Chapter 144: Even a Young Heart Yearns for Love

After Wang Dongdong came in, Ye Junze asked, “Have you eaten yet? If not, I have some food I ordered earlier, though it doesn’t look like it’ll be enough. Order anything else you like.”

Wang Dongdong scratched his head sheepishly. “I just got back, so I haven’t eaten yet. Since you put it that way, Brother Ye, I won’t stand on ceremony.”

Ye Junze waved his hand. “It’s fine. I’ve freeloaded so many meals at your place before, so consider this my chance to return the favor. Order your food first. We can talk about everything else later.”

Wang Dongdong nodded and turned around to place his order. He was entirely unceremonious about it, choosing only the dishes he liked.

Seeing this, Ye Junze merely smiled and said nothing.

Before long, Wang Dongdong had finished ordering everything he wanted.

Once he was done, Ye Junze said, “All right, sit down and eat something first. The food you ordered should arrive any moment.”

Wang Dongdong nodded, pulled out a chair, and sat down. The two of them began eating the dinner Ye Junze had ordered earlier.

While they ate, Ye Junze brought up the earlier question again. Looking at Wang Dongdong, he asked, “Now tell me. What brings you here so late?”

At those words, Wang Dongdong’s face turned an unusual shade of red. He looked somewhat bashful, yet refused to say anything.

“Oh my, are you embarrassed now? That doesn’t sound like you.” Seeing his expression, Ye Junze could not resist teasing him. “Still, I can probably guess even if you don’t tell me. It’s because of that girl named Fan Xiao today, isn’t it?”

Wang Dongdong looked at Ye Junze in surprise, then nodded sheepishly. “Brother Ye, you’re amazing. You actually guessed it.”

Ye Junze waved a hand. “Don’t praise me like that. Anyone could have figured it out. Now tell me what happened. Didn’t you two seem to have a pretty good time together today?”

Wang Dongdong nodded. “We did. And after spending the whole day together, I feel like our relationship has made a tremendous leap forward.”

Looking at him, Ye Junze could not help thinking, That must be another one of your delusions. Why is Wang Dongdong always so blindly optimistic?

Yet aloud he only asked, “And what does she feel about you?”

“She still likes me, of course,” Wang Dongdong replied. “Didn’t you see how happy she was spending the day with me?”

Hearing this, Ye Junze pressed a hand to his forehead and rubbed his brow. “You’re still young. How can your eyesight be this bad? We only saw her for a short while today, but I didn’t see a trace of her liking you in her eyes. Are you sure you shouldn’t get your eyes checked?”

Those were still only Ye Junze’s private thoughts. After all, he could not bring himself to play the villain and shatter someone’s delusions. Let Wang Dongdong continue believing it. It would not hurt anyone, would it?

With a helpless nod, Ye Junze said, “As long as you’re happy.”

“But, Brother Ye, I’m worried now.” As he spoke, Wang Dongdong stopped moving his chopsticks.

Ye Junze wondered what sort of nonsense he was about to come up with this time. Looking puzzled, he asked, “What’s wrong? Everything seems to be going well. What are you worried about now?”

“It’s going well, yes, but I’m wondering whether I should wait for her to confess to me, or take the initiative and confess to her first.” Wang Dongdong drew his brows tightly together, as though this were truly a difficult decision.

Ye Junze had expected almost anything except that. All he could do was let out a dry laugh. “As I said, as long as you’re happy.”

Wang Dongdong seemed not to hear him at all. He continued muttering to himself, “Although I do prefer girls to confess to me first, I am a grown man, after all. Maybe I should take the initiative. Perhaps she’s just waiting for me to say something?”

Seeing him like this, Ye Junze knew he had once again fallen into his own little world. Nothing anyone said would get through to him. So Ye Junze simply stopped paying attention, eating his own meal in silence while listening to Wang Dongdong ramble on without end.

Wang Dongdong continued until he had begun imagining whether his and Fan Xiaosheng’s future child would be a boy or a girl, what they would name a son, and what they would name a daughter.

By then, Ye Junze was filled with regret. He even felt an urge to slap himself. Why had he brought up the subject in the first place?

Just as he was about to lose patience and forcibly interrupt Wang Dongdong’s fantasies, a sudden flash of light swept across the table. The food Wang Dongdong had ordered had finally been delivered.

Ye Junze’s eyes lit up with delight, as though he had just seen a savior.

He hurriedly nudged Wang Dongdong, interrupting his rambling. “All right, all right. You can say whatever you want later. Your food is here. Eat quickly, or it’ll get cold.”

Wang Dongdong felt the movement and immediately lowered his head. When he saw that the dishes he had ordered were indeed sitting quietly on the table, radiating their distinctive colors and tempting aroma, he nodded.

“Thank you, Brother Ye. I won’t stand on ceremony, then.”

Ye Junze nodded and urged him on. “Good. Eat, eat.”

The two of them lowered their heads and began enjoying the food on the table. The entire room fell into a rare silence, broken only by the sounds of chewing and bowls and chopsticks clinking together.

…

After some time, the two of them finally finished the plates of food one by one.

In perfect unison, they let out satisfied belches and exhaled deeply.

Rubbing his visibly swollen belly, Wang Dongdong said with satisfaction, “I’m finally full. Thank you for the meal, Brother Ye.”

Ye Junze waved his hand. “It’s nothing. As long as you’re full and enjoyed it.”

“I certainly did. How could anyone be unhappy when Brother Ye is treating?” Wang Dongdong replied with a grin.

Ye Junze smiled and said nothing more.

The two of them then sat and rested for a while, chatting casually.

After some time, Wang Dongdong stood up. “It’s getting rather late. I should go back, tidy up, and get some rest. I won’t disturb you any longer, Brother Ye.”

“You’re not disturbing me at all. Still, it’s good to head back early. Get some rest,” Ye Junze replied with a wave.

Wang Dongdong nodded. “All right, then. Goodbye, Brother Ye. Good night.”

As he spoke, he rose and walked toward the door.

Seeing this, Ye Junze stood to see him off. “Goodbye. Good night to you too.”

After Wang Dongdong opened the door and left, the two of them exchanged one last farewell. Ye Junze closed the door securely, then turned and walked back inside.

After cleaning up the remains of their meal, Ye Junze did a little tidying of his own before collapsing onto the bed, intending to go to sleep.

Before falling asleep, Ye Junze reviewed the day’s experiences and gains.

“I never expected that going out with Senior Sister would lead me to materials capable of awakening Ling Ling. What an unexpected delight.”

Thinking of the adorable Ling Ling, Ye Junze could not help smiling.

“Come to think of it, it seems I gain something every time I go out with Senior Sister. Last time, I bought that little cauldron. Today, I even managed to obtain fragments of black iron capable of awakening Ling Ling, who is a sword spirit.”

“Looks like I really should go out with Senior Sister more often in the future. Perhaps I’ll make another new discovery.”

His thoughts continued drifting, and Ye Junze had almost begun to regard Lin Xin as his lucky star.

Suddenly remembering something, Ye Junze took out his phone and glanced at it.

He saw messages from his family and several old friends.

Most of them were concerned messages from his parents, asking how he had been doing after spending so long at school, whether he had adapted, how he was getting along with his classmates, whether they had argued, and whether he was sleeping and eating well.

After reading the messages, Ye Junze wore a warm smile. His parents could be a little long-winded, but he knew that this was simply how they expressed their love and concern. So he replied to each message in turn:

I’m doing very well. My classmates are all nice too. As for everything else, you really don’t need to worry. Your son is perfectly capable of taking care of himself.

After replying to his friends as well, Ye Junze glanced at the class group, which now had a great many unread messages. It was the group for students in the Dao Arts department.

Since it was the weekend, many of the students were still flooding the group late at night, chatting wildly about all sorts of things.

Ye Junze even saw Yun Tianhan and Li Ling, whom he knew, actively participating. They traded reaction images and chatted with their classmates, going back and forth and enjoying themselves immensely.

Ye Junze smiled as he watched their entertaining conversation, but he had no intention of joining their great endeavor of flooding the group. He was simply not good at that sort of thing. It was better to watch them carry on while he quietly lurked in the background.

After idly browsing through the chat history for a while, Ye Junze shook his head, set down his phone, and prepared to sleep.

Once he had put his phone aside, he thought, Tomorrow I promised Ling Ling that I would study swordsmanship with her. I should go to bed early tonight and get plenty of rest. Only by gathering my strength can I have the energy to learn properly.

Murmuring to himself, Ye Junze said, “Swordsmanship… I wonder what it will be like. Will it be very difficult? Even if it is, I still have to try. I can’t let Ling Ling’s kindness go to waste. Besides, isn’t this my own dream as well?”

By the end, his voice had grown softer and softer, until it was barely audible.

Looking at him again, one could see that his eyes were already tightly closed. He had gradually drifted into sleep, his breathing steady and rhythmic.

The moon shone brightly, and the young man slept soundly.

Listen—the cicadas outside the window had fallen silent too, as though they wished to give everyone who slept a beautiful dream.