Shoutout to Kari for the commission!
With their fingers interlaced, they slowly made their way downstairs. The dry summer breeze blew toward them, but neither of them let go.
Soft moonlight spilled down from high above, stretching their shadows into long tails. The streetlights formed pools of light, but the road ahead was bright, brighter than it had ever seemed before.
Le Cheng swung their joined hands as they reached the car. Only then did Zhou Shirui lower his head, his lips moving slightly.
Le Cheng did not hear him clearly the first time and leaned closer to listen again.
It was, “Leave yourself in my hands.”
Zhou Shirui’s eyes were very dark, his tone serious. “Leave me in your hands too.”
Le Cheng was stunned for a moment, but quickly returned to normal and smiled. “I know.”
Now it was Zhou Shirui’s turn to be stunned. “Know what?”
“Does that even need to be said?” Le Cheng said in a very casual tone, as though it were something he should have known long ago. “Hadn’t you already placed yourself in my hands a long time ago?”
On the day they reconciled, inside that car, at the moment Le Cheng decided to “put Zhou Shirui back together,” Zhou Shirui had already given himself to him.
Le Cheng said, “We belong to each other now.”
It was quite a novel way of putting it. Zhou Shirui’s expression paused slightly, his gaze gentle and affectionate as he said, “Okay.”
Le Cheng watched him get into the car and close the door, then waved at him enthusiastically.
After returning home, Le Cheng slowly went upstairs and opened the door, only to see Cao Fanqin and Le Shuhai clearing the dining table.
He went over to help as well. Cao Fanqin glanced at him. “You came back pretty early.”
Le Cheng: “???”
Cao Fanqin said, “I thought you’d spend a little more time being lovey-dovey with Little Zhou. I thought you might not even come home tonight.”
Although Le Cheng had long known how open-minded Mrs. Cao was, hearing her be this open-minded still made his face heat up.
Trying to cover his embarrassment, he said, “Mom, his home is really far from here.”
“Oh, please.” Cao Fanqin curled her lip. “Do you think you can fool your mother? Isn’t Little Zhou staying at a hotel nearby?”
Le Cheng was shocked, and the words slipped right out. “Mom, how did you know?”
“Heh, trying to fool me.” Cao Fanqin smiled and glanced at Le Shuhai. “Back then, your father and I were in a relationship of our own choosing. When your father went to your grandmother’s house, he couldn’t sleep for three days, so he temporarily stayed at a relative’s house closer to your grandmother’s. Then he came over looking all fresh and put together.”
Le Shuhai was sweeping the floor and scratched his head. “Why do you tell the child everything?”
Le Cheng understood. “So my dad had already done all this before me.”
Cao Fanqin raised an eyebrow. “Good that you understand.”
“But back then, your grandma and grandpa weren’t as open-minded as your dad and I are.” Cao Fanqin said. “Your grandma thought your dad was too handsome, and he even wore glasses. She said that just by looking at him, you could tell he wasn’t someone who could farm. She insisted that your dad stay at home for a week so she could test his farming skills.”
Le Cheng laughed so hard that he could barely stop. “And then? Did my dad pass?”
“Of course he did.” Cao Fanqin said. “Your dad worked in the fields during the day, while I would secretly sneak out to bring him water and food and help him. It was exhausting.”
“So you see.” Cao Fanqin wiped down the table. “It’s precisely because Mom and Dad know how difficult things are that we can understand how you feel.”
Le Cheng’s heart seemed to lift gently. “Mom…”
“But.” Cao Fanqin continued, “It’s fine if you want to go out and play with Little Zhou, but you have to tell Mom and Dad. Don’t sneak out secretly.”
Le Cheng nodded. “I know!”
Before going to bed that night, while messaging, Le Cheng told Zhou Shirui about it.
“So I can go find you to play. I don’t have to sneak out. I can do it openly and honestly.”
Zhou Shirui gave a quiet “Mm.” After a moment of silence, he seemed to smile. “It really is different when you have a legitimate reason.”
Le Cheng was so amused that he could barely stop laughing.
After struggling to collect everything for a long time, Le Cheng finally gathered enough to meet the requirements for unlocking the secret Easter egg.
Le Cheng excitedly shared the news with Zhou Shirui.
“It was so hard. I finally finished collecting all the requirements.” Le Cheng couldn’t help complaining softly. “The requirements for your game’s Easter egg are way too strict. It feels like it’s not even meant for ordinary people to play.”
In fact, if Zhou Shirui hadn’t told him the final two hidden requirements, he wouldn’t have been able to unlock it successfully.
When the game was first released, the vast number of players had already noticed this Easter egg in the announcement. But unlike ordinary game Easter eggs, this one did not publicly reveal all of its unlocking requirements. Instead, whenever a certain condition was fulfilled, a prompt would appear saying, “You have collected one clue.” Therefore, to this day, no one online had managed to make a complete guide.
Fortunately, this Easter egg was not included in the achievement system, and apparently offered no additional rewards either, which made it somewhat easier to accept. Most players simply pretended they didn’t know about it. If they couldn’t play it, then they might as well pretend it didn’t exist.
So Le Cheng, who had the complete guide firsthand, became the first person to start the Easter egg.
Zhou Shirui didn’t contradict him. Instead, he said, “Give it a try.”
“Then can I record my screen?” Le Cheng asked expectantly. “I want to be the first one too.”
Every time he saw someone who was the first to complete an achievement, he felt a special sense of accomplishment. Now that he was going to be the first, how could he not show off a little?
Zhou Shirui: “Record it if you want.”
“Okay, then I’ll record it.” Le Cheng agreed.
After activating the Easter egg, there was a black screen lasting more than ten seconds before the background of the final boss stage appeared.
But there was no boss, making the area look empty. Le Cheng controlled his character and ran around the map aimlessly, somewhat disoriented. Then, suddenly, he noticed something rather strange.
With nothing obstructing his view, it was easy for him to see that the scenery in this stage looked a lot like… a university?
Though, to be more precise, it should be said that it looked like a road somewhere on a university campus or in a park. The roadside was filled with greenery and trees, rendered with extraordinary realism beneath the game’s somewhat gloomy rainy weather.
The air conditioning was running indoors, making it extremely cool, but Le Cheng seemed to feel sweat gathering in his palms. His heart kept pounding inside his chest, tugging at his nerves and making him inexplicably nervous.
An idea suddenly surfaced in his mind.
But he wasn’t certain yet. He simply controlled his character and continued playing.
Before long, he didn’t know when, but a guide character appeared. Le Cheng walked over, clicked the mouse, and began talking to him.
【I’ve been waiting here for a long time.】
【What about you? Who are you waiting for?】
【The rain is coming down too hard. Do you want to go over there and take shelter?】
After the guide character finished speaking, an arrow appeared on the previously flat road. Almost instinctively, Le Cheng followed it.
At the end was a small platform. When Le Cheng walked over, a prompt appeared:
Would you like to use first-person perspective?
Confirm.
The perspective changed. Before long, Le Cheng saw someone slowly walking toward him with an umbrella. The figure was far too familiar. Even though he was wearing the game’s clothing, for some inexplicable reason, it reminded Le Cheng of the first time he had met Zhou Shirui.
His heart began beating even faster, and that thought became increasingly intense. The person holding the umbrella drew closer and closer, until an exclamation mark appeared above his head.
【Have you been waiting long? Are you hungry? Let’s go get something to eat.】
Two options appeared:
Okay or Wait a little longer.
Le Cheng chose okay.
The two characters then walked together along the road. At this point, Le Cheng could confirm that this was what had happened when he first met Zhou Shirui.
But there was something strange about it.
Because in his memories, he had been the one talking nonstop, while Zhou Shirui had been quiet and taciturn. But in the game, it was completely the opposite. Zhou Shirui would take the initiative to chat, and whenever Le Cheng chose a response similar to what he had chosen in reality, Zhou Shirui would even praise him for being cute. Each choice led to a different reaction, making him seem almost like a chatterbox.
The Easter egg was quite short. It took less than twenty minutes to finish, as though it were simply recreating everything that had happened during those twenty minutes when they first met.
“Ding—”
【Congratulations, you have completed the side-story Easter egg.】
【Rewards obtained: Swapped Hearts, Eternal Sun】
Le Cheng was somewhat dazed. He opened the menu and discovered that neither of these two items had been added to the item collection. He opened his inventory and moved the cursor over Swapped Hearts, upon which the following item description appeared:
【Crossing Through Time and Space】
As for Eternal Sun, its description was:
【When you appear】
Le Cheng stared at the screen without blinking. Countless pieces of information connected in his mind, and suddenly, he understood.
This Easter egg, from beginning to end, had been made entirely for him.
So none of the items were added to the collection, it did not count toward any achievements, and the requirements were so stringent that there was little point in anyone seeing it, and it might even invite questions.
The completely opposite perspective, the swapping of who took the initiative and who was passive, represented Zhou Shirui’s feelings at the time, after he realized his own thoughts, when he wanted to explain himself to Le Cheng and confess his feelings.
But before that explanation could be delivered, it had been forcibly interrupted.
Le Cheng found it difficult to describe how he felt at this moment. He only knew that, right now, he really wanted to hear Zhou Shirui’s voice.
He called him, and Zhou Shirui answered very quickly.
“Zhou Shirui.” Le Cheng called his name.
“Mm.” Zhou Shirui answered. “Did you clear it?”
“I cleared it.” Le Cheng held his phone tightly. “I watched all of it.”
A sudden silence fell between them.
“Not happy?” Zhou Shirui asked, as though trying to ease the atmosphere. “Or was my character out of character?”
Le Cheng couldn’t help laughing twice. “…It was a little out of character.”
“You’re not nearly that much of a chatterbox.”
“But if I could do it all over again.” Zhou Shirui followed him and curved his lips into a smile. “I think I would say those things.”
“When facing the person you love, people can show a different side of themselves.”
Le Cheng blinked hard and couldn’t help asking something that had been bothering him. “But why did you choose this scene?”
“Was there something wrong with this scene?” Zhou Shirui asked in return.
“It’s not that there’s anything wrong with it.” Le Cheng thought about it. “This shouldn’t have been the first time I met you.”
For Le Cheng, it had been their first meeting, but clearly, it hadn’t been for Zhou Shirui. After all, before Le Cheng had come to this world, Le Cheng had not been Le Cheng. Back then, he had already met Zhou Shirui at the dinner table.
“But there’s only this one scene in my mind.” Zhou Shirui paused for a moment, and, unusually, seemed somewhat, “…I don’t know how to explain it.”
“But for me, the first time I seriously saw your face, the first time I seriously listened to you speak, the first time I truly got to know you, was at this moment.”
Le Cheng’s heart stirred.
The feeling was very strange, as though there was an invisible, unnoticed thread passing through time and space, binding the two of them tightly together and drawing them toward each other. Even if they crossed paths at different points, in the end, they would still be led toward the same outcome.
Zhou Shirui continued, “Actually, there’s another game.”
Le Cheng was a little surprised. “You made an entire game separately?”
“Mm.” Zhou Shirui said, “But I deleted it when I returned the computer to you.”
Was this the kind of romance only an engineering guy could come up with? Le Cheng curved his lips. “Can you still find it? I want to play.”
“I can find it.” Zhou Shirui only spoke after a moment. “But there isn’t much point in playing it.”
“What do you mean? You can find it but you still won’t let me play it.” Le Cheng deliberately said, “You’re being so stingy.”
Zhou Shirui ignored him, clearly not falling for this provocation.
Le Cheng strongly suspected that Zhou Shirui had made something embarrassing at the time that he now felt ashamed of.
Being considerate, he said, “Okay, then I won’t play it now. Whenever you feel like showing it to me, you can show me.”
On the other end of the phone, Zhou Shirui was clearly relieved. “Okay.”
What exactly had he made that could make Zhou Shirui this nervous? Le Cheng couldn’t help laughing. “Then can you give me a little spoiler now?”
Zhou Shirui said, “No.”
“Okay, okay.” Le Cheng still tried to provoke him one last time. “So stingy.”
Zhou Shirui didn’t answer that. Instead, he asked, “Do you still want to post it?”
Le Cheng shook his head. “No. I don’t want to post it anymore.”
Call it selfishness or his possessiveness acting up, but this kind of twenty minutes, he thought, should be something only he got to see.
Zhou Shirui said, “Whatever you want.”
Le Cheng knew he would answer like that. Then he remembered something else. “So when are you going back to C City?”
It had already been four days since meeting his parents, and Le Cheng had even gone out to see him once during that time.
Zhou Shirui answered, “Probably the day after tomorrow.”
Le Cheng asked, “I want to go back with you and stay in C City for two days.”
“Have you told Uncle and Aunt?”
“Not yet.” Le Cheng swung his legs. “But they’ll definitely agree.”
***
Time passed in the blink of an eye.
Just as Le Cheng had expected, he casually mentioned during dinner that he wanted to go to C City for a couple of days, and Cao Fanqin waved her hand generously and told him, “Go if you want.”
It wasn’t his first time going to Zhou Shirui’s house, but because they were driving themselves, they arrived an hour and a half later than usual. They left in the afternoon, and by the time they got home, it was already eight o’clock.
After eating dinner and tidying up, it was already late at night.
The next morning, Le Cheng got up and went out with Zhou Shirui to play for half a day.
In the evening, they went grocery shopping again.
Because they had spent the first half of the day walking around, Le Cheng was especially hungry now.
“Let’s have fish tonight.” Le Cheng said. “I want sweet and sour fish.”
Zhou Shirui nodded. “Sure.”
Le Cheng ordered another dish. “Then I also want chicken, stir-fried and mildly spicy.”
Zhou Shirui: “Okay.”
Le Cheng blinked. “I also want snacks. I want ice cream.”
Zhou Shirui: “Take whatever you want.”
Le Cheng felt that Zhou Shirui was being unusually agreeable today.
He was practically giving him everything he asked for.
Zhou Shirui pushed the shopping cart while Le Cheng walked ahead, picking things here and there. He chose a whole chicken, fish, shrimp, vegetables and fruit were a must, and he also picked up a huge pile of snacks. Zhou Shirui didn’t say a word the entire time.
When they got home, Le Cheng helped him prepare the ingredients, but less than five minutes after sitting down, Zhou Shirui sent him away and reminded him, “Don’t eat too many snacks. You still have to eat dinner.”
Le Cheng readily agreed. By the time Zhou Shirui finished cooking and came out, Le Cheng was propping his chin up, staring longingly toward the kitchen.
Zhou Shirui set the dishes down, walked over, counted the empty snack bags, and asked him, “Are they all here?”
Le Cheng froze. “What?”
“Snacks. How many did you eat?”
“Just two small bags.” Le Cheng answered honestly. “I’ve been waiting for dinner.”
Only then did Zhou Shirui let him go. “Go wash your hands.”
Le Cheng didn’t quite understand why he had to keep track of how many bags of snacks he had eaten, but as soon as he smelled the food, he sprang up and went to wash his hands.
Although there were many different dishes, the portions weren’t very large. After Le Cheng had been eating for a while, Zhou Shirui directly grabbed his wrist. “That’s enough. You can’t eat anymore.”
Le Cheng was a little dissatisfied. “Why? I don’t feel particularly full yet.”
Although he knew that Zhou Shirui was just a little more controlling than most people, why was he even controlling how much he ate today?!
“If you eat until you’re too full, you’ll feel uncomfortable.” Zhou Shirui took his chopsticks away without allowing any argument.
Le Cheng tried to bargain. “Eating until I’m stuffed is uncomfortable, but I don’t feel stuffed yet.”
Zhou Shirui raised his eyes, his dark eyes looking at him. After a moment of silence, his thin lips parted. “It’ll still make you uncomfortable.”
Le Cheng was left with a head full of question marks.
He wanted to say more, but Zhou Shirui handed him a handful of candies instead. Le Cheng unwrapped one and put it into his mouth. It was sweet, and his attention was easily diverted. He voluntarily left the scene.
Before bed that night, Le Cheng showered first. He came out wearing pajamas and sat cross-legged on the bed playing a game, his loose pant legs revealing a section of his fair, slender lower legs.
His hand speed was very slow. He was the kind of person who was naturally bad at playing games. His expression was focused, far too tense. He didn’t even notice when Zhou Shirui came out, and then got shot in the head again. He turned his head only to see Zhou Shirui.
Zhou Shirui had just showered, and a faint dampness still clung to him. His shoulders were broad, the long lines of his neck disappearing beneath his pajamas, his long lashes hanging quietly. His expression was calm as he asked, “Lost?”
Le Cheng gave a quiet “Mm.” “Go dry your hair. Can you play the next round for me?”
“Sure.” Zhou Shirui said. After a pause, he added, “But only one round.”
Le Cheng hurriedly nodded. “One round is fine, one round is fine.”
Before long, Zhou Shirui was sitting beside him. His slender fingers moved smoothly across the screen. In such a low-level match, he won with almost ridiculous ease, like effortlessly crushing a beginner lobby.
Le Cheng happily turned his head and kissed him, his eyes sparkling as he asked, “Can you play a few more rounds? I still want to rank up!”
Normally, whenever Le Cheng made an expression like this, Zhou Shirui found it very difficult to refuse him.
But today, he made an exception.
“No.” Zhou Shirui lowered his dark eyes. “It’s too late.”
“Too late?” Le Cheng tilted his head.
“Mm.” Zhou Shirui placed the phone on the bedside cabinet, then slowly moved closer, leaning over and covering him.
“It’s too late.”
Le Cheng quickly understood what “too late” meant.
Those distinct, slender fingers of Zhou Shirui’s, which normally looked good holding a pen or tapping away at a computer, were now resting against Le Cheng. His calm eyes watched him, his voice low and heavy. “…Okay?”
And so Le Cheng couldn’t bring himself to say no.
Even though they had spent a long time preparing, their movements were still somewhat clumsy. Le Cheng took off his glasses himself, and the lights were turned off, leaving the room dim.
Zhou Shirui furrowed his brows slightly and inhaled in restraint, his grip on Le Cheng’s fingers tightening as he said quietly, “…Relax.”
The sensation wasn’t very pleasant. Tears welled uncontrollably in Le Cheng’s eyes, only to be gently kissed away. His whole body was beyond his control, and Zhou Shirui asked him, “Does it hurt?”
“No… not…” Le Cheng couldn’t even explain it himself.
Time seemed to pass so slowly.
Le Cheng felt as though his head was about to hit the headboard. His shoulder blades trembled slightly, his tear ducts had never seemed so fragile, and his lips had been bitten until they were very red. Zhou Shirui turned him over and used his knuckles to pry his teeth apart, telling him, “Don’t bite.”
The sudden movement made Le Cheng tense abruptly, like a bow pulled taut. Even in the darkness, the moonlight cast a soft, hazy shadow over him, his skin pure white like gauze. Zhou Shirui watched his expression, paused for a long moment, and concluded in an utterly calm tone, “…So you actually like this.”
“…” Le Cheng opened his mouth, his cheeks burning hot. In the moonlight, it was difficult to imagine how Zhou Shirui could say something like that so calmly. But soon, he couldn’t think anymore. Perhaps there was always a slightly wicked streak in Zhou Shirui’s nature. He liked having complete control at times like this, doing things that left Le Cheng with no choice but to make a sound, pushing him close to losing composure.
In his daze, Le Cheng realized that Zhou Shirui had taken his hand, slowly guiding it downward.
His hot breath brushed against Le Cheng’s ear as he called him softly, almost as though teasing him, “Cheng Cheng.”
“Your stomach is bulging.” Zhou Shirui said. “How did it get so round?”
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