Reverse Approach

The third year of high school waded like flowing water, and it was gone in a glance.

On the day after the exam, many students cheered “freedom”. The head teacher asked the school committee to create a class group chat, pulled everyone in, and arranged a farewell meal.

The time was picked during the dinner time on the weekend, the June breeze was cool and comfortable, not dry.

And they talked about this and that during the dinner. After graduation, everyone would be separated.

In just one year, Liao Nanqing got along well with his classmates, and probably was reluctant to part with Xu Yanyan and Ge Yun the most, not knowing if they could meet each other frequently after going to university.

Xu Yanyan held up a beer bottle and poured it glass by glass for the male students. A group of half-old boys went to toast the head teacher. A few days ago, there were still students who only dared to hide their mobile phones. Today, they were all graduates who dared to drink alcohol in person.

The class teacher, of course, did not allow them to drink much, and lectured them repeatedly, saying that her own eyes were watering and she could not let them go. But everyone was cheerful, they said goodbye to many things that were not allowed during high school. From now on, falling in love was not puppy love, and there were no disciplinary actions for drinking and playing with phones.

The head teacher, who always had a calm face, smiled with curved eyes, drank a glass of wine, and began to talk about the interesting stories of several students.

The transition from high school to college was extremely special, making this summer vacation become swell and infinitely longer.

At this moment, everyone seemed to really be an adult.

Xu Yanyan wiped his face and drank a little too much; he did not know who he was asking, sitting in the seat: “Are you nervous?”

Liao Nanqing was right next to him and also took a few sips of wine, his cheeks slightly red, but not drunk: “Not nervous.”

Xu Yanyan smothered a mouthful of wine and hesitantly said, “I don’t seem to have done well in the exam.”

“Don’t scare yourself.” Liao Nanqing pushed his glass away and kindly reminded him, “You should drink less.”

Xu Yanyan leaned over and put his arm around Liao Nanqing’s shoulders, probably really drunk. He glanced at Ge Yun, who was chatting with someone else far away from them, and grunted, “She said she wanted to go to City B, don’t you also want to go to City B? So I changed my mind, I want to go to City B too.”

“……”

“The three of us, City B reunion! Yay!”

The male classmate at the side booed: “Hahahahaha Xu Yanyan how do you get so drunk at this point!”

“Hey, he even bragged that he can drink! Is this the first time he touched a bottle?”

Xu Yanyan’s red heart1 didn’t follow the booing, holding Liao Nanqing’s arm, he opened his throat and howled and sang friend ah friend~2 Liao Nanqing thought this was silly, but he couldn’t leave the drunken Xu Yanyan alone, so he had to accompany him and sway his arms and listen to him sing. Xu Yanyan’s lack of five-tone made the whole audience laugh.

Seeing that it was getting late, many people were gone.

Liao Nanqing put Xu Yanyan into a taxi, and Ge Yun followed him, kicking the stones around her feet. Ge Yun and Xu Yanyan lived in the same neighborhood, so the task of taking the drunkard home fell to her without a doubt.

She was wearing the same ponytail as usual, with her fine hair moving lightly with the wind. In addition, today she wore a pale yellow dress, and changed to a pair of small high heels, which didn’t feel the same as before.

In the past, he always felt that she was fierce, but today she was as gentle as a gust of wind and looked carefree.

Liao Nanqing and Ge Yun hadn’t said a word for a long time, so they were a little awkward standing face to face.

He pointed to Xu Yanyan who was sleeping in the car: “Why don’t I go over with you guys, he’s pretty heavy.”

Ge Yun did not refuse; she sat in the passenger side of the taxi, took out the phone casually playing a small game to kill time. Xu Yanyan at the back was restless, he turned around and hugged Liao Nanqing and spoke, completely ignoring Ge Yun in the front seat.

“Xiao Nannan, I didn’t do well in the exam.”

“The results are not out yet, don’t worry too much, you’ll do well.” Liao Nanqing comforted him.

“Chubby Ge, I didn’t do well in the exam!”

“Now that the whole world knows, will you shout again?”

Xu Yanyan covered his eyes and said, “I didn’t do well in the exam, but you’re still mean to me. Tonight, I shed sad tears wuwuwu…”

He was really crying, sobbing and choking.

Ge Yun glanced back and knew that Xu Yanyan had failed the exam this time. She wanted to comfort him but didn’t know how to speak, so she simply said to Liao Nanqing, “Don’t let him throw up on the taxi.”

Liao Nanqing nodded: “Okay.”

Ge Yun thought about it and asked, “How did you do on the exam?”

“I feel it’s okay.”

“Are you still planning to enroll in City B university?”

“En.”

Ge Yun blinked and asked knowingly, “Why do you have to go to City B?”

“Just want to go.” Liao Nanqing replied stiffly.

Ge Yun hesitated for a few minutes, and there was a quiet view outside the car window. She asked: “The person who often comes to pick you up, is the one named Su Beimo?”

“En”

“You…” Before she could ask, the driver stopped. There was a car accident up ahead and the road was blocked.

Under the streetlamp, blood was faintly visible. The driver grunted ‘what a bad luck’, turned around and told them not to look. An unexpected car accident interrupted what Ge Yun wanted to ask. She breathed a sigh of relief and was disgusted by the bloody scene. Just close her eyes and said nothing.

Liao Nanqing sat in the back seat, didn’t look carefully, and also didn’t feel uncomfortable. He looked down and was busy replying to Su Beimo’s message.

In the back, it was Su Beimo who drove to pick up Liao Nanqing.

This weekend Su Beimo went back to Su Jing’s place and borrowed Su Jing’s car.

Liao Nanqing had just finished dropping off Xu Yanyan, and as soon as he came downstairs, he saw Su Beimo leaning against the car door at the entrance of the neighborhood and waving at him. He wore a black short-sleeved shirt and light beige slacks. Like last summer, Su Beimo had cut his hair short and his eyes were shining brightly. The stars were just like that behind him.

Liao Nanqing ran over and looked around to make sure no one was around. He threw himself into Su Beimo’s arms, hugged him tightly, and breathed hard in the smell of him.

“Miss you.” Liao Nanqing looked as soft as a kitten.

“Drinking?” Su Beimo smelled the smell of alcohol in his mouth and deliberately joked to tease him, “Then I can’t kiss you, otherwise what should I do when I get tested for drunk driving later?”

“Ah?” Liao Nanqing swallowed his saliva, regretting that he had drunk wine, and the more he spoke, the quieter he was, “Just a few sips, a very small few sips.”

Hey, very obedient.

Believed in anything he said. Su Beimo patted him on the shoulder: “Go, take you somewhere.”

At this time, it was exactly ten o’clock.

Liao Nanqing drank a little wine, and once he got into the car with Su Beimo sitting next to him, his tense nerves quickly relaxed. He fastened his seatbelt and yawned, still regretting having drunk the wine. He rubbed his eyes in distress and caught a whiff of sweetness in the car. The smell was soothing and came from Su Beimo. Liao Nanqing turned his head, and Su Beimo then said gently, “It’s going to be long, you get some sleep.”

“Where are we going?” he asked in a daze.

Taking advantage of a red light, Su Beimo leaned over and picked up a thin coat from the back seat, and covered Liao Nanqing with it: “You will know in a moment.”

Liao Nanqing stopped asking more questions and gradually breathed evenly. He was so well-behaved when he fell asleep that Su Beimo couldn’t help glancing several times, and finally took advantage of the red light to hold Liao Nanqing’s hand. Letting go of the hand during the green light and holding it again during the red light.

The journey was so long that he inexplicably began to look forward to the change of traffic lights.

A simple holding hand, a simple interlocking of fingers.

And the ten-finger connecting the heart, the temperature transmitted to the fingertips was the temperature of the heart due to the slight friction between the fingertips. Theoretically, it could be disproved, but in Su Beimo’s heart, it had become a theoretical theory and was written down in the book.

At this point, at 11:20, they arrived at the destination.

The grassy slopes in the middle of the night were empty, and the moonlight was faint, and Su Beimo turned on the headlights of the car. Liao Nanqing hadn’t slept enough, so he tilted his head to unbuckle his seat belt and stumbled to get out of the car with Su Beimo. He hadn’t even taken two steps when he bumped into Su Beimo’s back. Liao Nanqing reached out to hold on and buried his head on Su Beimo’s back, not moving.

“Still sleepy?”

“En…”

Su Beimo turned around and rubbed his head hard three times, “Wake up.”

“Ah.” Liao Nanqing frowned.

“Lift your head.” Su Beimo chuckled.

Liao Nanqing swallowed slowly and did not react yet. His eyes finally opened properly, he touched his messy hair and tilted his head to look at the sky.

The sky was full of stars, and the night sky was full of endless fantasy. He once thought that his liking for Su Beimo should be the vast universe, the tiny stars, falling into the boundless expanse. He would do his best to love, cherish and treasure it. Unexpectedly, at this moment, Su Beimo brought the entire stars to his face.

And his distance, as if he could touch the stars with a single reach.

Liao Nanqing couldn’t express his happiness in words. He stretched out his hand many times, squeezed his fist, and caught a handful of air. Su Beimo took the opportunity to wrap his fist with his palm: “Does it look good?”

“Looks good!”

“Do you like it?”

“Very much!” Liao Nanqing asked, “How did you find this place?”

“Look it up online.” Su Beimo rightfully said, “No.1 for the best place for couples to meet in the middle of the night.”

Of course he wouldn’t tell Liao Nanqing, he checked for a long time and personally went to several places to observe, and finally settled on this place.

Liao Nanqing happily turned around and looked around when Su Beimo grabbed him, “Look what time it is.”

“Eleven forty.” Liao Nanqing took out his phone and took many pictures of the starry sky, lamenting, “The pictures won’t look so good.”

“Of course, you’re so bad at taking pictures.” Su Beimo goaded him.

“Then why don’t you take the picture for me?” Liao Nanqing handed him his phone.

Su Beimo immediately took a picture of a dark Liao Nanqing: “My photography skills are also poor, no wonder we are a pair.”

Liao Nanqing blushed and scratched his nose.

Knowing that Liao Nanqing was easy to be shy, Su Beimo didn’t say too much, so they watched the stars quietly. It didn’t take long before it was twelve o’clock. Su Beimo put one hand on Liao Nanqing’s head and made him turn his head towards himself, and Liao Nanqing stared in confusion. Su Beimo spoke with extreme gentleness: “Happy birthday.”

After saying that, Su Beimo kissed him.

The brief clinging between the lips and teeth, rich as the first sweetness, reflecting a starry sky. Liao Nanqing recalled that this sweetness, indeed, came from Su Beimo.

Su Beimo kissed and kissed again, and after a few times of tossing and turning, he was even more entangled. The mutual exchange of saliva relaxed the body and mind, and Liao Nanqing’s brain was on the verge of a crash, involuntarily following Su Beimo’s kiss, pinching and exchanging air.

“Kissing is not a contest of holding breath.” Su Beimo hated that iron did not become steel.3 “It’s better to practice more.”

“…Okay, okay!” Liao Nanqing nodded fiercely, hugged Su Beimo, and gnawed up without skill.

He was raw, as tempting as unripe fruit.

Even if he knew that he was not yet ripe, Su Beimo couldn’t help but want to bite it down, sour and sweet, as fate would have it.4

Fortunately, Liao Nanqing was really sweet.

Su Beimo took out a small square box from the trunk, and inside it was a birthday cake padded with ice bag. It was the cake that Liao Nanqing bought for him last time, but was picked up by the cleaner in the end. Su Beimo wrote down the name of the bakery and re-ordered the cake on this day.

Not to make up for the mistake, but to start again.

A new life, at the moment the candle was lit, was ready to go.

Liao Nanqing was dumbfounded and followed Su Beimo step by step: “How did you know my birthday? I didn’t tell you, Su Beimo, how did you…”

“It’s on your student information.” Su Beimo held the cake and said straightforwardly, “Come, you blow the candle and make a wish.”

“Make a wish?” Liao Nanqing suddenly became anxious, in a hurry with a crying voice, “What to do… I, I don’t know what to wish for.” He hadn’t had a birthday in too many years, and the surprise left him at a loss for what was right to do. He was afraid of letting Su Beimo down and of screwing up.

He was always so careful, just blowing out the candles, and Liao Nanqing was already restless.

Su Beimo was aware of his mood, so he was patient: “I’ll teach you.”

“En?”

“After you blow out the candle, close your eyes and say silently.”

Liao Nanqing listened carefully.

Su Beimo smiled: “You say silently, I want to be with Su Beimo forever.”