Yu Huan advanced step by step, while Ruan Qiuping retreated inch by inch.
Just as his back was about to touch the wall, the light bulb in Ruan Qiuping's brain finally flickered on.
"Ah! I'm going to take a shower!" Ruan Qiuping blurted out nervously, then pushed past Yu Huan and dashed straight to the bathroom.
Fortunately, Yu Huan didn't chase after him, but remained standing where he was.
The expression on Yu Huan's face changed slightly, no longer as urgent as before, but instead becoming much gentler and more patient: "Then I'll go use the bathroom in the next room. Ruan Ruan, don't panic, you can take as long as you want."
The more Yu Huan spoke like this, the more flustered Ruan Qiuping became.
After all, the last meal of a death row inmate is always sumptuous.
An hour later, Yu Huan gently knocked on the bathroom door.
"Ruan Ruan, you've been in there for an hour now."
"...I... I'm not done yet. If you can't wait, you can go to sleep first. I still need to wash for a while longer," Ruan Qiuping said, curled up in the water.
"Ruan Ruan misunderstood, I'm not rushing you," Yu Huan said in a gentle tone. "I just thought the bathwater might have gotten cold, so I wanted to come in and turn on the automatic heating function for you."
The water had indeed cooled somewhat. Ruan Qiuping searched carefully for a moment but couldn't find the heating switch, so he reached out to cover the folding bathtub lid and called out, "Alright, you can come in."
Yu Huan entered, leaning on his crutch, and glanced at Ruan Qiuping.
Ruan Qiuping had his whole body scrunched up in the water, thoroughly hidden by the wooden bathtub cover, with only his head poking out.
Yu Huan placed Ruan Qiuping's pajamas on a nearby clothes rack, walked up to Ruan Qiuping, and reached out to lift the bathtub cover.
Ruan Qiuping hurriedly held the cover down: "What are you doing?"
"The heating switch is blocked by the cover," Yu Huan said calmly.
Only then did Ruan Qiuping release his grip.
Yu Huan set up the automatic heating and replaced the bathtub cover. His dark pupils, under the warm yellow bathroom light, appeared especially gentle: "Ruan Ruan, don't be nervous. I've waited for you for so many years, I can certainly wait a few more hours. Soak for as long as you like, don't mind me. I'll wait for you outside and won't come to rush you again."
With that, Yu Huan turned and left.
Ruan Qiuping silently submerged half his head in the water.
Ten minutes later.
Ruan Qiuping, wearing his pajamas, pushed open the bathroom door and walked out.
Yu Huan had already tidied up all the snacks and whatnot on the bed. Seeing Ruan Qiuping come out, he took off his glasses and put them on the bedside table along with the book he was holding, smiling warmly: "Ruan Ruan, you're done."
Yu Huan's eyes were curved in a smile more dazzling than fireworks, completely different from the gentle, patient, and slightly melancholic expression he had worn in the bathroom earlier.
Ruan Qiuping looked at him suspiciously, even wondering if his words in the bathroom had been a ploy, and if he had fallen for Yu Huan's scheme in a moment of weakness.
But what's done was done. He had already come out of the bathroom and couldn't go back in.
Yu Huan looked at him and softly called his name, asking him to come over.
Ruan Qiuping inched his way to the bedside.
"Actually," Ruan Qiuping said quietly, "I have some good news to tell you."
"What good news?" Yu Huan naturally took Ruan Qiuping's hand and pulled him onto the bed.
Ruan Qiuping found himself being guided under the covers without even realizing it. "This time I came down, I can stay here for 60 hours."
Yu Huan was stunned for a moment, then his eyes immediately lit up. He asked excitedly, "Really, Ruan Ruan?!"
"Really, and not just this time. Next time too, I can come down for 60 hours three days in a row."
"That's wonderful!" The smile on Yu Huan's face was about to overflow. He couldn't help but hug Ruan Qiuping, burying his face in Ruan Qiuping's neck, saying happily, "That's great, Ruan Ruan. I'm so happy..."
"Are you that happy?" Seeing him so joyful, Ruan Qiuping couldn't help but smile too.
"Extremely happy." Yu Huan nuzzled Ruan Qiuping's neck, his voice tinged with huskiness, "Ruan Ruan being able to come down for 60 hours means 2 days and 12 hours... Ruan Ruan arrived at 3:40 this afternoon, which means you won't leave until 3:40 in the morning the day after tomorrow. This way, we still have two full days and two and a half nights left... That's wonderful. I originally thought you'd be leaving tomorrow night..."
Towards the end, Yu Huan's voice was even trembling slightly.
Ruan Qiuping asked softly, "Are you... crying?"
"No," Yu Huan's voice was muffled.
Ruan Qiuping pulled Yu Huan away and found that he indeed wasn't crying, but his eyes and nose were red.
Ruan Qiuping suddenly remembered when Yu Huan was seven years old, how he had cried sadly on the bus after realizing they had missed eight hours together.
Only then it had been a sad and aggrieved cry, while now his nose was red from happiness.
Ruan Qiuping couldn't help but laugh. He tugged at Yu Huan's cheek, his eyes crinkling as he called out the old nickname: "Little Yu Huan, how come you haven't changed at all?"
"...It's actually Ruan Ruan who hasn't changed."
Ruan Qiuping pondered for a moment, then shook his head seriously: "No, I've changed."
Yu Huan looked at Ruan Qiuping and asked, "How has Ruan Ruan changed?"
"My mindset has changed," Ruan Qiuping sighed. "Back in the day, when you were so little, I was in charge of everything. You had to coax and sweet-talk me to get what you wanted..."
Although every time, he ended up giving in to little Yu Huan.
"Now look at you, all grown up. It makes me almost forget that I'm a deity hundreds of years older than you. I always end up being led around by the nose."
Even though Yu Huan's true age was the same as his.
"Thinking about it now, this change in mindset really shouldn't have happened. After all, no matter how many years you've grown, no matter how mature you look, the fact that I'm older than you remains true, right? When all is said and done, I'm still the elder who watched you grow up, aren't I?"
I'm sorry, Yu Huan the God of Fortune, but I need to take advantage of mortal Yu Huan for a bit longer.
"Ruan Ruan, what are you trying to say?" Yu Huan looked at him suspiciously.
Ruan Qiuping gazed at him with a profound expression: "What I'm trying to say is, since I'm the elder, shouldn't you listen to me in everything?"
Yu Huan suddenly had a bad feeling: "For example..."
Ruan Qiuping: "For example, since I can stay here for two and a half days this time, there's no need to rush. It wouldn't be a big deal to postpone our wedding night a bit, right?"
Ruan Qiuping glanced at the clock nearby and said earnestly: "Look, it's already 9 o'clock. A 34-year-old child should be going to bed. Come on, let this 200-plus-year-old elder turn off the light for you."
Yu Huan: "..."
"Click."
The light went off, and the entire room darkened.
Yu Huan felt his heart grow cold along with it.
Ruan Qiuping contentedly lay down on the bed, pulled up the covers, and almost couldn't resist jumping up to give himself a thumbs up.
Ruan Qiuping lay with his eyes closed for a while, about ten minutes, before he quietly opened them.
As soon as he did, he saw Yu Huan staring intently at him.
Ruan Qiuping was startled and leaned back: "Yu Huan, why aren't you asleep?"
Yu Huan was silent for a long time before slowly speaking: "Ruan Ruan, why do you think I could fall asleep?"
"Why can't you sleep? Just close your eyes, don't think about anything, and you'll fall asleep. Sleeping is such a simple thing."
"But today is our wedding night, and you're lying next to me. How am I supposed to sleep?"
Ruan Qiuping blinked: "Should I go sleep somewhere else then?"
Yu Huan stretched out his arm and held him tightly, burying his face in Ruan Qiuping's chest. His voice was low and muffled: "Why is Ruan Ruan deliberately bullying me?"
"How am I bullying you?" Ruan Qiuping felt a bit guilty.
"You know very well." Yu Huan hugged Ruan Qiuping even tighter. "You know very well that I want to be closer to you, yet you always try to push me away."
Ruan Qiuping felt increasingly guilty. He reached out to stroke Yu Huan's hair but didn't dare to speak.
Yu Huan looked up at him and said, "Ruan Ruan, don't you know, you can dodge the first, but you can't dodge the fifteenth."
Ruan Qiuping mumbled softly, "I can avoid it for now at least..."
Yu Huan was almost amused by his anger. He released Ruan Qiuping and, sharing the same pillow, said, "Is Ruan Ruan hiding from me like I'm some kind of monster?"
"You said it first," Ruan Qiuping lowered his head, his voice lacking confidence.
Yu Huan looked up at the ceiling and said softly, "Ruan Ruan, I know you feel our progress is too fast, and you're having trouble accepting it... After all, for you, we only reunited the day before yesterday, got engaged yesterday, and today we're supposed to become husband and wife. I imagine you've had no time to adjust at all."
Yes, yes indeed.
Ruan Qiuping nodded silently to himself.
Under the covers, Yu Huan gently took Ruan Qiuping's hand in his left, intertwining their fingers. Yu Huan's deep, pleasant voice sounded even more tender in the quiet of the deep night: "For me, I've been waiting for Ruan Ruan for so many years... Do you know when I started to like you?"
Ruan Qiuping shook his head.
Yu Huan asked again, "Then do you remember what I once said about what falling in love with someone was like for me?"
Ruan Qiuping thought for a moment, then nodded, "You said falling in love with someone is like witnessing a tree grow. You remember when the seed was planted, but you don't know when it sprouted. You know when it broke through the soil, but you don't know when it grew up."
Yu Huan smiled and said softly, "The seed was planted the moment you appeared. It sprouted quietly over the years as you appeared year after year. When I was 15, the moment I learned that same-sex love was possible, I realized that little sprout had broken through the soil. Every day after that, it grew slowly."
"So, Ruan Ruan, I've loved you for nineteen years, waited for you for nineteen years. I've always thought, if only we lived in the same timeline, then Ruan Ruan would interact with me day after day, and no matter how slow, we'd eventually reach the moment when the seed sprouts... If that were the case, I could wait any length of time. If Ruan Ruan's seed didn't sprout for a day, I'd wait a day. If it didn't sprout for a year, I'd wait a year. If it didn't sprout for ten years, I'd wait ten years... But we live in different timelines. I'd like to wait for Ruan Ruan, but I'm afraid I might not live long enough to do so."
At this point, Yu Huan gripped Ruan Qiuping's hand tighter and chuckled softly, "If Ruan Ruan feels today is too soon, then I'll wait until tomorrow. If Ruan Ruan feels this year is too soon, then I'll wait until next year. I've waited nineteen years already, so a day or two, a year or two more won't matter. I can't wait ten years in Ruan Ruan's timeline, but I can certainly wait ten mortal years. As long as Ruan Ruan doesn't mind that I'll be old and ugly by then."
Suddenly, Ruan Qiuping felt as if a small needle had gently pricked his heart.
He squeezed Yu Huan's hand and lowered his eyes, saying softly, "...I really haven't prepared for anything... But since you've waited for so long, why don't you share some of your waiting time with me?"
Yu Huan was taken aback.
Then, he saw Ruan Qiuping carefully kiss him once and say, "Yu Huan, you've waited for me for nineteen years, so share some of that nineteen-year wait with me. That way, it's as if I've been preparing for several years too."
Ruan Qiuping closed his eyes, his eyelashes trembling slightly, and said, "Yu Huan, now... I'm ready too."
Yu Huan was completely stunned. "...Ruan Ruan, aren't you afraid anymore?"
"I'm not afraid."
"What if Ruan Ruan regrets it later?"
"I won't regret it."
The air was quiet for a long time. Then, a breath tinged with a slight tremor escaped. Yu Huan leaned down and slowly, restrainedly, with a slight tremor, kissed him.
Yu Huan's movements were gentle and controlled, almost asking for permission at every step. When his kisses fell on skin, they were somewhat hot and slightly ticklish, like plum blossoms softly blooming on snow. Sweat lightly dampened their brows. Ruan Qiuping breathed softly, his fingers tangled in Yu Huan's soft black hair.
He suddenly felt that things weren't as bad as he had imagined.
He shouldn't have been so resistant to this.
Now, he didn't regret it at all, wasn't afraid at all.
.
Half an hour later.
Ruan Qiuping: "..."
I'm sorry, I'm scared.
An hour later.
Ruan Qiuping: "..."
I'm sorry, I regret it.
Two hours later.
Ruan Qiuping: "..."
Beast! Let me go!
Three hours later.
Ruan Qiuping: "..."
This person is dead. Please burn paper offerings for any inquiries.