Chapter 31

Song Wenzhou had originally been clapping along with everyone else. Suddenly, something was shoved into his hands between his two palms, and in his moment of carelessness, he nearly dropped the bellflower again. He quickly reacted, catching the flower mid-air, holding its stem, and turned his head to look at Mu Chi in confusion.

“This flower smells quite nice,” Mu Chi said, his face unchanged, “Give it a sniff.”

The surrounding noise was too loud, so Song Wenzhou didn’t hear Mu Chi clearly, but from the look in his eyes, he understood what he meant. He then raised the bellflower to his nose and gently inhaled.

The flower’s scent wasn’t overly strong, it carried a faint, fresh fragrance.

Song Wenzhou had received countless flowers from Mu Chi before.

Mu Chi was a person who understood romance well… Perhaps it wasn’t just that he was romantic, but that he subconsciously made the effort to be romantic when it came to being kind to Song Wenzhou.

It wasn’t just during the infatuation phase. After a few years of being together, from the first glance they shared to their gradual, enduring love, Mu Chi always remembered to stop by a flower shop before meeting Song Wenzhou and bring him a bouquet.

Song Wenzhou had bought many beautiful vases just to extend the life of the flowers.

For a while, Mu Chi had a particular fondness for giving Song Wenzhou roses. During that period, the apartment they shared was always filled with the strong scent of roses.

Song Wenzhou spent so much time in the apartment that the scent seemed to linger on him, as though it had seeped into his skin. Once he stepped outside, others could immediately smell the “^[1]“sour smell of love”, which is a playful or teasing way to describe someone who is deeply in love. It’s not about an actual sour scent but rather the idea that love can be so … Continue readingsour” scent of love on him.

“Doesn’t it smell nice?” Mu Chi asked with a smile as he saw Song Wenzhou deeply inhaling the scent.

Song Wenzhou raised his eyes and looked at Mu Chi for a while. It had always been like this: whenever Mu Chi put flowers in his arms, he would always ask him to smell them, then eagerly wait for him to confirm if they smelled good.

If Song Wenzhou said it didn’t smell that nice, Mu Chi wouldn’t buy that kind of flower again. But if Song Wenzhou said it smelled good and seemed to like the fragrance, Mu Chi would tirelessly buy it many more times.

After a moment, Song Wenzhou shifted his gaze and said softly, “It really does smell nice.”

Mu Chi smiled with satisfaction, his eyes curving happily. “I knew it smelled nice.”

His expression seemed to say: See, I didn’t lie to you.

Song Wenzhou smiled faintly, his lips pressing together. Mu Chi really wouldn’t lie to him.

Except for a few promises Mu Chi didn’t fulfill before going abroad, he had never lied to Song Wenzhou in the years since.

Maybe Mu Chi also remembered those “lies,” which couldn’t even be called lies, that he had made before. After coming back to the country, he stopped making spontaneous promises. He would only tell Song Wenzhou things after careful thought, and if he remained silent, it was because he didn’t want to deceive him, fearing that any sudden changes would leave Song Wenzhou feeling disappointed.

Thinking of this, Song Wenzhou felt a bit sad. Yes, he had always known Mu Chi was this good. The things Mu Chi wasn’t willing to say that night must have had his reasons. Yet he had kept pressuring Mu Chi, and in the end…

He was such a jerk.

He had been so spoiled by Mu Chi’s affection that he felt invincible, losing all rationality over the smallest issues.

Obviously, when facing outsiders, he could always remain calm and indifferent, never sweating the small stuff, yet he would end up using hurtful words to harm those closest to him.

“Mu Chi,” Song Wenzhou murmured, “I…”

“Mm?” Mu Chi looked at him with concern. “What’s wrong?”

Song Wenzhou pressed his lips together. He wanted to say sorry, but Mu Chi had once told him he didn’t like hearing those words from him.

“Not feeling well?” Mu Chi asked again. “Are you hungry?”

Song Wenzhou shook his head. He still wanted to say that he regretted it, but Mu Chi was not someone who could be summoned or dismissed at will. How could he let himself be so carefree, thinking he could break up whenever he wanted and reconcile whenever he felt like it?

“What do you want to say?” Mu Chi asked, frowning slightly.

Song Wenzhou blinked, swallowed the words he wanted to say, and instead asked, “Are you going to drink later?”

“Yeah, probably,” Mu Chi thought Song Wenzhou didn’t want him to drink, and his tone carried a hint of awkwardness. “After all, it’s Xiao Qilin’s wedding. He’ll definitely ask me to toast.”

Song Wenzhou casually said “oh” and added, “Then drive me later.”

His tone was so natural that Mu Chi instinctively asked, “How will I get home then? Are you going to drive me?”

Song Wenzhou thought, Isn’t that a stupid question? Am I supposed to drive Mu Chi’s car alone? Of course, I’ll make sure to get him home safely.

“Mm,” Song Wenzhou replied.

However, Mu Chi’s mind was running far ahead.

Song Wenzhou wanted to drive him home! Back to the home where the two of them had lived together for years!

Mu Chi even considered letting Qi Ling toast him a few more drinks and, unreasonably, insist on having Song Wenzhou, who never drank, join in. That way, he could take the opportunity to pretend to be drunk.

Once Song Wenzhou drove him home, he could stay over and take care of him for the night.

As Mu Chi thought, a smile of excitement appeared on his face, and his hand instinctively reached into his pocket to grab his phone and plan with Qi Ling.

At this moment, Song Wenzhou tucked the flower into the pocket of his suit and casually said, “The alcohol at weddings shouldn’t be too strong, right?”

Mu Chi’s movements stalled. That’s right, the alcohol had been chosen based on Qi Ling’s advice.

In order to make sure most people could drink, the alcohol content was very low. Not to mention getting drunk, Mu Chi, who had spent years in social settings, could drink it like water.

In his younger days, he had pretended to be drunk to take advantage when Song Wenzhou picked him up. After a few times, Song Wenzhou quickly saw through his act, and it hadn’t worked since.

Today’s plan to pretend to be drunk had already failed before it even started.

Mu Chi sullenly shoved his phone back into his pocket and muttered, “I don’t know. I’ve never been married, how would I know if it’s strong or not?”

Song Wenzhou was a bit confused. What was with Mu Chi’s sudden outburst? The change in his mood was so fast it could rival the masters of Sichuan opera.

However, at this moment, Mu Chi was thinking to himself: When I get married in the future, I’ll use the strongest liquor to serve my guests and get everyone drunk at my wedding.

Hmph!

At the banquet, Qi Ling, with Bai Anzhu, went from table to table to toast, starting with the elders. By the time it was their table, Qi Ling was already a little tipsy, his excitement obvious.

He was truly Mu Chi’s childhood friend. It seemed like he knew Mu Chi’s original plan, so he poured Mu Chi two more drinks than everyone else.

“Thank you, Brother Chi,” Qi Ling raised his glass. “You’ve helped a lot with my wedding. I’ll finish this drink, and you can take it easy!”

He said, then tilted his head back and drank it all at once.

Mu Chi followed suit and finished the drink in his glass.

Afterward, Qi Ling refilled his glass and said in an offhand manner, “It’s all thanks to you that I was able to meet my wife. Cheers!”

The comment left much to the imagination, and Song Wenzhou chuckled quietly. Qi Ling really seemed obsessed with stealing Mu Chi’s spotlight.

Mu Chi, however, paid no attention to anything and just focused on drinking. Even when Qi Ling said that he should toast Mu Chi ^[2]“穆” (Mù) is a Chinese surname and can also mean “solemn,” “respectful,” or “peaceful”  In this case, it’s just being used as Mu … Continue readingbecause his last name was Mu, Mu Chi accepted without hesitation.

Song Wenzhou continued to chuckle quietly. After Qi Ling toasted Mu Chi, he turned to face Song Wenzhou and, with a slurred tongue, said, “Song Wenzhou, originally, after Brother Chi went abroad, he asked me to take care of you, but actually, you’ve helped me a lot. Without your help, I could never have gotten into the same university as my wife. This toast is for you, but since you can’t drink, I…” He paused, “Well, I’ll drink it alone.”

Before he could finish, Mu Chi grabbed the glass from Song Wenzhou’s hand and, smiling brightly, quickly said, “So I’ll drink for him.”

“That works,” Qi Ling said indifferently, “You two can drink it, it doesn’t matter who.”

Mu Chi finished his drink and smacked his lips, clearly not drunk, then asked, “Want more?”

Qi Ling waved his hand, “No need, I’ll go toast others.”

With that, he bent his arm, letting Bai Anzhu link arms with him and head to the next table.

Mu Chi felt disappointed. He twirled his glass, sat back down, and muttered, “Boring.”

He wasn’t even given a chance to pretend to be drunk. How could he expect Song Wenzhou to stay and take care of him for the night?

While thinking this, Mu Chi glanced over at Song Wenzhou, who was sitting up straight, staring at a dish in front of him, looking slightly absent-minded.

Since he heard what Qi Ling said while toasting him, Song Wenzhou had been silent.

It turns out, when Mu Chi went abroad, he had asked Qi Ling to take care of him.

Although Song Wenzhou didn’t really need it, hearing this still made his heart stir. He had thought…

After Mu Chi left the country, Song Wenzhou’s contact with him gradually decreased. It wasn’t something he did on purpose, the time zone difference made it hard, and after starting his senior year of high school, his studies were demanding, leaving him with little energy for constant contact.

Song Wenzhou had originally thought that his relationship with Mu Chi would eventually become like those with the friends he had before transferring schools—rarely meeting and hardly keeping in touch, slowly fading out of each other’s lives.

If it weren’t for Mu Chi coming back to the country, immediately giving him strong hints and, within two months, successfully getting him into a relationship, maybe they would have really forgotten each other after a few years.

What he didn’t expect was that, during the time when Mu Chi’s contact with him decreased or even disappeared completely, Mu Chi had actually asked Qi Ling to look after him.

“No wonder…” Song Wenzhou murmured, moving his lips.

“What?” Mu Chi, who was sitting beside him, leaned in quickly and asked with concern.

Song Wenzhou turned his head, glanced at him, and squinted his eyes, a smile playing in his eyes.

No wonder, after Mu Chi returned to the country, he started pursuing him without asking anything, sending all kinds of hints without ever considering whether Song Wenzhou might already be in a relationship, or whether he had dated anyone during their years apart.

Mu Chi must have already gotten information from Qi Ling.

Unlike him, who was so honest, never thinking about discreetly gathering news about Mu Chi, secretly jealous during their ambiguous period, and feeling possessive when Mu Chi wasn’t around. He had no idea how many people had shown interest in Mu Chi.

Then there was Mu Chi’s British neighbor with golden hair, whom Mu Chi had mentioned many times. Although it sounded like just a normal friend, Song Wenzhou couldn’t help but feel envious and jealous.