Chapter 44

“……What?” Bai Ying thought he had misheard.

The sound of fireworks exploding was noisy, filtering through the thick metal walls and leaving a hazy echo in his ears. He must have misheard, right? How could Xiao Lu say that? How could he……

Bai Ying’s mind was a chaotic mess, and he instinctively wanted to shrink back, but Lu Changjun wouldn’t allow him to escape. He had waited for this moment for far too long. He left his seat and knelt on one knee in front of Bai Ying, taking one of his hands and looking up at him. This should have been a humble posture, with the inferior gazing up at the superior, but Lu Changjun’s eyes were filled with determination. Instead, it was Bai Ying who panicked and looked away, trying to avoid his gaze.

His hand was gently tugged.

“Bai Ying, I like you,” Lu Changjun repeated, every word without hesitation. “I want to be your boyfriend.”

One hand couldn’t be pulled free, and the other hand helplessly hugged the Big Squirrel Plush in his arms. Bai Ying told a clumsy lie: “I didn’t hear clearly……”

He deliberately amplified the sound of the fireworks in his mind.

But for every step he retreated, Lu Changjun advanced one. He could no longer tolerate being just senior and junior with Bai Ying. “Bai Ying, be with me. I’ll take good care of you and love you forever.”

He also wanted someone who could take good care of him……but the person he wanted was an owner, not a boyfriend!

“You don’t have no feelings for me at all, right?” Lu Changjun stood up from the ground and placed a hand on the wall behind Bai Ying, forming a cage that prevented Bai Ying from avoiding his gaze.

His movement caused the Ferris Wheel cabin to sway slightly. Although it steadied quickly, both people inside had hearts that were shaking at that moment.

Lu Changjun looked into Bai Ying’s eyes. “Otherwise, why did you ask me back then if I liked snakes?”

Couldn’t this be seen as a subtle probe, a secret show of goodwill?

After learning that Bai Ying was actually a little snake, recalling the question Bai Ying had once asked him, Lu Changjun couldn’t help but feel his heart bloom with joy. A little snake asking someone else if they liked snakes—what else could that mean?

Excessive expectations often only led to greater disappointment, but Lu Changjun couldn’t stop himself from hoping for that possibility.

With one hand pinned and the other arm trapped in an embrace, Bai Ying could only cling to the Big Squirrel Plush in his arms. He hugged it tightly, his voice trembling at the end. “But……but you clearly like big snakes.”

He was just a little snake, not majestic at all, not handsome at all. His fangs were so tender that even biting through human skin was a struggle. Why would Xiao Lu like him?

His words made Lu Changjun chuckle involuntarily. His senior’s misunderstanding was too great. He looked at Bai Ying seriously and said, “I don’t like snakes. I have no preference for animals.”

But whether it was because the brilliant fireworks reflected in Bai Ying’s clear eyes, when he heard Lu Changjun say he didn’t like snakes, his eyes actually brightened slightly.

But Lu Changjun continued right away.

“……But anything you like, I want to learn about.” Lu Changjun said, “Because I like you.”

He confessed over and over, pouring out his love again and again.

This made it impossible for Bai Ying to deceive himself any longer. That fact was now crystal clear before him.

Xiao Lu liked him, but not in the way an owner liked a pet—it was one man liking another man.

“I’m sorry,” Bai Ying felt immensely guilty. Rejecting someone’s affection hurt him, but he couldn’t irresponsibly agree either. “I’ve always seen you as a junior who needs help, a close friend I can confide in, but nothing beyond that.”

He had once hoped Xiao Lu would become his owner, that they would accompany each other like family.

But beyond that, there was still nothing else.

An owner……an owner was an owner. An owner couldn’t become a boyfriend!

Bai Ying didn’t dare look at Lu Changjun anymore, didn’t dare see his eyes dim because of his words. The fireworks burned to their end, and after the Ferris Wheel paused briefly at the top, it descended back to the ground.

The cabin door opened, and Bai Ying burst forth with a surge of strength. He forcefully pushed Lu Changjun away and fled in panic, clutching the squirrel.

*

Bai Ying ran without direction, just wanting to get far away from Xiao Lu. The one who had rejected the confession didn’t dare stay with the confessor.

As a result, he got lost halfway.

He didn’t know which remote corner of the Amusement Park he had ended up in. Surrounding him was a small grove of trees and a few small houses with tightly shut doors and no lights on. Fatigue surged over him, seeping into his limbs. Bai Ying hugged the squirrel and squatted in a corner.

He turned the Big Squirrel’s face toward himself.

The squirrel was the mascot of the Tree House Restaurant, with an especially infectious smiley face that made people feel happy just looking at it. Bai Ying tried to lift the corners of his mouth, but the briefly raised arc soon drooped again.

Bai Ying was unhappy because he felt that Xiao Lu was heartbroken.

The whole day had been so relaxed and fun—why had it ended up like this? Bai Ying didn’t want to see others sad, especially not sadness caused by himself. Had he……made a mistake by not agreeing to Xiao Lu just now?

Bai Ying fell into confusion.

The phone in his clothes pocket vibrated. Bai Ying thought it was a message from Xiao Lu and didn’t dare look. After it vibrated twice, the phone rang—it was actually an incoming call.

Bai Ying gritted his teeth.

He would answer. He had to face it eventually.

But when he took out the phone and looked, he realized the caller was Liu Qingzhang. Bai Ying pressed the answer button and held the phone to his ear. Liu Qingzhang’s slightly distorted, steady voice came through the receiver: “Little snake, are you still out playing?”

“How did you know……” Bai Ying blurted out subconsciously, his voice trailing off as he realized Liu Qingzhang must have seen the photos he posted on his Moments.

He and Xiao Lu had taken many photos at the Amusement Park. The social animal who usually had nothing to post finally had something worth sharing. Bai Ying brought the phone in front of his eyes and opened the photo album, scrolling through them one by one. The memories of the day were awakened by the images, surfacing in his mind: he and Xiao Lu on the roller coaster, him gripping the safety bar tightly while Xiao Lu held his hand from start to finish; he and Xiao Lu painting the plaster figurine, accidentally dotting paint on Xiao Lu’s hand and drawing a little flower there, but Xiao Lu ignored the flower and only looked at him; even his embarrassing moment in the Ghost House had been captured by the cameras inside, with Xiao Lu holding him and patting his back, softly coaxing him……

Only after everything was laid bare did Bai Ying realize how obvious Xiao Lu’s affection had been—he just hadn’t noticed.

In the photos, they were almost always smiling, but now……Bai Ying suddenly felt a sourness in his heart, his nose tingling and his eyes reddening slightly.

“What’s wrong?” Liu Qingzhang keenly sensed Bai Ying’s abnormality, his voice gaining urgency. “Where are you now? Isn’t that person with you?”

Liu Qingzhang had indeed called after seeing the photos Bai Ying posted on his Moments.

Bai Ying hadn’t realized how overly intimate he and Lu Changjun looked in those photos. Liu Qingzhang saw Lu Changjun holding his little snake’s hand, sticking to his little snake, even carrying his little snake……a nameless fire ignited in his heart. He asked Zhong Qian beside him what this guy was up to.

Zhong Qian hemmed and hawed.

It was obviously pursuing the boy……

Zhong Qian phrased it more tactfully: “Mr. Lu is probably pursuing Mr. Bai.”

Liu Qingzhang frowned. “Moving hands and feet before succeeding—what kind of behavior is that?”

Zhong Qian also found Lu Changjun in the photos displeasing and added fuel to the fire: “Mr. Bai probably has no interest in Mr. Lu. Doing that is indeed too rude.”

Two hours later, Liu Qingzhang arrived in Shen City.

But halfway to finding the little snake, Liu Qingzhang hesitated and stopped. What would he be doing going there now—breaking up a loving couple?

Liu Qingzhang wouldn’t admit that Bai Ying and Lu Changjun were a loving couple now, but showing up at this moment would indeed be without justification.

In the end, Liu Qingzhang only sent Bai Ying two messages. When he got no reply, suspecting the little snake was happily playing with another man, he irritably made the call.

But it was very quiet around the little snake, and his voice didn’t sound happy.

Liu Qingzhang’s expression changed instantly. Was this how that Lu kid took care of the little snake after taking him out?

After anxiously waiting a few seconds, Bai Ying finally answered him: “I’m still at the Amusement Park. Xiao Lu, he……”

“Mr. Liu,” Bai Ying’s voice was full of bewilderment, “Xiao Lu confessed to me.”

Liu Qingzhang’s eyes didn’t turn into a snake’s vertical pupils, but his gaze was cold enough. He covered the receiver so his side’s voice wouldn’t reach the little snake and directed Zhong Qian in the driver’s seat ahead: “Keep driving. Have people clear the area.”

The car, which had paused briefly on the roadside, continued toward the Amusement Park. While driving, Zhong Qian contacted people to clear the crowds from the Amusement Park.

It was around eight o’clock, nearing the Amusement Park’s closing time. He just didn’t know where Mr. Bai was now.

Liu Qingzhang uncovered the receiver and continued speaking reassuringly to Bai Ying. He asked, “Did you agree?”

“No, but……” Bai Ying’s tone was dejected. “Mr. Liu, should I have agreed to him?”

“Of course not!” Liu Qingzhang said before realizing his tone had been too harsh. He softened it to soothe the possibly startled little snake. “Why do you think that? Little snake, do you like him?”

“I don’t know.” Bai Ying’s mind was a jumble; the love-inexperienced little snake couldn’t accurately judge his own feelings. “But when we were playing together, I was really happy. Seeing him get sad because I rejected him, I started feeling sad too……Mr. Liu, does that count as liking? Am I liking him too? Should I not have rejected him?”

“It doesn’t count. Little snake, you’re just too soft-hearted,” Liu Qingzhang said. “There are many people who can bring you happiness—don’t overthink it. Little snake, you did nothing wrong.”

The car sped nonstop toward the Amusement Park. At that moment, Zhong Qian confirmed Bai Ying’s location. Bai Ying had somehow run into an area not open to tourists, which was why Lu Changjun, searching through the crowds, hadn’t found him.

The Zhong Family had prepared compensation, and under their operations, the Amusement Park closed early tonight. Staff and visitors left one after another. By the time Liu Qingzhang arrived, aside from Bai Ying and the Zhong Family members replacing the park staff, no one else would remain.

“Little snake, stay where you are. I’ll come find you,” Liu Qingzhang said to Bai Ying.

He wanted to make the little snake forget his guilt, make sure the little snake wouldn’t turn back and agree out of soft-heartedness, and let the little snake know there were plenty of people who could make him happy.

He was one of them.