After Cheng Yue kissed him, his heart raced wildly, and then it suddenly stopped.
All his thoughts and worries vanished in that moment, leaving him with nothing but the kiss.
Cheng Yue thought that he would handle whatever came next, but when Ji Xu grabbed his waist and pushed him against the wall, he started to panic.
He thought, if only he hadn’t kissed.
The thud of his back hitting the wall was not light, and it hurt quite a bit, but Cheng Yue didn’t dare to complain. He didn’t even dare to look at Ji Xu’s expression.
When Ji Xu forced his chin up, Cheng Yue saw Ji Xu’s face clearly.
It didn’t look too good…
As Cheng Yue tried to say something, he saw Ji Xu leaning in and pressing his lips against his, “Mmm…”
Ji Xu’s kiss was intense and left no room for argument. Cheng Yue was pressed against the wall, and he couldn’t catch his breath.
When Ji Xu lifted him up by his hips, Cheng Yue managed to take a quick breath, but his lips were caught again. He had to cling tightly to Ji Xu’s neck to avoid falling.
When Ji Xu finally let him go, they were both breathing heavily. Cheng Yue’s vision even darkened a bit.
The hallway lights were off, leaving only a faint light from the living room.
The heavy breathing echoed in the small space, their breaths intertwined.
When Cheng Yue came to his senses, he detected a faint smell of alcohol on Ji Xu.
“Does your back hurt?” Ji Xu continued to hold him, not letting go.
“It doesn’t hurt…” Cheng Yue was still catching his breath, gripping Ji Xu’s shoulders tightly, trembling slightly.
Ji Xu felt Cheng Yue’s tremors and frowned, feeling a bit regretful. He moved away from the wall and carried Cheng Yue to the living room, setting him down on the sofa.
After placing him on the sofa, Ji Xu got up to close the door, but as soon as he stood up, Cheng Yue grabbed his hand.
“I’m closing the door…” Ji Xu looked at him with a bemused smile.
“…Oh.” Cheng Yue let go.
When Ji Xu returned after closing the door, he saw Cheng Yue touching his lips. “What’s wrong with your mouth?”
Cheng Yue wasn’t sure what was wrong, only that it hurt. He frowned and touched his lips with his fingertips, and felt a sharp sting.
“Let me see.” Ji Xu leaned down to take a look.
Cheng Yue’s lower lip was already swollen and had been bitten, with a bit of blood seeping out.
“Is there any other pain?” Ji Xu frowned and gently wiped the blood from Cheng Yue’s lip.
“Ugh…” Cheng Yue flinched from the touch, “My back hurts too.”
Ji Xu, upon hearing this, lifted up Cheng Yue’s large white T-shirt to reveal several handprint-shaped bruises on his pale skin, red marks clearly visible on Cheng Yue’s slender waist.
Ji Xu’s expression darkened. After applying some medicine, he went to the bathroom and took a cold shower for a few minutes. The cold water helped clear his head of the lingering effects of alcohol.
That night, Cheng Yue couldn’t sleep well. He thought about many things but didn’t come to any conclusion.
Eventually, in the middle of the night, Ji Xu noticed Cheng Yue was still awake, scolded him softly, and held him in his arms, gently patting his back until Cheng Yue fell asleep.
The next morning, Cheng Yue felt a bit awkward around Ji Xu, especially during breakfast when he accidentally bit his lip again.
“Come here.” Ji Xu frowned, took a tissue, and wiped Cheng Yue’s mouth. “Don’t eat this. Have some porridge instead.”
“Okay.” Cheng Yue nodded, his face flushed, and buried it in his bowl.
“Cheng Yue…” Ji Xu suddenly called out.
“Hmm?” Cheng Yue looked up in confusion.
Ji Xu was about to say something but noticed the porridge at the corner of Cheng Yue’s mouth. He couldn’t help but smile and reached out to wipe it away. “Drink slowly.”
“Okay.” Cheng Yue felt a bit embarrassed.
For a while, Cheng Yue pondered how to confess to Ji Xu…
After that kiss, Cheng Yue noticed that Ji Xu had become more lenient about certain things. For example, he could skip homework by acting cute, or have ice cream by being adorable…
Ji Xu seemed more… kind.
However, their relationship was still not officially defined—just a mutual acknowledgment of each other, like marking territory with words, without any formal declaration.
Cheng Yue thought Ji Xu might be shy or hesitant. He decided not to overthink it; if Ji Xu wouldn’t say it, he would.
But Cheng Yue couldn’t find any special occasions coming up—no holidays or birthdays…
It seemed there was no special day, which made Cheng Yue quite worried, as he couldn’t find a suitable surprise.
While he was preoccupied with this, time passed quickly.
Cheng Yue felt that time flew by when he wasn’t in school, although the weather was getting colder.
Even the small blanket Cheng Yue used to snuggle on the sofa had been replaced by a large fluffy one by Ji Xu.
Recently, Cheng Yue’s favorite activity was wrapping himself in the large fluffy blanket and eating ice cream.
But he had to hide it from Ji Xu, and recently he couldn’t indulge in it as it was nearing the New Year and Ji Xu was on vacation…
For the past few days, Ji Xu had been watching him write homework at home.
However, once the heating was turned on, Cheng Yue, wrapped in the blanket, would get sleepy just looking at his homework.
When Ji Xu came out of the study and saw Cheng Yue almost falling asleep, he tugged on his ear. “Just got up, why are you going back to sleep?”
“Hmm…” Cheng Yue tilted his head, rubbing his face against Ji Xu’s hand. “If you let me have ice cream, I won’t sleep.”
“You can only have half a box.” Ji Xu’s words were barely out of his mouth when Cheng Yue threw off the blanket and jumped off the sofa.
He rushed towards the fridge with a speed that didn’t resemble someone about to fall asleep.
After grabbing the ice cream, Cheng Yue wrapped himself back up in the blanket.
“Is it sweet?” Ji Xu asked, watching as Cheng Yue dug into the ice cream eagerly.
Cheng Yue smiled and nodded, then scooped a big spoonful of ice cream and offered it to Ji Xu.
Ji Xu hesitated, looking at the large spoonful of ice cream. He didn’t usually like sweets.
Seeing Ji Xu not opening his mouth, Cheng Yue playfully smeared the ice cream on his lips.
Ji Xu frowned slightly, then looked at Cheng Yue’s smile and finally opened his mouth to eat the large spoonful of ice cream.
After Ji Xu tasted the cold, sweet ice cream, he found the flavor unbearable and had to swallow it quickly. He then got up to pour himself a glass of water.
Cheng Yue rarely saw that kind of expression on Ji Xu’s face and couldn’t help but enjoy it while eating.
“Give it to me.” When Ji Xu came back after drinking water and saw Cheng Yue still smiling, he extended his hand with a serious expression.
Cheng Yue: “……”
The next morning, while Cheng Yue was still lying in bed, Ji Xu called him up.
“We’re going to your grandfather’s house for a meal today. He called this morning and told me that Black has passed away.” Ji Xu opened the wardrobe and started looking for clothes.
“Who?” Cheng Yue, still wrapped in the blanket, didn’t hear clearly.
“Who passed away?”
“The little black bird your grandfather raised.” Ji Xu took a thick jacket from the wardrobe and threw it onto Cheng Yue. “He sounded quite sad. When we get there, make sure to comfort him quickly.”
“That fat one?” Cheng Yue frowned as he got out of bed. “How did it die?”
“It was old.” Ji Xu watched as Cheng Yue put on the thick jacket and then handed him a long down coat. “It had been with him for a long time. It passed away last night.”
“I’m not wearing this.” Cheng Yue patted the thick jacket on him. “It’s too thick.”
“It’s snowing outside. You need to put it on later.” Ji Xu frowned.
“It’s snowing!” Cheng Yue’s eyes widened as he hurried to the window and pulled back the curtain to look outside.
Sure enough, it was snowing heavily outside, and the trees and bushes in the small garden were covered with a layer of snow.
“When did it start snowing?” Cheng Yue looked at the snow below with excitement.
“Last night.” Ji Xu walked over and draped the down coat over Cheng Yue’s head. “Go wash your face and brush your teeth.”
Cheng Yue took one last look at the snow outside, threw the down coat on the bed, and bounced into the bathroom.
After breakfast, the two of them drove to Ji Shan’s house. When they arrived downstairs, Ji Shan called and asked them to bring a bottle of vinegar up.
Ji Xu forgot his wallet, so Cheng Yue bought the vinegar and they both rushed upstairs hand in hand.
It was freezing cold.
Just getting out of the car, Cheng Yue’s face felt unbearably cold. Once they got inside, the warmth of the room helped him slowly come back to his senses.
“Look at how cold you two are. Wear more clothes and bring gloves too,” Ji Shan said as he threw small blankets over them and nagged.
“Where’s the bird?” Cheng Yue glanced at the balcony and saw it was empty, feeling a bit puzzled.
“It’s too cold outside, where could it stay?” Ji Shan pointed to a small room. “I put it inside.”
“I’ll go take a look.” Cheng Yue wrapped the blanket around his head and went into the room.
Seeing Cheng Yue enter the room, Ji Shan’s expression immediately fell.
Ji Xu watched his father’s shifting expression with a mix of amusement and helplessness, knowing the reason behind it. Given his father’s usual temper, it was already good that he wasn’t getting scolded.
“Settled?” Ji Shan asked in a low voice.
“Yeah.” Ji Xu smiled slightly and nodded.
Ji Shan glanced at him. “I won’t say much more. I’m letting it go this time because I see you’ve been raising Cheng Yue well. He’s younger than you, and I worry he might be deceived by you. By the way, have you two confirmed things?”
“I’ll find a chance,” Ji Xu said.
“Still looking for a chance…” Ji Shan glared at him. “Time slips away, and it’s just a matter of a few words. You can just say it when you go out, but you keep dragging it out, creating unnecessary trouble.”
Ji Xu smiled and sighed but said nothing. He had his own plans.
“Alright, go cook. Did you buy the vinegar?” Ji Shan looked at him, then walked over to the room where the bird was to find Cheng Yue.
Cheng Yue was playing with a myna that could only say “Master,” and when he saw Ji Shan come in, he immediately remembered Ji Xu’s instructions to comfort his grandfather. “Don’t be too sad. The bird…”
“My birds come and go all the time. If I had to be sad every time one passed away, I’d be sad all year round,” Ji Shan interrupted him with a smile and a wave of his hand.
“I just used it as an excuse to have you two visit. Ji Xu is busy with work, and you’re not keen on coming often.”
“…Oh.” Cheng Yue looked at him, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. “I’ll definitely come more often in the future.”
“I heard from Ji Xu that you’ve made quite a bit of money from your paintings.” Ji Shan looked at him with satisfaction and pride, feeling Cheng Yue was quite good.
Cheng Yue nodded. He had sold several more paintings, ranging from a few thousand to ten thousand yuan. Although not as lucky as the green one that sold for a fortune, it was still decent.
“How much have you saved?” Ji Shan asked with a smile.
“Ah…” Cheng Yue, feeling a bit embarrassed, touched his nose. “I’m not sure. I gave all the money to Ji Xu.”
“You gave it to Ji Xu?” Ji Shan frowned. “Why did you give it to him? What kind of nonsense is that?”
Ji Shan had always handed over his entire salary since he met Ji Xu’s mother, never keeping more than a hundred yuan for himself.
It was bad enough that Ji Xu had led such a good kid astray, but now he was even taking Cheng Yue’s money.
It was outrageous.
“What’s wrong…” Cheng Yue blinked, somewhat subtly saying, “I want to give it to him. I should be supporting him…”
Ji Shan didn’t fully understand the relationship but was displeased that Ji Xu was not only not contributing his salary but was also taking Cheng Yue’s money. Ji Shan’s face darkened, and his words came out through gritted teeth. “You’ve given it all to him. Do you still have any money on you?”
“Yes.” Cheng Yue, not noticing anything wrong, looked for the money he had just used to buy the vinegar.
“I have about 20 yuan.”
Ji Shan looked at the crumpled, scattered small bills in Cheng Yue’s hand, mostly one-yuan notes, and the highest denomination was just two five-yuan notes.
“Cheng Yue!”
Ji Xu suddenly shouted from the living room.
“Ah!” Cheng Yue quickly responded.
“There’s a delivery. Come and pay for it,” Ji Xu called out.
“Okay!” Cheng Yue stuffed the money back into his pocket and started to head outside.
“What do you mean ‘okay’!” Ji Shan suddenly shouted. “Stay here!”
Cheng Yue shivered and froze in place.
“Ji Xu!” Ji Shan glared and shouted again.
“You come here right now!”
