The Nightmare Experience of a Useless Person

For Ye Qingchen, giving up everything and letting desire take precedence is impossible.

Xiao Chengyang took a step forward, but Ye Qingchen not only didn't follow, she took three steps back. Alas, Xiao Chengyang had no choice but to turn around, kneel down, and beg the man not to leave.

Like Ye Qingchen, Jiang Zhiyang's desires were timid, only daring to grow quietly in the dead of night. When dawn broke, morality and reason would crush all the sprouts that grew at night.

When Jiang Zhiyang opened his eyes the next day, he was filled with regret. He had completely messed things up. He had originally planned to use some minor pranks to make Ye Qingchen give in, but now the train had completely derailed.

Jiang Zhiyang pretended everything was normal, but those details always kept resurfacing at inopportune moments...

Ah—maybe I'll just leave it at that!

Whenever he thought of these things, a blush of shame would appear on Jiang Zhiyang's face, and his two watery eyes would look at Ye Qingchen with a hint of resentment. Even though he was the one who was being presumptuous, it was as if he was the one who had been bullied.

……

In the days leading up to New Year's Eve, Jiang Zhiyang was like a cat that had been scolded, obedient and docile. He dared not mention Ye Qingchen's engagement anymore, dared not get angry, and stopped clamoring for Ye Qingchen to accompany him on his adventures.

Before, when handing chopsticks to Ye Qingchen, she would always take the opportunity to rub her hand against his. Now, she only dares to obediently hold the end of the chopsticks and hand them over.

Before, when walking with Ye Qingchen, she would always secretly stick close to his back, but now she only dares to keep an arm's length distance.

Before, when I helped Ye Qingchen tie his hair, I could always smell his scent. Now I only dare to loudly ask my mother to do it for me.

How happy I am!

How harmonious and respectful they are as brothers!

How long is the holiday...?

"Sigh—" He sighed for what felt like the umpteenth time today. He felt uncomfortable. It was uncomfortable to have five fingers on his hands, uncomfortable to have hair on his head, uncomfortable to have two feet on his legs. Frustrated, extremely frustrated, Jiang Zhiyang looked at his useless body and felt that he might be listless for the rest of his life.

Jiang Zhiyang's frustration was connected to Yu Qingjun, who was also feeling restless and unable to concentrate on anything.

"Go find Chengyang this morning. He's home for dinner. That wild monkey has disappeared again," Song Huixin said gently.

The little monkey always followed the big monkey closely, but it has disappeared these past few days and become a wild monkey.

The sunlight, like a flickering candle flame, gradually faded away. Yu Qingjun felt uneasy, having not been home for several days in a row. Had she pushed him too far away?

Yu Qingjun saw his remorse, and with her soft heart, she couldn't bear it. If Jiang Zhiyang reached out his hand again, she would inevitably take it.

At this moment, he probably ran out to the street to watch the excitement again. Yu Qingjun hurried along, moving against the flow of people.

People came and went, but he was nowhere to be seen. The noise and commotion caused Yu Qingjun's ears to ring. The candy vendors were hawking their wares, the men were chatting and laughing, and the children were running around. The world was so noisy, and her head was spinning. Everything in her eyes was spinning in a dazzling display of light.

Finally, my gaze fell upon the dazzling fish lanterns not far away. Jiang Zhiyang was smiling happily at a girl, holding two sugar figurines in his hands and swinging them excitedly. The light made his eyes sparkle.

It's been a long time since I've seen him laugh so heartily, since they had their argument.

Bitterness, grievance, and disappointment filled their eyes. Their gazes met briefly across the crowd for a second before Yu Qingjun turned and left.

Isn't this exactly what she wanted? The enthusiastic, lively, and cheerful young master of the Xiao family, yet she still felt wronged, as if her weak body was hindering her steps, while the person in front of her ran away happily.

Jiang Zhiyang quickly caught up and pressed himself against Ye Qingchen's back in the crowded throng. He was trying to keep his distance, but he was quite helpless.

"Ye Qingchen! Ye Qingchen!"

"Ye Qingchen! My dear brother, please pay attention to me~" Jiang Zhiyang held sugar figurines in both hands and could only try to get Ye Qingchen to stop by acting cute, but it was obviously useless.

Fortunately, no matter how hard Ye Qingchen tried, he couldn't walk as fast as Jiang Zhiyang. Jiang Zhiyang took two more steps forward and stood close to Ye Qingchen, with two sugar figurines appearing on either side of him.

"Ta-da! Ye Qingchen, look at this sugar figurine, doesn't it look like you?"

Yu Qingjun remained silent, quickly walking away to try and distance herself from him.

"I made this myself! I begged that old Li for two days and emptied my savings before he would teach me how to make sugar figurines. What do you think? Doesn't it look just like you?"

"It's for you!"

"This is especially for you!"

Upon hearing this, Yu Qingjun stopped in her tracks, but ended up crashing into Jiang Zhiyang's arms. She was so angry that her face turned red.

Ignoring the throbbing pain in his chest from the impact, Jiang Zhiyang quickly shoved the sugar figurine into Ye Qingchen's hands, exclaiming, "This is you! This is me!"

Holding the candy in his right hand, Jiang Zhiyang naturally held Ye Qingchen's hand tightly with his free left. He straightened up slightly, abandoning his previous playful demeanor, and apologized earnestly, "I'm sorry, I was wrong. I shouldn't have been so disrespectful to you. Ye Qingchen, please forgive me, okay?"

Yu Qingjun was speechless, only holding the sugar figurine in her mouth, her ears turning red with embarrassment.

"Silence means forgiveness, okay? Let's not fight anymore, okay? You're the most important friend in my life. If you get angry, I'm doomed."

Jiang Zhiyang held Yu Qingjun's hand, their steps exceptionally light. They walked past everyone else in this world, only looking at each other, on their way home.

Seeing the expressions on their faces, Song Huixin thought they had finally made up, so she smiled with relief and quickly invited them inside for a meal.

Looks like we can have a good New Year.

……

Since then, Jiang Zhiyang dared not act foolish again. Ye Qingchen, who never threw a tantrum, was much better. She was like a soft, sticky rice cake, fragrant and sweet. Being with her made him happy, secure, and blissful.

When hanging lanterns, Jiang Zhiyang insisted that Ye Qingchen support his legs, but the ticklish spot on his legs flared up, making Jiang Zhiyang laugh so hard he could hardly breathe.

While pasting the couplets, Jiang Zhiyang rubbed a red finger off the red paper and secretly touched Ye Qingchen's forehead while he was asleep. It was so cute, just like a little girl.

When setting off firecrackers, Jiang Zhiyang held Ye Qingchen's hand, preventing him from lighting them, which frightened Ye Qingchen so much that he closed his eyes and hid behind Jiang Zhiyang.

After the New Year's Eve dinner, with his parents' permission, Jiang Zhiyang finally took Ye Qingchen out the door.

The weather was cold. Although there was no rain or snow, the damp chill was still biting. He specially wrapped the fur-collared cloak that his teacher had given him around Ye Qingchen's body. His head was buried in the snow-white fox fur, and a warm blush appeared on his cheeks, making him look even more furry.

"So cute!" Jiang Zhiyang couldn't resist reaching out and pinching his soft, round cheeks.

Before Yu Qingjun could react, and before she could even question his rudeness, the young man grabbed her hand and started running.