Lin Shile pointed at the mole on the bridge of his nose in disbelief. His pupils widened slightly, his voice full of doubt. “Tattooed?”
Chen You'an guided his hand a little lower and sighed. “Here. Yes, it was tattooed on.”
Chen You'an added, “Pregnancy really does make you stupid for three years.”
Dumbstruck, Lin Shile touched the mole on his nose. He had been born with this mole. How could it possibly be a tattoo?!
After thinking it over for a moment, he understood. He had the mole, but the original owner hadn't.
So why had the original owner gone to the bizarre trouble of enduring the pain of having a mole tattooed onto the bridge of his nose?
Perhaps he simply thought it looked attractive.
After all, plenty of people had praised the mole for being in precisely the right spot. It softened the cool aloofness of his face and made him more recognizable to audiences.
On the way to the next attraction, the two talked about all sorts of things.
Most of the time, Chen You'an asked questions and Lin Shile answered.
Whenever Lin Shile couldn't come up with an answer, Chen You'an never grew suspicious. He merely teased him about pregnancy making people stupid for three years.
Then Chen You'an asked whether he'd rather be an idol or an actor. Lin Shile's mind raced, and he blurted out, “An actor.”
Chen You'an said, “I knew it. When you're ready to act, just tell your big brother. I'll make the introductions. You can have your pick of the lead or second male lead.”
Lin Shile burst out laughing at this magnificent promise. “Bro, I'd better save some space in my stomach for dinner. If I swallow all this hot air now, I'll be too stuffed to eat later. Hahaha—”
Chen You'an laughed too, his laughter deeper and more restrained than Lin Shile's.
“Since when did you get such a sense of humor?”
“Just… now.”
–
Riding the carousel had made Lin Shile feel more embarrassed than happy, but feeding the white pigeons soothed him considerably, and his smile gradually grew wider.
Halfway through feeding them, his phone suddenly rang, startling the white pigeons pecking at grain around his feet into flight.
Lin Shile lifted his head and watched the birds circle overhead again and again before answering. “Hello?”
Hearing the commotion around him, Zhu Huai stared fixedly at the photograph of Lin Shile's back that a servant had sent to his computer.
He scrolled the mouse up and down, moving the image on the screen along with it.
His eyes darkened, and he lowered his voice. “Where are you?”
“Binghe Amusement Park.”
“All right. Wait for me at the entrance. It's Father's birthday today. We're going back to the family residence for dinner.”
Lin Shile glanced at Chen You'an's back, feeling awkward. He'd already promised to have dinner with him that evening.
“I… I promised…”
Zhu Huai cut him off halfway through and demanded with complete confidence, “Promised what?”
He moved the mouse and clicked the little cross in the upper-right corner of the photograph, returning the computer to its original screen. “Wait for me.”
Lin Shile said, “I…”
The busy signal cut off the rest of his sentence.
“…”
Seeing his grim, speechless expression, Chen You'an asked, “What's wrong?”
“Zhu Huai wants me to go to the family residence with him to celebrate his father's birthday.” Lin Shile scattered all the grain in his hand at once. At the sight of food covering the ground, the pigeons stopped circling, landed rapidly, and rushed toward him.
Surrounded by a flock of white pigeons, Lin Shile couldn't move an inch.
Chen You'an shooed the birds away and accompanied him toward the exit.
Lin Shile didn't ask him to stay and wait, and Chen You'an tacitly suggested leaving first. Lin Shile nodded. “I'll treat you to a meal next time.”
Chen You'an said, “It's a deal.”
Lin Shile nodded. “All right. It's a deal.”
With that, Chen You'an drove off. Zhu Huai arrived less than ten minutes after he left.
Lin Shile pulled open the car door and climbed in. Warm air instantly enveloped him. He removed his mask and scarf, then covered his ears with his hands to soothe their stinging from the icy wind.
“It's so cold,” he said, still holding his ears.
Zhu Huai retorted with a cold expression, “And yet you went out anyway.”
Lin Shile looked at him with his big, round eyes and shot back mercilessly, “You're the one who told me to do whatever I liked. Now that I've gone out, shouldn't you be pleased?”
When Zhu Huai said nothing, Lin Shile pouted and fell silent too.
Zhu Huai neatly folded the scarf he'd tossed carelessly onto the seat. “You need to break this habit of throwing your things everywhere.”
Lin Shile stole a glance at the neatly folded scarf, crossed his arms, and feigned indignation. “Hmph~ Mind your own business.”
Zhu Huai couldn't be bothered arguing, so he simply stopped talking.
During the drive, Lin Shile occasionally reached out to poke Zhu Huai here and there, as if teasing a stray cat by the roadside. He just wanted to get Zhu Huai's attention and ease the oppressive atmosphere between them.
He was actually quite interested in Zhu Huai. After all, when he'd read the novel, he'd fantasized about having a first boyfriend like Zhu Huai—someone who looked exceptionally fertile and, as it turned out, really was.
As he kept poking, his hands unconsciously began wandering. Zhu Huai, who had been pretending to sleep, suddenly caught the hand making mischief against his body.
He enclosed Lin Shile's long, beautiful hand in his palm and squeezed it, refusing to let go no matter how Lin Shile struggled.
Lin Shile could feel that the harder he pulled away, the tighter Zhu Huai's grip became. The tugging back and forth made his hand ache terribly.
Furious, he kicked Zhu Huai. “Let go!”
Seeing that the little kitten was baring its claws, Zhu Huai obediently released him and said with his eyes closed, “Behave yourself. Stop fidgeting.”
After hearing that, Lin Shile deliberately reached out and poked Zhu Huai's abdominal muscles again.
Zhu Huai shifted impatiently, moving farther away from him.
Lin Shile found teasing him rather entertaining and scooted closer too.
Zhu Huai slowly opened his eyes. Fixing Lin Shile with a deep gaze tinged with helplessness, he said, “The way you're behaving right now is exactly like Bully.”
Lin Shile: “…”
Understanding the implication, Lin Shile angrily kicked him again.
Zhu Huai bent over to dust himself off. “You…”
“Forget it. Bully is better behaved.”
Teased indirectly yet again, Lin Shile acted on impulse, snatched up the neatly folded scarf beside him, and clumsily smothered Zhu Huai's merciless mouth with it.
Caught off guard, Zhu Huai tugged wildly at the scarf covering his mouth, his eyes blazing with anger.
Lin Shile wasn't as strong as Zhu Huai. To get even for those two roundabout insults, he swung himself straight onto Zhu Huai's lap. “That's what you get for saying that about me!”
Zhu Huai tried to push him off, but Lin Shile sensed his intentions and shouted at the top of his lungs, “Go on, push me! Push me! You'd better knock me down and kill me and the baby together!”
Zhu Huai's hands, which were gripping Lin Shile's waist, instantly lost their strength. He stared at Lin Shile with icy eyes.
Frightened by his cold gaze, Lin Shile swallowed nervously and released the scarf covering Zhu Huai's mouth.
Lin Shile had turned Zhu Huai's carefully styled hair into a bird's nest, and Zhu Huai had somehow gotten a mouthful of wool fibers as well.
Looking at Lin Shile sitting on him and apologizing over and over, Zhu Huai developed a headache.
Zhu Huai patted his back. “Had your fun sitting there? Get off.”
Because of his pregnancy, Lin Shile's attempt to climb down looked extremely clumsy. He wiggled his hips and slowly slid toward the seat, while the little Zhu Huai being pressed and rubbed beneath him found the sensation rather extraordinary.
Provoked, Zhu Huai's lower abdomen tightened. Through gritted teeth, he asked, “Are you doing this on purpose?”
Looking utterly innocent, Lin Shile slowly settled onto the seat. “Doing what on purpose?”
Zhu Huai raised a hand and pointed at his crotch. Realizing just how indecent the gesture was, he said helplessly, “Sit properly.”
Lin Shile had seen Zhu Huai's indecent little gesture perfectly clearly. Exactly! How could a dominant man capable of going seven rounds in one night possibly remain unmoved with a beauty sitting in his lap?
Lin Shile had a fair amount of confidence in his looks.
He leaned toward Zhu Huai's ear and teased, suppressing a laugh, “President Zhu, only bullies go into heat, you know~”
His eyes sparkled with triumph. Getting his revenge on the spot after being slighted felt wonderful beyond words.
Watching Zhu Huai suffer a rare defeat put him in an even better mood.
The baby in his belly seemed to catch his happiness and gave his stomach a little celebratory kick.
When they reached the old family residence, Zhu Huai dropped the scarf that had filled his mouth with fibers onto Lin Shile's lap. “Put it on.”
“Oh.”
Once he'd wrapped the scarf around himself, Lin Shile asked with an innocent expression, “How should I play along with you when we go inside?”
“An obedient, delicate little spouse or a vicious attack dog—I can be whichever you prefer.”
“Hahaha—”
Hearing Lin Shile's joke and hearty laughter, Zhu Huai tugged up the corners of his mouth in a small smile. “You…”
But Lin Shile interrupted before he could say more. “You're wondering how I've become so much nicer, aren't you?”
He hated being anyone's replacement, and he hated living behind a different mask every day, so he'd long since prepared an explanation for his change in personality.
Whether Zhu Huai believed it or not.
“After getting pregnant, I suddenly figured things out. People should live a little more happily and freely.” Lin Shile asked sweetly, “So… do you like the old me better, or the me I am now?”
The old me was the original owner. The current me is me.
