Article 161 Bo Yan X He Li (06)
When He Li opened her eyes, Cheng Boyan had already distanced himself from her.
He wasn't quite sure what had just touched his brow, but the blessing sent a shiver down his spine. He whispered, "Did you hear me make a wish?"
"No." Cheng Boyan took off the candles, cut the cake for him with a knife, and patiently asked, "Why do you say that?"
“I just wished to be a princess, and you…” He Li felt a little embarrassed. Even when he was being sarcastic, he was still a tough Alpha. He wouldn’t have said such a thing if he hadn’t been provoked by taking birthday photos for someone today. “You… call me princess.”
Cheng Boyan took a small fork, cut a piece of cake, and fed it to him, smiling as he agreed, "Then serve the princess dessert."
These words made He Li's cheeks burn. She lowered her head, took a small bite, and said, "Don't do that, it's giving me goosebumps. Also, don't call me princess."
It feels really cloying.
His shy appearance was so cute that Cheng Boyan couldn't stop laughing and ate the remaining half of the cake on his fork.
He Li stared at his very natural movements and said somewhat awkwardly, "Don't you mind? I've already eaten."
"I don't mind." Cheng Boyan then cut off another piece, raised his hand to feed him, and said, "It's not like we haven't kissed before, yours is yours—"
"Don't say it." He Li bit her lip, reached out and covered his mouth, feeling like her whole body was burning up.
Cheng Boyan swallowed the last few words and laughed, "I won't say anything more. Anyway, it's okay to eat your leftovers."
He spoke so casually that He Li was drawn in again. He nodded slightly, began to savor the food, and praised, "This is really delicious. You should have some more."
The two sat by the lake and each took a bite of the entire cake. He Li squinted his eyes contentedly before remembering to unwrap the gift.
"Wow, how did you know I've wanted this camera for a long time?" He Li's eyes widened the moment he opened the package. He took it out and looked at it for a long time before saying, "This brand is very expensive. I've looked at it several times but couldn't bring myself to buy it. It's too expensive."
"It's not expensive. I just made some pocket money from investing recently," Cheng Boyan said casually. "But, what should I say when I receive a gift?"
He Li didn't stand on ceremony anymore, her eyes crinkling with a smile, and she said sweetly, "Thank you, brother."
He seemed to have gradually forgotten that he was a few months older than Cheng Boyan. The other person was more like an elder, and he was the one being taken care of in daily life, and it gradually became a habit.
The gift was back in his hands, and He Li waved the camera in his hand: "Let me take your picture, Master He Li, it's charged by the hour."
Cheng Boyan thought for a moment and said, "If you really want to thank me, then we can take a group photo every day until your birthday next year. If we don't take one now, then we can take one every day from now on."
Anyway, the two of them spend every day together, so it's not a big deal. He Li nodded and said, "Today is a memorable day, let's take a picture."
So he tilted his head slightly, got a little closer to Cheng Boyan, turned the camera around, and pressed the shutter.
When I looked at the photos, I realized that Cheng Boyan wasn't looking at the camera at all, but at me. Although it was a little hard to see because of the dim lighting, it was strangely quite artistic.
"Alright, our first photo together." He Li was very satisfied and praised, "You're very photogenic, you look so handsome."
He felt that Cheng Boyan had spent money to buy gifts, so the daily photos became a way of returning the favor. He took it very seriously, and sometimes Cheng Boyan would forget about them and he would be dragged out of bed to take a picture.
However, in his senior year, he went to participate in an internship in the news war zone, and occasionally lost contact with Cheng Boyan when he went to the front line. Cheng Boyan went to the research institute of the military headquarters, and the two could no longer meet often, but they would contact each other by text message every day.
Then Xie Xingchen, who had been away for a long time, returned after the training camp. So many things happened after that. Finally, everyone was able to get back to normal life and finally get together to watch the once-in-a-century shooting star.
"Brother, after this training camp ends, I have to go back to the war zone." He Li lay on the beach with his hands behind his head, looking at the tail of the stars disappearing in the sky, feeling inexplicably melancholy.
A gentle night breeze blew, and Cheng Boyan turned his head to look at him: "Want to be transferred to headquarters?"
If they were both at the military headquarters, they could be closer and could come and go together like they used to in school, inseparable.
"I'm not qualified enough." He Li was a little tempted, but although he had grown quickly in the past year, he was still a newcomer. "I'm not as smart as you to be parachuted in as a section chief."
Xie Xingchen, who had just put his ring back on, was in a great mood. Hearing this, he lazily said, "Ask your brother Boyan for a favor, transfer him to a military region. It's no big deal."
"That's easy for you to say," He Li muttered, moving his lips slightly. "That must have been a huge favor. Does that mean this is considered a favor-based job?"
Xie Xingchen nudged Lin Yao, signaling him to say something to help his brother out.
Receiving the hint, Lin Yao tried to persuade him: "You've already called him brother, so you're family. It's okay to help him out."
Xie Xingchen was silent for a moment.
He provided an assist, but it seems he wasn't quite on the right track. What if He Lizhen starts treating him like a brother?
Sure enough, He Li immediately realized it made perfect sense and exclaimed, "That's right! When people asked, I just said my brother helped me. Ah, so this is what it feels like to have connections?"
Xie Xingchen sighed, turned her head and whispered to her boyfriend again, "I really think He Li might not be able to find love even when he's eighty."
Lin Yao laughed at Lin Yao's own shortcomings: "...Wooden head."
Cheng Boyan was already used to it and was thinking about transferring him back to his side as soon as possible. He said with great efficiency, "Okay, then I'll talk to the Minister of Information tomorrow and see what excuse we can use for the temporary transfer."
"Thank you, brother," He Li said sweetly.
My phone vibrated in my pocket; it was a message from a colleague in the news department.
That beautiful Omega I told you about last time is also in the capital for an interview. Go pick her up tomorrow, and maybe even develop a relationship with her a little. Don't say your brother didn't help you.
The screen was very bright, and Cheng Boyan glanced at it briefly before seeing the whole thing. He raised an eyebrow slightly and asked, "A beautiful Omega?"
“Ah, he’s a new guy in their department.” He Li replied to the message while looking down and explained, “He said he’s single and doesn’t have a boyfriend yet, so this guy wants to set us up.”
Cheng Boyan narrowed his eyes slightly: "So you think it's pretty too?"
"She's quite pretty, with big eyes and a small stature, like a little figurine." He Li glanced at the address where she was to pick someone up, then put her phone away. When she looked up, she saw Cheng Boyan staring at her expressionlessly.
Perhaps because I was used to his usual gentle demeanor, I felt a bit intimidated by his more imposing presence.
He Li didn't know why he needed to explain, so he added, "After all, they've come all this way, and I'm more familiar with this area, so shouldn't I... pick them up...?"
"Okay, you go ahead." Cheng Boyan said in a nonchalant tone, "I have to go back to the research institute tonight, so I'll leave now."
He Li looked at him with a confused expression as he stood up, blinking, "If you leave first, how am I going to get back?"
“Lin Yao and the others are here, they’ll see you off.” Cheng Boyan patted the sand off his clothes and looked down at him. “Anyway, anyone can see you off, it won’t make a difference if I do, right?”
He Li frowned, watching his departing figure. Although everything seemed calm, she sensed a hint of anger in him. She turned to look at Lin Yao, puzzled, "Is he angry? What's he angry about?"
"Think for yourself," Lin Yao told him.
He Li racked his brains but still couldn't figure it out. He grabbed his hair, looking confused, and said, "I don't know."
They couldn't be the ones to break the ice, so Xie Xingchen could only hint at it and remind her, "After you finish seeing that Omega tomorrow, you should leave early, after all, he also has work to do."
“Yeah, that’s for sure.” He Li suddenly realized, “Does he feel that I didn’t pick him up when he came to see me in the war zone last time? Ah, this guy really holds a grudge.”
Xie Xingchen: "Let's go, I'll take you home."
The bitterness of this love is something Boyan has to bear slowly on his own; he can't take it on.
Having promised to pick someone up, He Li sent a message to Cheng Boyan the next day while waiting for him.
[Little Sweet Pear]: Are you still angry?
[Little Sweet Pear]: I'm busy today, I'll make you your favorite hand-ground soy milk tomorrow as an apology.
[Little Sweet Pear]: One month's gift included!
[Boyan]: No need.
He replied instantly, but He Li stared at those two very aloof words, his brows furrowing even more.
When has Cheng Boyan ever been so cold to him? Is he still angry? Why has he been angry for so long?
"Thank you so much for coming all this way to pick me up," a sweet voice rang out. "Have you been waiting for a long time?"
He Li looked up, habitually putting on a very friendly smile, reached out to take her luggage, and said in a gentle tone, "I just arrived too. What are your plans for today?"
"I heard from Brother Zhang that you've been staying in the capital. Have you been to that theme park here? I'd like to go take some pictures there," the girl said a little shyly. "If you're busy, I can go by myself. Don't worry about me."
He Li is one of the best photographers in the news department, and is very famous for it. Even on the front lines of war, his hand is steady enough to produce high-definition masterpieces.
When faced with his own strengths, He Li couldn't bear to refuse and agreed: "It's okay, I'm free today, so I'll go back and get my camera first."
He dutifully acted as a photography companion, but the girl felt it was taking up too much of his time, so she treated him to a big meal. By the time they finished and returned to the military area, it was quite late.
He Li escorted the person back to the hotel and was slowly walking back to the dormitory when he saw someone standing under a street lamp in the distance, the light casting a long shadow of his tall figure.
His facial features were hidden in the darkness and could not be seen clearly, but his figure was all too familiar – it was Cheng Boyan.
He Li's eyes lit up, and she ran over quickly, exclaiming with delight, "You were waiting for me here? Why didn't you call me?"
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the trash can next to him, which was piled with several cigarette butts, indicating that he had been waiting there for a long time.
Cheng Boyan looked at him with a calm expression: "I was afraid of bothering you."
"Hit..." He Li stammered, his fingers tightening around the camera in his hand, and apologized, "Are you angry that I didn't come to see you today? Because that girl wanted to go to the theme park, so I took some photos for her, and then she treated me to dinner, so..."
"I don't want to hear it," Cheng Boyan interrupted him.
He Li opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, he saw the man stub out his cigarette, grab his wrist, and pull him towards the car without a word, before shoving him into the passenger seat.
"Where are you going?" He looked up at people, his face blank.
Cheng Boyan fastened his seatbelt for him, silently started the car, and then said succinctly, "My home."
He Li sensed that something was off. In the four years they had known each other, Cheng Boyan had always seemed to have a very good temper, and rarely did he have an expression that clearly showed he was unhappy.
"What did you do today?" he asked, gripping the seatbelt and initiating a conversation.
Cheng Boyan succinctly stated: "To conduct experiments."
He Li said "oh", then, remembering that he was sometimes too busy to remember mealtimes, she added, "Didn't you have dinner? Do you have any food at home? I'll go and make you some."
Cheng Boyan gave a slight smile: "I ate. I was at Ningyuan with the minister."
"Hey, I was here tonight too..." He Li turned to look at him suspiciously, then realized, "Did you see me? Why didn't you say hello?"
“You seemed to be having a great time chatting with others.” Cheng Boyan didn’t want to recall the scene. “You looked quite good, no wonder you’re recognized as a beautiful Omega.”
He had always believed that as long as He Li was given time, he could slowly infiltrate her life and make her unable to leave him.
But today I suddenly realized that He Li may never understand, and may never fall in love.
He had said long ago that he liked beautiful and cute Omegas, but he had always overlooked this fact.
Or rather, it was his own subjective, overconfident belief that he could change He Li, but clearly he couldn't; he was wrong from the start.
He Li struggled to understand what the other person was saying: "You're unhappy because I had dinner with her, right?"
Cheng Boyan didn't say anything, but sped up the car. When they arrived at the door of the villa, he gestured for He Li to get out of the car, then silently entered the password and opened the door.
He Li had never seen him like this before, and was a little flustered. She followed him inside, changed into slippers, and stood there without moving.
He reached out and tugged at the hem of Cheng Boyan's clothes, signaling the other to turn around.
Her eyes welled up with tears, and she whispered, "Can you tell me why I'm angry? I'm so stupid, I can't figure it out..."
Cheng Boyan looked at him intently and said softly, "If I did something bad, would you forgive me?"
He didn't want to wait any longer, or rather, as the years passed, he no longer had time to wait.
He Li was stumped by the question, her mind practically exploding with confusion. She could only raise her hand and lightly touch his cheek, tentatively asking, "Brother... what do you want to do?"
He felt Cheng Boyan lean down, wrap his arms around his waist, and hug him tightly.
Then came the sound of machinery turning, and with a click, the door behind me locked.
"He Li, I want to lock you up."
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