OHD Chapter 38: Happy New Year

Chapter 38: Happy New Year

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

Sitting on the back seat of the bike, Zhou Kai grabbed He Ye’s clothes with both hands. When he saw the bus stop sign, he sighed and thought, This ride’s way too short.

He Ye also saw the bus stop sign, but he didn’t stop pedaling. The bike glided past the sign, then continued further, veering away from the stop.

Zhou Kai froze for a moment, turned his head to glance back at the bus stop. This was the stop he had used earlier when coming here, with a bus that went directly to his neighborhood. The last bus left at 11 PM.

Turning back around, Zhou Kai lifted his gaze to stare at the back of He Ye’s head, watching his hair ruffled by the wind. He couldn’t stop grinning, his shoulders trembling with laughter.

Not only was he reluctant to leave, but He Ye wasn’t ready to let him go either.

Tsk, it feels so good. The feeling of being in love is so good.

Zhou Kai felt like if he had wings sprouting from his back, he would just fly up into the air right now.

After passing two more bus stops, and seeing the fourth one just ahead, Zhou Kai quickly tugged at He Ye. “Stop! Don’t skip another stop, just drop me off ahead.”

He Ye turned his face, hesitating. “Should I take you all the way home?”

Zhou Kai actually wanted to say yes, but his mom was right—snow was coming, the ground would be slippery, and riding a bike back and forth at night wasn’t safe. Zhou Kai wasn’t worried about himself; he wasn’t a girl and didn’t expect any danger. There was no need for He Ye to ride all the way back with him.

“No, just drop me off ahead. The bus is convenient.”

Although He Ye wasn’t too happy about it, he still stopped the bike. Zhou Kai hopped off, stomped his feet a little, and turned to look at He Ye. His eyes were wide and bright, gleaming with excitement. He Ye raised an eyebrow at him. Zhou Kai took the medicine he had bought and shoved it into He Ye’s pocket, then reached up to tousle He Ye’s messy hair, saying reluctantly, “You should go back now, the bus is coming soon.”

He Ye grabbed his hand and, ignoring the person walking by waiting for the bus, directly slipped Zhou Kai’s hand into his own coat pocket to warm it. “Let’s wait together.”

Zhou Kai licked his lips, lowered his head, and chuckled quietly. “Alright, sure.” His tone was light and carefree.

Then… as soon as the words left his mouth, a bus pulled into the station. When he saw the bus number, Zhou Kai couldn’t help but say, “Oh, perfect. It’s exactly the one I need!”

Zhou Kai couldn’t contain himself. When the doors opened, he blurted out, “What the heck…”

He Ye glanced up at the bus, then down at Zhou Kai, whose teeth were clenched. He sighed, looking up at the gloomy sky, and couldn’t help but laugh. “Looks like the weather’s not on our side.”

Zhou Kai tilted his head, scoffing. “Destiny is in our own hands.” As he spoke, his hand reached into his pocket and gave He Ye’s hand a gentle squeeze.

He Ye smiled at him. “How exactly do you plan to take control?”

Zhou Kai nodded toward the bus that was pulling its doors shut, blinking his eyes in a smug manner. “Just like that, in control.”

The bus, now without passengers, slowly left the station.

He Ye stared at Zhou Kai, his eyes clearly showing the words, “Why am I so crazy about you?” He smacked his lips, narrowed his eyes, and quietly said, “Looking at you like this, I really want to…”

Want what?

He didn’t finish his sentence, but both Zhou Kai and He Ye knew exactly what was implied.

Glancing at the strangers waiting nearby, Zhou Kai quickly pulled his hand out of his pocket and shoved it into his own. He gave He Ye a small side-eyed glance and, in a similarly lowered voice, said, “Want what? You’ll have to take care of it yourself when you get home.”

He Ye was charmed by Zhou Kai’s look, so much so that his foot slipped off the pedal, causing the bike to wobble. He laughed and coughed. “Alright, if I don’t want it, then you can’t want it either.”

Zhou Kai didn’t want it? That was impossible.

When the second bus arrived, He Ye didn’t let Zhou Kai speak again. He grabbed Zhou Kai’s hand and pushed him toward the bus door. Zhou Kai got on the bus, swiped his card, and turned to look at He Ye. “Ride safely on your way back, take it slow.”

He Ye nodded and made an “OK” gesture, watching as the bus doors closed.

Zhou Kai quickly found a seat on the bus. As it started moving, he waved to He Ye from the window, signaling for him to head back.

He Ye waited until the bus had left before leisurely riding his bike back, filled with sweetness and hope for tomorrow, for the future.

Zhou Kai opened the door to his house and called out, “Mom, Dad, Grandpa, Grandma, I’m back!” After shouting, he changed his shoes and entered the living room, his steps light and cheerful.

When his grandfather saw that his grandson finally had a genuine smile on his face, the kind he hadn’t seen in a while, he chuckled and said to Zhou Kai’s father, “I told you, you’re too strict. Little Kai’s been under too much pressure. See, just going out with friends, that’s all it takes, and now he’s smiling again.”

Zhou Kai’s father looked at his own father with an amused expression, then looked up at his son, speechless for a moment.

Zhou Kai rubbed his nose, glanced at his father, and could only say sorry in his heart for putting him in an awkward position. He walked over and sat next to his grandparents, watching the Spring Festival Gala with them.

Zhou Kai’s mother patted Zhou Kai’s knee, and Zhou Kai turned to his mother and smiled. Zhou Kai’s mother was stunned for a moment, then smiled and shook her head, saying, “It’s okay, just watch TV. Mom will go make you some snacks.”

Zhou Kai nodded, watched his mother stand up and walk towards the kitchen with relief, and scratched his face, feeling a little guilty. He had caused his parents a lot of worry in the past two or three months. Although he hadn’t done or said anything, his behavior had been unusual, and his parents had noticed. That was why his father had actively encouraged him to go out and play when his classmates came to his house.

Sigh…

Shaking his head, Zhou Kai thought that he should mature a bit. He should think more about his future.

He had ten years, and he wanted to cherish every moment with He Ye. He wanted to let He Ye know how good he was, so that He Ye would never let go of his hand again and say those hurtful and depressing things.

I wonder if He Ye has gone home?

Damn it, he forgot to say “Happy New Year” to him.

Waiting until his grandparents were sleepy and went to the guest room, Zhou Kai returned to his own bedroom.

He closed the door, threw himself onto the bed, and immediately opened his phone to check his WeChat. There was a new message, sent by He Ye at almost ten o’clock, asking if he had arrived home.

Looking at the message, Zhou Kai smiled sweetly and replied with a voice message, saying, “I arrived a long time ago. I was watching TV with my grandparents, so I didn’t have a chance to tell you.”

After sending the message, Zhou Kai rolled over onto his back and couldn’t help but kick his feet excitedly and excitedly. Then he stopped and thought, he should have told He Ye when he got off the bus, why did he forget? He was so stupid.

Does falling in love really make people stupid?

Turning over onto his stomach, Zhou Kai turned on his phone but saw no new messages. He rested his chin on his crossed hands and hummed, “What’s going on?” Why isn’t he replying?

Where did He Ye go?

The answer was that he was washing the sheets and pillowcases.

He hadn’t touched that bed since Zhou Kai left. The sheets and pillowcases were still stained with his and Zhou Kai’s semen and lubricant, and if he hadn’t kept the window open for ventilation, the room would have smelled bad by now.

He Ye washed up and tidied himself up, then put the old military coat on the long bench in the living room before making the bed.

After mopping the floor and wiping down the tables and cabinets, he went to the balcony to wash the sheets, pillowcases, and the clothes he had changed out of.

As fireworks exploded in the sky outside, He Ye would look up, the corners of his lips slightly upturned, and then continue washing.

When everything was hung up to dry, He Ye returned to the bedroom and picked up his phone. He saw a message from Zhou Kai.

He clicked on the voice message and listened to it. Then he scrolled through the screen and looked at the photos Zhou Kai had sent him before replying to Zhou Kai. “I was washing the sheets, that’s why I didn’t see it.”

Zhou Kai replied very quickly, as if he had been waiting. He Ye smiled and clicked to listen. Zhou Kai cursed and said, “Are you trying to lose your fingers? Why did you put your hands in the water? Did you change the bandage?”

He Ye raised his hand and looked at the wet bandage. He tore it off and looked at the wound. It had stopped bleeding and there was just a layer of peeling skin. “It’s fine now, it’s not bleeding anymore. It’s just a small wound, it’s nothing.”

Zhou Kai kicked the covers and said, “Even a small wound needs to be taken care of. I’ll be worried if you don’t.”

He Ye leaned back on the bed, his hand on his forehead, laughing. Zhou Kai kept cursing and sweet-talking, and it was too much for him. If Zhou Kai were here, he would definitely kiss him.

How could he have made Zhou Kai so sad for so long? Why didn’t he realize sooner and take good care of him?

The past was the past. In the future, he would cherish him.

Zhou Kai sent another voice message, his voice muffled and low. He Ye listened several times before he could hear clearly. Zhou Kai said, “Hey, He Ye, put away the condoms and those things. Don’t leave them on the bed, it’s embarrassing to see them every time.”

He Ye burst out laughing and replied, “What’s embarrassing? We’ve already used them, what’s the big deal?”

Zhou Kai didn’t reply for a long time, and He Ye guessed that he had been called away by his parents or gone to take a shower. Stretching his arms and legs, He Ye felt his eyelids getting heavy.

He had not had a good night’s sleep for a long time, and now that he had finally relaxed, he felt very tired.

He didn’t know how he fell asleep, but when he was woken up by his phone vibrating, he was still groggy.

He picked up his phone and saw that Zhou Kai had sent him eleven messages.

He Ye clicked on the first one and listened with his eyes closed.

Zhou Kai said, “Hey, He Ye.”

“I want to tell you that I love you.”

“You said ten years, so let’s work hard together and make it ten more years.”

“I know what you’re afraid of, and I know what you’re worried about.”

“Don’t be afraid, don’t worry, and don’t be upset.”

“No matter how difficult the road ahead is, we’ll take it one step at a time.”

“What I said about fate being in our own hands was great.”

“I believe that as long as we work hard and dare to fight, we can do it.”

“Damn, am I talking too much?”

“Forget it, forget it, this is the last one, really the last one.”

“Happy New Year, He Ye!”

He Ye curled up his stretched body and held his phone. He swallowed hard, tears streaming down his face.

At twelve o’clock, the New Year’s bell rang, and the sound of firecrackers and fireworks lit up the night sky.

He Ye pointed his finger at the screen and put the phone to his mouth, smiling and crying as he sent one voice message after another.

He said: “Happy New Year.”

“Thank you.”

“I will work hard, I will strive.”

“I will definitely grasp it well.” He said: “Zhou Kai, I want to cherish you.”