Chapter 77: Happy New Year
Min Zhi, holding the scarf he had just tied for the long-haired young man, gently tugged him closer.
The two embraced and kissed on the street in the winter night, snowflakes falling on them.
Just like any intimate lovers.
They were simply lovers, not a dazzling celebrity and the fake fan he had painstakingly thawed.
Finally, Xi Leng was the first to move, forcing himself to regain some rationality, reminding Min Zhi, “Be careful, we might be photographed.”
Min Zhi, seemingly insatiable, licked his lips, saying confidently, “The paparazzi also have to celebrate the New Year…”
He had told him not to jinx it.
And now,
just as he brazenly declared this, he looked up and saw a camera lens in a car window across the street.
Seeing that they had been spotted, the sneaky lens quickly retreated, the car window rolling up, the engine starting, quickly speeding away.
An inconspicuous, dusty black Volkswagen, with a clear message: We have proof of your relationship! Prepare the ransom for the photos!!
The Min Zhi of the past never received this kind of treatment.
Ever since he started intentionally or unintentionally flaunting Xi Leng’s accessories, especially after the paparazzi who photographed him smoking were successful, these people who had once failed miserably at getting dirt on him now clung to him like leeches, diligent even on New Year’s Eve.
Min Zhi didn’t have any public appearances recently, and the location of the Jiang family villa was a secret.
“It must be that bastard Jiang Songnan who sold me out.”
Min Zhi instantly understood. Jiang Songnan’s little tricks weren’t a big deal, but they were annoying.
Xi Leng didn’t know what to say, only able to urge him, “Let’s go inside, aren’t you hungry?”
The photos had already been taken; Min Zhi wasn’t worried at all.
“Great, losing money before the New Year even starts.”
Despite his complaining tone, there was a smile in his eyes.
Xi Leng looked at him, puzzled.
The next second, his face was cupped by two warm hands, fingertips gently tracing from the corners of his eyes to his cheekbones.
Meeting those sharp, star-like eyes, sensing a unique warmth, he heard Min Zhi chuckle,
“Just consider it a way to ward off bad luck for you.”
Still a joking tone, but his words carried a sincere warmth.
Perhaps because of Xi Leng being hit by the whip, Min Zhi checked his arm again, then touched his curly hair.
Then murmured,
“You have to be well. Live longer than I do.”
A casual sentence, but Xi Leng froze.
After a long while, he finally found a way to cope with these strange emotions, pulling on Min Zhi’s wrist, urging him slightly stiffly, “Let’s talk inside, it’s too cold outside.”
Min Zhi smiled, replying formally, “Okay.”
“I’ve been thinking, I’m not that bothered by Luo Jiayan anymore.” Min Zhi said as they walked. “If you hadn’t helped him attend my offline events, I probably would never have met you, wouldn’t even know your name.”
Xi Leng was silent for a long time.
“What ‘live longer’…” Xi Leng turned to him, finally speaking, “you sound like a terminally ill patient giving their last words.”
Then he quickly zipped his mouth shut, mentally scolding himself for his loose lips, “Bad luck.”
Min Zhi stared at him, smiling.
“Since you said I’m the protagonist, then shouldn’t I live forever?” Min Zhi said nonchalantly, yet also with certainty, “If you live longer than I do, then that’s forever.”
They had their New Year’s Eve dinner in a private room, a family reunion dinner with just the two of them, yet it didn’t feel lonely.
It was the first time they experienced the joy and relaxation of the New Year, their mood like the festive red couplets and lanterns.
The small red lanterns were like passionate flames, covered in a layer of soft snow, the meeting of cold and warm, unexpectedly harmonious, the contrasting colors beautiful.
On their way back, Xi Leng gave an address, perhaps worried about troubling Min Zhi, adding, “It’s on the way back, not a detour, just stop at the intersection.”
“Is the problem whether it’s a detour or not?” Min Zhi chuckled. “What are you up to?”
“If I was being secretive, I wouldn’t ask you to take me there.” Xi Leng still didn’t say it directly.
Min Zhi, his curiosity piqued, arrived at the address Xi Leng gave him. Most of the shops on this street were closed. Xi Leng’s destination was a framing shop with its shutters down.
“I know the owner here, he finished framing it yesterday, then rushed back to his hometown for the New Year, he didn’t have time to deliver it, so he told me to come and pick it up myself.”
Xi Leng walked over, expertly finding a key hidden under a rock by the roadside, inserting it into the lock, and raising the metal shutters with a clatter.
Min Zhi went over to help, casually teasing, “Great, another new experience for me, being an accomplice to a robbery.”
“…This isn’t robbery, he told me to come.” Xi Leng said seriously, “And you’ve already stolen so many things from me.”
Min Zhi chuckled softly.
The two entered the empty framing shop, turning on the lights.
Min Zhi wandered around, while Xi Leng went straight to his painting, opening the protective cardboard box, checking it before closing it again, and returning to Min Zhi with it, “I’m done.”
Min Zhi didn’t move, only raising an eyebrow, “Aren’t you going to let me see it?”
“Let’s look at it when we get back, we’ll have to repack it after opening it.”
“It’s fine, I don’t mind the trouble.” Min Zhi said. “I can carry it back for you, with my protection, any damage is on me.”
“Let me see it.”
Xi Leng had no choice but to open the cardboard box, removing a layer of thick foam padding.
Min Zhi eagerly leaned closer, his earring brushing against Xi Leng’s ear.
Xi Leng paused, not moving away, looking at the framed painting with Min Zhi in this… intimate position.
This was a painting Min Zhi had never seen before.
And their first collaborative work.
The framer had put a beautiful wooden frame around the oil painting, emitting a faint, cool fragrance, a layer of transparent acrylic protecting it from scratches.
The overall tone of the painting was dark, a hazy and romantic night scene. The light source was the city lights outside the window, faintly outlining two blurry figures.
By the window, Xi Leng’s head was lowered, his long, curly hair and the shadows obscuring his features.
Min Zhi immediately asked: “Why can’t I see your face?”
Xi Leng said: “Because I only painted your portrait.”
Min Zhi was unexpectedly speechless, having his own words used against him.
He continued looking at the painting.
Min Zhi in the painting, his features clear, was leaning against Xi Leng’s shoulder, both with cigarettes in their mouths, the lit ends touching, a small, warm, orange-red spark between them.
They had never tried this pose, this way of lighting a cigarette. Min Zhi asked, “So you wanted to try lighting my cigarette like this?”
“It’s easy to get burned that way.” Xi Leng said, “I just thought it looked good in the painting.”
“Then in the painting, are you lighting mine, or am I lighting yours?” Min Zhi’s questions continued, like an elementary school student visiting an art museum for the first time.
Xi Leng patiently answered, “I didn’t think that much about it.”
Min Zhi continued: “Usually, I’m the one lighting yours, but in this painting, it looks like I’m using yours.”
“…” Xi Leng was exasperated. “Then let’s try it next time, me using yours.”
Min Zhi, satisfied, offered, “I’ll carry the painting, no need to repack it, we can just put it in the backseat.”
The oil painting was about one meter by one meter, Min Zhi, with his tall stature, easily carried it in his arms.
They left, Xi Leng pulling down the metal shutters with a clatter, the loud noise echoing in the quiet street.
Two girls carrying bags of fireworks were attracted by the sound.
They looked over, one froze, then the other, then they looked at each other, and then, they ran towards them!
Min Zhi and Xi Leng, caught off guard, couldn’t react.
“Holy shit, it really is Air Conditioner CP!!!”
Hearing themselves being called “Air Conditioner” firsthand felt strangely amusing.
One of the fans exclaimed instinctively, then, realizing her mistake, corrected herself, “Cough, I mean, Min-shen and Leng Leng, what are you doing here? Don’t tell me I’m hallucinating…”
“Aaaaaah, it really is Min-shen!”
“Sorry, Min-shen, I was a bit loud, please don’t mind…”
After their initial excitement, the two fans took two steps back, surprisingly polite. Who knew what kind of reputation Min Zhi had among his fans that made them so cautious.
But Min Zhi tonight was incredibly gentle, beyond imagination.
He even asked them, “Are you my fans, or Xi Leng’s?”
This was a no-win question, but the two fans, clearly masters of emotional intelligence, still remembered the rule of not being too obvious with their CP shipping in front of their idols, answering tactfully and reservedly, “We’re fans of both of you.”
“Oh.” Min Zhi, however, saw through them. “Then you’re CP fans?”
The two fans exchanged glances.
“This must be fate, do you have paper and pens? I’ll give you a joint autograph.”
“…”
“You don’t?” Min Zhi reminded them patiently.
Xi Leng and the two fans stared at him in disbelief.
“Then let’s take a photo.” Min Zhi said.
Xi Leng: “…”
The unexpected New Year’s surprise stunned the two CP fans. They reacted after a moment, excitedly screaming, hurriedly taking out their phones, practically jumping with joy.
Min Zhi, in a generous mood, indulged his fans, not forgetting to invite Xi Leng: “You want to join us?”
The two tall men stood behind the girls, maintaining a polite distance as they took the photo together.
Since both of them were in the photo, and it was New Year’s Eve, Min Zhi reminded the two fans, “Don’t post this photo, keep it to yourselves, or you’ll face the consequences.”
Fans: “…”
This person, all smiles one second, threatening them the next! Was he revealing his true nature a bit too quickly?
But they didn’t dare to object, obediently nodding and promising.
“Eh? Min-shen, is that a painting you’re holding?”
Min Zhi seemed to have been waiting for this question, feigning politeness as he asked Xi Leng first, “Can I show them?”
Xi Leng, after a moment of silence, nodded, “Yes, it was originally a gift for you anyway.”
The two girls couldn’t control themselves any longer, his casual words triggering a chorus of “aaaaaaaaaah!!!”
And also, “He’s so whipped!”
Xi Leng: “…?”
Min Zhi hurriedly stopped them, turning the painting around and showing it off to the two fans, his nonexistent tail practically wagging.
Then another round of—aaaaaaaaaah!!!
Xi Leng rubbed his temples.
“Can we take a photo of the painting… Min-shen?”
Min Zhi was surprisingly agreeable tonight, and the fans couldn’t help but push their luck, making another request.
Min Zhi asked Xi Leng again unnecessarily, “Can they?”
Xi Leng nodded.
The two fans excitedly took photos of the freshly framed artwork, their phones also containing the photo with the four of them, they couldn’t be happier.
Before they left, Min Zhi warned them again: “Don’t post the photo together, understand?”
“Yes, yes!”
“Then the painting… can we post that?”
Min Zhi smiled: “Well, isn’t it just fanart?”
“Yes, yes, fanart! Just fanart drawn by the idol himself, so what?!”
Thanks to the two fans they encountered, they also experienced the festive New Year atmosphere.
Back at home, after washing up and changing clothes, before Xi Leng could even button his pajamas, the door was suddenly pushed open. He was forcefully dragged out and pinned against the bed.
“We need to apply medicine to your arm, or it’ll be swollen tomorrow.”
Xi Leng obediently took off his half-buttoned pajamas.
Just a faint red mark on his arm. In the past, this was the kind of minor injury Xi Leng wouldn’t even bother with, forgetting about it after a while.
Min Zhi meticulously applied the medicine, reminding him, “Considering how much I spent buying those photos, you have to take good care of yourself from now on.”
Xi Leng smiled, then suddenly thought of his accidental death in his past life, before he even met Min Zhi, in a place Min Zhi didn’t know.
His eyes flickered. He felt a warm hand moving from his arm to his shoulder, twirling a strand of his hair, and heard Min Zhi say, “You have to be well, okay?”
His gentle words sounded like a command.
Xi Leng obediently made a promise, smiling faintly, “Okay.”
Having dealt with the Jiang family today, then gone out for dinner and fan service, both were a bit tired. They lay in bed, holding each other, neither moving for a while.
Wrapped in soft bedding, embraced by a warm body, Xi Leng murmured drowsily, “I haven’t been sleeping very well these past few days…”
Min Zhi expertly interpreted his words, “Hm? You’re trying to say that you don’t want to be alone at home, especially not during New Year’s?”
Xi Leng: “…”
Min Zhi: “Your silence means I’m right.”
This person was truly annoying, yet Xi Leng couldn’t help but smile, hugging him tightly, not saying a word, just nuzzling against him.
Min Zhi caressed the back of his head, his fingers running through his increasingly long curly hair, then suddenly, his lovesick brain temporarily offline, asking pointedly, “Don’t tell me you grew your hair out for me?”
“…”
Xi Leng was actually quite easy to read, besides pretending to be a fan, he had barely lied. Silence, or changing the subject, was equivalent to agreement.
Min Zhi continued on his own, “Guess why my ideal type used to be long, wavy hair and sexy?”
This was a question Xi Leng had been curious about, and since Min Zhi brought it up, he asked, “Why?”
“When I was young, I saw the girls in my class playing with dolls, I thought they were beautiful, and most importantly, dolls didn’t talk, they were so much better than those brats. You could say, those things were my sexual awakening.” Min Zhi was frank. “Boys always talked about which girls were pretty, but I was different, I always told them I wasn’t interested, that I liked long, wavy hair.”
“From elementary school to high school, they thought I was so cool. Others were chasing after childish little girls, while I had already set my sights on sexy goddesses.”
“I’ve been saving myself for you this whole time, how ironic is that.”
Xi Leng couldn’t help but laugh.
His question answered, a new one arose, “…Why did you suddenly think of that?”
Min Zhi said: “I’m afraid you’ll be jealous, and since you won’t say it even if you are, I’ll just have to overshare, Besides, I’m older than you, so I should be more tolerant.”
“…” Xi Leng changed the subject. “It’s getting late, let’s sleep.”
Min Zhi couldn’t help but laugh, deliberately drawing out his words, “Okay let’s~ sleep~”
The quiet and handsome young man, seemingly cold and aloof, his love, however, evident in his actions, almost overflowing.
More powerful than any words.
“Good night, Leng Leng.” Min Zhi reached out to turn off the lights.
“Good night.” Xi Leng paused slightly, deliberately not using “Min-shen” or any other nickname, his voice carrying a smile as he called him, “Min-ge.”
A rare comeback.
Min Zhi: “…”
That wasn’t the kind of ge he liked 🙂
In the southernmost part of China, on the island, the trainees, having been in closed training for three months, were given a three-day New Year’s break.
Most of them had a long journey home, and it was freezing up north, so it was better to enjoy the eternal spring on the island.
Rong Xingyi, however, resolutely decided to go home, not informing Xi Leng in advance, in case his brother refused, also, to surprise him.
Whether Xi Leng was surprised or not was unknown, but Rong Xingyi was certainly shocked.
He took the morning flight, arriving home at noon, excitedly entering the password and opening the door, only to see the TV playing the latest episode of “Shining Boys,” strangely with the sound off.
The apartment was very quiet, and he unconsciously softened his footsteps, slowly approaching the sofa.
This was his home, no mistake.
But sitting on the sofa… the person who looked up and met his gaze… Min Zhi-gege?
Huh?
Did he go to the wrong apartment?
But his ge was also here.
Lying on Min Zhi’s lap, oblivious to his arrival, his eyes closed, his expression relaxed, sleeping soundly.
And Min Zhi, Xi Leng’s head resting on his lap, his left hand gently caressing Xi Leng’s shoulder, his right hand resting on the armrest of the sofa, Ban Li curled up in the crook of his arm.
A word suddenly popped into Rong Xingyi’s mind.
Scoundrel.
Rong Xingyi was stunned. Min Zhi, afraid he would make noise, raised a finger to his lips, a “shh.”
However, the moment he removed his hand from Xi Leng’s shoulder, Xi Leng woke up, shifting slightly in Min Zhi’s lap, opening his eyes and murmuring, “Hm… when did I fall asleep?”
Min Zhi replied casually, “Making you get up early to paint?”
Rong Xingyi, the invisible man: “…”
Xi Leng, half-asleep, still remembered to take Min Zhi’s hand and bring it to his lips, kissing it, right where the tattoo was.
Min Zhi, however, unexpectedly pulled his hand away.
Xi Leng frowned, sitting up, his hair still messy, then he saw the frozen Rong Xingyi not far away.
He thought he was seeing things.
He blinked, it really was Rong Xingyi, in the flesh. That stiff and awkward expression a stark contrast to his bright smile on the TV screen.
Xi Leng: “…”
After a long while, Rong Xingyi finally managed to utter, “Ge…”
Xi Leng’s mood wasn’t much better, but he was older, his personality more reserved and calm, so he managed to hide it.
At this moment, Min Zhi’s voice cut in, calmly saying to the two who were staring at each other, “I came over to watch the show with him, he fell asleep while we were watching.”
“Ah… really?”
Rong Xingyi’s peach blossom eyes widened, his gaze fixed on Xi Leng’s bare neck.
He was long used to Xi Leng’s scar.
But the dark red marks intertwined with the scar, the messy little hickeys, he couldn’t bear to look.
…If they said it was an allergy, it wasn’t entirely impossible?
“What’s… going on?”
“Exactly what you see.” Xi Leng pressed his hand against his forehead, considering his words carefully, then decided to tell the truth, “…We’re together.”
Min Zhi froze, fireworks exploding in his mind.
Officially acknowledged on New Year’s Day, how wonderful.
