Saving the Heartthrob Frenemy-Chapter 124: "What are you trying to hide?"

Qie Xieling pulled the quilt and slid inside lying down with his back facing Luo Muchen. He was acting as usual but he had this inexplicable feeling of excitement that had to be suppressed.

He closed his eyes pretending to be asleep but Luo Muchen couldn’t hold it any longer. "Lin Lin," he called out softly and Qie Xieling hummed in response.

"Are you sleeping?" he asked and Qie Xieling answered,

"En."

He was obviously lying and Luo Muchen could tell. "Does it still hurt?" he asked and Qie Xieling ignored him for a while but in the end, he couldn’t resist.

He grabbed his cell phone and turned on the torch before kicking the quilt. He pulled up the hem of his t-shirt showing him where the scar should have been but there was nothing. Luo Muchen’s heart skipped a beat as he stared at Qie Xieling’s bare skin.

He had seen him shirtless countless times before, but the sight was almost too much to bear. He tore his gaze away and looked back at Qie Xieling’s face, feeling the heat rising in his cheeks.

"May I?" asked Luo Muchen and Qie Xieling let him touch. Luo Muchen touched his skin with his warm fingertips feeling a lump in his throat.

He was surprised to find that there was no scar, no trace that the wound had ever been there.

Qie Xieling chuckled at Luo Muchen’s surprise. "Yeah, it healed up pretty nicely, didn’t it? So don’t worry so much," he said, sounding almost proud.

Qie Xieling pulled down his t-shirt and lay back down wondering when the lights would come back on.

"You and Lee Ya... that picture you posted together. Are you...," asked Luo Muchen but he couldn’t bring himself to say dating.

Qie Xieling had heard this question so many times and wouldn’t bother responding but he wanted to explain to Luo Muchen as he didn’t want him to misunderstand.

"No, we aren’t. If I was dating her I wouldn’t hesitate to tell the world," he said before turning to look at him and continuing to ask, "You posted someone on your profile. You have never even posted me or tagged me before. Muchen, have I been replaced? Do you have a new best friend behind my back?"

Luo Muchen was at a loss. "I was forwarded that picture by my supervisor and asked to post it to help with boosting the university research online. I even hash-tagged the research department," he explained and Qie Xieling was just looking at him as though trying to determine if he was telling the truth.

"Then why did you take off your ring?" asked Qie Xieling after a long moment of silence.

"I always take it off before I start working in the lab. If I don’t take it off it might get damaged and I can’t risk it... Wait how did you know that I took it off?"

Qie Xieling, "..."

AN: It was at this moment he knew he fucked up...

It was radio silence from then on and Qie Xieling played possum. If his ancestors saw this they would be so proud of him.

Luo Muchen called out his name softly but Qie Xieling shuffled around like he was looking for a comfortable spot to sleep.

"Can I see your phone?" asked Luo Muchen but he wasn’t asking but rather informing him because he took it and unlocked it.

Qie Xieling couldn’t pretend anymore. As soon as Luo Muchen took it, Qie Xieling suddenly lunged forward, trying to grab it back.

"What are you trying to hide?" Luo Muchen teased, holding the phone out of Qie Xieling’s reach.

Qie Xieling swallowed recalling his argument with BagerZ. He was sure he deleted it but after the stunt he pulled earlier, BagerZ might have sent him an angry message. "Nothing, nothing!" he protested, struggling to get the cell phone back.

The two of them engaged in a friendly tussle on the bed, wrestling for control of the phone. Luo Muchen was physically stronger than Qie Xieling, so it wasn’t long before he had Qie Xieling pinned down.

"Okay, okay, you win," Qie Xieling chuckled, giving up the struggle.

Luo Muchen grinned triumphantly as he unlocked the phone and opened up the app he was interested in. He scrolled through Qie Xieling’s feed, commenting on his pictures and making jokes.

Qie Xieling watched him nervously, looking a little guilty but he was still confident that Luo Muchen wouldn’t find anything incriminating. And Luo Muchen, for his part, was too caught up in the moment to notice the strange mix of emotions that were swirling inside Qie Xieling.

The message icon was lighting up so he clicked it and as expected Qie Xieling was in contact with his team member. Luo Muchen didn’t know how to react for a moment and it was due to this that the cell phone was easily swiped from his hands.

"Go to sleep," said Qie Xieling locking his cell phone. Qie Xieling thought he wouldn’t be able to sleep after almost getting caught but he was so exhausted that he fell asleep soon after.

Once his breathing was even and his body relaxed, Luo Muchen got up and took his cell phone with him. He didn’t get to read the message BagerZ sent to Qie Xieling as the cell phone was taken away which left his mind churning and sleepless.

He stepped onto the balcony and dialled his mother’s number. It didn’t take long before she answered. "Luo Muchen you have truly grown up. You can even run away from home and even blacklist my number," said Luo Shih sitting in her office with pictures of him strewed on the laptop display as she tapped the table with her round-shaped nails.

"I am sorry mum... I just miss him," he said and Luo Shih could only sigh. This boy would surely be her son’s downfall. Already he was so impulsive when it came to Qie Xieling.

"Don’t run around until I get there. Hei Xiwen already sent people to protect you," she said but she wasn’t reassured. The fact that the Lee family had lost their government subsidies after the incident and brought their project to a screeching halt meant there was great resentment towards her and her son. It would be surprising if nothing happened in the next few days.

"I love you, Mum," he said and Luo Shih answered,

"I love you too. Be careful," before cutting the call.

Luo Muchen felt guilty for putting her in this situation but he couldn’t help himself. He wanted to see Qie Xieling so bad that he dropped everything for him.

When he lay back down on the bed, Qie Xieling shuffled around and lay on his shoulder while wrapping his arm around Luo Muchen’s chest. It seemed like he was treating him like his big bear that was placed in the walk-in closet.

In his sleep, he mumbled, "Where did you go?"

Luo Muchen froze unable to react for a moment. He carefully grabbed Qie Xieling’s arm pulling him closer. Qie Xieling complied like this was the most natural thing for him.

"Bathroom," replied Luo Muchen and Qie Xieling nuzzled his neck while humming a response.

Luo Muchen raised his cell phone and took a selfie with the two of them but Qie Xieling’s face wasn’t in it. It was just his fluffy head of hair and ear but it was clear from the angle that he was sleeping on Luo Muchen’s shoulder. What was Luo Muchen’s intention for taking this picture? Well, even he wasn’t clear on his intentions at this point.