Cheng Ye…

Jiang Shi repeated the name in his heart and tried moving his right foot. The moment he moved it, pain shot up.

He hissed softly and shone the flashlight on Cheng Ye’s face again.
“Why did you scare me just now?”

Facing the blinding light, Cheng Ye didn’t even blink. Since Jiang Shi spoke Mandarin, he also replied in Mandarin, his voice deep with a slight rural accent.

“I didn’t scare you.” His gaze shifted past Jiang Shi’s shoulder. Standing behind him was a dog, hunched over, trembling, clearly afraid of Cheng Ye. “It was a stray dog from the village.”

Jiang Shi also turned to look, but in the pitch-dark night he saw nothing.

He turned back and asked, “Then why are you here?”

Cheng Ye answered honestly, “I heard a noise and came over. You took the wrong path. This road leads up the mountain.”

Jiang Shi: “…”

The next second, Cheng Ye’s hand landed on his ankle.

Jiang Shi jerked his foot back and glared at him. “What are you doing?!”

The sudden movement made Cheng Ye quickly withdraw, his tall body seeming awkward and uneasy.

“You looked like you were hurt, so I wanted to check…”

“Check what?” Jiang Shi cut him off sharply. “You a doctor or something?”

The more he spoke, the angrier he became. Since following his biological mother to Xiliu Village, he hadn’t had a single happy day. And now with tonight’s mess, Cheng Ye was basically serving himself up on Jiang Shi’s gunpoint.

He lifted his good left foot and kicked at Cheng Ye, venting his frustration. “What’s wrong with you? Walking so quietly at night and then crashing into me!”

“…”

Cheng Ye wanted to explain he had made noise, even had a flashlight in his hand. But Jiang Shi, terrified earlier, had shut his eyes and charged forward blindly, not hearing or seeing anything.

The words caught in his throat. Looking at the boy’s beautiful eyes, shimmering faintly with fear-born tears, Cheng Ye finally swallowed back his defense. What came out instead were two short words:

“Sorry.”

After all, it was partly his fault. If not for his size, Jiang Shi might not have twisted his ankle so badly.

Cheng Ye tried again, “I’ll take you to the clinic?”

“Clinic my ass!” Jiang Shi shot back. “It’s closed at this hour.”

He bent down, rolled up his pant leg, and saw his ankle already swollen.

Stretching out his injured foot, he huffed, “All your fault. Now how am I supposed to get back?”

His skin was fair and delicate, always hidden under long pants, now flushed pink by the cold night air, as if fine white porcelain.

Cheng Ye’s eyelid twitched.

He lowered his eyes, staring at that pale ankle.

Beside him, Jiang Shi kept grumbling. He had been terrified just minutes ago, and now vented his fear through scolding and blame.

Normally, anyone would have lost their temper by now. But Cheng Ye didn’t. He only lowered his head, silent and clumsy—exactly the kind of dull peasant boy Jiang Shi imagined.

When he’d finally vented enough, Jiang Shi’s rationality returned. Seeing Cheng Ye so quiet made him feel a little guilty. He shifted uncomfortably, his exposed leg reddening from the cold.

Almost defensively, he stretched his foot out again. “If you don’t believe me, look for yourself.”

A few seconds later, Cheng Ye seemed to wake from a daze. His eyes fixed on Jiang Shi’s ankle, and before Jiang Shi could react, a rough, dark hand reached out and touched it.

Compared to Jiang Shi’s fair skin, Cheng Ye’s hands were bronzed, calloused from farm work. They were also huge—just closing slightly was enough to enclose Jiang Shi’s slender ankle completely.

The contrast of colors and textures made Jiang Shi’s heartbeat stutter. A strange feeling crept up inside him.

Before he could dwell on it, Cheng Ye pressed lightly with his thumb. Though careful, it still hurt, making Jiang Shi hiss.

Cheng Ye’s hand stayed steady. “No bone injury. It’s just swelling. Rest for two days, it’ll be fine.”

His palm pressed more firmly, warmth seeping steadily into Jiang Shi’s skin.

“Where’s your house? I’ll take you back.”

The touch felt odd, so Jiang Shi quickly pulled his foot back and let down his pant leg. “I don’t really know where my house is. Uh… do you know Jiang Xue?”

Cheng Ye dropped his hand to his side, thumb rubbing absently against his finger where the warmth lingered.

“I know…” he murmured, removing the basket from his back. He squatted in front of Jiang Shi. “I’ll carry you. If you’re out this late, Aunt Jiang will be worried.”

The night was pitch black, no one around. Jiang Shi had a phone, but Jiang Xue didn’t. And with his ankle like this, walking home was impossible.

He stared at the broad back in front of him, suspicious. I’m a grown man, what if he sells me off? Still, gritting his teeth, he climbed on.

Even then, he couldn’t resist bluffing. “Hey, I’m heavy, you sure you can manage?”

Cheng Ye supported him easily, one hand under his thigh, the other gripping the basket, and stood with no effort.

Leaning against his shoulder, Jiang Shi shone the flashlight ahead. The beam bobbed unsteadily, but Cheng Ye’s steps never faltered—each one solid and steady.

“Not heavy,” he answered simply. “You’re light.”

He was used to carrying two-hundred-pound loads while working, after all.

Jiang Shi: “…”

Why does this guy sound like a block of wood?

Then came rustling from behind them. Jiang Shi’s hair stood on end again. “That thing’s back!”

Cheng Ye turned, scolding into the darkness in his dialect. The sound quickly retreated and faded away.

Jiang Shi looked too, but still saw nothing.

“Was that really a dog? I can’t see anything.”

“It was a dog. My eyesight’s better than most—I can see clearly at night.”

Jiang Shi instinctively glanced at his eyes, but they were hidden under his long bangs.

Jiang Shi: “…”

After a pause, he muttered, “You’re kind of emo, huh.”

Back then, emo fashion was all the rage. His old classmates had tried to cover their eyes with bangs too.

Before Cheng Ye could reply, Jiang Shi asked again, “So are we from the same village? I heard you call my mom ‘Aunt Jiang.’”

“Yes, same place. My house is just—” Cheng Ye stopped suddenly, staring ahead.

Flames lit up half the mountainside, voices echoing in the night.

Startled, Jiang Shi asked, “What’s that?”

Cheng Ye listened for a few seconds before replying, “They’re looking for you.”

“What… what?”

---

At 10 p.m., the Jiang family home blazed with lights.

Jiang Xue poured hot tea for villagers who had come to help search. “I’m so sorry to trouble everyone this late. He’s new here, doesn’t know his way around, and I was worried something might happen.”

The villagers, sipping tea, peeked inside.

The boy they had just scoured half the village for was now sitting quietly in a chair. The village doctor pressed his swollen ankle, making the boy frown in pain.

The dim bulb cast a hazy glow, making the youth look like a flower in mist, like the moon in water.

People couldn’t help but comment.

“Don’t be too hard on him, Jiang Xue. It’s not his fault, he just got lost.”

“Exactly, poor kid even hurt his foot. Don’t scold him.”

“He just switched families, it’s a huge change. Of course it takes time to adapt…”

“Oh wow, Jiang Xue, your new son is really handsome. Has he got a fiancée? My daughter—”

“Get lost!” Jiang Xue snapped.

Once the crowd dispersed, Jiang Xue came inside to check on Jiang Shi.

The old doctor rattled off instructions, but Jiang Shi couldn’t understand a word. He nudged Cheng Ye. “What’s he saying?”

Cheng Ye translated, “Not too serious. Don’t walk for a few days. He’ll bring herbs tomorrow morning to apply.”

“Oh…” Jiang Shi frowned. “Does he even have a license? What if—”

Cheng Ye suddenly stood up. “Aunt Jiang.”

Jiang Shi looked up and saw his mother had silently appeared beside him. He shut his mouth instantly.

Jiang Xue asked the doctor, “How is he?”

The man repeated his diagnosis.

Relieved, Jiang Xue thanked him. “Sorry to trouble you, Uncle Zhang. I’ll come by tomorrow for the medicine. When the market’s on, I’ll buy you some wine.”

After sending the doctor off, she turned to Cheng Ye. “Thank you so much tonight. Without you, I don’t know what would have happened.”

Jiang Shi had half-listened, half-guessed her words, and immediately interjected, “If he hadn’t run into me, I wouldn’t have twisted my ankle in the first place!”

Jiang Xue shot him a glare.

Though they had only reunited recently, the authority of a mother ran in blood. One look from her, and Jiang Shi instantly went quiet.

Jiang Xue smiled at Cheng Ye. “Xiao Ye, thank you again. I cooked, so come eat with us tomorrow.”

Cheng Ye instinctively refused. “That’s not necessary…”

Jiang Xue insisted, “It’s been raining, I’ve been busy plowing. I’m rarely home, and now with Jiang Shi injured, he can’t go anywhere. He’s new here, doesn’t know anyone. You’re the same age—come keep him company for a few days, help him settle in.”

Immediately, Jiang Shi protested, “I don’t need that!”

Jiang Xue ignored him completely.

Cheng Ye glanced at Jiang Shi. Under the bulb’s glow, his face looked even clearer—and even more beautiful.

Heat flared in Cheng Ye’s palm, remembering the feel of that delicate ankle. His gaze lingered, unable to pull away. After a few seconds, the words slipped out of him before he could stop them:

“Alright.”

Jiang Shi: “…”

Wait a minute, doesn’t anyone care what I think?!