I Heard You Only See Me as a Friend - Chapter 26

As the weekend approached, Ji Wan wanted to treat Feng Jin and Kong Liyan to a meal. However, Kong Liyan suddenly remembered that this weekend was also the birthday of one of their childhood friends.

“Let me ask that guy what he wants to do for his birthday. Wait a sec.” Kong Liyan pulled out his phone, typed for a moment, then looked up at Ji Wan. “He wants us all to go out for a meal to celebrate. He said you should come too, Wanwan!”

Ji Wan asked hesitantly, “Is it really okay for me to go?”

Seeing Ji Wan’s uncertain expression, Kong Liyan explained, “It’s fine! You’ve met him before—remember the one from the basketball game? The guy who smelled like apples… Ah, right, you can’t smell pheromones. He’s the one with the very dark tan. He said he felt like an old friend the moment he met you, so he invited you along.”

With that description, Ji Wan had a general idea of who he meant. He remembered the Alpha was quite cheerful. Since it was a warm invitation, Ji Wan accepted.

The birthday was set for Sunday. Ji Wan, Feng Jin, and Kong Liyan discussed it and decided that eating big meals two days in a row would be a bit much, so they pushed their private celebration to a later date.

After the discussion, Kong Liyan went off to play games. Feng Jin sat on his bed and asked, “Since we’re not going out to eat, do you want to go buy clothes with me?”

Ji Wan was lying on his bed. He looked up to see Feng Jin sitting upright, appearing somewhat dissatisfied. “You can wear the new clothes to the birthday party. It’s perfect if we go buy them today.”

Ji Wan had no objections. He got up, dressed, and headed out with Feng Jin.

After taking a taxi to the commercial street, Ji Wan led Feng Jin through the mall. There were so many shops that Ji Wan decided to ask about Feng Jin’s preferences first.

“Are there any brands you like?” Ji Wan asked.

“None,” Feng Jin replied lazily.

Ji Wan thought for a moment and rephrased: “That down jacket you lent me, what was the price range?”

He had tried to look up the price of the jacket Feng Jin gave him so he could return the favor with something similar, but he couldn’t find it anywhere online.

Feng Jin, who never cared about such things, said casually, “It’s not worth much. Two hundred yuan.”

Ji Wan: “…???”

Between him and Feng Jin, someone had definitely lost their mind.

Feng Jin added a “clarification”: “That jacket was a gift I got when I bought something else. It was a freebie; it doesn’t really have any value.”

Ji Wan was skeptical, but even if he didn’t believe him, he had no way of knowing the actual price. After some thought, he decided to just buy Feng Jin a jacket that looked handsome.

With his height, long legs, and broad shoulders, Feng Jin was a typical clotheshorse; he looked good in everything. Ji Wan saw many pieces he liked, but Feng Jin was incredibly picky, finding fault with every single one.

“Can’t wear that,” Feng Jin frowned after Ji Wan picked out yet another item. “I don’t like this style.”

Ji Wan didn’t get angry. He asked good-naturedly, “Then what kind do you like?”

Feng Jin’s gaze swept across the store, and he pointed to a jujube-red overcoat he had spotted long ago. “Let’s look at that one.”

When the sales assistant brought the coat over, Feng Jin held it up against himself, pondered for a moment, and then held it up against Ji Wan.

“Student, you really have an eye for style!” the assistant praised. “This color is very revitalizing!”

Feng Jin: “Mm.”

Ji Wan had fair skin, and wearing this color made him look lively and very cute.

Ji Wan heard Feng Jin say: “I like this one.”

Ji Wan nodded and was about to go pay for it, but Feng Jin stopped him again.

“I do like it, but it seems you look a bit better in it than I do,” Feng Jin frowned.

The meaning of this sentence was a bit hard to grasp. At first listen, it sounded like he was unhappy because he “lost” a beauty contest. Ji Wan answered cautiously, “You still look better in it.”

“Is that so?” Feng Jin said calmly. “Then you buy one too. We’ll wear them together for comparison.”

Ji Wan: “…”

He hadn’t expected Feng Jin to care so much about appearances that he wanted a “showdown” with him.

However, buying an extra coat wasn’t in his budget. Just as Ji Wan rubbed his brow and was about to say they should only buy one, the sales assistant walked over with a smiling face and hung a sign that said “60% Off” on the coat rack.

Ji Wan: “This is…?”

The assistant turned toward them, her smile becoming even more sincere. “Hello, customer! We are having a promotion to give back to our patrons. If you buy two items, each one is 60% off!”

A pie had fallen from the sky and hit Ji Wan right on the head.

To buy or not to buy?

Buy!

When they left the shop, Ji Wan was very happy, his face glowing with a satisfied smile. Feng Jin also hooked the corners of his mouth. His gaze flickered over the two identical new coats, his eyes darkening slightly.

…Wearing the same clothes meant that whether Ji Wan was on the speech podium, in a corner of the campus, or anywhere in the world, a trace of their connection would finally be visible. The emptiness in his heart was partially filled, but in the end… his desire was still a bottomless pit.

Back in the clothing store, the assistant took down the “60% Off” sign and said to another short-haired colleague, “The young boss suddenly coming over gave me quite a fright.”

“Tell me about it. That ‘60% off’ sign was something I made on the spot. We’ve never had a discount like that.” The short-haired assistant scratched her head, looking in the direction where Feng Jin and Ji Wan had left.

She didn’t know what the relationship was between that student and Feng Jin, but she had never seen Feng Jin do something like this for anyone.

After buying the clothes, Ji Wan was ready to head back to school, but Feng Jin stopped him.

“We finally made it out. Are we really going back right after buying clothes?” Feng Jin asked.

“Hm?” Ji Wan was confused. “What else?”

Feng Jin smiled. This was a rare chance for them to be out alone; it was essentially a date, and he wasn’t going to let the day end so quickly.

“Window shopping, eating, and watching a movie, that’s the standard package for a day out,” Feng Jin said. “It’s common sense.”

Ji Wan wasn’t a proponent of this “common sense.” Usually, before going out, he would decide exactly what he needed to buy. He would go straight to the target, buy it, and head home, never wasting time on pointless play. But he had heard of this concept—that many people like to enjoy themselves to the fullest when they go out.

Since the main purpose of this trip was to thank Feng Jin for lending him the jacket, Ji Wan didn’t mind going along with his wishes. He asked, “Then what do you want to…?”

Feng Jin pretended to check the time on his phone and then laid out the plan he had already prepared: “It’s still early. Let’s go see a movie, then have dinner. By the time we finish eating, it’ll be just about time to head back.”

The arrangement sounded reasonable, so the two headed to the nearby cinema.

Feng Jin had calculated their arrival time perfectly. There was a romance film just starting; the only other options were horror movies or children’s cartoons. Ji Wan had a heart condition, so he definitely wouldn’t choose a horror movie, and cartoons were too childish. That left only the romance film suitable for couples.

“Should we wait a bit?” Ji Wan said, looking at the schedule on the screen. “In twenty minutes, there’s a comedy.”

“I’ve seen that one,” Feng Jin said without blinking.

Ji Wan: “…Isn’t that a new release? When did you see it?”

“At home,” Feng Jin said calmly. “We have a home theater with an agreement with the cinemas. We can see the latest releases there, so I don’t have to make a special trip to the theater.”

Feng Jin wasn’t entirely lying, he did usually watch movies that way, but he hadn’t actually seen the comedy Ji Wan mentioned. His goal was strictly that romance movie. Watching it together, surrounded by couples, maybe Ji Wan would be influenced by the atmosphere and experience a bit of a heart-fluttering moment?

Ji Wan: “…”

Shocked, Ji Wan fell silent. He didn’t understand why Feng Jin wanted to come to the cinema at all; he seemed purely bored.

Feng Jin pointed to the romance movie. “Let’s do this one. It’s just to kill time anyway; looks okay.”

Two friends watching a romance movie felt a bit strange. Ji Wan thought about it and pointed to the horror film: “How about this one?”

Feng Jin: “That might not be good, given your health…”

Ji Wan realized what he meant and explained, “It’s fine. I’m not afraid of those things. I’ve actually seen quite a few classic horror movies… I don’t really feel much, just watch for the fun of it.”

Feng Jin immediately agreed and went to buy two tickets for the horror movie.

If Ji Wan wasn’t afraid, he could be. Opportunity is created by man; perhaps this effect would be even better than a romance movie.

While Feng Jin went to buy the tickets, Ji Wan went to buy snacks. After looking around the snack counter, Ji Wan noticed that buying items individually was expensive, but buying a “Couples’ Combo” offered a much larger discount.

He didn’t care what the combo was called, but he was afraid Feng Jin might. Everyone at school knew that Feng Jin hated being the subject of rumors. That was why, despite so many people liking him, there were absolutely no rumors about him. If he made Feng Jin unhappy over such a small thing, it would be a shame.

“I’ll take two small portions of…” Before Ji Wan could finish, a hand tapped his shoulder, interrupting him.

Ji Wan turned to see Feng Jin standing behind him.

“One Couples’ Combo,” Feng Jin said.

The boy selling the snacks flushed slightly and handed them their items. Feng Jin took them, paid, and led Ji Wan toward the theater.

Ji Wan looked at the combo in his hands, still finding it hard to believe. “You don’t mind?”

“Mind what?” Feng Jin asked back.

He looked at Ji Wan for a moment and sighed. “When you’re out with me, you don’t need to overthink. We’re so close; under normal circumstances, I won’t mind whatever you do.”

There was an indescribable indulgence in Feng Jin’s eyes. Ji Wan was momentarily dazed, but before he could speak, the lights dimmed, and darkness enveloped everyone.

For some reason, Ji Wan relaxed. While reflecting on what Feng Jin had just said, he reached out for the popcorn sitting between them, only to brush against Feng Jin’s fingers doing the same. The joints were long and powerful; as Feng Jin reached out, his fingertips brushed against the pads of Ji Wan’s fingers, creating a slight itch.

In the past, Ji Wan would have pulled his hand back immediately, as Feng Jin never seemed like someone who would accept such accidental contact. But now, just as he was about to withdraw, he remembered Feng Jin’s words.

He won’t mind whatever I do?

Really?

Ji Wan suppressed the urge to move his hand away. He waited for Feng Jin to take the popcorn and retract his hand before taking his own. However, those long fingers didn’t pull away after picking up the kernels. Instead, they turned and held the popcorn out to his hand in a waiting gesture.

Ji Wan paused for a second before taking the popcorn. As he ate, he felt quite moved.

…Feng Jin really was incredibly tolerant toward his friends.

The movie continued. Screams echoed throughout the theater, but Ji Wan sat straight and watched intently. Beside him, Feng Jin glanced at him subtly and ate a few kernels.

As the movie reached a particularly terrifying scene, Feng Jin feigned a shiver and grabbed Ji Wan’s wrist, letting go immediately after to maintain a “brave” facade.

Ji Wan reached out and patted Feng Jin’s arm soothingly. He leaned in and whispered, “If you’re scared, shall we stop watching?”

“No,” Feng Jin quickly vetoed that idea. He hadn’t expected Ji Wan to suggest leaving. He then put on an act of being both scared and wanting to watch: “I’ll just watch with my peripheral vision.”

Ji Wan: “…Alright then. If you’re scared, you can hold onto me.”

The movie played on, and the two fell silent.

Since he had said he would watch with his peripheral vision, he could quite openly fix his gaze elsewhere. Feng Jin stared at Ji Wan’s hand, and every so often, when Ji Wan reached for popcorn, he would hand him a few pieces.

Once, twice, three, four times… Ji Wan went from being unaccustomed to gradually adapting. When their fingertips touched again, Ji Wan didn’t pull away; he naturally took the snack from Feng Jin’s hand.

One giving, one taking there was a silent understanding between them.

Ji Wan was slowly becoming accustomed to his closeness. One day, he would permeate every aspect of Ji Wan’s life… every single facet.