Chapter 73 Cherry Chocolate

Chapter 73: Cherry Chocolate

It rained heavily in the night, and the tide rose, so Shen Shiyan wouldn’t let Shen Ci near the seaside anymore.

Shen Ci regretfully posted a moment on his social feed, featuring the sea nightscape he’d taken the previous evening, captioned “whispers of an embrace.”

It carried a youthful, throbbing hint of adolescence, but coming from Shen Ci, it felt different—he was emotionally slow and wildly imaginative. Song Qiuchi, during a concert intermission, commented on it.

“Song Qiuchi: Where’d you steal that sappy caption?”

Shen Ci replied with a party popper emoji and said nothing more, because those five words had flashed into his mind in an instant, seemingly without special meaning—probably just because Shen Shiyan’s embrace the night before, when they shared a bed, had been so warm.

The conference went on for days. Shen Shiyan was somewhat cautious, kept his distance on purpose—not to avoid suspicion, but because he didn’t want him in the spotlight too soon.

On the final day of the banquet, Shen Sicheng also showed up. The head of Tai Group had dealt with him before, in the gun trade.

He expressed great sympathy for Shen Ci, who was dressed very plainly and quietly eating in a small corner, believing that Shen Shiyan was picking on his little Xiao Ci again.

So, just before the banquet began, Shen Ci slipped away for an hour. Shen Shiyan didn’t think much of it; he was used to keeping half his attention on Shen Ci no matter how busy the occasion, and today was no exception. Right under his nose, Shen Sicheng, thinking himself unnoticed, sneaked Shen Ci out of the banquet hall.

When they reappeared, Shen Ci had a whole new look. He wore a fitted black modern Chinese suit, with two silver tassels—one long, one short—on the shoulders, matte black leather loafers, understated yet textured. His normally loose hair was half-up in a high ponytail, with stray strands naturally falling on both cheeks, the top was fluffy. As he walked, he tripped a little, not used to it, and the ponytail swayed out from his shoulder.

This was Shen Ci’s first time wearing a suit.

“Xiao Ci shouldn’t be learning skateboarding,” Song Xianghan said, sipping champagne, looking at the now more mature figure before her. “With a build like that, you’d be perfect for classical dance.”

“Sister Xianghan.” Shen Ci gave a big smile. “Classical dance is too gentle; I still think skateboarding is better.”

During school performances, art students would go on stage—folk dances, classical dances—Shen Ci had seen them all. He could enjoy watching them, but as for interest, he didn’t have much. Plus, after middle school, Shen Ci started paying attention to his own looks. With his light pupils, pale skin, thin frame, and long hair, he already looked kind of delicate. Learning classical dance would only make it worse.

He still preferred more exciting sports.

Last year, he even tried a climbing gym; when he exerted himself, you could see the muscle lines on his arms, and Shen Ci was very satisfied with that.

Gao Mengying smoothed her hand over the tassels on Shen Ci’s clothes, glittering in the light.

Shen Shiyan’s face showed no expression; he was silent, but his gaze was unusually shifty, landing on Shen Ci several times. Shen Sicheng lightly bumped his shoulder. “Spacing out, huh? Why not say something?”

Shen Shiyan smirked, edged away from Shen Sicheng, and didn’t praise Shen Ci, saying flatly, “Nice taste.”

“Of course.” Shen Sicheng tugged at his suit hem. “Way better than yours.”

Not getting a compliment on how he looked, Shen Ci was a little let down. He moved from across to Shen Shiyan’s side, but before his hand could touch his sleeve, the banquet officially began. The chairman of Tai Group announced the subsequent cooperation with Chonghe and Xingtu, and applause erupted around them.

Shen Ci was happy for Shen Shiyan. He withdrew his hand and clapped lightly a few times, the sound blending in.

After the bilingual speech in Chinese and English, many people came over to toast. They were all old pros in the social scene, handling it like it was nothing, but Shen Ci, now all dressed up, felt awkward and bored.

Catching a small break, Shen Shiyan put down his wine glass, grabbed Shen Ci by the wrist while the others weren’t paying attention, and led him to a quiet corner of the venue.

“D-ddy.” Shen Ci stood still, looking at the man before him. “What’s wrong?”

Shen Shiyan pulled three square items wrapped in gold foil from his suit pocket and shoved them into Shen Ci’s hand, then slowly released him. “If you’re bored, go get something to eat yourself. No need to stand around over there.”

Shen Ci’s eyes lit up. “Are these the chocolates that old guy with the big beard said were a royal specialty from their country?”

Shen Shiyan nodded, a little annoyed. “The chairman’s name is Elias van der Velde Laurent-Thorn.”

“His name’s too long.” Shen Ci leaned in, sniffing through the thick gold foil, catching a hint of cocoa’s bitterness. “Thanks, d-ddy.”

This was a traditional custom from the former royal family of Etheris. The chocolate was a pain to make, and the gold foil embossing still bore patterns only the past royalty could use, showing off status and rank. Descendants with blood ties would often mix gold bars into such chocolates when giving gifts to show sincerity and high standing. These three pieces were won in a lucky draw before the banquet.

There were only three spots, and Shen Ci only remembered this chocolate from days of speeches. Shen Shiyan was gonna buy them from the winners at a high price, but luckily, he drew them himself.

Staying away too long wasn’t ideal, so Shen Shiyan hummed softly. “Don’t leave my sight. It’s not like the day I went to the beach with you—there’s a mix of people here.”

Actually, that night when Shen Ci went to the seaside, Shen Shiyan had secretly sent Shen Sicheng to follow him, even specifically telling Shen Ci that if he wanted to wander alone, Shen Sicheng shouldn’t disturb him.

Shen Ci put the chocolates in his pocket, his eyes curving into a smile. “I know.”

As Shen Shiyan turned to leave, Shen Ci seemed to remember something and quickly tugged at his sleeve. “Wait!”

Shen Shiyan looked back at him.

“Um…” Shen Ci suddenly felt a bit shy, not wanting to waste too much of Shen Shiyan’s time. He bit his lip two or three times, then, as if making up his mind, asked, “Don’t I look good in this? You haven’t really looked at me.”

“And you haven’t complimented me…”

His voice trailed off, his subconscious urgently needing Shen Shiyan’s approval and praise, yet it felt strange and overly sentimental.

“I did look.” Shen Shiyan curled his lips. He reached out and lightly touched Shen Ci’s cufflink, no longer holding back his compliment. “Very beautiful.”

Shen Ci instantly lit up with joy, and with those three chocolates, he felt almost buoyant. The crystal chandeliers, the decorative flowers everywhere, and the pure white Roman columns in the banquet hall seemed to turn into dreamy, colorful bubbles, lifting him higher and higher.

Shen Shiyan added, “I’ll head back first,” before leaving Shen Ci’s sight.

After a moment, Shen Ci also returned to the light, grabbing a small plate of cherries to eat.

He belatedly realized that Shen Shiyan’s compliment had been “very beautiful.” Shen Ci felt the cherry burst sweetly in his mouth as his teeth broke through it. Spitting out the pit, he unwrapped a chocolate and popped it in. Bitterness gave way to sweetness, mingling with the lingering cherry flavor on his tongue—a unique taste.

Shen Ci looked at Shen Shiyan, clinking glasses not far away, his heart swelling slightly.

Except for the first night when Shen Shiyan was drunk, the two had slept in separate rooms the rest of the time.

Shen Ci carefully folded the gold foil into a heart shape. As he looked up, Shen Shiyan’s wine glass was already full again.

Get drunk one more time, d-ddy.