When Xiao Yiming left school, he deliberately chose the gate he didn’t usually use.
To avoid Cheng Mo, who might be waiting for him at the main entrance.
Actually, Cheng Mo wasn’t annoying. On the contrary, he was pretty handsome, had a good figure, and his personality… aside from being a little overly familiar and cocky, was actually pretty nice too.
But Xiao Yiming wasn’t used to someone he’d only known a short time pursuing him so aggressively.
He still hadn’t even figured out what exactly he’d done during that chance encounter years ago to make Cheng Mo remember him for so many years.
Unexpectedly though, after he came out the side gate and had barely taken a few steps, someone blocked his path.
He looked up.
It was actually Cheng Mo.
Unable to help himself, he turned to look back toward the school entrance, thinking maybe he’d somehow wandered out the main gate in a daze. But no, this was definitely the side gate.
“How come you’re staking out this side today?” Xiao Yiming asked in surprise.
“I calculated it with my fingers and knew you’d come out this side today,” Cheng Mo said.
“How’d you calculate that?” Xiao Yiming asked.
“Like this.” Cheng Mo pressed his thumb together with his index and middle fingers.
“That’s a flower-finger pose, isn’t it?” Xiao Yiming looked at his hand.
“How is this a flower-finger pose?” Cheng Mo raised his pinky finger. “This is a flower-finger pose.”
“Oh.” Xiao Yiming nodded.
After holding that finger pose for a while, Cheng Mo lowered his hand. Xiao Yiming didn’t say anything and just stood there, so Cheng Mo could only stand there too.
The two of them stayed silent for about half a minute before Xiao Yiming asked again, “So how did you calculate it?”
“…Are you messing with me or are you serious?” Cheng Mo said helplessly. “I didn’t calculate anything.”
“Then how were you here?” Xiao Yiming looked at him. “The day before yesterday I came out the south gate and you were there too.”
“You think I just randomly pick a gate to block you at?” Cheng Mo smiled. “I stand downstairs outside your dorm. Your dorm only has one exit.”
“Stalking?” Xiao Yiming frowned.
“Who’s stalking? I just stand there, all handsome and graceful. You always stare at the ground when you leave the dorm, can you blame me?” Cheng Mo sighed.
“I fell once before because I wasn’t looking at the ground when I came out of the dorm,” Xiao Yiming laughed. “After that I got used to looking down first.”
Since he’d been intercepted again anyway, Xiao Yiming didn’t say much and walked with Cheng Mo to the bus stop.
“Still tutoring until five today?” Cheng Mo asked. “It’s almost New Year already.”
“Mm, today’s the last session,” Xiao Yiming nodded. “Though it might go until five-thirty. That kid’s mom always wants me to stay longer.”
“Even tutoring clients try to take advantage?” Cheng Mo frowned. “You’re too nice.”
“I’m free anyway,” Xiao Yiming said.
“How are you free?” Cheng Mo said. “I’m out here waiting to have dinner with you.”
“You don’t necessarily have to… ask me out while I’m tutoring,” Xiao Yiming said.
“But you tutor every day, don’t you?” Cheng Mo pulled out a bag of roasted chestnuts from his backpack. “Want some?”
“Thanks,” Xiao Yiming immediately took the bag. He pulled one out and ate it while saying, “You can’t keep them bundled up in a backpack like this. They get damp and won’t taste good.”
“But if they cool down, won’t they taste even worse?” Cheng Mo said.
“That’s why I used to buy them fresh and eat them right away.” Xiao Yiming smiled and glanced toward the incoming traffic.
“With Fang Chi?” Cheng Mo asked.
“Yeah,” Xiao Yiming nodded. “But he doesn’t especially like chestnuts. He just stuffs anything into his stomach when he’s hungry. If there aren’t chestnuts, roasted sweet potatoes or barbecue work too.”
“I actually… don’t have any special interest in chestnuts either,” Cheng Mo looked at the chestnuts in his hand.
“Mm, I could tell,” Xiao Yiming said while eating. “Thanks for the trouble.”
“At your service.” Cheng Mo smiled and turned to look at the intersection. “The bus is here.”
The bus was pretty crowded. There were only two bus routes from Xiao Yiming’s school, and even though vacation had started, tons of people were heading downtown before New Year to shop.
Cheng Mo squeezed onto the bus behind Xiao Yiming and discovered this guy’s love for roasted chestnuts really ran deep. With so many people shoving onto the bus, Xiao Yiming still held the paper bag steadily in one hand without spilling a single chestnut. While squeezing toward the back, he even found time to eat two more.
The back of the bus was slightly less crowded, and the two of them managed to find a corner to stand in.
Xiao Yiming kept eating without speaking. Cheng Mo stared at him blankly for a while before asking, “Besides sugar-roasted chestnuts, is there anything else you like to eat?”
“Didn’t you ask Fang Chi?” Xiao Yiming said.
Cheng Mo smiled. “I can’t ask him everything.”
“You’ve already asked quite a lot.” Xiao Yiming glanced at him.
“He doesn’t tell me everything either. His mouth’s tight,” Cheng Mo clicked his tongue. “Besides, he doesn’t have time for me anymore.”
“He’s got important matters going on.” Xiao Yiming sighed and looked out the window.
Cheng Mo didn’t say anything. He still hadn’t found a good chance to ask about Xiao Yiming’s family situation. Judging from the way he acted, he probably didn’t want to talk about it, and Cheng Mo didn’t want to pry at a time like this.
After hesitating a little, he changed the topic. “Fang Chi’s hometown’s basically a tourist attraction now, huh?”
“A lot more people have been going these past couple years,” Xiao Yiming continued eating chestnuts. “The roads got fixed too. He said they used to all be dirt roads.”
“That sounds way more fun,” Cheng Mo said. “I’m kind of jealous of him. So many places to play growing up.”
“Yeah, climbing mountains, swimming, climbing trees to raid bird nests.” Xiao Yiming smiled. “That’s why he later got into rock climbing.”
“He’s pretty awesome,” Cheng Mo nodded. “That He Baobao in my dorm watches his old competition videos every day and sighs dramatically over them.”
“By the way, I never asked you,” Xiao Yiming said while eating chestnuts one after another. “Aren’t you a basketball player? Why’d you go watch a climbing competition?”
“To run into you,” Cheng Mo said, watching him stuff chestnuts into his mouth like a hamster.
Xiao Yiming choked, turning away and coughing for quite a while.
“Is the truth really that scary?” Cheng Mo lightly patted his back.
“Mm.” Xiao Yiming turned to look at him. “Better stick with lies first.”
“I just thought it looked fun. It was the first youth climbing competition held in our area, so it felt new and interesting,” Cheng Mo said with a smile. “And I got to admire all kinds of climbers while I was there.”
“You actually fell for Fang Chi, didn’t you?” Xiao Yiming laughed too.
“Nope. Pure admiration.” Leaning against the bus window, Cheng Mo slid down slightly and whispered into his ear, “I like your type.”
Xiao Yiming scratched his neck. “What kind am I?”
“Just…” Cheng Mo looked at him. “You look refined and gentle, but you can tell you’re stubborn.”
“Your eyesight’s pretty good,” Xiao Yiming said after finishing the chestnuts. He gathered the shells from his pocket and stuffed them into the empty paper bag. “You can even see beneath the surface.”
“D*mn, you eat way too fast… You hid them all in your cheeks or something?” Cheng Mo said in shock.
“Yeah. Gotta store beans for the winter.” Xiao Yiming said.
Cheng Mo laughed. “You’re pretty fun.”
“Aren’t I supposed to look refined and gentle? Why am I suddenly fun now?” Xiao Yiming asked.
“That’s just how you look,” Cheng Mo stared at his face for a while. “Actually, you seem really stubborn. Not easy to chase… good thing your love of roasted chestnuts gives me an opening.”
“Is that so?” Xiao Yiming smiled.
Cheng Mo nodded. “Mm. My plan is to feed you sugar-roasted chestnuts every day. Whenever you crave some, I’ll feed you a little…”
“And after winter ends I’ll get together with someone else,” Xiao Yiming squeezed the bag. “Your awareness as a backup option is impressive.”
“Hey!” Cheng Mo burst out laughing.
“This stop.” Xiao Yiming smiled and squeezed toward the bus doors.
The tutoring place was on a lively street. Both sides were filled with bright red stalls selling New Year goods, couplets, lucky characters, lanterns, red chili peppers, and all kinds of food.
Everyone’s face carried a smile. The special atmosphere of New Year filled the air.
Xiao Yiming didn’t look around or say anything. He lowered his head and walked through the crowd into the residential complex nearby before turning back and saying, “I’m heading in.”
“I…” Cheng Mo glanced around and pointed at a small milk tea shop. “I’ll wait for you there.”
“You’re really waiting to eat together?” Xiao Yiming asked.
“I’m free anyway,” Cheng Mo said.
After Xiao Yiming went inside, Cheng Mo didn’t head straight to the milk tea shop. Instead he wandered around the little street.
He wasn’t going home for New Year, and his mom hadn’t said much, only asked why. He said he was staying to keep a friend company, and she agreed.
Xiao Yiming didn’t seem to be doing especially well. If he spent New Year here alone, Cheng Mo had no idea what kind of mood he’d be in. Even though Xiao Yiming acted like he didn’t care, Cheng Mo thought having one extra person around would probably make things a little better.
There were lots of fun little trinkets on the street. Cheng Mo wandered around for two laps, bought a red scarf and a pair of red gloves, then spotted several roasted chestnut stands. He sampled one chestnut from each stall before memorizing the location of the one that tasted best.
After wandering around for almost half an hour, he finally went into the milk tea shop, bought a cup of hot milk, and sat down facing the window, which perfectly overlooked the entrance to the residential complex.
Xiao Yiming came out right on time today, carrying an exquisite little box in his hand.
Cheng Mo paid and ran over. “They didn’t make you stay late today?”
“Mm.” Xiao Yiming smiled happily. “Not only that, they were originally going to pay me after New Year, but they paid me in advance today.”
“And they packaged the money this nicely?” Cheng Mo looked at the box in his hand.
“This is chocolate from the student,” Xiao Yiming handed him the box. “Want it?”
“You won’t eat it?” Cheng Mo took the box.
“I don’t like chocolate,” Xiao Yiming said.
“Girl student?” Cheng Mo tore off the wrapping paper. There was also a little note inside. “Holy cr*p, is this a love letter?”
“Boy student,” Xiao Yiming said. “Let me see.”
“Boy student?” Cheng Mo immediately got nervous. “This male student of yours…”
Xiao Yiming ignored him, took the note, unfolded it, and laughed. “‘Teacher Xiao, thank you.’”
“Huh?” Cheng Mo froze. “That’s it?”
“That’s it.” Xiao Yiming waved the note between his fingers.
“You scared me.” Cheng Mo let out a sigh of relief and handed him a bag containing the scarf and gloves. “These are for you.”
“What is it?” Xiao Yiming opened the bag and looked inside.
“Wishing you a bright and prosperous new year where everything goes smoothly,” Cheng Mo said.
Xiao Yiming looked up at him. After a moment of silence, he softly said, “Thank you.”
Bright and prosperous, everything smooth.
Xiao Yiming actually quite liked that blessing. On the way with Cheng Mo to buy roasted chestnuts, he put the gloves on and clapped his hands together. “How do they look?”
“Nice,” Cheng Mo said.
“The size fits pretty well.” Xiao Yiming examined the gloves.
“Your middle finger to your wrist is about this long,” Cheng Mo held out his hand to demonstrate a length. “My visual estimates are extremely accurate.”
“Hm? Really?” Xiao Yiming took off the glove and stretched out his hand for comparison. “It’s not that long…”
Before he finished speaking, Cheng Mo quickly adjusted the distance against his hand. “See? Pretty accurate, right?”
“So fake.” Xiao Yiming laughed.
Cheng Mo laughed too, then quickly grabbed his hand.
Xiao Yiming froze for a moment but didn’t pull away or say anything.
“Now I know,” Cheng Mo said, releasing his hand before turning and shouting toward the roasted chestnut vendor, “Uncle! Give me a big bag, the biggest one!”
While waiting for the chestnuts, Xiao Yiming’s phone rang. He took it out and looked at the screen. “It’s my aunt.”
“I’ll… wait over there,” Cheng Mo hesitated and started to move away.
“No need.” Xiao Yiming answered the call. “Auntie.”
“Yiming, are you really not coming home for New Year this year?” Just from her voice, he could picture the worried crease in her brow.
“Mm, I’m not going back,” Xiao Yiming said. “I already talked to my boss at the part-time job. Holiday overtime pays triple.”
“Does your mom know?” his aunt asked.
“She blocked my number,” Xiao Yiming said. “I can’t get through to her.”
“Your mother really…” his aunt sighed. “How about you come back first and stay at my place? Then maybe…”
“No.” Xiao Yiming said. “If I do that during New Year, everything’ll become a huge mess again. Nobody’ll get to enjoy the holiday.”
“Then… Yiming, how about apologizing to your mom first? Whatever issues there are can be solved later. You can’t just not come home for New Year,” his aunt said worriedly.
“This definitely won’t work,” Xiao Yiming said, frowning. “I can’t admit to this mistake. If I admit it, then shouldn’t I correct it once I know it’s wrong? But how am I supposed to correct it?”
His aunt didn’t speak.
“My mistake is that I shouldn’t have always talked back to my mom, not that I like men,” Xiao Yiming said. “I’ve already apologized for talking back. As for liking men, that’s something I have no way to change.”
Xiao Yiming’s voice was at a normal phone-call volume, not deliberately lowered. After he said this, a few people standing nearby glanced over at him.
Cheng Mo took the chestnuts the boss had packed and stepped over to his side.
“If it’s convenient, Aunt, help me talk to my mom,” Xiao Yiming said, reaching out to take the paper bag from Cheng Mo and holding it in his arms. “I can understand how she feels, and I really regret arguing with her that day, but on this matter I really can’t back down anymore. I have nowhere left to retreat.”
After hanging up, Xiao Yiming let out a soft sigh, put his phone back into his pocket, lifted the paper bag, and leaned his face toward the opening to sniff. “Smells good.”
“Eat while it’s hot,” Cheng Mo said. He wanted to put an arm around his shoulders, but after raising his arm, he lowered it again.
Xiao Yiming noticed the movement and, while biting into a chestnut, glanced at him.
Cheng Mo clicked his tongue, reached out, wrapped an arm around his shoulders, and even pulled him a little closer.
Xiao Yiming didn’t react much. After they walked together for a while, he said, “Can you adjust your steps a bit?”
“Hm?” Cheng Mo looked at him.
“You’re stepping with your right when I step with my left, doesn’t it feel awkward bumping into each other?” Xiao Yiming said.
“Oh, I didn’t pay attention,” Cheng Mo lowered his head to look, gave a small hop to match his steps with his, “I was just excited.”
“…Your boiling point is really low,” Xiao Yiming said.
“Depends on who it is,” Cheng Mo smiled.
Xiao Yiming didn’t respond. He ate as they walked; before they even finished one street, the bag was empty. As usual, he put the chestnut shells he’d been keeping in his pocket back into the bag.
Cheng Mo was just thinking about hailing a taxi to go eat when Xiao Yiming squeezed the bag and said, “People who are too good with words make me feel insecure.”
Cheng Mo paused. “Are you talking about me?”
“Mm.” Xiao Yiming nodded.
“So straightforward,” Cheng Mo smiled, thought for a moment, “Then I’ll change.”
“So decisive?” Xiao Yiming tossed the bag into a trash can.
“What’s there not to be decisive about? It’s not like all I can do is talk,” Cheng Mo stopped and adjusted his shoulders. “I don’t know if you’ve met people like that before, but this kind of thing depends on the situation.”
“Oh.” Xiao Yiming put his gloves back on.
“I’m not the type to just see someone, chase them, say a few sweet words, and once I get them into bed call it mission accomplished,” Cheng Mo said. “If that were the case, I could find a whole bunch of people anytime.”
Xiao Yiming looked him up and down. “Yeah, you’ve got pretty good conditions.”
“From the first time I saw you to when I got in touch with you, how long was that? During that time, I didn’t seriously date anyone. I kept thinking, what if I run into you tomorrow? Wouldn’t I have to go through the trouble of breaking up with someone then?” Cheng Mo said. “If you don’t like hearing those kinds of words, I can stop saying them. But you can’t form assumptions about me because of them, that’s not fair to me.”
“Oh.” Xiao Yiming looked at him.
“What do you mean ‘oh’? Did you understand?” Cheng Mo frowned.
“I understood,” Xiao Yiming nodded. “I need to see your heart through your mouth.”
“…Why does that sound a little scary when you put it like that?” Cheng Mo laughed.
“Seems like it,” Xiao Yiming also smiled.
“Then let me say this first, if I can’t enjoy myself with words, I’ll have to enjoy myself through actions,” Cheng Mo said.
“How?” Xiao Yiming asked.
“For example, I want to say you’re really quite interesting, cuter than a hamster,” Cheng Mo said. “But if you don’t like hearing that, then I can only…”
As he spoke, Cheng Mo leaned in and kissed Xiao Yiming on the forehead. “Like this.”
Xiao Yiming was startled and stepped back, taking a long moment before saying, “Is this just an excuse for you to take advantage?”
“If you’re not convinced, take it back,” Cheng Mo said, spotting a taxi approaching and waving. “Come on, I’ll take you to eat.”
The taxi was very warm inside. The driver was an enthusiastic young man; instead of the radio, he was playing rock music, and quite loudly.
As soon as he got in, Cheng Mo felt like the car might fall apart halfway.
“Brother,” Cheng Mo said after giving the address, raising his voice a bit, “nice sound system, goes straight to the heart.”
“Ha, this is for young couples, makes it easier for them to get all lovey-dovey in the back seat,” the driver said with a laugh. “I’ll turn it down.”
“No need, no need,” Cheng Mo said. “We’ll get lovey-dovey too.”
“Oh?” The driver glanced at them through the rearview mirror. “You two are a couple?”
“Yeah.” Cheng Mo nodded.
“Times really are different,” the driver laughed. “You two match well, really well.”
“Good eye.” Cheng Mo gave a thumbs-up and leaned back beside Xiao Yiming.
Xiao Yiming took out his phone, checked the calendar, and sighed. “You really aren’t going home for the New Year?”
“Nope, already told my mom,” Cheng Mo said. “If you’re willing to come to my place for New Year, my mom would welcome you too.”
“Let’s skip New Year,” Xiao Yiming’s fingers idly traced over the calendar. “I’ve never spent New Year alone before.”
Cheng Mo turned his head to look at him.
“Oh,” Xiao Yiming added, “I’ve never spent New Year with just two people before either.”
“Oh right,” Cheng Mo said with a smile, “did I tell you I went to book a table for New Year’s Eve? As soon as they heard it was just two people, no one would take the reservation. In the end I booked a table at a Chengdu snack place across from our school. The owner’s family is spending New Year here this year, so they can cook.”
Xiao Yiming burst out laughing, laughing for quite a while. “Really?”
“Really. The owner said we can pick any table, just don’t order anything too fancy, they can’t make that,” Cheng Mo said. “I said we’ll have hot pot.”
“Okay,” Xiao Yiming nodded with a smile. “How did you even find that place?”
“Didn’t I call all the big restaurants? They either said they were full or couldn’t take just two people,” Cheng Mo said. “So I figured if big places won’t work, try smaller ones. I went down the street outside our school asking one by one, and it just happened that theirs worked. The owner was pretty happy too.”
“Thank you,” Xiao Yiming said.
“Can I get something a bit more substantial as thanks?” Cheng Mo looked at him.
Xiao Yiming leaned back a little. “…No.”
“Not that kind of ‘substantial,’” Cheng Mo smiled and lightly flicked his hand. “I’ll touch here.”
“Oh, your hand,” Xiao Yiming paused, then held his hand out to him. “Go ahead.”
Cheng Mo grabbed his hand, gave it a squeeze, and tucked it together into his pocket, letting out a satisfied sigh. “Are you really a bit silly, or just pretending?”
“Really, I guess,” Xiao Yiming thought for a moment.
Cheng Mo couldn’t help laughing. Xiao Yiming held it in for a bit, then sighed and laughed along. “Ah.”
