Amid the flurry of elderly women waving their fans again and the music blaring “You Are My Little Apple,” Ji Xu and Cheng Yue stood there, stunned for a while.
Ji Xu looked at Cheng Yue, who was blushing and looking down, and felt his heart melt completely. It felt like his heart had turned into a soft, gooey candy, with Cheng Yue being that candy.
Cheng Yue was so sweet that it was almost overwhelming.
Cheng Yue, with his head down and having his feet stepped on several times by the elderly women, dared not make a sound. He kept replaying in his mind the bold and confident declaration he had made.
Ji Xu’s ambiguous attitude had made Cheng Yue reluctant to show his true feelings.
He was afraid that Ji Xu’s affection for him might only be due to familial care or similar reasons.
But Ji Xu’s feelings were sometimes a bit unpredictable.
However, Cheng Yue was reluctant to take risks. He was satisfied with their current relationship because, compared to inaction, he was more afraid of receiving a response he didn’t want to hear.
He believed that he could break through this situation soon. Cheng Yue thought that if he could earn money in the future and support Ji Xu, his words would carry more weight and be less likely to be rejected.
He was willing to give all his earnings and his heart to Ji Xu, as long as Ji Xu was willing to accept him.
Although Cheng Yue’s thoughts were jumbled, it all happened in an instant.
Ji Xu, smiling, coughed twice. As he was about to speak, he saw an elderly woman’s fan heading towards Cheng Yue’s head. He quickly pulled Cheng Yue into his embrace, turned to block the fan, and protected Cheng Yue as they squeezed their way out of the crowd.
After they managed to get out with great effort, both of them were sweating profusely.
Cheng Yue looked at Ji Xu’s crumpled white shirt and the tie that had ended up on his shoulder and couldn’t help but laugh. He reached out to remove the tie from Ji Xu’s shoulder.
“You…” Ji Xu was about to ask why Cheng Yue suddenly came back, but then saw Cheng Yue’s sweaty face and reached out to wipe his sweat. “Why are you sweating so much?”
“Scared by the elderly women.” Cheng Yue also wiped the sweat off Ji Xu’s forehead. “You squat down a bit, and I’ll style your hair.”
Ji Xu, smiling, squatted down a bit and asked, “Why did you come back?”
“The plane couldn’t fly,” Cheng Yue said with a grin, reaching out to mess with Ji Xu’s hair. “Look… a messy head.”
Ji Xu: “…”
“Let’s go upstairs.” Ji Xu pulled Cheng Yue towards the building while pressing down the disheveled hair Cheng Yue had styled.
As soon as Cheng Yue sat on the sofa, he saw Ji Xu take out a huge box of ice cream from the fridge and stared in amazement as Ji Xu handed him an equally large spoon. “When did you buy this?”
Ji Xu cleared his throat and said, “Just today, I happened to pass by and bought a box.”
Cheng Yue’s eyes lit up at the sight of the large box of ice cream. He took a big spoonful and shoved it into his mouth.
Ji Xu looked at him with a warm smile, watching him eat a few bites, and then chatted gently with him.
Cheng Yue was both frightened and puzzled by Ji Xu’s sudden… strange behavior.
But when Ji Xu smiled and used a tissue to wipe the corner of his mouth, Cheng Yue couldn’t help but ask, “Did you win the lottery today?”
“Stop eating,” Ji Xu said, taking the ice cream box away from him.
Cheng Yue: “…”
“I just got back a little while ago…” Cheng Yue sighed, feeling that Ji Xu’s thoughts were too hard to read.
One moment he was smiling warmly, almost calling him “baby,” and the next, his mood seemed to change unpredictably.
Men were just too changeable.
“Did Professor Qi mention when he would gather everyone again?” Ji Xu put the ice cream box back in the fridge.
“Ah…” Cheng Yue leaned back on the sofa and gave a longing look at the ice cream box, sighing, “Tomorrow, but I don’t want to go.”
“Didn’t you bring the suitcase back?” Ji Xu patted Cheng Yue’s head. “Learn more, you can’t just stay at home and close the door to the world. Professor Qi is willing to pay attention to you, so you should be grateful.”
“I didn’t say I wasn’t grateful.” Cheng Yue grabbed Ji Xu’s hand that was on his head. “I just…”
The word “just” was drawn out long by Cheng Yue.
“Can’t bear to part with my ice cream!” Cheng Yue closed his eyes and shouted.
“It’s useless.” Ji Xu grabbed him by the back of his neck. “Take a shower before you eat.”
Cheng Yue sighed, thinking that he wasn’t useless—he just had the heart of a thief but lacked the courage.
The next morning, Ji Xu, inwardly seething and wanting to yell at someone, still calmly and kindly sent Cheng Yue off.
Then, as Ji Xu drove back alone, he imagined throwing the steering wheel at Cheng Yue like a boomerang, knocking him out, and carrying him back.
Cheng Yue’s experience went fairly smoothly except for being tired. The students and disciples accompanying Professor Qi were a bit overwhelming.
Especially one middle-aged man with a full beard and wearing a black vest, who called everyone “baby,” which startled Cheng Yue and made him shiver.
There were also several boys and girls of similar age who talked endlessly. Cheng Yue had always thought he was chatty, but compared to them, he felt like a mute parrot.
In the end, Cheng Yue found it hard to sit with them, so he slipped away to the bathroom and stayed near Qi Kang.
The journey was incredibly quiet, with none of the students or disciples coming close.
Throughout the day, Cheng Yue viewed some of the paintings already on display at the venue, with Professor Qi occasionally pointing out the highlights and shortcomings of their work.
Back home, Ji Xu returned to his “empty-nester” state, draping the blanket with Cheng Yue’s scent over himself on the sofa.
He stared at his phone on the coffee table, waiting for Cheng Yue to call.
It was so lonely.
While feeling this loneliness, Ji Xu finished processing several contracts from Tang Jing and ended up giving Tang Jing a scolding.
Tang Jing, trembling, looked at the mistakes on the contracts and sadly took them back to correct them.
Just as Ji Xu was about to get up to get a glass of water, his phone suddenly vibrated, and a video call request came through.
Ji Xu’s eyes lit up as he immediately accepted the video call.
When the video connected, Cheng Yue’s camera was a bit shaky, showing only Cheng Yue’s smiling teeth and a bit of his chin.
“Ji Xu!”
Cheng Yue’s excited voice came through even before the camera was steady.
Although Ji Xu thought it was silly, he couldn’t help but smile and reply, “Hi.”
The camera finally steadied, clearly showing Cheng Yue’s face with dimples from his wide smile and squinted eyes, looking rather silly.
“Ji Xu,” Cheng Yue called out again.
“Hi,” Ji Xu replied.
“Ji Xu,” Cheng Yue called once more.
“You’re really addicted, aren’t you?” Ji Xu laughed and scolded lightly.
“It’s just…” Cheng Yue awkwardly rubbed his nose, “I haven’t called you all day and felt something was off.”
“How’s it going over there?” Ji Xu asked with a smile.
“It’s okay, just a bit tiring,” Cheng Yue bit his lip and decided to start complaining.
“As soon as we landed, we were running around. We had lunch, and while I was still chewing, the old man was already carrying his easel out. It was so frightening, I was afraid he’d hurt his back, so I rushed to help him. After we got to the place, I was about to go eat, but he dragged me along to help him… And then he made me paint, and after that, he scolded me for painting poorly…”
Ji Xu listened to his rambling while closely examining Cheng Yue’s face, noting his enthusiastic expression and endless chatter, realizing that he probably wasn’t too tired.
“I need to tell you something…” Cheng Yue suddenly lowered his voice and moved closer to the camera.
Ji Xu, looking at Cheng Yue’s big eyes and the red lips close to the camera, felt a tightening in his lower abdomen.
This simple camera angle made Ji Xu’s voice deepen.
“What?”
“Well…” Cheng Yue, not noticing anything unusual about his close-up, furrowed his brows and spoke in a low voice.
“I noticed that some people here completely ignore the old man, even the students and disciples he brought don’t pay him much attention. Why do you think that is? The old man, with his big suitcase, had to carry it himself. If I hadn’t been there to help him, even though he looks energetic, his heart must not be the same…”
Ji Xu was so focused on Cheng Yue’s moving lips that he didn’t catch much of what he said.
“Do you think they’re bullying the old man because of his age?” Cheng Yue’s face showed some indignation.
“Sorry, I didn’t catch that,” Ji Xu said, clearing his throat and changing his sitting posture.
Cheng Yue repeated his indignation and, still unsatisfied, added, “There were a few people in suits with slicked-back hair at the venue. When the old man talked to them, they only responded with one word and didn’t say more.”
Ji Xu frowned, somewhat disbelieving. “Really?”
“Yes,” Cheng Yue confirmed. “I saw it with my own eyes.”
Ji Xu thought about it and still found it hard to believe, but he knew Cheng Yue wouldn’t lie. He reminded Cheng Yue to stay vigilant and to help out more if needed.
“I know,” Cheng Yue sighed. “Be grateful, and the old man is so pitiful.”
“How many times have I told you not to call him ‘old man’? It’s impolite,” Ji Xu said. “Call him Professor.”
“It slipped out,” Cheng Yue said, smiling embarrassedly. “I just…”
“Baby, what are you doing?” A slightly deep and heavy male voice suddenly came from behind Cheng Yue.
Cheng Yue, startled by the voice, hurriedly covered the phone.
But it was too late; Ji Xu’s face had already changed.
—
Author’s Note:
The empty-nester Ji Xu suffers from someone digging his corner. Is it a distortion of human nature or a loss of morality?
Hahaha, I’m just a little pig…
