After Feng Qi got over the shock and realized what Jun Yang was really asking, he was overcome with joy. “Yes, of course, I would!” He repeated the same thing multiple times, a sign of his overflowing excitement. He had been asking Jun Yang that question for so many times already, but he did not expect in the end, it would be Jun Yang who turned the proposition back to him and it would be him who had to give the approval to kickstart their romantic relationship.

Naturally, Feng Qi did not hesitate at all to say yes. He had been meaning to get that going ever since he first laid eyes on Jun Yang and made it his life’s mission to get the young man to be his boyfriend. In other words, he was over cloud nine when he heard that question from Jun Yang.

Jun Yang found Feng Qi’s happiness to be infectious. Feng Qi had always been a happy-go-lucky person but Jun Yang had never witnessed the young appear so openly joyous before. And his heart swelled when he realized it was him who was responsible to make such a big smile appear on Feng Qi’s face. That helped him affirm the correctness of his decision. After all, from the little that he’d learned, one of the hallmarks from being in a loving relationship was the reaping of joy from the happiness that you were able to elicit in your partner.

Compelled by the joy that filled up his mind, Feng Qi leaned forward, attempting to plant a celebratory kiss on his boyfriend’s lips. Perhaps he saw it as something to mark the start of the different chapter in their relationship. It felt like the natural thing to do.

However, before his lips could get anywhere near the proximity of his target, Jun Yang pushed up both of his hands to stop the young man’s advance. Feeling the resistance, Feng Qi leaned slightly backwards and raised his eyes in a questioning arc, asking non-verbally, ‘Why are you stopping me all of the sudden?’

Jun Yang turned bashfully away and whispered the explanation, “I don’t want us to move too fast. You surprised me at the auditorium on stage and the kiss earlier was to get you to understand the thought in my mind, to share it with you. But after this, we have to act more prudently.”

There was evident disappointment and disapproval on Feng Qi’s face but Jun Yang stuck by his guns. There were many reasons for him to come to a decision like this.

One, he didn’t want to create the impression that he was an easy target, a low hanging fruit. He still had his face to maintain.

Two, he could imagine how distracting it would be if Feng Qi just carried on requesting kisses from him twenty four seven. How was he going to go on with his life like that? As enjoyable as he knew that would be, he had to set a bearing for himself in life and he was not going to allow himself to get lost in the pursuit of pleasure and abandon his other responsibilities in life.

In a relationship, there was always a party who was the more level-headed one. It was clear who played that role in this particular relationship. Feng Qi was more prone to follow his instinct compared to Jun Yang and so while Feng Qi was off heeding the impulse and compulsion from the heat of the moment, there had to be someone who was there to reign things in.

Feng Qi would go on to jokingly call Jun Yang a kill-joy due to this personality trait of his but that was one of the reasons Feng Qi was attracted to the young man in the first place. On top of that, Jun Yang’s faux seriousness could sometimes lead to highly amusing situation for Feng Qi to enjoy. Furthermore, it was due to the fact that Jun Yang was so prudent and serious that it presented Feng Qi with the perfect opportunity to come up with plots and plans to embarrass and fluster Jun Yang, after all, that was literally Feng Qi’s favorite pastime before and after this momentous event within their relationship. Of course, it was all done in good humor, aimed to help Jun Yang unwind, and it was not Feng Qi’s intention to humiliate his boyfriend. Even though Jun Yang didn’t believe it for a minute, Feng Qi did know where to draw the line.

The third and last point was related to a Chinese idiom, the rarer something is, the more valuable it will be. As odd as it was to describe an action of affection in this manner, Jun Yang wanted to ration out his kisses. He didn’t want to treat it like an everyday thing, he wanted to reserve it for special occasion only. By having the kiss a constant thing, one that could be given out just like that, Jun Yang felt that it would cheapen its significance and meaning.

After hearing Jun Yang’s lengthy and honestly quite confusing explanation, Feng Qi groaned audibly, “Jun Yang, why are you doing this? Why can’t we just enjoy ourselves?”

“Because a mindless chase after the epicurean only leads one down the path of idle contentment,” Jun Yang rattled off an excuse that he memorized from some book on the topic of philosophy.

Feng Qi looked at his new boyfriend with inscrutability in his eyes. Even Jun Yang couldn’t tell what was on his mind, but he was prepared to fend off any attack should the young man try to sneak in for another smooch.

In the end, nothing like that happened. Feng Qi merely smiled a defeated smile and shook his head like he knew he was powerless before Jun Yang. He surrendered and said, “Fine, you win. You know I can’t say no to your demands.”

Jun Yang smiled, thinking he had the last laugh… oh, but how mistaken he was…

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