Chapter 21: The Lazy Educated Youth (21)

Chapter 21: The Gluttonous and Lazy Educated Youth (21)

"Me? What else could I possibly affect?" He Yubin said.

He couldn't deny that Luo Datou's "wife" had made his heart skip a beat, and he quickly looked away.

By all logic, "wife" wasn't a word used for a man, but coming from that man's mouth, he... didn't resist it at all.

He Yubin felt that he had long since become "abnormal" too.

And the culprit who made him "abnormal" was now looking all meek and mild, saying he was afraid of affecting him.

With that thought, He Yubin stepped forward, "I should be the one latching onto you... I know when to take a hint. I'll be on my way then."

"I never thought that way." Luo Chengxing caught up to him.

He paused for a moment, then said in a low voice, "I really do have feelings for you. I was the one who acted like a fool, treating you like that. I know you agreed to be with me because life would be easier with me. I just... didn't want to make you suffer. I've thought it through—if I really cherish you, I shouldn't make you do things you don't want to do."

Luo Chengxing had never been one to talk much, but this time, afraid that He Yubin might misunderstand him again, he poured it all out in one go.

"You think I don't want to?" He Yubin asked him.

Don't want what?

It took Luo Chengxing a moment to realize what He Yubin was referring to, and he nodded.

He wanted to say that He Yubin didn't have to force himself to be with him—he'd still take care of the chores for He Yubin and make sure he wasn't tired.

Luo Chengxing had also wondered if those memories that were getting foggier were just dreams, because why was He Yubin different from what he remembered? But when several things happened just as he remembered them, he knew it wasn't a dream.

The more he learned about He Yubin, the more he realized how vast the distance between them was. If he hadn't known that the college entrance exam would be restored in the future, he might have bitten the bullet and done whatever it took to keep him. But he knew—not only that the exam would be restored, but also that He Yubin would make it back to the city and get into college.

The He Yubin here hadn't done anything bad. The worst thing he'd done was grabbing a few bites of another kid's food at the educated youth compound when he first arrived at Shanbao Village. He'd later left charcoal for the compound—charcoal was way more valuable than a few bites of food, so you could say he'd paid it back.

Luo Chengxing had been moving the platform at the brigade office for half a day, and the two had taken their sweet time on the road, so there was hardly anyone on the road by now.

He Yubin didn't know what Luo Chengxing was silently thinking about. He looked around and saw a patch of woods not far ahead.

"Come on, let's go over there." He Yubin said grimly.

Luo Chengxing was still thinking about the memories when he saw He Yubin pointing at the woods. Even though things were a bit tense between them, a man's gotta go...

He hesitated and said, "We'll be home in a bit—can you hold it in a little longer?"

He Yubin didn't bother responding. He grabbed Luo Chengxing by the arm and dragged him into the woods. Sometimes he really wanted to know what was going on in that man's head.

If Luo Chengxing didn't want to go, not even two He Yubins could have budged him. He let He Yubin pull him along into the woods.

Just as Luo Chengxing was wondering what He Yubin wanted to do, he heard him say, "Luo Datou, I'll tell you right now—let's see who's really influencing who, and who's scared of getting caught!"

With that, he yanked Luo Chengxing and suddenly planted one on him. Luo Chengxing was a bit taller, so He Yubin had to crane his neck up just to reach him.

This was nothing like before.

The wind whistled past their ears, making the branches in the woods creak and groan.

If anyone passed by, they would have seen the two figures overlapping behind the trees.

He Yubin clumsily pressed their lips together, like some kind of little animal, and it seemed more about letting off steam than anything else.

Luo Chengxing kept his eyes open, He Yubin's face clearly reflected in them. He Yubin had closed his eyes, his lashes fluttering, like a little brush sweeping back and forth across Luo Chengxing's heart.

Having been outside for so long, he should have felt cold, but from that moment on, Luo Chengxing felt heat spreading from his chest all the way down to his fingertips.

He forgot to move, standing there in a daze as He Yubin pressed up against him, until He Yubin had gotten it out of his system and let him go.

He Yubin had cooled off, and the wind had calmed him too. Avoiding Luo Chengxing's burning gaze, he started spouting nonsense: "I've got more guts than you, so I'm not your wife—you've gotta be my wife."

When he didn't hear Luo Chengxing respond, he frowned and looked at him, only to find the guy still standing there dumbstruck, staring straight at him like he was trying to burn a hole through him.

He Yubin figured he knew way more than the guy and had always thought he was rough around the edges and slow on the uptake.

He blurted out, "You keep calling me 'wife'—do you even know what two people do together?"

Luo Chengxing said, "...I know."

"Then why haven't you done it with me?" He Yubin sneered. "You scared?"

"...I'm not." Luo Chengxing's voice was extremely low, with a hint of hoarseness.

He Yubin glared at him. "So you're saying I don't have the guts?"

"I didn't say that." Luo Chengxing said helplessly.

He felt that sometimes He Yubin's thoughts were like mountains away from his own—he could never guess what He Yubin was thinking.

He Yubin said, "Whoever chickens out is a coward."

Luo Chengxing didn't respond, just silently watched him.

The two had been outside for quite a while, and the wind in the woods was strong. He Yubin's face had turned red from the cold. Luo Chengxing grabbed his hand and found it cold too.

He tucked He Yubin's hand inside his own coat, but He Yubin yanked it out and turned to leave: "By the time you're done warming my hand, we'd already be home."

The two had finally gotten everything out in the open, no longer all stiff and awkward like they'd been the past few days.

Luo Chengxing thought for a moment, then reached out and took He Yubin's hand.

"This is what city folks do... you said it yourself."

He Yubin thought about it—he had indeed said that before, but back then he'd had other motives, and those words... were just to string him along and fool him.

There was no one on this road, and with their thick winter clothes, even if someone spotted them from far away, they wouldn't guess the two were holding hands.

Luo Chengxing felt the warmth in his palm that was impossible to ignore.

If he could, he wished this road could go on longer, and longer...

The two walked off into the distance, shoulders brushing.

Luo Chengxing kept thinking about what He Yubin had said. That evening, he heated up the heated brick bed, then brought a kettle of hot water into the room.

He Yubin sat on the bed, took off his lined jacket and set it aside, then looked up to see Luo Chengxing staring at him without blinking.

Feeling a little flustered under the guy's stare, he snapped at Luo Chengxing, "What are you looking at?"

Honestly, he'd only run his mouth impulsively that afternoon. If it actually came down to it... he was a little scared, but he didn't want Luo Chengxing to think he was a wimp, and he'd already said what he said that afternoon.

Luo Chengxing didn't speak, just stood there without moving.

He Yubin had the padded jacket draped over his shoulders, his voice trembling slightly: "You... come here."

His gaze drifted over to the kang.

Only then did Luo Chengxing move, like he'd been given the go-ahead. His Adam's apple bobbed as he walked over slowly.

His hands went to the buttons, undoing them one by one.

How could two men even...?

He Yubin had no idea, really. He figured two men probably couldn't do anything, right?

But one look at Luo Chengxing's eyes—like he wanted to eat him alive—and he swallowed his words.

He Yubin thought to himself, guys like Luo Datou, who looked honest but were anything but, were the scariest kind!

Luo Chengxing went over and blew out the oil lamp, and the room went dark, with just a few slivers of moonlight slipping through the thick papered window.

With his eyes useless, sounds got painfully clear.

The rustle of Luo Chengxing stripping off his clothes, his breathing getting closer and closer, the heat of his breath practically brushing against He Yubin's ears. His skin, bare in the air, even with the stove going, still prickled with goosebumps from the cold.

"Luo Datou... Luo Chengxing..." He Yubin called out in a daze, already regretting what he'd said. If he hadn't said it, maybe the two of them could've just gone on like before.

But regret didn't help. He Yubin could tell, clear as day, that things between them would never be the same...

"Hold me for a while..." Feeling the weight settle on him, He Yubin said, voice shaking.

Luo Chengxing gave a low "mm," slowly pulling He Yubin into his arms, fumbling around in the dark to kiss him.

Cold, and yet so hot...

"I'm a man, I can't make you..." Only when his leg brushed against something scorching and shocking did real fear kick in. He reached out and shoved at Luo Chengxing's chest.

"I was talking nonsense this afternoon!"

Luo Chengxing wasn't about to let him push away now. He Yubin shoved and shoved, but the man didn't budge an inch.

The man fumbled at first, making it worse for both of them, but then, like he'd figured it out on his own, he somehow found...

A short, sharp cry of pain cut through the night, then everything went quiet.

Even as his mind went hazy, He Yubin remembered Luo Fang's room was right next door, and he clamped his hand hard over his mouth.

Two heavy breaths tangled together.

He Yubin was the one who'd talked big, and now he was the one crying and shoving Luo Chengxing to stop.

But the man who usually spoiled him and took care of him had turned into someone else entirely. No matter what he said or did, the man wouldn't stop, just kissing his sweaty cheek and murmuring reassurances over and over.

After what felt like forever, when He Yubin's mind was completely gone, he heard the man let out a low growl right by his ear.

He Yubin felt like a limp noodle, sliding down, until finally he was pulled into a tight hold.

Luo Chengxing said, "Let's move out and live on our own, okay?"

He Yubin barely managed to pull himself together, his mouth opening and closing before he got out one word: "Scram."

Luo Chengxing held him tight, saying it over and over: "Just the two of us."

In Shancun village, when couples got married, some would move out and set up their own place.

It was already the dead of night, but Luo Chengxing was brimming with energy. He threw on his jacket, picked up the oil lamp, and went to the kitchen to fetch a pot. He filled it with water, came back, boiled it in the room, poured it into a basin, then wrung out the cloth that was soaking in it.

He Yubin was already half-conscious. The moment Luo Chengxing touched him, he instinctively flinched.

Luo Chengxing murmured soothingly, "I'm not doing anything... I'm just cleaning you up."

Only then did He Yubin relax.