Chapter 48
Jiang Chaochao only registered the sensation in his palm after he screamed.
He continued to be surprised and subconsciously looked down, but since his hand was already there, he felt too embarrassed to let his gaze linger, so he quickly looked away.
At first, his hand didn’t dare exert any force, his palm even remained open.
But Xiang Ye, this person, pulled his hand and pressed it down further.
Jiang Chaochao first relaxed his hand, then pretended to naturally…
He maintained eye contact with Xiang Ye throughout this action, but clearly, Jiang Chaochao was the first to break.
He pursed his lips, trying to suppress a smile, but realized it was no use, so he lowered his head and rested it on Xiang Ye’s shoulder.
His hand really, holy shit.
“Gege,” Jiang Chaochao called out.
Xiang Ye: “Mm-hmm.”
Jiang Chaochao originally wanted to tease him a bit, after all, opportunities like this were rare.
But hearing Xiang Ye’s “mm-hmm,” in a completely different tone…
Jiang Chaochao leaned on Xiang Ye’s shoulder and chuckled secretly.
Someone…
“Not eating?” Jiang Chaochao asked Xiang Ye, “Who is this, only eating a sandwich from morning till now?”
Xiang Ye: “Jiang Chaochao.”
Jiang Chaochao: “Hmm?”
Xiang Ye: “Choose one.”
Xiang Ye didn’t specify which two options, but Jiang Chaochao knew all too well.
He pushed off Xiang Ye’s shoulder, stood up, and took two steps back.
“Let’s have mushroom soup,” Jiang Chaochao became serious in a second, “I’m a bit hungry for it.”
Xiang Ye didn’t say yes or no, just tilted his head, looking at Jiang Chaochao with a smile.
Someone seemed a bit unsatisfied at this moment.
Jiang Chaochao took another step back: “Shall we go?”
Only then did Xiang Ye say, “Let’s go.”
Of course they had to go. Doing that as soon as they arrived at the hotel was a bit much.
Before leaving, Xiang Ye went to the restroom for a few minutes.
This battle seemingly ended with Jiang Chaochao having the upper hand, but he wasn’t much better.
So he also sat on the sofa and calmed down for a while.
When Xiang Ye came out of the restroom, they acted as if nothing had happened. Xiang Ye put on a baseball cap, Jiang Chaochao put on a bucket hat, and they left.
Although they hadn’t decided on a specific itinerary for these few days, Xiang Ye had rented a car, just in case they had any sudden ideas.
Jiang Chaochao chose the restaurant furthest from the hotel. The drive was estimated to be twenty minutes.
Only now did Xiang Ye show signs of sleepiness. After getting into the car, he leaned back and closed his eyes.
The back seat was wide. After thinking for a moment, Jiang Chaochao moved closer and leaned against Xiang Ye’s shoulder, in case someone fell asleep and suddenly slumped over.
With nothing to do, Jiang Chaochao opened his phone.
He habitually checked Weibo, where people were still giving recommendations, saying must go to XX, must eat XX.
Then he habitually opened the group chat.
And he discovered that an hour ago, someone was talking about him in the group.
It was common for people to talk about him in the group, so why did Jiang Chaochao specifically mention this?
It was because of a topic started by a group member called Coke Bottle.
She said, “Guys, I discovered that a handsome guy I follow and Teacher Bianbian are following each other!”
Group member 1: “Who?”
Group member 2: “Which handsome guy?”
Coke Bottle: “Let me find the pictures, hold on.”
Group member 1: “Waiting.”
Group member 2: “Waiting.”
Coke Bottle: [Picture]
Coke Bottle: [Picture]
Coke Bottle: [Picture]
Coke Bottle: [Picture]
Jiang Chaochao opened the pictures and saw that the first three were of Xiang Ye from different periods.
The current Xiang Ye, Xiang Ye with a buzz cut, and Xiang Ye with long, curly hair.
And what was the fourth picture? A picture of Xiang Ye and Jiang Chaochao at the barbecue.
She had clearly gone to Fu Jing’s Weibo. She said she was following the handsome guy, but all four pictures had the same other person in the bottom right corner.
So someone took a screenshot of the Weibo ID in the corner. [Picture]
Group member: “Is this the handsome guy’s Weibo?”
Coke Bottle: “Oh, no, no.”
Coke Bottle: “This is the handsome guy’s friend. He took pictures of a blogger I really liked, so I followed him. Then I found that this handsome guy frequently appeared on his Weibo, so I followed the handsome guy too.”
Another group member: [Picture]
Group member: “Who is this?”
Group member: “He’s quite handsome too.”
This one.
Was your Teacher Bianbian.
Coke Bottle: “Don’t know, the comments didn’t say.”
Coke Bottle: “Probably the handsome guy’s friend, he only appeared this one time.”
Group member: “Are he and the handsome guy a couple?”
Group member: “They look quite good together.”
Coke Bottle: “I don’t know, probably not. Both the handsome guy and the photographer give off strong straight vibes.”
Seeing this, Jiang Chaochao chuckled inwardly.
Group member: “As expected, handsome guys only hang out with handsome guys.”
Coke Bottle: “That photographer isn’t handsome.”
Jiang Chaochao almost laughed out loud seeing this.
Coke Bottle, were you being polite?
A world where only Fu Jing was hurt was achieved.
Coke Bottle: “Teacher Bianbian is actually following the handsome guy.”
Coke Bottle: “So amazing.”
Group member 1: “Isn’t it normal for Teacher Bianbian to follow handsome guys?”
Coke Bottle: “That’s true.”
Jiang Chaochao: “…”
Jiang Chaochao: “???”
When did he follow many handsome guys?
The topic ended there, and soon everyone started talking about something else.
A very ordinary, not the first time discussed in the group, handsome guy topic.
And because everyone assumed that Teacher Bianbian simply liked looking at handsome guys, they moved on.
After reading this, the first thing Jiang Chaochao thought was that Coke Bottle probably only looked at either Bianbian or Xiang Ye’s profile, since she went directly to Fu Jing’s Weibo to find pictures of Xiang Ye.
And the second thing was, how would Shici feel seeing this?
How would she feel?
An hour ago, in a certain bedroom in A City, a certain young lady was screaming in bed.
A feeling of having God’s perspective. The handsome guy you’re talking about is my uncle! The other handsome guy is my xuechang! And xuechang is also your Teacher Bianbian!
My uncle isn’t straight at all, my uncle and my xuechang, who is also your Teacher Bianbian, are together!
AhhhhThe joy of a solo celebration, who understands?!
Only she knew the joy of this secret, and also the frustration of having no one to share it with.
If you guys knew, you would be shipping them like crazy!
Xiang Ye only woke up when the car stopped at the entrance of the alley.
The driver told them that he couldn’t drive in and they had to walk a bit, and to let him know when they were almost done, he would come and pick them up. Then he drove away.
The restaurant was in a prominent spot in the alley, and they quickly found it.
Compared to the surrounding stores, the restaurant had a different kind of liveliness. Even though it was already afternoon and the off-season for tourism, there were still many customers inside.
A waiter immediately greeted them at the entrance.
Fortunately, they didn’t have to wait. They chose a table by the window and sat down.
Xiang Ye first ordered the dishes everyone recommended, then handed his phone to Jiang Chaochao to add more.
After ordering, Jiang Chaochao asked Xiang Ye, “What if I get food poisoning?”
Xiang Ye smiled, “You seem to be looking forward to it.”
Jiang Chaochao was indeed looking forward to it: “I’ve never been poisoned by mushrooms before.”
Xiang Ye nodded: “That’s good, me neither.”
Jiang Chaochao laughed: “Are you sure? If we’re both poisoned, who will take us to the hospital?”
Xiang Ye: “We’ll die in a foreign land.”
Jiang Chaochao: “Okay, okay.”
Xiang Ye: “Then I have to make sure we’re buried together.”
Jiang Chaochao nodded, “Sure, ‘Died from mushrooms’ on our tombstone would be quite cute.”
Jiang Chaochao often liked this about Xiang Ye. Even though it was clearly a joke, he was willing to play along, no matter how ridiculous it was.
So after the mushroom hot pot arrived, Jiang Chaochao exchanged a glance with Xiang Ye and reached for the lid.
But the waiter stopped him: “It’s not cooked yet.”
Jiang Chaochao pointed at Xiang Ye: “He wants to eat it raw.”
The waiter shook his head, “That won’t do, you’ll get food poisoning.”
Jiang Chaochao: “He wants to get poisoned and sue your restaurant.”
The waiter smiled.
And Jiang Chaochao’s face was pinched.
After serving another stir-fried dish, the waiter left. Jiang Chaochao ate a few bites and heard the bubbling sound from the pot.
He curiously leaned in to look.
He wasn’t planning on doing anything, but the waiter, who had clearly left, suddenly reappeared and rushed to their table.
“Hello,” the waiter smiled at Jiang Chaochao, but his expression was very wary, “You have to wait a bit longer.”
Jiang Chaochao: “Oh.”
Waiter: “I’ll let you know when it’s ready.”
Jiang Chaochao: “Okay.”
After the waiter left, Xiang Ye laughed.
Jiang Chaochao: “What the hell are you laughing about?”
Xiang Ye: “Key observation target.”
Jiang Chaochao: “You.”
Xiang Ye: “Okay, me.”
Jiang Chaochao said to Xiang Ye: “I heard before coming here that mushroom restaurants have dedicated waiters watching the dining area, just in case any customers try to eat the mushrooms before they’re cooked.”
Xiang Ye asked, “Interesting?”
Jiang Chaochao chuckled: “I wasn’t playing around.”
Xiang Ye: “Want to ride bicycles?”
Jiang Chaochao was stunned for a moment, then imagined the scene, “Sure.”
Not long after, the vigilant waiter came over, stirred the pot with a ladle, said “Please enjoy,” and removed the lid.
Just as everyone described, very flavorful and fresh.
Jiang Chaochao loved eating delicious and novel food, and the stir-fried dishes were also very much to his liking. This was a truly satisfying meal.
Once people were full, they inexplicably craved exercise. If the cycling spot wasn’t so far away, Jiang Chaochao might have suggested walking.
Fortunately, Xiang Ye’s rationality was still online. He suppressed the excited Jiang Chaochao and stuffed him into the car.
The weather was nice today, sunny, not too hot, a gentle breeze.
Xiang Ye put the small flowers he bought by the roadside, one for each of them, into the baskets of their bicycles.
Sometimes Jiang Chaochao would admit that his boyfriend was much more romantic than him.
“Jiang Chaochao.”
Just as Jiang Chaochao got on his bicycle, Xiang Ye called his name. Jiang Chaochao looked up and saw Xiang Ye holding his phone, taking pictures of him.
Jiang Chaochao smiled at the camera.
“I’m taking pictures too,” Jiang Chaochao also took out his phone.
But just as he raised his phone, Xiang Ye rode away.
He would still take pictures even if Xiang Ye rode away. Jiang Chaochao switched to burst mode and quickly snapped several pictures.
“Wait for me!” Jiang Chaochao put away his phone and shouted.
Xiang Ye glanced back, not stopping at all, “Come chase me, Jiang Chaochao.”
Jiang Chaochao, spurred on, started pedaling hard.
“Just you wait,” Jiang Chaochao shouted.
Xiang Ye: “I’m waiting.”
Jiang Chaochao, energized by Xiang Ye’s words, almost stood up to pedal.
His image of a quiet and gentle xuechang! Xiang Ye, you ruined me!
The more he thought, the faster he pedaled, the dopamine in his body surging.
Xiang Ye even teased him. Just as he was about to catch up, Xiang Ye suddenly sped up, creating some distance between them. It was always like this, giving him hope, then pulling away.
Jiang Chaochao was both frustrated and exhilarated by this playful chase.
After a long stretch of road, they entered a shaded area.
Jiang Chaochao’s body immediately sent a signal to his mind, Master, I can’t go on anymore, I need to rest.
“Let’s stop for a bit,” Jiang Chaochao called out.
Ignoring Xiang Ye, he stopped and sat down on a stone bench by the side of the road.
Xiang Ye, not far ahead, leisurely cycled back, parked his bicycle next to Jiang Chaochao’s, and took out a bottle of water.
After Xiang Ye sat down, Jiang Chaochao unceremoniously punched him on the shoulder, not caring that he was opening the bottle cap.
So some of the water splashed out.
Jiang Chaochao didn’t explain why he hit him, and Xiang Ye didn’t ask.
Xiang Ye even handed the water to Jiang Chaochao, letting him take a big gulp first.
“Having fun?” Jiang Chaochao said after taking a sip.
Xiang Ye chuckled, “A ruffled Xiao Chao.”
Jiang Chaochao: “You’re the ruffled one.”
Xiang Ye pinched Jiang Chaochao’s face: “So cute, Jiang Chaochao.”
Jiang Chaochao held the bottle to Xiang Ye’s lips, “Just drink your water.”
Arriving at this place, it was hard to resist taking pictures. They took a break and started snapping pictures of the river.
However, after comparing the pictures, Jiang Chaochao, realizing his photography skills were lacking, put away his phone and decided to ask Xiang Ye for his pictures later.
After all, what belonged to Xiang Ye was his now, hee hee.
After Xiang Ye was done taking pictures, Jiang Chaochao reached out and switched the camera to selfie mode.
“Wow.”
Jiang Chaochao pressed the button, and Jiang Chaochao exclaimed.
“Who’s so handsome,” Jiang Chaochao looked at Xiang Ye and himself in the viewfinder, “I can’t stand it.”
“I can’t stand it either,” Xiang Ye echoed, “Such a perfect match.”
Jiang Chaochao laughed. At the same time, Xiang Ye pressed the shutter button.
However, neither of them had much experience with taking selfies. After awkwardly taking two pictures, they put away their phones.
“I’m going to post on Weibo,” Jiang Chaochao took out his phone again. “Send me those pictures you just took.”
Xiang Ye: “I’m posting too.”
Jiang Chaochao hummed, “Knew you’d copy me.”
Xiang Ye: “Xuechang is the best teacher.”
Jiang Chaochao burst out laughing, “Only you would say that.”
So next, they both started working on their Weibo posts.
Jiang Chaochao often shared his daily life, so it wasn’t unusual, especially since he had announced his trip to Yunnan a few days ago.
Xiang Ye was different, what was there to post on his Weibo? His last pictures were the ones Fu Jing forced him to post.
“You don’t usually post on Weibo,” Jiang Chaochao naturally asked.
Xiang Ye: “Learning to.”
Jiang Chaochao: “Why?”
Xiang Ye: “I’ve been too happy recently, I want to record it.”
Jiang Chaochao asked knowingly, “Oh? Why so happy?”
Xiang Ye pinched Jiang Chaochao’s nose, “I don’t know who to thank for my happiness.”
Jiang Chaochao’s eyes curved into a smile, “Could it be…?”
Xiang Ye: “Could it be…?”
Jiang Chaochao smugly clicked “send,” then leaned over to see what Xiang Ye had posted.
Six pictures: a scenery shot, Jiang Chaochao sleeping on the plane, Jiang Chaochao holding flowers, Jiang Chaochao with his bicycle, Jiang Chaochao’s back while cycling, and a picture of them together from just now.
The caption:
“I’m running towards you.”
