Bai Luochuan rarely wore formal clothes, looking like a young master attending a banquet, and his hair was carefully groomed. He put his coat in his hand and only wore a white shirt and black trousers. He held the paper bag and stood in front of Mi Yang. He looked at him for a while before saying, "Let's go to the calligraphy and painting exhibition. Grandpa's old friend came and sent an invitation to invite him to go."
Mi Yang asked: "Is Grandpa Bai back too?"
Bai Luochuan said: "No, he stayed to attend the banquet."
He stood for a while and then said, "I saw your text message."
The rest of the story is clear without asking. Young Master Bai sneaked out as soon as the banquet started and ran back to Shanhai Town to find him.
Mi Yang's mouth moved a little, and when he looked at him again, his eyes were a little bright, and he couldn't help but bend them up: "Are you going back tonight?"
Bai Luochuan's face was still tense, and he said in a hard tone: "The driver left."
Mi Yang turned on the flashlight, illuminated the way and led him back, and said with a smile: "Then why don't you stay here for one night before going back?"
Bai Luochuan hummed and didn't say much, but he followed him.
Mi Yang took him home and whispered to him, "When you came this morning, did you ask my grandma to go with you? You are 'holding the emperor hostage to control the princes', do you know that?"
Bai Luochuan said: "I am just prepared for any eventuality. It's your fault that you always disobey."
Mi Yang said, "It happened during the day." He stopped, turned around and looked at him and said, "Shall I apologize to you?"
Bai Luochuan was stunned for a moment, and instead of feeling relaxed, he seemed to be even more nervous. Mi Yang was very obedient, but he had never been so obedient. His little darling still had his own ideas, and his sudden apology was completely unexpected.
Mi Yang ignored him, rubbed his nose and said: "I know you gave me the phone with good intentions, I didn't do that to you on purpose, but I really can't take something worth thousands of dollars. We are all students now, and we are using our family's money. Taking such an expensive thing all of a sudden..."
Bai Luochuan interrupted him and said, "I bought that with my own money. Do you want it?"
Mi Yang was stunned for a moment and said, "You bought it with your own money? Where did you earn the money from?"
Bai Luochuan asked him again: "Do you want it?"
Mi Yang thought for a long time before nodding and saying, "Okay, if it's money you earned yourself, I'll take it, and I'll buy you something good when I make money in the future."
Bai Luochuan's lips curled up for a second, but he quickly raised his eyebrows and said, "I'll tell you clearly next time. If you don't want it, I'll really throw it away."
Mi Yang said, "Then you should change your temper. When you get angry, you throw everything out. Have you forgotten the scolding you got for throwing the quilt when you were a kid?" He turned around and poked Bai Luochuan's waist with his finger. "When you were in Beijing, you promised me that you would change. Have you changed?"
Bai Luochuan held his wrist and said, "You threw it first this time."
Mi Yang argued with him in a low voice all the way back, and by the time they arrived at the small courtyard where Old Lady Cheng lived, the situation had basically recovered. Bai Luochuan looked at him lazily and didn't let him off, and he just replied with a few words in a lukewarm manner, which was particularly irritating.
When he entered the courtyard and saw Old Lady Cheng, Bai Luochuan changed into a good boy again and went over to greet the old lady. He was always reserved and polite when meeting elders, and he never got bored no matter whether Old Lady Cheng or Mi Hong talked to him, and he stood there and listened patiently.
This time, Old Lady Cheng didn't say much. She smiled and asked them to sit down. She stood up and said, "You guys sit down. I'll go over there and take a look. The girls have been out playing for a while. I'll go and ask why they haven't come back yet." Then she walked out slowly, fanning herself with a palm-leaf fan.
There was a bamboo chaise longue with one armrest under the tree. It was as wide as a small bed. Bai Luochuan sat on it and pulled Mi Yang to sit next to him. The two of them sat side by side to admire the moon.
The summer heat in the small town is much less severe, especially at night, when the courtyard is a great place to cool off.
Mi Yang wanted to ask him how he and Wang Bing celebrated the festival, but Master Bai refused to tell him. Mi Yang did not force him and sat with him on the bamboo chaise longue to look at the stars through the branches.
Mi Yang learned on the spot and pointed out the constellations that Old Lady Cheng had taught him to him: "See, the spoon-shaped one is the Big Dipper, and the brightest one is Yuheng, which is in the middle... Not that one, let me show you how to recognize it."
Mi Yang held Bai Luochuan's hand, raised it up, and slowly drew a spoon shape across the starry sky. He said softly, "In this way, the head and handle point south, and the whole world will be summer."
Bai Luochuan felt his fingertips itchy when he held his hand, but he did not break free and asked him again, "Which one is Yuheng?"
Mi Yang held his hand, moved it up a little, put his fingers on the back of his hand and tapped, "Here, it's here."
Bai Luochuan felt an itch on the back of his hand again, very light, like a bite from a small insect, but it went all the way to the tip of his heart, itchy and painful, and his face became hot. He responded, and when Mi Yang let go of his hand, he pretended nothing had happened and put his hands together, rubbed the back of his hand with his fingers, and it was no longer so itchy.
The weather was great, the sky was a deep blue, and you could see clouds moving around.
Bai Luochuan sat there and looked up. In addition to the night sky, there was also the big tree above their heads. The shade of the tree spread out to form a shadow that was shrouded in shadow, like an isolated island.
Bai Luochuan's heart moved slightly.
He suddenly fell in love with the tree. Its shade marked out an area. Inside were he and Mi Yang, and outside were the road, the houses, and everyone else.
Everyone except him and Mi Yang.
Bai Luochuan smiled, saw Mi Yang looking at him, then quickly put his hand to his lips and coughed to cover it up.
Mi Yang asked him, "What's wrong?"
Bai Luochuan calmed down, looked at him and said, "Nothing, what have you been doing these two days?"
Mi Yang said: "It's just like usual. I went to my grandfather's place to learn things. He's old, and I don't feel comfortable with him eating alone, so I cooked and ate with him before coming back. Then my grandma would have to feed me again. The old lady thought I didn't have enough to eat outside and was wronged. If I didn't eat, she would cry with heartache. What can I do? I can only eat. These past few days, I was so full that I could hardly walk..."
Bai Luochuan laughed, moved closer to him, and said, "Let me touch it."
Mi Yang pushed him and said, "Stop making trouble."
Young Master Bai was very strong, and Mi Yang couldn't push him away. In the end, he let him reach his hand inside his clothes and touch his belly. It was not as soft as before, but it was still as flexible as a teenager, and the skin was delicate and fair. Bai Luochuan put his hand there and pinched it, saying, "It's a little fatter, but it's good."
Mi Yang felt itchy from his touch and pulled his hand out. Bai Luochuan’s hand came out, but he leaned over and leaned on Mi Yang like a boneless person. He put his chin on his shoulder and asked, “I wanted to ask you just now, where is your sister?”
Mi Yang said: "Go out."
Bai Luochuan said: "Oh, why is it so quiet? Where did she go?"
Mi Yang said: "I went to catch cicada monkeys with the other children from my aunt's family... Oh, that is, golden cicadas. They probably won't sleep tonight. Yesterday, grandma told them about the Thirty-Six Stratagems. When they heard about the Golden Cicada Shedding its Shell, they all said they would observe it all night."
Bai Luochuan asked him: "Why didn't you go?"
Mi Yang looked up at him and saw that the man was smiling with the corners of his lips raised, and it was obvious that he did it on purpose.
Bai Luochuan held his hand, the smile on his face still lingering, and whispered, "You're not going. You're afraid of bugs, you're a squeamish person."
Mi Yang tried to resist: "I am not."
Bai Luochuan said: "I used to raise a few silkworms but I didn't dare to touch them."
Mi Yang: "Hey, I'll let Sang Ye go too..."
Bai Luochuan: "I was so scared that I cried the first time."
Mi Yang was angry and said, "... That's enough!"
Bai Luochuan lay on the bamboo couch and laughed for a while, then suddenly said, "There is also a tree in Grandpa's yard, it is said to be a Chinese toon tree." He whispered two lines from Zhuangzi, with a bit of relaxed contempt: "In ancient times, there was a big Chinese toon tree, which was eight thousand years old for spring and eight thousand years old for autumn."
The wind blew through the leaves, making a rustling sound. There were few people walking outside, and the only sounds were the chirping of insects and the occasional cicada.
Bai Luochuan held his hand and suddenly said, "Xiaoguai, let's not quarrel anymore, okay?"
Mi Yang said: "Yeah."
Bai Luochuan smiled with his eyes curved. His neatly groomed hair had a few loose strands falling on his forehead, making him look even more lively like a teenager. His handsome face was enough to attract people to look at him even when he was not smiling. When he smiled, it was even more like a spring breeze, and people couldn't take their eyes off him.
Those who were catching cicadas came back. Hearing the chirping voices of children getting closer and closer to the courtyard, Bai Luochuan suddenly pulled Mi Yang up and ran to his bedroom together, and turned off the lights.
The Cheng family's courtyard was similar to a quadrangle courtyard. Mi Yang lived in a separate room on the side. Once the doors and windows were closed, it was pitch black. Mi Yang groped in the dark for a few times, being careful not to stumble, and asked him, "What are you doing?"
Bai Luochuan said, "Shh, don't talk." As if he was worried, he went to Mi Yang's mouth and gently covered it.
After a while, I heard someone come in. A little girl said excitedly, "I caught so many. I want to show them to my cousin!"
Michelle's voice was particularly clear, and she said crisply, "No, you can't show it to my brother!"
Another child asked, "Why?"
Michelle said: "It's too ugly. My brother doesn't like ugly things."
The little girls were chattering outside, and at the urging of the adults, they carried their things and went to the main room together.
Bai Luochuan suddenly lowered his head and asked in his ear: "Do you like me?"
Mi Yang's ears turned red, and he asked nervously, "Ah?"
Bai Luochuan put his ear close to his and chuckled, "I'm asking if you like me. Isn't my face pretty?"
Mi Yang's face was burning hot: "It's, it's okay."
Bai Luochuan said proudly: "So you like it?"
"You, why did you turn off the lights just now? I can't see anything..." Mi Yang changed the subject, his heart beating so fast that it almost jumped out of his throat, "I want to change clothes and get ready for bed."
Bai Luochuan said: "Wait a moment."
Mi Yang didn't know what he was waiting for, but Master Bai was in a good mood for a rare time, so he was happy to coax him, so they waited in the room in the dark for a while.
Not long after, Michelle's voice came again. The little girl ran over, pushed the door, exclaimed, and said, "Why is the door closed? Brother, are you asleep?"
After calling for a while, no one responded in the dark little room, so the girl left by herself.
Mi Yang's mouth was still covered by Bai Luochuan. After his sister left, he pulled his hand down and whispered, "Why are you covering it? I'm not shouting. When did you lock the door?"
Bai Luochuan snorted and didn't reply to him.
Mi Yang thought about it and felt like laughing again. Bai Luochuan had the skill of locking the door since Mi Xue could walk at the age of one. His moves were steady, accurate and ruthless, and he always defeated the enemy with one move.
The two of them washed up secretly, then went back to the room in the dark and lay down together. Bai Luochuan was a bit taller than Mi Yang, and when they were lying on the bed, Mi Yang could accidentally kick his calf if he turned over.
Bai Luochuan snorted, "I've had cramps these past two nights, and you kicked me."
Mi Yang enviously said: "It's going to grow taller, that's great."
Bai Luochuan said: "Can't you say something nice?"
Mi Yang thought for a while, rubbed the edge of his pillow, smiled a little embarrassedly and said: "Actually, I came to see you in the afternoon."
Bai Luochuan's heart softened immediately.
After a while, she hugged him and said, "I went to get you a copybook this afternoon. I thought if you didn't come to see me tomorrow, I would bring it to you... It's in the paper bag I was carrying just now."
Mi Yang said: "Ah, why didn't you tell me earlier?"
Bai Luochuan said, "Good morning? You followed those people to stroll on the street early in the morning! I counted, about ten people, it was really lively, there were four or five girls alone, right? You were talking to the girl next to you, are you familiar with each other?"
Mi Yang lowered his eyes and said, "That girl is pretty, isn't she?"
Bai Luochuan pinched his chin, made him look at him, lowered his voice and said angrily: "Why, do you still want to fall in love early?"
Mi Yang dodged his gaze for a moment and said, "No, I'm just asking casually."
Bai Luochuan sneered: "You are not behaving well."
Mi Yang: “What?”
Bai Luochuan hugged him tighter, and began to grind his teeth through his clothes eagerly: "When we were quarantined in the hotel before, you did whatever I said and were so obedient. What's wrong with you now? You went out to play with them, always spoke for them, and even planned to have a premature love affair. You are really not obedient at all. I'm going to punish you."
Mi Yang was pressed on the bed by him, and was a little unhappy: "What are you doing, didn't we just make peace? Bai Luochuan let go, it hurts!"
Bai Luochuan bit the soft flesh on the back of his neck and rubbed it with his small fangs. The man under him trembled and begged for mercy with nice words before he let go. He rubbed it hard with his thumb and said, "I have to teach you a lesson!"
Mi Yang rolled to the innermost part of the bed wrapped in a towel, touched it himself and said, "You must have bitten it, it hurts a lot!"
Bai Luochuan said: "Come here."
Mi Yang refused, so he grabbed it and blew on it twice, and said, "It's not broken, but the mark is a little deeper."
Mi Yang said in a muffled voice: "Don't bite next time, it hurts."
Bai Luochuan flicked his forehead and said, "Then you should learn your lesson. It's not that I don't allow you to make friends. I never stop people like Zhou Tong, but I can't do that with Wang Bing and his friends. There's something wrong with them."
Mi Yang wanted to ask more, but Bai Luochuan pushed him down to sleep and said, "I'm sleepy. I stayed with Grandpa and the others for a long time today, and came back in the middle of the night. I'm really tired."
Mi Yang had a lot of questions in his mind, but Young Master Bai had already closed his eyes, indicating that he was about to fall asleep, so he could only fall asleep with doubts.
Bai Luochuan had that dream again.
The scene in the dream changed, but the little guy in his hand did not change. It was still his favorite one and his only one.
He was not as anxious as the last time. Instead, he wanted to see his face first and see who he was. His heart was beating like a drum and he couldn't wait to confirm what he was thinking.
The person turned around. First, his soft and fluffy hair was soaked by the sweat on his forehead and stuck to his face. His face was the size of a palm, his skin was fair, his nose was straight, and his pair of slightly droopy puppy eyes were the same as when he was a child. When he was wronged, he would look at people softly, pitiful and cute. At this moment, he must have been bullied badly and was about to cry. He opened his mouth and called his name: "I'm not running around, I'm here..."
…
Bai Luochuan woke up when he heard him speak.
The pain in my lower abdomen hasn't been relieved yet, and my whole body is filled with a scorching heat as if the blood is surging.
His Adam's apple rolled twice, and suddenly he raised his hands to cover his eyes and laughed silently, just as he thought.
—It’s indeed “him”.