In the blink of an eye, another two days passed.
With day and night blurring together, time passed incredibly fast.
The holiday was already nearing its end.
And yet they had not taken a single step outside the villa.
That day, when Jiang Shao came over to hug Qi Mu again, Qi Mu refused no matter what. No amount of coaxing could move him.
Jiang Shao studied Qi Mu’s expression for a while, then silently let go. He really did not want to make Qi Mu genuinely angry…
Qi Mu was finally able to get out of bed. On unsteady legs, he made his way to the living room, opened his suitcase, and picked an outfit from the box full of colorful shirts. He had bought all these new clothes, so he could not possibly leave without wearing even one set, could he?
Besides, this was not how he had originally planned the vacation at all. He had imagined that, on some night when the mood was right, something might naturally happen between them. But no matter what, the vacation was supposed to be the main point, with that sort of thing only incidental…
Who could have known everything would end up completely reversed?
Qi Mu changed into a shirt and shorts. When he turned around, he found Jiang Shao changing too.
Unlike Qi Mu, Jiang Shao had brought only a single carry-on bag. Qi Mu had not paid attention before, but one casual glance now nearly made him laugh from sheer anger.
Apart from one or two changes of clothes, the bag was filled with more than a dozen tubes of various ointments.
No wonder Jiang Shao had been so thoroughly prepared and seemed to have everything. It turned out the man had never come here to vacation in the first place.
Clearly, the two of them had come with different primary objectives.
Hence the difference in their understanding of the trip.
Qi Mu felt deeply that he had been taken for a ride. With a stern face, he walked straight outside.
Jiang Shao calmly zipped the bag shut. Nothing showed on his face, but for once he was actually a little guilty and did not dare shamelessly tease Qi Mu again. Like a husband who knew he had done something wrong, he silently followed behind without saying a word.
The villa was very close to the sea.
After only a few minutes of walking, they reached the beach.
The sun was bright, and a gentle breeze was blowing.
Qi Mu walked ahead without looking back. Barefoot on the beach, he felt the soft sand brush against the soles of his feet while the waves occasionally washed over the tops of them. The air was fresh, and the sunlight felt warm against his skin.
Perhaps it was simply too pleasant.
His mood gradually settled.
He was not so petty that he would truly stay angry over something like this. He had only been embarrassed and annoyed a moment ago.
Jiang Shao followed close behind Qi Mu.
He watched Qi Mu walking ahead of him. The man wore a loose floral shirt that billowed in the breeze, his hair flying about without the slightest regard for neatness. His pale, slender forearms moved beneath the sleeves, and the fingers hanging at his sides were beautiful, the joints faintly pink and gleaming in the sunlight like pink-white crystal.
It was Jiang Shao’s first time seeing Qi Mu dressed like this. Unlike his usual suits and immaculate, serious formality, his entire demeanor looked relaxed.
Jiang Shao’s heart suddenly stirred. He carefully stepped forward and took Qi Mu’s hand at his side.
Qi Mu paused, but did not shake him off.
Taking that as permission, Jiang Shao pushed his luck and slipped his fingers between Qi Mu’s, interlacing them.
They walked along the seashore hand in hand.
Like the simplest, most ordinary couple in the world.
They kept walking.
Then, suddenly,
Jiang Shao glanced at the person beside him and said, “Let’s take a photo.”
Qi Mu hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
Jiang Shao wrapped one arm around Qi Mu’s waist and raised his phone with the other. Looking at the two of them leaning together on the screen, he smiled. “Come on, smile.”
The pose made Qi Mu a little uncomfortable. They were two grown men. Why did dating have to be so clingy, even taking photos like this?
Qi Mu gave the camera a reserved, restrained smile.
Jiang Shao looked at Qi Mu’s perfectly proper, businesslike smile, the sort he would wear in a photo with a client, and could not help sighing. Then the hand around Qi Mu’s waist suddenly gave him a pinch.
The ticklish sensation made Qi Mu burst out laughing. Unable to stop himself, he bent over and tried in a fluster to push Jiang Shao away, but Jiang Shao’s arm did not budge. At the same time, his phone went click, click, click as he snapped several photos in a row.
Qi Mu: “…”
When he came back to himself, he immediately lunged for Jiang Shao’s phone.
He absolutely could not allow this embarrassing evidence to survive!
Jiang Shao raised the phone high and arched a brow. “Stop trying to grab it, and I’ll let you see.”
Qi Mu’s gaze shifted.
He definitely could not beat Jiang Shao by force, so he pretended to agree. “Fine. I won’t grab it.”
Jiang Shao lowered the phone, though he did not hand it over. He kept it in his own hand and swiped through the pictures for Qi Mu to see.
Qi Mu had originally planned to seize the phone the moment Jiang Shao let down his guard and destroy the evidence.
But the moment he looked, he froze.
The person in the photos looked completely different from the version of himself he had imagined.
Blue sky, golden sand. The man in the photograph wore a floral shirt and laughed brightly, boldly, without restraint. When he bent over, the wind lifted his hair; when he turned his face, his eyes shone.
Qi Mu had never known there could be so many colors on him, or that his face could wear such an uninhibited smile.
He looked so unfamiliar that Qi Mu could barely recognize himself.
And Jiang Shao had one arm around his waist. When Jiang Shao lowered his eyes to look at him, the corner of his mouth was raised and the affection in his eyes surged like ocean waves.
All those overly saturated, brilliant colors and all that unrestrained, intense emotion blended together in a single photograph, like a vivid, multicolored painting.
It was something he had never imagined…
Beautiful.
Right now, he was neither the president of a company nor the son his parents were proudest of. He did not have to be responsible for anyone, did not have to pretend to be mature, steady, and dependable, and did not have to weigh every word and every action against whether it suited his status.
Right now, he was simply himself. He could laugh loudly and freely without caring about his image, ignore what anyone else thought, carry none of anyone else’s expectations, and stop confining himself within rule after rule.
He did not even need to care about the so-called plot or fate…
It was as though he had finally walked out of that gray world whose ending had been visible from the very beginning, a world where everything was predetermined, and had been given the vivid colors of life.
And these fleeting moments of happiness had been caught by the camera and preserved.
Qi Mu’s heart thudded heavily, beat after beat.
I don’t think I dislike this version of myself.
Jiang Shao watched Qi Mu stare at the photographs in a daze. His gaze softened as he lowered his head and gently kissed Qi Mu’s hair. Smiling, he asked, “My photography isn’t bad, right?”
Qi Mu abruptly came back to himself and turned his face away, the tips of his ears faintly red.
He stubbornly said, “So-so.”
The corner of Jiang Shao’s mouth lifted, but he did not expose him. He sent the pictures to Qi Mu and said, “President Qi, please accept these so-so photos.”
Qi Mu coughed lightly and pretended not to care.
And so they continued walking along the beach.
Until the sky gradually darkened.
Neither of them suggested going back.
＊
Reluctant as they both were, the vacation had to end eventually, and life still had to go on.
Qi Mu and Jiang Shao took an early flight home the next morning.
Jiang Shao drove Qi Mu home.
Qi Mu dragged his suitcase inside. Looking at the case stuffed full of colorful clothes, he felt the beginnings of a headache.
Most of them were still unopened and looked exactly as they had when he bought them. He could hardly wear clothes like these in everyday life, but surely he could not just throw them away?
Qi Mu pressed at his temple, found a corner of the walk-in closet, and casually stuffed the clothes into it.
Forget it. I’ll keep them for next time.
Qi Mu froze at the thought. Next time? I’m already thinking about next time?
I only just got back…
He sucked in a breath.
He hurriedly shook his head, driving the ridiculous thought away.
I’m so busy with work. Where would I find that much time?
Besides, there’s no guarantee Jiang Shao and I will even have a next time.
After putting everything away, Qi Mu collapsed onto the bed, too exhausted to move. Even so, he opened his phone and set an alarm for the next morning.
He had work tomorrow.
Qi Mu closed his eyes and tried to sleep.
Half an hour passed.
Still unable to sleep, Qi Mu opened his eyes, picked up his phone again, found his chat with Jiang Shao, and downloaded the photos Jiang Shao had sent him one by one.
He then tapped the heart on each photo, making sure the pictures appeared in his favorites where they would not be lost.
Only then did Qi Mu close his eyes again.
＊
Jiang Shao watched Qi Mu go upstairs.
He sat alone downstairs for quite a while before finally looking at his phone. Lu Jin Wen had sent several messages asking when he was coming back.
Tsk. What a pain.
Jiang Shao turned the car around and drove to Lu Jin Wen’s place.
When Lu Jin Wen saw him return, he smiled faintly. “You disappeared for several days, turned off your phone, and ignored every message. I almost thought you were dead.”
Jiang Shao raised a brow. “Sorry to disappoint you.”
Lu Jin Wen gave a dry laugh. “Enjoy being such a hands-off boss?”
Jiang Shao had certainly enjoyed himself, leaving Lu Jin Wen stuck fighting a business war through the New Year without a single day of rest.
Jiang Shao looked at him. “With you here, I can relax.”
Lu Jin Wen snorted.
He looked Jiang Shao up and down. Seeing the smug, satisfied air around him, it was obvious Jiang Shao had enjoyed his New Year.
Complaining was one thing.
In truth, Lu Jin Wen was not really angry.
Instead, looking at Jiang Shao now left him unexpectedly reflective.
He remembered all the years he had known Jiang Shao. Every Spring Festival, Jiang Shao would turn the household upside down. At first both sides would end up hurt; later, Jiang Shao simply became utterly unscrupulous, fully committing to his role as a wastrel and unfilial son and dedicating himself to making everyone miserable. But no matter which year it was, in the end… he always left alone.
Lu Jin Wen remembered one year when he could not bear watching it and invited Jiang Shao to spend New Year with him.
But Jiang Shao refused.
He drifted around like a wandering ghost.
After that, Lu Jin Wen stopped inviting him.
Because Jiang Shao himself had rejected everything.
But this time, Jiang Shao had somewhere he wanted to go and someone he wanted to be with.
He had both of those things now.
He was no longer that wandering ghost drifting from place to place, perhaps destined to vanish into some forgotten corner one day.
Lu Jin Wen withdrew from his thoughts and said, “The Li Group is tottering now. I don’t think it can hold out much longer.”
Jiang Shao and Qi Mu had been living in paradise on the island.
Meanwhile, the Li Group had been suffering in dire straits.
Everyone had been idle at home over the New Year, with plenty of time to spare, so gossip and public opinion spread especially quickly. After scandals like these erupted around the Li Group, furious netizens practically blew up the trending searches. People followed every new development daily, and once the investigation team moved in, there was no possibility of the matter ending quietly.
Some people had probably had a truly miserable New Year.
Jiang Shao shrugged and smiled, raising a brow. “No wonder my dear parents haven’t called me even once. Looks like they’re too busy to spare the time.”
Lu Jin Wen added, “Still, I heard the head of the investigation team is an old acquaintance of your father’s. Could he step in to protect the Li Group?”
If Jiang Zong Chao really intervened, the Li Group might still manage to take a beating and slip free…
Jiang Shao scoffed disdainfully. “Relax. My father is best at protecting himself. With things this big, it would be far too easy to get burned. He would never interfere lightly. At the end of the day, whether the Li Group lives or dies has nothing to do with him. Besides… he won’t have time to worry about other people for much longer.”
Only then did Lu Jin Wen relax.
Jiang Shao said, “Anything else? If not, I’m leaving.”
I wonder if Qi Mu’s asleep yet. Work starts tomorrow, and he still has to get up early and go to the office…
Lu Jin Wen could not stand the sight of him like this. “Get lost. Get lost.”
Jiang Shao stood up.
Just as he was about to leave, his phone vibrated.
A message had arrived: “My birthday banquet is next week. Make sure you don’t miss it.”
Jiang Shao glanced at it and replied without thinking, “No time. Don’t bother me.”
The other person had clearly expected that answer and quickly sent several more messages.
“We’re only business partners, sure, but we’ve known each other for years. You can’t be completely disloyal, can you?”
“You’ve been gone for so long. If you don’t even show up this time, how am I supposed to save face?”
“Helping me is helping yourself. Do me this favor, and next time I’ll return it, OK?”
Jiang Shao frowned in obvious disgust, but something shifted in his eyes. In the end, he coldly typed back, “Got it.”