The man is dense? Then hook him until he is not. Does not know how to love? Then hook him until he does.
Chen Qingtang’s tone grew lighter: “I hate begging people for things. It makes me feel humble and pathetic. Even if the other person gives it, I will remind myself over and over: this was begged for.”
Shen He shifted his arms slightly and looked at Chen Qingtang’s hand. In the end, he just snapped his fingers.
Shen He: “Why did you not give up on him?”
Chen Qingtang smiled, the smile bright: “Because I thought at the time, I was the one who liked him first, so I had no choice.”
“Isn’t it just love? I, Chen Qingtang, could afford it; if I give it, I will give it passionately, and if I give it, I will not haggle over the price; I will be generous.”
“There will come a day when I do not love him anymore, and then he will be nothing. When that time comes, I will take all my feelings back and walk away with style.”
He spoke to the sky, ignoring the gaze of Shen He beside him, which had long since turned dark, burning, and churning with something indescribable. Chen Qingtang, who had not experienced love back then, did not know that love was not something you could just take back whenever you wanted. He thought he was the active party, holding the initiative, until he let himself sink and loved Shen He for several years, only to realize he was an idiot.
Chen Qingtang swung his legs: “Sigh, I was too young back then.”
Shen He: “You are very good. He was the one who did not know how to cherish you.”
Chen Qingtang suddenly grew quiet. After a moment, he let out a self-deprecating laugh.
“Actually, I am also a proud person. My pride did not allow me to suffer setbacks in love. But I just had to fall for him…”
If he had not been awakened after dying in a car accident in his past life, realizing that Shen He had committed suicide for him, Chen Qingtang would never have walked into this game again. Come to think of it, what did Shen He do wrong in his past life? At the time, their marriage was not based on love, but because they had reached marriageable age and coincidentally ran into each other. Chen Qingtang chose Shen He because he had a crush on him during college. He had pursued him openly, but was rejected cruelly, and his pride did not allow him to pursue him a second time. That pursuit did not even leave an impression on Shen He. Shen He chose Chen Qingtang simply because a friend introduced them on a blind date, and Chen Qingtang was easy on the eyes and a suitable match. Moreover, both had agreed before the wedding that they were not young anymore, and love was unrealistic, so marriage was just about sharing a life. With this premise, Shen He did nothing wrong. The reason Chen Qingtang suffered was because he fell in love with Shen He and longed for a reciprocal response. Reborn and looking back, Chen Qingtang realized they were just a pair of star-crossed lovers who regrettably missed out on each other. So now that he had a second chance, Chen Qingtang wanted to see if he could have a good outcome.
Shen He lowered his eyes and remained silent. Chen Qingtang glanced at him, unsure of what he was thinking. Thinking he had made the conversation too heavy, he decided to stop: “Enough of this.”
“We have exchanged our secrets now. Are you feeling balanced?”
Shen He gave a soft hum.
Chen Qingtang: “Let us go back. It is late; time to sleep.” He stood up, and the blanket fell with his movement. Shen He quickly reached out to catch the blanket, folded it, and then carefully draped it back over Chen Qingtang’s shoulders, not letting him catch any cold air. For some reason, Shen He suddenly started to feel:
Chen Qingtang is fragile, breakable, and needs to be carefully protected.
He needs to be held in his hands, protected in his heart.
When they reached the tent entrance, before going in, Chen Qingtang looked back at Shen He, narrowed his eyes, and leaned toward him, whispering:
“You do not let me look at others, so who do you want me to look at?”
After saying this, he cast a smirk and ducked into the tent. Shen He stood in the dark night, continuously snapping his fingers.
Look at whom?
He did not know. Shen He only felt that all the bees and butterflies around Chen Qingtang did not deserve him. Therefore, if Chen Qingtang looked at these people, Shen He would feel restless and uncomfortable. It was like seeing a white jade trapped in mud, or flowers fed to pigs. Someone better should be matched with Chen Qingtang.
The tents had been assigned; they were sharing, and since Chen Qingtang did not bring his own, he was sleeping with Chu Xi. Shen He slept with Wei Yan, and Luo Xin squeezed in with a friend Chu Xi brought. Shen He returned to his tent, destined for a sleepless night. Just as he was thinking about playing some games, Wei Yan sent him a file via WeChat.
Wei Yan: “Shen, Shen! You have to check this out!”
Shen He did not rush to open it: “What is it?”
Wei Yan urged: “Good stuff! It is definitely good stuff!”
Shen He opened the video; the network in the wild was not great, and it took over ten seconds to load. When the screen popped up, Shen He’s pupils trembled violently. On the screen, the boy was half-kneeling on the ground, his eyes blindfolded by a black lace strip, leaning forward, his head occasionally nudging forward. The slender, lean waist and the fluid, winding body curves were incredibly hot. In such an ordinary posture, Chen Qingtang managed to make it charming and tantalizing. Shen He’s face quickly flushed deep red, red as blood, including his neck. He felt parched and restless. Near his neck, he could almost feel Chen Qingtang’s scorching hot breath brushing against his heart.
So, this is what it looks like from the third-party perspective.
Such shocking beauty, beautiful to the point of being androgynous, made one stop breathing. No wonder the looks from those people back then…
Shen He slammed his eyes shut, his fingertips trembling as he cut out of the interface as if it had burned him.
Wei Yan giggled: “Nice, right? Very beautiful. I will send it to Little Chen later so he can admire himself too.”
The next moment, he heard Shen He say in a cold voice: “Delete it.”
Wei Yan was stunned: “Huh? Why? This looks so good, why delete it?”
Shen He’s eyes were dark: “Delete it.”
Wei Yan pouted indignantly: “Fine, I will delete it. Why the temper?” He was really just purely admiring it. Wei Yan whispered: “A lot of people recorded it; even if I delete mine, others still have it.”
Shen He gripped his phone tightly: “Who else recorded it?”
Wei Yan scratched his head: “A lot of them. I only recorded it because I saw everyone else holding their phones up.”
Shen He’s expression turned ugly. He got up and strode out of the tent. Wei Yan watched him dash out and shouted: “Where are you going?”
Shen He did not respond.
Half an hour later, Shen He returned. Wei Yan was playing games and asked casually: “It is so late, where did you go?”
Shen He said coldly: “Took care of something.”
He then added: “That video, you did not keep a secret copy, right?”
The suspicious and questioning look made Wei Yan jump up: “We are brothers! Shen, do not insult my integrity!”
Shen He: “Brothers, and you recorded that kind of video of your brother.”
Wei Yan wilted instantly, knowing he was in the wrong: “Ah, I got carried away. Besides, I really did not think it was a big deal.”
Shen He lowered his eyes: “He would care.”
Wei Yan: “Who?”
Shen He did not answer. Wei Yan pondered it and figured it out himself: “Little Chen? He seems to have a good personality; I do not think he would mind being recorded.”
Shen He: “Not minding does not mean he does not care.”
After a simple freshen up, Chen Qingtang lay on the bed playing with his phone. Chu Xi returned from Zhou Chen’s tent and lay down with him: “Sigh, how long has it been since we slept together like this?”
Chen Qingtang said lazily: “No idea.”
Chu Xi leaned over to lean on him: “Stop playing, let us talk for a bit.”
Chen Qingtang’s nostrils flared, his brow furrowing slightly: “You smell, get away from me.”
Chu Xi sniffed his arm: “Is it bad? Maybe I picked it up at Zhou Chen’s.” He knew Chen Qingtang’s nose was sensitive; if a normal person thought something smelled bad, for Chen Qingtang, that smell would be magnified several times over. Chu Xi immediately rolled off the bed, freshened up, changed into a clean set of pajamas, and climbed back onto the bed.
Chu Xi: “Smell this. To accommodate you, all my toiletries are the same brand as yours. Am I not pampering you?”
Ever since Chu Xi learned of Chen Qingtang’s sensitive nose when they were kids, he had changed all his laundry detergent, body wash, shampoo, face cleanser, and body lotion to the same brand as Chen Qingtang’s just so he could hang out with him every day. Every time Chen Qingtang changed brands, he would follow suit. This was something only Chu Xi had persistently insisted on for over a decade.
Chen Qingtang stroked his hair: “Good boy.”
Just as they were talking, Chu Xi’s phone rang. He picked it up and saw a message from Zhou Chen.
Chen Qingtang: “What is wrong?”
Chu Xi showed him the phone screen; it was a message from Zhou Chen.
Zhou Chen: I found out someone is circulating a video of your friend playing the game.
Chen Qingtang’s brow tightened. Before he could speak, Zhou Chen’s message popped up again.
Zhou Chen: I feel it is not right. Since they did not have their permission, I made them delete it.
Zhou Chen: You should tell your friend, it is best if he knows about this.
Chen Qingtang’s expression softened. Chu Xi saw the reply too, his expression triumphant: “The person I picked, how… is that?”
Chen Qingtang smiled: “He looks a bit rugged, but he is quite observant, and his character seems pretty good.”
Chu Xi’s tail was almost wagging in the air: “Of course. When has my eye for people ever been wrong?”
Chen Qingtang: “Are there many people who recorded videos of me and Shen He playing the game?”
Chu Xi pursed his lips: “No idea. I was not paying attention; I was busy shipping you and Shen He.”
A moment later, Chu Xi climbed off the bed: “You wait here; they are all friends I brought. My words have weight, I will go make them delete them.”
Chen Qingtang watched him dash out of the tent and rubbed his temples, a bit annoyed. He did not like having that kind of scene recorded. Chen Qingtang was willing to let Shen He appreciate his enticing side; he did not feel embarrassed doing it in public, but having it recorded and circulated as a video was another story.
Soon, Chu Xi returned, looking mischievous. He climbed back onto the bed and hugged Chen Qingtang’s arm: “I went to tell them to delete the videos and photos, guess what I discovered.”
Chen Qingtang: “?”
Chu Xi: “They said that the boy playing the game with you had already made them delete all the photos and videos.”
Chen Qingtang’s eyes widened slowly, then his expression softened: “Is that so.”
Chu Xi giggled: “Laugh if you are happy, do not hold it in. Look how happy you are.”
Chen Qingtang arched a brow: “The person I picked is not half bad, either.”
Chu Xi snorted: “Yeah, yeah, whatever.”
“Also, because they are my friends and I am your friend, so they would not fall out with me and put me in a tough spot, Shen He specifically started a group and sent them huge red packets; they all volunteered to delete them.”
“This move of winning hearts and minds was well done, full EQ.”
Chen Qingtang hummed twice. If he had a tail, it would have been wagging high in the air already.
Chu Xi rubbed his shoulder: “Hey, I feel like his possessiveness toward you is so strong; it is like this before you have even started dating, what will it be like after?”
Chen Qingtang replied nonchalantly: “What use is it if he is possessive if he does not realize it himself?”
Chu Xi held his face in his hands: “Then what are you going to do now?”
Chen Qingtang curled the corners of his lips: “Of course…”
Chen Qingtang wanted to make Shen He tell him personally: Your eyes should be on me, only on me.