Ch25 - One More Wager

Edited by: Mel

“I’ll go to sleep in the other room.” 

Perhaps it was because he had not drunk much water that Qiao Yi’s voice held a rare hoarseness to it.

However, just as he finished speaking, he barely had the time to push the duvet that was covering his legs before Li Zhongchen rolled over and got off the bed. Before he left, he said, “…it was me that crossed the line. Rest well, I’m sure there will be good news when you wake up tomorrow morning.”

The words fell.

Following the quiet sound of the door closing, the lightless night slowly extended, the silence frightening. 

And Qiao Yi sat on the bed with his head lowered the entire time, not knowing how long he was frozen in that same position.

It was only until he rubbed the spot between his brows and exhaled hard did he manage to contain his turbulent emotions. He had to expend a lot of effort in order to restore his mind to the calm before the storm.

“It’s raining in your world,” it was rare for him to behave in such a genteel manner. As he thought over it, he could not help but laugh. “Why am I not a mess?”

That night.

Li Zhongchen had no way of knowing how Qiao Yi had slept after that.

He moved to the second bedroom, the warm lights bring about a sense of exhaustion.

Li Zhongchen peered into the small paper bag that he rifled out of the drawer. It was the jar of candy that he had won with his own abilities when they went to the amusement park the other time. The jar contained milk candy that was wrapped in kraft paper.

Li Zhongchen had privately left the other jar in the base. 

He wanted to keep Qiao Yi’s birthday candies to himself out of his personal greed, even if his actions were a little deceitful both to himself and others.

The thought itself was crude, yet it held a rare trace of cautiousness.

A lilac-colored sticky note was stuck on the edge of the candy jar. The four words ‘everything will go well’ were written on it. The indent of the penmanship was deep; it was indeed something written by Li Zhongchen.

—His penmanship was nothing like chicken scratch. Each stroke was well-practiced, developed from the years he practiced with Xiao Xun’s grandparents. It had once shocked Yao Tong and the rest to the point that their eyes were about to fall out. 

The heat was turned on in the apartment. Li Zhongchen wore only a loose white T-shirt.

He walked out of the room and hung the paper bag on the door knob of the master bedroom with blessings that the lawsuit would be won and that Qiao Yi would welcome good fortune.

After making a detour to the living room to check on the two cats, it was time to return to his room to sleep.

Before he woke up the next day. 

Somehow, Li Zhongchen truly did dream of something that happened in the past.

He dreamt of that year in his small hometown.

In the mountains and fields, wishbone flowers and french marigolds could be seen all around them. Qiao Yi had pressed himself down on the grassy plain, two fifteen year olds looking at one another, their heavy breaths gradually evening out.

“Xiao Qiao, why did you…” Li Zhongchen’s heart was moved. After all, that was his first kiss. 

But his body was extremely stiff and he was flustered that he did not respond and pushed Qiao Yi away. “…Why did you kiss me? I’m not a girl.”

The scene was actually rather comical.

The Li Zhongchen of that time had just gone through a growth spurt, and was at least 180 centimeters tall.

And Qiao Yi was not as tall as he was. His body was also slender. His body that was pressed against Li Zhongchen did not make the other feel it was heavy at all. In addition to his beautiful and exquisite face, he was more like the girl. 

“Because I like you,” Qiao Yi was extremely direct. “So I couldn’t help it but want to kiss you.”

The fifteen year old Qiao Yi had been influenced by the social values of his foreign family from a young age.

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

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Hljb Tl tjv ab jvwla atja tf tjv ojiifc obg Ol Itbcumtfc ja olgra rluta. 

Neither his appearance nor figure was inferior to the egotistical White teenagers in his private high school.

At that time, the wind jingled like pleasant windchimes, endless clouds floated in the skies above them.

Li Zhongchen was stunned. He had not even held a girl’s hand and was already kissed by this pretty youth before his eyes. He was filled with mixed emotions, but held a hint of excitement. “…But I am a boy, Xiao Qiao. Did you misunderstand something?”

“You mean you hate me, right?” 

“No, how could I hate you? But this seems weird…”

“There are so many people, but you only treat me well. You bring me cake, help me finish my volunteering tasks, bike to the hostel and look for me every night, and not bearing to leave even late into the night.” But Qiao Yi continued to press. “When we went to the beach to play that time and I sprained my foot, you carried me for a long distance. Boys will only do this for girls they like, so you should like me, right?”

Li Zhongchen was stunned by the question Qiao Yi asked.

Qiao Yi did not give him the chance to catch his breath, poking at the bridge of his straight nose with a finger with a coquettish voice. “Then, when you look at me, do you think about kissing me?” 

He could not help but rest his gaze on Qiao Yi’s lips and imagine what it would be like for him to touch them once again.

It was soft, and perhaps he would not be able to hold himself back and nip at it. Li Zhongchen swallowed, his face hot. His answer was entirely out of instinct. “I want to.”

After that, Qiao Yi was so inexplicably happy over his words that their kiss lasted for a long time.

What lingered in Li Zhongchen’s mind was what Qiao Yi had said, “Li Zhongchen, you kissed me, so you have to treat me well, okay?” 

I know that.

I will definitely treat you well, Qiao Yi. How could I treat you poorly?

—Something was not right.

Li Zhongchen suddenly woke up. 

He found himself lying in the bed of the second bedroom. The bright sunlight that filtered into the room did not indicate how good the weather was that day, but that he had overslept.

“…” Li Zhongchen sat up abruptly with lingering palpitations in his heart. There was an inexplicable shame he felt towards the past he had dreamt of.

Qiao Yi had truly said those words himself back then.

And later on, he did not treat Qiao Yi well. 

That feeling was simply too frustrating.

Li Zhongchen ruffled his hair and put on a round neck sweater.

He did not have the energy to spare too much thought. What was the use for remorse now? He knew better than anyone else how he had managed all these years.

He could not change anything from the past. But at present, he still had a chance, right— 

Hence, he stormed out of the room almost immediately.

The paper bag that he hung at the doorknob of the master bedroom was gone.

The call of kittens came from the living room. After a long time, Qiao Yi reluctantly said in a quiet voice. “What’s the use of you bunting against me? I’m not going to stroke your fur like he did…”

Li Zhongchen approached with his long legs. 

His chest was slightly heaving. After a few more steps, he saw Qiao Yi, who was sitting on the wicker chair on the balcony, bathed in the sunlight.

The British Shorthair was laying on the floor by herself.

And the Birman was nestled in Qiao Yi’s arms lazily, meowing incessantly.

From Li Zhongchen’s perspective. 

Qiao Yi was not just Buddha-like, he was simply living the life of retirement at an old age.

The bright sun shone upon both their faces, and it immediately made Li Zhongchen chuckle inside, wondering if the lawsuit had been lost through and through.

“You’re awake?” Qiao Yi turned to look over at him, and his smile was like a spring breeze. “I’ll tell you a piece of good news. I won the lawsuit.”

“…?!” 

Li Zhongchen felt his legs soften in that moment, and he was so close to falling on his knees.

“…That’s great,” his words were genuine and sincere, rambling incoherently. “Congratulations, you won’t ever have to be bound by that contract ever again.”

“And thank you for your candy.”

Qiao Yi carried the Birman by the butt. 

He stood on equal footing with Li Zhongchen and approached him step by step. “Weren’t you waiting for my answer all this time?”

It was too soon.

Li Zhongchen stood in place. His head was still not wide awake having woken up not long ago.

“I’ve thought about it for a long time. Why don’t we do it the same as we did in the past?” Qiao Yi said. “Let’s use a bet to determine if I will go to SVG or another team.” 

What?!

Li Zhongchen’s expression immediately changed. It became vaguely pale, and he began to falter. “You want… What kind of bet do you want to make…?”

Qiao Yi lifted his chin slightly.

Following that gaze, Li Zhongchen looked away and saw that there were a few jars of candies placed on the coffee table. 

“…” Li Zhongchen was extremely panicked. That year, they had made a bet. Although he had become desensitized to things such as gambling, he was still too afraid. “Qiao Yi.”

“Don’t tell me you can’t afford to play?” Qiao Yi spoke without hesitation. “Let me tell you the rules. First of all, I have never touched the candies in the jars. If you are afraid that I had tampered with it beforehand, you don’t have to worry too much, there is no need for me to do that.”

Li Zhongchen did not respond.

Qiao Yi continued, “you can guess the number of candies in the jar, if it’s an odd or even number. If it’s an odd number, I promise I will go to your team. If it’s an even number, then I can only express my regret.” 

“…” Li Zhongchen could not help but raise his voice. “Why must it be the odd number and not even?!”

Qiao Yi had an indifferent attitude. “That’s fine too. You can set the rules, so now the decision is that an even number means I will be willing to sign, right?”

Li Zhongchen wanted him to knock it off. “…Why don’t you just tell me now, what were the terms OPW discussed with you?”

In an instant. 

The atmosphere became particularly tense and anything could be triggered in a moment.

“It’s not as good as the conditions that your manager Wang had given,” Qiao Yi was indifferent the entire time. “The signing fee is three million, and I will be in the first team. In consideration of tactical problems, I can take up any position I want to, and I can also make Xu Hang my substitute.”

Li Zhongchen had fire in his eyes. “Then why do you still want to do this now? No matter what the angle, SVG is more suitable for your growth as compared to OPW. Yao Tong acknowledges you, and I…”

He forced himself to stifle the phrase, “and I need you too.” 

Qiao Yi said the same thing. “So, you can’t afford to gamble?”

“…” Li Zhongchen was speechless.

“Why don’t you just try it? Who knows, maybe you may be lucky.”

Li Zhongchen said that he really did not have much luck to speak of. 

They were in a deadlock for a long time.

Eventually, Li Zhongchen convinced himself.

“You’re sure that as long as it’s an even number, you’ll come to our team, right?” It was like he was giving himself encouragement. He walked up to the coffee table and poured out the candies in the jar, scattering them all across the surface. “Fine. I’ll keep you company and play however you want to. Now, I will count them one by one right in front of you…”

Qiao Yi narrowed his eyes. 

He knew that Li Zhongchen was being spiteful.

“… twenty three, twenty four, twenty five…”

For every single candy he counted.

He placed them back to their original place, into the jar. 

Until there were not many left on the table.

“…Forty five, forty six.”

His voice abruptly stopped along with his action.

Li Zhongchen held onto the last piece of candy and looked up at Qiao Yi. His eyes flickered in escape, as though he was unwilling to admit the truth. 

“Forty seven.” It was Qiao Yi’s clear voice that broke past his defenses.

Li Zhongchen stood up straight.

Because he had been squatting for a long time, he felt a little dizzy. His mouth opened, wanting to say something, yet he could not make a sound.

It was time to accept his fate. 

It seemed that Li Zhongchen could only think that way.

But right then, he saw that Qiao Yi gently put the male kitten on the floor.

After that, he approached him unceremoniously. His actions were quick, snatching over the last piece of candy that was in his hand.

He watched as Qiao Yi peeled off the kraft wrapper. 

He bent down and held the exposed milk candy to the male kitten’s mouth, and it obediently lapped at it with his tongue once, then again.

“How could you eat your poop shoveler’s candy?” Qiao Yi had his back to Li Zhongchen, as though expressing his dissatisfaction with the little kitten’s behavior. “Alright then, there are only forty six candies left in the jar.”

“…” Li Zhongchen’s heart leapt to his throat.

Qiao Yi, “it’s an even number.” 

Li Zhongchen’s voice quivered. “So, you…”

Qiao Yi, “there’s no choice, I can only sign it.”

Noa’s Notes: *rubs hands together* 25 chapters later, they are finally teammates.