Translator: dounai
Editor: mantou
86
Spring arrived, and the couple found time over the weekend to go on a road trip. Their destination was a new scenic spot in the neighbouring city recommended by Chen Zhuo’s colleague, who said that the cherry blossoms there bloomed beautifully.
Arriving at the scenic spot, Chen Zhuo tightly held onto Ji Xiaobei’s hand, afraid of letting go. When it started to get crowded, the traction rope was donned. Chen Zhuo took up the role of a tour guide, naming the flowers that they passed by, describing their blooms; as red as fire, as pink as an afterglow, and as white as snow.
Although Ji Xiaobei was unable to see, he felt happiness and contentment just from listening to Chen Zhuo. He took many pictures below the cherry blossom trees, with the intention of sending them to Mother Chen.
Indeed, after dinner that day, he rushed to have a video call with her. Excited, he named the flowers that were there, described how they bloomed, something like as red as fire, as pink as an afterglow, and as white as snow.
After speaking, he insisted that Chen Zhuo send the pictures to Mother Chen, letting her enjoy the beautiful scenery too.
Chen Zhuo braced himself and sent a picture, and displayed on it was this: human human human human human human human human human human human Ji Xiaobei human human human human human human human human human human human human human human human human human human human human human.
Chen Zhuo then sent a text to his mum: There were just so many people everywhere, and the flowers were not even in bloom yet, don’t let him know about this!
Hence, Mother Chen cooperated and joined his skit, complimenting the picture – the flowers were pretty, and the person in it was even more good-looking, praising Ji Xiaobei to the skies.
Chen Zhuo silently heaved a sigh of relief, thankful that he was not exposed. Not wanting to disappoint Ji Xiaobei, he used his entire life’s language knowledge to describe the scenery today, and even memorized the primary school’s textbooks…
87
It has been a few years since Ji Xiaobei last celebrated April Fools’ Day. It was different this year as he had Chen Zhuo with him.
In the early morning of April 1st, Ji Xiaobei secretly crawled out of bed and made Chen Zhuo oreos; twisting it, licking it, squeezing a round of toothpaste on it, covering it back, and pressing it together. He made a total of five pieces.
At a glance, Chen Zhuo could tell that something was wrong with the biscuits as he sat at the dining table. To be honest, he had used this trick ten years ago on his father, and had suffered a beating when he returned home from school.
Despite already knowing the truth, he had to pretend that he didn’t because after all, pampering his wife was his forté. Chen Zhuo took a big bite and immediately ran to the toilet. Ji Xiaobei was grinning from ear to ear.
After Chen Zhuo left for work, the boy was hungry and craved for some snacks in the afternoon. Forgetting that his self-created surprise oreos were still on the table, he took one and twisted it, licked it… and licked a mouthful of toothpaste. Ptooey!
Of course, he wouldn’t share such a foolish story with Chen Zhuo.
Chen Zhuo had no intentions to celebrate this day, but Ji Xiaobei had prepared a surprise for him early that morning; he couldn’t let the boy down.
At nightfall, he spotted Ji Xiaobei braising tea eggs again. Using a voice filled with deep sorrow, Chen Zhuo fooled him, saying that he had used the expensive tea leaves to braise the eggs again.
After Ji Xiaobei willingly returned the debt with two papas worth of aching butt, Chen Zhuo finally told him that the black tea was from the supermarket, and merely cost 10 to 20 yuan.
88
Ji Xiaobei rose to fame overnight, and the source of his popularity was from a video on an online video-sharing platform.
The video showed Ji Xiaobei walking out of a supermarket, holding a white cane in one hand and hugging a nylon mesh bag of eggs1 in the other.
The captions wrote: A gege I saw at the entrance of the supermarket, the way he carefully hugged the eggs was so cute! Wishing him to lead a happy life everyday, just like today!
Ji Xiaobei was truly in high spirits that day, because buying eggs meant that he could whip out his specialty dish again – tea eggs!
Chen Zhuo was unaware of it in the beginning, and he got to learn it through his colleague. A few of them whom he was closer to in the team had met Ji Xiaobei before and they sent Chen Zhuo the video while saying, “Isn’t this your little boyfriend?”
Watching it, it was indeed his boyfriend. “Where did you watch this from?” he asked.
Colleague, “This video is really popular, and it even has lots of comments, all complimenting that he’s cute. I have already come across this video a few times today!”
… No wonder he felt the stares of people on them whenever they went out for strolls. They weren’t illusions after all.
After a few days had passed, his colleague stumbled upon another video of him at the entrance of the same supermarket, with descriptions written below: I actually met the little egg gege who was really popular these days! He looks really cute in person! And… I realised that he has two sentences printed on his phone case “Stop staring at me, my partner is a petty person”.
The comment below: What phone case is this! Our egg gege isn’t aware of this, right??? Seems like his partner is really petty!!!
89
Avengers: Endgame was coming to the big screens soon, and Chen Zhuo camped on the app all day and night to fight for tickets. In order to catch Avengers: Infinity War last May, he crammed Ji Xiaobei with information on the Marvel Cinematic Universe in two whole days.
That weekend, the couple laid in bed and watched the film series from Iron Man 1 to Black Panther.
At the end, Chen Zhuo asked, “Baobei, are your ears tired…”
Ji Xiaobei shook his head, “Nope!”
Chen Zhuo, “Ahhh but I’m tired! My eyes are blurry, my mouth feels dry, and I have already drank eight cups of water!”
Ji Xiaobei, “Oh, let’s sleep then!”
Chen Zhuo, “But there’s an area which is not tired yet.”
Not only was it not tired, it was full of vigor. Hence the pair did a little exercise2. Coated in hot perspiration after the workout, they cuddled with their sticky bodies.
Chen Zhuo, “If you could have superpowers, which one would you choose, Beibei?”
Ji Xiaobei wished to return to the past, to the day of the accident, and avoid the car accident with his parents. But in that case, wouldn’t he not get to meet Chen Zhuo in the future?
After some thought, he did not respond, but threw the question back to Chen Zhuo instead, “What superpowers do you wish to have?”
Chen Zhuo, “Time travel, I wish to return to the past.”
Ji Xiaobei was taken aback, “Why?”
Chen Zhuo, “I want to meet you before you turned fifteen.”
I want to be part of your life, the past and everything I have missed, before that unfateful event happened.
Chen Zhuo, “Don’t I already know where you stay, I could return to the past and find you there, knock on the door, and tell your mum that I am your future boyfriend.”
Ji Xiaobei was tickled, “My dad would definitely beat you up, and chase you out of the house with a broom.”
Chen Zhuo, “I’ll just be downstairs, waiting, and waiting, and I’ll continue waiting for you, calling out for you, Beibei, Beibei, and you’ll be upstairs, pulling the curtains apart, waving at me with your little hand, and we’ll agree to elope the next day.”
Ji Xiaobei, “You’re crazy, I wouldn’t even recognise you!”
Chen Zhuo laughed with him, and the couple rolled together on the bed.
In fact, for someone like me, meeting you was the most superior superpower I could ever have, Ji Xiaobei thought.
But feeling a little embarrassed, the boy could only hold Chen Zhuo’s face between his hands, and plant a kiss on the tip of his lover’s nose.
90
After they got together, Chen Zhuo found out that Ji Xiaobei was a picky eater, and there were many types of food that he disliked.
He didn’t eat eggplants, corianders, oyster mushrooms, fresh ginger… and durians.
Certainly, detesting durians was not considered being picky, but if Chen Zhuo believed that it was picky behaviour, then it is.
Ji Xiaobei didn’t eat nuts too. It wasn’t that he couldn’t eat them, but he just disliked them. Chen Zhuo resolved to make him fall in love with nuts; that was step one. Next, he would influence him to eat durians. Although it would be an arduous task, maybe he would succeed?
Ji Xiaobei had no one to care for him for the past five to six years, and it felt fresh to have someone looking out for his daily routines3 now.
He was on his own during his adolescence, and had no one to rebel against. Hence, he often enjoyed going against Chen Zhuo’s “control”.
Chen Zhuo bought a giant bag of mixed nuts, to cultivate his interest in nuts.
When Chen Zhuo got home from work the next day, he found an empty giant packet in the trash. He beamed with delight and a sense of satisfaction filled his heart. But what he saw the very next moment was extremely provocative – small packets of unopened mixed nuts were neatly arranged into a checkered pattern on the coffee table.
All the nuts were still in there, and Ji Xiaobei had picked out every single dried blueberry and blackcurrants from it…
Chen Zhuo’s evil intention rose from his heart, and anger rose from his gallbladder. “Ji! Xiao! Bei! Come here right now!!!” he berated.
1Nylon mesh bag of eggs
2Exercise: Aka, have sex.
3Daily routines: 吃喝拉撒睡 (chī hē lā sā shuì), lit. eat, drink, shit, piss, and sleep.
icedlattenoice 
Thankyou for update…really…really love the cp.my sweet CZ&JX
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