He Chuzhou was struck dumb by Pei Xi’s words.

It was as if he had lost his soul. He forgot to breathe, forgot to blink, just staring at Pei Xi.

Time stretched out long enough that Pei Xi’s outburst of anger was completely exhausted. He felt such belated shame that he didn’t even have the courage to recall what he’d just said and done.

At a speed visible to the naked eye, a blush arose on the exposed part of his neck. He avoided eye contact, eyelashes trembling as he tried to escape from He Chuzhou’s embrace in shame and anger.

But the act of pushing away from him seemed to bring the other party back to his senses.

The arms around his waist tightened, and his feet left the floor as He Chuzhou simply picked him up and set him on the countertop.

The hand that had just gripped the other’s shirt clenched again in shock. Pei Xi raised his head in a fluster and met a pair of eyes that were frighteningly bright.

He Chuzhou said in a rising tone: “You like me?”

Pei Xi’s gaze shifted to the left: “…..En.”

He Chuzhou: “You’re in your right mind, and you like me?”

Pei Xi’s gaze shifted to the right: “…..En.”

He Chuzhou simply held his face and forced him to look directly into his eyes, which were wild with joy: “Xinxin, you like me?”

Pei Xi’s face was already blood-red, and he was unable to hide. His anger surged again, and he lowered his voice to whisper fiercely: “He Chuzhou, are you trying to annoy me? I already said yes, yes, yes. Why do you keep—”

The last part of his rebuke was abruptly swallowed between lips and teeth.

Unlike Pei Xi’s subtler kiss, He Chuzhou kissed him with great force. He only lingered between his lips for a brief moment before impatiently opening his teeth and delving deep, sweeping across every part.

It wasn’t gentle, and was even a little rough.

When it came to love, all of Pei Xi’s firsts were with He Chuzhou, including this deep kiss that went beyond the scope of his education.

Clearly, only his mouth was blocked, but he was so enveloped by He Chuzhou that he felt like he couldn’t breathe through his nose either. 

An indescribable numbness climbed up his spine, and his strength drained away. He took an urgent breath, only to be more deeply plundered.

The inside of He Chuzhou’s lower lip was clumsily bumped by Pei Xi several times, and even the tip of his tongue was bitten in the chaos, but he wasn’t angry in the least, and even laughed softly.

He attempted to be gentler, in order to slowly guide Pei Xi.

But once he felt Pei Xi’s attempted response, he couldn’t help but become fierce again, robbing the other person of every breath.

He was so happy that he didn’t know how to express it.

He liked him so much. So much that he didn’t know what to do.

When he realized that Pei Xi was truly out of breath and was trying to push him, he reluctantly pulled away. But he only retreated from between his teeth, his lips lingering against the other’s.

Pei Xi’s skin was entirely red, his breathing as irregular as the trembling of his eyelids.

He Chuzhou looked down at him, and his heart softened into a pool of sugar water, rippling back and forth in his chest.

“Xinxin, your teeth hit me.”

Although he complained of this grievance, his tone contained an unconcealable smile: “And you bit me too. Now the tip of my tongue is sore and numb.”

Pei Xi was in disbelief that he had the nerve to put the blame on him.

He could admit that he did bite him accidentally, but it was a soft bite, and he quickly let go once he noticed. It was Pei Xi who was kissed so hard by him that the root of his tongue was practically numb.

But he wasn’t as thick-skinned as the other party, and couldn’t bring himself to utter such a straightforward and shameful rebuttal.

As a result, a certain shameless person had the opportunity to keep talking: “But it looks like my kiss made you cry.”

He Chuzhou rubbed his fingertips across the slightly wet, red corners of his eyes with a bit of secret satisfaction and pride: “Let’s just call it a draw and not argue about it.”

Pei Xi: “……”

Pei Xi feigned calmness and pushed his hand away: “I’m not, you’re mistaken. Let go of me.”

He Chuzhou refused. Not only did he refuse to let him go, he hugged him even tighter and asked with bright eyes: “Xinxin, do you remember the ID of that boy I killed when we were playing games on my business trip?”

Pei Xi was somewhat puzzled: “Why are you asking this?”

He Chuzhou: “I’m just asking. Do you remember?”

Pei Xi could only answer: “Doesn’t Eat Coriander.”

He Chuzhou gave him a loud, forceful kiss. Before he could react, he continued to ask: “Do you remember where we picked up Xiao Yueliang?”

Pei Xi: “On the street downhill of Huainan Road?”

He Chuzhou couldn’t help but kiss him hard again: “Do you remember what clothes Mrs. Chu was wearing when you had dinner with her for the first time?”

Pei Xi: “A black coat and a light-colored shawl.”

After answering, he came to a sudden realization and covered He Chuzhou’s mouth: “You still don’t believe I’m in my right mind?”

“It’s not that I don’t believe it. I just want to be more certain.”

He Chuzhou took the opportunity to kiss his palm: “Xinxin, you don’t know how happy I am right now. I’m so happy that I’m going crazy. I even thought I was hallucinating because of the alcohol…..”

Pei Xi stared at him for a second. Pushing He Chuzhou’s head back, he picked up the half-cooled bowl of hangover soup and handed it to him again: “Drink up.”

Under He Chuzhou’s innocent gaze, he said sternly: “If you forget this tomorrow, I really will slap you.”

He Chuzhou drank it all in one gulp, then put down the bowl and took Pei Xi’s hand: “No need to wait for tomorrow. I’ll sober up tonight.”

Pei Xi frowned: “How will you do that?”

He Chuzhou: “Come on, I’ll take you somewhere~”

Ten minutes later.

Standing in front of the shelves, Pei Xi looked at the exuberant shopper pushing a cart next to him and was speechless for a while: “Your method for sobering up is to go to the supermarket in the middle of the night?”

“Yeah, walking more and taking in the cool breeze makes the alcohol fade faster.”

He Chuzhou took a bag of puffed snacks from a shelf, peered at the packaging, and tossed it into the cart: “En, some of these too.”

There were already a lot of things in the shopping cart, all of them picked out by He Chuzhou. Such was the quantity that the choices seemed random.

Pei Xi didn’t know what his basis for selection was, and asked in puzzlement: “You need so many things. Why didn’t you buy them before?”

He took a small hammer from the cart and didn’t understand: “What are you going to do with this?”

Taking the hammer, He Chuzhou turned it around and showed him the label. He said with great self-satisfaction: “Look, there’s a love heart on it.”

Pei Xi: “……?”

Pei Xi took out a hand towel made into the shape of a skirt: “Then what about this? Need I remind you that there are plenty of hand towels at home?”

He Chuzhou pointed at the hem of the skirt and said: “It has heart-patterned lace.”

Pei Xi: “ ? ? ? ”

Pei Xi: “What about this neck wrap? It’s too big for Xiao Yueliang, and too small for He Xingxing. Or do you plan to use it yourself?”

He Chuzhou: “It’s also good to hang on the wall as a decoration. Look here, it has a small pink heart pendant~”

Pei Xi: “……”

He watched as He Chuzhou tossed a heart-shaped omelette maker into the cart and finally understood the basis of his purchasing these things.

It was so ridiculous that Pei Xi really wanted to call him crazy.

But He Chuzhou argued that these were all testaments to his love. Otherwise, why could they be made into hearts when there were so many other shapes in the world? Why would they be placed in front of him when there were so many other places they could be put?

While Pei Xi was at a loss for words, He Chuzhou recalled something. With his belly pressed against the push handle of the cart, he tilted his head and confirmed seriously with Pei Xi: “Xinxin, we’re dating now, right?”

Pei Xi really didn’t want to pay attention to him right now: “Something like that.”

He Chuzhou: “My baby, this isn’t something casual.”

Pei Xi: “Whatever you say.”

“No, Xinxin, you have to confirm it. You can’t be so casual.”

He Chuzhou gave a hiss and began to whisper persistently: “Look, you like me and I like you, so logically speaking, we can date now.”

“We’ve met each other’s parents, and none of them object.”

“We’ve been living together for such a long time, and I warm your bed for you every day. We’re already ahead of eight hundred couples at the starting line.”

“We’ve kissed. That was my first kiss, Xinxin. I gave you my first kiss, so you have to be responsible for me.”

“What first kiss? Your first kiss was way before—”

Pei Xi couldn’t take it anymore, and was halfway through his retort when he suddenly noticed something from the corner of his eye. When he looked back, two girls next to the shelves blushed and turned around, pretending to be browsing.

Their ears were still pricked up.

Pei Xi: “…….”

He Chuzhou: “Xin—”

“Shut up!” Pei Xi raised his hands to cover his burning ears and strode forward: “We’re pretty much done, let’s go pay.”

He Chuzhou: “Then are we—”

Pei Xi: “Yes! We’re dating! You’re my boyfriend now. If you don’t leave with me, we’re breaking up right here.”

“ ! ”

Breaking up right after they started dating? 

That wouldn’t do!

He Chuzhou quickly followed him with the shopping cart.

He whispered “boyfriends” a couple of times as he walked at a brisk pace. A mirror on a shelf reflected his figure as he walked past, his expression all smiles.

Coincidentally, they ran into that auntie again when they were checking out.

He Chuzhou didn’t avoid her this time, and even took the initiative to say before she could open her mouth: “Oh, yes, I’m shopping here again with my wife.”

The auntie: “Yi?”

Pei Xi: “……”

The two girls had also come to pay, and were standing in the back. When they heard what He Chuzhou said, they exchanged glances and raised their hands to cover their smiles.

Pei Xi went outside empty-handed to cool down in the cold breeze.

He’d made the wrong decision.

He shouldn’t have rushed.

If he’d known that a certain person would be such a show-off now, he would have made him slowly pursue him until next year or the year after.

He Chuzhou had bought too many things. Pei Xi tried to help him carry them on the way back, but gave up halfway through.

This guy was endlessly obstinate right now.

When Pei Xi opened the door outside the front yard, not paying attention, there was sudden warmth pressed to his cheek as he was ambushed again. 

The white mist of a hot exhale was very evident in the cold air. He turned his head and waited for the mist to pass, then saw He Chuzhou’s eyes under the warm yellow street lights. Pei Xi was the sole thing reflected in them.

His heart skipped a beat, and he asked softly: “What is it?”

He Chuzhou’s smile made Pei Xi’s heart pound: “I suddenly remembered how you poured me some ice water before. It was so cute.”

After saying that, he thought for a moment and added: “No, not suddenly. You’re the only thing on my mind right now. This isn’t lovers’ prattle, just an objective fact.”

Pei Xi pursed his lips and said nothing.

He Chuzhou asked: “Why do you like me, ah?”

It couldn’t really be because of the bouquet of roses, right?

Pei Xi knew he would ask this, but hadn’t thought of an excuse yet, so he could only answer a question with a question: “Why do you guys like to ask these kinds of questions?”

“You guys?”

He Chuzhou stared blankly, then said in shock: “Who else has asked you?”

Pei Xi: “When my university roommate was in love, he asked his girlfriend this question every night over the phone.”

He Chuzhou heaved a sigh of relief and quickly kissed his fresh, warm boyfriend again to calm down.

Pei Xi: “And then his girlfriend broke up with him.”

He Chuzhou: “……”

Pei Xi glanced at the man who’d suddenly become as quiet as a chicken, and the corners of his mouth rose slightly.

As he opened the door, he threw out a half-truth: “Because you’re nice to look at.”

*

*

Wu Qing: [I know, damn it, I know!]

Wu Qing: [I know you’re in that period where you’re head over heels in love! I know your wife praised you for being good-looking! But can you please stop trying to drag me into your love life? Am I a cheap person?]

Wu Qing: [Be careful showing off like this, or your wife’s superficial love for you might wear off tomorrow!]

He Chuzhou: [You’re superficial.]

He Chuzhou: [I’m a single tire. My mom only gave birth to me, a son. The only man in the world who looks like this is me. My wife likes my face, which means that he likes me the most in the world. / sun glasses / sunglasses]

He Chuzhou: [You know nothing about such profound love.]

Wu Qing: [Fuck you!]

Wu Qing: [Fine, fine, I know nothing.]

Wu Qing: [I’ll give you a free one-day tour of the blacklist.]

Wu Qing: [Get lost ! ! ! ! ]

He Chuzhou attempted to send an emoticon and actually saw the red exclamation point that indicated he’d been blocked. Tsk, tsk, as expected.

His damage threshold was only this high.

Then why was his damage so low when he played games?

He regretfully closed the chat box with Wu Qing, then opened his friend group chat and shared the good news of his love life once more.

Unfortunately, those inside had already heard about his marriage from Wu Qing, and responded to his insanity in a perfunctory manner.

He Chuzhou sought out Yun Ji.

Yun Ji was working overtime on plans for the next quarter, and after receiving this message, he was endlessly irritated.

Yun Ji: [Brother, it’s been so long. Don’t I already know you have a boyfriend? Why must you tell me again?]

Yun Ji: [I’m just a simple, hard-working employee. What’s the point of showing off your love life to me, ah, what’s the point?]

Yun Ji: [That’s enough about you two. Stop playing all kinds of weird games in front of me!]

Yun Ji: [Believe it or not, I won’t keep it a secret for you anymore! I’ll tell Auntie and she’ll hit you over the head!]

He Chuzhou felt that Yun Ji couldn’t afford to play.

And he wasn’t playing, ah, he was just sharing the joy.

Besides, Mrs. Chu wouldn’t hit him over the head—

Right, Mrs. Chu!

If there was anyone in the world who would share his joy at this moment, it was certainly her.

He happily found Mrs. Chu’s profile picture, copied and pasted the message, and sent it to her.

In the bathroom.

Pei Xi turned off the water and wiped it from his body. As he put on his clothes, he still didn’t understand how He Chuzhou was so easy to fool.

He was able to get away with it so easily by saying “Because you’re nice to look at.”

So what was the point of dithering for so long and not daring to speak up…..?

With mixed feelings, he went to the outer room and threw his clothes into the washing machine. Looking up, he saw his reflection in the mirror and was immediately dazed.

He looked the same as before.

But not entirely the same.

He couldn’t explain it. The fact that he had a boyfriend didn’t seem real.

He was really together with He Chuzhou.

It wasn’t a pretense to hide something, and it wasn’t his imagination due to his disordered memory. They were really together.

They had started a relationship when he was in his right mind.

His brain repeated this mantra countless times inside his skull, regardless of his will. It was an unfamiliar and complicated feeling.

He lifted a hand and placed it over his heart, as if he could feel the heat rising inside…..

“I didn’t, you’ve misunderstood.”

“No, Mom, listen to me—”

“Tsk!”

Sounds from the bedroom brought him back to his senses.

He put his hand down, opened the door, and walked out with a blush on his face. He was about to ask what was wrong when he heard Mrs. Chu’s voice sound from the speakerphone: “What kind of love are you in?”

“I’m asking you, who are you dating?!”

“Who are you dating when you already like Xinxin?!”

“Who did you learn to behave like this from? Or have you been bewitched by some short-sighted bimbo outside?!!”

“I’m telling you, if you dare to play the game of using someone and abandoning them, believe it or not, I’ll beat your head straight off!”

---

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Chapter 63 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 65