Stars Run To Him

On Saturday, Lin Yuxing and Su Li got up early and took the newly altered cat outfits to the exhibition hall in the city center.

Lin Yuheng had hitched a ride with his father that morning and arrived an hour earlier than them. He had already changed into the outfit, but he didn’t look as flamboyant as Lin Yuxing had imagined.

It’s just that “Lin Yuheng” was quite tall for this body, and the skirt seemed a bit short, and there was a bit too much leg hair.

Lin Yuheng had thought to himself that he should shave the alpha’s leg hair some other day; it was terrifyingly thick.

Su Li was dumbfounded; it was the first time he saw someone with so much leg hair wearing a short skirt.

“What are you looking at? My leg hair is sexy” Lin Yuheng pointed to the dressing room around the corner. “Quickly go change your clothes. Today, we have different roles. I’m the team leader, and you all have to listen to me.”

Su Li sneered and said, “Don’t mess with me, please.”

Lin Yuheng playfully raised his hand and messed up Su Li’s hair, leaving it in a disarray.

Looking at Lin Yuxing, he had already quickly stepped back two steps.

Lin Yuheng’s raised hand returned empty as he quickly composed himself and smiled, “Go change your clothes.”

Prompted by Lin Yuheng, both of them hurriedly entered the dressing room.

Su Li changed clothes very quickly, dressing up in no time. He faced the mirror and began to tidy the bow on his chest. Lin Yuxing’s movements were also swift, and he soon came out from behind the curtain in a dressing booth.

Because Lin Yuxing’s hair was a bit long, he tied it into a small braid. He also used a bandage to cover the scar at the back of his neck, just in case.

Su Li’s eyes lit up, and he gave Lin Yuxing a big thumbs-up.

Su Li lifted two pairs of cat ears, one pair with white ears and a light-colored lace butterfly bow, and the other pair with black ears and silver bells.

“Do you want the white or the black one?” Su Li asked.

Lin Yuxing didn’t mind, “Either is fine.”

Su Li gave the black ones to him, “These match you better.”

Lin Yuxing put them on his head, and the bells made a sound.

It had to be said that that cat outfit seemed tailor-made for Lin Yuxing; it didn’t look forced at all.

Before leaving, Su Li hurriedly handed his phone to Lin Yuxing, “Take a picture of me, and I’ll take one of you too.”

Following Su Li’s instructions, Lin Yuxing squatted down, adjusted the angle, and took several photos of Su Li, “Done.” He said, “I won’t need any pictures.”

“Don’t you want to send them to Gu Zhongyi to see?” Su Li said, imagining the scene. 

Lin Yuxing felt a little awkward about himself dressed like that, “What if he laughs at me?”

“How could that be? I believe that he will definitely drool over the pictures, he won’t laugh at you!” Su Li said confidently.

Su Li made Lin Yuxing stand in position, “I’m not lying to you, you look really good in this!” He mumbled.

Lin Yuxing couldn’t argue, so he stood reservedly while Su Li took some photos.

Despite Su Li’s efforts, it was hard to take good pictures with Lin Yuxing’s lack of cooperation. Su Li gave up and checked the album, managing to keep two pictures that were still somewhat presentable.

After finishing these tasks, Su Li finally had time to send a photo of himself to Liang Xie, one he was more satisfied with.

Su Li: [Today’s treat, meow~]

Liang Xie: […]

Su Li: [Meow meow meow meow? (do i look good?)]

Liang Xie: [you do.]

Su Li went straight to the point: [If it looks good, how about going on a date with me?]

He quickly sent his location.

Liang Xie didn’t reply.

Su Li felt a little disappointed, but he could adapt: [Just kidding, I know you’re busy with work. I understand!]

The exhibition started at 9 am and would end at 4 pm. They would have a lunch break of 30 minutes.

The cat booth where Lin Yuxing was had a large flow of people.

The three of them served tea and water, and at other times, they introduced various cat drinking and eating machines and different types of cat toys to customers.

On the sales counter, there were various products with cartoon kittens.

Due to the large number of customers, the inventory in the small warehouse behind them was sold out quickly. Lin Yuxing along with Lin Yuheng, went to the more distant storage area to restock.

He walked ahead, and Lin Yuheng followed behind.

Lin Yuheng took a sneak picture of Lin Yuxing’s back and sent it to Gu Zhongyi.

Lin Yuheng: [Cute, right?]

Lin Yuheng then sent a location: [Ah, I forgot you are in M City. It’ll be dark by the time you arrive.]

Gu Zhongyi: […]

 Lin Yuxing in front wiped the sweat from his forehead. When he turned around, he said, “Liao Yan, don’t just play with your phone. We need to hurry!”

Lin Yuheng had no choice but to obediently follow, “okay let’s hurry.”

When they reached the storage area, Lin Yuheng checked the goods while Lin Yuxing helped him carry the boxes.

He took a few boxes and placed them on the cart. The boxes were not light, but Lin Yuxing effortlessly lifted them.

Lin Yuheng, who was observing, had a sudden realization. The little star who used to cling to him and couldn’t do anything right had disappeared long ago.

“Liao Yan, why are you daydreaming?” The cute Lin Yuxing deftly moved two boxes, once again placing them on the cart. “Are you feeling unwell?”

“I’m okay.” Lin Yuheng hurriedly said, “Let me do the lifting, and you can count the goods.”

“Okay.”

employees from various booths also came to collect goods several times, causing some chaos. Lin Yuxing signed the list at the warehouse administrator’s office and ran back. In the process, he accidentally tripped over some tape on the floor and nearly fell.

Fortunately, Lin Yuheng was quick to react and caught him before he fell.

As if by instinct, Lin Yuheng’s hand protected Lin Yuxing’s head, rubbing it gently, his heartbeat quickening, clearly startled by the near accident.

Lin Yuheng instinctively frowned, and blurted out, “Silly Star, be more careful!”

After saying this, both of them froze.

Lin Yuxing was stunned; in his mind, he seemed to remember a summer day, when the red bean porridge got stuck in his throat, silently choking him.

Back then, in that exact situation, his brother would always shout, “Silly Star, why are you always so careless!”

And then he would subconsciously protect his head with his hand and then rub it gently.

Before Lin Yuxing could react, Lin Yuheng quickly released his hand and took a step back.

Lin Yuheng didn’t say much and didn’t explain the familiar term of endearment. He simply crouched down and checked the box he had dropped.

When Lin Yuxing saw the word “pillow” written on the box, Lin Yuheng breathed a sigh of relief.

He resumed his usual carefree demeanor and raised an eyebrow teasingly, “If there were something fragile inside, we would have worked for nothing today.” He picked up the box and placed it on the cart, securing it with a rope. He said, “Is it good now?”

Lin Yuxing nodded, “Yes.”

“Let’s go; if we don’t return to Su Li soon, he’ll probably explode.”

Under the scorching sun, they hurried toward the exhibition hall.

Lin Yuxing braved the heat, occasionally glancing at the people ahead. He had something on his mind, a question he couldn’t bring himself to ask.

Until the other person asked, “Do you think that I am good-looking?”

Lin Yuxing immediately felt awkward and muttered, “No.”

Lin Yuheng smiled and revealed a set of white teeth.

Distracted by the smile, Lin Yuxing accidentally stepped on some trash, stumbling, “…” He then bent down to pick up the empty can from the ground and threw it into the recycling bin nearby. Turning to face “Liao Yan,” he saw him standing there, waiting for him.

Under the sun, “Liao Yan’s” face bore no resemblance to Lin Yuheng’s.

A gentle breeze brushed through Lin Yuxing’s hair.

“Liao Yan.”

“Hmm?”

“Why did you call me ‘Silly Star’ just now?”

Lin Yuheng nonchalantly crossed his arms, trying to appear indifferent, “I called you that randomly, what’s the big deal?”

Lin Yuxing habitually wiped his hands with the apron, then realized it wasn’t the one from home. He smoothed the apron while walking and grasped the handle of the cart again.

“Do you know Lin Yuheng?”

The name, spoken by Lin Yuxing, sounded incredulous.

Lin Yuheng didn’t hesitate and replied nonchalantly, “I don’t know him. His name is similar to yours, but who is he to you? Why are you asking about him?”

After receiving the answer, Lin Yuxing’s expression was hard to read.

Lin Yuheng was also apprehensive, unsure of how Lin Yuxing would react. Fortunately, Lin Yuxing shook his head gently and said, “Nothing, just curious.”

Lin Yuxing continued walking in the direction of the exhibition hall.

After a few steps, he said, “Lin Yuheng is my twin brother. Maybe he looks like me, maybe not.” He finished speaking and smiled to himself.

He thought he was foolish. If Liao Yan really knew Lin Yuheng, how could he fail to recognize him? Regardless of the changes between them, they were identical twins, and they would always look similar.

It was just the words “Silly Star” and a familiar gesture that led him to such an unrealistic illusion.

A foolish idea that his brother had come to find him.

He self-mockingly curled the corner of his mouth. It had been so long, his brother probably didn’t even remember him anymore.

They walked, with Lin Yuxing in front and Lin Yuheng behind.

Lin Yuheng asked him, “You and your brother…” He paused for a moment, suddenly unsure how to ask.

Lin Yuxing stopped, not wanting to complicate things too much, and said frankly, “I haven’t been in touch with him for a long time, and I don’t know where he is. When you called me ‘Silly Star,’ it’s a term of endearment only he uses, so I misunderstood.”

He said, “Sorry, Liao Yan.”

Lin Yuheng’s palm became sweaty; he felt like a fishbone stuck in his throat.

The scorching sun above made him increasingly restless.

“You said before that you don’t like others calling you ‘Star.’ Is it because of him?”

“Yes.”

Lin Yuheng’s heart was stabbed again, splitting open in the middle.

But soon, his heart began to heal.

Because Lin Yuxing followed up, saying, “But instead of beating him up, I just want to know if he’s doing well.”

If possible, Lin Yuxing hoped to see his brother again. He had a question he had always wanted to ask him, even though he wasn’t sure if it still held any meaning.

Lin Yuxing’s question was simple: He wanted to know why his brother didn’t come back for him.

Regardless of whether the answer would disappoint him or not, he just wanted to know. It would save him from waiting foolishly in his dreams, reliving the childhood promises and never being able to move on.

Similarly, even though Lin Yuxing resented his untrustworthy brother, he also wished for him to be doing well. That way, he could justify his brother’s decision to leave him behind.

Therefore, Lin Yuxing said, “I really hope he’s doing well.”

Lin Yuheng opened his mouth, and the tips of his upper and lower teeth touched lightly.

At that moment, the sun was too intense.

Lin Yuxing couldn’t see the expression on Lin Yuheng’s face, nor could he see the trace of bewilderment in Lin Yuheng’s desolate eyes.