After a busy day, Chu Qin walked out giddily from the video recording booth.
“Qin-ge, how was my performance today?” Confusion had recruited a new host, a young man. He had made his debut through a hilarious talent show, and was quick-witted and dramatic from head to toe.
“Quite good. You can go over to Teacher Liang and see how they edit, that’ll let you know how to put on an even better performance the next time,” Chu Qin said warmly.
“Okie-dokie!” The child agreed in a high voice and ran off with a smile. He hadn’t run too far when he came running back, speaking incoherently, “Qin-ge, out…outside…”
Chu Qin’s brows furrowed, and he walked out with quick steps. Many employees who had ended work were standing outside the station and gazing enviously at a cool sports car beside the road. Many pink balloons were placed around the sports car while a handsome guy dressed in a grand, body-hugging suit leaned against the car, a bouquet of champagne-colored roses clasped in his hands. He appeared to be waiting for his sweetheart to appear.
“What’s Director Zhong doing all this for?” Despite the cool sunglasses he was wearing, Shengshi’s employees could tell with a glance that the handsome guy who appeared to be just past twenty was their director.
“He’s definitely fetching Director Chu.”
“They’re literally an old married couple, but he still does things so grandly?”
“What do you know? They’re eternally head over heels in love, aoaoao! Envious to death!”
The moment Chu Qin walked out, the binds around the balloons were suddenly released and they fluttered towards the sky. Zhong Yibin approached Chu Qin slowly and passed the bouquet of champagne-colored roses to him.
“What’s going on today?” Chu Qin received the flowers in confusion.
Zhong Yibin paused for a moment and frowned at him. “You don’t remember?”
Chu Qin thought hard. It was their wedding anniversary! Crap, he had been busy at work lately and overlooked it. Seeing that Zhong Yibin was about to pout his little chicken mouth, Chu Qin hurriedly went up and gave him a kiss. “It’s our wedding anniversary. Thank you, Er Bingbing.”
Having received a sweet kiss, Zhong Yibin instantly tossed the dissatisfaction he had just experienced to the back of his mind. He pulled open the car door in delight and stuffed Chu Qin in.
Watching the sports car that left them in its dust, the crowd of Shengshi employees couldn’t be more envious.
“Wuwu, I would die with no regrets if my husband treats me half as good as this!”
“All the good men ran off with men!”
“So envious of Director Chu!”
After Chu Qin organized an activity for their first wedding anniversary, Zhong Yibin got addicted to it. Ever since then, his enthusiasm for every year’s anniversary was even greater than Chu Qin’s. He would even come up with a theme every year.
“What’s the theme this time?” Chu Qin watched the extremely lively Zhong Yibin and couldn’t resist smiling, revealing two tiny dimples. Every day with Zhong Yibin was fresh and interesting. He wouldn’t ever grow tired of such a life.
“Hehe, I won’t tell you if you didn’t prepare a present for me,” Zhong Yibin snorted. He focused his gaze ahead and concentrated on driving.
Chu Qin raised a brow slightly, silently turning to look out the window.
Zhong Yibin stole a peek at him. Seeing his lack of reaction, he felt a slight sense of disappointment. He really didn’t prepare a gift? Others said that love would gradually fade away several years after marriage; were they already at that point? But he clearly still loved Chu Qin so much! His heart rate would speed up just from seeing him, and he would want to pounce on him, kiss him, and touch him…
They reached their location very quickly – a rotating restaurant on the top floor of a skyscraper in the city center. Zhong Yibin handed the car over to the valet and inhaled deeply. Chu Qin always remembered birthdays, anniversaries and whatnot very clearly. It was very normal for something to occasionally slip his mind. Like this, he would have a reason to seek compensation! With such thoughts, Zhong Yibin cheered up again and moved to hold Chu Qin’s hand with a smile.
It was currently autumn, and the weather was on the colder side. Chu Qin had his hands hidden in the sleeves of his long windbreaker. When Zhong Yibin went to tug at his sleeve, a tiny velvet box fell into his palm, causing him to stare blankly simultaneously.
“I might have forgotten today but I still remembered it a few days ago,” The tautness on Chu Qin’s face suddenly morphed into a large, large smile. He smiled giddily as he pinched Zhong Yibin’s mouth.
Zhong Yibin picked up the box and opened it. There was a pair of beautiful sapphire cuff links inside. Although he was very happy that his wife hadn’t forgotten his present, he wouldn’t be able to obtain any benefit in-kind this way! Zhong Yibin put the box into the pocket of his pants with a pouted mouth and dragged Chu Qin to the top floor for their meal. “Okay then, today’s theme is ‘flight’.”
“Ah?” Chu Qin scratched his head. What did ‘flight’ mean?
After a delicious dinner, Zhong Yibin led Chu Qin to a different location, the best hotel in the capital. This hotel had a suite overlooking the scenery at the hotel’s top floor. Both walls in the room were made out of glass and the night view of the entire capital could be seen. Zhong Yibin had already instructed Secretary Jin to book this room last month.
The moment they entered the room, Zhong Yibin pressed Chu Qin against the wall in an intimate kiss. Chu Qin finally understood the meaning of ‘flight’ – eating at the highest location and doing shameful things at the highest location was so that they could experience the feeling of flight.
Chu Qin didn’t know what it felt like to fly. All he knew was that having his entire body pressed against the glass wall and looking down on the tiny-as-ants pedestrians and cars made all the hairs on his body stand on end. His body involuntarily stretched taut.
“Wu…” Right at this moment, the person behind him started his fierce movements. This sort of bizarre experience was indeed stimulating, yet Zhong Yibin insisted on spouting some irksome words.
“The whole city is watching you now. How do you feel hosting the ‘flight’ program in front of the entire nation?” Zhong Yibin panted.
“Ah…Hello everyone, this program is not suitable for children…wu…”
The two rolled to the carpet from the glass window, and then rolled from the carpet onto the bed. The two made a ruckus till the later half of the night before falling asleep from exhaustion.
“Being with you like this every day isn’t even enough for me. I should have met you earlier. Knowing you during kindergarten would be the best,” Zhong Yibin, who had eaten and drank his fill, muttered in complaint before sleeping.
“What can we do even if we met that early? It’s not like we can fly…” Chu Qin was so sleepy that he couldn’t even open his eyes and replied dazedly.
Zhong Yibin buried his face into the crook of Chu Qin’s neck, still embroiled in his fantasy of what it would have been like if he had met Chu Qin earlier. His eyelids grew heavier and heavier and he fell asleep very soon.
Upon waking, Zhong Yibin found himself sleeping on a strange bed. Low wooden railings lined both sides of the bed. The bedsheets and blankets were a light blue color. There were also many children around him, all asleep on similar looking beds.
“Children, it’s time to wake up,” Soon, a lady wearing a pink skirt walked in, waking everyone up.
Zhong Yibin sat up in surprise. He raised a hand. His slender and powerful hands had disappeared, replaced by a pair of plump, short hands. Could it be that the words spoken before he slept had come into effect and returned him to the time when he was in kindergarten?
Zhong Yibin endured a challenging afternoon before finally making it out of the kindergarten on his short legs. He remembered that his family circumstances were already pretty good when he was young. They just hadn’t reached the stage of extreme wealth. A car should have been sent to pick him up?
In the end, no car came for him. Zhong Yibin foolishly stood outside the kindergarten door and waited for half a day before a bicycle creaked to a stop before him. Riding the bicycle was a little boy around the age of ten. He was dressed in a white shirt and black shorts, which appeared to be a school uniform. A bright red neckscarf was also tied around his neck.
“Get on,” That clear and melodious child’s voice unexpectedly possessed a dignity that allowed for no opposition.
Zhong Yibin blinked. Was he speaking to him? He examined the little boy carefully. Thick eyebrows, large eyes, high nose, and thin lips. No matter how he looked at him, this little boy looked like his big brother. Zhong Yibin probed, “Ge?”
“En,” Tiny Zhong Jiabin made a sound of agreement. Seeing that his younger brother still wasn’t getting on, he couldn’t help wrinkling his brows. “What’s wrong? Did someone bully you today?” He prepared to get off, as if readying himself to roll up his sleeves and get into a fight.
Zhong Yibin couldn’t recall what his big brother has been like when he was young and was very shocked upon seeing this attitude. He hurriedly clambered up the bicycle. “No, who would dare to bully me?”
After plopping down on the back seat of his big brother’s bicycle, Zhong Yibin finally accepted this setting of returning to his childhood. Then, those who came to play with him at the kindergarten should be Bai Cheng and the rest. He calculated the time. At this point in time, Chu Qin should only be three years and was also attending kindergarten.
Three years old! Thinking that he would be able to see a tender, tiny-sized Chu Qin, Zhong Yibin became happy again.
“Ge, let’s go play at Y city during summer vacation!” Zhong Yibin stretched his hands out and hugged his big brother’s waist.
“Y city? Who did you hear that from?” They reached the neighborhood their family lived in. Zhong Jiabin left the bicycle downstairs and dragged his younger brother upstairs.
“Teacher said that Y city has tasty hotpot!” Zhong Yibin replied with a face full of ignorance. A layer of cold sweat appeared on his head. He nearly forgot that he was now a child who couldn’t distinguish north, south, east and west. How would he know about a place like Y city?
Chu Qin’s family lived in Y city. He had already gotten used to having Chu Qin with him every day. Now that he was suddenly not around, he completely couldn’t live his days out. Moreover, he realized that his family wasn’t well-off like they were in his memories. His parents seemed to be businessmen who only had a bit more money. This world was a little different. He would need to find Chu Qin as soon as possible, in case any unforeseen events occurred.
Zhong Jiabin merely took the question as one of his little brother’s curiosities and didn’t treat it seriously. He didn’t expect this guy for keep harping on it immediately after seeing their parents. Moreover, he harped on it every single day, all the way till summer vacation.
Mother Zhong couldn’t do anything about all the noise he made, so she brought the two brothers to Y city during summer vacation.
Zhong Yibin wandered around the city aimlessly with his mother and big brother. He didn’t take in any scenery, only working hard to search for the location of Chu Qin’s house. Zhong Yibin toured the streets on a tricycle, his hands gripping both sides of the railing with all his strength. Suddenly, his eyes lit up. He saw a sign with the words ‘Y City’s First Senior High School’ on it.
According to Chu Qin, his family’s old house was allocated to them by Father Chu’s school and was located in the yard of that school.
“Stop, stop!” Zhong Yibin shouted loudly. The tricycle came to a stop and he raced down without heed.
“This child, what are you doing!” Mother Zhong scooped him up. “Watch the road.”
“Mother, I want to play there!” Zhong Yibin pointed at the school gate.
Mother Zhong frowned. “What fun is there in a senior high school? didn’t you want to visit Guanyin Temple?”
“No, no, I want to go there!” Zhong Yibin waved his four little limbs. Seeing that his mother wasn’t replying, he strained his throat and started to shriek.
Zhong Jiabin watched his younger brother struggling like a tortoise and couldn’t resist pursing his lips in laughter. “Mother, I’ll bring him in to play for a while.”
In the end, Zhong Yibin succeeded in his shameful act and obtained his desired wish to enter the first years’ courtyard.
The old-fashioned playground was made of coal. Dust churned under the dry weather. At a corner of the playground was a jumping pit for the long jump. During the holidays, the teachers’ children often played there. At this moment, many children had indeed gathered at the jumping pit.
Zhong Yibin stretched his tiny legs and ran to the jumping pit. Clearly, it was only a distance of two hundred meters. But to a five-year-old child, it was considered quite a distance away. No matter how much he ran, he couldn’t reach his goal. Finally, as if he had just finished a marathon, Zhong Yibin reached the jumping pit.
There were around seven to eight children in the jumping pit, all of varying sizes. With a glance, Zhong Yibin noticed the best-looking child out of all of them. The child was wearing a navy uniform – a short-sleeved shirt with a white base and blue trimmings, and a pair of blue shorts. The contrast with his fair and tender skin gave him a very good appearance. He was in a completely different league from the rest of the dark, sniffling children.
Zhong Yibin hadn’t even managed to yell out the word ‘wife’ when he saw a boy around the age of five grab a pile of sand and throw it towards Chu Qin’s face. The dry sand scattered all over Chu Qin’s face and head, entering his eyes. Tiny Chu Qin instantly started crying.
“Bastard!” Zhong Yibin rushed up with quick steps, landing a fist on that child’s eye. The boy who had thrown the sand wailed and collapsed on the ground. Zhong Yibin’s hatred hadn’t diminished yet. He picked up a fist of sand and flung it at his face before giving him a kick. Then, without any concern for the cries of the surrounding children, he turned and went to care for Chu Qin.
“Don’t rub your eyes, I’ll blow on them for you,” Zhong Yibin hugged Chu Qin. He pulled apart the hands that was rubbing at his eyes continuously and blew at the sand.
“Wuwuwu…who are you?” Chu Qin couldn’t see clearly and sobbed out this question.
“I’m your hubby!” Zhong Yibin stuck out his tiny chest proudly. “I will protect you in the future.”
“Hubby?” Chu Qin’s eyes were rid of the sand and he looked tearfully at the boy that suddenly appeared before him. “What does a hubby do?”
“A hubby is someone who can kiss, hug, and raise you up high,” Zhong Yibin beamed and drifted over, placing a kiss on his tender little mouth. A clear smacking sound could be heard.
Tiny Chu Qin blinked his eyes. He suddenly laughed out loud, revealing a tiny dimple. “Okay. Hubby, I want to fly!”
“Ah?” Zhong Yibin was astonished. “Fly what?”
“Support me from below!” Tiny Chu Qin said innocently. A powdery, soft little hand caught hold of the soft meat between Zhong Yibin’s legs.
Zhong Yibin’s mouth gaped open. Wasn’t his family’s wife being a little too forward! But his Zhong chicken had yet to awaken now, how could he take his wife flying? Thinking to this point, he immediately grew so anxious that his head dripped with sweat.
“Ah!” Zhong Yibin was scared awake during his fervent worry. In front of his eyes were two transparent glass windows overlooking the beautiful scenery that was the whole capital. In his arms was Chu Qin, who was still sound asleep.
“What happened?” Chu Qin opened his eyes in a daze, seeing a Zhong Yibin whose head dripped with sweat.
“I had a dream,” Zhong Yibin inhaled and turned to look at Chu Qin. “I dreamt that I returned to my childhood. I was five years old and you were three years old. We met.”
“Then?” Chu Qin rubbed his eyes and asked him with a smile.
“Then, you said you wanted Zhong chicken to take you flying,” Zhong Yibin said and then flipped over, pressing down on Chu Qin.
“Nonsense, how would I know of that at the age of three!” Chu Qin raised a hand and pushed at him.
“I don’t care. It was you who said you wanted to fly, this hubby will now satisfy you!” Zhong Yibin laughed mischievously and pushed his smooth, slippery legs apart.
“You shameless…wu…”
Ilyz: And we’ve come to the end of this novel! As my first translation project, this story has a special place in my heart. A huge thank you to all the readers who have journeyed with me to the end! I hope this novel has added some joy and laughter to your life ✨