“Going to watch a movie?”
Chu Tingyun thought for a moment and looked at the boy suspiciously. “Ye Chengyi, you’re not planning to take me to see some horror movie again, are you?”
“…Of course not.”
Chengyi didn’t expect him to remember something from so long ago.
“We can go to the cinema. A friend of mine said there are a few good movies in the New Year’s release this year.”
“Oh, that’s fine.”
As long as it wasn’t a horror movie, Chu Tingyun had no objections.
“Let’s go~”
For the past few years, he had been either training or competing, with almost zero leisure activities, so he hadn’t been to the cinema in a long time. It was nice to take a break and relax during these two days off.
Chengyi smiled slightly, biting his lip, and immediately took out his phone.
“Okay, I’ll check the tickets now.”
It was 2014, and buying movie tickets through a mobile app was already very convenient. However, it was the first day of the New Year, and there were almost no tickets left for the New Year’s releases. It was quite difficult to find two seats together in a good location.
The boy felt a bit frustrated; if he had known Chu Tingyun would come back last night, he should have bought the tickets earlier.
Seeing the small dimple on his face fade, Chu Tingyun asked, “What’s wrong?”
“The tickets for the afternoon show are sold out. We’ll probably have to go see it in the evening.”
Chengyi sat next to Chu Tingyun and showed him the page on his phone.
“There are no tickets for these two popular family movies today. Hmm, this fantasy film related to ‘Journey to the West’ might have bad seats…”
Before Chengyi could finish, he saw Chu Tingyun directly take his phone.
He flipped through it and ended up booking two tickets for the least popular midnight show, entered the payment password, and successfully placed the order.
“Done, let’s go with this one.”
Ye Chengyi was stunned: “…….”
He didn’t know whether to be shocked that Chu Tingyun chose such a niche midnight movie or that he knew his payment password.
“How did you know my password?!”
Chu Tingyun chuckled.
“I don’t know; I just tried it randomly. What a coincidence, it worked.”
“…….”
What a coincidence???
Chengyi couldn’t believe it.
“Tingyun gege, do you think I’m a three-year-old child you can fool?”
“Hmm? Why the face, Xun Xun?”
Chu Tingyun really enjoyed teasing him.
“What, are you afraid your gege will steal your money?”
“……”
Of course, Chengyi wasn’t worried about that. Not to mention Chu Tingyun’s dad’s company and their family’s luxury house and cars, just the prize money from the last Winter Olympics and his sponsorships were already substantial income.
Seeing the little guy staring at him in silence, Chu Tingyun took advantage of the moment and shrugged.
“I really just tried it randomly. Who told you to set the date of the last Winter Olympics as your payment password?”
To be precise, it was the date he signed autographs for fans during the last Winter Olympics.
Last night when he came back, he noticed that the signed photo with the date still hung on the wall above Ye Chengyi’s bed.
—So he really just tried it randomly.
“……”
Chengyi didn’t expect his little secret to be exposed so easily. He held back for a few seconds and quickly changed the subject.
“Um, so do you want to watch this movie?”
“Isn’t it that the others are sold out?”
There were single seats scattered here and there, but Chu Tingyun wasn’t particularly interested in any movie; he came back to spend time with his gege.
“……”
But Chengyi looked hesitant.
“Tingyun gege, are you sure you want to see this one?”
“What’s wrong? Don’t you like it?”
“No, I’m just worried you won’t like it.”
“I like it! Isn’t it a campus movie? It’ll be good for me to experience what high school life is like for you guys.”
Having invested all his time in figure skating, Chu Tingyun had private tutors for his academics and hadn’t really experienced the daily grind of school.
Chengyi paused for two seconds, then looked at him and said quietly, “Gege, I didn’t go to high school; I went straight to university.”
Chu Tingyun: “……”
He forgot.
He remembered that his little brother was sixteen this year and looked just like a well-behaved high school student.
Chu Tingyun quickly changed the subject.
“Well, that’s perfect! Neither of us has gone to high school, so let’s go watch it.”
“……Okay.”
Chengyi glanced at the movie details page again, hesitated for a moment, but didn’t say anything else.
Chu Tingyun didn’t wake up until twelve-thirty, had lunch, and lounged around at home. By the time he was ready to go out, it was already past three.
However, before leaving, Chengyi insisted that Chu Tingyun wear a mask.
“Why do I need to wear a mask?”
“To prevent you from being recognized.”
“……?”
Chu Tingyun didn’t understand.
“I’m not a big celebrity; it’s not that serious, is it?”
“It is!”
For other sports, being an Olympic bronze medalist wouldn’t matter much, but in figure skating, male singles had a considerable level of recognition in the country. Especially since Chu Tingyun had been just eighteen, a handsome mixed Russian-Chinese boy who competed despite injuries and won bronze. All these tags garnered him quite a few fans.
“Fine.”
Chu Tingyun had no choice but to put it on.
Since one of them was an adult without a driver’s license and the other was a minor who couldn’t get one, they could only take a taxi. Knowing that Chu Tingyun disliked the seats in ride-hailing cars, Chengyi had already wiped them down with wet wipes in advance.
Having trained for so long, Chu Tingyun knew nothing about current entertainment options, so he just followed Chengyi. The latter took him to a mall to do pottery, to an indoor shooting range to shoot arrows, and to a pink little shop to catch stuffed toys.
Since moving to the new neighborhood, everything in Chu Tingyun’s life seemed to improve. His absent father had turned over a new leaf, his mother had recovered, and meeting Ye Chengyi felt like having a second home.
As he steadily progressed towards his dreams, Chu Tingyun’s cleanliness obsession had lessened significantly; he was just a bit more cleanliness-oriented than average.
Therefore, these ordinary entertainment activities brought immense joy to someone who had never experienced them before. Especially since Chengyi seemed to have carefully studied how those machines worked, managing to win seven out of ten times, and in the end, they caught a whole bunch, leaving the store owner looking green with envy.
In the end, Chu Tingyun exchanged the pile of stuffed toys for a huge Snoopy doll.
“Hahaha!”
Chu Tingyun was extremely happy, and in a mischievous mood, he ruffled the boy’s hair and teased him.
“Wow, Xun Xun, you’re so skilled! Have you helped any girl classmates catch toys before?”
“…No.”
Chengyi held the Snoopy, his face almost completely hidden by it, and he really didn’t understand why Chu Tingyun insisted on exchanging for such a large doll. So, he ended up calling a delivery service to send it home.
The two played until nine in the evening, had dinner, and by ten o’clock, they were on their way to the cinema to catch the movie.
However, they didn’t expect that after Chengyi exchanged the movie tickets, they would run into some classmates coming out of the cinema after finishing their own movie.
“Hey! Ye Chengyi!”
A boy who looked about seventeen or eighteen came out from the crowd dispersing and ran towards Chengyi. Behind him were three or four companions, both male and female, presumably friends.
Chu Tingyun glanced at the several youthful faces and saw one boy heading straight for Ye Chengyi, seemingly eager to talk to him.
For no reason, Chu Tingyun instinctively felt a dislike for the guy.
Gao Jin approached Chengyi to greet him, his expression a bit strange and somewhat angry.
“Didn’t you say you were going to visit relatives with your parents, so you couldn’t come out to watch the movie with us?”
“……”
Chu Tingyun, who was nearby, turned to glance at Chengyi. The latter’s expression showed a moment of tension, clearly not expecting to encounter classmates here.
But Chengyi didn’t respond to the boy’s question right away. Instead, he quietly introduced Chu Tingyun beside him.
“This is Gao Jin, a friend I took the youth class exam with; we’re classmates now. The others are my middle school classmates.”
Chu Tingyun gave a brief “hm.”
After receiving the response, Chengyi finally answered his classmate, “I was going to visit relatives, but the plan changed.”
“What movie are you watching so late?”
As the boy spoke, he leaned in to sneak a peek at the movie ticket Chengyi was holding. Upon seeing the movie title, his expression instantly froze.
Then Gao Jin looked at Ye Chengyi with a strange and shocked expression, then glanced at the quiet, masked mixed-race handsome guy beside him. He pulled Chengyi’s sleeve and quietly asked, “This… can’t be your boyfriend, right?”
Since the same-sex marriage law was passed two years ago, quite a few films related to that theme had come out. The sight of Ye Chengyi with a young male companion watching such a movie late at night naturally sparked a lot of speculation about their relationship.
“Not at all!”
Chengyi immediately denied it and quickly turned to glance at Chu Tingyun, seeing that he wasn’t angry or upset.
“This is my gege.”
“Your gege???!!!”
Gao Jin first breathed a sigh of relief, then looked again at Chu Tingyun’s distinctive blue eyes with a strange expression.
Chengyi quickly explained, “Just a neighbor’s gege.”
Seeing that the other party was about to ask more, the boy lost his patience and pulled Chu Tingyun away.
“Sorry, but our movie is about to start.”
“……”
Not bothering to pay attention to his classmates behind them, Chengyi continued to pull Chu Tingyun around the corner before he could finally breathe a little easier.
Chu Tingyun used the hands they were holding to pull him back.
“Why so nervous? Is there someone you like among those people?”
This question startled Chengyi, and he tried to respond calmly, “No, just a regular relationship. I don’t want to talk more about it.”
“Oh.”
Chu Tingyun’s tone sounded a bit more cheerful.
However, their luck today wasn’t great; shortly before the show was supposed to start, there was an issue with the projection equipment in their assigned theater. The staff came to apologize, saying they could switch to another movie or get a refund.
Chengyi quickly answered before Chu Tingyun could, “Then let’s switch to another one.”
After pausing, he glanced at Chu Tingyun.
“Gege, what do you think?”
“Let’s switch.”
Chu Tingyun didn’t really care about what they were watching. He just thought that after running into those classmates, Ye Chengyi seemed a bit strange.
And the strangest part was that after watching the movie and going home, this kid flat-out refused to sleep with him that night.
“It’s cramped for two people to sleep.”
“?”
Chu Tingyun thought this excuse was really weak, and—
“Ye Chengyi, take a good look! This is a two-meter-wide double bed!”
The boy quickly found another excuse: “…… Your sleeping position is terrible; you always press your legs on my stomach. I’m not sleeping with you!”
Chu Tingyun was both amused and angry. “Then why didn’t you say anything before?”
Of course, he wasn’t insistent on making Ye Chengyi sleep with him, but the way the other was trying so hard to escape and showing such disdain had successfully provoked him.
So he stepped forward and pulled the boy down onto the bed.
“Ye Chengyi, I see you’ve grown wings.”
How cute he used to be.
Back then, whatever he said, the little puppy would happily follow along. He would even straightforwardly apologize, hugging his pillow and snuggling into his bed saying, “Gege, I miss you so much.”
Not like now!
Chu Tingyun thought that perhaps part of the reason was that they encountered those classmates tonight, but could it be that he was really that unpresentable in front of his classmates?
“Tell me, why exactly?”
Chengyi was pressed down on the bed, and out of embarrassment and anger, his face quickly turned red. He turned his head away, not looking at the other, his neck suddenly tense, and his Adam’s apple visibly bobbed a few times.
However, they weren’t very lucky today; shortly before the scheduled screening, there was a problem with the projection equipment in their theater. The staff came to apologize and said they could switch to another movie or get a refund.
Chengyi quickly answered before Chu Tingyun could, “Then let’s switch to another one.”
After a pause, he glanced at Chu Tingyun.
“Gege, what do you think?”
“Let’s switch.”
Chu Tingyun didn’t really care about which movie they watched; he just felt that after running into those classmates, Ye Chengyi seemed a bit strange.
And the strangest part was that after watching the movie and returning home, this kid flatly refused to sleep with him that night.
“It’s cramped for two people to sleep.”
“?”
Chu Tingyun thought this excuse was really weak, and—
“Ye Chengyi, take a good look! This is a two-meter-wide double bed!”
The boy quickly found another excuse: “…… Your sleeping position is bad; you always press your legs on my stomach. I’m not sleeping with you!”
Chu Tingyun was both amused and irritated. “Then why didn’t you say anything before?”
Of course, he wasn’t insistent on making Ye Chengyi sleep with him, but the way the other was trying so hard to escape and showing such disdain really provoked him.
So he stepped forward and pulled the boy down onto the bed.
“Ye Chengyi, I see you’ve grown wings.”
How cute he used to be.
Back then, whatever he said, the little puppy would happily follow along. He would even straightforwardly apologize, hugging his pillow and snuggling into his bed, saying, “Gege, I miss you so much.”
Not like now!
Chu Tingyun thought that perhaps part of the reason was that they encountered those classmates tonight, but could it be that he, Chu Tingyun, was really that unpresentable in front of his classmates?
“Tell me, why exactly?”
Chengyi was pressed down on the bed, and out of embarrassment and anger, his face quickly turned red. He turned his head away, not looking at the other, his neck suddenly tense, and his Adam’s apple visibly bobbed a few times.
“…… Chu Tingyun, let go.”
“Oh, calling me by my full name now?”
At this moment, Chu Tingyun was still smug, completely unaware that three seconds later he would be pinned to the bed by his seemingly cute and harmless little brother.
Bang—
The two switched positions.
Ye Chengyi grabbed the young man’s wrist and effortlessly pinned him down.
Chu Tingyun: “……??? What?!”
Damn!
He didn’t even see how the other did it.
Wait! Has this kid gotten so strong now?
Chengyi stared intently at the Chu Tingyun beneath him.
The young man’s hair had been chestnut brown when he was younger, but it gradually darkened with age. Now it was all messy, falling over his forehead. His usually proud blue eyes were now filled with confusion as they gazed back at him.
With his collar slightly open, a bit of collarbone was visible. He looked beautiful, like a butterfly held delicately in someone’s palm.
Chengyi turned his head away, not looking at him.
“I’ve grown up, gege. We can’t sleep together like we used to.”
Suddenly, he released his grip, got off the bed, and shoved the oversized Snoopy plush toy into Chu Tingyun’s arms.
“I’ll make you something delicious tomorrow. Goodnight.”
With that, Chengyi quickly ran out of Chu Tingyun’s house, closed the door, and went back to his own home to sleep.
“…….”
Chu Tingyun had never felt as deeply as he did now that Ye Chengyi had grown up.
The fact that the other could pin him down and make him unable to move???
No way!
How could this be possible?!
Chu Tingyun seriously questioned his life.
Especially since he trained every day and was a professional athlete, yet he had been subdued by a sixteen-year-old kid!!!
“Tsk!”
After thinking for a long time and not being able to make sense of it, Chu Tingyun could only conclude that he must have been careless or underestimated the situation to end up with such an impossible result.
But now that the kid had grown up, it didn’t seem appropriate for them to be all clingy and sleep together anymore.
Despite this thought, Chu Tingyun still felt unsettled and could only take out his frustration on the Snoopy plush toy, punching it until it looked all messy and pitiful, which finally made him feel a bit better.
He then hugged the plush toy back, cradling it in his arms, patting its head and tugging at its ears, reluctantly settling for that.
“Alright, from now on you can sleep with me.”
The next day, Chengyi made a big spread of delicious food for Chu Tingyun, successfully winning him back over.
However, after the New Year festivities, Chu Tingyun didn’t stay home for long before leaving again.
With the Winter Olympics approaching, he had no time to dwell on the little squabbles with the kid and instead devoted himself entirely to the final training sessions. Chengyi had already booked his flight to Sochi and made support banners for him.
At twenty-two years old, Chu Tingyun stepped onto the Olympic ice for the second time. In fact, he was still dealing with injuries, as these were unavoidable for every athlete.
But at this moment, he was in his best condition.
He had prepared for this battle for four years, returning home only once in that time. All his injuries were hidden beneath his beautiful performance outfit, becoming the medals of his countless days and nights of hard work.
Whoosh—
The ice skates glided gracefully across the ice, marking the moment the young man entered his battlefield. It felt as if every step he took was on the border between reason and madness, as if his soul fused with the ice.
Quad Axel, perfect landing from a four-and-a-half rotation.
Yankee spin, crouch spin, Bellman spin.
A series of high-difficulty jumps left the audience in shock and applause. The intricate footwork was terrifying yet beautiful, captivating everyone.
The announcer’s voice trembled with excitement by the end.
The coach on the sidelines was ecstatic, his eyes glistening. Even the professional skaters watching nearby seemed to be in awe.
—This performance had captured everyone’s hearts.
In the end, Chu Tingyun’s hair was soaked with sweat, and he had almost exhausted all his energy. After kissing the ice surface, he could barely stand.
Yet, in the eyes of the world, this mixed-race genius athlete stood up gracefully and bowed to the audience, especially to someone in the stands holding a support banner.
At twenty-two years old, Chu Tingyun won the figure skating men’s singles championship at this Winter Olympics, in his mother’s homeland.
From the age of four to twenty-two, he had walked this journey of dreams for eighteen years, finally standing on the highest podium, watching his national flag slowly rise to the top.
After the competition, the media from around the world swarmed towards Chu Tingyun. One female reporter asked him—
“What is the first thing you want to do right now?”
“The first thing I want to do……”
Chu Tingyun didn’t think much before smiling at the camera and saying—
“Of course, it’s to rush back and sign for my little fans.”
As he said this, it seemed he thought of something and asked the reporter:
“Can an Olympic champion directly join the party?”
“……..”
The female reporter was taken aback.
“You still have to go through the process, but it’ll be easier.”
Unable to rely on his deadbeat dad, Chu Tingyun ultimately realized his childhood aspirations by himself.
After much effort dealing with interviews and various other matters, Chu Tingyun received countless congratulatory calls, including from Jiang Shenghai and his sister Jingshu, who was studying in the U.S.
Only in the evening did he have time to meet his mother and Chengyi.
His mother, Irina, was incredibly excited, hugging her son and kissing him several times before immediately calling her former teammates to brag.
As for Ye Chengyi, he didn’t know if he had seen the interview or was just following the habit from four years ago, but he had prepared a pen for Chu Tingyun in advance and even leaned in eagerly.
“You’re getting too close, Xun Xun.”
Chu Tingyun poked his little dimple playfully and half-jokingly said—
“Making me think you want to kiss me.”
“……”
The boy froze for a moment, immediately trying to pull back, but was stopped by Chu Tingyun, who held him by the back of the head.
“Don’t move; I’ll mess it up if you do.”
Sure! Here’s the translation:
“…… Hmm.”
Four years ago, when Chu Tingyun won the bronze medal at the Olympics, he had to bend down slightly to sign for Chengyi, but this time he only needed to lower his gaze a little.
That night after the competition, Chu Tingyun shot to fame nationwide, even worldwide. After that, he indeed had to wear a mask for quite some time.
Even nearly two years after the Winter Olympics, Chu Tingyun’s fan base continued to grow at a considerable rate.
After winning the championship, he didn’t choose to retire as Jiang Shenghai suggested but planned to participate in another Winter Olympics.
This year, Ye Chengyi turned eighteen; he finally reached adulthood and successfully applied for graduate studies in the computer science department at Shuimu University. This good news was naturally worth celebrating for the whole family. Jingshu and Zhou Ze specially came back to celebrate with him.
Unfortunately, Chu Tingyun didn’t come back.
That night, their parents returned to the housing assigned by their unit, while Irina had gifts for Chengyi. However, she seemed to have plans later, so she left after dinner.
“Who was it, Sister Jingshu?”
Zhou Ze raised his eyebrows.
“Is it a boyfriend?”
“……Not yet.”
“Oh, not yet, huh?”
Jingshu didn’t say anything more and playfully smeared cake all over Zhou Ze’s face before laughing and leaving.
Next, Chengyi was pulled by Zhou Ze to drink. His friend, a year older, had learned to drink early.
But ever since Zhou Ze needed a stunt double for a minor role and couldn’t find a suitable one, he had Chengyi help out, which completely conquered the director; Zhou Ze had started calling him “dad.”
What’s age to them?
Strength was what mattered!!
“Chengyi dad is here! Drink! We’re adults now, what’s there to be afraid of?”
“Uh……”
Ye Chengyi was forced to drink several cups and soon felt out of it.
Because he had always been a good student growing up, today he finally realized his tolerance for alcohol was not that great.
He went to the bathroom to vomit once, feeling terrible, drank half a carton of milk, brushed his teeth three times, and finally lay on the bed in a daze.
Before long, a drunken Zhou Ze stumbled in.
Clearly a carefree guy, even when completely drunk, he just jumped onto the bed without washing up.
Chengyi was disgusted and kicked his friend off the bed.
Bang—
Zhou Ze fell to the ground, completely unbothered, and fell fast asleep.
But the room was still stuffy and filled with the smell of alcohol. Chengyi couldn’t stand it anymore; maybe he had spent too much time with Chu Tingyun, and he had picked up a bit of a cleanliness obsession.
But he couldn’t just throw his friend out, so he found a spare key to Chu Tingyun’s house and went there to sleep.
Chu Tingyun was usually training in the team and rarely returned home, so Chengyi had a spare key and would regularly come to help clean.
However, holding his Snoopy plush toy, Chengyi hadn’t slept long when he vaguely heard the sound of a door opening.
—Someone was poking his face.
Chu Tingyun hadn’t expected that after coming home late, his little brother would be drunk and lying on his bed.
The kid looked like he had grown a bit more, his brows a little more heroic, and he appeared even more handsome.
As he watched, Chu Tingyun couldn’t help but poke his face.
Unexpectedly, this action woke the boy up.
The eighteen-year-old curled up on the bed, his messy black hair and flushed cheeks from drinking, struggling to open his eyes that were filled with water.
He seemed unable to distinguish between dream and reality, staring at Chu Tingyun for a long time before tentatively calling out to him—
“…… Gege?”
In that moment, squatting beside the bed, Chu Tingyun suddenly felt his mind inexplicably heat up.
Probably because he remained silent, Chengyi thought he was dreaming. So he leaned closer, nearly close enough to kiss him.
“Gege, I have two secrets.”
Chu Tingyun’s Adam’s apple moved silently as he asked, “……What?”
The boy shook his head: “I can’t say.”
Chu Tingyun coaxed him for a long time but couldn’t find out the first secret.
But he managed to coax out the second.
“Two years ago, I slept with you.”
Chu Tingyun was a bit impatient: “Hmm, then what?”
“Then I stole your stuff.”
Chu Tingyun was genuinely surprised: “Hmm? What stuff?”
Just as Chengyi was about to say “your new underwear I washed for you,” he suddenly realized something and slapped Chu Tingyun’s face.
Smack——!
A crisp sound rang out.
Both of them were taken aback.
Chengyi instantly sobered up, then patted Chu Tingyun’s face again, bewildered as he asked:
“You…… are you really human?”
Chu Tingyun, with the red imprint on his cheek, expressionless, replied—
“No, I’m a ghost.”
