As soon as he fell asleep, the brother he was supposed to be guarding silently slipped out of bed and tiptoed to the door like a thief in the night. He fumbled around in the dark using the street light shining from the outside to guide his way.
What made it worse was that he didn't bring his glasses. That's because they were on the pedestal beside Wen Danzhe and if he had walked over to grab them he would have alerted his brother so he was left with no choice but to walk out half blind.
Qie Ranzhe wasn't asleep yet and heard everything happening in the dark. He switched on the standing lounge lamp beside him revealing a radiant smile but too bad this blind bat couldn't see it. All Wen Qinxi saw was a shadowy figure and a hazy light which he subconsciously followed.
He slipped under the quilt and lay beside Qie Ranzhe with a lofty smile like he had just pulled off the world's greatest heist. Qie Ranzhe made him sleep in the innermost part of the couch in his arms. The space on the couch was a bit crammed for two adult males but it was also an opportunity to plaster their bodies together and eat some tofu.
Qie Ranzhe embraced him with his leg on top of Wen Qinxi's and his arm pulling him closer by the waist. Wen Qinxi had a rush of adrenaline from all that sneaking around. He was so thrilled that he began to question his somatics after this. How can he find excitement in sneaking around?
His hand slowly slid across Qie Ranzhe's waist while biting his lower lip with a glint in his eyes. Because the light was still on Qie Ranzhe saw everything. How could he not tell what sort of face Wen Qinxi was making?
"Why are you so excited?" he asked with the vibration from his voice transferring into Wen Qinxi's body causing goosebumps to break out on all over the nerd's skin.
Wen Qinxi hurriedly denied it saying, "No, I am not," but if he had lady parts he would have been wet already. "Did he hustle you too much? Cause if he did I can avenge you right now," said Wen Qinxi feeling heroic.
"How do you plan on avenging me?" asked Qie Ranzhe curious to know what sort of methods these brothers use to deal with each other.
"That's easy. I will put my alarm clock on extra loud and place it on the bed after setting it to ring at 4 am. I assure you he will wake up cursing like a sailor and he won't be able to fall back to sleep again no matter how hard he tries," said Wen Qinxi explaining his vile plan.
In fact, they had pranked each other in far worse ways in an all-out prank war that lasted weeks. Their mother had to beat them with her slipper to make them stop.
"Hahaha..... how evil you are but no, I don't need avenging. He did what he should as a brother so don't worry," said Qie Ranzhe feeling rather warm inside at the thought that his boyfriend had his back.
Wen Qinxi buried his head in Qie Ranzhe's chest taking in his lovely scent as he gathered up the courage to address the elephant in the room.
He wanted to know how on earth Qie Ranzhe ended up falling for him when there weren't any good points about him especially in high school.
He was the weird-looking silent type that spent most of his time with his head lowered in either his books or on the laptop. So how could the school grass find him as a cactus attractive? Wen Qinxi couldn't wrap his head around it.
"How long?" he asked in a barely audible voice that got even lower.
Qie Ranzhe rubbed Wen Qinxi's back while asking, "Huh?" as a bad premonition crept up his spine.
"How long did you like me? Your mum said you liked me since high school and even Wen Danzhe noticed," he said feeling a little timid. What if it wasn't true then what? Wouldn't it be presumptuous of him?
Qie Ranzhe heaved a deep sigh embracing Wen Qinxi even tighter. He didn't think his mother had sold him out in their very first meeting and now his boyfriend must think he is a freakish stalker. Since he had asked Qie Ranzhe was obligated to tell the truth so he answered honestly.
"Ahem... I did. You were my first love," he spoke after switching off the lamp to conceal the wan expression on his face.
Thump! Thump! Thump, thump, thump!
Wen Qinxi's heart expressed how nervous and excited he was at this moment. Qie Ranzhe had managed to pique his interest.
"But,..... but I was a weirdo in high school? What part of that image spelt attractive because I honestly don't see it?" asked Wen Qinxi conveying his true feelings.
Qie Ranzhe chuckled lightly while planting a light as a feather kiss on Wen Qinxi's forehead. "It didn't matter to me because when I saw you I would have butterflies in my stomach. My hands would get clammy out of nervousness. I would want to get close to you but not close enough to scare you... When I realised it was that kind of like, I joined the clubs you joined, I watched you from the basketball court just to catch a glimpse of your smile. I even enlisted Nu Shen's help so you can come to see me at my best just so that you would notice me even though it backfired...," he explained but when he felt the person in his arms stiffen Qie Ranzhe stopped talking.
How could he forget his crime of burglarising Nu Shen's desk to steal that love letter that should have been addressed to himself?
"You..... do you know I thought she liked me and started liking her because of that. Oh my gosh... you should have just dragged me along instead of making me think the prettiest girl in the class liked me," complained Wen Qinxi feeling rather upset. What if Nu Shen had agreed and he would have gone along with it.
"I didn't think..... wait, you think she is pretty?" asked Qie Ranzhe thoroughly eating vinegar which he himself created. Talk about setting his own trap.
"Well, no..... um," stammered Wen Qinxi noticing the drastic temperature change. It was chilly but the temperature seemed to drop further into the negative after he mentioned the word prettiest. That icy glare was enough to freeze hell over.
"Yes, she was pretty but how could she ever compare to you. You are the most gorgeous man I have ever met and I secretly admired you all those years," said Wen Qinxi speaking earnestly.
"So if I were to confess my feelings to you back then would you have said yes?" asked Qie Ranzhe dropping a huge bomb without considering the consequences.
"Ahhh...um," gosh how was he supposed to answer that?