Raise you and love you

"I like you."

The cautious and sincere words hit Fang Huai's heart hard. The flowers in his arms made him breathless and his heart beat very fast.

Kong Lingyu smiled and took the bouquet from his arms, then suddenly moved closer, so close that they could feel each other's breath and the sweet scent of locust flower perfume on Kong Lingyu's body.

"I know."

Fang Huai's flowers were taken away, and he fumbled for something to grab. Kong Lingyu naturally reached out his other hand to hold Fang Huai's hand, his hot palm pressed tightly against the cold back of Fang Huai's hand. He hummed softly, the ending tone rising: "Hmm?"

"Why?"

Fang Huai met Kong Lingyu's eyes and asked seriously, "I know, but why? Why do you like me?"

"Kong Lingyu, I'm not a good person. I'm slow and cowardly, stubborn and I always like to escape. I can't give you a warm response. More likely, I can't give you equal love and response. I have too many shortcomings. Do you still like me like this?"

"Why would you like me, someone who might never be a good lover in my life?"

Fang Huai looked at Kong Lingyu, his hands clenched into fists, which were tightly protected by Kong Lingyu's hands. He observed Kong Lingyu's expression, trying to find a trace of discouragement and disappointment in it.

At this moment, he was like a timid bird stretching out tentacles to test the other party.

As long as Kong Lingyu showed the slightest hesitation, Fang Huai would retract his tentacles and live forever in his snail shell.

The long eyelashes trembled slightly because of uncertainty, and the drooping eyelids concealed the emotions in the eyes, but the trembling hands exposed the owner's emotions.

"Because you are Fang Huai."

Kong Lingyu's voice rang out overhead. He held Fang Huai's hand and gently separated his tightly clenched fist. The two slender hands intertwined their fingers. Kong Lingyu raised their intertwined hands, placed Fang Huai's side against his own cheek, looked at Fang Huai seriously, and said word by word:

"Because you are you, I like you and everything about you."

"In my eyes, Mai Mai is always the best."

Kong Lingyu rubbed the small mole on the back of Fang Huai's hand with the tip of his tall nose. A tingling sensation spread from their touching skin to his brain, leaving Fang Huai stunned in place.

He hesitated and asked, "When did you fall in love with me?"

"Kong Lingyu, I want to hear the truth."

Before Kong Lingyu could answer, Fang Huai pursed his lips and said seriously, "Tell me."

Kong Lingyu paused, then immediately raised the corners of his lips, and his narrow eyes were bright.

He carefully traced Fang Huai's delicate features with his eyes, his gaze gentle as he rubbed the back of Fang Huai's hand lovingly, saying without hesitation, "Because it was love at second sight."

"Love at second sight?"

Fang Huai withdrew his hand, as if thinking about something. Kong Lingyu stopped in mid-air and maintained the previous action. He narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at Fang Huai, just enough to conceal the crazy infatuation and possessive desire in his eyes.

He saw Fang Huai's hesitation, suppressed the emotion in his eyes, and handed the bouquet to Fang Huai again, "Maimai, don't rush to give me an answer."

"I've been here."

......

Fang Huai had no idea when Kong Lingyu fell in love at second sight, but he was sure it was not the New Year's Day meeting.

Kong Lingyu has many secrets, but as long as Fang Huai wants to know, Kong Lingyu will tell him. However, Fang Huai does not want to ask further, because there will be a day when Kong Lingyu wants to tell him.

Just like these few days, this guy always looked at Fang Huai as if he wanted to say something but hesitated. When he was eating, reading, and even before going to bed, Kong Lingyu followed Fang Huai.

"Kong Lingyu."

Fang Huai turned around helplessly and looked at the tall man in front of him: "Why are you following me?"

Kong Lingyu feigned innocence as he glanced at the ceiling. Facing Fang Huaiqing's piercing gaze, he couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you curious?"

"What are you curious about?"

Fang Huai found his expression amusing. He pretended to be puzzled and said, "What am I curious about?"

Kong Lingyu pursed his lips, and finally sighed and held the door, his eyes full of resentment, as if Fang Huai was a piece of wood.

"Never mind. It's nothing."

Kong Lingyu also chuckled twice, walked closer to Fang Huai, helped him straighten his collar, and gently brushed his earlobe with his rough fingertips.

Fang Huai turned his head away, his eyes falling on the roses behind the door. Kong Lingyu chuckled and pinched Fang Huai's earlobe, then stepped back just before Fang Huai got angry. "Today's flowers are beautiful, but they're not locust flowers."

Fang Huai took the bouquet and saw that all the vases in the room were filled with flowers. He said jokingly, "Kong Lingyu, if you give me more flowers, I can really open a flower shop."

"If you like it." Kong Lingyu didn't finish his words. Both of them understood what he meant. As long as you want, I will definitely give it to you, as long as you want.

"I don't want to." Fang Huai shook his head.

Kong Lingyu smiled and naturally moved closer to Fang Huai, almost whispering into his ear, "Do you remember what I told you about love at second sight?"

The warm breath sprayed on Fang Huai's ears, and the soft earlobes immediately turned red enough to drip blood. Fang Huai stumbled back a step, "Hmm."

"Maimai, do you want to listen?"

His cold brows softened because of his deliberately lowered voice, and the indifference in his eyes was replaced by tenderness. At this moment, Kong Lingyu was like a patient hunter, luring his long-coveted prey into the world he had carefully created.

"Do you want to say something?" Fang Huai asked.

"I think."

Kong Lingyu raised his thin lips slightly, his eyes flashed with a sly light, and he said half-jokingly: "Will Mai Mai feel sorry for me if I tell you this?"

Fang Huai stepped back and entered the room, "I..."

"I have no idea."

"Kong Lingyu, I can't give you the answer you want right now." Fang Huai's voice was gentle but firm. The other party's love was too intense, which caught Fang Huai off guard. Every time he prepared, it would collapse under Kong Lingyu's strong offensive. His bottom line was lowered again and again because of Kong Lingyu.

Even he himself couldn't tell whether every time he saw Kong Lingyu's heart beat faster it was because of nervousness or because of throbbing... the throbbing of love.

Fang Huai was not sure whether the previous dependence had interfered with his judgment, as well as the previous few times. He was too timid to make a decisive conclusion, so he could not give Kong Lingyu an answer now.

Facing Kong Lingyu, who indulged him infinitely, Fang Huai could cheat, hesitate, or even escape. Kong Lingyu just smiled and said, "I know."

"Fang Huai, I can wait."

Kong Lingyu took Fang Huai's free hand and led him to sit on the sofa in the living room. He also poured Fang Huai a cup of hot ginger tea. A bouquet of red flowers with dewdrops was placed on the coffee table, and the fragrance lingered at Fang Huai's nose.

Fang Huai's eyes fell on the dewdrops dangling on the petals, and his other hand was held by Kong Lingyu. The intimacy between the two had actually long exceeded the boundaries of friends, but he didn't want to face her now and didn't dare to face her. Kong Lingyu leaned on the sofa and looked at Fang Huai, seeing that he was staring at the flowers in a trance.

He moved closer and placed his chin on Fang Huai's shoulder in an intimate manner, wishing that Fang Huai's whole body would be scented with his own scent.

Fang Huai shrank his neck and stretched out his hand to catch the falling dewdrop. The crystal clear water drop fell right on his slender index finger with a healthy pink glow. He carefully caught the water drop, withdrew his hand, and touched it in front of Kong Lingyu.

Kong Lingyu hummed lightly in confusion, with some doubt in his eyes.

"suck."

He raised his index finger and gently flicked away the water droplets with his thumb, and even smaller water droplets splashed onto Kong Lingyu's stern face.

Before Kong Lingyu could react, Fang Huai sat up straight, pushed Kong Lingyu away, cleared his throat and said, "Go ahead, I'm listening."

There were tiny drops of water hanging on Kong Lingyu's eyelashes, and his tall nose was also covered with moisture. He looked at Fang Huai in surprise, his expression stunned for a long time. He really didn't expect that Fang Huai had such a side, with a bad taste.

He couldn't let go of the smile, and Kong Lingyu couldn't help but laugh softly with his chin resting on Fang Huai's shoulder.

"Ha ha."

"Hahaha."

Fang Huai shrugged unnaturally, pushed Kong Lingyu aside again, and said in a bluffing tone, "Are you going to tell me or not?"

"I'll tell you what I'll tell you."

Kong Lingyu stopped laughing, but his deep eyes were full of smiles. "Then where should I start? How about falling in love at second sight?"

Fang Huai glanced at him quickly and said, "Yeah."

The man tilted his head and stared at Fang Huai's face. He said, "Do you remember what the director's mother told you about my experience? I left the orphanage a few years later and wanted to look for you. I took the address on the orphanage registration form and went there, but I couldn't find you."

Kong Lingyu's gaze fell on the small mole at the end of Fang Huai's eye. "Back then, I was penniless, idealistic, and naive. I also got into a lot of trouble, but then I met my teacher."

Fang Huai listened patiently. Tan Cheng had mentioned Kong Lingyu's teacher to him before, so he knew something about it.

"My teacher and his friend He Jiangyun lived in Black Water Lane, and I moved in there too. Later, I discovered these two old guys were causing just as much trouble as I was." Kong Lingyu smiled helplessly and said, "Black Water Lane is just like its name: dark and you can't see any light."

"They owed a lot of debts and were visited by debt collectors. I was still on my way to sell bracelets with He Jiangyun. There were too many of them and we couldn't defeat them with He Jiangyun alone." Kong Lingyu recounted the thrilling past calmly, but Fang Huai could keenly sense Kong Lingyu's emotions from his few words.

"What happened next?" Fang Huai asked in a light tone.

"Then I ran and mixed into the group of students and ran to the vicinity of the school. The group of people didn't catch up with me. I originally planned to climb over the wall and hide, but I saw you through the fence."

Many years later, Kong Lingyu still remembers that scene: the thin Fang Huai was standing not far from the wall. It was drizzling that day. The boy was wearing a loose school uniform with his sleeves rolled up to his wrists, revealing his fair and smooth arms.

The black hair covered his handsome face, and there was a hint of melancholy in his eyes. People around him were quickly leaving the playground to avoid the rain, but the boy was standing on the old playground, staring at the rain in a daze. The moment he looked up, his delicate facial features were revealed under his hair.

The black teardrop mole dotted at the end of the eye was like a drop of ink falling on the clear and waveless lake, which made Kong Lingyu's heart palpitate.

At that time, the inferiority and helplessness overwhelmed the fearless Kong Lingyu. The person he had been thinking about was right in front of him, but he no longer had the courage to take people away.

There were a lot of plastic items in the snakeskin bags piled in the corner, which all fell to the ground when the security guard came to clear them away, just like the belated inferiority and heartbeat of a teenager.

He hurriedly took a photo of Mai Mai as a teenager, jumped off the wall, lowered his head in embarrassment, quickly picked up the plastic bottle, and left as if escaping.

"I'm very sure that I will not only find you and raise you, but also love you."

Kong Lingyu said as if he was taking an oath: "Maimai, I'm glad I found you." I also caught you.

"After that, I ran and climbed the wall every day." Kong Lingyu winked at Fang Huai. He pretended to be relaxed and talked about the most difficult years of his life. Behind these few light-hearted words was the story of the teacher who was beaten and unable to move, and had to sell bracelets. He was full of anger and found his Mai Mai when he was in the most embarrassing situation.

The seed of throbbing and inferiority was planted. He needed a lot of money, and when he had money, he would go to find Maimai.

Everyone in the industry knew that the boss of Chuanqi only cared about money. Anyone who messed with his money would suffer the same fate as the bankrupt Tengfeng Group. In their industry, the thing they feared least was those who loved money, but what they feared most was those who were both crazy and loved money.

"It's a pity that I'm late, but not very late."

He had been prepared to intervene, but now that they had broken up, that preparation had become plan B.

The love in Kong Lingyu's eyes was so hot that Fang Huai felt at a loss and did not want to look into Kong Lingyu's eyes.

"I'm a domineering and unreasonable person. Just like before, even if you didn't break up, I would still cling to you. I like you, I like you very much. But I'm also afraid that you'll be unhappy."

"Don't feel pressured, don't rush to give me an answer." Kong Lingyu was no longer as aggressive as before. After this series of events, he knew that some things could not be forced, and he could afford to wait.

He doesn't know how to love, his love is overbearing and unreasonable. Now he is learning to love someone well.

"Fang Huai, I love you. I will always love you."

Fang Huai listened to Kong Lingyu's words, and inexplicable emotions surged in his heart. He had never thought that someone would keep looking for him because of a promise made in their youth. He looked up at Kong Lingyu and said, "Kong Lingyu, I don't know how to love anyone either."

"So, let's take it slow."

"I......"

Before Fang Huai could finish his words, he was suddenly hugged by Kong Lingyu. Kong Lingyu hugged Fang Huai tightly, and his head was pressed against Kong Lingyu's chest. He could hear the man's heart beating wildly in his chest, and Kong Lingyu's trembling voice above his head.

"Let's take it slow..."

As long as you are willing to give me a chance, I can wait.