As Xiao Yao stepped backward, both their hearts seemed to break with every step he took—shattered and crumbling, scattering in a trail on the floor.
Ti Xiao’s heart broke—he had spent nearly two months preparing this surprise.
Xiao Yao’s heart broke too—because now he had to wait until his birthday in August to get his gift.
“Stop! Stand still, don’t move! Don’t move your foot anymore!” Ti Xiao almost shouted.
“Okay, okay, I won’t move.” Xiao Yao, afraid of upsetting his little hamster, quickly froze in place and raised both hands in surrender.
“Xiao Yao, you should sleep in the study tonight,” Ti Xiao said, fuming as he started picking up his drawings.
“I don’t want to sleep in the study. I want to sleep in the bedroom—with you,” Xiao Yao protested, struggling.
“Dream on,” Ti Xiao said, rescuing the drawing under Xiao Yao’s foot like a train conductor sweeping orange peels off the floor. “Lift your foot!”
Xiao Yao obediently lifted his foot, secretly glancing down.
The drawing he’d stepped on… Xiao Yao tilted his head—it was from the day he confessed. A little hamster standing on its tiptoes trying to give a kiss to a Siamese cat who was looking down. Snowflakes drifted around them.
The picture was warm and beautiful, but unfortunately, it had been soaked by water and stamped with a large wet footprint.
Ti Xiao carefully picked up the page, feeling a bitter sting in his heart.
The colors had blurred into a smudged mess from the water, only the pencil outlines of the two animals remained clear. The wet paper had become soft and flimsy, seeming like it would tear with the slightest pressure.
Outside, rain pounded against the window. Ti Xiao felt utterly miserable, wanting to stand out in the rain and play Chopin.
“Ahh,” Ti Xiao sighed softly, crouched on the floor.
Xiao Yao felt bad too. He bent slightly and asked, “Are you okay?”
Before Ti Xiao could say “No,” something fell from above and smashed into his hands. It pulled the drawing apart and ripped it before landing on the floor.
Xiao Yao’s slipper.
Ti Xiao had picked it out for him, with a cat’s face printed on it—pretty cute and girly.
The sole was wet, and the house was covered in little hamster hairs—Ti Xiao could clearly see some brown hairs stuck to his hands.
Now Xiao Yao was definitely sleeping in the study tonight. Maybe even for a whole week. Or until the day before his birthday, when he’d finally get his “love ticket.”
Ti Xiao looked up from the floor at Xiao Yao, who was standing and looking down at him. Their expressions couldn’t have been more different.
One looked like “I’m going to take your life,” and the other said “I swear the slipper moved first.”
“Xiao… Yao,” Ti Xiao gritted his teeth, saying each word slowly, wishing he could skin the tall Siamese cat and tear up that handsome face.
“I’ll help you pick them up,” Xiao Yao’s survival instincts kicked in. He carefully placed his foot on the floor to avoid further damage and crouched down to help.
The drawings were scattered a bit, but with Xiao Yao’s long arms and legs, he started gathering the pages around him first.
One showed the two of them at a convenience store—hamster holding a triangular rice ball with a little green leaf on it, handing it to the Siamese cat.
Another was from when they ate hot pot—the hamster opened its mouth breathing fire from the spicy chili, and the Siamese cat hurriedly passed over a cup, which looked like it was made from a nut shell.
The next one Xiao Yao couldn’t quite understand or recall ever happening:
The hamster was riding on the Siamese cat’s head, holding something like a lasso, looking very proud. The speech bubble read, “The man with the lasso.”
Probably “You’re mighty and strong” on the next page.
Xiao Yao didn’t notice a small date note in the bottom right corner: “March 21, Spring Equinox.”
Looks like the hamster had a fighting spirit after all.
As Xiao Yao helped Ti Xiao pick up the drawings, he secretly glanced at the images and slowly smiled.
But honestly, inside he still felt pretty conflicted.
Part of him wanted to see exactly what his little hamster had drawn, while the other part wanted to keep this surprise all to himself and reveal it all at once on his birthday. It was a tearful kind of watching.
“Oh my gosh, how did my little hamster draw something this cute? So adorable, I want to squish him, want this, want that.”
“Wahhh, my birthday gift, my surprise, it’s all getting ruined step by step by my own feet.”
He wanted to laugh and cry at the same time.
Ti Xiao had been crouching on the floor picking up the drawings too, but suddenly he realized this was supposed to be a birthday surprise for Xiao Yao. Now that Xiao Yao had seen it, what kind of surprise was that?
“Close your eyes while you pick them up,” Ti Xiao said fiercely, holding a drawing in his hand. “Hurry up, close your eyes.”
Xiao Yao took this as Ti Xiao giving him an out, and obediently closed his eyes. He squatted on the floor like a blind man, feeling around the ground with his hands. His feet felt nailed to the floor, not moving an inch.
Now he couldn’t see anything, everything in front of his eyes was a blur and chaos. All he could hear was the soft rustle of paper scraping and Ti Xiao’s quiet sighs.
“Xiao Xiao,” Xiao Yao said, feeling like he’d had his eyes closed forever but still hadn’t heard Ti Xiao say he could open them. “Are you done picking them up?”
Ti Xiao didn’t answer, bent over to blow the dust off the drawing.
“Are any of your drawings near me? Can I move a little?” Xiao Yao asked again.
Still no answer.
“Can I open my eyes?” “Can I stand up?” “Can I put on a jacket?”
Three questions in a row, and Ti Xiao ignored them all. Xiao Yao wisely zipped his lips.
Ti Xiao hung the wet drawings on a thin string to dry, gently blowing on them with a heart full of pain. He organized the rest of the usable drawings and pressed a book on top of them on the table to keep them flat. After making sure there were no drawings left on the floor, he sighed again.
Xiao Yao was still squatting right where he was, eyes tightly shut. The edge of the towel wrapped around his waist just barely touched the floor. His arms rested on his knees, hanging down—definitely a farmer’s squat.
He looked pretty funny, and Ti Xiao couldn’t help but laugh.
Hearing Ti Xiao’s laughter, Xiao Yao finally spoke again, “Sorry, Xiao Xiao, I messed up your stuff.”
Then, knowingly asking again, “Are these the commissioned drawings you arranged?”
Ti Xiao spun around in his chair, a mischievous smile tugging at his lips. He wanted to tease Xiao Yao while he still had his eyes closed.
He moved right in front of Xiao Yao, crouched down, and faced him eye to eye.
“What am I going to do? These are commissioned pieces I promised someone. The client demands the original drawings. I’ve already sent them and gotten approval. Now that you’ve stepped on so many and ruined them, what am I supposed to do?” Ti Xiao put on a fake panicked, pitiful act.
Xiao Yao heard the footsteps stop in front of him, the light before his eyes dimmed suddenly—he knew Ti Xiao was right there.
He smiled quietly but said nothing. Where were the commissions? Where was the client? It was all nonsense made up by this little drama queen.
Even if there was a client, that client was him—Xiao Yao.
Ti Xiao reached out and tugged at Xiao Yao’s handsome face, rattling off a string of words, “I was going to mail the originals in a few days. Now this mess happened today. So many need to be redone, and I can’t finish them all. If I don’t finish, I break the contract. If I break the contract, I have to pay damages. I don’t have that kind of money, so I’d have to work myself to the bone. What do you think I should do?”
Xiao Yao listened with his eyes closed, a smile in his voice. “I’ll draw them for you. I’ll mail them. I’ll pay the damages. I’ll work for you.”
“No way, your drawing’s too ugly,” Ti Xiao said, propping his chin in his hand while pinching Xiao Yao’s face. “What if the client rejects it?”
“Then…” Xiao Yao suddenly opened his eyes, reached out with both arms, pulled Ti Xiao into his arms, and tumbled down with him onto the floor.
“I’ll take it.”
It was his birthday gift after all.
Ti Xiao didn’t react right away, but soon he was firmly held in Xiao Yao’s embrace, his face pressed against Xiao Yao’s chest, hearing the steady beat of his heartbeat.
“Hm? How’s that?” Xiao Yao stroked the back of Ti Xiao’s head. “Just give it all to me. I’ll pay more than your client for sure.”
“No way,” Ti Xiao struggled to sit up.
The more he struggled, the tighter Xiao Yao held him, locking him firmly in his arms as he flailed his limbs.
“Keep dreaming. I’m not giving it to you. I’m being generous enough as it is. Stop being shameless.” Ti Xiao punched him. “Let me get up, let go!”
Xiao Yao finally released him, and Ti Xiao got up. Sitting on the floor in the same position from before, they were both inevitably dirtied again, covered in cat hair. Even though Xiao Yao had just showered, he’d have to wash again.
“Wanna shower together?” Xiao Yao called from the cabinet, pulling out a clean towel, inviting Ti Xiao still in the study.
Back in the early days of their relationship, they often did fun things like showering together.
But Ti Xiao had been overworked and practically tortured in the bathroom every night during his recent signing and meet-up events. He had a bad memory of showering with Xiao Yao and immediately refused.
He bent over the study table again, organizing his drawings in order. The ones with footprints and water damage were ruined, and the one destroyed by Xiao Yao’s slipper needed to be redone.
The sound of running water came again from the bathroom. Ti Xiao peeked out, then quietly slipped into the living room to retrieve the calendar from the wall. He flipped it to August 14th and added a few secret marks.
“August 14, August 14,” Ti Xiao tapped his head with a pen.
Xiao Yao was two months younger, but that didn’t change the fact he was an old dog.
Ti Xiao checked his phone. Xiao Yao was probably a Leo, and he was a Gemini. Though he didn’t really believe in astrology, seeing their 100% compatibility made him pretty satisfied.
This year was their zodiac year (ben ming nian), and they were both turning twenty-four.
Ti Xiao glanced at the ring on his ring finger and suddenly realized besides this children’s picture book, he needed to prepare some other gifts. After all, the gift he got on his birthday was an engagement ring.
After looking up astrology, he searched for something else.
He typed the words “ben ming nian” (zodiac year) into the search bar.
His fingers scrolled over the screen, his eyes brightening more and more, a mysterious smile spreading across his lips.
Perfect. It was you. The red underwear for the zodiac year.
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