When winter arrived, a heavy snow fell as though it would never get another chance, pouring every last bit of strength into it. Fierce winds whipped the dense snow through the air. Only after the flakes had danced wildly from side to side did they finally settle on the ground, where every step left a deep footprint.
The snow fell thick and fast for an entire day. Only near evening did it finally lose its temper. The wind stilled, the snowfall ceased, and moonlight spread across the white ground in a shimmering glow.
When Xue Bao Tian and Yan Ye stepped out of the clubhouse, this silver-and-jade world was what greeted them. For once, the two illiterates both froze. Looking at the snow-covered world, one breathed, “Holy fuck,” and the other followed with an, “Mm.”
White mist billowed from his lips. Xue Bao Tian hooked a little snow from a low branch with his fingertip. As the ice crystals melted into droplets, his features also softened.
He turned to look at Yan Ye and found Yan Ye looking at him too. Unlike the light, drifting snow, the man’s gaze was heavy with feeling.
A warm palm closed around Xue Bao Tian’s cold, wet fingers. “It’ll be hard to find a designated driver in this weather.” Yan Ye stepped closer, their clouds of white breath mingling. “My apartment is nearby. Come stay at my place tonight, all right? I’ll carry you back.”
Xue Bao Tian raised a brow. “Carry me again?”
“Mm. As long as you like it.”
After passing two intersections, they once again arrived at that small park. Yan Ye half-crouched in front of Xue Bao Tian. “No one’s here now. Climb on.”
The last time Xue Bao Tian had lain on Yan Ye’s back, he had hesitated and struggled for quite a while. Back then, he had clung stubbornly to his identity as a “straight man” while coveting Yan Ye’s tenderness. His heart had hung suspended, neither rising nor falling, touching neither heaven nor earth, empty and adrift.
This time, he did not hesitate at all. He sprawled over Yan Ye’s back, and when Yan Ye supported him and hoisted him upward, his bones immediately went soft.
One arm loosely encircled Yan Ye as Xue Bao Tian rested his chin on the man’s shoulder. He had drunk only a little weak liquor tonight. The cloying sweetness of candy mingled with the light, refreshing scent of alcohol, blending into the cool air with every breath.
“I’m not drunk today.” Xue Bao Tian lay bonelessly across Yan Ye’s shoulder, so comfortable that even his words came out drawn out.
“I know you’re not drunk. I just wanted to carry you.” Yan Ye turned his head and rubbed his cheek against Xue Bao Tian’s hair. “Do you know what I’m thinking?”
Completely relaxed, Xue Bao Tian responded absentmindedly in a soft voice, “What?”
The snow lay thick on the ground, crunching beneath Yan Ye’s feet. “I’m thinking how wonderful it would be if this road never ended. Then I could keep carrying you like this forever.”
Xue Bao Tian had always wanted to know whether he was simply too inexperienced to resist such romantic words, or whether they only touched his heart because Yan Ye was the one saying them. There were countless rich second-generation heirs around him who had spent their entire lives muddling along as playboys. Xue Bao Tian had once thought he would follow in their footsteps, lingering amid endless flowers before repeatedly sinking into loneliness and emptiness late at night or early in the morning as the alcohol wore off. A heart large enough to contain everything would hold nothing at all, so vast and empty that it inspired a sigh.
But now, he lay on the back of a young man seven years his junior, his body swaying gently with every step. His heart, however, was like a cup filled to the brim with fine wine—the slightest movement made its rich fragrance spill over.
“Your fledgling attachment is so strong. Would you have said the same thing to someone else?”
Xue Bao Tian had always hated other people being sentimental, and when it was himself, he found it even more embarrassing. Yet he still asked awkwardly, jealousy slipping into his voice, all because of the teasing remark Lin Zhi Yi had made during dinner: “Someone like Yan Ye is easy to tie down. Vice President Xue really struck gold. How come I can’t stumble across a windfall like that?”
Smack. Xue Bao Tian was slapped on the ass.
Yan Ye’s deep voice dispersed into the snowy night. “How many other people did Master Xue call ‘baby’ tonight?”
Was this fucker settling petty accounts now? Xue Bao Tian covered Yan Ye’s mouth with his hand. “You’re easy to tie down, my ass. You’re the kind who never lets himself suffer a loss.”
A light kiss landed in the dry center of his palm, and Yan Ye’s gentle voice flowed through the gaps between his fingers. “Two Hundred, I’ll always be your fledgling.”
Fuck! Xue Bao Tian’s heart trembled. He curled his fingers tightly and buried his face beside Yan Ye’s neck, using the darkness and the man’s broad shoulders to hide the flush spreading over his cheeks.
He suddenly felt rather resentful. He was always being teased into complete confusion, while Yan Ye remained affectionate, steady, mature, and impressive. Why the hell should that be?
Xue Bao Tian’s soft lips pressed against the rim of Yan Ye’s ear as he murmured, “Is Master Xue’s nest warm? Want to come inside and find out?”
The flesh beneath Yan Ye’s supporting hands abruptly tensed. His steps in the snow faltered, breaking the neat line of footprints. The man tightened the relaxed muscles throughout his body and turned his head dangerously toward the troublemaker on his back.
Xue Bao Tian felt rather smug. He thought, No fucking one gets to escape looking like an idiot after being teased. He checked his watch again, then extended an arm and pointed toward a familiar corner. “Let’s sit there for a while.”
The spot was sheltered from the wind, and the bench was covered in thick, fresh snow. Xue Bao Tian brushed the snow away and was about to sit when Yan Ye grabbed him.
Yan Ye sat down first and patted his thigh. “Can you sit here now?”
Only an idiot would refuse a blessing. Xue Bao Tian sat down boldly in Yan Ye’s arms and unconsciously rubbed his fingertips together.
“Craving a cigarette?” Yan Ye asked.
“Mm.” Xue Bao Tian relaxed his spine and leaned into Yan Ye’s embrace. “I started smoking in my teens. Now that I’ve quit, I’m really not used to it.”
Yan Ye pressed his thumb against Xue Bao Tian’s lips and rubbed gently. “Your old neighbors told me you were very well behaved when you were little, and quiet too. How did you turn into what you are now?”
Xue Bao Tian raised his eyelids. “What am I like now?”
Yan Ye pressed his thumb against his lips and smiled. “You turned into such an adorable Master Xue.”
Xue Bao Tian lowered his eyes and scolded, “Stop fucking rambling about useless things. And quit asking around about my past. If I told you how glorious Master Xue was back then, you’d die of fright.”
“All right.” Yan Ye had always been obedient. Whatever Xue Bao Tian said went. He covered Xue Bao Tian’s legs with his coat. “It’s cold outside. Let’s go home.”
Xue Bao Tian did not respond. Instead, he raised his arm and checked his watch again beneath the streetlamp.
“Did you ever think about what you wanted to do when you grew up?” he asked Yan Ye.
Yan Ye tightened his arms around Xue Bao Tian’s waist and gazed into the distance, toward the vast whiteness covering Weiming Lake nearby.
“I did, but I didn’t dare imagine anything good. My background, my circumstances, and the environment I lived in all reminded me over and over that I couldn’t indulge in unrealistic dreams.”
The smile at Yan Ye’s lips was desolate. “And I liked men. That was an even more shameful flaw, something that couldn’t be shown to others. The greediest dream I dared have back then was to live with someone I loved in an old house, from morning until night, sharing three meals a day. He would be beside me, and I would be beside him. That would have been the best possible life.”
“I never expected it all to come true.” He withdrew his gaze and kissed Xue Bao Tian on the lips. “And it became a beautiful dream even better than anything I ever dared imagine.”
Xue Bao Tian lifted his eyes and smiled wickedly. “Grandson, today Grandpa will make another one of your dreams come true.”
His gaze fell on the second hand of his watch, and he softly counted down beside Yan Ye’s ear. “Five, four, three, two, one!”
With a bang, a firework suddenly shot up from the frozen surface of Weiming Lake in the distance! A streak of flame pierced through the endless white vastness and embedded itself in the night sky. After the shriek of the rocket, brilliant fireworks exploded across the heavens!
“Little dumbass, happy birthday!”
Beneath the dazzling streams of light, the fireworks shattered into sparkling fragments inside his eyes. Xue Bao Tian looked at Yan Ye and said softly once more, “Happy birthday, Zhang Chi.”
The night deepened, and the fireworks grew more abundant. Yan Ye was stunned by the eternity contained within this single moment. He stared blankly at the brilliant sky for a while before looking back at Xue Bao Tian. The instant their gazes met, he deeply kissed the man in his arms.
After flying until both body and heart were exhausted, the homeless fledgling had finally found his nest and the person who would share every morning, evening, and daily meal with him.
The kiss grew deeper, approaching the edge of losing control.
“Wait.” Xue Bao Tian forcefully broke free of Yan Ye’s embrace. After steadying himself, he bent down and took an exquisite cake box from beneath the bench.
After lighting the candles, he held the cake in front of Yan Ye and roused the stunned, silent man. “Make a wish, Yan Ye.”
Yan Ye slowly raised a finger, scooped a little cream from the cake, and put it into his mouth. “As far back as I can remember, I’ve never had a birthday cake. At first, I envied other people for getting cake on their birthdays. Later, I stopped envying them.”
The man lifted his head and slowly said to Xue Bao Tian, “I never force things. If something belongs to me, I’ll certainly take it back. But if it doesn’t, I won’t keep thinking about it. Except when it comes to you.”
“I knew perfectly well that you were straight, yet I still insisted on wanting you to stay beside me.” Even amid the dazzling lights, the darkness in Yan Ye’s eyes was visible. “Two Hundred, don’t you hate me?”
The fireworks continued in the distance, while the candlelight flickered nearby. Holding the cake, Xue Bao Tian said coldly, “I do. I fucking hate you to death, Zhang Ze Tian.”
The heaviness and regret in Yan Ye’s heart were lightly swept away by Xue Bao Tian. He was kicked and urged, “Hurry up, make your wish and blow out the candles.”
For the first time, Yan Ye closed his eyes before a birthday cake. At this moment, Xue Bao Tian looked at him with a rare depth of affection, emotions tangling and swelling intensely. Yet Yan Ye opened one eye a crack and asked, “Should I clasp my hands together in front of my chest?”
“You can.”
“One wish or three?”
“Three, I guess.”
“Do I make them before blowing out the candles or after?”
Xue Bao Tian sighed softly. “Before.”
“Can I open my eyes…”
“Make the damn wishes already. My arms are getting sore.”
“All right.”
The candlelight gilded Yan Ye’s face in shifting gold. His short, dense lashes looked as soft as the fresh snow beneath their feet. Facing the first birthday wishes of his life, he appeared extraordinarily solemn. With his hands clasped and lips tightly pressed together, he waited a full minute before slowly opening his eyes.
Xue Bao Tian blew out the candles with him and smiled as he asked, “What did you wish for?”
“Can I say?”
Xue Bao Tian lazily leaned into his arms. “Say it if you want. Don’t if you don’t. There aren’t that many rules.”
“My first wish was…” Their gazes met at the same moment. The white mist leaving Yan Ye’s lips carried the sweet fragrance of cake. “I hope Xue Bao Tian can always live freely and without restraint.”
Xue Bao Tian’s heart trembled. Looking at Yan Ye, addictive cravings surged through his body. I really fucking want a cigarette.
“What was your second wish?”
“I hope Master Xue can curse whoever he wants from now on without worrying about anything, and that he’ll never be in danger again.”
He wanted to get blind drunk.
“The third?”
“I hope Two Hundred will always be happy.”
The blood in his body seemed to surge, yet Xue Bao Tian asked blandly, “Why didn’t you wish that I’d accept your pursuit?”
Yan Ye rarely smiled so brightly, but now his smile crossed the cake and entered Xue Bao Tian’s heart. “If you refuse, then I’ll pursue you for the rest of my life. That’s easy enough to do. I don’t need to waste a wish on it.”
Xue Bao Tian set the cake on the bench, abruptly turned around, and straddled Yan Ye. Grabbing his hair, he pulled hard, forcing Yan Ye to lift his chin.
“I want to smoke right now. I want strong liquor.” His hot breath moved even closer. “And I want to fuck.”
“Here?”
“You can’t?”
A trace of viciousness suddenly entered Yan Ye’s voice. “This fledgling has a warm nest he can enter. As long as Master Xue doesn’t regret it later.”
Snow gleamed beneath the flowing lights, and the ethereal beauty of the fireworks stirred the softest love buried deep within their hearts…
On the frozen surface of Weiming Lake, the chubby boy sat on Little Trash’s schoolbag, staring up at the brilliant fireworks across the sky and murmuring softly, “So beautiful.”
After lighting the fireworks, Little Trash ran back and crouched beside him, looking up at the sky as well. Though only ten years old, the child had already endured countless hardships. Beneath the brilliant fireworks filling the heavens, he felt hope for tomorrow for the first time.
“Brother Blade.” In their contest, he was the first to give way. “Stop hacking my phone and computer. Follow me from now on. I’ll protect you.”
“How do you know it was… me? It… wasn’t me who hacked them.”
“Fine, it wasn’t you. How about following me from now on?”
The chubby boy shook his head without hesitation and raised it to watch the rain of light falling from the sky. With world-weary gravity, he said, “Since ancient times, good and evil have never stood together. If my mother finds out you’re actually a gangster, she’ll beat me to death.”
“Ow!” The chubby boy suddenly toppled backward and landed on his bottom on the ice.
Little Trash stood up with the schoolbag he had pulled out from beneath the boy’s butt and said coldly, “From now on, anything your mother can’t beat to death, I will.”
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