Gu Jiqing didn’t know what this sentence meant at first.
He only knew that the moment Zhou Cibai hugged him, the empty place in his heart all year was suddenly filled.
It was a very strange feeling, as if time and distance were completely unable to dilute the slightest connection between him and Zhou Cibai and would only make the bond between them stronger and stronger.
Gu Jiqing closed his eyes, leaned on Zhou Cibai’s shoulder, and whispered, “Zhou Cibai, I miss you so much.”
Zhou Cibai could feel the arc of Gu Jiqing’s eyelashes trembling gently on his shoulder. He rubbed his head and said, “I also miss you too.”
Gu Jiqing hugged him tightly and rubbed him.
Zhou Cibai thought that his boyfriend was becoming more and more fond of acting like a spoiled child.
But even though he already knew how to act like a spoiled child, he was still worried that it would be tiring for him to make an extra trip, so he planned to secretly return to China by himself.
If he didn’t get the secret information, wouldn’t his Gu Maomao have to watch others show their love alone?
That won’t work.
Zhou Cibai asked in a low voice, “Was my boyfriend envious just now?”
“En? Ah——Zhou Cibai!”
Gu Jiqing raised his head, and before he could react, he felt his body suddenly lift into the air. He instinctively hugged Zhou Cibai’s neck in panic, and the next second he was picked up like a little koala, just like the couple he envied just now.
Cedrian, who was next to them, immediately exclaimed “WOW” exaggeratedly.
Gu Jiqing felt a little embarrassed, and with red ears, he called out softly, “Zhou Cibai!”
“En.” Zhou Cibai looked up at him and confidently said, “We must not lose when it comes to showing affection. My boyfriend must have everything that others have.”
There was calmness and pride in his eyes. He didn’t feel ashamed at all, and he seemed quite proud of himself.
So does Zhou Cibai’s maturity mean that he went from showing affection in a slightly awkward way to showing affection in a completely shameless way?
Gu Jiqing wanted to be angry, but for some reason, he couldn’t help but chuckle, then lowered his head and gently kissed Zhou Cibai’s forehead: “Then you have to have this too.”
After living abroad for a year, the originally introverted Gu Jiqing has become more open and enthusiastic and can respond to Zhou Cibai’s love more directly and frankly.
The moment the kiss landed, friendly cheers, whistles, and screams broke out all around.
Gu Jiqing’s former admirers, led by Cedrian, exaggeratedly covered their hearts, pretended to be heartbroken, and shouted, “Oh, no, my beauty!”
Zhou Cibai hugged Gu Jiqing, tilted his head to look at him, raised his eyebrows, and said, “My beauty, but your Saozi.”
He taught the last three words to Cedrian with his fists the last time he flew over to beat him up. He even managed to make the handsome French man speak like a Beijing uncle.
Cedrian immediately acted out a pretentious act of falling to the ground after being shot in the chest.
There was good-natured laughter all around.
Gu Jiqing smiled and asked, “So Cedrian is your little spy?”
“En, who made my wife called but I didn’t answer, so he stopped calling me?”
Zhou Cibai thought of the day when the simple contractor asked him with a look of shock and confusion why his wife was a man, and the smile in his voice became a little more obvious.
Gu Jiqing probably guessed what happened and raised his lips slightly: “Then you have to comfort that big brother who answered the phone.”
After all, although Gu Jiqing doesn’t mind this popular name, it is indeed impossible for him to become Zhou Cibai’s “wife” in the legal sense. It is understandable that most ordinary people find it difficult to accept.
Just as he was thinking about it, there suddenly came a burst of surprised screams and boiling noises from behind that were completely impossible to ignore.
They looked back.
It turned out that the boy who was holding the bouquet of lilies of the valley at the other end of the lawn had knelt on one knee and took out a diamond ring, while his girlfriend covered her mouth in surprise, tears welling up in her beautiful blue eyes.
Her mother was also obviously too excited to control herself. She wiped her tears and leaned in her father’s arms, repeating, “They’re so sweet.”
The teachers, friends, and even strangers who were watching around them all gave their blessing smiles.
The girl finally stretched out her left hand with tears of happiness in her eyes.
The moment the ring was put on her finger, she happily hugged her boyfriend, and everyone burst into warm applause. Her friends excitedly recorded videos for her, and students from the music club who passed by played a romantic love song for them on the accordion.
The girl, wearing her bachelor’s gown, threw herself into the arms of her parents, who were crying because of her happiness. Everything was so beautiful.
It is the kind of warm and happy beauty that one can still feel even if they have never participated in her life and just looked at her from afar.
Gu Jiqing looked down at the rings on his and Zhou Cibai’s left hands and suddenly wondered if his proposal to Zhou Cibai a year ago was too simple. There was no diamond ring, no family, no friends, no legally valid commitment for the future, and it was so simple that Zhou Cibai might not even realize it was a proposal.
Otherwise, why would Zhou Cibai call himself boyfriend instead of fiancé?
But he had no way to give Zhou Cibai a real marriage either.
Just like there are always people who can’t understand why Mr. Zhou’s wife is a man.
Everyone’s attention was drawn to this romantic proposal, except Zhou Cibai, who noticed Gu Jiqing’s small movement of lowering his head and stroking the ring.
He kissed Gu Jiqing’s cheek and called softly, “Laopo.”
Although he knew that Zhou Cibai was calling him wife on purpose to tease him, Gu Jiqing still felt a little uncomfortable. He pushed him away, got off him, and lowered his head and said, “Who are you calling Laopo?”
Zhou Cibai shamelessly approached and said, “Whoever wants to spend the rest of his life with me, I will call that one Laopo.”
Gu Jiqing walked to the right, trying to avoid him. “Then go ask who is willing to spend the rest of their lives with you.”
Zhou Cibai also took a step to the right: “I know without asking.”
Gu Jiqing turned left. “I don’t know.”
Zhou Cibai also moved to the left: “You know.”
Gu Jiqing raised his head and glared at him: “Zhou Cibai, why are you so thick-skinned now?”
Zhou Cibai hugged him tightly and said, “If I’m not thick-skinned, how can I come to pick my wife up and take him home?”
After saying that, Cedrian ran towards them happily with two glasses of pink cocktails in his hand: “Gu! Zhou! I got two glasses of happy wine for you! Drink them quickly!”
In the minds of simple French boys, “joy” means “happiness,” so Chinese wedding wine has become “happy wine.”
Gu Jiqing finally couldn’t help laughing.
He admitted that he had some small regrets and disappointments just now, but what did it matter? He wanted to be a contented person and be happy with Zhou Cibai.
So they walked around the entire campus that day, drank a lot of beer, ate a lot of commemorative cakes, took a lot of photos, said goodbye to many friends with a smile, and left a delicious apple pie for the landlord.
Even the sunshine on the East Coast seemed to favor them. The aperture in every polaroid photo looked particularly beautiful.
Everything was so perfect that Gu Jiqing completely forgot about the brief loss.
All he remembered was that after the party, Zhou Cibai brought him back to the hotel, and the moment he closed the door, he kissed him roughly against the door.
The unspeakable longing and love this year were like embers hidden under the hay. They tried hard to play the role of decent lovers and hide the truth. However, when the alcohol took effect, only a slight spark was enough to burn out all their rationality, emotions, decency, and energy.
Until finally, there was almost no oxygen left, and they were on the verge of death by suffocation.
There was liquid dripping from Gu Jiqing’s eyelashes, and he couldn’t tell whether it was sweat or tears.
Being away from home for a whole year made him a little awkward, even connecting felt strenuous, but he also became more sensitive and would tense up his toes at the slightest touch.
Zhou Cibai became even more powerful than he remembered, as if he had completely turned into a ruthless, hungry wolf, determined to eat Gu Jiqing whole.
Gu Jiqing couldn’t count how many times he thought he would faint, but he counted that Zhou Cibai said “I love you” 34 times and “I miss you” 26 times.
After saying “I love you” for the 35th time and “I miss you” for the 27th time, Zhou Cibai finally stopped eating his beautiful prey reluctantly.
Gu Jiqing was like a fish out of water, slipping away into a cloud made of pure white fabrics high in the sky on the east coast in the summer evening.
Zhou Cibai hugged him, kissed him, and asked, “Gu Zhizhi, are you a little unhappy today?”
Gu Jiqing no longer had the energy to think. He buried himself in Zhou Cibai’s arms, closed his eyes lazily, and did not speak, as if he had fallen asleep.
Zhou Cibai kissed his eyelids and said, “Don’t be unhappy, let’s go home tomorrow, okay?”
Aren’t we supposed to go home tomorrow?
Gu Jiqing didn’t think much about it. He just said “En” in a nasal voice and then slept the only good sleep he had in the past year.
It was not until the evening of the next day, when they landed at the capital airport and Zhou Cibai’s Hummer drove them to a road that was not unfamiliar but definitely not familiar, that Gu Jiqing realized something was wrong.
He tilted his head to look at Zhou Cibai. “Aren’t we going home?”
“En, we are going home ah.”
Zhou Cibai spoke with confidence.
Gu Jiqing clutched the seat belt, showing some of the vigilance of a cat.
He felt that after a year, Zhou Cibai seemed to have become more cunning and was no longer the big, stupid dog who would panic and reveal his true colors when preparing a surprise.
Zhou Cibai just thought he was cute when he looked at him.
Sure enough, the only time Gu Jiqing looked a little dazed was when he was still asleep.
He reached out and pushed down the brim of Gu Jiqing’s baseball cap: “If you’re not fully awake, take a nap. You must not have slept well on the plane just now.”
He has slept for more than ten hours but he thinks that he still has not slept enough. Is he a pig?
Gu Jiqing complained in his heart and then soon fell asleep in the passenger seat of Zhou Cibai’s car, holding the doll he had bought for Zhou Cibai last time.
Perhaps it was the long-lost familiar feeling that made him sleep particularly soundly along the way.
When he woke up again, it was completely dark outside the window. The night sky was like dark blue velvet, and the stars were its flowing luster.
How could there be stars in the sky of downtown Beijing, and how could there be the faint sound of the sea?
Gu Jiqing was still in a daze. Zhou Cibai had already opened the car door for him, then held his waist, carried him out of the car, and whispered, “Do you want to see our house?”
Their house?
Gu Jiqing raised his head and was able to see the building in front of him clearly under the street light.
It is a single-family villa with a garden, glass walls, swings, and skylights. It is quite a distance away from another house. It stands alone and quietly on the beach. The sound of the waves can be clearly heard in the night breeze, as well as the strong scent of roses in the summer night.
It was exactly the same as the home he and Zhou Cibai had imagined on the rooftop a year and a half ago.
For a moment, Gu Jiqing felt like he was still in a dream.
However, the warm touch of Zhou Cibai’s palm when he held his hand seemed so real.
He held his hand and entered the gate password, which was Gu Jiqing’s birthday.
Then we walked onto the stone path on the lawn. The roses around the iron railings on the wall bloomed romantically and poetically under the starry sky on a summer night. The white swings on the lawn swayed in the night breeze, but there were only a few cats and dogs playing around.
“In fact, I found a professional gardening designer and designed a lot of flowers, but the time is too tight, and they won’t bloom until next spring.”
Zhou Cibai took his hand and pushed open the door of the house. The living room was spacious and bright, with the minimalist style that Gu Jiqing liked most. At the other end of the living room was a sunken courtyard where an ancient tree grew gracefully.
“This was transplanted from the Zaijiu Lane you mentioned last time. It’s a century-old golden osmanthus. According to Feng Shui, it means wealth and honor in the court. It can bless our Gu Zhizhi to make a lot of money in the future. But the most important thing is that it will look very beautiful when it rains in the autumn. It’s very interesting.”
Zhou Cibai led him forward, walked through the courtyard, pushed open a frameless door, and a huge bedroom appeared before them.
A huge glass wall with almost no decoration and gaps is like a picture frame, and in the picture frame is a beach at night, with the waves kissing the beach tirelessly and gently.
Zhou Cibai pressed the button on the wall, and the electric glass door opened automatically.
Gu Jiqing was led by him to the beach, and the sea breeze blew on his face with the warmth of summer, as if all the troubles were washed away.
“This beach is not private in terms of ownership, but it is private in terms of use rights, so before we all become old men, we can bask in the sun and enjoy the sea breeze every summer, and watch Zhou Zhou become a drowned dog when the tide comes in.”
“Then in winter, it will snow here, so I installed a fireplace in the study. In this way, when it snows, we can watch the snow scenery, warm ourselves by the fire, and read books together in the study. Last time, when I opened the fireplace, Zhou Zhou was stupid and insisted on playing. As a result, a strand of its tail was burned. It felt aggrieved for a long time.”
Zhou Cibai said, turning his head to look at Gu Jiqing with a warm smile in his eyes, “Gu Zhizhi, do you like our new house?”
Gu Jiqing was still standing there in a daze, as if he knew what had happened but also as if he had not yet reacted.
Zhou Cibai smiled and looked down at him. “Did you find out you lost something?”
“En?” Gu Jiqing blinked and looked down, following Zhou Cibai’s line of sight, only to find that the middle finger of his left hand was empty. He immediately raised his head anxiously. “Zhou Cibai, my ring… um…”
Before he could finish his words, Zhou Cibai hugged him, lowered his head, and gently touched his lips: “Stupid, I told you, my boyfriend must have everything that others have, so that ring doesn’t count.”
After saying that, the lights in the entire courtyard suddenly lit up, and countless star-like lights lit up the beach.
Gu Jiqing instinctively raised his hands to shield his eyes, and when he put them down, he discovered that those dark corners had been filled with bouquets of sunflowers without him noticing.
A huge painting fell from the roof along the wall, depicting a holy church and endless romantic roses using familiar oil painting techniques.
The melodious sound of a piano came softly from somewhere.
Zhou Cibai opened a small dark red velvet box in front of him, and two platinum rings lay quietly on the flowing velvet.
One is a dog tail with a simple and unique design, and the other is a cat tail with a simple and unique design, exactly the same as Gu Jiqing’s previous design.
It’s just that the materials used are more expensive, the workmanship requires more effort, and there are finely polished diamonds in inconspicuous places. Originally, the thinner ring was a cat’s tail, and the thicker one was a dog’s tail, but now they are swapped.
“Zhou Cibai…”
“Gu Jiqing.”
When Zhou Cibai said these three words, he looked at Gu Jiqing with a rare, serious expression.
Gu Jiqing didn’t say anything else, he just looked at the person in front of him quietly.
Zhou Cibai just lowered his eyes, as if Gu Jiqing was a beautiful firework that lit up his young and passionate world.
“I know that we are both still very young. The ring you gave me before you went abroad was only because you were worried that I would feel insecure, not because you really thought I was mature enough to give you a marriage. So I have also thought about whether I should wait a few more years until I am fully capable before proposing to you.”
“But Gu Jiqing, I feel like I can’t wait any longer. I love you very much. I don’t know how to explain this kind of love, but I just love you. Someone once said that love at first sight is lust at first sight. I don’t know if he is right, but I know very well that even if one day we both become ugly old men, I will still love you, even more.”
“Because by then, you must have walked through life with me. Most of my efforts, joys, and sorrows in life come from you. You have become a part of my life. I can’t help but love you.”
“Some people also said that love might just be a habit. Once you try to quit, you’ll find that it’s just hormones that are causing the problem. But in the year you’ve been abroad, I’ve missed you and dreamed of you every day. Even though sometimes I was so busy that I didn’t have the energy to think about you, the moment I was done with my work, I would definitely think of you.”
“I would wonder what you are doing, whether you are being bullied, whether there are other good people pursuing you, whether he will take my place to take care of you, and whether he make you suddenly realize that I am not the only dog in the world, and I am not that good either.”
“In fact, when I saw Cedrian giving you roses in the video, I generously said that I would not be angry, but I had nightmares all night. When I woke up the next day, I turned around and wanted to hug you, but when I turned around, I found that you were not beside me.”
“At that time, I suddenly thought, if one day you find out that I’m not the only person in the world who treats you well, if you meet someone better than me who is willing to give you a home, and you just leave me, then will I never be able to hug you, kiss you, call you Gu Zhizhi in a rage, or hold you in my arms and tickle you again?”
“I just imagined it, and I found that I was so sad, so sad that my heart was throbbing and my cerebral cortex was acidic. I couldn’t concentrate on anything at all, so I took a day off, flew for fourteen hours, and beat Cedrian up.”
“You were a little angry that day, asking me why I hurt myself, but while you were angry, you secretly kissed my wound at night, hugged me, and wiped my tears secretly. It was at that time that I decided that I would not wait any longer. I would find ways to make you inseparable from me at all.”
“This development zone was originally planned to be completed by the end of next year, but after I came back that time, I told my dad that I wanted to join the development team. I used my trust fund to buy the right to use the land, drew the blueprints myself, supervised the construction myself, and visited the construction site every weekend, winter, and summer vacations, thinking that I must do what I promised you and take you home, back to our real home.”
“I know that even if I put the engagement ring on your finger today, our marriage will still not be protected by the law, so all my property notarizations are here. As long as you are willing, your name will be written on it. You will become my designated guardian, and all my property will belong to you. When I am dying, you will be the one who can sign for me. I hope to leave this world in any way that I also need to ask you for your help.”
“The law cannot guarantee the fidelity of a marriage for a lifetime, but Gu Jiqing, I hope my love can. I am willing to use everything I have to assure you that my love for you will always be faithful. I will never hurt you, betray you, or leave you. I will become your home, accompanying you through three meals a day, four seasons of the year, and through life, old age, sickness, and death, until I leave this world forever.”
“So, Gu Jiqing, are you willing to believe my oath, accept my loyalty, and become the lover who will spend the rest of your life with me?”
After Zhou Cibai finished his last sentence and looked at Gu Jiqing, his eyes reflected the dazzling luster of the diamond ring under the light, like two independently shining stars, bright and gentle, which burned Gu Jiqing’s eyes a little.
In fact, he never longed for marriage.
Ever since he realized that he liked boys, he knew that it would be impossible for him to have a perfect marriage and a real family like ordinary people in his life.
So, just like Zhou Cibai said, the pair of rings he gave before leaving were just because he wanted to give Zhou Cibai a sense of security and commitment that he could give.
He didn’t really mind it, but he would feel a little envious occasionally.
But he didn’t expect that his little envy would actually fall into Zhou Cibai’s eyes.
It turned out that Zhou Cibai had not lied to him, and he really could have everything that others had.
Their home is also a real home.
So Gu Jiqing pinched the brim of his hat, pressed it down, covering his slightly moist eyes, and said, “Not for now.”
The light in Zhou Cibai’s eyes froze, as if a star had stopped rotating.
Then Gu Jiqing secretly raised his lips and stretched out his hand: “Because other people’s proposals are all on one knee, but my future husband is a big idiot who just stands there stupidly.”
