After the fireworks ended, the crowd in the square gradually began to thin. Ti Xiao held tightly onto Xiao Yao’s hand as they walked among the people.
The fireworks may have ended, but inside, his heart was still bursting with color and light.
“My little Jiujiu”—God, how could a nickname be that addictive? His mouth, hidden under his scarf, curved into a smile. Ti Xiao snuck a glance at Xiao Yao, only to find the guy was also sneaking a look at him.
Busted.
“Pfft.” They both broke into laughter at the same time, hands squeezing just a little tighter.
Snow was still drifting down in the early morning hours of the New Year. A light layer of white was already dusting the ground again. Who knew how long it would last?
From the sidewalk came a burst of laughter, like silver bells—Ti Xiao looked over just in time to see a girl get picked up onto her boyfriend’s back, giggling as he took off running down the path.
Ti Xiao looked away after just a glance, but then Xiao Yao said, “Want me to carry you?”
“Nah, don’t. The bottoms of my shoes are gross—just snow and mud,” Ti Xiao replied, feeling a little silly. “I’m not some dainty little girl. I’ve got legs—I can walk.”
“Fair,” Xiao Yao shrugged. “Still, I kinda wanted to carry you. Just to see if you’ve gained weight.”
“Oh, I definitely have,” Ti Xiao said, still holding his hand as they kept walking. “All your fault for feeding me so well.”
“What if I spoil you too much?” he added with a grin. “I’m fully capable of being a total handful, y’know.”
“Then be one,” Xiao Yao said with that casual, steady tone of his. “I’ll spoil you anyway.”
“Ti Xiao,” Xiao Yao suddenly called his name again.
Ti Xiao stopped and looked back. The pom-pom on his red hat bounced a little.
“I really like you.”
Ti Xiao’s heart gave a little jolt. He scratched his fingers lightly against Xiao Yao’s palm. “What’s with the sudden confession again?”
“I don’t know,” Xiao Yao said, slipping Ti Xiao’s restless hand into his coat pocket and giving it a little squeeze. “I just wanted to say it… so you’ll always, always remember how much I like you.”
Couples on either side of the street were kissing without a care in the world. Ti Xiao rolled his eyes, then said, “Xiao Yao, stand right here and don’t move.”
“What?” Xiao Yao had no idea what Ti Xiao was up to, but he stayed put anyway.
“I really like you too,” Ti Xiao said, grabbed him by the collar—and kissed him first.
There’s something about crossing into the New Year with someone by your side, someone who stays with you as the clock resets and promises to keep walking with you through the years to come. That feeling—it just makes you want to shout your love to the world.
And more than anything, he wanted to tell him.
“I really like you.”
Xiao Yao froze for a second, then quickly took the lead and deepened the kiss.
“Sweet?” Ti Xiao’s cheeks flushed pink. Xiao Yao was always calling him sweet—now it was time to flip the script.
“Sweet,” Xiao Yao said, and stole another kiss, clearly not satisfied yet.
Hand in hand, they walked home. A lot of familiar faces from the square were heading back to the neighborhood too, so Xiao Yao only managed to sneak in a few quick kisses on the way. But when they got to the front of their building—everything changed.
Ti Xiao practically launched himself onto Xiao Yao, wrapped his arms around his neck, and clung to him with his legs around his waist. Xiao Yao caught him effortlessly, holding that soft, snuggly bundle in his arms. In the dark hallway, the two of them kissed like they couldn’t get enough of each other.
They stumbled from the first floor to the second, barely able to walk straight. They couldn’t see each other clearly in the shadows, but the heat of their bodies and the softness of their lips were more than enough to make them forget where they were.
Sighs. The sound of shifting clothes. The thudding of hearts. All of it echoed in the stairwell.
“Tonight…” Xiao Yao panted as he tried to speak.
“Mm…” Ti Xiao, hair all mussed from the kisses, wasn’t even listening. He just kept chasing Xiao Yao’s lips, dazed and breathless.
But before Xiao Yao could finish his sentence—
The hallway lights flipped on.
Ahem. A very awkward cough.
That sound snapped Ti Xiao straight out of it. He turned around fast—only to see that they were still locked in an embrace right in front of someone’s door.
The unfortunate witness was a junior high kid Ti Xiao knew pretty well. The poor guy had just started eighth grade and nearly dropped whatever he was holding.
Red-faced, the kid pointed toward the door behind them. “Uh… Ti Xiao-ge, can you guys, like… move?”
Xiao Yao didn’t say a word. He just scooped Ti Xiao up and bolted for their place on the fourth floor.
Once they were home, a new issue popped up—how to sleep tonight: together or separately, and at whose place?
“You promised just now,” Xiao Yao said, sounding slightly wronged. Ti Xiao had technically agreed back there.
“Nope, doesn’t count! You didn’t even finish your sentence!” Ti Xiao said, heading for the door. “Let me go home—I haven’t fed the cat yet!”
That whole steamy moment from earlier had been completely derailed. The mood was shattered. Honestly, he was so startled, he wasn’t sure things would even work now.
“I already fed Xiao Hulu this afternoon,” Xiao Yao said.
In the end, Ti Xiao didn’t stand a chance—he was dragged into bed, held tight, and completely unable to escape.
“Stop squirming,” Xiao Yao said, pinning him under the blankets. He didn’t say the rest of the sentence out loud: Or I might actually lose control and do something.
Ti Xiao had always slept alone. His bed at home was huge—he could roll around however he liked. But now that his single life was over and he was sharing a bed with someone, it was a whole different story. Xiao Yao’s bed was small, so they had to lie close together, all tangled up.
“Hold still,” Xiao Yao warned.
“Ah! Xiao Yao, stop tickling me!” Ti Xiao yelped. Someone’s hand was definitely misbehaving around his waist.
“I didn’t tickle you—you’re the one squirming,” Xiao Yao said, and then promptly tickled him again.
“I’m gonna bite you!” Ti Xiao kicked him in retaliation, stretching his cold foot out. Ah—so refreshing.
“…It’s so hot in here,” Xiao Yao sighed, finally pulling back his wandering hand.
Well, with the heater on, plus an electric blanket, and two bodies under the covers, of course it was hot.
“Just go to sleep,” Xiao Yao said softly, running a gentle hand through Ti Xiao’s hair. It was so silky, he didn’t want to stop.
Day one of being in a relationship and they were already sleeping in the same bed—these two were moving fast. Honestly, even if they’d gone all the way tonight, Ti Xiao wouldn’t have been shocked. But since they hadn’t said anything out loud, the final step still remained unspoken.
Take it slow, Ti Xiao thought, drowsily.
And then he fell asleep.
Leaving one lonely, cold Xiao Hulu curled up alone in the next room, spending the New Year in solitude.
Meow?
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, their first visitor was Xiao Yu—not so much to say “Happy New Year” as to collect his red envelope.
Naomi, being a full-on foreigner who didn’t celebrate Spring Festival—and who had something else going on that day—left Xiao Yu with Xiao Yao to enjoy at least half of the holiday.
The little guy had been sitting quietly on the couch, happily munching on candy. That is, until he saw his big brother walk out of the bedroom holding that same short older brother in his arms… and even kiss him on the cheek.
The piece of candy slipped from his hand and fell to the floor.
“I’m sleepy…” Ti Xiao mumbled, rubbing his eyes as he hung lazily off Xiao Yao like a human koala.
“Let’s wash your face first.” Xiao Yao gently wiped his face with a damp towel. “I was gonna let you sleep in a little longer, but you woke up on your own. Did Xiao Yu wake you up?”
Xiao Yu: “???”
“No,” Ti Xiao murmured, still groggy as he took the brand-new toothbrush handed to him.
He’d only brushed for a few seconds when something clicked in his head, and he snapped awake.
Wait a sec—Xiao Yu’s here?! Then that means… did they just traumatize another innocent flower of the motherland again?
Said “flower,” the future of the nation, Xiao Yu, was currently giving Ti Xiao the death stare—the kind that screamed betrayal and heartbreak—as he stuffed another candy into his mouth. It didn’t taste sweet at all. It tasted like dog food.
“Happy New Year, Xiao Yu,” Ti Xiao said, handing over a big red envelope, along with a pile of candies and fruit.
“Don’t give him so much—he’s still a kid,” Xiao Yao frowned at the thickness of the red envelope.
“Oh come on, it’s New Year’s!” Ti Xiao said cheerfully. Plus, he was technically Xiao Yu’s future brother-in-law, so giving a red envelope felt right.
Under his brother’s sharp gaze, Xiao Yu didn’t dare take the envelope. He left it on the table and politely said, “Thank you.”
Xiao Yao brought over breakfast for Ti Xiao and playfully pinched his cheek. Xiao Yu watched this shameless flirtation unfold before his eyes and thought of the scene earlier—his brother carrying Ti Xiao around like a prince. So, like usual, he reached out his little pudgy arms and said:
“Gege, hug me!”
He even threw in a fake cough and sniffled a bit, selling the “poor pitiful child” angle hard.
But his brother didn’t even flinch. Xiao Yao glanced at him, then immediately looked away—back to handing breakfast to the short older brother, and giving him another cheek pinch.
A wave of rejection crashed over Xiao Yu. Not that he’d ever really been the favorite, but this hurt.
Now his face was just full-on tragic as he pouted and stared at Ti Xiao eating breakfast, looking like he wanted to cry. This guy had stolen his brother!
Ti Xiao was eating and scrolling through messages from his family group chat when he suddenly looked up—and met the death glare of a very unhappy little kid.
He couldn’t help but ruffle Xiao Yu’s hair and, when Xiao Yao left the room, he quickly stuffed the red envelope into Xiao Yu’s pocket. He leaned down and whispered, not even sure if Xiao Yu would understand:
“Just wait right here, okay?”
The sound of the door closing came from the hallway. When it opened again, Ti Xiao was holding none other than Xiao Hulu the cat in his arms.
Xiao Yu’s blue eyes lit up. He carefully reached out and gently patted the kitten’s head. Maybe it was because he was so good-looking, but even when it came to petting cats, he seemed naturally gifted. The little furball gave him face, rubbing obediently into his palm like a well-behaved child.
When Xiao Yao came out of the kitchen, he handed his still-connected phone to Xiao Yu and said in English, “It’s your sister calling.”
The little guy took the phone with one hand while still petting the cat with the other. After listening for a bit, he cheerfully called out, “Daddy!”
That means “Dad,” right? Ti Xiao listened in while munching on a bun. His English wasn’t great, so he could only catch a few basic words. What he didn’t notice, though, was how Xiao Yao, sitting to the side, was gradually looking more and more upset.
Xiao Yu said a few more things before handing the phone to Xiao Yao, signaling him to talk to the person on the other end.
Xiao Yao took the phone, exchanged a few words in English, then suddenly fell silent. His brow furrowed deeply.
“You don’t need to come. She doesn’t either.”
Xiao Yao’s voice abruptly rose. Both Ti Xiao and Xiao Yu jumped.
Ti Xiao understood that sentence, but not who Xiao Yao meant. Was it the person Xiao Yu had just called “Daddy”?
Xiao Yu didn’t stay long at Xiao Yao’s place before someone came to pick him up. The apartment returned to its usual quiet. Xiao Yao stared down at his phone—maybe texting, maybe not.
From what Xiao Yao had mentioned earlier—how he and Xiao Yu were half-brothers with the same father, and how there was a blonde, blue-eyed “sister” with no blood relation—Ti Xiao had figured things were probably complicated. But since they’d only ever been neighbors before, he never pried.
“You’re not in a good mood,” Ti Xiao said as he walked over and gave his face a little tug. “It’s the first day of the New Year. Don’t be like this, smile a bit.”
“Sorry,” Xiao Yao caught his hand, “My emotions might be…”
The phone screen showed the profile of a woman. A tear-shaped beauty mark lay under her long eyes.
Ti Xiao had seen this woman before—on an oil painting at an exhibit recently, a piece by his teacher, Sheng Xiao. But this time, it wasn’t a painting. The photo was sharp and real.
The woman in the image wore a slight smile, like she was quietly watching someone.
A voice whispered an answer in the back of Ti Xiao’s mind, but he didn’t say it out loud. He didn’t ask either.
Xiao Yao took a deep breath. His always-calm voice trembled a little.
“Soon… would you come with me to see her?”
Ti Xiao silently reached out and hugged him from the front, feeling the head in his arms nuzzle against his chest.
“Of course I will,” he whispered. He had a pretty good idea of what this was about and patted Xiao Yao’s back softly, like comforting a child. “Don’t feel too sad, okay?”
The screen on Xiao Yao’s phone was still lit. The woman on it smiled faintly, her eyes filled with deep affection—but not for anyone outside that screen.
And never would be again.
“I’m okay now.” Xiao Yao took a few deep breaths but didn’t move away from Ti Xiao’s arms.
It was rare—Ti Xiao, comforting Xiao Yao for a change.
But in a relationship between two men, everything was equal to begin with. There’s no rule that says the more vulnerable one should always be the one getting pampered. Like respect, love flows both ways.
“It’s alright. If you ever want to talk about it, just do it when you’re ready,” Ti Xiao said gently. “Here, let me pet you a little.”
He reached out and tousled Xiao Yao’s hair until it was a wild mess.
The man in his arms chuckled and immediately took control back—pulling Ti Xiao into a hug and returning the favor, messing up his hair too like a couple of kids.
“Let me pinch you,” Xiao Yao said, eyes a little red.
Ti Xiao had never seen Xiao Yao like this before. Of course he agreed to anything, even leaning his chubby cheek forward.
“Go ahead. You can pinch all you want.”
Instead, he got his chin grabbed and a big smooch planted on him.
It wasn’t lustful—just full of pure, overwhelming affection.
“Thank you, little dumpling.”
After the kiss, Ti Xiao touched his poor lips where he’d gotten nibbled, looking wronged.
“Didn’t you say it was just gonna be a pinch?”
“I never said just a pinch,” Xiao Yao said, clearly savoring the moment. “And I never said I couldn’t kiss you.”
Damn it, Xiao Yao. Who let this big bad wolf of a man become an English teacher?
