Chapter 18: The Duration of Distance

"You ......" Ye Yao felt that everything was as unreal as a dream, he reached out to pinch Lu Xun and saw Lu Xun grimacing before he dared to believe that it was all real, "What are you doing here? "

"Of course I missed you so I flew here," Lu Xun said smugly as he let go of the man, "I had to catch a 6am flight this morning."

The 6am flight meant an earlier start, and Lu Xun was a little tired, but that was nothing compared to the joy of meeting Ye Yao earlier.

Now that Ye Yao was standing in front of him, Lu Xun's heart, which had been empty since the moment of separation, was filled again and he took Ye Yao's hand in his and asked again, "Did you miss me?"

"...... hmm." Ye Yao replied softly.

Lu Xun couldn't suppress the smile on his face. After not seeing each other for so long, he wanted to hug Ye Yao and not let go of his, to lie on the bed together and talk. Or he could sit on a chair and Ye Yao could sit on his lap and talk to each other face to face.

Lu Xun can only think about it now, as he wraps his arm around Ye Yao's shoulders all the way to buy vinegar, and then follows Ye Yao home.

Lu Xun rang the number of the lift on Ye Yao's floor and then rang the doorbell of Ye Yao's house in a very skillful manner.

When Ye Yao's parents opened the door, Lu Xun turned into a sweet-tongued junior, making the two elders smile and then handing over the prepared specialties from his backpack.

It's not anything too expensive to receive, but you can see the thought.

"You're a child, you're here, why bring gifts?" Ye Yao's mother smiled and took the things, pushing Ye Yao's father to go to the kitchen with her to prepare food, while saying to Ye Yao, "Ye Yao, take Little Lu to sit down and have a snack to pamper your tummy, then I will call you when it is time to eat."

Ye Yao poured Lu Xun a glass of water and asked him, "Watching TV?"

"What a silly thing to say, I didn't come here to watch TV." Lu Xun couldn't wait to take Ye Yao towards the bedroom room, they went inside, the door closed and Lu Xun finally got his wish to hold the person in a full frontal hug.

The bridge of his nose rested against Ye Yao's white neck, sniffing the scent that belonged to Ye Yao alone, Lu Xun said contentedly, "I came to see you.

Ye Yao didn't let Lu Xun hold his for long and reached out to push his away, "Clingy."

His eyes swept over the backpack Lu Xun was carrying on his shoulder and he asked tentatively, "So little luggage, are you leaving in a couple of days?"

Lu Xun didn't have a suitcase and carried only one bag on his back, from which he had previously pulled out speciality items, which, as you can imagine, didn't contain much clothing at all.

"No, I have clothes here, I don't need to take so many." Lu Xun, who had been criticised for being clingy, reluctantly let go of the person and looked around the room.

If you don't look, Lu Xun is astonished.

Where are his photos, where are his books, where are his model robots, where are the little dolls he made for Ye Yao?

The room was as clean and tidy as ever, except that nothing here seemed to have anything to do with him anymore.

Lu Xun's heart faintly senses that something is wrong and he strides over to the wardrobe and opens it.

The wardrobe should have been a mix of his clothes and Ye Yao's, but now only Ye Yao's are visible, not his.

Lu Xun's grip on the wardrobe door tightened and he turned back slowly, his eyes dark and unlit. Lu Xun's eyes were a little scary when he wasn't smiling and he suppressed the bad emotion in his voice and asked, " Brother Ye, where are my clothes?"

Ye Yao sits down in his chair and, in contrast to Lu Xun, his face does not show any obvious mood swings and he seems very calm.

"Put it away." Ye Yao said, "Who knew you'd come back?"

"Why wouldn't I come over, of course I would!" Lu Xun searched anxiously for something that had been put away by Ye Yao, his instincts coming into play at this point and fixing on the topmost compartment.

He jumped upwards and breathed a small sigh of relief when he saw the clothes that belonged to him.

Fortunately, it wasn't thrown away by Ye Yao, so the rest of the stuff should just be put away too.

Lu Xun reached down and took off his own clothes, arranging them one by one with Ye Yao's. When he had done this, he felt a little more comfortable.

Lu Xun asked again, "What about the rest?"

Ye Yao lifted his thin eyelids to meet Lu Xun's and asked nonchalantly, "What else?"

"My other stuff, ah." Lu Xun furrows his brow.

"I'm not going to use them anyway, so I'll just put them away, and you'll take them home with you?" Ye Yao said, "Then I'll mail them back to you then."

Nothing seems to be wrong with these conversations, but they make Lu Xun feel uneasy.

How can his things be so clearly separated from Ye Yao's things? Their things should be together, how can Ye Yao's be Ye Yao's and his be his?

Lu Xun was not one to take it out on Ye Yao whenever he was upset. He pulled another chair in the bedroom next to Ye Yao and sat shoulder to shoulder with his, asking in a whisper, "Did I take the liberty of coming over and upset you?"

Ye Yao didn't say anything, he looked down at Lu Xun's hand in his lap, unconsciously clenched into a fist.

Lu Xun gets nervous like this, especially whenever he feels he has upset him.

The young master rarely cares about anything, let alone gets nervous about it, but Lu Xun's mood swings are obvious whenever it concerns him.

"No," Ye Yao eventually sighed softly as he looked at Lu Xun, and smiled, "I'm glad."

Ye Yao's mother called them from outside, Ye Yao stood up and patted Lu Xun's shoulder, "We are friends, don't think too much. Let's go out for dinner, we've prepared your favourite dumplings stuffed with pork and corn, you can rest afterwards or go out with me."

*

Lu Xun didn't choose to rest after lunch. If he did, he would have seen Ye Yao for several hours less. It would be better to go out together.

This small city is full of foreigners and when it comes to Chinese New Year it is exceptionally quiet and there are no big entertainment facilities.

Lu Xun and Ye Yao walked side by side, chatting as they wandered together to the high school they had attended.

The school gate was open, Lu Xun looked up at the school gate where nothing was hanging and said, "Why did the banner celebrating Ye Yao as the top student in the entrance examination come down?

"Just blow it up," Ye Yao said, "who hangs a banner for years."

"If I ran this school, I'd have this thing carved into the school entrance and couldn't even snap it off." Lu Xun said seriously.

Ye Yao: "......"

Lu Xun's gaze moves away from the school entrance to look at the small shops near the school.

None of these shops were open due to the lack of students during the winter holidays and the fact that it was Chinese New Year.

"The milk tea shop where you worked before wasn't open." Lu Xun said.

"It's definitely closed during the winter holidays," Ye Yao isn't surprised, "otherwise the utilities and materials would be another expense."

Lu Xun looked at the shop front of the milk tea shop, recalling the beginning, his eyes were a little sore, and he slowly and quietly took Ye Yao's hand in his.

When Ye Yao's family became ill, the family was in financial difficulties and Ye Yao had to work part-time to support the family in addition to his intense studies.

Ye Yao was not cynical about the pressure of the world, but remained a helper, whether it was the help he received at the beginning or the help he received in his studies, which he took to heart one by one.

Creatures of darkness are attracted to light, and he has not become an exception.

If it wasn't for Ye Yao, he would not have become the Lu Xun he is now.

Who is he to have such a friend?

He had secretly vowed in high school to be with Ye Yao for the rest of his life. To this day, that vow has not diminished, but has grown stronger.

I want to see Ye Yao with my eyes open, and I want to see Ye Yao with my eyes closed, and if one day I can't, it will be the beginning of a nightmare.

*

Ye Yao didn't feel the same way. He didn't bring Lu Xun out to reminisce about the past, nor did he even come out to have fun with Lu Xun, he had his own agenda.

"It's not good not to be with your family during the New Year, when are you planning to go back?" Ye Yao asked.

"It depends on your mood." Lu Xun said, but his next line was, "I don't want to go back by myself, I want to take you with me, you said you've never seen snow in Spring Festival, let's see it together."

Ye Yao gave an impish laugh, "What if I don't want to go to your house?"

Lu Xun replied without hesitation, "Then I won't go back, I'll stay at home with you."

"Oh." Ye Yao pulled his hand back and stuffed it in his pocket, smiling, "You've made up your mind to follow me around for the winter holidays, haven't you?"

"Of course, the last few days of winter break are your birthday, I must spend it with you and then we'll go back to school together." Lu Xun said.

Ye Yao had forgotten about this, so he opened his phone and looked at the calendar and found that it was true.

When he discovered this, Ye Yao realised that there was no way he could get rid of Lu Xun, who was bound to follow him unless he tore his face off.

And with everyone relaxing during the winter holidays, it's not convenient to have all the excuses to stay away like you do during school hours.

Sadly, they have still come this far.

Ye Yao made a certain decision in his mind and his heart snapped into relief. He relaxed his eyebrows and smiled at Lu Xun, "Yes, let's spend time together then."

Ye Yao was already a good-looking boy, with red lips and white teeth, and a smile of relief, a young man who has stunned and softened the hearts of countless people throughout the years.

Lu Xun looked stunned, drifted away and put his hand on Ye Yao's shoulder again.

Ye Yao had a silent plan to use the winter break as a boundary and to distance herself from Lu Xun after the start of the school year.

In the period before school starts ...... he has a selfishness too, all to stay away, and of course wants to leave a memento at the end.

Since Lu Xun was trying to get closer to him in every way possible, why wouldn't he?

The last month was up and he didn't want to repress himself. Even his thoughts were a lot clearer after deciding to let go and not worry too much about revealing himself, how much more straight men act, if they are bold enough, he is straight too, isn't he?