After I traveled through the book, I gained a humanoid pendant

The boy lowered his head so that his eyes were level with the girl.

"sorry."

The girl's pounding heart seemed to be poured with a bucket of cold water.

“Thank you for your love. I am touched by being loved by a sincere and kind girl like you, but I really cannot develop a relationship with you that goes beyond friendship.

You are a great girl, good at study, good personality, and careful at work. But I can't fall in love right now. To be honest with you, you shouldn't waste your time on me."

Pan Dongxue's eyes were red.

"Is it because we are all students now? I know you are studying hard, I won't affect your studies, and I can also help you... I..."

Ni Yangzhou thought, it’s not because I’m a student, it’s because I’m not from here.

Not from this world.

Ni Yangzhou was thinking about how to not hurt the girl, and then an idea suddenly came to his mind and a sentence came out of his mouth.

"I like men."

The girl stopped sobbing, "Like... boys?"

In small towns in this era, liking a boy is strangely as rare as a rocket taking off into the sky.

Few people say it.

In the eyes of many people, homosexuality and perversion are still equated.

"I……"

The girl didn't understand. In the more than ten years of her life, information was not so complicated and diverse, and no one told her that boys could also like boys.

"Shhh—" The boy winked at her.

"Please keep it a secret for me."

Pan Dongxue was dizzy after hearing this news, but she nodded subconsciously.

Ni Yangzhou took out a tissue from his pocket and handed it to the girl, "Wipe it off. The birthday girl should be happy today."

The girl took the paper, lowered her head, and let the tears fall straight to the ground.

"I'll... tidy it up."

Ni Yangzhou took a step back at the right time, patted the girl on the shoulder like a brother, and walked out of the shadow of the alley.

After a while, the girl finally came up and they looked at each other.

Pan Dongxue smiled at him, her nose still red.

"Thank you for telling me. I will keep it a secret."

Ni Yangzhou also smiled and said, "Thank you too."

-------------------------------------

When we returned to the private room, everyone had almost finished eating.

Seeing the two people walk in together, Li Yuan and his girlfriend were the first to notice a hint of something unusual.

Li Yuan's girlfriend saw Pan Dongxue's red cheeks and asked, "Hey, Xiaoxue, why are you blushing?"

Li Yuan did not miss the figures of Ni Yangzhou and Pan Dongxue.

Everyone went their own way, there was no small action.

Ni Yangzhou replied: "I was out for a walk and ran into this. I guess the wind blew it."

Li Yuan said, "Yes, it's windy today."

Pan Dongxue stammered as she returned to her seat, muttering, "Yeah, the wind is strong."

Ni Yangzhou returned to Meng Ting, and as soon as he sat down, a sharp gaze was cast over him.

Ni Yangzhou moved closer and whispered, "Brother Meng... I went to buy a gift."

Meng Ting just stared at him with his lips pursed.

At this time, Zhang Min, He Xing and other girls cheered: "Wow, this is so beautiful! So pink, Xiaoxue, it matches you so well!"

Pan Dongxue did not hide the gifts she received. Li Yuan and the others were clamoring to give and open gifts, so the girl followed their lead and happened to open a bow pen holder.

“There is also this…”

The girl picked up the silk pencil case and said, "This is a gift from Ni and Xueba."

He Xing smiled and said, "Brother Ni has really good taste. This gift is well chosen. Xiaoxue likes bows."

Jiao Kaifeng said: "Oh, really, there is one tied on the head, Minmin, what about you, what do you like?"

Zhang Min drawled out: "I like good students who are serious and motivated."

Jiao Kaifeng scratched his head.

He Xing said: "Brother Ni is still very observant!"

Ni Yangzhou watched with a smile as the girls gave each other gifts and praised each other.

Meng Ting's face turned gloomy. He stopped eating and didn't eat the cake.

Just at this moment, the familiar progress report suddenly sounded.

[Beep - Hello host, I am reporting today's mission progress to you. ]

Ni Yangzhou checked the time on his phone. It was exactly eight o'clock.

[Task progress—49.99%.]

[Please continue to work hard, complete the main mission, and get to the end of the story. ]

"Depend on!"

Ni Yangzhou cursed inwardly.

No one heard it except Meng Ting who was sitting close to him.

Ni Yangzhou was filled with indignation. The decimal point was not enough, and now it has two decimal places. Why can't it be rounded up?

Is it possible that some important node has not been pushed, so it has been stuck and cannot be completed halfway?

Ni Yangzhou watched his classmates singing and making noises, but he began to feel anxious again. The good mood of the two days of leisure was gone.

A group of high school students didn't disperse until almost ten o'clock. The girls who were far away were sent home by Pan's father, and the rest walked together.

After saying goodbye to Jiao Kaifeng and Li Yuan, Ni Yangzhou and Meng Ting walked under the dim street lights. The light from the street lamps looked like the skirt of a dancer, but no one had the patience to appreciate it.

Each of them had their own thoughts, but no one spoke up to break the silence.

Ni Yangzhou thought back to what he had done that day and for the first time officially classified Jiao Kaifeng's brother as someone who needed to be observed.

It turns out that he is not a background NPC.

Ni Yangzhou sorted out the relationship lines.

Jiao Kaifeng's brother had a grudge against Duanmei, who blocked someone that day. In that fight, it was also obvious that Duanmei was the more ruthless one.

It seems very likely that something bad might happen due to a fight of bravery or competition for business.

Ni Yangzhou pointed Jiao Kaifeng's brother in the direction of the victim.

The boy was thinking intently when Meng Ting suddenly said:

"Where did you go tonight?"

"Ah?" Ni Yangzhou came out of his thoughts and answered when he heard the question:

"I went out to buy gifts."

Meng Ting kept walking and asking questions, but his expression was calm and there was no sign of any emotional fluctuation.

"What took so long?"

Ni Yangzhou felt that Meng Ting was like an angry big dog. He looked calm on the surface, but if he had a big tail, it would have hung down behind him in disappointment.

"I ran into Pan Dongxue and chatted with her for a while."

Meng Ting walked slower and slower:

"What did you talk about?"

Ni Yangzhou couldn't help laughing: "Dad Meng, you seem to be checking my post."

The boy who was lagging behind stopped and did not move forward. Ni Yangzhou had to take a few steps back and stand in front of Meng Ting.

"What's wrong, Father Meng, let's go?"

A deep voice came:

"I'm not your father."

Ni Yangzhou nodded: "Well, you are kidding, of course you are not, my father is a firecracker."

The boy still didn't leave, with his head down, and Ni Yangzhou couldn't see his face.

Only a section of the smooth jawline was exposed in the warm yellow light.

"Brother Meng?

Teacher Xiao Meng?

Meng Ting finally spoke, but still didn't raise his head.

"What am I to you?"

Ni Yangzhou felt that things were not going well, and answered carefully:

"My good classmate?"

"classmate……"

Meng Ting chewed on these two words, tearing out strangeness and alienation from within. His teeth unwillingly bit through the inner wall of his mouth, and blood oozed from the soft mucous membrane.

“I don’t want to be a classmate.”

The boy spoke in a low voice, like a big dog soaked in the rain.

Ni Yangzhou looked at the boy's hair whorls, "Well, my good friend."

"good friend."

Meng Ting listened to the voice and raised his eyes.

His eyes were full of red, and there was a drop of shiny liquid in his eye sockets.

"Brother Meng, I, Brother Meng..."

Ni Yangzhou was startled. Why did the protagonist start crying just like that? What was going on? Ni Yangzhou wanted to get closer, and Meng Ting just happened to blink.

The tears in his eyes were gone, but his eyes were still red and bloodshot.

Ni Yangzhou was shocked by the red eyes: "Brother Meng, why are your eyes so red? Did something get into your eyes? Are you allergic?"

Eyes are so red that you need to go to the hospital. Ni Yangzhou moved closer and wanted to hold up Meng Ting's head with both hands so that the whole face could be exposed to the light for a clearer look.

When he stretched out his hand halfway, he was stopped by Meng Ting.

The boy grabbed Ni Yangzhou's arm and refused to let go. Ni Yangzhou pulled, but Meng Ting stubbornly pinched the boy's sleeve.

"Brother Meng, you..."

After hearing this, Meng Ting curled up his fingers but still did not let go.

"Ni Yangzhou."

"Hey," Ni Yangzhou agreed, "I'm here."

"I am your what."

Ni Yangzhou's head was buzzing, as if there was a loud speaker playing at a high volume in his heart.

It comes, it comes, it comes, it still comes.

Ever since I discovered that the protagonist was a little too close to me, this ominous feeling has been lingering in my mind.

Every time there was a sign of something not quite right, Ni Yangzhou would try his best to make jokes and get away with it, trying to use his not-so-tall body to firmly protect his straight-forward character.

But in recent times of getting along, Ni Yangzhou has been walking on thin ice.

The protagonist's secret has not been discovered yet, and the plot related to the main storyline is stuck halfway. After finally getting closer, are they going to give up halfway because of emotional factors?

Ni Yangzhou lamented in his heart, thousands and thousands of time travelers are honest with me, if the emotional line is not well done it will affect the mission, and if it is too well done it will also affect the mission.

"You are……"

Ni Yangzhou searched hard for the right words. He wanted to maintain a good relationship with the protagonist, but he didn't want to get into an intimate relationship.

Meng Ting clenched his hands so tightly that his clothes were wrinkled and tightly wrapped around Ni Yangzhou's arms with protruding wrist bones.

"…My good brother."

Finally, Ni Yangzhou closed his eyes and gave the answer.

Meng Ting's grip loosened, and Ni Yangzhou withdrew his arms.

"I..." Meng Ting was silent and wanted to say something, but when the words came to his lips, he didn't say them.

Ni Yangzhou hoped to fool the man, so he urged Meng Ting to leave.

"Brother Meng, let's go quickly. It's too cold at this late hour."

The cool night breeze blew through the street, bringing a slight chill.

"……it is good."

The boy finally took a step forward.

After walking a few steps, Ni Yangzhou stopped.

"Brother Meng, please be safe when you go home. I won't go to your house today. I... will go back to the community first."

Every Sunday night, after Ni Yangzhou finished his tutoring at Meng Ting's house, they would stay together at Meng's house and go to school together the next day.

Before attending the birthday party, Ni Yangzhou was still thinking that he could temporarily use the new cup given by Meng Ting to drink water tonight.

But in this critical situation, Ni Yangzhou retreated.

"Let's meet at school tomorrow morning."

As he spoke, Ni Yangzhou took a few steps in the opposite direction and was about to leave backwards.

Meng Ting didn't say anything. She raised her head and watched the boy getting farther and farther away, then nodded as if with great difficulty.

Ni Yangzhou felt uneasy, so he waved his hand hurriedly, turned around quickly, and walked quickly.

When things are so confusing and tangled, it's better to separate and calm down for a while.

Ni Yangzhou closed his eyes tightly, and the lonely figure behind him was all in his mind:

A man, wearing white casual clothes, stood in the night, his face was shadowed by his hair, his nose was high, his eyebrows were drooping, and his eyes were bloodshot.

"Damn!" Ni Yangzhou suddenly stopped, feeling very reluctant.

Before he could turn his head, a powerful force rushed over from behind and pressed Ni Yangzhou directly into the shadow of the alley.

"Yangzhou."

It’s Meng Ting.

"You..." Ni Yangzhou's back was against the wall, with Meng Ting surrounding him tightly.

The boy buried his face in Ni Yangzhou's shoulder, and his hot breath blew on the fine hair on the side of Ni Yangzhou's neck.

"Brother Meng, you..."

"I don't want to be your good brother."

Ni Yangzhou felt a chill in his heart.

Meng Ting didn't wait for the stiff boy to refuse.

"I shouldn't be your father. I shouldn't be just a classmate. I shouldn't be a brother. I shouldn't be your teacher."

Ni Yangzhou felt very upset as all his escape routes had been cut off.

"So...my snail boy?"

Meng Ting tightened and pressed harder. Ni Yangzhou could even feel the other's wheezing and vibration in his chest.

Ni Yangzhou got scared, put out the fire, and stopped talking nonsense.

"You like men."

Ni Yangzhou thought, how did you hear it? Was there someone else in the alley at that time?

Meng Ting did not get the boy's affirmation, so she continued:

"You rejected Pan Dongxue. I heard it."

Ni Yangzhou was a little embarrassed and patted Meng Ting's arm.

"Eavesdropping is immoral."

Meng Ting lowered his head even more. "I didn't mean it. I will go and apologize to Pan Dongxue."

"No, no."

Ni Yangzhou thought of that shy girl. If his confession failed and was seen by his classmates, she would probably be very upset.

"Just don't tell anyone about this."

Meng Ting nodded slightly and rubbed his chin on Ni Yangzhou's shoulder a few times.

"You...get up first, Brother Meng."

"I do not."

Ni Yangzhou was helpless, why was he like a child?

"You don't like girls, do you?"

Ni Yangzhou organized his thoughts and spoke solemnly.

"Get up first, and I'll explain it to you."

Meng Ting paused, then hugged Ni Yangzhou tightly. Ni Yangzhou felt as if he was clamped by a large pipe clamp and wanted to gasp for air in pain.

The boy finally raised his head and faced Ni Yangzhou.

The bloodshot in his eyes disappeared, and the redness spread to his eyelids and lower eyelids. The corners of Meng Ting's forehead twitched, as if he was trying to suppress his emotions.

Ni Yangzhou sighed.

"I don't like girls."

Meng Ting looked straight over.

“I don’t like boys either.

I said that at the time to make Pan Dongxue feel better."

Ni Yangzhou did not stop and continued:

“I can’t fall in love.

In other words, I am not qualified to fall in love.

I won’t be here long.”