Noon.
Lin Jin stared in confusion at the two people before him, Yuli and Liu Shengqi, his head feeling as though it had just been slapped.
"So... Weren't the two of us supposed to hang out alone?"
The three were standing in the residential complex where Lin Jin lived. The complex was indeed "small" with only three buildings. Although it had some greenery, it lacked a garden, sports facilities, and convenience store.
To buy anything, one would have to go to a store located beside a school across the complex. If not for that school, finding a convenience store would probably require walking seven or eight hundred meters.
"Liu Shengqi's house is right across the street, and he invited me to hang out" Yuli said with a sly smile. She then winked at Liu Shengqi, "Right?"
"Yes! Yes!" Liu Shengqi eagerly approached, his face red as he sidled up next to Lin Jin. "You both have nothing else to do during the holidays, and I also don't have any other plans as Chinese New Year is soon. Wouldn't it be great for us three old classmates to go hiking and get some exercise?"
Hiking is nice, but it'd be even better without you.
Lin Jin shot a glare at Yuli, only to have her run off giggling like a bell.
He let out a long sigh. Even in the past, he was never fond of hiking. Although he didn't find it particularly tiring back then, he found it very boring. As for now... he might just drop dead halfway up the hill.
"Let's go, let's go" Liu Shengqi seemed to be in high spirits as he walked with excitement "Let’s take the number 4 bus and head to Jingangtui first?"
"Jingangtui?" Lin Jin frowned. When he had just moved to this county town at the age of five or six, his parents had taken him there once. It was just an oddly shaped massive rock, nothing much to look at.
"Yep. I don't know if you've been there, but it's near the mouth of the Min River flowing into the sea. It's good to go and feel the sea breeze, look at the water, and it's inside a park" Liu Shengqi seemed well-versed about today's outing. "The park is free. We take the bus straight to the Jingangtui stop, and then we just walk along the river. The environment there is quite nice."
"Oh" Lin Jin yawned, visibly unenthusiastic. He turned his attention towards Yuli, who was on standing aside her phone, chatting with someone.
"Let's go."
Lin Jin didn't object to going out, it was just that hanging out with Liu Shengqi seemed weird. Luckily, Yuli would also be coming along.
"Actually, I can't go. My friend just called me to go to the library to study" Yuli hung up the phone and made an apologetic gesture toward Lin Jin. "He suddenly called me to study, so I can't really say no... Sorry."
What the f*ck?
Lin Jin even wondered if Yuli was deliberately setting him up. Was the call even connected, or was she just pretending to be on the phone?
"I’ll go first." Yuli turned and ran into the underground parking lot. Moments later, she emerged riding a red bicycle and waved at Lin Jin.
Lin Jin glared at Liu Shengqi with a dark face.
"What's wrong?" Liu Shengqi touched his own face and found nothing. He then innocently looked at Lin Jin with his small eyes.
"No, it's nothing." Lin Jin took a deep breath and said to Liu Shengqi, "Let's not go. I want to go back and play on the computer."
"What’s wrong?" Liu Shengqi still had that naive expression.
F*ck! What’s wrong? Two grown men going to a park to look at some weird rock?! Are you out of your mind?
"I'm a guy" Lin Jin helplessly clarified to Liu Shengqi, emphasizing his words in an attempt to clear up their relationship. "I'm not into men, I'm not gay, and I'm not planning on getting any sex change surgery, so could you please stop bothering me? Bro."
"Look at my hair right now." Lin Jin took off his hat, revealing a buzz cut. "See? I'm a man, buzz cut. Not the long black hair from yesterday. I'm really a guy!"
"Huh?"
Liu Shengqi was dumbfounded. Yesterday at the reunion, it wasn’t easy for him to finally believe his male friend from middle school was actually a girl. As a result, when Lin Jin told him on the way home that he was a guy, he didn’t believe it. Yet now here was Lin Jin, with a buzz cut, again insisting he was really a guy.
Stop, this isn't a novel, do we need all these twists and turns?
"If you're a man, why did you dress up as a woman yesterday…?" Liu Shengqi looked puzzled.
Does Lin Jin hate me so much that she’s willing to cut off her hair to get rid of me?
"Yesterday was all Yuli’s fault. She forced me to dress up as a woman and cause chaos." Lin Jin immediately shifted the blame, "It was all her idea. I'm actually a victim too."
Liu Shengqi stared blankly at Lin Jin's face. Actually, the moment he saw Lin Jin's buzz cut, he had already believed that Lin Jin was indeed a man. But for some reason, a voice inside him kept saying: Lin Jin is a girl, a very pretty girl, exactly your type, the one you fell in love with at first sight.
"What's the matter?" Lin Jin looked at Liu Shengqi's dazed expression, a little worried that he might have unintentionally caused this burly-looking man some psychological damage.
Hurting his feelings isn't a big deal, but if he demands emotional damage payments from me, that would be problematic.
Liu Shengqi was quite a handsome guy back in middle school. But now, he had grown into a tall and burly man. His current appearance could still barely be described as handsome, although his face was a bit too large and the acne scars were a bit much.
"You're not bad looking, so why are you so fixated on a guy like me? There are so many pretty girls out there in the world" Lin Jin rolled his eyes and turned to leave.
Rather than going to a park to look at some weird rock with a man who's interested in me, I'd prefer to go home, lie in bed, and play with my phone.
I could also look at how much affection this guy has for me.
"But..." Liu Shengqi watched Lin Jin's retreating figure with a lost expression on his face, tinged with sadness.
"But what? There's no but. It's freezing out here, why call me out instead of staying cozy in bed at home?" Lin Jin waved at Liu Shengqi, yawned, and started to walk up the stairs.
"But I placed a reservation for a steakhouse near Walmart… The store just opened, I heard it’s really good."
Lin Jin's steps halted immediately. Almost reflexively, his mind conjured up an image of a succulent, juicy steak.
His eyes lit up, and he turned back to Liu Shengqi, asking, "Really good?"
"Yeah, I heard it's so tasty that there's a line every day."
"You're treating?"
"Yes."
"Order anything I want?"
"Of course."
Liu Shengqi smoothly answered.
A bright smile instantly broke out on Lin Jin's face. He walked toward Liu Shengqi, even complaining, "Ah, why didn't you say so earlier? Go go go! I'm yours for the afternoon!"
Ploania 金刚腿 Jingangtui
Noon.
Lin Jin stared in confusion at the two people before him, Yuli and Liu Shengqi, his head feeling as though it had just been slapped.
"So... Weren't the two of us supposed to hang out alone?"
The three were standing in the residential complex where Lin Jin lived. The complex was indeed "small" with only three buildings. Although it had some greenery, it lacked a garden, sports facilities, and convenience store.
To buy anything, one would have to go to a store located beside a school across the complex. If not for that school, finding a convenience store would probably require walking seven or eight hundred meters.
"Liu Shengqi's house is right across the street, and he invited me to hang out" Yuli said with a sly smile. She then winked at Liu Shengqi, "Right?"
"Yes! Yes!" Liu Shengqi eagerly approached, his face red as he sidled up next to Lin Jin. "You both have nothing else to do during the holidays, and I also don't have any other plans as Chinese New Year is soon. Wouldn't it be great for us three old classmates to go hiking and get some exercise?"
Hiking is nice, but it'd be even better without you.
Lin Jin shot a glare at Yuli, only to have her run off giggling like a bell.
He let out a long sigh. Even in the past, he was never fond of hiking. Although he didn't find it particularly tiring back then, he found it very boring. As for now... he might just drop dead halfway up the hill.
"Let's go, let's go" Liu Shengqi seemed to be in high spirits as he walked with excitement "Let’s take the number 4 bus and head to Jingangtui first?"
"Jingangtui?" Lin Jin frowned. When he had just moved to this county town at the age of five or six, his parents had taken him there once. It was just an oddly shaped massive rock, nothing much to look at.
"Yep. I don't know if you've been there, but it's near the mouth of the Min River flowing into the sea. It's good to go and feel the sea breeze, look at the water, and it's inside a park" Liu Shengqi seemed well-versed about today's outing. "The park is free. We take the bus straight to the Jingangtui stop, and then we just walk along the river. The environment there is quite nice."
"Oh" Lin Jin yawned, visibly unenthusiastic. He turned his attention towards Yuli, who was on standing aside her phone, chatting with someone.
"Let's go."
Lin Jin didn't object to going out, it was just that hanging out with Liu Shengqi seemed weird. Luckily, Yuli would also be coming along.
"Actually, I can't go. My friend just called me to go to the library to study" Yuli hung up the phone and made an apologetic gesture toward Lin Jin. "He suddenly called me to study, so I can't really say no... Sorry."
What the f*ck?
Lin Jin even wondered if Yuli was deliberately setting him up. Was the call even connected, or was she just pretending to be on the phone?
"I’ll go first." Yuli turned and ran into the underground parking lot. Moments later, she emerged riding a red bicycle and waved at Lin Jin.
Lin Jin glared at Liu Shengqi with a dark face.
"What's wrong?" Liu Shengqi touched his own face and found nothing. He then innocently looked at Lin Jin with his small eyes.
"No, it's nothing." Lin Jin took a deep breath and said to Liu Shengqi, "Let's not go. I want to go back and play on the computer."
"What’s wrong?" Liu Shengqi still had that naive expression.
F*ck! What’s wrong? Two grown men going to a park to look at some weird rock?! Are you out of your mind?
"I'm a guy" Lin Jin helplessly clarified to Liu Shengqi, emphasizing his words in an attempt to clear up their relationship. "I'm not into men, I'm not gay, and I'm not planning on getting any sex change surgery, so could you please stop bothering me? Bro."
"Look at my hair right now." Lin Jin took off his hat, revealing a buzz cut. "See? I'm a man, buzz cut. Not the long black hair from yesterday. I'm really a guy!"
"Huh?"
Liu Shengqi was dumbfounded. Yesterday at the reunion, it wasn’t easy for him to finally believe his male friend from middle school was actually a girl. As a result, when Lin Jin told him on the way home that he was a guy, he didn’t believe it. Yet now here was Lin Jin, with a buzz cut, again insisting he was really a guy.
Stop, this isn't a novel, do we need all these twists and turns?
"If you're a man, why did you dress up as a woman yesterday…?" Liu Shengqi looked puzzled.
Does Lin Jin hate me so much that she’s willing to cut off her hair to get rid of me?
"Yesterday was all Yuli’s fault. She forced me to dress up as a woman and cause chaos." Lin Jin immediately shifted the blame, "It was all her idea. I'm actually a victim too."
Liu Shengqi stared blankly at Lin Jin's face. Actually, the moment he saw Lin Jin's buzz cut, he had already believed that Lin Jin was indeed a man. But for some reason, a voice inside him kept saying: Lin Jin is a girl, a very pretty girl, exactly your type, the one you fell in love with at first sight.
"What's the matter?" Lin Jin looked at Liu Shengqi's dazed expression, a little worried that he might have unintentionally caused this burly-looking man some psychological damage.
Hurting his feelings isn't a big deal, but if he demands emotional damage payments from me, that would be problematic.
Liu Shengqi was quite a handsome guy back in middle school. But now, he had grown into a tall and burly man. His current appearance could still barely be described as handsome, although his face was a bit too large and the acne scars were a bit much.
"You're not bad looking, so why are you so fixated on a guy like me? There are so many pretty girls out there in the world" Lin Jin rolled his eyes and turned to leave.
Rather than going to a park to look at some weird rock with a man who's interested in me, I'd prefer to go home, lie in bed, and play with my phone.
I could also look at how much affection this guy has for me.
"But..." Liu Shengqi watched Lin Jin's retreating figure with a lost expression on his face, tinged with sadness.
"But what? There's no but. It's freezing out here, why call me out instead of staying cozy in bed at home?" Lin Jin waved at Liu Shengqi, yawned, and started to walk up the stairs.
"But I placed a reservation for a steakhouse near Walmart… The store just opened, I heard it’s really good."
Lin Jin's steps halted immediately. Almost reflexively, his mind conjured up an image of a succulent, juicy steak.
His eyes lit up, and he turned back to Liu Shengqi, asking, "Really good?"
"Yeah, I heard it's so tasty that there's a line every day."
"You're treating?"
"Yes."
"Order anything I want?"
"Of course."
Liu Shengqi smoothly answered.
A bright smile instantly broke out on Lin Jin's face. He walked toward Liu Shengqi, even complaining, "Ah, why didn't you say so earlier? Go go go! I'm yours for the afternoon!"
Ploania 金刚腿 Jingangtui
