I Can Still Salvage It

Shen Mian rushed all the way back home, feeling his heart beating a bit fast even after entering the door.

As he opened the door, he found it a bit unbelievable. Did adults act so casually, confessing to anyone as they please?

But he quickly argued with himself, thinking that it wasn’t really a confession, just an invitation for a casual fling.

However, he was still a pure and inexperienced young man. Although his first kiss was already snatched, he hadn’t even been in a relationship yet, so he couldn’t accept such a gesture of ‘goodwill’.

With all those mixed thoughts in mind, Shen Mian changed his shoes and entered the house. He gave the cake to Shen Yu and went to take a shower. When he came out, he saw a message from Xu Yuanfan.

He let out a sigh of relief and lay back on the bed.

He knew it, he wasn’t that serious after all.

But he didn’t dislike Xu Yuanfan either. Despite Xu Yuanfan scaring him, he still thought Xu Yuanfan was a decent next-door neighbor and friend.

And when Xu Yuanfan mentioned coming out, although he seemed indifferent, Shen Mian felt that Xu Yuanfan was actually a bit sad.

So he replied to the message, saying, “Okay, next time I’ll treat you to a meal. I’ll introduce you to Pei Zhiyi, my childhood friend too.”

He always enjoyed introducing Pei Zhiyi to everyone he knew because he thought Pei Zhiyi was super great and everyone should get to meet him.

After sending the message, he prepared to go to sleep. He had been running around all day and felt tired.

But just before falling asleep, he mumbled in a daze, wondering why he resisted when Xu Yuanfan tried to kiss him, but it was different with Pei Zhiyi.

He vaguely remembered the kiss from that afternoon.

In the crowded subway entrance, he pulled Pei Zhiyi into the nearby corridor and used an umbrella to shield their upper bodies.

It was Pei Zhiyi’s umbrella, black with golden ginkgo leaves painted on it.

When he kissed Pei Zhiyi, he even had to tiptoe, complaining that Pei Zhiyi was a bit too tall.

…

Shen Mian absentmindedly touched his own lips. The scent of Pei Zhiyi was long gone, but he could easily recall the shape of Pei Zhiyi’s lips.

He had shared many kisses with Pei Zhiyi, in corners of the school corridors, in the dormitory, even in his own room.

Even on his very own bed.

He belatedly realized that in the eyes of others, the kiss he shared with Pei Zhiyi near the subway was just like the one between Xu Yuanfan and that other guy.

…

Shen Mian turned over in bed and suddenly wasn’t sleepy anymore.

When Xu Yuanfan leaned in to kiss him, he was startled. He didn’t dislike Xu Yuanfan, but to put it honestly, at that moment, his body was covered in goosebumps.

If Xu Yuanfan had really tried to kiss him, he might have even thrown a punch.

It wasn’t that he intentionally wanted to resort to violence, it was just his body’s instinct to resist.

But he had never rejected Pei Zhiyi.

Whether it was the first time or the many times that followed, when Pei Zhiyi kissed him, he would feel a bit nervous but never uncomfortable.

Shen Mian opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling.

He certainly knew that Pei Zhiyi’s kisses with him were part of a mission, forced upon them by 007. But why did he never even think about pushing Pei Zhiyi away? Not even once…

He still couldn’t make sense of it all.

Suddenly his phone rang, and when he took it out, he saw that it was a message from Pei Zhiyi, asking if he was asleep.

If it were before, Shen Mian would have immediately replied, saying that he couldn’t sleep and then gotten up to chat with Pei Zhiyi.

But for some reason, he remembered the question he had just pondered. After thinking for a moment, he stuffed the phone under his pillow, pretending he hadn’t seen it.

He was a professional at avoiding things, just like an ostrich.

Since he couldn’t sleep anyway, Shen Mian got up from the bed again, planning to secretly get some ice cream.

But in the kitchen, he unexpectedly ran into his younger sister, who was also getting ice cream.

The two of them stood in front of the double-door freezer, looking at each other with similar confused expressions.

Shen Mian couldn’t help but tease, “You already finished the cake and now you want ice cream? How big is your stomach?”

His sister’s appetite was truly incredible, yet she managed to maintain such a slender figure thanks to genetics.

Shen Yu rolled her eyes at him and took out the ice cream from the fridge. She asked her brother, “Vanilla or strawberry?”

“Strawberry.”

The two of them sat on the couch together, eating ice cream. The room was at a constant temperature, so they didn’t feel cold.

The rain had stopped outside, an old movie was playing on the TV, and the sibling rivalry had ceased for a moment. The atmosphere was somewhat warm.

After eating a few bites of ice cream, Shen Yu suddenly remembered to ask Shen Mian, “Is Pei Zhiyi coming back the day after tomorrow? Did you go to see him this afternoon?”

“Yeah,” Shen Mian absentmindedly scooped some ice cream, “that place was so hard to find, it exhausted me.”

Shen Yu glanced at Shen Mian in confusion. Was it really necessary to specially meet up today if he was coming back the day after tomorrow?

She shook her head, unable to understand her brother, “You really cling to Pei Zhiyi, don’t you?”

Shen Mian retorted in disagreement, “You’re even clingier than me. Who is it that mentions him every single day?”

“But even when I can’t see him, I don’t miss him that much,” Shen Yu said, “but you’re practically attached to him. It’s like you want him to carry you in his pocket. Luckily, he indulges you, no matter how you behave, he won’t get annoyed.”

She had grown up with Shen Mian and Pei Zhiyi since childhood, being the only girl among the three. She had fantasized when she was young that her brothers liked her the most, treating her like a little princess.

But she realized the reality in elementary school. Her biological brother might still favor her as they were related, but Pei Zhiyi’s absolute favorite was her brother, and she was merely a close second.

She dug her spoon into the ice cream, thinking that fairy tales were indeed deceiving.

She said to her brother, “If both of you weren’t boys, I would suspect you two of being in love.”

…

Shen Mian’s spoon poked into the ice cream.

He glanced at Shen Yu with a sigh. If he had heard that on any other day, it wouldn’t have bothered him much, but today he was already feeling annoyed by Xu Yuanfan and Pei Zhiyi. The comment sounded a bit grating to his ears.

However, he couldn’t refute Shen Yu’s words, so in the end, he could only dig a large chunk of ice cream from her bowl as revenge, leaving her crying out in protest.

But even he didn’t finish that last cup of ice cream.

It melted into a sticky mess in the ceramic bowl.

While Shen Yu was engrossed in watching TV, Shen Mian was lost in thought the whole time.

Actually, he knew why Pei Zhiyi indulged him so much, as if he would always be by his side no matter what kind of trouble he caused.

It was because they were childhood friends.

Because they grew up together since they were kids.

It wasn’t that he was particularly special.

He had just seized the opportunity, and if it were Wang Mian or Li Mian, it would have been the same.