Qi Beisong just threw down the pen for the business contract and jumped into the car to rush to Huang Village to find his baby.
Old Geng was eating sunflower seeds at the entrance of the village. When he saw his car, he called Cheng Ji and said, "Son, how come the guy who fell into the water and was rescued by you is back again? Is he here to give you a banner?"
"Who fell into the water? Who should I save?" Cheng Ji had no idea that Chen Chuan and the others were telling lies.
"That's the handsome guy wrapped in your big flowered quilt!" said Lao Geng.
Cheng Ji hung up the phone and ran to the back of the mountain without any protection. However, he was unlucky and was seen by Qi Beisong! He was really born in the Year of the Dog!
So Cheng Ji drove ahead in silence, while Qi Beisong drove slowly behind him, rolling down the window and asking, "Where are you going?"
Cheng Ji stopped suddenly, made a circle and walked back. Qi Beisong couldn't turn around on the mountain road, so he had to get out of the car and chase him.
Cheng Ji made another detour, and Qi Beisong continued to follow.
Cheng Ji ran very fast and Qi Beisong was not slow either. The two of them ran like idiots for almost two kilometers before they stopped one after the other.
Cheng Ji put his hands on his hips and panted, asking, "Why do you keep chasing me?"
"Why do you always run?" Qi Beisong was also panting.
"Where is the thank-you letter?" Cheng Ji asked.
"I forgot to write it down." Qi Beisong scratched his head, "Don't you care about honor?"
"..." Cheng Ji stretched out his hands and walked towards him quickly, shaking hands warmly, "Thank you, Master Qi, you are so wise!"
Qi Beisong was puzzled, but still very happy to be praised.
Cheng Ji sat down on a rock by the roadside. There were lush trees all around, but unfortunately, as the winter was not over yet, most of the trees were bare. But in half a month, spring would arrive in Hongcheng with the drizzle.
Qi Beisong went over and sat cross-legged opposite him, staring at his sweaty face and asked, "Why are you hiding from me?"
"..." Cheng Ji looked away, then turned around and asked with a frown, "Old Qi, don't you regret it?"
"???" Qi Beisong asked, "What do you regret?"
Cheng Ji said, "I thought about it all night yesterday, but I still couldn't figure it out. You are a prince with a promising future, why do you have to be with me? You can't catch me, and you can't control me. If you want to raise a lover, can't you find a docile one?"
Qi Beisong spat at him: "Who the hell wants to keep a mistress? Didn't you say that you are cheap? I like you, and you are an equal to me! Don't worry about who I am, just treat me as a fruit seller or a noodle shop owner, isn't that enough!"
"Have you made up your mind?" Cheng Ji asked.
"Um!"
Cheng Ji rested his chin on his hand: "... But I haven't thought about it yet."
He said nothing more after this, and just stared at his toes in silence. The biting cold mountain wind blew over him, and he was sweating and sneezed.
Qi Beisong actually moved to the upwind side to block the wind for him.
Cheng Ji looked up and met Qi Beisong's bright and enthusiastic eyes.
"It doesn't matter." Qi Beisong said, "I reflected on it after I went back. Some of the things I said yesterday were wrong. I didn't mean to force you. If you haven't thought it through, I'll wait for you to think it through and then give me an answer."
"What if I say no?" Cheng Ji asked.
Qi Beisong frowned: "It must be done!"
"..." Cheng Ji said, "You haven't reflected on your actions at all."
"Tell me, how long will it take?" Qi Beisong said, "I'll give it to you."
Cheng Ji couldn't give a time limit, so he simply changed the angle: "You're sticking with a poor guy like me, don't your family object?"
Qi Beisong's eyes widened: "Why should they care if I'm in a relationship? Besides, what does it matter if you're poor? I'm rich!"
Cheng Ji stood up angrily, and Qi Beisong pulled his arm and said, "Hey, I suddenly remembered something. You shouldn't have washed the clothes and sheets yesterday."
"what?"
"Keep it as evidence!" Qi Beisong smiled wickedly, "If I ever do anything wrong to you, you can hang the big bed sheet outside the door of my company and scare me to death!"
Cheng Ji's face turned red and he was about to kick, but was stopped by him.
"Where are the nude photos of me that you took before?" he asked with a smile.
Cheng Ji also laughed and finally admitted: "I didn't take any photos."
"ah???"
“I didn’t have my phone with me that night.”
Qi Beisong rushed over and pressed Cheng Ji into his arms, "You little bastard! How dare you lie to me! And for so long!"
Cheng Ji couldn't help laughing: "Stop it, get out of here!"
"I was worried about you licking my photos all the time, and I was afraid that your broken phone would hurt my teeth. I thought, what's the point of you licking photos? Why not lick me?" Qi Beisong yelled, "You didn't take any photos! You didn't take any!"
He asked, "You didn't take any photos last night either? Then why didn't you take any photos?"
Cheng Ji smiled and said, "There's nothing wrong with me! Why would I take nude photos of people?"
Qi Shuai Shuai is unhappy!
Cheng Ji broke away from him and pointed to a mountain path not far to the side and said, "We can reach the top of the mountain by climbing this path for another hour, but some places along the way are very steep. Do you dare?"
Qi Beisong was not afraid of anything and just followed them up the mountain.
Cheng Ji was right. There were dense bushes on both sides of the path, and many places required climbing and crossing. There was even a small cliff with a vertical drop of nearly two meters. It was difficult to move forward and there was no way to retreat. It was really a fork in the road with rugged rocks, just like life.
But once you climb to the top of the mountain, you will suddenly see the light. The past difficulties are like that steep and narrow road that is trampled under your feet. You will feel so proud and happy that you just want to roar three times.
Qi Beisong's hair was messed up by the mountain wind, but he still stood with his clothes open facing the wind and said, "What a great place!"
Cheng Ji pointed in a certain direction and said, "Look over there."
Qi Beisong looked in the direction of his finger and saw a large blue lake embedded in the mountains. Its water was as smooth as a mirror and sparkled in the sunlight.
"That's the reservoir at the bottom of the dam, look further away."
Qi Beisong then looked into the distance again.
Cheng Ji said at the side: "I don't know if this is the highest peak in Hongcheng, but it is said to be the highest in Huangcun. I often come here, sometimes even twice a day."
"No wonder you're so fast."
"It's mainly because I'm familiar with the road." Cheng Ji said, "The path has always existed, but few people use it. Lao Geng and I cleared it with machetes."
He pointed to the distance and said, "When the weather is very good and visibility is very high, you can see the tall buildings of Hongcheng in that direction. It seems that it is not so good today."
Qi Beisong waited for his next words.
"Qi Beisong." Cheng Ji said, "To be honest, the days I stayed in Huang Village were the most comfortable and happy days of my life. There was no pressure, no worries, and everyone around me was very nice to me. Every day, apart from helping in the store, I would drink tea, chat, and hang out. Occasionally, I would have a little wine. I didn't feel how fast the days passed. But the month I spent in Changkang Hospital was almost like a year."
Qi Beisong remained silent.
Cheng Ji took a deep breath and turned his eyes to him: "Hongcheng is my prison. I want to stay in Huang Village, watch the flowers in spring, watch the rain in summer, climb high to admire the moon in autumn, watch the falling snow in winter, calm my mind and enjoy happiness. I am not made of iron, and I can't stand the hardships of life. I don't have any grand ambitions anymore, I just feel some pain in my heart, and I want to release it slowly. Maybe it will take a year, or two or three years. Only after I release it can I start again."
"So you don't want to go back with me?" Qi Beisong asked.
Cheng Ji shook his head.
Qi Beisong lit a cigarette and suddenly said, "In fact, Hongcheng is also a prison for me. There is nothing fun in there, but there are a lot of troubles."
Cheng Ji half-jokingly asked, "Then you will also stay in Huang Village?"
Qi Beisong smiled bitterly: "I am not like a child like you. An adult knows that it is a prison or a shackle, but he still has to rush in and take responsibility. Do you think it is easy for us adults?"
Cheng Ji smiled and said, "I am not a child either. I am the oldest in our Cheng family."
Qi Beisong pointed in the direction of Hongcheng and said, "Yes, you are twenty years old, so you can stay in Huang Village for a year, but not for two or three years, because you have to go back to finish college!"
If he hadn't mentioned this, Cheng Ji would have forgotten his student identity. It turns out that if you don't get into a university yourself, you won't have such a deep impression of it!
"You applied for a one-year leave of absence, and half a year has passed now. You must go back when school starts in September," said Qi Beisong.
Cheng Ji scratched his head, feeling a little distressed.
"But I feel that your mental state is indeed better now than when you were in Hongcheng. I always thought you were stinky before." Qi Beisong said, "So... OK, I agree, I won't force you to go back."
Cheng Ji was happy: "Really?"
"Really? I'm not lying." Qi Beisong exhaled smoke: "But you have to confirm the relationship with me first!"
"Confirm... confirm what relationship?"
"I'm not kidding you." Qi Beisong stared at him, his tone serious, "I really want to be with you, if it weren't for your mother... Anyway, I would have wanted to do it to you a long time ago. I know you're not used to men, but some things can only be known after trying. We tried it the night before last, didn't it work?"
Cheng Ji couldn't think back to that night; he felt hot all over when he thought about it.
"I won't force you. You decide for yourself." Qi Beisong said, "The relationship I want you to confirm is not boyfriend, but 'backup boyfriend'. You have to allow me to chase you and touch you. You can't hide or run away when you see me. I'm not as good as you in fighting and I'm not as fast as you. How long will it take for me to catch up with you? Isn't that too unfair?"
Cheng Ji asked: "Don't you regret it?"
"What a joke!" Qi Beisong said.
Cheng Ji asked: "What if I regret it?"
Qi Beisong said solemnly: "If you regret it, just say it openly and don't hide it. I might be in a bad mood and hold you back at first. You have to wait for me to slowly figure it out. In short, let's be honest with each other. You have self-esteem and pride, and so do I. I have bought people before, but I don't play with feelings, I don't lie to people, and I don't hurt people. Don't play with me either."
"Are you so serious?" Cheng Ji asked with a smile.
"That's all because of you," Qi Beisong said. "If it were someone else, I wouldn't even bother to say a word!"
Cheng Ji bit his lower lip and gritted his teeth for a long time: "...Okay."
I've already done it, so what else can't I do? You can't be hypocritical when you're alive, since you don't have to pay for it anyway.
"But I really don't want to go back to Hongcheng. I have to stay in Huang Village to save money to pay for my medical expenses. Lao Geng said that the peak tourist season will begin in March, and I can earn a whole year's worth of money in just a few months."
Qi Beisong didn't hear the rest of his words at all. All that echoed in his mind were the words "OK".
He rushed over and picked up Cheng Ji by the waist, extremely excited: "Say it again?"
"… OK."
"Give me a proof?"
"Wha... what proof?"
"Let me kiss you!"
Cheng Ji originally wanted to say get out, but suddenly he remembered the cigarette he had yesterday and how Qi Beisong used the cigarette butt to light the cigarette, and he had some evil thoughts of revenge in his mind.
"Kiss?" He smiled.
Qi Beisong pouted and gestured to stamp here.
Cheng Ji said, "Close your eyes."
Qi Beisong closed his eyes.
Cheng Ji snatched the cigarette from his fingertips, took a long puff, then held his face and blew it at him.
Qi Beisong was totally unprepared and capsized in a ditch. He choked and started coughing, even tears came out!
Cheng Ji laughed and said, "Okay, we kissed!"
Qi Beisong tried his best to catch him, but the top of the mountain was small and uneven. Cheng Ji was afraid of stepping on empty air, so he didn't dare to hide and was hugged tightly.
"Little bastard!" Qi Beisong reached out his hand and reached into his clothes, "Let me feel what kind of black heart you have. How dare you do this to your man?!"
"No, no, no, it's itchy!" Cheng Ji laughed like a shrimp, "You are just a spare, who allowed you to hug me?"
Qi Beisong pressed him against a tree, kissed him viciously on the cheek, and said, "This is what a kiss is!"
It was clearly a bite, Cheng Ji could even feel teeth marks on his face.
"From now on, I will be in Hongcheng and you will be in Huangcun. Can I come here every day?" Qi Beisong asked him, his muscular chest pressing against him.
Cheng Ji turned his head away: "... whatever you want, just don't make trouble with Lao Geng."
"No, no, no!" Qi Beisong swore excitedly, "He is my father-in-law!"
He added: "Alternative father-in-law!"
Cheng Ji thought: Something is wrong... Should I call him "father-in-law"
Qi Beisong pushed him against a tree and planned to do something to him, but he endured it for a moment, then felt ashamed and pushed him away, saying, "It's broad daylight, it's not good for people to see us." Then he walked down the mountain.
Qi Beisong chased after him: "Give me some sweet treats!"
"Let's go, I'll treat you to some noodles when I get back." Cheng Ji turned around and said, "Old Geng praised my recent good cooking skills. If I practice for a while, maybe I can open my own shop."
Qi Beisong laughed happily: "My wife cooks for me, I am so happy!"
Cheng Ji turned around, walked around him, and kicked him in the knee.
Qi Beisong was caught off guard and his legs went limp after being kicked.
"Alternative choice!" Cheng Ji stood straight, deliberately stern-faced, "And you are the fucking wife!"
Qi Beisong shrugged: "Okay, okay, whoever has the stronger fist has the final say!"
Cheng Ji untied the red string around his neck, threw him the small peach pit gourd he had taken from the old monk at Huangshan Temple, and said, "This is proof!"
In fact, he just wanted to have fun, and was waiting for Qi Beisong to yell something like "You can give me a thing worth only a few dollars?"
Unexpectedly, Qi Beisong took it seriously. He closed the small gourd in his palm and kissed it, saying, "I will wear it all my life."
"…" Cheng Ji said, "Don't be like this."
A bit disgusting.
Qi Beisong smiled at him and said, "You gave me a papaya, and I will give you a jade pendant in return. How about I give you a big diamond ring?"
"Hurry up and go, don't get bored!" Cheng Ji shouted.
The two went down the mountain and returned to the noodle shop, but found the kitchen empty and Lao Geng nowhere to be found.
Although Lao Geng was a slacker when he was young, he was not lazy. After social reform, he became more serious and diligent. He bought vegetables at 6 o'clock in the morning, opened the store at 10:30, and closed at 7:30 in the evening, without a break. Now it was almost time to open the store. He should have been in the kitchen making a fire and kneading dough. How could he suddenly disappear
Cheng Ji searched all over the house, but had no choice but to keep the shop door closed and turn on the small gas stove to make food for Qi Beisong.
While we were eating, Lao Geng came back from outside in a rage.
Cheng Ji asked in surprise: "What's the matter?"
Lao Geng glanced at Qi Beisong, probably feeling that it would be awkward to talk with outsiders present, so he went upstairs to get his waist bag and left.
Cheng Ji chased him out and saw him walking straight out of the village, talking on the phone as he walked. He clearly said, "Sister Yu, don't stop me..."
Cheng Ji shouted: "Godfather, are you coming back for dinner?"
Lao Geng turned around, waved his hand, and walked away.
Cheng Ji was puzzled. Qi Beisong walked out of the store holding a bowl of noodles and asked, "What happened?"
Cheng Ji shook his head to indicate that he didn't know, and said, "What could have happened to him? It's just a matter of old buddies winning or losing a card game."
Qi Beisong was busy in the company and was soon urged to go back. Before leaving, he said he would come again tomorrow. Sooner or later, the spare tire will become the current one.
Cheng Ji didn't say anything. It was up to him to come if he wanted. Master Qi didn't care about the gas money anyway.
After Qi Beisong left, it took a long time for Lao Geng to return in disappointment.
Cheng Ji asked, "Where did you go?"
Lao Geng replied sadly: "I was going to Hongcheng, but Sister Yu called me seven or eight times in a row to stop me."
Cheng Ji was puzzled.
Old Geng sighed heavily and said, "Yesterday, Sister Yu came here to visit the graves. When she and I were young, we had an older brother who often took care of us. Unfortunately, he fell ill and died early, leaving behind only a son. Yesterday was the anniversary of the death of the older brother, but my nephew didn't come back. Sister Yu and I felt strange, so we asked around and found out that something had happened to the nephew and he is now lying in the hospital!"
"Is he seriously injured?" Cheng Ji asked.
"Very heavy." Lao Geng's eyes were red. He looked fierce, but he was actually very emotional.
"Sister Yu went to see him and said that my nephew was just one step away from death. He had several fractures all over his body and his face was almost broken." Lao Geng said, "I also heard that he was saved by a colleague, but Sister Yu waited in the hospital for several hours, and the colleague did not show up."
Cheng Ji asked: "Why did you get beaten?"
"I don't know!" Lao Geng became impatient. "I asked so many people, but they all knew nothing! My nephew has no mother. His mother ran away with someone after giving birth to him. When my eldest brother died, he was entrusted to me, but I didn't learn my lesson. I went in and out of prison several times and didn't take care of him for a few days. I already felt guilty. He has grown up in recent years, and I thought I could rest assured. I didn't expect such a thing to happen!"
He said angrily, "What's even more annoying is that Sister Yu seemed to have heard something and told me not to intervene, saying that I have a bad temper. Don't put yourself in jail again!"
Cheng Ji asked: "Why? Did you offend someone in the underworld?"
Old Geng shook his head: "I don't know. My nephew is different from me. He is usually honest and law-abiding. Although he doesn't have a high level of education, he is a graduate of a decent college. I can't understand how he could get into trouble."
He went to the tap and rubbed his face with cold water, then said to Cheng Ji, "Let's prepare separately and go to Hongcheng to see my nephew later. Although Sister Yu doesn't allow us to do anything, it's always necessary to visit the patient."
Cheng Ji hummed.
He did not tell Qi Beisong about his trip to Hongcheng, thinking that he could go and come back at will.
He didn't know what was going to happen, nor did he know that Young Master Qi would no longer be a "spare" in his life, but would be the one who would entangle and test him with his life, who would give him everything, who would be fused with his blood, and who he would never be able to let go of or send away for the rest of his life.