Chapter 32 [End]

The entire weekend, the two of them didn’t feel like going anywhere and just stayed curled up at Zhu Shizhou’s home.

Bai Zining didn’t know why, but he felt like he had endless things to say and was incredibly curious about everything related to Zhu Shizhou. For instance, Zhu Shizhou’s childhood photo albums, the essays he wrote in high school, or the half-finished small programs he had worked on.

Meanwhile, Zhu Shizhou would patiently recount the scenarios behind each photo, the pleasant and unpleasant experiences he had during high school, and carefully explain the programming problems Bai Zining couldn’t understand.

Although Bai Zining still didn’t quite understand, after all, crossing into another field is like scaling a mountain.

During this process, it was unclear who reached for whose hand first. All that mattered was that once their hands touched, they almost never let go.

Bai Zining muttered, “Even at home, we need to hold hands?”

“Of course,” Zhu Shizhou affirmed, gripping his hand even tighter.

The couple rings they had bought that day remained steadily on their hands; neither of them had taken them off. Bai Zining glanced at them from left to right, feeling that Zhu Shizhou had great taste. Of course, the one who paid for them, that was himself, wasn’t bad either.

In the afternoon, to repay Zhu Shizhou for making soup for him, Bai Zining decided to cook a meal for Zhu Shizhou using a few dishes he had learned during summer break.

Neither of them felt like going out, so they readily agreed to order everything online. After selecting the necessary vegetables, Zhu Shizhou scrolled over to the fruit section.

“Baby, do you want some cherry tomatoes? Do you think the yellow ones taste better, or the red ones? How about we get a catty^[1]“斤” (jīn) = “catty“, equals approximately 500 grams or 1.1 pounds. of each to try?”

Bai Zining froze for a moment before quickly responding, “Yellow ones, cherry tomatoes.” His hesitation wasn’t because he was choosing the color of the tomatoes, but rather because of the way Zhu Shizhou had just addressed him. However, since Zhu Shizhou had been calling him that all summer, he quickly got used to it, almost in a second.

Taking advantage of the pretense of looking at fruits, he quietly leaned in a little closer.

After dinner, the two of them lounged on the sofa, shoulders pressed tightly against each other.

Bai Zining, full of enthusiasm, hadn’t stopped talking all day. Whatever came to mind, he asked, “Am I really your first love?”

“As real as it gets.”

After a while, he asked again, “Am I your first boyfriend?”

“Of course, baby,” Zhu Shizhou replied. “You’re not only my first boyfriend, but also the first person I’ve ever liked, the first person I can’t get enough of seeing every day, and the first person I want to kiss every single day.”

Bai Zining didn’t say anything. His face turned red, and after fidgeting for a while, he finally said, “Me too.”

He picked up his phone, fumbling with it for a while before showing it to Zhu Shizhou. Zhu Shizhou’s WeChat was pinned at the top of the message list, and the nickname had been changed to “Zhu Shizhou [smiling face hug][little bear][kiss]”.

Zhu Shizhou chuckled, pinching his cheek. “I’m truly honored to be pinned at the top by Ningning, my precious baby.”

At this moment, Bai Zining suddenly remembered his alternate account, and right after that, a very important question that had been troubling him for a long time. Now, he could finally ask it boldly, “When exactly did you figure out I was Cai Ning?”

“Don’t dwell on such unimportant questions, baby,” Zhu Shizhou replied.

“No, no, you have to tell me,” Bai Zining insisted.

Zhu Shizhou thought for a moment and replied, “Probably the day we argued over the dropped clothes.”

“?!”

That early?

At that time, he had only added Zhu Shizhou on WeChat a week prior! This meant that everything had been under Zhu Shizhou’s control right from the beginning?

After listening to Zhu Shizhou recount the details about the dress, Wenyan Lake, the video call reaction, and the leg photo from the next day, Bai Zining stared speechlessly at the ceiling. He felt there were still some things he couldn’t quite figure out. “How did you know I have a mole on my leg?”

“I saw it.”

“You spied on me?”

“I didn’t.” Zhu Shizhou chuckled at his train of thought and explained, “That time when you were sick, I was the one taking care of you. I saw it while helping you change clothes.”

“Then why did Zuo Xingwei… No, wait, why didn’t you just tell me directly?”

“I asked him to keep it a secret. After all, you were convinced it was him taking care of you at the time.” Zhu Shizhou’s tone carried a hint of sourness.

“Alright, alright. If you’d told me earlier, I wouldn’t have misunderstood. Of course, it’s my fault too, I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions.” Bai Zining thought back to the situation at the time, then put himself in Zhu Shizhou’s shoes. He realized that he truly hadn’t been fair.

“Even if I’d told you, you might not have believed me. After all, you said yourself that you didn’t like me, without any reason. From the top of my head to the tips of my toes, there wasn’t a single part of me you found pleasing,” Zhu Shizhou said, his eyelashes lowering.

Those were words Bai Zining had said long ago when he and Cai Yu had been criticizing Zhu Shizhou. Embarrassed, he replied, “You heard that, huh? Back then, our relationship was so tense. Cai Yu kept asking me, and I couldn’t very well say it was because you were ignoring me that I found you annoying, so I just made something up.”

“Alright, alright, don’t be mad. I know I was wrong.”

“When we’re back at school, I’ll explain everything to Cai Yu, okay?”

“I promise I’ll never talk like that again.”

After coaxing him for a long time, Zhu Shizhou still neither raised his head nor spoke. Bai Zining started to feel anxious. “Say something! Do you know that one of the online relationship rules is that you’re not supposed to bring up old grievances? Of course, I’m not saying you’re wrong for doing this. I just think that, as real men, we should bravely face our problems.”

“Then keep coaxing me,” Zhu Shizhou finally lifted his head, his dark eyes fixed on Bai Zining.

Bai Zining reached out to cradle Zhu Shizhou’s face, his thumbs gently stroking to comfort him. Without even needing to think, he began praising, “Actually, I like you a lot. From the moment I saw you at the start of the semester, I thought you were really handsome. There are so many reasons I like you. For example, you’re incredibly, incredibly good to me. You’re also kind, patient, and attentive to every little thing I feel.”

As he spoke, he ran his fingers through Zhu Shizhou’s hair and added, “I like this part.”

Then he touched Zhu Shizhou’s shoulder. “I like this part too.”

Following Zhu Shizhou’s arm, he slid his hand down to his hand, giving it a small shake, his tone soft. “I like this part as well.”

Zhu Shizhou could no longer hold back. He flipped his hand to clasp Bai Zining’s hand resting on his, and with his other hand, he gently cupped Bai Zining’s head, subtly pulling him closer. For someone usually calm and unhurried, he seemed slightly impatient as he leaned in to kiss the lips that were still murmuring about how much they liked him.

Bai Zining was stunned by the sudden kiss, his last word swallowed mid-syllable.

He could feel the searing warmth of Zhu Shizhou’s lips. This was nothing like the light, fleeting kisses from last night and earlier today. This was a real, deep kiss.

His heart pounded like thunder, and his face felt like it was on fire, his entire being engulfed in an inextinguishable wave of heat. When Zhu Shizhou’s tongue lightly brushed against the roof of his mouth, Bai Zining couldn’t help but let out a soft, barely audible whimper from his nose.

Zhu Shizhou pulled back slightly and said in a husky voice, “Open your mouth.”

He watched as Bai Zining’s trembling eyelids fluttered shut, his eyes faintly glistening with a watery sheen. Without saying a word, Bai Zining obediently parted his glossy, slightly reddened lips, looking so compliant.

It took Zhu Shizhou at least five seconds to calm himself and regain control before leaning in to kiss him again.

What Zhu Shizhou hadn’t mentioned earlier was that there were countless instances where Bai Zining had given himself away.

For example, the voice changer software he used wasn’t compatible during video calls, so when watching the sunset, what Zhu Shizhou heard was Bai Zining’s original voice. Another instance was how Bai Zining’s alternate account had undergone real-name verification. Every time a transfer was made, Zhu Shizhou could clearly see that the last character of the name was “凝” (Ning for Zining), not “寧” (Ning for Cai Ning).

However, Zhu Shizhou had no intention of telling Bai Zining these details. These small episodes were insignificant in the grand scheme of their relationship. What truly mattered was the outcome.

Drawn by the allure of Bai Zining’s presence, what started as playful probing gradually turned into genuine affection. Step by step, Zhu Shizhou allowed himself to indulge, all the while fully aware of his descent. He willingly remained trapped in the snare called Bai Zining.

The fruit he had finally plucked was now securely held in his embrace.

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