After finishing class, Fan Jing walked into the lounge and immediately took out his phone.
He looked at the chat window with Kang He; the last message was a simple “Good night” sent by Kang He yesterday.
They had been chatting off and on for about a week.
Fan Jing had asked Zheng Xuemei twice about when they could arrange a meeting, but Kang He was busy with two offline events recently and temporarily unavailable.
Although Fan Jing was eager and wanted to see him, work was more important. He scrolled through Kang He’s videos every day and occasionally caught one of his live streams, so it wasn’t too hard to bear.
Besides, he had recently learned how to send gifts to streamers, and Kang He always thanked him.
But many people sent gifts to Kang He, and Fan Jing wasn’t good at flattery, so he rarely said more than a few words.
He hesitated, wanting to send Kang He a new message, but without a clear idea, he didn’t know what to say.
“Coach Fan, are you dating?”
A playful voice suddenly came from behind. He turned his head and saw a cheerful girl at the club’s front desk coming in to get a towel, smiling warmly at him.
Fan Jing turned off his phone screen. “No.”
“Sorry, then?”
The girl said, “Before, I never saw you touch your phone, but recently you’re always holding it and watching videos.”
Fan Jing might not have realized how much he’d changed, but he didn’t care what others thought.
He answered honestly, “Not dating.”
The girl sensed a whiff of gossip and leaned closer, “What’s wrong? Haven’t caught up with anyone yet?”
Fan Jing glanced at her but said nothing.
To the girl, his silence was an unspoken confirmation.
She was a bit surprised: “Who’s the lucky one? How could Coach Fan be left hanging?”
Fan Jing didn’t want to talk about Kang He with anyone, but he recalled seeing the girl’s boyfriend once at the club entrance—they seemed very close.
He couldn’t help but ask, “Between you and your boyfriend, who chased whom?”
The girl answered frankly, “I chased him. Pursuing someone doesn’t mean you’re beneath them; actually, it’s easier to take the initiative.”
Fan Jing thought that sounded reasonable, but in practice, it was a bit hard.
He hesitated for a moment. “How did you chase him?”
The girl smiled knowingly, as if Fan Jing’s straightforwardness meant he wasn’t used to chasing people.
She chattered on for a while.
“Even chatting, just saying good morning and good night can get boring. Who wants to talk more? You have to send things they’re interested in~”
She said, “Coach Fan is so handsome, send her some photos, and she’ll be happy to chat with you.”
Fan Jing said, “I don’t take many photos.”
“That’s just too straight-male,” she said. “How would anyone want to talk to you? If you don’t take photos, start now. You’re chasing someone—you can’t just wait for her to make the first move.”
After that, the girl enthusiastically offered to take pictures for Fan Jing, promising her photography skills were top-notch, and since he was so handsome, the shots would definitely come out great.
Fan Jing felt a little embarrassed but, after thinking it over, realized the girl was right. He awkwardly said, “I’ll go shower first. Just finished horseback archery class.”
The girl thought to herself how charming this guy was. For someone who never cared about his appearance, Coach Fan really needed to tidy up.
“If you don’t tidy up, just looking like this is fine! Trust me!”
After speaking, she took Fan Jing’s phone and guided him to take a few photos.
Later, after choosing one, she quickly sent it to Kang He’s chat window.
Fan Jing stared at the photo of himself displayed in the chat, his ears tinged red. Frowning, he tried to retract the photo. “Too weird.”
“It doesn’t look like a male celebrity? It’s got atmosphere. What’s weird about that?”
“Sending a random photo of yourself out of the blue—isn’t that strange?”
The girl took Fan Jing’s phone and said, “If you say that…” She quickly typed out a message and sent it over.
Kang He had just finished an offline event to support farmers. While busy earlier, he felt his phone vibrate twice.
He faintly hoped it was from Fan Jing, but after chatting a few days, he felt Fan Jing might not be very interested. Maybe he was just being polite because of Sister Zheng’s favor, so their conversations had been perfunctory.
Everyone said dating platforms were full of tricks. If he didn’t like men, it wouldn’t be so hard to find someone reliable, and he wouldn’t have bought the membership.
Tapping his phone, Kang He’s heart skipped a beat.
Jing: picture.jpg
“Just finished horseback archery class, sweating a lot. The weather’s getting hotter.”
Kang He looked carefully at the photo: Fan Jing, dressed in his horseback archery outfit, sitting on a bench in the lounge. A brown scarf hung around his neck; his forehead glistened with sweat, and a few strands of hair were damp.
He was somewhat slim, but the clothes fit well, faintly revealing toned muscles.
His face was handsome, but his eyes held a faint, calm temperament.
Kang He held the phone for a long moment, feeling a little lightheaded, then finally replied, “I was busy earlier and didn’t see your message. Sister Zheng told me you’re the archery coach at the club. Today I finally got to see it for myself. With the summer heat, you must be doing a lot of exercise—remember to drink plenty of water.”
Fan Jing’s phone buzzed with Kang He’s message, and his mood instantly grew complicated.
He was happy, feeling as if they’d briefly returned to the way things were before, yet he couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy.
He remembered that when he was with Kang He before, he had said he wasn’t good at coaxing people. If he were the one who liked Kang He first, he was afraid it would be hard to win him over.
After thinking for a moment, he replied with a simple “Hmm.”
Kang He saw the message immediately but waited a while without any follow-up. His brow furrowed slightly.
Had he said something wrong? His mood twisted and turned.
After pondering, Kang He sent:
Fan Jing saw the message and his eyes flickered.
Kang He received only a rose emoji in response.
His lips curved up as he opened his album, preparing to send Fan Jing a cool but natural, upright, and somewhat gentle-looking photo.
Then he got another message from Fan Jing: “Are you free tonight? Let’s have dinner together.”
Kang He almost dropped his phone, but caught it hurriedly.
He felt more nervous and excited receiving this invitation than he did when first invited to an offline event.
He was about to reply when he saw a small line appear in the chat window: Jing retracted a message.
Fan Jing immediately regretted sending the invitation.
He felt he’d been too hasty. Kang He had just come from an event today; suddenly inviting him to dinner felt rushed.
Kang He frowned but wasn’t willing to give up. He sent another message: “I saw it. Why did you back out?”
“Did you send it to the wrong person?”
Fan Jing blushed and quickly explained, “You just got off work and must be tired. Rest well, next time.”
Kang He suspected he was being teased but seemed quite willing.
“I’m fine. Today’s event wasn’t tiring. Besides, you have to eat dinner anyway.”
“Where do you want to eat? It takes me about an hour and a half to get to the city center. If I get ready, it might take two hours. Can you wait?”
Fan Jing’s heart tightened but he agreed.
Later, both of them almost simultaneously turned off their phones and rushed home.
Fan Jing washed and dried his hair, then opened his wardrobe. Looking at the all-black and gray long and short sleeves, he felt a little dissatisfied for the first time.
Kang He’s schedule was even tighter. If there was time, he wanted to call the stylist who usually helped him prepare for events.
That was impossible now, so he could only try to make himself clean and neat to leave a good impression, and nothing more.
At City Wanxiang Mall, Fan Jing arrived early and reserved a table at a restaurant.
It was Friday, and quite crowded. If he hadn’t called ahead, there wouldn’t have been any seats by the time Kang He arrived.
He sat by the window, watching the sunset clouds, eyes eagerly searching for Kang He’s arrival.
Fan Jing didn’t often go out to eat. Most of the time, he cooked simple meals for himself.
His cooking skills weren’t good, and he always preferred eating alone. But once, he stumbled upon this restaurant and occasionally came to eat here.
Kang He saw the location sent on his phone—a congee hotpot place with high ratings on Dianping.
He had wanted to come eat here before but never had the time.
He actually liked congee hotpot. Driving, he thought quietly.
He had never told Sister Zheng about his personal tastes, yet Fan Jing had booked this place. If this wasn’t fate, what was?
Kang He pressed the accelerator to the floor.
An hour later, he arrived at the restaurant.
From afar, he saw a tall figure sitting with his back to him by the window, sitting straight, quietly looking outside, not even checking his phone.
Kang He was struck by how unique Fan Jing’s aura was and nervously walked over.
“Waited long?”
Hearing the all-too-familiar voice, Fan Jing suddenly turned around and saw Kang He’s tall figure smiling as he approached.
For a moment, Fan Jing was dazed, moving his lips but not knowing what to say.
He was certain Kang He existed in this world because when they were old and traveling, Kang He had told him he was from another world.
And this world was exactly as Kang He had described.
But he had been searching for so many years without news and sometimes felt discouraged.
Now, really seeing Kang He, he felt a strange prickling sensation in his nose, almost sour.
Kang He saw Fan Jing staring silently, not speaking, and awkwardly sat across from him.
Lowering his voice, he asked, “What’s wrong?”
Fan Jing came back to his senses, shook his head, and stood to pour Kang He some water.
Kang He was a little overwhelmed, quickly stood too, and their heads bumped together.
They stared into each other’s eyes for a long while…
After dinner, the two walked along the riverside road nearby.
Since seeing Fan Jing, Kang He felt his heart beat fast and couldn’t calm down.
It was strange. Fan Jing didn’t talk much, but being with him brought a strange sense of comfort and joy.
Now that Kang He’s work was going well, and though he felt pressure most of the time, he hadn’t relaxed like this in a long time.
A gentle breeze blew by the riverbank, soft willow branches swaying like Fan Jing’s stray hair on his forehead.
His eyes and face were always calm, showing little emotion, but there was an indescribable gentleness.
Kang He thought, “If only Fan Jing were my boyfriend.”
He enjoyed the moment but worried about what impression Fan Jing had of him today.
He sensed Fan Jing liked him, but since Fan Jing rarely spoke, Kang He had to find topics to talk about. Sometimes, Fan Jing answered stiffly.
Kang He worried he’d been fooled by internet flattery, mistaking politeness for affection.
He was about to say, “You’re quite…” when suddenly, his hand felt warm.
He realized his hand had been held by someone.