Serenade

It was late at night, and a couple sat whispering on the empty stairwell. Their hushed voices sounded like murmurs and whispers.

"What time tomorrow?"

"We'll leave at six in the morning."

"That's so early. I'll come see you off."

"You'll never wake up that early."

Jin Xi playfully tugged at his sleeve. "I will wake up!"

"Alright, you just sleep well. You'll probably be in a tizzy tomorrow morning and forget about me."

"When will you be back?"

"They say forty days, but who knows if it'll be delayed. I'll definitely be back by the start of the semester."

Jin Xi dropped her gaze, clearly somewhat disappointed as she fiddled with his sleeve and softly exhaled. "That's so long."

"Yeah, it's a long time."

Bo Yan pulled the girl onto his lap, his palm settling on the dip of her back.

"What're you doing?"

"Shh."

He murmured, "Let me kiss you."

Jin Xi laughed and leaned in to plant a light peck on his cheek.

Bo Yan seized the opportunity to cup her face and press his lips against hers.

Her lips were cool and soft. It was only when he parted them that he captured her scorching tongue.

He tirelessly licked at her.

Jin Xi opened her eyes to find him looking right back at her, a hint of wickedness glimmering in those dark pupils. Before she could react, Bo Yan sank his teeth into her lower lip.

Jin Xi let out a faint gasp as the metallic tang of blood flooded her mouth, swiftly lapped up by his tongue.

Jin Xi weakly pushed at him, mumbling through the kiss, "Are you...a dog?"

Only dogs bite people.

Bo Yan relished licking her wounded lip, not being very gentle but extremely thorough, as if savoring a lavish feast.

Jin Xi's numbed lips tingled slightly. She was immersed in the rough tenderness he gave, reluctant to pull away even as he sucked the life out of her lips.

She gingerly nipped his lip in retaliation. She discovered this nibbling exchange was far more electrifying than just licking, coupled with the soft wet sounds echoing in the quiet stairwell as their mouths mingled.

Cupping her face, Bo Yan gazed at her flushed lips and felt her heated breaths against his skin.

"Biting me back?"

"Payback."

His lips quirked up slightly as he opened his mouth. "Go on then."

Jin Xi leaned in to gently sink her teeth into his flesh, not bearing to actually hurt him but leaving faint indented marks.

"I could just bite you to death." He held her by the hips. "But I can't stand to see you in pain."

She was driving him crazy.

Jin Xi released Bo Yan and smiled, dimples creasing the corners of her tempting lips.

"You're such a pervert."

"And this is perverted to you? Just wait 'til you're crying for me in the future."

She placed another kiss on his lower lip, ending their lingering passionate kiss.

Bo Yan didn't push further, simply gathering her into his arms and holding her close.

In fact, he didn't feel particularly sad. It would only be a little over a month, not like they were parting forever.

Girls were far more emotionally sensitive. Jin Xi seemed extremely reluctant to part from him, alternately holding his hand and nuzzling into the crook of his neck, reminding him to bring this and that, not to push himself too hard or talk back to the drill sergeants.

In the end, she even cried, burying her face in his shoulder as her tears soaked his shirt. She said she would miss him terribly.

Bo Yan felt awful. He didn't want such a mournful parting, but he was helpless against her tears. It felt like his heart was being ripped to shreds.

He didn't know how to comfort her. 𝓯𝘳𝘦𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝓃ℴ𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝓬𝘰𝑚

Bo Yan lowered his head and saw the outline of her chest beneath her nightgown. Instead of the usual full rounded shape, it tapered to a point.

She wasn't wearing a bra.

Bo Yan's Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed, a scorching heat flooding his throat.

He gently wiped away Jin Xi's tears, staring at her soft breasts before suddenly proposing, "Xi Xi, let me make you feel good, okay?"

...

When Jin Xi finally snuck back to her dorm room late into the night, her entire body felt limp as she crawled under the covers, clutching her blanket tightly around herself. Her face burned feverishly, her scalp tingled, and she felt lightheaded, as if floating amongst the clouds.

"Jerk."

She muttered under her breath, "Bo Yan, you jerk!"

She had bid him a reluctant farewell, sincerely reluctant to part from him and even crying. She didn't expect this guy to be so nasty!

He didn't penetrate her, only stimulation her "there" through the thin fabric of her clothes, but in that instant, Jin Xi's body went soft and she nearly fainted. She instantly forgot about the tears, feeling her entire world quiver and crumble. That sensation surpassed the sum of all previous pleasure.

When she opened her eyes, everything was a blur except for the churning depths of his dark irises. She felt the world spin.

Jin Xi touched herself but felt nothing. Why did he elicit such a reaction when she didn't even feel anything herself? That man's hands...did they possess some kind of magic?

She's gone mad!

Jin Xi decided not to dwell on it. She closed her eyes and forced herself to sleep, but not before setting an alarm to wake up early.

However, deep sleepers like Jin Xi wouldn't necessarily wake up even if ten alarms went off simultaneously under her pillow.

Lulled by the vibrations of her ringing alarm clock, Jin Xi dreamed that she hurriedly got dressed and raced to the school gates where Bo Yan's bus was already parked. He waved to her from a distance.

Reassured, Jin Xi began to sleep soundly.

It wasn't until her roommate Lin Luo climbed onto her bed and shook her awake, "Lazy pig, get up or you'll miss your beloved Bo Yan's last farewell."

Jin Xi's eyes flew open. "Crap, why am I still in bed!"

She checked the time. It was already 6:20 AM. She leapt out of bed, rushed through her morning routine without even brushing her hair, just raking her fingers through it haphazardly before running out in slippers.

Several large buses were parked at the school gates as groups of soldiers in olive green streamed onto the vehicles.

From afar, Jin Xi was surprised to see her brother Shen Ping Chuan there as well, standing by a bus door speaking with Bo Yan and even holding his dark blue suitcase.

Jin Xi quirked a brow, suddenly feeling a twinge of jealousy.

Those two seemed...suspiciously close.

She slowly approached the pair and overheard Shen Ping Chuan saying, "Don't worry about me, just focus on yourself."

Bo Yan replied, "I'm not worried about you. Give me my damn luggage."

Shen Ping Chuan looked extremely reluctant. "Or I could see you off, accompany you out of the city."

Bo Yan scoffed coldly. "Not afraid of Sergeant Yan tossing you out the window mid-journey? Then by all means, get on the bus."

Shen Ping Chuan heaved a heavy sigh and clapped Bo Yan's shoulder. "You take care now. Come back in one piece or my sister won't have you."

"It's training, not war. I'm not going to get maimed."

In the past, Jin Xi had always found Shen Ping Chuan annoying while Bo Yan didn't feel that way. But now that Shen Ping Chuan regarded him as a brother-in-law, attentive and considerate, treating him just like Jin Xi - Bo Yan was starting to get a sense of his behavior.

He was annoying, true, but also caring.

He doted on Jin Xi, so his affection extended to Bo Yan.

Being doted on by another man like this made Bo Yan feel...creeped out.

"Alright." He patted Shen Ping Chuan's shoulder. "Go home and catch up on sleep. I'm off."

Shen Ping Chuan seemed very reluctant. "Bo Yan, one last hug?"

"Go hug your mom... Don't be such a woman, dragging your feet."

Bo Yan suppressed the urge to curse. "Get going. Don't be all mopey."

Shen Pingchuan took out another packet of snacks from his backpack: "Milk and biscuits - eat these if you get hungry on the road. There are motion sickness patches, oh, and vomit bags inside too, just in case you feel nauseous on the mountain roads. Don't throw up all over the car and annoy people. There are also oranges - eat one if you feel carsick, they work pretty well."

Bo Yan accepted the bag: "Thanks."

He truly felt how Shen Pingchuan had cared for and looked after his little sister attentively over the years, watching her grow up bit by bit.

Like a father, and also like a mother.

Bo Yan didn't have parents. He had never experienced such thoughtful consideration.

"Alright, give me a hug. Don't worry about me, I'll call you."

After saying this, Bo Yan really did hug him briefly.

But when he heard Jin Xi behind him suddenly exclaim "Wow!" in a tone of shock, and shove Shen Pingchuan away, the look on her face screaming "I finally caught you two in the affair", glaring at them with condemnation and disgust.

Bo Yan stepped away from Shen Pingchuan and walked over to Jin Xi with a smile: "My ass Xi has finally woken up."

"If I didn't wake up, how would I know you two were so close!"

"If you had come over earlier, he wouldn't have nagged me for so long." Bo Yan reached out and ruffled her hair: "Don't let your imagination run wild."

"Looked to me like you two were chatting very happily."

He leaned in close and gently murmured: "The instructor is here, or else I would hug you."

Jin Xi grumbled: "You hug him, but not me?"

"Alright, be good at home during the summer vacation, listen to your brother."

Jin Xi nodded, leaning against Shen Pingchuan as she reluctantly watched him board the bus.

Soon, the bus engine started, and Bo Yan drew back the blue curtain to gaze at the two siblings huddled together, gradually disappearing into the morning sunlight. His chest felt like it was stuffed with sun-warmed cotton, warm and cozy.

...

In the back seat of the bus, Jing Chi watched the school gate recede into the distance, his eyes gradually darkening.

Xu Chaoyang craned his neck to look outside, leisurely saying: "My girlfriend didn't come to see me off, and your girlfriend didn't either."

Jing Chi shot him a disgusted look and closed his eyes, muttering: "None of your damn business."

Ever since that incident, the thick-skinned Xu Chaoyang had started treating Chu Zhao as Jing Chi's girlfriend, and would occasionally make jokes about Jing Chi when he saw Chu Zhao.

But he was always met with a cold stare.

Chu Zhao didn't explain, and of course Jing Chi explained even less. These past few days, Chu Zhao had been avoiding Jing Chi, and he knew it was because of what he said - "If you can't forget him, how could I ever have a chance?" - that had frightened her.

Jing Chi actually hadn't intended to bare his heart so soon, at least not while Xu Chaoyang was still in her heart.

That day was the only time in his first cautious and steady half of life that he had acted impulsively.

Jing Chi was perhaps clever, with a shrewdness and cunning, but he had never thought of using such cleverness against the girl he loved.

Chu Zhao was actually quite simple. Jing Chi knew that if she no longer liked Xu Chaoyang, with just a little effort on his part, she could be his.

He swore that before saying those words, he really...hadn't meant for her to know, he understood that he didn't deserve her.

Perhaps it was the gentle wind that day, stirring up the restless longing in his heart.

Summer, after all, was the season of love.

In the end, he had acted impulsively once.

Damn it all, when they returned there would be an answer. If she couldn't forget Xu Chaoyang, then he would give up, completely give up.

Jing Chi glanced at Xu Chaoyang and casually asked: "How come you two haven't broken up yet?"

Xu Chaoyang exclaimed: "Why do you hope we break up so much? What are you plotting?"

Jing Chi calmly took a sip of water from his cup: "Do you think you and Xuan Xuan can make it through the summer?"

"I'm warning you, don't curse me. I finally got together with Xuan Xuan!"

Jing Chi gazed out the window, saying nonchalantly: "Xu Chaoyang, let's make a bet."

"Bet on what?"

"If you and Xuan Xuan can make it through the summer, I'll split my earnings next semester with you."

"Damn, you're willing to lose money like this?"

Xu Chaoyang looked at Jing Chi in disbelief. He knew that although Jing Chi seemed to make modest profits here and there, it added up to thousands each month!

"It's a deal! I'll definitely get through this summer with her."

Jing Chi said flatly: "You'd better get through it, you son of a bitch."

Xu Chaoyang's brows furrowed in confusion: "Why do I feel like you're plotting something?"

"If you feel that way, then you're right."

"Then tell me, what if I can't make it through?"

Jing Chi's eyes gradually darkened, churning with hidden currents: "If you break up with her, promise me one thing."

"Wha-what is it?"

"Promise me first."

"No way, what if you make me eat shit?"

"..."

Jing Chi rubbed his brow in frustration, cursing inwardly.

Xu Chaoyang still refused to give up, persisting in asking: "What exactly are you trying to do?"

Jing Chi let out a sigh, and said: "There's a girl who has liked you for a long time. Promise me you'll give her a chance."