Chapter 21: After Saying Yes
The morning after their first kiss felt unreal.
Not because anything dramatic had changed.
But because everything ordinary now carried different meaning.
The same city streets.
The same university halls.
The same sunlight falling across classroom windows.
And yet—
Lu Zhen woke with the memory of Lin Xu's lips still warm in his mind,
and for the first time in years,
his first thought upon opening his eyes was not fear.
It was happiness.
That frightened him in a way he had not expected.
Because happiness meant something to lose.
—
When Lu Zhen arrived at campus, Lin Xu was already waiting beneath the maple trees outside the literature building.
Hands in coat pockets.
Calm as always.
Yet when their eyes met—
something softened instantly between them.
Something private.
Something newly theirs.
Neither rushed forward.
Neither said anything dramatic.
But when Lu Zhen reached him,
Lin Xu quietly handed him his usual coffee.
And this time,
their fingers lingered on the cup a second longer than necessary.
A tiny pause.
A tiny intimacy.
Enough to make Lu Zhen's pulse skip.
"…Good morning," Lin Xu said.
His voice was as steady as ever.
But there was warmth beneath it now that had never been spoken aloud before.
Lu Zhen looked away too quickly.
"…Morning."
Lin Xu smiled faintly.
And just like that,
their first day as something more than friends began.
—
In class, the difference was invisible to everyone except them.
To everyone else,
they were still simply Lu Zhen and Lin Xu—
quiet, inseparable, always together.
But beneath the surface—
everything had changed.
Their shoulders brushed more often.
Their glances lasted longer.
The silence between them no longer carried uncertainty.
Now it carried awareness.
Every accidental touch felt charged.
Every small gesture suddenly mattered.
And when Professor Han assigned additional rehearsal meetings for the weekend,
Qiao Min glanced between them once—
then smiled to herself knowingly.
She said nothing.
But her expression made Lu Zhen immediately suspicious.
—
At lunch, Zhou Kai dramatically collapsed into the cafeteria seat across from them.
Song Yan followed behind, expression flat.
"You two look disgusting," Zhou Kai announced.
Lu Zhen nearly choked on his tea.
Lin Xu remained calm.
"…What does that mean?"
"It means," Zhou Kai said, pointing accusingly,
"you both have that face."
Song Yan sat down beside him and sighed.
"Ignore him."
"I will not be ignored," Zhou Kai declared.
"I have suffered enough as one half of a newly formed emotionally stable couple."
Lu Zhen stared.
"…What?"
Song Yan closed his eyes briefly, clearly regretting all life choices.
Zhou Kai grinned proudly and threw an arm over Song Yan's shoulder.
"We're dating."
Silence.
Then Lu Zhen blinked twice.
"…Since when?"
"Since yesterday."
Song Yan muttered:
"Since he became impossible to refuse."
Zhou Kai looked delighted.
"That's basically a love confession."
For the first time in weeks,
laughter came easily to all four of them.
And the table filled with warmth that felt almost like family.
—
That evening, after campus emptied,
Lu Zhen and Lin Xu walked together along the riverside path near Lanqiao Bridge.
Autumn wind moved softly through the trees.
Streetlights reflected in trembling ribbons across dark water.
For a while they said little.
Because neither yet knew how to behave inside this new closeness.
At one point, their hands brushed while walking.
Both pulled away instinctively.
Then paused.
Then—
very quietly—
Lin Xu reached back,
and this time deliberately took Lu Zhen's hand.
Their fingers laced together naturally.
As if they had always belonged that way.
Lu Zhen's breath caught.
He looked down at their joined hands in stunned silence.
Lin Xu glanced sideways.
"…Too much?"
Lu Zhen shook his head immediately.
"…No."
His voice came softer than intended.
And though he kept his gaze lowered,
he did not let go.
—
Later that night,
everything changed.
Lu Zhen returned home later than usual.
The hallway outside his apartment was dark.
Silent.
Too silent.
The moment he stepped closer to his door—
he froze.
Because someone was standing there.
A tall man in a dark coat.
Waiting.
The corridor light flickered once overhead.
And when the stranger lifted his face into clearer light—
all color drained from Lu Zhen's world.
His breath stopped.
His pulse crashed violently in his ears.
Because he knew that face.
Even older.
Even worn by years.
He knew it instantly.
His father.
—
The keys slipped from Lu Zhen's trembling hand and hit the floor with a sharp metallic sound.
The man bent to pick them up slowly.
Then straightened.
His voice was calm.
Almost gentle.
As if no years had passed.
As if nothing had ever broken.
"…You've grown."
Lu Zhen could not breathe.
Could not move.
Every locked door in his mind burst open at once—
voices, shattered glass, fear, shouting—
all of it returning in one brutal wave.
His hands began shaking uncontrollably.
The hallway walls suddenly felt too narrow.
Too close.
His father took one step forward.
And that single step was enough.
Lu Zhen stumbled backward violently,
panic flooding through him so fast it blurred vision into white noise.
"No—"
The word came out broken.
Barely audible.
His father stopped.
Expression unreadable.
But Lu Zhen no longer saw clearly enough to understand it.
Because all he knew—
all his body remembered—
was danger.
Pain.
Fear.
Run.
He turned and fled down the corridor before the elevator doors could close,
leaving keys, bag, everything behind.
Only running.
Only escape.
—
Across the city,
Lin Xu was just unlocking his apartment door
when his phone vibrated sharply in his hand.
One message.
Unknown number.
A photo attachment.
He opened it—
and his blood ran cold.
It was Lu Zhen's dropped phone screen,
cracked against apartment hallway tiles.
And beneath the image, only one message:
Come get him before I lose patience.
No sender name.
No explanation.
But Lin Xu already knew.
Something from Lu Zhen's past
had finally come back.