Chapter 92

—You say it. I’ll listen.

Perhaps it was Lu Shenxing’s captivating voice, or perhaps it was the warmth of the man’s embrace, but without any hesitation, he said, “I like big brother.”

His voice was very soft, as faint as the weak “meow” of a kitten being held by the scruff of its neck.

But it was still heard.

The next second, he was held even tighter.

Lu Shenxing’s embrace was more than just warm; it was scorching hot.

The air seemed to heat up as well, as a wave of overwhelming heat swept over him, as if to drown him completely.

The man’s chin rested in the crook of his neck.

“Say it again.” It was as if he was restraining himself, speaking word by word.

Even though he couldn’t see any movements in the darkness, Ji Wei couldn’t help but slowly bury his head lower.

As he lowered his head, a large portion of his fair neck was revealed from his light blue pajamas. The man bent down and kissed it, licking it over and over again.

Warm breath fanned across his neck, and his skin couldn’t help but tremble. In the end, he succumbed to Lu Shenxing and whispered again, “I like big brother.”

Hearing his words, Lu Shenxing paused for a moment before speaking calmly, “Our Weiwei needs to be happy. I’ll take care of the rest.”

It took Ji Wei a beat to realize he was talking about Ye Lang. So he knew everything, even about a single sleepless night of his.

He suddenly felt like he had lied.

It wasn’t just ‘like,’ it was ‘really like’.

I really, really like big brother.

***

When Ji Wei woke up the next day, sunlight streamed through the large, transparent French windows, shining on his face. It was so bright it was a bit dazzling, and he couldn’t help but raise a hand to shield his eyes.

I don’t think I had insomnia last night.

As he was thinking this, the man was buttoning his shirt by the bed, his movements unhurried, giving him a somewhat ascetic air.

Ah, he remembered now.

Being kissed until he had no strength left naturally made it easy to fall asleep.

Ji Wei’s face grew hot, and he also got out of bed to wash up in the bathroom.

His phone suddenly vibrated.

Ying Guanxiao was talking in the group chat.

Ying Guanxiao had created this group on the day of his departure. It only had four members: Ying Guanxiao, Huang Bo, Lu Shenxing, and himself.

But Huang Bo still used an old BlackBerry and only used WeChat on his computer. Lu Shenxing rarely spoke, and he had never said a word either. The group was just Ying Guanxiao sharing his travel news alone.

[Ying Guanxiao] Went to the ice lake yesterday. @All Members

[Ying Guanxiao] There’s a small art exhibition today. Want to go check it out? @All Members

An art exhibition?

Ji Wei realized he hadn’t been out in a long time. He slowly typed out a few words.

[Ji Wei] I want to go.

[Ying Guanxiao] !! Then let’s set off at ten o’clock.

After setting the time, he was about to turn off his phone when it vibrated again.

[Lu Shenxing] I’ll go.

[Ying Guanxiao] Heh, you’re only going because Weiwei wants to, right?

[Lu Shenxing] So, is there a problem?

[Ying Guanxiao] …

The moment he saw the reply, Ji Wei’s heart suddenly quickened. He turned off his phone as if he’d received an electric shock.

Because he was going out today, he couldn’t help but pay attention to his reflection in the mirror while brushing his teeth.

His face had thinned out from the recent period of listlessness, making his light tea-colored glasses seem even larger. His hair had also grown longer, with a few strands drooping over his eyes, making him look listless.

Like a little mushroom growing in damp soil.

He decided to give his hair a trim.

After washing up, Ji Wei walked back to the room in his pajamas and looked around but couldn’t find any scissors.

“What are you looking for?”

Lu Shenxing was already dressed.

“Scissors.”

Afraid of worrying Lu Shenxing, he added, “I want to trim my bangs. They’re too long.”

“Do you know how?”

Lu Shenxing, wearing a thin sweater, sat in a chair with his legs crossed and raised an eyebrow as he asked.

“No.”

Ji Wei answered honestly.

The man stood up from the chair, opened his checked luggage, and took out a pair of scissors from a toolbox.

Just as Ji Wei was about to take them, Lu Shenxing tilted his chin, gesturing for him to sit in the chair.

Is my idol going to cut my hair…

Ji Wei sat down apprehensively.

“Do you know how?” he asked.

“It’s not hard.”

Lu Shenxing said, his eyes lowered.

Ji Wei breathed a sigh of relief. He placed his hands on his lap and sat upright in the chair.

To make it easier for Lu Shenxing, he didn’t dare to move a muscle. Even with his eyes closed, he resisted the urge to blink his eyelashes.

Lu Shenxing leaned down, his gaze level with Ji Wei’s.

Just trimming his bangs really wasn’t hard.

In just a moment, snippets of hair fell to the floor.

The young man clearly couldn’t hold still any longer. His lowered eyelashes trembled like snow-laden branches, and the dazzling sunlight on his face seemed to sprinkle a layer of crushed gold, exuding a bright and warm aura.

Lu Shenxing was uncontrollably stunned for a moment.

But the scissors in his hand didn’t stop, and another lock of hair fell.

To be precise, a large lock.

Ten minutes later, Ji Wei looked at himself in his phone, at the obvious chunk missing from his bangs, and blinked in confusion.

Didn’t he say it wasn’t hard…

“Sorry.”

The man spoke softly.

Ji Wei slowly exhaled and instead comforted Lu Shenxing, “It’s okay. It looks pretty good. It’s just… a little strange.”

He wasn’t someone who cared much about his hair, but he couldn’t help but sneak several glances at the front-facing camera, fiddling with his hair for a while to make the botched bangs look less conspicuous.

Lu Shenxing lowered his gaze and turned to enter the bathroom.

Ji Wei had always been very diligent about taking his medicine. After eating the breakfast delivered by the hotel, he swallowed his pills with warm water.

Ying Guanxiao was already waiting outside the door. It was clear he was eager to go out for a walk.

Ji Wei opened the door for him.

The moment the door opened, Ying Guanxiao couldn’t help but laugh when he saw his hair. “Did you cut your own hair? Why is it so uneven?”

Ji Wei lowered his head slightly.

Afraid of hurting his feelings, Ying Guanxiao added, “Actually, it’s not a bad cut. Short hair makes you look energetic.”

It was mainly because Ji Wei had good features; even a random haircut looked good on him.

“Is Old Lu not up yet?”

He didn’t enter the room, just leaned against the doorframe and said, “Why is a grown man dawdling so much?”

Ji Wei quickly explained, “He’s in the bathroom.”

Ying Guanxiao paused. This was the first time Ji Wei had spoken to him in many days, but he didn’t show any surprise and just went along with what Ji Wei said.

“Oh, he’s already in the bathroom. Then I take back what I said about him dawdling.”

Only then did Ji Wei let out a soft “mhm.”

Seeing this, Ying Guanxiao couldn’t help but feel a little envious of Lu Shenxing. He used to think that marriage meant taking on responsibility, a kind of invisible restraint.

Now, he suddenly felt that there was nothing wrong with marriage. A couple like Lu Shenxing and Ji Wei was very good.

As they were talking, Lu Shenxing came out of the bathroom.

“Let’s go.”

Ying Guanxiao raised his wrist to look at his watch. “It’s still early. I can still go to the restaurant for a sandwich.”

As he lowered his wrist and prepared to turn around, he suddenly stopped. “Wait, what’s with your hair?”

Hearing Ying Guanxiao’s words, Ji Wei turned to look at Lu Shenxing, his eyes wide with astonishment.

The man’s features were cold and sharp. Only the deep, wide crease of his double eyelids tempered some of his indifference. Yet his pale lips were thin, exuding an unstoppable air of coldness.

But he had a head of hair that didn’t match his temperament at all. His bangs were choppy and even shorter than his own.

The man took his hand, lowered his eyes slightly, and answered Ying Guanxiao, “I wanted to cut it.”

It must be because I said it was strange.

If they both had the same haircut, it wouldn’t be so strange anymore.

Lu Shenxing’s hand was as cool as ever, but as Ji Wei was held by him, he didn’t feel cold at all.

A little bit of warmth spread from his fingertips to his heart, and eventually, his whole body felt as if it were bathed in sunlight, unbelievably warm.

His heart also thumped, thumped—

Beating.

***

The art exhibition was held in an art gallery next to the Kolis art market.

Because Kolis hosted so many art exhibitions throughout the year, the atmosphere was not very serious; you could say it was casual.

Walking through the exhibition hall, you would occasionally hear a few people arguing over the artistic style of a painting.

Only at these times would security personnel come out to stop the argument.

Otherwise, they didn’t intervene.

“I’m now at the Yesenin Hall. Art exhibitions are held here year-round, and it only costs one hundred rubles, which is quite cheap. If you come to Kolis, you definitely shouldn’t miss it.”

Ke Fan was a blogger studying in Russia. Besides sharing his daily life in Russia, he would also film vlogs at popular tourist spots when he had time.

He walked up to a sketch. The drawing was truly excellent.

Rarely had a painting given him such a strong feeling, as if he were watching the artist create it stroke by stroke right before his eyes.

He glanced at the exhibit information and saw that the price was indeed quite high, having sold for nearly ten million rubles at last night’s auction.

Today’s exhibition featured local artists, so the barrier to entry was relatively low, and very few pieces were exceptionally expensive. This un-inked sketch was the most expensive painting in the entire gallery, and he couldn’t help but be amazed.

Beside him were two Chinese men wearing masks. Although their haircuts were very casual, the eyes and brows that were visible were stunning.

He subconsciously aimed his camera at them, purely out of appreciation. Every frame was breathtakingly perfect.

“This is my painting.”

The one he had thrown away.

Ji Wei didn’t notice someone was filming and spoke softly.

The artist was so young.

Ke Fan was surprised. He wanted to interview the young painter, but the man next to the boy gave him a faint glance.

He realized his impudence, gave up the idea of an interview, and continued to look at the other exhibits.

His main purpose was to showcase the art to his fans, so he didn’t linger long in front of any single painting. He finished viewing the entire exhibition in less than an hour and returned to his hotel to edit the video.

Editing video was hard work. He had to cut a fifty-three-minute video down to less than ten minutes.

It took him an hour to edit and upload the vlog.

As a blogger studying in Russia, he didn’t have a large following; countries like the US and Japan were more popular. After ten minutes, there were only a dozen comments, and none of them were focused on the art.

[Grape Seed] I’m so here for those two little brothers! Can I get their contact info?

[Coke Bottle That Doesn’t Spit Caps] Not to kill the mood, but the taller one looks like Film Emperor Lu, and the other one looks like Ji Wei.

[Cutting Three Pounds of Peach Blossoms] Besides the hair, their eyes and brows really look like them!

[Coo Coo Coo] Didn’t the news say they were vacationing in Russia? It must be them. Blogger, you’re about to get famous. Claiming a front-row seat!

By the time Ke Fan returned from dinner at the restaurant, he found that his video had tens of thousands of comments.

He, who usually never got more than a hundred comments, was genuinely shocked.

[Little Loach] Ahhhhhh my Weiwei! He looks so much thinner, my heart aches.

[Lu-Wei a Hundred Years of Harmony] Holy crap! How did you guys find this video? The blogger only has 5,000 fans, but it already had over 100,000 views when I got here. I’m not a qualified CP fan.

[Far-Reaching] As long as you scroll through Weibo enough, there’s no sweet content you can’t find! Weiwei and Film Emperor Lu got matching haircuts, they look so good.

[Maple Syrup] They look good, but it’s mainly their looks and vibe carrying it. Try it with two other people? Weiwei, you have to get well. I’m checking in and praying for Cub Wei on the Super Topic every day.

Ke Fan had to marvel at his good luck.

However, besides the excited fans, there were also some questioning voices from neutral netizens.

[Plum Wine] That painting, “The Lake in the Suburbs,” was in the news yesterday. A Russian hotel cleaner’s painting sold for ten million rubles. How did it suddenly become Weiwei’s? Blogger, did you mess up the audio track? I suggest you re-do it. Don’t attract hate during this sensitive time.

[Sprite] +1, that painting is really high-level. I saw someone in the comments under the news say his professor said ten million rubles was still too low. It must be a family heirloom from the cleaner’s home.

[Fried Chicken Leg] He probably recorded someone else’s voice. The audio itself isn’t clear. Just think about it, Ji Wei studies traditional Chinese painting.

[Egg Gravy Noodles] Let me just weakly say, Weiwei also won a major award for his digital painting.

[Autumn Forest] Commercial art and fine art are still different things.

Looking at the comments, Ke Fan himself became confused. He couldn’t remember if Ji Wei had actually said that.

He simply deleted the previous video and uploaded a new one with only his commentary and no other sound. Considering the CP fans’ needs, he also added a Part 2 with only Ji Wei and Lu Shenxing. Although it was only a dozen seconds long, it still received a wave of praise.

[Taffy] ! This Part 2 is so inspired!

[My Ships Have All Come True] Ahhhhhh, let’s get those view counts up!

[Typhoon Shelter Double-Skin Milk] Inspired streamer, followed, followed.

***

Ji Wei and Lu Shenxing walked back to the entrance of the exhibition hall. They learned from the staff that the original owner of the painting was a hotel cleaner, and it had been auctioned off for a high price of ten million rubles the day before.

It was said to be a painting passed down from her ancestors and had even made the local news.

At this moment, Ying Guanxiao and Huang Bo also walked over. After understanding the situation, Ying Guanxiao frowned. “Even if it’s a painting you threw away, isn’t it a bit shady for her to sell it?”

It wasn’t about the money, but the right of authorship.

This was very important for a painter.

It was a painting he was going to throw away anyway, and he was confident he could paint better ones, so he shook his head.

Lu Shenxing glanced at Ji Wei and said nothing, just walked out to make a phone call.

After they finished viewing the morning exhibition and were eating in the restaurant, Ying Guanxiao secretly asked Lu Shenxing, “How’s the painting situation?”

Lu Shenxing was focused on picking out desserts for Ji Wei and didn’t even look up. “No need to handle it.”

Ying Guanxiao was instantly frustrated and ordered himself an extra-large bowl of rich chocolate ice cream.

After their meal, they didn’t take a car but went back to the art exhibition. The afternoon exhibition featured a new batch of paintings, which meant they were essentially seeing two exhibitions in one day. The schedule was quite tight.

Of course, the one who didn’t feel the time pressure was Ying Guanxiao.

Looking at paintings was secondary; he didn’t really understand them anyway.

His main purpose for visiting the exhibition was to post photos on his social media. Even so, very few of his female friends replied. He grumbled all the way back in the car, feeling like an unappreciated talent.

So, after returning to the hotel room, Ji Wei couldn’t help but look at Ying Guanxiao’s social media feed.

Perhaps to show that there was no generation gap between him and the younger crowd, Ying Guanxiao posted with surprising frequency, sharing almost every detail of his life.

[Ying Guanxiao] Saw an art exhibition.

[Ying Guanxiao] Ate a meal.

[Ying Guanxiao] In the car now.

***

Ji Wei: …Indeed, it inspires absolutely no desire to comment.

But after thinking about it, he still liked each of Ying Guanxiao’s posts one by one.

Purely for encouragement.

When Ji Wei put down his phone, he noticed the man’s gaze had been silently fixed on him.

Only then did he realize he seemed to have neglected his idol.

That gaze felt as if it had a temperature; the places it touched were burning. Just as he was about to speak, Lu Shenxing looked at him and suddenly said, “Even when you’re by my side, I still miss you.”

Hearing such sweet words so suddenly, his palms grew sweaty with nervousness.

And Lu Shenxing continued unhurriedly, “I miss the way you paint.”

“I miss the way you blush.”

“And—” The man paused, then said calmly, “I miss the way you look in bed.”