TA •Chapter 57

程恪 saved the photo, then sent Chen Qing the whole batch of pictures he had taken of all kinds of lanterns earlier. He had originally wanted to post another copy to his Moments, but after looking through them carefully, he gave up. He usually barely posted anything on Moments, and the one time he did post, it was at this level. It was a little embarrassing.

"They’re selling lanterns over there," Jiang Yuduo pointed ahead. "Let’s go have a look."

"Mm." Cheng Ke followed him over there. When he was about to put his phone away, he hesitated, then opened Moments and took a look.

There wasn’t much there. It was mostly meals and drinks, then Chen Qing. Chen Qing had dumped all the photos he had sent him straight into Moments, posting three waves of nine-grid collages in a row, with captions too. It was lively.

Cheng Ke smiled and gave it a like.

Further down was another nine-grid set, but at a glance, you could tell the quality was excellent. At the very least, the composition and color tone were both really good.

That definitely wasn’t Chen Qing’s work. Cheng Ke looked at the username, and the smile on his lips froze.

"Stop playing with your phone," Jiang Yuduo tugged his arm. "Look at the lanterns first."

"Cheng Yi…" Cheng Ke looked at Jiang Yuduo, frowning as he scanned the area around them.

"Where?" Jiang Yuduo said, stunned.

"I don’t know," Cheng Ke said. There were people everywhere, and aside from the space taken up by the lanterns, every bit of room was filled with people. He didn’t have Jiang Yuduo’s knack for reading faces. With just one glance, he hadn’t even made out a single face clearly. "He might be here with my parents."

"Huh?" Jiang Yuduo took his phone. "These were taken by him?"

"Yeah." Cheng Ke nodded. His mood suddenly turned gloomy, and that gloom was like a hook, ripping away the layer of camouflage he had barely managed to cover himself with, exposing Jiang Yuduo’s past beneath it all, the things he had finally forced down.

"Posted ten minutes ago, so he should’ve just arrived," Jiang Yuduo said, looking at the photos. "Otherwise he should’ve posted a bit of fireworks too… Look at this carp lantern, we saw it when we came over."

"Really?" Cheng Ke was impressed.

"Let’s go over there," Jiang Yuduo said, pulling him toward the diagonal side of the square. "They probably wouldn’t just head straight in. Your mom must’ve come."

"How do you know?" Cheng Ke asked.

"Look at this hand," Jiang Yuduo said, pointing at the enlarged photo on the phone screen. "That big green ring, that’s your mom’s hand, right? The last time I saw her at your place, she was wearing it."

Cheng Ke clasped his hands to him in salute. "Amazing."

Honestly, he really hadn’t expected his family to come see the lanterns. In previous years, they always said there were too many people and it was too chaotic.

"It’s not like I’m trying to memorize all this," Jiang Yuduo said, making a circle with his thumb and forefinger. "It’s this big. If Chen Qing’s mom were wearing it, I’d definitely think it was plastic."

Jiang Yuduo’s remark eased Cheng Ke’s irritation a little. "Let’s go over there. I’ll buy you a lantern."

The two of them threaded through the crowd and reached the opposite corner of the square.

There were quite a few lantern vendors here, and the smaller lanterns were pretty cute. They looked more delicate than the big ones nearby.

Most people buying lanterns were little kids or girls, though there were men too, but they were usually buying for their children or girlfriends.

The two of them standing in front of the stall looked rather striking.

Cheng Ke didn’t mind. He stole a glance at Jiang Yuduo, and Jiang Yuduo looked pretty calm too, as if he hadn’t noticed anything odd about two men choosing lanterns for each other.

Oh right, he and Chen Qing had exchanged gifts too.

Cheng Ke imagined Jiang Yuduo and Chen Qing standing here picking lanterns for each other, and immediately started laughing.

Chen Qing was really a lovely person. If Cheng Ke had wanted to get a little jealous, he wouldn’t have been able to when it came to him. He only wanted to laugh.

"Why the hell are you laughing?" Jiang Yuduo said beside him. "I’m asking you, is this little fairy pretty?"

"Little fai…" Cheng Ke turned around and saw the lantern in Jiang Yuduo’s hand. It was a cute little ancient-dress figure holding a lantern. "How is that even a little fairy?"

"There’s no little elf," Jiang Yuduo said. The noise around them was loud, with music too, and he was shouting at the top of his lungs. "But there’s a little bee over there, and lotus flowers and stuff. Which one do you like?"

By the time Jiang Yuduo finished the last sentence, several people nearby had turned to look, and one older woman even laughed.

Cheng Ke sighed. "Either one is fine."

"Then I’ll take them all," Jiang Yuduo said, turning to the老板 with his chin raised. "This little fairy, and that bee…"

"Hey, hey, hey," Cheng Ke panicked as soon as he heard that, quickly tugging at him. "Just the little bee is fine. The little bee is fine."

"The little bee." Jiang Yuduo said.

The老板 brought over the little bee lantern and handed it to him. He picked it up and turned it around to inspect it. "Mm."

After paying, he shoved the little bee in front of Cheng Ke. "Here. For you."

"Thanks." Cheng Ke took the little bee lantern.

"Your turn," Jiang Yuduo said.

"Wha…" Cheng Ke blinked.

"Buy one for me," Jiang Yuduo said. "I want that DOGE one."

"That DOGE?" Cheng Ke asked.

"Yeah." Jiang Yuduo nodded.

"Don’t you want a cat?" Cheng Ke asked casually.

"I didn’t see one…" Jiang Yuduo turned and shouted at the老板 again. "Boss! Do you have a cat lantern!"

"…Just DOGE then," Cheng Ke jumped. The people around them were once again focusing their attention here. He lowered his voice. "Dogs or cats, they’re all the same."

Only then did Jiang Yuduo seem to notice the people nearby. He waved at the老板 again. "Fine, just the dog one. No cat."

After paying, Cheng Ke gave Jiang Yuduo the DOGE. "Here. For you."

"Thanks." Jiang Yuduo smiled and took it.

After they moved out of the line of sight, Cheng Ke let out a breath.

After a few steps, he still felt like something was off, and it made him uncomfortable.

He glanced at Jiang Yuduo. Jiang Yuduo was holding that DOGE, looking pretty pleased, lifting it up to inspect it from time to time.

But as they wandered slowly past the lantern stalls, Jiang Yuduo’s gaze still more often lingered on the various lanterns hanging on the stalls.

The discomfort in Cheng Ke’s heart grew clearer.

When he saw a black-and-white calico cat lantern at one stall, he suddenly realized.

Maybe it was because of his "good manners" that he had felt embarrassed when Jiang Yuduo had carelessly raised his voice and shouted at the老板 without a care in the world.

Because of that embarrassment, he hadn’t gone along with Jiang Yuduo to find the cat lantern that was probably the one he wanted most.

Cheng Ke didn’t think his embarrassment was wrong, but now he felt a little heartache.

He tugged Jiang Yuduo and pointed at the cat lantern hanging among the others. "Isn’t that a cat!"

"It is!" Jiang Yuduo nodded.

"I’ll buy you another cat lantern." Cheng Ke walked over.

Jiang Yuduo didn’t stop him. In a cheerful mood, he followed him to the cat lantern. "It’s a police cat! Way more imposing than a meow."

"Exactly," Cheng Ke said with a smile, waving at the老板. "Help me take this lantern down."

"Sure thing." The老板 came over, took the cat lantern down, and handed it to him.

Cheng Ke checked it over. There was nothing wrong with it. He paid, then handed the cat lantern to Jiang Yuduo. "Here, this one’s for you too."

"Tha…" Jiang Yuduo smiled as he took it, his eyes sweeping past Cheng Ke’s shoulder. He didn’t finish his sentence, but he kept smiling. "Don’t turn around."

"Why?" Cheng Ke blinked, but he reacted quickly. Unlike the eighty percent of people who would usually turn around first the moment they heard don't turn around, he didn’t.

"Your younger brother," Jiang Yuduo withdrew his gaze and looked at the cat lantern in his hand. "And your mom, and another young woman. Right behind you, five meters away."

Cheng Ke frowned. Another woman?

There were plenty of girls around Cheng Yi, but he had never brought any of them home. This time, not only had he brought one home, he was also walking around the lantern fair with her and their mother?

"Want to acknowledge them?" Jiang Yuduo asked.

"Fuck," Cheng Ke laughed. "No, let’s not. Did Cheng Yi see us?"

"He saw me," Jiang Yuduo said. "But he pretended not to. He probably didn’t realize I saw him."

"What’s he getting at?" Cheng Ke’s brows tightened.

"I think he wanted to walk over a little closer," Jiang Yuduo said. "Once he was close enough, he could call you and make sure you heard him. Then he wouldn’t have time to pretend he hadn’t heard and walk off."

"You’re pretty sly too," Cheng Ke said with a smile. "You thought that through pretty thoroughly."

"I figured other people wouldn’t think that way. Your brother is that kind of person," Jiang Yuduo said. "If you don’t want to acknowledge them, then let’s leave now."

"No," Cheng Ke looked at him. "We’re not leaving. Please cooperate with me."

"Cooperate with what?" Jiang Yuduo asked.

"You’ll know in a minute." Cheng Ke turned around.

Cheng Yi and their mom were just four or five meters away, looking at lanterns. Beside them stood a very beautiful girl, tall enough that if she stood on her toes, she probably could’ve been as tall as Cheng Yi.

Cheng Ke could tell that Cheng Yi had already noticed from the corner of his eye that he had turned around, but he still didn’t turn his head. He only put an arm around their mom’s shoulder and slowly moved forward. Only when their mom saw him and cried out in surprise, "Xiao Ke," did Cheng Yi abruptly turn his head.

Jiang Yuduo’s guess had been a little off. Cheng Yi probably had wanted their mom to notice him first, so he wouldn’t have to say whether he’d done it on purpose or not.

"Mom." Cheng Ke walked over and smiled at her.

"Xiao Ke, your hand…" Their mom’s first glance went straight to his hand.

"Ge, what happened to your hand?" Cheng Yi took two quick steps to him and looked at the plaster on his arm in surprise. "Is it serious?"

"It’s fine. The cast is coming off soon," Cheng Ke said. "I fell."

"Amitabha," their mom said, touching the cast. "Why were you so careless… You need to rest well. Even after the cast comes off, don’t use it too hard right away, got it?"

"Mm, I know." Cheng Ke nodded, then changed the subject. "Why are you here?"

"Those two," their mom said, looking back at Cheng Yi and the girl, "dragged me out to play. So noisy."

"Ge," Cheng Yi said, tilting his head toward the girl. "This is my girlfriend, Li Na… Come meet my brother, Cheng Ke."

"Happy New Year, big brother." Li Na came over and greeted him with a smile.

"You two…" Cheng Yi looked past him. "Out looking at lanterns?"

"Mm." Cheng Ke turned back. "Jiang Yuduo, my boyfriend."

Before saying that, he had hesitated for a moment, wondering whether he should cue Jiang Yuduo first with a glance. After all, Jiang Yuduo was straightforward, and sometimes his reactions were even more unusual than Chen Qing’s.

But Jiang Yuduo gave him plenty of face. He didn’t hesitate for even a second, and his expression didn’t change at all. He walked forward two steps, stood beside him, and said to their mom, "Happy New Year, Auntie."

"Happy New Year," their mom said, a little surprised, with some not-quite-pleasantness in her eyes. "Last time, wasn’t he said to be… the landlord?"

"Mom." Cheng Yi leaned in close to their mom’s ear and lowered his voice, as if trying to stop her from going on.

Cheng Ke felt that after living with Cheng Yi for so many years and always knowing how good he was at putting on a front, only after leaving home had he truly come to understand that point.

Their mom didn’t say any more. She only gave a slightly strained smile.

"You’re Lao San, right? We’ve met a few times, but I’ve never known how to address you," Cheng Yi said, looking at Jiang Yuduo. "I heard from Mili…"

"What Mili, what DouDou, I don’t know them." Jiang Yuduo cut him off bluntly.

"You may not remember…" Cheng Yi’s expression didn’t change because of his attitude. It was still calm, with a smile.

"If you don’t want to call me by name, then call me Third Brother," Jiang Yuduo cut him off again. "Lao San isn’t something you can just call casually."

Cheng Yi’s face finally darkened. "It’s fine. Call me whatever you want. I probably won’t have many chances to hear it anyway."

"Let’s go," Cheng Ke said, then looked at their mom. "Mom, take your time. We’re leaving first."

"Take care of yourself," their mom reminded him.

"Mm." Cheng Ke nodded.

Just as he turned to leave, Cheng Yi called out to stop him from behind.

Cheng Ke turned back. Cheng Yi walked up to him and said in a low voice, "Ge, I’m serious, if possible… you should still come home."

"Why?" Cheng Ke looked at him.

"I’m a little worried," Cheng Yi said, looking at the plaster on his hand. "What if something happens…"

"The biggest thing that ever happened to him was getting kicked out of his home," Jiang Yuduo said. "As long as he doesn’t go back home, there probably won’t be anything bigger than that."

"Watch your mouth." Cheng Yi’s expression turned cold.

"That’s just how I talk," Jiang Yuduo said. "If you didn’t want to hear it, you should’ve dragged your mom away when you were pretending not to see me just now."

Cheng Yi frowned and looked at him. "Mr. Jiang, can’t you let me speak to my brother alone for a few words?"

"First get all the people around you to leave," Jiang Yuduo said. "Otherwise the two of you can’t be alone."

Cheng Yi opened his mouth, but no words came out.

Cheng Ke had initially been in a mood that he couldn’t quite name. He didn’t want Jiang Yuduo and Cheng Yi to have a conflict, but if they really did clash, he also hadn’t planned to stop them. He just felt restless inside.

Now, hearing Jiang Yuduo’s words and seeing Cheng Yi’s reaction, his mood immediately brightened a lot. That blunt, infuriatingly literal understanding of roundabout politeness made him think of how hard it had been to communicate with Jiang Yuduo at first, and he suddenly couldn’t help wanting to laugh.

Maybe Cheng Yi noticed the smile Cheng Ke hadn’t quite managed to suppress, because his gaze at Cheng Ke changed. After a while, he said, "Ge, I don’t mean anything else. I’m just worried you’ll run into trouble out there by yourself."

"I know," Cheng Ke said with a smile, nodding. He patted Jiang Yuduo. "Let’s go."

"Ge…" Cheng Yi seemed to want to say more, but Jiang Yuduo cut him off again.

"Stop worrying," Jiang Yuduo said. "He’s got me."

Cheng Ke didn’t look back. He kept walking forward. Only when he reached the edge of the square, where the lanterns around him had started to thin out, did he suddenly burst out laughing.

"What the hell are you laughing at?" Jiang Yuduo looked at him.

"You’re way too cute," Cheng Ke laughed, unable to stop for a while. "Actually, if you’re talking about scheming, you really aren’t Cheng Yi’s match."

"Why would I play mind games with him," Jiang Yuduo said. "I don’t have that kind of free time."

"Exactly," Cheng Ke said with a smile, patting his shoulder. "Only someone who charges straight in and doesn’t leave anyone any face can deal with him."

"Feeling better now?" Jiang Yuduo walked over to a nearby trash can and lit a cigarette, glancing at him.

"Pretty much," Cheng Ke said, walking over. He had one hand holding a lantern and the other in a cast, so he really couldn’t spare a hand. He tilted his chin at Jiang Yuduo. "Light me one."

Jiang Yuduo handed the cigarette between his lips to Cheng Ke. Cheng Ke took a drag, then Jiang Yuduo took it back and smoked a drag himself.

"Can’t you just light another one?" Cheng Ke asked.

"Then I’d have to serve two cigarettes," Jiang Yuduo said. "If you’re not happy, just bum another one later."

"It’s mainly because this scene isn’t very classy," Cheng Ke said. "In the middle of the street."

"You’re way too fucking picky," Jiang Yuduo shot him a glare. "Smoke it or don’t, shut up. It’s only because you’re too classy that you always end up bickering with your brother forever. Slap him once and see if he still keeps smiling at you all day."

Cheng Ke laughed. After a while, he sighed. "Maybe."

"I don’t have any siblings, and I don’t know what it’s like being with family," Jiang Yuduo leaned against a nearby tree and held the cigarette to his mouth. "Maybe your way of thinking is different from mine."

"In front of my mom," Cheng Ke took a drag, "I also don’t want to make things too awkward. I probably really won’t have much to do with them after this."

"It’s fine," Jiang Yuduo said. "Look at me, I’m on my own, no family, and isn’t that fine too?"

"Yeah." Cheng Ke smiled.

After taking a couple hard drags, Jiang Yuduo stubbed out the cigarette, then looked at him again. "I was just saying whatever. Our situations are still different."

"I know." Cheng Ke handed him the lantern to hold and lightly patted his face.

Jiang Yuduo lit another cigarette and handed it over. "Come on, keep it going."

Cheng Ke smiled. "I’m not that addicted."

With a cigarette in his mouth, Jiang Yuduo glanced toward the square. "There’s still more than half left to look at. Still want to keep going?"

"Yeah," Cheng Ke said. "My mom probably doesn’t feel like staying here anymore. She never liked crowded places to begin with, said they were too noisy."

"Then later we’ll go over there," Jiang Yuduo said, pointing ahead. "There’s a big dragon lantern over there."

"Mm." Cheng Ke nodded, then looked at him again. "Just now, when I said you were my… boyfriend, you were pretty calm. I was even a little worried you’d glare at me."

"Glare at what," Jiang Yuduo said. "I already guessed you were going to say that."

"That impressive?" Cheng Ke said.

"Nonsense. Otherwise, what else could you say? Your brother was already trying to use this to jab at you," Jiang Yuduo sighed. "Though he may not believe it."

"Why not?" Cheng Ke looked at the lantern in his hand.

"Didn’t he say you like… mm-hmm-mm-hmm-mm-hmm," Jiang Yuduo said, throwing out a string of different-toned mm-hmms. Cheng Ke almost didn’t catch on.

Once he did, he couldn’t stop laughing, nearly leaning against the trash can. "Idiot."

Jiang Yuduo laughed with him for a while. When Cheng Ke still hadn’t stopped, he clicked his tongue. "Enough already. Is it really that funny? Your laugh point is lower than Chen Qing’s."

Cheng Ke slowly reined in his laughter, took a deep breath, stretched with one arm, and looked at Jiang Yuduo. After a while, he asked, "That line you just said, was it to cooperate, or was it real?"

"Which line." Jiang Yuduo glanced at him with the cigarette in his mouth.

"I’ve got your back," Cheng Ke said.

"Real." Jiang Yuduo said.

Cheng Ke stared at him for a while. It seemed like no one in his peripheral vision was paying attention to them, so he leaned in. Before Jiang Yuduo had time to react while tapping ash from his cigarette, Cheng Ke pinched his chin and kissed him hard on the mouth. His tongue even licked firmly across Jiang Yuduo’s lip.

After he pulled back, Jiang Yuduo’s hand holding the cigarette was still raised over the trash can.

It took several seconds before Jiang Yuduo finally came back to his senses. He raised a hand and wiped his mouth, then pointed at him. "You damn bastard, Cheng Ke! Can you stop kissing me whenever you get a chance! You scared the hell out of me! And you even licked me! If you’re hungry, I can take you to buy cotton candy! They’ve got some over there!"

Cheng Ke looked at him with a smile and said nothing.

"Fuck!" Jiang Yuduo wiped his mouth again. "Not to say anything else, but you dare claim you weren’t holding back? In a place this brightly lit, you just go straight for the mouth. If there wasn’t anyone around, were you going to take your pants off too?"

"Maybe," Cheng Ke said, narrowing his eyes. "Didn’t you already take yours off?"

"Get lost!" Jiang Yuduo said.

Cheng Ke smiled and waved a hand. "Come on, where’s the cotton candy?"

"…Back where we came from just now," Jiang Yuduo said.

Cheng Ke didn’t actually want cotton candy, and he wasn’t interested at all. Having Jiang Yuduo go buy him cotton candy now was purely because he was in a good mood and wanted to tease him.

As he walked, he took out his phone, found the selfie that had just been transferred over, and opened Meitu.

"What are you doing?" Jiang Yuduo asked.

"Editing the picture to post on Moments," Cheng Ke said.

"You can edit photos?" Jiang Yuduo was a little surprised. "No, wait, you’re posting a photo and you still want to edit it? Are you fucking girly or what?"

"Say that one more time and see if I don’t hit you?" Cheng Ke turned to look at him.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," Jiang Yuduo said.

Cheng Ke smiled and jabbed at the phone screen a few times at random, adjusted the brightness and color tone a bit, then covered the mouth of the loud, laughing auntie in the background. He zoomed out and checked it. Not bad.

Save it, post it to Moments.

Very quickly, he received a reply from XX Car Beauty Xiao Chen 139XXXXXXXX.

– Fuck! You took a photo of the two of you yourselves and made it look this good! You sent me a whole bunch of blurry ones!