Chu Lai had forgotten the last time he walked so quickly.

The Xunxi River had mountains on both sides. The scenic area was well-developed, yet it still retained its original natural landscape. The mountain paths weren’t rugged either.

Cen Wei held onto him as they both walked rapidly. Even though the parking lot was just within reach, it felt like the wind and rain were stretching the distance.

The little dog in his arms was jolted awake by the bumpy walk and was now lying dazed in the backseat of the car when they got in.

The car was parked here by someone on Xuan Rongqing’s orders for their convenience. She knew that, like Chu Lai, Cen Wei didn’t enjoy taking pictures. The two of them had originally planned to keep things simple, but they had been persuaded by Xuan Rongqing to compromise and hold a wedding.

The elders were quick to stop pushing after getting what they wanted, handling everything with care and thoughtfulness.

As soon as the doors closed, the two people who had gotten into separate seats quickly leaned in to kiss.

The rain outside grew heavier, and there weren’t many cars in the parking lot.

Cen Wei’s car was parked in the front, and the rain blurred the windows, making it impossible to see the scenery ahead.

Chu Lai realized that last night’s kiss had been just a warm-up. This time, the kiss was intense and forceful, even without an embrace. It was enough to make Chu Lai feel that same breathless sensation he had experienced yesterday.

Last night, it had been Chu Lai guiding Cen Wei to kiss. But in just one night, Cen Wei had progressed rapidly, his large hand pressing the back of Chu Lai’s head, forcing him to place his hand on Cen Wei’s chest. The sound of their hurried breathing filled the car as their lips intertwined.

The suggestion they had made earlier—both of them seemed to have adopted it.

Anyone could tell that this kiss felt like a brake, like a condemned prisoner’s last meal before execution.

Even after fastening their seatbelts, neither of them spoke. Cen Wei’s body temperature was rising as he tried to calm his rapid heartbeat, staring silently ahead.

Chu Lai’s heart was racing. He felt weak and tingly all over, his lips still bearing the sensation of being sucked. Without even looking in a mirror, he knew they were swollen.

It wasn’t clear how much time had passed when the downpour finally eased. Cen Wei pulled out of the parking lot and asked, “Wanna go to the arcade?”

His voice, already deep, sounded even more magnetic after the kiss.

Chu Lai shook his head. “Let’s go home. We should start packing.”

He didn’t look at Cen Wei, just turned his head to gaze out the window as if the passionate kiss earlier hadn’t involved him at all. He detached himself from it faster than anyone else.

If it weren’t for the lingering blush on Chu Lai’s face, one might think the kiss had been a mere illusion.

Cen Wei responded with a quiet “Alright” and turned on the car’s music.

Chu Lai asked, “Can we listen to my playlist?”

Cen Wei made a sound of agreement, still keeping his eyes on the road and the green mountains on either side.

Chu Lai tapped open his work playlist, and the first song was a calming chant that seemed to carry the fragrance of incense. It made Cen Wei’s lips twitch slightly.

But Chu Lai didn’t seem to mind, casually asking, “Does it bother you?”

Cen Wei shook his head. “You have unique tastes.”

Chu Lai chuckled softly. His tongue still felt tingly from the kiss, but he suppressed that unfamiliar sensation and said, “I listen to it at work. Sometimes, when proposals keep changing, it’s easy to get annoyed.”

He didn’t look like someone who got angry easily. As they turned a corner, Cen Wei couldn’t resist sneaking a glance at Chu Lai.

The young man was leaning against the window, offering Cen Wei nothing but the back of his head, making his voice sound a bit muffled.

But just because of this posture, a single glance was enough for Cen Wei to see the flush on the back of his neck.

Cen Wei tightened his grip on the steering wheel. Though his rapid heartbeat didn’t show on his face, there was no expression of particular emotion.

After thinking for a moment, he said, “Then I must be someone people find very annoying.”

Chu Lai didn’t turn his head. He fiddled with his sleeve and asked, “What makes you say that?”

He thought of the way that older man had treated Cen Wei when they ran into Shen Quanzhang. “Your employees seem to respect you,” Chu Lai remarked.

Cen Wei replied, “It’s just work. I make him give a summary in meetings almost every Monday.”

He said it without any change in expression, and for some reason, Chu Lai was reminded of a teacher calling roll in class. He couldn’t help but empathize, “That does sound annoying.”

Cen Wei asked, “Do you have a lot of meetings?”

Chu Lai responded, “One team meeting and one group meeting each week. Half a year ago, the supervisor in charge of the larger group got promoted. The group leader became the head of the larger group, and I became the team leader, but my pay didn’t go up.”

Chu Lai found everything troublesome. His tone was a bit drawn out as if he was complaining, “At least during meetings, I could zone out. But now that I’m leading them, I can’t do that anymore.”

His voice was very pleasant to listen to. If his looks weren’t already top-tier, his voice would certainly make up for it.

But he didn’t like to talk much, so even chatting about work in the confined space of the car felt a bit intimate.

As soon as they stopped talking, the atmosphere felt like it was turning ambiguous again.

The calming chant played on repeat as the car drove another six kilometers. The rain had stopped, and they moved from the outskirts into the city, where traffic was heavy on this Saturday.

Cen Wei said, “You don’t have to move into that storage room.”

He had been thinking about it the whole way and realized he had overestimated himself. With a hint of guilt in his voice, he continued, “I’ll rent another apartment in the neighborhood. You can stay in this one for now.”

Chu Lai asked, “What if Auntie finds out? Won’t it seem strange that we’re living separately before the wedding?”

His tone was filled with regret. He had moved in with Cen Wei without hesitation, drawn to his embrace, but now he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. He sighed, “And… you forgot about Ding Xiulin, who lives right below us. We run into him all the time.”

“It’s hard to keep things hidden.”

Chu Lai’s phone was still open to the WeChat chat with Xuan Rongqing. She eagerly wanted him and Cen Wei to stay at her place every weekend while preparing for the wedding. After all, Grandpa was home, and even while recovering, he wished to spend time with his younger generation.

Cen Wei: …

He took a deep breath, “I didn’t think it through.”

Chu Lai said, “The storage room isn’t that bad. Your place is so big, even the storage room is larger than the common area in my old apartment.”

He didn’t really mind and said honestly, “I don’t like big houses.”

Cen Wei asked, “Why not?”

Chu Lai, who had woken up early today, was already feeling tired. He yawned while holding his phone and said, “Small, crowded spaces make me feel safe.”

It was like how he filled his bed with things when he lived alone, and in winter, he needed two heavy quilts made of thick cotton.

Cen Wei asked, “Are you sure you’re okay with it?”

He referred to their agreement, “I still think you deserve some financial compensation.”

Though Chu Lai had previously refused, he nodded this time. “Alright. How about a few limited-edition models that I’ve been reluctant to buy?”

He sounded as if he were ordering food, “And a pair of headphones I’ve had my eye on for a while.”

“And…”

The man interrupted, “How about I just clear out your entire shopping cart?”

Even if the family business seemed to be on a decline in the eyes of others, the Cen family’s wealth was still immense. Even if Cen Wei wasn’t planning to take over the family business, he could still live a very comfortable life.

The more Cen Wei seemed like he could give Chu Lai anything, the more it made Chu Lai sober.

Cen Wei had never really been a part of his world. Their encounter had been too coincidental, shattering their usual circles and bringing two people together who never should have crossed paths.

At this moment, Chu Lai couldn’t help but reflect, “I don’t understand why your ex said you weren’t romantic. Isn’t this romantic?”

His topic shift was too fast, and Cen Wei asked in surprise, “This counts as romantic?”

Chu Lai thought back to when he first started dating Shen Quanzhang. Qixi Festival, Valentine’s Day… they celebrated all the holidays, and picking out gifts took a lot of time, always worrying if the other person would like them.

Liu Yuan once joked that Chu Lai had only agreed to Shen Quanzhang’s pursuit because it was the most cost-effective option, but at the time, Chu Lai had truly thought about the future.

Because of that future, he started to calculate everything carefully.

At this moment, Chu Lai realized and murmured, “Looks like I really am a killjoy.”

Cen Wei: “Hmm?”

Chu Lai said, “I never thought exchanging gifts on Valentine’s Day was necessary. Just having a meal together was enough.”

He chuckled, “I don’t know if you heard it that day, but he pointed at my nose and said I didn’t love him, accusing me of not remembering our anniversary.”

The man driving, however, was firm in his belief. “There’s no way you wouldn’t remember.”

Having spent enough time with Chu Lai, Cen Wei knew how meticulous he was in everything. There was no way he would treat a lover as dispensable.

With that thought, Cen Wei’s lips involuntarily turned downward.

Chu Lai said, “There were times I really did forget. Occasionally, I’d be working overtime on a project, dismissing the reminder as soon as it popped up, only to remember after work.”

“And then he wouldn’t answer my calls.”

“It wasn’t until midnight that he said he’d forgotten too.”

Cen Wei remarked, “But he never mentioned it to you first.”

Chu Lai shook his head and said, “Forget it. Dating is too hard. I’m probably just not suited for it.”

He pressed his lips together, the lingering tingling from the kiss fading slightly during the drive, but the memory of the sensation stayed with him.

Chu Lai still didn’t dare look at Cen Wei. He felt as though he was standing on the edge of a cliff. The impulse that led him to say yes late that night felt like bringing home a ticking bomb.

But on the other hand, Chu Lai was becoming more certain that perhaps a stable relationship would be more important than love.

Without love, maybe it would last longer.

He nodded to himself and said, “So I don’t mind marrying you, as long as you can keep holding me.”

The traffic was pretty bad today. While waiting for the cars ahead, Cen Wei glanced at the news notifications popping up on his phone and realized that a celebrity was holding a concert today.

They still hadn’t reached the estimated time for getting home, and Cen Wei straightforwardly asked, “Can you tell me why you want to be held? Is it because of your father?”

In Liu Yuan’s eyes, this was just one of Chu Lai’s quirks, but Chu Lai had never told him the real reason.

As their high school class president, Ding Xiulin had heard bits and pieces through their classmates’ discussions, guessing that it had something to do with that car accident, though he never knew the full story.

But Cen Wei could sense that the one thing Chu Lai seemed to appreciate about him was his hugs.

With their time together before getting out of the car running out, Cen Wei cautiously asked.

Chu Lai remained silent for a long time, looking out at the city after the rain. He finally spoke, “My dad used to take me to school every day. In my third year of middle school, it was just a regular morning. Morning study was supposed to be for reading English.”

“There was a truck carrying gravel that tipped over while making a turn. I had just gotten out of the car at that turn.”

His tone was light, like he was telling a story, without any trace of the excitement one might expect from the protagonist of such an incident.

“My dad was about to ride his bike away, but in that moment, he rushed over and hugged me.”

“The gravel poured down with a deafening noise. It was so loud,” Chu Lai pursed his lips, his fingers turning white as he gripped his phone tightly. “He held me, pressing me down underneath him.”

“And then…”

“My dad died.”

When he said those last four words, he sighed, “Later, my mom left, and I stayed with my grandma. It wasn’t until I got to high school that I realized I was obsessed with being held like that.”

As he lowered his head, it was hard to see the expression on his face. Even though his tone lacked any noticeable emotion, the weight of the moment hung heavily around him.

Cen Wei said, “He must have held you very tightly.”

It sounded like an effort of sheer desperation.

Chu Lai nodded, “He wasn’t as tall as you, nor was he as broad. He was actually quite thin.”

“But it’s strange.”

Chu Lai sniffled and closed his eyes for a long time before finally glancing at Cen Wei, pushing back the tears that stung. “So I hope you can hold me tighter.”

Cen Wei wiped his tears and resisted the urge to kiss him, saying softly, “I wasn’t lying when I said it before.”

“If you’re willing, I can hold you like this forever.”