Lu Jingcheng didn’t have anything he particularly wanted, and Ye Qingyang didn’t either, so they strolled around the men’s store downstairs and ended up buying the same style of coat.
Lu Jingcheng looked at the coat in his hands and teased, “Matching couple outfits?”
Ye Qingyang smiled. “Just the same style.”
Lu Jingcheng didn’t buy it for a second—clearly a couple outfit, yet he was pretending otherwise.
He had the clerk wrap it up to his satisfaction, just as Ye Qingyang said, “Hey, can you do me a favor?”
“What is it?”
Ye Qingyang smiled and swiped his card for the purchase, then said, “I want to transfer some money to you.”
“Why?”
Ye Qingyang didn’t answer immediately. Carrying the bag, he walked out with him before explaining, “When my parents passed unexpectedly, they left me some money—over fifty thousand yuan. But later, my aunt took it, so I used a little trick to get her to transfer six thousand to me.”
“This money, I didn’t intend to give to her. The extra is just interest and money from my mom’s jewelry. But since we have a kind of family relationship and she’s my guardian, it’s not safe to keep it with me. Better to spend it now—once it’s spent, it’s gone, right?”
Lu Jingcheng understood. “So you want to transfer the money to me, making it look like you’ve already spent it.”
Ye Qingyang nodded.
Lu Jingcheng frowned. “Why would your aunt do that, taking money your parents left you? Why didn’t you tell me before?”
“No need,” Ye Qingyang said. “She won’t be around much longer, so I don’t care.”
“Did she bully you in other ways?” Lu Jingcheng asked. “She took your parents’ money—surely she treated you poorly?”
Ye Qingyang comforted him. “It’s fine. I’m almost at my birthday, right?”
“What does that have to do with your birthday?” Lu Jingcheng pinched his face. “Why are you so easy to bully? You don’t speak up when treated unfairly. Am I just decoration?”
Ye Qingyang took his hand. “I have my own way of handling things.”
“I want to handle it myself, so don’t intervene yet, okay?”
Lu Jingcheng sighed. “Then don’t keep secrets from me in the future.”
Ye Qingyang nodded. “Mm.”
“Besides this, is there anything else you’re hiding from me?”
Ye Qingyang: …quite a lot, actually.
Lu Jingcheng saw him silent and immediately got flustered. “I knew it! You’re hiding something else from me!”
Ye Qingyang sighed. “I’m afraid you’d get angry if I told you.”
“You’d make me even angrier if you didn’t.”
Ye Qingyang relented. “Also, my aunt has taken over our house. The family living there now is staying in the house my parents bought.”
Lu Jingcheng: !!!
He poked Ye Qingyang’s forehead in frustration. “Why are you so soft? The house has been taken—let me get it back for you!”
Ye Qingyang quickly stopped him. “Calm down. My dad wrote a will; it’s not easy to reclaim.”
“Then sue them.”
Ye Qingyang sighed. “That kind of lawsuit is troublesome, and she has my dad’s will—he personally made her my guardian until I come of age. She can live in the house, and even if we sue, we might not win.”
“So you’re just going to let her live there?”
Ye Qingyang smiled. “Did you forget what I just said? My birthday is coming.”
Lu Jingcheng finally realized, “You’re about to turn eighteen.”
Ye Qingyang nodded. “Then I won’t need a guardian anymore, and the house will be mine again.”
“Still twenty-some days away,” Lu Jingcheng said.
Ye Qingyang raised an eyebrow. “You remembered my birthday, Lu-ge? I thought you’d forgotten.”
Lu Jingcheng: …
He awkwardly said, “Who wants to remember? I just have a good memory—saw it by chance. Can’t forget even if I tried.”
Ye Qingyang pouted, feigning disappointment. “So that’s it… I thought you remembered on purpose.”
He spoke in a sad, almost tearful tone.
Lu Jingcheng: …
For the first time, Lu Jingcheng experienced the feeling of shooting himself in the foot. He did remember on purpose! All that worry about him forgetting—and now Ye Qingyang was upset!
He awkwardly cleared his throat. “Not completely unintentional…”
He forced himself: “I do care about you a little.”
Ye Qingyang couldn’t help but laugh inside but kept up the sad face. “Only a little?”
Lu Jingcheng: …
The pressure made him motivated—he didn’t even dare hand in his exam early. Some progress, at least.
After exams, before the results came out, they went out together to celebrate Ye Qingyang’s birthday.
They didn’t go anywhere fancy, just an amusement park. Ye Qingyang hadn’t ridden a roller coaster in a long time, so he’d already decided this was the place for his birthday.
Lu Jingcheng looked at his delicate frame in surprise. “You still like roller coasters?”
“Why not?” Ye Qingyang grinned. “So thrilling!”
“Fine, I’ll go with you,” Lu Jingcheng said, ruffling his hair.
Ye Qingyang happily pulled him to the line.
The queue was long. After waiting a while, they finally reached the ride.
They climbed into their seats and buckled in. Once the staff checked everything, the roller coaster started moving slowly.
Lu Jingcheng grabbed Ye Qingyang’s hand. “If you’re scared, hold onto me.”
“What if I’m not scared?” Ye Qingyang asked.
Lu Jingcheng thought for a moment. “Then I’ll hold onto you.”
“Even though I’m not scared,” Ye Qingyang said.