Lin Congzhi had given him many odd and quirky things in the past, and the pink leather belt was merely one of them.

When it came down to it, he had simply wanted to play a trick on Xiao Jingwen back then. It was easy enough to keep a belt hidden anyway—all one had to do was leave their suit jacket on. Five years ago, when Xiao Jingwen wore that pink belt to work, he had wished he could practically glue his suit jacket shut; five years later, wearing the belt again, he practically wished the wind would blow even harder.

“You really are…” Lin Congzhi drew in a deep breath, unable to find the right words for a long moment. “You really are…”

After a few repetitions of “you really are,” he finally released his grip and said through gritted teeth, “So the passing years have made you even more unflappable, huh?”

“Mm.” Xiao Jingwen casually straightened his tie. The wind was indeed quite strong today; although no one was actively trying to check out what kind of belt anyone else was wearing, Lin Congzhi had grown acutely self-conscious about it!

It felt oddly conflicting. On one hand, this was Xiao Jingwen’s choice of attire—he was a 33-year-old grown man with every right to choose what he wore. On the other hand, a massive wave of embarrassment washed over Lin Congzhi out of nowhere—

It dragged him right back to his early middle school days, when his aunt had taken him shopping at a mall. Back then, an art institution inside the mall was recruiting students, inviting children of eligible age to use their art supplies for free to draw and paint. His aunt had been thrilled, taking Lin Congzhi by the hand and marching straight over, proudly announcing to everyone, “Our boy here is a little artist!”

At that moment, Lin Congzhi had desperately wished for a monster like Belial to step down and crush the mall—no, crush the entire city flat.

It was roughly that exact brand of embarrassment that had him glaring at Xiao Jingwen with a less-than-friendly gaze.

The man in question remained utterly unfazed, looking back at him with smiling eyes.

Lin Congzhi’s flight back to the country was scheduled for the morning after the wedding, but Xiao Jingwen had to leave that very evening.

Once the wedding wrapped up, Xiao Jingwen brought Lin Congzhi back to his hotel under the pretext of “come see me off.”

While it sounded like an ambiguously loaded request, Xiao Jingwen truly was pressed for time to head back; Gleam still had a mountain of matters waiting to be resolved. Thus, after arriving at his hotel, Lin Congzhi simply watched him pack his luggage while waiting for his taxi to arrive.

During that time, Xiao Jingwen changed his clothes without shielding himself, nor did Lin Congzhi look away—with a physique that good, it would be a shame not to admire it.

While changing, Xiao Jingwen shed his suit jacket first, naturally leaving the pink leather belt fully exposed right in front of Lin Congzhi. Truth be told, it looked rather absurd: a white dress shirt, black trousers, and a Barbie-pink belt. Sitting in a single-armchair, Lin Congzhi tilted his head and let out a soft laugh.

“Do you need me to go change in the bathroom?” Xiao Jingwen asked him.

“No need.” Lin Congzhi shifted his posture, leaning back casually with his chin resting on his hand. “That’d be completely superfluous.”

“Alright then.”

He proceeded to unbutton his shirt, undoing his tie first by yoking it loose with one hand, pulling out the narrow tail end, and then drawing the entire strip out from his collar, rolling it up haphazardly before tossing it into his suitcase.

Having never slacked off on workouts in recent years, the disciplined CEO maintained his fitness routine. In fact, Lin Congzhi had already noticed it back when he was moving paintings at the gallery—his physique was still as impressive as ever.

Last time, a soaked shirt had clung to his skin; this time, he could look at him directly. As his shirt was pulled out from his waistband, every move Xiao Jingwen made to strip his clothes carried a distinct, effortless power, tugging things free in one swift motion. As he unbuttoned the front, their eyes met. The wide-open suitcase inside was a chaotic mess—matching the state of mind both men harbored at that moment.

The shirt was tossed in as well, that snow-white fabric falling into the suitcase as Xiao Jingwen’s robust upper torso was revealed entirely to Lin Congzhi. His muscles weren’t the result of intentional, protein-powder-bulked aesthetics, but rather possessed a far more functional sense of raw strength.

In the hotel room with its superb soundproofing, the sound of Lin Congzhi swallowing was distinct and embarrassingly clear. Amid their prolonged, silent eye contact, their gazes gradually grew hazy. As sunset approached, the city transitioned from light into gloom; with the setting sun casting long shadows, both of them briefly felt as though they were looking at the person from five years ago.

Five years could change far too many things. People were always striving to pursue some form of stable “eternity,” but the helpless truth was that everything in this world was constantly changing.

Back then, Xiao Jingwen had accepted their breakup with composure because he felt no one should force Lin Congzhi to cut off his toes just to fit the shoes—least of all himself.

Now, Xiao Jingwen stood calmly undressing before him, possessing the capability to let Lin Congzhi paint whatever he wished, live his ideal life, and obtain everything he desired.

The setting sun at the edge of the sky looked scalding hot—and so did Xiao Jingwen standing right in front of him.

He walked over to the sofa, dropping one knee beside Lin Congzhi’s leg. Leaning down, he cupped his face with both hands and pressed a kiss onto his lips.

Xiao Jingwen was indeed burning hot; he could feel it clearly.

Unlike that impulsive kiss from before, this one was so gentle that it turned his entire body as soft and pliable as unspun taffy.

The moment their lips touched, Lin Congzhi closed his eyes, then opened them again to confirm one last time—it was Xiao Jingwen. The 33-year-old Xiao Jingwen, kissing him once more five years after their breakup.

Because he had knelt up on one leg, the soft sofa cushion sank down a bit, forcing Lin Congzhi to straighten his back to meet him. Taking advantage of the angle, Xiao Jingwen scooped up his lower back to deepen the kiss.

Just as he caught the tip of Lin Congzhi’s tongue with his own, Lin Congzhi reached out to touch his abs. It wasn’t hard to tell that he wanted to stroke upward just as much as he wanted to slide lower.

Five years ago, when they kissed for the very first time, Xiao Jingwen had been as nervous as a virgin—though back then, he really had been one.

That day fell on the second week of the graduation exhibition. The accumulated rainwater at the exhibition hall entrance had submerged the second step, and emergency broadcasts popped up on the campus digital screens: Red Alert for Rainstorm, Please Take Precautions.

The time was three o’clock in the afternoon. Their school’s graduation exhibition required no tickets, open for free visits via simple reservation. The rain was terrifyingly heavy, accompanied by fierce winds, with single slippers belonging to goodness knows whom floating along the flooded ground.

They had assumed no one would show up to visit in such weather, but heroic citizens still managed to overcome every obstacle to come—some even carrying children who looked to be three to five years old.

Precisely because the exhibition had no entry barrier, their professors had informed them in advance to remain inside the hall as much as possible, guarding near their own works. The oil painting students had it easy enough—their paintings were framed, covered with glass, and mounted on the walls; students from other departments were less fortunate.

A girl from the mural painting department had created small pet tombstones for her graduation project. She had raised many small animals at home since childhood—some were litters gifted by other people’s pets, others rescued off the streets. The lives of small animals were brief, so she had experienced many farewells with pets in her life. Thus, she had crafted tiny tombstones for the pets she had lost growing up.

When her work was first put on display, Lin Congzhi and a few other classmates had visited it once, taking plenty of photos. Unexpectedly, because of the heavy rain and flooding that day, the girl arrived late—only to find that her pieces had all been taken away.

Calling it “taken” was a understatement—it was theft. Checking the surveillance footage later, those parents leading young children had directly lifted open the glass covers, pulled out the relief-carved pet tombstones from inside, and shoved them straight into their children’s hands.

That day, just like the days before, Lin Congzhi was leaning against the wall near his own painting, scrolling through his phone. As he scrolled, he suddenly noticed a passing child holding a piece made by his classmate. Guessing immediately that it had been taken, he stepped forward to reason with them.

—How could a male college student win a “reasoning” match against a middle-aged couple?

Lin Congzhi confronted them, asking why they had stolen an exhibit.

The other party blew up on the spot: What do you mean ‘stolen’? Which eye of yours saw us ‘steal’ it? They weren’t locked up, nor did it say you couldn’t take them! You’re slandering us! Defaming us! My child is so young!

…In short, the usual tirade.

Lin Congzhi didn’t care for any of that. He simply bent down and snatched the palm-sized tombstone back from the child’s hands, skipping any further nonsense.

The moment the child burst into tears, the couple went completely wild, raising their hands to strike him.

As luck would have it, two classmates from the sculpture department happened to be passing by. To put it bluntly, sculpture students… especially those who had just finished their graduation projects, possessed remarkable physical endurance and explosive strength.

Besides, everyone usually got along quite well. Seeing their classmate about to get beaten, how could they just stand by and watch? The sculpture students rushed over in long strides, stepping up and swinging a massive Russian-style broad hook punch right then and there—

Even cursing, “Dammit, acting like a barbarian at my school? Did you ask me first?!”

The end result was that the police were called.

By the time Xiao Jingwen rushed over, Lin Congzhi was still feeling a bit dazed.

“My classmate hit someone.”

“Hit who?” Xiao Jingwen was drenched through and through, rainwater from his bangs dripping down his jawline.

He had assumed the classmate had hit Lin Congzhi, and was already fully prepared to call lawyers from the legal department.

“Don’t know them.” Lin Congzhi blinked. “That person stole an exhibit from another classmate of mine…”

At the police station, Lin Congzhi explained the whole story to Xiao Jingwen before the latter could finally put his mind at ease.

Regardless, the guy from the sculpture department had acted out of righteousness. It was already past seven in the evening by then; the girl whose exhibit had been stolen had arrived at the station as well, followed shortly by their academic advisor, who brought along the surveillance footage from the exhibition hall.

The footage clearly showed the husband from the visiting couple raising his hand to slap Lin Congzhi, who reflexively flinched his shoulders back. Watching that scene, Xiao Jingwen had to dig his fingernails into his own palm to restrain himself from stepping over to throw a follow-up punch.

Back at the station, the couple remained full of argument, pointing at the piece in the girl’s hands and declaring bluntly: If you had said earlier that it was a tombstone, I wouldn’t have given it to my kid! What a jinxed piece of trash—how much is it even worth? Is it worth making such a fuss over?

The girl was originally meek by nature, but hearing the other party say this, her eyes turned red as she refuted them word by word: My artist statement clearly stated ‘pet tombstones.’ Are you illiterate? Taking without asking is stealing—oh, I forgot you can’t read, so presumably no one taught you how to behave like a proper human being either. I understand now.

The moment those words were spoken, both sides launched into another shouting match.

Lin Congzhi remembered that many people had arrived one after another that day—including “connections” called in by the couple, as well as several professors from the school. The rain was far too heavy that day, leaving his sneakers soaked all the way up to his trouser hems at his ankles. He had probably caught a slight chill, and he hadn’t eaten anything all day.

Yet the truth was, once Xiao Jingwen appeared, he had slowly relaxed quite a bit.

For some reason, even though he had only just gotten together with Xiao Jingwen back then—having not known him for very long or understood him deeply yet—he had felt that Xiao Jingwen was exceptionally reliable at that moment.

Inexplicably reliable. Perhaps it was because Xiao Jingwen had already been working in the corporate world for a few years, or perhaps it was because the very first thing he said upon reaching the police station was: “Alright, I’m here now. Everything’s fine.”

That day, Xiao Jingwen happened to be carrying his laptop bag with him. As luck would have it, when they brought up “how much is it worth,” an idea struck Xiao Jingwen’s mind.

He pulled out his laptop from his bag, borrowed the police station’s printer, and printed out a Gleam auction item acquisition contract. He had said at the time: “Isn’t it a bit too coincidental to ask ‘how much it’s worth’? Yours truly works for an auction house. Looking at this student’s work, its craftsmanship and artistic value are both quite good. How about I set an opening auction estimate right now?”

Determining the nature of any offense required establishing value.

Even filing a theft case required asking how much money was stolen.

In truth, the underlying facts were already crystal clear, and the police were equally dissatisfied with the couple’s conduct. Visiting an exhibition was one thing, but laying hands on items and taking them, only to remain fiercely arrogant at the police station, was another. So when Xiao Jingwen said those words, the officers feigned examining documents, saying nothing to stop him.

After all that back-and-forth fuss, the other party softened up, apologizing, paying compensation, and settling out of court. There was even a little episode during the apology. While Lin Congzhi was sitting on a bench in the hallway, the couple asked Xiao Jingwen to call Lin Congzhi inside to hear their apology.

Xiao Jingwen gave a smile that chilled them to the bone, saying: “You’ve got it wrong. It’s you who are going over there.”

Later, after leaving the police station and getting into Xiao Jingwen’s car, Lin Congzhi originally intended to sit in the front passenger seat, but Xiao Jingwen opened the rear door for him. Not understanding why, he stepped inside anyway.

Xiao Jingwen then brought a spare suit jacket from the trunk, sat in the back row himself, took off Lin Congzhi’s shoes and socks, and wrapped his suit around Lin Congzhi’s feet to rub them dry.

The weather was muggy—that season in Yu City was simultaneously cold and hot. Because it was so humid, going without air conditioning felt miserable, yet running it felt freezing.

So with the cold air running in the car, Xiao Jingwen draped the suit jacket he was wearing over Lin Congzhi’s shoulders.

Before they departed from the police station, the girl from the mural department hadn’t forgotten to come over and express her gratitude to Lin Congzhi. Not knowing how to address Xiao Jingwen, she simply said with straightforward earnestness: “Thank your partner as well—thank you both so very much! I wish you two a hundred years of happiness together!”

Finally, once only the two of them remained inside the car, Lin Congzhi burst out laughing.

“Thanks for your help today,” Lin Congzhi said.

“Why are you being so polite with me?” Xiao Jingwen leaned his cheek close. “If you’re satisfied with today, give me a reward.”

He had originally meant for Lin Congzhi to plant a kiss on his cheek. Lin Congzhi, however, wasn’t nearly as innocent as him; reaching out, he turned Xiao Jingwen’s face around and kissed him straight on the lips.

That was their very first kiss.

At eight o’clock at night, by the roadside near the police station, amid torrential rain, in the back seat of the car.

Lin Congzhi copied the kissing scenes from movies, stroking him, licking and nibbling, teasing Xiao Jingwen until his senses turned completely hazy.

That night, the distant thunder at the edge of the sky sounded like firecrackers muffled under a blanket—rumbling on without end, just like Xiao Jingwen’s heartbeat.

Today, the final trace of the setting sun departed from Seville, and the city entered its twilight blue hour. The streetlights, showing their age, flickered twice before lighting up.

Lin Congzhi pushed him back, rising from the sofa with his breath ragged and chaotic. Swept up in passion, he pushed him all the way to the bed, pressing down on him, laying his palm against his pectoral muscles as he leaned down to kiss his lips once more.

He had always known that Xiao Jingwen harbored a morbid possessiveness toward him—and he himself was hardly any better, possessing an equally morbid desire to dominate Xiao Jingwen.

Kissing him to the point where his physical reaction was glaringly obvious, his summer suit trousers possessed no ability to conceal it whatsoever. He reached out to unbuckle Xiao Jingwen’s belt—this exact belt he had given him back then—undoing it swiftly.

However, in the very next second, Xiao Jingwen flipped over to press him down, gripping both of Lin Congzhi’s wrists with one hand to restrain him.

“I don’t have time.” Xiao Jingwen quickly regulated his breathing. “Don’t misunderstand—it’s not that I don’t want to.”

“…” Lin Congzhi’s rationality returned as well. “Oh, sorry.”

“What are you apologizing for?”

“I don’t know either.” Lin Congzhi panted, looking up at him with unfocused eyes.

Xiao Jingwen chuckled softly: “I have to head off.”

He stepped off the bed, and while Lin Congzhi was still lying dazed on his back, he swiftly swapped his suit trousers for a pair of sweatpants. Then, while pulling on a T-shirt, he walked to the bedside, crouched halfway down, planted a kiss on his forehead, and said, “I’m heading out now. I’ll come pick you up when you return home.”

“I’ll see you off.” Lin Congzhi propped himself up to sit, taking a deep breath to calm himself down, though it proved useless.

Xiao Jingwen glanced down at his lower half, still prominently tented, and said, “Don’t bother. Just stay here and rest for a bit.”

Lin Congzhi gave a soft “Mm.” It had been far too long since he felt this way, making it impossible to process his physical state right away—he simply couldn’t press it back down.

Xiao Jingwen zipped his suitcase shut; the ride he ordered to the airport was almost here. Yet just as he prepared to say a final “I’m heading out,” he heard the person on the bed let out what sounded like a stifled, choked hiccup.

He froze, asking, “Are you crying?”

After asking, he added, “Hold on a second,” turning around with the intention of making a call to push back his work.

“I’m not!” Lin Congzhi sat upright with a whoosh. “I’m not crying, it’s not that serious—it’s that potted plant on the windowsill.”

He pointed toward the window.

Then he let out a laugh: “Go on, President Xiao. Go make more money and retire early.”

Xiao Jingwen looked at him, saying earnestly, “Alright.”