The weather the following day was pleasant, bright and clear. The group spent the day touring the ancient town, all changing into local ethnic attire to attend the local bonfire party.
Du Jinchen had braided a few small plaits into his short hair, which hung playfully over his shoulder and swung from side to side with the teenager’s movements. His handsome brow bones and high bridge of nose carried a non-purposeful smile, giving him the genuine flavor of an unrestrained Miao minority youth.
The bonfire party was magnificent and grand, packed with a sea of people.
Du Jinchen led Jiang Chu around the crowd to the side of the bonfire, where Yang Qianqian jumped up and waved at them: “Over here!”
By the time the bonfire party officially started, people were surrounded three circles deep with the bonfire at the center. Du Jinchen turned his head to look at Jiang Chu.
“Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?”
The dazzling flames made Jiang Chu’s profile look translucent, a tiny cluster of fire leaping and dancing within those tea-clear, crystalline pupils. Jiang Chu shook his head, his expression very relaxed, evidently swept along by the lively atmosphere of the scene.
That Miao ethnic outfit looked completely natural on Jiang Chu. The weaving and embroidery on the dark, handsome clothing showcased traditional batik craftsmanship, with brocade patterns and embroidery edging the sides and cuffs of the garment. Silver ornaments were inlaid at the neckline, and a ring of beads and white duck feathers decorated the bottom hem, the fluffy little balls swaying along as he walked.
Jiang Chu shook his head again, his fingers absentmindedly pinching one of the fluffy balls. The soft, cottony texture felt exceptionally nice to squeeze.
Seeing Jiang Chu’s childlike gesture, Du Jinchen threw an arm around his shoulder and chuckled: “Stay close to me, don’t get lost.”
The crowd moved in circles clockwise around the bonfire to the rhythm of the music, stepping in dance paces with unrestrained and bright joyful laughter. Du Jinchen mimicked everyone’s dance steps and quickly blended into the rhythm. He turned back to tell Jiang Chu: “You can try dancing like this too. It is very simple.”
After speaking, Du Jinchen demonstrated a couple of steps. The small braids tied at the ends of his hair fluttered in the wind with his movements, and his slender neck wore a silver neck ring that chimed crisply as the pieces knocked together. The youth raised his brows with a smile, his handsome features radiating a confident and poised glow.
Such a bold and unrestrained youth made Jiang Chu lose his focus.
He was captivated by the lighthearted brilliance in Du Jinchen’s eyes. Du Jinchen was like a ball of eternally burning, scorching fire, endless and exuding an intoxicating vibe. No matter where the unrestrained youth went, he always seemed to draw every eye, inspiring joy and affection in people’s hearts.
Such a wonderful age, such a wonderful youth.
Jiang Chu slowly released the fluffy ball from his fingers and imitated Du Jinchen’s movements, opening his arms to follow the music.
At this moment, his mind emptied, and he poured his entire body and soul into the experience.
Jiang Chu did not need to think about anything else, nor did he need to feel timid about whether his steps were wrong. He only needed to indulge himself, give rein to all his feelings, and step into this grand carnival alongside the spirited youth, facing the scorching and brilliant flames.
Jiang Chu possessed an extremely strong learning capacity. He quickly caught up with everyone’s rhythm, his movements growing increasingly proficient and smooth like a fish returning to water.
He could see Du Jinchen’s smile deepening. The heartbeat pounding in his chest was too boisterous, and the thrilling atmosphere made him somewhat starved for oxygen, leaving him only able to watch as Du Jinchen’s handsome face slowly drew closer.
“You are amazing! You caught the rhythm!”
The surrounding cheers were too boisterous, to the point that Du Jinchen was only half a meter away from Jiang Chu, and their words were barely audible. Therefore, Du Jinchen had no choice but to lean in close to Jiang Chu’s ear to speak.
More scorching than the bonfire was Du Jinchen’s pheromone.
Fervent, enduring, like a little sun, carrying the scent of warm sunlight.
His desolate, gloomy, black-and-white youth was flooded with sunlight at this very moment.
The warm sun pheromone trickled endlessly into Jiang Chu’s senses, plunging his entire body into an unprecedented comfort. It felt like a flower in a greenhouse finally receiving a sweeping downpour of sunlight, and the slight bulge beneath the inhibition patch on his fair nape seemed to undergo strange changes as well.
However, Du Jinchen, the culprit radiating these pheromones, remained entirely oblivious to these changes.
People danced happily and freely around the bonfire. Even if they were strangers, on this particular night, everyone let go and still managed to hit it off and have an absolute blast.
Many people lit firework tubes, and dazzling fireworks surged into the sky following successive cannon reports, showering down gold-plated sparks that illuminated the entire sky as bright as day.
Pink colored smoke drifted from somewhere unknown, staining the air and creating an ambiguous, hazy atmosphere.
Laughing, people spontaneously held hands and walked in a circle. Du Jinchen’s obsidian-like eyes harbored a galaxy of stars, his brows and eyes steeped in the youthful vigor belonging solely to a teenager. Moving against the light, he extended his slender fingers toward Jiang Chu.
“This friend, can you give me your hand?”
Du Jinchen wore a smile at the corners of his lips, standing lazily in that spot, yet his handsome appearance made it impossible for anyone to bear looking away.
He used a declarative sentence rather than a question because he was confident that Jiang Chu would not refuse him.
Du Jinchen was not being arrogant, for the very next second, Jiang Chu placed his hand right into Du Jinchen’s palm.
His slender, fair fingers were delicate and slender. The soft, cool texture felt like holding stalks of white jade, and Du Jinchen’s dry, strong palm easily grasped Jiang Chu’s hand, pulling it gently forward.
They caught up with the main group’s movements, casting their joined hands high into the air in a gesture of worship, cheering and leaping with joy.
No one knew that the hearts of both youths were pounding frantically at this moment.
Except for themselves.
After dancing, everyone regrouped with their respective teams. Du Jinchen and Jiang Chu first found Yang Qianqian and He Qing before spotting Bai Meng and the other companion.
The group gathered together to eat a round of barbecue. Having played too wildly that evening, everyone had drunk a bit of alcohol; the two girls had ordered low-alcohol fruit wine, and by the end, their faces were flushed red.
Halfway through the meal, Bai Meng made acquaintances with a group of people from the neighboring table. Holding his liquor well, he pulled Xu Jiqi along to toast and drink with that crowd. Du Jinchen raised his glass to those people from afar without walking over.
Jiang Chu also drank a little alcohol. This was his first time drinking while traveling, and at the dining table, Jiang Chu was exceptionally well-behaved, sitting quietly beside Du Jinchen without making a fuss or causing trouble.
The two girls sat across from them, chatting in low voices about school gossip and laughing heartily at the juicier parts. No one paid any attention to this side.
Du Jinchen leaned lazily against the back of his chair. Out of boredom, he unconsciously shifted all his attention back to Jiang Chu.
Having consumed alcohol, Jiang Chu looked dazed, his reactions slowed by half a beat. His pretty, slender fingers wrapped around the wine glass, his gaze fixed on the lights reflected in the liquor as if pondering whether he could fish out the moon inside if he reached into the glass the next second.
Du Jinchen hooked his index finger and tapped on the table in front of Jiang Chu: “Do you want to swap that wine for juice?”
Jiang Chu’s gaze drifted along that slender arm up to Du Jinchen’s face. His handsome features looked even more sharply chiseled under the night lighting, and Du Jinchen’s eyes harbored indulgence and helplessness, looking at Jiang Chu as one might look at a stray, stubborn little cat.
That wave of alcohol seemed to kick in again. Jiang Chu squinted slightly, suppressing the haziness in his gaze, and stared unblinkingly at Du Jinchen with his moisture-laden eyes.
Du Jinchen looked at Jiang Chu’s lips, which had been moistened by the wine and gleamed with tiny specks of light. His thin lips pressed and squeezed together like two soft, harmless petals, lightly grazing Du Jinchen’s heart and making it itch.
Jiang Chu vaguely raised a hand, using his palm to lightly cover the rim of his cup to protect his drink, and silently shook his head in refusal.
Du Jinchen’s throat felt somewhat dry and tight. He withdrew his hand and downed the remaining wine in his glass in one gulp to mask his composure slipping.
The dim lighting served as Du Jinchen’s cover, making it hard to notice the flush on his neck and his chaotic, erratic heartbeat.
Du Jinchen had no choice but to keep a close eye on Jiang Chu using his peripheral vision. Not long after, Jiang Chu turned his head sideways and murmured, his cool breath spilling out: “I am going to the restroom.”
Jiang Chu’s little face was flushed bright red from the alcohol, and as he stood up, his figure seemed to sway unsteadily. Du Jinchen could not help frowning, worry hidden in his eyes: “Do you need me to accompany you?”
Jiang Chu stumbled forward a couple of steps without answering Du Jinchen, simply waving a hand backward.
Du Jinchen tightened his grip on his glass, watching Jiang Chu until he reached the corner. Once Jiang Chu’s figure was out of sight, he silently pulled back his gaze, raised his wrist to check the time, and took a sip of wine.
After waiting for a while, Jiang Chu’s figure still had not emerged from the corner. The growing crowd of various people gathering around began to obstruct Du Jinchen’s line of sight, preventing him from seeing the situation over by the restrooms.
Du Jinchen kicked his chair back with an impatient lean, the innate restlessness of an Alpha slowly welling up inside him.
Yang Qianqian and He Qing had just finished a topic of conversation and looked up to see only Du Jinchen across from them, prompting them to ask: “Yo, how come it is just you left? How long has Xiao Chu been gone? Why hasn’t he come back yet?”
Du Jinchen immediately stood up and said in a deep voice: “I am going to check on him.”
There were hardly any people in the restroom. Du Jinchen looked around and called out in a low voice: “Jiang Chu?”
No one answered.
Du Jinchen stepped further inside, raising his voice to call out: “Jiang Chu, are you in here?”
Still no reply; he could only hear the drip-drop sound of water droplets from the sink.
Du Jinchen’s brows furrowed tightly. A bad thought flashed through his mind, and his fingertips suddenly went cold, his goosebumps rising as he grabbed his phone and walked outward.
Could Jiang Chu have been taken away by someone?
A ball of anger abruptly surged into Du Jinchen’s heart. He tried to force himself to stay calm, but once he entertained the possibility of Jiang Chu being snatched away right under his nose, his mood raged like a volcano about to erupt. His warm sun pheromone spiked instantly, the immense pheromone pressure nearly rendering the inhibition patch on his nape ineffective as it rolled like a tidal wave through the cramped restroom.
Suddenly, a tiny groan penetrated Du Jinchen’s ears, causing his footsteps to halt abruptly.
Jiang Chu?
Du Jinchen hurried back to search for the source of that sound: “Jiang Chu?”
The innermost door lock gave a click, and the door slowly pushed open. A head poked out from within, Jiang Chu leaning softly against the door, his complexion flushed scarlet, eyes half-closed as he looked toward Du Jinchen.
Du Jinchen’s heart instantly dropped back into his chest. He strode toward Jiang Chu, seeing his flushed cheeks and assuming he had simply drunk too much.
Seeing him appear safe and sound before him, Du Jinchen pushed down his worry and could not help scolding: “Why didn’t you answer when I called you just now? You scared the life out of me.”
Jiang Chu half-closed his eyes without making a sound.
Quiet and obedient after getting drunk, Jiang Chu was disinclined to speak. Knowing Jiang Chu’s temperament, Du Jinchen did not expect any answer anyway.
Noticing Jiang Chu’s unstable posture as if he might collapse the next second, Du Jinchen quickly stepped forward to support him, only to freeze completely the following second.
Because a soul-captivating scent of pheromones swept toward him head-on. That rich scent was clearly not simple pheromone leakage, but rather the scent of a heat period!