Late autumn in Yun City, the wind carried a biting chill across the skyline.
Sensitive to cold, Su Pu wore a shearling coat early, a white knit cap, and gloves tightly secured by Aunt Zhang.
He had finished work long ago but hadn’t gone home, instead sitting in the café reading a book on coffee craftsmanship.
His alarm, set ahead of time, signaled six o’clock. Su Pu immediately stood, dressed, and eagerly watched the door.
Soon, two thumps came from the floor-to-ceiling window beside him.
Blinking, Su Pu looked out: there was Li Jichuan, clad in a black cashmere coat, seated in his wheelchair, smiling at him.
“Let’s go!”
He mouthed the words to Su Pu.
Su Pu leapt up, rushing out—their date awaited!
After the previous cancellation had driven Su Pu to drunkenness, Li Jichuan had learned both a lesson and a sweet reward.
Tonight, he was determined to make up for it.
Though they had agreed on six o’clock, he had hesitated over his coat, changed once more, and finally arrived.
Su Pu, like a little lamb, pattered excitedly toward him, making Li Jichuan’s heart leap.
He longed to open his arms and pull him in—
But would Su Pu actually come into his embrace?
“Waited long?”
Seeing Su Pu puffing little clouds of breath from the cold, Li Jichuan couldn’t help but smile.
Shaking his head, Su Pu noticed Li Jichuan was lightly dressed, tugged off his gloves, and slipped them onto his husband’s hands.
Feeling the warmth radiating from Su Pu’s hands, Li Jichuan confirmed: Su Pu was indeed a “hand person.”
He feared the hands might get cold, robbing him of future enjoyment…
A sly little hand-controlling trickster.
“Let’s get in the car,” Li Jichuan said.
Su Pu nodded, his face alight with contentment.
In truth, gloves weren’t even needed—Li Jichuan had felt warm the moment he saw him.
Their destination was a workshop to have a base custom-made for Su Pu’s trophy.
At a long-established mall, Li Jichuan expertly guided Su Pu to a ground-floor antique watch workshop.
The craftsmen, all with streaks of white in their hair, seemed aged but familiar with Li Jichuan.
After explaining their purpose, the chief craftsman measured the trophy and gave a pickup time.
The workshop was filled with ticking antique clocks, almost museum-like in atmosphere.
“Pretty amazing, isn’t it? Such a shop in a luxury mall…” Li Jichuan lowered his voice, careful not to disturb the quiet.
Su Pu nodded.
Strangely, being here gave him a calm sense, as if time itself passed through him.
“My first mechanical watch… it was a gift from my father.”
Li Jichuan maneuvered carefully around the old standing clocks, Su Pu trailing behind, eyes fixed on his long lashes.
“I was very young then, thinking watches were a burden, hindering my play. No longer could I use them as an excuse to be lazy…”
“But my parents passed suddenly; nothing was left for me. After the funeral, I searched the house. Many things had sentimental value, but nothing as small and portable as that watch, nothing that could accompany me anywhere.”
【So you come here often to repair it?】
Su Pu typed.
Li Jichuan nodded. “Mm.”
“When it first broke, I secretly cried for nights, saving all my allowance to bring it here, begging them to fix it…”
“On that first day, I probably looked terrible crying—but they never mocked me.”
Li Jichuan smiled self-deprecatingly.
Listening, Su Pu reached to adjust his shoulder, only to have his wrist grabbed—Li Jichuan pulled a watch from his pocket and fastened it onto his wrist.
“You gave me such a precious bracelet. Thinking it over, I had to give you the most important thing to me…”
He tightened the strap. Su Pu’s wrist was thin; even on the innermost hole, it still wobbled slightly.
“Su Pu, this is my parents’ most treasured gift. Now it’s yours.”
So there was no need for jealousy—he was irreplaceable.
Unknowingly, they had stepped out of the store, the background ticking replaced by pop music.
Su Pu couldn’t focus…
Wearing something so important to Li Jichuan—did that mean he was important too?
He felt joy, happiness—should he share this with Li Jichuan?
Li Jichuan’s wheelchair led the way; Su Pu followed, tiptoeing excitedly, bouncing a little.
He was so happy—could Li Jichuan feel it?
Before leaving the mall, Su Pu paused at a storefront, staring at cashmere scarves on the mannequin.
“Want it?” Li Jichuan asked, noticing his interest.
Su Pu nodded, but it wasn’t for himself.
They entered, and Li Jichuan asked the salesperson to bring the scarf.
Su Pu draped it around Li Jichuan’s neck directly.
It fit perfectly.
Half of Li Jichuan’s face buried in the scarf, he stared for two seconds, then asked slowly,
“You picked it for me?”
Su Pu beamed.
His gaze shifted to a shirt, pointing at it and then at Li Jichuan.
“For my husband!”
Li Jichuan smiled. “The shirt suits me too?”
Su Pu nodded.
“Sky blue?” Li Jichuan was surprised—his wardrobe was usually just black, white, and gray.
Su Pu hesitated two seconds.
【Then you try it on first.】
Curious about his wife’s taste, Li Jichuan entered the fitting room. Outside, Su Pu kept glancing at the watch on his wrist.
So this was the feeling of receiving a gift of great significance…
“Su Pu?”
Lost in thought, Su Pu suddenly heard his name.
He looked up, recognizing the person approaching after a long pause in memory.
Cong Shu.
His high school deskmate.
“It’s really you! What are you doing here?”
Cong Shu was assessing the brand again. With shirts costing tens of thousands, could Su Pu afford them?
After years, the timid little mute had fared so well?
Past memories slowly resurfaced. Su Pu instinctively stepped back.
No… don’t come closer…
“Out shopping? After graduation, we haven’t seen you. Where did you disappear to?” Cong Shu said boldly.
The perpetrator never shackled themselves; the victim remained trapped in past pain, crying through dreams.
Life was unfair!
“Su Pu, I’m done trying it on…”
The fitting room door opened. Li Jichuan emerged confidently.
“The shirt looks great—you have good taste!”
Su Pu’s lips stiffened into an unnatural smile.
“Li Jichuan?!” Cong Shu blinked in disbelief. “You’re shopping here too? What a coincidence!”
Li Jichuan didn’t glance at him, eyes fixed on Su Pu.
“Xiao Pu, I like both the scarf and the shirt. Buy them for me…”