Chapter 41: Holding Hands

Exclusive Bear.

The word really bluffed the little kids, and the shocked little boy turned around and hugged his mother's thigh, saying enviously, "Mum. I want the exclusive bear too, buy it for me!"

The boy's mother looked at Ye Yao and then at the bear next to Ye Yao and picked the boy up with a sudden realization, "You can't buy this now, wait until you are an adult."

"Why do we have to wait for adulthood, I don't want to I don't want to-" the little boy was carried away by his mother, struggling to the end.

Other children were carried away by their parents, and one little girl even cried with envy as her father coaxed her, "Don't cry, don't cry, you'll have Xiong Xiong at home in a few days, it's so pretty!"

Everyone dispersed and Ye Yao was left in peace, with the fantastic bear still standing by his side.

Ye Yao locked eyes with the bear and whispered, "Can I touch it?"

So the bear, who had rejected everyone before, lowered his head so that Ye Yao could touch the best handful of fur on top of his head.

The fleece under his hands is soft to the touch and slightly hot after being exposed to the sun for so long, and the hotness travels from Ye Yao's palms and down his bloodstream to his heart.

It is his exclusive bear, the only one he can touch, a right that belongs exclusively to him alone.

As winter turns to spring and summer is approaching, everyone is taking off their thick winter clothes and replacing them with lighter ones. Lu Xun's body is not afraid of the cold and he can sweat in winter, so wearing this now would not be comfortable for him.

"Isn't it hot?" Ye Yao muffled, "Take it off, you'll get bored and sweaty."

"What are you talking about, I'm just a bear, talk about hot or not, bears don't understand. How can you tell a bear to take its skin off, that's bad." Lu Xun shook his head and handed Ye Yao the balloon he was holding, "A meet and greet present for you."

Playing with balloons is a bit childish for Ye Yao nowadays, but Ye Yao did not refuse the gift. As he held the balloon in his hand, the two balloons floated in mid-air, touching each other every now and then, and the small decorative lights on the top blinked on and off, creating a picture of two familiar animated characters.

Ye Yao Jing Jing looked on and then heard Lu Xun remind him, "It's beautiful, isn't it? Take a picture of it, don't tell me you're done with it."

Ye Yao then remembered to take a picture. He took his phone out and adjusted it to front camera shooting mode, encapsulating his face, the balloon and the bear behind him into the shot and pressed the photo button.

Ye Yao Yao's angles are very dead, what with the technique of putting the phone far away to make his face small and tilting the camera slightly to make his eyes bigger, there is no technique at all.

Lu Xun couldn't help but spit out, "This is a standard straight photo shoot, if you didn't say you were bent, who could tell?"

Ye Yao doesn't know how Lu Xun has the guts to say he's not straight enough, when he's the straightest one on the field.

"So how do you want to shoot?" Ye Yao Yao seeks advice with an open mind.

The big bear cocked his head, a cute grin on his bear face, and Lu Xun's voice turned a little dangerous: "How do I want to shoot ...... don't you know?"

Cuddled up against each other, of course, hand in hand, face to face, nose to nose. He could kiss Ye Yao's long, slender eyelashes, or Ye Yao's rosy lips, and then freeze these moments.

Ye Yao could not see Lu Xun's expression through the thick leather cover as he looked at the bear's face a few more times and pressed the photo button again.

After the photo shoot, Ye Yao wandered around the amusement park with a pretty balloon in one hand and a stuffed bear on the other. Ye Yao chose not to go for the exciting entertainment, but for the relaxed and casual type, such as shooting, out of concern for Lu Xun's current outfit.

Ye Yao saw a plush bear among the pile of prizes, which resembled the holster Lu Xun was wearing.

Ye Yao got the idea, paid the money and picked up the shooting gun.

Lu Xun whispered in his ear, "It's not enough that you have me as a bear, you want a second bear?"

Ye Yao nods his head.

Lu Xun's outfit had to be returned, and he wanted to leave something else behind besides the photographs.

He will never forget this day.

Ye Yao couldn't hit it at first, but he was a good learner and picked up everything quickly, and the doll bear was eventually in his pocket.

Ye Yao was satisfied with the bear, but before he could take two steps with it, it was snatched from his arms.

The big bear that had taken his stuff ran away, very fast. Ye Yao froze, reacted and went after him.

Ye Yao is physically good but he was robbed of his lead and it wasn't that easy to catch up.

By the time Ye Yao caught the bear hiding at the back of the house, the doll bear that was supposed to be in his hand had disappeared and the bag in front of the bear was bulging.

Lu Xun sounded smug: "I've already eaten the other bear, and with me there's no chance of a second house."

Ye Yao was amused and pleased that he was sweating from running, sweat sliding from his forehead to his brow bone and back to the ends of his eyes.

It is a picture of beauty in living colour that calls for the heart to pound for those who look at it.

Lu Xun's throat is dry, his laryngeal knot twitches and he eventually wipes away the drops of sweat with his furry bear paw.

If he had been in a position to do so, he should have licked that drop of sweat off, not wiped it off.

Lu Xun withdrew his palm as if nothing had happened: "You're tired of running, come on, let's take you to eat."

When it's hot, it's time for something cold, and Ye Yao was taken to a small shop selling ice cream.

Ice creams come in a variety of colours, big and small.

Ye Yao usually chooses a moderate portion, but this time, he wanted a large one.

The lady selling the ice cream exclaimed, "You're so lucky, this is the last one left, there's an ingredient in it that's running out, we can't restock it until tomorrow."

Ye Yao's hand holding the balloon tightened and he spoke almost subconsciously, "Then don't, take two small-"

Another voice cut across and interrupted, "I'll take this big one and a small one, please."

The talking bear was very quick, he paid for his two ice creams and then waved his head towards Ye Yao, gesturing for his to follow him to a seat.

The ice cream, which was held in the hand, was freshly coloured and topped with a crunchy assortment of crumbs, which looked delicious.

Probably because the price is different and the care taken to produce it, the large ice creams that are more than double the price just look more beautiful and attractive.

They came to a corner with no entertainment where there were very few people and it was relatively quiet.

"There was a tree there to keep the sun out, and we sat there and ate." Lu Xun says.

They came under the tree and Ye Yao looked at Lu Xun and sat down, so Ye Yao sat down too.

The ice cream is still being held in Lu Xun's hand, and Ye Yao glances at it from time to time.

Lu Xun would definitely have given him the bigger one.

When two people are out together and the food is different, even if it is due to external reasons, the person who eats the worse portion will not feel good.

He had felt this bad feeling before, and he didn't want Lu Xun to feel it again.

Lu Xun suddenly spoke up, "Are you wondering how you're going to refuse if I give you the big one and eat the small one myself?"

Ye Yao was stunned.

"Silly me, I'm not going to do something stupid like that." Lu Xun gave a laugh.

Ye Yao came back to his senses, relieved to find that he had undeservedly felt some loss of emotion.

Even Lu Xun doesn't have to give in to him. It's wrong to have such high standards to think of Lu Xun and then secretly lose it.

Ye Yao was about to echo Lu Xun's words when two plush bears moved their paws and two small and large ice creams were handed to him.

All the thoughts Ye Yao had just been thinking were interrupted by this action, and his brain came to a halt as he slowly looked up in the direction of Lu Xun's face.

"You ......"

"I what, of course both were bought for you, what makes you think I only bought you one?" The big, big bear shook his head, "No way, did Ye students imagine us sitting in rows eating ice cream, me eating the big one and you eating the small one, and this scene didn't make you stand up and punch me in the face?"

The sun's rays shone through the leaves on Ye Yao's eyes as he spoke with difficulty, "...... What nonsense, how could I give you a punch."

"It's not nonsense." Inside the holster Lu Xun's voice is muffled and more serious than usual, " Ye Yao can't suffer this kind of aggression in my place."

The sun was really blinding Ye Yao's eyes.

"Your holster is soft to the touch." Ye Yao said suddenly.

Lu Xun didn't react to the sudden change of subject: "Yeah, what's wrong."

"I wanted to bury my face in it to see if it was comfortable." Ye Yao said.

Lu Xun, of course, did not refuse this request and tried to open his arms to the front, but Ye Yao pulled him around and turned his back.

Ye Yao buried his face in the soft fleece of the dress and wiped all his tears on it, the tiny droplets of water not penetrating the thick fleece and being absorbed by the dress and disappearing.

*

Ye Yao, of course, would not eat alone while Lu Xun watched, and the ice cream was eventually eaten by both of them.

The plush legs of the bear touch Ye Yao's legs, Lu Xun takes the hood off and puts it aside. His hands are not suitable for delicate tasks like grabbing a spoon, so Ye Yao takes a bite for himself and then gives Lu Xun a bite with a different spoon.

The two ice creams were just devoured.

*

They went on a number of rides, and in the evening when the sun went down, they rode the Ferris wheel together.

The red sunset gradually sinks to earth level and the light becomes softer, unlike the unseeable light of midday.

Ye Yao was watching the sunset when he heard Lu Xun say next to him, "Legend has it that the couple who kiss when the Ferris wheel reaches its highest point can stay together for the rest of their lives."

"It's feudal superstition." Ye Yao said.

"Bears don't hear that kind of talk." Lu Xun said, turning his head to look at Ye Yao's face, tinged crimson in the setting sun, "Then next time you come, I'll ask you again."

Ye Yao did not reply.

By the time we got off the Ferris wheel and took another casual walk, it was dark. We had done pretty much everything we needed to do and it was time to return.

Ye Yao was walking when he noticed that the bear beside him had disappeared. He stopped and turned around to see the large bear grinding behind him in small steps.

"What's wrong?" Ye Yao asked.

Lu Xun looks up at him while holding out a bear's paw.

"Wear this, you can't see well at night." Lu Xun asks, "Can you lead me back to the place where you were told to wait for me before?"

If you can't see your way around in the doll suit, just take it off - after all, Lu Xun is not an employee of the amusement park, so no matter when you take it off, you won't be docked your wages.

Si Mazhao's heart is known to all and so is Lu Xun's Ye Yao's.

This is not a conspiracy, it is too bright and becomes phallic.

They hadn't shaken hands in a long time.

Lu Xun's hand was outstretched and seemed to remain so as long as Ye Yao did not answer.

Ye Yao placed his hand on it and in that instant his grip tightened.

Across the plush playsuit, their hands clasped again.

"Let's go." Ye Yao said.