Secretly, But Unable to Hide It

Chapter 47

Sang Zhi didn’t react for a moment and the answer in her mouth almost slipped out. Her breath caught, and she raised her eyes, silently looking at him.

According to her understanding, his words could mean two things.

Either, ‘am I the person you’re talking about’?

Or, ‘can I become the person you’re talking about’?

Whichever meaning it was, if she admitted it, it would mean she was the one revealing her feelings first, right? But if she didn’t admit it, what if he gave up because of it?

Sang Zhi was having an internal struggle.

Duan Jiaxu was also very patient, waiting for her answer without urging her.

After a while, Sang Zhi made up her mind and decisively uttered one word, “No.”

Duan Jiaxu responded with a long-drawn “Ah”, as if feeling somewhat regretful.

Before he could say anything else, Sang Zhi lowered her eyes and added seriously, “Don’t mention that word again. I don’t like that person anymore.”

Duan Jiaxu’s eyebrows rose. “Is that so?”

Sang Zhi nodded calmly. Afraid he wouldn’t believe her, she thought for a moment and, bracing herself, fabricated a lie, “Didn’t you say that person is a scumbag? I haven’t been in contact with him since.”

“……” Duan Jiaxu’s smile faded slightly.

Sang Zhi made it clear, saying earnestly, “I don’t like anyone right now.”

Duan Jiaxu was silent for three seconds, his emotions hard to describe, as if he had dug a hole and jumped into it himself. He withdrew his gaze and asked indifferently, “The central air conditioning?”

Sang Zhi hesitated. “Yes.”

Only now did he remember she had used that term before. Duan Jiaxu was both amused and exasperated, asking word by word, “Do you know what that term means?”

Hearing that, Sang Zhi’s expression turned strange. “You don’t know?”

“……”

“How can you not know anything? Do you not go online?” Sang Zhi didn’t mind, slowly explaining, “Central air conditioning refers to a guy who has many female friends, treats all girls well, but doesn’t have a girlfriend.”

Duan Jiaxu lowered his eyes, scanning her up and down, and replied faintly, “Those three points, meeting one, makes one a central air conditioning?”

“……” Sang Zhi said matter-of-factly, “Of course, all three points have to be met.”

The conversation ended there.

The two walked side by side towards the school gate.

Passing by a group of joking and teasing college students, Sang Zhi seemed to vaguely hear Duan Jiaxu say something, his tone indescribable, carrying a hint of coolness, “Quite good at falsely accusing people.”

———pr

The movie Sang Zhi had wanted to see, 《Big Hero 6》, had mostly been taken off theaters, with only one last showing left at a cinema in the city center.

Duan Jiaxu had booked the tickets in advance.

They got on the subway. Since it was the weekend, it was particularly crowded. Sang Zhi and Duan Jiaxu happened to squeeze into a spot by the door.

Afraid she might get pushed, Duan Jiaxu pulled her in front of him.

With people all around and nothing for her to hold onto, Sang Zhi couldn’t help but say, “If I stand here, I won’t have anything to hold onto.”

Duan Jiaxu lowered his eyes, released his grip, and pointed to the handlebar he had been holding. “Then hold onto this.”

Sang Zhi reached out, obediently grabbed it, and looked back at him. “What about you?”

Duan Jiaxu easily held onto the long overhead bar. After a few seconds, as if noticing something, he suddenly chuckled and lazily said, “A bit high, it’s hard to hold onto.”

“……” Sang Zhi was about to say something, but the next moment, his hand moved down and grasped her wrist. “This is easier.”

Sang Zhi maintained her original posture, her eyes widened slightly. She stared at him, clearly disdainful of his shameless behavior. “How is it hard for you to hold up there?”

“It’s really hard.” Duan Jiaxu’s smile remained, leisurely saying, “Want to give it a try?”

“……” Feeling a bit awkward, Sang Zhi extended her other hand to hold the bar, but soon let go, muttering, “You have the nerve to compare your height with mine.”

But she didn’t push his hand away.

Her gaze couldn’t help but wander upward.

Sang Zhi looked at his long fingers, gripping her wrist. The warmth of his touch was very real and hard to ignore.

Duan Jiaxu rarely had physical contact with her.

Even when she was younger, he would at most ruffle her hair or pinch her cheek, showing affection while keeping a certain distance.

She lowered her head, touching the corner of her mouth again.

Duan Jiaxu’s gaze moved forward, staring at her reflection in the window, then lowered his eyes slightly, subtly observing her current state.

Each was preoccupied with their own thoughts.

One trying hard to appear nonchalant, the other silently watched, noticing the occasional, unintentional curve of her lips.

Then, inexplicably, he smiled too.

When they reached the mall, there was still half an hour before the movie started.

They weren’t in a hurry to get the tickets. Sang Zhi glanced around and couldn’t resist pointing to a nearby milk tea shop. “I want to buy a drink. Do you want one?”

“No.”

“Won’t you be thirsty during the movie?”

“I’ll go buy—”

Before he could finish, he suddenly felt like history was repeating itself. Duan Jiaxu furrowed his brows, changing his words, “This time, before drinking, check if it’s really what you ordered.”

“Oh.” With no one else in line, Sang Zhi walked to the counter, glanced at the menu, and quickly decided, “Lemon iced tea with pearls.”

“……” Duan Jiaxu, hearing this combination for the first time, said, “You can drink that?”

Sang Zhi looked at him. “Of course.”

Duan Jiaxu frowned. “What’s the temperature today? Why drink something cold?”

“It’s not cold indoors.”

“Don’t drink too much.”

Sang Zhi, slightly dissatisfied, muttered, “Why are you always managing me?”

Hearing that, Duan Jiaxu turned his head to look at her, observing her slightly annoyed expression. His eyes softened and he asked in a playful tone, “Do you find me annoying?”

Just then, the server handed her the drink.

Sang Zhi took it, inserted the straw, and took a sip. She didn’t respond directly, only saying vaguely, “I didn’t say that.”

Duan Jiaxu smiled. “That’s exactly what you meant.”

Sang Zhi pretended not to hear, focusing on chewing the tapioca pearls on her drink.

After a few seconds, Duan Jiaxu curved his lips, hinting as he slowly uttered four words, “Get used to it.”

Sang Zhi’s actions paused, then silently swallowed the pearl in her mouth.

They got the tickets at the cinema.

With a few minutes left before check-in, they found a place to sit and wait. Though she didn’t feel it while drinking, holding the cold drink for a while made Sang Zhi realize it was quite chilly.

Noticing her frequently changing hands to hold the drink, Duan Jiaxu reached over and took it from her.

Sang Zhi glanced at him, saying nothing. As it neared showtime, she couldn’t resist pointing to the drink. “I want a sip.”

Duan Jiaxu handed it over, but instead of giving it to her, he brought the straw to her lips while looking at her calmly.

Sang Zhi didn’t have the guts to drink directly from his hand and tried to take it, but before she could touch the cup, Duan Jiaxu spoke languidly, “Drink if you’re drinking. Why are you trying to hold Brother’s hand?”

“……” Sang Zhi held back, her face serious. “Who wants to hold your hand? I’ll drink it myself.”

“Not cold?”

“Not cold.”

Duan Jiaxu returned it to her. “I’ll hold it for you again when you’re not drinking.”

“No need.” Sang Zhi glanced at his palm and whispered, “You’ll be cold too.”

Hearing her words, Duan Jiaxu’s lips curved up and he extended his hand in front of her, saying playfully, “Then how about you warm me up?”

Sang Zhi remained silent, just sipping her drink.

Duan Jiaxu didn’t feel embarrassed. He retracted his hand and said calmly, “Let’s go, it’s time to enter.”

They both stood up.

After a few seconds, Sang Zhi rummaged through her bag and handed him a hand warmer. “I only brought one. You can use it.”

Duan Jiaxu was momentarily taken aback.

Sang Zhi explained in a low voice, “My hands are cold, so I can’t warm yours.” After speaking, she glanced at him with feigned composure and added, “And besides, it’s not appropriate to hold hands.”

Duan Jiaxu looked at her, paused for a few seconds, and agreed, “It’s indeed not appropriate.”

“……”

They found their seats and sat down.

Duan Jiaxu placed the bag Sang Zhi had been carrying on his lap, opened the hand warmer’s packaging, and said gently, “Since there’s no official status yet.”

“……” Sang Zhi’s mind went blank as she put down her drink.

At the same time, Duan Jiaxu placed the hand warmer in her hand.

The movie began, and the background music silenced all her thoughts.

After the movie, it was already dinner time.

Although Sang Zhi spent most of the movie thinking about his words, after more than an hour, she didn’t bring it up again.

They found a restaurant outside for dinner.

Afterward, they went to a cake shop near Duan Jiaxu’s place to pick up a cake, before coming to Duan Jiaxu’s home.

Sang Zhi took off her shoes and noticed a new pair of women’s slippers on the shoe rack, exactly her size. She looked towards Duan Jiaxu but didn’t take the initiative to put them on.

Duan Jiaxu placed the slippers in front of her and said calmly, “I bought these for you.”

He placed the cake on the dining table and then went into the kitchen.

Sang Zhi slowly put on the slippers and walked over to open the cake box.

Just as she took the cake out, Duan Jiaxu emerged from the kitchen holding another cake.

Sang Zhi paused. “Why are there two?”

“I made this one.” Duan Jiaxu said, “I was afraid it wouldn’t taste good, so I ordered another one.”

Sang Zhi blinked. “You can make cakes?”

“I worked in a café before and learned a bit.” Duan Jiaxu said as he prepared to insert candles into the cake. He asked casually, “Which one do you want to use as the birthday cake?”

Sang Zhi pointed to the one he made. “This one.”

“How many candles?”

“Just one.”

Duan Jiaxu raised an eyebrow and refused, “It should be nineteen candles.”

Sang Zhi was speechless. “How can I blow out so many?”

“Young lady,” Duan Jiaxu said playfully, “you need to recognize your age.”

The cake shop provided two packs of candles, twelve in each, so there were enough. Sang Zhi couldn’t help but complain, “Then on your birthday, you have to ask for an extra pack of candles.”

“For my birthday,” Duan Jiaxu said with a double standard, “one candle is enough.”

“……” Sang Zhi was very displeased and insisted, “I’ll make sure to put all 26 candles for you.”

Duan Jiaxu just smiled. After inserting the candles, he fetched a lighter and a pink bag from the coffee table. He lowered his eyes and slowly lit all the candles.

Sang Zhi ran to the entryway to turn off the lights.

When she returned, Duan Jiaxu had already finished lighting all the candles. His face was warmed by the candlelight, flickering and indistinct, but it appeared especially tender and soft.

All things considered, this was the first birthday that Sang Zhi celebrated with him.

Duan Jiaxu began to sing the birthday song for her, his husky, gentle voice echoing in the living room. After the final note, Sang Zhi made a wish and blew out the candles with effort.

She only managed to blow out half of them.

Her mouth twitched and she blew a few more times to extinguish the rest.

Seeing her actions, Duan Jiaxu laughed, his chest rising and falling, his shoulders shaking. Then, he stood up and turned on the lights before handing Sang Zhi the pink paper bag. “Birthday gift.”

Sang Zhi took it, finding it heavy. She held back her curiosity and thanked him, then started cutting the cake.

After a single cut, Duan Jiaxu took over, cutting a small piece for her. He glanced at the other paper bag on the side and suddenly asked, “Do you want to see the gift someone else gave you?”

Sang Zhi glanced at it and shook her head. “I’ll look at it later.”

Duan Jiaxu didn’t insist and asked again, “Is that guy pursuing you?”

Sang Zhi thought for a moment. “Probably.”

Duan Jiaxu chuckled lightly and slowly asked, “Are there a lot of people pursuing you?”

Remembering her earlier bragging at the hospital, Sang Zhi didn’t know how to answer and vaguely replied, “It’s average.”

Duan Jiaxu quickly followed up, “Any requirements for those pursuing you?”

Sang Zhi was puzzled. “Should there be requirements? It’s not like I’m choosing a partner.”

“Then tell me,” Duan Jiaxu’s tone was casual, “if you’re choosing a partner, what kind of conditions might you consider?”

Sang Zhi looked up and hesitantly said, “Good-looking.”

“Mm.”

“Good-tempered.”

“Mm.”

“Should be a head taller than me.”

“Mm.”

“Has the right values.”

“Mm, anything else?”

Sang Zhi held a fork and took a bite of the cake. “That’s it.”

“The conditions you mentioned, I meet all of them.” Duan Jiaxu smeared a layer of icing on her cheek with his finger. “So, let me ask you something.”

“……”

It felt like something eagerly awaited was finally happening, carrying a strong sense of anticipation.

Sang Zhi met his eyes, almost guessing his next words, but her heartbeat still skipped a beat, feeling breathless from nervousness. She licked the cake residue from the corner of her lips and looked at him. “What is it?”

Duan Jiaxu chuckled, his gaze ambiguous yet serious.

This time, he didn’t conceal anything like before, nor did he say anything enigmatic.

He straightforwardly laid his cards on the table.

“Can I pursue you?”