❖

The two people arrived at the hotel where they had previously scheduled their stay. Throwing down their baggage, they both took a shower before pouncing onto a bed and caught up on some sleep. It was already afternoon by the time they awoke.

Wang Guangning had already slept for a while on the train, so he got up first. Upon seeing that Zhang Lingyi was still asleep, Wang Guangning didn't disturb him. Instead, he lazily stretched his body before walking over to the window to gaze at the scenery outside.

The place where they were staying at was an apartment next to Xiamen University. It was quite close to the ocean, and the window faced the water directly. As soon as Wang Guangning pushed open the window, a humid breeze blew in from the sea.

There was an underlying smell of fish hidden within the breeze; yet, it gave people an unexpectedly comfortable feeling.

Wang Guangning breathed in deeply. The colour of the ocean in Xiamen was not the sky-blue as shown on TV, but rather, it was blue with hints of light grey. The water extended out all the way to where the horizon started.

Wang Guangning's mood was quite good, so he leaned against the frame of the window while studying the Xiamen tourist guide on his phone. He was researching places that provided snacks which were a speciality of Xiamen.

When Zhang Lingyi woke up, he saw Wang Guangning resting against the window with his head bowed as he stared at his phone in concentration. A corner on the lower hem of Wang Guangning's clothes was lightly brushed aside by the breeze, causing him to seem like a manifestation of a poster.

Zhang Lingyi took in a deep breath, then said in a loud voice, "Ah, I'm nearly starving to death! Shou shou, let's set off on our journey to vanquish delicacies."

By following the directions on the map on the tourist guide, the two found a bus and headed towards Zhong Shan Road. It was currently the peak season for tourism in Xiamen, so there were a particularly large number of tourists around. Wang Guangning and Zhang Lingyi casually moved about within the tide of people. Whatever food caught their eye, they would buy it.

"Shou shou, eat this. It's delicious." In Zhang Lingyi's palm, there was a bowl of sipunculid worm jelly. He jabbed a toothpick into one piece and ate it. Then he used a different toothpick to stab it into another one and brought the worm jelly to Wang Guangning's mouth.

Wang Guangning held a cup of grass jelly in one hand with a bottle of freshly pressed guava juice in the other. He was disoriented and confused from eating so much. To Wang Guangning, the food presented before him was dazzling. Hence, when Zhang Lingyi offered him a jelly-like substance, Wang Guangning didn't ask anything and directly ate it.

"En, it's alright. A bit cold though." Wang Guangning swallowed the worm jelly and frowned.

"I think it's quite delicious." Upon seeing that Wang Guangning didn't like it, Zhang Lingyi quickly ate the rest of the worm jelly. Moving his head closer to Wang Guangning, he said, "Shou shou, I want to drink some grass jelly."

Wang Guangning handed the cup of grass jelly over to Zhang Lingyi, but the other did not take it. Instead, he simply drank from the cup that was still in Wang Guangning's hand. With an expression of content, Zhang Lingyi remarked, "It's good."

"En. Zhang Lingyi, I want to try that bun¹." Wang Guangning saw a stall with a signboard selling buns that were highly recommended by the Xiamen tourist guide. He nudged Zhang Lingyi and nodded his chin towards it.

[1] 金包銀 : Not sure about the translation of this bun, but it literally translates to: Jin Bao Yin—金 (gold) 包 (bun/wrapping) 銀 (silver).

"Oh, sure." Since Wang Guangning was carrying something in both hands, Zhang Lingyi was the one shouldering the responsibility of buying food. He bought one of the buns and fed it to Wang Guangning. Upon taking a bite, Wang Guangning exclaimed that it was delicious.

"Is it really that good?" Faced with Wang Guangning's expression of satisfaction, Zhang Lingyi also took a bite from the part already eaten by the other. The food that they had eaten numbered to a significant amount, so they basically shared most of the food they had bought. The pair had long discarded the mentality of 'this is mine, that is yours'.

"Ah, it really does taste quite good." While speaking, Zhang Lingyi took another bite.

"This one's mine. If you want to eat, go and buy another one." Wang Guangning protested quickly upon seeing that Zhang Lingyi had already consumed more than half of the bun. Zhang Lingyi laughed, before running away.

There was plenty of street food in Xiamen that suited their tastes. Since the two would eat whatever that found to their liking, it wasn't long before they felt as if they would burst from eating so much.

"Oh, I can't handle anymore." Wang Guangning drank the last bit of the grass jelly then threw the empty paper cup into a trash can by the side of the road.

"I don't think I can eat anything else either." Zhang Lingyi rubbed his stomach and had the urge to roll his eyes.

"Let's go for a walk and let everything digest," suggested Wang Guangning, despite the fact that his line of sight was pinned to a long queue of people waiting to buy mochi.

"Alright, don't look anymore. We can come and eat here again tomorrow." Zhang Lingyi reached for Wang Guangning's hand. He casually threaded their fingers together as they strolled down the road slowly.

Sometimes, an appropriate atmosphere can reduce people's unease and restlessness. It can transform something that was once unthinkable to one that feels reasonable and right.

Maybe, it's because of the beautiful scenery and food.

Maybe, it's because of the unfamiliar stream of people.

Maybe, it's because here, they only know each other.

Even if their fingers were threaded together as they walked down the road leisurely, they did not feel that there was anything strange or unnatural about it.

Wang Guangning and Zhang Lingyi ambled down Zhong Shan Road, gazing at the nightscape and taking photos along the way.

Suddenly, Wang Guangning halted.

"Shou shou, what's wrong?" Zhang Lingyi followed Wang Guangning's stare and then the corner of his mouth twitched.

Unexpectedly, it was a claw machine.

"Hey, you want to try and win a stuffed toy?" Oh god, did he just accidentally discover something again? Zhang Lingyi hadn't expected that Wang Guangning was actually so childish at heart. He silently looked at the other in disdain.

"I want that SpongeBob one." Wang Guangning stared at the yellow cuddly toy that was situated at the very top of the pile. If they were in G city and he saw the SpongeBob toy there, Wang Guangning wouldn't want to buy it. However, the environment is truly a wonderful thing.

For example, he felt completely relaxed in this unfamiliar place and couldn't help but want to do something willful.

Zhang Lingyi had almost forgotten that Wang Guangning had a SpongeBobphilia. orz

"If you want the toy, then try capturing it." Zhang Lingyi searched around in his clothes then yanked out four coins. Wang Guangning joyfully took them and inserted it into the machine to start.

Reality has proved that high IQ does not equal strong hands-on ability.

"Forget it, you and that SpongeBob toy aren't fated." Zhang Lingyi patted Wang Guangning's shoulder. "This isn't easy to control anyway."

Wang Guangning was unwilling and poked around in his pockets, but was unable to find any coins.

The truth was, he knew that such a machine relied mostly on luck. Sometimes, there would be success. Other times, there would only be failure. Therefore, Wang Guangning did not continue to insist on playing and resentfully left with Zhang Lingyi.

The returned to their residence with a large bag of beer after having decided that they would continue their next mission of being a gay couple —— drinking together and getting drunk.

The floor of their flat was covered with carpet, so the pair sat next to the window and felt that it was quite comfortable. Beer cans littered the ground as Wang Guangning and Zhang Lingyi drank while gazing out at the ocean.

The truth was, as soon as they started drinking, they both couldn't help but recall the incident which had happened that night when they went star-gazing. Although they didn't know what the other's reaction had been at that time, it was still very embarrassing.

Thus, in order to prevent themselves from thinking about that memory, the two men drank in silence.

The result of this was that......they both became drunk very quickly.

Earlier, they had both eaten to the point of feeling like they would burst. Just when they had finally calmed down, they were filling themselves up with beer.

"Ugh......" Wang Guangning ran to the bathroom with a hand held over his mouth. His steps were unsteady, clearly hinting at his currently intoxicated state.

Zhang Lingyi intentionally provoked him. " Shou shou, you finally have it! Dafa's going to have a younger brother!"

Wang Guangning felt dizzy and didn't take notice of Zhang Lingyi's words. He vomited the sour liquid into the wash basin, then splashed his face with cold water until he felt soberer.

After coming out of the bathroom, Wang Guangning was faced with the scene of Zhang Lingyi lying on the ground. Underneath his six-pack, Zhang Lingyi's belly and waist were slightly bulging as he observed the ceiling blankly. He seemed as if he really could not handle anymore, despite the can of beer that was still held in his hand.

"Hey. You're still drinking?" Wang Guangning lightly kicked Zhang Lingyi's wrist. His head was still reeling and he couldn't stand properly. Wang Guangning lowered himself to lie down beside Zhang Lingyi.

"Drink! Why stop drinking?" Zhang Lingyi listlessly waved his beer can, looking like a fish that was struggling not to die.

Upon seeing this, Wang Guangning laughed. He wasn't a hypocrite; since he had said that he would drink, then he naturally wouldn't just stop here. Opening another two cans, Wang Guangning bumped them against Zhang Lingyi's.

"Cheers!" Zhang Lingyi shouted. He drank directly from his position where he laid on the ground, causing trails of beer to slip from the corner of his mouth.

"Ah, how terrible." Sitting up, Zhang Lingyi rubbed his lips with the back of his hand.

"Do you regret it now?" Wang Guangning gloated while giving him a kick.

"Don't laugh." Zhang Lingyi pounced on Wang Guangning in indignation. His mind was already extremely hazy, and his actions were no longer controlled by rationality. Zhang Lingyi poured the rest of the beer in his hand directly onto Wang Guangning's neck.

The cold liquid dripped down his clothes, along the sharp curve of Wang Guangning's neck. He shivered.

"Zhang Lingyi, I'm going to kill you." Angered, Wang Guangning leapt over towards the other man in a fierce move.

Unable to evade in time, Zhang Lingyi was pushed to the ground. Wang Guangning just happened to fall into a kneeling position near Zhang Lingyi's wais

It was as if the scene under the stars was repeating itself.

But this time, they were both drunk and the chaos in their heads prevented them from feeling any embarrassment in this situation. Instead, they laughed and continued to mess around.

"Why are you so stingy......" Zhang Lingyi grabbed Wang Guangning's collar and pulled the other's entire upper half down until their bodies were pasted together. "I'll drink with you......" Before he finished speaking, Zhang Lingyi's head dropped onto Wang Guangning's neck.

Wang Guangning shuddered as he felt Zhang Lingyi's lips touching his skin. Wang Guangning was quite sensitive and ticklish so he couldn't hold back his laughter. Unable to balance himself, Wang Guangning sat on Zhang Lingyi's belly.

"Ugh......" With his stomach that had been filled to the brim suddenly sat upon, Zhang Lingyi could no longer hold back and vomited on the spot.

"You're so disgusting!" Wang Guangning retreated, but didn't control his strength and ended up falling on his back.

"Fuck." His muddled consciousness caused him to be unable to get up. Thus, Wang Guangning simply laid where he was, his feet curled around Zhang Lingyi's.

"Don't vomit on me." Wang Guangning gave the other a kick, only to end up feeling somewhat nauseous too. Oh~ There was nothing he could do...it seemed that he was going to vomit...

Considering that Zhang Lingyi had already dirtied the ground, Wang Guangning gave up and directly vomited on the carpet too.

He felt more comfortable afterwards, even though his head was still a blank.

"Shou shou~" Zhang Lingyi called out to him weakly.

"What?" Wang Guangning answered back in the same tone.

"Do you regret becoming a gay couple with me?" Zhang Lingyi abruptly asked a question that was completely irrelevant to their current situation.

The blankness in Wang Guangning's mind became even more empty.

Regret being gay with you?

Of course, I don't regret it. After all, it was all fake anyway.

Even if he wanted to regret, he should at least regret......why was this agreement just a fake play?

Wang Guangning thought for a long period of time, before whimpering, "Regret......regret it to death......"

Zhang Lingyi had only asked the question subconsciously. Yet, when he heard the answer, he felt somewhat foolish and dazed.

From the very start, it was he who had been passionate about it all. Wang Guangning had merely been coerced by himself and only participated because he had no other choice.

The fact that he would feel regret, Zhang Lingyi had long foreseen it.

So why did he still feel so disappointed when he heard Wang Guangning's answer? To the point that his heart was faintly hurting?

Zhang Lingyi stared blankly up at the ceiling, his mind feeling even emptier than before.

The most frightening thing about a fake play was that even though you knew it was false, you couldn't help but wish it as true.

_________________

It's been a long time since my last update, but I promised myself I wouldn't post until all of my SACs were completed 人(_ _*)

*points at lips* (づ￣ ³￣)づ

...... >///< Chu ~

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There's probably a lot of mistakes in this chapter, but I'm too sleepy to edit TT - TT

translator: k i a i