56

At four in the afternoon on the second day, the two of them set off from the forest villa, driving toward International Airport in the car Jiang Yuanye had rented.

Zhou Chaosheng sat in the passenger seat, resting his chin on his hand, staring out the window in silence.

At a crossroads, Jiang Yuanye suddenly asked, “Your assistant isn’t coming with you?”

“He still has some work to take care of here. Once he’s done, he’ll fly back on his own,” Zhou Chaosheng replied.

“Oh.”

The conversation ended there.

Jiang Yuanye didn’t know if it was because he hadn’t answered Zhou Chaosheng’s question yesterday, but today, the man seemed noticeably colder, no longer as gentle as he had been before.

They drove to the airport in silence. After parking at the designated rental car return location, Jiang Yuanye got out, opened the trunk, and took out their luggage. When he looked up, he saw Zhou Chaosheng approaching, so he handed over a white suitcase, the one that belonged to him.

Zhou Chaosheng lifted his eyelids and looked at Jiang Yuanye with rare speechlessness. “Why are you giving me yours?”

“As my boyfriend, isn’t it normal for you to help me carry my luggage?”

Zhou Chaosheng paused for a moment. “...Then why are you only giving me one?”

Jiang Yuanye raised an eyebrow and smiled. “I’m your boyfriend too, aren’t I? You carry mine, and I’ll carry yours.”

Zhou Chaosheng sighed lightly, as if there was no way to argue with Jiang Yuanye’s logic. Accepting it, he urged him to hurry up.

Jiang Yuanye responded with a laugh, closed the trunk, locked the car, and pulled his black suitcase along, quickly catching up with Zhou Chaosheng as they walked into the airport side by side.

Luxembourg is located in northwestern Europe, bordering Germany to the east, France to the south, and Belgium to the west and north. At this time, the tourist season had just begun, and most of the people at the airport were foreigners from neighboring countries. There were relatively few Chinese travelers. So when two exceptionally good-looking East Asian men appeared, they naturally attracted frequent glances.

Jiang Yuanye declined the staff’s offer to assist with check-in, saying he wanted to “experience life,” and pulled Zhou Chaosheng over to the dedicated first-class check-in counter.

For international flights, first-class passengers were allowed 40 kilograms of checked luggage each. Their combined luggage weighed less than 30 kilograms, so there was no need to pay extra. After obtaining their boarding passes, they followed the airport staff’s instructions and headed to the security checkpoint.

“Do you always do this?”

“Nope, just with you.”

“...”

While waiting in line for security screening, Jiang Yuanye reached into his pocket, fished out a lighter, and casually tossed it into the designated disposal bin. He moved too fast, and Zhou Chaosheng, standing beside him, didn’t catch what brand it was. When Jiang Yuanye turned back, he met Zhou Chaosheng’s inquisitive gaze.

“Oh, that? Just something I grabbed from a convenience store.”

Zhou Chaosheng remembered that Jiang Yuanye had always used cheap disposable lighters before and was a little surprised. “Why not buy a more expensive one?”

“As long as it works, that’s all that matters.” Jiang Yuanye had always been a pragmatist. Even after becoming successful, his spending habits hadn’t changed much. “Sure, expensive ones have their reasons for being pricey, but most high-end brands are just hyped up by capitalists. In reality, their cost isn’t much different from the two-yuan ones at the store.”

Zhou Chaosheng shared a similar perspective on spending. Maybe it was because he had grown up having everything, so he had little desire for material things. But Jiang Yuanye was different. His difference lay in the fact that even after becoming successful, he never forgot where he came from.

People say it’s easy to go from frugality to extravagance but hard to go back. In this society, Zhou Chaosheng had seen too many wealthy people splurging mindlessly, treating money as nothing more than numbers in a bank account.

So when he heard Jiang Yuanye’s perspective, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of novelty. This feeling wasn’t just about the two-yuan lighter, it was about being on the same wavelength with him.

“You’re right,” Zhou Chaosheng said.

After passing security, they followed their boarding passes to the corresponding lounge to wait for departure. Within minutes, a staff member brought them refreshments, coffee and snacks before handing Zhou Chaosheng a menu and asking in English if they would like to order anything else.

Having already eaten at the villa, neither of them were hungry, so they politely declined.

In May, Luxembourg had around fifteen hours of daylight. The sun rose at 5:30 AM and set around 9:30 PM. It was only 5 PM now, and the sky remained bright with no sign of darkening.

Zhou Chaosheng’s seat gave him a clear view of the airport runway outside. White clouds drifted lazily across the sky. In such a tranquil atmosphere, he suddenly felt a weight on his shoulder.

A solid presence. 

Jiang Yuanye’s head resting against him.

Zhou Chaosheng tensed instinctively.

“So tired. Lend me your shoulder for a bit?”

His tone was completely natural.

Zhou Chaosheng remained expressionless, thinking, You already leaned over. What’s the point of asking?

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jiang Yuanye, eyes closed and completely unguarded, resting against him.

Yesterday, Jiang Yuanye had insisted he’d sleep well on the plane, yet even after adjusting to the time difference, the dark circles under his eyes hadn’t faded. Clearly, he had lied.

Zhou Chaosheng’s gaze shifted from Jiang Yuanye’s long, dense eyelashes down to the area behind his ear.

And then he froze.

He had never noticed before, but now that they were so close, he saw a small, delicate butterfly tattoo behind Jiang Yuanye’s left ear.

The butterfly was incredibly lifelike, as if drawn to the faint scent of Jiang Yuanye’s skin, stopping there to rest after a long flight.

Maybe it was the intricate details of the wings, or maybe it was simple curiosity, but Zhou Chaosheng found himself reaching out with his left hand, fingers hovering mid-air before he hesitated and pulled back. Instead, he spoke.

“When did you get that?”

Jiang Yuanye’s eyelashes trembled slightly before he slowly opened his eyes. “What?”

“Your left ear.”

“Oh… that? I got it in ninth grade.”

“Weren’t you afraid the teachers would find out?”

“They wouldn’t. Just slap a band-aid over it. A single band-aid can last a week. If not, I’d just cover it with my hand. Our school’s inspections weren’t strict anyway.”

Zhou Chaosheng was silent for a moment before asking, “Why a butterfly?”

Still leaning against him, Jiang Yuanye’s voice was light, as if speaking right beside his ear.

“When I was a kid, I pissed off Jiang Hai. He got so mad that he burned me with a cigarette. Left a scar there. It took years to fade, but even when it healed, I thought it looked ugly. So I found a tattoo shop and had them cover it up.”

Zhou Chaosheng was momentarily stunned. He thought of the answers “following the trend” and “it looks good,” but never once considered anything beyond that.

For a moment, he didn’t know what to say, and Jiang Yuanye also remained silent. When he closed his eyes again, it seemed like he had already fallen back asleep.

A long time passed before Zhou Chaosheng spoke lightly:

“It looks good.”

He didn’t ask if the scar still hurt because he knew that even if he did, the other’s answer would just be a dismissive “It healed a long time ago.”

Jiang Yuanye’s eyelashes trembled slightly, but he didn’t respond.

The sea breeze had always been damp. That year, in ninth grade, the ocean didn’t drown him, nor did it disappear from his life. Instead, it lingered, constantly flowing through his blood, compressing every breath he took.

Over time, it felt like his entire existence was gradually being swallowed up by those thinning tides.

Until,

He met Zhou Chaosheng.

If Cheng Yuan had been the last bit of light he glimpsed in his darkest moment, then Zhou Chaosheng was the only solid presence he could hold onto as he struggled to survive.

That presence reminded him that he was still alive. Not just some numb, indifferent shell, but a real, breathing person.

Even the goals and dreams he never dared to think about before suddenly became clear the moment he saw Zhou Chaosheng.

To him, Zhou Chaosheng was special.

And that special feeling lasted all the way into adulthood, as they entered society.

It was like a thorn embedded deep inside him, constantly reminding him of its presence, of how difficult it was to remove.

But at some point, that thorn burrowed deeper and deeper, until it seemed to fuse with his very blood, making it nearly impossible to extract.

And then one day, when he finally realized that the thorn wasn’t something he couldn’t remove, but something he didn’t want to remove—that was when Zhou Chaosheng became more than just an opponent he needed to surpass.

Zhou Chaosheng sat quietly on the sofa, letting Jiang Yuanye rest against his right shoulder. Even when his arm went numb, he didn’t say a word, remaining as still as a statue.

It was unclear how much time had passed before the airport’s boarding announcement echoed through the lounge.

Jiang Yuanye was a light sleeper. The moment he heard the announcement, he slowly woke up. When he sat up and saw Zhou Chaosheng rubbing his arm, guilt immediately surfaced in his eyes.

“...Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“Didn’t feel like it.”

Zhou Chaosheng responded flatly. He looked up and noticed Jiang Yuanye hesitating, as if he wanted to say something. So he added, “You sleep like a pig. Waking you up would’ve been pointless.”

Jiang Yuanye: "...."

Without giving Jiang Yuanye a chance to speak, Zhou Chaosheng urged, "Are you coming or not?"

"I'm coming, I'm coming."

The two followed the staff and, along with other business-class passengers, boarded the plane as part of the first group.

"Welcome aboard!"

The flight attendant’s pleasant voice rang in their ears as they followed the boarding pass instructions and walked toward their seats.

Guoyuan Airlines’ first-class cabin typically had only a few seats. When passenger numbers were low, airlines would often convert the first-class section into something resembling a sky hotel, featuring amenities like showers, lounges, and private suites, with dedicated flight attendants providing exclusive services.

However, the plane they boarded this time was different from yesterday’s. Instead of the spacious, open-concept seating or fully enclosed suites, the first-class section was divided into two separate, semi-private spaces with partitions in between. A central aisle ran through them, and Zhou Chaosheng and Jiang Yuanye were seated on opposite sides. Each seat had a dining table in front of it and could be fully reclined into a bed.

Jiang Yuanye adjusted his seat and said to Zhou Chaosheng, "I'll come over and nap after we take off."

Zhou Chaosheng: "...."

"Forget it. Just sit properly."

"Then open the curtain. If you do, I won’t come over."

"Open it for what?" Zhou Chaosheng frowned.

"So I can see you."

Zhou Chaosheng shut the partition with a cold expression.

It was unclear how much time had passed, but the flight attendants had already repeated the announcements twice. Just as the plane was about to take off, Jiang Yuanye, resting his chin on his hand, watched as the closed partition was slowly pulled open again.

"...Stop staring."

Jiang Yuanye’s eyes curved slightly as he held back a smile. "Okay."

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