Invitation to kiss
As night fell, swarms of mosquitoes kept bumping into the light bulb.
A very light knock sounded on the door. Milo opened it and looked down to see a small face.
The little boy burped, pointed to his chest, and tried to explain.
Milo, with his hands braced against the door, spoke first: "Yes, I remember, your name is Apa."
Apa's eyes lit up.
Milo glanced back, not seeing anyone secretly following him, then tilted his head and deliberately asked, "Is there something you need so late?"
Apa nodded, then quickly shook his head.
How old are you?
Apabi showed ten fingers, then cut off one.
Milo, unusually patient, asked, "You're nine years old, so does that mean you're already in school?"
Unexpectedly, Apa quickly shook his head: "No, don't read books, don't go to school. Kurumaha said that books will deceive us, and Suma was deceived by books and died."
“Kurumaha?” Milo frowned. “You mean, the snake-headed Buddha you worship, who requires you to stay away from books and not to go to school?”
Apa nodded.
"Has no one here ever gone to school?"
Another heavy nod.
"So what are you all doing?"
Apa said wistfully, "When I'm ten, I can go up the mountain. We'll be trained, and I'll become as amazing as Blaise."
Milo suddenly remembered the crooked handwriting in Blaise's house and what Nona had told him. Sigon seemed unwilling to let Blaise receive an education, which was the reason for Blaise's contradictory nature. He was fluent in various languages, yet extremely unfamiliar with written language. He was skilled in violence, yet didn't have much desire for the power that violence brought. He could control the overall situation, but sometimes revealed very flaws in his personality and emotional intelligence.
But if it weren't for that, he wouldn't have had the opportunity to work with Blaise. If everyone were as invincible and without weaknesses as Miles, no game could be played.
Milo pondered for a moment, then squatted down and asked, coaxingly, "You're really smart. By the way, who is this Suma you just mentioned?"
Apa confidently opened his mouth, about to speak, when a figure flashed out from the shadows and knocked the child on the head.
Apa let out a howl and covered his head.
Blaze pulled Apa behind him, crossed his arms, and poked his eye with his right index finger: Don't lie.
Milo straightened up, showing no remorse whatsoever: "This kid was the one who lied to me first."
Apa hugged Blaise's leg and said earnestly, "I'm not lying to you! Beautiful Marina is getting married, don't you want to go? You definitely want to go!"
Milo frowned slightly and looked at Blaise with suspicion.
Blaze placed one hand on his chest and drew circles, while pushing his palm forward with the other, raising an eyebrow: Want to go?
It seems he was kindly giving him a chance to broaden his horizons.
Milo glanced at the wet mud on Blaise's shoes and smiled. "Do you want me to go?"
Blaise hadn't expected Milo to ask that question.
Milo patiently waited for Blaise's reaction. In wordplay and emotional intelligence games, teasing Blaise was actually easier than teasing a dog.
Apa was very anxious: "You have to go! I can only go if you go! I can only play if I go! It's at the Jade Belt River, it's really, really fun!"
Upon hearing the words "Jade Belt River," Milo's eyelids twitched slightly.
Before Blaise could get back into the language trap, Milo stepped out of the room, looked into Blaise's eyes, and said, "If you want me to go, I'll go."
Blaise was lost in thought when Apa shook his leg anxiously, and he slowly gestured: I need you to go.
By the time Blaise realized what was happening, Apa had already pushed Milo ahead of him.
This time, Blaise didn't feel like he was being mocked. On the contrary, he felt strange, but he wasn't angry or happy. He couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.
The Jade Belt River is a tributary of the Chira River. It is famous for the jade and gemstones that can often be found at the bottom of the river. At night, swarms of fireflies dance on the river, and the whole river turns a deep blue-green.
When they arrived, the Jade Belt River was filled with docked ships. Milo was somewhat discouraged, as he couldn't immediately tell which one belonged to Steven.
Appa, a man of many talents, immediately let go of Milo's hand and disappeared into the crowd upon arrival. An elderly woman in an indigo sarong smiled as she weaved through the crowd. She seemed a little puzzled when she saw Milo, but quickly she clasped her hands together, her attitude respectful and delighted.
Milo turned slightly and saw Blaze walk forward. He felt a warmth in his palm, and only after a moment did he realize that Blaze had taken his hand.
Blaise's palms were large and warm, without any sweat, and being held by him didn't feel as uncomfortable as I had imagined.
The muffled sound of elephant-foot drums echoed from the riverbank, and under the guidance of barefoot monks, countless butter lamps were lit one after another. The bride, Marina, dressed in a long pashin gown, was indeed beautiful and charming. The maidens accompanying her, with silver platters on their heads, swayed gracefully as they walked step by step along the flower-lined path to the wedding venue.
As the shaman's gong sounded, silvery water splashed up from both banks simultaneously, and hundreds of bamboo water guns fired in unison, creating a lively and exciting scene.
Milo was pulled into dancing by enthusiastic girls. At first, he was unwilling, but the kind and simple people kept encouraging him, crowding around him and feeding him drinks. After all that fun, when he sat down again, he didn't even realize that he had just had a lot of fun.
Several dark-skinned children chased and laughed as the betel nuts rolled down, with Apa among them, his mouth covered in oil.
Milo politely mimicked their gesture, pressing his palms together in thanks. The table where they were sitting was piled high with all sorts of dishes.
Sitting at the table, Blaise quietly looked at Milo, reached out and brushed his sweaty hair behind his head, then bent his thumbs and forefingers close to his cheekbones to make a smile: Are you happy?
Milo already understood that since arriving in Maca, Blaze had been intentionally or unintentionally trying to please him. From seeing the "Tears of the Goddess" to visiting the tree burial in the park, and now, taking him to a local wedding late at night to have fun, Blaze's attitude towards him seemed to have softened considerably without him even realizing it.
"Happy." Milo didn't disappoint Blaise, giving him the answer he wanted.
Upon hearing those two words, Blaze lowered his gaze slightly, his eyelashes resting on his eyelids, and a slight smile flickered in his dark eyes.
"Wow, so many boats." Milo gazed towards the Jade Belt River and casually asked, "The rainy season is coming, right? Will these boats be able to operate all the time?"
Blaise glanced at them and gestured: They'll only stay one night and then drive away.
"What if we don't drive it away immediately? Will it rust?"
Blaise gestured: "The fuel engine is not broken or clogged, it can still run even if it's rusty."
Milo said thoughtfully, "I see."
Blaise frowned slightly and looked at Milo: You want a boat?
“Do you think you can just give me whatever I want? I’d like Bethlehem then,” Milo said half-jokingly. “It must be worth hundreds of millions, but even the richest person couldn’t buy that ship.”
This irrelevant remark shut Blaze up, and he stopped arguing.
Men pushed carts loaded with roasted whole pigs and beef in bamboo tubes through the room, serving them to the table one by one. As Milo got closer, he suddenly smelled a faint odor of engine oil. Looking closer, he noticed that the bare-chested men seemed to have tar-like oil stains between their fingers.
Milo lowered his eyes without changing his expression and asked, "Why do they have a wedding at night?"
Blaise replied: They are very busy during the day.
"What are you busy with?"
Blaise gestured: I don't know.
Milo looked at Blaise: "How could you not know what they're doing? I thought you knew everything about this place."
Upon hearing this, Blaise's eyes darkened, and displeasure flashed across his face.
Milo, however, reverted to his usual relaxed demeanor, as if his earlier question had been nothing more than a casual joke.
At the wedding, the beautiful Marina lowered her head shyly as the groom placed a flower crown on her head. The two clasped hands and embraced tightly. The young women who had accompanied the bride earlier now carried flower crowns, walking through the crowd and offering them to the boys they admired.
He was just a spectator until a girl shyly approached Milo and awkwardly offered him a flower crown, at which point he involuntarily straightened his back.
The girl's boldness drew applause from those around her. Compared to these brown-skinned, rugged men, a fair-skinned, delicate foreigner like Milo was truly special. He represented a gentle, fragile beauty, and it was not surprising that an innocent little girl would be drawn to him, much like choosing the latest doll.
"Does accepting this mean we have to get married?" Milo asked Blaise in a low voice.
Blaise gestured to him: It's just to express her liking; if you don't accept it, she'll be sad.
Hearing this, Milo looked again and saw that the little girl, whose flower crown hadn't been taken away for a long time, indeed had slightly red eyes. Milo thought for a moment, stood up, accepted the flower crown with both hands, and bowed slightly in thanks.
Unexpectedly, the little girl tiptoed and quickly kissed him on the cheek before running away as fast as she could, not forgetting to peek back at him.
Milo sat down, a little embarrassed.
Blaze suddenly smiled, and Milo turned to look at him. In the flickering light, such a bold and unrestrained expression on his usually stern face was surprisingly captivating.
Milo picked up a cup of rice wine from the table, drank it all in one gulp, and then ripped off the flower crown and rudely pressed it onto Blaise's head: "Since you're so happy, here you go."
Blaise stroked the leaves on the flower crown, not in a hurry to remove them. He leaned forward and gestured: "It's nice here, isn't it? Would you like to stay?"
Milo was taken aback, suddenly sensing a hidden agenda. Blaise was actually holding a grudge about what had been said at the negotiating table. Did he really intend to go along with Xigong's wishes and force him to stay in Gan Valley? But if he had that intention, why was he asking him now?
Seeing that Milo remained silent, Blaise didn't press the matter further. He gestured: presenting a flower crown signifies a desire to marry her. Here, one cannot simply give a flower crown to someone who isn't a little girl.
Milo found it absurd: "I'm a man."
Blaze suddenly lifted Milo's chin, their eyes met, and Blaze's warm breaths became increasingly disordered as their gazes shifted.
As the enthusiastic drumbeats were about to end, Blaise suddenly let go of his hand and tapped his cheek.
Milo was taken aback.
Blaise raised an eyebrow, waiting with a hint of anticipation.
This meant he was to do the same thing as the innocent little girl who had offered a kiss earlier. At this thought, Milo felt a surge of contemptuous mockery. Just as he was pondering what to do, a face suddenly appeared from the dancing crowd, startling Milo.
The man seemed to sense Milo's gaze, turned around, and vanished without a trace, like a ghost drifting down from the Jade Belt River.
Of course there are no ghosts in this world, but how did Harold, the driver who should have been in Wudong Port, end up in the town of Maca?
Harold was Miles's personal driver. Although he didn't know what Miles was capable of, seeing him in this place meant that Miles's eyes were always on him.
Indeed, he has become somewhat complacent lately, actually thinking that leaving Wudong Port would allow him to escape Miles' surveillance.
Milo unconsciously clenched his fists.
If he kisses Blaise now, Harold will definitely tell Miles everything...
Blaze waited for a while and saw Milo's brow furrowed, back to his preoccupied state, as if some insurmountable problem awaited his calculation and resolution. He nudged Milo with his foot, a hint of displeasure in his voice, and raised an eyebrow in acknowledgment.
After a long while, just as Blaise's patience was about to run out, Milo suddenly chuckled softly: "Do I have the right to say 'no' to you?"
Blaise was slightly taken aback.
Milo tilted his head slightly, and Blaze's gaze fell on his sweaty back, the thin shirt clinging to his spine. For a fleeting moment, it reminded him of Theo's shirt, damp with seawater. This tender image stirred a flutter in his heart, a desire to touch him. If he wanted, he could easily pull Milo over; what was a kiss? But what about Theo? If Theo were sitting in front of him, he'd probably sweat just listening to him speak.
Did he mistake this person for Theo, or did he not mistake him for Theo at all? Blaise suddenly felt a tightness in his chest.
As for the right to say "no"... that's something only those sitting at the same table have the right to talk about. This is a principle Sigon taught him, and he knows very well that Milo doesn't have it right now. However, he suddenly felt that these difficulties and pressures were meaningless.
Blaise didn't say anything more, just silently drank his wine.
After the wedding, the group returned home together.
Walking down the street, Milo asked dryly, "Why didn't you drive here?"
With a restless and unruly child and a physically weak adult to take care of, Blaise had to stop and wait from time to time, and because he was partially deaf and mute, he could only play a silent role most of the time.
Blaise, with Apa around his neck, was fast asleep, the flower crown draped over his hand, and he didn't reply.
Bright stars were embedded in the night sky, and the valley path in the Gan Valley Rainforest seemed very long. As they walked, the distance between them gradually closed.
The once crowded river had gradually quieted down. Most of the boats had already set sail, and only one small boat, draped in a white cloth, remained quietly on the bank, unusually still. Milo squinted slightly; he could vaguely make out a few figures standing on the riverbank, seemingly looking in his direction.
After a long silence, Blaise suddenly gestured: "Because walking together takes longer."
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