Chapter 129 Light and Happiness

Chapter 129 Light and Happiness

Only Shen Shiyan and Shen Ci remained in the room. Shen Ci's expression returned to its usual blankness as he leaned close to Shen Shiyan's neck, inhaling deeply several times. The cool, clean scent was pure and untainted.

He felt a little better.

"If anything like this happens again, I'll lock you up." Shen Ci nibbled Shen Shiyan's chin. "Let's go, brother. Home."

He let go of Shen Shiyan and took the bouquet from his hand. The rose petals still had droplets of water on them.

"Brother." Shen Ci took his hand. "What are you daydreaming about?"

Shen Shiyan squeezed Shen Ci's palm and asked hesitantly, "Not going to throw a tantrum at your brother?"

Shen Ci paused for a moment, then shook his head. Looking into Shen Shiyan's dark eyes, he smiled faintly. "I trust you too much."

His expression softened as he drifted into a memory.

"Usually I tease you because I know you'll indulge me." Shen Ci said suddenly. "You love me too much. I wouldn't lose my temper at my brother over someone else."

Shen Shiyan held his gaze for a long moment, then smiled. But when he leaned in to kiss him, Shen Ci pulled away, and his lips brushed against Shen Ci's cheek instead.

"Hm?" Shen Shiyan rubbed his thumb across the back of Shen Ci's hand.

"Not losing my temper is one thing." Shen Ci pouted a little, with a hint of pride. "Punishment is another."

Shen Shiyan let out a soft laugh and asked what the punishment was.

"From now on, I'm in charge. If you want it, you'll have to beg me."

"Okay." Shen Shiyan answered quickly. "I'll beg tonight."

"Request denied tonight!" Shen Ci pressed himself against Shen Shiyan again, nuzzling his shoulder. "I haven't finished listing the punishments yet. Don't interrupt."

Shen Shiyan hugged him, nodded, and said, "Mm."

"Find an assistant like Zizhu-jie! I have to approve."

"Okay."

"No attending any banquets, parties, or business summits for now."

"Okay."

"Mm... Be home by ten."

"Okay."

"Let me put whipped cream on you at night."

"...Okay."

......

Shen Shiyan stared at Shen Ci's lips as they kept talking, nodding to everything Shen Ci said until he finally stopped listing punishments.

"All done?" Shen Shiyan leaned in closer.

"That's it for now." Shen Ci sniffed the roses.

"Two questions." Shen Shiyan tightened his grip around Shen Ci's waist. "About the cream thing, can we not veto that?"

Shen Ci thought for three seconds and said, "I'll consider it."

Shen Shiyan let out a low chuckle, but stopped immediately when Shen Ci shot him a glare, putting on a serious face. "Second question."

Under Shen Ci's less-than-eager gaze, Shen Shiyan asked, "Can I kiss you now?"

Shen Ci puffed out his cheeks, round and full.

"Granted." Shen Ci leaned in and kissed Shen Shiyan.

When they went downstairs, Shen Ci was too lazy to walk and made Shen Shiyan give him a piggyback ride. He took the cake and flowers, holding them himself, and kicked his legs gently.

"Brother." Shen Ci said, looking at the roses.

"Mm?"

Shen Ci looked away and said, "Buy eustomas next time."

"Okay. You liking eustomas lately?"

Shen Ci smiled and said, "No. I read online that cats really like the scent of eustomas."

He didn't wait until next time. Shen Shiyan drove Shen Ci to a flower shop, bought a bouquet of eustomas for Tuanzi, and also picked out several beautiful vases for arranging flowers.

Yunjing Mansion was always colorful and warm.

While Shen Shiyan was making soup, Shen Ci arranged all the flowers in the vases and added flower food.

As expected, Tuanzi loved the eustomas. The cat kept sniffing the flowers, losing interest in food for the moment, and eventually fell asleep curled up next to the vase.

Shen Ci placed the red roses on the nightstand in the bedroom.

The punishment was set for Shen Shiyan, but it was Shen Ci who suffered.

He felt he was more like a rose than the actual roses, his body covered in red marks, including two on his calf.

As for the cream mousse, he gave one to Shen Sicheng upstairs, and Shen Ci only had two bites of the other.

The next day, Shen Ci slept until 3:30 in the afternoon. Shen Shiyan hadn't gone to work and was reading beside him.

"What a hypocritical man." Shen Ci weakly punched Shen Shiyan's waist.

Shen Shiyan didn't argue. He scooped Shen Ci up, held him in his arms, and had him read a couple of pages of the book with him.

In the evening, there was a regular livestream. Shen Ci was in much better spirits, and he chatted happily with his fans.

"Qingxue: Ci Bao Ci Bao Ci Bao!! Look at me!! What's the 600k follower reward!! Please do a double cosplay!!"

"One Cabbage: Same request!! Please please please!!"

"Rain Wets the Eyes: Same here!!!"

...

Shen Ci agreed without asking Shen Shiyan's opinion, since he had been promising fans for a long time.

That night, they turned on a soft yellow lamp in the bedroom. Shen Ci leaned against Shen Shiyan and discussed what characters to cosplay. Tuanzi was sleeping soundly between them, creating a small dip in the blanket.

"Brother, let's do it on our birthday?" Shen Ci played with Shen Shiyan's arm. "I've decided we'll cosplay the cold-hearted assassin and the frail guy in a wheelchair."

"Your first birthday since you came back." Shen Shiyan smiled. "I've saved all the birthday gifts from the past few years at the villa. This year, I'll give them all to you."

Shen Ci scrolled through character images and descriptions for the cosplay, taking screenshots of the ones he found suitable.

"I have a gift for you too." He didn't look up, his eyes still fixed on the screen.

Shen Shiyan also turned his gaze, asking calmly, "What gift?"

"A secret." Shen Ci shoved his phone into Shen Shiyan's hand. "I think this sickly character suits you perfectly."

"..." Shen Shiyan glanced at it. "Am I not the assassin?"

"This assassin obviously isn't the top." Shen Ci laughed and fell into Shen Shiyan's arms.

"..." Shen Shiyan was silent for a moment. "How can someone in a wheelchair be the top?"

Shen Ci had read this book. Hearing this, he leaned close to Shen Shiyan's ear and whispered a description to him.

After speaking, he observed Shen Shiyan's expression, then hooked his chin with his finger.

"Give it a try." Shen Shiyan raised an eyebrow and added, "I'm begging you."

Shen Ci withdrew his hand and quickly slipped under the covers. His voice came out muffled from the blanket: "Denied."

Shen Shiyan pulled down the blanket that was covering his face.

With his back to him, Shen Ci added, "For now."

Shen Shiyan smiled, turned off the light, and lay down to pull him into his arms.

The days drifted unhurriedly to June 2nd. The summer this year seemed brighter and hotter than any before. The sickly Shen Shiyan sat in a wheelchair, watching the cool assassin with a gun holstered at his waist glide past on a skateboard down the tree-lined road.

After taking two sets of photos and posting them on social media, Shen Ci chatted in the fan group from afternoon until evening.

"How can you stand up, gege?" Shen Ci laughed so hard that his hands trembled as he watched Shen Shiyan stand up from the wheelchair and go to the kitchen to get the cake.

The cake was small and very pretty, with chocolate and blueberry flavor.

Shen Ci leaned over to light the candles with Shen Shiyan, then, while Shen Shiyan's eyes were closed, took a safety charm out of his pocket—much more exquisite than the one Zhong Yurong had.

The candles went out.

"Happy—" Shen Shiyan started to say.

The safety charm swayed gently before his eyes.

"I made it myself. I ruined many while trying. We already have happiness, and you don't lack money. After thinking it over, what I want most is for you to be safe." Shen Ci's eyes crinkled. "Happy birthday, gege."

Shen Shiyan had no idea that Shen Ci was secretly embroidering the safety charm. That was highly unusual.

The safety charm held deep meaning for Shen Shiyan. He had received two in his life: one from his mother, and the other from his lover.

"Do you like it?" Shen Ci tilted his head to look at Shen Shiyan's expression.

"I love it." Shen Shiyan's eyes reddened slightly. He took it, held it in his palm for a long time, and then said, "Happy birthday, Shen Ci."

Shen Shiyan really didn't know what else Shen Ci could possibly need, so this year's gift was a notarized deed of voluntary transfer for all his properties and assets, with Shen Ci as the recipient.

The not-so-fortunate Shen Shiyan had missed Children's Day, and was born on June 2nd, the most ordinary day.

But June 2nd was also the most special. From the day he turned eighteen, Shen Shiyan's world was filled with light and happiness.