After a night of sharing a bed with his crush, usually the MC would wake up in his future lover's arms, embarrassed as he tried to snake his way out of the man's tight embrace but this didn't happen for Wang Li. Instead it was Kong Da who woke up first, he was lucky enough to be immune to severe hangovers and felt completely normal after his slumber. Kong Da had forgotten he was sharing a bed until he had full woken up and felt he was laying on something lumpy. He moved his body a little and saw that he had been laying on Wang Li throughout the night.

The crushed boy was still asleep as Kong Da quietly moved his body to lay on his side, Wang Li was sleeping on his back like Kong Da had been and without the pressure of another human on him, he squirmed around in his sleep until he was laying right next to Kong Da's face, snoring and breathing onto him. Since the two of them hadn't brushed their teeth or bathed before going to bed, Wang Li had a faint smell of alcohol on his breath. Kong Da pushed Wang Li away gently before he sat up on the edge of the bed. He looked back at Wang Li a little unsure of what to feel and left the cabin.

The sun was shining brightly already and birds were chirping loudly as he leaned against the door. Kong Da stood outside enjoying the breeze when he saw the group of three men walk out of the showering area back to their cabin. A burning hatred erupted in his chest and he couldn't stop himself from walking towards the small group. Suddenly, Suo Su called out to him, stopping him before he could get too close. Suo Su sleepily walked over to Kong Da and jumped on his back before walking to stand in front of him.

"Why the sour face?"

Kong Da's eyes followed the men over Suo Su's shoulder until they had closed the cabin door, he tried to turn around to head back to his own cabin but Suo Su pulled his arm, and faced him seriously.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

Kong Da's anger was boiling up and he shoved Suo Su back hard, they had known each other for over twenty years and Kong Da had only physically fought with Suo Su a handful of times, though he lost every time. Suo Su stepped forward and grabbed a hold of Kong Da's shoulder tightly while his free hand smacked the back of the tall man's head. Kong Da hissed out but didn't fight back as he knew his anger wasn't directed at Suo Su and he was acting without thinking.

"You really want to fight me?"

"No, I'm not angry at you."

Suo Su lightened the grip on Kong Da's shoulder and massaged where he had grabbed. Kong Da rubbed the back of his head with a sour face when all of a sudden, Wang Li called out to them both.

"What are you two doing?"

Suo Su gave Wang Li a cheery good morning but Kong Da remained silent. Suo Su looked between the two of them then whispered to Kong Da.

"You're angry at Xiao Li?"

"No."

Wang Li was carrying a change of clothes and a towel in his arms but stopped beside Kong Da instead of walking to the washroom.

"Da Ge can you keep watch for me?"

Kong Da shook off Suo Su's hand as he told Wang Li to wait for him, he quickly walked into the cabin to grab a change of clothes and towel for himself. Suo Su was even more confused now.

"Why do you need the king to stand watch?"

Wang Li looked worried as if he didn't want to say but he forced his body to move closer to Suo Su, whispering about what happened last night, Suo Su was roughly the same height as him so it was easy whispering in his ear. Through the whole story, Wang Li's voice trembled slightly.

The story was short but infuriating and Kong Da arrived back in time to hold Suo Su back from running over to the men's cabin. He shoved Suo Su back while Wang Li looked over to where Suo Su was glaring, the perverted man was carrying his bag while his friends walked behind him, they were heading to their car. The man looked over at Wang Li before he quickly entered the back of the car and called to his friends to hurry up.

Wang Li subconsciously inched closer to Kong Da, even though the man couldn't do anything to him now, he still felt scared seeing him. Suo Su calmed down enough to not drag the man out of his car to beat him and he angrily stomped his way back to his cabin. Kong Da caught his breath before he guided Wang Li to the showers. During their shower, Suo Su had told JieJie about what happened, once everyone had gathered for breakfast she came over and hugged Wang Li tightly. She didn't say anything for a long time and finally pulled away to look at him with teary eyes.

"Are you okay Xiao Li?"

Wang Li felt pain in his heart seeing JieJie like this and whispered an unconvincing yes as he hugged her again. Fang Mei and BingBing weren't told about what had happened the night before and Wang Li didn't want them to know anyway, they tried to ask Suo Su and Kong Da what was wrong but they were ignored, a cold air coming from both men. The whole breakfast was spent with JieJie holding Wang Li, rubbing his back and head tenderly. By the time their meal had finished Wang Li was feeling better and everyone packed their bags in order to set off back home.

Suo Su had already retrieved JieJie's car sometime during the weekend and took Wang Li's bag from him, putting it into the back seat. Suo Su then turned to Kong Da.

"How are you getting back?"

"Train."

Suo Su didn't seem surprised and he rubbed Kong Da's head before walking over to his own car. Instead of sitting in the car, Wang Li made his way to where his bag was and grabbed it from the back seat, slinging it over his shoulder he then walked back and stood in front of Kong Da.

"I'll come too."

JieJie walked to her car after kissing Suo Su and called out to Wang Li.

"Xiao Li, are you leaving with Xiao Da?"

Kong Da was about to refuse the company but Wang Li beat him to it as he shouted a happy yes, JieJie didn't waste time and got into her car, starting the engine. Suo Su and JieJie left first with Fang Mei driving last; as her car passed the two men, both women made kissy faces and finger hearts towards them. Kong Da sighed quietly for many reasons and the pair made their way out of the campsite.

"The train will take twice as long, you should've taken the ride with JieJie."

Wang Li kicked small stones as he walked on the roadside towards the small town where the train station was. He was unbothered by Kong Da's words.

"The time doesn't matter. Also Ge. I didn't say this earlier but thank you for last night."

"There's no need to thank me."

The two didn't speak after this and slowly made their way through the town, the sun wasn't as bright as before and the few clouds offered temporary shade on their journey. Once they reached the station Kong Da went forward and bought both tickets, refusing to let Wang Li buy his own since he was a poor student.

The train didn't take long to arrive and they sat beside each other, Kong Da sitting next to the window. No matter where Kong Da went he always looked too big for his surroundings and it was the same for inside the train, his legs were awkwardly bent and he was slouched in his chair, Wang Li however, was able to sit comfortably and even kick his legs out. After the last call, the train departed. Wang Li suddenly remembered and took out the small box of truffles from his bag, handing them over to Kong Da.

"Here, Da Ge. I bought them for our small road trip but forgot about them. They should be fine to eat still."

Kong Da glanced over and opened the small box, taking four of the eight truffles and handed the box back to Wang Li. This move caused Wang Li's heart to flutter and he munched on the bittersweet truffles happily. Most of the train ride was rode in silence but Wang Li couldn't hold back from asking Kong Da something he had been wondering for a while.

"Da Ge, who was that man from last month?"

Wang Li's voice was hushed, even though the carriage was pretty empty, he still didn't want anyone else to hear in case his idol was involved in something illegal. A look of contemplation was written on Kong Da's face before he slowly shook his head.

"You don't need to concern yourself with him."

"Are you in trouble?"

Kong Da leaned back into the chair and closed his eyes, his mind drifted to the accident so many years ago and he let out a long defeated sigh.

"I'm not in trouble, it's a long story Wang Li."

Wang Li could see Kong Da didn't want to talk about it so he didn't push the topic any further. There was more silence between them before Wang Li spoke again.

"Why don't you call me Xiao Li? Everyone calls me Xiao Li, so you should too. Calling me by Wang Li is too distant."

Kong Da didn't bother answering and he instead caught up on missed sleep for the remainder of the trip. Wang Li sent a few messages to both his dad and Xu Chen before taking a quick picture of the sleeping Kong Da, when he was awake Kong Da's features were sharp and rigid but now that he was asleep, his face softened and Wang Li thought he looked cute.

. . . . . .

After a long and slow journey back, the train pulled into the station at the city centre and Wang Li gently shook Kong Da's arm; Kong Da awoke with a start and his eyes quickly darted around until he realized where he was and calmed down. Wang Li wanted to ask if he'd had a bad dream but Kong Da was already standing, waiting for him to get up and grab his bag. Wang Li quickly stood up and once both their bags were collected, they exited the train together, making their way to the exit. After walking for a while, Kong Da finally spoke to Wang Li.

"Are you heading back to your dorm?"

"Un, I still have a couple things to pack before I leave."

"Need help?"

Wang Li almost jumped for joy at Kong Da's question and he quickly accepted. Luckily the university he attended was situated in the center of the city, close to the train station. After the short walk, Kong Da followed behind the excited Wang Li to the dorm building. They headed up the few flights of stairs until they arrived at the small dorm room. Kong Da had never bothered with University and barely made it through the small amount of years he did attend school. Kong Da could tell this university wasn't low tier and felt out of place instantly. Wang Li didn't notice his idols awkwardness and pushed open the door, welcoming him into his shared room.

In the room were the standard two bunk beds and four small desks as well as a small bathroom next to the front door. Wang Li couldn't give much of a tour since it was one room, all he could point out was where he slept and which desk was his. Kong Da removed his shoes and sat on the swivel chair in front of the desk Wang Li had pointed to. Wang Li had already packed most of his things and there were only a few random items left on his desk, as well as his bedding his dad had bought him when he first entered University.

"There's not much I need to do Ge, you can just sit for a little."

Kong Da looked over the desk and found a crumpled piece of paper beside a stack of papers. Wang Li was busy taking the cover off the comforter on his bed as Kong Da smoothed out the paper. He thought it would be a practice exam or an essay Wang Li discarded but instead it was a guide on how to woo and seduce your crush. He silently read over the silly advice on the paper as he tried to hold back his laughter. He noticed how Wang Li had done most of these but not in the way the person who had written this had intended.

The first pointer was to keep eye contact and seem interested in whatever your crush was talking about, although Kong Da had noticed Wang Li's eye contact he also was aware that Wang Li wasn't always looking at his eyes and would often go into an almost daydream state.

Another piece of advice was to stretch in front of your crush, like Wang Li, this point confused Kong Da but he remembered the first morning spent at the campsite when the kid had woken him up by his loud stretching, it wasn't very seductive but more humorous. He thought back to how Wang Li had raised his arms as his body turned rigid and he had kicked one leg at a time whilst making inhumane noises. A soft smile appeared on Kong Da's face as he crumpled the piece of paper and put it back where he found it.

Fu~ Wang Li heaved out as he finally stuffed his bedding into his large suitcase and handed a plastic bag over to Kong Da, he asked him to put all the papers inside since he no longer needed them. Wang Li in the meantime, searched over the small room to make sure he wouldn't be leaving anything behind. The packing didn't take very long and the pair left the building, pulling a large suitcase each. Because Wang Li's packing didn't take long and the train ride was shorter than expected there was still a little over three hours until his bus ride. He didn't know where he could go with two large suitcases to wait but Kong Da had already started walking away from the building, Wang Li could only follow behind blindly.

Kong Da kept walking until they had made their way to the studio and he unlocked the door, pulling the heavy bag passed the front desk and into the large room. He then pulled out his equipment from the private room and Wang Li walked over to hear Kong Da say.

"We'll do the additions before your bus ride, I'll order you some food first."

The food arrived quickly and Wang Li ate on the sofa while Kong Da set up everything and looked over the large shelf filled with ink.

"Do you have anything in particular you want?"

"Plum blossoms, they were my grandma's favourite. In her backyard she had a large plum blossom tree."

Wang Li finished his food quickly and walked over to sit on the massage table while Kong Da mixed a few inks together in small ink holders, Kong Da moved quickly since he didn't want Wang Li to miss his bus, even though the small additions he was tattooing wouldn't take much time.

"Shirt off."

Wang Li did as he was told and felt less shy about removing his shirt in front of Kong Da, maybe it was because he saw him as a tattoo artist but it could also be because he felt comfortable around him now. Kong Da put on a black mask after he adjusted the needle and waited for Wang Li to lay back. Truthfully, Wang Li was excited but also not excited since he didn't miss the pain that came with getting a tattoo.

Once Wang Li finally laid back, Kong Da worked quietly and smoothly, he first made the bold outline of a plum blossom wreath beneath the young woman. After changing needles, he went back and began adding the detail and depth to the flowers. The wreath was completed quickly and Kong Da dipped his machine in water to remove excess colour before adding a yellow highlight around the edge of Wang Li's grandma portrait, he then added white to the very edge of the yellow before he wiped everything down with soapy water and helped Wang Li sit up.

"So quick."

"Go look in the mirror."

Wang Li carefully stood up from the table since he had fainted the last time, today he felt fine though and walked to stand in front of the mirror. Before, Wang Li hadn't been able to see the tattoo until he had returned to his dorm and he had of course, felt speechless at the work of art on his body but now seeing the small delicate flowers and the subtle halo around his grandma, Wang Li couldn't help but tear up. Kong Da had been busy cleaning off his equipment and discarding the used paper towels then ink when he heard quiet sniffles from behind him. When he turned around, Wang Li was standing close to the mirror staring at his sternum. A mix of sadness and happiness was reflected in the mirror.

Kong Da didn't say any words of comfort or go and hug Wang Li like other people would do, Wang Li didn't look like he wanted to be comforted, instead he looked like he wanted to feel the pain and mourning he was feeling at this time. After a few minutes Wang Li slowly regained his composure and walked back to Kong Da.

"Thank you, Ge."

The soft nasally tone Wang Li spoke in sent a shiver down Kong Da's spine and he stared at the soft face, Wang Li's eyes were a little red but not swollen from his crying. He looked as if he was in a trance as Wang Li stared back at Kong Da. His hand moved forward slowly, reaching out toward the man in front of him but their moment was interrupted when Wang Li's phone rang from across the room. Wang Li nearly jumped out of his skin and ran over to where the sound was coming from while Kong Da took in a few deep breaths and finished packing his equipment away.

"That was my Dad, he told me to wait outside because his work finished early so he can pick me up. "

Kong Da stood up and grabbed a small container of medicine and a fresh pair of gloves, he then motioned for Wang Li to come closer. Wang Li stood close to Kong Da while medicine was rubbed over the tattoo then afterwards saran wrap was placed over the small section and held down with medical tape.

"You already know how to take care of it so I won't tell you."

Un. Wang Li kept staring at Kong Da throughout the whole process, he didn't think over one weekend he would make so much progress with this man. He felt that over the summer break he would be able to make a proper confession to Kong Da.

Kong Da could see Wang Li staring at him in his peripheral, making him feel a little pressured and awkward. On one hand he enjoyed spending time with Wang Li but on the other, he felt like he was betraying that person from eight years ago. He didn't want to think about this though and finished everything up. Kong Da pulled the two suitcases for Wang Li, only leaving the duffle bag to be carried.

Outside, Wang Li could see his Dad waiting in his car and he waved excitedly. Mr Wang didn't get out but waved from his window just as enthusiastically as his son. The two men walked over to the car and Kong Da helped put the heavy bags in the boot of the car while Wang Li waited off to the side.

"Da Ge, I only live a little outside the city so I'll still be able to visit the studio often."

"Spend more time with your family first."

Kong Da patted Wang Li's shoulder awkwardly and made his way back to the studio, Wang Li stood outside the car until Kong Da had disappeared inside before he opened the car door. Mr Wang couldn't even get a hello out before his son had him in a bear hug. Wang Li held his dad tightly until his tattoo was touched and he pulled away. Mr Wang was pleased with the hug he received and turned the car on, pulling out onto the road.

"What are you doing at a tattoo studio?"

Wang Li had hinted that he had wanted a tattoo to his Dad since he didn't like keeping secrets but he hadn't told him that he had actually gone through with it. Wang Li started off by talking about Kong Da and how great he was at tattooing before revealing that he had gotten tattooed almost two months ago, the only reason he was there today was because of the add ons. Mr Wang was quiet for a while before he asked to see it.

"It's on my sternum Dad, when it's healed I'll show you."

"Hehe, your old man actually has a tattoo too."

"Really?!"

"Yeah, on my ribs. I got it done when I was around your age."

Mr Wang talked about how back in his day tattoos were associated with criminals and gangs, other than that if you had tattoos, you kept it hidden so as to not have a bad reputation. At the time he had watched some random movie with his friends and the main character had tattoos, he thought it was cool so on a whim Mr Wang walked into a tattoo studio in his area and got it done.

"What did you get?"

"A small Chinese dragon. Simple red line work, nothing else."

Wang Li felt like he was seeing his Dad in a new light, this man had been reserved and soft spoken his whole life. Never did he think this man would get anything like a tattoo. Wang Li's train of thought was interrupted though when his Dad spoke again.

"Xiao Li, I have something I need to tell you."