As both parties remained silent, Su Huasheng's phone call came through unexpectedly.
The phone vibrated frantically, and Su Lian, looking at the "death call" display, was for the first time too scared to press the answer button.
"How about I explain to uncle?" Chi Wang licked his lower lip and looked up at him.
"I'll handle it." This guy was too unreliable. Su Lian sighed, pressed the call button with a heavy heart, and decided to face this sudden storm himself.
Before he could speak, Su Huasheng came straight to the point: "Are you two together and too embarrassed to say it, so you're using a wedding quilt to hint at me?"
Su Lian: "..."
Chi Wang: "..."
Seeing no response, Su Huasheng snorted lightly: "In the old days, this was used for weddings. I didn't expect young Chi to be so retro. If this isn't a betrothal gift, what is it supposed to mean?"
The voice on the other end was too loud, echoing in the quiet study, followed by silence.
How to put it... They didn't know whether to say this middle-aged man's thinking was too open-minded or just scattered.
"No, Dad, that quilt came free with the bed purchase," Su Lian maintained his composure and explained, "There's really nothing going on between us."
Su Huasheng asked in disbelief: "Why would he give you a whole set of bedding out of the blue? Is he trying to bribe you or me?"
Su Lian thought to himself that Chi Wang was ruthless enough to force his cool middle-aged dad into becoming a chatterbox.
He replied wearily: "He just meant well, don't misinterpret it. It's just a gift between friends."
"What kind of friend gives a bed worth over ten thousand as a gift? That's quite generous."
"...His family is wealthy. I'll tell him not to give such expensive gifts next time."
Su Huasheng paused for a few seconds, then hesitantly asked: "So you're not together?"
Su Lian made a sound of agreement and replied helplessly: "Really, we're not."
The other end was silent for a moment, then spoke with certainty: "Then he must be pursuing you, buying a gift specifically to please you."
Not knowing how the conversation had turned in this direction again, Su Lian was utterly speechless and raised his voice: "No, he's not. Can you please stop imagining things?"
"I don't believe you. Don't try to fool me. Tell Chi Wang to take the bed back himself." With these words, Su Huasheng hung up the phone.
It seemed he was quite upset, not even wanting to say more.
Well, it did suddenly appear like they were about to come out of the closet. His dad's reaction was already extremely calm considering the circumstances.
Su Lian put down his phone, irritably pushed it to the far end of the desk, then turned to look at Chi Wang: "I don't want to talk. Let's fight instead."
If looks could kill, Chi Wang felt he would have crossed the Bridge of Helplessness eighteen times by now.
He reached out to grasp the clenched fist, softly comforting: "Calm down, calm down. It's all a misunderstanding."
"How is it a misunderstanding when it can't be explained clearly?" Su Lian was very weary at this moment. He struggled forcefully, but his fist was firmly held.
Chi Wang gripped his wrist against the edge of the table, and his other hand held onto his waist, afraid he might hurt himself or others in his embarrassed anger.
The force shifted, and Su Lian stumbled, falling crookedly into the embrace, unable to move.
His face flushed red as he pushed against the other's shoulder: "Let go of me."
"Listen to my explanation. I just felt bad that you were uncomfortable sleeping on that bed and wanted to get you a new one. Wasn't my initial intention good?"
"..."
"I sent over the prize I won in the lottery draw too. Was that wrong?"
"..."
"If I had known what the quilt looked like, I definitely would have had them change it. But the fact is, everything was just a coincidence."
"..."
The explanation was seamless, quite smooth, and flawless.
"Teacher Su, say something." Chi Wang shook the person in his arms, lowering his eyes to carefully observe his expression, his tone very helpless.
Su Lian's face was calm as he had a sudden realization: "You're not wrong. I was wrong."
Chi Wang: "?"
"When I finished divining this morning after getting up, I should have understood that today's hexagram was inauspicious and not suitable for going out."
Su Lian slowly closed his eyes for a moment, pushed the other person away and stood up, leaning against the edge of the table, staring blankly at the newly installed watch strap on his hand.
Chi Wang indeed had good intentions, and he really couldn't blame him. He loosened his clenched fist, feeling a bit guilty for his inexplicable anger just now.
It wasn't just about the social embarrassment. Su Huasheng might seem calm, but who knows what wild thoughts he might be having, and whether he could withstand such a steep shock.
However, if they could go back to the time before signing for the delivery, how would they explain such a large bed?
Forget it, no matter what, let's go back first and then figure it out.
Su Lian lowered his eyes and asked calmly: "What time did you sign for it?"
Chi Wang checked the record: "11:30, why?"
"It's nothing. You should stay at home and review well today." Su Lian's fingertip touched the hour hand, quickly turning it back to the time before he left in the morning.
The scene instantly shifted. Perhaps because the two locations were quite far apart, when he found himself sitting back on the small sofa at home, he felt his heart suddenly clench, a sharp pain.
Fortunately, Su Huasheng had just gotten up, and the express delivery hadn't arrived yet.
Su Lian sat in place for a while, waiting for his heartbeat to calm down, before looking up and asking: "You're not going out today?"
"It's still early, I'll go out later." Su Huasheng bent down to pour a glass of water, turning his head to look at him, "Do you have something to do?"
"Why don't you go visit a friend, and come back at noon."
"But I don't feel like going out right now."
Su Lian thought to himself, you must go out this time, otherwise how would he have time to hide the quilt.
However, unable to find a reason for a moment, he paused for quite a while: "Or go take some daytime orders, it's too tiring to always work night shifts."
Su Huasheng glanced at him suspiciously: "Alright."
He went into the room to change clothes, put on his helmet, and waved coolly: "I'm off."
Seeing him leave, Su Lian breathed a sigh of relief. He leisurely cooked a pot of vegetable porridge for himself and sat in place waiting for the logistics to arrive.
At 11:30, the delivery man arrived on time with a large pile of bed frames. Su Lian quickly signed for the order.
While the man was installing, he swiftly found the four-piece bedding set, glanced at it, and feeling really uncomfortable with all that red, hastily hid it in the bedroom wardrobe.
Evidence destroyed, everything normal, no loopholes.
The installer turned and asked: "Handsome, what do you want to do with your old bed?"
"Just dismantle it and put it in the living room." Su Lian stared at the new bed placed in the bedroom. It was 1.8 meters wide, with a walnut wood frame and a padded headboard. It did indeed look much more comfortable than before.
He had to admit, Chi Wang's aesthetic taste was quite on point.
But receiving such an expensive gift meant he should do something in return.
Su Lian thought for a while, then decided to give a free tutoring session.
After everyone had left, he dialed Chi Wang's number: "I received the bed. Thank you."
Chi Wang stared at the picture message on his phone and couldn't help but laugh: "I just saw the picture of that gaudy quilt pattern. Your dad didn't see it, did he?"
Su Lian replied irritably: "You have the nerve to mention it. Please check clearly next time before sending things. It's lucky I was the one who signed for it, otherwise, the house would have definitely been turned upside down."
Just to hide this quilt, he had to go back and forth, which was quite troublesome.
"My fault." Chi Wang sounded like he had just woken up, his voice lazy and sleepy. "Didn't you say you were coming for a make-up class today? Why didn't you come?"
Su Lian couldn't explain clearly, so he changed the subject: "I'm not feeling well, I don't want to go out."
"What's wrong?" There was a rustling sound from the other end as Chi Wang sat up in bed, his voice suddenly alert.
"It's nothing serious, don't worry about it." Su Lian changed to a more comfortable position, leaning back on the sofa. "We'll just have a video lesson today."
At the mention of studying, Chi Wang lay back down in bed and said helplessly: "You don't have to push yourself so hard. You should rest well."
His words were considerate, but it always felt like there was some hidden intention.
"Chi Wang, are you trying to slack off?"
"I'm not, I just don't want to tire you out."
"Then let's start the video call."
"Wait a moment."
Before he finished speaking, Su Lian had already initiated a video call.
Chi Wang was forced to answer. The camera was tilted, showing his loose bathrobe hanging carelessly on his shoulders, exposing a large area of skin and his collarbone. It wasn't noticeable when he was moving around in person, but now focused on video, it had quite a male model vibe.
Su Lian: "..."
Chi Wang: "I just asked you to wait a moment, but you had to rush."
Staring at the improperly dressed person on the other end, Su Lian's face turned slightly red, feeling that this video call was very improper.
"Change into proper clothes and call back." With that, he hung up the call with a click.
Chi Wang couldn't help but chuckle, forced to stand in front of the wardrobe and put on a hoodie. He redialed: "Is this better? You're like the discipline committee even at home, making me dress so properly."
"Stop wasting time, get out your physics book," Su Lian casually pulled out a textbook from his backpack, thinking to himself how annoying it was to have to explain everything again.
The two struggled through a video call explanation, with Su Lian having to write out the steps on scratch paper and then show them to Chi Wang.
After several hours, progress was painfully slow.
Chi Wang stretched his neck and said lazily, "Why don't we call it a day? It's not urgent to finish this today. How about I come over now and we go out and have some fun?"
"Why is your mind always on eating, drinking, and having fun? Hurry up and do the problems," Su Lian said, his temper flaring. He lowered his eyelids, looking quite intimidating.
Chi Wang raised his hands in surrender. "Alright, alright, I'll do it."
Unable to resist this ancestral figure, the former Third High School bully who once viewed studying as beneath him now had his phone propped up in front of him, seriously burying his head in study.
It had to be said that Su Lian's summary of key and difficult points was very useful. The problem types, formulas to apply, and solution approaches were all very clear.
The long physics problems still looked challenging, but Chi Wang could make educated guesses on the simpler types.
In a flash, it was 7 PM. Night had fallen, and the room grew dim, the light unclear.
Chi Wang stretched, slowly raising his head from a pile of workbooks, and reached out to turn on the small lamp on the desk.
Just as he was about to call out to Su Lian, he noticed that the other had fallen asleep leaning against the sofa. His hair fell softly on his forehead, his eyelashes were long, casting shadows under his eyes. His whole person was bathed in the light projected down from the living room ceiling, looking excessively peaceful.
He propped his chin on his hand and stared fixedly for a long time, maintaining the same posture until Su Lian opened his eyes. Only then did he realize that half an hour had passed.
Su Lian yawned and looked towards the camera, asking in a hoarse voice, "Finished writing?"
"Finished a long time ago," Chi Wang lowered his hand, his voice unconsciously softening, "You're tired, go sleep on the bed."
"Don't want to move," Su Lian had just woken up, his voice very soft, his words a bit unclear.
He tilted his head to lean on the sofa, his eyes slightly narrowed, his expression somewhat sleepy yet completely relaxed.
This Su Lian, stripped of his coldness, seemed to be something only he had seen.
While he was lost in thought, Su Lian's fingertip tapped the screen: "Prop up your workbook, let me see the answers."
Indeed, the cuteness only lasted for a second.
Chi Wang sighed slightly, resigned as he showed each process he had written earlier: "I did them all seriously. If there are too many mistakes, well, I tried my best."
Su Lian quickly looked through them, a rare smile appearing on his cold expression: "Very well done."
The sudden smile seemed to make everything around dim in comparison, so beautiful that it dazzled Chi Wang.
He pushed his luck, asking in a low voice, "I did so well, is there a reward?"
Su Lian was stunned for a second, then slowly spoke: "What do you want?"
"Just call me 'Brother Wang' once," Chi Wang stretched out his long legs, looking at him with a teasing smile, "Come on, say it."
Su Lian was now fully awake, aware of time and space, finding it difficult to speak. Deep down, he still felt they were different.
He raised his hand to rub his face, his expression somewhat embarrassed: "Chi Wang, don't be like this."
Chi Wang persisted, pleading softly: "Just this once."
Su Lian didn't understand why he was so hung up on a form of address, just as he himself couldn't get over the hurdle in his heart. They were both stuck on their own stubborn points, unwilling to give in.
For several seconds, neither spoke. Only their deep and shallow breaths indicated that the video call was still connected.
"Forget it," Chi Wang felt annoyed and wanted to smoke. He reached out to feel for the cigarette box in the drawer, turning his head to look for a lighter. "Let's hang up."
There was a half-second pause on the other end, then a muffled voice came through: "...Brother Wang."
The next second, Lord Wang: Melted, numbed, spiraling to heaven.