Chapter 63: Main Text Concluded

Xu Er finally got to taste the mille-feuille and milkshake his mother had been longing for.

Although they weren't exceptionally delicious, Xu Er offered profuse and enthusiastic praise, making his mother so happy that she insisted Xu Er come over to the house again next weekend for more cake.

Fortunately, Song Ruichi spoke up: "We don't have time next week."

His mother asked, bewildered: "What are you two going to be doing?"

Song Ruichi: "We just don't have time."

His mother glanced sideways at Song Ruichi and said to Xu Er, "Sometimes he is truly obnoxious."

Xu Er gave an awkward laugh: "Haha."

This topic could have easily passed like that, but unexpectedly, Song Ruichi kept pressing the issue.

He asked Xu Er, "Am I obnoxious?"

Xu Er: "You are obnoxious."

Song Ruichi: "Alright then."

Xu Er found Song Ruichi completely baffling; someone had just called him obnoxious and yet he was still sitting there looking all pleased with himself, though goodness knows what he had to be pleased about.

After finishing the milkshake made by his mother, Song Ruichi whisked Xu Er away.

On the way back, Xu Er noticed unread messages in the WeChat group chat.

It was a group created by his friends and Song Ruichi when they played mahjong together, and everyone usually chatted and joked around in it.

Especially on weekdays, they all loved chatting on company time.

When Xu Er tapped into it, there were already many unread messages, and quite uniformly, every single person had sent a three-second voice message.

Opening the first one, Xu Er knew what this group of people was up to.

Shi Ziyi started it off, saying: "Xu Er, Merry Christmas."

If Shi Ziyi's tone had been normal, Xu Er might have had some doubts, but the guy's tone was dripping with heavy sarcasm, so Xu Er was certain—he had seen Song Ruichi on the live stream.

The voice messages in WeChat played automatically one after another, so next, the air was filled entirely with:

"Xu Er, Merry Christmas."

"Xu Er, Merry Christmas."

……

At first, it was just Song Ruichi's friends, but soon after, Xu Er's friends joined in too.

"Xu Er, Merry Christmas."

……

Xu Er laughed and said, "Song Ruichi, they're making fun of you."

Song Ruichi: "Let them laugh. Whoever is single is the one getting triggered."

Xu Er thought this line was great, so he typed it into the chat.

Xu Er: [Whoever is single is the one getting triggered.]

The chat instantly filled up with question marks across the entire screen.

Shi Ziyi: [Ahhh Xu Er, you've changed!]

Ying Jing: [Xu Er, why are you sounding so much like Song Ruichi!]

Little Xia: [Song Ruichi, what on earth are you teaching Xu Er every day?]

Chen Yu: [Xu Er's been corrupted!]

……

Xu Er replied with a smug little sticker.

"They say you've corrupted me," Xu Er said to Song Ruichi.

Song Ruichi: "You're actually quite mischievous now."

Xu Er: "I learned it from you."

Speaking of that live stream.

Xu Er asked, "Did you know I was watching the stream this afternoon?"

Song Ruichi shook his head: "I didn't know."

Xu Er let out an "ah," then asked, "Then why did you choose that blogger?"

Song Ruichi: "I figured that if you were watching, you would definitely still be watching that blogger."

Xu Er smiled: "Song Ruichi, you have a romantic streak."

Song Ruichi: "Thank you for the compliment."

Xu Er said again, "Song Ruichi, we also have a bit of telepathic connection."

Song Ruichi: "Just a bit?"

Xu Er raised his voice: "A whole lot!"

As soon as he finished speaking loudly, Xu Er instantly calmed down: "I'm losing my mind."

Song Ruichi burst into laughter.

Xu Er chatted in the group for a bit longer before exiting back to the main page, where he saw Xiao He, whom he had traumatized earlier today.

"Oh right, Xiao He," Xu Er remembered that he had been chatting and laughing with Xiao He before coming over, and hadn't explained it to Song Ruichi yet.

And so, he proceeded to tell Song Ruichi the story of how Song Ruichi's mother and aunt—or rather, President Luo and President Lin, and Xiao He and little Xu—were just ordinary employees.

"You have no idea what his expression was like at the time," Xu Er could still picture it vividly: "Like an abandoned puppy."

Song Ruichi chuckled.

Xu Er chuckled along with him.

Xu Er: "I really am quite sincere."

Song Ruichi's smile deepened: "Oh? How so?"

Xu Er: "Look at me, I even bring up past matters just to explain them."

Song Ruichi played along with him: "Wow, you really do, huh."

Xu Er glanced sideways at Song Ruichi.

"Song Ruichi," since that was the case: "Change my nickname in your contacts. I want to be called Sincere Baby."

Song Ruichi let out a hearty laugh.

Xu Er: "What!"

Song Ruichi muttered something about it being nothing and handed his phone to Xu Er: "Change it yourself."

So Xu Er happily tapped away and changed the nickname Song Ruichi had saved him under.

Song Ruichi: "Did my compliments stroke your ego so much?"

Xu Er twisted his mouth: "You bet they did."

Xu Er added, "No one has ever praised me like that before."

Song Ruichi nodded: "Right, keep thinking that. You're the most special one."

Xu Er: "I think you're pretty pleased with yourself too."

Song Ruichi generously admitted: "I am."

Returning home that evening, Xu Er discovered that his Weibo account had indeed been discovered; his follower count had increased significantly. There were people leaving blatant comments of blessing, screaming at the top of their lungs, and some even bolder ones sliding into his DMs to question him.

Of course, there were also malicious ones cursing them out.

Song Ruichi had told him not to reply to a single one.

It didn't really affect much anyway; the fraction of people who originally knew Song Ruichi was already small, and the ones who tracked him down here were merely a fraction of that fraction.

Xu Er didn't use Weibo often, and aside from his graduation photos from back then, there wasn't much personal information on it. A few days passed, and he completely forgot about the matter.

Another busy weekend rolled by.

Xu Er also noticed that ever since Song Ruichi and he got together,

"You've been getting busier and busier," Xu Er said.

Song Ruichi replied: "Actually, I should have been just as busy during the period I was pursuing you."

There were two key points in this statement.

Xu Er picked out the one he wanted to ask about: "You pursued me?"

Song Ruichi let out a cold laugh: "Mr. Xu, what kind of joke are you playing with me?"

Xu Er smiled sheepishly: "Wasn't I the one who pursued you?"

Song Ruichi then asked: "How long did you pursue me for?"

With Song Ruichi being so sarcastic, Xu Er naturally caved.

Then he recalled it, and caved even more: "Three... three days?"

Song Ruichi knitted his brows, putting on a bitter expression: "That was such a long pursuit."

Xu Er pinched Song Ruichi's arm.

Song Ruichi continued: "If it weren't for the fact that I happened to be away on a business trip, how long do you think you would have chased me?"

Xu Er felt that...

They would have gotten together on that very same day.

Xu Er: "Haha."

Yet Xu Er still asked: "So all those things you did before, you were pursuing me?"

Xu Er could practically feel Song Ruichi's vision turning pitch black.

Song Ruichi: "Of course not, baby. I was just acting like bros with you."

Xu Er laughed out loud and pinched Song Ruichi's arm hard: "You're so annoying."

Instead of dodging, Song Ruichi leaned his head closer instead.

Just as Xu Er was about to lower his head, the bedroom door was pushed open, and Xu Er bolted a hundred meters away.

At the moment, they were in the backstage area of an event, and Song Ruichi was a guest speaker once again today.

Day in and day out, there were simply so many guest appearances to make.

"Professor Song," the person who entered saw nothing out of the ordinary and looked down at her phone: "This way, please. It's time for you to go on stage."

Song Ruichi stood up: "Alright."

With Xu Er accompanying him this time, Song Ruichi stayed at the event for a long time.

After it ended, he pulled Xu Er along to take group photos, and even brought Xu Er along to dinner. Xu Er's identity became an unspoken mutual understanding, and when people came over to toast, they conveniently clinked glasses with Xu Er as well.

Today, Xu Er's first task was to accompany Song Ruichi, and his second task was to keep an eye on Song Ruichi's alcohol intake.

Xu Er drove the car on the way back.

Because he didn't drive very often, he drove extremely slowly, crawling along like a turtle for over forty minutes before finally arriving downstairs at their building.

The two of them took a shower, dawdled, and got into bed as usual.

A little past eleven, Xu Er received a transfer from his landlord—it was the security deposit he had paid when he first rented the place.

"It's over now," Xu Er remarked.

Song Ruichi asked: "What's over?"

Xu Er showed his phone to Song Ruichi: "I've officially begun the life of being taken in by Teacher Song."

Song Ruichi: "Very good."

Xu Er put on a wronged expression: "I just don't know where I'll be able to go if I get bullied by Teacher Song in the future."

Song Ruichi laughed in spite of himself: "When have I ever bullied you?"

Turning a deaf ear, Xu Er pulled the blanket up: "I guess I can only hide under the covers and cry."

Song Ruichi flipped the blanket open and pinched Xu Er's chin: "Loving the drama?"

Xu Er continued acting, pretending to cry for Song Ruichi to see.

Song Ruichi raised an eyebrow: "Act out something else."

Xu Er: "Act out what?"

Song Ruichi leaned close to Xu Er and whispered in his ear: "Follow my lead."

-

For some reason, Xu Er didn't feel like sleeping tonight.

He was wide awake, lying facedown on the bed and spacing out, until Song Ruichi finished his shower and emerged from the bathroom.

With a blank mind, Xu Er turned his head to look at Song Ruichi, watching him go to the wardrobe to get clothes, put them on, pick up his pants, and put them on.

Xu Er blinked and checked his phone—it was past three in the morning.

It was winter, when nights were long and days were short, so why not.

"Song Ruichi," Xu Er asked, "Wanna go watch the sunrise?"

Song Ruichi asked: "Right now?"

Xu Er: "Mhm."

Song Ruichi didn't look the least bit surprised by Xu Er's suggestion. He asked: "Where should we watch it?"

Xu Er: "Let me think."

Song Ruichi didn't let Xu Er think anymore. He said: "That mountain."

Xu Er instantly knew that the place Song Ruichi was talking about was where they had first met, and his eyes lit up immediately: "Yes, yes!"

Yes, yes!

Why hadn't Xu Er thought of it right away?

This was simply too wonderful.

As soon as the idea was raised, they set off.

Song Ruichi had just finished changing clothes, only to take them off again.

It was freezing cold outside in the dead of night, and both of them bundled up tightly.

From making the suggestion to getting into the car took a mere eight minutes.

Song Ruichi started the car, and out of sheer familiarity, Xu Er switched the music to a cheerful English song, swaying along to the rhythm with one hand raised high: "Go go go!"

Song Ruichi smiled: "Let's go."

Xu Er: "Let's go!"

Accompanied by the music, Xu Er grew increasingly excited, completely forgetting what sleepiness even was.

Along the way, he also asked Song Ruichi: "You called Shi Ziyi that time, right?"

Song Ruichi nodded: "Yeah."

Xu Er: "He was actually willing to go?"

Song Ruichi: "Who made him sleep at my place."

That made sense to Xu Er now.

Xu Er: "So what was the vibe like on your drive there?"

Looking as though he didn't want to recall it, Song Ruichi said: "I really wanted to kill him."

Xu Er burst out laughing: "Huh? What did he do?"

Song Ruichi: "He was so negative, so gloomy, and so full of complaints."

Xu Er shook his head: "I'm still the best, oh god, why is Xu Er so great?"

Song Ruichi chuckled: "Precisely."

The drive took a little over an hour to reach the mountaintop.

It felt as though nothing had changed, yet as though everything had changed.

"Hey," after getting out of the car, Xu Er discovered: "What a coincidence, the spot you parked in is right where I parked last time."

Song Ruichi: "Why wouldn't you think I did it on purpose?"

Xu Er had a sudden flash of realization, but still remained somewhat skeptical: "Really?"

Song Ruichi said: "Little Xu, there aren't that many coincidences in this world."

Emboldened, Xu Er asked: "Then did you look at me more that day, or did you look at the sunrise more?"

Song Ruichi: "I looked at the sunrise more."

Xu Er: "..."

Song Ruichi let out a low chuckle and pulled Xu Er into his arms: "If I stared at you the whole time, wouldn't I be too much of a creep."

Xu Er curled his lip: "I suppose that's true."

They had arrived a bit early.

Chatting away while they waited, the sky was still dim and gray.

Yet it wasn't too long before time passed and the sun peeked over the horizon.

Song Ruichi found the exact spot where he had taken pictures of Xu Er last time, propped his phone up against a few rocks, and took a photo of their backs together.

Then came a front-facing photo of them with the sun.

Then a photo of Xu Er kissing Song Ruichi on the cheek.

Then a photo of them kissing lip-to-lip.

They spent the entire sunrise taking pictures; one couldn't tell if this person had come to watch the sunrise or for some other purpose entirely.

By the time they came to their senses, the sun was already hanging high in the sky.

Finally sitting down quietly, Xu Er finally let out a yawn, feeling a hint of sleepiness.

"Let's sit for five minutes and then leave," Xu Er said.

Song Ruichi: "Alright, Mr. Xu."

Xu Er leaned his head against Song Ruichi's shoulder, and on a sudden whim, curled his fist to use as a microphone, holding it right under Song Ruichi's lips: "Please share a few words."

Song Ruichi thought for a moment, then wrapped his hand around Xu Er's fist: "Always love Song Ruichi."

Xu Er laughed: "Who always loves Song Ruichi?"

Instead of answering, Song Ruichi moved Xu Er's fist-microphone down beneath Xu Er's lips.

Fine, then.

"Xu Er always loves Song Ruichi," Xu Er said.

With that, Xu Er moved the fist-microphone back: "Your turn."

Song Ruichi: "My what?"

Xu Er raised his fist, pretending to take a swing at him.

But it was caught by Song Ruichi.

"I love you too," Song Ruichi said.

—Main Text Concluded—