When Yan Ye entered, Xue Bao Tian was in the middle of a video conference.
He wore a crisp white shirt, his neat hair combed back. A signing pen tapped lightly against the documents, and the man’s long, slightly upturned eyes held all the inscrutability of someone in a position of power.
Outside the camera’s view, however, he wore soft lounge pants and cushioned slippers. The kitten, now seven or eight jin heavier, lay across his lap, its stomach rising and falling as it purred softly.
Xue Bao Tian turned a page of the documents and said to the executive in the video window, “I’ve reviewed the new marketing strategy you submitted. Some of the measures are quite practical and can be implemented more broadly.”
He had been absent from work for many days. Ever since the night they watched the fireworks, Yan Ye had kept him hidden away at home.
It was only an ordinary cold, yet Yan Ye had placed him under house arrest, causing his secretary to make an enormous fuss and call to express concern. When asked how he had caught the chill, Xue Bao Tian’s old face flushed, and he could only vaguely change the subject.
Over the past few days, Yan Ye had been leaving late and returning early, waiting on him in and out of bed until he had practically become useless. Xue Bao Tian found it irritating, yet he updated his private account seven or eight times a day, showing off food that did not look particularly appetizing, soups that were not especially pleasing to the eye, an ugly candy ball with half of it bitten away, and the kitten that had grown fatter, lazier, and uniquely ugly in a strangely refreshing way…
“Vice President Xue?” His secretary in the small window pulled the distracted Xue Bao Tian back at precisely the right moment.
Long fingers turned another page of the documents, and his cold, nasal voice sounded again. “Continue.”
The moment the words left his mouth, the study door was thrown open with a violent crash. Xue Bao Tian and the people on the other side of the screen were all startled!
He raised his gaze slightly. It was Yan Ye.
Yet it was not the Yan Ye he knew.
The man who constantly switched between gentleness and cruelty, who was both calculating and idiotic, and who, despite his young age, was as mature as someone’s ancestor, now braced one hand against the door. His knuckles had gone faintly white from the force. His chest rose and fell rapidly, his expression agitated, yet visibly filled with nervousness and regret.
Xue Bao Tian had never seen Yan Ye display his emotions so openly. He asked in a low voice, “What’s wrong? What happened?”
The next moment, he was enveloped in a burning embrace! The one thing Yan Ye had never lacked was strength. His arms tightened around Xue Bao Tian, nearly crushing him into his own flesh and blood.
“I took my medicine and rested properly. I only opened a temporary video conference. Do you fucking have to use lethal force?”
The arms around him tightened further, and scorching kisses traveled upward from the side of his neck.
Only when their lips were pressed firmly together did Xue Bao Tian clearly see the madness in Yan Ye’s eyes. The excitement and panic he could not conceal made his body tremble faintly. The hands cradling Xue Bao Tian’s face were burning hot, just like his gaze.
“Two Hundred, I’m too stupid. You’re always calling me a little dumbass, but that isn’t right. I’m a big one. A really big one.”
Xue Bao Tian cursed, “Fuck. What did I ever do to deserve this? Picking up one little dumbass wasn’t enough—you had to upgrade yourself into a big one?”
Yan Ye automatically ignored those irrelevant remarks. He lifted Xue Bao Tian and forcefully pressed him onto the desk.
The sudden clatter of the keyboard striking the mouse reminded Xue Bao Tian of something important.
“Fuck, the computer is still on!” He quickly turned his head and glanced at the people in the little windows on the screen, inexplicably recalling a children’s song.
“Are you trying to catch mice? Why are your eyes as wide as bronze bells? Meeting adjourned!”
Yan Ye pressed close again. Xue Bao Tian hurriedly struck something on the monitor, then reached back and forcefully lifted the man’s chin.
“Did you swallow the rat poison the neighborhood committee put out? If you can’t fucking read, stop picking up random things and eating them.”
“Two Hundred.” Yan Ye gathered up the hair that had fallen around Xue Bao Tian and stared deeply into his eyes. Suddenly turning serious, he asked, “You liked me before, didn’t you?”
The room fell silent. Even the kitten had disappeared somewhere. Yan Ye’s palm slowly stroked the soft strands of hair, his fingertips brushing lightly past Xue Bao Tian’s pale ear. Tilting his head slightly, he asked again in a deep voice beside his ear, “You liked me, didn’t you? When we were in Yunnan, did you once plan to confess to me?”
After a moment of silence, Xue Bao Tian pushed Yan Ye’s hand aside, bent down, and felt beneath the corner of the desk, pulling out a pack of cigarettes.
He lowered his eyes and tore open the packaging, flicked out a cigarette, and held it between his fingers before speaking calmly and indifferently. “I hid a few packs, but I haven’t smoked any. Can I make an exception, little dumbass?”
A plastic lighter had even been taped to the pack. This time, Yan Ye did not nag him. He removed it and lit the cigarette for him.
After inhaling a mouthful of smoke, Xue Bao Tian frowned. He brought the cigarette before his eyes, studied it seriously for a few moments, then laughed. “Why did I never realize how awful this tasted before?”
He took a sticky note and tapped the ash onto it, then looked at Yan Ye. “Feng Jia told you?”
“I forced it out of him.”
Xue Bao Tian held the cigarette between his lips and slanted a look at him. “How did you force him?”
“I couldn’t get an answer, so I had no choice but to act pitiful.”
“Impressive methods, President Yan.”
The displeasure in Xue Bao Tian’s words was obvious, but Yan Ye automatically ignored it. He leaned down and stared at him, asking cautiously once more, “Is it true? You really liked me before?”
“Yes.” Xue Bao Tian smiled as he exhaled smoke. Lifting his eyelids, he met Yan Ye’s gaze. “When we were in Yunnan, I don’t know how, but I suddenly came to my senses. I told myself, fuck being straight. I wanted to be with Yan Ye.”
Yan Ye’s pupils instantly widened. His heart felt as though it had been struck by a drumstick, every beat deafening. Even the simplest breath became irregular, as though an invisible hand had suddenly seized his throat and deprived his body of air.
Everything around him seemed to blur and recede, while time stretched and slowed. Within that slowly passing time, Yan Ye tried desperately to remember Xue Bao Tian in Yunnan—the sharp-featured young man who often leaned lazily beside the bamboo window on the second floor, watching Yan Ye return late through the magnificent evening clouds with a faint smile curved upon his lips.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Yan Ye’s voice was exceedingly soft, as though he feared shattering this dream.
Xue Bao Tian leaned against the corner of the desk and inhaled from the cigarette. The ash curled farther upward, appearing almost unable to bear its own weight.
Lowering his eyes, Xue Bao Tian exhaled smoke and smiled self-mockingly. “I was planning to confess, but you…” His gaze slowly rose, taking in Yan Ye’s uneasiness and anxiety. “But you fell in love with Lin Zhi Yi at first sight.”
The hand braced against the desk abruptly clenched. Veins swelled beneath the skin, his lips pressed tightly together, and his eyes gradually reddened.
Yan Ye’s memories seemed to be covered in mist, becoming gray and distorted. That phrase he had always refused to remember—“love at first sight”—now returned like an arrow piercing his own body.
His vocal cords seemed to have been sliced apart, every word carrying a pain almost unbearable to hear. “You wanted to confess to me… that same night?”
Xue Bao Tian gave a faint “Mm.” He also felt that fate had played a cruel joke on them and remarked coldly, “If you hadn’t been searching Baidu beneath that stilt house, you’d have already given birth to two children for me by now.”
Yan Ye tugged at the corners of his lips, but ultimately failed to smile. His thoughts shifted, and the gaze he fixed on Xue Bao Tian suddenly became urgent and fierce. “What about now? Two Hundred, do you still like me now?”
Xue Bao Tian did not answer the straightforward question. Holding the cigarette between his teeth, he lowered his head and laughed twice. “That night, I had even prepared a confession ceremony.”
Yan Ye’s hand tightened forcefully around his waist. Xue Bao Tian felt pain and patted the hand, saying lightly, “It wasn’t anything special. I just wrote your name on a piece of paper so you could keep it.”
“Where is the paper?” Yan Ye asked hoarsely.
The ash finally became too heavy and was flicked onto the pale-yellow sticky note by Xue Bao Tian.
“I burned it. Master Xue is so fucking carefree—”
Before he could finish, Yan Ye’s trembling hands seized his shoulders and pressed him onto the desk. The man was fierce and stubborn, yet also fragile and pitiful.
For the first time, Xue Bao Tian saw greed on Yan Ye’s face—an intensely powerful greed. He thought Yan Ye would lose control, but instead, Yan Ye slowly loosened his grip. His hands slid down Xue Bao Tian’s arms to his fingers and took the cigarette from him.
Only a short stub remained. Smoke rose and concealed Yan Ye’s expression. “I’m sorry. I made you sad back then. I didn’t get to hear your confession, and the paper was burned. I deserved it.”
He placed the cigarette between his lips. Behind the curling smoke was a handsome yet desolate face.
“Yan Ye!” Xue Bao Tian grabbed his wrist. “Don’t imitate me and give up halfway.”
He leaned closer and kissed him gently, extinguishing the cigarette in passing. “Don’t give up halfway on quitting smoking—or on loving me.”
Intimate sounds filled the quiet room. When Xue Bao Tian was pinned on the desk with his legs lifted, he unexpectedly heard his secretary’s voice.
“Um… Vice President Xue, you only turned off the monitor just now. Could you please turn off the sound… as well?”
Fuck! Xue Bao Tian sprang up in shock. He looked at the black screen, then at Yan Ye, and cursed in mortified rage, “Let everything be destroyed! Nobody fucking deserves to live!”
On New Year’s Eve, at the observation deck on Chuanyue Mountain.
Yan Ye confirmed every part of the process one final time. He asked Zhou Yi Ming, “There won’t be any problems with the power supply, right?”
Zhou Yi Ming removed his hand from his pocket and made an okay gesture, then added, “Next time, can you not put me in the same group as Lin Zhi Yi?” He patted his clothes. “I’m bundled up like this, but his eyes still look like hooks.”
Just then, Lin Zhi Yi stepped down from the electrical-services vehicle. After sweeping Zhou Yi Ming from head to toe, he handed Yan Ye a receipt. “Vehicle rental, workers, supplies, errands, and labor fees. Eight thousand eight hundred altogether. Cash or transfer?”
Yan Ye did not look at the receipt. He merely asked, “Nothing will go wrong?”
Leaning lazily against the observation deck railing, Zhou Yi Ming said, “Our General Manager Lin might be useless at everything else, but when it comes to work, he’s absolutely meticulous. He practically peeled those electricians layer by layer. If they don’t do the job properly, he really will dock their pay.”
After receiving Yan Ye’s transfer, Lin Zhi Yi turned toward Zhou Yi Ming in a rather good mood. “How do you know I’m useless at everything else? You only get the right to comment after trying me.”
Zhou Yi Ming’s face flushed. He went to complain to Yan Ye, but Yan Ye had no attention to spare for him. Finding Song Zhi Xin, he asked, “Can the helicopter arrive on time?”
Song Zhi Xin nodded, then looked somewhat awkward. “Vice President Xue’s sister will arrive on time too.”
Yan Ye patted his shoulder. “Thank you for the trouble.”
It was the depths of winter, and the mountain wind was biting. Standing at the summit, Yan Ye gazed toward the distant lights of the mortal world. Yancheng remained dazzling—more dazzling than ever. People used brilliant lights to bid farewell to the old year and colorful displays to illuminate the new one.
Yan Ye had lived as a temporary resident in this city for many years and had never looked forward to any festival. For him, the new year and the old were equally dim and unremarkable days.
But this year, he had anticipated the new year for a long time and spent just as long preparing for it. After living for more than twenty years, Yan Ye finally understood that once there was someone he constantly longed for, there would also be days he eagerly awaited.
He checked his watch again. There were fifteen minutes left until midnight. Touching the box in his pocket once more, he drew a deep breath, took out his phone, and called Xue Bao Tian.
To surprise Xue Bao Tian, Yan Ye had deliberately found an excuse to act alone. They had agreed to meet at the observation deck on Chuanyue Mountain at midnight and watch the grandest fireworks display from the highest point in the city.
The phone rang for a long time, but no one answered. Yan Ye ended the call and walked back toward the terrace.
Everyone had already taken their assigned positions, leaving Yan Ye alone on the observation deck. Dry leaves were swept by the mountain wind and blown to his feet, reminding him of the first time he and Xue Bao Tian had stood here.
It had also been late at night, with magnificent lights below and the evening wind rustling dead leaves around their feet. Xue Bao Tian had stood here with a cigarette between his teeth, facing an impenetrable expanse of darkness, and said faintly, “Life isn’t easy. Nobody should fucking act sentimental.”
At the very beginning, Yan Ye had not known what he loved about Xue Bao Tian. He was handsome, adorable, and could take a pounding, but beyond those things, there seemed to be something deeper and more intense within Xue Bao Tian—something irresistible that Yan Ye could not bear to relinquish.
Slowly, Yan Ye had finally seen it clearly. He loved every curse hidden within Xue Bao Tian’s laughter, but he loved even more the kindness, openness, clarity, and strength buried deep in his bones.
Despite the cold night wind, Yan Ye’s heart was filled with joy and heat. The man who protected his softest heart with a body covered in thorns was currently on his way to keep their New Year’s appointment, and Yan Ye would formally confess to him as the old year gave way to the new.
Yan Ye checked his watch again. Only eight minutes remained until midnight. Growing anxious, he took out his phone and called Xue Bao Tian once more.
Snap! The newly installed corner lights on the terrace suddenly went dark. The heavy night surged forward, making the distant lights of Yancheng appear even more dazzling.
This did not match the sequence Yan Ye had arranged. He frowned faintly and looked around, but no one appeared to resolve the problem.
Just as he was about to call out, soft music began flowing from the newly installed speakers, gradually blending into the mountain wind and spreading outward.
On the path to the right of the terrace, an oval spotlight suddenly appeared. Within the moving light, a tall, slender man with cool, pale skin and faint coldness between his brows walked toward Yan Ye step by step…
Nearby was the winding music; in the distance was the surging sound of pine trees. Every step the approaching man took seemed to land directly upon Yan Ye’s heart.
He stopped before Yan Ye and smiled. “Master Xue has been waiting for you for a long time.”
As his words fell, the pine forest descending along the nearby mountain slope was illuminated by tens of thousands of colored lights. The intersecting colors reflected against one another, instantly transforming the deep twilight of Chuanyue Mountain into something brilliant and dreamlike.
“This is the romance prepared for President Yan.”
Snap. Another beam of light shot from the corner of the terrace toward the mountainside. Pink light carved through the dark mountain, converging into several enormous words:
You are my love, Brother Chi.
“This is the romance prepared for Zhang Chi.”
The wind around them grew louder. The pine forest surged, and the colored lights wound around the branches swayed and shimmered.
Beneath the lights, the man standing opposite Yan Ye raised a hand and snapped his fingers in the air.
Together with the wind came the distant sound of helicopter blades. The stronger the wind became, the closer the sound drew, until the fierce gusts sent the hems of their heavy coats flying and rose petals began raining from the helicopter.
The falling petals spiraled above the pine forest in the wind for a while before drifting down, catching among the branches and settling into the mud.
The man within the spotlight bent down, picked up a fallen red petal, and held it out before Yan Ye. “This is the romance prepared for Zhang Tian Ze.”
Yan Ye accepted the petal and murmured, “Two Hundred…”
Xue Bao Tian pressed a finger against his lips. He took several sticky notes from his pocket, solemnly unfolded them, and handed them to Yan Ye one by one.
“Yan Ye, Zhang Chi, Zhang Tian Ze. See? I know how to write your names too.” Looking at Yan Ye, Xue Bao Tian smiled and delivered the confession that made his heart race. “I can write every name you have.”
“If two people have dated, there’s no way one of them wouldn’t know how to write the other’s name.”
“Two Hundred, I know how to write your name. Xue Bao Tian—the characters for ‘Xue’ and ‘Tian’ are both difficult. I practiced for a long time.”
Memories from the past surged forward. The romance and tenderness left at the tip of a pen were perhaps something only two illiterates who could not scrape together a high-school diploma between them could understand.
Looking into the man’s bloodshot eyes, Xue Bao Tian slowly said, one word at a time, “Yan Ye, will you be with me? Let me be the person who shares an old house with you, stays beside you from morning until night, and eats three meals a day with you.” Xue Bao Tian extended his hand. “No matter which name you use, I’ll love you properly.”
The moment their hands clasped together, the second hand crossed the final mark of the old year. Layer upon layer of fireworks filled Yancheng’s night sky, creating the most brilliant instant—and an eternity.
“Two Hundred, do you have a New Year’s wish?”
Leaning within the warm embrace, the man lifted his eyes and gazed into the distance.
“Great fortune, plenty of money—and you.”
The End
Postscript
Dark-green curtains with loose threads, dirty pale-pink walls, and the flattened, blood-bloated mosquito that had died upon them the previous year…
The old room was filled with suppressed, low panting. “Did you learn that confession plan from the internet again? It was fucking idiotic.”
A deep line ran down the pale back. Scorching kisses traveled upward along the alluring groove and stopped beside an ear. “Some of it was my own idea.”
“For example?”
“Scattering petals from a helicopter. I saw it while filming a movie before.”
A powerless “Fuck” dispersed through the room. “A helicopter can’t get close to the mountainside. The petals could only be scattered over the forest. We were lucky one petal blew over today. Otherwise, was I supposed to fucking climb into the ravine and pick one up for you?”
The steady, rhythmic movement abruptly stopped. “Then why didn’t the helicopter rental company object?”
“You’re a dumbass with more money than sense. If they didn’t rip you off, who would they rip off?”
The foot of the bed shook violently several times, and amid the suddenly rapid breathing, the voice softened again. “Didn’t you say the notes had already been burned?”
“…I wrote them many times. The ones I burned were practice copies.”
“Two Hundred…”
“Call me Master Xue.”
“Master Xue, all of you conspired to deceive me.”
A low, husky laugh stole away his soul. “Little dumbass, Master Xue doesn’t need you to pursue him. Master Xue has loved you all along.”
After a moment of silence, the sound of the old bed shaking traveled through the door and halfway down the corridor. Fingers wearing a plain band tightly grasped the less-than-white bedsheet. “Who the fuck celebrates the first day of an official relationship by staying in an eighty-yuan-a-night motel?”
“The internet said it would be best to revisit the place where it all began tonight.”
“Fuck!”
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