Licheng was mostly mountainous and hilly. Unlike the rapidly developing and modernized cities in the coastal plains, it still retained many traditional New Year customs, especially since the Xin family was in the countryside of Licheng.
Once the New Year came, the festive atmosphere thickened like fog. When fog thickens, everything is a white blur, but the festive atmosphere was different. In villages and towns, on streets and alleys, and in stores selling all kinds of goods from the north and south, the festive atmosphere could be seen everywhere. The stronger it is, the clearer it becomes.
Outside paper horse and incense shops, bundles of incense and candles were neatly tied and placed by the roadside. The aroma of roasted chicken and duck wafted from food stalls. Hawkers selling fresh fish, pork, chicken, duck, fried rice cakes, fried dumplings, sugar rings, and jujubes were endless.
Grandma and Grandpa farmed a few acres of land in the countryside, tended two vegetable plots, and raised chickens and ducks, but they weren’t completely self-sufficient. Xin Hexue made a whole list of things to buy at today’s market according to Grandma’s instructions.
Today was New Year’s Eve so they had to buy things early. So they took the bus to town early in the morning.
If they waited until afternoon, they would find that shops along the street were closed as everyone had already returned home for the reunion dinner. The street would be a desolate scene, with only the north wind blowing.
The market place was called Market Street, the only large market town within a dozen miles. Along the road, there are shops for four or five hundred meters on both sides. A river runs underneath, and there is a special vegetable market down from the bridgehead.
It was crowded in the late morning, with people jostling shoulder to shoulder. Xin Hexue squeezed through the crowd. Besides him, Lin Oufei and Lu Yang were invited as porters, though the remuneration was zero.
Zhuang Tongguang didn’t come; he had to sharpen knives and kill chickens at home.
Many adults on the street held children’s hands, with clothes, hats, yarn, candies and biscuits in hand. Xin Hexue also stopped in front of a fireworks and firecracker shop.
“I remember when you played with sparklers as a kid, you burned a hole in your new padded coat, right?” Lu Yang crossed his arms, chuckling.
He always brought up the embarrassing past, and Xin Hexue shot him a glare.
Lin Oufei, who was picking through items in the shop, looked up upon hearing this, and his eyes darkened like clouds covering the sun. “When? I didn’t know about that.”
Lu Yang waved a hand. “There are lots of things you don’t know.”
His tone was filled with smugness.
Xin Hexue found him too talkative and pointed in one direction. “Go grab two bundles of firecrackers.”
After sweeping through the street, the two were already loaded with bags large and small, shoulders and hands full of festive red New Year goods. All that was missing were a few pairs of Spring Festival couplets and door god portraits.
Xin Hexue saw the door god portraits in the shops were mostly similar. They were all color-printed images of Qin Shubao and Yuchi Gong, one holding a mace, the other a whip.
Still remembering what Lu Yang said earlier, Lin Oufei said sarcastically. “I think we might as well paste his photo on the door. That should be enough to ward off evil.”
He meant Lu Yang.
Lu Yang sneered. “That wouldn’t be good. I’m not as good-looking as you.”
Xin Hexue boarded the bus and looked back at them from the door. “Are we going home or not?”
Lu Yang hurriedly said, “I’m coming!”
Lin Oufei silently followed onto the bus.
“But aren’t we buying drinks?” Lu Yang shook the New Year goods on his body and in his hands, looking down at Xin Hexue.
The bus started, and people swayed in this big box. Xin Hexue held the handrail tightly. “We can buy them at the shop at the village entrance, so we don’t have to carry all this.”
The shop at the village entrance had stocked up a lot before the holiday. The owner standing behind the counter smiled warmly in greeting. “Hexue, are you back at Grandma’s for New Year this winter break?”
“Uncle-grandpa.” Xin Hexue nodded. “Yeah, my brother and I came back first. Aunt and Uncle will come on the second day of the New Year.”
“Good, good. How long is your winter break? When does school start?”
The owner made small talk while asking what they wanted to buy.
Xin Hexue said drinks for the New Year’s Eve dinner.
“We have Coke, Sprite, coconut milk, and apple cider vinegar. Beer too. What do you want?” As he spoke, the owner walked towards the storage area in the back, where drinks were stacked in boxes on the floor.
Lu Yang came closer to Xin Hexue and lowered his head to whisper in his ear. “No Coke.”
Xin Hexue looked at him strangely. “Why?”
Lu Yang pressed close to Xin Hexue’s ear, speaking mysteriously. “Coke kills sperm. One drop of essence is worth ten drops of blood… I didn’t know better before. Now I want to keep all my essence and blood for you.”
He mysteriously pulled Xin Hexue’s hand to feel his lower abdomen.
Xin Hexue: “…”
The next moment, Lu Yang grunted in pain…he had been stomped on.
Xin Hexue moved his leg away and walked further into the shop. “Uncle-grandpa, two bottles of coconut milk, one apple cider vinegar, and one beer. Do you have large bottles?”
“Yes, yes!”
Lu Yang and Lin Oufei waited for Xin Hexue at the shop entrance, idly observing the changes in this small convenience store. It was still just like when they used to come during summer vacations: the first floor was the shopfront and a mahjong and chess room, while the second floor was where the owner and his family lived.
Lu Yang was amazed to see people still illegally gambling on New Year’s Eve.
Turning his head, he saw someone running down the stairs.
As Xin Hexue was walking back, a weight lightly patted his right shoulder. Only then did he realize that someone had suddenly appeared beside him, with their hand on his down jacket.
“Xin Hexue! You came back for the New Year?”
The boy was about his age, with dark skin, tall and strong. When he smiled, his eyebrows and eyes squeezed together, revealing a row of gleaming white teeth that shone brightly.
Ever since starting school, Xin Hexue the frequency of returning to his hometown has reduced. Combined with the drastic changes that come with a boy growing up, faces became even more unfamiliar. He stared at the face before him for a while before finally reacting, “Li Hu? Long time no see.”
Li Hu, who had initially been looking at Xin Hexue with a somewhat nervous expression, smiled even wider upon hearing his name from Xin Hexue’s mouth. “Yeah, it must have been at least ten years since we last met, right? I came back looking for you the year before last, but Grandma said you didn’t come back.”
Xin Hexue recalled that his grandma had called him once to mention that Li Hu had come looking for him, but he had only half-listened at the time, dismissing it as unimportant.
“I heard from Grandma that you got into Pekin University. That’s amazing. Even as kids, you were the smartest among all of us. It’s really true.”
Li Hu seemed to have stored up many things to say to him, and he chattered on and on.
Meanwhile, alarm bells were already ringing in Lu Yang’s mind.
This person was as tall as him, but he was too dark, not as natural as his own healthy wheat-colored skin, and not as good-looking either.
Left with his mother at six to go study in Nanyang and didn’t return to his hometown often? Dropped out halfway through high school to work with his father?
Hah, illiterate. Zero competitiveness.
Lu Yang sneered coldly.
He suddenly had another thought, and his expression changed drastically.
But what if Xin Hexue actually liked illiterates?!
Otherwise, how could someone as stupid as him have won Xin Hexue’s affection?
Lu Yang would not allow anyone stupider than him to appear by Xin Hexue’s side.
Li Hu chatted with Xin Hexue excitedly, and even took half a step onto the stairs, “My family made sugar rings and fried dumplings. I’ll go upstairs to get some for you. Take some back for Grandma to try.”
Just as Xin Hexue opened his mouth to politely refuse…
A pair of arms wrapped around his neck from behind. Lu Yang affectionately rested his head on Xin Hexue’s shoulder, dragging out his tone as he called out, “Ah Xue…why is it taking so long? Can’t you catch up next time?”
Li Hu was taken aback. “This is…?”
“This is my friend, he came to our place for New Year,” Xin Hexue explained simply, with no intention of introducing him in detail.
“Oh, oh.”
Li Hu responded, sounding somewhat disappointed.
What kind of friend follows someone home for New Year?
Li Hu: “Then I’ll go upstairs first to get the sugar rings and fried dumplings for you.”
Lin Oufei had remained silent the whole time beside them. Only now did he step forward to pick up the two large bottles of coconut milk next to Xin Hexue, and said calmly, “Let’s go back. I see smoke rising from Grandma’s house. They’ll soon be getting anxious.”
Xin Hexue nodded in agreement. “Okay.”
He then greeted Li Hu. “Xiao Hu, no need to trouble yourself. Come over to our place for a meal when you have time.”
Xin Hexue reached down to pick up the remaining drinks but came up empty-handed as Lu Yang had already taken all the remaining drinks, so he simply waved to Li Hu. “Goodbye, and say goodbye to uncle-grandpa for me too.”
He waved and left the small store.
Lu Yang was muttering something beside him. Moving closer, Xin Hexue finally made out…
“Whose grandma is it? Since when is she your grandma? Neither of them has any sense of boundaries.”
Upon realizing that his muttering had been overheard by Xin Hexue, Lu Yang showed no embarrassment. Instead, he asked Xin Hexue, “Why did Xiao Hu say he gave you a few marbles when you parted ways at five years old? Those wouldn’t be the same ones you gave me in kindergarten, would they?”
He deliberately mimicked the nickname with a sarcastic tone.
Xin Hexue thought back and confirmed Lu Yang’s speculation. “That’s about right.”
“What?!” Lu Yang looked as if the sky had fallen. “Why didn’t you tell me? I don’t want things given by a smelly man.”
Xin Hexue couldn’t follow his train of thought. “Once they were given to me, they became my things. If you don’t want them, then just give them back to me.”
Lu Yang shook his head even more adamantly. “No, no.”
It was bad enough that the token of love was secondhand, but how could he return a rival’s items to Xin Hexue? What if Xin Hexue held the two marbles, looked at him, and sighed in disappointment, “You’re still not enough like him”?
Lu Yang would rather die than give them back.
After knowing about Li Hu’s existence, he even found Lin Oufei more agreeable by comparison. After all, Li Hu was still a competitor in the same category as him, while Lin Oufei was destined to forever be the mistress.
*
New Year in Licheng was inseparable from two things: one was chicken, the other was bianlu.
Some places call it warm pot, others call it hot pot. Licheng’s bianlu doesn’t contain chili oil. However, with the pot boiling vigorously, the door closed, and everyone sitting together eating, it could still make one break out in a sweat all down their back.
They had taken baths in the evening. Pomelo leaves were added to the bathwater, emitting a fresh, fragrant scent. Now, the only time they could sweat was after dinner, when they would squat by the door playing with fireworks and waiting for the cold wind to blow away the sweat.
Grandma and Grandpa’s house was bustling with liveliness. After the New Year’s Eve dinner, relatives came over to play cards together, gathering around a table in the living room.
The relatives who came all gave each of the four of them a red envelope. Even though Lin Oufei and Lu Yang weren’t related here, it was New Year’s, and everyone was sharing in the festive joy.
Xin Hexue squatted by the doorway playing with sparklers with Zhuang Tongguang. They had only bought one bundle. To show how different he was, Lu Yang went to light “ground mice.” As a result, the ground mice shot off with sparks and flashes, darting around chaotically at high speed. Small Yellow was also an equally unique dog. It chased after them with its mouth open, only to get blasted with a series of crackles.
After rushing over to confirm that the dog’s mouth was unharmed, Xin Hexue glared at Lu Yang for a moment.
Lu Yang took off running, and Xin Hexue chased after him angrily. Small Yellow also enthusiastically followed his master’s tail, barking excitedly. Dog barks and Lu Yang’s pleas for mercy rose and fell in succession.
Running into the bamboo grove, Lu Yang took advantage of the lack of light and stopped in his tracks. He turned around on the spot, spread his arms for an embrace and caught Xin Hexue in his arms.
He sighed, buried his nose in Xin Hexue’s hair and took a deep breath. Only when no one was around did he dare to give the lips he had been thinking about all day a passionate kiss.
“I missed you so much,” Lu Yang said clingily.
Xin Hexue was helpless. “But we’ve been together all day.”
Lu Yang nuzzled Xin Hexue’s cheek, burying himself in the fluffy hood of his down jacket. “That’s not enough. I want more than just this.”
Xin Hexue hesitated before speaking. “Then… another kiss?”
Lu Yang asked earnestly, “Can I use my tongue?”
He again wore that expression of a puppy waiting for instructions, and Xin Hexue could only nod. “Don’t be too forceful, and don’t suck on the lips. If they swell, others will see.”
Lu Yang agreed readily. “Okay.”
Bamboo was bumped into, shaking the green bamboo leaves in the air with a rustling sound and making the moonlight sway back and forth.
………
When Xin Hexue emerged from the bamboo grove, he remained silent. Lu Yang, on the other hand, was brimming with triumph, almost wanting to burst into song. He was so pleased with himself that Xin Hexue had to cover his head with the hood before he settled down.
He indeed didn’t suck on the lips, but he didn’t spare the tongue either.
Unable to see clearly, Lu Yang fumbled around before finally handing Xin Hexue a red envelope. Before Xin Hexue could open it, he revealed its contents. “There’s five hundred yuan inside, a peace charm I prayed for at the temple before finals, and also…”
Their conversation was interrupted.
Seeing that the two hadn’t returned for a long time, Zhuang Tongguang came out to look for them. “We’ve opened a pomelo. Come and have some together.”
Xin Hexue stuffed the red envelope Lu Yang gave him into his pocket and quickened his pace. “Coming.”
To express his apology, Lu Yang began peeling pomelo flesh for Xin Hexue as soon as he sat down by the charcoal stove.
But someone had beaten him to it.
Lin Oufei sat down beside Xin Hexue and handed over a fruit bowl filled to the brim with white pomelo flesh that was glistening with juice.
Lin Oufei said, “it’s very sweet, not sour.”
His gaze lingered on Xin Hexue’s slightly reddened lips.
“I heard from Grandma that at midnight, everyone can set off fireworks together on the open ground in front of the village ancestral hall. They’ve gathered two hundred firecrackers so far. Should we go add ours?” Lin Oufei withdrew his gaze, peeled a tangerine, and tossed the peel into a can of water boiling by the stove. A strong aroma of citrus peel wafted out.
“Midnight is so late.”
Xin Hexue rarely participated in staying up until midnight during New Year’s. He often fell asleep before the clock struck twelve, except the times the four of them stayed up together back in Lingzhou.
It was almost ten o’clock now, and he had already yawned three times in a row. Tears were welling up in the corners of his eyes.
Opportunities to return to Grandma’s for New Year were rare, but Xin Hexue seemed very sleepy, so Zhuang Tongguang suggested, “Why don’t you go sleep for a bit now? We’ll come wake you up when it’s close to midnight.”
Lu Yang also agreed, chiming in, “Yeah, yeah, I’ll come get you.”
Xin Hexue rubbed the tears from his eyes, nodding as he walked through the living room back to the bedroom.
Once the door was closed, the noisy sounds of the card game around the table outside became muffled, blurring into the background.
He only took off his outermost down coat, spreading it over the blanket. Without removing his sweater, he curled up under the covers and sunk into a deep sleep.
He was turning over in his sleep when something big squeezed into the bed, letting cold air rush in under the blanket.
Annoyed by his clumsiness, Xin Hexue, who was half-asleep and half-awake, gave him a slap.
“It doesn’t hurt.” Lu Yang grinned cheekily, and even offered his left cheek. “Do you want to slap this side too?”
Xin Hexue opened his eyes groggily. “Is it midnight?”
He was still thinking about the fireworks, only waking up to ask Lu Yang if he was there to take him to see the fireworks show.
Unfortunately, Lu Yang had ulterior motives. He burrowed deeper under the covers, searching for the “scent of wine”.
Xin Hexue was wearing a loose-fitting sweater. The past few days had been sunny, with warm and pleasant sunshine, so he wore a thin sweater with a loose-fitting undershirt, which could easily let in an adult head.
Lu Yang made sucking sounds, more enthusiastic than during the New Year’s Eve dinner. Unfortunately, he only had one mouth, so the other side had to be treated with his fingers. His nails were neatly trimmed, but having been idle these past couple of days, they had grown out a bit. Every time he scraped, Xin Hexue let out a muffled groan. He was afraid of being heard by the people outside, so the groan sounded like it was being squeezed out of his chest. Even a cat’s meow was louder than his.
It made Lu Yang’s little brother stand tall and proud.
His tongue swirled, sucking and biting.
That spot was very sensitive for Xin Hexue, and he immediately frowned, a flush of uncontrollable desire spreading across his cheeks. Glancing at the wall clock, it was only a little past eleven. His irritation at being woken up flared, and he cursed Lu Yang. “Are you insane?”
Lu Yang didn’t refute even after hearing this, his mouth simply too occupied. Feeling the little thing in his mouth hardening like a grain, he finally released it. “Yes, I have a mental illness that can only be cured by kissing Xin Hexue baby. Now this insane person is going to bite you.”
He licked to soothe, sighing obsessively like a puppy not yet weaned.
“Baby…”
“I like you so much, I like you so much.”
Words poured out of him, and declarations of love scattered freely like loose change, overflowing with physiological attachment.
“Stop… stop.” Xin Hexue reached under the blanket and grabbed his shoulder. “Aren’t we going to see the fireworks later?”
Lu Yang ignored this. He switched directions, kissing the other side he had neglected earlier. “Baby, I’ve locked the door anyway. Later, when that bastard Lin Oufei comes to call you, just say you’re too tired to get up.”
Xin Hexue objected seriously. “I can get up.”
Lu Yang chuckled softly and emerged from under Xin Hexue’s sweater. He knelt before Xin Hexue, pulling over Xin Hexue’s down jacket and taking out the red envelope from the pocket. “Baby, why haven’t you opened it yet?”
He handed the red envelope to Xin Hexue.
Xin Hexue opened it with some skepticism and shook out the plump envelope. Besides the peace charm and five hundred yuan, two condoms fell out.
?
Xin Hexue’s expression changed.
“You said you can get up, huh?” Lu Yang tore one of them, and the packaging made a crackling sound. “After being fucked by this little dog, Master won’t be able to get up.”
He looked at Xin Hexue and smiled.
………
Lu Yang wasn’t the least bit shy about saying such things in bed, but Xin Hexue’s ears itched from hearing them. That faint itch spread like wildfire across his entire body, making him feel like he was on fire.
Lu Yang grinned triumphantly. Xin Hexue himself was half-resisting, half-yielding, and hesitating, until his pants were inexplicably removed by Lu Yang.
In a fit of madness, Lu Yang used his phone’s flashlight to illuminate the scene. The flesh of the thighs gleamed snow-white. Despite a slender physique, it didn’t appear bony. On the contrary, the closer to the root of the thighs, the more plump and curved the lines became.
He tried to illuminate it again, but Xin Hexue snatched the phone away and tossed it to the foot of the bed.
“I was wrong, I was wrong,” Lu Yang surrendered decisively.
Having been intimate with Xin Hexue before, he was already familiar with using his fingers to explore. As soon as he gently entered, he discovered it was wet, and Lu Yang’s face lit up with pleasant surprise. He leaned close to Xin Hexue’s ear, chuckling softly, “Does Master also want the little dog’s…?”
He mouthed the word, a breathy sound drilling into Xin Hexue’s ear canal.
The next second, he was slapped across the face. Lu Yang hissed. It wasn’t that the slap was heavy; it was that his finger was almost clamped off by Xin Hexue
..it felt so good.
Once in the state, Lu Yang became completely absorbed. He constantly sought the right angle and depth, changing the frequency, and pausing to observe Xin Hexue’s expression.
“Baby, do you like it like this? Or faster and harder?” Lu Yang asked.
Xin Hexue gripped his forearm braced beside him, the force almost digging his nails into Lu Yang’s flesh.
Lu Yang’s eyes darkened, his dark pupils unreadable, and he said in a low voice, “Then that means you really like it.”
“I like it so much, I like it so much…”
Lu Yang babbled incoherently from pleasure.
“I like staying inside so much. Baby, can I never come out?”
Just as things were getting passionate and intense, the door lock turned with a click. A tall, well-built young man slipped into the room, locking it again behind him with a backhanded motion, the key still dangling in his hand.
Lu Yang was so startled he almost came prematurely, cursing out loud.
Lin Oufei took in the entire scene with one glance, his dark eyes fixed on Xin Hexue.
Watching him bite the back of his hand, watching his eyes become blurry with tears, watching him being fucked into a complete mess by another man.
Lu Yang yanked the blanket over to cover Xin Hexue, complaining aggrievedly, “How come you gave him the bedroom key? I don’t even have one.”
Xin Hexue couldn’t bear it any longer. “He made it himself.”
Having become the target of everyone’s gaze, Lin Oufei remained calm. He looked toward the head of the bed and said quietly, “There’s still one condom left. Either I join in, or we go watch the fireworks.”
