Time Has Grown Dim, And Evening Has Already Fallen - Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Liang Ziyan smiled at him, then turned an inquiring gaze toward Lu Xingchu. “Not going to introduce us?”

Lu Xingchu’s answer was concise. “My friend.”

No backstory, no long-winded explanation—classic Lu Xingchu style.

Clearly, both Liang Ziyan and Cheng Xun were used to his brevity. Without waiting for him to say more, the two introduced themselves.

“Liang Ziyan.” The boy pointed to himself.

Cheng Xun mimicked his gesture with a simple motion. “Cheng Xun.”

“Let’s go, I called a car.” Liang Ziyan turned and headed forward, talking as he walked. “Let’s go to the hotel to drop off the luggage first… Uh, did you two not bring anything?”

“Mm,” Lu Xingchu replied absentmindedly. “We can just buy whatever we’re missing at a convenience store.”

“Fair enough.” Liang Ziyan rubbed his nose. “It’s still early, let’s head to the hotel first.”

Cheng Xun instinctively felt his pocket for his wallet, phone, and keys. As long as he had those three things, he felt a sense of security. He didn’t have much cash; the main thing was having his ID.

There was a chain convenience store on the first floor of the esports hotel. The three of them went in for a quick browse. Lu Xingchu picked out the essentials; Cheng Xun was just window-shopping; and Liang Ziyan was buying a chaotic amount of random stuff, claiming he was “restocking supplies.”

Lu Xingchu expressed his doubt. “We’re only staying for one night. Is it necessary to buy this much?”

“Cough.” Liang Ziyan rubbed his nose again. “There are four of us, after all. Better to have more.”

Lu Xingchu’s brow furrowed at this, a cold expression settling over his handsome face. “Four of us?”

Liang Ziyan pushed them both forward while paying. “Jiang Tiao. He heard you were coming back to S City and asked if he could join us. You know how it is—other than you, he’s the one I’m closest with.”

This was true. He and Jiang Tiao had been in the same class since kindergarten. Except for their first year of high school, they had never been separated, and by coincidence, they lived in the same neighborhood.

As for how Jiang Tiao knew Lu Xingchu—it was simple: they were classmates during their first year. Because of Liang Ziyan, they used to get along reasonably well. If not for what happened later, Lu Xingchu at least wouldn’t have blacklisted him.

Cheng Xun noticed that Lu Xingchu’s face had turned icy the moment he heard the name “Jiang something.” No matter what Liang Ziyan said, Lu replied with cold indifference. Gradually, the task of keeping the conversation alive naturally fell onto Cheng Xun.

It was the definition of “awkward small talk”; he didn’t even know Liang Ziyan that well.

After swiping the card to enter the hotel room, Cheng Xun was stunned by the sight of the incredibly lavish suite. The four computers looked stunning in black and deep blue, and the bed was massive… This double bed looked wider than their two bunk beds at home pushed together.

The room was set to a comfortable temperature. Cheng Xun took off his thick down jacket and hung it over the back of the gaming chair, choosing the station on the far left.

As Cheng Xun sat down to reply to messages, Lu Xingchu pulled out the chair next to him and sat down, sliding a bag over. It was the disposable underwear and socks they had just bought at the convenience store. Cheng Xun immediately tucked the items into the drawer.

Being tactful, Cheng Xun turned on his computer and put on his headset, pretending he couldn’t hear a thing to give Liang Ziyan and Lu Xingchu space to argue.

Though “argue” wasn’t quite the right word—it was mostly Liang Ziyan offering a one-sided explanation.

“My bad, okay? Jiang Tiao said he made you angry before, and he wanted to use this chance to treat you to a meal and apologize.” Seeing that Cheng Xun was focused on a game, Liang Ziyan stopped holding back. “I really just booked the four-person room because it was convenient. He might not even stay the night; the main thing is lunch…”

“He doesn’t need to treat us to lunch,” Lu Xingchu replied, his eyes lowered. “Give him the money for Cheng Xun and me.”

“Ah, man.” Liang Ziyan scratched his hair in frustration, messing up his styled chestnut-colored locks. “That’s not great. It’ll be so awkward. Why did you two even have a falling out? You were fine in the first year.”

Lu Xingchu shot him a cold look that made him shiver. “It’s nothing.”

Liang Ziyan: “…” Neither of you will tell me. Do you even consider me a bro?

“Fine, if neither of you wants to talk, I won’t ask. Anyway, if there’s a misunderstanding, just clear it up.”

“There’s no misunderstanding.” Lu Xingchu walked to the fridge, opened a can of ice-cold soda, and finished it in one go. The AC was a bit too warm. “Isn’t blacklisting him enough?”

“Cough… fine, whatever. I’m staying out of it.” Liang Ziyan gave up remarkably easily.

“How did he know I was coming back?” Lu Xingchu asked icily, his gaze as cold as the freezer.

“Cursed holiday makeup classes…” Liang Ziyan had already shed his jacket, wearing a simple hoodie and jeans as he sprawled lazily in a beanbag chair. “His mom is a teacher at our school; it’s easy for her to organize a tutoring class during winter break. You know my dad—he’d never pass up a chance to torture me like that. Jiang Tiao was right next to me when I called you… so he found out.”

Lu Xingchu: “Oh.”

He took another soda from the fridge and handed it to Cheng Xun.

Well, more like shoved it. The icy can touched the back of Cheng Xun’s hand. Even with the warm AC, the sudden cold made him jump.

“Do you have a stomach of steel? Drinking ice drinks in the middle of winter.” Cheng Xun took off his headphones to grumble at him, then proceeded to open the soda and start drinking.

What a coincidence—he also had a stomach of steel.

Lu Xingchu leaned over slightly, staring at Cheng Xun’s game screen. Seeing the familiar, flashy character, he recognized it as his own account instantly.

“Wait, Lu Xingchu, you gave your account to your friend? No wonder you didn’t reply to me the last few times I messaged you in-game.” Liang Ziyan had leaned over as well.

Cheng Xun had a realization. So, the person who occasionally sent private messages in the game was him… Cheng Xun had thought it was just a random scammer and never replied.

“No, I only play it occasionally. It’s still Lu Xingchu’s account,” Cheng Xun explained.

“I’m actually curious—how did you and Lu Xingchu become friends?” Liang Ziyan had been chatting with Cheng Xun the whole way, and was clearly much more comfortable now, his questions becoming more direct. “Given Old Lu’s personality, you know how he is.”

Lu Xingchu: “?” Does this guy think I’m invisible?

“Well…” Cheng Xun thought for a moment, organizing his words. “We live together, so we just got close over time.”

“Live together?!” Liang Ziyan’s voice jumped an octave, his handsome face lighting up with the hunger for gossip.

“My grandpa lives in the country, and since I go to school in C County, it wasn’t convenient to commute, so I’m staying at Lu Xingchu’s grandma’s house.” Cheng Xun gave a simplified version of the story. It left out key details but was logically sound; Liang Ziyan didn’t seem to suspect a thing.

“Oh, I see.” Liang Ziyan rubbed his nose and smiled. “Next time I get the chance, I’ll visit you guys in C County.”

Lu Xingchu had already started playing a game and didn’t respond to the suggestion.

Cheng Xun smiled back. “Sure. Just don’t look down on our town for being small and worn out when you get there.”

When it was time, Liang Ziyan took the two of them to the designated restaurant for lunch. Jiang Tiao was already in the private room. To prevent them from backing out, he had even pre-paid for the meal.

When Cheng Xun pushed the door open, he saw the boy immediately. How to put it… he was the type of person you couldn’t ignore. Small face, pale skin, delicate features—if it weren’t for the prominent Adam’s apple, you might mistake his gender at first glance. His slightly upturned fox-like eyes were shimmering, and when he looked at you, they held a trace of innocence.

Damn, where did this manga boy come from?

Cheng Xun gave the guy a polite, formulaic smile, but received no response. He shrugged and sat down naturally. This was the type of guy the girl sitting in front of him back in the day would have loved. He remembered passing her desk and seeing idol postcards that looked exactly like this.

Cheng Xun’s mind drifted off to a thousand miles away, so he didn’t even notice the strange atmosphere in the room.

Ever since Lu Xingchu walked in, Jiang Tiao’s eyes had been lingering on him, intentionally or otherwise. His gaze held both apology and regret.

Liang Ziyan coughed twice and signaled the waiter to start serving. They had chosen a Korean BBQ place since it suited younger tastes. Since no one was of age, they ordered lactic acid drinks to cut through the grease of the meat.

Cheng Xun was lost in the joy of the BBQ, completely oblivious to the weird seating arrangement. Jiang Tiao and Liang Ziyan sat across from them; Cheng Xun had Lu Xingchu to his right and Jiang Tiao directly opposite him. However, the person across from him hadn’t looked at him once, so Cheng Xun didn’t even bother greeting him.

Isn’t the meat delicious? Why worry?

Midway through the meal, Jiang Tiao suddenly raised his drink toward Lu Xingchu and spoke seriously. “Lu Xingchu, I really regret what happened back then. I shouldn’t have been so impulsive. Today, I’m officially apologizing to you. Can we let bygones be bygones?”

“I wanted to apologize before, but you blacklisted my contact info. I felt that sending messages through others wasn’t sincere enough…” Jiang Tiao’s voice grew softer, his expression full of regret and seemingly very genuine. “It took a lot to get this chance. I’m sorry for not telling you in advance; please don’t blame Ziyan, I was the one who told him not to tell you.”