Hidden Love

"……"

Sang Zhi mechanically turned her head, following his gaze to glance at Duan Jiaxu’s face. Like a teenager caught dating by her parents, she abruptly pulled her hand back and awkwardly hid it behind her.

She swallowed hard.

Originally, she hadn’t thought it was a big deal, but Sang Yan’s unfriendly expression, combined with the sudden exposure of their relationship, made Sang Zhi—who was completely unprepared—feel her heart leap into her throat.

Duan Jiaxu lowered his gaze, looked at his suddenly empty hand, and raised an eyebrow.

Then, Sang Zhi forced out a sentence: "...It does look similar."

"……"

"But if you look closely," Sang Zhi said stiffly, "there are... some differences. It’s just a case of similar faces... common features... I know several people who look like this..."

Sang Yan cut her off, laughing in disbelief: "Do you really think I’m an idiot?"

"……"

"Should I help you come up with an excuse?" Sang Yan’s pupils were dark; he thought he was staying calm, but his words betrayed his agitation. "Duan Jiaxu is blind, lame, or drunk, so you had to hold his hand to support him."

After three seconds of silence, Sang Zhi feigned composure and said, "Then let’s go with drunk."

"……"

Hearing this, Sang Yan’s brow twitched, and his forced smile gradually faded. He quietly steadied his breathing, stared at Sang Zhi, and said word by word, "Come here."

Afraid of being scolded, Sang Zhi looked at Duan Jiaxu for help.

Seeing this, Duan Jiaxu also turned to look at Sang Zhi, his expression thoughtful. Soon, he spoke, but his words were in response to what she had just said: "My face isn’t that common, is it?"

"……"

Double-teamed.

Two... ridiculous men.

Sang Zhi didn’t understand why she had to be the most panicked one. She took a deep breath, her gaze shifting between the two of them, then suddenly pushed Duan Jiaxu toward Sang Yan.

She shifted all the blame onto Duan Jiaxu and told the truth: "He was the one who pursued me."

Meeting Sang Yan’s gaze, Duan Jiaxu finally began to feel a hint of guilt. The curve of his lips slowly faded, and he cleared his throat, admitting, "I pursued her."

"……"

Sang Zhi suddenly felt a pang of regret.

If she hadn’t gone to find Duan Jiaxu today and had obediently returned to her dorm after work, Sang Yan probably wouldn’t have witnessed this scene. If they had known Sang Yan was coming, they could have planned carefully, thought of a better way to break the news so he wouldn’t find it so hard to accept.

The current situation:

The three of them walked toward Sang Zhi’s dormitory building like strangers, silent and awkward.

Sang Zhi walked in the middle, not daring to get too close to Duan Jiaxu, leaning slightly closer to Sang Yan. Her eyes kept darting toward Sang Yan’s face, her heart still pounding, an inexplicable sense of guilt rising in her chest.

She lowered her head, trying to imagine what Sang Yan must be thinking.

After being in a cold war with his sister for nearly two weeks, he finally found time to come to Yihe to "break her legs." After going through all the trouble to get to his sister’s school, he unexpectedly saw her holding hands with his best friend.

His sister and his best friend were together.

Together was one thing, but both of them had kept it from him. He had been completely unaware, even asking this same friend to look after his sister—like a fool being played.

It did seem a little...Sang Zhi licked her lips and couldn't help saying, "Brother, I wanted to tell you earlier. I even sent you a message, but you had blocked me. So you never saw it."

Sang Yan acted as if he hadn't heard, not uttering a single word.

"I can show you," afraid he wouldn't believe her, Sang Zhi pulled out her phone and removed him from the blacklist, "I still have the record here."

Sang Yan brought up the past again: "Graduate student?"

Sang Zhi blinked slowly, steeling herself to say, "I just wanted to give you some psychological preparation first. Tell you that I found a boyfriend around your age, and then slowly explain..."

Sang Yan couldn't be bothered with her excuses: "How much further to your dorm building?"

"Almost there, just a few more minutes." Sang Zhi scratched her head, hesitating, "What are you going to do?"

Sang Yan didn't answer.

Sang Zhi could only glance at Duan Jiaxu.

Meeting her gaze, Duan Jiaxu smiled and reassured her, "It's fine, I'll talk with your brother later."

"..."

The atmosphere felt somewhat intimidating and beyond Sang Zhi's expectations. She had thought Sang Yan would at most be surprised, not angry.

Sang Zhi looked at Sang Yan again, desperately trying to salvage the situation: "Brother, where are you staying tonight?"

Sang Yan scoffed: "None of your business?"

Sang Zhi felt her head was about to explode: "You wouldn't hit anyone, would you..."

Sang Yan: "Heh."

"What's the big deal anyway? If you took a liking to any of my friends," Sang Zhi struggled to keep the conversation going, "I could introduce you too, I wouldn't mind at all."

Sang Yan was extremely cold: "No need, I already have someone."

"..."

"No, we're both unmarried adults! Why are you reacting like I'm dating a married man!" Sang Zhi said, "The age difference isn't that big either, it's not like I'm seventeen."

They happened to arrive at Sang Zhi's dorm building.

"This one?" Sang Yan ignored everything she said, tilting his chin, "Do I need to teach you how to get in?"

"..."

Duan Jiaxu also spoke up, gently reminding her: "Go back inside, don't you still need to video call your mother?"

The atmosphere was extremely strange, as if waiting for her to leave before something would happen.

Sang Zhi felt particularly uneasy, not daring to leave even a step, continuing: "Besides, you've known Brother Jiaxu for so many years, you know he has good character..."

Sang Yan's voice was completely emotionless: "What do I know?"

"..."

After all that talking, he remained completely unmoved.

Sang Zhi had exhausted all her arguments without any effect. She felt both annoyed and somewhat guilty, could only patiently say: "I already told you, I was going to tell you, but you blocked me. And this isn't some big deal anyway, it's just dating."

"Yeah, not a big deal." Sang Yan dismissed her, "Go back to your dorm."

Sang Zhi was going crazy, could only throw out a suggestion: "Can I not sleep in the dorm tonight?"

Sang Yan: "Heh."

"..."-

Feeling she had said all she needed to say.

Also believing that these two were at least people who had received nine years of compulsory education, they should be reasonable.

Moreover, throughout her life, the number of times Sang Zhi had made Sang Yan angry numbered in the hundreds if not thousands, and he had never once laid a hand on her. At most he would scold her a few times, nothing worse than that.With that thought in mind, Sang Zhi spoke a few more words in Duan Jiaxu's defense, then finally gave in and obediently returned to her dorm. She jogged upstairs, entered her room, and immediately went to the balcony, leaning over the railing to look down.

She saw the two men walking toward the school gate, maintaining about a meter's distance between them.

From this angle, it was impossible to tell if they were talking.

But they seemed... quite harmonious.

It really did look like they were peacefully reasoning things out.

Sang Zhi breathed a sigh of relief, only withdrawing her gaze when their figures disappeared from view—

At this very moment.

Duan Jiaxu and Sang Yan, walking downstairs, hadn't made eye contact even once.

And there was no communication whatsoever.

The summer night campus was unnervingly quiet.

They barely saw anyone else along the way.

Maintaining this state, the two exited the school gate and continued walking some distance. To reach the subway station from here, they needed to pass through a narrow path. Usually quite lively, but during summer break, foot traffic had dwindled considerably.

The empty street, bright white streetlights—glaring and desolate.

As if they'd reached a perfectly suitable spot.

Sang Yan suddenly stopped, pressing his tongue hard against the corner of his mouth. Then he turned sideways and, without any warning, threw a full-force punch at Duan Jiaxu's face.

No courtesy, no restraint whatsoever.

Following the impact, Duan Jiaxu staggered back several steps, feeling like half his face had gone numb—burning with a tingling sensation. He worked the muscles in his face, wiping his slightly split lip with his thumb, and laughed: "So harsh?"

"You made my fucking skin crawl," Sang Yan said without a trace of humor, his eyes closing briefly before reopening. "Of all people you could chase, why her?"

Duan Jiaxu corrected him: "Not chasing. I'm serious."

Sang Yan let out a mocking laugh, his anger not diminishing in the slightest. He rolled his neck, then grabbed Duan Jiaxu's collar and yanked him downward hard, bringing his knee up into Duan Jiaxu's abdomen: "I think you've fucking lost your mind."

His force was brutal. Duan Jiaxu felt pain throughout his entire body but didn't resist. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead, yet the corner of his mouth remained upturned as he managed to gasp out: "Aim for places that won't show."

"..." Sang Yan was so angry his stomach hurt. He punched Duan Jiaxu in the face again. "You think I'm gonna fucking hold back for you?"

Duan Jiaxu stumbled backward, this time his back hitting the wall with a dull thud.

Sang Yan dragged him forward and this time used his feet too.

Having known each other for so long, they had never fought before.

This first time, Sang Yan seemed intent on taking Duan Jiaxu's life. By the end, even he had exhausted his strength, leaning against the wall panting: "Fuck, need a break."

Duan Jiaxu simply sat down on the ground. His mouth was full of the taste of blood; he spat a mouthful of bloody saliva to the side. Hearing this, he raised an eyebrow, hissed in pain, and didn't say more: "Fine."

This fight had cooled Sang Yan's temper considerably.

They remained silent for a long while, the tension gradually dissipating.

Sang Yan asked calmly: "How long has it been?"

"A month and a half," Duan Jiaxu stood up, chuckling lowly, "Last time I said I was planning to visit you in Nanwu, it was for this. I was in the wrong about this, so I wanted to apologize to you in person."

Sang Yan: "Are you an animal?"

Duan Jiaxu: "Guess so.""You could find someone your own age, or even someone younger—I'd support that with both hands and feet," Sang Yan said. "But my sister, Sang Zhi—you've known her since middle school, right? She treats you like a real brother. How could you even think of making a move on her?"

"Bro—"

"Fuck off. Who's your bro?"

"..." Duan Jiaxu couldn't help but laugh, tugging at the wound on his lip. The pain made his voice hoarse. "Fine, bro. I know it's hard to accept. You can beat me up as many times as you want."

Sang Yan laughed in exasperation. "Who's your bro?"

Duan Jiaxu: "Sooner or later, you'll have to get used to it."

"..."

They hailed a taxi.

Once inside, Sang Yan still found the situation absurd, feeling it was unbelievable no matter how he thought about it. "What were you thinking?"

"Not to mention," Duan Jiaxu said, just as he received a WeChat message from Sang Zhi. He lowered his eyes, replying while speaking in a casual, teasing tone, "The little girl has grown up quite beautifully."

"..." Sang Yan suppressed the urge to hit someone in the car. "Haven't you seen beautiful girls before?"

"True," Duan Jiaxu's gaze remained fixed as he typed "It's fine, don't worry" into the chatbox, smiling gently. "But I've never seen anyone as beautiful as my Zhizhi."

Sang Zhi rolled down the window, letting the night breeze cool his rising temper. "Your Zhizhi?"

Duan Jiaxu raised an eyebrow. "Alright, she's still yours for now."

"..."

"But sooner or later, she'll be mine."

"..."

After a moment of silence.

Sang Yan asked again, "Are you serious about this?"

Duan Jiaxu turned off his phone screen. At these words, the smile on his lips faded, and his tone became unusually serious. "If I weren't serious, I'd really be a fucking bastard."

"Alright." Sang Yan interrogated him as if checking his family background. "How far have you gotten?"

"..." Duan Jiaxu turned to look at him but didn't answer this time. "Seriously, bro. Isn't that a bit too private?"

Sang Yan: "?"

The air froze for a few seconds. Sang Yan stared straight at Duan Jiaxu, unable to believe it. "Asking this is awkward for me too, but I need to be clear. What exactly have you done that makes it private?"

Seeing his misunderstanding, Duan Jiaxu nearly choked. "No, bro. What are you thinking?"

"..."

Duan Jiaxu: "Is that how you see me in your mind?"

Sang Yan's gaze didn't waver as he calmly replied, "Honestly, yes."

"..."

"Also, you're almost thirty, you old dog, and you're chasing after my sister, a girl who just started college—" Sang Yan sneered. "I've discovered there's no limit to your shamelessness."

Duan Jiaxu said leisurely, "It's only a difference of six years and eleven months."

"..." Since things had already come to this, Sang Yan couldn't very well make them break up. He looked away and relented. "Do whatever you want, but you need to know your limits. That kid has been pampered and protected at home."

Duan Jiaxu smiled. "I know."

Then he added, "Thank you, brother."

The scene froze.

Soon, the car window rolled back up.

Sang Yan suddenly reached out and gripped Duan Jiaxu's neck tightly, his temples throbbing with anger.

The commotion was so loud that the driver instinctively asked, "What's going on?"

Not wanting to alarm the driver, Sang Yan raised his eyes, suppressing his anger, and very considerately added, "Don't worry, sir."

"..."

"I'll try not to kill anyone in your car."

Author's note: Driver: Even more fucking scared now.Live for Just One Day: Duan Laogou