DASB Ch23

Ye Xi took the menu from the waiter, looked up, and said “Thank you,” then bent over to focus on choosing desserts, mumbling to himself: “I want this one, this one looks good, wow, there’s even an ice cream cake…” Huo Rulan, sitting beside him, rested his face on his hand and looked at Ye Xi, taking in his tousled brown hair, long, curled lashes, and gleaming eyes. He then noticed Ye Xi’s delicate, pointed nose, soft lips, and well-defined jawline.

Finally, Huo Rulan’s gaze settled on Ye Xi’s eyes, and his lips unconsciously curled into a smile.

The nearby waiter, maintaining a professional smile, stole glances at Huo Rulan and Ye Xi, unable to suppress a knowing smile.

She turned to her colleague, exchanged glances, and they both shared a knowing look.

“Hello, we’ll just have this cake,” Huo Rulan said.

The waiter quickly composed herself, turned to Ye Xi, and said, “Ah… okay, okay.”

She took the menu, smiled at Huo Rulan and Ye Xi, and said, “Please wait a moment, I’ll bring it to you as soon as possible,” before hurrying away.

Huo Rulan looked at Ye Xi, who was leaning back in his seat, and asked, “Why not order more? Didn’t you just say you liked them?”

Ye Xi rubbed his stomach. Huo Rulan, thinking he was uncomfortable, gently rubbed his stomach and asked, “Is your stomach upset?”

Ye Xi shook his head, “Just one is enough. I ordered strawberry, and you’ve got your favorite peach.”

Huo Rulan’s face flushed, and he looked away shyly, saying, “I don’t like them that much.”

Ye Xi turned to him, noticing his red ears.

Looking around to ensure no one was watching, Ye Xi leaned in and kissed Huo Rulan on the lips, then frowned.

Huo Rulan was taken by surprise and hadn’t even had time to blush before he saw Ye Xi frown.

Huo Rulan, puzzled, asked, “Why are you frowning? Did I miss some shaving?” He even reached up to check his chin, finding it smooth.

Ye Xi was waiting for him to ask, pretending to furrow his brow, “I’m just wondering why someone with such soft lips can also be so stubborn.”

This made Huo Rulan a bit embarrassed.

Leaning down to Ye Xi’s ear, he asked awkwardly, “Did Mom tell you that?”

“Yes, Mom told me that you used to love peaches as a child, but as you grew up, you felt they didn’t fit your mature image, so you haven’t had them for a long time.”

Ye Xi leaned closer to Huo Rulan’s blushing ear and continued:

“Mom also said that when you were a child, you and Yang Ge sneaked over to the neighbor’s house to steal bird eggs, and the neighbor caught you and came to complain…”

Huo Rulan was cut off as he hurriedly covered Ye Xi’s mouth, his face flushed with embarrassment, “Stop, stop, don’t say anymore…”

He pulled out a thermos from his bag and fed Ye Xi some water, “Drink, drink.”

Ye Xi suppressed a laugh, slowly drinking the water, and then asked, “What kind of bird eggs were they?”

Ye Xi couldn’t quite imagine Huo Rulan being so mischievous as a child. What kind of bird eggs could lead to a neighbor coming over to complain?

Huo Rulan took a tissue and wiped Ye Xi’s mouth, still blushing and silent.

After a while, he finally mumbled, “…They were racing pigeon eggs, $1.9 million each. Uncle Yu’s racing pigeons had just laid one.”

Ye Xi’s eyes widened in disbelief, unable to reconcile the mature and gentle man before him with the mischievous child who stole valuable bird eggs.

Ye Xi pretended to sigh and shake his head, “What if our child turns out like you? Sigh…” He then leaned on Huo Rulan’s shoulder, laughing heartily.

Huo Rulan’s earlier embarrassment returned, and his face flushed again.

Turning his head, he said, “No, if the child takes after you, they’ll be well-behaved and not like me.” Despite his words, his tone was uncertain.

Just then, the waiter brought the cake over. Huo Rulan quickly took a spoonful and fed it to Ye Xi, “Eat the cake.”

Ye Xi’s eyes still sparkled with mischief as he looked at Huo Rulan while eating the cake.

The waiter, seeing Huo Rulan’s flushed face, couldn’t resist offering, “Sir, if you’re feeling too warm, we can turn on the air conditioning.”

Huo Rulan paused his cake-feeding, met Ye Xi’s smiling eyes, and with a tight smile, fed another spoonful of cake to Ye Xi, “Thank you, I’m not warm.”

After the waiter left, Huo Rulan grabbed a tissue to wipe Ye Xi’s mouth and playfully pinched his cheek, “You little rascal, still laughing.”

Ye Xi held Huo Rulan’s hand and kissed it, looking up with bright eyes, “It’s better if the child takes after you. Energetic and cheerful as a child, mature and gentle when grown.”

Huo Rulan looked down, pondering for a while before saying, “If they look like you and have my personality, that would be good too.”

Ye Xi couldn’t help but imagine what a child would be like if they looked like Huo Rulan but had his personality, but he couldn’t quite picture it.

He reminded himself to take one last look before the end.

Seeing Huo Rulan lost in thought, Ye Xi gently patted his head, “What are you daydreaming about? Eat the cake.”

Ye Xi snapped out of it, opened his mouth, and Huo Rulan fed him the cake, carefully wiping the cream from his mouth with a tissue.

Huo Rulan only fed Ye Xi a small portion of the cake, planning to take the rest home. Afterward, they went to explore other places, but Ye Xi was too full to enjoy anything else, leading to a bit of a disappointed pout as he nestled into Huo Rulan’s arms.

Huo Rulan, seeing through Ye Xi’s little craving for sweets, called the waiter to help pack the peach cake, gave some red envelopes to the bodyguards, and had them carry the cake.

The remaining strawberry cake was eaten by Huo Rulan while Ye Xi watched. After Huo Rulan finished, Ye Xi took a tissue and wiped his mouth.

Leaning back in his seat, Huo Rulan pulled out a small amusement park map from his bag and asked, “Where should we go next?”

Ye Xi took the map, his eyes lingering on Huo Rulan’s bag.

He thought Huo Rulan’s bag was like a treasure chest, filled with everything—little blankets, thermoses, jackets, hand warmers, umbrellas…

Ye Xi looked at the map and noticed many of the amusement park’s attractions weren’t suitable for pregnant people. After a brief moment of disappointment, he decided where to go next.

“How about the claw machines? Let’s try to catch some toys.” He unfolded the map and showed it to Huo Rulan.

Huo Rulan leaned back, looking lazy, glanced at the map, and noticed that beside the claw machines, there was a restaurant.

He stood up, grabbed his bag, and helped Ye Xi up, “Let’s go to the claw machines.”

Ye Xi grabbed Huo Rulan’s hand, excitedly, “I’ve never tried claw machines before. What if I can’t catch anything?”

Huo Rulan wrapped his arm around Ye Xi’s waist and slowly walked towards the claw machines.

He comforted Ye Xi, “Don’t worry, we’ll buy more game tokens. Even if you can’t catch anything, I’ll help you.”

Ye Xi looked up at Huo Rulan with trust in his eyes.

Huo Rulan, pleased, walked to the claw machines with a smile, his mood light despite the earlier embarrassment.

However, fate had other plans.

Huo Rulan inserted the last game token with a focused expression, carefully maneuvering the joystick to grab a large carrot toy.

As the claw moved above the carrot, he pressed the button, and watched as the claw wobbled, grabbing the carrot but failing to hold on as it fell just short of the exit.

Huo Rulan was left speechless.

He turned to Ye Xi, his expression a mix of frustration and embarrassment.

Ye Xi, sensing his discomfort, asked gently, “…Do you want to try again?”

Huo Rulan, not giving up, inserted a sixth token, and continued.

Five minutes later, he put in a seventh token.

Another three minutes passed, and he inserted an eighth token.

Ye Xi stole a glance at Huo Rulan, who was persistently at the machine, wondering how to console him.

Huo Rulan turned, showing a strained smile, “It’s okay, I’ll definitely get that carrot.”

Just as Huo Rulan was about to insert a ninth token, the claw machine staff could no longer watch.

Though they aimed to make money, it wasn’t worth this much.

Having spent enough to buy a claw machine, the staff couldn’t bear to let him continue.

They approached Huo Rulan, unlocked the machine, and took out the stubborn carrot, handing it to him with a smile, “Sir, you can have this. No need to be polite.”

Huo Rulan’s mood wasn’t lifted by receiving the carrot for free; he looked at it

with an expression hard to describe, and managed a strained smile, “Thank you for the gift.”

Outside the claw machine game area, Huo Rulan, carrying the carrot, stood still with a resigned expression, looking at Ye Xi.

Ye Xi found it both amusing and concerning, worried about upsetting Huo Rulan.

He moved closer to Huo Rulan, gently stroking his chest, “The claw machine was just too difficult. It’s not our fault, really.”

Huo Rulan didn’t respond but hugged Ye Xi, burying his face in his neck and nuzzling with his nose.

Ye Xi hugged back, patting his back, “It’s okay, it’s not a big deal. We’ll try again next time, and we’ll definitely get it.”

Huo Rulan looked up from Ye Xi’s neck, determined, “No, I’ll definitely try again next time. I will get that carrot!”

Ye Xi, helpless, could only hug him back, adjusting her words to comfort him, “Okay, okay, we’ll definitely get it next time.”

Huo Rulan held Ye Xi close, burying his face in his neck and giving him a gentle shake.

Ten minutes later, Huo Rulan asked softly, “It’s past twelve. How about we go to the restaurant next door for lunch?”

“Sure,” Ye Xi replied, holding the large carrot and letting Huo Rulan guide him into the restaurant.

Expecting a quiet lunch for two, they unexpectedly ran into familiar faces at the restaurant.

“When did you get here? We haven’t seen you,” Huo Rulan greeted, hugging Ye Xi.

The two people on the opposite side, also holding their child, responded, “We came this morning, just wandering around.”