It was obvious that J was the black-clothed man now standing in the void.
Right now, he still had that long golden-brown hair, and his appearance wasn't much different from back then. The only difference was the beard now covering half his face.
The J the man in white met before was basically him without the beard.
J's build was already slimmer than most guys, and his features were delicate. Add to that his preference for long hair, and that look really didn't match the half-face beard at all, it felt completely disjointed.
J himself actually didn't like having a beard, but after what happened during the meet-up with the man in white, J really did get scared.
Although afterward the man in white explained that he did what he did because he mistook J for a girl…
J was still half-believing, half-doubting. Plus, in the past his appearance had already attracted harassment from some guys who misunderstood his orientation.
So after that incident, J decisively started growing a beard.
After keeping it for a while, he gradually got used to it, so he kept the beard that covered half his face.
And because of that, J's whole look seemed kind of disjointed.
After the man in white and J met in person, even though he explained himself honestly that day, the two of them silently stopped contacting each other afterward.
That was understandable, this kind of situation was extremely awkward for both sides.
For the man in white, that meet-up was basically the most embarrassing moment of his life.
And after that ridiculous misunderstanding, if he took the initiative to contact J, it would definitely make J overthink.
And J really did start overthinking. He was worried that everything the man in white explained was just something he made up to ease the awkwardness, just a stalling tactic.
The goal being to keep J calm and stop him from being disgusted.
After all, J had been through similar situations before. Boys had approached him under the guise of "brothers."
But J treated them like brothers… while they wanted to…
Because of those past experiences, J became extra cautious. Naturally, he wasn't going to contact the man in white first.
However, even though they stopped talking, neither of them deleted the other's contact information.
After all, it's rare to meet someone who really gets you. Putting aside gender and orientation, the two of them genuinely got along very well.
Not only that, their personalities complemented each other.
The man in white was impulsive and impatient, while J was steady and calm.
So every time the man in white caused trouble, J was the one helping him clean things up.
Also, the man in white had a strong competitive streak, everything he did, he wanted to win first place.
J, on the other hand, was more laid-back. Whenever they played games together, he would basically let the man in white win.
In short, in both their hearts, each felt that the other was someone who fit them perfectly.
But because of that misunderstanding during the meet-up, neither of them took that first step.
After a month of this, their relationship finally thawed.
And the person who helped break the ice was Notch.
Notch was actually a mutual friend of both the man in white and J.
The man in white was Notch's former neighbor, and the two of them had played together since they were little.
Notch was smart from a young age; he was basically the "leader kid" of their neighborhood. Kids of all ages loved playing with Notch.
The man in white was no exception, he had admired Notch since childhood. Whatever Notch did, he would follow, happily tagging behind him everywhere.
No exaggeration, Notch was present through his entire childhood.
Later, after Notch moved away in middle school, they couldn't meet as easily, but they still kept in touch and stayed just as close.
J was Notch's middle-school classmate.
If the J the man in white met was a delicate-looking boy, then the J from middle school looked straight-up like a girl.
Back then J was skinny and small, still wore medium-long hair, and behaved quietly and gently, there was basically no difference from a girl.
And because of his looks, everyone in the class, boys and girls alike, ostracized J.
Even a lot of students from other classes would intentionally bully him.
For J, that was the darkest period of his life. But Notch was like a ray of sunlight that drove away all the darkness.
As the "leader kid," Notch naturally knew how to handle others. He became the most popular student in the class shortly after transferring in.
What no one expected was that the most popular kid became best friends with the least popular one.
At first, Notch approached J because he couldn't stand seeing the class exclude him.
Initially, he even wanted to try changing J, to make J more outgoing and more accepted.
J didn't want to change, but he was terrified of losing Notch, his only friend.
So every time, he forced himself to do what Notch asked.
Although eventually some classmates did start trying to talk to J, J knew very well it was only because of Notch's involvement.
Later, Notch noticed this too. He noticed that J wasn't actually happy. Through spending time with J, Notch saw many of J's strengths and gradually realized that J wasn't the one who needed to change.
So he stopped trying to change J, stopped trying to make him blend in, and instead helped the class see J's good qualities, changing their rigid impression of him.
And obviously, he succeeded. J didn't change himself, didn't suddenly become outgoing, yet the class genuinely accepted him.
Some classmates even approached J on their own, wanting to be friends.
To J, Notch was a beam of light in his life. Because of that, even after graduation, J and Notch always stayed in touch.
Though the man in white and J were both Notch's friends, they had never met before. They only knew the other existed because Notch mentioned them occasionally.
The reason Notch discovered what happened between them was because he randomly invited J to watch a movie and noticed that J had started growing a beard.
Since J had never had facial hair before, Notch was naturally curious.
After Notch pressed him, J finally confessed what had happened.
What J didn't know was that the man in white had already told Notch everything on the day of their meet-up.
Hearing J's version, Notch immediately connected it to the man in white's experience.
He instantly messaged the man in white and called him out.
Notch also loved drama, he didn't tell J his plan. He only said he'd invited another friend who would arrive soon.
When the man in white showed up and saw J, and J saw him, Notch laughed so hard he cried.
After laughing, Notch introduced them seriously, "This is D, the childhood friend I've told you about so many times, gender male, sexual orientation female."
"And this is J, the classmate I've told you about so many times, gender male, sexual orientation female."
"Now you two can relax, right?"
"But that aside… you both smell amazing~"