Tattoo

Zui for a few days and actually really missed him.

However, there was a saying, “Don’t celebrate too soon, things could still go wrong!”

Xiao Ke has been laughing so much in the past two days, and when someone knocked on the door in the afternoon, he opened the door but couldn’t laugh anymore.

At that moment, Xiao Ke thought that he was careless.
He was so concerned about flirting with Teacher Zhou that he had forgotten that youngsters needed to visit their elders before the New Year.
He should’ve left to avoid this situation.

The man at the door was also stunned, and then said after a moment, ” Here you are…It’s been a long time.”

“Ah,” Xiao Ke nodded and put away his surprised expression before he said, “Happy New Year.”

“Yo, Xiao Lin’s here?” Old Xiao came over from the living room and gave Xiao Ke a tug before he said with a smile, “Come, come in, and sit down.”

Xiao Ke then stepped aside from the doorway and walked in.
After entering and looking at Dr.
Xu, Xiao Ke sighed at her while Dr.
Xu patted his arm.

There was a lot of stuff piled up outside the doorway, and Lin An went back and forth for more than 30 minutes.
Xiao Ke hesitated, but didn’t come out to help.
Old Xiao and Dr.
Xu said that he had brought too much stuff, and that he wouldn’t be allowed to enter the door after that.
The soft smile on Lin An’s face remained the same as before which made him look very friendly and comforting.

Lin An’s eyes fell onto Xiao Ke and his eyes contained a lot of meaning.
Xiao Ke looked at him and smiled at him when their eyes met.

Lin An’s eyes were already red when he moved his eyes away.

Xiao Ke sighed in his heart.

Originally, he decided to go to see Zhou Zui in the afternoon, but it turned out that he could not go.
He and Lin An were considered to have broken up peacefully without making a scene, so Xiao Ke could not possibly turn a cold face to him, and there was no need to do so.

It was better to not meet.
Now that he was stuck at home, he couldn’t leave as it would make Lin An look bad, and everyone else would feel awkward. 

“Xiao Ke, you have not changed much,” The topic suddenly fell on Xiao Ke which made him freeze.
Lin An took the cup of tea and gently touched the bottom of the cup.
“…Same as always.”

“Mn,” Xiao Ke nodded, then smiled and said, “Mr.
Lin is still as handsome as ever, but he seems to have lost some weight.”

Lin An sat on the single sofa while Old Xiao and Dr.
Xu sat on the long sofa, and Xiao Ke sat on the armrest next to Old Xiao without sitting anywhere else.
Lin An pursed his lips and gave a slight smile as he dropped his eyes and said, “Really? I didn’t pay much attention.”

Xiao Ke used to call him Mr.
Lin, and the end of his voice went upward which sounded flirtatious and intimate.

Lin An took a sip of hot tea which slightly burned his mouth.
He pursed his lips again and asked, “How’s it going?”

Xiao Ke said, “Just the same, I guess.”

These kinds of pleasantries were really unbearable, and Xiao Ke sighed again in his heart.

They were once the closest of strangers.
However, to say they were familiar, they hadn’t seen each other for over a year, and their communication was almost nil.

What a contradictory state.

Old Xiao and Dr.
Xu were caught in the middle and had nothing to say.
Xiao Ke saw that it was too difficult for them and simply took the initiative to bring it up.
“Mr.
Lin, go out for a walk?”

Lin An nodded almost immediately, “Okay.”

Xiao Ke took his coat and went out the door.
Lin An turned around and said a few words to the two old people before following Xiao Ke out.
Xiao Ke said, “Pull up your clothes, it’s quite cold.”

“Yes.” Lin An answered and zipped up.

The two of them circled around the garden downstairs and had nothing to say, so they were a step apart and walked quietly.
It was impossible to keep walking like this, but Xiao Ke opened his mouth first and asked him in a very relaxed tone, “When’s the wedding date?”

Lin An’s step briefly paused, and then quickly returned to normal.
He shook his head with a smile and said in a low voice, “There is no wedding date, it’s not set.”

“Still not set?” Xiao Ke raised his eyebrows and said with a smile, “You’re not young anymore, Mr.
Lin.”

Lin An did not say anything, and just nodded.

In the winter months, walking a circle like this was really rare.
Xiao Ke, at one point in his heart, was actually thinking that his body was freezing through, and how he had to sell a tragedy with Teacher Zhou at night and brush him up on his presence.

The thought of Teacher Zhou made Xiao Ke’s expression ease up a lot.

“Xiao Ke,” Lin An looked at him and slowly opened his mouth, “I gave you a watch, why didn’t you accept it?”

Xiao Ke shook his head and said, “It’s not appropriate.
Mr.
Lin.
Don’t buy me anything.
If you want to see my parents, just buy some fruit or something, don’t break the bank.”

His name for Lin An still remained the same, the same two words.
Since Lin An was a few years older than him, it felt inappropriate to call him by name so Xiao Ke kept calling him “Mr.
Lin,” which Lin An also liked to hear.
However, it still sounded very different from the original meaning.

Lin An smiled to himself and said, “Now when you call me that, it doesn’t sound as relaxed as before.”

They had been together as lovers for five years, and Xiao Ke took the trouble to pursue him.
They spent their youths together.
This time, looking at Lin An’s somewhat pale face, it was impossible for Xiao Ke’s heart to have no ripples at all.

There were regrets, frustration, and unhappiness.

However, there was no remorse and no turning back.

He used to call ‘Mr.
Lin’ with an upturned voice, but now he laughed and called ‘Teacher Zhou’.

He hadn’t thought of how to answer Lin An’s last sentence without embarrassment, but his mind instantly jumped to Teacher Zhou while saying to him sincerely and seriously, “Just keep going, like you said before.”