Ever since knowing Jiang Yuanye, besides finding him hateful, cunning, pretentious, competitive, pitiful, cowardly, and thin-skinned, Zhou Chaosheng also felt the other was a bit troublesome, like a burden that couldn’t be shaken off.
Solving trouble wasn’t an easy thing, at least Zhou Chaosheng didn’t want the trouble to turn into a super trouble. After letting Wiesen, who had chased after them, bring the stuff over, he expressionlessly ordered the other to drink the water, and took the blanket Wiesen handed over to cover the other’s wet shoulders and thin body.
Jiang Yuanye held the plastic cup in one hand, tightly grabbing his wrist with the other, gaze fixed straight into his eyes, as if he absolutely wouldn’t give up until he got a definite answer from his mouth.
Zhou Chaosheng had his own thoughts on dealing with trouble.
He didn’t want to see the trouble get out of his control, nor did he want the trouble to bring him even greater trouble. Of course, he even more didn’t want the other to blink those pitiful and aggrieved big eyes in front of him, as if he had done something utterly evil and bullied him.
So he coldly and indifferently said: “Whatever you want.”
After hearing this, Jiang Yuanye’s expression seemed even happier than if he had won over ten billion, the amber-colored eyes once again bursting with light even brighter than before, shining, like jewels just dredged up from the bottom of the sea, crystal clear.
Zhou Chaosheng glanced at it, then only after a few seconds withdrew his gaze.
How could over ten billion compare to him—his net worth had already exceeded several hundred billion. The other being happy wasn’t strange.
Five minutes later, the driver parked the car in front of them.
Zhou Chaosheng brought the person into the back seat. He first glanced at Jiang Yuanye, whose gaze seemed glued to him, then expressionlessly had the driver turn up the temperature, and at the same time changed the destination from Standford City to Park Avenue, Manhattan, New York.
Wiesen was a bit surprised when he heard this, looked at him, then looked at the slightly wet Jiang Yuanye beside him. Not sure if he understood something, he smiled and didn’t speak again.
Zhou Chaosheng glared at him through the rearview mirror.
Wiesen shrank back, once again finding the boss inexplicable.
Zhou Chaosheng coldly snorted, pressed the button beside the armrest, and raised the partition, blocking all line of sight from the front seat to the back.
Wiesen: “.....”
After the driver started the car, Zhou Chaosheng glanced at Jiang Yuanye’s little movement of rubbing his arms, reached out to take a pillow from the side, unzipped it, pulled out the blanket inside, unfolded it, and lightly tossed it onto the other.
“Cover yourself.”
After speaking, he didn’t look at the other’s reaction, just turned his head to look out the window.
Outside the window, the rain poured endlessly, raindrops hitting the car window, winding and flowing down.
Watching the flowing trails of raindrops, he thought, understand what, Wiesen clearly didn’t understand anything. Canceling the trip was better than having to take someone to the hospital halfway—he just didn’t want to bring more trouble on himself, that was all.
---
After that day, Jiang Yuanye really started pursuing him.
Jiang Yuanye’s pursuit didn’t begin with a kiss or a night of sex, but with lunch boxes prepared by hand, tireless good morning and good night messages every day, and perfectly timed dinner invitations. After meals, there would be a gift or surprise that exceeded expectations.
“Chaosheng, this is a scarf I learned to make by following tutorials online. I hope you’ll like it.” Jiang Yuanye sat across from him, pushed the beautifully wrapped gift box in front of him, and said with a smile.
Zhou Chaosheng paused for a moment, then slowly reached out to take it. Looking at the gift box tied with a pink bow in his hand, he softly said, “Thanks.”
“You can open it now.” Jiang Yuanye looked at him with anticipation. If he had a tail, it would probably be wagging already.
Zhou Chaosheng opened it.
It wasn’t because of the other’s anticipation, but because he wanted to see just how bad Jiang Yuanye’s craftsmanship was.
“Why are you opening it so slowly? Want to call the waiter for some scissors?”
Jiang Yuanye’s voice suddenly rang out, interrupting his thoughts.
Zhou Chaosheng shielded the gift box from the hand reaching over, coldly refusing: “You already gave it to me.”
Jiang Yuanye froze for a moment, then laughed out loud: “Alright, alright, open it yourself. Even if it’s ugly, there’s no return or exchange.”
Zhou Chaosheng didn’t say anything, but his hands moved a bit faster than before. Jiang Yuanye’s gift was not only tied with a pink ribbon but also wrapped in handmade gift paper with cartoon dog line drawings, completely out of line with his own aura.
“Is it cute?” … “Mm.”
“I wrapped it myself. When I saw it online, I thought this puppy looked like you.”
Zhou Chaosheng looked up, displeased: “How does it look like me?”
Jiang Yuanye clutched his belly and laughed: “Hahahahahahaha, both equally cute.”
Zhou Chaosheng paused, lowered his head a bit awkwardly, and said nothing more.
Jiang Yuanye had wrapped it tightly, using a lot of clear tape. Zhou Chaosheng spent quite a bit of time tearing it all open. When he finally unwrapped it, a rectangular gift box tied with a slim ribbon appeared in front of him. This ribbon was easier to undo; a pull with his fingertips and it loosened.
He unconsciously held his breath and gently opened the box.
Beyond his expectations, the scarf Jiang Yuanye had knitted wasn’t ugly. It was gradient colored—from dark blue to light blue to white—with clear layers, a kind of gray-toned beauty, and a soft texture, clearly made with care.
Although the stitches were crooked, the overall result was very good-looking, even more precious than the ones he had spent hundreds of thousands on.
Zhou Chaosheng slightly lifted his eyes to look at the other’s hands. No wonder he had seen several band-aids on his fingers earlier. It was probably because he was inexperienced and pricked himself with the needle.
“Don’t give me things like this again.” Zhou Chaosheng said.
Jiang Yuanye misunderstood his meaning, thinking he didn’t like it. His tone turned a bit downcast: “Alright…”
Zhou Chaosheng looked up at his drooping eyes, finding it somewhat funny. He used his other hand to hold the hand placed on the table, speaking with a slightly reproachful tone: “Do your hands not feel pain?”
Jiang Yuanye finally understood something from that sentence, and his whole demeanor became energetic again: “It doesn’t hurt. Chaosheng, do you like this scarf?”
Zhou Chaosheng awkwardly let out a “Mm.”
Jiang Yuanye smiled even more happily: “If you like it, then I’ll knit you a sweater next time.”
Zhou Chaosheng frowned: “No need.”
Jiang Yuanye blinked: “It’s fine. I know how to knit now. I won’t be clumsy like before. And I like knitting for you. I want to see your body full of traces of me. As long as seeing these makes you think of me, that’s enough.”
Jiang Yuanye’s eyes were very beautiful, as if they could speak.
Zhou Chaosheng had looked into those amber eyes reflecting only his own figure countless times and had countless times thought that if the owner of those eyes leaned in to kiss him, he could agree to anything.
But human desire is insatiable. He suddenly felt glad that the day Jiang Yuanye took the initiative to look for him, he held back the impulse to pull the other into his arms.
Zhou Chaosheng wore the scarf Jiang Yuanye gave him. It was very warm and shielded him from the harsh August cold in Sydney.
They strolled along the beautiful riverside trail. In the distance, the lights were bright. A low, long whistle cut through the indigo sky. The moist air carried a faint scent of paper daisies.
“I’m flying back tomorrow,” Jiang Yuanye said.
Zhou Chaosheng gave a soft “Mm,” then asked, “Isn’t it tiring to fly back and forth like this?”
He had come to Sydney for work. Jiang Yuanye had come purely to pursue him and would be flying back home in less than two days to complete his own work.
“Not tiring.” Jiang Yuanye turned his head to look at him, the glow from the distant lighthouse reflected in his eyes, bright and clear. “Don’t feel pressured. Liking you is my business. I’m only pursuing you to let you know that I like you very much.”
Zhou Chaosheng stopped walking.
“How much do you like me?”
Jiang Yuanye also stopped walking and stood beside him, smiling: “The answer to that question is only available after we’re together.”
Zhou Chaosheng said nothing.
Jiang Yuanye smiled again and suddenly leaned in to ask: “Can I hug you?”
Thinking about how the other had just refused to answer, Zhou Chaosheng replied without thinking: “No, we’re not together yet.”
Jiang Yuanye shrugged: “Alright then.”
Hearing the indulgent tone in his voice, Zhou Chaosheng suddenly became aware: “…Are you coaxing me?”
“Yes. Did it work?” Jiang Yuanye admitted without hesitation.
Zhou Chaosheng thought, this trick is too simple. He wouldn’t fall for it that easily.
He didn’t say anything.
Seeing him silent, the smile in Jiang Yuanye’s eyes deepened inexplicably: “Chaosheng, if you don’t say anything, I’ll take it as agreement.”
Zhou Chaosheng felt the other was being shameless, but being in a hurry to deny it would seem like he was covering it up, so he simply stayed silent.
“You’re really admitting it?” Jiang Yuanye asked.
Still not over yet. Zhou Chaosheng looked at the other’s hair ruffled by the breeze and suddenly recalled how, in Iceland, the other often nudged his head into his neck hollow. He remembered once he was sitting on the bed, Jiang Yuanye was sitting on his lap, those long legs wrapped around his waist and crossed behind him, the whole person hanging on him like a human pendant. At the time, he couldn’t help but raise his hand and rub the other’s head—fuzzy, very pleasant to touch.
“Chaosheng, what are you zoning out for?”
Jiang Yuanye’s voice, mixed with the sound of water not far away, gradually pulled Zhou Chaosheng out of his memories.
Zhou Chaosheng’s gaze once again focused on the other’s amber eyes, which still reflected his figure. He suppressed the flutter in his heart and told himself for the 131st time that he was not falling for him.
“Nothing.”
He looked away, his gaze slowly falling on the lighthouse behind Jiang Yuanye, and suddenly asked, “Do you want to go over and see the lighthouse?”
As expected, Jiang Yuanye’s attention was diverted: “Why do you suddenly want to go?”
“I don’t know, just suddenly felt like it.”
“Pfft, then let’s go.”
The lighthouse stood on the riverbank. To reach it, they needed to walk a long and slightly curved man-made path. They walked shoulder to shoulder on the reef-paved embankment. In their line of sight was the shimmering river and the not-yet-set sun.
“I also saw a lighthouse once in my third year of junior high. Looking back now, it really feels different,” Jiang Yuanye said.
Zhou Chaosheng turned his head slightly and inexplicably read a faint sadness from the other’s calm face. Combined with his growth experience and family situation over the years, Zhou Chaosheng instinctively associated it with something bad.
“How does it feel now?” he asked.
“Feels… really good to be with you.” Jiang Yuanye said with a smile.
Zhou Chaosheng was slightly stunned, then turned his head and said in a low voice, “Really…”
Jiang Yuanye nodded and said, “Yeah.”
They tacitly stopped talking and quietly walked toward the lighthouse.
Originally, Zhou Chaosheng just wanted to use the lighthouse to shift the topic, but as he and Jiang Yuanye walked the necessary path to the lighthouse, he felt that some things truly happen by coincidence.
He turned his head unintentionally.
The golden sunset gently fell on the river, dyeing the originally deep blue water into a shade of orange, spreading layer by layer, gradually merging with the sky. The remaining light swallowed the shadows of him and Jiang Yuanye completely.
The lighthouse was right in front of them, but Zhou Chaosheng’s eyes could only see one person’s silhouette. Watching the bizarre sunset blur and highlight the other’s handsome side profile, watching the small shadow cast when his eyelashes drooped...
In his mind flashed the memory from a month ago, when Jiang Yuanye took him to a remote mountain. That mountain seemed like an area left far behind by modern civilization: pothole-filled roads, dilapidated huts, poor and rough conditions… Everything there was completely out of place for someone like Jiang Yuanye who had already become a person of status.
From the city to the remote mountain, they took a three-hour flight, a two-hour train, a one-hour car ride, and then hiked for about two and a half hours before reaching the elementary school Jiang Yuanye had been sponsoring for seven years.
He stood at the entrance of the beautifully built school, saw the red flag flying high in the air, and saw the children’s joyful and happy faces. Those children seemed very familiar with Jiang Yuanye. As soon as they saw him, they all ran toward them, chattering and laughing, “Brother Jiang, you finally came!”
After that, Jiang Yuanye played puzzle games with the children, taught them math, read books with them in the donated book corner, and finally ate salted vegetables and egg fried rice in the cafeteria with them after school.
To him, that meal tasted bland as chewing wax, but it was the most generous meal the principal had prepared for them. Later, while chatting with the principal, he accidentally learned that Jiang Yuanye had walked that hard mountain path for seven years, nearly every year going two or three times.
It was also the same kind of sunset at that time, gently wrapping around Jiang Yuanye’s smiling face, warm and beautiful.
Getting to know someone doesn’t require years or decades—maybe just a moment is enough to discover the charm and brilliance in someone.
In his eyes, Jiang Yuanye was cute, upright, kind, hardworking, optimistic, cheerful, resilient… These merits were as many as stars. Falling for him seemed like a very easy thing.
Past memories rose and fell with the river tide. In that moment, he finally realized his feelings—
Jiang Yuanye was not trouble, nor a difficult math problem.
“Jiang Yuanye…”
“Mm? What’s up?”
Zhou Chaosheng was silent for a moment, then gently shook his head and said, “Nothing.”
The setting sun completely fell below the horizon. The lighthouse also lit up brightly without them noticing, but Zhou Chaosheng felt that no light could compare to the person beside him.
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