"..." Sheng Kuang.
"Didn't you say before that you liked boys? When did you start liking both boys and girls?" Lin Jing was truly shocked by Sheng Kuang and couldn't help but add, "You're quite open-minded."
"..."
Sheng Kuang felt his temples throbbing, each pulse sending a wave of pain.
The two questions he had just asked her were a form of testing.
For any other girl, hearing "Why don't you think I'm pursuing you?" would have likely caused hesitation or embarrassment. But she, on the other hand, responded with utter logic and righteousness, "Because I'm a girl."
That one sentence completely threw him off.
He knew very well that this young lady didn't see him as a real person, but only as an idol.
Yet, he was unwilling to give up and wanted to see her reaction, so he asked, "What if I said I only like girls?"
Honestly, this was the first time he had said something like this to anyone. Besides a slight awkwardness, he felt more nervous.
He had never been nervous even during his competitions, but at this moment, he was.
However, the reaction of the young lady before him never disappointed him.
Sheng Kuang closed his eyes in anger, unsure whether to cry or laugh.
Lin Jing couldn't hold back and added, "Gender isn't that rigid either."
"..."
"Gender isn't that rigid either." What an absurd thing to say.
Sheng Kuang was amused to the point of anger.
Hearing his laughter, Lin Jing realized she had spoken too quickly and immediately pursed her lips tightly.
Sheng Kuang looked down at her, his expression visibly displeased.
Lin Jing rolled her eyes, not daring to speak carelessly for a moment, afraid of further fanning the flames.
They stared at each other, one with clear annoyance, the other with apprehension in her eyes, for an unknown number of seconds, or perhaps even tens of seconds.
Sheng Kuang suddenly raised his hand.
Lin Jing subconsciously thought he was going to hit her and instinctively took half a step back.
Sheng Kuang looked at her startled expression, his fingertips resting on his temple paused. The next second, he reached out, cupped her neck, and pulled her forward a large step.
She stumbled, nearly falling into his arms.
Her nose brushed against his team jersey, and she caught the faint, unique scent of him.
She paused. Before she could look up, Sheng Kuang suddenly sighed and leaned down to her ear, "I'm not that rigid about gender, but I am very rigid about people."
Lin Jing's heart skipped a beat. She felt a sudden panic, "...people?"
"Yes, people." The grip on her neck loosened completely, his hand barely resting on her skin. He slowly straightened up and spoke in a tone as casual as small talk, "If it were you, even if you had been to Thailand, I would have accepted it."
The room was silent, the white fluorescent light on the ceiling making everything intensely bright.
Lin Jing felt completely dazed.
She didn't notice the pressure on her neck had vanished, nor that they were standing so close. She just stared stiffly at the team logo on Sheng Kuang's jersey, lost in thought.
What did he mean by "if it were her, even if she had been to Thailand, he would have accepted it"?
Was he implying that the person he was rigid about was her?
Lin Jing felt her heart beating even faster. She swallowed hard twice, but instead of calming down, she became even more flustered.
She had no idea how to respond. After a long thought, she managed to say, "I... haven't been to Thailand."
Sheng Kuang let out a laugh.
Lin Jing wished she could bite off her own tongue.
What was wrong with her? Whenever she encountered Sheng Kuang, she either turned into a robot or an idiot.
As she was lamenting her own foolishness, the door was knocked on, followed by the doorknob turning and the door being pushed open.
Sheng Kuang quickly withdrew his hand from her neck and took half a step back before Chen Jing poked his head in.
"Oh, so you two are here. We've been looking for you for ages. Are we leaving or not?"
"We're going." Sheng Kuang glanced at Lin Jing from under his lowered eyelids. After a moment's thought, before leaving, he patted her head. "Let's go."
The young girl was clearly still dazed. She looked up as if startled, but her gaze didn't even meet his face before she quickly looked away, gave a brief "Oh," and turned to walk out the door, appearing quite calm.
It was already late after the competition, and everyone was hungry. Lan Bowen had already booked a place for supper. Now that they had found them, he immediately called the driver.
As they exited the venue, the bus was waiting at the entrance.
Lin Jing followed the group onto the bus and mechanically found a seat. Her mind was in a turmoil, and she didn't even notice that He Lin was no longer there.
Sheng Kuang followed closely behind her. Seeing her sit down, he sat down too.
Right next to her.
Lin Jing pursed her lips and slowly turned her neck to look out the window.
It was already very dark. The weather had turned cold recently, and there were few pedestrians on the roadside.
Although the bus had ample space with one person per row, their closeness felt a little cramped.
Sheng Kuang's arm rested lightly against hers. Lin Jing watched the receding streetscape, her heart pounding incessantly.
The place they went for supper was on the way back to the base from Lin Jing's school. After supper, Lan Bowen asked the driver to make a detour to the school gate.
Lin Jing had been feeling a bit off all along. Seeing the bus stop, she immediately got up to get off. A few steps later, Lan Bowen called out to her, "Jing Mei, your bag."
Lin Jing responded with an "Oh" and went to take her bag.
Sheng Kuang stood between her and Lan Bowen, helping to pass it over.
Lin Jing, with trembling fingers, snatched her bag without daring to look at him and sprinted away.
Back in her dorm, Lin Jing took a shower, but her mind was still a blur.
It was past midnight, her usual bedtime, but she lay on her bed, unable to sleep.
It was Saturday, so there were no classes the next day. The other three roommates were also awake, playing games together. Lin Jing had no interest in joining them. She pulled the blanket over her head and tossed and turned.
She felt that Sheng Kuang was toxic, especially the things he said backstage, which were explosively toxic.
"Why don't you think I'm pursuing you?"
"What if I said I only like girls?"
"I'm not that rigid about gender, but I am very rigid about people."
"If it were you, even if you had been to Thailand, I would have accepted it."
Lin Jing thrashed about inwardly. She threw off the blanket, picked up her phone, wanting to distract herself.
She scrolled from a shopping app to Weibo and then saw Sheng Kuang's reply to "Sweet Sweet Sweet classmate" in her private messages, which was sent half an hour ago.
yLs·miracle: Not the same.
This three-word reply was to her question: "Are the genders of couple avatars always the same?"
Lin Jing hastily exited Weibo, and after a while, entered the game.
In the friend list's intimacy relationships, a new notification appeared: yLs·miracle requests to establish a romantic relationship with you.