The second time.

This was already the second time Cheng Ye had thwarted Huo Ji’s plans.

The back of his neck still stung with the force from when Cheng Ye had grabbed him. He had used extreme strength, his actions as crude and unbearable as his social standing. The entire person was utterly impolite!

Huo Ji rubbed his shoulder. “Your name is Cheng, right? Didn’t your parents ever teach you that it’s very rude to interrupt someone when they’re speaking?”

Cheng Ye was direct and left no room for interpretation. “My mom left, my dad’s dead. I’m an orphan. No one taught me.”

He stood in front of Jiang Shi, his brow lowered as he looked at Huo Ji. “You city people with your moms and dads are really something else. You call this behavior of laying hands on someone against their will ‘speaking’? I’d call it harassment.”

Huo Ji’s face darkened another shade. “Who do you think you are? You’ve only known him for a few days, and you think you understand him so well?”

Cheng Ye said, “I don’t understand him well, but I heard him say he didn’t want to talk to you.”

“That’s just him throwing a tantrum at me…”

“A tantrum?” Cheng Ye pressed on aggressively. “Did he say he was throwing a tantrum? Willing is willing, unwilling is unwilling. Don’t impose your own assumptions on him.”

“As long as he hasn’t agreed, you can forget about taking another step closer to him, even if I die.”

Huo Ji’s mouth opened and closed. He shifted his gaze to Jiang Shi. “You…”

Jiang Shi said, “You should go back.”

The last trace of color drained from Huo Ji’s face.

Jiang Shi walked ahead with his head down, Cheng Ye following closely behind him.

Jiang Shi walked faster and faster, and Cheng Ye kept pace, getting faster and faster.

Just as he was about to walk headfirst into a tree, Cheng Ye’s quick reflexes saved him, pulling him back.

Jiang Shi violently shook off his hand. “What are you doing! Let me tell you, don’t think I’ll forgive you just because of this!”

Cheng Ye said honestly, “I’m sorry.”

“…”

Sorry, sorry, all you know how to say is sorry.

Jiang Shi entered the mall with a cold expression. Cheng Ye followed him. “I really didn’t skip class. The train ticket I bought was for tonight. I didn’t plan on going in to bother you, either. I was just going to squat by the door and wait for you to come out.”

He hadn’t expected to run into him talking with Huo Ji.

Jiang Shi stopped in his tracks. “Is that all?”

Cheng Ye also stopped. “Is there supposed to be more?”

Jiang Shi: “…”

Are you asking me?

Cheng Ye paused for a moment, then lowered his head. “I’m sorry.”

Now, whenever Jiang Shi heard him say sorry, he felt a surge of anger. “Shut up! Let me ask you, how did you know where the Song family lived?”

“Song Jian’an told me.”

Jiang Shi was momentarily stunned. “Doesn’t he dislike you?”

“He does, but I promised to give him that out-of-print exercise book the teacher gave me last time.”

“…”

Something that should have been absurd somehow seemed bizarrely reasonable when it involved Song Jian’an.

“Then what about your train ticket money?”

“I borrowed it.”

“And the five hundred in my bag?”

“I earned it.”

Jiang Shi was again: “…”

Cheng Ye said, “I only earned five hundred. I gave it all to you.”

People were coming and going all around them. Jiang Shi’s face went from green to black. Finally, he took a slow, deep breath to keep himself from beating up Cheng Ye in public.

He gritted his teeth, lowered his voice, and leaned closer to Cheng Ye. “Why did you have to follow me to Jiangcheng?”

Cheng Ye said, “I was afraid you’d be bullied.”

Jiang Shi froze, only speaking after a long moment. “Who could possibly bully me?”

“I don’t know,” Cheng Ye said. “But you’re a person from Xiliu Village now. I didn’t want you to come back to this place alone.”

He never left anything to chance. If he cared about something, he would definitely see it through.

Jiang Shi was silent for a long time. Cheng Ye waited and waited, only to receive a kick from the boy. “Do you think I’m a child?”

“No, I just…”

“Just what?” Jiang Shi glared at him. “You’re always making things complicated. Hurry up and follow me, it’s going to get dark soon.”

Cheng Ye followed behind him.

The mall was brightly lit. Clothes were displayed high in the windows. A salesperson in a formal suit stood at the front desk, dozing off. When a customer approached, they would lazily size them up, and upon seeing their ordinary attire, their gaze would drop again.

Cheng Ye exuded a wildness that was out of place in the clean mall. His pants were washed-out white, the opening of his shoes had come unglued, and even the collar of his T-shirt was stretched out of shape. His entire outfit could be described with two words—shabby and poor.

People passing by couldn’t help but glance at him. After a while, even Jiang Shi noticed their appraising looks.

He hadn’t originally planned on buying clothes, but looking at Cheng Ye’s entire outfit, which probably cost less than fifty yuan in total, he stopped in front of a clothing store.

Cheng Ye followed his gaze. “Are you buying clothes?”

“Not for me.” Jiang Shi pulled him by the arm into the store. “For you.”

The moment Cheng Ye heard that, he stopped in his tracks. “I don’t want any.”

Jiang Shi said, “I’m buying them for you. You don’t have to pay.”

“I still don’t want them,” Cheng Ye said bluntly. “They’re expensive and not durable. Not worth it.”

“But you can buy them,” he said. “The cut is good, the quality is good. You’d look good in them.”

Jiang Shi: “…”

Jiang Shi really wanted to crack open his head to see what on earth was going on inside.

The two of them were pulling and tugging at the entrance of the clothing store when a salesperson inside spoke up with a smile, “Gentlemen, would you like to come in?”

“No, thank you.”

Cheng Ye held Jiang Shi by the shoulders and easily guided him outside. Jiang Shi struggled for a long time, but the other didn’t budge. He got so angry he kicked Cheng Ye again. “What’s wrong with you? I already said you don’t have to pay.”

Cheng Ye let go and patted the dust off his pants. “I really don’t need it.”

Jiang Shi reached out and tugged at his clothes. “Look at you! Your clothes are all worn out. Your shoes, too. Didn’t you see the way those people on the street were looking at you?”

Cheng Ye didn’t care how others saw him. He looked at Jiang Shi’s face, flushed a light red from agitation, and said, “If you think it’s embarrassing for me to walk beside you, I can wait for you outside the door.”

Jiang Shi was so good-looking; the person beside him should at least be dressed presentably. He was poor now and couldn’t afford good clothes, but that was okay. It would be fine once he had money.

It was only a matter of time. Cheng Ye had plenty of patience.

Jiang Shi was suddenly speechless. “I… that’s not what I meant…”

Cheng Ye didn’t know what he meant, but seeing that Jiang Shi hadn’t told him to leave, he could only ask again, “So, should I go outside?”

Jiang Shi: “…”

Go outside, my ass. Jiang Shi hit him.

Cheng Ye, who was hit for no reason: “?”

Jiang Shi went to the second floor of the mall, which sold accessories. He looked around and locked onto a certain area.

Glancing at Cheng Ye beside him, he pushed him down onto a sofa in the waiting area by the entrance. “You wait here for me. I’m going to buy something. I’ll be back soon.”

The men’s accessories section sold many things—ties, brooches, and so on—but none of them were suitable. Jiang Shi went to the area selling watches.

He was good-looking, so as soon as he entered the store, a salesperson eagerly came over. “Hello, what kind of watch are you looking for?”

Jiang Shi glanced toward the entrance. From his angle, he could only see the blurry outline of Cheng Ye’s back.

He pursed his lips. “I’m buying it for someone.”

“For a friend or an elder?”

Jiang Shi ground the tip of his foot into the floor. After a few seconds, he said reluctantly, “A friend, I guess. He’s about my age.”

The salesperson led him forward. Seeing how young he was, they recommended a few of the most expensive and hard-to-sell models.

Jiang Shi listened while looking at the watches around him. Suddenly, his gaze froze, and he stopped walking.

He looked at a watch placed in the corner and asked the salesperson, “How much is this one?”

The salesperson followed his gaze. “The manufacturer has discontinued this model. This is the last one we have. The price isn’t too expensive, but the style is quite old.”

The beautiful young man lifted his chin slightly. “I’ll take it.”

“Are you sure? Because this is the only one, if you buy it and there are any problems, we won’t be able to exchange it.”

“I’m sure.”

Seeing his persistence, the salesperson took it out for him. “Because it’s the last one, we’re selling it at a discount. It comes out to two hundred and eighty.”

Two hundred and eighty. For the former Jiang Shi, it really wasn’t that expensive. But for the current him…

The former young master fumbled in his bag for a long time. All he had on him was one hundred and fifty.

“…”

Jiang Shi was silent for a moment, then took out the five hundred yuan Cheng Ye had stuffed into his bag.

He felt very guilty using Cheng Ye’s money to buy a gift.

I’ll count it as a loan, I’ll count it as a loan. When my allowance comes, I’ll definitely pay it back.

The salesperson lowered his head to wrap it for him, making small talk with a smile. “Is it a birthday gift for a friend?”

Jiang Shi gave a vague “Mmm.”

“You two must have a very good relationship, then?”

Jiang Shi said, “It’s alright, I guess.”

The main reason was that he had seen Cheng Ye’s ID card: April 15th.

Originally, Jiang Shi hadn’t wanted to care, because Cheng Ye himself probably didn’t care either. But when he was trying to sleep at night, Jiang Shi would always remember the things Cheng Ye had told him before.

In this world, it seemed like no one really cared about his birthday.

His eighteenth birthday.

…

Cheng Ye really didn’t care.

Not until the evening of the fifteenth, after night study, when Jiang Shi asked him if he wanted to go out.

The moon was unusually out that night, its light as clear as water. Insects chirped softly in the grass. Cheng Ye hopped onto a low wall and reached out his hand to Jiang Shi, who was standing below.

The two went to the same barbecue place they had been to before. Jiang Shi took the initiative to order a lot of food. After it was cooked, he handed a skewer to Cheng Ye. “For you.”

Cheng Ye raised an eyebrow and took the skewer from him.

A table of burly men sat nearby, talking so loudly it felt like they could blow the roof off the stall. On the other side, the moonlight fell on the young man’s eyelashes. He picked up his soy milk and clinked it against Cheng Ye’s. The crisp sound of the glass bottles colliding was hidden in the boisterous laughter.

Jiang Shi’s voice was like moonlight, piercing through to the bottom of Cheng Ye’s heart.

“Happy birthday.”

In eighteen years, this was the first time someone had ever wished him a happy birthday.

His father had said, “Cheng Ye, you’re just a bastard. I should have strangled you the moment you were born.”

His mother had said, “Cheng Ye, if only I had never given birth to you.”

This was the first time someone had thought his birth was a happy occasion.

Putting the past aside, Cheng Ye was indeed quite happy now. Not because of his birthday, but because of Jiang Shi.

Jiang Shi placed the watch he had bought in front of him. “A gift for you.”

Cheng Ye picked it up and looked at it. “You went to the mall that day just to buy this?”

Jiang Shi hummed twice. “This young master is willing to buy you a gift. You should be secretly happy.”

The watch looked expensive. Cheng Ye picked it up, his fingertips tracing the metal on the strap. “Why did you give me a gift?”

“Why are there so many ‘whys’? Of course, you need a gift for your birthday.”

Jiang Shi took Cheng Ye’s hand and fastened the watch on his wrist. It was just as he had imagined; Cheng Ye looked really good wearing this watch.

He was tall, and his hands were large too. Setting aside the calluses from frequent labor, his hands were indeed very good-looking. The ulna was prominent, his fingers were long, and his knuckles were distinct. It wasn’t a delicate kind of beauty; his honey-toned skin made his hands look exceptionally powerful.

Of course, it wasn’t just how they looked.

Thinking of this, Jiang Shi shrank his neck a little, fastened the clasp, and asked him, “Does it look good?”

Cheng Ye didn’t speak for a long time. He wasn’t looking at the watch; instead, he was staring at Jiang Shi.

After staring until Jiang Shi felt a little numb, he finally curled his fingertips. “Yeah, it looks good.”

Cheng Ye’s eighteenth birthday was simple. After a barbecue dinner, the two headed back.

He helped Jiang Shi onto the low wall.

The wall only seemed low to people like them who frequently climbed over it. Jiang Shi sat on top of the wall and looked down. The ground was covered in small pebbles, at least a meter below.

He reached out his hand to Cheng Ye, who was standing below. “Give me a hand.”

But Cheng Ye withdrew his hand. He walked over to Jiang Shi and looked up at him. “It’s my birthday today. Can you grant me one wish?”

Jiang Shi: “?? “

“Wait…” he said, “Didn’t I already give you a gift?”

“A gift is a gift, a wish is a wish.”

Jiang Shi was immediately displeased. “Have I given you too much face? How can you take and take like this?”

Cheng Ye let out a laugh, resting his hands on Jiang Shi’s knees. “It’s a very small request.”

The gesture was a bit strange. Jiang Shi shifted uncomfortably. “What request?”

Cheng Ye’s gaze fell downwards. Because Jiang Shi was sitting, his school uniform pants had ridden up, revealing a section of his fair ankle.

He reached out and held that ankle, just like when they first met. The pad of his thumb ground over the prominent bone. His voice was deep in the night. “I want to give the Young Master a gift.”

“Wha—” Before Jiang Shi could finish his sentence, he suddenly felt a coolness on his ankle.

He looked down and saw an anklet tied around it.

Moonlight poured down, and its silvery-white glow cast a gentle luster on the magnolia charm. The half-open flower bud cradled the faint blue veins beneath his skin.

Jiang Shi moved his foot, and the magnolia trembled slightly as if startled.

Ding—

A tree in the corner swayed with the wind. Two figures, one tall and one short, stood by the wall.

Cheng Ye reached out and flicked the magnolia, asking Jiang Shi.

“Young Master, have you ever been in love?”