It's the weekend, so you're probably spending time with your girlfriend.
The girl thought to herself, "Sure enough, all the good-looking people have boyfriends."
Ji Li was carrying his cup and preparing to return to the consultation room when he turned around and saw Ying Yunsheng had come out at some point and was standing not far away, quietly watching him.
He walked over and asked, "What did the doctor say?"
"The recovery is going very well. The stitches should be removed next month." Ying Yunsheng put away the medical record, deliberately avoiding the other person's gaze. "You have a weekly test this afternoon, go back now."
As the two left the hospital and passed through the lobby, Ji Li's gaze never left the other's furrowed brows. Finally, just before they reached the exit, he spoke: "Ying Yunsheng."
"Um."
"What’s wrong with you?"
"Nothing much."
Ji Li simply grabbed him: "Are you unhappy?"
Ying Yunsheng denied it: "No."
"So, I made you angry?"
"It has nothing to do with you."
“But you haven’t looked at me since you came out of the consultation room.”
Such a blunt and to-the-point statement was like a needle, easily piercing a hole in his overflowing emotions.
What was revealed after it was torn open was an unspeakable darkness.
Ji Li was still calling out, "Ying Yunsheng."
He suddenly raised his voice: "I told you it has nothing to do with you, can you please stop asking?"
The words were clearly too harsh.
Ji Li stopped in his tracks.
Ying Yunsheng regretted his words the moment he spoke and turned around to apologize.
The other person's voice came earlier: "I'm sorry."
Ying Yunsheng was stunned.
Ji Li said, "I won't get water next time, and I'll definitely go to the clinic with you. Don't be angry anymore, okay?"
"Uh..." This shouldn't be the case.
It was clearly not his fault.
Yet he has to endure anger he shouldn't have to bear, and afterwards he still has to apologize to those who took their anger out on him.
Ying Yunsheng couldn't quite describe the emotions that suddenly welled up inside him. On one hand, it was guilt, but on the other hand, it was the feeling of being so indulged.
He wouldn't have been so willful before, especially when facing the person in front of him. Unfortunately, Ji Li had been too gentle with him lately, which made him more and more used to the other's favoritism, and even dared to throw a tantrum.
He didn't know if this situation could be called taking advantage of someone's favor.
This is a very bad omen.
Once the mental barrier was broken, he suddenly realized that his life was rather meaningless.
All that hesitation, uncertainty, and fear of a bad outcome is rather pointless.
What good would it do to say it?
Ji Li hadn't heard him speak for a long time, so long that he thought the other person hadn't heard him at all and was about to ask again when the other person suddenly asked slowly, "Have many people asked you for your contact information before?"
“Uh…” Ji Li said, “I will only add classmates.”
Are there many girls in there who like you?
"No."
"So that means a lot of boys like you?"
"Uh..." Is this the normal thought process of a person?
Ji Li: "Besides you, which other boy would dare to confess his feelings to me?"
Ying Yunsheng directly missed the point: "So there really are other guys who like you, but they just don't dare to confess?"
"Uh..." Ji Li looked at him: "You're upset because you saw me talking to someone else in front of the water dispenser?"
Ying Yunsheng remained silent.
Ji Li noticed that this person's cheeks were puffed up like a pufferfish again, and couldn't help but laugh: "Are you jealous?"
Ying Yunsheng was about to nod in agreement when he suddenly realized something was amiss: "What did you just say?"
Ji Li subconsciously repeated, "You're upset because you saw me talking to someone else?"
Ying Yunsheng: "One more sentence."
Ji Li: "..."
"No one dares to confess their feelings to you except me." Ying Yunsheng stared at him. "When did I confess my feelings to you?"
"Well……"
"Did you hear what I said at the landfill that day?"
“Uh…” Ying Yunsheng took a deep breath, turned around and left.
This development was completely beyond Ji Li's expectations. Before he could even hesitate, the person in front of him walked out the door and disappeared.
Ji Li hurriedly chased after him, and as soon as he lifted the curtain, he saw the bustling hospital square.
Pretending not to hear someone confess their feelings is, at best, a joke, and at worst, harassment. Especially when he hears it but neither agrees nor rejects, and even acts like he always does with other people, his behavior is no different from those scumbags who deliberately string others along and keep them as backup options.
Ji Li searched around but couldn't find anyone. Unfortunately, Ying Yunsheng didn't use a cell phone, so he couldn't make a call even if he wanted to. He could only stand there helplessly.
Two words popped into my mind.
It's over.
.
Ying Yunsheng was genuinely angry at first.
It wasn't that I was angry at the other person, but rather at myself.
He was certain that no one but himself could understand the unfinished confession he made at the junkyard, yet the other person could still discern his unspoken meaning. What does that mean?
This means that the other party knew his intentions from the beginning.
He should have noticed it sooner. Ji Li is such a perceptive person when it comes to other people's emotions, and he handles interpersonal relationships with the precision of a micrometer. The care he has shown him over this period and the occasional ambiguous jokes he has made have long exceeded the scope of ordinary friends. How could it be an unintentional crossing of the line? It could only be intentional.
The other party had already figured it out, but didn't bring it up or distance themselves. They just teased him occasionally. He was agonizing over it like a fool, while the other party was leisurely watching the show.
Imagine laying bare all your silly sides in front of your crush... just thinking about it would make him want to disappear from the face of the earth.
Half angry and half embarrassed, he ran out of the hospital. He curled up into a ball, burying his face in his knees, feeling wronged. He thought that this feeling might be what Ji Li had once told him about as "social death".
When he finally managed to compose himself and speak normally, he stepped out of the shadows beside the hospital entrance and looked up to see the person he thought had left long ago.
As the midday sun began to slant, Ji Li leaned against a stone pillar in front of the hospital gate to get up, and suddenly swayed.
In just a few seconds, a Taoist figure appeared before them as if a divine soldier had descended from the sky.
Ying Yunsheng stood on a step lower than him, holding his arm: "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell? Are you dizzy?"
"No," Ji Li said. "I just squatted for too long and my legs went numb. I'll be fine after standing for a while."
Ying Yunsheng: "What are you doing squatting here?"
Ji Li: "I'm afraid you won't be able to find me when you come back."
"Uh..." Ying Yunsheng stood there for several seconds, and when he spoke again, his tone softened involuntarily: "Can't you just sit and wait?"
Ji Li shook his head: "I'm admitting my mistake now, how can I sit here?"
"What if I don't come back?"
"Then we'll just keep waiting."
Ying Yunsheng fell silent, but he didn't leave either; he just stood there supporting him.
Ji Li apologized to him: "I'm sorry."
Ying Yunsheng remained silent.
"I was thinking of waiting a little longer."
Ying Yunsheng hadn't expected this remark. He subconsciously turned his head and noticed that the other person's eyelashes were wet at some point, like raven feathers that had been soaked by rain.
He felt a sharp prick in his heart, and froze on the spot.
Ji Li's tone remained calm: "You're only sixteen years old, more than seven hundred days away from adulthood, and more than a year away from the college entrance examination. Your life has just begun, and you have a long road ahead of you. It's too early to establish a relationship with someone now."
Ying Yunsheng never expected to hear these things from him.
He had always thought he was the only one being cautious in this relationship, but only now, after hearing the other person's methodical analysis, did he realize that he was not the only one walking on thin ice.
The other party was even more cautious, less confident, and more afraid of failure than him.
Ying Yunsheng heard his heartbeat slow down, and then suddenly speed up again.
“Besides, I’m not exactly a good choice,” Ji Li paused for a moment, “after all, I’m likely to die young.”
In doing so, one has almost completely lowered their stance.
Ying Yunsheng couldn't stand him saying such things: "Whether it's good or not isn't up to you to decide."
“Okay.” Ji Li readily changed her mind. “Actually, I wanted to wait until you grew up, especially since I recently fed you a sixteenth birthday cake. If I were to reveal the truth now, it would make me feel guilty for at least three years.”
“Uh…” Ying Yunsheng hesitated for a moment, but couldn’t help it: “You’re only four months older than me.”
"Alright, alright." Ji Li didn't argue with him about this. "So, can you forgive me?"
The previously tense atmosphere was completely disrupted by the other party's shocking words. Ying Yunsheng remained silent for a long time before finally speaking: "You don't need my forgiveness, you should scold me."
Ji Li couldn't keep up with his leaps of thought for a moment.
"It's my fault for getting angry with you." Ying Yunsheng lowered his head. "I was too emotional at the time, and I was completely taking my anger out on you. I didn't consider your feelings at all, and besides..."
"Alright." Ji Li covered his mouth, interrupting his self-reproachful rant with a wry smile. "How many more things do you want to say?"