Fresh air eagerly squeezed through every crack. The thick clouds gradually parted, making way for the first rays of morning. One beam of light fell, then two, then countless rays. They gently covered the city, the balcony railing, the window frames, and happiness itself, before mischievously landing on Mai Ding’s pillow. Mai Ding rubbed his sleepy eyes and sat up. The Mad Hatter alarm clock beside the bed had never once managed to fulfill its purpose. Mai Ding always woke before it rang.
After washing up, Mai Ding tidied the room and got dressed. Then he returned to the bedroom. “An Zi Yan, how long are you going to sleep? We still have class today.”
The person in bed didn’t move at all.
Mai Ding planted both hands on his hips and began his usual nagging. “Look at yourself. We’re almost fourth-year students and you’re still this lazy. I’m ashamed that society will soon contain rotten wood like you. Then look at me. How can I get up?”
A pillow flew directly into Mai Ding’s face. “Can you be quiet? Can’t you see I’m sleeping?”
“What time do you think it is? We’re going to be late.”
“You care.”
“Of course you don’t care. But I’m Academic Representative. I’m supposed to set an example. If even I’m late, how am I supposed to command respect?”
“You can go ahead.”
“I’m Academic Representative. How could I abandon a fallen student and ignore him? That would be completely inconsistent with my noble character.”
When forceful methods failed, Mai Ding launched himself onto An Zi Yan and repeatedly bounced on top of him. “Get up! An Zi Yan!”
Unable to endure it anymore, An Zi Yan finally kicked Mai Ding off the bed and sat up. “Seriously. Why are you yelling first thing in the morning?”
Mai Ding placed the clothes he had prepared beside him. “Hurry up.”
An Zi Yan showed absolutely no urgency. Mai Ding had wanted to wait until An Zi Yan got up before making breakfast, but now there was obviously no time. He was so anxious steam might as well have risen from his head, yet he didn’t dare rush An Zi Yan too much. He suffered internally. Standing near the door, Mai Ding stamped his feet impatiently and glared. Only when An Zi Yan finally walked over and put on his shoes did Mai Ding urgently grab him and drag him away. Unfortunately, Mai Ding slipped while descending the stairs. He was about to crack his skull when a force from behind caught him. Mai Ding stumbled backward directly into An Zi Yan’s arms.
“Watch where you’re going.”
“This isn’t the time to watch the road! We’re going to be late!”
Mai Ding cared enormously about his image as a good student. Fortunately, the class bell rang just as they reached the classroom. When Mai Ding turned around, An Zi Yan was gone. He had definitely still been there when they entered campus. Where had that bastard disappeared to? Halfway through class, An Zi Yan finally walked in. The teacher had already become accustomed to this. As long as your grades were good, apparently everything else was irrelevant.
“Where did you go?”
“To eat breakfast.”
“Do you have any respect whatsoever for school discipline? We’re students!”
An Zi Yan couldn’t be bothered answering. He placed a carton of milk and some bread directly on top of Mai Ding’s book. Mai Ding’s previously stern face instantly relaxed. He pouted. “I never asked you to buy me breakfast.”
“How many times have I told you? The words coming out of your mouth should match the expression on your face.”
“Don’t assume I’m moved just because of this teeny-tiny little gesture. If you think that, you are completely mistaken.” Mai Ding once again exposed his own thoughts without being asked.
Mai Ding glanced toward An Zi Yan’s completely empty desk. “Where are your books? Don’t tell me you didn’t bring them again!”
“Those things are heavy. Only idiots carry them.”
Mai Ding pushed his own book into the middle. “Next time you forget yours, I’m not sharing.”
An Zi Yan shrugged. He propped one cheek against his hand and lazily listened to the lecture, while Mai Ding beside him listened seriously, alternating between watching the podium and carefully taking notes. Every once in a while, his peripheral vision drifted toward An Zi Yan. No matter how long he looked, no matter how many times he had seen it, that face remained absurdly beautiful: that wicked curve at the corner of his mouth, that cold expression.
“Finished staring?”
“Why can’t I look? There’s just something on your face.” Mai Ding lied casually.
“There’s something on your neck too.”
Mai Ding didn’t take the comment seriously. When class ended, the teacher adjusted his glasses. “The assignment I gave last week needs to be submitted before noon today.” Then he walked directly out.
“When did he assign something? Why don’t I remember?”
“How should I know?”
An Zi Yan pulled several wrinkled sheets of paper from his bag. Mai Ding stared in disbelief. “You actually did it?! When?!”
“None of your business.”
“Hurry. Let me copy it.”
“Why?”
“What do you mean why? This is only natural.”
“No.”
Mai Ding tried to grab the papers. An Zi Yan pulled them away. “Benefit.”
“Ohhh.” Mai Ding immediately gave an exaggerated fake laugh and lightly patted An Zi Yan’s arm. “Brother Yan, look at us. We’re practically one person after being married this long. Listen to yourself. So distant. Come on, let me copy.”
“No deal.”
“Fine, fine! I’ll give you a benefit.” Mai Ding leaned forward and kissed An Zi Yan.
“I said give me a benefit. Not yourself.”
“You narcissist! I lowered myself to kiss you and you’re still dissatisfied.”
“Who asked you to kiss me? This is school.”
“Who says people can’t kiss at school? Name your price. How many kisses before you let me copy?” Mai Ding laid everything openly on the table.
An Zi Yan considered it. “Forget it. Since you’re pitiful, one hundred will do.”
“One hundred?!” Mai Ding’s voice went shrill. “My mouth is made of flesh! And how long would that even take?”
“You can kiss faster.”
“I refuse. An Zi Yan, you childish bastard. I’ll borrow someone else’s.” Mai Ding tapped the shoulder of the student in front. “Excuse me. I forgot to do the assignment. Could you let me use yours as reference?”
The student was about to answer when a freezing gaze seemed to pierce his spine. He glanced sideways. An Zi Yan’s eyes clearly said: If you don’t want to live anymore, go ahead and lend it.
“Um… I’m really sorry. I suddenly can’t find mine.”
Mai Ding asked several more classmates. Every single one refused. Eventually, he could only slump back into his seat and stare hatefully at An Zi Yan. “One hundred, right? Where am I kissing? Your face or your mouth?” Mai Ding was apparently going all in.
“Keep dreaming.” An Zi Yan extended the back of one hand toward him.
“Who do you think you are, some nobleman?”
“Kiss or don’t.”
Mai Ding grabbed An Zi Yan’s hand and repeatedly smashed the back of it against his own mouth. Those angry “kisses” made An Zi Yan pull his hand away. “I told you to kiss it, not gnaw on it.” An Zi Yan wiped Mai Ding’s saliva onto Mai Ding’s clothes. This prank-loving An Zi Yan. Why the hell had Mai Ding ever fallen for him? From the moment they met until now—even during their wedding—he had always had Mai Ding spinning in circles.
“Fine.” Mai Ding picked up An Zi Yan’s hand again and started kissing it properly.
During the second class, An Zi Yan dozed off for a while. When he woke up, he discovered Mai Ding crouching beneath the desk, kissing his hand while counting. “You’re still not finished?”
“Six more. Almost done.”
An Zi Yan pulled his hand away and rubbed Mai Ding’s hair. “Are you too obedient for your own good?”
But perhaps it was precisely because Mai Ding took everything so seriously that An Zi Yan could never resist bullying him. Watching Mai Ding seriously lose his mind was simply too entertaining.
“You’re going to get struck by lightning for bullying an honest person.” Mai Ding’s legs had gone numb from crouching. He crawled back into his seat, barely had time to rub them, then immediately began working on the assignment. He continued complaining under his breath. “I’m extremely angry. I’ve decided not to speak to you for the rest of my life.”
An Zi Yan looked at Mai Ding’s puffed-up face. The teacher lectured seriously at the front. Some students were half-asleep. Others listened attentively. Beneath the desk, An Zi Yan’s warm hand reached over and held Mai Ding’s.
Mai Ding’s little heart jumped. He bit his lower lip. His other hand continued moving rapidly across the paper, but his face slowly turned red. “This trick won’t work. I’m telling you, no matter how you try to coax me, I’m still angry.”
“Who’s coaxing you?”
“Then why are you holding my hand?”
“I felt like holding it. Problem?”
“Like I believe you.” Mai Ding’s mouth and eyes both curved upward.
When the second class ended, Mai Ding breathed a sigh of relief. He needed to pee. Another student from the class went with him. The student glanced at Mai Ding’s neck meaningfully. “Mai Ding, why is your neck all red?”
Mai Ding touched it. “Is it? Maybe mosquitoes bit me last night.”
“Oh. Your mosquitoes are pretty big.”
There was obvious hidden meaning in the comment. Mai Ding immediately sensed danger. He rushed into the bathroom and twisted his neck desperately toward the mirror. There were hickeys. More than one. His eyes turned red. His dignified image as Academic Representative had been destroyed by that bastard. An Zi Yan happened to enter the bathroom. Mai Ding charged toward him with both hands extended. “An Zi Yan! I’m fighting you to the death!”
An Zi Yan grabbed both wrists. “What now?”
“You still have the nerve to ask?! Look! Look what this is!”
An Zi Yan glanced once. No expression. “So?”
“What do you mean so? When did you put those there?”
“Probably bumped into you accidentally last night.”
“Keep lying. Go on. You accidentally bumped hard enough to make them this red? And accidentally bumped me—one, two, three, four, five—five times?!” Mai Ding held up five fingers.
An Zi Yan couldn’t be bothered arguing anymore. “I did it. So what?”
“You—you did something like this and you’re acting as though you’re right?! I—I’m going to die.” Mai Ding didn’t even bother peeing anymore. He ran out, hunched his neck, bought Band-Aids from the convenience store, and covered his neck with them.
On the way back, Mai Ding encountered several first-year girls. Two or three of them looked at him strangely and whispered.
“Is that him?”
“I think so. A senior showed me before. I heard he’s gay.”
“Tsk. What exactly is he so proud of?”
“I heard he’s completely open about it at school. Disgusting. So shameless.”
“Exactly. Things like that should be kept secret. He says it openly—what, does he expect us to congratulate him?”
“Seriously. Ridiculous.”
“We can’t understand what shameless people like that are thinking. Fortunately, there aren’t many people like him at this school. If there were more, I wouldn’t even want to study here.”
Mai Ding heard every word clearly. He was about to walk away when An Zi Yan suddenly appeared in front of him. A wicked smile appeared on his face. He hooked one arm around Mai Ding’s shoulders and pulled him directly into his embrace. “Other than me, nobody has the right to bully you.”
“Tch. Other than you, I wouldn’t let anyone bully me either.”
“Skip class this afternoon.”
“Why?”
“Your husband is taking you out to have fun.”
Before Mai Ding could agree, An Zi Yan forcibly dragged him toward the school gates. Then he turned his head. That perfect face carried an aura that made people afraid to approach. He looked directly at those girls and silently mouthed the words:
Fuck off.
The girls were too frightened to speak. None dared meet An Zi Yan’s eyes.
The blazing sun baked the earth. Mai Ding and An Zi Yan walked through the streets, weaving beneath sun umbrellas. Mai Ding gestured wildly while talking and laughing. An Zi Yan quietly listened beside him. When they passed a shopping mall, a crowd had gathered around a temporary stage near the entrance. A cheerful man stood onstage holding a microphone. “Today the mall is holding a promotion! Anyone who spends five hundred yuan can participate in our lucky draw.”
“Quick! Let’s go spend five hundred. Promotions like this are such a bargain.”
“Spend, my ass. We’re going home.”
“What if I win? Don’t come crying to me later begging for some prize money.”
“I’m not that sentimental.”
“Honeeeey~” Mai Ding strained every muscle in his face to open his eyes as wide as possible. “Look at my face. Wealth-attracting, right?”
An Zi Yan grabbed Mai Ding’s chin and turned his face left and right, examining him. “Can’t see it. But your face definitely looks like it brings disaster to husbands.”
“Bah, bah, bah! Don’t say unlucky things! Hurry, spit three times. My mom taught me that.”
“I want to spit on your face.”
The final result was that Mai Ding failed to outargue An Zi Yan but somehow still spent five hundred yuan inside the mall. An Zi Yan carried a giant pile of heavy purchases. Couldn’t that idiot have bought lighter things? Was purchasing an entire statue really necessary?
Mai Ding rushed onto the stage and rummaged chaotically through the raffle box while muttering under his breath. Then he rapidly pulled out one ticket. He drew a cross over his chest and kissed the ticket. Mai Ding’s entire ridiculous performance made An Zi Yan desperately want to deny knowing him.
“Congratulations—”
The host hadn’t even finished speaking before Mai Ding exploded with joy. He snatched the ticket and waved it toward An Zi Yan beneath the stage. “See?! I won! Did you see?!”
An Zi Yan turned his face away. He refused to look at Mai Ding.
“Yes, indeed. Congratulations to this student. You have won fourth prize: three jumbo luxury bags of laundry detergent.”
Mai Ding remained delighted. His grin stretched nearly from ear to ear. He didn’t care what the prize was. He cared only that he had won something. Holding three giant bags of detergent, Mai Ding jumped directly off the stage toward An Zi Yan. The surrounding crowd scattered in terror. An Zi Yan released everything in his hands and caught the heavy Mai Ding. “You idiot.”
“I knew you’d catch me.”
“Try that again and I’ll let you smash your skull open right here.”
Mai Ding climbed down, then immediately ran back onto the stage and jumped again. An Zi Yan caught him steadily again. “I tried. Why didn’t you let me smash my skull open?”
“Proud of yourself?”
“Very proud.” Mai Ding grinned. “Proud that you love me.”
“Stop being cheesy. You’ve made me decide something.”
“Decide what?”
“I’ll love you again later. For now, carry all this heavy stuff home yourself.”
“No! We’re married. What’s yours is mine!”
“Don’t act familiar. Our relationship isn’t nearly as good as you imagine.”
After playing around outside all afternoon, they finally returned home. The moment Mai Ding entered, he collapsed in the entryway. “I’m exhausted.”
An Zi Yan stepped directly over him. Mai Ding continued. “An Zi Yan, how about today I accompany you while you play piano, and you accompany me while I watch a movie?”
“Who said I need your company?”
“But I need yours.”
An Zi Yan said nothing. Mai Ding understood him extremely well. Usually when An Zi Yan said nothing, that meant he agreed. Without realizing it, they had already lived in this home for a very long time. So long that Mai Ding could no longer remember exactly how long.
In the piano room, An Zi Yan’s gentle fingertips moved across the keys. Mai Ding leaned against the piano and listened quietly. Before long, An Zi Yan pulled him over. “Come here.”
“What?”
An Zi Yan shifted backward and created a space between his legs. Mai Ding sat there. An Zi Yan’s breath brushed against Mai Ding’s neck. “Spread your fingers.”
Mai Ding hunched his shoulders and tried to escape. “That tickles.”
“Stop moving. Do it.”
Mai Ding opened both hands. An Zi Yan placed his own hands over them, finger over finger, and together, they rested on the piano keys. Simple, slow music filled the room. Held within An Zi Yan’s embrace, Mai Ding smiled softly. He stared at the neat black-and-white keys, at the beautiful fingers resting upon them, at the dazzling ring on those fingers, and smiled with such happiness.
Later, in the movie room, the projector filled the white wall with yet another fantasy film. Mai Ding turned off the lights. The room darkened. He couldn’t clearly see An Zi Yan’s expression, but he could still see the beautiful outline of his profile. Mai Ding initially sat properly. It didn’t last long. Soon he began slouching sideways. Eventually, he simply lay across An Zi Yan’s lap and continued watching.
“Sit properly.”
Mai Ding used An Zi Yan’s legs as a pillow. “It’s more comfortable this way.”
“But I’m uncomfortable.”
“Your beloved is willing to lie against you. How romantic.”
“Stop adding unnecessary titles to yourself.”
“Oh, don’t be embarrassed. I know you love me. You love me very much.”
“Who said I love you?”
“You don’t love me?”
“No.”
His voice was cold. Mai Ding turned his head. Using the light from the movie screen, he carefully studied An Zi Yan’s expression. Then he smiled. He grabbed An Zi Yan’s collar and gently lifted his chin. “You’re lying.”
An Zi Yan’s lips softly covered Mai Ding’s. One hand supported the back of his head. The kiss gradually deepened, their breaths mingling together—yours, mine, ours.
The moment I met you, I accepted my fate.
Even though you are a man, I still love you.
I always have, and I always will.
Author’s Notes: Thank you for treating me so well. Consider this a small gift in return. All of you need to be happy too. Be very, very happy.
Elio’s Notes: Okay, so this is it. There is a second book for this story and another group has translated it completely in the past. I was thinking if we should make our version but nah. But if you want us to, just leave a comment below. Thanks for reading!
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