CHAPTER 803: CHAPTER 533: HOW MANY FLOWERS FALL IN DREAMS_1

"What, don’t recognize me?"

Bai Yuchuan walked over, his body reeking of strong tobacco.

He held out a cup and said, "Hangover soup. I figured you’d be waking up soon, so I made it especially for you. I think this works better than milk, don’t get too emotional."

Li Weihuan glanced at the cup and took it, "Thank you."

Bai Yuchuan frowned, but said nothing.

"Hungry? I bought noodles, want me to cook some for you?" After a while, Bai Yuchuan asked him.

"Not hungry, feeling uncomfortable now, if I eat I’ll definitely throw up!"

"Knowing it’ll make you throw up, why did you drink so much?"

"..." Li Weihuan’s eyes flickered, "I argued with my wife, I’m not in a good mood."

"Wife? You mean... Yi Mu?"

"Who else could it be if not Yi Mu?" Li Weihuan smiled, "We’re legally married, we have a marriage certificate."

"Right, legally married."

Li Weihuan’s eyes shone, watching him, "By the way, Xiaobai, I’m already married here, and you, who are older than me, still don’t have a girlfriend. Are you planning to be a bachelor all your life? Have you met a suitable girl? Last time we went to eat and met that junior girl, she was good. Didn’t she leave her phone number for you? Didn’t you contact her?"

"Ha!" Bai Yuchuan laughed, "What’s the point of contacting? My youth has just started, I haven’t had enough fun yet!"

"Youth?" Li Weihuan shook his head, laughing, "Brother, your summer is almost ending, isn’t it?"

After a pause, he added, "And...we women, we always have to get married."

Bai Yuchuan seemed taken aback and raised his eyebrows looking at him, "Why do you suddenly say that?"

Li Weihuan shook his head, "It’s nothing, I just think that many things in this world are not as beautiful as we imagine. Love doesn’t necessarily lead to marriage, and love is not a prerequisite for marriage to work. For example, I married Yi Mu, I don’t love her yet... so when you think about it carefully, what are we insisting on? Especially, when we know for a fact that persistence has no outcome, isn’t it silly to keep persisting? It’s just plain stupid."

Bai Yuchuan furrowed his brows, but said nothing.

Li Weihuan said, "Xiaobai, I’m really glad to have you as a brother all these years. You have been there for me through thick and thin. Not just you, but also Zhang Mu and Chenqing, I’m really grateful to you! Even though I don’t have love now, at least I have you guys. I hope this friendship among us four will last a lifetime!" After finishing, Li Weihuan looked at Bai Yuchuan and asked him, "Xiaobai, can we stay the same forever?"

Bai Yuchuan looked at him for a moment, then broke into a smile and nodded, "Of course!"

...

Being brothers for life, such a promise carries a heavy weight.

Bai Yuchuan took a deep breath, stood up and said, "Just leave the cup on the side after you finish drinking, I’ll go put some gas in the car and then I’ll take you home."

"Okay." Li Weihuan nodded.

Without a word, Bai Yuchuan left, and the door slammed shut with a bang.

Li Weihuan sat on the bed, looking at the cup of hangover soup in his hand, his eyes trembling slightly.

...

When Bai Yuchuan came back, he, as always, was about to toss his keys on the couch nearby, but before he could, he noticed something was wrong.

Because Li Weihuan’s shoes were missing!

He frowned and, after a moment, bolted into Li Weihuan’s room.

Opening the door, he saw that the bedcover was folded neatly on the bed, but there was no one there.

Bai Yuchuan came out, called Weihuan’s name, but there was no response.

He checked a few rooms, the bathroom, the kitchen, but found no one.

Then, he noticed the cup that was holding the hangover soup on the coffee table in the living room. It was empty, he had finished it!

There was a piece of paper under the cup.

Bai Yuchuan picked it up, the handwriting was Li Weihuan’s.

Li Weihuan wrote: I suddenly remembered I have something urgent to attend to, so I left early! Just remember, we are brothers for life!

Bai Yuchuan looked at the note, his feelings indescribable. He sat on the living room couch, pulled out another cigarette and began to smoke.

By the time he finished his third cigarette, an idea occurred to him and he quickly stood up to return to his room, pulling out a small wooden box from under his bed.

It was a coded box, with a four-digit password - Li Weihuan’s birthday!

Furrowing his brows as he opened it, inside, was full of photos - all of which were of Weihuan!

These were pictures he’d sneakily or blatantly taken over the past decade or so. Each photo was dated on the back.

The handwriting evolved from immature to mature, much like the boy in the photos who had transformed from an awkward youngster into a twenty-six-year-old man!

Bai Yuchuan flipped through the photos one by one. Then he tilted his head back, letting out a long breath, his eyes suddenly stinging!

Every single photo here is arranged in chronological order, but now, they’re disordered!

So it was him. His alcohol-induced stupor was all because of him!

...

Weihuan, how should I imagine your reaction to these photos? Would you feel disgusted?

Being watched by another man for over a decade, calling such a man a brother for a decade, do you feel, disgusted?

...

Bai Yuchuan was unsure how long he had been sitting on the floor for. The daylight outside was gradually fading, and the room was so dark he could barely make out many of its contents!

Finally, he got up, his limbs numb from sitting for so long. He staggered step by step to the window, pulling out his phone to make a call!

After a single ring on the other end, a girl’s voice answered, "Hello?"

"It’s me!"

"Xiaobai?" The girl’s voice was somewhat surprised, "What’s up? Why are you calling all of a sudden? Is something wrong?"

Bai Yuchuan took a deep breath, gazing at the bustling city swathed in the setting sun and the oncoming darkness, asking, "Lanlan, I want to ask, do you like me?"

"..." Lan Qiqi was clearly startled, speechless.

"I know, you like me! Chenqing told me two years ago!"

"..." On the other end of the phone, Lan Qiqi let out a small cough, "Actually, Xiaobai..."

"Let’s get married!"

"..." Lan Qiqi was clearly taken aback again, "Xiaobai, you ... what did you just say?"

"I said, let’s get married!" Bai Yuchuan closed his eyes, "Lanlan, all these years, I’m tired! If you’re willing, and... not disgusted with me... let’s... let’s get married!"

...

In a memory from one summer, he and Li Weihuan had skipped class and sought refuge under a large locust tree, watching the locust petals falling all around. He had impulsively begun to hum a nursery rhyme called ’How many flowers fall in dreams’...

Li Weihuan said, "Xiaobai, aren’t you being overdramatic?"

He smiled, "Overdramatic? I don’t think so!"

Li Weihuan snorted coldly, saying, "Isn’t this overdramatic? There’s not an ounce of masculinity in you, I really don’t know how you’re going to protect your woman in the future?"

He smiled, then said, "There’s no need, as long as I can protect you, that’s enough!"

Li Weihuan was so flustered that he sat up immediately, pointing at him and cursing, "Damn, do you think I’m a woman? I don’t need your protection, understand? I’m a real man, a pure man...."

...

...

Bai Yuchuan hung up the phone, tugging the corner of his mouth into a smile.

Huanzi, in the future, you really don’t need my protection, do you!

You really, don’t need it anymore!

He reached out to touch his face, and when he felt the wetness, his fingers trembled. Then, while using the wall for support, he slowly sunk down to a crouch...

The suppressed sobs finally burst forth, unable to contain any longer...