Qi Zui was afraid that Yu Yang would feel embarrassed, so before going to sleep, he set an alarm for seven o'clock in the morning. He planned to sneak back to his own room while Qi Father and Qi Mother were still asleep, pretending that nothing had happened.
After all, nocturnal escapades to the child bride's room for a secret rendezvous weren't suitable for the elders to know.
When setting the alarm, Yu Yang wasn't asleep yet. He was tired and sleepy, his eyes barely staying open. He glanced at Qi Zui's phone and hesitated, "Isn't it too early? It's almost seven in a few hours. Why don't you go back now?"
"No," Qi Zui set the alarm and tossed his phone aside, smiling. "We'll finish and then you can leave. Have we really resorted to secret rendezvous? Don't worry, they have plans tomorrow and won't be home with us. I'll catch up on sleep during the day."
Qi Zui lowered his gaze and smiled at Yu Yang, who was completely drained of energy. "Still have the energy to boss me around? Who was the one saying it wasn't possible just now?"
Yu Yang's cheeks were still flushed, and his expression seemed a bit unnatural at Qi Zui's words.
Qi Zui looked at Yu Yang, feeling an itch in his heart. He couldn't understand why someone who easily got embarrassed would be so uninhibited in bed, willing to do anything and respond to everything.
Qi Zui was eager to take advantage of Yu Yang before he fell asleep again. He reached up, turned off the light, and lay down, pulling Yu Yang into his embrace.
The night passed without words. Several hours later, Qi Zui's alarm clock went off.
Qi Zui quickly pressed the alarm off.
Yu Yang furrowed his brow slightly, and Qi Zui rubbed him in his arms. When Yu Yang fell back into a deep sleep, Qi Zui got up quietly.
It was 7 o'clock in the morning, Beijing time.
This was the most inspirational and tear-inducing time for Qi Zui and Yu Yang, two internet-addicted teenagers.
Qi Zui tried to move silently out of Yu Yang's room, slowly closing the door with caution. He breathed a sigh of relief and was about to head to the other end of the corridor when he bumped into Qi Mother, who was already wearing a delicate suit and had finished her makeup.
Qi Mother had already eaten breakfast and was sitting in the corridor, waiting for the driver. She glanced lightly at Qi Zui and continued applying her lipstick.
There was a slight awkwardness in the air.
Qi Mother put her lipstick back into her handbag and kindly said, "Why didn't you come out ten minutes later? If you had, your father and I would have already left, and we wouldn't have known that you shamelessly sneaked into someone else's room yesterday."
"Do you two really have to compete like this?" Qi Zui leaned against the corridor, completely convinced. "It's just seven o'clock, for heaven's sake..."
"We successful people are like this," Qi Mother's phone vibrated. The driver had arrived, so she stood up. "I'll read some third-tier magazines and get some inspiration about your father's and my daily routine... We'll take Yao Yao out for lunch in the evening. Bye."
Qi Zui reluctantly agreed and turned back.
Qi Mother frowned, "Where are you going?"
"If you've already seen me, why pretend?" Qi Zui confessed openly. "I'm going back to sleep with him for a while."
Despite knowing what kind of person her son was, Qi Mother rolled her eyes in exasperation.
With her handbag in tow, Qi Mother went downstairs, while Qi Zui turned back towards Yu Yang's room.
At noon, Qi Zui and Yu Yang woke up completely and got out of bed to freshen up.
Yu Yang had no idea about what happened in the morning. As he recalled their "secret rendezvous" from yesterday, he felt a secret joy.
Qi Mother had asked Qi Zui in detail about Yu Yang's likes, habits, and preferences several days in advance. So before leaving, she specifically instructed the housekeeper to prepare plenty of lunch so that the young guest wouldn't feel shy or go hungry.
The housekeeper worked diligently and set a table full of dishes, making Yu Yang momentarily think that Qi Zui's parents would be joining them.
"It's just the two of us," Qi Zui pulled Yu Yang to sit down. "It'll be good enough if they can join us for dinner on time... Let's eat."
With the parents absent, both of them felt much more relaxed. Yu Yang, as usual, ate the portion for two people by himself, and Qi Zui, who hadn't had a proper home-cooked meal in a long time, also ate a lot. After the meal, the housekeeper attentively brought a large plate of fruit. Qi Zui couldn't eat anymore and carried the fruit tray as he led Yu Yang to his own room.
"If you're tired, you can take a nap, or if you want to play games... the password to turn on the computer is your game ID," Qi Zui pinched Yu Yang's chin and sat down. "I'm benefiting from you. Usually, when I come home, my mom never prepares food like this for me."
Yu Yang smiled and whispered, "The housekeeper is kind... She walked me to my room last night and even asked for my clothes and shoe sizes, saying she'll buy me clothes when we go to Hong Kong next month."
"Let her buy. She has good taste," Qi Zui turned his head to look at Yu Yang. "Not sleepy at all?"
Yu Yang shook his head and sat in front of Qi Zui's computer. He picked up a photo album and looked up, "Is this your album? Can I take a look?"
"What's there that you can't see?" Qi Zui smiled. "The one my mom showed you yesterday was from when I was younger. This one is from after I entered high school. There are fewer photos as I grew up. Some of them are ones my dad found online and had them printed. They're either school photos or award photos, nothing special."
Anything related to Qi Zui, Yu Yang found interesting.
Starting from the first page, Yu Yang flipped through the album slowly, while Qi Zui played a trick and sat on the carpet, lightly pinching Yu Yang's ankle.
Yu Yang glanced at him and blushed slightly.
The spot Qi Zui was pinching was where he had repeatedly kissed last night.
Feeling uneasy, Yu Yang pulled his leg back, but Qi Zui immediately pulled him down to the floor. They sat together on the floor, looking at the photo album.
Qi Zui grabbed a cushion and made Yu Yang sit against it, while he wrapped his arms around Yu Yang from behind, explaining each photo to him.
"This one was taken during our military training in the first year of high school. I didn't want to take it... with such short hair, I looked like I just came out of a juvenile detention center. My dad disagreed and insisted on having a memento."
"This one was taken in the first half of the second year. During summer vacation, I participated in some kind of coding summer camp, but I got kicked out... because I didn't study seriously and spent all my time playing games on their high-end computer."
Yu Yang couldn't help but suppress his laughter.
"This one was taken in the second half of the second year," Qi Zui felt that Yu Yang was laughing, so he leaned his head and planted a kiss on his face before continuing, "It was my birthday... nothing special."
Qi Zui flipped through the pages and shared anecdotes with Yu Yang, trying to pick out the interesting ones. Yu Yang listened attentively.
When they reached the last page, Qi Zui unexpectedly smiled, "Oh, there's still this one."
The photo on the last page had visibly lower resolution. In the picture, a young Qi Zui sat behind a computer wearing headphones, focusing on the monitor.
Yu Yang's eyes lit up, he paused for a moment, and whispered softly, "When was this taken?"
"I was already playing professionally at that time. It should be... in the northern region?" Qi Zui carefully examined the photo and nodded. "I was wearing so many clothes, so it must have been in a northern city. The conditions weren't great back then. I was playing in an offline tournament at an internet cafe."
Yu Yang's lips moved.
"My dad downloaded it from the internet, right?" Qi Zui took out the photo, looked at the date on the back, and nodded. "It's from that time when I won first place."
Yu Yang took the photo and looked at it for a while, his gaze filled with complex emotions.
Qi Zui bit Yu Yang's ear, "Was I handsome back then?"
Yu Yang smiled and nodded.
Qi Zui's phone rang, and he stood up to answer the call. Yu Yang held the photo by himself and quietly looked at it for a while.
Yu Yang carefully tried to recall, but he couldn't remember if he had actually met Qi Zui back then.
He was too young at the time, and although he ate and slept at that internet cafe every day, he didn't have the leisure to pay attention to other people or things.
It's possible that he had seen Qi Zui, but it's also possible that he hadn't.
He truly had no recollection.
Yu Yang caressed the photo, unintentionally recalling various memories from when he first left home. After a while, Yu Yang suddenly realized that the resentment he used to feel when thinking about his childhood experiences had vanished.
The scenes of his stepfather's domestic violence no longer stirred any emotions within him.
The dim memories of the past seemed to have frozen in the photographs, quietly placed there, no longer causing any pain in Yu Yang's heart.
Lost in thought for a moment, Yu Yang carefully placed the photo back in its original position.
The nightmare that he once believed would haunt him for a lifetime had gradually dissipated without him even realizing it.
"It's my mom on the phone," Qi Zui hung up, "She's asking if we've had lunch... Are you still looking at the album?"
Yu Yang placed the album back, saying, "I'm done looking."
"Captain..."
Yu Yang held Qi Zui's hand, feeling a bit shy as he leaned in to kiss him.
Qi Zui smiled and looked at Yu Yang, "What's wrong? Tell me... which photo made you so proactive? I'll find it and make a hundred copies."
Yu Yang gently licked Qi Zui's lips and whispered softly, "No, it's just... I wanted to kiss you."
Qi Zui could tell that Yu Yang had something else to say but didn't expose him.
Although they were deeply in love, both of them were adults and were not obligated to report every emotional fluctuation to their partner.
It was necessary to keep certain aspects of their privacy and occasionally play ignorant.
Otherwise...
Qi Zui lovingly looked at Yu Yang, thinking about what he could use to threaten and coax him tonight.
The innocent Yu Yang had no sense of alertness whatsoever and even nodded when asked if he could sneak into Qi Zui's room after Qi Parents fell asleep.
Yu Yang was still young.
At night, Qi Mother called him and told him the address of a private kitchen, asking him to bring Yu Yang out for dinner.
The four of them had dinner together.
"It's already so late," Qi Mother shook her head after they returned home, looking at the time. "We talked and ate for too long... you should rest early."
She was addressing Yu Yang, and he nodded. After spending two days together, Qi Mother had become quite familiar with him. "Even though it's your vacation, don't stay up too late, and try not to use your phone before bed."
Yu Yang smiled and nodded.
Qi Father also nagged for a bit before going upstairs with Qi Mother.
They each returned to their own rooms.
After taking a shower, Qi Zui came out of his room. Qi Mother had just removed her makeup and was wearing a face mask when she encountered her biological son, who was holding keys and preparing to sneak out for a tryst.
This time, Qi Zui wasn't even embarrassed anymore.
Qi Mother closed her eyes, pretending not to see her own son.
In front of Qi Mother, Qi Zui unlocked Yu Yang's room without any hesitation and boldly walked in.
Yu Yang was in the shower, and the clean underwear and pajamas he would wear later were carelessly placed on a clothes rack outside the small bathroom.
Qi Zui leaned against the clothes rack, holding the pajamas and underwear, and stifled his laughter as he waited.
Fifteen minutes later, with a face flushed red, Yu Yang finally revealed the "secret" in the photo just to get back his two pieces of clothing.
Qi Zui insisted that he and Yu Yang must have met during that time and forcefully moved the time they first met a few years earlier.
"Look how destined we are," Qi Zui said, returning only the pajamas to Yu Yang while keeping the underwear in his pocket. He pressed Yu Yang against the wall and suggested, "In the future, if someone asks us when we met, let's say it was during that time, alright?"
"..." Yu Yang struggled and said, "No one would ask about that..."
"Why wouldn't anyone ask?" Qi Zui paused for a moment and quickly adapted, "Even if no one is curious, so what? If someone asks, I'll tell them, and that's the end of it..."
Yu Yang's mind was filled with thoughts of his underwear. Whatever Qi Zui said, he just nodded along.
"Half-hearted..." Qi Zui seemed dissatisfied. "Why are you only thinking about yourself? You're just missing a pair of underwear, but there are kids in Africa who may not even have pajamas. Have you ever thought about that?"
Yu Yang was at a loss.
Yu Yang took the initiative to embrace Qi Zui and couldn't resist biting his shoulder.
"You little wolf." Qi Zui chuckled softly. "Let's forget about this time... but next time, let's not play hide-and-seek, okay? If something real happens, let's not keep secrets from each other, alright?"
Yu Yang was taken aback.
Qi Zui turned his head and kissed Yu Yang, whispering, "We've already met each other's parents. We should be open with each other, don't you think?"
Yu Yang buried his face in Qi Zui's shoulder and nodded gently.
They had already met each other's parents. They were already a family.
