The lighter was a bit old and somewhat difficult to use.

Lin Zhu flicked it, click-clacking it many times, before a tiny cluster of flame tremblingly emerged. It looked as though it could be dissipated by the damp sea breeze at any moment.

But the fireworks were very beautiful.

The sugar-roasted chestnuts had gone cold, yet they were still very sweet.

Behind the wind-sheltered stone wall.

Lin Zhu had just released the man’s lips and tongue—which were wet from being licked and bitten—when he heard him panting slightly, his breathing unsteady as he said, “…You’re still sweeter.”

Lin Zhu: “?”

This was a flat stretch of sandy shore. The towering stone wall blocked out most of the raging sea wind.

The two of them just squatted there face-to-face, watching the sparks of the sparklers flare up time and time again, and then go out…

And then.

At the very moment the sparks died out completely.

It was unknown who initiated it first, but their lips pressed together. Their breaths intertwined, and the wet, sloppy sounds made by the entanglement of their tongues were covered up by the echoing crash of the ocean waves.

In the end, the only evidence left was their swollen, red lips and the wetness spilling from the corners of their mouths.

Most of it belonged to Yan Ruoyun.

Because Lin Zhu simply couldn’t break that bad habit of recklessly shoving his tongue in, and his older lover had clearly given up on correcting him, choosing instead to just let him do as he pleased.

Otherwise, what else could he do?

He couldn’t exactly throw him away.

When the kiss ended, Lin Zhu pulled his phone out of his school uniform jacket pocket and pressed the side button with his thumb—

The screen lit up.

He glanced at the time.

It was just past ten o’clock at night.

Haiqin City was a tourist city, and this hour was far from bedtime. Across this undeveloped, secluded stretch of shore, the clamor from the coastline opposite could vaguely be heard.

After checking the time, Lin Zhu stuffed his phone back into his pocket.

He pulled the man up, rubbed his hands, and then touched his cheek. Only after confirming his temperature was normal did he speak: “Ge, are you hungry? How about we wander around nearby and get something to eat…”

Even though tonight’s escapade was an impulsive act—practically a drop-everything-and-go kind of trip—Lin Zhu hadn’t been idle during the several-hour drive. He had already looked up travel guides and made other preparations.

He felt he didn’t have many outstanding qualities, but he was fairly meticulous when doing things and shouldn’t make any major blunders.

Yan Ruoyun didn’t speak for a long time.

This area was very dark, with the nearest streetlight over ten meters away. It only shallowly outlined the contours of the two men, their facial features blurred by the night…

Yet the physiological moisture brought out by their passionate kissing made the man’s eyes shine brightly; they actually looked somewhat piercing.

Stared at so intensely, Lin Zhu couldn’t help but raise his hand to wipe his own face, asking in confusion: “What’s wrong?”

A long moment passed.

Then Yan Ruoyun spoke unhurriedly: “Lin little dog, your phone screen saver is actually a photo of me playing the cello on stage when I was sixteen.”

His tone carried a deep, profound meaning.

Lin Zhu: “…”

“With so many photos on the internet, you just had to use this one.” Immediately after, the man added, “Just like what a certain Omega friend of mine said—”

“‘No matter how old an Alpha is, they always like young, juicy Omegas.’ Oh, I’ve heard for a long time now that your preference for partners seems to lean towards cute, juvenile-looking Omegas…”

Lin Zhu’s expression instantly stiffened.

No matter how you listened to it, this sounded like an interrogation to settle a score. Even as dense as he was, he understood. Furthermore, Lin Zhu had been out of the singles’ club for a while now; he at least possessed basic survival instincts.

“Ge, I didn’t mean it like that.”

He hurriedly tried to explain. Unfortunately, he had a clumsy mouth and didn’t know how to say sweet words, so he could only repeat the man’s sentence, emphasizing: “You’re also very young and very juicy right now!”

Yan Ruoyun opened his mouth, but abruptly fell into silence.

Of course, he wasn’t angry. Originally, he had just wanted to tease him a bit more. But upon hearing his little boyfriend frantically yell out this sentence, his pretend-deep expression instantly crumbled…

He just felt his cheeks suddenly grow hot.

This feeling was very strange.

It was as if, having spent a lot of time with Lin Zhu, he had also been infected by the youth’s pure aura, and occasionally he would be made to feel a bit awkward by a certain sentence or action.

Simply put.

Yan Ruoyun was a little shy.

But he wouldn’t tell Lin Zhu that he was shy. Instead, mimicking the youth’s habitual action when flustered—he merely pursed his lips, then softly muttered, “It’s a little cold,” and squeezed himself into the youth’s embrace.

Lin Zhu immediately opened his arms and wrapped them around him.

Yan Ruoyun was an extremely rare kind of Omega—taller than many Alphas.

But Lin Zhu, who was currently undergoing secondary differentiation, wasn’t losing out. His height was already level with Yan Ruoyun’s, and who knew if he’d eventually surpass him.

In all likelihood, he would.

Yan Ruoyun rested his chin against the side of the youth’s neck and asked, “Have you finished the calcium supplement the doctor prescribed for you? Didn’t you say you woke up in the middle of the night the day before yesterday from a cramp again?”

“Still have some,” Lin Zhu obediently answered.

The little interlude from just now was thus lightly brushed over.

There was no helping it, that was just how dating was.

The topics of conversation shifted at lightning speed.

They hugged for a few minutes.

Lin Zhu brought up his earlier suggestion again.

Yan Ruoyun seemed to have been made hungry by his mentioning it. He nodded, and then they walked out from behind the shore.

It was a medium-length walk.

…bought a lot of things. There was a black, long, thin-style down jacket and mask to fend off the cold wind, as well as a shell-shaped hand warmer, and…

Oh, the hair clip didn’t count.

Because right after Lin Zhu paid for it and was about to clip it onto Yan Ruoyun’s head, the man lowered his eyes, glanced at him, and let out a heavy tsk…

The next second.

Lin Zhu’s hand consciously made a U-turn and clipped the hair clip onto his own head, making a click sound as he pressed it down.

Seeing this, Yan Ruoyun raised his hand and pinched his cheek, saying teasingly: “It looks obedient.”

That sentence was a very inaccurate description.

Because no matter how you looked at Lin Zhu, he didn’t seem like an obedient person. He was naturally constrained by his face; no matter what expression he wore, he always looked like an insubordinate, aloof cool guy.

In reality, he was just expressionless.

But it had to be said, this glowing yellow starfish suited Lin Zhu very well. Yan Ruoyun couldn’t help but keep turning his head to look at him, and even filmed a short video.

The background audio was entirely his slightly mocking, teasing laughter.

After wandering around for most of the loop, the two of them, who had previously shared a bag of sugar-roasted chestnuts, ate a few portions of seafood snacks and were almost full.

Earlier, when they were eating hotpot, Yan Ruoyun had mentioned it—he didn’t like the fishy smell of fish, yet he very much liked seafood like squid and shellfish.

The reason was that they were crispy and bouncy to eat.

He was a person who was very particular about texture when eating.

It was a good thing, too.

Otherwise, Lin Zhu wouldn’t have brought him here.

They arrived at the entertainment area.

Yan Ruoyun suddenly became interested. The man, nearing thirty, stood in front of a jellyfish-scooping stall and refused to leave. He excitedly rolled up his sleeves, pinched a paper net, and started scooping.

Lin Zhu scanned the code next to him to pay.

However, this man, who was ever-triumphant in the business world, actually scooped for a long time without catching anything.

In the end, even the stall owner beside them couldn’t bear to watch anymore and struck up a conversation: “Little brother, why don’t you let your partner give it a try? I’ll give you a net for free…”

Lin Zhu’s hands were exceptionally steady. Using the gifted net, he scooped up two round, soft, bouncy transparent little jellies in one go.

The stall owner immediately chuckled and said to Lin Zhu: “Hey little brother, do you want to keep them and give them to your partner as a gift? I sell the full set of equipment here, and also sea salt.”

What followed was a string of sales pitches.

A short while later.

Lin Zhu had absentmindedly been ripped off for over three hundred yuan.

Yan Ruoyun stood to the side the whole time, even pulling his mask high up to snicker secretly. When Lin Zhu led him far away, he finally discarded his image and draped himself over his little boyfriend’s shoulder, laughing as he said: “You actually bought it?”

“The boss just makes his living off this money. He must be thrilled to death now; couples’ money really is easy to make,” the man added.

Lin Zhu woodenly carried the small, round water tank that wasn’t much bigger than a palm.

This thing actually emitted colorful lights, changing colors every second, making the little jellyfish inside look diverse and colorful too.

The two little jellies swam in circles inside the water tank.

Lin Zhu handed the small water tank to Yan Ruoyun and said quietly: “The boss said that young Omegas nowadays all really like this… Ge, a gift for you.”

Unexpectedly.

Yan Ruoyun’s heart felt a sting.

Although he didn’t stop Lin Zhu from paying, knowing it was a gift for him, but… when Lin Zhu actually handed the item over, he still couldn’t help but feel a very subtle emotion rising within him.

He stared at the dazzling little water tank in his hand, suspecting whether those two seemingly harmless little things inside were venomous, capable of stinging even through the glass.

They walked and strolled.

The time neared 12:00 AM.

The number of people on the beach gradually decreased, leaving only some couples whispering sweet nothings, or tourists pitching tents on the spot.

Yan Ruoyun asked him:

“Lin Zhu, where are we staying tonight?”

Lin Zhu was well-prepared. He took out his phone to show the man the booking interface. “I booked a seaside villa nearby. It’s about a ten-minute walk away.”

On the way.

The two passed by a convenience store.

Yan Ruoyun suddenly paused his steps. Lin Zhu thought he was exhausted and asked with concern,

“Ge, what’s wrong?”

A trace of conflict flashed quickly through the man’s eyes, but he soon shook his head. “Nothing.”

Lin Zhu intuitively sensed something was off. He immediately stopped walking and asked seriously: “Just tell me?”

The man looked down at the jellyfish tank he had been playing with for a long time. Suddenly, he lifted his eyelids, looked straight into Lin Zhu’s eyes, and asked:

“You called me ‘wife’ on WeChat before, right?”

Hearing this, Lin Zhu awkwardly touched his nose but nodded honestly.

—Actually, he had only called him that once in total.

At that time, he and Yan Ruoyun had been spending day and night together for several days. During that period, they repeated temporary markings many times, and both were filled with a deep sense of attachment to each other.

So when it was time to separate, in a moment of impulse, Lin Zhu sent it out just like that.

At this moment, he suddenly heard Yan Ruoyun ask: “Then why did you stop calling me that later?”

Lin Zhu was silent for a moment before answering: “Because we still haven’t, um… you still aren’t…”

Taking the liberty to address him like that seemed a bit presumptuous.

The night wind was biting cold.

Stepping on his shadow on the ground, the man suddenly replied: “I can be.”

He asked again: “Lin Zhu, do you want me to be?”

…

That night, when the two arrived at the seaside villa in silence the whole way, an extra small box bought from the convenience store had been added to the pocket of Lin Zhu’s school uniform.

A pack of three, ultra-thin, zero distance.

The other thing, Lin Zhu didn’t buy.

Yan Ruoyun didn’t let him.

He merely said,

“You’ve been getting ripped off all night, I’m saving you some money.”