In the afternoon, Yuan Mian stayed home to sort things out.
After a while, Zhang Su’an came over to help. Before arriving, he had confidently patted his chest and guaranteed that his stamina was excellent and his strength unmatched.
Once he arrived, however, half the day passed without much actual labor being done. Instead, he wandered around the house, clicking his tongue nonstop.
He had already been here once during the small wedding. At the time, he had been too busy being surprised, surprised that Yuan Mian had quietly bought back the old house and surprised by the lineup at the small wedding.
Who showed up wasn’t particularly eye catching; who didn’t show up was what truly made people pause. Hu Guangtong had even invited the nanny who had taken care of him when he was young to raise a glass in celebration yet his biological father hadn’t received an invitation at all. It was something worth savoring.
Zhang Su’an was a bit of a gossip at heart but he didn’t dig too deeply back then.
Now, walking through the place again, he was struck once more by a strong feeling: everything seemed no different from several years ago.
“The upstairs hasn’t been renovated at all.”
“The basement downstairs hasn’t either.”
“I remember this light, Auntie picked it out, right? Her taste was really good. Even now, it doesn’t look outdated at all.”
Yuan Mian said, “That’s totally normal. Renovating this kind of house would be way too disruptive. The two owners after we sold it basically kept everything as it was. If I hadn’t bought it back now, ten or twenty years later it might still look exactly the same.”
Because he and Yuan Mian had been close playmates since childhood, Zhang Su’an used to come here often. Thinking back on the past and comparing it to the present, it was hard not to feel that things had changed beyond recognition.
But Yuan Mian, the very person who should have been the most tragic, was clearly much more open minded than Zhang Su’an. After letting him look around to his heart’s content, Yuan Mian got straight to the point and dragged Zhang Su’an into work like a draft animal.
The two of them worked nonstop.
They worked until both of them were lightly sweating, then collapsed in the living room, drinking hand mixed fruit drinks that had been chilled in advance in the refrigerator.
On the massive screen, a movie starring Yuan Mian was playing. On the wall behind the sofa hung the wedding photo of Yuan Mian and Hu Guangtong.
Yuan Mian asked Zhang Su’an, “So? What do you think?”
Zhang Su’an said, “About what?”
Yuan Mian shook his juice cup.
With that question, Zhang Su’an understood, it was something Hu Guangtong had mixed.
He couldn’t help but feel impressed. “Isn’t he way too much of a virtuous husband?”
Yuan Mian said, “Isn’t that so healing?”
Zhang Su’an didn’t really get that sort of thing. Still, considering that Hu Guangtong had personally made it, something most rich second generation kids would never even get the chance to try, he took a couple of sips. It did seem pretty good. Hard to say for sure but praising it wouldn’t hurt.
Sure enough, the praise landed perfectly. As soon as he said Hu Guangtong’s skills were good, Yuan Mian smiled, the corners of his mouth lifting, light shimmering in his eyes.
Zhang Su’an was momentarily stunned and asked in surprise, “Don’t you think you look even better now than before?”
There were images of Yuan Mian both before and after. In the movie, the Yuan Mian captured on screen was even two years younger than he was now, his beauty radiant and dazzling, like a camellia in full bloom.
People always said fame nourished a person, that the entertainment industry could remake someone entirely yet the Yuan Mian standing here, who had already left the industry, was visibly more vivid and alive than before, like flower petals glistening with dew, his skin flushed with a rosy vitality and a smooth, jade like sheen.
“That relationship before was toxic,” Yuan Mian said. “Toxic enough to poison me.”
“Alright, still staring? Keep looking and you’ll fall in love.”
It was rare to hear Yuan Mian mention Fu Tianle. On second thought, that line suited Yuan Mian’s personality perfectly, no lingering attachment, no fixation, completely freed.
It was as if the past belonged to another lifetime, something he could casually joke about now. Zhang Su’an was thinking this when Yuan Mian suddenly made him laugh again.
Alright. What had changed wasn’t just his looks, Yuan Mian himself had become more and more cheerful now, even a little mischievous.
They went back to work.
As they worked, Zhang Su’an asked, “When are you leaving?”
This time it was Yuan Mian who didn’t understand. “Leaving where?”
“Your honeymoon. Don’t tell me you’re not going on one? Is Guangtong that busy? You made the wedding so grand and you didn’t even plan the honeymoon together?”
Yuan Mian said, “Do the two of us really need a honeymoon? For us, every day together is a honeymoon.”
Zhang Su’an thought he was joking. He made exaggerated noises of disgust, his face twisted sourly, until Yuan Mian didn’t follow up for a long while and he realized Yuan Mian was being completely serious.
“Damn.” Zhang Su’an’s scalp tingled. He felt uncomfortable all over from being shown off to this degree.
“What about your career, then? What do you plan to do next?” Even as he said it, the lingering impact was strong enough that he couldn’t help but bump Yuan Mian with his shoulder.
Yuan Mian had clearly been well trained by now. Even when saying something “infuriating,” he did it calmly and seriously. “I’m going to play football.”
“Why don’t you go kick the moon instead.”
The two chatted and laughed as they worked. It really did sound like a joke but Yuan Mian was serious.
That night, after Hu Guangtong finished clearing his work and came home, the two of them had dinner. Then they went up to the terrace to look at the stars in the night sky. Yuan Mian nestled into Hu Guangtong’s arms and brought it up again.
“I’ll play for a month first. I really loved football when I was a kid.”
Hu Guangtong wrapped his arms around him and asked, “What happened later? Why did you stop?”
“I kept losing and my mentality broke.”
Yuan Mian’s previous career had undoubtedly been a great success. Although he had never wanted to enter it in the beginning and although the process had accumulated a great deal of unhappiness, it had indeed brought him financial freedom.
Even if everything on Hu Guangtong’s side were completely set aside, his personal savings alone were enough to allow him to live out his entire life in an extremely lavish way.
Because of this, Yuan Mian felt very little utilitarian pressure when it came to his future. He made himself a “life experience list,” planning to try every single thing he was interested in at least once.
Hu Guangtong supported all of his actions.
It had been the same with the motorcycle race before. When Yuan Mian came off the track and took his hand, he noticed that Hu Guangtong’s palm was damp, he had been worried about his safety yet from beginning to end, he had never stepped forward to stop him.
Naturally, afterward, many dangerous occupations quietly disappeared from Yuan Mian’s plans.
The two of them were wrapped in the same blanket.
The wind was cold but the blanket was warm and cozy.
Yuan Mian suddenly thought of what Hu Guangtong had said that morning at the cemetery: “I feel very happy right now.” At the time, it had sounded a bit literary to him. Now, at this moment, he found himself feeling the same way.
However, the feeling didn’t last very long.
Yuan Mian hissed softly, turned around and bumped his head against Hu Guangtong’s chest.
Happiness immediately became secondary. He pushed him toward the house and urged him, “Let’s go back, let’s go back! My feet are freezing!”
✦ ✧ ✦
Fleurveil
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
We have reached the inevitable coffee solicitation.
☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
✧ (づ｡•ㅅ•｡)づ ☕ ✧
✦ thank you for reading ✦
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ChaptersChapter 1 · Why don’t you go and keep him company?Chapter 2 · He opened the door and left without looking backChapter 3 · Why Hu Guangtong of all people?Chapter 4 · Have you broken up with Fu Tianle?Chapter 5 · Hello, I am Yuan Mian’s fiancé.Chapter 6 · You liked Hu Guangtong from the beginningChapter 7 · I want to spend the rest of my life with you.Chapter 8 · Have you seen Yuan Mian recently?Chapter 9 · Yuan Mian has already started talking to someone elseChapter 10 · He wasn’t Yuan Mian’s first love?Chapter 11 · Are you comparable to Hu Guangtong?Chapter 12 · Yuan Mian would certainly love Hu GuangtongChapter 13 · They’re going home together for dinnerChapter 14 · Extra 1Chapter 15 · Extra 2Chapter 16 · Extra 3