Chapter 83 — He's My Boyfriend
Chen Jingshen's gaze was somewhat heavy as he looked at him.
After a long moment, he ruffled Yu Fan's hair, then pulled him over and pressed
him down. Just as he was about to kiss him, Yu Fan pushed his face away with
his hand. “Chen Jingshen, my mouth still has a bit...”
Chen Jingshen made an acknowledging sound, pressed his hand
against the side of Yu Fan's face to make him open his mouth, and slid his
fingers in to rub against his mouth and teeth bit by bit, getting out
everything visible, then lowered his head to kiss him.
They didn't know how many times they'd kissed tonight. They
kissed when not talking, and when talking, if their eyes met, they'd also stop
to kiss.
Yu Fan's neck was flushed red, whether from Chen Jingshen
gripping him while kissing or from his own heat, he couldn't tell. He lay there
without much strength, lazily listening to the sound of rain.
“Chen Jingshen.”
Chen Jingshen sat up to drink water, responding to him in a
low, muffled voice, “Mm.”
“Let me have a sip.” Yu Fan reached out his hand toward him.
He heard the sound of Chen Jingshen unscrewing the bottle
cap, then his fingers were grasped, a dark shadow covered him, Chen Jingshen's
Adam's apple rolled slightly as he passed the water to him.
Yu Fan: “...”
After kissing for so long, he'd only gotten less than half a
sip of water. Yu Fan stared darkly at the ceiling, feeling somewhat like
fighting with Chen Jingshen.
Yu Fan turned his head to see Chen Jingshen with one leg
bent on the bed, the other foot on the floor, looking at his phone. His shirt
had just been taken off and tossed on the desk chair, revealing his clean,
defined lean muscles with a faint sheen of sweat.
Remembering the warm, pleasant texture from earlier, Yu Fan
closed his eyes and vaguely thought that he'd have to build up some muscle too.
Chen Jingshen scrolled through his screen. With the typhoon
passing directly through tonight, many shops had closed early. He'd just found
one that sold contraceptives when he hesitated over the scent options.
Wanting to ask his boyfriend's opinion, he turned his head
to look, only to find Yu Fan already lying on the pillow with his eyes closed,
his shoulders and the protruding bones of his thin shoulder blades rising and
falling evenly, half his face turned toward him.
Chen Jingshen's gaze traveled inch by inch over his
eyebrows, nose, and lips. When it landed on the moles, he remembered how those
two small dark spots had just been hazily covered earlier... He exhaled
heavily, tossed his phone aside, and got up very quietly to go downstairs.
After a quick shower, when Chen Jingshen returned to bed,
the person beside him suddenly lifted his head, squinting at him with
half-opened eyes, clearly not yet used to having movement beside him while
sleeping.
Seeing it was him, Yu Fan irritably closed his eyes and lay
back down, looking extremely annoyed.
Except his hand moved forward, the back of his hand resting
on Chen Jingshen's pants.
Chen Jingshen found it somewhat amusing, lying on his side
propped up on his hand to watch him. Sensing something, Yu Fan buried his face
completely into the pillow with even more annoyance.
Chen Jingshen reached out to pull him back. “Sleep properly,
don't suffocate yourself.”
“When you were kissing me, how come you didn't think about
me suffocating?” Yu Fan responded half-asleep.
Chen Jingshen slipped his hand into his hair, stroking it
intermittently, saying honestly and naturally, “Because you're very cute at
those times.”
“...”
“You want to die, Chen Jingshen.” Yu Fan cursed drowsily. “Are
you a pervert?”
The person beside him fell silent, only the fingers in his
hair continued.
Yu Fan was already sleepy. Being petted like this, his
thoughts scattered even faster. In his confusion, he seemed to hear Chen
Jingshen call his name very softly.
When he thought it was his imagination, he heard Chen
Jingshen say in a low voice, “I never once thought about breaking up with you.”
“I've always regretted that day on the rooftop, that I
didn't wait for you.”
Yu Fan listened, processed it, then murmured with his
remaining consciousness, “Waiting for me... what use would that be? At that
time...”
At that time, they had no way to have both. He himself was a
complete burden, a walking disaster. Chen Jingshen had many concerns, plus a
bright future within easy reach...
“I would have left with you.” His ear was kissed, Chen
Jingshen's voice slightly hoarse. “I would have eloped with you.”
Yu Fan was already so drowsy he couldn't tell north from
south, but after hearing this, he still managed to turn his head with
difficulty and pressed a kiss to Chen Jingshen's lips, making a very soft
sound.
“Things are good now, Chen Jingshen.” Yu Fan mumbled, the
last few words losing their sound. “Sleep... I have to work tomorrow.”
“Mm.”
The rain outside grew heavier again, muffled thunder
rumbling. Just as Yu Fan was about to enter his first dream in the sound of
rain and the warm body temperature beside him, breath hit his forehead, then a
finger pressed against the bridge of his nose, slowly sliding to the tip.
“Yu Fan, what scent do you like?” Chen Jingshen consulted
with him.
“The smell of your blood.” Yu Fan said. “Chen Jingshen, if
you make another sound, get out of my house.”
The next day, when Yu Fan woke up and changed clothes, he
kept feeling something was off. He walked around the second floor, finally
stopping at his black photo wall.
Chen Jingshen had hung that shadow photograph back up.
Yu Fan casually adjusted his hat and glanced back at the
person on the bed.
When Chen Jingshen slept, he always pulled the blanket up to
his eyelids. In the middle of the night, he'd even pulled it over Yu Fan's face
too. When Yu Fan woke up, he'd felt suffocated.
He walked over and pulled the blanket down to Chen
Jingshen's mouth. Just as he was about to leave, his fingers were grabbed.
“Going to work?” Chen Jingshen opened his eyes.
“Mm.” Yu Fan said. “Cover yourself properly with the
blanket.”
“Mm, I'll try. I'm used to it. Usually the office is too
bright to sleep.” Chen Jingshen asked lazily, “Can I go to work with you?”
“No.”
The expected answer. Chen Jingshen didn't say more, just
pulled his fingers over and kissed them, looking at him with a hint of a smile.
“Then can you not block me today?”
Yu Fan looked down at him with a straight face, holding
hands for a while before letting go. “...Depends on your behavior.”
The typhoon hit head-on, rampaging through Ningcheng all
night. As if afraid working people would get an extra day off, it rolled up its
bedding and went to wreak havoc elsewhere at five in the morning. When the sun
rose, there wasn't even a trace of rain, the entire city shrouded in hazy fog.
This long, annoying typhoon period had finally passed.
So “Moon Gaze Studio” opened its doors right on time at 9 AM.
Wang Yue didn't arrive at the studio until nine-thirty,
yawning. She greeted the employees with a “morning,” and just as she was about
to go upstairs, her footsteps suddenly stopped.
She turned to confirm, asking the photography assistant
beside Yu Fan's workstation in surprise, “Yu Fan's not here yet?”
but it's also used as a polite or respectful title for a professional,
not just for actual teachers.
A good English equivalent is calling him "Mr. Yu." laoshi
Wang Yue thought about it, and it really was. Yu Fan had
worked here for so long and had never been late, only taking leave once or
twice when his stomach bothered him.
“Maybe something came up.” Wang Yue said. “When he arrives,
have him clock in normally. I'm in a good mood today, won't dock his perfect
attendance.”
The assistant laughed. “Okay, Sister. Sister, why are you
bundled up so thick today?”
Ningcheng was still struggling to enter winter, the
temperature holding steady at fifteen or sixteen degrees. This temperature was
actually quite low for Ningcheng, but...
Wang Yue wore a hat today, a cashmere coat, with her neck
wrapped in a thick scarf, and a mask on her face. This getup was so exaggerated
that even in the north, people probably wouldn't feel cold.
Wang Yue: “Sigh, can't help it, your new brother-in-law is
too clingy. My mom's been staying at my place these past few days. Just sent
her off to meet with her old friends. In front of elders, I still have to
cover...”
Before she finished speaking, there was a clang as the shop
door was pushed open again, the wind chimes swaying several times.
The two looked toward the sound and both fell silent.
Yu Fan wore a hat, black coat, gray scarf covering up to his
chin, and a black mask. When he came in, only his eyes were visible. Strikingly
similar to Wang Yue on the stairs.
Ignoring the two stunned people, he pulled out his card to
clock in. With a “beep,” the mechanical female voice ruthlessly announced: “You
are late!”
Yu Fan returned to his workstation to put his things away,
took off his scarf and mask, finally able to breathe. Just as he opened his
photo editing software, he realized Wang Yue was still standing on the stairs
watching him.
“What's wrong?” he asked.
“Nothing.” Wang Yue's gaze swept over the ambiguous marks
all over his neck, unable to help but grow curious about Yu Fan's girlfriend. “Fan-bao,
your girlfriend... is pretty wild.”
“...”
“Don't be shy, you're an adult.” Wang Yue smiled,
remembering something. “Oh right, isn't next Saturday your birthday? December
2nd. Sister will give you the day off.”
“No need.” Yu Fan said immediately.
“What, you finally have a girlfriend this year, won't spend
it with her?”
He'd asked yesterday. Chen Jingshen's leave only lasted
until the day after tomorrow. Yu Fan opened his editing software. “He has
things to do.”
“I see. Then we'll do the usual, Sister will treat everyone
that day, take you all to a really great private restaurant.”
Yu Fan: “No need...”
“It's settled then. Everyone save your appetites for that
day, okay?” After Wang Yue finished speaking, she waved at everyone. “Get to
work!”
“...”
Yu Fan felt bad about his perfect attendance pay until noon,
until Wang Yue said she wouldn't dock him this time, and his brow finally
relaxed ever so slightly.
But his expression didn't improve much. Especially in the
afternoon, the closer it got to quitting time, the worse his expression became.
“Yu-laoshi, what's wrong with you today? In a bad mood?”
After finishing the last set of photos for the day, the assistant couldn't help
asking while cleaning up the backdrop.
Yu Fan opened his phone for the umpteenth time, saying
coolly, “No.”
Almost 5 PM. Eight hours. Chen Jingshen hadn't sent him a
single message.
Yu Fan even suspected he'd sleepwalked and blocked him in
the middle of the night and went to check in the background twice.
What had Chen Jingshen been doing all day? He didn't have to
work, didn't have other things...
Yu Fan couldn't help but open Chen Jingshen's chat window
and sent: [Chen Jingshen, what are you doing?]
The message had just gone through when his phone vibrated
with a buzz, but it was a message from someone else.
[Wang Lu'an: Holy sh*! Yu Fan! I just saw study god's
moments!]
[-: ?]
[Wang Lu'an: I saw the location, he's actually in Ningcheng too!]
Yu Fan froze, immediately opening his Moments feed, then
found it flooded with Chen Jingshen's posts.
In the past few hours, Chen Jingshen had posted eight
Moments updates with “Ningcheng” locations, all photos with no additional text.
Yu Fan looked at those thumbnails, sitting at his
workstation in a daze for a long time before clicking into them one by one.
The first one was a banyan tree planted in his apartment
complex.
The second, the small kindergarten across from the complex.
The third, the barbecue shop he'd just visited yesterday,
the owner hanging roasted duck on a rack.
The fourth, passing pedestrians and vehicles, with a
supermarket and a very small clinic across the street.
...
Every place was old and rundown. Yu Fan was familiar with
them all.
His phone vibrated again. Yu Fan took a long time to pull
himself away from these photos before going back to check.
Chen Jingshen probably thought he'd seen the Moments posts
and briefly explained: [Just wandering around.]
Ningcheng was a tourist city. When others came here, they
looked at mountains, seas, and sunsets.
With Yu Fan's shabby little complex as the center, Chen
Jingshen had gone to see the streets he'd walked most often these past few
years, the shops he frequented most, the roads he passed most often.
Yu Fan forgot to reply, sitting there stunned for a long
time until Wang Yue came downstairs right on schedule, urging them to get off
work.
Wang Yue had now removed her coat and scarf, dressed
exquisitely and beautifully, even her earrings sparkling.
“Sister, that dress is so beautiful on you!” the assistant
asked with starry eyes.
“I think so too. Taobao, 179 yuan with free shipping. Can't
tell, right? Look at this fabric...”
Wang Yue moved to her workstation, and the two women
immediately began sharing recent finds.
“Are you going on a date with the new brother-in-law?” the
assistant asked with a grin.
“Yeah, waiting for him to pick me up.” Wang Yue smiled
shyly. Behind her came the sound of the wind chimes as the door opened.
There were basically no more clients at this time. Wang
Yue's heart leapt with joy as she happily turned around. “You're here...”
Seeing the strikingly tall, slender man at the door, Wang
Yue paused slightly, her words taking a turn. “...Hello.”
Chen Jingshen nodded. “Hello.”
Wang Yue had a good memory, and with this person being so
handsome, she recognized him almost immediately. “Oh, you're that person from
last time... Are you here to...?”
Chen Jingshen said flatly, “Pick someone up.”
Wang Yue and the assistant: “?”
Yu Fan's heart was inexplicably beating hard. He quickly
lowered his head to pack his things, wrapped his scarf tightly again, and said,
“Then I'm off work.”
“Okay...” Wang Yue nodded in a daze, sighing. “You old
classmates have such a good relationship. I barely keep in touch with my high
school classmates anymore.”
Hearing the word “classmate,” Chen Jingshen blinked but said
nothing.
The next second, his arm was grabbed like someone picking up
groceries.
“...Actually, it's not just classmates.” Yu Fan stood beside him. Hearing this, he turned back and was honest with one of his few friends in Ning City. Yu Fan kept a straight face, trying hard to appear relatively calm. “He's my boyfriend.”
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