Little Uncle tilted his head in confusion. “Not friends?”

Cheng Huanzhen whispered, “It’s not about not being friends, it’s just… there are so many things friends can’t do. You will have many friends, and I will have many friends. Friends aren’t special, but Little Uncle… you are special.”

Little Uncle smiled. “Oh? Then what do you want to be?”

…I want to be partners with Little Uncle.

Partners. Partners!

Cheng Huanzhen thought this over and over in his mind.

But did Little Uncle’s cheeks turn red today? Did his brain slow down? Was he happier? Did the whole world brighten up?

…It seemed not.

Cheng Huanzhen kept his expression taut. He had to work hard to keep from looking disappointed, and to stop himself from dumping everything in his mind out all at once and scaring Little Uncle away.

But other than the answer of wanting to be partners, what other answer could he have? He couldn’t think of one. He only wanted to be partners with Little Uncle!

The air fell silent for a moment.

Little Uncle was a very patient person. Since Cheng didn’t answer, he waited patiently for a response.

They were currently at a crosswalk in front of the park.

Little Uncle had his hands in his pockets, his gaze resting on Cheng Huanzhen. The green light at the intersection had just turned red, and cars on one side began to accelerate. Yet, Little Uncle seemed not to notice and continued to take a step forward.

Cheng Huanzhen’s pupils constricted. He abruptly grabbed Little Uncle’s arm and pulled his entire body heavily toward himself!

“…!”

Little Uncle hadn’t expected this at all. His eyes went wide, and his chest slammed into Cheng’s body without warning. The hands in his pockets were reflexively pulled out, pressed between their chests.

A car sped past behind Little Uncle. In reality, there was still some distance between where the car passed and where Little Uncle had just stepped.

But Cheng Huanzhen pressed Little Uncle tightly into his embrace, his heart pounding wildly.

…Little Uncle had been scared by him.

And he had been scared by Little Uncle.

“…Little Uncle, there’s a car,” he explained stiffly in a low voice.

Little Uncle didn’t react immediately. “…Huh?”

Little Uncle’s body temperature was so warm; his waist was so soft. When Little Uncle’s chest was pressed tight against his, the heartbeat he felt was so healthy.

Cheng Huanzhen held Little Uncle tightly, not wanting to let go at all.

Cheng Huanzhen felt like not much time had passed.

But the red light turned green again.

The sound of footsteps arose around them as pedestrians began to cross the street.

When some passersby walked past them, they couldn’t help but look.

A high school boy let out a novelty whistle, a shy girl quietly whispered “Wow,” and a young man clicked his tongue with ambiguous meaning.

Only then did Cheng Huanzhen remember that earlier, in a place with so few people, Little Uncle had said being seen like this wasn’t good.

There were even more people at the intersection. Would Little Uncle… be angry with him?

Startled, Cheng Huanzhen immediately stiffened his expression and let go of Little Uncle.

But he grabbed Little Uncle’s hand tightly, gripping it firmly in his palm, refusing to let it slip away again.

Cheng Huanzhen lowered his eyes. “…Little Uncle, the road is dangerous. Follow me.”

Little Uncle was quiet for two seconds, then finally seemed to react, suddenly laughing out loud. “Please, how old am I? Do I really need someone to hold my hand just to cross the street?”

Cheng Huanzhen pressed his lips together tightly and didn’t make a sound, simply gripping Little Uncle’s palm even harder to show his stance.

To his surprise, Little Uncle didn’t say anything more.

He led Little Uncle across the street and into the park. Little Uncle never shook him off.

Moonlight and streetlamps paved a silvery path through the park. Walking under the moonlight holding Little Uncle’s hand, Cheng Huanzhen felt as though time had turned back to when his Little Uncle used to hold his hand and take him out to experience nature every day.

Only back then, it was Little Uncle holding him. Now, it was him leading Little Uncle.

“…Little Uncle.”

He couldn’t help but break the quiet atmosphere, calling out softly.

Little Uncle looked up from the moonlight and asked gently, “What’s wrong?”

Cheng Huanzhen hadn’t thought about what to say next.

But he had thought about Little Uncle for so many years. In his mind and in his chest, he had accumulated so many words and questions.

So he asked, “Little Uncle, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you leave the Imperial Capital. Are you from here? But your family isn’t here either… Can I ask?”

Little Uncle blinked slowly twice and asked, “Why ask this all of a sudden?”

Cheng Huanzhen said seriously, “Because I want to know you a little better, Little Uncle. You’ve seen what my home looks like, and you lived in my house for a year. You know everything about me. But I don’t know anything about you.”

Little Uncle let out an “Oh” and asked curiously, “You didn’t check? You definitely investigated, right?”

Cheng Huanzhen: “…”

Cheng Huanzhen looked away and whispered, “That information didn’t look very real, Little Uncle. So I want to hear it from you.”

“Oh,” Little Uncle didn’t deny it. “It seems the employee responsible for identity management at the studio isn’t very skilled. I’ll have him improve himself when I get back. Do you have any suggestions regarding that?”

Little Uncle calmly tried to shift the topic.

But Cheng Huanzhen wasn’t distracted. He repeated his question, “So can you tell me? Little Uncle?”

Little Uncle was quiet for two seconds before finally sighing. “I can, but there’s no point. I don’t really have any family, and my home isn’t here.”

Cheng Huanzhen didn’t understand immediately. “Don’t really have family? Then where are the remaining family members? Where is your home, Little Uncle?”

This should have been a very simple question, but Little Uncle seemed stumped.

He thought about it in distress for a while, then said, “Anyway, not here… and I can’t take you there either.”

Cheng Huanzhen didn’t quite understand that sentence.

But he stayed quiet for a while and didn’t continue to press. He could feel that Little Uncle didn’t seem to want to discuss this topic.

He thought for a moment and tried hard to find a way to comfort him. “If none of your family is here, I can be your family, Little Uncle. I can take care of you in their place.”

Little Uncle’s unhappiness scattered like a dandelion in the wind. Hearing this, he laughed at him. “Take care of me? Do you think I’m a child?”

Cheng Huanzhen held it in for a long time before squeezing out a sentence: “It’s not just children who can be taken care of. I just want to take care of you, Little Uncle.”

Little Uncle glanced at him lightly. “If you want to, just say you want to. Don’t talk about doing it on behalf of others.”

Cheng Huanzhen: “…”

Cheng Huanzhen’s ears burned a little. He lowered his head. “Oh.”

He stayed quiet for a while, then suddenly asked slowly, “Then if… I’m saying if, I wanted to kiss you, Little Uncle, would you let me kiss you?”

He quickly added an excuse: “I feel very happy when I hug you, but Father said kissing makes people even happier. I don’t know if Father is right, I haven’t tried. Can I try, Little Uncle?”

Little Uncle was so surprised he stopped walking. “What are you doing? Just because I let you hug me, you want to push your luck? Are you gay?”

Cheng Huanzhen said softly, “I’m not pushing my luck. I just want to try, Little Uncle. Just once, okay?”

Little Uncle didn’t answer. Instead, he turned his head and continued walking forward. “I bet when your dad said that, he definitely didn’t expect you to propose this to anyone! Didn’t he also tell you that kissing isn’t something you can just do with anybody?”

Cheng Huanzhen asked stubbornly, “Little Uncle, just once, okay?”

Little Uncle: “I think it’s getting late. Let’s find the nearest exit. I’ll take a taxi back myself…”

Cheng Huanzhen begged softly, “Little Uncle, just once, okay?”

Little Uncle: “…”

Little Uncle stopped walking again.

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and stayed quiet for a few seconds.

Cheng Huanzhen looked at Little Uncle anxiously. His hand didn’t loosen, and his gaze didn’t waver. Watching Little Uncle’s eyelashes tremble slightly, he found himself entranced.

Little Uncle finally opened his eyes again and asked calmly, “Where do you want to kiss?”

Cheng Huanzhen blurted out, “I want to kiss your eyes, Little Uncle.”

Little Uncle: “?”

Cheng Huanzhen stared at those eyelashes. As Little Uncle looked up, they trembled lightly again.

Cheng Huanzhen said hoarsely, “Because your eyes are beautiful, Little Uncle. Very, very beautiful. I want to kiss them.”

Little Uncle was silent for a moment, then finally let out a long sigh. He guided their steps, turning into a part of the park woods where the moonlight didn’t reach.

Little Uncle found a tree and leaned casually against it.

He lowered his eyes, not looking at Cheng, and spoke in a careless, teasing tone. “Only once, okay? If you ask me, Cheng Zhaorui really ought to thank me properly. Look at everything I’ve done to help him raise his kid… Mmph…”

A soft, constantly trembling sensation gently pressed against his lips.

Cheng Huanzhen finally experienced the feeling of a kiss for the first time.

The tactile sensation was very different from eating or drinking tea, but if he really had to pinpoint the difference, perhaps it was mostly psychological.

…His mood really became very good.

He and Little Uncle seemed to have taken a big step closer. They were no longer just hugging through clothes; his lips could now touch and kiss Little Uncle’s eyes.

His left hand wrapped around Little Uncle’s waist, and his right hand cradled the back of Little Uncle’s head. The backs of his hands scraped against the rough bark, but he didn’t care at all. All his energy was focused on Little Uncle.

Little Uncle was pressed against the tree trunk by him, held tightly in his arms, seemingly a bit stiff.

Little Uncle’s breath fell lightly and intermittently against his neck, a bit restrained and a bit chaotic.

His kisses fell gently and brokenly on Little Uncle’s eyes. With every kiss, Little Uncle’s eyelashes would tremble slightly.

Cheng Huanzhen kissed and kissed, and couldn’t help but continue kissing and kissing. The more he kissed, the more he noticed the stiffness of the young man in his arms, so different from usual.

…Cute. He wanted to keep kissing downwards!

Kissing the eyes wasn’t enough.

He wanted to kiss Little Uncle’s forehead, his nose, his lips, his earlobes. He wanted to continue kissing down, kissing every single part of Little Uncle’s body!

Desire flourished.

The reaction he had barely managed to suppress during the walk now reared its head even more spiritedly.

But Cheng Huanzhen couldn’t bear to stop.

He wanted to kiss. He wanted to kiss. He still wanted to kiss!

“Mmph…” Little Uncle let out a muffled groan from the kissing and suddenly reached out to block Cheng’s forehead.

Little Uncle pushed Cheng’s forehead back to create some distance, turned his head away, opened his eyes, and glared at him hard. “We agreed on just one kiss, didn’t we? Count for yourself, how many times did you just kiss me!”

With Little Uncle’s struggle, Cheng’s hand scraped hard against the rough bark for a distance.

But it was so strange.

He didn’t feel pain, nor did he feel that Little Uncle’s glare was sharp.

He only felt happy. Happy. Extremely happy.

He lowered his eyes slightly, looked earnestly into Little Uncle’s gaze, and said very sincerely, “I’m sorry, Little Uncle. Kissing you made me so happy, I couldn’t control myself.”

Little Uncle glared at him prickly. “You took so much advantage of me, and a simple ‘sorry’ is the end of it?”

Cheng Huanzhen was momentarily at a loss. “Then… what should I do? You say it, Little Uncle, and I’ll do it.”

Little Uncle glared. “Then wouldn’t you be taking even more advantage of me?”

Cheng Huanzhen hesitated. “Then I won’t do anything?”

Little Uncle’s eyes went wide. “So you just get to take advantage of me for free?”

Cheng Huanzhen looked at him eagerly. “Then you say it, Little Uncle. Whatever you say goes.”

Little Uncle was very dissatisfied. “It’s clearly your problem, yet you want me to think of the solution?”

Cheng Huanzhen: “…”

Cheng Huanzhen stared at Little Uncle, speechless.

After staring for a while, he suddenly squeezed out a sentence: “Little Uncle, do you want to eat strawberry hotpot? My treat.”

Lin Chen: “…”

Lin Chen couldn’t help but wonder, was his temper really this easy to coax?

Thinking about it, he laughed. “Let’s eat.”

---

The System spent a very confused night.

Ever since dinner, after helping the Host “remove his makeup,” it had been inexplicably thrown into the little black room.

It wasn’t until nearly midnight that it was finally released.

The Host looked like he had eaten strawberries again. He was stuffed.

When he released it, the Host’s tone was still light and airy: “Home, makeup on!”

The System wailed, extremely heartbroken. “Host! Am I still your favorite System? I didn’t do anything all night, why was I thrown into the little black room again!”

The Host looked at it, extremely surprised. “Oh my, you get sad?”

The System cried even more sorrowfully. “You’ve broken my heart so many times!”

The Host: “Oh, don’t be sad, don’t be sad. I saved strawberries especially for you. Do you want a bite?”

The System was pleasantly surprised. “Saved especially for me?!”

Then the System was distressed. “But, I don’t have a body, I can’t eat strawberries…”

The Host naturally followed up, “That’s a pity. Looks like I can only bring them back for A’Shao to eat.”

The System felt something wasn’t quite right.

But the Host didn’t give it time to think deeply, smiling and coaxing casually, “Alright, my most reliable AC9999, hurry up and apply the makeup. It’s time to go home. This is a great task that only you can do.”

The System still felt something wasn’t quite right. But so what? The Host praised it!

The System was extremely happy, answering loudly and full of drive, “Applying makeup for you right now! Host!”