Always together
Licheng in October is always shrouded in a damp, chilly wind. As Li Huaizhou emerged from "Mint Velvet Tail" after finishing work that evening, he instinctively pulled his thin coat closer. The streetlight at the alley entrance had just come on, its warm yellow glow stretching his shadow. His phone was still lingering on a chat with his music arranger. The last message was from him: "The chorus line 'You are my blood, crushing my bones' should be a little more emotional."
A familiar sound of footsteps came from behind him, carrying a hint of refreshing mint. Li Huaizhou knew it was Xie Mo without turning around. This guy has been like this lately. He was so busy a few days ago that he even came back late at night and walked quietly to avoid waking him up. But these past two days, he has been as punctual as if he had pressed the alarm clock.
"What are you thinking about?" Xie Mo's arm wrapped around his waist, with a bit of warmth from just getting out of the car. Li Huaizhou leaned back, resting his head against his chest, shaking the music sheet in his hand. "Revise the lyrics. After all, it was written by Mr. Xie himself."
Xie Mo chuckled softly, rubbing his chin against the top of his head. "Come on, baby." Her fingertips gently stroked the curve of his waist, stopping precisely at the most sensitive spot. Li Huaizhou froze and immediately broke free from his hand. "Stop it, we're still outside." Lin Shengxia's teasing voice came from the alley. She had just locked the shop door and was holding a half-eaten bag of sugar-roasted chestnuts. "Oh, is Mr. Xie here to pick up our boss Zhou again?" She winked at Li Huaizhou. "Will boss Zhou be able to open the shop on time tomorrow?"
The tips of Li Huaizhou's ears turned red instantly. He turned around and glared at Xie Mo, then snorted at Lin Shengxia, "What ability can he have? He's very ordinary. I will definitely be able to get up tomorrow." As soon as he finished speaking, someone pinched his waist, neither lightly nor heavily. The force was like a hook, which made his legs weak.
"Ordinary?" Xie Mo's voice was close to his ear, with a hoarse smile, "Then how about going back tonight and seeing for yourself how ordinary your husband is?"
Li Huaizhou's face turned red at these blunt words, and he reached out and punched him on the arm. "Who admits that you are my husband? Stop calling yourself that." Lin Shengxia was laughing so hard that she bent over and waved her hand. "Okay, okay, I won't bother you two anymore. You can smell the sour smell of love from three blocks away." After that, she walked away quickly with the chestnuts in her hand, and the sound of her footsteps gradually disappeared at the end of the alley.
They were the only two left in the alley, their shadows overlapping under the warm yellow streetlights. Li Huaizhou broke free from Xie Mo's embrace, took two steps forward, and looked back at him. "What's wrong with you lately? Are you suddenly not busy anymore?" A while ago, when Xie Mo was busy with a project, he even ate breakfast in the car. But these past two days, he had been picking him up on time, and even found time to spend with him in the study to revise lyrics. He always felt that something was wrong.
Xie Mo walked over, reached out and held his hand, and gently pinched his palm with his fingertips. "Are you done?" He didn't say much, just took the man's hand and walked towards the parking lot. "Are you hungry? I'll take you to eat the Japanese food we had last time."
Li Huaizhou was pulled away by him, his doubts still lingering in his heart, but he did not ask any more questions. He has been busy preparing new songs recently, spending every day in the recording studio and the store. His mind has long been filled with melodies and lyrics, and the occasional doubts were also covered by Xie Mo's gentleness. It was not until he sat in the private room of the Japanese restaurant, watching Xie Mo skillfully peeling salmon sushi for him, that he suddenly remembered something. "By the way, can you lend me your phone? I think I left my charger in the store just now."
Xie Mo paused for a moment before handing him the phone. Li Huaizhou took the phone, swiped his finger across the screen, and just as he opened WeChat, he saw a calendar reminder pop up on the lock screen: "October 23, Anniversary."
His movements stopped instantly, and his fingertips felt a little stiff. Anniversary? He didn't remember anything about it. Suddenly he remembered that he agreed to be with Xie Mo, which was just an impulsive decision. He struggled until he had no strength left that day. When Xie Mo found him, he was as miserable as a stray dog. He didn't want Xie Mo to see him like this, and he didn't want Xie Mo to get close to him again, so he said desperately: "Don't you like me? Do you want to give it a try?"
He thought Xie Mo would retreat and be disgusted, but Xie Mo just squatted down, carefully held him in his arms, and kissed his tears. "Okay..." That night, Xie Mo hugged him and kissed him for a long time, as gently as if he was treating a rare treasure. He agreed in a daze and couldn't even remember the exact day.
It turned out that Xie Mo remembered it so clearly that he even marked it on his phone. Li Huaizhou looked at the reminder, and his heart seemed to be filled with something, sour and soft. When he returned the phone to Xie Mo, his voice was a little hoarse. "Charger... Sheng Xia said she didn't see it. Maybe I left it in the recording studio."
Xie Mo took the phone and naturally handed the peeled sushi to his mouth: "It's okay, I'll ask my assistant to get it for you from the recording studio tomorrow." He didn't mention the calendar reminder, but the look in his eyes when he looked at Li Huaizhuo was a little gentler than usual.
That night, Xie Mo truly took his "ordinary" abilities to the extreme. Li Huaizhou was tormented to the point where he didn't even have the strength to lift his hands. Xie Mo hugged him from behind, gently rubbing his aching waist with his fingertips, a hint of laughter in his voice. "How is it, husband? Is he ordinary?" Li Huaizhou angrily buried his face in the pillow and muttered, "You rascal." As soon as he finished speaking, someone pinched his waist again, and he immediately begged for mercy, "Wrong, wrong, it hurts..."
Xie Mo chuckled softly, leaning over and kissing the back of his neck. "Be good, go to sleep." The person in his arms gradually stopped moving, and his breathing became even. Xie Mo opened his eyes and looked at Li Huaizhou's sleeping face. His fingertips gently stroked his cheek, his eyes full of tenderness and expectation. Tomorrow, he would give Li Huaizhou a surprise.
When he woke up the next day, it was already three in the afternoon. Li Huaizhou was awakened by a hot and wet kiss on his neck. He opened his eyes drowsily and saw Xie Mo looking down at him, his eyes so gentle that they could make water drown. "What are you doing..." His voice was still hoarse from just waking up, and he reached out to rub his eyes.
Xie Mo picked him up and let him lean against his arms, his voice a little mysterious, "I have a surprise for you, baby."
Li Huaizhou woke up instantly, looking at him with sparkling eyes: "What surprise? Tell me!" "If you tell me, it won't be a surprise anymore." Xie Mo ruffled his hair and lowered his head to kiss his forehead. "Get up and wash up first. We'll set off after we finish eating."
Li Huaizhou obediently let Xie Mo lead him to wash up, his curiosity was like being scratched by a cat. It was not until he sat in the car and watched the car drive towards the old house that he couldn't help asking: "Why are we going to the old house?" The last time he went to the old house was to pick up the USB drive. He didn't want to go to that cold house again. Xie Mo tightened his grip on the steering wheel and glanced at him sideways: "You'll know when you get there."
The car drove into the familiar villa area and stopped outside the iron gate of Xie's house. Xie Mo led Li Huaizhou inside, walked around the main building, and went straight to the backyard. When he saw the white private plane parked on the backyard lawn, Li Huaizhou was completely stunned. It was too exaggerated. He had never seen such a thing when he was here last time. When did this plane come from?
Xie Mo smiled and took his hand, walking towards the plane. Li Huaizhou was pulled by him to step onto the plane's gangway, his mind still confused. The layout of the plane was very warm, not as luxurious as imagined, but like a small home, with pillows on the sofa. "Where are we going?" He sat on the sofa and watched Xie Mo help him fasten his seat belt. Xie Mo sat down next to him and reached out to rub his hair. "If you keep asking, it won't be a surprise, baby."
The plane took off smoothly. Li Huaizhou leaned on Xie Mo's shoulder, watching the clouds outside the window gradually retreat. His doubts grew heavier, but he also felt a faint sense of anticipation. About an hour later, the plane began to descend. Through the window, he saw a vast blue sea. Occasionally, seabirds flew over the sea. The sunlight sprinkled on the sea, like a layer of broken gold.
After the plane landed, Xie Mo led him down. As soon as his feet touched the ground, Li Huaizhou was shocked by the scene in front of him. The beach of the island was covered with flowers. Walking along the petals, he saw an arch made of white, pink and blue balloons.
The sea breeze blew over with a faint floral scent. Li Huaizhou stood there, looking at everything in front of him, his eyes instantly red. He turned his head to look at Xie Mo, his voice a little choked with sobs, "Xie Mo...you are exaggerating too much." Xie Mo reached out to wipe the tears from the corners of his eyes, and said in a gentle tone: "I want to give the baby the best." He held Li Huaizhou's hand and walked towards the beach. "Remember? I promised to take you to see the sea before."
Li Huaizhou was stunned for a moment, looking at the boundless sea. "You still remember..." Li Huaizhou's voice trembled a little, and his heart seemed to be filled with something, warm and hot. At this moment, Xie Mo suddenly let go of his hand and knelt down on one knee. He took out an exquisite little box from his pocket, and after opening it, there lay a silver men's thin ring inside. The sea breeze blew through Xie Mo's long hair. His eyes were gentle but extremely serious. He said word by word: "Li Huaizhou, but I realized that I liked you, so I wanted to be with you all the time. Later, so many things happened. But until now, I can finally hold you in my arms, take care of you, and make you happy."
"You said you were not good before, but you are special to me. You are cute, kind, and bright." Xie Mo's voice was a little nervous, but still firm. "Li Huaizhou, will you... marry me? Let me take care of you and stay with you for the rest of my life."
Li Huaizhou stood there, looking at Xie Mo who was kneeling on one knee. His mind was in a mess, his heart was beating so fast that it seemed to jump out of his chest, and he stammered, "I...I..." Xie Mo looked at his nervous expression, with a hint of helplessness in his eyes, but full of tenderness: "If you don't want to, it doesn't matter..."
"No!" Li Huaizhou interrupted him quickly, fearing that he would regret it, and immediately stretched out his left hand, "I do! Xie Mo, I do!"
Xie Mo's eyes lit up instantly. He picked up the ring and gently put it on Li Huaizhou's ring finger. The ring was the perfect size, fitting his finger perfectly. Xie Mo stood up and hugged Li Huaizhou into his arms, holding him tightly, as if he wanted to rub him into his bones and blood. "Baby, thank you..." His voice was a little choked, and he buried his head in the crook of Li Huaizhou's neck, his breathing trembling. He lowered his head to kiss away the tears on his face, and then kissed him on the lips. The kiss was gentle and affectionate, carrying the heartbeat and warmth of each other. The sea breeze blew gently, carrying the scent of roses, freezing the beauty of this moment.
Li Huaizhou suddenly remembered something, took out his phone from his pocket, held Xie Mo's hand and raised it, and took a photo of their intertwined hands. In the photo, the two rings shone brightly in the sun, especially dazzling. He lowered his head to edit his circle of friends, with the text
"Some guy got a bargain."
Just minutes after posting, the comments exploded. Ji Jiancheng sent a string of exclamation points, "Holy crap! Brother Zhou! Are you being proposed to? Sure!" Shen Qitang replied, "Quick move! You didn't tell us earlier." High school classmates and even homeroom teacher Zhou Yu commented, "Congratulations, you've made it. Stay happy."
Li Huaizhou looked at the comments on his phone and couldn't help but started to smile foolishly while holding the phone. Xie Mo hugged him from behind, his chin resting on his shoulder, looking at the photos on his phone, his voice full of pampering: "So happy?"
"Of course I'm happy." Li Huaizhou turned around, stood on tiptoe and kissed the corner of his mouth. "After all, he is the one I chose."
Xie Mo chuckled softly and took his hand as they walked towards the beach. The evening breeze was gentle, blowing Xie Mo's long hair and the hem of Li Huaizhou's clothes. The two of them walked slowly along the coastline, the sand under their feet soft, and the waves hitting the shore again and again, making a gentle sound.
Li Huaizhou looked at the sea in front of him, then looked at Xie Mo beside him, and his heart was warm. He remembered the dream that night, which was also a scene like this: the blue sea, the warm sunshine, and Xie Mo beside him. It turned out that the beauty in dreams can really become reality. "Xie Mo" Li Huaizhou stopped and turned to look at him. "Can we come here every anniversary from now on?"
Xie Mo reached out and ruffled his hair, smiling and nodding. "Okay, as long as you like, we'll come every year." He lowered his head and kissed Li Huaizhou's forehead. "Not just on the anniversary, but every day from now on, I'll be with you." Li Huaizhou smiled and threw himself into his arms, hugging him tightly. The sea breeze, carrying the scent of the sea, enveloped them. The sunset in the distance gradually set, dyeing the sky a warm orange. The two people's shadows were stretched very long, tightly pressed together, never to be separated again.
All the pain and grievances of the past were covered by tenderness at this moment. Li Huaizhou knew that from now on, he would no longer be alone. With Xie Mo by his side, he walked towards a sunny future. With the gentleness of the sea breeze, he walked on and on.
——End of text——
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