Chapter 79: Talked

Chapter 79: Talked

Cen Wu reached out and hugged Xie Guiluan, then was tightly embraced by him in return. He had truly come a long way, and tonight, he suddenly noticed the moonlight lingering.

Xie Guiluan lowered his head and kissed the cold tip of Cen Wu's ear. His voice was also a bit hoarse as he held Cen Wu tightly, gripping his shoulders, and asked softly, "Did you come to see your parents?"

Cen Wu was stunned. He didn't know how Xie Guiluan knew, but suddenly he felt a strong urge to tell him.

He took Xie Guiluan's hand, and they went back to the cemetery. The cemetery was vast, blanketed in deep snow. They trudged through the snow for over ten minutes before reaching the spot Cen Wu had visited earlier.

"It's... roughly around here," Cen Wu pointed to the tombstone in front, desperately showing Xie Guiluan, then pointed to the row behind and said, "My grandfather and... my aunt are a bit further back."

Xie Guiluan held his hand, knowing that Cen Wu wasn't referring to the tombstone in front of them, but to distant loved ones.

There were footprints in these spots, pressed deep into the snow. Cen Wu must have stood here for a long time. The snow in Huaijing had fallen again, and they stood side by side in the heavy snowfall of the night.

"..." Xie Guiluan's lips moved, and when he spoke again, his voice was even hoarser. He asked, "Can you still go back?"

Cen Wu was dazed. His eyes welled up, and tears began to stream down. He teased Xie Guiluan, saying, "If I... if I leave, I can't come back. Would you... would you let me go?"

Of course, Xie Guiluan didn't want him to leave, but if Cen Wu wanted to go home, he could let him go. Even if they never saw each other again, it would be alright. Maybe after he died, he could go to another world.

Then he could tell Cen Wu, "I never forgot you, and I still love you so much."

"Mm," Xie Guiluan's voice trembled slightly. He raised his hand to wipe Cen Wu's tears, gazing at him with those gently curving peach blossom eyes. "If you leave, can you promise not to forget me?"

Cen Wu held his hand, feeling Xie Guiluan's hands shaking. He stopped teasing Xie Guiluan and said, "I... I can't leave. I don't even know how I got here."

But even if he could leave, he wouldn't.

Lu Jian was still here, and he would help him visit them. At this time tonight, maybe Lu Jian was also at the cemetery, clearing the snow, crying and cursing him for leaving him alone.

The snow tonight had been falling intermittently, almost continuously. Cen Wu's eyes were red from the cold. He always felt like they had never really left. Maybe they had given him a push, telling him to keep moving forward, and then he had met Xie Guiluan.

Cen Wu felt Xie Guiluan's hands were also icy cold, so he pulled him to leave. Just as they were about to exit the cemetery, they suddenly ran into Guan Xingxue.

The wind and snow were heavy, and the night was deep. At first, Cen Wu didn't recognize her, only seeing someone walking toward him through the storm. The figure looked so much like his mother.

She had always come to take him home, no matter where he was. He had thought they would never be apart.

Cen Wu didn't know what came over him, but suddenly he couldn't hold on anymore. His legs gave out, and he crouched in the snow, suppressing his sobs at first, but eventually breaking down into loud cries.

Guan Xingxue was startled and quickly hurried over. Xie Guiluan stood beside him, not comforting Cen Wu, just staying by his side, his eyes also red in the heavy snow.

A warm yellow light shone near the guardhouse. Guan Xingxue crouched down and gently patted his back, her eyes glistening with tears.

Cen Wu cried until his nose was stuffed and he was physically exhausted. His tears gradually stopped, and Xie Guiluan reached out to help him up. Guan Xingxue assisted, letting Xie Guiluan carry him on his back.

Cen Wu rubbed his reddened eyes, feeling a bit embarrassed after crying. He buried his face in Xie Guiluan's neck, pretending to sleep, his nose blocked, and his breathing occasionally hitched with sobs.

Guan Xingxue's car was parked outside. After Xie Guiluan and Cen Wu got in, she drove them home.

After Cen Wu left earlier that night, Xie Guiluan had grown restless. After waiting for half an hour, Xie Guiluan suddenly stood up with his phone, looking out at the snowy night, and told her he wanted to go find Cen Wu.

Guan Xingxue hadn't planned to follow, knowing Xie Guiluan probably wouldn't want her there. But when she heard that Cen Wu had gone to the cemetery, she couldn't let the two of them stay in such a place so late at night.

So she drove Xie Guiluan there.

Cen Wu kept up the pretense of sleeping in the car. Xie Guiluan held him, and he let himself be moved around, lying in Xie Guiluan's arms. His snow-white cheeks were still streaked with tears, his eyes red and swollen.

Xie Guiluan wiped the tears off his face and then held him tightly in his arms, lowering his head to nuzzle against the top of his hair.

Guan Xingxue glanced at the rearview mirror, said nothing, and turned back to drive, her throat tightening slightly.

Even now, she barely knew anything about Xie Guiluan, not even what he liked to eat. Xie Guiluan never revealed such things in front of others. He would sample a bit of each dish when eating, consuming roughly the same amount each time, and other details were even harder to discern.

All she knew was that Xie Guiluan was in love with Cen Wu. She didn't care if her child was gay; she just wanted him to be with the one he loved. But she always felt that Cen Wu wanted to leave.

She liked Cen Wu very much and was willing to be his mother. She didn't want him to leave, nor did she want him to be unhappy. Moreover... Xie Guiluan loved Cen Wu, and she didn't want her child to lose the person he loved.

People are always like that—love mixed with a bit of selfishness.

She and Cen Junshan couldn't help Xie Guiluan. Their stance was simply that they wouldn't stand in the way, but whether Xie Guiluan could win Cen Wu over was entirely up to him.

Otherwise, with the Cen family's influence, even unintentionally, their words or actions would come off as coercive, which would be very unfair to Cen Wu.

Xie Guiluan held Cen Wu, thinking he was asleep, and whispered, "baby."

Cen Wu's eyelids fluttered involuntarily. He noticed Xie Guiluan rarely called him that when he was awake, but whenever he was half-asleep, Xie Guiluan would start calling him "baby" over and over.

Cen Wu gave Xie Guiluan's waist a sly pinch.

Who's your baby?

Xie Guiluan was startled for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh.

His sudden laughter made it impossible for Cen Wu to pretend to be asleep any longer, so he sat up listlessly, sitting side by side with Xie Guiluan in the back seat. He had cried for a long time, and his voice was still hoarse. He poked Xie Guiluan and asked in a small voice, "How... how did you know I was here?"

"..." Xie Guiluan pursed his thin lips, remaining silent for a moment before saying, "I installed a tracker on you."

Cen Wu: "..."

Of course, it's you.

He had wondered why Xie Guiluan had let him go so easily. He had felt uneasy about how smoothly he had managed to leave.

Cen Wu asked him softly, "Just one?"

Xie Guiluan: "..."

Xie Guiluan: "Ten."

Cen Wu's phone, scarf, clothes—many places had trackers installed, including the pair of gloves he had made.

Cen Wu: "..."

You're unstoppable, man.

Cen Wu wasn't angry, though. He was already numb to it. After all, Xie Guiluan had always been a bit crazy, and it was when he acted normal that Cen Wu worried. Like when Xie Guiluan had suddenly said he wanted to let him go earlier.

But Xie Guiluan had one good quality: he dared to answer anything honestly, at least never lying to him.

They arrived home a little past eleven at night. The banquet had already ended, and many people would be staying at the old residence tonight. Every year on New Year's Eve, the Cen family estate was always bustling with activity.

Guan Xingxue went to the main house to find Cen Junshan and the others, while Cen Wu and Xie Guiluan stayed outside.

Cen Wu crouched, made a snowball, and tossed it at Xie Guiluan. Xie Guiluan also made one but didn't throw it at him. Cen Wu found him boring, so Xie Guiluan finally raised his hand and aimed at his feet.

Cen Wu ran to dodge, and Xie Guiluan bent down to make another snowball. When he looked up, Cen Wu was gone. Cen Wu slipped and fell with a thud, landing on his bottom in the snow, rubbing his eyes.

Xie Guiluan's lips couldn't help but lift slightly. Afraid of getting hit, he could only suppress his laughter and help him up. Cen Wu pursed his lips and suddenly grabbed Xie Guiluan's wrist. Unprepared, Xie Guiluan was also pulled down.

Xie Guiluan staggered, one knee planted on the snow. Although he fell, he wasn’t as disheveled as Cen Wu.

Cen Wu: "..."

Why.

Cen Wu hugged his arm, not letting him get up. Xie Guiluan hooked his chin and said, "Drunk again."

Xie Guiluan knew he hadn’t been drinking tonight, but when Cen Wu wasn’t drinking, he wouldn’t act so coquettishly with him.

Cen Wu lifted his peach blossom eyes, looking at Xie Guiluan. He remembered a bit—a few days ago when he was drunk, he had told Xie Guiluan he was the moon in the sky.

Cen Wu was being unreasonable, blaming Xie Guiluan for his own fall, and whispered, "It's... it's all your fault."

"Mm," Xie Guiluan lowered his head to hug him, saying, "My fault."

Cen Wu poked him again, saying, "I hate you."

"So much hate," Xie Guiluan's voice was low, holding back a laugh, pressing his forehead against Cen Wu's.

Cen Wu kicked his legs a few times, kicking snow onto Xie Guiluan, even stuffing snow into his clothes, acting quite mischievous. But Xie Guiluan wasn’t angry, holding his hand, letting him bully him.

Cen Wu settled down, no longer making a fuss. Xie Guiluan's lips moved, wanting to ask him something, but Cen Wu suddenly interrupted, whispering, "Can you... always find me?"

"..." Xie Guiluan didn’t know why he asked, but with his knee on the snow, he said, "Yes."

Cen Wu lowered his head, fiddling with his scarf, asking again, "Will you always come for me?"

Xie Guiluan's dark peach blossom eyes looked over, reflecting his small figure, also saying, "Yes."

Cen Wu was stunned, looking up at Xie Guiluan. The person he liked had the gentlest eyes in the world, like the moon in the sky, never leaving.

Letting him fall countless times, he could always get up again. As long as he saw him, he had the courage to keep going.

Cen Wu raised his hand, hugging Xie Guiluan's neck. Xie Guiluan thought he wanted a hug, about to reach out to hold him, but Cen Wu suddenly tilted his head up, kissing his cheek.

His lips were very soft.

Xie Guiluan was stunned. After the kiss, Cen Wu struggled to get up and run away, but before he could stand, Xie Guiluan pressed him down.

Xie Guiluan's cold, dark eyes looked down, even a bit terrifying in the snowy night, like a vicious dog ready to pounce, locking eyes with him, hoarsely saying, "You kissed me."

Cen Wu had never actively kissed him before, and it wasn’t the kind of active that was forced.

"What... what's wrong," Cen Wu's pale ear tips were red, his eyelashes trembling, not daring to look up. But thinking about how many times Xie Guiluan had kissed him, why couldn’t he kiss back, he became bold again, defiantly saying, "Just kissed."

"You kissed me," Xie Guiluan, as if he couldn’t understand human language, knelt in the snow, hoarsely repeating. Under his down jacket, he was still wearing a suit, the black suit pants creased.

"Just... just kissed," Cen Wu grabbed his tie, pulling him closer, still defiantly, "Aren’t you my boyfriend?"

Xie Guiluan's cold, fierce eyes were stunned, fixed on Cen Wu, rarely at a loss for words.

Cen Wu: "Are you?"

Xie Guiluan: "..."

Xie Guiluan replied softly, "Yes."

There, that's better.

Cen Wu finally released his grip on him.

Xie Guiluan's heart raced, even faster than when Cen Wu had stepped on him. He clung to Cen Wu, refusing to let him go. Cen Wu shoved at his head, but couldn't break free, so they stayed locked in an embrace.

If anyone had walked by, they would’ve seen the two of them tangled up in an awkward hug in the snow.

Cen Wu was squeezed tightly in Xie Guiluan's arms, his pale cheek squished into a little puff. He punched Xie Guiluan's shoulder and stammered, "If... if you ever break up with me, I’ll... I’ll strangle you."

"..." Xie Guiluan's voice was hoarse as he said, "If I ever stop loving you, I’d rather die."

"Tch... tch tch," Cen Wu paused, then pushed him, "Forget it, why bring up such things during the New Year? It’s bad luck."

He tried to make Xie Guiluan say it too, but Xie Guiluan ignored him. Instead, he kept pestering him, "Baby, give me another kiss."

Xie Guiluan thought Cen Wu wouldn't kiss him, since Cen Wu rarely took the initiative. But Cen Wu simply wrapped his arms around Xie Guiluan's neck and kissed him again, his lips pressing against Xie Guiluan's.

Whenever Xie Guiluan kissed him, Cen Wu would shiver, his mind going hazy. When it came to him taking the initiative to kiss Xie Guiluan, he wasn't very good at it. He leaned in and kissed a few times, then licked Xie Guiluan's lips.

At the stroke of midnight, the New Year’s bells chimed, and fireworks burst across the sky, lighting up all of Huaijing.

Finally, the new year had arrived.

Cen Wu’s pale cheeks glowed in the firework light, his eyes still a bit puffy but smiling as he said to Xie Guiluan, "Happy New Year, boyfriend."