Cheng Yue clenched the fluffy ball in his hand tightly, his chest rising and falling unevenly. The situation of having everything laid bare made him feel increasingly anxious, even a bit angry at being exposed.
He just wanted Ji Xu to focus only on him, to be with him alone. He even wished that everyone around Ji Xu would disappear, so that Ji Xu would only remember him.
Ji Xu would be his only one, and he would be Ji Xu’s only one.
“No one is controllable, and no one’s life is controllable,” Song Yi said calmly, looking up at Cheng Yue. “This morning, I planned to have soup dumplings, but when I got there, they were all sold out. So I had to settle for some fried dough sticks. But I think having fried dough sticks occasionally isn’t bad. This is a kind of control over emotions. Do you understand what I mean?”
Cheng Yue stiffly nodded.
“Good.” Song Yi picked up the overturned cup Cheng Yue had knocked over.
Cheng Yue hesitated for a moment, then went to the nearby desk to get a few tissues and bent down to wipe the floor.
“But agreeing to see the doctor was actually because of Ji Xu,” Song Yi said with a smile, watching Cheng Yue clean the floor. She squatted down to help him, speaking slowly, “You’re afraid he will worry, afraid he will be troubled.”
Cheng Yue threw the dirty tissues into the trash can.
“Some of your emotions are too extreme, especially towards Ji Xu,” Song Yi said, pulling him back to sit down. “But it’s not a big issue. You can control most of the intrusive thoughts, right?”
Cheng Yue remained silent. He could indeed control some of his thoughts about Ji Xu, but he didn’t want to.
“Let’s do a test,” Song Yi said, turning her laptop screen towards him.
Ji Xu, peering through the gap in the blinds, watched Cheng Yue sitting on the sofa with his back turned. He couldn’t see Cheng Yue’s face clearly but could observe his nervousness—constantly wiping sweat and his distracted gaze searching for Ji Xu.
By the time Song Yi let Cheng Yue out, he was almost falling asleep.
When Ji Xu was called into the office, he had been waiting on the guest sofa outside, already leaning back and dozing off.
“The situation isn’t too severe. Just follow the guidelines in the document I sent you last time. Come back for a follow-up in half a month. If there are any issues in the meantime, remember to contact me promptly,” Song Yi instructed.
“Currently, there’s no need for medication.”
“Thank you for your trouble.” Ji Xu asked a few more questions and then thanked her before leaving the office.
Seeing Cheng Yue, who had fallen asleep on the sofa, Ji Xu felt a bit helpless.
He smiled, woke Cheng Yue up, and took him downstairs. When they passed by Cheng Yue’s favorite ice cream shop, Ji Xu parked the car.
“You stay in the car. I’ll go buy some,” Ji Xu said as he grabbed his wallet and got out of the car.
Cheng Yue peeked out of the window, watching Ji Xu walk towards the ice cream shop, and smiled with narrowed eyes.
When Ji Xu’s phone rang, he was momentarily stunned. He turned around, searching for the phone, which was lying on the back seat.
Cheng Yue quickly reached out to grab the ringing phone.
It was a call from Tang Jing. Cheng Yue answered, but as he instinctively started to speak, he opened his mouth and remembered he couldn’t make any sound.
On the other end, Tang Jing spoke rapidly.
“Mr. Ji, how are you celebrating your birthday the day after tomorrow? I’ve arranged most of it. Do you want to choose the place or should I?” Tang Jing’s voice was loud, and Cheng Yue had to hold the phone slightly away from his ear.
But he clearly heard Tang Jing mention… Ji Xu’s birthday.
Ji Xu’s birthday was coming up?
The day after tomorrow?
Cheng Yue’s eyes widened as he looked at Ji Xu, who was walking back with the ice cream. He quickly hung up the phone.
After buying the ice cream, Ji Xu drove to the office.
As soon as he arrived, he ran into the hurried Tang Jing, who was carrying a pile of documents.
“I’m in the office. Go ahead and grab something to eat,” Ji Xu said, giving Tang Jing some instructions before discussing the case details with him.
Cheng Yue made sure he knew which office Ji Xu had entered before heading to the lounge with various snacks.
After Cheng Yue had just eaten a couple of things, someone tapped him on the shoulder. When he turned left, another tap landed on his right shoulder.
Cheng Yue: “…”
So childish.
Cheng Yue decided to stay still. Seeing that he wasn’t playing along, the person behind him came closer.
“Here, I have something for you,” Duan Changsheng said, appearing and handing him a paper bag.
Cheng Yue took the bag, a bit stunned.
“To celebrate your legal victory,” Duan Changsheng smiled.
Cheng Yue opened the bag and saw a pot of… unusually plump… grass?
“Don’t recognize it?” Duan Changsheng looked puzzled. “Young master, you don’t even recognize aloe vera?”
Aloe vera?
Cheng Yue stared at the plump grass in the bag again.
This was aloe vera?
It looked so absurd, it should be called “fat household cactus.”
“How does it look? Luxurious and festive, and I’m raising it,” Duan Changsheng said, poking the aloe vera’s leaves with his finger.
“I think it’s quite uplifting. You can look at it every day. It might help with your nerves. Your voice still hasn’t recovered.”
Cheng Yue also touched the thick aloe vera leaves, which felt soft and pleasant to the touch.
“Smile more,” Duan Changsheng said, smiling back at him. “Alright, eat your food. I have to get back to work.”
Cheng Yue held the plump aloe vera, his face slightly awkward, and mouthed a thank you.
“You can still say thank you?” Duan Changsheng teased before turning and leaving to work.
After Ji Xu finished most of his work and entered his office, he saw Cheng Yue sitting on the sofa, staring at the excessively plump and short aloe vera.
The scene looked a bit funny. Ji Xu approached and pinched Cheng Yue’s ear.
“Whose is this?”
Hearing Ji Xu’s voice, Cheng Yue looked up and pointed to himself.
“Yours?” Ji Xu smiled. “Who gave you the aloe vera?”
Cheng Yue pointed to Duan Changsheng, who was passing by with some documents.
Ji Xu looked at Cheng Yue with a smile. “Do you like it?”
Cheng Yue nodded.
“Let’s go home,” Ji Xu said.
Ji Xu took the bag, and Cheng Yue carried the pot of plump aloe vera, and they walked home hand in hand.
Once they were home, Cheng Yue couldn’t stop thinking about Ji Xu’s upcoming birthday. He was so distracted that he didn’t even focus on dinner, and the same thought consumed him while he was taking a shower.
Even as he went to bed, he kept thinking about it.
Cheng Yue turned over and hugged Ji Xu’s arm with a sigh. He was really too busy… and had been thinking for so long…
The next morning, after Ji Xu finished getting ready for work, he looked at Cheng Yue, who had already finished breakfast, and put down the book he was holding.
“Are you coming with me?” Ji Xu asked, although he had already gotten up to pick up Cheng Yue’s coat.
Cheng Yue, who had just finished his last bite of porridge and was thinking about what gift to give Ji Xu, shook his head, continuing to think about the empty bowl.
Ji Xu paused with the coat in his hand, looking a bit surprised. He nodded slightly and went out the door.
As Cheng Yue was contemplating how much pocket money he had left, the door suddenly opened again from the outside, and Ji Xu’s voice came from the entrance.
“Are you really not coming?” Ji Xu asked, pushing the door aside.
Cheng Yue was crouched on the floor, pulling a small box out of the drawer of the coffee table, counting his money and didn’t hear what Ji Xu said.
Ji Xu frowned, thought for a moment, and said, “We can have ice cream today.”
Cheng Yue still didn’t hear Ji Xu’s voice. He counted his money back and forth, realizing it might not be enough.
“Cheng Yue, you…”
Cheng Yue heard Ji Xu’s voice this time, stood up, and ran to the entrance.
Seeing Ji Xu still there, he was a bit surprised and typed a message on his phone, handing it over.
[Why are you still here?]
Ji Xu: “……”
Ji Xu swallowed, waved his hand, and said, “Nothing. I’m leaving now.”
Cheng Yue nodded and ran back to the sofa, continuing to count his money.
Ji Xu looked at Cheng Yue, who had disappeared in an instant, and sighed quietly, feeling uncomfortable.
He liked Cheng Yue to stick to him every day, to follow him around, and liked how he could see Cheng Yue obediently by his side with just a glance.
The treatment from Song Yi was having such a rapid effect. Maybe Cheng Yue should visit her less often…
In the short time it took to go downstairs in the elevator, Ji Xu found himself missing Cheng Yue.
He suddenly felt selfish, not wanting Cheng Yue to fully recover, as long as it meant ensuring his physical health.
If Cheng Yue’s clinginess were considered an illness, he hoped Cheng Yue would never get better.
Back at home, Cheng Yue finally sorted out all his assets and squatted on the floor, calculating what gift he could give Ji Xu.
A row of paper money was spread out on the wool blanket on the floor.
Approximately — one-hundred-yuan bills, three or four fifty-yuan bills, twenty or so ten-yuan bills, and many one-yuan bills.
A total of 1372 yuan.
Cheng Yue looked at the money, feeling troubled about what he could buy with just over a thousand yuan.
In the past, he would give gifts for anyone’s birthday, whether he knew them or not, whether familiar or not—he just liked to give gifts on birthdays.
Gifts for friends were easy to choose: sneakers, game consoles, watches, autographed photos of sports stars. None of his gifts were under ten thousand yuan.
Now, with just a thousand yuan, he didn’t know what to pick, and Ji Xu was different from his other friends. There was no comparison.
Ji Xu was special; the gift should be… a thousand yuan.
Cheng Yue sighed, gathered the stacks of money, put them in his pocket, and put on his coat before going downstairs.
He planned to wander around the street and see if he could figure out what to give.
Cheng Yue wandered around the city for a long time but couldn’t decide on a gift for Ji Xu.
The main issue was that Ji Xu didn’t really have specific preferences. He didn’t have a particular liking for anything, though he often read books. But buying a book was simple; choosing the right book was an art.
Asking Cheng Yue to buy a book from a bookstore was too difficult.
After giving up, Cheng Yue was about to buy some buns—after all, he and Ji Xu always had buns from this place in the morning.
He sighed and was about to buy a bun when his attention was drawn to an LED screen on the side of the neighboring commercial building.
The images sliding by were of dresses that were too eye-catching.
Cheng Yue stopped moving. When the advertisement ended, he blinked, came to his senses, crossed the street, and entered the commercial building.
Ji Xu really had a hobby…
He particularly liked dresses.
Breaking free from a certain mindset, Cheng Yue immediately focused on this.
Once inside the building, Cheng Yue quickly found the store.
After entering, Cheng Yue thought all the dresses in the store looked quite nice. They seemed a bit aloof but also… Cheng Yue couldn’t quite describe it, but they felt a bit off the longer he looked.
Cheng Yue didn’t think too much of it because the dresses did look good and had a unique style.
After browsing the store, Cheng Yue decided to give Ji Xu a surprise.
He looked at the sales assistant beside him, hesitated for a moment, and then typed a message on his phone, blushing as he handed it to the sales assistant.
[Do you have any XXL sizes? The kind that can fit someone who is 1.88 meters tall?]
