Chapter 57
Extra
On a resort mountain more than a thousand kilometers away from A City, Jiang Chaochao swayed back and forth on the swing chair in the room.
At this moment, he was alone; Xiang Ye was taking a shower.
Today was their 692nd day together.
A strange number, right? Yes, it didn’t hold any special significance.
No, that’s not right. It should be said that, before five o’clock this afternoon, it didn’t hold any special significance.
A plane flew across the sky. Jiang Chaochao subconsciously raised his hand, looking at the blinking lights of the plane and the ring on his finger, also blinking under the light.
How did Xiang Ye propose to Jiang Chaochao?
Now that they were living together, their lives gradually intertwined, it was easy for them to have no secrets from each other. Sharing clothes and using each other’s phones were already trivial matters. Their intimacy had reached the point where even without contact, they knew what the other was doing at any given moment.
So, under these circumstances, how did Xiang Ye manage to arrange all of this?
The story began three days ago.
Three days ago, that night, having learned that Jiang Chaochao had two days off, Xiang Ye, just before bed, asked him, “Want to go out and have some fun?”
For the past two years, whenever their days off coincided, they would always find something to do.
Sometimes, they would fly to a place on a whim. Sometimes, they would drive around nearby for a leisurely stroll. Sometimes, they would go hiking, paragliding, or diving. Sometimes, they would find an interesting craft workshop in a quiet corner of the bustling city.
So this time, Jiang Chaochao naturally agreed without thinking, then asked absentmindedly, “Where are we going?”
Xiang Ye asked Jiang Chaochao, “Do you have any ideas?”
Jiang Chaochao turned over and leaned on Xiang Ye’s shoulder, “I suddenly remembered, isn’t the Little Duck theme event coming up soon?”
Xiang Ye asked, “Really? When?”
Jiang Chaochao, leaning against the window, tilted his head and laughed.
Xiang Ye, you, you’re really good at acting.
He acted so well that Jiang Chaochao thought this trip was entirely his own decision. He didn’t suspect a thing when he mentioned the theme event, didn’t suspect a thing when he said it was the day after tomorrow, and even after Xiang Ye expressed concern about the distance, he only hesitated for two seconds before deciding to go, still not suspecting a thing.
So, at a place that should have been bustling with activity, only he and Xiang Ye were there as tourists. Jiang Chaochao explained to himself that it must be because the event was almost over and it was a weekday. The little duck mascots he loved so much danced around him, leading him to the center of the stage, and he thought it was because they were the only two tourists there, so they were being given special treatment.
Jiang Chaochao, completely unsuspecting, happily danced and played games with his beloved ducks, and excitedly kept reminding Xiang Ye in the audience to take pictures.
Then, as the sun set over the mountain, the afterglow illuminating the flowers, grass, and trees on the stage, just as one game ended, Jiang Chaochao, a duck in each hand, bowed to thank the only audience member.
It should be added here that, even at this point, Jiang Chaochao still didn’t suspect a thing!
At this moment, Jiang Chaochao was about to go to Xiang Ye, but he was stopped by the ducks.
The ducks even waved to Xiang Ye, asking him to come up as well.
Jiang Chaochao, clueless, thought there was another activity. He was so excited he even thought Xiang Ye was being slow, so he went down and pulled him onto the stage.
Then he and Xiang Ye stood face to face.
Then a beautiful flower crown was placed on his head.
It was so beautiful that he almost asked if there were any more, he wanted Xiang Ye to wear one too.
He didn’t get to ask, because Xiang Ye knelt down on one knee.
At this moment, Jiang Chaochao’s mind was still blank, still wondering What? What’s going on? What’s happening?
So he didn’t have much of an impression of his expression at the time. His mind was a complete mess as he watched Xiang Ye take a small, exquisite box from one of the ducks and open it.
Tears streamed down his face.
Hmph!
This punk even read him a long, heartfelt message, saying he was so happy to have met Jiang Chaochao when he was 27, so happy to have spent the past six hundred plus days with him, that little ducks held special meaning for him, a symbol of their beginning. He said he wanted to continue having Jiang Chaochao in his life, sharing his happiness, his sadness, his anger, his worries, all his little emotions. Would he, baby?
Who understood this feeling of immense joy followed by immense emotion? Jiang Chaochao couldn’t hold back his tears, crying uncontrollably.
He nodded numbly and said yes, numbly let Xiang Ye put the ring on his finger, numbly realizing he was holding a large bouquet of flowers.
Everyone was applauding. After it subsided, Xiang Ye led him to a seat in the audience, and they watched the last performance the little ducks put on for them.
It was also at this moment that Jiang Chaochao finally realized that everything today, from the moment they entered the park, was arranged by Xiang Ye.
All the online research he had done, all the activities he looked into, had actually passed through Xiang Ye’s hands.
He even remembered the WeChat contact that suddenly appeared on Xiang Ye’s phone, a “Planner Xiao Zhao,” who mentioned something about flowers and little ducks. Jiang Chaochao was fooled by Xiang Ye saying, “It’s a park event organized by the hotel, I’ll tell you more later.”
Thinking further back, he looked at a picture of the ducks, said “So cute,” Xiang Ye, Xiang Ye said “Okay.”
Before that, he [mentioned the] theme [event], excitedly telling Xiang Ye, Xiang Ye asked if he wanted to go, he said it was too far.
Finally, going even further back, before their conversation, Xiang Ye fiddled with the little duck figurine for a bit, then walked past Jiang Chaochao and placed it on the nightstand.
Jiang Chaochao’s chin trembled, and tears, uncontrollably, streamed down his face again.
Even after all this time, even after all the things Xiang Ye had done for him, he was still easily moved to tears by Xiang Ye’s thoughtfulness and care, still cried because he was being treated so well.
He could almost hear Xiang Ye’s voice saying, Jiang Chaochao, you deserve this, you deserve this, you deserve this. I love you, I love you, I love you.
Jiang Chaochao took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled.
A sudden sound came from behind. Jiang Chaochao quickly sat up, grabbed two tissues, dabbed his face, and threw them into the trash can.
The hotel carpet muffled the sound of footsteps. By the time he could make it out, Xiang Ye was only two steps away.
His reflection also appeared in the window.
“Were you crying?” Xiang Ye asked.
Jiang Chaochao: “…”
“No.”
“…”
The air was thick with the sound of nasal congestion.
Who? Who was talking?
Jiang Chaochao: “So what, I was crying!”
Xiang Ye smiled, walked behind Jiang Chaochao, lifted his chin with his hand, and tilted his head upwards.
Xiang Ye leaned down and lightly kissed Jiang Chaochao on the lips.
This kissing position wasn’t actually very comfortable, it made his head feel a bit congested, but because of this brief kiss, Jiang Chaochao felt a strange thrill.
So in the next second, he grabbed Xiang Ye’s collar and pulled him closer.
Jiang Chaochao only intended for a light kiss, but Xiang Ye, this person, was just too much. Not only did he capture Jiang Chaochao’s lips, he also teased his tongue.
This kiss made Jiang Chaochao dizzy. And just as he was lost in the moment, Xiang Ye suddenly pulled away.
“Going to shower,” Xiang Ye patted Jiang Chaochao’s cheek gently.
Jiang Chaochao poked Xiang Ye’s face with his finger: “You!”
Xiang Ye turned his head and kissed Jiang Chaochao’s extended finger, “What about me?”
Jiang Chaochao tilted his head and smiled, then suddenly stood up, pulled down his sweater, exposed his shoulder, and offered it to Xiang Ye, passively letting him kiss him.
Seeing that Xiang Ye was about to make a move, Jiang Chaochao quickly pulled away.
Pulling up his clothes, he turned and said, “Shower!”
Leaving Xiang Ye standing there empty-handed.
Good.
Before showering, Jiang Chaochao carefully took off his ring.
He originally wanted to place it on a tissue, but remembering instances of forgetting things placed on tissues and accidentally throwing them away, he placed the ring in the most visible spot on the sink.
Actually, no matter where he put it, the first thing Jiang Chaochao would do after showering was find the ring and put it back on.
He loved it so much.
They had played many other games at the theme park tonight. It was getting late, and as Jiang Chaochao quietly came out of the bathroom, he saw Xiang Ye sitting on the bed with his back to him, looking at his phone.
Jiang Chaochao tiptoed over, then…
“Yah!”
He pounced on Xiang Ye.
Good.
Xiang Ye wasn’t startled at all.
Since Xiang Ye didn’t react much, and Jiang Chaochao hadn’t really thought about what he wanted to do, simply pouncing on him seemed a bit too plain. So Jiang Chaochao, quick-witted, pulled down Xiang Ye’s shirt and started kissing his shoulder.
“Hiss…”
A pained sound came from Xiang Ye.
Jiang Chaochao chuckled, nestled in Xiang Ye’s arms.
“Happy now?” Xiang Ye asked.
Jiang Chaochao hummed.
But before he could decide what to do next, Xiang Ye flipped him over and wrapped him in the blanket.
“What are you doing, what are you doing?” Jiang Chaochao asked.
Xiang Ye said, “My turn to be happy.”
%?#@
Jiang Chaochao seemed to have lost all his strength and defenses.
Nestled in Xiang Ye’s arms, he felt incredibly pampered.
After being held for a long time, Jiang Chaochao finally moved and noticed that the ring on his finger had left a small mark on Xiang Ye’s chest.
“Were you crying?”
Xiang Ye suddenly spoke. Only then did Jiang Chaochao realize he had been staring at the mark in a daze.
Jiang Chaochao: “I wasn’t!”
After his denial, he snuggled closer to Xiang Ye, burying his head in his chest, “Gege, I like you so much.”
Xiang Ye chuckled softly, the sound vibrating from his chest, making Jiang Chaochao’s ears tingle.
“Who’s incredibly happy?” Xiang Ye said.
Jiang Chaochao’s eyes crinkled with a smile, repeating Xiang Ye’s words, “Who’s incredibly happy?”
Xiang Ye said: “Me.”
Jiang Chaochao asked: “Happy about what?”
Xiang Ye hugged Jiang Chaochao tighter: “I really enjoy being with you.”
Jiang Chaochao hummed, “I know.”
Xiang Ye: “You know, but you also don’t know.”
Jiang Chaochao looked up at Xiang Ye: “What don’t I know?”
Xiang Ye thought for a moment, “When we first got together, I thought I liked you enough, then I realized, it wasn’t.”
Jiang Chaochao: “Mm-hmm?”
Intrigued, Jiang Chaochao moved out of Xiang Ye’s arms and stared into his eyes.
But ten seconds later…
Jiang Chaochao: “Hello?”
Xiang Ye chuckled, “How can I talk when you’re looking at me like that?”
Jiang Chaochao narrowed his eyes and drawled, “You’re shy.”
Xiang Ye: “Shhh.”
Easy.
Jiang Chaochao nestled back into Xiang Ye’s arms, “Tell me, tell me, I won’t look.”
Xiang Ye patted Jiang Chaochao’s head, “So obedient when you want to hear what you want to hear, hiss…”
Jiang Chaochao loosened his grip on Xiang Ye’s hand, “What do you mean? Am I not usually obedient?”
Xiang Ye: “Very obedient.”
Jiang Chaochao: “Hmph, just tell me.”
Xiang Ye: “Where were we?”
Jiang Chaochao: “You were saying how you like me more and more.”
Xiang Ye was amused by Jiang Chaochao’s summary.
It was indeed the case.
“It was the night,” Xiang Ye reminisced slightly, “You moved in.”
Jiang Chaochao was confused, his memory going back to that day.
But besides them spending the whole night unpacking, Jiang Chaochao’s only other memory was being too tired and falling asleep immediately.
“I slept very well that night, and I was very happy,” Xiang Ye said, “Thinking that from now on, you would be coming home here, sleeping in this bed.”
Jiang Chaochao smiled instantly, “Someone’s happy, gege.”
Gege said: “Very happy.”
Jiang Chaochao loved hearing this, “Anything else?”
Xiang Ye said, “And that time you said it was so cute that they were taking pictures with the little ducks.”
Jiang Chaochao looked up: “Hey? What’s wrong with that?”
Xiang Ye sighed, “You’re so cute.”
Jiang Chaochao was puzzled, “How, how am I cute?”
Xiang Ye: “Good question, how are you cute?”
Jiang Chaochao stared at Xiang Ye with wide eyes, waiting for an answer.
But before he got one, Xiang Ye kissed him.
After a deep kiss, Xiang Ye hugged Jiang Chaochao and said, “You’re being perfectly normal, and yet I find you so cute, is there any hope for me?”
Jiang Chaochao burst out laughing, “There’s no hope for you.”
“I’m truly hopeless,” Xiang Ye sighed again, “So that brings us to today.”
Jiang Chaochao giggled.
Giggled again.
So that brought them to today, where he said he wanted Jiang Chaochao in his life forever.
“You were already thinking about today back then?” Jiang Chaochao feigned surprise.
Xiang Ye said, “A rough idea.”
Jiang Chaochao pinched Xiang Ye’s chin, “Hmph, tricking me for so long.”
But Jiang Chaochao quickly let go of Xiang Ye, “Forget it,” he immediately changed his expression, “Hee hee, I’m so happy.”
Xiang Ye whispered, “Kiss.”
Jiang Chaochao obediently tilted his head up.
Xiang Ye’s kisses sometimes had another function.
Hypnosis.
Xiang Ye could make Jiang Chaochao do whatever he wanted.
Having played all day, Jiang Chaochao was already tired. If it weren’t for wanting to hear someone confess his love, he would have been sound asleep already.
But it wasn’t too late to sleep now.
And, who said only Xiang Ye was hopeless?
Jiang Chaochao also loved someone very, very much.
