Translator: dounai
Editor: mantou
46
Chen Zhuo’s training ended at 8pm and upon returning to his hotel room, he saw that he had been receiving messages from Ji Xiaobei since six in the evening: Two more hours to the end of class!
One hour and forty-five more minutes left to the end of class!
One hour and twenty-eight minutes left to the end of class!
Fifty-seven minutes left to the end of class!
… …
One minute left!
Class has ended! Class has ended! Class has ended!
Have you ended class yet?
Quick, give me some attention!
Pay attention to me!
Pay attention to me!
Hmph!
Chen Zhuo gave him a call, “I just got back, what are you doing?”
“Waiting for you…” Ji Xiaobei replied in seriousness.
Chen Zhuo was tremendously moved, “Be good, I’ll be back real quick.”
“Waiting for you to read a book to me! Quick, quick!” Ji Xiaobei continued.
Recently, they have been reading ‘Harry Potter’ and it all started when Ji Xiaobei realized that Chen Zhuo did not know what ‘Lumos’ was. Since then, he decided to have his lover read Harry Potter.
These were his original words: There are three years in one generation gap and between us exists two and a half generation gaps. Shouldn’t you hurriedly worry over how to narrow this gap?
After reading for an hour, Chen Zhuo suddenly asked, “Haven’t you taken a shower yet?”
Ji Xiaobei, “I’ll take a shower later, let’s listen to the story first.”
Chen Zhuo, “No way, go take a shower first, and I’ll continue the story when you snuggle under the blankets.”
Ji Xiaobei, “I don’t want to…”
After a few bouts of varying persuasion attempts, the boy eventually failed to get his way. Ji Xiaobei could only take his shower fumingly and absent-mindedly.
Walking out of the shower dripping wet, Ji Xiaobei heard his phone vibrating. Once the call connected, he got straight to the point and roared, “I’ve showered and I’m on the bed, incredibly thirsty1 and waiting for you!”
It was silent on the other end. Ji Xiaobei blinked a few times, thinking that the connection was weak, “Hello?”
Mother Chen’s voice sounded from the speaker, “… Xiao Bei, it’s mum.”
Ji Xiaobei’s face burned up from embarrassment, “Ah? … Mum! I thought it was Chen Zhuo…”
Mother Chen, “I was thinking that since Chen Zhuo wasn’t home, you would get bored being alone, so I called to have a chat with you.”
Ji Xiaobei flashed an awkward smile, “Haha it’s pretty boring! I have been wanting to find someone to have a chat with!”
On Chen Zhuo’s side, he had been calling him for a long time, to only receive a busy line tone. When it finally connected, he asked Ji Xiaobei, “Who were you on the phone with just now? I have been trying to call you for the longest time.”
Ji Xiaobei recalled the entire humiliating process which happened just now, “Your mum!”2
Yi, how could a child throw curses at someone.
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47
On Chen Zhuo’s birthday, Ji Xiaobei headed to a cake shop in the morning to order a strawberry cake. The lady in the cake shop asked him what would he like to have written on the cake. Since he could not write it down, he could only verbally spell it out after giving it some thought, and he instantly blushed after reciting what he had in mind.
At four-thirty in the evening, he returned to the cake shop to retrieve the cake. Coincidentally, there was another customer collecting a birthday cake at the same time and they accidentally took the wrong one. Unaware, Ji Xiaobei joyfully brought the wrong cake home and after placing it on the table, he headed to the kitchen to prepare dinner.
Chen Zhuo returned home to be greeted by a feast on the table. Still in an apron, Ji Xiaobei rushed into his embrace, “Happy Birthday!”
After the pair sat down, Ji Xiaobei eagerly opened the cake box, revealing what he thought was a pink cake, to Chen Zhuo, “Uhm that… whatever I wanted to say has already been written on the cake!”
Chen Zhuo looked at the cake displayed in front of him — a huge longevity peach with ‘80’ written on it, in the middle was a large word, ‘Shou’3, and on its side were two sentences written in bright and festive red: May your happiness be as immense as the East Sea. May you live as long as the Zhongnan Mountains!
Chen Zhuo, “???”
Chen Zhuo thought that there was something wrong with the cake, but not wanting to let Ji Xiaobei know about it, he kept silent. But after much consideration, he truly wanted to know what was written on the cake. Hence, while they were tossing and turning in bed, he decided to ask.
Chen Zhuo, “Baobei, those words on the cake, I want to personally hear them from you.”
Ji Xiaobei, “No!”
Chen Zhuo, “Say it, I really want to hear them.”
Ji Xiaobei, “I don’t want to…”
After more tossing and turning, Ji Xiaobei did not dare to reject him anymore. He recited the confession on the cake, whining tearfully, “Liking you was great, and I want to continue liking you forever.”
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48
When the seasons started to change, the pair returned to Ji Xiaobei’s house to grab some clothes for spring. Ji Xiaobei sat on the bed cross-legged while Chen Zhuo opened the wardrobe and took out the clothes one by one.
Chen Zhuo, “Do you want the light blue sweatshirt?”
Ji Xiaobei, “Light blue? I don’t have any sweatshirts in light blue, isn’t it grey?”
Chen Zhuo, “Shirt, cotton, white.”
Ji Xiaobei, “Ah? I always thought it was black!”
Chen Zhuo, “Hoodie, that uhm, pink…”
Ji Xiaobei, “Pink?! I have actually worn pink?!”
Chen Zhuo lightly pinched his cheeks, “Isn’t it kind of cute?”
Ji Xiaobei was angered, “I don’t want to be cute!”
After that, Chen Zhuo felt something right at the bottom of the wardrobe and he pulled it out to realize that it was a hard-covered photo album. Chen Zhuo flipped to the first page, and saw a picture of a young lady hugging a baby doll.
Although Ji Xiaobei had praised his mother’s beauty several times, it was the first time Chen Zhuo had actually seen how Mother Ji looked like. She was indeed pretty and fashionable, just like a female celebrity in those olden day Hong Kong films.
There were words written at the back of every picture and behind this very picture: Beibei was born and wrapped in a blanket looking just like a little peanut.
As he continued flipping the pages, there was a picture which was taken when Ji Xiaobei was three or four, showing his bright smile and glittering eyes. The back read: It seems like Beibei loves it when others touch his earlobe, he flashes a smile like this every time someone touches it.
There was a picture in which Ji Xiaobei was carrying a small shoulder bag, crying ugily with his mouth wide open. At the back was: Beibei is entering preschool today, shattering the world with his cries.
And as he flipped further back, the number of pictures dwindled as Ji Xiaobei grew older. There was a picture which showed Ji Xiaobei in a pink woollen sweater, grabbing his sleeves with a sullen face. This time, the back read: Beibei actually likes pink, but he refuses to admit it, saying that boys are not allowed to like pink.
Ji Xiaobei poked his waist, “Chen Zhuo, what are you doing?”
Chen Zhuo put down the photo album, turned around to cuddle him, and placed a kiss on his earlobe, “You look cute wearing pink!”
Ji Xiaobei gave him a scratch, “I’m not!”
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49
Ji Xiaobei said that the remote control for the air-conditioner had run out of batteries, and there were no more new batteries in the house so he wanted to buy some from the supermarket that night.
Hence, after dinner, the pair took a stroll to the supermarket, and Ji Xiaobei rushed while pushing the trolley.
Chen Zhuo, “Give me the trolley, let me push it.”
Ji Xiaobei, “No!”
In fact, Chen Zhuo was worried for nothing. Ji Xiaobei knew the layout of the supermarket at the back of his hand, especially the row with snacks; he knew better than anyone else which shelf held which snacks.
They walked to the shelf which contained puffed grains.
Ji Xiaobei, “I want some potato chips, original and tomato flavoured.”
Chen Zhuo took a packet of each for him.
Listening to its sound, Ji Xiaobei knew that there were only two packets, “That’s too little…”
Chen Zhuo, “We’ll get more after you finish these. You always eat as much as you buy, just eating snacks and not your meals.”
Ji Xiaobei, “I won’t, I’ll only have one packet each time!”
Chen Zhuo, “With the dried shrimps as evidence, I’ll choose not to trust you.”
Ji Xiaobei, “…”
At the desserts and candy shelf, Ji Xiaobei requested, “I want that, the big bagged one, and not the transparent type of gummy.”
Chen Zhuo, “The yoghurt one?”
Ji Xiaobei, “Mm mm.”
Chen Zhuo tossed a packet into the trolley.
Ji Xiaobei, “I want two bags!”
Chen Zhuo, “Sure sure sure, two bags, but you can only have three pieces each day, do you understand?”
Ji Xiaobei, “And mango gummy!”
The trolley was almost full only after a round around the snacks aisle.
Ji Xiaobei, “I want to see the milk.”
Chen Zhuo, “Is it full cream milk? I just bought that yesterday.”
Ji Xiaobei, “Not full cream milk…”
Chen Zhuo, “Yoghurt?”
Ji Xiaobei felt a little ashamed, “It’s not that… It’s those little packets that I had in Beibei’s4 house the other day, do you know which milk was that?”
Chen Zhuo carefully looked at the items in the trolley, and realized that they were all food that were eaten at Beibei’s house. It turned out that after half a month had passed, Ji Xiaobei had constantly been thinking about the snacks belonging to a three and a half year old child…
After paying for the items, Chen Zhuo had three huge bags of food in one hand, and he held the hand of his little piglet in the other.
Chen Zhuo, “Do you know what’s the milk that you wanted to drink?”
Ji Xiaobei, “I don’t…”
Chen Zhuo, “QQ Star5, children’s, growth, milk.”
Ji Xiaobei, “… Oh.”
Upon arriving home, Chen Zhuo remembered their original intention of going to the supermarket — the batteries — was forgotten. Ji Xiaobei didn’t mind, as the things he wanted were bought anyway.
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50
In order to bring Ji Xiaobei back to his hometown over New Year, Chen Zhuo made lots of preparations. Thinking about the increase in passengers at the train station during the Chinese New Year season, the train would definitely be packed, and he was a little worried. He purchased an anti-lost traction rope6 for children online — those with two bracelets, connected with a spring in the middle.
When Ji Xiaobei received the package, he could not tell what product that was, but he did not want to ask Chen Zhuo about it. Hence, he logged into BYE and requested for assistance. The volunteer told him that it was a product meant for children, to prevent the child and the adult from getting separated in crowded areas.
Upon knowing what it was, Ji Xiaobei became unhappy and talked about it with Chen Zhuo over dinner, “I refuse to wear this, why would you lead me around? I think you are humiliating me! I’m going to tell mum about this!”
Chen Zhuo reacted quickly, “It’s like this, the force is mutual, it’s not necessarily that I’m the one who leads, but you can lead me along too.”
After giving it some thought, Ji Xiaobei found that it made sense.
It was almost ten at night, and the sky was already dark, but Ji Xiaobei had suddenly suggested that they went out for a stroll.
Chen Zhuo, “???”
He then watched Ji Xiaobei take the traction rope, secured the two ends to their hands, before dragging Chen Zhuo out of the house. Although there were street lamps along the path, it was still blurry and dusky. Chen Zhuo couldn’t walk quickly, and he was led on by Ji Xiaobei.
It was like this for three consecutive days. “Can you stop humiliating me?” Chen Zhuo said angrily.
Ji Xiaobei was overflowing with arrogance, “This has already been bought, and it ought to exhibit its usefulness, if not it’s going to be such a waste!”
Chen Zhuo, “That’s what you said, you had better remember what you had just said.”
Upon reaching home, Chen Zhuo removed the bracelet on his hand and secured it to the pole of the bed.
Ji Xiaobei was fooled, “I was in the wrong… Laogong!”
Chen Zhuo, “It’s no use, whatever you say today will be of no use.”
Footnote:
1饥渴 (jī kě), lit. hungry and thirsty, used to mean craving for knowledge, love, etc.
2你妈 (nĭ mā), lit. your mum, is also a swear word to mean “fuck you”
3寿 (shòu), means longevity
4Reminder, this Beibei is the little princess (:
5A brand of milk packets for children
6Anti-lost traction rope
icedlattenoice 
Omo…they’re so sweet together
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Relationship goal (*´▽`*)
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