Perhaps because of the heavy undertone from that past event, Qin Juanshu stopped speaking to Yun Ze in a barbed manner, and Yun Ze no longer provoked Qin Juanshu either. The two of them got along peacefully overall, though they still found it particularly grating whenever they saw the other fawning over Bai Ying.
Yun Ze had just ladled some soup for Bai Ying when Qin Juanshu started cutting the steak for him… Bai Ying stared blankly at the steaming creamy soup in his bowl and the steak cut into small pieces. He really wanted to say that he could do these things himself.
Yun Ze said warmly, “Be careful, it’s hot.”
Qin Juanshu reminded him, “Don’t choke.”
Bai Ying buried his head in his meal and didn’t dare make a sound.
Though these two were acting strangely, the food was still delicious. Bai Ying quickly cast the odd feeling in his heart to the winds.
As the last dessert for this trio at the lovers’ table was served and the guests had nearly finished eating, neither Qin Juanshu nor Yun Ze could outdo the other, so they split the bill. The waitstaff huddled together whispering for a while before presenting the lovers’ table exclusive gift—a bouquet of roses.
These were a variety the restaurant had bought out from the flower auction center, with petals like burning flames, scorching like emotions in the heat of romance.
Normally, restaurants gave such a bouquet to the lady at a lovers’ table near the end of the meal, but tonight’s table was too bizarre… So the restaurant gave one to each person.
In the end, all three bouquets ended up in Bai Ying’s arms.
A single bouquet normally had only five roses—not many—but now with three crammed together in Bai Ying’s embrace, they suddenly seemed quite imposing. Standing in the cold wind outside the restaurant, Bai Ying awkwardly reached out to touch the petals. His two companions on either side had quieted down for just a moment before they started clashing again.
“Xiao Ying, let me take you home,” Yun Ze said. “We can chat about old times on the way.”
Qin Juanshu said coolly, “Mr. Yun seems to have forgotten that you came in my car.” How do you plan to take him home?
“I’ll just have the driver bring the car over,” Yun Ze replied calmly, looking at Qin Juanshu. “Mr. Qin, it’s after hours now. As his boss, interfering in an employee’s off-duty life is a bit excessive.”
Qin Juanshu smiled without mirth. “As his boss, of course I need to care about my employee’s safety. Mr. Yun may be Xiao Ying’s childhood playmate, but it’s been so many years since you last met. People’s hearts change—who knows if you’ve turned bad?”
Bai Ying said weakly, “Xiao Xun is a good person…”
Yun Ze smiled faintly as he retorted, “What a coincidence, Mr. Qin. You’re so concerned about Xiao Ying’s private life that I’m worried about your ulterior motives too.”
Bai Ying said softly, “The boss is a good person too…”
Qin Juanshu knew arguing with this man wouldn’t yield results—Bai Ying’s choice decided everything. He looked at Bai Ying. “Let me take you back. It’s late, and who knows how long it will take for his car to arrive.”
That made sense, but…
Yun Ze stood in place, lowering his eyes slightly with a touch of forlornness. “Xiao Ying, we finally reunited. I want to spend a little more time with you.”
Bai Ying hugged the bouquet tightly.
He made his decision.
“Actually, my place is very close,” Bai Ying said. “I’ll just walk home.”
***
Bai Ying didn’t let Qin Juanshu or Yun Ze send him home and decided to walk back himself.
The bustling street district was soon left behind. Once he entered the residential area, the surroundings quieted down immediately. The night wind rustled the cellophane wrapping around the roses, and Bai Ying could clearly hear his own footsteps. Bright streetlights stood every few meters. Bai Ying looked up at the sky, where a moon with a small bite taken out hung.
No one was around, and no cars passed on the road. Bai Ying stepped lightly onto the edge of the sidewalk, balancing on the narrow ridge that could fit only one foot. There was a tutoring center nearby, and once Bai Ying had run into the kids getting out of class and seen them doing this. His heart had itched to join, but unfortunately, he was already an adult and too embarrassed to tag along with the children.
The bright moonlight spilled onto that narrow path.
This reminded Bai Ying of the balance beam at the orphanage. There weren’t many play facilities there, and the few available were inevitably fought over by the kids. Bai Ying never joined the fray. In others’ eyes, the newly human him seemed very strange—he had no issue with his vocal cords yet stayed mute like a little dummy, silently staring at people until it gave them the creeps. Actually, these were habits from his snake days. Little snakes liked to coil up and observe the world with glassy black eyes—watching prey, potential dangers, or just a blade of grass or a tree.
He was a little snake who could stay perfectly still.
But those swings, sandpits, balance beams… He wasn’t uninterested; he just knew he couldn’t blend into the group, so he didn’t play with them. When the moon rose and the children were in their rooms, he would sneak out to the garden.
Later, Yun Ze became his accomplice.
He would build sand houses with Bai Ying in the pit, push him on the swing, and catch him when he nearly fell off the balance beam… The two didn’t speak, but their embraces seemed to hold countless words.
Bai Ying walked along the edge of the sidewalk, just like on that balance beam from the past. Suddenly, his foot slipped, as if he were about to fall like before.
Urgent footsteps sounded behind him.
But Bai Ying spun around abruptly, planting his feet firmly on the ground. The little snake had done it on purpose, of course—he had calculated every move afterward. He looked at the person he had tricked out and flashed a triumphant smile. “I knew you’d sneak after me.”
Annoyance appeared on Yun Ze’s face.
Bai Ying stood steady, hugging his bouquet and beaming at him.
Qin Juanshu was actually a very rule-abiding person—someone who kept his word. If he said he wouldn’t follow, he definitely wouldn’t. But Yun Ze was different. Bai Ying still remembered one time he had a fight with Yun Ze—not really a fight, since during the time they spent together, the two little mutes never said a word.
Because Yun Ze had gotten into a fight with someone and ended up with another scar, Bai Ying got mad and threw away the flower Yun Ze had tucked into his hair, refusing to acknowledge him.
At mealtime, Bai Ying hugged his little bowl and sat in the farthest corner. If Yun Ze dared approach, he wouldn’t eat—the little snake was determined to starve himself to death.
During storytime, Bai Ying sat for once with a girl he got along with okay, right in the front row. He didn’t glance back at Yun Ze even once through the whole story.
During free play, Yun Ze ran over to make up, but Bai Ying looked around and found himself cornered by Yun Ze. He hugged his knees, squatted facing the wall, pretending to be a big rock, and refused to look at him.
He even sat next to the boy who had once pulled his braid and gotten beaten by Yun Ze for it. Though Bai Ying just sat there quietly, the boy was thrilled and desperately dug candies from his pockets to give him. When Yun Ze saw Bai Ying eat that boy’s candy, his eyes turned red with anger…
How did they make up later?
That night, a violent storm hit, thunder rumbling amid the downpour. Awakened by the thunder, Bai Ying thought of Yun Ze’s fear of it. He threw off the covers, jumped out of bed, and ran to Yun Ze’s little bed.
Sure enough, Yun Ze clutched his pillow tightly. When he saw Bai Ying, his trembling gradually stopped, though his eyes remained red-rimmed.
The magnanimous little snake climbed onto the bed and hugged the human tightly.
The little snake fell asleep quickly, but Yun Ze held him all night. The next morning, when the little snake woke, that little flower was tucked behind his ear again—like Yun Ze saying “I’m sorry.” Bai Ying didn’t throw it away this time; it was the little mute’s “I forgive you.”
Years later, Yun Ze could finally voice his apology. He came before Bai Ying and bowed his head honestly. “I’m sorry.”
Bai Ying walked to his side with the flowers. “I don’t blame you.”
The two headed toward Bai Ying’s home together.
“I was worried about you going home alone—it’s not safe,” Yun Ze explained his actions. “So I couldn’t help following.”
Bai Ying looked at him helplessly. “We’re both grown men. If it’s not safe for me alone, how is it safe for you alone afterward?”
“It’s different,” Yun Ze said instinctively.
“How is it different…” Bai Ying was a bit unconvinced, then he noticed Yun Ze’s rolled-up sleeve revealing his arm.
It wasn’t noticeable with the sleeve down, but rolled up, the sturdy muscles underneath were visible—easy to imagine they felt rock-hard to the touch. The spring night was chilly, and Bai Ying was bundled in his jacket, but perhaps people with good constitutions ran hot—Yun Ze looked a bit warm in just his shirt…
Bai Ying: “Sorry, I overestimated myself.”
Yun Ze chuckled. “That’s not the reason.”
It’s because I treasure you so much that I see you as more important than myself, making my desire to protect you this strong.
“Xiao Xun, thank you,” Bai Ying said, kicking a pebble on the ground. “Thank you for always protecting me back then, even though I didn’t know what you’d been through. You suffered so much harm, yet you took care of me even more.”
The sadness and guilt in his tone were utterly genuine.
Evil sinners shed a few repentant tears only on the brink of death, while soft-hearted, kind people felt guilty just because someone with a painful past had cared for them a bit more.
“Don’t say that,” Yun Ze said, grabbing Bai Ying’s shoulders to make him look at him. “I should be the one thanking you.”
“Those people tormented me endlessly, trying to break my body and crush my spirit—they succeeded. The physical disabilities were healed by doctors, but before they came, you rebuilt my spirit.”
“You showed me I wasn’t worthless trash who couldn’t hear or speak, someone everyone despised. Others thought I was gloomy and weird, avoiding a mute half-deaf kid, but you stayed by my side.”
“When I thought my only value was recklessly fighting, you taught me my body mattered—someone cared about my wounds and taught me to cherish myself.”
“The sounds of those beatings and noises during their torment were like chaotic thunder. For a long time, I couldn’t sleep in storms, but you helped me forget those fears. Now, in thunderstorms, I think not of their clubs and sneers, but of you gently holding me.”
“Xiao Ying, you have no idea how much you’ve helped me or how important you are to me.”
Bai Ying stared at Yun Ze in a daze.
The man looked at him earnestly, each word weighted. “What I did for you back then was nothing. Xiao Ying, from now on, I want to protect you always.”
The “little girl” in a skirt from his memories, somewhat clumsy, had grown into the tall, beautiful youth before him.
The difference in age, the change in appearance—it was like Yun Ze heard soil breaking open as some emotion wildly sprouted.
They had both grown up. Now that the grown Xiao Ying stood before him in the flesh, beyond the long-held gratitude and protectiveness in Yun Ze’s heart, a brand-new feeling was born.
Friendship wasn’t enough; he wanted a more intimate role to stay by Xiao Ying’s side forever, protecting him…
Yun Ze looked at Bai Ying; they gazed into each other’s eyes. Affection stirred darkly in Yun Ze’s, but Bai Ying’s remained purely innocent.
“I can protect and take care of myself,” Bai Ying said, extending one arm to hug Yun Ze lightly over the bouquet. “Xiao Xun, care more about yourself. You were my best friend as a kid—I want to see you doing well.”
Yun Ze, suddenly realizing he wanted more than friendship, was momentarily speechless. Bai Ying’s gaze was too pure, his expression too sincere—it made him hesitate to cross that line.
“Ah, I’m home,” Bai Ying said as he spotted the familiar neighborhood gate ahead. He released Yun Ze and waved with a smile. “Xiao Xun, see you when we have time!”
“…See you when we have time,” Yun Ze waved back, watching Bai Ying enter the neighborhood.
Long after the figure vanished, he still stood there.
A unprecedented dilemma faced Yun Ze—one he pondered all night without a clear answer.
Xiao Ying still saw him as just a good friend… How could he turn that friendship into love?
