Chapter 40

The video began with a shaky shot, probably while the distance was being adjusted. Once stabilized, the screen showed a figure crouching on the ground.

The person’s face wasn’t visible, but it was easy to guess who it was. Moreover, Mu Chi could tell it was Song Wenzhou from the rounded back of his head alone, even without seeing his full figure.

In the video, Song Wenzhou appeared to be a few centimeters shorter than he was now, and given his naturally slim build, even wearing a down jacket, he didn’t look very big while crouching on the ground.

As the progress bar moved forward, Song Wenzhou’s arm began to move, probably making a forceful motion to pull something.

The surroundings were too dark, and Mu Chi couldn’t clearly make out what he was doing, even when squinting and leaning in closer to the phone screen.

Just as he was thinking of asking Song Wenzhou about it, a beam of white light that had been shining above Song Wenzhou’s head moved downward to his hand—likely a flashlight used by the person filming the video. This allowed Mu Chi to see clearly that Song Wenzhou was holding a fresh, green local cabbage!

The cabbage root was suddenly pulled out of the ground, and due to inertia, Song Wenzhou nearly fell backward along with the cabbage. Luckily, he steadied himself, though the heels of his shoes got stuck in thick mud.

Always particular about cleanliness, Song Wenzhou didn’t mind. He placed the cabbage aside and continued to move toward the next one.

Mu Chi could tell that Song Wenzhou was very unskilled at picking the cabbage. With each one he pulled, he became more and more clumsy, which made Mu Chi’s heart tighten.

Fortunately, there were only a few cabbages left in the field, and soon Song Wenzhou had picked them all.

He bent down to gather the cabbages and held them in one arm, using his other hand to wipe his pants, cleaning off the mud until it was nearly gone, before walking toward the camera in uneven steps.

The video ended there.

Without hesitation, Mu Chi clicked replay. This time, he didn’t watch Song Wenzhou the entire time but focused on the dim surroundings.

Sure enough, the video had been filmed in his own yard.

The time displayed in the top left corner was exactly from Lantern Festival three years ago.

This little fool…

Mu Chi felt both bittersweet and amused. Song Wenzhou had actually gone “stealing” vegetables and even recorded a video, hiding it from him.

The video played five times, with Mu Chi not missing a single detail, wishing he could analyze it frame by frame.

Putting the phone down, Mu Chi stared at Song Wenzhou’s back and affectionately called, “Zhouzhou.”

“Hmm?” Song Wenzhou, who had been waiting impatiently, turned to look at him with a fake smile. “Done watching?”

“Mhm,” Mu Chi still had that deep, affectionate look on his face. “Come here.”

“What for?”

Song Wenzhou mumbled, stood up, and turned the page of his book face down on the desk. He stretched his sleeves and walked toward the bed.

Mu Chi’s gaze stayed firmly on Song Wenzhou’s face. As Song Wenzhou approached, his gaze shifted from level to looking up slightly.

Song Wenzhou stopped just one step away from Mu Chi, looking down at the person sitting steadily on his bed. The person slowly opened his arms.

“Hug me,” Mu Chi said succinctly.

“No.” Song Wenzhou turned his face away slightly in disgust.

Mu Chi wasn’t angry. Instead, he spoke in a softer voice and repeated, “I want a hug.”

From the angle above, Mu Chi looked much more obedient than usual, especially with his curly hair and his eyes unconsciously wide from looking up. The way he spoke made him appear entirely like “a pitiful sight.”

Song Wenzhou struggled to suppress the corners of his mouth from rising and reluctantly said, “Pretentious.”

As he said that, he stepped forward, standing between Mu Chi’s knees, bent down, and wrapped his arms around Mu Chi’s neck.

He initially only wanted a brief hug before letting go, but Mu Chi didn’t give him the chance.

As Song Wenzhou bent down, Mu Chi immediately wrapped his arms around Song Wenzhou’s slim waist, then secretly exerted force, pulling him closer.

Song Wenzhou’s posture was already unstable, and with his sensitive waist being pressed, he lost control and fell forward. In his panic, there was no time to react, and with nothing else to brace himself against, he ended up falling on top of Mu Chi, causing them both to end up lying back on the bed.

“Ah…” Mu Chi’s arms were still tightly wrapped around Song Wenzhou’s waist. He feigned injury first, “Why couldn’t you stand firm, Zhouzhou?”

Song Wenzhou could feel the little tricks Mu Chi was playing, gritting his teeth, he retorted, “It’s obviously you—”

“Okay, okay, it’s my fault,” Mu Chi admitted with a grin, “Didn’t bump into anything, right?”

Song Wenzhou buried his face without replying.

He hadn’t actually bumped into anything, but the current position was still quite embarrassing.

Despite being together every day, the most intimate moment they’d had was when Song Wenzhou had first agreed to be with Mu Chi.

At that time, Mu Chi shamelessly stayed in his arms for a long while, but besides the hug, there was no further physical interaction.

Later on, their relationship became even more innocent, with them only daring to hold hands quietly when no one was around, or after dates when Mu Chi would accompany Song Wenzhou home and reluctantly hug him goodbye.

They weren’t minors, and both were still young and passionate, but Song Wenzhou never initiated anything, and Mu Chi, seeing him as a fragile baby, thought of him as too pure. He was afraid of scaring him, so he had always restrained himself.

“Huh?” Mu Chi tilted his head, looking at the person pretending to be dead on him, “Why aren’t you speaking?”

Song Wenzhou had his face buried in Mu Chi’s shoulder, holding his breath to the point of blushing and feeling slightly out of breath. When Mu Chi spoke, the vibration from his chest, transmitted through the fabric of their clothes, easily reached Song Wenzhou, making his heart beat erratically. He hadn’t even noticed what Mu Chi had asked.

After a while, Song Wenzhou turned his head to take a breath and softly said, “Let me go.”

“No.” Hearing this, Mu Chi tightened his hold on Song Wenzhou and slid one hand along his back to his head, gently rubbing his soft, smooth hair. Lazily, he said, “Let’s hug again.”

Song Wenzhou didn’t respond and remained still, resting against Mu Chi’s shoulder, not daring to move.

They stayed like that, quietly leaning on each other for a long time. Suddenly, Mu Chi thought of something amusing and couldn’t hold back his laughter, “Pfft—”

Crazy.

Song Wenzhou ignored him, probably thinking it wasn’t anything good.

“You were so cute in that video earlier,” Mu Chi couldn’t hold back his thoughts, “But you were all dirty.”

Song Wenzhou didn’t feel like he was being complimented by that remark and huffed in response.

“Who filmed that video for you?” Mu Chi asked.

There was nothing inappropriate to say, so Song Wenzhou answered, “A lady I don’t know.”

He added proudly, “She even praised me for being handsome.”

“Of course,” Mu Chi’s tone was even more proud than Song Wenzhou’s, “Handsome, dashing, charming!”

No one likes it more than when their partner praises them, and Song Wenzhou was no exception, especially when it was such an exaggerated compliment. It made him so happy that his tail practically lifted up to the sky.

“Hey,” Mu Chi suddenly sighed regretfully, “Why didn’t you tell me about this back then?”

Song Wenzhou was silent for a moment before softly saying, “What would telling you have changed?”

He wasn’t complaining or questioning, just simply stating the facts, as though whether he had told him or not wouldn’t have made a difference.

Mu Chi stared at him for a long time, unable to come up with an answer. He could only rub his chin on Song Wenzhou’s head a few times and say affectionately, “Silly Zhouzhou.”

For a long time after that, neither of them spoke. Song Wenzhou, understanding that this wasn’t Mu Chi’s usual style, secretly peeked up with one eye. To his surprise, he was caught by Mu Chi, who had been staring at him the whole time.

Song Wenzhou: “…What are you thinking?”

“Thinking…” Mu Chi dragged out the word, “Kisses.”

Song Wenzhou immediately turned his head away, struggling to get off Mu Chi’s body. Blushing at his ears, he mumbled, “Hug, kiss, why don’t you let me lift you up?”

Mu Chi wasn’t embarrassed at all about being rejected, in fact, he felt refreshed and laughed heartily, “I would, but I’m afraid you won’t be able to lift me.”

“Get lost.” Song Wenzhou stood up, straightening his somewhat messy clothes, then turned and walked away.

“Hey, wait,” Mu Chi quickly called him back and handed him a phone with a black screen, “Help me unlock it again.”

“You’re still going to watch it?!” Song Wenzhou said angrily.

He had already watched it so many times, what was there left to see?

“No,” Mu Chi said with a smile, “I want to save it to my phone so I can enjoy it anytime.”

Upon hearing this, Song Wenzhou decisively refused, “I’m not unlocking it.”

“Are you sure?” Mu Chi raised an eyebrow, then looked down to fiddle with his phone, “Then I’ll unlock it myself.”

When Song Wenzhou had unlocked it earlier, he wasn’t hiding it from Mu Chi. Mu Chi had casually glanced at it and remembered the method, so asking Song Wenzhou to unlock it was just a polite formality.

“You—” Song Wenzhou was speechless, unable to do anything about it. He could only puff up his cheeks and sit back down to read his book calmly.

That annoyance lasted until the evening.

By then, Song Chenglang and Ren Suyi had already finished work and returned home. Mu Chi knew he shouldn’t linger at their house any longer. He acted very obediently and spoke a few pleasant words in front of Song Wenzhou’s parents before quickly getting up to leave.

Song Wenzhou saw him downstairs, but didn’t spare him a glance the entire way. There were other people in the elevator, so Mu Chi couldn’t act too recklessly. As soon as they stepped outside the building, Mu Chi grabbed Song Wenzhou’s hand, pulling him off the main path and onto a winding little road.

The community’s landscaping was quite well done, with winding paths branching in all directions, surrounded by large shrubs and osmanthus trees.

On nice days, residents often walked or took their dogs out here, but the weather had been too cold recently, with short days and long nights. At this time, the sky was only dimly lit, and there was hardly anyone on the road.

Mu Chi confidently held Song Wenzhou’s hand, feeling the coldness of his fingers before tucking his hand into his own jacket pocket.

Song Wenzhou obediently allowed him to hold his hand, quietly enjoying their walk together.

Halfway through, Mu Chi gently scratched the palm of Song Wenzhou’s hand and asked, “You’re not angry anymore, right?”

Although he wasn’t sure why Song Wenzhou was angry, he decided to apologize first, as admitting fault was always the right thing to do.

However, he didn’t get an answer from Song Wenzhou. Instead, he felt Song Wenzhou’s hand quickly withdraw from his pocket.

“Hm?” Mu Chi uttered in confusion, following Song Wenzhou’s gaze. He saw two figures quickly separate, having been close to each other just moments before.

It seemed that the two hadn’t expected anyone to come by. Mu Chi’s sudden voice startled them, and their large movements also startled Song Wenzhou, who instinctively released Mu Chi’s hand.

The young couple across the street reacted first. The boy quickly pulled the girl’s hand, and they ran down another path. Within five seconds, they disappeared from Mu Chi and Song Wenzhou’s line of sight.

“Uh…” Mu Chi asked awkwardly, “Were they kissing just now?”

Song Wenzhou: “…Probably.”

“Did we ruin their moment?”

“Probably.”

“It’s fine,” Mu Chi reassured himself. “They look young, probably secretly dating. If we ruined it, so be it.”

“That makes sense.” Song Wenzhou nodded.

Mu Chi took Song Wenzhou’s hand again, and they continued walking slowly.

After not walking too far, Mu Chi sighed and said, “Seeing them, I couldn’t help but think of my own middle school days.”

Song Wenzhou: “Oh?”

Although he knew it was unlikely, he couldn’t stop himself from feeling a little jealous. Could it be that Mu Chi was thinking about kissing a female classmate in the small grove back then?

“I used to accidentally catch other classmates kissing in the small grove too,” Mu Chi said.

Song Wenzhou couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

Mu Chi glanced at Song Wenzhou a few times, and with a meaningful tone, said, “I didn’t expect that now, as an adult, I’m in a relationship, and it’s the same storyline.”

Song Wenzhou gave him a side-eye, “What are you trying to say?”

Mu Chi turned around to face Song Wenzhou, and carefully asked, “Do I have a chance to be the protagonist in this story?”

Song Wenzhou looked at him without saying anything.

Not saying anything meant agreeing.

Mu Chi’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down twice, and he leaned a little closer to Song Wenzhou, saying, “At my speed, I can kiss you in three seconds. If you don’t want that, move away now.”

Three, two, one…

Mu Chi, as expected, tasted Song Wenzhou’s lips.