Chapter 45: I Miss You Very Much
On the twenty-ninth day of the lunar month.
Intermittent firecrackers and the fluctuating crowing of chickens in the yard completely robbed Xie Yang of any desire to sleep.
Approaching the Lunar New Year, the sound of firecrackers had been heard every morning these days. The relatively quiet countryside always made Xie Yang startle awake whenever the firecrackers suddenly went off, disrupting his already uneasy sleep.
Perhaps because he had been sleeping more with Qi Xu recently, returning to the countryside and facing the empty house made him feel insecure.
He lay drowsily on the bed, opened his phone, and scrolled through his chat history with Qi Xu, stopping at the “goodnight” message Qi Xu had sent him before they fell asleep last night.
Xie Yang groggily sent a [good morning] message and got up.
Today was busy, and he couldn’t linger in bed. He had to prepare everything before Qi Xu arrived.
Xie Yang first boiled water in the kitchen, then mixed some bran rice to feed the chickens. These were chickens Aunt Wu raised in her own yard, given to him the day before yesterday.
He accepted Aunt Wu’s kindness despite some reservations.
Worried that the chicken would run around the yard, he could only tie its feet with a string and secure it under the cherry tree.
Considering that tomorrow was New Year’s Eve, he didn’t want to disturb Qi Xu’s family reunion. He had specifically asked Qi Xu to come a day early to help him hang lanterns and put up couplets.
In previous years, he had managed everything alone, which seemed fine, but since he started dating Qi Xu, he seemed to have become adept at delegating tasks to Qi Xu.
He didn’t know where he got the courage.
Xie Yang was about to change into clean clothes and go out to buy groceries when he suddenly heard a few faint meows coming from the gate.
He quickly opened the yard door and followed the direction of the sound, finding a little cat in the small ditch.
It was a small tabby cat, splashing around in the water. He didn’t know how it fell into the water, and there was no sign of an adult cat nearby.
Had it lost its mother?
Xie Yang picked it up from the water. The kitten trembled and clung to Xie Yang’s hand, its soft claws inadvertently scratching his hand.
“Meow.”
The kitten’s meows were filled with fear.
Xie Yang, afraid of being scratched and seeing how cold it was, reluctantly lifted it up with his clothes, and searched around the nearby fields but found no traces of the kitten’s mother.
In the end, he had no choice but to take it home first.
Xie Yang found a cardboard box and placed the kitten inside, preventing it from running around.
Then he fetched an unused washbasin, scooped a spoonful of leftover hot water from the pot, and bathed the kitten in the basin.
The tabby kitten was startled by the water, clinging tightly to Xie Yang’s hand, unwilling to let go.
Xie Yang gently touched its head and poured the warm water over its body, gently stroking its fur.
The tabby kitten purred contentedly, squinting its eyes in comfort.
Xie Yang lifted its neck to check. The kitten was very thin, dirty, and had fleas. It looked like it had been abandoned.
But it was so well-behaved. Although it scratched Xie Yang a few times out of fear when he first picked it up from the water, it hadn’t attacked him or hissed at him since.
Now, as Xie Yang bathed and picked off the fleas, it behaved obediently, raising its paw when prompted.
Xie Yang’s heart softened.
“Lil Tabby, do you not have a home either?”
“Then stay with me.”
“I’ll take care of you from now on.”
The tabby kitten meowed obediently, as if agreeing with him.
Xie Yang poured a little shower gel and bathed it. The kitten was dirty and needed a bath.
Xie Yang carefully checked again. There were no obvious wounds on the kitten’s body, but its emaciated appearance still worried him.
Even without external injuries, further examination was necessary. There was no pet hospital in town, so he had to wait until after the New Year to return to the city and take it to the hospital for a thorough check-up and vaccinations.
There were quite a few fleas on the tabby kitten. Xie Yang carefully picked them all out before using a cloth to dry its fur.
Fortunately, the tabby kitten wasn’t afraid of the sound of the hairdryer and simply lay there obediently while Xie Yang blow-dried its fur.
After putting the kitten back in the cardboard box and laying an old piece of clothing for it to lie comfortably on, Xie Yang quickly changed into dry clothes. His clothes had gotten wet while bathing the kitten.
As he changed clothes, Xie Yang heard it meowing incessantly from the cardboard box, apparently wanting to jump out.
Xie Yang tried to reason with it, “Lil Tabby, sleep in this box for a while. After you wake up, I’ll bring you some goat milk powder.”
“Meow.”
Xie Yang gently pressed its upturned head, trying to push it back into the box.
The kitten kept meowing discontentedly.
As Xie Yang was about to say a few more words to it, his phone suddenly lit up.
System: You have received a WeChat message.
Xie Yang opened it and read.
Husband: [Baby, I’m already on my way.]
Caramel Pudding: [So early?]
Husband: [Didn’t baby say to come early on the twenty-ninth day of the lunar month?]
Caramel Pudding: [Drive seriously, no playing with your phone.]
Husband: [Got it.]
Xie Yang remembered that he had asked Qi Xu to come early on the twenty-ninth day, but he hadn’t expected him to arrive so early. He hurriedly ran to the neighbor’s house to borrow an electric scooter. He needed to go to the market.
There weren’t many vegetables left at home, and today he wanted to cook a few more dishes to reward the main labor force of the day.
After settling the kitten, he quickly closed the yard gate and hurriedly went to buy groceries on the electric scooter.
By the time he returned, Qi Xu was already waiting for him in the yard.
Xie Yang watched as he played with a stick he had picked up from somewhere, teasing the chickens.
When Qi Xu saw him, he dropped the stick and helped him carry the things into the house.
“It’s so heavy. Why didn’t you wait for me to go together after I arrived?”
Seeing his slightly furrowed brow, Xie Yang followed behind him and habitually coaxed him, “The morning vegetables are fresher. I want to make a few of my signature dishes for you.”
Qi Xu said, “Let me do it. You don’t have to work so hard.”
Xie Yang poured him a glass of water and said, “No, I have other tasks to assign to you.”
Qi Xu pulled him into his arms and laughed, “A day without seeing each other is like three autumns.”
Looking up at him, Xie Yang whispered, “We were on video chat all night yesterday.”
When Qi Xu sent him back, he even specially bought him a mobile phone stand, saying that he wanted to video chat with him all the time and see what he was doing.
He really overdid it.
Xie Yang couldn’t resist and had to video chat with him every day. Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but joke, “Should I consider becoming a small livestreamer?”
Qi Xu raised an eyebrow, “If you have such a hobby, I can have someone build a platform for you to satisfy your craving for livestreaming.”
Xie Yang’s eyes lit up slightly, “Without showing my face?”
Qi Xu said, “No, you have to show your face. Anyway, I’m the only audience, and I’ll give you gifts every day. You can ask for as much as you want, and there won’t be any platform cuts.”
Xie Yang: “…”
He had guessed.
Qi Xu said, “So, what do you think? Do you want to consider it?”
Xie Yang: “I was just kidding.”
Qi Xu pinched his cheek and snorted, “I wasn’t kidding.”
Xie Yang could feel his seriousness, but he always felt like Qi Xu was indulging some little hobby of his.
With his understanding of Qi Xu, could he possibly be interested in playing some game as a small streamer and sugar daddy?
Xie Yang: “…”
It seemed quite possible.
“Meow.”
The kitten’s cry drew their attention. Xie Yang lifted Lil Tabby onto the table.
Lil Tabby started meowing non-stop at Xie Yang.
Xie Yang chuckled as he stroked its little head. “Wow, you’re really scolding me harshly.”
Qi Xu glanced curiously. “Where did it come from?”
Xie Yang replied, “I found it this morning in the ditch. It was filthy, but I’ve bathed it now, and it smells nice.”
Xie Yang placed Lil Tabby next to Qi Xu and asked him to keep an eye on it while he went to fetch a dish from the house. He mixed goat milk powder for Lil Tabby.
He had just bought it from the supermarket in town. Unfortunately, being in a rural area, there was no cat food available there. So, he had to go to the market to buy a few fish as Lil Tabby’s food.
Watching Xie Yang dissolve the milk powder with a spoon, Qi Xu asked casually, “Are you planning to take it home and raise it?”
Xie Yang replied, “I just feel sorry for it. Since it was my discovery, I can’t just leave it to die. Neither of us have a home now; we’re both becoming stray.”
Xie Yang’s spontaneous remark made Qi Xu noticeably pause.
Silence filled the air.
Xie Yang instinctively looked up at Qi Xu, realizing he might have said something wrong.
He watched Lil Tabby drink its milk, unsure of what to say.
Qi Xu sighed and pulled him into his arms. “What about our home? Don’t you want it anymore?”
Xie Yang looked at him bewilderedly and then lowered his gaze, hesitantly saying, “I do.”
Qi Xu kissed his forehead, helpless yet affectionate. “When will you realize that I love you very much? I want to take care of you, build a family with you.”
Xie Yang: “I’m sorry.”
Qi Xu said, “You don’t owe me any apologies. It’s because I haven’t done well enough that you feel insecure.”
Xie Yang hurriedly said, “No, I just…”
The words stuck in his throat, and Xie Yang sighed in frustration. “Can we get married when we’re older?”
Qi Xu was taken aback and chuckled, “Xie Yang, are you proposing to me?”
Xie Yang: “I…”
He didn’t know how he blurted out that sentence.
Qi Xu had him sit across his lap, his face full of smiles. “Baby, are you getting ahead of yourself? We can get our marriage certificate abroad now, can’t we?”
Xie Yang: “…”
He had forgotten about that.
Was it too early to take it back?
Qi Xu: “Our thoughts align perfectly. Since baby is so eager, let’s get the certificate after the Spring Festival.”
Xie Yang: “Not yet.”
Qi Xu’s smile faded slightly, his gaze on Xie Yang dangerous. “Hmm?”
Xie Yang hastily explained in his panic, “My passport hasn’t been processed yet, so let’s wait a bit longer.”
Qi Xu held his arm, slightly stiff. “Alright.”
Xie Yang breathed a sigh of relief, feeling like he had narrowly escaped.
He got up from Qi Xu’s lap and quickly changed the subject. “By the way, did you manage to buy the fireworks I asked you to?”
Qi Xu leaned against the headboard, his gaze deep and murky with undisclosed emotions. He stood up and followed Xie Yang to the bedroom, slowly speaking, “I bought them. They’re in the utility room in the yard.”
Xie Yang stared blankly at the several sets of sheets on the bed and a few small square boxes in the bedside table.
There were even some unidentified entertainment toys.
Qi Xu licked his lips, a bit impatient. “Baby, when can we start?”