The urban area was full of high-rise buildings and intersecting streets, which was all quite the same and not particularly interesting. But there were many worthwhile places to visit around Wucheng.
Taking advantage of the leisure time during the New Year, Ye Wenyu took Yan Chen on a tour around Wucheng.
Food, fun, sightseeing, not a single thing was missed. There were so many places to go that it could last from the third day of the New Year all the way to the Lantern Festival.
Old streets, ancient towns, mountains and forests, Taoist temples, Buddhist temples.
Of course, most of the latter involved climbing up mountains. These activities, which required both stamina and endurance, were a bit of a challenge for Ye Wenyu.
Fortunately, his boyfriend was the perfect complement. Not only could he climb with ease, he had no trouble carrying Ye Wenyu on his back too.
Along the way, they encountered many other people doing the same thing during the New Year holiday. The standard setup was parents bringing along their young children.
Seeing those children manage to climb on their own made Ye Wenyu feel a bit embarrassed. He blushed and whispered in Yan Chen’s ear to let him down.
Yan Chen calmly replied with eight words: “One must not compare with others too much.”
Ye Wenyu: “…”
Yan Chen: “Be good, hold on tight~”
Leisure time always passes by very quickly. In the blink of an eye, the Lantern Festival was over and it was time to return to school.
Mother Ye originally wanted them to bring a bunch of things back with them, especially fresh vegetables and such. But since flying with those was troublesome, in the end she only vacuum-packed some cooked dishes and put them in their luggage.
When they returned to Xuan city, it was less than a week before school started, so they took the chance to officially move out of the dorms.
Since Yan Chen had frequently taken Ye Wenyu out to stay off-campus, especially during the finals period, they had already moved a lot of things out of the dorm, so the move went very quickly and wasn’t troublesome at all.
While moving, Ye Wenyu suddenly realized something. He narrowed his eyes and asked Yan Chen, “Did someone plan this from the start?”
The more he thought about it, the more it felt like boiling the frog in water…he was always letting him take things out, but never reminding him to bring them back.
Yan Chen neither confirmed nor denied it: “Isn’t this what everyone wanted?”
Ye Wenyu: “…You’re so thoughtful.”
Yan Chen: “You mentioned before that you wanted a cat. I saw on Moments that a cattery just got in a batch of really good-looking German Rexes. Do you want to go take a look?”
Ye Wenyu’s eyes lit up: “German Rexes?”
Yan Chen made a gesture with both hands above Ye Wenyu’s head: “The one with really big ears.”
Ye Wenyu couldn’t picture it: “Do you have a photo?”
Yan Chen grinned: “I’ll show you when we get home.”
They weren’t the only ones who returned to school early. After the holidays ended, things got boring fast. Dong Xi and Yang Liang also came back early and, having nothing to do, helped them with the move.
During the process, Yang Liang got a bit emotional, frowning and sighing, “I thought you would move back when school started. Now it’s just me and Old Dong left in the dorm. So boring.”
Dong Xi glared at him: “Are you saying I’m boring?”
Yang Liang: “Of course not! What kind of comprehension skills do you have? I meant it’s just the two of us now…”
Dong Xi: “Oh, so not only am I boring, you’re being mean to me too? I understand.”
“?” Yang Liang: “No, what do you understand t? When was I mean to you?”
Dong Xi: “You know what you did.”
Yang Liang: “…Fuck?! Who taught you to talk like that?”
Dong Xi smiled mysteriously.
Ye Wenyu tried to comfort him: “It’s fine. We’re really close anyway. You can come over whenever.”
Yang Liang caught the key phrase: “Whenever?”
Ye Wenyu nodded.
Yang Liang: “Then can I stay for dinner?”
Ye Wenyu looked confused: “Of course.”
Yang Liang: “Then…then can I have a barbecue in your yard?!”
He had this idea for a long time, so long that it dated back to his first visit to the villa.
But out of too much “respect” for Yan Chen, he had never dared to bring it up. Now that there was another approachable homeowner, he had no problem saying it.
Ye Wenyu wasn’t sure whether that was allowed under the community regulations, so he turned to look at Yan Chen.
What else could Yan Chen say? He curled his lips and said: “Go ahead.”
“Wuhu! Long live, Wenyu!”
Yang Yan, who had been looking depressed just now, was now in high spirits and said happily: “I’m going to contact the grill rental place right away, okay? Hey, Wenyu, do you have any vegetables at home? Any meat? I’ll buy some tenderloin first…”
Ye Wenyu: “…”
Was it reasonable to feel like he had been cheated?
Classmate Xiao Chi had originally planned to laze around at home for a few more days before returning to school. But when he heard there’d be a barbecue, he couldn’t sit still. He quickly packed up and rushed back to school with big bags in tow, heading straight to Yan Chen’s place. On the way, he didn’t forget to buy two big bottles of his favorite Mirinda.
Coincidentally, a distant relative also showed up uninvited.
“Wah…a foreigner!”
Yang Liang held a plate of beef and circled around the little cousin, examining him from all angles: “I’ve never had a barbecue with a foreigner before!”
Little cousin: “@#……～;?*”
Yang Liang turned to look at Ye Wenyu: “What did he say?”
Ye Wenyu looked over at Yan Chen.
The sun was a bit strong, so Yan Chen took a hat he had just brought out from the house and put it on Ye Wenyu’s head: “He said he’s only half a foreigner. His father is Chinese.”
“Oh oh!” Yang Liang grinned: “Is this what French sounds like? So interesting!”
Yan Chen: “He was speaking Chinese.”
Yang Liang: “?”
As someone who had experienced it before, Ye Wenyu nodded firmly: “He’s right.”
Yang Liang: “?”
Chi Dongting covered his mouth: “Wow…”
Dong Xi gave the cousin a thumbs-up in admiration: “Your Chinese is perfect!”
The grill Yang Liang rented had a rather complicated setup. He had to do a video call with the owner to learn how to use it.
Everyone had their roles; Dong Xi washed vegetables, Xiao Chi skewered meat, Ye Wenyu peeled garlic, Yan Chen sliced potatoes, and the little cousin wandered around holding a selfie stick, showing off to his French friends while doing nothing productive.
The camera pointed at Yan Chen. Without looking up, Yan Chen asked, “Did you come with your dad?”
Little cousin: “#@……\*?”
Yan Chen: “Speak human language.”
Little cousin: “(in French) Yes, he’s here on a business trip. I wanted to come have fun too, since I still have some holiday left.”
Little cousin: “(in French) Also! I haven’t told my mom or dad anything about you and Brother Wenyu. I’m great at keeping secrets!”
Yan Chen: “No need to keep it anymore.”
Little cousin: “(in French) Why? Did your secret relationship get exposed? Is homosexuality still illegal here? Are Auntie and Uncle going to break you up?”
Yan Chen was too lazy to answer any of those questions: “Did you get a red envelope for New Year?”
Little cousin looked innocent: “(in French) Of course. Why?”
Yan Chen: “Save it all. Give it to your Brother Wenyu for the wedding gift next year.”
Little cousin looked horrified: “(in French) All of it?”
Yan Chen: “Would you feel good about just giving a little?”
Little cousin: “(in French) Taking money from a kid…how do you live with yourself @#：-（@）%&”
There might really be a mysterious magnetic field between people. For some reason, Yang Liang really liked the little cousin, and the little cousin really liked Yang Liang. The two of them chatted enthusiastically while grilling meat.
Yang Liang: “Cousin, cousin, do you guys in France also get winter and summer vacation? Is it the same as ours?”
Little cousin: “#@￥#～……、”
Yang Liang poked Chi Dongting: “What’d he say?”
Chi Dongting spread his hands: “Ding doesn’t understand.”
Yang Liang scratched his head: “No worries. Let’s change the topic to something easier. Cousin, what’s your name again?”
Little cousin: “\*：～@〔〕”
Yang Liang: “Oh that, huh? Not bad, not bad. Hey, is your language hard to learn? How long have you been studying it?”
Little Cousin: “#＃％＋，＄?”
Chi Dongting silently walked away with the brush in hand. Just as he reached Dong Xi’s side, he heard him sigh with great emotion, “The highest level of a chicken talking to a duck. It’s impressive.”
Chi Dongting: “… It’s okay, it’s okay.”
Halfway through the grilling, Yan Chen went off to take a call and didn’t return for quite a while. Ye Wenyu brought over two skewers of grilled beef and found him on the rattan chair by the pool.
“What’s wrong?” he asked. “Something at school?”
Yan Chen took the skewers, shifted to the side a bit, and gestured for him to sit down.
Yan Chen: “Do you prefer Wucheng or Xuan?”
Both places were great, and Ye Wenyu couldn’t decide for the moment.
Yan Chen: “Mm, you like both. Got it.”
Just as Ye Wenyu was about to ask why he was bringing this up, Yan Chen continued, “Do you prefer a detached house or an elevator apartment? If it’s an elevator apartment, do you prefer a large flat or a duplex?”
Ye Wenyu: “Huh?”
Yan Chen: “Detached house?”
Ye Wenyu: “No…”
Yan Chen: “Duplex?”
Ye Wenyu: “Flat, I guess.”
Yan Chen: “Okay. What kind of interior style do you like? Chinese or Western?”
Ye Wenyu: “?” The more he spoke, the more outrageous it became. “Why do we suddenly need to discuss this? Are you buying a house?”
Yan Chen: “We’re buying.”
Ye Wenyu’s eyes widened instantly.
Yan Chen: “My parents think the timing is about right. Buy now in both cities, new developments will take a while to be handed over, and then there’s renovation…”
Ye Wenyu: “Both cities?”
Yan Chen: “It’s more convenient to have houses in both places. You can choose wherever you want to live in the future.”
“No.” Ye Wenyu was so stunned his words jumbled together. “How did it get to the point of buying houses for us already?”
Yan Chen: “Do you think it’s too soon? We can wait if you want. It’s just that this house isn’t in the city center, it might not be very convenient once we graduate and start working.”
Ye Wenyu: “That’s not what I meant. It’s just that buying a house is such a big deal. We should at least talk it over with my parents. How can your family be the only ones paying it all?”
Yan Chen thought for a bit: “But during New Year, I was the only one who got a red envelope, right?”
Ye Wenyu looked at him in disbelief: “You can’t count it like that. A house and a red envelope…”
Yan Chen: “Are you trying to say the house is more expensive than the red envelope?”
Ye Wenyu nodded repeatedly.
“It’s fine.” Yan Chen said with heartfelt sincerity, “With gifts, the price doesn’t matter. What matters is the thought behind it.”
Ye Wenyu: “…”
Was that really how this saying was supposed to be used?
Let’s put the house matter aside for now. After all, they were both still students, what mattered most at the moment was school.
As expected, Ye Wenyu was awarded the guaranteed spot for postgraduate study. In the time left for preparing for exams, he could even start working on his graduation thesis.
As for Yan Chen, things weren’t so easy for him.
The Universiade was approaching, and training intensity had increased significantly. This would last until May, after which he would enter a training camp for closed training.
Ye Wenyu got the news while leaving the library and heading toward the third teaching building.
Ye Wenyu: [How long will you be gone?]
Yan Chen: [Over a month.]
Ye Wenyu: [That long?]
Yan Chen: [Mm!]
Yan Chen: [bunny crying. jpg.]
Such a cute and pitiful bunny.
Ye Wenyu’s heart softened just looking at it: [It’s okay. It’s just four weeks, not that long / pat pat]
Yan Chen: [Make sure you come to the competition.]
Yan Chen: [bunny throws confetti jpg.]
Ye Wenyu was just about to reply when two female classmates suddenly jumped out and blocked his way, showing the chibi-style poster in their hands: “Classmate, would you like to check out the Wish Wall?”
Ye Wenyu: “Wish Wall?”
Female classmate: “It’s the latest activity from our student council. Write a wish on a sticky note and post it on the wall. If fate aligns, someone might see it and help fulfill it!”
Ye Wenyu took the sticky note and pen, thought for a moment, and carefully wrote: I hope he does well on the field.
Ye Wenyu: “Is that okay?”
The two girls blinked. Though it was different from the usual wishes, it was indeed… still a wish.
“Of course,” one of the girls smiled and pointed him in the right direction without reminding him to write his contact info on the back. “That blackboard over there. Just stick the note on, and may your wish come true!”
The board was already filled with densely packed colorful notes. Ye Wenyu found a small inconspicuous corner near the bottom and posted his note there. Just as he was about to pull his hand back, his eyes suddenly froze.
Not far from his note was another sticky note that read: I really want to receive a love letter from guaiguai.
Among all the “I want xx” kind of wishes, their two notes appear particularly fresh and unconventional.
What mattered most was that the handwriting on the love letter wish was all too familiar to him.
Some people, despite being so busy with training, still managed to sneak off to slack around on the square.
Ye Wenyu curled the corners of his lips slightly and tore down that wish note.
He climbed two floors in the teaching building before he suddenly remembered something. When he looked at his phone, as expected, during the ten-plus minutes when he hadn’t replied, someone had already gone on a rampage in the chat window:
Yan Chen: [Hm?]
Yan Chen: [Someone doesn’t want to come?]
Yan Chen: [Tsk, my boyfriend doesn’t want to come see my competition?]
Yan Chen: [Is this river behavior?]
Yan Chen: [Boyfriend?]
Yan Chen: [Guaiguai?]
Yan Chen: [Wife!]
Yan Chen: [We’ve only been apart for a few hours today, just exchanged a few messages, and already the love is fading?]
Yan Chen: [bunny crying. jpg.]
Yan Chen: [Wife! (heartbroken version)]
Ye Wenyu: “…”
Ye Wenyu: “………”
Ye Wenyu: [A certain someone, who taught you to talk like this?]
When he returned home that night, Ye Wenyu didn’t just bring back textbooks, he also brought a French classic novel he’d borrowed from the library.
When Yan Chen came out from the shower and saw the book on the living room coffee table, he casually picked it up and flipped through it: “‘Froth on the Daydream’. Why the sudden interest in reading French novels?”
Ye Wenyu: “To me, it’s not a novel.”
Yan Chen: “Hm?”
Ye Wenyu took the book back from him, his gaze wandering: “It’s a reference book.”
After that, Ye Wenyu spent more and more time in the study when he got back from school.
At first, Yan Chen thought he was busy with his thesis. Bored, he stayed in the living room teaching Yang Liang how to speak his cousin’s abstract Chinese and didn’t bother him.
Until one day, by accident, he found out Ye Wenyu wasn’t working on a thesis at all, but was engrossed in reading novels.
Although he read very seriously, even muttering to himself while copying notes, whenever Yan Chen asked what he was doing, he would firmly reply: “Just reading for fun, to pass the time.”
The result of such an answer was that his boyfriend carried him back to the bedroom with a blank expression and buried him under the covers with a flurry of kisses.
Clothes and pants were tossed all over the floor. A man who was about to be forcibly separated from his wife for a whole month and was sour with jealousy was practically inhuman.
Ye Wenyu was so overwhelmed he nearly lost his mind. Not only was someone acting beastly, he also kept whispering his grievances by his ear.
“I’m about to leave, but my wife is still obsessed with reading novels every day. Is that reasonable? That’s not reasonable at all.”
“Guaiguai, open your eyes and look carefully, is your boyfriend better looking or is the book better looking?”
“You have so much time on your hands you’re reading for fun? Am I not fun enough? Isn’t this fun?”
“…”
Of all the things he could have said, why did he have to say “just reading for fun”?
Ye Wenyu felt like crying but had no tears. Really, his intestines were turning green with regret.
Athletes had so much energy that even after exhausting themselves in daytime training, they still had enough left to spend on him at night, using the excuse of leaving soon to make endless demands.
Ye Wenyu wanted to refuse, but whenever Yan Chen looked at him with those eyes, he couldn’t say a single word.
Beauty leads people astray.
Fortunately, it was only for a few days.
In the blink of an eye, it was time for Yan Chen to head to the training camp.
They had gone to bed too late the night before, and Yan Chen had packed so lightly. Plus, the alarm had been deliberately turned off so as not to disturb his sleep. When Ye Wenyu opened his eyes, daylight was already pouring in.
The moment he saw the empty space beside him, he knew something was wrong. Fortunately, it wasn’t too late yet. The team wouldn’t depart so early, and if he hurried over now, he could still make it in time.
He quickly got up and tidied himself, grabbed a random T-shirt from the closet without checking if it was his or Yan Chen’s, and pulled it on.
The result of all his secret work over the past few days was hidden in the desk drawer of the study. As he was about to leave, Ye Wenyu hesitated, then decided to bring the book sitting on the desk along as well.
The early May breeze was pure and crisp.
The trees lining both sides of the road had shed their tender springtime green and were growing lush. The early morning sunlight had no warmth yet and could only cast thin shadows beneath them.
Ye Wenyu didn’t have time to put on a jacket, and the hem of his oversized shirt lifted an arc as he ran. The roses poking through the fence wall swayed wildly in the breeze he stirred up as he passed by, their dewdrops scattering all over the ground.
After turning the corner, he saw the white bus parked at the school gate.
From the group of students lined up with backpacks heading toward the bus door, Ye Wenyu immediately locked onto the figure that belonged to him. His eyes lit up slightly, and he quickened his pace, panting softly.
At the end of spring, on the cusp of summer, he would deliver the wish personally written by the one he loved on time.
(ू˃̣̣̣̣̣̣︿˂̣̣̣̣̣̣ ू)
Thank you.