The rain in early autumn is different from the hysteria of summer; it always falls gently and tenderly.
After a long, long silence, Qin Zigui finally said, "Thank you, Aunt Xu."
Xu Qingrong sighed softly: "But Zigui, this matter has been deliberately brought up on the school's online forum. It's not just something our family can talk about behind closed doors anymore. How will the school handle it? Will your aunt agree? Will Grandma Jiang cause trouble? Will your father's side make a scene? What will your friends think of you? And then there are the inevitable prejudices and public opinion you'll face in your future interpersonal relationships and social interactions. These are all issues, both near and far, that you need to confront."
“I know, Aunt Xu,” Qin Zigui replied calmly and indifferently. “I will protect Ayan. Ayan just needs to do what he likes.”
What was clearly a statement that would sound extremely reckless and arrogant coming from a teenager, when Qin Zigui said it, only made Xu Qingrong feel heartache.
She patted Qin Zigui's head: "It's Ayan's good fortune to have met you."
But Qin Zigui felt that meeting Sheng Yan was actually his good fortune; otherwise, he might have ended up like Xue Yi, stuck in a quagmire, losing all hope of pursuing the light.
All of this is something he never dared to dream of before.
He even dared to ask in a low voice, "Aunt Xu, may I go in and keep Ayan company?"
“Go ahead, Ayan has been looking for you. The doctor said he just had a stomach spasm, not gastroenteritis. He just needs an IV of magnesium and he’ll be fine. It won’t affect the competition tomorrow. I’ll go home and pack his things, and I’ll also bring you a change of clothes. Tomorrow’s dawn, and I’ll be busy.”
Qin Zigui knew what he might face when dawn broke tomorrow, but none of that mattered anymore. He only hoped that the person he loved could get a good night's sleep, and then trample all that filth and depravity underfoot to achieve his dream.
He sat by Sheng Yan's bedside, not daring to close his eyes even for a moment.
Sheng Yan had a very, very long dream.
He dreamed of his childhood.
When he was a child, the appearance of adults was blurry, and he found it difficult to even lift his head to look at them. Therefore, the only thing he could clearly remember was Qin Zigui.
Qin Zigui held his hand to cross the street, Qin Zigui held him to sleep, Qin Zigui peeled eggs for him, Qin Zigui comforted him to stop crying while helping him finish his homework, Qin Zigui used his long-saved pocket money to buy him chocolate and said, "Ayan, be good and take your medicine. If you take your medicine, I'll give you candy."
Then one day, Qin Zigui suddenly grew up and said, "Ayan, I love you, and I want to be with you forever."
When he stood among the rose bushes and said those words, he was so desperate, yet so full of emotion, as if those words had exhausted all the courage and determination he had accumulated over the past decade.
Sheng Yan wanted to run over, hug him, and tell him that he loved him too and wanted to be with him for the rest of his life.
But the moment he ran over and tried to hug Qin Zigui, Qin Zigui disappeared, and the world suddenly went dark. He tried desperately to call out Qin Zigui's name, but he couldn't make a sound.
It seemed as if some force was restraining his love, telling him that they couldn't do this, that they couldn't like each other, that they couldn't be together. The despair of exhausting all his strength yet still being powerless made him feel pain in his body and heart.
When all the pain reached its peak, he finally couldn't hold back any longer and almost choked out that cry: "Qin Zigui!"
Then I suddenly woke up.
He opened his eyes and found that it was bright outside. The sky was clean after the rain. The leaves of the sycamore trees outside the window were falling slowly. Qin Zigui was sitting in front of him, gently stroking his head and calling, "Ayan".
In that instant, the overwhelming sense of relief—almost like surviving a catastrophe—made Sheng Yan hug Qin Zigui without a second thought, burying his head in his chest.
Qin Zigui called out "Ayan" again, trying to pull him out of his arms.
However, before he could finish speaking, Sheng Yan rubbed against him twice, as if dissatisfied or anxious: "Hey, just let me hug you!"
So Qin Zigui tried to stop the hand that was pulling him out.
Sheng Yan nestled in Qin Zigui's arms, his voice heavy with nasal congestion: "I just dreamt that you were gone."
Qin Zigui patted him on the back: "Dreams are the opposite of reality."
But the feeling of loss was too real. Sheng Yan hugged Qin Zigui tightly and buried his head even deeper: "Let's go and beg my mom. If that doesn't work, I'll try to coax her, or I'll go on a hunger strike. Anyway, she's soft-hearted and loves me."
Qin Zigui paused slightly while patting his hand: "Ayan..."
Before he could finish speaking, Sheng Yan said in a muffled voice, "Qin Zigui, I really don't want to be separated from you at all. You promised me that you wouldn't leave if I didn't let you go, so you're not allowed to go abroad."
"I will not go abroad."
"But what if my mom just doesn't agree?"
"Ayan, actually..."
“If my mom doesn’t agree, let’s elope. Anyway, my mom gave me a lot of money for a wife. I calculated that it’s enough for us to finish college. We’ll elope and apologize to each other. Once my mom knows we’re serious, she’ll definitely agree.”
"..."
Sheng Yan thought his idea was absolutely brilliant, but Qin Zigui remained unmoved and silent.
After a while, he finally realized that something was wrong and looked up at Qin Zigui. Qin Zigui didn't say anything, but just pointed behind him with his chin.
Sheng Yan turned around blankly and saw his mother, his maternal grandmother, and his maternal grandfather standing in a neat row, silently watching him.
Sheng Yan turned to look at Qin Zigui again in disbelief.
Qin Zigui silently laid him down and then covered him with the blanket.
Sheng Yan: "..."
After a long, deathly silence, Sheng Yan, who had just realized that he had been seen by Qin Zigui begging for a hug and plotting to elope, blushed furiously. He then closed his eyes, pulled the blanket over his head, and decided to die right there.
But obviously, the Death Well is not such an easy thing.
Having overheard her son's plot to elope, Xu Qingrong slowly sat down on the edge of the bed and said, "If some people don't wake up soon, I'll send his brother Zigui to a place a hundred thousand miles away."
Sheng Yan immediately threw off the covers and sat up: "Mom!"
Why are you in such a hurry?
He really does forget his mother once he gets a wife.
Xu Qingrong sighed: "Don't worry, Mom knows that you two are sincere and not just acting on impulse, so I won't send you abroad for the time being."
Sheng Yan was initially delighted, then paused, "What do you mean by 'temporary'?"
"Because if someone doesn't get up soon, they'll miss the competition and won't get into Zhonggong University. They'll have to fulfill the tripartite agreement and I'll send them abroad."
"Compare……"
Contest!
grass!
He almost forgot that there was still a match today!
Sheng Yan hurriedly grabbed his phone and saw that it was 8:30. The opening ceremony was at 10:00, so he still had time.
Sheng Yan didn't care about anything else for a moment. He jumped off the bed, grabbed his bag, and prepared to run out.
Xu Qingrong quickly grabbed him: "What's the rush? Do you think your mother is so clueless? It's only 8:30 now. The car from your district team to pick you up won't be here for another ten minutes. You can wash up and change into your team uniform. There's still plenty of time."
That's what they said, but Sheng Yan couldn't be careless at all. He quickly washed up, changed his clothes, and prepared to run downstairs.
However, halfway through the run, he suddenly realized something, stopped at the door, turned around, and asked, "Mom, Qin Zigui, you didn't lie to me on purpose so that I could focus on the competition, and then send Qin Zigui onto the plane as soon as I went to the competition, did you?"
As soon as she finished speaking, even her grandmother laughed: "Silly child, what are you thinking? We're going to watch your match later."
Grandpa laughed and said, "That's right, if they lie to you, Grandpa will be the first to break their legs."
Sheng Yan was still uneasy, so he looked at Qin Zigui, wanting an answer.
Qin Zigui stepped forward and gently pressed down the two tufts of hair sticking up on his head: "It's true, your mother bought twenty tickets to your competition. The whole family is going to watch. And I'll tell you a little secret."
Sheng Yan: "?"
Qin Zigui's eyes revealed that slightly mischievous smile that only Sheng Yan was familiar with: "When you were three, I heard your wish that you wouldn't leave. When you were four, I secretly finished the drawing you made for the kindergarten drawing competition. When you were five, I beat up Fatty Tiger. When you were seventeen, I made the 'Make Your Wish' app. When you were eighteen, you wanted to be with me forever. I tricked you into coming back."
Sheng Yan's pupils dilated in shock.
Qin Zigui chuckled softly, "So I'm the one who grants your birthday wishes every year. I'm the all-powerful Guanyin Goddess."
Sheng Yan was dumbfounded.
Qin Zigui noticed that his ahoge (cowlick) looked better standing up, so he secretly made it stand up again: "Besides, whenever you've been under too much stress since you were little, and then you touch something cold, you'll get stomach cramps. Sometimes, even if you don't eat anything cold, you'll get nervous abdominal pain. Xue Yi knows this too, so Ayan, no matter what happens, no matter what others do or say, don't worry or be afraid. Just believe that your brother Zigui is omnipotent."
After saying that, Qin Zigui hooked his little finger with Sheng Yan's and chuckled softly, "If you don't believe me, I'll pinky swear with you."
Normally it wouldn't be so bad, but the thought of his mother, grandparents, and other relatives watching while Qin Zigui treated him like a child made Sheng Yan feel incredibly embarrassed.
But after stealing a glance at his grandmother's doting smile and then at Xu Qingrong's disgusted expression, Sheng Yan secretly bent his little finger and whispered, "Then let's pinky swear."
After pulling, he stamped it with his thumb before letting go and quickly running towards the district team bus parked at the hospital entrance.
After he finally escaped onto the bus amidst the elders' good-natured laughter, he found that the atmosphere on the bus was a bit strange, and the way everyone looked at him was more or less odd.
As soon as Wu Shan saw him, he quickly beckoned him to sit in an empty seat next to him and asked in a low voice, "Brother Yan, are you alright?"
Sheng Yan adjusted his seat: "It's nothing, just acute stomach cramps, as long as you're careful..."
"That's not what I meant," Wu Shan said urgently. "I meant that thing between you and your girlfriend. Everyone on the team except the coach knows about it. Has your family made things difficult for you?"
It's one thing for outsiders to know, but to think that the news reached the shooting team so quickly is another.
Sheng Yan frowned slightly.
Wu Shan sighed: "Anyway, the fact that this matter has reached the shooting team clearly means that someone is trying to mess with your mentality. Moreover, there are some people in the city team who make really dirty jokes. I'm afraid they might do something else during the competition to distract you or affect your performance. In short, I'll avoid contact with those people if I can."
Sheng Yan hummed in agreement.
However, some people are like chewing gum; once they stick, you can't shake them off.
As soon as Sheng Yan got out of the car, he saw the person he least wanted to see.
Xue Yi, dressed in the city team uniform, stood at the athletes' entrance. As soon as he saw Sheng Yan, he came up to him and called out, "Yan, did what happened last night affect you?"
As always, he was kind and gentle, but with a touch of natural worry and anxiety.
Sheng Yan didn't understand why this person could do such shady things while simultaneously acting as if he cared a lot about him.
He walked straight past Xue Yi with a cold expression, as if even glancing at him would be a waste.
This utter indifference caused Xue Yi a pang of pain in his heart. As if he was still trying to salvage something, he said in a low voice, "Ayan, I didn't post the photos yesterday. Fu Yun posted them. I tried to stop him, but I couldn't."
Sheng Yan wondered if he had been too trusting of others, which was why they all treated him like a fool.
He turned to the side, his face expressionless, and said, "What photos?"
Xue Yi was slightly taken aback, but Sheng Yan's expression seemed to indicate that he truly knew nothing.
Unable to tell the truth from the falsehood, he quickly replied, "Someone posted intimate photos of you and Qin Zigui on the forum last night, so I was a little worried that it might affect your competition."
Sheng Yan discovered that tea is a matter of personal preference.
Every time Qin Zigui brewed tea, he felt it was the embodiment of wisdom, but when Xue Yi brewed tea, he only felt disgusted.
Sheng Yan frowned, and before he could answer, his phone vibrated.
He took it out and looked at it.
Wish Fulfillment App.
[Suggested wish for the host]: I wish to be with Qin Zigui forever, inseparable from everyone else.
[Wish/Quest]: Always believe in the omnipotent Brother Zigui
Sheng Yan looked at the little angel holding a kitten on the screen, his brows suddenly relaxed, his lips curved slightly, he lightly tapped the "[Agree with suggestion]" button, and then lazily said, "It's okay, my boyfriend is good at everything, I just need to win my championship."
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