When he left, Song Jianchu’s ears were slightly red, and his fair skin above the neckline of his pajamas looked like it had been steamed.
He felt a bit dizzy after taking the bath. Song Jianchu collapsed onto the bed, feeling his own lips with his hand, which still felt a bit numb.
He closed his eyes and began to reflect on himself.
To some extent, it was indeed a habit that Mu Ye had developed to stick to him.
Song Jianchu felt calm, and the previous restlessness had completely disappeared.
His brain still felt dizzy, and Song Jianchu’s eyelids started to fight against each other. In a dazed state, he thought that it wouldn’t be bad if Mu Ye, who liked to stick to him, became his boyfriend.
He really liked Mu Ye’s clinginess… a lot.
“Chu Chu, drink the milk…”
Mu Ye came back to the bedroom wearing pajamas, holding a cup of milk. When he saw Song Jianchu lying on the bed, he softened his voice and treaded lightly.
He put the milk cup on the bedside table and stood by the bed, looking at him for a few seconds.
The young man was wearing his peripheral sleepwear, the sets he had given him before. This light gray one, made of thin and soft cotton fabric, made his skin look even fairer and more delicate.
Song Jianchu must have fallen asleep while thinking about something. He lay on his side with his head slightly tilted, and the buttons on his collar were unfastened, revealing a part of his chest.
Mu Ye recalled the scene in the bathroom just now and immediately averted his gaze from the young man’s collarbone.
He gently lifted the sleeping young man horizontally, adjusted his position carefully, and covered him with the quilt.
Mu Ye sat by the bedside, observing the young man’s sleeping face, and lightly caressed his rosy and tender lips with his fingertips. After seriously reflecting on his lack of self-control during this period, he found the cherry-flavored lip balm and carefully applied it to the young man’s lips, then stole a goodnight kiss with a cherry flavor.
Some time passed, and Song Jianchu went to the hospital for a follow-up check-up, with Mu Ye accompanying him.
After bone marrow transplantation, regular check-ups were necessary to examine for any signs of rejection.
“All the test results are fine, but you still need to continue resting for a while,” Professor Yan said. “Currently, there are no signs of rejection.”
Mu Ye had been mentally tense since coming to the hospital, and now he relaxed a little and asked, “When can we stop worrying about rejection?”
Professor Yan replied, “Generally speaking, acute rejection reactions occur within one hundred days. If no rejection symptoms appear within a year, then it’s generally safe.”
Mu Ye nodded. “We will come for regular check-ups.”
Noticing Mu Ye’s anxious expression again, Song Jianchu comforted him by squeezing his hand.
Professor Yan reassured them, saying, “It has been two months since the surgery, and the postoperative recovery has been excellent. So, I believe the chances of rejection in the future are small.”
Mu Ye held onto Song Jianchu’s hand tightly. “Okay.”
“No need to be too nervous; young people have good recovery abilities,” Professor Yan said reassuringly. “Rest for another month, and you should have no problems returning to normal work and life.”
Mu Ye helped Song Jianchu stand up. “Thank you, Professor Yan. We’ll come for another check-up in a month.”
“Good, take care,” Professor Yan smiled. “Looking forward to your variety show; my daughter is waiting to watch it.”
Song Jianchu nodded politely.
Back in the car, Mu Ye had half a day off today. He touched Song Jianchu’s head and eagerly said, “Shall we take a nap together when we get home?”
“I can’t sleep. I need to go to the company,” Song Jianchu replied, lowering his head to respond to a message, “I have to discuss some work with Yin Chi.”
“Regarding work matters.”
After all, as a partner in the company, Song Jianchu couldn’t leave everything for Yin Chi to handle alone, especially now that more and more artists were signing with the company these months.
Mu Ye frowned. “The doctor said you still need to rest and another month of recuperation.”
“It’s nothing,” Song Jianchu said. “Just take me there.”
Mu Ye’s expression darkened slightly.
Knowing Mu Ye’s restless personality, Mu Ye had been keeping a close eye on him during this period. He was afraid that Song Jianchu would get bored and find things to do on his own.
“No, you can just tell me through WeChat,” Mu Ye said in a low voice as he turned the car back.
Song Jianchu tilted his head, surprised to see Mu Ye being so serious after a long time, and blinked.
Song Jianchu said, “Oh…”
His phone vibrated again.
Song Jianchu snapped back to reality and looked down to reply to the message.
[Yin Chi: Almost forgot, you’re still recuperating. Never mind, it’s not something urgent.]
[Song Jianchu: Let’s talk on voice message when I get back.]
[Yin Chi: Did you go for your hospital check-up? What did the doctor say?]
[Song Jianchu: Everything’s fine.]
[Yin Chi: That’s good. Take care of your body and get it in good shape before resuming variety show recordings. I’ll come to see you when I have time.]
[Song Jianchu: Any news about Song Yan recently?]
Ever since the transplantation surgery, Song Yan had disappeared without a trace. He changed his phone number, left his old apartment, and seemed to have vanished from the face of the earth.
[Yin Chi: He left. A company hired him to manage the overseas market, a good opportunity for him to turn his life around.]
Yin Chi hinted subtly.
[Yin Chi: That company seems to have some connection with Mu Ye.]
Song Jianchu glanced at the person attentively driving beside him and already guessed it.
It was too coincidental for such a good job opportunity to suddenly emerge.
[Yin Chi: The past grievances should be settled now. There’s no need for you to meet him anymore, and you don’t owe him anything.]
[Song Jianchu: Okay.]
Song Jianchu put away his phone and leaned back against the seat, silently watching Mu Ye’s profile.
During this period, Mu Ye had been restrained and controlled in their intimacy, always knowing when to stop at the most appropriate moment.
They had been living together for so long, and as adults in a normal relationship, they had already done what they should have done.
Song Jianchu had always felt it.
Because of his illness, there was always a tension in Mu Ye’s heart.
The sunlight was bright, the trees along the road were blossoming, and the grass in the square had turned green.
It was already the season of blooming flowers.
Song Jianchu lazily squinted his eyes as he looked at the apricot blossoms outside the window and took the initiative to inform, “Mu Ye, actually, May 20th is my Gregorian calendar birthday, and today is my lunar calendar birthday.”
Mu Ye’s expression froze, and he turned his face slightly. “Today?”
The lunar calendar birthday referred to the traditional Chinese calendar birthday.
May 20th was Song Jianchu’s birthday according to his ID card, which followed the Gregorian calendar.
Mu Ye, on the other hand, had never celebrated his birthday according to the lunar calendar and had never checked Song Jianchu’s lunar calendar birthday.
“You want to celebrate it today?” Mu Ye furrowed his brows slightly and felt a bit regretful. “I haven’t prepared any gifts, and I didn’t reserve a cake.”
Mu Ye glanced at the time. “But if we prepare now, we should still make it.”
“No need to bother,” Song Jianchu turned his head and looked at him, saying, “Let’s finish our unfinished date from last time.”
Mu Ye smiled. “Sure, I’ll celebrate it with you first.”
“We have our own birthdays, so let’s celebrate yours formally in a few months.”
Song Jianchu’s lips curved slightly. “Hmm.”
“What would you like to do today?” Mu Ye asked in a gentle voice. “I’ll accompany you no matter what you want to do.”
Song Jianchu pondered for a moment. “It’s been a while since I updated my vlog.”
Although he had planned to quit the online platform before, Song Jianchu had now dispelled that thought. His fans had been hesitant to ask for updates recently, behaving unusually well-behaved. It seemed a bit pitiful, so he could surprise them with a new upload.
Mu Ye paused for a moment, his eyes filled with anticipation, and tentatively asked, “Can I appear in the vlog?”
Song Jianchu didn’t hesitate much. “Of course.”
Mu Ye smiled. “I’ll go get the camera.”
They had already been interviewed before, so there was nothing to hide now.
Filming the birthday vlog together…
Song Jianchu’s heart beat a little faster, and he realized he was actually looking forward to it.
After retrieving the camera, the two of them set off to shoot the vlog.
Since it wasn’t a rest day, there weren’t many people on the street.
They didn’t go to a shopping mall but instead headed to a popular shopping street among young people. There were various small shops on both sides, all of them beautifully designed and popular for vlogs and street fashion videos.
This time, Mu Ye appeared in front of the camera wearing a mask and a hat.
It was his first time filming a vlog, and Mu Ye found it quite refreshing.
Song Jianchu addressed the camera, “Celebrating my birthday in advance, let’s go out and explore.”
Without a car, Mu Ye pulled down his mask and looked at the two of them on the camera’s display screen, greeting with a smile, “Good day.”
The video hadn’t been edited or uploaded yet, but just filming it made Song Jianchu’s face inexplicably warm.
Song Jianchu maintained a natural expression and recommended, “There’s a pet store on this street where you can adopt stray cats and dogs. Some of the ones you see here were adopted from there. Let’s go take a look.”
The store owner, Gu Ming, was a high school acquaintance of Song Jianchu. He had a great love for animals and rescued many stray cats and dogs. Most of the store’s income went into the rescue operations.
The store owner was currently grooming a puppy and greeted the two of them warmly with scissors in hand. “Welcome! I can’t leave right now, so feel free to look around. Adopting customers get an 80% discount storewide.”
“May we film here?” Song Jianchu asked. “We’d like to promote your store.”
“Feel free to film,” the store owner said amiably. “I’m grateful for the promotion from the number one internet celebrity. These little fellows need to find new homes as soon as possible.”
Mu Ye smiled and said, “You’re busy; we’ll look around ourselves.”
The store owner replied, “Sure, feel free.”
The stray cats and dogs in the store were separated and each had their own living area. The animals were all very gentle and lived harmoniously together.
Mu Ye picked up a black and white cow-patterned cat, which had a distinguished appearance with black markings that resembled a goatee. It looked quite majestic.
Mu Ye was already surrounded by cats and scratched the cow-patterned cat’s chin. “A new arrival.”
Song Jianchu held the camera and said, “I didn’t see this one last time.”
“It’s a newcomer,” the store owner explained. “It used to be the leader in the neighboring street, but it lost a territorial fight. A kind-hearted person sent it to the hospital, and later it was brought here.”
“Mint adopted it,” Mu Ye said. “Its previous owner abandoned it, and Gu Ming found it at the entrance of the studio.”
The cow-patterned cat, true to its former status as a leader, was very good at being cute and making people happy.
Mu Ye felt a bit tempted, but they hadn’t decided yet. After finally learning how to get along with Mint, it wasn’t suitable to bring in another cat at the moment.
“Adopt the fourth one.”
“Help the cat leader find a new home,” Song Jianchu said. “If any of the viewers are interested in adopting this cat, they can come to the store directly or message me.”
They filmed a few more cats and dogs that needed to be adopted urgently. Song Jianchu bought some chew treats for Weiwei and Mint, bidding farewell to the store owner.
The two of them continued browsing other stores.
Among Song Jianchu’s collection in his closet, hats and shoes were the most abundant. The hats in this store looked really nice, so after the store owner approved the filming, Song Jianchu started picking.
There weren’t many customers in the store, and the store owner was a young girl.
Both customers had great figures and were obviously internet celebrities. The girl couldn’t help but glance at them a few times.
“If you like, you can try them on,” the girl said enthusiastically.
Song Jianchu was an avid online shopper and rarely bought things from physical stores. He never went shopping with Yin Chi either. Strolling around like this with Mu Ye gave him a subtle and pleasant feeling of intimacy.
He really liked this feeling.
“Try this one,” Mu Ye took off Song Jianchu’s duckbill cap, adjusted his hair, and put on a baseball cap for him.
Mu Ye gave him a quick once-over, raising an eyebrow and smiling. “Looking handsome.”
The girl had some suspicions initially, but her eyes widened slowly.
Her ship!!!
Afraid of interrupting the little couple’s date, the girl took a few deep breaths, trying to compose herself, her heartbeat even faster than when she went on a date with her own boyfriend.
The hats in this store were not cheap. Song Jianchu went to the counter to pay with his credit card, and Mu Ye took out his own card, handing it over with a smile. “It’s my boyfriend’s birthday today, so I’ll treat him.”
The girl took the card and her ears twitched. She looked puzzled, discreetly raising her eyes.
Hmm? Isn’t Stinky Treasure’s birthday on May 20th?
Didn’t Mu Ye remember it correctly?
Song Jianchu didn’t refuse. “Thank you.”
Mu Ye held his hand and said with concern, “You can only wear that one when you’re with me.”
Song Jianchu chuckled. “Hmm.”
Inside the girl’s mind, fireworks and firecrackers were going off. Her hands trembled as she packed the items.
D*mn, today is Stinky Treasure’s birthday!
Who cares! Let’s just enjoy the sweetness!!
The two of them left hand in hand, carrying shopping bags. Suddenly, the store owner called out, “Wait a moment.”
Song Jianchu turned back.
The girl pretended not to recognize them and smiled, saying, “Little brother celebrating his birthday, I’ll give you a birthday gift.”
She personally gave him a birthday gift. The girl was a little nervous. “I made a small cake myself. The ingredients are healthy, just a little token of appreciation.”
Song Jianchu was momentarily stunned, then accepted the small box. “Thank you.”
Happy birthday, Little Brother!
Tears of gratitude welled up in the girl’s heart, but suddenly she felt a cool sensation on her face.
She realized she had raised her head, but the air conditioning wasn’t on.
In an instant, she met the cold gaze of Stinky Treasure’s boyfriend.
“…?”
It felt like an illusion. Mu Ye quickly regained his gentle smile and said to her, “Thank you, I’m sure it’s delicious.”
The girl regained her composure. “…You’re welcome.”
Mu Ye had been holding Song Jianchu’s hand, but he changed it to intertwining their fingers and leaned closer, speaking warmly by his ear. “Shall we order a birthday cake?”
Song Jianchu didn’t like cream, so he shook his head. “No need, I won’t eat it.”
Mu Ye glanced at the small box in Song Jianchu’s hands and murmured softly, “But I want to buy one for you.”
Song Jianchu said, “Let’s go.”
Even after the two of them left, the girl was still lost in her thoughts.
Was it just her imagination?
Why did it feel… that Mu Ye was jealous?