CH 27

On the way back from camping, everyone was a little lazy, but the itinerary arranged by the winter camp did not keep everyone idle. The bus directly took everyone to a nearby farm for them to pick strawberries.

Chi Le was walking in the strawberry field with a bamboo basket, rolled up the trouser legs of his jeans, and a few dried strawberry leaves were stuck to the sleeves of his sweater. He stooped down to pick a strawberry and threw it into the bamboo basket with a blank expression, and said in a helpless voice, “Hey, why are there still strawberries in winter?”

Because he was camping on the top of the mountain yesterday, he didn’t have the chance to practice basketball. Seeing that the agreed game time was coming, he planned to go to the nearby basketball court with Sheng Zhuo to practice after returning to the villa, but he was brought here to pick strawberries. He was a little suspicious of life.

Jian Cheng laughed at him beside him, “When you ate strawberries in winter, why didn’t you ask why there are strawberries in winter?”

Chi Le didn’t want to listen, so he stuffed a strawberry into his mouth, trying to block his mouth, and when he turned around, he saw Sheng Zhuo staring at him with an inexplicably cold expression.

Chi Le blinked, followed Sheng Zhuo’s gaze to look at his hand, hesitated for a moment, and tentatively picked up a clean strawberry and stuffed it into Sheng Zhuo’s mouth.

Sheng Zhuo ate the strawberries, and his expression softened a little, but his face was still a little cold.

Chi Le pursed his lips and fed him another big, red strawberry. Sheng Zhuo not only looked pleased this time but also took the initiative to pick a few strawberries and put them in his bamboo basket.

Chi Le murmured ‘childish’ silently in his heart, he could see that Sheng Zhuo just had to have one more than Jian Cheng!

Chi Le is a little worried, what should he do? His future wife seems to be a little jealous.

It was already evening after picking strawberries, and everyone was covered with a lot of dirt. The first thing Chi Le did when he returned was to take a shower. After taking a shower, he sighed comfortably and sat on a chair with a bowl of strawberries he picked himself to eat.

When it was Sheng Zhuo’s turn to take a bath, Chi Le inexplicably remembered the scene when he got up from the hot spring yesterday, his cheeks became hot, and he quickly lowered his head to cover himself.

Chi Le didn’t dare to think about it anymore. In order to avoid staring at Sheng Zhuo’s abdominal muscles again, he resolutely took out his book, put the strawberries aside, and lay down on the table to write his winter vacation homework seriously.

Sheng Zhuo glanced at him with a smile in his eyes and took a change of clothes into the bathroom.

When Sheng Zhuo came out, Chi Le had already put down his book and was leaning against the table in a daze.

Sheng Zhuo brushed his hair and walked to the table, looked down casually, and found that Chi Le had only written a few words, and those words became more and more scribbled as they went on. From the strokes, one could see that the writer was gradually becoming irritable.

Sheng Zhuo frowned slightly; a trace of doubt flashed in his heart.

If it happened only once, he wouldn’t think it was strange, but Chi Le was basically like this during the winter camp. As long as he sat alone at the desk, he would give up within five minutes after picking up the book. So far Chi Le’s winter homework has not made much progress, so Sheng Zhuo couldn’t help thinking about it.

He used to hear people say that Chi Le didn’t like to do homework, and the teacher didn’t seem to accept Chi Le’s homework. At that time, he didn’t think much about it, but now he thinks it’s strange everywhere. The teacher won’t refuse Chi Le’s homework for no reason unless Chi Le has a reasonable reason not to hand it in.

Sheng Zhuo tapped lightly on the table, and asked thoughtfully, “Do you have a learning phobia?”

Chi Le’s body froze visibly, he paused, then raised his head and smiled at him, and said in a vague voice, “Maybe.”

Sheng Zhuo thought about it carefully and felt wrong again because Chi Le didn’t do this at all when he was studying at school, it seemed that he only did this when he was studying alone in private. If Chi Le’s academic performance was affected by this reason, then everything can be explained. No wonder Chi Le’s grades have been stagnant.

He still wanted to ask again, but Chi Le had already thrown the book back into the bag, turned around, and gone to bed, exuding a sense of despondency.

Seeing that he didn’t want to say more, Sheng Zhuo temporarily put away his doubts.

Chi Le lay motionless on the bed, as if his energy had been sucked dry by that homework, he didn’t know what he was thinking, his whole body was listless, and when Sheng Zhuo went to turn off the light, he found that he was already fast asleep.

Chi Le was lying on his side, half prone on the pillow, his eyes were closed, his eyelashes covered a small shadow, his hair was hanging softly on his cheeks, his neckline was slanted, revealing a small piece of his collarbone, his skin was clean and fair, like porcelain, with a duvet on his waist, his thin ankles were exposed, and he looked as white as jade under the smudged light.

Sheng Zhuo’s eyes froze slightly, and he stared at the spot for two seconds.

With one arm under his body, Chi Le frowned slightly, not sleeping peacefully.

Sheng Zhuo stretched out his hand and carefully turned him over, gently stretched his arms on his stomach, then pulled up the quilt and tucked him in.

Fang Younian passed by the door, saw this scene, and stared at him dumbfounded.

He has known Sheng Zhuo for so many years, but he has never seen Sheng Zhuo so gentle. For some reason, he always feels that he has discovered something extraordinary.

Sheng Zhuo turned around, met his surprised gaze, walked over, and closed the door expressionlessly.

Fang Younian: “…”

*

When Chi Le woke up, the sun was shining brightly in the room. He turned over and found that Sheng Zhuo was not in the room. There were noisy voices coming from downstairs, which seemed to be very lively. He couldn’t help being a little puzzled. After simply washing up, he put on his slippers and walked downstairs.

He was wearing a loose white sweater, with fluffy hair, and walked down the stairs step by step. The sound of footsteps passed, and the sound downstairs suddenly became quiet.

Chi Le was even more puzzled, so he couldn’t help speeding up his pace. When he reached the first floor, Jian Cheng suddenly jumped out from the side, and the others jumped out after him, laughing in unison: “Happy birthday, Lele.”

Chi Le, who originally thought it was a thief in the villa, “…”

He glanced at the calendar and realized that today is his birthday. He smiled embarrassedly and thanked everyone.

Sheng Zhuo came out of the kitchen with a bowl of noodles and put it on the dining table, “Come and eat noodles, the birthday meal is at noon.”

Chi Le walked over quickly and looked at the longevity noodles with poached eggs in the bowl, his eyes were bent into two small crescents, and looked expectantly at Sheng Zhuo, “Did you cook it?”

“Yeah.” Sheng Zhuo handed him the chopsticks and smiled, “Jian Cheng taught me how to cook it. How about you taste it?”

Chi Le opened the chair and sat down, couldn’t wait to take a sip, and took another sip of the soup, “It’s very delicious.”

The taste is unexpectedly good, moderately salty, and refreshing in the morning.

Sheng Zhuo looked at him with a smile, bent down, and whispered in his ear, “Happy birthday, little birthday boy.”

Chi Le’s ears felt hot, and the corners of his mouth couldn’t stop rising.

The little birthday boy is really happy now~

At noon before everyone started preparing the birthday meal, Chi Jindong sent someone to deliver a sumptuous lunch, and there was also a huge birthday cake with the words ‘Happy Birthday Son’ on it, which caused everyone to cheer.

After a lively lunch, everyone surrounded Chi Le and sang birthday songs. Surrounded by so many people, Chi Le scratched his head in embarrassment and blew out the candles without making a wish.

He cut the cake and handed the first piece to Sheng Zhuo. Amidst everyone’s cheering, he distributed the rest to others, and the uneaten portions were sent to the neighboring Class B.

Today it was Chen Yunzhou’s turn to be on duty. He was sent to deliver cakes next door, but as soon as he opened the door, he saw Zhuang Xinchun standing outside the door, looking like he was about to ring the doorbell.

Chen Yunzhou was taken aback, “Why are you here?”

Zhuang Xinchun looked behind him, seeing the bustling scene in the room and Chi Le surrounded by everyone, a gloomy glint flashed in his eyes, but a slightly cramped smile appeared on his face, “I heard from Fang Younian that you guys are going to have a basketball game today. I just happened to pass by and wanted to take a look. I didn’t expect it to be so lively here… What are you doing?”

“Today is Chi Le’s birthday, and we are celebrating his birthday.” Holding the cake, Chen Yunzhou hesitated and said, “…You go in first.”

He knew that there was something dirty between Chi Le and Zhuang Xinchun, but he didn’t know the specific situation, but he felt that Chi Le probably didn’t welcome Zhuang Xinchun’s arrival, so his expression was a little embarrassed.

Zhuang Xinchun raised his foot and walked in.

Fang Younian didn’t know that Zhuang Xinchun was coming, so he was taken aback when he saw Zhuang Xinchun.

A few days ago, Zhuang Xinchun called him and mentioned in passing about Sheng Zhuo and Chi Le being at the winter camp. After that, he started calling him every day to inquire about the situation and kept reminding him about the basketball match. He became a little impatient and casually mentioned that they would have the match today. At that time, he didn’t know it was Chi Le’s birthday, nor did he have any idea that Zhuang Xinchun was planning to come over.

He didn’t know why he felt a little embarrassed, but Zhuang Xinchun came this time, and there was no way to drive him out.

In the past, he saw that Zhuang Xinchun liked Sheng Zhuo and wanted to make a match, so he allowed Zhuang Xinchun to approach Sheng Zhuo in his name, but now he sensed Sheng Zhuo’s intentions, and naturally, he would not mess with the couple. Anyway, he would not match Sheng Zhuo and Zhuang Xinchun again, and after getting along with him for this period of time, he has found that Chi Le is completely different from the bullying nouveau riche that Zhuang Xinchun said, and he can’t help but feel it was a little weird.

Chi Le took a bite of the cake, looked up, and saw Zhuang Xinchun walking towards him, his expression turned cold at first sight, and the cake in his mouth suddenly became less sweet.

Zhuang Xinchun walked up to him, pretending not to see his cold and disgusted gaze, glanced at Sheng Zhuo who was standing beside him, raised a smiling face, and said softly, “Lele, is your birthday today? I’m sorry, I forgot, if I knew it, I would have brought you a present. I remember you used to like painting very much, why don’t I give you a picture book next time, as if it were your birthday.”

Chi Le’s brows twitched instantly, feeling disgusted.

Sheng Zhuo’s expression moved slightly, and he glanced at Zhuang Xinchun hesitantly. He remembered that in the painting class last time, Chi Le was obviously not interested in painting at all. How could Zhuang Xinchun say that he liked painting before?

Fang Younian walked over, stood between Chi Le and Zhuang Xinchun calmly, and asked slightly displeased: “Xinchun, why didn’t you give me a heads up before coming over?”

Zhuang Xinchun showed a cautious look, speaking softly like an easily frightened little rabbit, “Did I disturb you by coming at the wrong time? I can leave now. I just happened to be passing by and decided to come here on a whim. I’m really sorry for causing you trouble.”

He made a gesture to turn around and was about to leave, Fang Younian felt guilty immediately, grabbed him quickly, and scratched his head in embarrassment, “I didn’t mean that…”

He didn’t know what to do, so he subconsciously looked at Jian Cheng who was standing aside. These days, everyone had to find Jian Cheng as a teaching assistant when they had something to do, and he was a little used to it.

Jian Cheng glared at him, walked forward, didn’t even look at Zhuang Xinchun, and dragged Chi Le to the side, “Lele, come and see the birthday presents everyone gave you.”

Others gathered around one after another and handed the prepared gifts to Chi Le, and the atmosphere became lively again.

Zhuang Xinchun gritted his teeth secretly and looked at Chi Le from an angle that Fang Younian couldn’t see.

Since childhood, he has been envious of Chi Le. Why does everyone like Chi Le? Why does Chi Le’s family have money? Why does Chi Le’s dad love him so much? He envies everything about Chi Le, including his academic performance. When Chi Le was around, he never had the chance to participate in math competitions.

There is no need to ask the reason for this kind of jealousy, even if Chi Le treated him very well at the beginning, even if Chi Le once sincerely regarded him as a friend, even if Chi Le once shared a lot of things with him, this kind of jealousy will always grow and cannot be dissipated.

But… now everything has changed.

Zhuang Xinchun slightly raised the corners of his lips, and a cold smile filled his eyes.

Now, the qualifications belong to him, and the love of his classmates belongs to him… Sheng Zhuo must also belong to him!

Zhuang Xinchun remembered his purpose of coming here, raised his prettiest smile, and walked towards Sheng Zhuo, but before he got close, Sheng Zhuo turned around indifferently, as if he didn’t see him, walked over, and took Chi Le upstairs.

Zhuang Xinchun looked at Sheng Zhuo and Chi Le unwillingly, he couldn’t understand why they were inseparable even though they were bitter rivals a few months ago!

He gritted his teeth, hesitated for a moment, and followed them up the stairs quietly.

Chi Le held the gifts from everyone and pushed open the door, and then he was stunned. His bed was full of LEGOs, all of which he liked.

He turned his head to look at Sheng Zhuo in disbelief, “These…”

“Gift.” Sheng Zhuo walked in holding his shoulders, “Do you like it?”

Chi Le blinked in astonishment, walked to the bed step by step, and glanced at those LEGOs.

The LEGO here is the latest model, and the price of one LEGO is more than the sum of all the red envelopes he gave Sheng Zhuo during this period, and there are so many here, how much does it cost? Where did Sheng Zhuo get so much money?

Chi Le stared at these LEGOs, his eyes turned red. In order to celebrate his birthday, his future wife must have secretly worked to earn money by himself, saving for a long time!

Chi Le imagined how Sheng Zhuo was like a poor little cabbage trying to save money by himself in the cold winter and was so moved that his heart ached so much.

What a most pitiful wife in the world!

Such a good wife, how did he meet him!? Ah! He is really the luckiest Alpha in the world!

Chi Le turned around and hugged Sheng Zhuo excitedly, his voice choked up slightly, “You must have been working secretly for a long time to buy these gifts.”

Sheng Zhuo didn’t know what he was imagining, and he wanted to explain helplessly, but he felt the softness and warmth in his arms, but he couldn’t bear to let go, so he didn’t speak but stretched out his hands to hug him tighter.

Forget it, explain later, they still have a lot of time anyway.

Zhuang Xinchun stood in the corridor, staring at the open door, looking in disbelief at the two people standing there embracing each other without any scruples, their eyes were only focused on each other, no one noticed him at all.

His gaze gradually turned deep, and an indescribable hatred and jealousy surged in his heart. He clenched his fists tightly, and his eyes became malicious.

Ever since he found out about Sheng Zhuo’s identity, he had been trying to pursue him for two whole years. On the other hand, Chi Le had been opposing Sheng Zhuo for the same two years. Why was it that the Alpha he had been pursuing for two years was still out of reach, while Chi Le could get him?

Zhuang Xinchun bit his lower lip tightly, forcing himself not to rush over to separate them.

In the beginning, he really got close to Sheng Zhuo because of Sheng Zhuo’s background and Alpha class, but after two years of getting along, he has long since fallen in love with Sheng Zhuo. He has never seen such an excellent Alpha as Sheng Zhuo, he is simply his dream partner, and he absolutely does not want to miss Sheng Zhuo! Because he knew that he might never meet such an outstanding person again in his life.

The familiar jealousy and unwillingness spread in Zhuang Xinchun’s heart. This feeling has not appeared for many years. He originally thought that he would never be jealous of Chi Le again.

He stared at Chi Le and sneered coldly.

“What are you standing here for?”

Fang Younian walked up the steps and was caught off guard by Zhuang Xinchun’s eyes.

Ever since we met, Zhuang Xinchun has always been as innocent as a blank sheet of paper in front of him, but Zhuang Xinchun’s eyes now are very different from usual. Fang Younian couldn’t tell what was wrong, but he suddenly felt as if he had never known Zhuang Xinchun before, and suddenly felt a sense of absurd strangeness.

Zhuang Xinchun quickly returned to normal, and in the blink of an eye, he showed a gentle and harmless smile, and said softly, “I wanted to find the bathroom, but I got lost.”

Fang Younian almost thought it was his own illusion just now, he frowned and took Zhuang Xinchun to the bathroom downstairs.

Zhuang Xinchun glanced back, and the doors of Sheng Zhuo and Chi Le’s room had already been closed.

What will they do in the room?

Zhuang Xinchun bit his lower lip tightly, resisting the urge to rush in, and lowered his eyes to cover the darkness in his eyes.

At this time, Chi Le and Sheng Zhuo were in the room… dismantling LEGO.

Sheng Zhuo looked at Chi Le who was about to smile into a flower sitting on the bed, and pressed the center of his eyebrows helplessly, always feeling that his position in Chi Le’s heart seemed to be instantly lowered by these LEGOs.

“You like it that much?”

Chi Le nodded like a chicken pecking at rice and said earnestly: “But next time, don’t spend money carelessly. You just need to say happy birthday to me, and I will be very happy. It is not easy for you to earn money, so you don’t need to buy me such an expensive gift.”

Sheng Zhuo found that he was still staring at the LEGO in his hand when he was talking to him, so he couldn’t help but pursed his lower lip in dissatisfaction and responded in a low voice.

Chi Le raised his head and glanced at his little jealous wife, as if he understood his eyes, and comforted him: “Don’t worry, if you and the LEGOs fall into the water at the same time, I will definitely save you.”

Sheng Zhuo: “???”