Chapter 98
Looking for light in the endless darkness, looking for hope when trapped in icy despair, looking from different angles to stubbornly find joy in life. Thinking like this, Gong Lixin curved his lips and smiled. This smile was like the first ray of sunlight penetrating through the heavy clouds after a storm. It also brought a gorgeous rainbow, which was far too beautiful to describe with words.
Song Haoran stopped, staring at the waves of golden rice that acted as a background. He was immersed in his own world, looking especially pensive as his heart beated wildly. When he had calmed his heart down enough, preventing it from coming out of his chest, he slowly walked towards the other and pretending to be casual as he asked, "Lixin, you seemed to be paying special attention to the man named Dou Heng. Why?"
The smile on his face was still there. Gong Lixin tilted his head, his eyes shining like the stars. It also held a naughty gleam in them and his index finger gently pressed against his lips as he mysteriously said, "It’s a secret. You will find out soon."
The white finger against the moist and crimson lips contrasted each other and seemed especially seductive. The white seemed whiter and the red seemed redder. Song Haoran’s eyes darkened as he was immediately bewildered by the beauty in front of him. His mouth and tongue suddenly felt dry, his lower abdomen tightened and he wished he could just suck the young man’s index finger, then kiss and bite those soft lips.
After bearing it, he finally couldn’t hold back the longing in his heart. He strode forward, rubbed the naughty and cute teenager into his arms and rubbed him hard. It seemed playful from afar, but if one observed carefully, a few kisses were placed on his cheeks. One of them was placed on the corner of the boy’s lips and it tasted like the unique fragrance of the youth. He had already left Dou Heng’s side yet his head was turned upside down.
Gong Lixin rubbed his crimson cheeks dizzily and clung softly to the broad, warm chest while giggling. The picture the two formed was both lively and vivid. Their tender feelings attracted the eyes of countless people in the fields. They were infected by them and couldn’t help smiling themselves.
Dou Heng watched for a while as well before he slowly bent down again after the guard ruthlessly slapped him. His lowered face was cold and hard, his dark irises stared at the dark brown soil under his feet without focus, looking especially hollow.
Lin Wenbo put his hands in his pockets and squinted at the two people embracing each other not too far away. His gentle and elegant face was irresistibly replaced with a hint of gloom and coldness.
Seeing the jealousy and bitterness hidden in his eyes and seeing Gong Xiangyi walking towards them, Cao Yanan smiled secretly. She walked over and held his arm intimately, leaning over to whisper in his ears, "What are you looking at? What’s so alluring?"
Lin Wenbo turned to look at Cao Yanan who was smirking. From the corner of his eyes, he saw a pale faced Gong Xiangyi staring at them and said unhappily, "Nothing. If you want to provoke Gong Xiangyi, please use a different method. Don’t tug me along, I don’t like it." He pulled his arms away.
"Hehe~ Do you really dislike it or are you afraid that others would misunderstand? I didn’t expect that while you look bright and clean, you also do things like dig the soil of your neighbor!" Cao Yanan pointed at Gong Lixin who jumped out of Song Haoran’s arms and picked up a hoe to dig out sweet potatoes.
Lin Wenbo’s expression became stern and he glared at Cao Yanan with a thunderous expression without speaking for a long time. Cao Yanan stared back at him, but the smile on the corners of her mouth gradually stiffened.
Damn, where did such a rich man get this terrible aura? With a whispered curse, Cao Yanan grinned and flattered, "Okay, okay, it’s my fault! I’m just kidding! Rest assured, I will help you keep the fact that you like Young Master Gong a secret and will never tell anyone." She said as she stretched out her hand and pretended to zip her mouth.
Lin Wenbo fixedly looked behind her, his eyes shining with a touch of gold as he lightly said, "You don’t need to keep the secret since he already knows."
Feeling the extremely oppressive aura behind her, Cao Yanan felt cold all over her body and turned around stiffly. Her brows twitched as she looked upon Song Haoran, who had red eyes, and her heart stopped for a moment. Ah! This Laozi shouldn’t have played with fire!
"Do you like Lixin? What kind of like?" Song Haoran’s handsome face twisted and he raised his jaw as he asked in a deep voice. He seemed to have asked the same thing twice. Although the sentences were different, he had a hunch that he wouldn’t get the answer he was hoping for.
Sure enough, Lin Wenbo chuckled, his voice was dull but firm with no sense of familiarity. He slowly said, "Do you still need to ask? What kind of like you have for him and what kind of like I have for him? No, it’s better to use the word ’love’."
Song Haoran’s expression became dark and his eyes took on a slightly reddish hue as he locked eyes with him and remained silent. Cao Yanan secretly called them both handsome and powerful in her heart! This evenly matched battle would definitely be exciting. Although she really wanted to stay and watch the show, but for the sake of her own life, she still backed away and avoided the sharp gazes of the two men sending sparks through the air. One step at a time, she slowly slipped away.
After Cao Yanan left, Song Haoran, who had been silent all along, finally made his move. He stepped towards Lin Wenbo step by step and suddenly grabbed his collar, a vein bulging at his temple as he whispered, "How long have you liked Lixin?"
"For a long time. It has been too long for me to be able to tell clearly." Lin Wenbo whispered; his eyes were red from his naked, deep love. After that, he looked at Song Haoran’s clenched fist and casually said, "I know you want to punch me, but I want to remind you that Xiaoxin is looking at us."
Song Haoran’s stern expression turned stiff for a moment. Looking back at the teenager who was smiling at them from the field, he quickly let go of Lin Wenbo’s collar. The two curved their lips and smiled back at him. When the teenager went back to digging out the crops, he immediately took back the pampering look in his eyes and stood there with a cold expression.
"If I didn’t overhear it, were you never planning on telling me?" Song Haoran held back the anger in his heart and asked the question he cared most about.
"No, I was going to find a chance to tell you. You are my best friend in this life, and I will never go and stab you in the back. If I want to compete for his affection, I will fight with you fair and square." Lin Wenbo’s tone was faint, with a hint of guilt, but he insisted on not giving up his stance.
"Fight with me? Why do you think you can fight with me?" Song Haoran’s tense heartstrings slightly loosened but his tone still held a strong smell of gunpowder. He reminded the other in a grave voice, "Don’t forget your identity!"
"Then you tell me who I am now? Why can’t I fight with you for him?" Lin Wenbo laughed and his indifferent tone began to sound bad. The two looked at each other tightly, neither of them willing to give up.
Song Haoran wanted to refute that he was Lixin’s brother-in-law, but he realized that Lin Wenbo and Gong Xiangyi had split up. He suddenly realized and felt ridiculous, "No wonder you would break up with Gong Xiangyi so easily. It turned out to you’d long been indifferent towards her. Lin Wenbo, what qualifications do you have to love Lixin?"
Lin Wenbo’s eyes were dull and he spoke cautiously, "I didn’t break up with Gong Xiangyi because of Xiaoxin. Don’t think of me that badly. If Gong Xiangyi never spoke about it, I wouldn’t abandon her in my lifetime. Actually, I had been ready to psychologically prepare myself for it and just planned on looking at Xiaoxin from afar. For my whole life."
Speaking of this, his eyes had become a light golden color and he couldn’t help show a trace of love, but even if it was only a trace, it was enough to choke one with its heavy emotions. When Song Haoran saw this, the rising anger in his chest suddenly went outs. His mood became complicated and he was unable to speak.
Looking at his friend with a slightly loosened up expression, Lin Wenbo continued to speak, "I was desperate, but the heavens still looked after me and even gave me a way out. Can you imagine a long journey in a desert where you’re dying of hunger and thirst, but suddenly see an oasis? You can’t, because you’re luckier than me. You said that I’m not qualified to fight with you, why? Is it because I don’t have the right to love anymore? As far as I know, you have also been in love several times. The only difference between me and you is that the person I used to love is Xiaoxin’s sister. But because of this, I should restrain myself forever, affect my life and give up the dreams of happiness right at my fingertips? Isn’t it too unfair for you to think this way? I don’t want much, I just want a fair competition, an opportunity."
Song Haoran was touched by his friend’s words that came from the heart. Indeed, his good friend and Gong Xiangyi were now two independent individuals. There was no relationship between them anymore. He had the right to pursue his happiness and no one had the right to block it.
Seeing Song Haoran’s ruthless facial expression relax, he had obviously come to terms with it. Lin Wenbo smiled and sincerely said, "Haoran, we are competitors from now on, but I hope that no matter who loses or wins, our friendship won’t be affected. You know, during the apocalypse, it’s not easy to find a friend who you can truly trust."
Song Haoran exhaled a sorrowful sigh and said with a deep voice, "In this competition, I have nothing to be afraid of. You can rest assured that I will return love for love and friendship for friendship, I have that kind of sense of heart."
Lin Wenbo pulled back the golden light in his eyes. He nodded his head slightly and smiled at him before walking towards Gong Lixin in the distance.
Gong Lixin was concentrating on removing the dirt from a bunch of sweet potatoes. He didn’t pay any attention to the conversation between the two and missed the two’s declaration of war. When he saw Lin Wenbo approaching, he looked up and smiled. Lin Wenbo narrowed his eyes and felt an unprecedented level of stability and contentment. He wiped away the dirt that had accidentally gotten onto the youth’s cheek and placed a kiss there as well. He whispered, "Xiaoxin, I like you. Not because you are Gong Xiangyi’s little brother, but because you are you, I like you."
He repeatedly chewed on Xiaoxin’s words after he had broken up with Gong Xiangyi last time and finally realized the uneasiness and fear hidden in Xiaoxin’s heart. He thought this sentence was very important and that he should let Xiaoxin know.
Gong Lixin froze then his smile grew brighter. He likes me because I am me? Not because of Gong Xiangyi or because of the identity of the original host of the body? There was no doubt that Lin Wenbo’s words hit the softest part of Gong Lixin’s heart and he instantly drowned in happiness.
Perceiving his subtle emotional change, Lin Wenbo seemed to soak in the other’s joy and couldn’t help leaning down again and pecking a kiss onto his forehead with a pious expression, as if he was worshipping a holy being.
Song Haoran stared at the two who were deeply entangled in warmth. He insecurely thought: Wenbo is so good at controlling people’s hearts, could I really win against him?This love rival is very powerful. Also, he liked Lixin for a long time, so he must have intentionally disturbed me and Lixin last time! Damn, is he not ashamed to give so many sound reasons! Fudge, I’ll feel guilty for several days! Oh shit! That traitor! I knew I should just have eaten Lixin already!
It’s a pity that one couldn’t rewind time. Who knew that Song Haoran could only frown at this moment and regret his decisions.