The Onion-Cutting Ninja's Secret Crush

77 Some Time Apart

Xiao Ming hurriedly ordered a dish before he looked up at Si Qi, his heart beating frantically. He still couldn't believe that he was sitting at a table with Shi Ru Qiu. It just seemed much too fantastic.

Just meeting him on coincidence was one thing but to actually be able to have a chat with him and go to eat something ... he really didn't know what to make of that. It just seemed so surreal.

Si Qi could see that Xiao Ming was nervous but he didn't say anything about it. Instead, he just patiently ordered some dishes for himself before he put the menu to the side and took a look around the bistro.

This was a habit that he had formed over the years of being a writer. Everything could be an inspiration. And being able to describe different kinds of places was one of the things that were the most important. And while there definitely wasn't a scarcity of places you could look at online, it was still something different to actually be there and be able to take a look around.

It wasn't just the looks of it, the feeling it gave off if you actually sat there was a different one. At the very least, it was to him. So he would usually take at least a few moments for this kind of thing.

When he had finished, Xiao Ming had also managed to calm down and Si Qi gave a smile. "I've probably been a bit too forthright before. I'm really sorry about that. I'm not usually like that. It is just that this morning, I was unfortunately very rudely reminded of the fact that I have a longstanding unrequited crash. So my thoughts were still all over the place."

Xiao Ming hurriedly shook his head. "I don't mind, really. If it made you feel better, then I'm happy that I was able to help. It's not that easy being ... like this in our country." He lowered his gaze, wondering if it was really alright to talk about it like this.

To be honest, in regard to this topic, he had been quite lucky. His parents had probably suspected something and when he finally told them, they had taken it with grace. Qian Huang and Li Shui also hadn't been bothered by it. That was a lot more than others had. So he definitely couldn't complain in that regard. He didn't know how it was for Shi Ru Qiu and he didn't dare to ask either. Who knew if that wouldn't just conjure up even more sad memories?

Si Qi smiled when he saw Xiao Ming glance at him as if there was something that he wanted to say but didn't dare to. "I've said so much, I definitely wouldn't mind if you asked whatever was on your mind right now. Just be honest. In any case, it is a nice opportunity to actually be able to talk to somebody else."

Since Shi Ru Qiu already offered this directly, Xiao Ming didn't hold back. "Is there nobody else you can talk to about this otherwise?"

Si Qi lowered his gaze, his expression pensive. "Well, I guess you could say that is the problem. Although it's not really because of the reasons you probably imagine.

"You know, the people around me are probably alright with it. In fact, I have some acquaintances that are gay and even in relationships right now. Nobody minds. It's just that I don't really feel close to any of them. So this kind of thing ... I have a bit of a problem opening up."

Xiao Ming looked at him and once again have the feelings that Shi Ru Qiu seemed like a rather lonely person. To think that he would rather talk to a total stranger than an acquaintance ... that was quite sad. But then again, maybe because he was a stranger it was easier to open up for him. He probably had the feeling that after 'Golden Spoon' ended, they would never meet again. Since that was the case, it wasn't a problem to just say anything he thought of.

"Well, have you ... tried it? I know it can be really scary to talk about these things but maybe you'd be surprised. Maybe ... if you just told them, you would find out that at least some of them could be closer to you than you think."