|| (Big Happiness) “Xia Zhiye, I like you.”
“So the online dating partner of Lord Xia is actually Yan-ge’s sockpuppet account?”
“And the online dating partner that Yan-ge said is actually Zhou Ziqiu’s online dating partner?”
“But in reality, that person is just a good friend of Yan-ge, and isn’t involved in any online relationship with anyone?”
“Only the two of you who are really in love?”
“It’s all because the two of you are afraid of being caught by parents and teachers and will be forced apart, so you two are in an underground relationship?”
“…Mhhhm.”
Song Yan nodded half-heartedly.
After listening to the explanation, Zhao Ruiwen was at a loss for words.
After a long silence, he sighed heavily, took off his glasses, wiped the lenses, and put them back on. Then he looked at them seriously and said, “So why didn’t you just tell me straight? Why deceive me like this? Do you really think I’m the kind of person who would go around spreading this kind of thing?”
“It’s not like that,” said Song Yan, feeling that he should explain his decision himself. He continued calmly, “I was afraid that if you couldn’t accept such a relationship, it would make things awkward between us.”
Although same-sex love was not something that was particularly unacceptable these days, it’s not particularly widespread either. Having it happen close to home felt different too.
Song Yan finally adapted to the social environment of Nanwu No. 3 Middle School, and did not want to destroy this harmony due to some uncontrollable factors.
Zhao Ruiwen sighed deeply again upon hearing this: “Yan-ge, do you underestimate our friendship too much? Can I stop being friends with you and Ye-ge because of this? Have you two committed a crime or destroyed someone’s feelings? When you two are together, as your good buddy, wouldn’t I want to bless both of you?”
Song Yan considered his words a little. “Good buddy?”
“Nonsense, aren’t we good buddies?” Zhao Ruiwen countered directly, “Although I can’t say that I will go to the fire for you, but at least I hope you and Ye-ge can have a good life, right? You tell me if you need cover from outsiders, wouldn’t I help you? I’ll always uphold the most basic brotherly bond, right? But then, you treat me like an outsider. I’m really hurt.”
Zhao Ruiwen’s expression did look a little frustrated.
Song Yan felt a little complicated for a while.
He has had only two friends since childhood. One is Shen Jiayan, whom he grew up with and once saved his life. The other is Xia Zhiye, who is now his boyfriend. Besides them, he never sought any other friends. However, unbeknownst to him, he has gained other friends along the way.
For example, Little Fatty who was concerned over his and Xia Zhiye’s relationship.
For example, Zhao Ruiwen, who tried to mediate between him and Xia Zhiye’s conflicts.
For example, Kong Xiaoxiao, who switches between various anonymous accounts on social media platforms to passionately insult others upon learning that he was bullied by Shang Wei.
There was even Shang Huai, who had his mobile phone confiscated by the company after he went to Beijing to pursue his dream, and yet still helped him expose Shang Wei’s shameful behavior and wanting to give him his record albums.
These people may not have known each other for long, perhaps they haven’t experienced life and death together, and they may not know each other’s deeper secrets. They simply eat, drink, play, laugh, and scold other people together; but they will be happy because of each other’s happiness, and they will be angry because of each other’s anger.
But at the most innocent age, such pure loyalty was actually sufficient.
After feeling defeated, Zhao Ruiwen sighed deeply again. “And, Yan-ge, there’s nothing wrong with you and Lord Xia being together. You’re both tall, handsome, and excellent academically. One is a violent tsundere, the other is a trembling M1masochist. You’re simply made for each other, a match made in heaven. It’s only natural for you two to be together, a righteous act bestowed by the heavens, a noble deed for the common good. Why feel inferior about it? You should openly and proudly accept the blessings of your friends, understand?”
He understood.
—But not completely.
Why did Zhao Ruiwen label them as a violent tsundere and trembling M couple?
How did it become a matter of righteous act bestowed by the heavens, a noble deed for the common good?
Song Yan wanted to refute, but after he tried to organize his wording, he found out that he couldn’t refute.
Fortunately, Zhao Ruiwen seemed to treat this matter as nothing out of the ordinary and didn’t dwell on it further. He got up, dusted off his pants, and said, “Alright, I’ll go find Little Fatty and move the tent another twenty meters. After you two finish your meeting, remember to go to the 24-hour service center at the foot of the mountain to buy some drinks. We’ll communicate through loudspeakers then.”
After saying that, he turned around and was ready to go.
But then, he paused in place and turned around again: “Wait, did we forget something?”
“Well,” Xia Zhiye nodded, pointing to the back of a lonely, out-of-body soul not far away, “There’s also a guy over there who just realized the girl he’s dating is actually a boy and needs your comfort.”
Zhao Ruiwen: “…”
Song Yan: “…”
They descended into another period of silence.
“I think this one might be a bit tough to comfort. I can totally understand if he feels down about it… Let’s just go with the flow,” Zhao Ruiwen said as he turned to take his leave.
Song Yan watched Zhou Ziqiu’s figure as if he had been struck by five lightning, and suddenly felt that his own social death wasn’t so bad after all.
Maybe to alleviate one’s misfortune is to revel in others misfortunes. Then they’ll feel better.
Just as he was about to ask Xia Zhiye what to do, he saw that lonely figure suddenly stand up, then quickly ran back to the tent, picked up his bag and walked quickly down the mountain.
Xia Zhiye stopped him. “Where are you going?”
Zhou Ziqiu did not stop. As he fiddled with his mobile phone, bowing his head, he answered, “Go to the airport.”
Xia Zhiye: “?”
Zhou Ziqiu: “He came to Nanwu.”
It is self-evident who “he” is.
“You’re not angry with him anymore? Have you accepted the fact that you are gay? Are you ready to be with him?”
Zhou Ziqiu tapped the screen for a moment, then resumed moving quickly. “No.”
“It’s past 11 PM now, are you still looking for him?”
“His IQ is not something you all are unaware of. If he gets kidnapped by human traffickers later, I don’t want the blame falling on me. The car to the airport is here. I’m leaving first. Take your time.”
After saying that, Zhou Ziqiu quickly walked down the mountain.
Looking at his distant back, Song Yan coldly asked a question, “Do you think Shen Jiayan will be killed by him?”
“He won’t. But he’ll soon come to accept the fact that he’s a paperclip2in other words, bent beyond belief lol,” said Xia Zhiye, laying back on the grass with his arm behind his head.
Song Yan sat down beside him and looked back at him. “How do you know that?”
“How long did it take you to accept that you are a mosquito coil?”
Song Yan recalled the short process from “realizing that he fell in love with a boy” to “accepting that he fell in love with a boy”. He felt that Xia Zhiye’s words were not unreasonable.
“When did you accept it?”
Song Yan asked.
After a momentary thought, Xia Zhiye’s answer was: “It seems that there is no such process.”
“?”
“When Shen Jiayan first asked me if I had feelings for you, I realized that I did indeed have feelings for you, so I never really thought about whether I was straight or not.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m going to like you anyway. Liking someone means liking all of them. I can’t just stop liking you because you’re a guy, right? What kind of liking would that be?”
Xia Zhiye lay on the ground and looked at Song Yan. His light brown eyes reflected the starry night sky, gently twinkling, like the galaxy.
Song Yan just snorted coldly in response. “Then do you also like me to beat you?”
“Well, I do like it.” Xia Zhiye answered without hesitation, “After all, you are a violent tsundere, and I am a trembling M, a natural pair.”
“You are the violen–. ow.”
Song Yan wanted to turn around and give Xia Zhiye a punch, but his elbow that was supporting the ground suddenly slipped, his center of gravity was not stable, so he fell straight to Xia Zhiye.
Xia Zhiye put his arms around his waist and laughed softly. “Also, I appreciate your straightforward approach.”
“Get up.”
Song Yan rolled his eyes, showing no mercy.
Xia Zhiye sounded righteous. “You are pressing on me, how can I get up?”
“Then let go of me.”
“Aiyah, my hand is stuck on our Yanyan. What should I do if it can’t be loosened?” Xia Zhiye hugged Song Yan even tighter, smiling shamelessly.
Song Yan had never encountered someone so childish before. Before he could figure out how to retaliate, Xia Zhiye chuckled softly in his ear, “But I also had some doubts.”
Song Yan: “?”
“Actually, the first time I dreamed of you and had a reaction, I checked Baidu overnight. At that time, I thought how could I wrong my good buddy, but now…”
“What?”
“But now I think I can wrong my good buddy even more.”
“…”
Song Yan took a deep breath. “Xia Zhiye, if you don’t let go, I will call someone else.”
Xia Zhiye was not worried at all. “Don’t worry, Little Fatty and Zhao Ruiwen are both people with survival instincts. We’ve both come out of the closet, it’s the middle of the night, just us two guys, do you think they’ll come over?”
“…”
Sure enough, he shouldn’t come out of the closet!
Otherwise, Xia Zhiye would at least be a little reserved.
However, now regret was too late for Song Yan, who could only be hugged by Xia Zhiye and taken advantage of. “Now it’s finally just the two of us left. We can start dating properly. My lovely boyfriend, do you have anything to say?”
Song Yan’s face was stinky. “No.”
“If you don’t, then I’ll have to say something.” Xia Zhiye clasped Song Yan’s waist with one hand, picked up the phone with the other, and checked the time, “It’s December 31, 2020. It’s currently 23:55.”
Song Yan was still sullen. “So?”
“So can I formally ask my boyfriend to get that little box out of my coat pocket?”
Song Yan put his hand into Xia Zhiye’s coat pocket suspiciously. There, he felt a small, velvety box nestled inside.
Song Yan’s fingertips froze.
Xia Zhiye smiled and said, “Rest assured, it’s not an engagement ring. I thought about buying one, but I can’t afford it yet. So I’ll just get something else for now.”
‘As if I cared!’ Song Yan grumbled internally
Song Yan took out the box, opened it with disdain, then froze in place.
Under the light of the tent, the shape of the two black earrings lying on the black velvet could be clearly seen.
The earrings were very small, about 2-3 mm in diameter, one for the left and one for the right. Each one was engraved with a slender “喜” character, lying side by side, forming a “囍” character when put together3喜 = joy/happiness. 囍 = double happiness; it’s usually for marriage..
“How about accompanying me to get an ear piercing when you have time? Let’s do it on the left ear.” Xia Zhiye plucked at the small hole in the earlobe of Song Yan’s right ear. “This way, one joy for you, one for me. Then you won’t be Song Yan but Song Daxi, meaning ‘double happiness’.”
Xia Zhiye gently traced the word “囍” on Song Yan’s back with the tip of the finger that hugged Song Yan’s waist. “Do you know what this means?”
Song Yan looked at the pair of earrings in the box with a sullen face. “What does it mean?”
“It means that from now on, all the likes received by our Little Friend Song Daxi will be doubled, much more than other kids, because he has an unparalleled and outstanding boyfriend.” Xia Zhiye looked at Song Yan seriously, as if explaining some profound truth of the world.
Song Yan finally didn’t hold back and laughed. “Xia Zhiye, can you have some face?”
“Who needs a face? I just want you.”
Xia Zhiye released his grip on Song Yan’s hand and fastened the small earring onto his right ear. Gently caressing it, he whispered, “I hope that starting from today, every year, I can make up for all the love you missed out on before, and I hope our Little Friend Song Daxi becomes the most beloved child in the world. But I might get jealous then, so you must tell me that even though many people love you, you love me the most.”
The black bracelet on his wrist reflected a cold gleam in the light as he moved, while the light pink moonstone shimmered gently, like the true moonlight filtered through a lens.
Just like the sudden intrusion of Xia Zhiye into Song Yan’s monotonous and aloof life, he was like a splash of bright pink in his black and white world, striking and conspicuous, yet perfectly fitting and exceptionally harmonious.
And as Xia Zhiye finished speaking, not far away came a vigorous voice through a small loudspeaker, shouting, “Song Yan! Xia Zhiye! Happy New Year! Wishing you a new year without domestic violence, without war, without casualties, only peace and harmony, and a lifetime of love! Peace & Love! Love you guys!”
The sound of the small loudspeaker echoed in the open camping ground, lingering for a long time. Even amid the crackling, one could hear the unwavering determination of Fang Cang and Zhao Ruiwen, who were willing to offer loud blessings despite the possibility of facing death.
If it weren’t for the fact that there were quite a few of them in this campsite, Song Yan would have indeed run away and assassinated them.
But at this moment, Song Yan just lowered his head and smiled when he heard this stupid blessing.
If Xia Zhiye was the first splash of pink in his life, then these idiots were the other loud and bright colors brought into his life by this pink.
Although it became a bit strange and quirky, the atmosphere did indeed gradually become lively and adorable.
This… was also good.
He listened to the sound of the countdown to New Year’s Eve in the distance, and looked down at Xia Zhiye’s eyes. “It is now 59:57, December 31, 2020.”
Xia Zhiye raised his eyebrows slightly. “So?”
“So I’m going to say something about our first date.”
After saying that, Song Yan lowered his head and kissed Xia Zhiye in the lips.
As the distant bell rang twelve times, magnificent fireworks bloomed in the navy blue night sky behind him, welcoming the arrival of the new year in the shortest yet most passionate manner.
He said, “Xia Zhiye, I like you.”
Serious and firm, just like the words Xia Zhiye said to him under the fireworks in the amusement park that day.
They were openly and wholeheartedly in love with each other, deserving of the blessings of all their friends.
He has nothing to hide, nothing to be ashamed of, and nothing to resist.
As Xia Zhiye looked into Song Yan’s eyes and heard those words, his heart skipped a beat, and he immediately wanted to lean in and kiss Song Yan passionately.
But just as they turned over, they heard the loudspeaker of those two perpetually single guys who had never been in a relationship and didn’t know what to expect from a date: “Are you done with your date? Did you remember our drinks after the date? If you don’t bring them soon, the hotpot will burn!”
“…Fuck.”
Even someone as good-natured as Xia Zhiye couldn’t help himself and scold them with a dangerous smile. “Those two idiots.”
But one can only accept the friends they’ve chosen, that’s something one must acknowledge themselves.
Xia Zhiye smiled helplessly and stood up, pulling Song Yan up. “Let’s go buy a drink.”
Their lovey-dovey atmosphere has been destroyed.
Song Yan also smiled and naturally squeezed his hand back, using the momentum to stand up. Hand in hand, they walked down the mountain together.
However, after only a few steps, their other free arms were each looped around from behind by a chubby figure and a slender one. “Let’s go together.”
Two big boys walking under the moon holding hands must be strange.
But if it’s four boys holding hands together, suddenly it wasn’t as strange.
For the sake of their good buddy, these two came to guard.
After all, this new year must be a very good year.
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