Do You Remember My Name? Chapter 23

sniffs

Chapter 23

After He Hao left, Hai Xiu walked out of the kitchen and was confused: "He… why is he gone?"

"He has something to do." Feng Fei answered casually, "It must be his mother who called him to go back. It's so cloudy today, there might be a snow later, that’s why his family members are not at ease."

"Oh…" Hai Xiu frowned lightly, "But the takeout…"

Feng Fei felt a little helpless as he said: "Just eat how much you can only eat."

At dinner time, Feng Fei casually said to Hai Xiu: "He Hao said that we are overly friendly to each other."

Hai Xiu jerked his head up and suddenly coughed up. Feng Fei quickly got up, hit his back lightly and smiled: "What happened to you? Don’t be so careless ah."

Hai Xiu shook his head, he was covering his mouth while bending down a little and coughing. He coughed for half a day, before feeling a little bit better and saying: "No, it's nothing…"

Hai Xiu was really guilty and he didn’t dare look at Feng Fei. His eyes averted as he took the gla.s.s of water that Feng Fei gave him, and drank a mouthful. After taking a few deep breaths, he gave a faint smile and said: "I was careless… but I’m fine now."

Feng Fei didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, "You're not very rea.s.suring ah, eat slowly." He took another gla.s.s of water and handed it to Hai Xiu.

It was said unintentionally, but Hai Xiu felt anxious. Was he too inconvenient to Feng Fei?

Hai Xiu didn’t want Feng Fei to think that he was too troublesome, so he explained carefully: "I… I rarely choke…"

"Better be." Feng Fei started picking the fishbones for Hai Xiu, "I heard that there was a kid who was eating meal and got choked, then he died. It was really frightening." After picking up the fishbones, he put the fish into Hai Xiu's bowl and said: "Eat this flatfish. The eel has too many fishbones."

Hai Xiu became more anxious, he didn’t want Feng Fei to think that he was an idiot and a burden. He softly retorted: "I will pick the fishbones. I know how to do it since I was young."

"Is that so?" Feng Fei smiled, "You love eating fish?"

Hai Xiu nodded, Feng Fei expressed his understanding: "So that’s why you’re so smart."

Hai Xiu's anxious mood instantly turned to happy, because Feng Fei just praised him ah!

Feng Fei lowered his head and ate a mouthful of rice, then said: "He Hao… he—"

"Tomorrow, we…" Hai Xiu quickly interrupted Feng Fei's words and changed the topic, "What time… will we get up ah? Tomorrow is Monday…"

Feng Fei gawked for some seconds before saying slowly: "Half past six. So that we’re already outside when it's 7 am."

Hai Xiu nodded: "We need to sleep early then…"

Feng Fei let out a "hmm" sound and no longer speak.

After eating dinner, Hai Xiu went to take a bath, while Feng Fei was left leaning on the sofa and watching TV in trance.

He understood what He Hao had said to him today. He knew better than anyone else that his relations.h.i.+p with Hai Xiu had already crossed the line.

Like for example, when they played Counting 7. It was true that what stimulated him to kiss Hai Xiu was because the kid intentionally won. But if it was any other person, Feng Fei wouldn’t do it at all.

It had nothing to do with the game nor with the atmosphere… it had nothing to do with the lighting either. Feng Fei was also not the type of a person who got easily driven by the outside environment or emotions. No one could force him if he didn’t want to do something. He kissed Hai Xiu that day because he really wanted to do it.

Or maybe because he found an excuse to do so.

For months, it was more than once that Feng Fei had such an urge to kiss Hai Xiu. But every time he looked at Hai Xiu, he could only press down that urge. Afterall, he was still reluctant to do it.

If he didn’t know that Hai Xiu had that kind of illness, he would have said something about it. But now that Hai Xiu's condition was getting better, Feng Fei didn’t want to have any mishaps. He could see Hai Xiu's slight changes and only he knew how Hai Xiu worked hard to accept the world again. And more than anyone else, Feng Fei was afraid that Hai Xiu would return to his previous state.

Did Hai Xiu like him? Feng Fei was not sure of that.

According to Ni Mei Lin, Hai Xiu probably didn’t have friends for several years. But at this time of his life, a friend who could play with him suddenly showed up. When he went to school, he was not alone anymore. Whoever this person was, Hai Xiu would definitely be full of enthusiasm and trust in that person, and even rely on that person. But was relying on someone meant liking them as well? Feng Fei wasn't really sure.

If in Hai Xiu's case of reliance, was only to cling to the feeling of companions.h.i.+p and didn’t want to lose such a friend, then Feng Fei had to be patience before indulging on the beyond the line behavior.

But in case that it was like that and Hai Xiu couldn’t simply accept it, then it would be too terrible to clear it up this time. Hai Xiu wouldn’t be able to deceive himself to maintain the false appearance again, because their relations.h.i.+p was bound to collapse.

There were lots of questions that Feng Fei had taken into consideration. He wanted to use He Hao to test Hai Xiu today, but it wasn’t easy. The words hadn’t been said, but Hai Xiu was already scared. In the end, he was forced to diverge the topic.

Perhaps Hai Xiu was truly afraid that if he got to the truth of the matter, they wouldn’t even be able to stay friends?

Feng Fei knitted his brows and changed the channel, thinking to himself whether he should confess or not. But regardless of any advantages he could take, he would take it.

On the second thought, it would be better if he let Hai Xiu accept it slowly. Afterall, boiling a frog in a warm water1 was also good.

Feeling a lot better, Feng Fei turned up the volume of the TV, went upstairs, walked to the bathroom and knocked on the door: "Hai Xiu…"

Hai Xiu was startled inside and said: "Why, what… what's wrong?"

"Is the water temperature alright?" Feng Fei tried to find words to say, "The weather is cold, adjust the water temperature."

Hai Xiu complied: "Okay…"

"Did you take your underwear with you?" Feng Fei continued on looking at the cracked between the door and its frame. "You forgot? I’ll bring it to you."

Hai Xiu quickly said restlessly: "Took it…"

"Oh." The bathroom gla.s.s door was frosted and the mist inside was too thick to see anything. After trying to look for half a day, Feng Fei gave up and helplessly said: "Okay, wash quickly and go to sleep after."

Hai Xiu quickly washed even though he was really nervous, he changed to a clean pajamas then went to the bedroom.

In the bedroom, Feng Fei was leaning against the headboard while reading. When he heard the sound of footsteps, he looked up at Hai Xiu then said: "Blow dry your hair before going to sleep."

After blowing his hair dry, Hai Xiu laid down on the bed and covered himself with the quilt. Then he whispered: "I just saw that it's snowing again. The winding road will be covered with snow again tomorrow."

"Then we will walk." Feng Fei put down the book, "Don't worry. I told you awhile ago that we won’t be late."

Hai Xiu nodded and recommended: "I know a shop next to our school, the baked bread is really delicious, smells good and soft."

"Smells good and soft…" Feng Fei smiled, "Guess what I think of?"

Hai Xiu widened his eyes in the dark, "What, ah?"

Feng Fei kept on smiling and whispered: "I thought of the day I kissed you."

Hai Xiu's face instantly flushed: "You!"

"Alright," Feng Fei didn’t say any further, he smiled and said: "Go to sleep, we need to get up early tomorrow."

Hai Xiu turned his back against Feng Fei and waited for half a day, only when Feng Fei's breathing was steady did he turn around.

His face was still hot. He hadn’t thought about that matter for several hours, but Feng Fei suddenly brought it up, making him blushed for a long time.

Feng Fei was always teasing him, but Hai Xiu wasn’t angry at all. In fact, he was just a little annoyed and blaming himself for blus.h.i.+ng easily.

Because it would be too obvious if he always blushed.

Hai Xiu didn’t dare think that Feng Fei really liked him.

Feng Fei had too many friends and he was nice to his friends, so Hai Xiu didn’t want to think that he was an exception from other people. Although Hai Xiu had always been trying hard to use the parts he was good at to help Feng Fei, but it seemed to be minimal and just small favors compared to what Feng Fei did to him.

Hai Xiu strived to make himself a bit better and more cheerful, so that Feng Fei would prefer him a bit.

But he was not confident in front of the person he secretly love, he still felt that he was not good enough.

Hai Xiu gently sighed and recalled how he had been a few months ago. He felt that he had made a great progress and it was all because of Feng Fei.

The snow was falling more and more outside, while the bedroom was still brighter than usual. Hai Xiu stared at Feng Fei's handsome sleeping face and suddenly thought of the scene where Feng Fei kissed him.

He even thought that he would get suffocated that time, he didn’t, but he felt like his whole body was floating.

Hai Xiu endured patiently, but in the end, he couldn’t help but slowly moved closer to Feng Fei…

Hai Xiu warned himself that this would be the last time as he slowly approached Feng Fei. And lighter than light, he secretly kissed Feng Fei's cheek again.

When Hai Xiu was already feeling satisfied and was about to go back slowly, he suddenly heard a chuckle in his ear and Feng Fei's voice asking: "Hai Xiu, what are you doing?"

Hai Xiu's eyes widened. In the dark, Feng Fei's eyes were bright and were staring back at him.

Hai Xiu's face paled, his subconscious was telling him to get up from the bed and hide. But before he could take any action, Feng Fei quickly rolled over him and kissed his lips.

The boiling frog is a fable describing a frog being slowly boiled alive. The premise is that if a frog is put suddenly into boiling water, it will jump out, but if the frog is put in tepid water which is then brought to a boil slowly, it will not perceive the danger and will be cooked to death. The story is often used as a metaphor for the inability or unwillingness of people to react to or be aware of threats that arise gradually. ↩