Chapter 117

Chapter 117

Yu Jingmo didn’t explain further and bought Tian Ruan a vanilla ice cream.

The vendor: "Enjoy your time with your son!"

The ice cream cart inched along the beach. Tian Ruan held the tip of his ice cream to Yu Jingmo’s thin lips. “Daddy, have a bite.”

Yu Jingmo took a bite, the motion resembling someone nibbling at Tian Ruan’s chest, then humored him with, “Good boy.”

Tian Ruan’s face flushed slightly. He couldn’t see Yu Jingmo’s eyes behind his sunglasses, but he knew where the other was looking. “…That vendor needs glasses—we don’t look anything like father and son.”

Yu Jingmo replied flatly, “Overseas, ‘daddy’ means something else too.”

Tian Ruan understood exactly what that double meaning was—all those stories he’d read weren’t wasted.

“You can call me Dad or Daddy, either is fine.”

Too flustered to continue, Tian Ruan finished his ice cream and said, “Show me how to surf.”

The breeze was light, and the waves were small—perfect for beginners. Tian Ruan carried his surfboard into the sea, shivering briefly before adjusting to the chill. He set the board afloat and followed Yu Jingmo’s instructions to lie flat on it.

Yu Jingmo, tall and long-limbed, pushed Tian Ruan’s board into deeper water before leaping onto his own. He emerged like a sculpted deity, floating effortlessly as if untouched by the world.

Tian Ruan was awestruck by his effortless grace and tried to stand—but with one wiggle of his hips, he tumbled straight into the drink.

Thrashing about, he clung to the board until Yu Jingmo hauled him back on moments later. Coughing twice, he got back into place.

“Can’t kneel yet and already trying to run?” Yu Jingmo had jumped in after him again. Now, watching the young man sprawled across the board, he swatted his rear lightly—like scolding a child.

Soaked through, Tian Ruan blinked, his lashes fluttering as sunlight caught the glistening in his eyes. “Now what?”

Yu Jingmo pushed his board forward. “Wait for it.”

Before long, a relatively gentle swell approached. Yu Jingmo said calmly, “Here it comes.”

Tian Ruan turned his head. “That big?!”

A ten-foot wall of water came crashing down like a heavy blanket, swallowing the surfers whole. In an instant, they bobbed up like corks, riding the surface with practiced ease.

Tian Ruan was at the wave’s mercy: “Ahhh—mmph—ahhh—mmph—”

By the time he reached shore, he was half-drowned, drifting in and out of consciousness—

Like a beached mackerel.

“…”

Shortly after, Yu Jingmo glided effortlessly to the sand like a celestial being above mortal concerns. Looking down at the limp, well-shaped figure sprawled on the board—slim waist, long legs, perky butt—he simply hauled him up. “Scared?”

Tian Ruan clung to Yu Jingmo, limbs weak and trembling. “Mhm.”

Yu Jingmo patted his back. “Relax, I’ve got you.”

After a moment to catch his breath, Tian Ruan perked up again. “Let’s keep going.”

After several clumsy, penguin-waddling attempts, Tian Ruan finally managed to stand upright on the board like a polar bear. He realized surfing shared similarities with skiing—once balance was mastered, technique mattered little in carving through the waves.

In just one afternoon, Tian Ruan could perform basic surfing moves like Yu Jingmo. The board became second nature to him; standing atop the water, he could instinctively judge the size and strength of each approaching swell.

"This must be the legendary lightness skill—walking on water!" Tian Ruan laughed heartily, only to be hit by a wave. "Glug glug glug..."

Yu Jingmo found it amusing as he fished the young man out of the water and placed him back on the board. "Getting ahead of yourself, huh?"

Tian Ruan lay on the board, chuckling. "I can ski, and now I can surf! I’ll have something to brag about when I get back."

The evening glow shimmered on the sea, casting a radiant light that accentuated the young man’s rosy lips, pearly teeth, and clear eyes—his face alight with pure joy. Yu Jingmo’s gaze lingered on Tian Ruan’s babbling lips before he leaned down and kissed him.

Tian Ruan’s voice was instantly muffled. As the kiss deepened, his mind went blank, focusing solely on the moment.

They had kissed countless times before, yet each one remained tender and lingering.

The saltiness of the sea and the sweetness of the ice cream blended into a refreshing jelly-like sweetness. Under the vast sky and expansive ocean, in a foreign land, they had no need to hide from anyone or anything.

Before they knew it, they had drifted to shore.

Yu Jingmo’s large hand caressed the back of Tian Ruan’s neck and his earlobe, whispering, "Let’s head back to the hotel."

Tian Ruan nodded shyly.

Among these carefree foreigners, two men kissing wasn’t unusual—hardly anyone even glanced their way. Only someone who knew them would do a double take: "Tian Ruan?"

Tian Ruan: "?"

"Is that you, Tian Ruan?!" Wang Weiqi stared at the two figures entwined—it was unmistakably Tian Ruan and his brother-in-law, Yu Jingmo!

When the other man turned his face, Wang Weiqi recoiled in shock, landing butt-first in the sand—good heavens, it really was Tian Ruan and Yu Jingmo! Had he just witnessed their affair? Was he about to get murdered for this?

Tian Ruan’s eyes widened just as much, his expression equally stunned. "Wang Weiqi?"

Wang Weiqi nodded vigorously, his carefully styled antenna-like bangs bouncing with the motion. "Y-you—you’re cheating?!"

Tian Ruan: "..."

Wang Weiqi nearly bit his tongue in regret. "You seduced your brother-in-law—wait, no, you two are actually together?"

Tian Ruan: "..."

Yu Jingmo led the dazed Tian Ruan onto the beach, jamming the surfboard into the sand. "Surfing."

Wang Weiqi nodded understandingly. "Catching waves... totally normal."

The sunset painted Tian Ruan’s face crimson. "Mr. Yu and I were just surfing. Don’t read into it."

Wang Weiqi shook his head like a rattle drum. "Oh sure, I totally don’t think you’re a homewrecker or anything."

"…"

"Wait, scratch that—I’m talking nonsense."

Yu Jingmo asked, "Are you here alone?"

Wang Weiqi nodded, then shook his head. "The winter camp for classes 1 through 8 is around here. Everyone who signed up came. They went off to other places to play, but I came here to scope out bikini-clad hotties..."

Yu Jingmo said calmly, "Tian Ruan doesn’t have an older brother named Tian Yuan. He is my legal spouse. He’s still in school, and I don’t want this relationship to cause him any trouble. Can you keep this under wraps?"

Wang Weiqi’s brain short-circuited for a second before his neurons finally transmitted and translated Yu Jingmo’s words. "You two... you’re *married*?"

"That’s right."

Tian Ruan was left speechless with embarrassment—getting outed like this was way too abrupt.

Wang Weiqi: "But Tian Ruan is only seventeen or eighteen."

Yu Jingmo: "He's twenty."

Wang Weiqi was too stunned to speak. Tian Ruan, baby-faced and smooth-skinned, looked even younger than him...

Tian Ruan said earnestly, "Sorry, I didn’t mean to hide it from everyone. I just wanted to blend in as a normal student."

Wang Weiqi thought to himself, this kind of ‘ordinary’ was something he wanted too—top grades, fair skin, good looks, and an old-money pedigree. Marriage was definitely off the table though—a big shot like Yu Jingmo isn’t for just anyone.

So from that alone, Tian Ruan was anything but ordinary. Wang Weiqi grumbled inwardly, then felt awkward—what guy gets jealous over another guy being spoiled?

Wang Weiqi shook his shoulders and slapped his butt before standing up. "Don't worry, I'll keep your secret."

Tian Ruan clenched his fist. "Bro code, man."

Wang Weiqi, pumped, fist-bumped him. "A man’s word is his bond!"

A group of people with East Asian features walked off the beach, wearing the same winter camp T-shirts as Wang Weiqi, with the school crest on the chest.

"Wang Weiqi? What are you doing?" a male student called out.

Wang Weiqi jumped in surprise and immediately stepped in front of Tian Ruan. "You guys go ahead, I’ll cover for you!"

Tian Ruan: "...Okay, thanks."

Wang Weiqi spread his legs into a squat, raised his hands in a scissors pose above his head, and waddled like a drunk penguin toward the group. This bizarre posture not only caught his classmates' attention but also drew giggles from several bikini-clad girls.

"Dude’s moving like a crab."

Amid the laughter, Wang Weiqi turned lobster-red from head to toe as he lumbered toward his so-called “friends.”

The classmates: "..."

They turned tail and ran. "Let’s go, let’s go. We don’t know him."

Wang Weiqi shouted in broken English, "Yo, my dudes, wait up!"

Tian Ruan watched Wang Weiqi’s glorious dumpster-fire act and sighed. "He always manages to create miracles that leave me in awe."

Yu Jingmo: "No wonder you’re classmates."

Tian Ruan: "..."

The two slinked back to the hotel—why sneak? Because with the winter camp students around, they could run into someone at any moment. Tian Ruan had to stay on high alert like a spy, scanning every corner for other black-haired, dark-eyed faces.

Yu Jingmo dragged him into the elevator. "Eyes on me. This is our honeymoon."

"But—"

"Security’s got it covered."

Tian Ruan was surprised—bodyguards were still following them? He hadn’t noticed a single trace.

Then, when they went to the restaurant for dinner, he spotted Da Zhuang, rocking a blonde wig straight out of an '80s hair band, and Mao Qi, with a salt-and-pepper dye job and a face tattoo of a dragon.

Tian Ruan stared, deadpan.

Mao Qi reported, "There are no classmates of the lady around, please enjoy your meal without worry."

Tian Ruan: "You all look straight out of a crime syndicate."

Mao Qi: "Just blending in."

It must be said that Mao Qi and the other three bodyguards' outfits did intimidate some people, deterring them from approaching, and the waitstaff were extra cautious and polite.

But seeing these "thugs" standing respectfully by a table where a handsome, well-dressed Eastern man in a suit sat with a delicate young man, everyone in the restaurant conjured up the same image: an East Asian crime lord and his pretty young spouse.

Thus, Tian Ruan noticed the waiter's hands trembling uncontrollably while serving their food, as if afflicted with Parkinson's.

Tian Ruan had no idea why.

When the waiter used a knife to peel shrimp for them, the knife suddenly slipped from their hand and embedded in the chair right between Tian Ruan's legs.

Tian Ruan: "…………"

The waiter shrieked, "Sorry!!!"

Tian Ruan, almost neutered, turned pale. Yu Jingmo stopped the waiter from panicking, yanked the knife out himself, and said coldly, "Please leave. We'll handle it ourselves."

The waiter ran off in tears, convinced they had angered the mafia and was a dead woman walking...

Soon after, the manager marched the waiter back to grovel, babbling in panic, clearly terrified. As compensation for the shock, their meal that night was on the house.

Tian Ruan, turning misfortune into fortune, enjoyed a free gourmet spread, patching up his frazzled nerves.

Back in their honeymoon suite, Tian Ruan plumped onto the sofa. "Nothing beats a free meal~"

Yu Jingmo glanced at his crotch. "Your boys are making a break for it."

Tian Ruan: "?"

Tian Ruan turned to look—his pants had a long tear, thanks to the knife.

Yu Jingmo sighed. "Good thing you didn’t get gelded, or the fun would’ve been over."

Tian Ruan: "..."