Chapter 20
During the Qingming Festival holiday, Wu Ye specifically asked Li Ruiyuan to come and see him.
Willow catkins drifted in Beijing like smoke and fog. Wu Ye stood at the exit, watching Li Ruiyuan squeeze out of the crowd, dragging his suitcase. His black T-shirt was torn, and his hair was cut short, like a recently released labor camp inmate.
"Look at that." Li Ruiyuan pushed the luggage to him. "It's so hot in Beida Warehouse."
Wu Ye naturally reached for the suitcase, his fingertips brushing against the back of his hand. They both pulled their hands back at the same time, and the suitcase fell to the ground with a clang.
The subway was packed, forcing them to stick together. Wu Ye could see the whorls on the other's head and Li Ruiyuan's taut jawline just by looking down.
"You..." Wu Ye just opened his mouth when the train suddenly braked.
Li Ruiyuan crashed into his arms, and the smell of mint mixed with cigarettes hit his face. Wu Ye subconsciously held his waist, and his palm touched a piece of warm skin.
"Let go!" Li Ruiyuan jumped back as if he had been electrocuted, his ears red as if bleeding.
The auntie next to him laughed out loud: "Young man, are you in love?"
The crabapple trees in Tsinghua University were in full bloom. Wu Ye pressed the man down on the bench and asked, "What's with the hole?"
"It was scratched while moving goods." Li Ruiyuan turned his head away from his sight. "Don't tell Mom."
The boy suddenly knelt on one knee and pulled out a sewing kit from his backpack. As the needle pierced the fabric, Lee Seo-yeon froze like a statue.
"You also know this?"
"My roommate taught me." Wu Ye bit off the thread and said, "He said he would sew clothes for his girlfriend in the future."
The needle suddenly went astray, and a drop of blood seeped into the black fabric, resembling a dark red mole.
"...Idiot." Li Ruiyuan pulled his hand back, "I'm not your girlfriend."
The Houhai Sea sparkled in the evening. Wu Ye suddenly stopped and said, "Li Ruiyuan."
"what?"
"Give me your hand."
Willow catkins fell between their clasped fingers, itching like some kind of temptation. Li Ruiyuan struggled, but the grip tightened.
"...Hot." He muttered, but didn't shake it off.
As the streetlights gradually came on, they turned into the dark alley of Yandaixie Street. Wu Ye suddenly pressed him against the blue brick wall, breathing in the sweet scent of Daoxiangcun cakes.
"Wu Ye!" Li Ruiyuan pressed his elbow against his chest. "What are you crazy about?"
The boy said nothing, only lowered his head and nuzzled his temples. The newly grown stubble pricked his skin.
"...That's enough." The voice began to tremble.
"Not enough." Wu Ye kissed his eyelids, "One year, seven months and nine days..."
Li Ruiyuan suddenly froze. That was the time when they first met.
The moment the cicada's chirping shattered the silence, warm lips came over him. Li Ruiyuan opened his eyes wide and saw the boy's trembling eyelashes close to him.
This kiss was as raw as an unripe apricot, with a desperate recklessness. He subconsciously tried to push it away, but his wrist was gently locked against the wall.
"Close your eyes." Wu Ye said breathlessly.
When his eyelashes brushed across his cheeks, Li Ruiyuan really closed his eyes.
The second kiss landed on the corner of his mouth, and the third kiss brushed his Adam's apple. He slid down as if his bones had been pulled out, and the young man held his waist firmly.
"...Enough..." The voice became a blur of water vapor.
Wu Ye leaned against his forehead and smiled: "Who said you didn't want to be my girlfriend?"
The streetlights stretched their overlapping shadows. Li Ruiyuan suddenly bit his lower lip: "...It's my boyfriend."
As the taste of blood and rust spread across the tip of the tongue, the boy's uncontrolled heartbeat could be heard.
The night wind blew willow catkins past, and I saw this clumsy couple by the wall: one like an attacking wolf, the other like a melting cat.
Finally, it was Li Ruiyuan who began to gasp for air. He turned his head away from the pursuing lips, glaring at the other person with his sparkling eyes: "...you're pushing your luck."
Wu Ye wiped the water off his lips with his thumb, his eyes darkening dramatically: "There are even more extreme ones... Do you want to try it?"
The answer was a powerful kick on his calf. Li Ruiyuan grabbed his collar and pulled him forward, whispering in his ear with a mixture of gasps:
"...Back to the hotel."
…………
The red walls of the Forbidden City were covered with a thin layer of frost, and the morning sun shone through the eaves of the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Wu Ye untied his scarf and wrapped it around Li Ruiyuan's neck. When his fingertips touched the back of his neck, he hissed softly.
"Does it hurt?" the boy asked in a low voice.
Li Ruiyuan glared at him, his eyes still red: "Shut up."
Beneath the glazed tiles, a crowd of people gathered, mingling with the tour group and listening to the explanation. When the tour guide said, "The Forbidden City has a total of 9,999 and a half rooms," Wu Ye suddenly pinched his fingers:
“It’s a little bigger than our supermarket.”
Li Ruiyuan kicked his calf, but the kick caused him to stumble because of the movement. Wu Ye took advantage of the situation and put his arm around his waist, pressing his palm against his lower back and gently massaging it.
"...You're crazy," Li Ruiyuan muttered in Cantonese, "Let go..."
The voice was so hoarse as if it was wrapped in velvet, and Wu Ye's Adam's apple rolled when he heard it.
Next to the sundial in front of the Palace of Heavenly Purity, a little girl suddenly ran over and asked, "Brother, are you two a couple too?"
Li Ruiyuan froze for a moment. Wu Ye squatted down and smiled: "How did you tell that?"
"You're holding hands!" the girl pointed at their intertwined fingers. "My parents hold hands like that too!"
The sunlight stretched the sundial's shadow, like the silent passage of time. Li Ruiyuan suddenly pulled his hand back into his pocket, his ears red as blood.
When they reached the Imperial Garden, Wu Ye pulled him into the shadow of the rockery. The jagged outlines of the Taihu rocks cast interlaced shadows, like an isolated island.
"Does it still hurt?" The boy rubbed his temple with the tip of his nose.
Li Ruiyuan turned his head away: "Is it interesting to ask such nonsense?"
"Let me see..."
"Look at you." He raised his knee to push the other person away, but gasped because of the restraint of the movement.
Wu Ye chuckled and kissed his earlobe: "Be gentler next time."
"There won't be a next time!" The Cantonese voice was mixed with a breathy tone, like the whimper of a furry cat.
Mandarin ducks embraced in the pond, and the subtle fragrance of wintersweet drifted in the air. When the patrolling security guard's flashlight swept over them, they were pretending to study the inscription—if they ignored the reddening of Li Ruiyuan's eyes and Wu Ye's palm on his lower back.
As we left Shenwu Gate, the setting sun melted into gold. Wu Ye suddenly said, "Baby...do you want to get married?"
The corner tower of the Forbidden City becomes a silhouette in the sunset, like a marriage certificate witnessed by heaven and earth.
Li Ruiyuan pulled up the scarf to cover half of his face, but the exposed eyes were curved into crescents:
"……picture"
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