After they played around the snowman for a while, the park grew more crowded. People saw the snowman they had built and came over to have a look.
Ji Ran breathed on his hands to warm them. "Ge, let's go home and have breakfast."
Zhao Pingchuan nodded. Ji Ran's hat was a little damp, so he pulled the hood of his down jacket up over it, then took out a pair of gloves and handed them to him.
Ji Ran's hands were just getting cold, and he praised him for being so thoughtful. The gloves were leather, so even if they touched snow, they wouldn't get wet inside.
The two headed home, Ji Ran looking back as he walked, plainly reluctant to leave his snowman behind.
Seeing this, Zhao Pingchuan bent down, packed two snowballs, and made him a little one. "Here, take it. You can keep it in the freezer when we get back."
Ji Ran accepted it carefully, delighted beyond measure. His brother actually didn't mind him being childish.
Zhao Pingchuan was so good to him. Would his brother agree to anything he asked?
Feeling playful, Ji Ran suddenly asked, "Ge, can you carry me home on your back?"
Zhao Pingchuan was visibly surprised by the question, but he didn't ask why. Instead, he crouched slightly and said with a smile, "Hop on."
Ji Ran cheered and climbed onto the man's broad back.
Zhao Pingchuan stood up, holding him securely, and walked home one step at a time.
Ji Ran wrapped his arms around the man's neck, still holding his little snowman. No storm, however fierce, could shatter the sense of security he felt at that moment.
Zhao Pingchuan felt Ji Ran's breath against his neck, his soft hair brushing against him and making him itch a little. The weight on his back reassured him, and he felt a touch of joy. At this moment, Ji Ran depended on him completely and trusted him unconditionally.
Could he dare hope for more?
Not knowing where the impulse came from, Zhao Pingchuan asked, "Ranran, what do you think about two men being together, like Gu Xingye and Jiang Jinyue?"
Having lived together for so long, he naturally knew Ji Ran didn't discriminate against gay people. But not discriminating and being able to accept it were entirely different things.
Ji Ran's fingers tightened slightly. "I think it's great. As long as two people like each other, it doesn't matter if they're men or women."
After a pause, Ji Ran added, "But someone like Gu Xingye shouldn't be anyone's partner, man or woman."
Zhao Pingchuan laughed, his nerves easing a little. The words were on the tip of his tongue, but he still couldn't bring himself to say them.
Ji Ran asked in puzzlement, "Ge, why did you suddenly bring those two up? Has Gu Xingye been up to something again lately?"
Zhao Pingchuan shook his head. "No. Strangely enough, he's been pretty quiet lately."
"That's good," Ji Ran said, relieved. "If he doesn't cause trouble, our company can keep developing smoothly."
The wind was strong in the park, so Ji Ran's lips were almost against Zhao Pingchuan's ear to make sure he could hear him. As they walked, the slightest inattention would make them brush against his ear.
So soft. Zhao Pingchuan's thoughts wandered; Ji Ran's lips were just as soft as he had imagined.
That warm, soft touch intensified the impulse in his heart, and Zhao Pingchuan finally asked, "Ranran, what would you think if I told you I liked you?"
The world suddenly fell silent. Aside from his own heartbeat and breathing, Zhao Pingchuan could hear nothing.
His nerves felt stretched taut, yet at the same time he felt a reckless exhilaration. This was entirely unplanned; just like that, he had casually spoken his feelings aloud.
So abrupt, so unexpected.
Even he startled himself when the words came out.
He couldn't see Ji Ran's pupils contract instantly behind him.
It seemed like a few seconds passed, or perhaps a few minutes. Zhao Pingchuan didn't know. In any case, he heard no response from Ji Ran for a long time.
Just as he was about to bring up some random topic to brush it off, Ji Ran suddenly said, "Ge, let's go home first."
Zhao Pingchuan tightened his hold behind Ji Ran's knees and murmured, "Okay."
Neither of them spoke for the rest of the way.
Zhao Pingchuan didn't know what Ji Ran was thinking, but during that time, he had risen and fallen between regret and hope countless times.
At long last, they finally got home.
Ji Ran jumped down from his back, the same smile still on his face.
He first put the snowman on a plate and placed it in the freezer. Then he took off his scarf and gloves and smoothed down his messy hair before looking at Zhao Pingchuan.
Zhao Pingchuan was still standing by the entrance, motionless, only following him with his eyes.
As if he were awaiting judgment.
Ji Ran found it funny, but his heart ached for him a little too. He pulled Zhao Pingchuan inside. Why did he look ready to bolt out the door at any moment? Was he really that scary?
Zhao Pingchuan had lost all ability to think things through. He looked at Ji Ran's smile, unable to decipher what it meant.
Ji Ran couldn't bear to tease him any longer. "Ge, when you say you like me, do you mean the way an older brother likes his younger brother? Or the way family members like each other?"
"If that's what you mean, then of course I like you too. We're family for life."
This was his last chance to retreat.
Zhao Pingchuan knew that, but he repeated himself, his voice tinged with barely perceptible bitterness. "That's not the kind of liking I mean."
Ji Ran watched him quietly.
It was a fairly straightforward statement, and Ji Ran was so clever that Zhao Pingchuan believed he already knew what he meant.
If he made it any clearer, there really would be no room left to retreat.
If he stopped here, they could still safely return to their old relationship.
But Ji Ran moved.
He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Zhao Pingchuan's neck, pulling the man's head down a little, just enough for him to press their lips together.
Their lips met, soft to the touch, and a sensation like an electric current swept through their bodies.
Zhao Pingchuan's eyes flew wide open.
The kiss ended as soon as it began. Ji Ran quickly let him go, his round puppy-dog eyes now holding a sly, foxlike smile, as if to say, I finally got you to admit it.
For the first time, Zhao Pingchuan felt his brain wasn't up to the task.
"What kind of liking?" Ji Ran asked. "Is it this kind?"
Zhao Pingchuan's breathing quickened. "Ranran..." he said hoarsely.
After calling his name, he didn't know what else to say.
He had never dreamed of a scene like this, not even in his dreams.
Ji Ran beamed. "Ge, first tell me, is this the kind of liking you meant?"
"Yes." Zhao Pingchuan answered without the slightest hesitation, with the air of someone throwing caution to the wind.
He was like a condemned man about to be sent to the guillotine, his life or death resting on a single thought from Ji Ran.
But Ji Ran threw himself into his arms. This embrace was the same as before, yet different.
He said, "The way I like you is that kind of liking too."
Countless fireworks exploded in Zhao Pingchuan's mind. He couldn't believe his ears. "Are you telling the truth?"
Ji Ran nodded emphatically. "Absolutely."
He liked Zhao Pingchuan, and had for a long time-since before they had even met.
His feelings for Zhao Pingchuan included dependence on an older brother and closeness to a family member.
They also included the romantic affection he felt for a lover.
Every beautiful feeling could be used to describe how he felt about Zhao Pingchuan.
If Zhao Pingchuan saw him as a younger brother, he would always keep to his role as one.
But now Zhao Pingchuan had said he liked him, so he wanted to be greedy and take another step, to become his lover.
Zhao Pingchuan seemed to come back to himself, finally willing to believe that all of this was really happening.
He immediately tightened his arms around the person in his embrace, his voice trembling. "Ranran, I'm so happy."
Ji Ran laughed in his arms. "I can tell."
Pressed against Zhao Pingchuan's chest, he could hear his heart pounding like a drum.
Ji Ran felt a little proud. This was the big villain who could intimidate the protagonist, and he had actually won him over.
Zhao Pingchuan asked again to make sure, "Ranran, are you sure you like men?"
Ji Ran answered sincerely, "I don't know if I like men. I only know that I like you. No one else will do."
The surprise had come so quickly that Zhao Pingchuan was a little dazed.
All he could do was hold Ji Ran tighter. "Okay, okay."
Ji Ran patted his back. Compared to Zhao Pingchuan, he was much calmer, because he had watched Zhao Pingchuan move closer to him, step by step, until they had finally reached this point today.
He asked with a smile, "Ge, I've already confessed. Won't you make it official?"
All along, Zhao Pingchuan had seemed to be the one in charge, but in reality, Ji Ran had been completely in control of their relationship from beginning to end.
Only then did Zhao Pingchuan let him go. They drew a little apart and looked into each other's eyes, their gazes locked so intently that the air seemed to warm by several degrees.
Zhao Pingchuan was uncharacteristically embarrassed. This was his first time doing something like this too, and he really had no experience.
The sight made Ji Ran grin.
Zhao Pingchuan looked helplessly at the little troublemaker, took his hand in his own, and asked solemnly, "Then, Ranran, the person I like most in the whole world, will you be Zhao Pingchuan's boyfriend?"
Under that affectionate gaze, Ji Ran could no longer keep up his outward calm. He didn't need to play coy, so he agreed almost immediately, nodding emphatically. "Yes, I want to be Zhao Pingchuan's boyfriend, and I never want to be apart from him for the rest of my life."
Zhao Pingchuan smiled. Heaven had taken everything from him, then given him a family and a lover.
The day had been so dreamlike that Zhao Pingchuan could hardly remember what he had done before evening arrived.
All he knew was that on the day of the first snow, he and Ji Ran had become a couple.
The snow still hadn't stopped. Zhao Pingchuan stood by the window, looking at the snowy scene outside. The streetlights in the residential complex illuminated a small patch of swirling snowflakes.
He probably wouldn't be able to hate snowy days ever again.
After his shower, Ji Ran pushed straight into Zhao Pingchuan's room.
Zhao Pingchuan looked at him standing in the doorway in his pajamas and froze for a moment.
Ji Ran announced loudly, "Now that I have a boyfriend, of course I'm going to sleep with him."
He was positively beaming and full of confidence. Zhao Pingchuan laughed low in his throat. "All right, welcome, boyfriend."
After two years, they lay in the same bed once again.
Ji Ran contentedly hugged Zhao Pingchuan, feeling that sleeping like this was more comfortable after all. He loved cuddling up to Zhao Pingchuan.
For a moment, it felt as if they had returned to the first year after they met, yet everything was different.
Zhao Pingchuan gently rubbed his chin against Ji Ran's hair. His arms were full, and so was his heart.
Ji Ran lay awake in the dark, not the least bit sleepy.
How dreamlike it was. Not only had he transmigrated into a book, but he had also gotten together with its villain.
It was all because Zhao Pingchuan was too good to him.
Ji Ran couldn't help grinning foolishly, making Zhao Pingchuan laugh too. "Why aren't you asleep yet? What are you laughing at?"
"I'm too excited," Ji Ran said.
He stayed excited for most of the night before he finally couldn't stay awake any longer and fell asleep. Only when Zhao Pingchuan felt the breathing of the person in his arms grow steady did he close his own eyes. How could he not be excited too? The person he held in his arms was his whole world.