Back at the compound, they each went back to their own homes.
Lin Ting lay on the living room floor of her house, staring blankly outside.
She felt that these past few days, after being provoked by Duan Ling, she had acted impulsively again, but now that she sat down and thought it over, she didn’t really regret it. In fact, there was a subtle excitement stirring in her heart.
No matter what, if Duan Ling dared to keep his distance again in the future, she would snap his neck.
Li Jingqiu put down the things she had bought, tidied them up, then waved her hand in front of Lin Ting’s face: “Stop spacing out, come grab these.”
Lin Ting came back to her senses: “Grab what?”
“You’re taking the high-speed train back to school tomorrow, so I bought some local specialties for you. Put them in your suitcase and take them with you. Don’t eat them all by yourself; share with your roommates and get along well with them.”
Lin Ting glanced at the towering pile of local goodies and nearly fainted on the spot.
“This is way too much. Anyone who didn’t know better would think I’m here to stock up for business, not just coming home for vacation. Anyway, I can’t carry this much.”
Li Jingqiu poked Lin Ting’s forehead: “You’re complaining about bringing some stuff to school?”
Still, she relented: “You can’t carry all this. Pick some over to the neighbors — give them to Duan Ling and Xinning, let them take some to school too.”
“Oh.”
Lin Ting stood up and started sorting through the local goodies, finally picking out ten packages, clutching them in her arms. “I’m going over now.”
Li Jingqiu said, “Go ahead. Come back for dinner tonight. Don’t go freeloading at someone else’s place again.”
Lin Ting stuck out her tongue: “Got it.”
She went next door, first going upstairs to give half of the goodies to Duan Xinning, then found Duan Ling and stuffed the rest into his hands. “Here.”
“You bought these for me?”
Their relationship had just changed, and Lin Ting wasn’t quite used to it yet, fidgeting with her nose and scratching her chin — little nervous gestures popping up too often. “You’re overthinking it. My mom bought these. I can’t carry all of them to school, so I brought some here for you.”
Duan Ling put down the goodies, turned sideways to reveal a bookshelf. “Want to come in and read some comics? I passed by a bookstore yesterday and saw that the next volume of the comic you wanted was out, so I bought it.”
“You’re only telling me this today, after yesterday?” Lin Ting said as she was about to step into his room.
But just as she lifted her leg, she hesitated.
She glanced back toward the other side — Duan Xinning’s room was right there.
She wasn’t ready for others to know about their relationship yet. If it were just about bringing the comic home to read, there was no need to watch it in Duan Ling’s room. She could just take it back after reading tonight.
Duan Ling seemed to see through her thoughts: “You didn’t come to my room much before?”
That was true — she used to go back and forth a lot between Duan Xinning’s and Duan Ling’s rooms. The more they tried to hide it, the more suspicious it looked.
Thinking this through, Lin Ting straightened her back and strode into his room.
The comics were exactly her taste. When she came across exciting parts, she couldn’t help but wave her arms and legs about, rolling on Duan Ling’s bed and punching the quilt without a care.
Duan Ling leaned against the desk, watching her.
After a while, Lin Ting noticed him staring: “What are you looking at? Look at your book or your phone instead.”
His gaze made her uncomfortable; her body inexplicably grew warm.
Duan Ling kept looking at her attentively and asked softly, “Was what you said in the alley just now true? You want to be with me?”
Lin Ting looked toward the door, afraid his voice might carry outside the room. “Shh, keep it down.”
“My room is well soundproofed.”
She closed the comic, met his eyes, and finally answered, “Do you think I’d joke about something like this? I mean what I say.”
He moved closer, sat on the edge of the bed, pulling her into his space. “So… you like me too?”
To be honest, Lin Ting felt her feelings for Duan Ling were complicated. But whenever she thought about him keeping his distance like he had these past few days, a hollow, uneasy feeling surged inside her.
Lin Ting hadn’t yet considered how she’d feel if he didn’t get a response from her, stopped liking her, found someone else, or got a girlfriend.
The answer was that she’d be very sad. She selfishly didn’t want Duan Ling to date anyone else.
Before, she never thought about these things, subconsciously assuming he would always be by her side. She hadn’t realized these were her true feelings. Was this possessiveness or love?
At first, Lin Ting couldn’t tell the difference. Today she suddenly understood — it was both possessiveness and love.
Because when she imagined Jin Anazi and Xie Qinghe having girlfriends someday, she wouldn’t be sad; she might even tease them about it.
That’s why she had asked Duan Ling to meet her in the alley and said, “Let’s be together.”
Lin Ting asked in return, “What do you think?”
Duan Ling’s eyes never left her face, like a snake coiling around her, catching every subtle change of expression: “I want you to answer for yourself.”
She raised her brow, teasingly showing just a tiny bit with her fingers: “Hmm… after thinking about it, I guess I like you a little bit.”
“A little bit?”
Lin Ting sat cross-legged, tilting her head, feigning innocence: “What, you think that’s too little?” There was a hint of pride in her tone.
Duan Ling said, “Yeah, that’s too little.”
She childishy raised her fingers half a notch more: “Then I like you a little bit more.”
“Just a little?”
Lin Ting huffed: “You still think it’s too little?” She hadn’t even started nagging him about how he had been slow to reply to her messages these days or how he hadn’t seen her much.
He said nothing.
She looked at Duan Ling’s face and couldn’t help leaning forward, pressing a kiss on his lightly flushed lips.
Duan Ling’s long lashes fluttered slightly, and his handsome features immediately relaxed.
He lifted his hand to cradle the back of Lin Ting’s neck, gently nibbling the corners of her lips, then gradually deepened the kiss, tongues meeting, intertwining.
The heated breath surrounded her, as if this kiss was to say farewell to their old relationship and welcome a new one.
Lin Ting’s breathing faltered, her mind drifting: This must be their first kiss, right?
No, it wasn’t their first. Not long after graduating from high school, they had played truth or dare and lost their first kiss that way.
Duan Ling seemed to sense her distraction and deepened the kiss. His tongue teased hers, intentionally or not, prompting her to kiss him back more actively.
After several minutes, they broke apart.
Lin Ting was afraid if they kissed any longer, her lips would swell, and someone might see them. But she didn’t get up; she burrowed into the quilt and lay there. Just a kiss, but somehow her waist, legs, and feet all went numb.
She no longer wanted to read the comics; her mind was a mess and her breathing uneven.
During the kiss, Lin Ting’s hands had nowhere to go, so she placed them on Duan Ling’s waist, accidentally brushing the firm, strong muscles of his abdomen — she could never forget that feeling.
Lin Ting lifted the quilt to look at Duan Ling. He sat with his back to her, the curve of his waist clear.
The phone ringing interrupted her thoughts.
Duan Xinning had sent her a WeChat message, asking where she was and wanting to hang out. Lin Ting replied that she was in Duan Ling’s room reading comics.
Ningning: Then keep reading.
Lin Ting: Don’t want to anymore. I want to go out too. Wait for me downstairs first.
Ningning: Okay.
“I’m going out with Xinning.” Lin Ting sat up and put on her shoes. Before leaving, she opened her phone’s front camera to check her lips — making sure nothing showed — then opened the door and stepped out.
Just as she left, Duan Ling walked to the window, pulled the curtains aside, and looked out at the compound.
Duan Xinning was standing at the gate. As soon as Lin Ting reached downstairs, she rushed over, grabbed Duan Xinning’s hand, and they walked out together.
When their figures disappeared beyond the gate and out of sight, Duan Ling finally withdrew his gaze.
—
The National Day holiday ended, and back at school, Lin Ting secretly met Duan Ling once every weekend without telling Duan Xinning.
In her mind, their evening runs together didn’t count as dates.
After every date, Lin Ting would stay a while at Duan Ling’s place, sitting in the living room watching movies. If he got restless, she would help him release tension with her hands or legs.
So, they secretly dated for two months without anyone knowing.
But once, Jin Anazi almost caught them. It happened when Jin Anazi came to the area with some university friends for a swimming competition. Passing by Duan Ling’s house, he wanted to stop in and visit him.
He planned to call Duan Ling after reaching the neighborhood, but hadn’t even dialed before he saw them — Duan Ling was carrying Lin Ting on his back.
Lin Ting’s heart skipped a beat, thinking how unlucky she was. She had insisted on being piggybacked a few steps when they got back to the neighborhood, not expecting to run into Jin Anazi.
Jin Anazi frowned: “You two…”
“I twisted my ankle.” Lin Ting’s mouth moved faster than her brain. “Why are you here today?”
“I’m here nearby for the swimming competition and stopped by to see you. How did you twist your ankle?” Jin Anazi looked at Lin Ting’s foot, but she was wearing long pants covering her ankles and sneakers, so the injury wasn’t visible.
She waved the grocery bags she was carrying: “I had nothing to do this weekend, so I came over to mooch off his cooking. We just bought groceries, and I accidentally stepped wrong and twisted my foot then.”
Jin Anazi said, “You’re useless at everything. You can even manage to twist your foot buying groceries.”
Lin Ting rolled her eyes.
After his usual sarcasm, he rarely showed concern: “Aren’t you going to the hospital? Be careful you don’t hurt a bone and ruin your foot.”
Lin Ting gave an embarrassed smile: “It’s not that serious. Just need rest.” She patted Duan Ling’s shoulder and had him put her down, pretending to limp away. “It’s much better now. I can walk.”
“Suit yourself.”
She limped until Jin Anazi left, barely getting away with it.
Since that day, Lin Ting avoided overly intimate contact with Duan Ling in public to prevent being seen by acquaintances.
Their relationship had turned into an undercover romance.
As final exams approached, Lin Ting stayed overnight at Duan Ling’s place to study. When she got tired, she liked to relax and felt comfortable around him.
That night, the living room had only a small floor lamp on, casting a dim light that revealed two intertwined figures on the sofa.
Lin Ting sat on Duan Ling’s lap, leaning forward to kiss him. Her hair was down, no longer tied, and he held it gently in his palm.
The kiss was comforting, and Lin Ting liked hearing Duan Ling’s soft hums during their kisses. Whenever she got the chance, she kissed him — tonight was no exception.
Soon, their positions reversed.
Duan Ling kissed her greedily, starting at her forehead and moving down, finally resting on her lips. He paused for a long moment before continuing downward.
Lin Ting’s legs parted slightly, naturally resting on Duan Ling’s waist, while he bent one knee and knelt half-way, leaning down to kiss her neck.
He kissed her shoulder through her clothes and slid his hand over her waist. He didn’t move lower, only held her firmly, preventing her from pulling away.
Lin Ting tilted her head back, gasping.
Duan Ling’s lips and tongue returned to her face, lightly biting her flushed skin, then finally nuzzling her sensitive earlobe and holding it gently in his mouth.
Lin Ting touched his Adam’s apple. “Tonight, I’m sleeping with you.”
At that moment, there was no need for explanation. Lin Ting had to admit she was craving Duan Ling’s body.
His hand on her waist tightened, his breath ragged: “I didn’t buy…”
She guessed what he wanted to say, pulled a box out of her bag, opened it, and placed one in his palm: “I bought it.”
After that, they went to the bedroom, ignoring the sofa that Lin Ting had left damp.
The room was dark, the only light coming from the moonlight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows.
These windows allowed viewing outside from inside but prevented anyone from seeing in, and Duan Ling’s apartment was high up, with no street below.
Lin Ting lay on the bed while Duan Ling buried his face in her neck, kissing her. The moonlight seemed to flow, spilling over them and casting rippling shadows on the floor, as if water was moving with the moonlight.
Later, Lin Ting stood by the window, looking at the moon outside, her hands pressed against the glass, fingertips turning pale.
Duan Ling stood behind her, kissing the nape of her neck, never letting go.
In the middle of the night, Lin Ting couldn’t help but kick Duan Ling. She had seriously underestimated his illness.
It was never-ending.
At 4:30 AM, Lin Ting kicked him again, this time knocking him off the bed. She pulled the quilt over herself and fell into a deep sleep.