The night was deep outside the window.
The drizzle lasted for most of the night, and the ground was covered with layers of puddles, occasionally reflecting the full moon in the sky during the intermittent pauses.
Cars occasionally sped by on the shimmering road, the moonlight, the shadows of trees, the neon lights of tall buildings—an upside-down world reflected in small puddles of water.
Nan Qing was pinned down in the car by Huo Yuzhou, who kissed her countless times.
His breathing was disordered, and even his low, hoarse voice lacked composure.
Nan Qing felt that he had been tormented repeatedly, but Huo Yuzhou still couldn't finish the job.
Nan Qing thought Huo Yuzhou was sick.
No wonder the original storyline described Huo Yuzhou as chaste.
He's almost 30 years old!
A 30-year-old man who remains celibate might actually have some embarrassing erectile dysfunction.
Nan Qing felt he had figured out the mystery. He felt that Huo Yuzhou was a bit pitiful, like a little dog rubbing against a bone, but unable to find a place to bite.
More accurately, this emotion should perhaps be called compassion.
Nan Qing generously opened her arms and pulled Huo Yuzhou into her embrace, patting him on the back.
"It's okay, being able to kiss is amazing!"
The handsome man, who was being comforted by the little one, gritted his teeth and tried his best to clarify things for himself.
"I'm not sick."
Nan Qing: "Alright, alright, you're not sick!"
"You just accidentally kissed me on the lips, then accidentally kissed me for a long time, and finally, like masters sparring, you stopped short of taking our relationship to the next level."
Huo Yuzhou sighed.
" Baby, this is a sacred thing."
"We shouldn't just rush things in the car. We should do it on a grand occasion, like after our wedding ceremony, in a spacious, bright room, on a waterbed covered with flowers, not in this cramped and confined carriage."
Huo Yuzhou cupped his face in his hands, his voice very low.
" Qingqing, I don't want you to have any unpleasant experiences."
I want you to feel happy every time you look back on this, instead of feeling that it was rushed and careless, or that I was bullying you.
Nan Qing mumbled a few random "uh-huhs" and patted Huo Yuzhou's face.
"Okay, okay."
But his face was clearly filled with pity and doubt.
Huo Yuzhou was at a loss for words, both laughing and crying.
The clothes were a mess. Huo Yuzhou took a spare coat from the car and wrapped Nan Qing up from head to toe. Then he hugged him and opened the car door.
The underground parking garage was silent, with the ever-burning lights illuminating the ground. Rows of luxury cars lined both sides, their gleaming paint shimmering in the light and shadow, like a silent audience standing during a wedding vows.
Huo Yuzhou, holding his beloved, stepped onto the last flight of stairs in the bright light and shadow.
Nan Qing's clothes were suddenly ripped open, revealing her panicked face.
" Huo Yuzhou, you didn't just say you wanted to marry me, did you?"
Huo Yuzhou looked at him and smiled, "What do you think?"
Nan Qing refused. "I don't want to, it's impossible, I never planned to get married in the first place."
The elevator doors slowly opened, Huo Yuzhou stepped inside, carrying the person in his arms. He sighed.
I knew you disliked me.
This time, it was Nan Qing's turn to be stunned.
Does Huo Yuzhou really have that kind of illness?
Nan Qing inwardly hissed. He didn't have much experience in comforting people, and having just rejected Huo Yuzhou's wedding invitation, he felt a little guilty as he spoke.
"No, it's not that I'm disgusted, I just simply don't want to get married..."
Huo Yuzhou lowered his eyes and glanced at him.
Nan Qing finally mustered up some courage:
"Okay, I can accompany you during your treatment, but let's not talk about marriage anymore. It's terrifying to hear you say such things."
"Really, what benefits would marriage bring, Huo Yuzhou? Anyway, you and I are both so free now, and we can maintain this relationship for a long time, until the contract ends."
Huo Yuzhou remained silent, while Nan Qing continued talking to himself.
"Besides, same-sex relationships are inherently fragile. They might get together because of a surge of hormones at a certain stage, but once the passion fades, or they find someone they like more, they might cheat or have an affair. Wouldn't that lead to a very ugly mess?"
The elevator doors opened, Huo Yuzhou carried him to the bedroom, his voice calm.
You won't meet someone you like more.
How do you know I won't meet someone I like even more?
Nan Qing asked in a serious tone, but Huo Yuzhou only smiled and glanced at him, his dark eyes unusually deep.
Nan Qing spoke again,
Even if I don't meet him, you will eventually.
" Huo Yuzhou, with your qualifications, even if your assets shrink by more than 100 times, there will be plenty of people rushing to you. By then, there will be so many temptations outside, but after marriage, the woman at home will remain unchanged, without any novelty. You'll get tired of looking at her."
Huo Yuzhou placed him on the bed and tidied his unruly hair.
"Novelty is a lie told by fickle people."
" Baby, this rule doesn't apply to me."
Nan Qing was taken aback.
Some distant memory struck him—was it his handsome father embracing his new lover, or his beautiful mother holding hands with her young boyfriend? He couldn't remember anymore.
Those beautiful, flower-like faces appeared at the villa where his parents got married. Someone would bend down to tease him, and then they would kiss him without restraint, making obscene noises.
He had heard the word "bored" many times from that familiar voice.
That's because he was too young; he could only ask the nanny about this problem.
The nanny held him in her arms and comforted him. Her voice was gentle, but for some reason, her gaze was so sorrowful, as if he were the most pitiful fool in the world. She answered him:
"Getting tired of it is like Qingqing's favorite little cake; if you eat too much of it at once, it gets boring and you want to try a new flavor."
Is this how everyone is?
The child's innocent voice transcended time, and the nanny, with a sigh, hugged him even tighter.
"That's probably how it is; things lose their novelty after a while."
At an age when other children were still grieving over bad teeth, Nan Qing learned the word "novelty."
For many, many years afterward, the two periods of time repeated.
The word resurfaced in his ears from the internet and from snippets of conversation among those around him, washing over his memories again and again.
That's how it's supposed to be.
After a while, things lose their novelty, and sooner or later, a breakup or infidelity will occur; no one can escape it.
So why should we be together?
Shouldn't it be even more painful to see someone you once loved become unrecognizable?
He didn't quite understand, so he could only look up at the man in front of him.
Huo Yuzhou bent down, knelt on one knee, and held his fingers in his hands.
The moment their gazes met, it was as if the two figures had traversed a vast barrier of time and space.
The mature and handsome Huo Yuzhou stood before a frail, pitiful child with teary eyes, and explained to him in a deep, steady voice.
"That's not true, Baby."
"Those who change their minds find an excuse for their despicable behavior, so they use novelty as a lie to shift the blame onto the other person."
"Because of a lack of resolve, they are fickle; because of their promiscuity, they resort to sophistry."
"No matter who this kind of person is with, they'll always end up complaining about a lack of novelty, leading to a rushed and unsatisfactory relationship."