Ye Wenyu’s mother ran a flower shop. It was the busy season right now, and she was tied up in the store, so she was unable to come home.
His father was a professor at Wu University. Even though it was already winter break, there were still many things to handle at the school. He had a meeting in the afternoon, so after dropping Ye Wenyu off at home, he headed straight back to campus.
Ye Wenyu had not brought a lot of luggage home, but even a single suitcase still needed time to unpack.
He dragged the suitcase into his room and laid it flat on the ground, taking things out one sweater, one jacket at a time. He wasn’t very focused, glancing at the phone lying screen-up next to the bed from time to time.
It hadn’t lit up once.
Ever since he sent a message to Yan Chen at the airport gate saying he’d landed safely, and received a reply telling him to rest well at home, there had been no more texts.
If he hadn’t received Yang Liang’s messages, he would have thought Yan Chen had gone back to catch up on sleep and wouldn’t have disturbed him.
The description, “lost his appetite and interest in life”, was too touching, and combined with how Yan Chen had clung to him like he wanted to stuff him into a bag and carry him around everywhere the day before he left, all Ye Wenyu could think about now was Yan Chen sitting all alone in their empty home, gloomy and listless.
If he imagined it more vividly…a majestic big dog with its ears drooping was sprawled out on the ground, listless and pitiful, not even wagging its tail.
The more he thought about it, the more worried he became. So he just picked up his phone and gave him a call.
It rang two or three times before being picked up. Yan Chen’s husky voice, filled with sleep, came through and sent a soft itch through Ye Wenyu’s ear. He lowered his voice and asked, “Were you sleeping?”
Yan Chen turned over on the sofa, pressed the phone to his ear and responded lazily, “Mm.”
Alright, he really was catching up on sleep.
Ye Wenyu was about to say, “Then go back to sleep, I won’t bother you,” when he heard Yan Chen ask, “Did you get home? Have you eaten lunch yet?”
Ye Wenyu: “I ate a bit on the plane. I just got home and I’m packing my things.” After a pause, he frowned and asked, “What about you? You didn’t even have breakfast.”
Yan Chen hesitated a moment. “I’ll eat in a while.”
“In a while”…that meant he hadn’t eaten yet. Ye Wenyu frowned deeper. “If I hadn’t called, were you just planning to sleep through without eating?”
The silence on the other end of the phone revealed an unmistakable sense of guilt.
“You promised me before I left. But the moment I leave, your words don’t count anymore?”
Ye Wenyu said seriously, “I know you train every day, and your physical fitness is better than average, but irregular meals can really harm your health. It’s easy to develop stomach issues.”
“And stop staying up late. Sleep by eleven or twelve at the latest. Don’t you still have to go into the company during the day? If you don’t rest well, it’ll affect your work.”
“Keep a regular schedule, eat your meals on time, and don’t get lazy with the air conditioning just because you’re home alone…”
As Ye Wenyu kept talking, he suddenly realized something and his voice grew smaller and smaller until it stopped completely. He lowered his eyes in annoyance. “I didn’t mean to nag you. It’s just…”
“Then can you think about it?” Yan Chen interrupted, clearly in a good mood.
Ye Wenyu froze, confused. “Think about what?”
“Think about nagging me more.” Yan Chen said, “I’m easy to manage. I’ll do whatever my leader says.”
Something inside his head was gently plucked, and Ye Wenyu blinked. “Really?”
Yan Chen: “Really.”
Ye Wenyu: “Then are you still lying down right now?”
Right after he asked, there was a shuffling noise from the other end. Yan Chen reported his movements in real-time like a soldier to his commanding officer: “No, I’m already at the door putting on my jacket. I’m going to eat right now.”
Ye Wenyu lowered his head, and the corners of his lips couldn’t help but curl up.
Yan Chen wasn’t the only one who couldn’t bear to part.
They’d only been apart for a little over two hours, and he already missed him a lot.
He really wanted to hug his big dog.
*
One of the tasks Father Ye had recently taken on was coordinating with a study group from a university in France, and the exchanged documents all needed to be translated.
Of course, the school also had teachers and students who could help, but with everyone on break and back home, it was quite troublesome to ask specifically. After thinking it over, the most convenient option was still his own son.
Coincidentally, Ye Wenyu was majoring in Business French, and translating collaborative and communication documents like these was his specialty. It wouldn’t take him much time.
Mother Ye’s flower shop was a decent size, with three or four employees. That was enough under normal circumstances, but with the increased customer flow during the winter break, they were often overwhelmed.
After finishing translations for his father during the day, Ye Wenyu would go help out at the flower shop if he still had time.
Meanwhile, Yan Chen had also started working on a project at his father’s company. He had a lot to do at work, and he’d talk to Ye Wenyu every night, sharing big and small things like they were daily chatter and using them to coax him to sleep.
Even while claiming it was boring, he still managed to do everything perfectly. Reporting all three meals had become a habit, and he even attached photos just to prove he was really “obedient and easy to manage”.
Yang Lian returned home and began the boring life of babysitting. He couldn’t get away during the day and could only wail dramatically in the group chat.
When the little ancestor went to sleep at night, he finally had some free time. He’d sneak into his room and pull people to play games with him, all under the name of “missing the brothers”, when in fact he just wanted to be carried and vent about his tragic babysitting life.
The shooting game was divided into two teams of six. There were four of them in the dormitory, and with Chi Dongting and the sports department representative who happened to be online, they formed a perfect team.
Yan Chen took over as the captain but even after restarting the match four or five times, he still couldn’t end up on the same team as Ye Wenyu.
Yang Liang couldn’t hold it in any longer and burst out laughing, his laughter shaking the heavens: “Hahahahahaha give it up, Yan-ge! Even the game knows you two are long-distance now! Just accept it and join forces with me and Xiao Chi!”
Dong Xi: “I suggest you keep your voice down. If you get carried away and wake up the little demon, you’ll be in trouble.”
“Fair point!” Yang Liang immediately covered his mouth and fell silent.
Ye Wenyu could already imagine the gloomy expression on Yan Chen’s face as he sat on the sofa. He suppressed his laugh and comforted his boyfriend: “It’s fine, there’s still the next round.”
Yan Chen let out a noncommittal grunt.
Dong Xi: “Old Yang, make sure you watch out for your personal safety later.”
Yang Liang: “Don’t worry! I’m definitely ranking up tonight!”
Chi Dongting: “This up-down-left-right key setting is awkward. Can it be changed?”
Ye Wenyu wasn’t very skilled either. He’d only played twice, and both times Yan Chen had taught him step by step. Now that no one was behind him supporting him, once the loading finished and the scene started, he was a bit lost.
They were using the in-game voice system, which only transmitted sound within a ten-foot radius.
He tested the movement keys behind a haystack, but just as he stepped out, he saw Yan Chen, with a red-name ID above his head, rushing toward him with a gun in his arms.
Ye Wenyu was startled and fired three shots at his head. Yan Chen remained perfectly unharmed and ran right up to him.
Ye Wenyu: “…”
Yan Chen’s muffled laugh came through the voice chat: “You want to kill me that bad?”
Ye Wenyu blushed: “You have a red name.”
Yan Chen: “That makes sense.”
Ye Wenyu: “Then why did you run toward me?”
Yan Chen: “Because I know you can’t hit me.”
Ye Wenyu: “…”
‘This game is really hard to play.’
“Let’s go.” Yan Chen put away his gun and slung it on his back. “Do the quest. I’ll follow you.”
The red ID over his head was too conspicuous. Ye Wenyu was really worried that a single normal attack would accidentally blow him up. “Why are you following me?”
Yan Chen: “If I don’t follow my wife, who else would I follow?”
Ye Wenyu choked: “But we’re on opposing teams.”
“That’s fine too.” Yan Chen led him toward the tower, then suddenly stopped and took a step back. “Plant a landmine in front of me.”
Ye Wenyu did as told, piled up the dirt, and warned him, “Be careful not to blow yourself up.”
Yan Chen: “I won’t. Come behind me. We’re going to that tree in the back.”
Ye Wenyu obediently circled behind him. Just as he was about to ask why, he saw a red-name Yang Liang climbing up behind the tower. A quick sweep of the camera showed he had spotted his teammate and was charging forward with his gun.
Ye Wenyu subconsciously sucked in a breath.
Yan Chen: “Don’t panic. Go to the tree.”
Ye Wenyu ran away. The two of them separated, and Yang Liang finally noticed a red-name standing behind his teammate. As he entered the ten-foot radius, his voice grew louder: “Ah! I see you! Who is it! Let this sharpshooter take the shot…”
Boom!
Before the sharpshooter could finish, he was blown up by a landmine and sent out of the game. His helmet flew into the air and fell to the ground, shattering into three pieces with a bang.
Yang Liang: ?
Yan Chen calmly crouched down and looted his gear. “Even the game knows you deserved to G.”
Ye Wenyu poked his head out from behind the tree trunk and found the sentence structure quite familiar.
Dong Xi, who was hiding and watching everything from the top of the tower, silently took out his King Cannon and blasted Chi Dongting, who was still rubbing against the grass on the hillside, straight out of the game: “How tragic. I told you to watch your personal safety.”
This round ended with the red team suffering a crushing defeat due to a super-invincible traitor, and the blue team gained 10 points.
To avoid such a terrible scenario again, Yang Liang rerolled the teams seven or eight times until he finally forced Yan Chen and Ye Wenyu onto the same team.
When the final team lineup was announced, he slumped back with his phone in hand: “Finally! What kind of cursed luck do you two have? Just six people, two teams, and you still couldn’t end up together.”
Sports department Representative: “It’s because the system is destined to be single and can’t stand to see lovers.”
In this round, Yan Chen, Ye Wenyu, and Yang Liang were on the same team.
With a boss in the group, Yang Liang was thrilled. As soon as they loaded in, he ran over to find his teammates and stuck to them like glue, acting as backup.
After watching Yan Chen chop up two bosses and pick up a full set of god-tier equipment, Yang felt very happy.
Yang Liang: “Wenyu, when are you coming back to school?”
Ye Wenyu: “Probably after the New Year.”
Yang Liang: “After the New Year? Do you mean after the seventh day of the lunar year, or after the Lantern Festival?”
Ye Wenyu wasn’t sure either.
Yang Liang: “After the seventh is still okay. After the Lantern Festival would be way too long. Oh, but our school’s winter break is long, so you can probably wait until after the Lantern Festival. Poor Yan Chen, he is left to guard the empty boudoir until school starts. That’s more than a month without seeing his wife and he can only stick close in-game like this…ow!”
He suddenly shouted and jumped…someone had fired a shot at his feet.
Yang Liang declared righteously: “Yan-ge, killing teammates is wrong! The system will punish you!”
Yan Chen: “Did you die?”
Yang Liang: “Well no, but why did you scare me like that?”
Yan Chen: “Stay away from us. Don’t get close. You’re disturbing a couple’s bonding time.”
Yang Liang: “?”
Yang Liang: “We’re teammates! Can’t I join you temporarily?”
Yan Chen: “What do you think?”
Ye Wenyu couldn’t stop the smile tugging at his lips.
But what Yang Liang said reminded him that if he really waited till after the Lantern Festival to go back, it might be too long. He remembered Yan Chen had mentioned that both his parents were busy, and he might not even be able to stay with them until the seventh day. He’d have to spend the rest of the holiday alone.
So, what if he went over after the second day of the lunar year and spent the rest of the holiday with him…?
After they got tired of PvP, the group switched to a free-for-all mode, chatting while hacking away at enemies.
The sports department representative and his roommate were neighbors, as both lived in Xuan City. When Yang Liang asked if they were planning to invite the roommate to the suburbs to set off fireworks on New Year’s Eve…
Sports department representative: “My roommate? He’s busy and can’t make it.”
Yang Liang: “What could he possibly have going on during New Year’s Eve? Don’t tell me he’s staying home to watch the Spring Festival Gala with his parents?”
Sports department representative: “Not really. Isn’t he in a relationship? He’s not celebrating at home this year. As soon as they finish dinner, he’s heading off to see his girlfriend.”
Chi Dongting: “Oh, he’s going to his girlfriend’s house for the New Year?”
Yang Liang: “Huh? Haven’t they only been dating for like a month or two? He hasn’t even met her parents, right? And now he’s spending New Year at her place? Isn’t he supposed to go visit relatives with his parents?”
Chi Dongting: “Is he a love-brain?”
Sports department representative: “Yeah, you heard right, he’s a love-brain.”
Ye Wenyu, who was being carried by Yan Chen to steal kills and also swiping through flight tickets for the second day of the New Year on his tablet: “…”
