On his way back to the couch, Jiang Chen surmised the likely cause of tonight’s events.
It was nothing more than a confession of love rebuffed, frustration festering inside, pulling a roommate out for drinks, and under the sway of emotions and alcohol, getting into a conflict with someone.
"Are you hurt? There’s a first-aid kit here..."
Hong Xiaoyu said with lacking confidence, "Bro, please don’t tell Mom and Dad."
Jiang Chen sat down next to him.
"What, you still know what’s embarrassing?"
Hong Xiaoyu remained silent.
"Alright, don’t look so dejected. It’s just a girl rejecting you; who hasn’t been through that? Maybe this is just her way of testing you."
Hong Xiaoyu’s eyes suddenly lit up.
"Bro, really? Is she really just testing me?"
Jiang Chen didn’t speak.
Watching his cousin, Hong Xiaoyu’s eyes gradually dimmed again.
"Bro, don’t try to console me. I can feel that she really just wants to be friends with me."
"Being friends isn’t bad."
Jiang Chen said with a smile, "At least you can still see her every day, talk to her every day. In fact, for some people, being friends is better than being lovers. Distance makes the heart grow fonder. When you really get together, you might find that the one you like is just the version of her you’ve imagined."
This talk was evidently too profound for Hong Xiaoyu’s understanding.
"Bro, are you telling me to give up?"
Jiang Chen said, "If you are not content, you can keep pursuing her. After all, pursuing someone is your right, but you have to be mentally prepared."
"What kind of mental preparation?"
Hong Xiaoyu asked subconsciously.
"If you continue to pursue her, there can only be two outcomes: either she agrees and you end up together, in which case I’ll be happy for you. The other possibility is that you might not even be able to remain friends in the future. If such a result does happen, I hope you can bear it."
A look of confusion crossed Hong Xiaoyu’s face.
"In this world, eight or nine out of ten things are not as we wish. Even the protagonists in movies can’t always have what they want, can they?"
Jiang Chen patted his shoulder.
"I’ll go and prepare a room for you."
"Bro, let me sleep with you tonight."
Jiang Chen, who was about to get up, paused.
"Bro, it’s been a long time since we slept together."
Hong Xiaoyu looked his way.
Jiang Chen smiled, stopped getting up, and nodded, "Alright, go take a shower."
After taking a shower, the brothers lay on the same bed, just like when they were kids.
"Bro, have you ever been heartbroken?"
Hong Xiaoyu stared at the ceiling.
Jiang Chen was candid, looking at the ceiling too, "And it was far more tragic than yours."
"I don’t believe it."
The corners of Jiang Chen’s mouth rose.
"What’s there not to believe, your brother isn’t RMB."
Hong Xiaoyu turned his head, "But bro, you’re so popular with the ladies."
Jiang Chen chuckled, his lips moved but he didn’t know what to say.
"Bro, Shi Qianxi, she’s very rich, isn’t she?"
That was a statement, not a question.
Even though he had only seen her twice, Shi Qianxi’s demeanor and actions revealed she was not an ordinary commoner.
And an ordinary commoner couldn’t have made a police station release someone so easily.
"Yeah, she is quite wealthy."
Hong Xiaoyu looked back at the ceiling.
"Bro, are you... being kept by Shi Qianxi?"
"Knock it off, what nonsense. Am I that kind of person?"
Jiang Chen boasted, "You know what kind of person I am, don’t you? Wealth cannot corrupt, poverty cannot sway, power cannot bend."
Hong Xiaoyu also began to laugh.
"Bro, if only I had your charm."
Truly, as the saying goes, everyone’s feelings are their own to know.
This kid actually started envying him.
"If you were me, you couldn’t say such a thing."
"Bro, Qian Qian likes you, right?"
"No. We’re just friends."
Jiang Chen didn’t hesitate.
"Bro, you still see me as a kid, huh?"
Hong Xiaoyu simply turned aside.
"I can tell she definitely likes you; otherwise, she wouldn’t have been so enthusiastic with me. Bro, we’re brothers, there’s nothing you need to feel embarrassed about in front of me."
Jiang Chen could only laugh wryly.
He had meant to comfort this kid, but now the kid was teasing him instead.
"If you find the bed uncomfortable, you can go sleep on the sofa."
"Bro, I just had my heart broken."
Hong Xiaoyu protested.
"So what if you had your heart broken? It’s a trivial matter."
"How can you say that, bro? This was my first love."
"Do you know what first love is? First love is destined to end without sickness."
Jiang Chen rubbed salt into the wound, ever the patient teacher.
"Bro, if I say this again, I might tell Fang Qing about it, you know."
"Sure, now you’re threatening your brother, huh? After I went to the police station to bail you out in the middle of the night. I should’ve let you stay there overnight."
"Wasn’t it Qian Qian who saved me?"
The next day at breakfast, Shi Qianxi kicked Jiang Chen’s leg under the table and then looked at Hong Xiaoyu with puzzlement.
How did this kid go from being distraught last night to acting like nothing happened overnight?
Jiang Chen didn’t speak.
"I’ll have someone send you back to school."
After breakfast, Shi Qianxi was very enthusiastic.
"No need, Qian Qian, I’ll take the subway."
Even though he knew this sister was very wealthy, Hong Xiaoyu didn’t disgrace his family’s dignity, nor did he embarrass Jiang Chen, gracefully declining her kind offer.
"Impressive, you got over it that easily?"
After Hong Xiaoyu had left, Shi Qianxi expressed her surprise.
"Young people, they recover quickly."
Jiang Chen acted as if it were nothing, "Don’t we have to go to the company today? Let’s go."
On the subway, Hong Xiaoyu realized his phone had been turned off after the police had confiscated it, and he hadn’t turned it on since.
Upon powering it up, he found several missed calls.
After talking with his cousin for an entire night, although he felt somewhat mollified, he was still somewhat downcast. Hesitating for a long time, he didn’t return the call until he exited the subway.
"You got into a fight last night?"
Upon hearing this, Hong Xiaoyu knew it must have been his roommates who leaked the information. Previously, he would have been overjoyed at her concern, but now that he knew her true feelings, all he felt was bitterness.
"No, it was just a minor quarrel."
"A quarrel that gets you taken to the police station?"
Hong Xiaoyu was instantly at a loss for words.
"You never act , is it because of... yesterday...me..."
"It’s not, it has nothing to do with you, Ren Miao, please don’t overthink it."
Hong Xiaoyu hurriedly said.
It seemed the girl still felt a bit guilty.
"Xiao Yu, let’s talk more."
Hong Xiaoyu was now somewhat afraid to meet her, for no other reason than it would be embarrassing.
"Ren Miao, I have classes this morning and probably won’t have time."
There was silence on the other end for a while.
"...then let me know when you’re free."
Hong Xiaoyu slowly hung up the phone.
If you can’t be lovers, you can still be friends.
Can we really still be friends?