The two started from the border and traveled southward for some time. The land here was sparsely populated, and they often traveled for a day without seeing anyone.

After sleeping in the carriage for a few nights, Zhao Yelan couldn’t wait to find an inn and have a good rest in a bed. However, they never got to the inn. When they passed by a farmer’s house, Yan Mingting asked Xiao Gao to stop the carriage and proposed to stay there for a night.

Zhao Yelan considered it for a moment, then agreed.

When the farmers heard that they would pay money, they readily acquiesced, and they were even more enthusiastic after receiving the huge reward. They slaughtered one of the sheep and gave them roasted lamb legs to eat that night.

The group of people sat around the fire, staring at the lamb legs that were dripping with oil.

The hostess was sitting next to Zhao Yelan, weaving a woolen blanket. She was also very enthusiastic and feared that they would be bored, so she kept chatting with them, asking where they were from and what their relationship was.

“We’re from the capital.” Zhao Yelan thought for a moment, then pointed at Yan Mingting and said, “This is my brother.”

Yan Mingting was taken aback, and looked at him suspiciously. When he saw his teasing expression, he agreed: “Right, these two brothers ran away from home.”

The corners of Zhao Yelan’s mouth twitched.

The hostess asked curiously: “It seems that you’re not very young, almost thirty? Why did you run away from home?”

These words made Zhao Yelan and Yan Mingting happy, and they opened their mouths and began making up stories.

Zhao Yelan: “He ran away from marriage. His family told him he was going to be wed, and he refused.”

The hostess: “Seeing what a talented person this young master is, could it be that the girl was not good-looking?”

Zhao Yelan: “No, it’s because he likes men.”

Yan Mingting: “Yes, ah.”

The hostess was startled, and nearly stabbed herself with the needle. Her eyes widened, and she felt that she was being discourteous, so she turned and asked Zhao Yelan: “Then why did you run away from home?”

“Because he also likes men,” Yan Mingting said.

The hostess held her breath and dared not breathe it out for a long time.

Yan Mingting: “My little brother, ah, there’s nothing wrong with him except that he looks good. Countless people in the capital fell in love with him, but he fell in love with a man. Of course, that man is also very romantic, and the two agreed to elope together.”

The hostess wasn’t even knitting her blanket. She just listened intently, and suddenly looked at Xiao Gao, who was staring at the lamb legs and practically drooling: “Could it be that your little brother eloped with this young man?”

The two people: “…….”

Xiao Gao, who hadn’t been paying attention to their conversation at all, turned his head and looked over: “Did you say something about me?”

Zhao Yelan decided not to tease her anymore, and was about to explain when he heard the host call out: “The lamb is ready to eat.”

Xiao Gao and Yan Mingting immediately left their seats and rushed over, and the hostess also went to cut the mutton.

The seats on both sides of Zhao Yelan were empty, so he got up and walked over to eat.

The freshly grilled meat was tender and fragrant, and the seasoning suppressed the smell of the mutton. The taste was very good. The group of people stood by the fire, talking and laughing as they ate meat. With the addition of two cups of wine, it quickly became cheerful.

In the evening, the hostess shared with her husband the big secret she had heard that night: “Those two good-looking ones are brothers. The dumb-looking one next to them eloped with the younger brother!”

“Really?” The husband was shocked.

“Really, they told me themselves.”

“Then should I bring this hot water or not?” The husband was carrying a basin of hot water for them to wash their feet.

“Bring it. Although they like men, they have to wash their feet. After all, they’ve already given money,” the hostess said.

The two of them came to the door with water in their hands. Just as they were about to knock, they heard the voice of the ‘younger brother’ inside: “Ah, take it easy!”

Immediately afterwards, they heard the older brother’s voice: “Sorry, I drank alcohol and I can’t control my strength. If it hurts, just say something, ah.”

“Are you going to maim me to death? So annoying, I told you not to drink so much. What are you trying to do tonight?”

“Sorry, sorry, I drank a little too much when I was having a good time. Bear with it, the pain will stop soon.”

“Yes, ah, that’s good, right there. You can use a little more force.”

Listening to this strange conversation, and the “younger brother” who gradually began to moan, the couple looked at each other in shock. The door opposite from the room opened at this moment, and Xiao Gao saw them carrying the water. He said: “Just leave it at the door.”

The husband and wife set down the water tremblingly and quickly ran back to their room, discussing under the covers in fright: “What should we do, should we tell that fool that he’s been cheated on by those two brothers? No, the two of them are making so much noise, and that fool must know that they are in the same room. He asked us to put the water down, which means that he already knew about it!”

The husband: “Help, ah, are the people from the capital so scary? They’re brothers! How can this be so!”

“Right, ah!”

And the two people in the other room were unaware, continuing their massage.

Zhao Yelan’s back ached from sleeping in the carriage. Yan Mingting had promised to massage him tonight, but after drinking, his strength was unexpectedly not as controlled as before.

Zhao Yelan hit him several times before he found the right strength and position.

When having breakfast the next day, the two found that the couple couldn’t look them in the eye, and didn’t ask them much. Anyway, they were leaving.

Before they left, Zhao Yelan paid an extra sum for the mutton, but the hostess refused to accept it, looking at him in a panic: “N-no need, we’ve already been paid, you brothers keep it.”

When Zhao Yelan got into the carriage, he said to Yan Mingting: “The people here are really simple.”

The husband heard this, and seeing Yan Mingting lead him into the carriage while that foolish boy took the initiative to drive for them, he thought: we can’t keep up with you city folk who know how to play!

The carriage continued forward for more than ten days. It was early autumn, but snow-capped mountains could be seen nearby. The towering peaks were covered in white, and the temperature was very low. Yan Mingting took out a thick robe from his luggage and put it on Zhao Yelan, rubbing his hands as he asked: “Are you still cold?”

Zhao Yelen shook his head: “I want to go out and have a look.”

“Let’s go.” Yan Mingting lifted him down from the carriage, and the two walked slowly to the foot of the mountain. The rolling mountains looked like pillars supporting the heavens, lifting up the entire sky.

Zhao Yelan was drawn in by this natural scene. During the time, he had seen a lot of scenery that he had never seen before, and his mind was greatly broadened. He felt that the world was so vast, and people were so small. What troubles could there be in his heart?

Just the other day, he and Yan Mingting had a one-sided conflict.

The reason was that while Yan Mingting was assisting him in bathing, he picked up a gray hair out of nowhere and said with a bit of excitement: “Huh? You have gray hair?”

Zhao Yelan’s expression froze: “No?”

“You really do.” Yan Mingting directly pinched the strand of hair and placed it carefully in front of him. “Look, isn’t this a gray hair?”

Zhao Yelan’s face immediately changed. “No need for you to wash it. Get out.”

He sulked all night by himself, and when he woke up in the morning, he didn’t even look in the mirror. He was sleepy all day, everything he looked at irritated him, and he was too fed up with Yan Mingting to talk to him.

Yan Mingting asked him what was wrong, but he didn’t want to answer.

How could he answer?

How could he say that he couldn’t accept that he suddenly had a gray hair?

This gray hair reminded him that he was aging. His body would worsen in the future, his movements would be slow, his teeth would fall out, his face would be covered in wrinkles, and no matter how beautiful his clothes were, they couldn’t hide his old age. 

Why did he have a gray hair in the blink of an eye?

“Look at that mountain, doesn’t it look like a sword?” Yan Mingting pointed at the mountain behind them.

Zhao Yelan said: “It clearly looks like a sickle.”

“Sword.”

“Sickle.”

“Sword!”

“Xiao Gao, tell me, is it like a sword or a sickle?” Zhao Yelan turned and asked Xiao Gao, who was sitting on the carriage.

Xiao Gao looked left and right, and said, “It looks like a hoe.”

The two: “You’re so unreasonable.”

They left Xiao Gao behind and went inside. Zhao Yelan felt a little hungry, and touched his bosom. Fortunately, he had prepared some snacks in the morning.

Seeing him open a bag of food, Yan Mingting looked over curiously, but saw that it was full of dark things. When he took one out, it was a sesame ball.

“When did you fall in love with these?” Yan Mingting had thought it was preserved fruit or something.

“I fell in love with them today. Is that not allowed?” Zhao Yelan bit into one and glanced at him.

Yan Mingting was very curious. Seeing him eating several balls one after another, he couldn’t help but feel a little greedy, so he asked for one. Unexpectedly, the other party took the bag back as if preserving his own life, and didn’t give him a single one.

“How cruel.” Yan Mingting laughed, inexplicably attracted by the cuteness of his food hoarding. He reached out to press his head, bending down to kiss him. 

When he let go, Zhao Yelan tidied his messed up hair and suddenly glimpsed a gray hair that was blown into his eyes by the wind. After thinking for a moment, he tore it out and let the wind blow it away.

Seeing this, Yan Mingting’s eyes fell on the gray hair that was drifting away.

“It looks like there’s snow there.” Zhao Yelan noticed that there seemed to be snow at the foot of the mountain ahead, so he ran over quickly.

“Don’t run too fast,” Yan Mingting called out.

The two walked for a while before arriving at their destination. The snow was not padded up, and only amounted to a thin layer, but it was surprising at this time of year.

He touched the snow for a moment, and suddenly heard Yan Mingting call, “Menting, look at me.”

Zhao Yelan turned his head to the side, and suddenly froze—

Yan Mingting had smeared a layer of snow on his hair, and his entire head was snow white.

“How is it? Do I look good?” Yan Mingting asked with a smile.

Zhao Yelan was visibly moved. His lips trembled for a moment, and then he smiled: “What are you doing?”

“Showing you what I’ll look like in the future.” Yan Mingting stepped forward and looked at him with an earnest gaze. “Do you hate the way I look with white hair?”

Zhao Yelan shook his head lightly.

“Then would you like me with gray hair?”

Zhao Yelan looked away from his face, raising his gaze to look at the snow-covered hair that was like a gift from heaven. He slowly stared into Yan Mingting’s eyes. “I would.”

“Then what if my face becomes like this?” Yan Mingting suddenly made a twisted face.

Zhao Yelan smiled slightly. “I would.”

“Me too,” Yan Mingting said seriously. He stretched out a hand to caress his left cheek, rubbed his fingertips across his brow, then fell along the bridge of his nose to his lips, and then to his right cheek. He said warmly, “Beauty is beyond the skin. Your bone structure is unique in this world, and I have stroked it so many times. Let alone getting old, I would still recognize you even if you turned to ashes.”

Zhao Yelan: “Are you being polite?”

Yan Mingting smiled and said: “What I mean is that no matter how your appearance changes, nothing will change how you are in my heart. Even if with the passing of time, your face is full of wrinkles, that is my favorite Zhao Mengting.”

Zhao Yelan raised his eyes: “You’ll also like me if I lose all my teeth?”

“I’ll like you. Then I can feed you, and if you can’t eat, I’ll chew it first.”

“Okay, stop talking.” Zhao Yelan quickly covered his mouth.

The two looked at each other at close range and incidentally kissed again. There was no telling who took the initiative first. In any case, the two of them had formed a tacit understanding over the years. When they looked at each other on occasion, they would be attracted by the other party and subconsciously desire more intimate behavior.

While being kissed, Zhao Yelan reached out to pat the snow off the other party’s head. His hair was already a bit wet. He pushed him away and said softly: “Go back to the carriage and dry your hair.”

Yan Mingting did not comply. He chased his lips and kissed him again.

Seeing that it was getting dark, Zhao Yelanpushed this person away again, touching his red and swollen lips: “Are you a dog?”

“Woof woof.”

“Pfft.”

The two slowly returned to where the carriage was parked. Seeing Xiao Gao squatting to the side and staring in a certain direction, Zhao Yelan asked: “What are you looking at?”

“My lord, no matter how I look at it, that mountain looks like a hoe.” Xiao Gao turned his head and stated this firmly.

“……”

The two looked at each other and smiled helplessly.

Zhao Yelan: “Let’s go. Don’t look at it, let’s set off.”

Yan Mingting: “Go, la.”

Sitting in the carriage, Zhao Yelan took out a dry handkerchief and dried the other party’s hair. Thinking of the night before, he asked: “Why did you smile so happily when you saw the gray hair on my head last night?”

“I just thought about the two of us truly growing old together, so I was really happy,” Yan Mingting said.

The corners of Zhao Yelan’s mouth hooked up: “It had better be like this.”

Yan Mingting held his hands and kissed the tips of his eyes. There were already faint signs of age there when he smiled, but it still moved his heart.

“Don’t be afraid of gray hairs. Just think of it as snow that the gods sprinkled onto our heads.”

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