The content on the screen was read aloud by Shen Zhifei without missing a single word.
Song Lang still refused to accept this astonishing fact.
He dialed the number back and the moment the call connected, he burst into a tirade: "Whoever you are, don't let me find you! Otherwise, you're fucking dead!"
After a while, Shen Lingyu's voice came through the receiver: "Song Lang? Feifei left her phone at home. Why are you talking to him like that? Didn't I tell you to be nicer to him and take better care of him during this time?"
Song Lang froze, and no matter how his mother called him, he didn't respond.
Shen Zhifei stood right in front of him, staring intently at him.
Song Lang suddenly felt that he was a stranger, as if he had never really understood this younger brother he had spent eight years with.
Shen Zhifei leaned over to hang up the call for him, and sighed softly, "If I hadn't told you, how long would it have taken you to find out that F was me?"
Song Lang suddenly pushed him away with great force, and Shen Zhifei's back slammed against the wall with a "thud," causing him to frown in pain.
Without saying a word, Song Lang ran down the mountain. He couldn't believe it. He had to see the phone and the messages with his own eyes, otherwise he wouldn't believe it no matter what.
Fearing something might happen to him, Shen Zhifei struggled to catch up and grabbed him, saying, "I know you're very angry and have a lot of questions. I was planning to watch the sunrise together tomorrow and then tell you all about it. But I can't stand it anymore, Song Lang."
He walked around to Song Lang's front and gripped his wrist tightly.
"I don't want to wait a moment longer. I love you. From the day my sexual orientation became clear, you've been the only one in my heart and mind."
"Let go of me."
Song Lang's voice suddenly calmed down.
Shen Zhifei looked at him for a long time before letting go of his hand.
Song Lang walked past him and continued down the mountain, while Shen Zhifei silently followed behind him.
Although it was nearly 9 p.m., there were still many unlicensed taxis soliciting passengers to go back to the city on the roadside in the small town. Song Lang randomly got into one, and when Shen Zhifei reached out to block the car door, it was slammed shut.
A deep indentation appeared on the palm and back of the hand, and the skin at the wound turned a bloodless pale white.
"Holy crap! Are you blind?!" Song Lang was heartbroken and yelled at him, his eyes welling up with tears again.
"Song Lang, I know what you're going back to do. I'll wait for you here."
Shen Zhifei leaned his upper body into the car and hugged Song Lang's shoulder without saying a word.
He tilted his head and whispered a soft kiss into his ear, his voice extremely low, "If you don't come back obediently, I'll come find you, even in front of Mom and Dad, I'll kiss you and fuck you, and then you won't have a choice, baby."
Song Lang's breath hitched as Shen Zhifei gently brushed his cheek with her lips as she withdrew.
Shen Zhifei helped him close the car door, took a picture of the license plate, chatted with the driver for a few words, and then stood on the curb.
Song Lang stared blankly at the rearview mirror, watching the tall, slender figure grow further and further away, unable to come back to his senses for a long time.
When she got home, Shen Lingyu was just about to go to sleep. Seeing him rush back, she couldn't help but ask in surprise, "Didn't you go on a social practice trip with Meng Fanxing and the others? Why are you back?"
"I forgot something." Song Lang rushed towards Shen Zhifei's bedroom, but stopped halfway there and asked, "Miss, where's Feifei's phone?"
“Oh, I left it in the study. I put it back in his room,” Shen Lingyu said. “Feifei doesn’t seem to be coming back this weekend. What should I do if I need to contact his family? Do you have time to bring it to him tomorrow? If not, I’ll go.”
"I'll take it, you should go to sleep early."
Song Lang walked into the tidy bedroom, locked the door, strode to the desk, opened the drawer and saw the cell phone.
It was exactly the same phone as theirs, and he tried unlocking it with his own and Shen Zhifei's birthdays, but neither worked.
"Hold--"
Song Lang wanted to call Shen Zhifei to ask for the password, but he felt awkward about it. He tried 123456 again, but it still didn't work. The system prompted him to try again in a minute.
Oh no!
Frustrated, Song Lang rummaged through the other drawers. He didn't care whether he was invading Shen Zhifei's privacy. The other party had seen through his thoughts, so why should he care so much?
He flipped through the pages and found a stack of familiar pink envelopes. Along with the envelopes was a small notebook that looked quite old, with a yellowed cover.
With trembling hands, Song Lang opened the letter. The handwriting was neat and beautiful, and the signature was "Lin Qian, Class 1, Grade 1".
The name resurfaced in Song Lang's mind, giving him a jolt.
He stumbled back to his room, rummaged through drawers and cabinets to find all the piles of old, worn-out books, but couldn't find any letter paper. Then, he slapped his forehead and found the scarf he hadn't returned years ago, along with a stack of equally thick letters, on the top shelf of the cabinet.
Comparing the two letters in his hands, Song Lang felt like a pig.
Why didn't he see it back then? Why was he so foolishly kept in the dark for so long?
He returned to Shen Zhifei's room, opened the yellowed notebook, which was Shen Zhifei's diary.
He didn't write much, but every single thing he wrote was about him.
My brother received a love letter from a girl who is pretty and sweet, and also quite talented in writing, but it might affect his studies. He doesn't like me telling on him, so I had to find another way. I'm sorry, it's just that we're both too young to be in a relationship.
I'm sorry, I'm a bad person. I ruined my brother's first love.
He... was wonderful, like the sun. If only a ray of sunlight had pierced through that dark, gloomy little room back then. Perhaps his wounds wouldn't have hurt so much.
I like boys. I like him.
At 10 PM on December 26th, I stole a kiss from him.
[Shen Zhifei, stay away from him. You two are destined to never be together.]