Cheng Bai watched, a trace of confusion flashing in his eyes. "You... aren't going to try wearing it? To see if it suits you."
Wang Jin replied, "Any hairpin will do. There's no need to try it."
Cheng Bai swallowed the words and forced his customary slight smile. "If the little delicate one says it will do, then it certainly will."
"...En." Wang Jin responded softly.
His soft, delicate voice was light, still carrying the nasal tone of early morning, the sound clinging to the air as it reached Cheng Bai's ears and made his heart pound wildly.
His expression softened a little, and the corners of his mouth finally lifted into a sincere smile. Since learning the truth, the little delicate one had never shown him a good expression, his tone always very stiff. But just now, that response was much softer...
It seemed the hairpin was not without meaning.
"Alright, I'm leaving." Wang Jin stood up and left with Xiao Yu.
Cheng Bai hurriedly saw him out.
Although he wanted the little delicate one to stay, being too hasty could backfire. He would slowly win his little delicate one back.
When Wang Jin returned to the pavilion, he found the appearance of the courtyard had been greatly altered...
Wang Jin was startled and led his people inside.
That morning, his mind preoccupied with the matter of Cheng Bai, he hadn't paid close attention to the courtyard's changes. He had merely noticed cloth coverings scattered about and assumed the servants were tending to the plants.
But now, upon his return and a proper look, he realized this wasn't the case at all.
The plants he had previously discussed with Yuan Heng had been cleared away and replaced with some strange vegetation. Some of the plants even had fruit hanging on them... The layout had been modified but not drastically changed. The courtyard seemed larger. Two lounge chairs and a wooden table were placed to one side...
The familiar appearance reminded Wang Jin of the house in the Danmu tribe.
Wang Jin looked around. Yuan Heng happened to come out of the room carrying a bowl of fruit.
Seeing Wang Jin, he placed the fruit on the wooden table and came forward. "Little ger, you're back."
"Brother Heng." Wang Jin's eyes shone brightly as he looked around, asking in a soft voice, "Did you do all this?"
Yuan Heng nodded. "Weren't we discussing this before? How is it? See if anything needs changing?"
Wang Jin walked around. The pretty flowers they had discussed before hadn't been removed. That very large tree hadn't been cut down either, but a swing had been added to it.
The whole courtyard wasn't as exquisite as before, but it felt much warmer and more comfortable.
When he had previously discussed the courtyard with Yuan Heng, it had been mostly idle daydreams on his part. He never actually expected to renovate it so soon... He hadn't realized the man possessed such decisive follow-through.
"These fruit trees... where did they come from? I... I didn't see them being transported into the pavilion?" Wang Jin asked in a hushed voice after the initial surprise.
"I asked Shi ger for help yesterday, went out of the city, and found them outside. After finding them, I put them on a cart and moved them back together with those stones."
Wang Jin was taken aback. Yesterday, those stones were all covered with cloth, so he hadn't noticed. It seemed now the man had done it deliberately.
Wang Jin glanced at Yuan Heng and pouted. "Oh, so Brother Heng is keeping things from me now."
The little ger's words sounded accusatory, but his tone was soft and coaxing, carrying no trace of actual blame—only the slight petulance of someone who felt left out of a secret.
That small temper constantly conveyed one message: that he needed to be coaxed properly.
Yuan Heng chuckled softly, stepped forward and took Wang Jin's hand, giving his fingers a not-too-light, not-too-heavy squeeze. His tone was unprecedentedly gentle. "I wanted to surprise you, so I didn't tell you in advance. Don't be angry."
"..." Wang Jin's fingers felt numb from the squeeze. This numbness went straight from there to his heart, provoking the little thoughts of wanting to be close to keep bubbling up. The bubbles that emerged covered up that small temper, disturbing the calm lake of his heart and causing ripples to spread in circles.
"Then..." He looked at the man. His affectionate appearance made the man's heart go soft, almost uncontrollably wanting to hide the person in his arms.
The man's fingers trembled, curled up, restraining his stirring desires, but the young ger was still stirring up trouble.
"Brother Heng, kiss me. Kiss me and I won't be angry."
The little ger opened his bright eyes, slightly raised his head, and moved closer to the man. His faint pink, delicate lips were exposed in the air, like a flower bud waiting to bloom in the morning dew, ready for the man to pluck if he just lowered his head slightly.
The man's Adam's apple rolled once. His lips pressed tightly together, his lowered eyelashes fluttered incessantly. Holding the soft body of the delicate ger in his arms, the man's body stiffened as if facing a formidable enemy...
"Brother Heng..." After waiting a long time for the kiss, Wang Jin muttered discontentedly, his expression full of urgency.
Perhaps a little shy, the little ger's face was slightly pink, even more charming than when he first clung to his embrace...
"Don't mess around." The man shifted his body slightly, turned his face away with difficulty, but he couldn't stop his sidelong glances from stealing looks at the young man in his arms.
The man's turned face looked calm and unruffled, but with his face turned away, Wang Jin saw the man's thoroughly reddened earlobes. Immediately feeling secretly pleased, a mischievous desire to tease rose in him.
"Does Brother Heng not like me anymore?" Wang Jin said deliberately discontentedly. His body had just moved away from the man a little before clinging back on like a vine.
"..." The soft body of the ger pressed against him, bringing heat that passed through his clothes onto him, making his whole body feel even hotter.
The man's body was stiff. The little ger kept clinging on, as if he wouldn't give up without a kiss. A trace of helplessness flashed in the man's eyes. He turned his head and quickly brushed his lips against Wang Jin's, then rapidly retreated three steps, his fingers trembling and clenching tightly.
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