Chapter 80.1: Happy New Year

Due to You Chong’s betrayal and defection, Lin Hexi won the third round of cards without any suspense.

With two paper strips already stuck to his face, Zhou Xuan took the one intended for You Chong from Yang Juan’s hand and snorted coldly, “Let me personally punish this traitor.”

Lin Hexi reached out to stop him, smiling as he said, “I’ll take the punishment for him.”

Zhou Xuan froze, glancing at You Chong, who was sitting on the edge of the bed.

You Chong’s expression remained calm, and he showed no disagreement with Lin Hexi’s offer.

Zhou Xuan gritted his teeth silently, pushing down the faint surge of jealousy in his heart as he picked up the paper strip and slapped it onto Lin Hexi’s face.

But before it landed, You Chong suddenly reached out and blocked it in front of Lin Hexi’s face.

“What now?” Zhou Xuan asked irritably. “Don’t tell me you want me to cancel the punishment? No way, it’s not fair that everyone follows the rules except for you two—”

“When did I ever say I wanted you to cancel it?” You Chong interrupted Zhou Xuan’s grumbling, unceremoniously slapping away the hand about to stick the paper on Lin Hexi’s face. “The punishment is fine, but no touching his face.”

Zhou Xuan was dumbfounded. “How is that touching? There’s still a piece of paper between us!”

You Chong replied, “Even through the paper, it’s still touching.”

Left with no choice, Zhou Xuan reluctantly shoved the paper strip into You Chong’s hand. “You do it yourself, then.”

You Chong, satisfied, turned his head and beckoned to Lin Hexi, who was sitting on the bed. “Come closer.”

Lin Hexi leaned forward, bringing his face near to You Chong’s.

While holding the paper strip, You Chong asked, “Where should I stick it?”

Lin Hexi cooperated fully, tilting his face to the side and pointing to his cheek. “Here.”

However, he waited for a while and still didn’t feel the cool touch of the paper strip being applied.

Lin Hexi turned his head in confusion, only to meet You Chong’s steady gaze fixed on his face.

“What’s wrong?” Lin Hexi asked.

You Chong didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he pressed the paper strip onto Lin Hexi’s cheek but didn’t let go right away. He leaned closer to his ear, lowered his voice and whispered, “Do you know what you looked like just now?”

Lin Hexi blinked, momentarily stunned. “Like what?”

There was a clear hint of amusement in You Chong’s voice. “You looked like you were asking me for a kiss.”

Lin Hexi chuckled, smoothly teasing him back. “With a piece of paper stuck to my face, you’d still want to kiss me?”

You Chong, unfazed, showed an unconcerned expression. “Of course I would,” he replied, slowly pulling away from Lin Hexi’s face, and his gaze casually shifting to the other side of the table where Zhou Xuan and Zhao Du were staring at them intently. “But I’m afraid someone might not be able to stand it and try to interrupt.”

Hearing this, Lin Hexi turned his head, and sure enough, he met the deep, unfathomable gazes of the two watching them.

The two of them stopped their playful teasing and shuffled the cards, starting a new round.

Although Lin Hexi could bribe You Chong once, he couldn’t bribe him every time. The following rounds proved what Lin Hexi had said earlier: there are no boyfriends at the card table.

Partway through, the punishment escalated. If the peasants’ team lost, the number of cards each player in that team still held would determine how many paper strips they would get stuck on their face.

After playing over a dozen rounds of Dou Dizhu, Lin Hexi and Zhao Du ended up with the most paper strips on their faces. Lin Hexi still had some clear spots left on his face, but Zhao Du’s face was almost completely covered, with barely his eyes visible through the layers of paper.

In this round, You Chong won again. He stretched out his hand towards Yang Juan, signaling for more paper strips.

Yang Juan reached back, only to grasp at nothing. He looked behind him and realized the paper was all gone. While holding up a pen, he said to You Chong, “There’s no more paper, only this left.”

You Chong, taking the black pen, raised his eyebrow and looked at Zhou Xuan and Zhao Du. “Which one of you wants to go first?”

Zhou Xuan sighed, still trying to appeal to their dwindling childhood friendship. “Can’t you let your boyfriend go first?”

Lin Hexi lazily chimed in from the side, “If a boyfriend doesn’t even have the privilege of going last, what kind of boyfriend is he?”

Zhou Xuan, speechless and annoyed, could only close his eyes and let You Chong begin drawing on his face with the pen.

Zhou Xuan and Zhao Du soon each had a large black turtle drawn on their faces. No longer annoyed or resentful, they stood by the bed gleefully urging You Chong to get to work on Lin Hexi, with Zhou Xuan even throwing in a jab: “Boyfriend or not, still getting a turtle drawn on your face by You Chong.”

Lin Hexi calmly chose not to respond and instead closed his eyes, tilting his head back toward You Chong. “Go ahead.”

You Chong, showing no special leniency toward his boyfriend, firmly grasped Lin Hexi’s chin and tilted his face to the right. With the black pen in hand, he drew a stroke across Lin Hexi’s left cheek.

For the next few seconds, no one in the room spoke. The silence was so deep that they could even hear the faint sound of the pen tip brushing against Lin Hexi’s face.

Lin Hexi remained quiet as well, though he felt a slight sense of confusion. His instincts told him that the movements on his face didn’t seem like the strokes of drawing a turtle.

Still with his eyes closed, lost in thought and speculation, You Chong finally released him and said, “It’s done.”

Lin Hexi opened his eyes, taking in the varied expressions of the other three in the room.

He instinctively reached up to touch his face but stopped midway. “What is it?”

You Chong capped the pen and tossed it back to Yang Juan, his gaze sweeping over Lin Hexi’s face with a hint of satisfaction at his handiwork.

Sensing something, Lin Hexi got off the bed, slipped on his shoes, and headed toward the bathroom.

In front of the sink, there was a large half-wall mirror. Lin Hexi casually pressed the light switch on the wall, and the bathroom was instantly illuminated.

He slightly tilted his head, and glanced at his left cheek in the mirror.

Then, he froze.

There was no turtle on his face, only You Chong’s bold and flowing signature.

His gaze moved upward, catching You Chong’s reflection in the mirror as he stood behind him.

You Chong stood with his arms crossed, leaning casually against the wall. In a nonchalant tone, he said, “Once it’s signed with my name, it’s mine.”

Lin Hexi’s heart raced a bit in his chest, but he didn’t show it on his face. A smile quickly surfaced in his eyes. “Aren’t you worried they’ll accuse you of breaking the rules?”

You Chong’s lips curved up slightly. “Complaint dismissed.”

Something stirred within Lin Hexi as he turned around and quietly closed the bathroom door. He tilted his chin up and smiled, pointing at his lips. “What I did earlier wasn’t asking for a kiss,” he said, parting his lips slightly. “But this—this is.”

After speaking, Lin Hexi placed his hands on You Chong’s shoulders and leaned in to cover his lips with his own.

However, just as their lips were about to touch, Lin Hexi changed his mind. He let go and stepped back, checking his left cheek in the mirror, then let out a small sigh of relief. “On second thought, let’s forget it. If kissing smudges the signature on my face, that would be a real loss.”

You Chong felt both amused and exasperated.

When they turned off the lights and stepped out of the bathroom, Zhou Xuan immediately pointed an accusatory finger at You Chong. “That’s breaking the rules!”

You Chong didn’t argue with Zhou Xuan’s accusation. After a brief moment of consideration, he raised his eyes with a faint, amused smile and said, “To be fair, how about you wipe off the turtle on your face, and I sign my name instead?”

Zhou Xuan froze, and after imagining the scene of You Chong signing his face, he shuddered and quickly shook his head in disgust. “I’d rather keep the turtle.”

You Chong then glanced at Zhao Du, who was standing nearby. “What about you?”

Zhao Du hurriedly nodded, looking extremely sincere. “I’ll stick with the turtle too.”

About half an hour later, it was nearly dinner time. Zhou Xuan and Zhao Du got up to wash their faces in the bathroom, then called the other three to head out for dinner.

As the five of them headed out and reached the elevator, they noticed that Lin Hexi still had the signature on his face. Even You Chong was a bit surprised and reminded him, “Do you want to go back and wash your face?”

Lin Hexi countered with a question, “Why should I?”

You Chong chuckled. “You’re really going out with my signature on your face?”

Unsurprised by his comment, Lin Hexi clearly hadn’t forgotten the markings left on his face by You Chong. He remained indifferent, “It’s getting dark—no one will notice.”

You Chong responded, “There are lights at the restaurant.”

Lin Hexi turned his face toward You Chong, meeting his gaze. “Then let them look,” he said, with an open and straightforward expression, and calm and focused eyes. “It’s not something shameful.”

You Chong paused, staring at him for a moment, struggling to resist the urge to kiss him in front of their friends.

After dinner at a riverside mall, the five of them walked across the bridge that spanned the river to reach the People’s Park^[1]People’s Park refers to a type of public park commonly found in many cities across China. These parks are often centrally located and serve as communal spaces for recreation, relaxation, and … Continue reading on the opposite side.