Chapter 55 Want to Hold Hands Again

Chapter 55: Want to Hold Hands Again

Shen Ci had rarely been on trips far from home—once to an amusement park in another city, and once when Shen Shiyan took him on a business trip aboard a cruise ship, where he spent two days at sea and two days throwing up.

Now, on the school's fancy bus, cruising along the scenic route, this was his third time.

This trip, which Shen Ci called the "Rainforest Sweet Seven-Day Tour," started at 7 a.m. from Yunxi School's front gate. They weren't taking the highway—they'd pass by Yunhai, head south, cut through Bincheng, and then get to their destination. It'd take about sixteen hours, with a stop at a hotel halfway. They'd arrive at the Canghai City rainforest the next afternoon to start the seven-day summer camp.

Since the route passed many scenic spots, Shen Ci sat by the window, with a small backpack resting on Shen Shiyan's lap next to him.

Shen Ci wore thin long pants and a light blue shirt. The night before, he even went to the barber to style his hair. The layered cut made his hair fluffy, with uneven, wispy bangs that curved slightly, brushing his brows and partly covering his eyelids.

On the bus, the homeroom teacher got the students in order, telling everyone to listen to the guide as they passed a small scenic spot. His voice was booming and energetic, which Shen Ci thought ruined the peaceful scenery.

"Like it? My new haircut." Shen Ci turned his head away from the deep blue sea outside the window, shaking his head like a dog shaking off water, making the ends of his hair sway.

"Yeah." Shen Shiyan pursed his lips. "You've asked five times."

Shen Ci grinned sheepishly and turned back to look at the scenery outside.

Shen Shiyan seemed pretty alert, but he was totally wiped out. He'd only gotten four hours of sleep each of the last two days, working like crazy. Just after signing a contract with Mr. Zhang, Mr. Li was already at the Chonghe building... Fortunately, most of the tasks for the next few days were handled, with the details left to Qi Zizhu. If needed, he'd work remotely from his phone.

His phone buzzed. Shen Shiyan took it out, put it on silent, and then opened WeChat.

"Song Xianghan: How's it going?"

Shen Shiyan's temple throbbed. He felt his eyelids getting heavy just looking at the phone, and he slowly typed a reply.

"Shen Shiyan: On the school bus."

"Shen Shiyan: Sixteen hours."

Song Xianghan sent a video. Shen Shiyan opened it and saw Song Xianghan holding Gao Mengying's hand with his left and wrapping his right arm around Song Qiuchi, looking super comfortable in a tricked-out, plush business van.

"..."

"Song Xianghan: Getting to the hotel at noon, taking the young lady to a concert."

Shen Shiyan typed a little harder.

"Shen Shiyan: Congrats. Have a smooth trip."

Song Xianghan saw the word "Congrats" and cracked up.

"Song Xianghan: Same to you, same to you."

Shen Shiyan didn't text back.

Shen Ci had been staring at the scenery for a while and was getting bored. There was a tiny ledge below the glass, and he thought it would be perfect for putting his two precious plushies.

"Plushies, plushies..." he muttered, turning his head. "Hand me the backpack..."

The moment he saw Shen Shiyan, he immediately went quiet.

Shen Shiyan usually did the driving, and he rarely slept on planes or cruise ships. Now, on a slightly bumpy bus, with the guide's occasional loud commentary, he was out cold.

He always seemed to sleep later than Shen Ci, so Shen Ci rarely got to see him sleeping.

Shen Ci had already forgotten why he called him. His focus shifted from the scenery to Shen Shiyan, and he turned slightly to watch him quietly.

"Classmates, look out the window! Not far away is a temple, a classic example of..."

Whenever the guide's voice boomed, Shen Shiyan's brow would furrow a little. His head rested against the headrest, his jawline sharp and slightly tilted up. His lips were a pale pink—usually cold when he spoke, but now they looked really soft.

His eyes moved down. The outline of his Adam's apple was clear, moving slightly with his breath against the taut lines of his neck.

Shen Ci's eyes widened. For the first time, he noticed a tiny, barely visible dark red mole on the right side of Shen Shiyan's Adam's apple.

The air conditioning was on in the bus, but amidst the cool breeze, Shen Ci felt hot for no reason. He swallowed hard and closed his eyes in a panic, but soon couldn't help opening them again, his attention completely captured by that mole.

In fact, Shen Ci wasn't the only one checking out Shen Shiyan. The two equally handsome men sitting together caught the occasional glances of several female classmates nearby.

At this age, full of youthful energy, they were all starting to secretly develop crushes, like unripe green plums—sour but a little sweet.

Ever since Shen Shiyan showed up at a few parent-teacher meetings, he'd been getting a lot of attention and gossip from the classmates. After the first meeting, Shen Ci got @'ed like crazy in the class group chat. When they found out he was only in his early twenties, a few bold girls even asked Shen Ci for his number on the down-low.

He proudly turned them down.

Shen Shiyan, asleep, didn't notice those looks, but Shen Ci did. He was annoyed and wanted to block off the aisle side with something.

He should be the only one who gets to see him.

He didn't really get why he thought that. When it came to Shen Shiyan, he just instinctively wanted to rely on him and have him all to himself.

Shen Ci looked down and saw Shen Shiyan's hand—the one he'd held so many times. The nails were neatly trimmed, the knuckles distinct, the fingers long and slender, now naturally resting by his side.

He wanted to hold it again.

On the first day Shen Ci entered middle school, Shen Shiyan had told him not to call him "Daddy" outside and not to casually hold hands. Shen Ci had thrown a tantrum for several days because of that.

He felt even more frustrated. Time seemed to be passing so slowly, and the air conditioning on the bus seemed to have stopped working.

Shen Ci took out his phone to play a single-player game. A message popped up at the top from Chen Bufan, the sports committee member and a classmate he got along with fairly well.

"Chen Bufan: Shen Ci, why is your face so red?"

Shen Ci looked at the message on the screen, raised his head to look around, and touched his cheek with the back of his hand. It was a bit warm.

"Shen Ci: A bit hot. Aren't you sitting in the first row? How did you see me?"

The guide told a lame joke to warm up the crowd, drawing laughter, but Shen Ci wasn't paying attention, staring intently at the screen.

"Chen Bufan: Shen Rong is sitting behind me. He kicked my seatback. I just stood up to look at him and saw you too."

"Shen Ci: I see."

"Shen Ci: Some people just have no manners. Don't mind him."

Chen Bufan sent an "mm-hmm" emoji.

Shen Ci was distracted, fiddling with his phone absentmindedly before putting it back in his pocket.

He looked out the window, no longer knowing where the bus was. The scenery outside seemed dull and uninteresting. His mind was filled only with that red mole and the hand beside him that he could easily reach.

The weather was muggy but without strong sunlight, so none of the curtains on the bus were drawn. Shen Ci remembered there was a single-person air-conditioned blanket that Shen Shiyan had brought in his backpack.

As long as it was covered, so no one else could see, he could hold his hand.

Rows of green trees receded along the roadside. The bus passed by the azure sea, vast green fields, and an ancient town with red walls and black tiles. The tires rolled over several gentle paths, rolling through history, welcoming the next scene—endless mountains, undulating in the distance.

Shen Ci's heartbeat quickened as he lightly touched the edge of his backpack, grabbed the handle on top, and slowly lifted it onto his lap.

Shen Shiyan's eyelashes fluttered.

Shen Ci breathed a sigh of relief, pulled out the gray blanket, placed his backpack at his feet, and then unfolded it to spread it horizontally over both of their legs.

He moved a little closer to Shen Shiyan, and under the blanket, his hand grew bolder. He slipped it through the gap between Shen Shiyan's thumb and index finger and held his four fingers.

Feeling the familiar warmth of his hand, Shen Ci's restless heart calmed down. He glanced at Shen Shiyan, who showed no signs of waking, then gently rested his head on his shoulder and closed his eyes.

The bus moved steadily forward, the guide's voice loud and clear. In a small world unseen by anyone, their pulses beat together. Shen Shiyan's fingertips twitched slightly, then quickly went still.