On the second day of the New Year, the two of them got up early in the morning and rushed to the airport. After flying for a while, a message came from He Aiyue, who had just woken up and was asking where they were.

He Aiyue: [Hurry back, we’re going to discuss whether to go hiking or see the ice sculptures.]

He Aiyue: [Oh, right! There’s a third option now, going to the snowy mountains to soak in the hot springs!]

He Chuzhou: [I choose option four.]

He Aiyue: [Where did a fourth option come from?]

He Chuzhou: [/location]

He Aiyue: [ ? ? ? ]

He Chuzhou: [Tell this to Mom: Your sons will not be joining you on the New Year’s tour. We’re on our way to Finland to see the Northern Lights.]

He Aiyue: [ ? ? ? ? ? ]

He Aiyue: [Damnit! You!]

He had a feeling there would be a string of unpleasant messages appearing in the chat box. He Chuzhou wisely turned off the notifications.

He put down his phone and gently leaned the swaying head next to him against his shoulder as a pillow.

Outside the window was a vast expanse of white clouds and bright sunshine.

A good sign, he thought with satisfaction.

Then he would just hope that this trip would be, um…..what he wanted it to be.

After more than ten hours of flight time, Pei Xi caught up on his sleep. He ate a delicious airplane meal, listened to his boyfriend talk excitedly about their travel itinerary after landing, then closed his eyes and successfully fell asleep again.

When he awoke again, the plane was circling the airport in preparation for landing.

It was 4:00 China time and 10:00 Finland time. Pei Xi looked out the window and saw a world covered in white snow. This was a rare visual treat for a person who seldom saw snow.

Of course, the temperature was also “a treat.”

“You’ve been planning this trip for a long time, haven’t you?”

Standing in the negative ten degree air, Pei Xi felt as if his mind was entirely refreshed: “The temperature in your hometown is so high, but you still brought so many sweaters and thick jackets.”

He Chuzhou gave him a thumbs up: “My wife is wise.”

Pei Xi: “Why did you want to come here all of a sudden?”

He Chuzhou: “Huh? Does there need to be a reason? Seeing the Northern Lights is just a whim.”

Pei Xi’s eyes narrowed. He Chuzhou blew out a breath and rubbed his hands together, then walked forward with his arm around the other person: “Aiyo, it’s so cold. Honey, look, my hands are about to freeze off. Take me inside to warm up.”

Pei Xi was hugged by him all the way inside. Perhaps his brain had frozen in the cold air. After thinking about it, he actually felt that it made some sense.

Watching the Northern Lights was indeed worthy of a sudden whim.

Phone cards, shuttle bus, hotel, and lunch – He Chuzhou had arranged everything. Pei Xi didn’t need to use his brain at all. He just had to follow He Chuzhou and accept his arrangements.

There was plenty of annual leave, so the two of them weren’t in a hurry to return home, and spent a day and a night lavishly adjusting to the jet lag and the icy weather here.

The next day, they slept until they woke up naturally, and ate a breakfast meticulously prepared by the hotel, then set off for the first stop of their journey. It was a must-see attraction in Rovaniemi – Santa Claus Village.

An hour later.

The two people stood in front of a wooden house covered in snow, watching in silence as another Santa Claus drove past them on a reindeer sleigh carrying three tourists.

The parents on the reindeer sleigh were so cold that their eyes were dull, devoid of the will to live. Only the child sitting between the two of them, covered up snugly, was cheering with hands raised.

“……”

“……”

“Xinxin, do you want—”

“No, I don’t.”

“Good. I don’t really want to either.”

With two votes, Santa Claus Village was directly passed by. The two bought some postcards at the store entrance to send back home. After He Chuzhou confirmed the route, their destination changed to the Christmas Park not far away.

The Christmas Park was built in an underground cave, with a distinctive theme. It could be said that there was a pervasive atmosphere of Christmas everywhere. The most important factor was that it wasn’t exposed to the wind and cold, so it was very suitable for a leisurely stroll.

He Chuzhou’s little SLR started out functional, but after taking a few photos, he started to regret not bringing his Polaroid camera. It would be perfect if he could send photos along with the post cards.

Pei Xi swept a dried Christmas flower across his brow: “Gege, need I remind you why you didn’t bring the Polaroid?”

He Chuzhou: “Huh?”

Pei Xi: “Because your suitcase was so full that there wasn’t even room for a bottle cap.”

“Really? I brought so much stuff?”

He Chuzhou recalled what he’d brought with him. When passing by a souvenir stand, he didn’t neglect to buy two reindeer ornaments: “I’ll give them to Xingxing and Yueliang, one per person. That is, one per dog and cat.”

While selecting some seasonal dried flowers, they met a French couple.

The other party was currently in intense conversation, and the main reason the two couples began interacting was because the blond-haired, green-eyed man said angrily in Chinese: “Fuck!”

“Fuck?” This sentence came from He Chuzhou.

The other two were very happy to hear that they were from China. They said that they loved China and were working hard to learn Chinese, excitedly endeavoring to communicate with them in the language.

However……

“Fertile, tender chicken not a pink drinking house, milk department jelly rice, yo. What fun to mix with here we are!”

Pei Xi: “……”

He Chuzhou: “……”

They looked at each other in silence, then back at the cheerful, talkative international friends who were speaking gibberish:

“I’m sorry, but what are you saying?” 

The pleasant Chinese exchange they had imagined was aborted. Pei Xi learned from them that they had just gotten married, and had taken special leave to come here for their honeymoon.

The one with green eyes was named Leo, and the one with blue eyes was named Wilma. It was evident that they were very much in love. When they showed the matching wedding rings on their fingers, their faces were overtaken by ecstatic smiles.

“What a coincidence. It’s the same for us.”

He Chuzhou replied thus: “Plus, it was just the Chinese New Year, so my wife and I wanted to take advantage of the holiday to see the Northern Lights.”

Leo and Wilma were very interested in both the Chinese New Year and the Northern Lights, and asked He Chuzhou many questions about them.

Pei Xi wasn’t a talkative person, and was absent-minded for a while as they chatted. He looked down at Leo and Wilma’s wedding rings, then at his and He Chuzhou’s bare knuckles.

Honeymoon…..?

Perhaps only Pei-calico would be able to confidently call this a honeymoon.

After saying their goodbyes, He Chuzhou and Pei Xi left the Christmas Park. It was snowing heavily outside the cave, and the world as far as the eye could see had become a snow globe.

But it was only suitable to be viewed from a warm room with a burning fireplace, so they quickly returned to the hotel room and took many pictures of the snow globe through the window.

The next two days, they maintained their leisurely schedule. Rather than a tour, it might be more appropriate to call it a vacation – although it was rare to go to the northern hemisphere on vacation during the winter.

The Northern Lights were a rare sight to behold. He Chuzhou had been paying attention to the aurora forecast, but to this day, there was still no definite news.

On the fourth day in Finland, they planned to visit the Aurora Museum. If they didn’t end up being able to see the actual Northern Lights, they could at least experience it at the museum.

On the way there, they passed by a Lutheran church. Coincidentally, a warm, exquisite wedding was taking place inside.

Pei Xi saw from afar that the two newlyweds were both tall, handsome men. Wearing clean white suits, they walked to the altar with the blessings of their relatives and friends, exchanged rings and vows, and kissed each other.

He Chuzhou was buying hot cocoa from a dessert window twenty meters away, and waved him over when they were ready.

Pei Xi turned back three times on the short journey until the scene entered his blind spot. When he could no longer see it, he withdrew his gaze and took the hot cocoa He Chuzhou handed to him.

“Do you like that church a lot?” He Chuzhou asked. “Then do you want to go over and take a look?”

Pei Xi shook his head: “No need. I just finished looking around, it’s not very big. Let’s go.”

The heat of the cocoa transferred through the paper cup to his palm, and Pei Xi just then remembered that he was standing in Finland, where same-sex marriage was entirely legal.

The Aurora Museum was really interesting. It told the history of Finland and the origin of the aurora, but Pei Xi was a little distracted. The hot cocoa went from hot, to warm, to cold, and only a small amount was gone.

It was actually very obvious that he was distracted, but He Chuzhou didn’t notice at all, as he was distracted for once too. 

While admiring the simulated aurora, He Chuzhou would occasionally reach into his pocket. He looked like he was going to take something out, but his expression was conflicted, hesitant, and indecisive.

In the end, he took his cell phone out of his other pocket. Biting his cheek, he refreshed the news over and over, waiting for a miracle to happen.

The two people had their own thoughts, and neither noticed the peculiarities of the other.

When leaving the experience center, He Chuzhou happened to see a message, and his expression turned overjoyed: “Honey, we have hope of seeing the Northern Lights.”

Pei Xi was about to respond, when two familiar voices sounded behind him. Wilma and Leo called out their Chinese names with distorted accents, striding happily toward them.

Fortunately, Leo consciously switched to English during the conversation: “There’s a good chance we’ll see the Northern Lights tonight. Have you signed up with an aurora-chasing group?”

He Chuzhou responded in the negative: “We just received news.”

Leo cheered: “Great, then come with us!”

Wilma: “We signed up with the best aurora-chasing group in Rovaniemi. And we heard that the chances of seeing the aurora tonight is seventy percent, so with the addition of their keen insight, we should have a one hundred percent chance!”

*

*

The aurora convoy set off at 8:30. After getting in the vehicle, Pei Xi discovered that there were more than their two groups, and more than one car.

There were six or seven of them in total, and others joined during their journey. It seemed there was a large number of tourists chasing the aurora tonight.

Everyone in the vehicle chatted excitedly in differently-accented English. He Chuzhou didn’t join in. He touched Pei Xi’s face to confirm his temperature, asking in a low voice if he was sleepy.

“Are you sleepy?” Pei Xi returned.

He Chuzhou: “You don’t understand my biological clock yet. I don’t sleep until the moon sleeps.”

Pei Xi smiled and squeezed his hand.

His fingertips were cold. He Chuzhou brought them to his mouth and blew on them, then rubbed them between his hands to warm them up.

Leo: “Some people make wishes on the Northern Lights. Is this the same as wishing upon a shooting star or cat whiskers? It’s rare for those wishes to come true.”

Wilma: “Maybe when the aurora appears, you can make a wish for a rainbow to appear outside the window tomorrow morning to test it.”

Leo: “Forget it, I’d rather wish for you to help me pick out every last black pepper in tomorrow’s breakfast.”

The driver laughed: “My friend from afar, if that’s the case, I would rather say that a wish made under the aurora will last as long as the ice and snow in the Arctic Circle.”

Pei Xi’s heart moved. He glanced up at He Chuzhou.

The latter grasped his fingertips and muttered to himself: “It has to come out, ah. Otherwise, this trip would be in vain…..”

Pei Xi: “Why would it be in vain?”

He Chuzhou: “Hm? It’s nothing, just that we’ve traveled so far in the freezing cold just to see the aurora. If we can’t see it, it would all be in vain.”

The process of aurora-chasing was not as smooth as expected. From 8:30 to 9:00, then from 9:00 to 10:00 and 10:30, they changed locations three times in total until they finally stopped upstream of a frozen river. 

There was an endless field of snow, with only dead branches left on the trees. Occasionally, the frozen surface of the water reflected a slight, flowing blue radiance.

Pei Xi sat slightly above water level and waited. He guessed that the aurora must have appeared here more than once, because there were wooden chairs built around the area that weren’t covered in snow.

He Chuzhou crouched beside the vehicle and asked the driver some questions, then quickly climbed up and sat next to Pei Xi.

The others gathered on the river below, extremely interested in the fish they could see swimming below the surface of the ice.

“Maybe we could add an aurora design to the aquarium,” Pei Xi said. “The aurora, the universe, and the ocean. Nobody could dislike that.”

“Makes sense. I’ll tell them when we go back.”

He Chuzhou took a thermal hand warmer from his pocket. He broke the small metal sheet inside, and the liquid began to solidify and emit heat.

He placed it in Pei Xi’s hands to keep them warm.

This thing was very convenient, but unfortunately very short-lived, and cooled down faster than a hot water bottle. But there was nothing to be done. People in the Arctic Circle didn’t seem to be afraid of the cold, and there were no hand warmers or hot water bottles to be bought, so he bought this item when he passed by the children’s toys area. 

It was Pei Xi’s first time seeing such a hand warmer. He turned it over in his palm, wanting to know what the hot substance inside was.

He Chuzhou looked toward the horizon and abruptly posed a question: “Xinxin, do you think the gods have national boundaries? Do they usually communicate with each other?”

Pei Xi looked up: “What?”

He Chuzhou: “If I make the wish I wished on the river lanterns again to the aurora, will it cancel out or be doubled?”

Pei Xi: “……”

Pei Xi: “Are you considering a job in theology?”

He Chuzhou laughed: “I’m just kidding.”

“Hey, guys, why are you up there?”

Wilma looked up at them and called out: “Want to come down and see the fish? There are a bunch of fat ones here. It seems like they’re waiting for the aurora too.”

He Chuzhou waved a hand in refusal: “No thanks, it’s freezing cold. I’ll get hungry if I look.”

Pei Xi noticed that He Chuzhou’s fingers were red from the cold and couldn’t help but frown, reaching out to warm them up. In the next second, He Chuzhou put his hand in his pocket, and the backs of Pei Xi’s fingertips hit something solid through the layer of down. 

It didn’t feel like a hand. The SLR camera was around his neck, and He Chuzhou didn’t usually put his hand in his left pocket, so Pei Xi asked: “What else did you bring?”

He Chuzhou: “Nothing, ah.”

Pei Xi: “Then what’s in your pocket?”

He Chuzhou moved his fingers through the cloth: “My hand, of course.”

Pei Xi didn’t believe him. He tried to reach into his pocket and feel around, but before he could even touch it, He Chuzhou suddenly bent over and said it tickled, covering his pocket to prevent it from being touched.

What a contrived performance.

Pei Xi was now completely certain that He Chuzhou was doing something behind his back, but what exactly it was, he didn’t know.

As he was dithering over whether to give up or pursue his curiosity to the end, the crowd below suddenly burst into an uproar. Pei Xi raised his head to see a green band of light floating and flaring silently in the sky.

The surprise came so suddenly that people were taken off guard.

The fish-watching crowd hurriedly took out their cameras and began to take pictures. With the sound of shutters clicking, they sighed over the natural phenomenon: 

“It’s a big flare-up. You’re so lucky, Dear.”

“I figured we wouldn’t be able to see it!”

“God, it’s like a floating green galaxy, stretching and curling!”

“Is it in the shape of the wind?”

“So beautiful! So novel! So spectacular! Wilma, look, the edges are purple!”

“I swear, this is the most beautiful thing I’ve seen in my life!  An unparalleled view!”

“Oh my god, it’s so beautiful I forgot what I wanted to wish for.”

Pei Xi stared upwards unblinkingly. The gorgeous aurora meandered all the way across the sky to the polar horizon, the unique green light illuminating his preparations for reckless action.

As he listened to the crowd’s passionate exclamations, he felt his heart beating increasingly harder.

As a different-colored streak of light passed overhead, amid the grand scenery and loud exclamations, he clenched the cold hand warmer in his hands.

Filling his lungs with a silent breath of cold air, he closed his eyes and abruptly turned to He Chuzhou: “Let’s get married.”

He Chuzhou paused blankly mid-action.

Their eyes met, and Pei Xi slowly lowered his gaze to find that He Chuzhou had taken out a small black box at some point, silently extending it to him.

The ring had a blue pattern at the base, inlaid with gemstones that looked like a wave of pearls held up from the depths of the sea. It shone brightly under the aurora.

“……”

“……”

“I, um, prepared this.”

He Chuzhou scratched his head, feeling awkward: “Baby, how about you take yours back and let me ask?”

THE END

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T/N: Stay tuned for the extras!

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Chapter 72 << Table of Contents >> Extra 1