Contractual Marriage: We’re Meant to Be Together

255. That’s Me! (The End)

Translator: Bryan

Yan Chuyang looked at the date in the bottom left corner of the photo.

On May 12th.

What was going on? This was five years ago?!

“Wei Qing!” Yan Chuyang scrambled to his feet from the floor, hiked up his dress and trotted to the kitchen, picture in hand.

Wei Qing was making congee. At the sight of Yan Chuyang hastening inside, he hurriedly put the lid back onto the pot, walked over, held Yan Chuyang’s shoulders and said in displeasure, “What are you doing? Why are you running around wearing a dress? You could fall and hurt yourself.”

With that Wei Qing stooped down, hitched up the lower hem of Yan Chuyang’s dress and tied it into a knot to shorten it so that it wouldn’t be a hindrance.

“Don’t bother.” Yan Chuyang pulled Wei Qing to his feet, handed the photo to him in haste and said, “What is this?”

Wei Qing took the photo, glanced at it, clicked his tongue in astonishment and said, “Where did you get this? It’s a very old photo. I can’t believe it’s still in this house. I don’t even remember where I put it.”

“Who’s the one in this photo? How come you have this photo?”

Staring at the photo, Wei Qing stroked it and said in a deep voice, “This is Shen Shimin. There was a show in her school and I took a picture of her.”

“This is not Shen Shimin!” Yan Chuyang retorted anxiously.

Wei Qing smiled and pulled Yan Chuyang into his embrace. “Don’t be angry. That’s many years ago. I hadn’t met you yet at that time. If I had, none of those things would’ve happened between me and Shen Shimin.”

“That’s not what I mean!” Yan Chuyang shook off Wei Qing’s arms. “This is really not Shen Shimin.”

“Okay, okay.” Wei Qing bowed his head and consolingly kissed Yan Chuyang’s forehead. “It’s not Shen Shimin. It’s you, okay? It’s my sweet heart, but you looked much better in this than she did.”

“This is indeed me!” Yan Chuyang raised his voice.

“That’s nonsense,” Wei Qing said with a shake of his head. “You were a high school freshman five years ago. I remember taking this photo when Shen Shimin performed in the graduation show. It was for the twelfth-grade students. How could a freshman participate in it?”

“I was talked into it by the president of the student council whom I knew for a long time. He said he needed more students to help with the backstage work, and he asked me to do some odd jobs for him, saying he’d pay me. I was short of money at that time so I agreed.”

Wei Qing lifted his head and stroked Yan Chuyang’s cheek. “You were really that poor? Freshmen had a lot of schoolwork at that time, and yet you had to work part-time?”

“I did,” Yan Chuyang sighed, “My grandmother was not in a fit state to work, and we didn’t have any income. I had to earn money to cover my living expenses and tuition fees.”

“Alas,” Wei Qing sighed. “My poor little sweetheart. You must’ve suffered a lot of hardships when I was not around.”

“I surely have.” Yan Chuyang threw himself into Wei Qing’s arms. “You need to be nice to me.”

“Okay. I promise I’ll be nice to you.”

They were enjoying the romantic moment.

Yan Chuyang pushed him away without warning. “Come on! That’s not the point!”

Yan Chuyang steered the conversation back to the original topic.

“I was carrying costumes backstage when the girl playing the role of the princess said she had to go to a bar after the show, that she needed to remove her make-up and change clothes beforehand, which meant she couldn’t play her part in the last section. She’s from a wealthy family and nobody dared cross her, so they let her leave. They were short-handed at that time. After discussing the issue for quite some time, they decided that I was the only one whose figure was similar to that girl’s, so they made me step into the breach.”

Wei Qing was incredulous. “That’s too coincidental to be true. You were the only suitable candidate?”

“Yeah!” Yan Chuyang pointed to the photo. “I was very thin at the time, and I was short due to malnutrition. I was only 5’7”. I grew taller after I started college.”

Wei Qing mussed up Yan Chuyang’s head and said, “You’re still short.”

“That’s not the point!” Yan Chuyang pulled Wei Qing’s hand down and pointed at the photo. “This is definitely me! I was too thin and the dress was too baggy. Time was short so I wrapped my shoelace around my waist.”

Yan Chuyang pointed at the waist of the costume. “You see the black strap around my waist? That was my shoelace.”

Wei Qing took the photo and scrutinized it carefully. When he saw the black strap, the look in his eyes flickered abruptly. After a long silence, he asked, “Where did you go after the show?”

“I went backstage.”

“Impossible.” Wei Qing lifted his eyes. “I went backstage to look for you, but I didn’t see anyone wearing a costume.”

“I hid in the backstage restroom,” Yan Chuyang said with a frown. “After the show, everybody returned backstage. There were so many people. I was too embarrassed to let any of them see me wearing a dress.”

Wei Qing ground his teeth. “Damn it. I forgot to search the restroom!”

“For what?”

“For my first love.”

“Eh…” Yan Chuyang lowered his eyes and said tentatively, “Really? Did you succeed?”

Wei Qing sighed, swept Yan Chuyang into his tight embrace and said in a slightly deep voice, “Yeah. Although it hasn’t been easy and I was several years late, at least I have him in my arms now. It’s not too late.”

Wei Qing felt that the providence was very nice to him.

He had searched in vain for so many years, and the misunderstanding had kept them apart for many years as well, but eventually the two of them had still found each other.

Yan Chuyang raised his head, narrowed his eyes slightly and said, “Why do I feel I’m your first love?”

Wei Qing chuckled and didn’t say anything.

Wei Qing felt that it would be better if he did not tell Yan Chuyang about it, otherwise Yan Chuyang would be complacent for several days.

Moreover, he hoped that Yan Chuyang had developed feelings for him before he, Wei Qing, had developed feelings for Yan Chuyang.

If that was the case, Wei Qing would have a greater sense of security.

“Tell me.” Yan Chuyang gave Wei Qing’s shoulder a push.

“No.”

“Wei Qing!”

“Don’t frown.” Stroking Yan Chuyang’s knitted brows, Wei Qing changed the topic. “Come on. Let me help you change out of this dress.” With that Wei Qing began to undo the zip of Yan Chuyang’s dress.

“Hey, stop it!” Yan Chuyang felt itchy, laughing and dodging.

“Don’t move!”

“Stop it! Ha ha!”

“Mommy,” a little girl who was doing her homework at the windowsill said, pointing at the window of the opposite house, “look, the two men living next door are fighting again.”

The woman glanced in that direction, quickly leaned over to close the curtains and said, “That’s nonsense. They’re not fighting.”

“They are really fighting,” the little girl said, blinking her limpid eyes. “I see them hugging and wrestling all the time.”

The woman dissolved into giggles and said, “That’s two lovers doing something they love doing.”

“What? They love fighting?”

“You are too young to understand it,” the woman remarked, stroking the little girl’s head. After a few moments’ silence, she uttered the words that all parents say to their children. “You’ll understand when you grow up.”

(The End) (Please stay tuned for the extra chapters!)