The night before Valentine’s Day, Qi Shuitang had planned to take Yi He out for a candlelit dinner, but as soon as he mentioned the idea, Yi He grew anxious and started pacing, muttering to himself as he pulled Qi Shuitang along for a rehearsal. Qi Shuitang finally had to sit him down and say, “We’re not going out. Let’s go somewhere else to play instead.”

Yi He looked at him confusedly and asked, “Where?”

Qi Shuitang also though about it. Yi He grew impatient, grumbling as he got up from the bed, “You decide, I still need to prepare the batter and finish frying the sausages…”

Although Qi Shuitang’s parents had repeatedly urged Yi He not to work so hard, Yi He had spent nearly half a year learning how to make jianbing and was too nervous to learn anything else. So he still tended the small stall by the university, though he didn’t stay there as often anymore.

Qi Shuitang suddenly pulled Yi He into a tight embrace and wrestled him onto the bed, pretending to be fierce as he said, “You’re not allowed to move. We’ve got a date tomorrow, so who’s going to sell jianbing? Take a day off!”

Yi He reluctantly squirmed a bit, only relenting when he realized he couldn’t overpower Qi Shuitang. 

Qi Shuitang tossed and turned for most of the night until 3 a.m., when he suddenly had a flash of inspiration and grabbed his phone to buy two tickets to the amusement park. Yi He was disturbed by his movements and rolled over with frowning eyebrows. Qi Shuitang immediately did not dare to move. He carefully adjusted his limbs and gently patted Yi He’s back until he snuggled closer, burying his face in Qi Shuitang’s arms.

The next morning, Yi He’s internal clock woke him up early. Still half-asleep, he shuffled to the fridge and prepared to make breakfast. Qi Shuitang had grumbled the day before about getting tired of eating jianbing, so Yi He thought he could make some steamed buns instead.

But the fridge was empty, save for the roses on the top two shelves. They looked aesthetically pleasing but felt a bit cramped. On the bottom shelf, there were boxes of chocolates. Yi He unwrapped one and popped it in his mouth, only to nearly crack a tooth. Qi Shuitang, that fool, had frozen the chocolates.

Yi He muttered under his breath but couldn’t help a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Carefully, he took the slightly wilted roses and arranged them in a vase by the bed. There were still quite a few left over. 

He found a large bucket, stuffed the remaining roses into it, and carried it to the jianbing stall, where he made a sign that read: “Happy Valentine’s Day! Free Roses (Please don’t take the bucket).”

“Yi He!” Qi Shuitang called from the upstairs window, “Those roses I spent all night arranging, and you’re just giving them away?”

Yi He grinned, “This way, they won’t go to waste.”

Qi Shuitang didn’t want to argue, just waved him up, “Come on, hurry up.”

Once Yi He was upstairs, Qi Shuitang pulled him into a tight embrace, rolling around on the bed, then planted a firm kiss on his lips, “Happy Valentine’s Day.”

Yi He unconsciously wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, annoying Qi Shuitang, who grabbed his face and yanked it towards him, “You little heartless guy.”

“Let’s go eat,” Yi He said, trying to change the subject. “What do you want?”

“Jianbing,” Qi Shuitang replied without hesitation.

“But you said you were tired of eating them,” Yi He said, still a bit irritated.

Qi Shuitang laughed, gently shaking Yi He’s face. “You little fool, I was just making an excuse to get you to open the fridge so you’d see the roses. But then you went and gave them all away for free. You really don’t know how to live it up.”

Yi He freed his face from Qi Shuitang’s hands, rubbing it as he apologized, “I’m sorry, but it felt so wasteful. If you’re still mad, I can go get some more…”

“I’m just teasing you.” Qi Shuitang sprang up from the bed, hurrying him along, “Come on, let’s get ready and head out early.”

“Where are we going?”

“I’m taking you to the new amusement park.” As soon as Qi Shuitang said this, Yi He excitedly crashed into his back, shouting, “I love you so much!”

“Ow, that hurts.” Qi Shuitang turned around with Yi He on his back, then set him down, pretending to groan, “You almost crushed me to death.”

Yi He was so excited that he didn’t even hear what Qi Shuitang was saying, just grabbing his hand and swinging it excitedly, “I love you so much! Let’s go now, let’s go! And we can have breakfast there. I’ll buy it for you!”

Looks like he’s really happy. Even the little miser is willing to spend money, Qi Shuitang thought to himself. He responded to Yi He while also quickly finishing up his own preparations. Ten minutes later, Qi Shuitang plopped the helmet on Yi He’s head, swung his leg over the motorcycle, and enthusiastically called out, “Let’s go!”

“Let’s go!” Yi He cheered, throwing his hands up, the momentum causing him to crash into Qi Shuitang’s back. But he just wrapped his arms tightly around Qi Shuitang’s waist. The sun was shining brightly behind them, the clouds were drifting lazily, and a gentle breeze was playing through the trees. It was a perfect weather.

Raine: I would probably start a new project in a few days.