Chapter 23: CH 23

After a simple chat, Lin Yuyan hurriedly hung up the video. Lin Yuyan was acting a little odd today as he stared at the empty glass by his bedside in a daze.

Last time, when he searched for information about boxing, he felt that it was just him helping a friend out, but looking at Gu Yaoyang’s body this time… He had a strange feeling about it, but what does that mean?

Was he envious? or was it something like… Like a sexual urge?

Lin Yuyan is not stupid. Although many things weren’t clear to him in the first place, if the facts are in front of him, he wouldn’t overly reject them.

But it was very strange.

It doesn’t matter if he likes boys or not, but if he does, his crush shouldn’t be Gu Yaoyang, it’s just not reasonable at all.

Obviously, he hated him a few days ago and he just changed his attitude towards him a little bit, but now he likes him? Isn’t that too easy? Although he couldn’t deny that Gu Yaoayang has many positive traits to him, isn’t it impossible for him to suddenly develop feelings for the other?

It’s not love at first sight.

Wait, love at first sight… Lin Yuyan hesitated for a while on these four words, then quickly shook his head.

Impossible,  it’s probably because they’ve frequently been in touch recently and him seeing Xu Ze’s photos as well. It also coincided with the fact that he was very envious of Gu Yaoyang’s figure, so it must have made him yearn for it.

“Yes?” Lin Yuyan suddenly grinned. Yes, this should be why!

If that’s the case, he shouldn’t contact Gu Yaoyang for a few days. If there is less contact, then naturally there will be no more messy thoughts.

The next day, Lin Yuyan got up early in the morning. He was going to see an art exhibition not far from his home, so he could go there by bike.

The bicycle in the garage was bought a few days ago, but he hasn’t ridden on it much. Today, he moved it out to bask in the sun as he wiped the dust around it.

The body was black and white, and the flywheel and disc were limited components. Lin Yuyan thought the bike was very suitable for Gu Yaoyang. If he rode it, he would probably look much more handsome on it than him.

He thought this as he took out his phone and took a picture of the bike. When he got to Gu Yaoyang’s chat and he remembered he wouldn’t contact him for a few days, he stared at the chat with a little worry and hesitated for a while before sending it to Zhuo Hang

Zhuo Hang didn’t reply, but Lin Yuyan didn’t care. He ran upstairs and changed his clothes before rushing to the art exhibition. This exhibition was much more high-end than the last one, it brought many famous painters from home and abroad, and some collections were also on sale. Lin Yuyan had been looking into this for a very long time.

When he arrived, there were already many people from the exhibition hall. They walked and went around before finally settling in front of an impressionist oil painting.

This painting was a bit special. A thin back was standing in a boxing ring. On the opposite side stood a huge chimpanzee. The size of the ape was dozens of times that of the teenager standing in front of it. It exaggerated the entire background.

The name of the painting was called “The Ring”, and there were countless audiences around the orangutan clapping their hands and applauding.

Lin Yuyan couldn’t see the young man’s face, he could only see a vaguely existing scar on his back that was not deliberately displayed.

“Do you like this painting very much?” At this moment, someone walked up to him.

Lin Yuyan turned his head and saw a gentleman in a suit wearing a bell hat on his head.

He looked to be in his fifties, and the beard around his mouth was finely shaped. One side of it was black and the other was white, it was neatly trimmed and recognizable.

“You are…” Lin Yuyan’s eyes widened: “You’re Mr. Zeng Yi?”

Mr. Zeng Yi, the author of this painting, smiled at Lin Yuyan and said, “I didn’t think you’d know about me.”

Lin Yuyan excitedly said, “I like your paintings very much, I’ve bought every one of your collections.”

“Oh, really?”

Mr. Zeng laughed as he rubbed the small goatee on his chin, “Am I really that famous in China?”

Lin Yuyan said, “It’s not a matter of fame, I’ll like a painting even if you’re not famous.”

Mr. Zeng laughed again, patted Lin Yuyan on the shoulder, and looked at the painting on the wall, “I like boxing very much. If it weren’t for my poor physique and the wrong career, I would have liked to break a sweat on the ring like this young man.”

Lin Yuyan felt that this painting was somewhat familiar, especially the young man with a scar on his back. He wanted to ask in detail, but Mr. Zeng had already left; he didn’t even ask for a photo.

But this didn’t stop Lin Yuyan from being in a happy mood. After watching the exhibition, he ran out in a hurry, wanting to share his joy with Gu Yaoyang. He just took out his phone when he stopped.

After he thought about it, he decided to send it to Zhuo Hang with a sad face.

Zhuo Hang slept at one and got up in the middle of the night. He picked up his phone and checked the time. A dozen messages popped out of his notification. He thought it was the older sister who missed him, but he didn’t have time to be happy when he found out that it was Lin Yuyan.

“What’s this all about…” Zhuo Hang raised his eyebrows and flipped through his mobile phone: bicycles, art exhibition halls, little ants on the side of the road, blooming little wildflowers, strange-shaped clouds, broken traffic lights, and braised pork for dinner?

Zhuo Hang replied in horror, “You’re cooking?”

Lin Yuyan replied in seconds, “Good night, I’m going to bed.”

Zhuo Hang scratched his head, thinking that Lin Yuyan wasn’t acting right today, but he didn’t take it to heart.

Who would have thought that it would be like this every day for the next two days, with more and more text messages and the corresponding sentences being inexplicable? Zhuo Hang couldn’t bear it anymore and called Lin Yuyan, “What do you mean by sending those pictures? Have you fallen from a tree?”

Lin Yuyan was painting, and sighed at Gu Yaoyang’s face before replying, “Nothing.”

Hearing the tone, it didn’t seem like he was okay. Zhuo Hang thought about it, and suddenly realized, “Did you fall out of love?”

Lin Yuyan dipped the paintbrush in paint before emphasizing, “I’m not in a relationship.”

Zhuo Hang had long been accustomed to his blunt words and comforted the other, “It’s just a broken heart, no big deal. You’ll just have to wait it out for a few days before you completely forget about it. You can tell me about it, about how you miss her or something. As a good friend, I’ll lend my ear to you and keep all your secrets to myself. Nobody will know about it.”

“Who- Who said I miss him?” The words seemed to trigger him, and he reacted as if he was pierced by someone.

He hung up on Zhuo Hang and found a missed call in his address book. It turned out to be from Gu Yaoyang.

Just as he was thinking about whether to reply or not, the phone rang again. Lin Yuyan hesitated for a while before he put his phone on the bed tremblingly, and hid at the door.

He can’t pick it up, he must hold on. Two days have passed, and in another two days, he will definitely not think and miss him.

With a “snap”, Lin Yuyan patted the hand he wanted to answer the phone. His eyes were red with pain. He really didn’t mean to think about Gu Yaoyang, but he couldn’t control it at all. He just wanted to talk to him, to know what he was doing? He wanted to ask him if he was eating well. Is he used to the temperature there?

After more than ten seconds, the ringing stopped. Lin Yuyan laid on the doorstep and waited for a while until Gu Yaoyang didn’t call again. He was relieved, followed by another inexplicable sense of loss. He sat at the door and grieved.

What’s the matter with him? He wouldn’t really like Gu Yaoyang, would he?

After dinner, his mother was finally free and took the time to send a video to Lin Yuyan, asking him how he was doing recently.

Lin Yuyan forced a smile on his face and repeatedly answered her questions.

Although Xu Jinglan wasn’t at home very much, she could detect her son’s abnormal mood and asked tentatively, “Yanyan, what’s wrong?”

Lin Yuyan was distracted, and after several calls, he answered slowly, “It’s fine.”

“Really? Are you alright?”

Lin Yuyan shook his head and said something out of nowhere, “Mom, can I go out to play?”

Xu Jinglan said, “Yes, where do you want to go?”

“I…I want to see the snow.”

This sentence was said suddenly as if he was out of his mind when he said that. When Lin Yuyan reacted, he was already wearing a thick down jacket, dragging his suitcase, and standing at the door of light3.

The distance was very close, only separated by a road, and the ground was covered in thick snow.

Lin Yuyan couldn’t understand why he made such a decision, but since he had already come, he wanted to clear it up on the way. He wanted to find out what kind of feelings he had towards Gu Yaoyang… So that he won’t think about it all day long and finally get a peaceful sleep.

He just didn’t know if Gu Yaoyang would welcome him.

Although light3 was considered to be a top club, it did not have a luxurious impression. The ordinary three-story building was completely integrated into the city of snow.

At three o’clock in the afternoon, the door of the club opened with people coming out one after the other. They were all tall people and looked quite buff even as they wore their thin coats. Some were grinning, some were covered in injuries, and some couldn’t even walk properly. They were supported by their peers who wore the same team uniform. It seems like they were players who are training here.

Lin Yuyan took half a step back while he held onto his suitcase. He heard a player, who had a bruised nose and swollen face, saying in a sulky voice, “I say, he’s not a human at all, he’s the devil! It’s not like you didn’t follow him when you went to China for special training. Has he ever been soft-hearted? Am I a sandbag? No! I am a dignified Linzhou District League A-level champion! But do I not need face? Beating me up like this, did my mother send me all the way here from home just to get beaten? Aren’t I being a disgrace?”

As he spoke, he wiped away the tears that were threatening to fall down from the corner of his eye. The man walking next to him wasn’t faring any better, the corners of his mouth were broken and his eyes were swollen as he said, “What’s the matter? Didn’t he look fine two days ago? I thought that the coach would treat us better, but why is he still so ruthless to us?”

“I suspect the phone calls were the source of the problem.” Said a dark-skinned and pink-haired foreigner, “He made two calls a day but the other side didn’t answer. The air was tense at the time, it made me so scared I didn’t even dare to go to the toilet.”

“Really? Who dared not to answer his call?”

“Don’t block the door.” As soon as the voice fell, the several players who were blocking the door and whispering to each other instantly scurried away. They ran faster than a rabbit getting chased by a predator despite their injured appearances.

Lin Yuyan raised his eyes as he exclaimed. He saw a familiar figure walking out of the club with a gloomy face and a cigarette in his hand.

It was incredible how with one glance, all of his frustrations these past few days were immediately swept away.

But Lin Yuyan didn’t notice this detail at all.

He happily called out to the other party, “Gu Yaoyang!”

Gu Yaoyang was obviously startled. The cigarette in his hand fell to the ground. He instantly caught Lin Yuyan’s gaze, squinted his eyes for a while hesitating, then strode over.

Before Lin Yuyan said hello to him, he felt that his cold ears were being pushed into his hot palms. Gu Yaoyang frowned slightly and asked in a low voice, “Is it cold?”

“Not cold.” Lin Yuyan rolled his eyes and said with a smile: “You… Shouldn’t you ask something else first?”

“Like why am I here?”