I Heard You're Hard To Chase - Chapter 17

He didn’t know how long it took before Jiang Xu let him go.

Xie Huai was still struggling with regulating his breathing during the kiss, but it was much better than last night.

Jiang Xu stretched out his hand and wiped the corner of Xie Huai’s mouth, then chuckled and said, “Don’t be in a hurry, take your time.”

Xie Huai slapped Jiang Xu’s hand away and walked inside with a blushing face: “Who’s in a hurry?”

Xie Huai walked into the bathroom. Xie Huai raised his hand to turn on the light and looked at his slightly bruised lips with a few drops of blood.

Xie Huai touched it with his fingertips and it hurt a little.

Was Jiang Xu a dog, because he had just kissed him and then bit him?

The instigator was still standing next to him. Xie Huai glanced at Jiang Xu in the mirror, and Jiang Xu met his gaze without a hint of guilt.

Leaning against the door frame, Jiang Xu met Xie Huai’s eyes and half-smiled, “How about you bite me back?”

“Don’t bite, I’m not a dog.” Xie Huai licked the blood drops off, but they still came out, so he simply held them down with a tissue.

Jiang Xu laughed, but when Xie Huai took the tissue away and Jiang Xu saw the blood on it, he still felt a little distressed. He seemed to have bit a bit too hard.

He asked: “Does it hurt?”

Xie Huai looked at Jiang Xu who really didn’t know or pretended not to know and smiled slightly: “Why don’t you come and give it a try?”

“Well, I can try.” Jiang Xu said.

Xie Huai: “…”

Only then did he realize that he had been tricked.

Jiang Xu stood still, as if waiting for Xie Huai to bite him.

Xie Huai threw the tissue he was holding into the trash can behind him, took two steps forward, grabbed Jiang Xu’s collar, pulled him down slightly, and stared at Jiang Xu’s thin lips for two seconds. Then he closed his eyes and kissed him.

This kiss was gentle, and when it was about to end, Xie Huai bit Jiang Xu’s lower lip lightly. He tasted a hint of fishy blood.

Xie Huai let go of Jiang Xu, raised his chin and said, “We’re even now.”

After saying that, he walked out of the bathroom.

But he and Jiang Xu forgot that they were going to watch a movie with Lu Yi and the others this afternoon.

So when Xie Huai and Jiang Xu stood in front of Lu Yi, Hao Xuexi, and the others, everyone was stunned for a few seconds.

Why do these two people have torn lips?

Xiong Qiqi was a girl, and her thoughts were more delicate than those of boys. She could tell at a glance that something was wrong with Jiang Xu and Xie Huai.

Her eyes wandered between Jiang Xu and Xie Huai, and then she remembered Jiang Xu’s recent moments post with the hand…

Xiong Qiqi’s eyes moved to Xie Huai’s left hand, which was indeed very similar.

Combined with Jiang Xu and Xie Huai’s torn lips today, Xiong Qiqi became more convinced that there might be something more than friendship going on between them.

Although Lu Yi felt that something was wrong, he didn’t think much about it at all. He was just shocked and said: “Brother Huai, Brother Xu, what happened to your lips? How did they get injured?”

Xiong Qiqi looked at Lu Yi from the side and shook her head helplessly.

Xie Huai cleared his throat slightly, pondering how to answer without revealing too much. After a brief moment, he figured it out.

Xie Huai: “Bitten by a dog.”

Jiang Xu: “Scratched by a cat.”

The two spoke almost at the same time.

Dog – Jiang Xu: “…”

Cat – Xie Huai: “…”

Lu Yi knew that Xie Huai had a dog, so he took his words seriously. As for whether Jiang Xu had a cat or not, he didn’t know, but it seemed plausible.

Lu Yinodded and believed it.

Xie Huai hadn’t expected Lu Yi to be so gullible; this kind of easily debunked lie was something only Lu Yi would believe

After all, what kind of cat or dog specifically targeted people’s mouths for bites?

The reason was so far-fetched, yet Lu Yi believed it.

The Sports Committee and the School Committee were the last to arrive. They lived far away and there was some traffic jam on the road, so they arrived a little late.

Today, they were watching a science fiction movie that had just been released yesterday. It had already broken a billion yuan in box office sales within a day, and the reviews were quite good.

When entering the venue, Lu Yi saw that it was almost full of people.

They were seated in separate seats. It was not Lu Yi’s fault. When he bought the ticket, he found that there were no longer seven consecutive seats, so they had to sit separately.

Jiang Xu and Xie Huai had seats next to each other, in the middle section. After taking their seats, Jiang Xu placed his popcorn in the cupholder on the left side, making it convenient for Xie Huai to reach over and have some.

Xie Huai wasn’t particularly interested in this type of sci-fi movie, but he had to admit that the film was living up to its good reviews. After watching for more than an hour, he found it quite engaging.

It was past four o’clock in the afternoon when the group finished watching the movie.

“That human-robot battle inside was so damn exciting. I thought humans really couldn’t beat those mechas, but in the end, they won!” Lu Yi came out of the theater still excited, pulling Hao Xuexi and the Sports Committee along, “The main character was so cool!”

The Sports Committee nodded vigorously, “Absolutely! I haven’t seen such an exciting sci-fi movie in a long time, especially that counterattack – damn, it was genius.”

Hao Xuexi was pressed between the two of them, feeling like he had a giant headache.

Xiong Qiqi watched their antics and joked, “Look at what you’ve done to Hao Xuexi with your excitement!”

Xie Huai looked back at them. Hao Xuexi’s shoulders were half-pressed down by the other two people, and he appeared helpless.

Xie Huai couldn’t help laughing. He turned around and put his hand on Jiang Xu’s shoulder. Jiang Xu didn’t even move.

Indeed, a boyfriend’s shoulder was quite dependable, Xie Huai thought.

Lu Yi suddenly remembered something and asked, “There’s a market nearby for National Day. Do you guys want to check it out? It’s pretty big.”

Xiong Qiqi was the first to nod, and said, “Let’s go. I heard that the markets are very lively, and besides food, there are a lot of interesting things inside.”

Xie Huai heard that there were many interesting things and became interested, “I have no objection.”

Jiang Xu’s eyes lingered on Xie Huai’s long eyelashes for a moment, and he nodded: “Okay.”

“If no one objects…” Lu Yi immediately became excited, “Let’s go quickly!”

After saying that, he made a ready-to-charge gesture.

These large-scale markets only appeared during National Day and Qixi Festival (Chinese Valentine’s Day). They were held once every three years, making them a rare opportunity, and Lu Yi had been eager to go for a while.

Xiong Qiqi glanced at Lu Yi, finding his excitement a bit…

She couldn’t hold back and muttered two words, “Childish.”

“Why, you can’t?” Lu Yi replied, “Being childish means I’m young, and I’m happy with it.”

Xiong Qiqi’s face was full of disgust: “Hey, Lu Yi, please show some face.”

Xie Huai couldn’t bear it anymore and pulled Jiang Xu forward.

The others shook their heads at Lu Yi’s antics and followed suit, leaving him standing there looking a bit foolish.

Lu Yi soon realized it and hurried to catch up, “Hey, don’t leave me like this!”

However, the market was indeed quite large and had a somewhat retro style. Many people were wearing traditional Chinese clothing. As soon as they entered, Xie Huai was drawn to the “Shoot the Bullseye, Get Two Free Drinks” activity.

“Shoot ten rings, drink of your choice (two cups).”

Xie Huai glanced at the activity guide and thought, two free drinks? That was too good to pass up.

“Do you want to give it a try?” Jiang Xu’s voice suddenly appeared behind Xie Huai, his breath brushing against Xie Huai’s earlobe, creating a tickling sensation.

Xie Huai couldn’t help but take a half step back. Retreating further, he ended up in Jiang Xu’s arms.

Xie Huai cursed in his heart, and his ears turned redder.

The surrounding crowd was oblivious to their little exchange, and Lu Yi and the others seemed to have disappeared somewhere.

Jiang Xu’s soft laughter reached Xie Huai’s ears, making him stand upright immediately.

He remained silent, too embarrassed to speak.

So Jiang Xu asked him again: “Do you want to play?”

Xie Huai was teased by Jiang Xu just now and wanted to leave directly, but when he saw the words “free drinks” above, Xie Huai felt that he would regret it if he just left like this.

So he lowered his voice and said, “I want to.”

If there weren’t so many people here, Jiang Xu would have kissed Xie Huai right there and then. He suppressed his emotions and reached out to hook Xie Huai’s fingertips, then went to the store clerk to get the arrow.

There were three chances in total, and to succeed, you had to hit the bullseye twice in a row. The shooting distance was quite far, ten meters. For someone who hadn’t practiced archery, it was indeed challenging.

It can be said that the probability of success was very small and basically impossible.

Xie Huai stood next to Jiang Xu. Jiang Xu took the arrow and handed it to Xie Huai.

Xie Huai was stunned for a moment, then took it from Jiang Xu.

“I don’t know how to play this,” he admitted.

“It’s okay, I’m here,” Jiang Xu reassured him.

Xie Huai took a deep breath and walked over with the arrow in hand. Jiang Xu handed him the bow.

The store clerk smiled and said, “We don’t have any specific rules here. As long as the arrow is shot from one person’s hand, it counts.”

The implication here is quite clear.

The clerk said to herself, ‘I can only help you so far.’

Jiang Xu raised his eyebrows but said nothing.

This was Xie Huai’s first time trying archery. He had never played it before, so feeling nervous was inevitable.

The first arrow was shot. Although it didn’t miss the target, it was still a thousand miles away from the tenth ring.

Xie Huai frowned slightly, there were only two chances left.

Suddenly, someone pressed against his back. It was the familiar scent of grass and trees, and his hands were immediately held.

Xie Huai subconsciously wanted to look back.

“Don’t look at me,” Jiang Xu whispered into Xie Huai’s ear, “Relax, look ahead.”

In their close proximity, Xie Huai could hear Jiang Xu’s rapidly beating heart, and his own heart was pounding just as fast.

The second arrow was released, hitting the bullseye.

The third arrow followed suit, also hitting the bullseye.

Xie Huai’s tense body suddenly relaxed; he hadn’t expected Jiang Xu to hit all three.

The clerk turned her head and covered her mouth to prevent herself from laughing. After a while, she coughed lightly and gestured to Jiang Xu and Xie Huai, indicating they could choose two drinks from the store.

“Congratulations to both of you for passing the challenge. You can enter the store and choose two drinks.”

In the end, Jiang Xu and Xie Huai each ordered a cup of lemon tea.

As they walked further ahead, they passed by a small stall selling oil paintings. Xie Huai spotted a colorful oil painting filled with autumn colors.

It seemed strangely familiar.

He stared at it for a while before turning to the shop owner and asking, “Can I ask if the place depicted in this painting is a real location?”

The shop owner replied, “Oh, this place is Daocheng. It’s a painting I made when my wife and I went on a trip.”

Daocheng Yading, a place where you can elope with your beloved.

No wonder it looked so familiar because his parents fell in love there.

They even had a photo of it in their bedroom.

Who would have thought that his dad used to be so romantic when he was young?

Initially, Lu Yi wanted to invite everyone for dinner, but they got lost while strolling through the market.

After playing around the whole day and sweating, Xie Huai decided to take a shower first when they got home.

Jiang Xu received a call informing him to return to school tomorrow since there was an update regarding the competition he had registered for.

Jiang Xu frowned inconspicuously. Xie Huai would have to go get medical test results tomorrow.

“What’s wrong?” Xie Huai came out and saw Jiang Xu absent-minded. He walked over and stood next to him, stretched out his hand and waved in front of Jiang Xu.

“I have to go back to school tomorrow,” Jiang Xu replied, clearly not thrilled about it.

Xie Huai knew that Jiang Xu had signed up for a competition earlier and was being called back to school during the break, probably for this.

Xie Huai asked, “A competition?”

“Yeah,” Jiang Xu responded, somewhat surprised that Xie Huai knew about it. His mood improved a bit.

Xie Huai understood why Jiang Xu was distracted. He sat down on Jiang Xu’s bed and smiled. “You should go. I can go to the hospital by myself.”

Jiang Xu got up and walked over, giving Xie Huai a quick peck on the lips. “Okay, I will.”

The next morning, when Xie Huai woke up, Jiang Xu had already left. After eating the breakfast Jiang Xu had prepared, Xie Huai left to go to the hospital to pick up his test results.

The blue sky was cloudless and it was a sunny day today.

Xie Huai sat opposite the doctor. The doctor looked at Xie Huai, sighed, and took Xie Huai’s examination report from the side before handing it to him.

The doctor seemed hesitant: “…Student, you’d better inform your parents as soon as possible about your situation.”

Xie Huai furrowed his brow in confusion as he took the report from the doctor.

His gaze fell on the section with the test results.

Xie Huai’s mind instantly went blank.

“Bone cancer, advanced-stage.”