DASB Ch28

“I didn’t…” Ye Xi pressed Huo Rulan’s hand against his cheek, mumbling softly.

Huo Rulan followed his movement and gently caressed the side of his face. “You didn’t, yet you sound so guilty when you speak?”

He pulled Ye Xi back to the chip shelf, picked up two bags of cucumber-flavored chips, and tossed them into the cart. “Little Picky Ye, if you keep being picky with food, I’ll…”

He didn’t finish his sentence before Ye Xi puffed his cheeks and looked up, challenging, “You’ll what? Make me drink plain congee again, is that it?”

Huo Rulan pulled him along, casually adding two bags of his favorite seaweed snacks to the cart. “I’ll cry in front of you.”

He said it in the calmest tone possible, but the words were totally unexpected. Ye Xi bent over, holding his belly, trying not to laugh, but he couldn’t help it and burst out laughing.

“You didn’t know?” he teased. “Men crying is actually kind of… exciting.”

Ye Xi tugged on Huo Rulan’s arm and suddenly tiptoed up to whisper in his ear, “Actually, I kind of like watching you cry too. You’re so pretty when you cry… all pear-blossom-in-the-rain.”

“Oh?” Huo Rulan lowered his eyes meaningfully. “Crying makes people excited, huh…? Me too, Ye Xi.”

Ye Xi’s smile froze on his face. Hearing that same phrase from Huo Rulan somehow felt… off.

He stopped laughing and said suspiciously, “I feel like what you said sounds kinda weird.”

Huo Rulan’s lips curled faintly. “We said the same thing, didn’t we? What’s weird about it?”

Ye Xi wanted to ask more, but something caught the corner of his eye. The words slipped his mind, and his attention was fully captured by a bubble machine on the shelf up ahead.

He let go of Huo Rulan’s hand, holding his belly and hurriedly ran over. Huo Rulan quickly followed with the shopping cart. “Slow down!”

Ye Xi stood in front of the bubble machine display, his eyes wide as he stared at the many models—he had seen them before, but never owned one.

Huo Rulan caught up and wrapped his arm around Ye Xi’s waist, frowning as he gently touched his belly. “Does your tummy hurt?”

Ye Xi rubbed his belly, took Huo Rulan’s big hand in his own, and shook his head. “Nope.”

Huo Rulan rested his chin on Ye Xi’s head and sighed helplessly, “Don’t run so fast next time, okay? I worry about you.”

“Okay~ Sorry… made you worry again. I just really wanted to buy a bubble machine…”

Ye Xi turned to face him, lowered his head, and tugged his hand like a child. “Can you buy me one?”

“I’ll buy you anything you like.” Huo Rulan gently lifted his chin so he could look into his eyes. “Don’t be sad—look, your eyes are red again, little crybaby. If you cry, the babies will cry too.”

Ye Xi took a deep breath and held back his tears. Then he pointed Huo Rulan’s hand toward the prettiest, top-shelf bubble machine. “Can we get that one? The prettiest one? It might be expensive…”

“Baby, our family has money. Don’t worry about that, if you like it, we buy it.” Huo Rulan ruffled his hair and reached up to take down two of the nicest-looking ones Ye Xi pointed at. “Let’s buy two. We’ll play together when we get home.”

Ye Xi hugged the box lovingly, stroking the packaging like it was a treasure. He held up the machine proudly for Huo Rulan to see, eyes sparkling like a child. “Huo Rulan, look! I have a bubble machine now!”

Seeing him smile so happily and carefully petting the machine again, Huo Rulan’s heart ached for no reason. “If you really like it, I’ll have someone deliver a bunch of fancier ones to the house tomorrow.”

Ye Xi shook his head, hugging his bubble machine tightly. “One is enough. I only want one.”

When he was little, he’d seen his classmates at school playing with bubble machines. He had wanted one too. He’d gone home, pulled out his award certificate, and quietly asked his mom if he could trade it for a bubble machine.

Instead, she slapped him to the ground.

Through tear-blurred eyes, he saw her face twisted in disgust, her shrill voice piercing his ears:

“All you know is buying this and that! Can’t you think about how hard it is for your parents to earn money? We feed you, clothe you, send you to school, and it’s still not enough? Every single day—”

Her scolding went on until his father came home from work. Then she turned all her rage on him.

The fight ended with his dad slamming the door and leaving. His mother collapsed on the floor crying, screaming at the top of her lungs:

“Going to that slut again, huh?! You bastard! You filthy dog!!”

The floor was littered with shattered dishes. A tiny boy curled up in the corner, crying and blaming himself.

He always thought they were just too poor—that wanting a bubble machine had triggered his mom’s breakdown and led to their fights.

But when his little brother was born, he watched them laugh and play as a family of three. His mother bought his brother all kinds of toys—including the bubble machine he himself had once begged for and been slapped over.

It was only then Ye Xi realized… it wasn’t about money.

They just didn’t love him.

He had once wondered why they were so biased.

He didn’t understand until he overheard a neighbor auntie gossiping.

That was when he learned: his very existence was a mistake.

He was a shameful accident. His brother, on the other hand, was their redemption.

A light pinch to the cheek snapped Ye Xi out of it. He looked up to see Huo Rulan bending down in front of him.

Huo Rulan tapped his nose and spoke softly, “What were you thinking about? Let’s go walk around a bit more. See if there’s anything else you want.”

Ye Xi held the bubble machine and smiled again. “Then let’s look at mugs! I want to buy matching couple mugs.”

“Okay~ whatever you want.”

Huo Rulan intertwined his fingers with Ye Xi’s and pushed the cart as they headed for the mug section.

This trip turned out to be very fruitful. They bought lots of things Ye Xi liked—mostly snacks and daily goods, plus some peach-themed decorations that Ye Xi insisted Huo Rulan liked.

When they got to the cashier, Huo Rulan’s eyes lingered for a moment on a small box displayed by the register. Then, as if nothing happened, he looked away.

Ye Xi happened to look up to talk to him and caught that glance. Curious, he followed his gaze.

Ye Xi looked at Huo Rulan, then back at the item. He reached over and grabbed two of them, handing them to the cashier. “Please add these too.”

Huo Rulan thought he had picked the little box he’d been looking at and was about to object—until he realized…

It wasn’t the little box.

It was the peach-flavored gum displayed underneath.

Huo Rulan turned his head and facepalmed with a laugh.

Ye Xi tilted his head in confusion. “There’s no need to be embarrassed. If you like it, just buy it.”

The young cashier glanced at the two of them with a suggestive smile and handed the bags over to Huo Rulan. “Sir, your wife is adorable.”

Ye Xi didn’t quite understand what was going on, but he still blushed and shyly smiled. “Thank you…”

The cashier girl smiled even more suggestively. “You’re welcome, little cutie.”

Huo Rulan paid with a smile. One hand carried a big bag of items while the other held Ye Xi’s hand as they walked out of the supermarket, heading toward the cake shop.

“…Excuse me.”

A stranger’s voice came from behind. Instinctively, Huo Rulan pulled Ye Xi into his arms. When he turned around, he saw it was just a short-haired girl.

He stopped with Ye Xi and faced her, smiling gently. “Hello, do you need any help?”

The girl shyly waved her hand. “No, not at all.”

She pulled out a photo and handed it to him. Huo Rulan took it, puzzled. Ye Xi leaned in to look at it too.

In the photo, Ye Xi was holding a bubble machine box and smiling with crescent-shaped eyes while talking to Huo Rulan, who was looking down at him with a soft gaze and a faint smile on his lips.

The girl gave a small bow and explained, “I’m really sorry for taking this without permission. I’m a photographer. When I saw how sweet you two were together in the store, I couldn’t help capturing the moment.”

She looked a bit nervous. “If you don’t mind… I’d like to give this photo to you.”

“Thank you, we really like it.” Ye Xi reached into the shopping bag Huo Rulan was holding and pulled out a giant rainbow lollipop to hand to the girl.

Huo Rulan also took out a bag of fruit and handed it to her with a smile. “We’ll take the photo then—thank you very much.”

The girl stood there hugging the imported fruit and rainbow lollipop, watching them drive away. She pulled out her phone and happily messaged her friend to share what just happened.

In the back seat, Ye Xi kept looking at the photo from all angles, talking non-stop to Huo Rulan. “That big sister took such a good picture. I really love it. I’m going to put it in the photo album when we get home.”

“I think so too. It’s a great shot. I like it a lot,” Huo Rulan said, glancing at him through the rearview mirror. “But the lighting isn’t great right now. Staring at it too long will strain your eyes. Save it for later.”

“Okay.” Ye Xi glanced at it twice more before carefully tucking the photo into his pocket and patting it gently.

Huo Rulan kept his eyes on the road as he drove steadily. “Now think about what kind of cake you want to get.”

“Let’s get a fruit cake and a peach cake—one for each of us.”

Huo Rulan’s grip on the steering wheel tightened a bit. “You want peach cake?”

Ye Xi shot back, “Don’t you?”

“…I do.” Huo Rulan’s ears turned a little red, clearly a bit shy.

Ye Xi chuckled softly in the backseat, and Huo Rulan’s ears turned even redder.

***

They entered a cake shop that Huo Rulan frequented. He told Ye Xi to sit and wait while he went to get the cakes.

Under the shop’s warm lighting, Ye Xi sat quietly holding his belly, his long lashes lowered. He could hear the staff whispering and noticed them giving him kind glances.

“…President Huo comes here to buy cake all the time, but this is the first time I’ve seen his wife.”

“…Such a soft, milk-type cutie. So adorable. I wanna squish him.”

“…Stop it! Look, he’s blushing!”

Ye Xi flushed and gave them a shy smile, nodding politely.

When Huo Rulan came back carrying two small cakes, he saw Ye Xi sitting there, cheeks slightly pink, holding his belly. Huo Rulan raised an eyebrow, then casually glanced over at the staff who were pretending to work while sneakily stealing glances at them.

He walked over, helped Ye Xi up, and led him back to the car.

“Did they say anything? Your face was really red.”

Huo Rulan parked the car and followed Ye Xi inside the house, juggling all the shopping bags.

Ye Xi replied bashfully, “They said I’m cute… and they wanna rua me.”

Then he looked up at Huo Rulan and asked, “What does rua mean?”

Huo Rulan set the bags down and reached out to ruffle his hair. “That.”

He then hugged Ye Xi, buried his face in his arms, took a deep breath, and rubbed his waist. “This is rua too.”

“But,” he added with a serious voice, “you can only be rua’d by me.”