Bloom of Youth - - - Chapter 110

Chapter 110

Although the words on the balloons turned into “I have a little se-“, it didn’t affect the mood, because Kou Chen was still crying rivers.

He had absolutely no concern for his image at that point.

The Seven of them have been friends for a while now, but they’ve never seen Kou Chen like this before. They all stood there quietly, looking at him.

Wei Chaoren even wiped his eyes too.

“What are you doing?” Jiang Lei asked him.

“None of your business,” Wei Chaoren sniffed.

“I mean,” Jiang Lei looked at him. “They have a reason to cry, but why are you crying too?”

“I’m touched by our actions, okay?” Wei Chaoren glared at him. “Are you just slow or stupid?

“Okay, okay, okay,” Jiang Lei patted him. “I’m very touched too actually, just not crying.”

Hu Yi was still pretty professional. He was the only one circling around, taking photos and videos without pause.

“Did you get a close-up?” Xu Chuan asked him.

“Yup,” Hu Yi nodded. “Shame they didn’t kiss.”

“Take some of us too,” Xu Zhifan said. “It’s meaningful.”

“Of course,” Hu Yi took a bunch of photos of Xu Zhifan’s face. “After graduation, we’ll only be able to hang out when there’s a holiday. We can put all of these photos in an album or something, and edit them into a video.”

“You know how?” Xu Chuan asked.

“I don’t,” Hu Yi replied. “I think Zhifan knows.”

“Huh?” Xu Zhifan startled.

“True, if he doesn’t then he can learn,” Xu Chuan agreed. “That’s the only good thing about straight-a students. We’ll leave it to Zhifan, then.”

“Huh?” Xu Zhifan looked at them.

They all nodded.

“Where’s my present?” Kou Chen finally finished crying, and he took the wet wipe Huo Ran handed to him. “I want a tissue, my face will still be wet if I wipe it with this.”

“Tissues can’t wipe away dried tears,” Huo Ran said.

“What?” Kou Chen asked.

“You cried for so long,” Huo Ran said. “Of course it’s all crusty.”

“Okay then.” Kou Chen wiped his face with the wipe. “Where’s my present?”

“Right here,” Huo Ran headed towards his bag. “You keep bringing it up.”

“Three things!” Kou Chen called after him. “A handmade present! A card! And a love letter!”

“Holy shit!” The others exclaimed.

Huo Ran sighed with a laugh. He crouched down the open his bag, bringing out an envelope. It was a black envelope, with a red rose stuck to it.

On the envelope was a few words written in silver ink.

Kou Chen’s birthday gift – 2.

“Seriously?” Kou Chen took the envelope. “I thought you wrote something nice on it, but it’s just a label? Are the others dash one and dash 3?”

“So smart. You can read it when we’re alone.” Huo Ran got out another black envelope, the same as the last one, but smaller.

Written on it was: Kou Chen’s birthday gift – 3.

“I can look at the card now?” Kou Chen asked.

“Mhm,” Huo Ran smiled.

Kou Chen opened up the small envelope and took out an inky-blue card. “Did you make this yourself? Bought the paper?”

“No, I bought it from the stationary store downstairs,” Huo Ran said.

Kou Chen stared at the card for a moment: “Your drawing skills need some work.”

“What?” Huo Ran said. “All I can draw are stars and hearts.”

The card was very simple, like the one Kou Chen gave him. The only words written on it were “Happy Birthday”, but they both spent a lot of time decorating it. Huo Ran used silver and gold pens to cover the card in stars and hearts. He even drew a tiny twistie in the corner, he didn’t want to scare Kou Chen, but it was also amusing, so it was just a doodle.

“Is this a heart? It’s clearly a triangle,” Kou Chen said, and then he paused. “Is that a spring in the bottom right?”

“…Are you blind?” Huo Ran was dumbfounded.

“It’s a twistie?” Kou Chen quickly realized.

“Mhm,” Huo Ran nodded.

“Cute…” Kou Chen whispered.

“Cute later,” Xu Chuan cut them off. “Hurry up with the gifts, there’s barbeque!”

“You guys get started on it,” Kou Chen said. “We’ll eat when it’s ready. I’m the birthday boy, don’t I get special treatment?”

Everyone else gave them a thumbs up at the same time: “Okay, good for you two.”

Normally when everyone started to scramble around to get the fire going, Huo Ran would go help for sure. Their movements were too unpracticed, he could barely look at them.

But today was different, he had other priorities.

He wasn’t 100% confident about the last present. Kou Chen didn’t usually wear accessories, and he couldn’t tell what kind of style he liked. Although even if the handmade gift was as ugly as that thermos, Kou Chen would still love it.

He took a small wooden box out of the bag.

“Damn?” Kou Chen’s eyes went wide. “You made the box yourself?”

“…Thanks for having so much confidence in my skills,” Huo Ran sighed. “It came for my wrench, I just modified and painted it a little.”

“Can I open it?” Kou Chen snatched the box from him.

“Go ahead,” Huo Ran said. “I’ve never done anything like this before, I don’t know if you’ll…”

“Holy shit?” Kou Chen exclaimed when he opened the box. “You fucking made this yourself? What is it? Motorcycle chains?”

“Bike chains,” Huo Ran smiled.

“Really?” Kou Chen took the bracelets out of the box. “Two of them?”

“One for me,” Huo Ran said.

“Matching?” Kou Chen started smiling at him.

“Yup, I have plenty of chain. If you want I can make you two belts too.” Seeing his excitement, Huo Ran felt like a lump of chocolate had melted in his heart, sweet and soft.

Kou Chen put the chains back in the box, and then took a few photos of the bracelet and envelopes.

The box was actually kind of ugly, looks like Huo Ran was no better with his hands than he was. It was a long wooden box, probably with a piece of wood stuck in it to divide it into two layers. Though the piece of velvet glued into it was pretty.

“Did you buy the velvet?” He asked.

“No, I cut it from one of our old couch covers,” Huo Ran said.

Kou Chen laughed, picking the two bracelets back up. He studied it for a long while again, and then laid it out on his wrist. “Help me put it on.”

Huo Ran helped him clasp it. The black chain looked very cool against Kou Chen’s wrist.

“Do you like this sort of thing? I’ve never asked,” Huo Ran said.

“I do, I love cool things like this,” Kou chen put the other bracelet on him. “How did you think of it? Are these old chains? I see the scratches, is there any particular meaning to them?”

“I took it off of my old bike.” Huo Ran stared at the bracelet, feeling a little embarrassed. “Just, they’ve been with me to a lot of different places… Do you get what I mean?”

“I do,” Kou Chen touched the chain. “I understand.”

He didn’t know if it was because they were doing their own barbecuing this time, but the seven of them completely demolished the few big bags of meat, even as people who ate barbeque almost every day. They lamented the loss of the burnt skewers and even tried to pick the burnt parts off to see if it was still edible.

They also finished the whole cake.

“Hey, this cake is really nice, it’s not too sweet.” Jiang Lei scraped the remaining frosting on the plate off with a knife.

“Are you guys full?” Kou Chen was a little worried. “It feels like… why don’t we find a place to eat some more?”

“Nah,” Xu Zhifan said. “We’re just eager because we’re in a new environment, and it’s a special occasion today. We can’t eat this much normally.”

“Huo Ran, I’m gonna buy some bike chains too.” Wei Chaoren was staring at their bracelets the whole time. “Not the same as yours, I’ll get something different, can you make me one too?”

“There’s ready-made ones,” Kou Chen said. “That’s way more convenient.”

“Really?” Wei Chaoren grabbed his phone and tapped it. “Damn, you’re right… But it doesn’t feel the same? I don’t think they’re real bike chains, it just looks like then, you…”

Wei Chaoren looked up, made eye contact with Kou Chen for a second, and then quickly backtracked. “Okay, okay, I’ll buy my own, I’ll buy my own.”

They cleaned up all of their garbage and then it was time to go back to school.

Kou Chen stood by the six holes wistfully, looking at the “I have a se-” balloons. “What do we do with these?”

“You can let the air out and take them back,” Xu Zhifan said. “But we have to fill the holes in, or else someone’s gonna fall in.”

“Fill them with rocks,” Kou Chen said. “That way they’ll always be here. And it’s faster than with dirt.”

They searched for some rocks, and filled up the six holes with them

And then they prepared to leave.

“You two on bikes…” Jiang Lei looked at them. “We can go slower?”

“Just ride, you don’t need to wait for them,” Xu Zhifan. “Kou Chen’s birthday isn’t over for them yet.”

“Oh,” Jiang Lei exclaimed. “Oh, oh, oh, oh—!”

The three electric bikes rode off like they were running for their lives.

“Where are we going?” Kou Chen started pedalling.

“Hotel,” Huo Ran said.

Kou Chen’s bike wobbled harshly, and he almost fell.

He turned around: “Say that again?”

“Do I need to repeat it?” Huo Ran said. “We’re getting a room, so I can fuck you.”

Kou Chen stared at him for a while, and then he laughed: “In your dreams, Huo Ran. Did you forget? We agreed that on my birthday…”

“Your birthday was yesterday.” Huo Ran raised an eyebrow, and then he pedalled away.

Kou Chen stood there for at least five seconds before yelling: “Fuck—!”

Hearing that, Huo Ran burst out into laughter.

“I don’t care!” Kou Chen caught up with him and shouted, “I don’t care! I don’t care!”

Huo Ran ignored him and kept laughing.

They didn’t discuss it anymore the whole way there, but he was probably holding it in. Every time Huo Ran turned to look at Kou Chen, he was met with a pair of fierce eyes.

Kou Chen stopped in front of the hotel known as the most luxurious one in the city.

“What?” Huo Ran braked beside him. “Here?”

“Old Yang says the penthouse suite comes with a little garden,” Kou Chen said.

“You want to play in the garden?” Huo Ran asked.

Kou Chen only looked at him.

“You got a lot of birthday money, didn’t you?” Huo Ran asked.

“Yeah,” Kou Chen’s quirked his lips. “I’ll go pay, and you come up when I’m done, or else it’s too obvious.”

“Mhm,” Huo Ran nodded.

Kou Chen headed towards the doors, “Whoever pays gets to…”

“Nobody says that.” Huo Ran cut him off.

“That isn’t for you to decide,” Kou Chen replied cooly. “I don’t know about anything else, but in terms of fighting skill, you’re still a rookie in my eyes.”

Huo Ran waved him off: “Hurry up.”

The doorman paused for a second when he saw Kou Chen heading over with a bike: “Sir…”

“Find somewhere to put it,” Kou Chen handed him the bike. “I’m leaving tomorrow morning.”

“Alright, sir.” The doorman took the bike.

Kou Chen paid for the penthouse suite at the front desk, and followed the attendant into the elevator. Inside the room, he zeroed in on the garden. “Are there mosquitos?”

“It’s pretty high up, so there aren’t many mosquitos,” The attendant replied.

Kou Chen walked around the room twice, and then when the attendant left he immediately called Huo Ran. “Come up, there really is a garden. It’s pretty too, with parasols and everything. We can get room service for dinner.”

“Okay.” He could hear the elevator from Huo Ran’s end.

Ding.

“That fast?” Kou Chen said. “Did you give your bike to the doorman?”

“No, I left it at the store next door, for a hundred,” Huo Ran said.

“Why?” Kou Chen asked.

“Aren’t we coming up separately so it doesn’t look too obvious?” Huo Ran said. “Do you want them to guess we’re together if we both pull up with bikes?”

“True,” Kou Chen clicked his tongue, standing in front of the desk in the bedroom. “They got Durex condoms, nice.”

“You say that like you’ve used many different brands before,” Huo Ran said.

“And… what the fuck is this…” Kou Chen picked up the lotion-looking bottle, and then he hissed in surprise, “Is this a fucking love hotel?!”

“What? A bunny tail?” Huo Ran asked.

“…Don’t you know a lot? I never would’ve thought.” Kou Chen sighed.

“Then what is it?” Kou Chen marvelled at how there wasn’t a single trace of embarrassment in Huo Ran’s voice.

“The you know, lu…” Kou Chen said.

“Ah,” Huo Ran hummed.

The floor was very quiet, and the front desk even called Kou Chen to confirm he had a guest before letting Huo Ran in. Looks like they did all that for nothing.

Huo Ran suddenly started feeling a little embarrassed when he rung the doorbell.

Kou Chen was shirtless when he opened the door.

Huo Ran froze in the doorway: “You…”

“Get in!” Kou Chen hissed at him.

Huo Ran flashed inside, taking his own shirt off when he heard the door click shut behind him. It was a race against time, and Kou Chen obviously stripped to be faster than him.

Then he turned around and hugged Kou Chen.

To be honest, their relationship has been pretty innocent. They spent all day in the dorms, in class, or in the cafeteria. Even their touches were brotherly, and sometimes Kou Chen would go and touch Chuan-ge and Chaoren right after, to play it safe.

Now when they finally got the chance to be alone, it was like they haven’t seen each other in ages.

They didn’t even aim their mouths together right. Huo Ran bit his nose, and Kou Chen bit his face right after.

That’s why they say you can’t start making out so roughly like this.

After barely a minute of kissing, it was like they were two assassins on a mission whose identities were suddenly revealed, and they found out the other’s boss was their boss’s arch-enemy.

Kou Chen moved first, grabbing his arm and throwing him onto the bed.

Huo Ran had the same suspicions as Kou Chen when he landed on the bed. Was this a fucking love hotel?

“A water bed?” He said.

“Hm? Really?” Kou Chen quickly got on the bed and pressed down.

Huo Ran’s side rose: “See?”

“That’s fun, my mom always wanted a water bed, but my dad says it makes him seasick.” Kou Chen pressed on it again.

Huo Ran turned around and jumped up and down.

The two of them player for a moment, before realizing what they were actually here for.

Kou Chen pounced on Huo Ran.

And Huo Ran went for the desk, grabbing the box of condoms and the bottle.

“Gimme!” Kou Chen held him down in a hug.

“In your dreams.” Huo Ran shoved both items under his stomach.

“Ranran be good,” Kou Chen didn’t try to grab it from him. He laid on his back and kissed his neck, breathing onto it. His voice was a little breathy, from how he pounced over, or because he was excited.

“Hm?” Huo Ran hummed.

“We can take turns?” Kou Chen rubbed his nose on his shoulder.

“Don’t try and act cute!” Huo Ran yelled.

“Yes or no!” Kou Chen yelled back. “Or else I’ll fucking get rough!”

“Who goes first?” Huo Ran asked.

“Me,” Kou Chen said.

“How come?” Huo Ran asked.

“I’m scared of pain,” Kou Chen said.

“Damn?” Huo Ran was a little shocked. “Are you for real?”

“What do you mean?” Kou Chen said. “You really have the heart to say no?”

“Of course I do,” Huo Ran said.

“You’re done for.” Kou Chen let go of him, jumped off the bed, and pointed at him as he took his pants off. “Huo Ran, you’re done for.”

Huo Ran flipped over, a little breathless from laughing. “I’m not unreasonable. Birthday boy, you better be careful, my temper’s bad, I can hit you at any time.”

Kou Chen pounced.