one by one. The street performer reached the climax of their song; the slight awkwardness caused by the “ideal type” question from earlier was now forgotten by both of them.

It was as if all the testing and ambiguity of the night had been naturalized by the fireworks.

Watching the fragmented light in Chu Xi’s eyes, Zhou Jinyan gave a simple reply: “It did.”

Zhou Jinyan was increasingly convinced that Chu Xi liked him, yet Chu Xi’s push-and-pull attitude left him with a lingering trace of uncertainty.

Chu Xi was still savoring the moment: “So romantic. They must be incredibly happy!”

After his exclamation, Chu Xi suddenly realized he hadn’t taken any photos and felt a surge of regret: “Ahhh, I forgot to take pictures! You rarely get to see something like that.”

Chu Xi’s constant chattering might have seemed noisy to Zhou Jinyan if it were anyone else, but coming from Chu Xi, he found it quite cute.

Like a little frog returning from a trip to share interesting stories.

Zhou Jinyan listened quietly to Chu Xi before speaking: “I took some.”

Chu Xi looked up at him: “Eh?”

In such a romantic setting, Zhou Jinyan actually had the presence of mind to take photos?

As expected, saying he loves movies was just to humor me!

Zhou Jinyan didn’t understand why Chu Xi was suddenly staring at him with wide eyes, but it didn’t stop him from thinking those eyes were sparkling—so much so that he found it hard to look directly at them.

Zhou Jinyan averted his gaze: “I’ll transfer them to you.”

Chu Xi: “Oh.”

The photos arrived in Chu Xi’s album. He switched apps to check them. There were five in total: two were of the drones forming the ring and the flowers, while the remaining three were all of his own profile.

Hmm?? Why did Zhou Jinyan take pictures of me?

Chu Xi felt like he had caught onto something. He turned to ask: “These three photos don’t even have fireworks in them.”

Zhou Jinyan glanced at them. His original intention had been to take photos to make Chu Xi happy, but when the fireworks went off, he had harbored a bit of selfishness. He felt that the fireworks reflected in Chu Xi’s eyes were even more vivid than the ones blooming in the night sky.

It was also because of these sudden fireworks that, when he looked into Chu Xi’s eyes just now, a realization he had built up in his mind began to shake violently.

Zhou Jinyan took a deep breath: “There are fireworks. In your eyes.”

The fireworks in the night sky belonged to too many people, but the shattered sparks in the depths of Chu Xi’s eyes could only be seen by him.

Zhou Jinyan raised his lowered eyes. Perhaps the plaza lighting was exceptionally good, as his cold, sharp features seemed tender under the warm glow.

Eh?

What does he mean ‘in my eyes’?

It took a few moments for Chu Xi to process it. Zhou Jinyan basically meant that he wasn’t looking at the fireworks at all—he was looking at him, right?

Chu Xi didn’t know how to respond for a while. Finally, his fingers curled, and he gripped his phone tightly.

Is it an illusion? I, I feel like I’m being flirted with by Zhou Jinyan.

It wasn’t a deliberate, heavy-handed flirtation. It was subtle… a casual remark where the tone didn’t sound “off” to anyone else, but it was so understated that it only made the intended recipient feel the spark.

Zhou Jinyan actually likes me too, doesn’t he?

Chu Xi wasn’t someone with low self-worth. Previously, he had only been anxious because he wasn’t sure if Zhou Jinyan could like him.

Chu Xi suddenly remembered that before the drone show, he had practically poked through the paper window of their relationship, only to have Zhou Jinyan detour around it.

Why?

It was like a puzzle where the very last piece was missing. Chu Xi was a bit puzzled, but since he couldn’t find the answer now, he let it go.

In the distance, the singer shouted passionately into the mic: “This is the last song of the night! What does everyone want to hear?”

The crowd grew noisy, but it had nothing to do with the two of them. Light still peeked from the distant horizon, but Zhou Jinyan’s eyes were as bottomless as the dark night: “Let’s go home.”

Chu Xi’s mind was in a mess, so he complied: “Okay.”

The Cullinan started up, and the car’s music resumed from where it had been paused. However, the state of mind of the two passengers was vastly different from when they arrived.

Chu Xi was unusually quiet. Mainly, he felt things between them were “weird” now, and he wasn’t sure how to continue interacting.

As they neared the neighborhood, they passed a supermarket. Chu Xi asked Zhou Jinyan to find a place to park. He suddenly remembered he was out of ingredients, and a few friends were coming over to his place tomorrow evening.

Chu Xi had originally intended to go in alone, but Zhou Jinyan found a parking spot, and the two ended up browsing the supermarket together.

Zhou Jinyan grabbed a trolley: “Where to first?”

Chu Xi planned to have hotpot at home tomorrow, so he said without thinking: “Fresh produce section first.”

Starting from the produce section, Zhou Jinyan picked up whatever Chu Xi pointed at: shrimp paste, beef tripe, tender meat slices, crispy pork…

When it came time to pay, Chu Xi realized he hadn’t given Zhou Jinyan money for dinner yet, so he asked how much it was, saying he’d transfer his share.

Zhou Jinyan: “No need.”

He didn’t lack this bit of money.

Chu Xi felt a bit bad. After all, he was the one who initiated the outing, so he should have been the one to pay. But seeing Zhou Jinyan’s somewhat firm attitude, Chu Xi dropped it.

Worst case, I’ll treat him next time. Giving and receiving is part of the process, and it gives me an excuse to ask him out again.

After buying the hotpot ingredients, Chu Xi realized he was out of fruit and headed to the fruit section. While picking peaches, he suddenly remembered that Zhou Sixuan’s birthday was next Saturday. It wouldn’t be right to show up empty-handed, and he hadn’t prepared a gift yet.

Chu Xi saw a large, plump peach near Zhou Jinyan and signaled for him to pick it up, asking casually: “What does your sister like?”

Zhou Jinyan brought the peach over: “Why the sudden question?”

Chu Xi tucked the peach into a bag: “Isn’t her birthday next week? I’m planning to get her a gift.”

Zhou Jinyan understood and thought for a moment: “She likes bags.”

Bags? Chu Xi frowned. He immediately remembered the time he misunderstood the bag Zhou Jinyan bought for Zhou Sixuan as a gift for a girlfriend. The embarrassment of that day came flooding back.

If she liked bags, she was likely a collector. The one Zhou Jinyan had prepared was a classic, popular, and hard-to-find model. If Chu Xi prepared one as well, would it be like “showing off his poor skills before a master”?

Chu Xi didn’t like the idea of giving a gift that felt uninspired. He asked: “Anything else?”

Zhou Jinyan thought of the entire wall of bags in Zhou Sixuan’s cloakroom. He instantly understood Chu Xi’s concern and wanted to provide a second option, but the words stalled in his throat.

Truthfully, he didn’t know his sister that well. He fell into a rare silence.

Seeing Zhou Jinyan’s silence, Chu Xi thought something was wrong, only to see him with knitted brows in deep thought. He couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

The ice of silence shattered. Zhou Jinyan felt himself relax and asked with a chuckle: “What are you laughing at?”

Chu Xi gestured: “The way you looked just now was like that sculpture—The Thinker.”

Zhou Jinyan froze. He had visited the Musée Rodin in Paris three years ago and seen the master’s work. Now that Chu Xi had associated him with The Thinker, he felt a strange sensation.

It wasn’t a bad feeling; it was rather novel.

He even felt in the mood to tease Chu Xi: “And what about you? Are you the tourist stopping to stare?”

Chu Xi thought to himself: I already stopped for you a year ago. He didn’t follow Zhou Jinyan’s lead and instead looked up at him: “Well, Mr. Thinker, have you thought of an answer?”

Zhou Jinyan thought about how Zhou Sixuan was obsessed with supporting young idols: “A camera, maybe. She sometimes acts as a ‘fansite master’ for the idols she follows.”

A camera? Chu Xi perked up. He wasn’t an expert, but he had friends who were.

With an answer in hand, Chu Xi’s mood improved further. He picked out a few more large, beautiful honey peaches. Speaking of which, he still didn’t know Zhou Jinyan’s birthday.

Having picked enough peaches, he put them in the trolley and moved toward the grapes, asking: “Zhou Jinyan, when is your birthday?”

Zhou Jinyan hadn’t expected the question. A flicker of surprise crossed his face.

He looked down and asked: “Are you going to celebrate it for me?”

Chu Xi: “Of course.”

Zhou Jinyan let out a light laugh. Although he knew Chu Xi remembered nothing of their childhood, he still hoped this date might trigger some impression. In fact, when they were very young, Chu Xi had celebrated his birthday with him.

Zhou Jinyan casually stated a date: “January 7th.”

Chu Xi made a note of it, feeling a bit regretful: “I won’t be able to celebrate it for you this year. I’ll have to wait for next year. It’s quite soon though, just over a month away.”

Zhou Jinyan’s gaze darkened: “Okay.”

After a period of silence, Zhou Jinyan suddenly asked: Have you ever celebrated a birthday for anyone else on that date?”

Had he ever celebrated an January 7th birthday for anyone?

Why would Zhou Jinyan ask that?

Since the question was asked, Chu Xi thought carefully. A few blurred fragments flickered through his mind, but he couldn’t recall anything clearly.

He replied decisively: “No.”

Still, why did Zhou Jinyan ask? Chu Xi felt something was off, but he couldn’t wrap his head around it, so he pushed it to the back of his mind.

Zhou Jinyan hadn’t expected Chu Xi to remember, but perhaps it was for the best. If he did remember… Zhou Jinyan thought about how, when they were young, his tendency to be controlling had made little Chu Xi unwilling to cling to him anymore. After all these years, the feeling of losing something very important hovered in his heart again.

When the fireworks had bloomed and reflected in Chu Xi’s eyes, a conviction he had built was shaken to its core.

Perhaps he didn’t “dislike” Chu Xi. Perhaps he wasn’t “without feelings.”

At the very least, there was a fondness, one tinged with possessiveness otherwise, he wouldn’t care so much about the possibility of Chu Xi having a boyfriend.

Maybe he did like Chu Xi, or maybe it just hadn’t quite reached that level yet.

Zhou Jinyan looked down at Chu Xi’s profile as he seriously picked out fruit. How could I be moved by my childhood “younger brother”? He told himself to cut his losses. He would indulge in this one final night.

After tonight, he would perhaps have to state his stance, distance himself from Chu Xi, and suppress this sudden, aggressive surge of emotion.