My Childhood Friend is Secretly in Love with Me - Chapter 18

Gently Imprinting a Burning Kiss

“Silly, I do not blame you.” Qi Yan reached out and stroked Zuo Yi’s lowered head. “I would rather he were not my father.”

Zuo Yi finally looked up, meeting Qi Yan’s eyes, and spoke seriously, “If it is something you do not like, I will not mention or ask about it again. But if he bothers you again, you must tell me. I am tough; I am not afraid of him.”

Qi Yan flicked his forehead with his index finger. “Do not worry about things you should not. Tell me, why were you given ten extra laps of training today?”

Zuo Yi twitched the corner of his mouth, thinking to himself that Qi Yan really knew how to bring up the one thing he wanted to avoid. “It is just because I am so excellent. Ten extra laps are nothing; I handled it easily.”

Qi Yan watched as Zuo Yi leaned back lazily, making a “pinching” gesture with his right hand. That untamed, unrestrained look of his had not changed one bit.

As they spoke, the food arrived, filling the entire table. Qi Yan grilled the meat and placed the cooked pieces into Zuo Yi’s bowl. “You ordered so much meat. Are you feeding a pig?”

Zuo Yi burst out laughing.

“What are you laughing at?”

Zuo Yi snatched the tongs from Qi Yan’s hand. “I am feeding a pig. Since this pig is too thin and does not have enough meat on his bones to sell for a good price, I have to fatten him up before selling him.”

“Fine. You are sleeping on the sofa tonight.” Qi Yan took a piece of wagyu beef, dipped it in chili sauce, and popped it into his mouth.

Zuo Yi moved all the meat into Qi Yan’s plate and intentionally pouted. “A little piglet should not bite the hand that feeds him.”

“Keep talking and you will not even have a sofa to sleep on.”

“Brother!”

“No talking while eating.”

“Brother Yan!”

“Eat your meat.” Qi Yan smiled and stuffed a large chopstick full of beef into Zuo Yi’s mouth.

Even the server who came in to pour tea could not help but smile.

Back at home, Zuo Yi slumped on the sofa, letting out a satisfied burp. He had not expected Qi Yan’s stomach to be so small; after only a few bites of meat, he said he was full and refused to eat another morsel. The remaining ten or so plates of meat had all ended up in Zuo Yi’s stomach. Now, the mere smell of meat made him want to gag.

Qi Yan found the medicine box and handed Zuo Yi a box of digestive tablets. “Who is the little piglet?”

Zuo Yi sat up and took the tablets, saying unhappily, “Me! It is me, okay?”

“Mm. As a reward, the little piglet gets to sleep in the bed tonight.” Qi Yan sat down next to Zuo Yi and picked up the remote to turn on the projector. Suddenly remembering something, he asked, “Where did you want me to go with you tonight?”

“Huh?” Zuo Yi was a bit dazed. He thought back and suddenly slapped his forehead. “Oh! I originally wanted you to go with me to Decathlon to buy some training equipment. I completely forgot.”

Qi Yan nodded. “Make a list of the equipment you need. If I have time tomorrow, I will go buy it.”

Zuo Yi frowned, staring at his now rounded belly, feeling full of sorrow. How did eight abs turn into one just after one meal?

Receiving no response, Qi Yan turned his head and saw Zuo Yi staring blankly at his own stomach. He found it amusing and lightly patted Zuo Yi’s belly. “Did you hear what I said?”

“I heard you. I will send it to you tomorrow.” Zuo Yi pouted and asked Qi Yan, “Brother Yan, does my stomach look like a ripe watermelon?”

Most of the time, Qi Yan could not keep up with Zuo Yi’s erratic train of thought.

“It looks more like a pig about to give birth,” Qi Yan said with a straight face.

Zuo Yi turned his head, staring at the serious Qi Yan with a look of pure grievance. “What? How can a male pig give birth?”

After saying it, he felt something was wrong and was about to argue that he was not a pig about to give birth, but then he saw the corners of Qi Yan’s mouth curling up in the shadow of the projector.

Fine! Give birth, then. As long as Brother Yan is happy, I would give birth to twenty piglets at once.

Joking aside, by the time Qi Yan finished washing up, Zuo Yi’s food had mostly digested. The coach’s words today had been a harsh wake up call. If he did not train seriously, his current performance would not be competitive even if he made the school team. Today was not his best; he could clearly swim faster. He could not blame the coach for being harsh; he could only blame himself for not being motivated enough!

Once Qi Yan went to his room to read, Zuo Yi took off his shirt and began extra training. After forty minutes of endurance exercises, he returned to the room drenched in sweat to grab his pajamas. Qi Yan had already fallen asleep leaning against the headboard.

Zuo Yi leaned over the bed to take the book from his hand. Qi Yan frowned as if he felt his precious possession being taken away. Zuo Yi used his index finger to gently massage the space between Qi Yan’s eyebrows, smoothing out the frown. Qi Yan kept mumbling something. Zuo Yi was too far away to hear clearly. He wanted to pull his hand back to lean closer, but Qi Yan suddenly grabbed his index finger. “Mom, do not go.”

Zuo Yi’s heart skipped a beat.

“Do not leave me.” A single tear slid from the corner of Qi Yan’s eye.

Zuo Yi knelt by the bed, closing the distance between them. He mimicked the way Qi Yan used to coax him to nap when they were children, gently patting Qi Yan’s shoulder and whispering softly, “I am not going. Auntie Chen is not leaving you, and I am not leaving you either. Do not be afraid, Brother. Do not be afraid.”

Another tear escaped and fell silently onto the white pillow, blooming into a gray flower. Qi Yan gradually calmed down under the soothing. When he woke up in the middle of the night, he saw Zuo Yi asleep, kneeling and leaning against the bedside. The reason he was sleeping like that was that his right index finger was being held tightly by Qi Yan. He had been sleeping like that, half naked and kneeling by the bed, for most of the night.

In the quiet of the night, the water blue curtains were gently stroked by the night breeze. The frequency of the curtains fluttering up and down gradually merged with Qi Yan’s heartbeat, dancing rhythmically.

The boy he liked was right here, accompanying him. Qi Yan could no longer suppress the desire in his heart. He carefully lowered his head and gently imprinted a burning kiss on Zuo Yi’s right cheek.

Zuo Yi was sleeping deeply. When Qi Yan woke him, he was still in a daze. “How did I fall asleep?”

“Go sleep in the bed.” Qi Yan tried to pull him up.

Zuo Yi let out a sharp hiss, his face contorting with pain. He tried to stand but fell back down. “Wait, my legs are completely numb from kneeling.”

Qi Yan hurried off the bed. “I will massage them for you.”

“It is fine, I can do it myself.” Zuo Yi refused with a blush. A guy is most sensitive just after waking up; it was not a good time to be touched by his crush.

But Qi Yan did not listen. With a cold face, he insisted on massaging his legs. “If you want to train normally tomorrow, listen to me.”

It was a dark night, and two shirtless, handsome guys were alone in a room. One was even massaging the other’s legs; the atmosphere was far too ambiguous. Zuo Yi bit his lower lip, thinking through every setback he had faced in his life, but he still could not control the surge of excitement. Little Zuo Yi stood up quite pridefully.

Zuo Yi tried his best to steady his voice. “Brother, they are not numb anymore. Stop massaging.”

“Okay, then get in bed and sleep.” Qi Yan patted his thigh.

His left leg was patted into his right leg, exactly catching the Little Zuo Yi that was standing at attention. Zuo Yi let out a muffled groan from his throat. He grabbed the clothes covering his lap and ran into the bathroom in a panic. “I have not showered yet. You go to sleep first!”

Qi Yan smiled and shook his head. “He has grown up to be so clean.”

Zuo Yi went out for a morning run just as the sky was beginning to brighten. He thought that if he finished training early, he could go to the hospital sooner to let Qi Yan go to work. After running five kilometers, he saw it was still early, so he bought breakfast to take home.

Zuo Yi thought Qi Yan would still be sleeping, but when he arrived home, Qi Yan had already changed and was ready to go out.

“Going to work this early?” Zuo Yi placed the breakfast on the table.

Qi Yan walked out of the room. “I am going to the hospital to check in.”

“I bought breakfast. Eat before you go.” Zuo Yi pushed Qi Yan to the table and took out the millet porridge.

Qi Yan ate the porridge spoonful by spoonful while Zuo Yi accompanied him quietly, occasionally tearing off a piece of fried dough stick and putting it into the porridge bowl, watching Qi Yan eat.

“My training will end early today. I will go to the hospital to stay with you after I finish,” Zuo Yi said.

Qi Yan finished the last bite of porridge and put down the bowl. “If training is too tiring, just come back and rest.”

“It is not tiring; I am used to it,” Zuo Yi said with a smile.

Qi Yan rubbed his hair and cleaned up the dishes. “Train seriously.”

Zuo Yi left with Qi Yan. When he arrived at the school’s land training hall, Coach Huang was already waiting there with a dark expression.

“Good morning, Coach!” Zuo Yi playfully waved to the coach.

Every time he saw the coach’s dark face, his heart felt a bit uneasy. He had been at the Beijing PE University for about a month and training for only half a month; he and Coach Huang were still in the adjustment period. He did not know how to ease the relationship with the coach in this situation.

Coach Huang looked at his watch and stared at him. “Did your cardio?”

Zuo Yi stood tall and nodded vigorously. “Reporting, Coach! Ran five kilometers.”

“Mm. Warm up for fifteen minutes first.” Coach Huang took out his whistle and gave a sharp blast.

Zuo Yi jumped in surprise and immediately took off his training jacket. “Joint activation for five minutes, followed by three sets of 60 second high knees and a 20 meter sprint. Ready, go!”

As soon as the whistle blew, Zuo Yi moved by reflex.

Two hours of training passed, and Zuo Yi was so tired he could barely keep his eyes open. This Coach Huang was much fiercer than Coach Dong back in Jiangcheng. Swimmers are usually extremely sensitive to whistles; hearing one makes them unconsciously enter a state of combat readiness. Coach Dong only used a whistle during underwater training, except when managing group sessions; for land training, he usually gave verbal commands.

But Coach Huang was different. Whether it was group or individual training, on land or underwater, he used the whistle for every command. Zuo Yi remained in a state of high alert throughout the entire training session, which was very exhausting.

Just as he was resting, Coach Huang blew the whistle again. Zuo Yi immediately scrambled up from the mat, pleading with a long face, “Coach, is training not over for today? Again?”

“I did not say we were continuing.” Coach Huang glanced at Zuo Yi. “Look at you, have some backbone!”

“Coach, please do not blow the whistle after training is over. It makes me so nervous,” Zuo Yi complained.

Coach Huang gave Zuo Yi’s butt a light kick. “Hurry up and return the equipment, then follow me.”

Zuo Yi folded the mat and asked without interest, “Where are we going?”

“The national team is here for training today. I am taking you to observe so you know where the gap is between you and the professional team,” Coach Huang said meticulously.

“Holy crap, the national swimming team? I can watch them train?” Zuo Yi immediately perked up, suddenly full of energy for moving equipment.

Only then did Coach Huang show a faint smile and blow the whistle again. “Move faster! At the speed you are cleaning up, they will be done with their morning session. Are you waiting to go watch the wind?”

“Yes, sir! My wonderful coach!” Zuo Yi gave a sharp, handsome salute and then rushed over to give Coach Huang a big hug.

“Get out of here, you brat,” Coach Huang said with a laugh.

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