An orange was handed to Xin Hexue.
“I heard the scent of oranges can help with motion sickness.”
Matsukawa Masato said this with a warm smile, looking like a man of gentle temperament.
Xin Hexue lightly patted away the hand seemingly casually, and the orange rolled forward to the front row.
Zhu Jiyue picked it up and turned around, unsure whether to hand it back to Matsukawa Masato or to Xin Hexue.
Xin Hexue frowned faintly and said to the owner of the orange, “Sorry about that. I really dislike the smell of oranges.”
The second sentence was deliberately emphasized.
Matsukawa Masato’s gaze paused on his, his smile affected. “Then it’s me who should apologize. I didn’t take your preferences into account. Hexue, are you allergic to oranges?”
“I just simply dislike them.”
Xin Hexue turned his head away and replied indifferently.
The light reflected faintly behind Matsukawa Masato’s glasses. Perhaps Xin Hexue himself didn’t notice it, but Matsukawa certainly did.
When he saw the orange, he acted as if he was facing a mortal enemy, like a little cat wrinkling its nose and about to hiss the next second.
This little cat was definitely not easy to provoke.
But Matsukawa Masato’s mood remained as open and calm as the sky outside.
Luo Liangming beside them took the orange from Zhu Jiyue’s hand. “Since that’s the case, let me solve this sweet-and-sour problem. I love all kinds of fruits!”
His cheerful voice lightened the odd and slightly awkward atmosphere just now.
“Come on, come on, let’s keep playing!”
One of the young men drew a circle on an A4 sheet, dividing it into eight parts, and wrote down everyone’s names. Since they were in the vehicle and couldn’t sit in a circle, they used this method to make sure the bottle spin was fair.
The young man said, “I’m done drawing! So, when the bottle points to someone, they have to choose…truth or dare.”
Although Xin Hexue and Matsukawa Masato didn’t verbally agree, they both turned toward the small table in the middle where the A4 sheet was placed, silently acknowledging their participation.
The first few rounds were just warm-ups, with harmless questions.
The group of young people laughed and chatted together. Even boring topics could blossom into jokes, making the summer hotter and the soda colder.
“No, who bought the popsicles and stuffed them into the shopping bag?!”
“Hurry and eat them, or they’ll melt soon!”
“I’m on my period, so I can’t eat cold things.”
“Then whoever loses the next dare will have to eat two.”
“I’ll do it, I’ll do it! I’m burning up already! I’ll eat two.”
Half-melted popsicles cooled the inside of their mouths.
Outside, the blazing sunlight danced among the lush green leaves, reflecting off the car windows in dazzling flashes. The wind poured through the open collar of Xin Hexue’s shirt, lifting the thin blue ribbon beneath his neckline.
He focused on the scene outside the window.
As the car climbed the hill, the ride became slightly bumpy. The vehicle slowly entered the mountain road, where the vegetation grew denser. Only slivers of blue sky remained between tall trees, the environment dimmed slightly, and the temperature dropped by two degrees.
After the bumps subsided, the bottle on the small table slowly came to a stop, its mouth pointing at the section marked “Xin.”
“It’s your turn!”
Xin Hexue turned around, and a drop of melted popsicle water dripped onto his finger.
Matsukawa Masato handed him a tissue. He took it and wiped away the sticky liquid from his knuckles.
“…Truth.”
Suddenly, the car was filled with noisy chatter.
Suddenly, Curly Hair raised his voice and shouted a question,
“How many relationships have you had? What’s your type?”
A girl protested, “Hey hey, that’s cheating, those are two questions!”
Another person chimed in, “Yeah, Xing Ming, don’t make it so hard for him! Be honest, do you have a crush on him or something?”
The group burst into laughter, teasing loudly, “If you like him, just confess! What’s with you, Xing Ming, are you an elementary schooler? Hahaha!”
The curly-haired young man named Xing Ming went red, fuming as if his tail had been stepped on.
Just then, the person in question, Xin Hexue, spoke calmly, “I have never dated.”
Xing Ming immediately climbed the pole, “How’s that possible? You’ve never been in a relationship? Seriously? Not even once?”
Xin Hexue met his gaze, his expression calm and flawless. “No. Is it that easy to get into Beidao University? You have to focus on studying in middle and high school. Besides, I have very strict parents.”
Xing Ming couldn’t find a counterargument. And looking at the other party’s slightly furrowed brows, it seemed like he was already displeased. The pair of eyes staring at him directly were startingly bright and vivid because of that displeaure…like a spirit walking out of a painting after the pupils were dotted in.
“You don’t believe me? Are you trying to show off your rich romantic history to me?”
Xing Ming was like a dog whose tail had been stepped on again. “What?! I’ve never been in a relationship, okay?! Who’s been spreading rumors about me?!”
“Oh.”
Xin Hexue’s lips curved up slightly in a beautiful smile.
‘He smiled at me…’ Xing Ming’s throat moved up and down, not knowing where to look.
But the person who had so casually stirred the young man’s heart as if playing with a ball of yarn only rolled his eyes and glanced toward the window.
He slowly added the answer to the latter question.
“I like someone who is not noisy when they talk, and who doesn’t wear orange-scented perfume.”
Xing Ming’s heart, which had just soared into the sky, crashed instantly.
Was he noisy? Maybe a little.
But he didn’t even wear perfume. Who would be so pretentious as to bring perfume on a trip?
So Xin Hexue wasn’t referring to him, right?
“Next round, next round!”
Xing Ming lowered his voice, a bit impatient.
Matsukawa Masato was completely unaware that he had just been subtly labeled as “pretentious.” When he heard Xin Hexue mention disliking orange-scented perfume, his ever-gentle smile finally stiffened.
His collar and cuffs carried the faint scent of a men’s cologne with a mint base note. Some described it as the fragrance of a quiet mountain retreat in midsummer, surrounded by forest and a sapphire pool in the middle.
But its tail note was a smoky green citrus.
Maybe he should write a new perfume review post when he goes back.
A shadow of gloom passed through Matsukawa Masato’s ocean-blue eyes.
Just then, the green glass beer bottle pointed toward him.
He raised his familiar warm smile. “Me? Then truth, same as Hexue.”
The second half of his sentence deliberately mentioned the other party’s name, intentionally or unintentionally drawing their distance closer.
A young man suddenly chuckled mischievously, determined to ruin the senior’s gentlemanly image. “Who’s your favorite action movie actor? What position?”
“Action movie?” Matsukawa blinked. “Brusve Lee, probably. He’s famous internationally…I’ve watched many of his martial arts films.”
“That’s not what I meant!” the young man objected. “Senior Matsukawa, don’t play dumb!”
“Ugh, you guys and your dirty jokes, tone it down, will you?”
“What’s wrong? We’re all adults!”
“Be careful or I’ll call the teacher!”
“Strange, it seems like my phone signal’s gone…”
“Sorry,” Matsukawa said, turning to the young man hesitantly and advising kindly, “If you mean that kind of film… I think if an adult has too much energy to vent, the best way is to exercise. I usually play ball, then take a shower, and help out at the lab afterward, it really boosts productivity.”
“As expected of Senior Matsukawa… I feel sinful just listening to you.”
The young man admitted defeat dejectedly.
Rumor had it that Matsukawa’s father ran a private bank in J Country, and his mother’s family in G Country had been in medicine for generations. His mother was the director of a private hospital and an honorary university professor.
No wonder he was called the scion of a conglomerate.
Their department even joked that Matsukawa’s future child would have six top-tier journal papers published before elementary school.
……
Whether by bad luck or fate, the bottle stopped at Xin Hexue again after two rounds.
“Dare! Dare!”
Everyone cheered.
“You picked truth last time, so now it’s gotta be a dare!”
Xin Hexue sighed. “Alright, dare. What is it?”
“Let us think…”
“Pick someone here and sit on their lap for one minute. How about that?”
It was unknown who first suggested it, but the noisy car suddenly went quiet for a moment before bursting into noise again.
“Wow, that’s bold!”
“Hahaha, come on, and you can’t choose a girl! That would be weird. If it’s a guy, what’s wrong with sitting on a brother’s lap? It’s not like sleeping under one blanket at night.”
Luo Liangming tried to defend his fellow player, “Maybe we should pick another one.”
“It’s fine, it’s just a game. Besides, there aren’t many other dares we can do in the car,” Xin Hexue spoke slowly.
He turned toward Matsukawa Masato and said casually, “Then by proximity, Senior, do you mind?”
Matsukawa lowered his chin slightly and met his gaze. “Of course not.”
The weight of another body settled over him, and the pleated skirt and soft suede pants pressed together, creating a constant flow of heat on the hot summer day.
Matsukawa’s eyes trembled slightly. Strands of hair brushed against his face, which felt a bit ticklish, carrying a faint fragrance…was it Xin Hexue’s shampoo?
He really wanted to ask this question, this slightly intimate question.
His Adam’s apple rolled slowly, and he swallowed the words.
When asked about “positions” earlier, he didn’t answer truthfully.
If it was just about positions, in his spring dreams, he had already presed Xin Hexue into the grass.
The group had already moved on after a minute passed, starting a new round of the game.
Matsukawa lowered his eyes. His right arm moved up and formed a faint circle, while his left hand paused midair. Then, slowly, his fingers bent…he took a card out of the chest pocket of Xin Hexue’s shirt.
His little finger brushed against something. The touch was warm and soft.
Realizing what he had just touched, Matsukawa froze, and half his body went numb.
A shiver ran down Xin Hexue’s spine to his tailbone. If he had a tail, its fur would be standing straight up.
He reacted quickly, grabbing Matsukawa’s wrist so hard that his neatly trimmed nails nearly dug into the skin.
“What are you doing?”
Xin Hexue snatched the ID card back.
Their classmates turned around at the small commotion. “What happened?”
Xin Hexue clenched the card tightly and stuffed it into his backpack.
Matsukawa regained his composure and said to him, “Sorry, I was just curious if your card was the same as mine. I really like collecting the cards from that brand of snacks; if you collect the full set you can redeem a prize.”
Matsukawa must have seen the ID card.
Xin Hexue understood the implied meaning in his words, but Zhu Jiyue and Luo Liangming hadn’t yet.
The two of them laughed it off and turned back to the game.
As the car went higher, the road became less smooth. At some point, rain started falling outside. The sky and forest darkened, and the windshield wipers moved steadily.
Xin Hexue pressed a hand to his temple. His neck felt stiff, so he tilted his head back and stretched. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the front windshield.
On the muddy mountain road, a child suddenly crawled out from the bushes. Its body was stiff, and the limbs were contorted in a strange posture as it ran straight toward the car.
But the driver didn’t slow down at all, as if he hadn’t seen it, continuing straight ahead.
Xin Hexue suddenly half-rose from his seat and shouted, “Stop!”
“Bang!”
A heavy, muffled crash rang out.
Everyone was thrown forward by the sudden stop, and those not wearing seatbelts suffered the worst.
“My head is spinning!”
“What happened?!”
Xin Hexue opened his eyes in Matsukawa Masato’s arms. The other party had caught him just in time.
“What happened?”
“An earthquake?”
A flash of lightning streaked across the gray sky, followed by a thunderous boom that shook their eardrums two seconds later.
Xin Hexue pushed himself up abruptly.
They had hit someone.
