TL: Hua
Outside the window, the cold wind was chilly, and occasionally there was the sound of snow falling from the branches, but the room was quiet.
Ye Rongxu finished those words in one breath and waited for a long time. Before Qin Chaoyan spoke up, he couldn’t help but quietly open his squinting eyes and glance to the side.
It would be better if he didn’t glance because he almost blew up when he did.
Qin Chaoyan actually looked at him “expressionlessly,” as if he had no reaction at all?
What kind of expression was this? He just confessed! His confession was so… so unmoving?
Didn’t he kiss him yesterday and say he liked him?
Young Master Ye’s self-confidence took a dip. He was afraid that being rejected would be too embarrassing, so he tried to make excuses for himself with an annoyed look, saying awkwardly, “Well, I was joking; you shouldn’t take it seriously, right? Ahem, haha…”
Before he finished speaking, his hand was suddenly grabbed, and Ye Rongxu froze.
Qin Chaoyan seemed to have just woken up from a petrified state, staring at him closely, gritting his teeth, and saying, “No, I took it seriously.”
Ye Rongxu was stunned.
So Qin Chaoyan didn’t react just now? Was he reacting at 0.5 speed slower than normal people?
Qin Chaoyan seemed to be afraid that he would really regret it, so he suddenly half-knelt in front of the wheelchair, staring at him closely, and repeated, “I took it seriously, so you can’t take it back.”
His tone was serious, and his eyes were persistent and firm, as if even if Ye Rongxu said “no,” it would be useless.
Ye Rongxu was stunned for a moment, then slowly raised his other free hand and touched Qin Chaoyan’s face with his fingertips. After a pause, he then covered his palm on the other’s face.
The tense muscles under his fingertips made him feel that Qin Chaoyan was clenching his teeth at the moment, as if he was restraining his emotions.
The other party was not as calm as he appeared on the surface.
Ye Rongxu moved his fingers, and when he withdrew his hand, his thin wrist was suddenly held.
Qin Chaoyan pressed his hand still on his face and tilted his head slightly.
Ye Rongxu met his dark eyes, pursed his lips, and deliberately said, “But you just had a flat reaction, and you don’t seem particularly happy.”
“I was so happy that I forgot to react.” Qin Chaoyang looked at him and said hoarsely.
Ye Rongxu guessed that this was the case, and the embarrassment in his heart just now disappeared without a trace, and he even felt a little happy.
But on the surface, he still pretended to be reserved and coughed lightly: “So that’s your reaction?”
He just confessed his feelings. If the other party likes him too, shouldn’t he also say a few words that he likes him?
Ye Rongxu looked at Qin Chaoyan expectantly, his eyes somewhat bright.
Qin Chaoyan was stunned for two seconds and seemed to understand. He suddenly leaned over, trapped him between himself and the wheelchair, pinched his thin white chin, and kissed him without saying anything.
Ye Rongxu: “!!!”
This is not a reaction.
His eyes widened suddenly, confused and soon dizzy from the kiss.
Breathe, no, he needs oxygen. He can’t be kissed into fainting again.
Young Master Ye fluttered and stretched out his hand but was soon pushed back down.
Qin Chaoyan helplessly taught him, “Inhale; you can breathe when kissing.”
The sun shone in from the window, casting a golden halo on the two of them.
*
Jiangcheng is cold and damp in winter, but the temperature is not particularly low. After the snow, the sky was clear, and the sun shone all day. The snow facing the sun quickly melted, and the snow on the road was cleared by the municipal sanitation early in the morning.
On Monday noon, Ye Rongxu went down the mountain smoothly and returned home.
Whether it was because of the closeness after the relationship was just established or because of safety issues, Qin Chaoyan had every reason to accompany him back to the Ye family.
As soon as the car drove into the villa, Butler Lao Yang was waiting outside the door with a thick blanket. When the car door opened, he came forward to wrap Ye Rongxu tightly and said with heartache, “Alas, it’s freezing after a night in the mountains, isn’t it? The weather is really getting colder every year…”
Ye Rongxu was embarrassed. He was not frozen and even felt that the quilt last night was particularly warm.
But this would not be a good thing to say to the butler, so he hurriedly changed the subject: “Uncle Yang, I painted two pieces in the mountains. Can you please help me take them to the studio and frame them?”
After saying that, he turned around and saw Qin Chaoyan getting out of the car. He couldn’t help showing off and asked reservedly, “Do you want to go to my studio to see… how to frame paintings?”
In fact, he wanted to invite the other party to the studio to see his paintings.
Qin Chaoyan seemed to see a tail swaying proudly behind him. He couldn’t help smiling and agreed, “Okay.”
Last time when he helped arrange the figurines sent by Cao Yuxuan, he heard Ye Rongxu mention the studio, but he didn’t know that the studio belonged to Ye Rongxu at that time. Now that he knows, he naturally wants to see it.
.
Ye Rongxu was immediately delighted by his consent.
Speaking of which, Qin Chaoyan can do wood carving, and he can paint, both of which have artistic elements to them. The more he thought about it, the more they seemed to suit each other.
Qin Chaoyan gave him a wood carving on his birthday last time, so why doesn’t he give the other party a painting on his birthday?
But what should he paint?
Ye Rongxu was thinking randomly, and before he knew it, he had arrived at the studio, interrupting his thought.
Ye Rongxu is not a professional painter because this is just a hobby. After all, his physical condition makes it impossible for him to go around and sketch like other art students and to spend all his energy on it.
However, Ye Boxuan dotes on his son and prepares a very large studio for him. The entire third floor of the villa, except for Ye Boxuan’s own study, is Ye Rongxu’s studio.
And while the study occupies only one space in the corner, the studio has a special working area, exhibition area, rest area, and a room dedicated to models and artwork.
The figures that Ye Rongxu asked the butler to bring to the studio before were placed in the model and artwork display area.
When Ye Rongxu entered the studio, he couldn’t help but introduce (show off) his works to Qin Chaoyan. The butler, who was helping him frame the paintings, happily added, When did the young master paint this one, and what award did he win? When did the young master paint that one, and what award did he win? And this one was praised by whoever from the Art Association…
Qin Chaoyan listened one by one, looking at the paintings carefully, and gradually felt a sense of pride in his heart, as well as regret for not being able to accompany and witness.
The two emotions intertwined, complex and joyful.
After Butler framed the paintings, he carefully hung them up and kept praising, “This painting is really well done. This mountain view and this sunrise after the snow are all beautiful.”
He didn’t know anything about painting and would only say it looked good when he complimented it.
Ye Rongxu was well aware of his own level and coughed lightly, saying, “It’s not that good.”
Qin Chaoyan looked at the painting with love-tinted glass and thought it was also superb.
He went forward to help the butler hang the painting, and probably because of his large movements, he knocked off a piece of cloth covering the painting nearby.
Qin Chaoyan picked up the cloth and stepped back. When he saw the painting that was previously covered by the cloth, he was stunned.
It was a portrait painting of a woman wearing a red dress, sitting sideways on a chair, slightly inclining her head, her gaze looking out of the painting, her smile serene, her figure elegant.
Her face was 70% similar to Ye Rongxu’s.
Qin Chaoyan had seen the woman in the painting. She was Ye Rongxu’s mother, Lin Xue.
He still remembered that the other party and Qin Jingxu’s mother were good friends; that’s why Qin Jingxu could have an arranged marriage with Ye Rongxu in the first place.
But like Qin Jingxu’s mother, Lin Xue had passed away long ago.
He suddenly felt a little apologetic and turned to look at Ye Rongxu.
Unexpectedly, Ye Rongxu was not very sad when he saw the painting but felt a lot of nostalgia and sentiment.
He stared at it for a while, his eyes reluctant to leave, and after a long time he said, “Cover it up.”
After saying that, he couldn’t help but take another look.
It was obvious that he couldn’t bear to take his eyes away.
Qin Chaoyan was silent. After a few moments, he raised his hand, asking the butler to go out first, then took the canvas and went forward, asking softly, “Since you miss her, why don’t we just leave it like this, so you can see it from time to time?”
He could see that Ye Rongxu didn’t want to cover it up.
Ye Rongxu frowned when he heard it and said distressingly, “Dad will be very sad every time he sees it. He would sit in front of the painting for an afternoon without eating or drinking.”
Qin Chaoyan was stunned. He didn’t expect that Ye Boxuan, who was usually busy like a workaholic, would also sit in front of the portrait of his deceased wife for an afternoon.
But…
After careful consideration, he said, “I think Uncle should be like you, missing Auntie very much. Not looking at her may not necessarily mean not thinking about her, but looking at her can bring comfort and support to his heart. In addition, the situation you mentioned should be after Auntie…had an accident, right? Time can heal scars. When Uncle sees the painting again, he might not sit there for an entire afternoon like before.”
Moreover, it’s impossible not to have a photo of Lin Xue at home. Ye Boxuan can see it at any time if he wants to. Even if the photo is put away, he can go to the studio at night to see it, and Ye Rongxu will never notice.
But he had come to Ye’s house a few times, and he really hadn’t seen any pictures of Lin Xue, which was actually a bit unusual.
Qin Chaoyan speculated that the true situation of the matter may be that after Lin Xue’s accident, Ye Boxuan was greatly affected and felt sad seeing his wife’s portrait. Ye Rongxu noticed this and believed that the portrait had caused his dad immense grief, so he covered it up. However, when Ye Boxuan saw the portrait covered up, he thought his son couldn’t bear the fact that his mother had left. So, the father and son tacitly avoided mentioning it to prevent each other from feeling sad. Thus, Lin Xue became an existence that could not be mentioned between them.
Ye Rongxu clenched his fingers and looked up in confusion: “Really?”
Qin Chaoyan thought for a while and said, “You can try not to cover the painting for the time being.”
Ye Rongxu hesitated for a moment, looked up at the smiling Lin Xue in the painting, and finally agreed to the proposal.
That night, after Ye Boxuan got off work, he went to the study to work as usual.
Not long after, he suddenly went downstairs and looked at Ye Rongxu, who was sitting in the living room watching TV, with a hesitant look.
In the end, it was Ye Rongxu who muted the TV and turned to ask him first, “Dad, what’s the matter?”
Director Ye, who has always been vigorous and resolute, hesitated in front of his son and said in a tight voice after a long time, “Xu Xu, I see you took down the cloth on your… mom’s painting; is it…”
“Dad, you went to my studio?” Aren’t you working in the study?
“Ahem.” Ye Boxuan awkwardly cleared his throat.
Ye Rongxu remembered that he went to the third floor’s study first thing every day after work and seemed to understand something. He couldn’t help but smile like a little fox and said, “Dad, I suddenly realized that Mom looks so pretty, very much like me.”
Ye Boxuan nodded and recalled with regret, “Your mother back then… No, what do you mean by look like you? YOU look like your mom!”
He changed his tone and suddenly reacted, saying unhappily.
Ye Rongxu smiled, “Dad, I realized that we don’t have Mom’s portrait hanging around our home. The picture of my beautiful mom should be displayed. What do you think about putting one in the living room?”
Ye Boxuan was stunned for a moment, then suddenly nodded and said, “Okay, Dad will go find your mom’s photo now.”
After that, he turned around in a hurry, and his steps were so fast that he almost stumbled.
Ye Rongxu looked at his father’s back as he went upstairs; his eyes, with a smile, were slightly moist.
He didn’t expect that Qin Chaoyan actually guessed it right.
After thinking about it, he took out his mobile phone and called Qin Chaoyan.
“Qin Chaoyan, I like you today, too.” Ye Rongxu curved his eyes and whispered, “A little more than yesterday.”
At this moment, Qin Chaoyan had just returned to his residence from work when he heard this sentence. The action of opening the door paused, and all his exhaustion seemed to have dissipated.
“Me too.” He put the phone close to his ear and whispered.
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