My Childhood Friend is Secretly in Love with Me - Chapter 14

“You were the one who climbed into my bed”

“Knock, knock!”

Zuo Yi was startled by the knocking. He did not dare open the door or make a sound.

“Xiao Yi, it is me.”

The moment Qi Yan’s anxious voice sounded from outside the door, it felt as if a deity had descended to earth to save a suffering believer.

Disregarding his appearance, Zuo Yi ran to open the door with eyes swollen like walnuts from crying. Seeing Qi Yan, he finally relaxed and threw himself into his arms, sobbing even louder.

“It is okay, it is okay. I am here. Do not be afraid,” Qi Yan said, patting his back repeatedly to soothe his fear.

Zuo Yi was still sobbing when Qi Yan led him back into the room. He gripped Qi Yan’s hand tightly, terrified that he might leave.

Seeing that Zuo Yi was still like a frightened lion cub in the pitch-black room, Qi Yan led him to the balcony. They pulled up two small stools and sat together, keeping each other company by the moonlight. Although the moonlight was not as dazzling as the sun, it was a bright lamp in the darkest hour, their only light.

“How are Auntie Song and Uncle Zuo?” Qi Yan’s question pulled Zuo Yi’s wandering thoughts back.

Zuo Yi nodded and replied, “They are doing well. They often ask about you and Auntie Chen.”

Qi Yan said, “Mm. If you get the chance, give them my best. Also to Auntie Wen and Uncle Ding.”

Zuo Yi said, “I will not pass on messages. You should go back and see them yourself during the holidays.” After a pause, he added, “Grandma Liu misses you very much. She has cried several times.”

Qi Yan pursed his lips and remained silent.

Drowsiness washed over Zuo Yi, and he crawled into the covers to sleep. Qi Yan dimmed the desk lamp. The warm orange light, like the moon that night, soothed them to sleep.

For a long time, Qi Yan could not fall asleep. The events of the night before the college entrance exams had remained like a giant boulder pressing on his and his mother’s hearts, with no one to tell. Hearing Zuo Yi’s steady, even breathing beside him, Qi Yan moved quietly off the bed and went to the living room to light a cigarette.

The scarlet spark flickered in the dim space like the eyes of a beast hidden in the dark night, choosing its prey and waiting for the moment to strike.

“Xiao Yi,”

As Zuo Yi slept soundly, a soft, moist sensation on the tip of his nose forced him to open his eyes.

Before him was Qi Yan’s face, the corners of his eyes flushed and his gaze blurred, hiding no desire. His luscious lips had just pulled away from the tip of Zuo Yi’s nose and were moving toward his mouth.

“Brother Yan, you,”

Zuo Yi’s words were blocked by those lips and swallowed back down. A nimble tongue gently pried open Zuo Yi’s teeth, playing wantonly in his mouth and greedily taking in its moisture. It was like tasting a succulent peach; sweetness exploded on both their tongues simultaneously.

Zuo Yi was kissed into a daze, letting out muffled protests from between his teeth. Though he was willing to stay lost in this sudden happiness, his brain reminded him to stay conscious. Zuo Yi tried to push away the person half-pressing down on him, but his hands were pinned behind his head, leaving him unable to move.

“Xiao Yi, you were the one who climbed into my bed. Do not blame me for devouring you,” Qi Yan’s sexy, low voice murmured in his ear.

Zuo Yi felt his earlobe being licked and toyed with. “Do not, do not do that there, it tickles,” he gasped. This was his sensitive spot, and the small flame of restraint was instantly ignited.

The tongue licked from the tip of Zuo Yi’s ear all the way down his neck. The warm moisture gradually submerged his logic.

Zuo Yi was drowning in this volcano that was about to erupt. He wanted to beg for mercy, but his lips were tightly blocked and he could make no sound. He wanted to push him away, but his body was pinned down so firmly he could not use his strength. He could only choose to fall with his lover into this man-eating swamp; at worst, they would live together or die together.

Zuo Yi trembled all over, and the volcano finally erupted, molten lava splashing everywhere.

A numbing sensation swept through his entire body. He gave a muffled groan, and his pants became wet.

When he opened his eyes again under the warm yellow light, there was no one by the bed.

“Fuck,” Zuo Yi cursed under his breath, knitting his brows.

It was a dream.

His face instantly flushed with shame and anger. Having this kind of dream on his first night at someone’s house, if he were found out, he would never be able to show his face again.

Zuo Yi quickly scrambled out of bed and checked the sheets. Fortunately, they were not soaked. As long as he dealt with the pants, everything would be hidden. Zuo Yi found clean underwear and pajama pants and fled to the bathroom. After cleaning himself up, he looked at the soiled pants and felt troubled. It was not convenient to wash them now and he was afraid of being discovered, so he could only ball them up and throw them into the trash can.

“Perfect!”

Zuo Yi left the bathroom feeling satisfied, only to walk straight into Qi Yan, who had just returned to the room.

“Where did you go?” Zuo Yi asked guiltily.

Qi Yan walked into the room. “I was thirsty.”

As Qi Yan passed him, Zuo Yi smelled that familiar scent of tobacco again, even stronger than before.

“Did you smoke a few cigarettes while you were at it?”

Qi Yan gave a faint smile and did not deny it. “Why are you awake?”

Feeling guilty himself but putting on a cold face, Zuo Yi replied, “I had to pee.”

Qi Yan noticed he had changed his pajama pants the moment he walked in, but he saw through it without speaking.

Zuo Yi lay back down on the bed, turning his body to face away from Qi Yan. “Turn off the light and sleep. I am much braver now.”

And with you here, I will not be afraid.

After the light was turned off, Qi Yan moved a bit closer to Zuo Yi. Zuo Yi did not know that on the night of the power outage in sixth grade, he had unconsciously hugged Qi Yan tightly all night after falling asleep.

“Xiao Yi, let us spend the holiday together tomorrow.”

Zuo Yi heard Qi Yan’s words just as he was drifting off and gave a mumbled “Okay” in response.

At dawn, Zuo Yi woke up early and rushed back to school for training. After training, he called Ding Wenxiao to go over some nursing precautions and then went to buy a bunch of ingredients for a cake.

Returning to the apartment, Zuo Yi stealthily put the shopping bags in the kitchen. He had gotten the idea to make a cake himself after seeing the oven while washing dishes yesterday.

Heaven was on his side.

Zuo Yi looked around the house and saw that Qi Yan was not home. Only then did he openly return to the kitchen and start messing around according to a video.

“Separate the egg whites and yolks. Add corn oil and sugar to the yolks, and stir evenly,” Zuo Yi muttered as he manually stirred with a whisk.

The subsequent whisking of the egg whites depended entirely on his powerful right arm. “Fuck, making a cake is this exhausting?”

After five minutes, he wanted to throw the steel bowl into the trash.

After ten minutes, he wanted to blow up the kitchen.

After twenty minutes, he grumbled as he put the prepared cake batter into the oven. He set the baking time and continued grumbling as he began to whip the cream.

“If you dare say it is not good, I will slap the cake onto your face.”

Ding!

The cake came out of the oven, and it looked perfect!

He began to apply the first layer of cream with satisfaction. For some reason, the cream kept melting as he spread it, turning it into a mess. After a struggle, Zuo Yi successfully drew three simple figures holding hands on the surface of the cake and finally wrote the words “Happy Birthday.”

“As expected of me!” Zuo Yi was very satisfied with the cake he had created. He took out his phone and snapped photos from every angle.

By the time he finished cleaning up the battlefield, it was already 4:00 PM. Qi Yan was still not back, so he sent a message.

[Zorro: Weren’t we supposed to spend the holiday together? Where are you?]

[1: I am off work. I will be home soon.]

Qi Yan replied almost instantly.

[Zorro: You still went to your part-time job today?]

Liar. You said we would spend the holiday together today, and then you ran off to wait tables at a restaurant!

[1: The restaurant was short-handed.]

[1: Did you eat lunch?]

[Zorro: Puppy carrying a food bowl.jpg]

[Zorro: No.]

He had been so focused on making the cake that he had truly forgotten to eat.

[1: Head pat.jpg]

[Zorro: I want to eat tomato and egg noodles.]

[1: Okay, I will add two eggs for you.]

[Zorro: Happy spinning.jpg]

Before long, the sound of the password being entered came from outside. Zuo Yi hurried to the door to wait for the apartment owner to enter.

“You are back,” Zuo Yi said, staring with his arms crossed and an unhappy expression.

“Mm. Sorry, I did not intend to go to the restaurant today.” Qi Yan changed into his slippers and looked up to see flour on Zuo Yi’s nose and cheeks. The white flour happened to cover the bruises from last night, looking incredibly cute.

Zuo Yi, wearing his slippers, was about to turn toward the living room when Qi Yan grabbed him. “Your face is dirty.”

“Huh?” Before he could react, Qi Yan’s hand was already on his face. His thumb rubbed the bruised cheekbone and then tapped the tip of his nose.

After wiping it, Qi Yan asked, “What did you sneakily eat?”

Sneakily eat? Did cream count? He had just eaten a few mouthfuls of cream.

Zuo Yi was quick to deny it. “Who sneakily ate? Let us cook. I want to go see Auntie Chen after we eat.”

The kitchen was filled with the sweet scent of baking, yet there was no sign of a cake. It was not hard for Qi Yan to guess what Zuo Yi had been doing at home all afternoon, but he was curious why he had made a cake.

Soon, the noodles were brought to the dining table. Zuo Yi ran over as soon as he smelled the aroma.

“It smells so good.” Zuo Yi looked at the two bowls. One bowl had almost no eggs, while the other was filled with them.

Only then did Zuo Yi remember that Qi Yan would vomit if he smelled eggs. But Zuo Yi loved eating them.

He scratched the back of his head, wondering if Qi Yan could eat noodles that smelled like eggs. If he had known, they would have eaten something else.

Qi Yan understood Zuo Yi’s expression. “It is fine. I can eat it.”

Just as Zuo Yi was about to pick up his chopsticks, his phone rang.

Qi Yan frowned. He saw who the caller was.

Zuo Yi answered, “What is it?”

“Brother Yi, I have my first performance at the bar tonight and I want to invite you. Do you have time?” Guo Jingjing asked with a sincere attitude.

Zuo Yi glanced at the time. It was 5:30 PM.

“What time does it start?”

“8:00 PM.”

Zuo Yi was not very inclined to go, so he politely declined. “We will see. I have some things to do tonight.”

Hearing his non-committal answer, Guo Jingjing guessed he likely would not come and spoke with a pleading tone. “Brother Yi, for my first performance, I just want to invite some friends to show support. Right now, I cannot find anyone else to call besides you.”

Zuo Yi paused, not wanting to dampen his spirits. He glanced at Qi Yan, who was eating noodles, and said after a moment, “Send the bar’s location to my phone.”

Guo Jingjing chirped happily, “Okay!”

The call ended. Zuo Yi picked up his chopsticks and took several large gulps of noodles, praising repeatedly, “Brother Yan, your cooking is really good!”

“The soup has been absorbed. It is not as good anymore,” Qi Yan said flatly.

“It does not affect the taste. The noodles you make are much better than the ones my mom makes.”

Qi Yan ignored him.

Seeing him eating quietly, Zuo Yi did not try to flatter him further.

After finishing dinner and cleaning the kitchen, Zuo Yi came out to find Qi Yan sitting on the sofa watching a movie.

He sat down, thinking about how to bring up going to the bar tonight.

Qi Yan glanced at him and spoke first. “Go if you want to go.”

“Will you go with me, please?” Zuo Yi leaned against the sofa and tugged at a corner of Qi Yan’s T-shirt.

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