CH Extra 1

Extra 1: Welcome Home 

On the way back, Yue Zhishi felt increasingly guiltier, worried Lin Rong and Song Jin would yell at him as soon as he got home.

“Now you’re afraid?” Song Yu couldn’t help but tease. He’d watched as Yue Zhishi had stared at the doorbell, struggling, for over a minute. “You ran off without a single second thought.” 

Yue Zhishi turned around and glared at him before very straightforwardly whispering, “But that’s because I like you.” 

Song Yu was stunned by such an unexpected confession — and the door abruptly opened by itself.

Lin Rong pulled open the door to their home, a hand on her waist. “What were you two whispering to each other about! I waited at the monitor screen for so long.”

She had just finished speaking when there was a sudden bang, random streamers spraying onto Song Yu and Yue Zhishi.

“Welcome home!!!” 

Yue Zhishi dumbly removed the streamers on his face and body and then went to help Song Yu, except his eyes weren’t on Song Yu at all — the streamers on his hand ended up wiping all over Song Yu’s face.

“Why are there so many people…”

A large group of people stood in the entrance hallway, and other than Lin Rong and Song Jin, Jiang Yufan, Qin Yan, Shen Mi, Nan Jia, and even Xu Lin and Qu Zhi had also come.

Song Jin was holding a rose coloured party popper in his hand, quite ill matched with his outfit, and explained with a smile on his face, “Everyone’s here to give you guys a surprise.”

It really was a surprise, and Yue Zhishi inwardly rejoiced — luckily, he didn’t get yelled at.

“That’s right, the two of you are now the big hero and the little hero.” Nan Jia tugged the two silly looking red sashes she was holding over them, and she even gave Qin Yan a meaningful look. 

“Oh, right right.” Qin Yan immediately followed behind her and grabbed out a tightly curled up silk banner from his sports bag. Walking up to Song Yu and Yue Zhishi, he then snapped it open, grinning so widely his eyes all but disappeared. 

The two of them stared at the two rows of yellow characters on the banner, and they couldn’t help but read the words out loud.

Yue Zhishi: “Ingenious moxibustion and divine needles can cure all diseases…”

Song Yu: “…May your virtue and skill both spread far and wide.”

“What the fuck?” Qin Yan rapidly flipped the banner over to look at it.

“Senior Qin Yan, what did you do?!”

“Oh no?” 

Qin Yan clutched his head. “Shit, the owner of that banner store must’ve mixed up my order with the old Chinese medicine doctor next door!” 

“Hahahahaha!”

Yue Zhishi couldn’t stand up straight from how hard he was laughing; his entire body was trembling as he leaned against Song Yu’s shoulder.

“All right, all right. Hurry up and come in, you managed to get back just in time for dinner.” Lin Rong gave both Song Yu and Yue Zhishi a hug. “My two babies have lost weight. You definitely wouldn’t have eaten well every day.” 

“We were okay.” Yue Zhishi said, “Song Yu wasn’t even picky about his food.”

Qin Yan smirked. “Probably because he wouldn’t have been able to eat otherwise.” 

“People who grabbed the wrong banner have no right to say anything,” Song Yu mildly said.

For this surprise gathering, Lin Rong and Song Jin specifically brought out the long table they’d never really used at home and cooked up enough food to fill the table. Everyone had rushed over at noon to decorate the house, blowing up balloons of various shapes and letting them float at the ceiling. 

Yue Zhishi found everything really pretty, continuously feeling touched as soon as he went inside. Jiang Yufan ended up dragging him to a side and extended out a leg to him. “Le Le, look.”

Yue Zhishi didn’t understand, glancing around in all four directions. “Look at what?” 

Jiang Yufan stretched out his leg a bit further. “Look!”

Xu Lin, holding a plate of fried chicken wings, was walking past and almost tripped over Jiang Yufan’s suddenly extended leg. Fortunately, he had fairly good balance, and Yue Zhishi also grabbed onto him — he didn’t end up falling, but he did land a firm step onto Jiang Yufan’s new shoes.

“Ah my limited edition AJs!!!”

Yue Zhishi and Xu Lin immediately straightened up at Jiang Yufan’s bitter wail.

“Ah…” Yue Zhishi finally understood and said to Xu Lin, “That’s the pair of AJs Jiang Yufan used as a bet about whether you and Shen Mi would end up together or not.”

With the large platter of fried chicken wings in his hand, Xu Lin suddenly exploded, “Who! Who would get together with Shen Mi!”

Yue Zhishi jumped in fright once again.

Right, he forgot — he couldn’t talk about it in front of either of them. 

Lin Rong came out with the large cake she’d baked herself and placed it at one end of the table, clapping her hands. “Xiao Yu, come cut. Xiao Yu is a bit obsessive about having things neat, so he’s better at cutting.”

Yue Zhishi agreed with Lin Rong. “Gege’s hands are super precise.”

And so, Song Yu, who’d always been harder to get to do things than Buddha, really did go and cut the cake.

Everyone crowded together to share in the delicious food, handing over Song Yu’s slices of cake one by one. Shen Mi stretched out his neck and looked in Song Yu’s direction, a chicken wing in his mouth.

“Senior Song Yu’s so sad, he still needs to cut cake even with only one arm.”

Qin Yan nodded. “Yes, we need to care more about our disabled people.” 

And so the two of them received the two smallest slices of cake in the entire room, while Yue Zhishi’s slice was double the size of theirs added together.

“I might not be able to finish this though,” Yue Zhishi said, turning his face around to the Song Yu who’d taken a seat next to him.

With a noble and dignified face, Song Yu lifted his own fork. “You don’t have to finish it, but you can’t share it with them.”

Cats were really good at holding grudges. Yue Zhishi took a bite of his cake and, very cautiously, praised Song Yu inwardly for being so cute.

Everyone talked while they ate, and they had Yue Zhishi and Song Yu share a lot of their experiences while at the plateau.

“The people there are both really tough and optimistic, and they’re also really friendly.” Yue Zhishi recalled so many lovely people. “I was a bit sad when we left.”

Qu Zhi suggested, “We can go there together for a holiday next time.”

“Yes,” Nan Jia agreed. “I’ve always wanted to visit snow mountains, and I’ve never been to high altitude places. It must be really beautiful.”

“We can rent tents!” Yue Zhishi rather excitedly started to make plans, pointing at the people around the table as he said, “Uncle and Aunt can sleep in one, Nan Jia and Qu Zhi in another, Jiang Yufan and senior Qin Yan can bring your girlfriends along, Song Yu and I will be another, and then Shen Mi and Xu Lin…”

He braked before finishing his sentence, but Shen Mi and Xu Lin looked at each other and said at the same time, “I’m not sleeping with him.”

Qin Yan said reassuringly, “This sleep is not that kind of sleep.”

“I’m not sleeping with him no matter what kind of sleep,” Shen Mi resolutely said. Xu Lin puffed up his cheeks and opened his mouth in a huff, as though wanting to say something, but he held himself back and ended up looking like a pufferfish. 

“We’ll need to talk about this over some time.” Song Jin gave them some food. “The two of you have worked really hard the last few days, so you’ll need to rest. Xiao Yu needs to take care of his arm. Everything will be inconvenient now that you’ve injured your right arm. Le Le, you too. Next time something like this happens, you can’t just run off to such a dangerous place without saying anything.”

Yue Zhishi nodded very sincerely. “I know, I definitely won’t be like that next time.”

“Really?” Jiang Yufan didn’t believe him. “As soon as you heard something happened to senior Song Yu, you acted like a completely different person. I feel like you still wouldn’t be able to control yourself next time.”

“I understand how it’ll be like, now that I’ve gone. I won’t be so impulsive next time, I swear. Everyone can watch over me.” In seeming earnest, Yue Zhishi even raised up three fingers as he promised very genuinely.

Song Yu wrapped a hand around his fingers and pulled Yue Zhishi’s hand under the table, holding it. He gently said, “Eat your food.”

Qin Yan cheekily imitated Song Yu’s tone of voice, and then he shook his head. “S.Yu’s never talked to me like that before. The thing he says the most to me is…”

“Shut up,” Song Yu said.

Because he was laughing too much, Yue Zhishi accidentally knocked over the half cup of coke he had next to his hand, and it spilled onto Song Yu’s pants. It was already too late by the time he realised, and he grabbed some tissue, helping Song Yu dab off the liquid in a fluster. “Sorry, sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Song Yu caught his wrist. He then said to Lin Rong and Song Jin, “I’m going to go change my clothes.”

“Oh, okay.”

He threw a quick look at Yue Zhishi when he stood up, but he pulled his gaze back very quickly, walking upstairs by himself. Less than one, two minutes later, when the conversation around the table was already about something up, Yue Zhishi found an excuse for himself, saying it wouldn’t be convenient for Song Yu to change clothes alone. He stood up in the midst of everyone’s hoots and whistles and travelled from the dining room to the living room with red ears, before hurrying his way up the stairs.

Song Yu’s door was closed, and he wasn’t sure if it was locked or not. Yue Zhishi tentatively turned the handle; he didn’t expect to be able to open the door. He pushed his way in very softly, but inside, he was ridiculing Song Yu for not locking the door when changing clothes.

Only to have Song Yu seize hold of him — he dragged Yue Zhishi into his arms with just one hand, and then he pressed him against the closed door for a kiss.

Yue Zhishi’s legs turned slightly weak at this unexpected kiss, as though he’d suddenly lost his strength. Sweet and numbing pleasure climbed up along his skin until it reached the top of his head.

“Mm…” Every time they kissed, Yue Zhishi’s two hands would always twine around Song Yu’s neck without him realising. He pressed against Song Yu very tightly, but Yue Zhishi recovered some reason when he felt Song Yu’s arm against his chest. He wanted to retreat slightly, but then Song Yu’s left arm was already wrapped firmly around his lower back.

His voice turned weak and needy — in between the gaps of their lips, he called out either Song Yu’s name or called him gege very docilely, saying he really missed him; he was like a young puppy who’d been born just a short while ago, desperately needing to be loved. The hand Song Yu had left on his lower waist clutched him tighter and tighter, but he let go after a short while, he himself pulling back some distance. He only gave Yue Zhishi a few shallow pecks, and then he kissed the tip of Yue Zhishi’s nose.

Resting against the door and lightly panting, Yue Zhishi felt like the kiss had ended with him wanting more. When Song Yu turned around towards his closet, Yue Zhishi quickly followed behind him. “Gege, you don’t want to kiss anymore?” 

Song Yu looked at him, staring at him for quite a while, and then he sighed, pulling out a pair of black pants from his closet. Fairly casually, he said, “If I’m only allowed to kiss you, then forget about it.”

Yue Zhishi didn’t immediately understand; his cheeks flushed a few seconds later, and he said, “Then, then… For-forget it.” He prepared to leave as soon as he finished speaking, but Song Yu once again caught him.

“Help me take off my coat.”

Yue Zhishi let out an sound of agreement and very obediently raised a hand to tug down the zipper on Song Yu’s coat, helping him take it off. “Do… Do you need me to help you with your pants?”

“No need.” Song Yu unfastened his belt with one hand and hung it on the handle of the closet door. He then undid his buttons, his pants sliding down to the floor. Yue Zhishi felt like all of this looked somewhat familiar, but then he started to turn shy — like a silly, small robot, he slowly, unhurriedly turned around and gave Song Yu his back.

Song Yu found him adorable and deliberately teased, “Now you know how to be shy? Last time you were in such a rush you did everything yourself.”

“I didn’t,” Yue Zhishi tried to say. But when his brain showed him some ill-timed memories, he thought he truly was too eager at certain times, and so he secretly resolved to be a bit more restrained in the future.

His phone abruptly vibrated. After Yue Zhishi pulled it out for a look, he hesitated for a long while, not sure if he should accept the call.

Song Yu changed into his pants with one hand faster than he’d expected, and he came up against Yue Zhishi’s back, his chin resting on top of Yue Zhishi’s head. He stared at Yue Zhishi’s phone.

“Who’s Ryan?” Song Yu’s voice had already dropped a few notes.

Yue Zhishi twisted his face around somewhat awkwardly, explaining to Song Yu, “There was an Australian guy with his legs injured when I was helping the foreign tourists as a volunteer. He asked for my number.”

Song Yu flicked an eyebrow. “So he’s the one who’s been calling you the last few days?” 

Yue Zhishi dipped his head. “But I’ve already told him I have a boyfriend.” He sighed, “I didn’t think he would start bothering me even more, now that he knows I’m not straight…”

“So? He thinks you guys have a chance?”

Yue Zhishi honestly repeated what the guy had said. “He said I could go to Australia and get married to him…” 

The vein on Song Yu’s temple throbbed.

“Give me the phone.”

When Song Yu took away his phone, Yue Zhishi originally thought he would speak to Ryan — he didn’t expect Song Yu to directly block him before giving the phone back to Yue Zhishi.

“His legs were probably broken from how shameless he is.”

Song Yu returned the phone back to him. “And this is why I don’t want to take you along with me when I go out for fieldwork.”

There was an extremely cute look on Yue Zhishi’s face as he leaned against Song Yu’s shoulder. He would feel pleased every time he saw Song Yu being jealous. “You not bringing me along is clearly because you’re afraid about me getting into trouble.”

“I’m also afraid of my own backyard catching fire.” Song Yu remained unhappy. “In the future, just block these people. And all those people who want your WeChat, do the same to them. Qin Yan gave out your WeChat earlier so casually, and now he’s given us a whole heap of trouble.”

“Eh?” Yue Zhishi grasped the main point. “How’d you know senior Qin Yan was giving out my WeChat?”

Song Yu stopped talking and pulled Yue Zhishi downstairs.

Everyone once again started to make fun of the two of them for the time they’d spent changing clothes. Yue Zhishi was still unused to being teased like that, and with his thin skin, his face reddened extremely quickly. But Song Yu — he was still that immovable, ice mountain face. He didn’t care about what other people said.

Yue Zhishi only found an opportunity to get close to Qin Yan when they were cleaning up the dinner table. Qin Yan was holding a plate with yoghurt and fruit, wanting to finish everything on the plate all by himself.

“Senior Qin Yan, you told my ge about you giving out my WeChat?”

“Mm?” Qin Yan couldn’t immediately recall. Yue Zhishi then asked his second question, “And, I’ve always been really curious… How did my ge come out to you?”

Five seconds later, Qin Yan realised the answers to those two questions were actually the same.

The shock of that day had still yet to pass, whenever he thought about it.

“Your brother told me over WeChat.” Qin Yan put down his plate of fruit. “Okay fine, my own shitty mouth started it.”

It had been right before Christmas: Qin Yan had boasted about all of his early presents without Song Yu asking to hear about it. He’d bragged about his love life, and then, with a heart full of pride, he’d told Song Yu of just exactly how popular Yue Zhishi was. He’d thought that the younger brother-con would’ve been extremely happy.

[Qin Yan: a girl asked me for your brother’s wechat.]

[S.Yu: . ]

[Qin Yan: but i didn’t give it to her! (self-satisfied.jpg)]

[S.Yu: Doesn’t matter, he won’t add them anyway.]

[Qin Yan: bro, let me tell you. your brother’s way too popular, you just don’t know how many girls like the little milk puppy types these days.]

[S.Yu: Shut up, you.]

[Qin Yan: shit i almost forgot to tell you, a while ago there was a dude who liked your brother, and the dude kept asking me for his contact details. it made me feel so awkward even though i’m super open and would be the first progressive youth of the new modern era in the entire country to vote for gay marriage. but! le le is the younger brother of my best bro and he’s even closer to him than a real younger brother, so that means he’s my younger brother too. so i decisively rejected him.]

[S.Yu: ….good for you.]

[Qin Yan: but of course, aren’t i so reliable? why didn’t he open his eyes and see exactly who it was he liked? let me see exactly who would dare touch the white cabbage our s.yu raised so bitterly!]

After sending that message off, Qin Yan had run off to the bathroom and showered, his chest filled with pride for himself. Then, he’d smoothed on one of his girlfriend’s masks, laid down comfortably in bed with plans of playing one round of games before sleeping — and then he suddenly received Song Yu’s late response.

[S.Yu: I touched it.]

[S.Yu: I’m now formally notifying you, my status has changed. I’m now Yue Zhishi’s boyfriend.]

“God.” Once he finished recounting his experience that night, Qin Yan shivered in front of Yue Zhishi, who’d known nothing about it at all. “He came out, and then I freaking couldn’t sleep all night.”