Chapter 62 - 2#
Chi Gui suppressed the faint bitterness in his heart and slowly stood up from the ground.
Jing Shun moved closer in time and gently held his wrist. “Chi Gui, are you okay?”
Chi Gui looked at him, took off his mask without hesitation, and said, “I’m fine. Let’s go eat too.”
Jing Shun knew this wasn’t a good time for a heart-to-heart. After confirming that his lover didn’t show any major emotional disturbance, he agreed. “Okay.”
After the meal.
A group movie-watching activity was held on the playground—a classic aesthetic film.
The children deep in the mountains had almost never experienced “watching a movie on the big screen,” so they watched intently. After the screening, they eagerly gathered around the volunteers to ask questions.
As one of the responders, Jing Shun was constantly surrounded by elementary school students. He willingly shared his knowledge of cinema and patiently answered everyone’s questions.
It wasn’t until the broadcast announced the principal’s urging for everyone to return to their dormitories that Jing Shun finally had a moment to rest.
Chen Yiming, who had been waiting, stepped forward to relay his boss’s instructions. “Mr. Jing, you’ll be staying in the last row inflatable tent tonight—the one with the yellow top.”
Jing Shun understood. “Okay.”
The mountain nights were chilly this season, and the playground was not originally suitable for sleeping outdoors. But thanks to the funds and supplies donated by the Chi family, the volunteer team’s tents had been upgraded and could fully withstand the cold outdoor weather.
Jing Shun walked to the designated tent in the last row. As soon as he lifted the curtain, he saw Chi Gui waiting inside.
Their eyes met, then looked away.
“It’s pretty spacious?”
Jing Shun glanced around the tent’s layout and couldn’t help teasing, “Following Chairman Chi sure comes with good accommodations.”
“Are you done with your work?”
“Yeah, I’ll go wash up first.”
Chi Gui handed over the toiletries he had prepared earlier. “Here.”
Jing Shun took them with a smile. “Wait for me.”
“Okay.”
After a quick wash outside, Jing Shun returned to the tent. He inhaled sharply and rubbed his slightly cold hands. “You know, the temperature difference inside and outside the tent is pretty big.”
Chi Gui quickly zipped the tent flap shut to keep the cold wind out.
He handed his lover a hot water bottle. “Warm up. We’ll make do tonight.”
“No need to make do—this is already great.”
Jing Shun held the hot water bottle and rested his head on Chi Gui’s shoulder. “Having you by my side makes me feel so at ease.”
Feeling the familiar scent of his lover, all his exhaustion seemed to vanish in that moment.
Chi Gui remembered what Jing Shun had said when he got out of the car earlier. “Is your lower back still sore?”
“Yeah, still a bit sore.”
Jing Shun murmured softly and took off his lumbar support.
He looked at his lover, who was so close, and his tone carried a hint of coaxing. “Teacher Chi, how about giving me a massage?”
Chi Gui didn’t refuse. “Lie down properly.”
The tent’s light was dimmed to the lowest setting. They lay on their sides, embracing each other.
Chi Gui deliberately warmed his palms with the hot water bottle before gently placing them on Jing Shun’s waist.
“Mmm.”
Jing Shun flinched sensitively, trembling like a puppy.
Chi Gui immediately stopped. “Hm?”
“It’s nothing.” Jing Shun muttered softly, suppressing the slight ticklish sensation. “I’m just ticklish—very sensitive.”
He volunteered to Chi Gui, “When the doctor did my pre-surgery checkup before, as soon as the instrument got close, I’d shiver.”
Chi Gui slid his warm fingertips across Jing Shun’s waist, hiding a hint of mischief in his eyes.
A sudden tingling sensation shot through Jing Shun.
He couldn’t help but whimper in surrender. “Ah, okay, okay! Either don’t massage me, or do it through the clothes!”
Chi Gui chuckled inwardly. “Why are you so ticklish? What will we do later?”
“I’ve always been like this. What can I do?”
Before, because of his lumbar injury, his sensitivity had decreased. Now that he was mostly recovered, he had become even more ticklish.
“I—”
Jing Shun was halfway through his sentence when he realized what Chi Gui was implying. He quickly stumbled over his words, his face flushing red.
Chi Gui teased him with a straight face. “Why did you stop?”
“You’re doing this on purpose!”
“No, I’m not. You’re just overthinking it!”
“…”
Jing Shun didn’t believe him.
He tossed the overly hot water bottle aside and tried to change the subject. “When you saw Gao Changqiu today, did you think of your own childhood?”
The smile in Chi Gui’s eyes faded slightly. He didn’t deny it.
The same loss of a mother at a young age, the same upbringing by grandparents—how similar their life trajectories were?
Jing Shun pulled the hand that had been resting on his waist back and interlaced their fingers. “Were you feeling down then? How about now?”
That fleeting moment of low spirits had been accurately caught by his lover, who had held onto it until now.
Chi Gui was moved. He kissed the back of Jing Shun’s hand. “Don’t worry. I’m fine now.”
“Really?”
Jing Shun confirmed repeatedly and then tentatively proposed, “Chi Gui, if Gao Xiaru’s brain tumor can be cured through surgery, I want to help their family financially.”
“…”
“I’ve saved some money. I originally planned to save enough to pay you back first, but if this money can save a little girl from suffering, I want to do that first. Is that okay?”
Jing Shun knew all too well the pain and torment caused by illness.
He was aware of his limited abilities, but since he had taken part in this charity campaign and accidentally learned about the Gao siblings’ plight, he couldn’t just stand by and do nothing.
“Baby.”
Chi Gui brushed his nose against Jing Shun’s—a gesture of helplessness, but even more so of fondness. “Do you really think, given our relationship now, that I would make you pay back the surgery fees from that agreement?”
Jing Shun hummed softly.
Chi Gui asked again, “Do you know who I went to see after the movie ended?”
“Who?”
“I went to see the principal and learned about Gao Changqiu’s family situation. It’s true.”
As Chi Gui said this, Jing Shun caught on. “You had the same idea as me?”
“Tomorrow, a small team was already planning to go distribute supplies nearby. Gao Changqiu’s village is on the charity route. I plan to go personally and check out the situation.”
“If it’s true, then of course we should help if we can.”
Chi Gui knew there were countless versions of “himself” in this world.
He couldn’t go back and lend a hand to his younger self, but at least now he had the ability to help these children.
Jing Shun’s eyes lit up. “That’s great! I’ll go with you tomorrow?”
“No.”
Chi Gui had already thought it through and spoke gently to negotiate with him. “Most of the mountain roads can only be climbed on foot. Given your current physical condition, you wouldn’t be able to handle it.”
“…”
Jing Shun sighed but couldn’t argue.
Chi Gui continued, “Once the charity activities at the school are done tomorrow morning, you can head back to Chuan City. I’ll have Chen Yiming accompany you on the return trip.”
“I’ll go with the small team to check things out. I’ll probably have to stay an extra day in the mountains. You wait for me at the hotel, okay?”
“Alright, I’ll listen to you.”
Jing Shun wouldn’t be stubborn and risk holding the team back. “Just be careful yourself. If there’s a signal, you have to message me to check in.”
“I will.” Chi Gui kissed his lips. “Are you very tired? Want to sleep?”
Jing Shun shook his head.
Though his body was exhausted, his mind was still wide awake.
He caught sight of the fabric covering the tent’s top. Curious, he asked, “Chi Gui, can that layer be removed to see the stars?”
“Yes. Do you want to see?”
Chi Gui reached up and easily pulled down the cover, revealing a transparent skylight.
“…”
Would there be stars?
Before Jing Shun could voice his doubt, he was stunned speechless by the spectacle of the starry sky that filled his view.
Without much air pollution in the mountains, visibility was high. Through that small window, the brilliance of the stars cascaded down, breathtakingly beautiful.
“Oh my god.”
Jing Shun adjusted his position, lying flat and resting his head on Chi Gui’s arm. “So beautiful.”
Chi Gui’s gaze never left his lover’s face, falling into those sparkling peach blossom eyes. “Yes, so beautiful.”
Jing Shun added, “You can’t see this many in the city. Hey, what star is that? It’s so bright.”
Only then did Chi Gui shift his gaze, carefully identifying it. “Sirius.”
The brightest star visible to the naked eye.
Jing Shun caught on a beat late and laughed. “You’re so quick.”
Chi Gui shared with him, “When I was little, in the summer, my grandpa would spread a cool bamboo mat in the yard, make me lie down, and teach me to recognize the stars.”
“I remembered them all, but I’d pretend not to know—point at one, ask about it, trying to stump the old man. But I always failed.”
Jing Shun couldn’t help but chuckle. “You were like that as a kid?”
“Yeah.”
Chi Gui retrieved the hot water bottle from the blanket and tucked it into Jing Shun’s arms. “Hold this. Don’t catch a cold.”
“I won’t catch a cold.”
Jing Shun snuggled back into Chi Gui’s chest, finally feeling drowsy. “Your arms are so warm.”
“Go to sleep.”
Chi Gui wrapped his arms around his lover, patting his back to coax him to sleep. “You’ve had a long day.”
Jing Shun closed his eyes and murmured with a smile, “Chi Gui, today I had this strange feeling, like I could see you as a child.”
“If only time could go back. I’d want to show you what I looked like as a kid too.”
Not the characters he played in movies, nor the frozen images on the internet.
But the most vivid, happiest version of himself.
Jing Shun’s thoughts grew heavy, blurring into drowsiness. “Too bad you never saw me when I was little.”
“…”
Chi Gui didn’t respond. He just patiently stayed by Jing Shun’s side until his lover drifted into a deep sleep, his breathing steady.
Only then did he lovingly kiss Jing Shun’s forehead and whisper softly:
“Baby, we did meet. You just forgot.”