“Meeting someone?”

Cai Jingfeng really wanted to doubt if he had misheard, but combined with the anxious look on Ling Qing’s face just now, it really seemed like he had gone out to meet someone.

He forced a smile and said, “Who is this ‘someone’?”

The little guy put down his feet and sat up cautiously, saying, “Big brother, close the door first.”

Cai Jingfeng closed the door behind him and approached the little one. He took a tissue and wiped the drool off his toes, sincerely saying, “You’re quite smart.”

“My Shixiong said the same thing.” The little one chuckled and explained with reason, “Originally, Sister Sha told us not to tell anyone, but my Shixiong said you’re his best friend, not an outsider. So, big brother, I’ll tell you: my Shixiong’s ‘someone’ is Brother Yu.”

Upon hearing the first half, Cai Jingfeng felt warmth in his heart. But upon hearing the second half, his heart gradually cooled. He said with a tinge of bitterness, “Yu Wenning…?”

The little one nodded, “Yes, it’s him. Big brother, what’s wrong? You seem unhappy.”

Cai Jingfeng forced a smile and said, “I’m not unhappy. I’m happy… that your Shixiong has found someone…”

Unfortunately, that person is not me.

The little one looked at him, not fully understanding, and innocently asked, “Are you sad because you don’t have someone yet?”

Cai Jingfeng: “…” It struck a nerve, little buddy.

Seeing his big brother’s silence, Ling Sang, like an “I understand, I understand” gesture, stood up and patted his big brother’s shoulder, comforting him, “It’s okay, I don’t have someone either.”

A three-year-old saying they don’t have someone, that’s probably as lonely as it gets. Cai Jingfeng couldn’t help but laugh and touch his little bald head, saying, “Good, you’re still young, you’ll have someone in the future.”

The little one also stood on his tiptoes, trying to touch Cai Jingfeng’s hair, giving it a few pats and mimicking, “Good, you’re also young, you’ll have someone in the future.”

This time, Cai Jingfeng truly laughed out loud, feeling strangely relieved as if the sadness in his heart had diminished a lot.

He couldn’t help but reflect and secretly wondered, maybe… maybe he really didn’t like Lianqing as much as he did two years ago.

Two years ago, he had imagined what it would be like if Lianqing got married and had children in the future. Back then, just imagining that scene made his heart ache. But now that it had actually happened, the sadness in his heart was not even half of what it used to be.

It is clear that time and experiences can truly change many things and dilute the passionate and stubborn love of youth.

However, deep down, there is still a sense of unwillingness.

Downstairs, Lianqing almost jumped out of the door, running towards Yu Wenning. He didn’t even care that he lost one of his shoes.

“Slow down, I’m worried you might fall!” Yu Wenning said as he took a few steps forward and opened his arms.

In the next second, Lianqing, who had already run up to him, hugged his waist and lifted him up.

Yu Wenning was surprised and quickly said, “Let go, put me down!”

“Don’t worry, Big Brother, I’m strong, I won’t drop you.” Lianqing spoke while tightening his grip around Yu Wenning’s waist.

Yu Wenning became frustrated and said, “I’m not worried about that, I’m afraid you’ll strain your wound on the back!”

Sensing his urgency, Lianqing reluctantly let him down, resembling a kindergartener who had done something wrong. He put his hands in front of him and smiled obediently, “I got too excited when I saw you, I couldn’t control myself.”

Yu Wenning gave him an angry stare and asked, “How’s your back? Does it hurt?”

“Just a little, but I should be fine,” Lianqing spoke the truth. His back had been healing quite well these days. However, Yu Wenning was not his three-year-old junior from his family, so it was inevitable that he would use more force when lifting him up.

“Seriously, acting like a child even at your age,” Yu Wenning said while walking over to pick up the shoe that Lianqing had dropped and then squatting in front of him. He doted on him and said, “Lift your foot.”

Lianqing quickly lifted his foot, allowing Yu Wenning to put the shoe on for him. Afterwards, he held Yu Wenning’s hand and led him to sit by the edge of the flower bed. The hotel’s cleanliness was well maintained, even the flower beds outside the villa were impeccably cleaned, which worked out well for the two of them.

After pulling him down to sit, Lianqing turned his head and carefully examined his lover.

Upon closer inspection, his eyebrows couldn’t help but furrow. “Why do you look so tired? Haven’t you been resting properly these past few days?”

Yu Wenning paused for a moment, then smiled and said, “No, it’s just that I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I missed you.”

The truth was, in order to quickly come to Lianqing’s side, he hadn’t slept much these past two days and had been busy with official duties.

Upon hearing his sweet and straightforward words, Lianqing felt a wave of sweetness in his heart, and his face blushed slightly. Excitedly, he said, “Indeed, my charm is irresistible!”

Yu Wenning went along with it and said, “Well, your charm is indeed irresistible to me…”

Lianqing chuckled. Being charming to his lover was already enough, the opinions of others… didn’t matter.

“By the way, why did you come without telling me beforehand?” Lianqing worriedly asked.

Yu Wenning replied, “I missed you and wanted to surprise you.”

Lianqing sighed, “Ah… Big Brother, although your words make me feel happy, I can’t help but feel that something’s off about you.”

Off? That’s just right. Yu Wenning thought to himself. He couldn’t possibly tell Lianqing that he felt a sense of crisis due to a potential rival that may or may not exist.

Regardless of the existence or nonexistence of that rival, Yu Wenning had decided that he would make his presence felt in Lianqing’s heart in the time to come.

So, he remained calm and gently said, “Yes, I am acting a little strange, but it’s because I miss you.”

Lianqing, “…………”

He reached out and touched Yu Wenning’s forehead, then touched his own forehead, muttering to himself, “No fever…”

Yu Wenning sighed, “…………” How could he forget? His little monk at home didn’t have a romantic bone in his body!

He thought sadly that he had searched for so many cheesy romantic lines for nothing.

Anyway, relationships must continue, otherwise, what’s the point of being together? Yu Wenning had to put aside the cheesy lines and speak normally.

He looked at the villa and asked, “Where’s Xiaosan?”

“He’s inside the house. It’s cooler inside, and he just took a bath. I was afraid he might catch a cold if I brought him out,” Lianqing said. “Don’t worry, I asked Cai Tou to look after him.”

Upon hearing this, Yu Wenning’s smile faded slightly. He said, “You have a good relationship with this friend of yours, don’t you?”

“It’s great, we were even sworn brothers when we were studying! At that time, we had another close friend, and the three of us formed a bond like the *Peach Garden Oath. But after graduation, I didn’t have a mobile phone or anything, so we could only rely on letters to communicate, which was quite inconvenient…”

*”桃园三结义” (Táoyuán Sān Jiéyì) is a reference to a famous episode in the historical novel “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” (三国演义). It depicts a sworn brotherhood formed by Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei, three influential figures during the turbulent period of the Three Kingdoms era in ancient China.

According to the novel, Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei swore an oath of brotherhood in the Peach Garden of Emperor Xian of Han during the late Eastern Han Dynasty. They vowed to support and protect each other as brothers and work together for the greater good of the people. The Peach Garden oath symbolizes their unbreakable bond and loyalty to one another.

Lianqing couldn’t help but feel disappointed. “I did reunite with Cai Tou and managed to reconnect. But I haven’t been able to contact my other friend yet. He sent me a letter two years ago, saying he was moving or something and left an address and phone number for me. However, that letter got chewed up by mice, so I haven’t been able to reach him…”

Yu Wenning remained silent for a moment and asked, “Do you miss him a lot?”

“Not really, he’s just a slightly closer friend, not as close as Cai Tou,” Lianqing explained. “He’s just a friend, and when you’re apart for a long time, of course, you’ll miss each other.”

“Do you want me to help you find him?” Yu Wenning asked. “Give me some information, and I can have someone look into his whereabouts.”

Lianqing hesitated for a moment, then declined, “No, it’s okay. Let’s leave it to fate.”

Yu Wenning nodded and didn’t try to persuade him. Friendships from the time of studying often tend to change after entering society. Sometimes, it’s better not to meet than to see each other. At least in memories, they could still reminisce about their foolish and naive selves, when they walked together with their arms linked and showed off to the world.

Yu Wenning intentionally changed the subject and asked, “How’s the wound these past few days?”

“It’s alright, just a bit itchy,” Lianqing couldn’t help but twist his back slightly. “I think it’s because the new flesh is healing.”

Yu Wenning was somewhat worried. “Don’t scratch it, and let your assistant check if there are any signs of redness.”

“I had him check, and it’s fine,” Lianqing said. “But I have to endure it and not show any signs of discomfort, which is quite difficult.”

With his little Shidi by his side, he didn’t dare to show any signs of discomfort, afraid that the little guy would worry. Moreover, he was also concerned about potentially delaying the recording of the program because of himself.

For these two reasons, Lianqing had been more concerned about his own health in the past two or three days. He followed a strict routine of eating, taking medicine, avoiding water, not soaking in hot springs, and refraining from lifting heavy objects…

Yu Wenning hugged him silently and whispered, “You’ve worked hard.”

Lianqing, rare for him, didn’t ruin the atmosphere and leaned against Yu Wenning’s shoulder, whispering softly, “It’s not hard.”

The two of them leaned on each other, cherishing the moment, as scattered snowflakes drifted down from the sky.