After Ji Shan yelled, there was a moment of silence in the house, but soon the sound of footsteps from outside could be heard.
When Ji Xu, looking a bit confused, opened the door holding a spatula, he asked, “What’s going on?”
“What’s going on? You’re asking what’s going on!” Ji Shan glared at him. “How much is the delivery? Should I use a card to pay? Do I need to take out a loan?”
“Huh?” Ji Xu looked a bit stunned.
“Cheng Yue!” Ji Shan called out again.
The shout startled Cheng Yue, causing him to jump back and bump his head against a birdcage hanging behind him. The pain made him immediately cover his head and crouch down.
“Hey!” Ji Xu quickly handed the spatula to his father, rushed over, and held Cheng Yue. “How are you? Where did you hit?”
“Ouch!” Ji Shan, seeing Cheng Yue holding his head and not getting up, also got worried and crouched down beside him. “Cheng Yue, how’s your head?”
Cheng Yue, covering the back of his head with his hand, slowly lifted his head and saw both of them looking worried. He immediately opened his mouth and smiled. “I’m fine.”
“It’s all your fault!” Ji Shan slapped Ji Xu on the arm.
“Move your hand. Let me see,” Ji Xu frowned and carefully checked Cheng Yue’s head. After confirming that nothing was wrong, he helped Cheng Yue up.
“That…” After a couple of coughs, Ji Shan returned the spatula to Ji Xu. “Cheng Yue, take the money out of your pocket.”
“Huh?” Cheng Yue was puzzled and then reached into his pocket to pull out the money. “What’s wrong?”
“Look at this!” Ji Shan pointed to the money in Cheng Yue’s hand and then to Ji Xu. “You get your wallet out!”
Ji Xu, holding the spatula, looked confused and said, “I didn’t bring my wallet today.”
“You…” Ji Shan didn’t finish his sentence.
“Do you still need the delivery?” The delivery man called from outside.
“Hey! Yes!” Ji Shan quickly replied and went out to collect the package.
“What’s wrong with your grandfather?” Ji Xu patted Cheng Yue’s head.
“I don’t know.” Cheng Yue blinked, still not understanding what was going on.
After the family had a meal together, they sat on the sofa, covered with blankets, watching TV and snacking.
Mostly, Cheng Yue was eating snacks while listening to Ji Shan and Ji Xu talk about things in the news.
It was very comfortable, and Cheng Yue felt so relaxed that he wanted to sleep as soon as he heard their conversation.
The New Year was spent this way too: eating and sleeping, sleeping and eating.
He couldn’t set off firecrackers, so Cheng Yue secretly lit one, scaring the old man sitting not far away.
Then Ji Xu took him upstairs.
After the New Year, school would start soon, and in the blink of an eye, it would be the second semester of senior year. Cheng Yue needed to go back to school and start catching up on his cultural studies.
After such a long break, Cheng Yue surprisingly felt a bit of anticipation about going back to school.
After Ji Xu dropped him off, he smiled and patted Cheng Yue on the head. “Study hard. It’s only the last few months.”
Cheng Yue nodded naturally.
After Ji Xu drove away, Cheng Yue stepped into the school.
“Cheng Yue!”
A very familiar voice called out, making Cheng Yue stop and look back.
Chen Zong, who had just arrived at the school gate, saw him and called his name. When he confirmed it was indeed Cheng Yue, he rushed over and hugged him. “Look at you! I heard from Teacher Chen that you’re already an artist now!”
“Be modest.” Cheng Yue smiled. “It’s too exaggerated. I can’t call myself an artist. I’m just a small, well-known painter.”
Chen Zong: “……”
After hugging and walking inside for a while, Chen Zong furrowed his brows and felt something was off. “Why do I feel something’s not right with you?”
“What’s wrong?” Cheng Yue was puzzled. “Am I too handsome for you?”
“…… Stop joking.” Chen Zong frowned. “I can’t quite describe this feeling…”
Cheng Yue looked at him, sighed.
“Damn!” Chen Zong suddenly exclaimed, then jumped in front of Cheng Yue and measured his head with his hand. “Have you grown taller? I thought it felt awkward when I placed my hand on your head.”
“Really?” Cheng Yue was surprised.
“Definitely.” Chen Zong used himself as a reference to measure Cheng Yue. “Almost 180 cm?”
“Are you that tall?” Cheng Yue found it hard to believe.
Although the boys in their area were generally tall and those under 175 cm were rare, Cheng Yue hadn’t measured his height for a while, and hearing this suddenly made him a bit incredulous.
So that evening after school, Cheng Yue specifically asked Ji Xu to measure his height.
“How tall?” Cheng Yue stood up straight.
“179.5 cm?” Ji Xu looked at the numbers on the measuring tape.
Cheng Yue: “……”
Cheng Yue secretly stood on his tiptoes again.
“Perfect.” Ji Xu smiled and patted his head. “180 cm.”
Cheng Yue breathed a sigh of relief and got off the measuring tape.
As a reward for growing taller, Ji Xu took Cheng Yue back to the shop where he bought the cat-ear dress and bought another dress for him.
Cheng Yue: “……”
Why did I bother standing on tiptoes earlier…
The second semester of senior year was a tight squeeze for review. Despite Cheng Yue keeping up with cultural studies under Ji Xu’s supervision in the previous months, he still struggled to keep up with the pace of senior year studies.
There were many things he couldn’t understand or read. It was exhausting, with early mornings and late nights, and it was common for him to fall asleep at his desk while studying.
But fortunately, after about two months of intense studying, the time for the art exams arrived.
The university Cheng Yue applied to was in a neighboring city, known for its strong professional focus and, of course, for being very difficult to get into.
However, Cheng Yue’s decision to apply to this school was not just because the programs here are top-ranked in China. The main reason was that he met Ouyi at the art exhibition last time.
Ouyi was the guy with the full beard who calls everyone “baby.”
Ouyi was from this school.
Last time, Cheng Yue heard a lot about this school from Ouyi.
It could be described as admiration or longing, but more than that, Cheng Yue wanted to challenge and conquer.
Cheng Yue thought that the school was strong, but he wasn’t any less. If he was going to take the exam, he had to aim for the best.
To familiarize himself with the school environment and location, Ji Xu drove Cheng Yue to the school a day in advance.
Before going, Cheng Yue specifically informed Ouyi. After learning that Cheng Yue was coming, Ouyi said he would wait at the school gate to show him around.
Cheng Yue, of course, gladly agreed. Having a local guide was the best.
Once they arrived, as soon as Ji Xu and Cheng Yue parked the car and walked a short distance, Ouyi’s call came through.
As soon as Cheng Yue answered, Ouyi’s voice came through clearly.
“I think I see you guys!” Ouyi’s voice was very loud.
So loud that even if Cheng Yue covered the phone, he could still hear the sound from behind.
“Is that you guys?” Ouyi shouted with a smile.
Hearing the voice from behind, Cheng Yue confirmed and, after hanging up, turned around.
“Cheng Yue!” Ouyi waved his hand enthusiastically when he saw Cheng Yue turn around.
Cheng Yue, seeing the familiar bearded face, happily waved back and walked over with Ji Xu.
After greetings and some casual chat, Ouyi led the two into the school while introducing it.
Cheng Yue was very curious about the university he was going to attend, so the conversation was quite lively.
Ouyi explained in detail, covering everything he knew.
As they chatted, they arrived at a certain point.
Seeing them chatting happily, Ji Xu fell a few steps behind, slowly taking in the school.
The sight of boys and girls everywhere made Ji Xu furrow his brows involuntarily.
It wasn’t that the students were particularly good-looking, but the vitality and youthful confidence they exuded made Ji Xu feel uncertain.
He looked at Cheng Yue ahead, who shared the same vitality and youth.
Ji Xu suddenly became aware that Cheng Yue was only 17 years old, still very young.
And he… was already old?
Ji Xu watched Cheng Yue chatting with Ouyi, who was around the same age, and felt a growing unease.
He remembered once comforting Cheng Yue with the words that as Cheng Yue grew up, he would get older.
At the time, he didn’t think much about it; he said it just to reassure Cheng Yue, putting himself in a lower position to make Cheng Yue feel at ease.
In fact, he felt it was a good thing that Cheng Yue relied on him, something that made him feel he could take care of Cheng Yue for a lifetime.
He had the ability and confidence to provide Cheng Yue with wings that didn’t need to worry about storms anywhere.
But now, Ji Xu was unsure.
Not about himself, but about the process of Cheng Yue growing up.
Ji Xu selfishly wished that Cheng Yue would never grow up.
Then he could always remain in a towering position beside Cheng Yue for a lifetime.
Always in a protective role by Cheng Yue’s side for a lifetime…
But life was really too long, especially for Cheng Yue.
Every time Cheng Yue chatted with Ouyi, he would turn back to check on Ji Xu, not out of worry about losing him, but just to see him. If he couldn’t see Ji Xu, he felt uneasy.
“You…” Ouyi looked at Cheng Yue’s actions with some hesitation.
He actually felt that the interaction between Cheng Yue and his uncle was a bit strange, too intimate.
But intimacy between relatives wasn’t unusual. The problem was the kind of compatibility they had that seemed to make it hard for anyone else to intervene. If someone did, it felt like a Pikachu with a 10,000-volt spotlight.
“What’s wrong?” Cheng Yue asked, seeing Ouyi’s strange expression.
“Are you and your uncle not just calling him ‘uncle’?” Ouyi asked indirectly, but Cheng Yue understood.
Cheng Yue looked at Ouyi and, after a pause, straightforwardly admitted, “I like him.”
Ouyi, upon hearing this, looked both understanding and somewhat surprised.
Cheng Yue, having said it in a rush, felt a bit unsettled and regretted mentioning it when Ouyi didn’t immediately respond. He asked, “You don’t have any objections, right?”
“Ah?” Ouyi was momentarily stunned but quickly waved his hand, “No, no.”
Cheng Yue immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
“There are quite a few cases like this at our school, so it doesn’t really matter. There’s no difference between boys with boys and boys with girls,” Ouyi patted his shoulder, “I like girls, but I don’t think it matters if you like boys. It’s just about liking someone. I don’t quite understand how boys interact with each other, but it’s probably not much different from how I interact with my girlfriend. Handing over your salary is basic, then serving tea, checking in, massaging, hugging, kissing, all of that. It’s probably similar.”
“Yeah, I think there’s no difference. I’ll give him all the money I earn. Anyway, I make money to support him,” Cheng Yue said earnestly, then a bit embarrassed, rubbed his nose, “Really, I’ll be better than what you said. I won’t make him angry or upset. Whatever he wants, I’ll do it. I’ll definitely cater to him.”
Ouyi was initially touched by what he heard, but the more he thought about it, the more it seemed off. He glanced at Cheng Yue, trying to ask subtly, “So… you’re the one supporting the family?”
“Yes,” Cheng Yue nodded, “I told Ji Xu that I would support him. You mentioned that handing over the salary is basic, and I’ve already done that. I’ll definitely do everything else you mentioned in the future.”
Ouyi: “…”
“…Good luck.” Ouyi awkwardly glanced at the imposing Ji Xu and then at Cheng Yue, who was still young and had a bit of baby fat. He felt that Cheng Yue’s words had overturned his first impression of Ji Xu.
So, it turns out…
Ji Xu was being supported at home…
Ouyi imagined Ji Xu, such a person, being docile at home, respectfully calling “husband,” and his head started to hurt.
But Ouyi suddenly thought that although Cheng Yue was quite young, his methods were impressive.
Author’s Note:
Upper couplet: Cheng Yue who supports the family
Lower couplet: Ji Xu, the pampered wife
Horizontal inscription: Dog food overload
