CH 18.1

He Qiao was quiet for a long time.

This palm touch was more silent compared to the moment when they suddenly held hands on the lawn at night.

Moreover, it seemed to be self-initiated.

He Qiao didn’t let go of his hand abruptly after realizing, but his thoughts gradually drifted to a very distant place.

The second time they met in a noisy hotpot restaurant, in order to prove the matter of transmigrating to a novel, he took Chi Xueyan a detail about the small photo of his fifth birthday.

He remembered very clearly what Chi Xueyan said after listening to it.

“If this is the case, I will definitely like him very much in the future.”

In fact, He Qiao had been surprised at that time.

He kept a secret that he never told the villain.

—Just like at this moment.

After a long silence, he chose to keep it a secret.

It was at this moment when Chi Xueyan wanted to explore the real him.

Through the thin white shirt, heat spread over his shoulders.

He Qiao heard his own quiet voice, filled with the same gentleness and self-determination as always.

“It is a boring story and isn’t as exciting as One Thousand and One Nights.” He asked in turn, “When do you want to hear the next night’s story?”

It was the One Thousand and One Nights told by the wise queen to the dangerous king.

The question about He Qiao wasn’t answered.

Chi Xueyan got the answer because of this.

It was a tactful answer.

The man leaning on his shoulder laughed softly, shallow breathing like a fluttering cloud.

“Tomorrow,” Chi Xueyan said. “Enough has been said today.”

The red-haired young man was obviously sleepy and didn’t let go of his hand. He still leaned on his lover’s shoulder, fingers burning hot. They were like a pair of partners that had never been more intimate.

Tired sleepiness hovered in the small space and He Qiao no longer bothered him.

He calmly maintained his posture of lending his shoulders, looking sideways at the scenery that flew past outside the car window.

On the billboard on the side of the road, the young couple smiled and hugged each other. They stared at the new dream house not far away and it was a beautiful and warm scene.

Once again, the silver-gray billboard columns were left far behind.

After sending Chi Xueyan home, He Qiao returned alone and suddenly remembered something.

Today, he didn’t smell roses.

Recently, Chi Xueyan’s body had always been surrounded by a rose fragrance that came from somewhere.

The only thing left in the back seat of the car was the smell of the night.

It was a summer night that became lonely.

Chi Xueyan walked into the house and most of the drowsiness caused by alcohol had disappeared.

There were occasional cicadas singing from the bushes and the lights were still on at home. Han Zhenzhen looked at the table full of beautiful packing boxes while Chairman Chi, who accompanied her, was trying to keep his sleepy eyes wide open.

“You’re back. Aunt Ling is making hangover soup before leaving work.” Han Zhenzhen smelled the alcohol on his son’s body and patted his husband beside him vigorously. “Old Chi, go and warm it up.”

Chi Zhongyuan yawned and walked into the kitchen.

Chi Xueyan glanced at the square boxes on the table that looked like a stall. “Haven’t the gifts already been ordered?”

“But I saw several beautiful packaging boxes.” Han Zhenzhen showed him. “Which one do you think is better?”

Chi Xueyan said casually, “The original one.”

“Can you be more serious?” Han Zhenzhen glared at him. “The wedding scene is mainly Xiao Yue’s responsibility. I can’t lose when it comes to gifts.”

The two of them got along very well but when necessary, there was still a bit of the desire to win among mothers.

Chi Xueyan smiled. “You won’t lose. The boxes aren’t that important.”

“That’s right.” Han Zhenzhen became proud again when remembering her brilliant decision. “Then don’t change the packaging. It will save me from ruining the gifts inside.”

Chi Zhongyuan came back with hangover soup and couldn’t help casting a grateful look at his son. “Can I sleep?”

“Your son is about to get married soon. How can you still sleep?”

“…Okay. What is next?”

Chi Xueyan held the warm soup bowl and listened to the noise from his parents. The thoughts in his mind were floating endlessly.

He thought of the candy He Qiao handed him, the bouquet of roses in his arms and the accompanying gift that Han Zhenzhen had been talking about excitedly for days.

He was really drunk tonight.

He was so drunk that he forgot He Qiao had always been a man ruled by reason.

All along, he had played the role of lover so well that Chi Xueyan almost forgot their true relationship and had the illusion of falling in love.

In a sense, his intuition wasn’t wrong. He Qiao was indeed reliable.

He was sufficiently sober and reliable.

If he was to name this unused coin, it should obviously be called ‘the most sane and calm outsider.’

Chi Xueyan lowered his eyes, stared at the rich soup in the bowl and suddenly smiled.

He missed the taste of candy for a second.

“Was the bachelor party fun?” Han Zhenzhen asked him curiously. “We didn’t have such a trendy thing back then.”

“It isn’t bad,” he replied honestly. “Su Yu called many college classmates to come and they all had a lot of fun.”

“What about you?” Han Zhenzhen asked again. “Did you have fun?”

Chi Xueyan thought for a while before seriously answering his mother’s concern, “It is quite fun.”

The party with the theme of saying goodbye to being single was actually no different from the other parties he had attended at the bar.

For him, he would still be single every day after marriage.

He had thought about crossing this line only once.

The thrilling adventure ended. In the tacit understanding that adults should have, Chi Xueyan silently returned to the line.

He had learned from the trajectory of fate. He couldn’t go his own way in a one-way relationship.

“I’m sleepy.” Chi Xueyan got up and said goodnight to his parents. “I’m going upstairs. You go to sleep early.”

“Good night, Yan Yan. Don’t forget to wake up early tomorrow.”

“I know. Good night.”

He didn’t seem to say goodnight to He Qiao today.

Tomorrow, he would remember.

Chi Xueyan quietly walked into the bathroom. The water in the shower poured down, wetting his brightly colored hair in the blink of an eye.

In the wet vapor, he gently closed his eyes.

Tomorrow would come quickly.

There were only 24 hours left until the wedding.

In the living room of the new house with bright and clean windows, there were piles of tightly packed cardboard boxes and bags. They were all things bought from the furniture mall the other day.

It was a busy day. They tidied up the marriage house in the morning and went to the venue for rehearsal in the afternoon.

In the beautifully decorated new house, people were constantly coming and going. The newly bought soft furnishings were unpacked and placed by a maid, ensuring that the newlyweds who came back here after the wedding tonight could find themselves in a perfect home.

Today, He Qiao came a bit late.

The moment he entered through the door, he saw Chi Xueyan sitting at the warm, long white table. He looked down and carefully unwrapped the foam around the cup.

Chi Xueyan was shrouded in the sun like creamy ice cream. His fingertips shone brilliantly and when he heard the sound, he looked up and greeted the other person with a smile. “It is rare to see you late.”

It seemed there was no difference from his usual self.

After a brief trance, He Qiao explained, “Sorry, there is a traffic jam on the road.”

There were already a number of brand new cups in front of Chi Xueyan. He held the scissors and carefully picked up the next carefully packaged cup. He Qiao cooperated to remove the foam scattered on the table.

He asked, “Did you sleep well yesterday?”

A warm wind blew from the Morandi green window frame behind him. Chi Xueyan finally opened all the cups and arranged them neatly by size.

He gazed at the crystal clear scenery in front of him with satisfaction. He responded to his lover’s greeting as well, “Not bad. Which cup do you think is more suitable for this table?”

He Qiao followed his gaze and replied after a while, “They all seem to be very suitable.”

Chi Xueyan glanced at him and complained with a smile, “Why are you like my father?”

He couldn’t choose which cup looked better that day.

Now he could pick it out.

The wandering fingertips stopped precisely on the dark green striped glass.

Chi Xueyan took it out alone and imagined the future. “It is perfect for making lemonade.”

Dark green and bright yellow, as well as clear and transparent liquid. Together, they formed a life of perfect colors.

He Qiao watched as Chi Xueyan put the selected lucky ones onto the tray.

This was the tray he picked out with his own hands.

Once the maid went into a room where she couldn’t hear their conversation, Chi Xueyan approached him and politely asked for his opinion. “Which bedroom do you prefer?”

There were two master bedrooms and three secondary bedrooms that could be used as guest bedrooms.

They would live in separate rooms when there were no outsiders.

He Qiao quickly read his subtext. “Which one do you want?”

Chi Xueyan blinked and said generously, “I want the one with the best sunshine.”

He Qiao naturally wouldn’t refuse. “Okay.”

The next second, a slightly cool fruit candy was stuffed into his palm.

This was Chi Xueyan’s way of thanking him.

The colorful candy paper gently reflected the sun’s brilliance.

It was only then that He Qiao realized the person in front of him was a dentist who carried candy with him.

When Chi Xueyan asked him for candy last night, did Chi Xueyan have candy in his pocket?

He Qiao thought of this with surprise.

However, none of them mentioned the past event.

It was as if nothing happened last night.

It was just a gentle dream.

After waking up from the dream, he saw the red-haired young man leaning against the door and directing others to place the furniture in his preferred position.

He Qiao silently sighed with relief.

At the same time, the candy wrapper was extremely vivid.

He remembered the sentence that was almost like talking to himself.

“…I will definitely like him very much in the future.”

The ‘he’ in this sentence wasn’t actually the person Chi Xueyan was thinking about.