Xiong Wei heard Qin Nanfeng’s words and smiled sheepishly.
“I accidentally overslept a bit. It’s all that damn alarm Lao Wu set yesterday… What? Where are Cezi and the others?”
As he spoke, he scanned the basketball courts, but the area was huge—multiple courts clustered together—so he couldn’t spot the people he was looking for right away.
Chen Ze, standing nearby, wasn’t satisfied.
Before Qin Nanfeng could reply, he leaned in and muttered, “Wasn’t it you, Boss? You forgot to set the alarm, but you’re blaming me? If I didn’t have a backup alarm, we’d have been screwed.”
“Ahem… that’s exactly what I meant…” Xiong Wei looked embarrassed and quickly changed the subject.
“Well… Lao San left first! My phone’s been ringing nonstop all the way here.”
Qin Nanfeng pursed his lips toward a direction and smiled.
“They’re over there. You guys go ahead. I’ll come after I finish this smoke.”
He took another drag from the cigarette in his hand, exhaling a cloud of smoke…
“All right, hurry up.”
“Yeah.”
The group’s backs disappeared into the distance, while Qin Nanfeng continued smoking, quietly watching the small figure at the very back with a thoughtful look in his eyes.
He hadn’t expected this guy to actually follow them out.
He didn’t really mind though; their relationship had been just so-so lately…
But he could sense this guy was deliberately keeping his distance.
That greeting the other day was just a momentary lapse?
Heh, so what if he stole **?
It’s not like it wasn’t handed to him on a silver platter…
Someone like that—was it really worth it?
After all this time, still the same?
Right!
You lost her, but you still have me, don’t you?
I can be your Guide of Life too, can’t I?
Sigh!
Can’t figure it out…
With that thought, Qin Nanfeng sighed.
Finishing his cigarette, he crushed the glowing end against the edge of a nearby trash bin and flicked the butt inside before slowly making his way toward the group.
Though he walked slowly, Qin Nanfeng’s long legs made sure he didn’t lag behind too much.
In contrast, Lin Xinyuan ahead was moving quite slowly, clearly lagging behind the others.
As Qin Nanfeng closed the distance, he noticed something was off…
For a moment, he had the illusion of seeing a girl’s silhouette, but as he got closer, the figure looked more like Lin Xinyuan’s slender back.
An illusion?
No…
Definitely different…
Lin Xinyuan had changed a lot recently, especially today…
Qin Nanfeng’s instincts and observation were sharp, and since he was the one closest to Lin Xinyuan before, he noticed more than anyone else.
In fact, he should have realized something was wrong the moment he first saw Lin Xinyuan today.
At first, he thought he was imagining things, but there was a strangely familiar feeling…
Now, thinking about it, it was quite the coincidence.
Only two possibilities remained…
Either he was losing his mind, or Lin Xinyuan had a problem.
Qin Nanfeng was very confident it wasn’t him, and Lin Xinyuan’s changes were indeed real.
With that in mind, Qin Nanfeng gradually closed the gap between them, a knowing smile tugging at his lips.
Interesting…
Lin Xinyuan had no idea he was being watched.
Though he felt eyes on him, he assumed it was just a trick of the mind.
At that moment, he was spacing out, a bit of an attitude of giving up.
Actually, he came out to clear his head, not to play basketball, since he didn’t know how to play anyway…
Life goes on.
Though not an optimist, Lin Xinyuan understood the saying that “the cart will find a path when it reaches the foot of the mountain.”
There was no turning back in life…
He had to bear the consequences of his own actions.
Just as he was thinking this, footsteps slowly approached from behind.
Lin Xinyuan panicked slightly and turned around, only to see that yellow-haired guy.
Taking advantage of Lin Xinyuan’s glance back, Qin Nanfeng caught up to him and fell into step beside him.
“You actually came out?
To play ball?”
Lin Xinyuan was startled when Qin Nanfeng got close, feeling as if his true self had been discovered.
But he knew that was probably impossible.
Who had such a wild imagination?
Still, he couldn’t shake the sensation that he was about to be found out, so he kept his distance and tried not to get too close.
Forcing himself to calm down, Lin Xinyuan subtly put some space between them.
“I don’t play ball. Just came out to look, is that not okay?”
“Heh, of course it is. But basketball can be learned, might as well give it a shot.”
Qin Nanfeng smiled strangely and moved a little closer.
Lin Xinyuan frowned, annoyed, but didn’t want to show it and seem too sensitive.
“Forget it, I’ll just watch.”
“All right, then watch away.”
Qin Nanfeng nodded and, for a moment, stared oddly at Lin Xinyuan’s face.
Lin Xinyuan nearly lost it, so Qin Nanfeng quickly looked away and leaned in low to whisper, “You haven’t been using any drugs, have you?”
Lin Xinyuan’s pupils constricted.
His heart trembled as he instinctively wanted to deny it.
At that moment, noise erupted nearby, snapping him back to reality, and he couldn’t speak, his mind in turmoil.
“Damn it, you four finally showed up. You really kept us waiting!”
Sun Ce came over and punched Xiong Wei in the chest, scolding.
“Yeah, yeah!” another guy chimed in.
“Stop messing around, wasted half an hour!” another impatiently said.
Xiong Wei chuckled and patted Sun Ce’s shoulder.
“Sorry, sorry, Cezi, I woke up late today, I’m here now!”
“Next time you better get here earlier, or I’ll drag you to East Gate and have you beheaded publicly!”
Sun Ce laughed as he grabbed Xiong Wei by the neck in a mock chokehold.
Someone else came over, not minding the trouble, grinning, “Awei, you owe us lunch today, no excuses!”
Then he raised his hands and shouted loudly, immediately getting his teammates to agree.
“Fine, fine, I’ll treat you, you little bastard!”
Xiong Wei reluctantly agreed.
After all, everyone just treated each other to a simple cafeteria meal, maybe a few dozen yuan.
They’d done this before, no big deal.
Still, Xiong Wei jokingly pretended to kick the guy.
The guy laughed and ran off.
The other three quickly surrounded Xiong Wei, ready to defend their brother, making everyone laugh.
At last, Xu Wentao shouted impatiently from the side, “Come on! What are you waiting for! Stop fooling around! Let’s go! Otherwise, we won’t get many games in!”
His suggestion was met with agreement, and everyone started getting ready.
Chen Ze and Lao Si, the bespectacled one, also walked toward the courts.
Lin Xinyuan, who was a bit farther behind, finally snapped back to reality, lips parted but unsure what to say.
“You…”
He’d been found out…
Well, of course.
If everyone else noticed, how could Qin Nanfeng, with his sharp senses, miss it?
Lin Xinyuan was at a loss and didn’t try to refute it.
It seemed pointless.
Because if things kept going like this, he didn’t know whether he’d fully become “Lin Xinyuan” or turn into some androgynous freak…
He didn’t know how to make the others accept that, so it might be better to plant the seed early—maybe it wouldn’t be so hard to accept later.
He thought bitterly and turned his head away, refusing to look at the person beside him again.
“Love expert, aren’t you coming? We’re waiting on you!” Sun Ce shouted from a short distance.
“All right, I’m coming!”
Qin Nanfeng patted Lin Xinyuan’s shoulder.
“Just kidding earlier, don’t take it to heart.”
Seeing Lin Xinyuan’s quail-like demeanor, he smiled as if those words weren’t his own.
“All right, if you’re not playing, go sit on the spectator stand.”
He jogged off, leaving behind a single, thin, lonely figure…