The Art of Holding Hands and the Arrival of a Rival

Ji Yanli silently watched as Chu Ci, who had already run far away, came scurrying back. He tilted his head curiously, about to say something, but when he saw the displeasure written all over Chu Ci’s face, he sheepishly shut his mouth and swallowed the words at the tip of his tongue.

Chu Ci stopped and blocked Ji Yanli’s path. His gaze fell upon the other man’s slender, fair fingers. His Adam’s apple rolled a few times before he uncomfortably averted his eyes. With his head slightly turned away and without saying a word, he stiffly thrust his hand out toward Ji Yanli.

Seeing his rigid movements, Ji Yanli raised an eyebrow and looked down at Chu Ci’s reddened fingertips. “What is it?”

Chu Ci bit his lower lip, his long, thick eyelashes trembling violently. The curve of his ear hidden under his hair turned crimson at a speed visible to the naked eye.

‘I’m being this obvious, does he really not know what I mean?’

He stole a glance at Ji Yanli. The youth before him still wore a look of confusion, staring at Chu Ci’s hand without making a move.

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, Ji Yanli even moved the hand that had been resting at his side behind his back.

Chu Ci: “…”

‘He’s doing it on purpose!’

‘Ji Yanli is absolutely wicked!’

Ji Yanli stared with great interest at Chu Ci’s furrowed brow, blinking innocently. His expression seemed to be forcing Chu Ci to say it out loud. He lowered his voice and repeated: “What do you want to do?”

The blush on the other’s ear crept onto his cheeks. Chu Ci released his bitten lip, the reddened flesh shimmering with a slight moisture. He lowered his lashes, blinking uncontrollably fast. After agonizing for a long moment, he finally mumbled a single syllable: “…Hold.”

The short sound vanished instantly. Saying those words seemed to cost Chu Ci his very life; he felt so embarrassed his scalp was tingling. His head dropped nearly to his chest, wishing he could vanish on the spot.

‘This task is definitely out to get me!’

‘Haha! I’m done! One punch to blow up the Earth! One punch to blow up the Earth!’

Ji Yanli’s fox-like eyes curved upward as he raised a hand to tap his chin. “Hmm… the voice was too small, I didn’t hear you.”

Chu Ci: “…”

‘One punch to blow up Ji Yanli! One punch to blow up Ji Yanli!’

Chu Ci ground his molars and forced his head up to meet Ji Yanli’s gaze. He took a deep breath, gave his own waist a sharp pinch, and then forced himself to say it again: “I said… hold hands.”

The soft ending of his words brushed against Ji Yanli’s heart like a kitten’s tail. The smile in Ji Yanli’s eyes deepened, a sense of satisfaction swelling within his mischievous thoughts.

Fearing that if he teased him any further, Chu Ci might actually explode, Ji Yanli caught Chu Ci’s fingers and tucked them into his palm while the other wasn’t looking.

“Hold them like this?” He raised their joined hands, intentionally giving them a little shake.

Chu Ci’s eyes widened. Ji Yanli’s hand was a size larger than his own, perfectly able to envelop his entire hand. A steady stream of warmth transferred over. Without even trying to touch him, Chu Ci could clearly feel that his brain was definitely running a fever.

Meanwhile, the other man was intentionally or unintentionally stroking Chu Ci’s knuckles with the pads of his fingers. The soft sensation made Chu Ci’s spine go numb. His lips trembled as he stammered out: “N-not like this.”

“Then how do you want to hold them?” Ji Yanli looked at him, spreading his palm open in front of Chu Ci as if letting him have his way. “How about you teach me.”

His words were ambiguous, and his breath scorched the curve of Chu Ci’s ear. Chu Ci felt like he was about to faint; the original owner’s instinctive reaction was simply too strong. He swallowed hard, carefully curled his fingers, and slotted them into the gaps between Ji Yanli’s fingers, loosely hooking them together.

Ji Yanli could hardly hide the smile on his lips. The boy before him was blushing like a ripe peach, his movements cautious and minute. When the fingertips brushed against Ji Yanli’s palm, a dense itchiness burrowed into his skin, constantly stimulating his sensitive tactile nerves.

Chu Ci didn’t dare look up at Ji Yanli. His eyes were fixed on their joined hands. Since the task didn’t specify how tight the grip had to be, he silently counted down a minute in his head.

“So you like it like this.”

Ji Yanli spoke suddenly. In the next second, he took the initiative to press their palms together, locking their fingers tightly without a single gap.

The intimate contact caused Chu Ci’s senses to magnify infinitely in an instant. Even Ji Yanli’s body temperature seemed to be rising along with it. The extreme surge of adrenaline and the rapid flow of blood made it inexplicably difficult for Chu Ci to breathe.

His pupils shrank, and the countdown in his head was abruptly interrupted. His slightly suspended fingertips trembled gently.

Ten seconds… eight seconds… five seconds… one second…

Along with his violently beating heart, Xiao Ba’s voice finally broke through the stifling air.

“[Ding! Congratulations to Host for successfully completing the ‘Interlock Fingers for One Minute’ task!!]”

With a burst of joy, he twisted his wrist, attempting to break free from Ji Yanli’s hand, but unexpectedly, the other man tightened his grip again.

Chu Ci lifted his gaze and glared unceremoniously at Ji Yanli, who looked back with a half-smile: “Let’s go, just the way you like it.”

After saying that, Ji Yanli actually walked toward the teaching building with his fingers still interlocked with Chu Ci’s.

Walking behind him, Chu Ci stared at the back of Ji Yanli’s head and ground his molars.

‘It’s over, it’s over.’

‘If anyone sees this, it’ll be a disaster!’

‘I’ll be ganged up on and killed by his group of pursuers!’

At that thought, he forcibly pulled Ji Yanli to a stop.

“Wait!” Chu Ci spoke in a panic. “That’s… that’s enough.”

His thin lips trembled, and the flush on his cheeks had not yet faded. The embarrassment on his face was too obvious; he couldn’t lift his head at all. His overly long black hair covered his eyes, but Ji Yanli could still see his rapidly blinking lashes.

The morning self-study bell rang at an inopportune moment, its ear-splitting sound lingering over the campus. The sun, previously covered by thick clouds, revealed a sliver of its corner, casting light over the grey-black ground.

“Chu Ci?” Ji Yanli’s voice easily pierced through the sound of the bell, recklessly striking Chu Ci’s eardrums. “Look up at me.”

His tone was gentle, yet it inexplicably carried a hint of command. Chu Ci kept his head down as if he hadn’t heard, with only his burning red ears betraying him.

Ji Yanli’s gaze lingered on the other’s flushed skin for a moment. Then he took a step back, leaning down to whisper into Chu Ci’s ear: “Shy so easily?”

“—But it’s quite cute.”

Chu Ci felt a sudden roar in his head, feeling dazed as if he were being controlled. If he could be fitted with a clockwork key, Chu Ci felt he would immediately start spinning in circles on the spot.

What’s going on… what’s going on…

Is the original owner’s reaction this strong this time?

Wake up! Stay calm!!!

Chu Ci closed his eyes, and then, hardening his heart, he raised his free hand and fiercely pinched his philtrum.

The intense pain shot straight to the top of his head, and his chaotic thoughts instantly cleared. He once again forcefully shook off Ji Yanli’s hand and muttered in a low voice: “That’s about enough.”

Having said that, he strode past Ji Yanli, his pace exceptionally fast, as if afraid the person behind him would do something else to him.

Ji Yanli’s upturned lips slowly flattened. He was just about to move to chase after Chu Ci when his shoulder was struck hard by someone. Before he could react, the sound of books crashing to the ground followed.

He frowned. the dull pain in his shoulder made him suck in a breath of cold air. He turned his head, but before he could speak, the person who bumped into him apologized first: “I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to!”

Chu Ci, walking ahead, turned around at the sound of the apology.

An unfamiliar youth stood before Ji Yanli. He was tall—a full head taller than Ji Yanli. He was wearing a simple basketball uniform with short, neat hair. His healthy wheat-colored skin made the nearby Ji Yanli look blindingly white in comparison.

He had his head down, so Chu Ci could only see his sharp and handsome profile. The tall youth was bowing and apologizing to Ji Yanli, which looked somewhat comical.

Chu Ci narrowed his eyes, instinctively searching his memory to see if this person was an important character.

Over there, Ji Yanli was rubbing his sore shoulder, the frown on his brow refusing to smooth out. However, the other party’s apology was sincere and prompt. Ji Yanli took a breath, said “It’s fine,” and intended to crouch down to help pick up the books scattered on the ground.

“Ah—no need to trouble yourself!” The tall youth hurriedly crouched down as well. Before Ji Yanli’s fingers could touch the books, he snatched them up and held them in a messy heap in his arms.

“…”

Ji Yanli blinked. Since the other party refused his help, he stood up. Then he turned his head and saw Chu Ci waiting for him nearby, so he instinctively moved to walk toward him.

Just as he took a step out, the stranger seemed to notice something. His eyes widened as he called out in surprise: “Excuse me… are you Ji Yanli?”

Hearing this, Ji Yanli looked back at him. His cold expression was reflected in the youth’s clear, dark eyes, but that emotion vanished in a flash. Ji Yanli smiled slightly and asked back: “You know me?”

The youth walked over with the books, his steps clumsy like a golden retriever. He nodded vigorously twice. “Yes! Didn’t you participate in the rescue activity last semester? That injured stray cat at school back then—you were the one who took it for treatment, right!”

Ji Yanli lowered his eyes and recalled. “Are you talking about Mochi?”

The youth’s eyes curved into a smile. “So you named it Mochi. I used to call it Little White.”

“…But it was brown.” Ji Yanli’s voice sounded a bit helpless.

The youth continued to grin broadly and laugh. “But when you rescued it, you didn’t leave a name. I’ve always wanted to thank you, but I only found out it was you who saved it after a senior in the Student Union told me.”

“Thank you! I didn’t expect you to be such a good person, and…”

‘And so good-looking.’

The blatant praise made Ji Yanli instinctively frown.

However, the other party didn’t notice Ji Yanli’s reaction, continuing to talk to himself: “I used to secretly feed Little White. I was so worried when it disappeared, but I felt relieved once I knew you saved it.”

Ji Yanli listened, glanced at him a few times, and then his attention returned to Chu Ci.

He was afraid of making Chu Ci wait too long, so he wanted to end the conversation directly: “Mhm… it was just a small effort, it was nothing.”

“Then… then…”

The youth moved his lips, about to say something else, but swallowed the words back, looking very conflicted.

Ji Yanli’s patience was running thin. “Is there anything else, classmate?”

“If there’s nothing else, I’m going back to class.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Ji Yanli turned to leave.

The stranger let out an “Eh” and, seeing Ji Yanli about to leave, grabbed Ji Yanli’s wrist in a panic.

The burning body temperature pressed tightly against the slightly cool skin. The youth’s fingertips, calloused from playing basketball, felt strange. Ji Yanli turned his head and looked down; the weird sensation made a wave of inexplicable nausea rise in his heart.

“I wanted to say, I haven’t seen Little White in a long time and I miss it a bit. Could you take me to—”

“Let go.”

The youth hadn’t finished his sentence when he was interrupted by Ji Yanli’s voice. He was stunned for a moment, looking up at Ji Yanli. The Student Union President, known to others as kind and understanding, now had a face as cold as ice.

His pitch-black pupils seemed covered in a layer of frost, and his expression was dark, causing an instinctive sense of dread.

“What?” The youth’s lips trembled.

Ji Yanli shook off his hand without hesitation, took a clean handkerchief from his pocket, and wiped his wrist.

When he looked up again, the gloom on his face had vanished. The corners of his mouth hooked up slightly, revealing a friendly smile: “Sure.”

Then, Ji Yanli left without looking back.

On the other side, Chu Ci was racking his brain trying to remember who exactly this youth standing in front of Ji Yanli was.

It wasn’t until he saw the other person grab Ji Yanli’s hand that a flash of inspiration hit him.

“Holy crap.”

“Isn’t he the second male lead, the ultimate simp!”

The second male lead in the original plot was named Bai Yu. If Chu Ci’s original owner was a minor simp, then Bai Yu was a true heavyweight in that department.

Because of a cat, he fell in love with Ji Yanli at first sight. However, before he could express his love and begin his pursuit, the main protagonist Song Qichen returned from abroad, and Bai Yu had to keep his feelings hidden.

He was the typical devoted backup in a romance novel. He was the first to run and comfort Ji Yanli at school, the first to take care of him when he was sick, and he acted as a human sandbag when Ji Yanli was angry.

In the end, at Ji Yanli and Song Qichen’s wedding, he even secretly pulled Ji Yanli aside and made a shocking vow that he would only ever love Ji Yanli in his life and would stay unmarried for his sake.

Chu Ci narrowed his eyes as he watched Bai Yu’s receding figure, his gaze gaining a bit of deep meaning.

Then, Ji Yanli, who had appeared beside him at some point, spoke out of the blue.

“—What second male lead?”