Ruan Qiuping was halfway through his shower when Yu Huan suddenly knocked and entered.
A frosted glass door separated Ruan Qiuping from Yu Huan. He couldn't see Yu Huan's expression, but he heard Yu Huan say softly, "Ruan Ruan, I've put your new clothes on the rack, and I've taken your dirty clothes to wash."
Ruan Qiuping replied, "Okay, but you don't need to wash the Universe Bag in the old clothes."
"Got it."
Yu Huan left the bathroom with the dirty clothes.
He closed the bathroom door and leaned against the adjacent wall. Lowering his eyes, he took out the Universe Bag from Ruan Qiuping's dirty clothes.
Yu Huan opened the Universe Bag and pulled out the red envelope that had originally contained the Supreme Good Fortune Talisman.
At first glance, the red envelope appeared to be a solid color, but in the light, one could see a shimmering "double happiness" character printed on it.
The rope Yu Huan had been clinging to on the cliff of his emotions suddenly snapped.
When Ruan Qiuping came out of the bathroom after his shower, Yu Huan had changed into a new outfit and was sitting on the sofa, watching him.
Yu Huan wore a black shirt that made him appear more mature and composed.
When Yu Huan looked up at him, his eyes were dark and deep, like the thick night.
"Yu Huan?" Ruan Qiuping suddenly felt a twinge of anxiety.
"Ruan Ruan, come here," Yu Huan extended his hand towards Ruan Qiuping.
Ruan Qiuping walked towards Yu Huan step by step, but as soon as he placed his hand in Yu Huan's palm, Yu Huan gripped it tightly and pulled him over.
Ruan Qiuping stumbled, losing his balance, and half-knelt on the sofa, falling directly into Yu Huan's arms.
Before Ruan Qiuping could say anything, his lips were suddenly kissed.
His body, fresh from the shower, was already warm, and Yu Huan's kiss made his entire body heat up even more. Water droplets fell continuously from his damp black hair, the cool drops landing on his burning skin. They did nothing to lower his body temperature; instead, the water seemed to heat up, trickling down his neck into his clothes like beads of sweat, quickly dampening a patch of his collar.
The air was filled with the fresh scent of shower gel and the herbal aroma of the hotel's incense. Though both were pleasant fragrances, when intertwined with Yu Huan's passionate kisses, they made Ruan Qiuping's head spin, intensifying the heat coursing through his body.
At first, it might have been called a gentle kiss, but by the end, it had nothing to do with gentleness, bordering on biting and tearing.
"Mmph..."
His lips stung from being bitten, and Ruan Qiuping was on the verge of tears. He tried to push Yu Huan away, but without his magical powers, it was like trying to push a concrete wall.
The kisses trailed downward, each spot burning hot with pain.
Ruan Qiuping had a strong, almost primal sensation that if they were animals, Yu Huan's teeth would mercilessly bite into the nape of his neck.
Almost in the next moment, Yu Huan's teeth indeed pressed against Ruan Qiuping's neck, then bit down hard—
"Yu Huan!"
Pain shot through his neck, accompanied by an unknown fear. Ruan Qiuping's voice took on a tearful tone, "Yu Huan, it hurts..."
Yu Huan seemed to suddenly come to his senses, his movements abruptly stopping.
He looked up at Ruan Qiuping, seeing that his neck was already covered in purple bruises. Particularly below the collarbone, there was a distinct bite mark, blue-purple, as if it might start bleeding at any moment.
Ruan Qiuping's nose and eyes were red, his body trembling slightly, with a trace of tears at the corner of his eye.
Yu Huan's eyes gradually cleared. He reached out hesitantly, wanting to wipe away Ruan Qiuping's tears, but before he could touch Ruan Qiuping's face, Ruan Qiuping grabbed a nearby cushion and threw it at him.
"Yu Huan, what are you doing? Yu Huan!"
Ruan Qiuping's tone was one of angry questioning, but tears flowed uncontrollably, robbing his words of any force.
"I'm sorry..." Yu Huan suddenly reached out and pulled Ruan Qiuping tightly into his arms. He repeated softly, reverently, over and over, "...Ruan Ruan, I'm sorry..."
Ruan Qiuping initially wanted to push him away forcefully, but after two failed attempts, he gave up.
After being held by Yu Huan for a while, Ruan Qiuping's emotions gradually calmed down.
The tearfulness had left his voice, though it remained hoarse as he said quietly, "Yu Huan... you were... you were so scary just now..."
"I'm sorry, Ruan Ruan... It's my fault. I couldn't control my negative emotions," Yu Huan apologized softly.
"...What emotions?"
Ruan Qiuping pushed Yu Huan away, blinking in confusion as he asked.
Yu Huan was silent for a moment, then said, "It's nothing. It's just that when I think about how I'm mortal and Ruan Ruan is immortal, how my life is as fleeting as a mayfly to Ruan Ruan, I feel jealous. Jealous of those who can stay with Ruan Ruan for eternity."
Ruan Qiuping didn't know how to comfort him, so he said, "...But... but I'll come down to be with you every year throughout your long lifetime."
"Yes, Ruan Ruan has already decided to accompany me for a lifetime. Why am I, a mere mortal, always so greedy and unsatisfied?"
Yu Huan lowered his head. His tone was clearly smiling, but the faint smile in his eyes was almost negligible.
Yu Huan stood up, pulling Ruan Qiuping up from the sofa, and said, "Ruan Ruan, I'll take you to a nice place."
Yu Huan took Ruan Qiuping to an unopened sea area. Although not as exquisitely beautiful as the previous beach, it had its own natural charm, untouched by human hands.
"Does Ruan Ruan like swimming?" Yu Huan pointed to a boat docked at the shore. "There are swimsuits on board."
"Not at all," Ruan Qiuping shook his head.
In fact, it wasn't that he disliked it entirely. For a while, he often used magic to sink himself to the bottom of the sea to rest.
But...
Ruan Qiuping instinctively glanced at Yu Huan's right leg and said, "I think it's nice just staying on the beach."
Then he lowered his head, dug something out of the sand, and said with a smile, "Look! A seashell!"
Ruan Qiuping had intended to play on the beach until sunset, but it was still too early. He was already hungry, and the sun showed no signs of setting.
"Let's go to the boat," Yu Huan said. "There's a bed and food on board. We can rest for a while, and there's a small island not far away where we can go play."
"Can you drive a boat?" Ruan Qiuping asked.
"I have a license, but I'm not very good at it. There's a professional pilot in the wheelhouse."
The interior of the cruise ship was much larger than it appeared from the outside. After eating and drinking his fill, Ruan Qiuping lay on the sofa watching TV.
Yu Huan took a fruit platter from the refrigerator and handed it to Ruan Qiuping. "What are you watching, Ruan Ruan?"
Ruan Qiuping popped a grape into his mouth and said, "Nothing much, just a random TV drama. It has a really long title, something like 'Marriage Before Love: He's Had a Crush on Me for Years'."
Yu Huan: "..."
Yu Huan took the remote control and said, "This isn't good. Let me find you something better to watch."
"Alright, go ahead and change it. I thought this drama was mediocre anyway."
Yu Huan changed to another channel, which was playing another TV series — "Love Grows with Time: My Contract Marriage and I".
Yu Huan changed the channel again. The TV was now playing "Falling in Love After Marriage".
Yu Huan: "..."
Yu Huan continued changing channels.
One after another, the titles that appeared were — "Inescapable Marriage", "The Last Romance Before Marriage", "About My Lover's Incredible Luck"...
Yu Huan: "..."
"Hey, hey, don't change it! I think 'About My Lover's Incredible Luck' looks pretty good. Let's watch that one. I like stories where the main character has really good luck."
Yu Huan turned off the TV with a blank expression and said, "That show isn't good either."
"Why not?"
"The ending is bad. The main character dies in the end."
Ruan Qiuping sighed, "Well, there's nothing we can do then. I don't watch shows with bad endings."
Just then, Ruan Qiuping suddenly heard the sound of the cruise ship's horn.
But the sound didn't seem to be coming from their cruise ship.
Ruan Qiuping immediately pulled Yu Huan out to see, and it turned out that not far away, a newlywed couple was holding their wedding on another cruise ship.
That ship was decorated everywhere with blue and white balloons and flowers. Colorful lights hung all over the deck railings, shimmering beautifully on the sea surface as evening approached.
When Ruan Qiuping went out, the groom was just putting the ring on the bride's finger.
Around them were cheering friends and family, a shower of flower petals, the deep blue sea, and the pink-purple sky of dusk.
Ruan Qiuping leaned on the deck railing, unable to help exclaiming, "How beautiful... So this is what a wedding looks like?"
In the past two hundred years, Ruan Qiuping had only seen weddings in books and on television; he had never attended one in person.
After all, he was the God of Misfortune, and his presence at someone else's wedding would inevitably bring bad luck.
In his daily life, if he heard that someone was having a wedding banquet, he would have to take a detour.
Ruan Qiuping was mesmerized by the sight. When the bride and groom kissed, he joined the guests on that ship in cheering. The sunset cast a fiery glow on his cheeks, making his eyes appear even brighter. He turned to look at Yu Huan, patted his arm, and said with some excitement, "Yu Huan, when you get marr—"
He stopped mid-sentence, realizing he had misspoken.
Yu Huan was already thirty-three years old and still fixated on him, a divine immortal who only came down once a year. Who could he possibly marry?
Yu Huan looked at Ruan Qiuping's cheeks, listening to the wedding music in the distance, and a different kind of impulse began to grow within him.
The red envelope with the "double happiness" character kept swirling before his eyes, and Ruan Qiuping's wedding engagement three months later invaded his mind like a virus, devouring his rationality.
It wouldn't even take three months; in Ruan Qiuping's timeline, he, Yu Huan, would be lying in his grave in just two months, becoming nothing more than a memory.
His life, which he thought was long, would leave only an insignificant mark in Ruan Qiuping's life. Ruan Qiuping would continue to be an immortal, would marry that person, would be kissed by that person... would spend eternity with that person.
Just thinking about this, Yu Huan felt a surge of jealousy and hatred, like vines growing wild, tightening around his heart, compelling him to do something right here, right now.
Yu Huan suddenly took Ruan Qiuping's hand, completing the sentence Ruan Qiuping had left unfinished: "When Ruan Ruan and I get married, shall we also have our wedding on a cruise ship?"
Ruan Qiuping was stunned for a moment.
...Who did you say you're marrying?
"Ruan Ruan," Yu Huan's gaze seemed gentle and serene, but his tone held a hint of urgent pleading, "Will you marry me?"
M-marry?
Ruan Qiuping suddenly became flustered, stammering, "But... but, I... I don't have a human ID card, and we're both men, so we probably can't... can't get married, right?"
"Ruan Ruan is an immortal, naturally not bound by worldly rules. Ruan Ruan only needs to agree to marry me."
"Will Ruan Ruan marry me?"
Yu Huan looked at Ruan Qiuping, and although the smile on his face remained gentle and warm, Ruan Qiuping could see that even Yu Huan's pupils were trembling slightly, as if afraid of rejection.
The last time Ruan Qiuping had seen Yu Huan with such an expression was the day of Yu Huan's car accident.
At that time, Yu Huan lay in the hospital bed, looking at him with the same eyes, begging him not to leave.
"Ruan Ruan..." This time, even Yu Huan's voice trembled.
As if possessed, Ruan Qiuping nodded and said, "...Okay."
Yu Huan smiled with relief, the tension and urgency from earlier slowly fading away. His entire being seemed to emit a soft, luminous glow.
He reached into his pocket as if to take something out, but found nothing except a fountain pen.
"Ruan Ruan, give me your hand."
Ruan Qiuping extended his hand, looking confused.
Yu Huan lowered his head and used the pen to draw a circular ring on Ruan Qiuping's ring finger.
"What's this?"
"An engagement ring," Yu Huan said with a smile.
Ruan Qiuping thought for a moment, then took the pen from Yu Huan's hand and said, "Then I should draw one for you too."
Ruan Qiuping's hand wasn't very steady, so the ring he drew was a bit crooked.
"It doesn't look very good," Ruan Qiuping frowned.
"It looks good," Yu Huan said.
Yu Huan looked at the simple ring drawn on his finger, the curve of his lips spreading into a smile, his eyes twinkling with joy. "It looks especially good. I like it so much, I even want to have it tattooed on my finger."
"Tattooed?"
"Yes, wouldn't it look even better in white? Like a real ring," Yu Huan seemed to be seriously considering it.
"No way," Ruan Qiuping quickly stopped him, frowning and saying seriously, "No tattoos! It's very painful!"
Yu Huan's leg was already beyond saving; he absolutely wouldn't allow Yu Huan to suffer any more injuries because of him, not even a tattoo!
"It doesn't hurt, they use anesthesia now..."
"Still not allowed. If you want to get it tattooed, I'll wipe this off right now!" Ruan Qiuping said, reaching for Yu Huan's hand as if to erase the newly drawn ring.
Yu Huan could only smile and concede, "Alright, I won't get a tattoo."
He put his arm around Ruan Qiuping's waist and gently pressed their foreheads together. "I'm so happy. Ruan Ruan has finally decided to marry me."
"Decided to get married to you," Ruan Qiuping corrected his wording.
"Yes, to get married to me," Yu Huan smiled and softly kissed him. "Ruan Ruan is mine."
He was the first to marry Ruan Ruan.
Even if Ruan Ruan had a marriage engagement with some other immortal, Ruan Ruan had married him first.
At least at this moment, Ruan Ruan belonged to him alone.