The next day when he got up, Zhu Ran clutched his ass that felt like it was about to split into four pieces and thought that tradition was the biggest lie Huo Boyan had ever told in his life. Some people claimed to be traditional on their lips, but ended up nearly giving him kidney deficiency.
No, he couldn’t just let it go like this. He had to make Huo Boyan eat his words for once.
Zhu Ran steeled his resolve. When Huo Boyan spoke to him, Zhu Ran pointed at his own throat and silently shook his head.
“Lost your voice?” Huo Boyan pinched Zhu Ran’s chin, his thumb slipping inside to press down on his tongue, preventing it from moving. After looking for a moment, he added, “No swelling, but you can’t speak?”
Zhu Ran froze, then immediately nodded.
“That’s strange,” Huo Boyan said. “I didn’t even fuck your mouth. Could it be that you screamed too much last night?”
“Who screamed!” Zhu Ran retorted immediately upon being accused.
Huo Boyan released his hand and smiled. “Looks like you’re fine.”
Zhu Ran: “…”
He hadn’t won again. One day, he would make Huo Boyan pay!
As if reading Zhu Ran’s thoughts, Huo Boyan lifted his eyelids and warned, “Don’t mess around. If you really go too far, you won’t be able to handle it.”
Zhu Ran didn’t think so. After being with Huo Boyan for so long, he had started to act spoiled with impunity. Huo Boyan was all talk when it came to scaring him—he wouldn’t actually do anything. Even if he poked a hole in the sky, the worst that would happen was a good fucking, nothing serious.
Moreover, since they had gotten together, Zhu Ran hadn’t found Huo Boyan’s bottom line yet. No matter what he did, Huo Boyan never got angry. Of course Zhu Ran was happy about it, but at the same time, he couldn’t help wanting to push it, like a mischievous cat.
After dinner, Huo Boyan mentioned that the Art Museum had received a new batch of artwork and asked Zhu Ran to help him pick one as a wedding gift for Lin Zilang. Zhu Ran happened to have time and agreed without much thought.
It had been over a month since his last visit, and the Art Museum was full of new things. Zhu Ran didn’t recognize everything; most of the time, he just looked at them out of curiosity. He realized that ever since he had been with Huo Boyan, he had lost interest in interpreting art. Life had regressed to the basics of food, clothing, housing, and transportation. Outside of work hours, he hardly thought about those abstract things anymore.
Zhu Ran shared this discovery with Huo Boyan, who countered, “Isn’t that a good thing?”
Zhu Ran paused.
Huo Boyan continued, “Besides, we’re in the honeymoon phase right now. It’s normal to spend more time and energy on each other. Once we’ve been together longer, we’ll naturally have time for other things.”
Zhu Ran nodded, thinking Huo Boyan made sense. It was like playing a game—you got hooked at the beginning, but after a while, the obsession faded.
However, Zhu Ran couldn’t quite imagine a dull phase with Huo Boyan. This was the first person he had ever liked, and he liked him so much. Everything was new, with no experience to draw from.
Even if they did reach a dull phase, he probably wouldn’t hate it.
Huo Boyan led him to the new arrivals section, where every piece was priceless, complete with certificates and descriptions.
Zhu Ran looked around but couldn’t decide. He asked Huo Boyan, “Since it’s a gift, wouldn’t it be better to let them choose themselves?”
“Jia Ming already prepared the main gifts for them. This is just an extra,” Huo Boyan said. “We’ll put both our names on it.”
Both his and Huo Boyan’s names? Zhu Ran felt a surge of happiness but still thought it was better to let the recipients choose. He took photos and asked Lin Zilang and his fiancée which one they liked.
Huo Boyan suddenly pinched his nose and teasingly called him an idiot.
Zhu Ran: “? Do you have a better idea?”
“No.” Huo Boyan said straightforwardly.
Zhu Ran got angry. “Then why call me an idiot? You asking for a beating!”
Huo Boyan laughed. “So you didn’t notice at all that I asked you to pick the gift to figure out your tastes?”
“Huh?” Zhu Ran blinked. “My tastes?”
Huo Boyan said righteously, “I’m not close to Lin Zilang. His wedding has nothing to do with me.”
“Why figure out my tastes?” Zhu Ran asked casually. “It’s not like I’m the one getting married.”
Huo Boyan replied, “When you get married, you won’t need to choose. These will all be our shared property.”
Zhu Ran: “…”
He couldn’t outtalk Huo Boyan and simply stopped responding. Just then, Lin Zilang replied that their new home needed a painting for decoration. If possible, they wanted Hiroshi Sugimoto’s Photographic Work.
Huo Boyan naturally agreed and had the painting sent to Lin Zilang’s Mansion. He also had Zhu Ran pick some things suitable for home.
Zhu Ran assumed Huo Boyan meant decorating their current place and selected pieces that matched his aesthetic.
Huo Boyan instructed the staff to pack them in wooden crates for transport. Zhu Ran thought he was being too particular—why not just take them home themselves?
Huo Boyan didn’t explain, only saying there were other things to do later.
Zhu Ran was about to ask what when a massive photo caught his eye.
It was a photo of himself—a silver-salt enlarged portrait!
