The next day at work, everything in the restaurant was the same as before.

But Yu Nian felt like the whole world was bright when he stood side by side with Qi Wang at the counter.

He was washing the fruit for mulled wine, and when he turned his head, he saw Qi Wang making pour-over coffee.

Noticing his gaze, Qi Wang looked up, their eyes met.

He smiled, putting the fruit in a glass bowl.

It was magical.

Just a few days ago, he and Qi Wang were as if separated by a river, closeness tinged with distance.

In the blink of an eye, they had become a pair, life felt like a dream.

Especially, being in love with Qi Wang felt as beautiful as a dream.

They didn’t tell anyone in the store, not even Xiao Gu and Chu Hejun.

Yu Nian did tell Zhang Yunyao, this hero played a crucial role in his love affair.

He omitted Qi Wang’s name, only saying that he was with the person he liked, thanking Zhang Yunyao for his previous help.

Zhang Yunyao didn’t inquire further, his fingers resting on the piano keys, his face showing a faint smile as he softly said, “Congratulations.”

After class, Qi Wang still came to pick him up as usual.

Back at home, Qi Wang would make different cocktails for him.

The alcohol content was not too high, mostly sweet liqueurs.

Like today’s strawberry liqueur hearts.

Hollow strawberries filled with lychee liqueur and Baileys, topped with white cream. Taking a bite felt like eating a cake filled with liqueur hearts.

Yu Nian had two in a row, and when he went for the third one, he held onto the strawberry and pressed the other half against Qi Wang’s lips.

This kiss now had the taste of strawberry cream and sweet liqueur.

They would wrap themselves in a blanket and watch old movies together, watching the ballroom scene on the Titanic, the young girl on the Mekong River meeting her Chinese lover, and Darcy falling in love with the clever and mischievous dark-haired girl.

Qi Wang drew many pictures for him.

No longer just sketches.

What Qi Wang teased him about before had now come true one by one.

He had indeed become Qi Wang’s muse.

He sat in the sunset, wrapped in Qi Wang’s black coat, barefoot with slender ankles, beside him were lilies he bought from the flower shop on his way home from work.

Qi Wang was painting, completely focused.

He used many colors to paint the sunset, to paint Yu Nian’s skin as white as jade, his slightly parted red lips, and his lively eyes.

After finishing the painting, Yu Nian scrutinized it with his arms crossed for a long time and concluded, “Can’t let my sister see this, I always feel like she’ll break my legs.”

It was that same evening he led Qi Wang to bed.

Yu Nian was always audacious, an eighteen-year-old high school senior whose mind was filled with 80% yellow trash and only a little left for daily life.

He had such a handsome boyfriend but couldn’t touch him; it was such a waste.

But Qi Wang was always calm and composed, rarely losing control, so it was hard for Yu Nian to succeed.

But that night, perhaps because the strawberry cream was too sweet, coupled with a little alcohol, Yu Nian, like a slippery fish, successfully ignited the long-suppressed fire.

When he was being pinned down by Qi Wang on the bed, he was still triumphant, laughing heartily, his eighteen-year-old face full of youth and arrogance.

He thought even if Qi Wang was a saint, he would break his vows tonight.

But soon he couldn’t laugh anymore.

The setting sun cast its last rays on the snowy white walls, capturing the final glimmer.

Qi Wang’s body shadow firmly enveloped him.

In a trance, Yu Nian felt as if he were a white gardenia plucked by Qi Wang, soft and boneless.

.

It was already evening.

Yu Nian was so exhausted he couldn’t lift his fingers. Qi Wang carried him to the bathroom to shower, then wrapped him in thick pajamas like a silkworm, watching Qi Wang cook.

Qi Wang was making porridge, adding carrots, diced meat, corn kernels, and shrimp, all of which Yu Nian liked.

The side dishes were also light and digestible, ordered from a Cantonese takeaway, which Yu Nian often ate from.

Yu Nian was acting spoiled to the extreme, sitting in Qi Wang’s arms, too lazy to even reach out, just waiting for Qi Wang to feed him, his face full of “I’m just gonna sit here and be fed”.

He had suffered for these few hours, tossed around by the bastard who just started getting frisky, exactly when he was at his most sensitive.

It was the most temperamental moment.

It’s just that Qi Wang couldn’t fly.

Otherwise, he would have asked Qi Wang to pick a star for him.

Fortunately, Qi Wang fully accepted it, and served Yu Nian two small bowls of porridge before carrying him back to bed.

Yu Nian played with Qi Wang’s fingers.

He remembered the first time he met Qi Wang, how fierce he looked, and now, thinking back, he was all smug.

This young man who used to be fierce to him eventually became his.

He looked at Qi Wang, the love in his eyes almost overflowing.

While Qi Wang embraced him, he checked the college entrance examination news on his phone.

Qi Wang planned to retake this year’s college entrance examination. Although he had been suspended from school, he still retained his student status.

He told Yu Nian that his life had been downhill all the way, more to scare him.

He had his own plans and arrangements for the future.

But for someone like him, without a starting point or a destination, drifting through the world, whether he lived well or not seemed to make no difference.

Those plans were less about pursuing the future than just going with the flow.

He had no expectations for his own life.

But now it was different.

The person in his arms now, like a soft cloud, his black hair gently tickling his chin, was a bit itchy.

This was his lover, his place of belonging, his responsibility, and also his joy.

He was willing to be a busy and law-abiding person for Yu Nian, going to school, working hard to become a decent, upright person who could shelter him from the wind and rain.

Such a life was no longer dull and numb to him but a stroke of luck in ordinary days.

He had thought a lot.

Even thinking about the possibility that one day, if this relationship were to be exposed, would he be outstanding enough to stand in front of Yu Nian’s family and say, “Please entrust Yu Nian to me”.

He had thought so much but hadn’t told Yu Nian, just lowered his head and kissed his forehead.

.

Even many years later, Yu Nian remembered this brief month.

Being in love with Qi Wang was a thrilling episode in his life.

Qi Wang perfectly gave him all the love he needed. They were like two perfectly fitting joints, like swans gracefully crossing a lake together, sleeping neck to neck, grooming each other’s feathers.

But in the many days that followed, Yu Nian couldn’t help but wonder if he had overdrafted too much happiness that winter, leading to such an ending.

Before he locked Qi Wang away in his memories, he had been regretting continuously. He regretted saying anything about an internship period to Qi Wang. It was like a prophecy coming true.

He had thought that his siblings might find out about his relationship, but he hadn’t expected it to happen so quickly.

His relationship with Qi Wang actually only lasted for 29 days, not even a full month.

Qi Wang declared him unfit during the probationary period.

^[1]Author’s Note:

The mirror is about to break, sigh