The Husband From the Original Pairing is Now Divorced - Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Closeness – Wanting Sheng Jia to be a Carefree Child…

Faced with Sheng Jia’s question, Zhou Zifei was stunned, his carefully prepared mental script completely forgotten.

He suddenly didn’t know how to answer.

Of course, Zhou Zifei could pretend he didn’t understand and simply say that Zhou Jiayi wanted to come here to play. He could also use “friendship” as an excuse to brush off Sheng Jia’s probe, just as he had in the past.

But as he gazed into Sheng Jia’s eyes—bright yet apprehensive in the glimmering light—he couldn’t help but think that perhaps Sheng Jia just wanted one sincere answer.

Sheng Jia didn’t play dumb, nor did he probe indirectly.

Those who have been mistreated in the past always doubt whether they are still worthy of being treated with genuine care. He was simply a bit afraid to believe that Zhou Zifei had truly come just for him.

The center of the small plaza was crowded. The lights were off, with only the streetlamps on either side providing a dim glow. In the hazy night, Sheng Jia looked up nervously at Zhou Zifei’s blurred expression.

He didn’t actually know how Zhou Zifei would respond, nor had he expected himself to suddenly blurt out such a question. But having reached this point, Sheng Jia felt an unprecedented fear regarding their future.

Sheng Jia even thought pessimistically: Will fate send me another “Yu Xianghang”? If it was just a repeat of the past, he would rather never have started.

He hoped Zhou Zifei wouldn’t answer. He hoped he would say nothing, allowing them to maintain their current relationship and never take a step further.

He couldn’t afford to hear the answer. He was afraid that once he heard it, he would waver; he was afraid he would fall once again into a cycle of unpredictable and uncontrollable love, hate, joy, and sorrow.

However,

The sturdy wall Sheng Jia had built against Zhou Zifei was beginning to show faint cracks.

During the long silence, Zhou Zifei slowly lowered his head, just about to speak softly, but at that moment—

Bang! Bang!

Fireworks exploded in the sky, music followed, and cheers and gasps erupted from the crowd. All the sounds merged into a roar.

“Teacher Sheng, I just wanted you to be a little happier.”

These words were swallowed by the surrounding noise. Sheng Jia hadn’t noticed the movement of Zhou Zifei’s lips; his attention had been diverted, and he instinctively looked up at the sky.

The fireworks and lights reflected in his dark pupils, creating a stunning brilliance.

Zhou Zifei’s answer went unheard, but he witnessed the most beautiful sight of his life.

Sheng Jia looked up and let out a soft “Wow,” his mouth forming a small circle. His face was flushed from his earlier jog, a bead of sweat rolled slowly down his cheek, and the crown headband on his head had gone crooked.

He looked a bit messy, yet so vivid and adorable.

Thus, a thousand words transformed into infinite adoration and tenderness as Zhou Zifei’s gaze settled on him. Amidst the colorful lights and loud cheers, he quietly watched Sheng Jia watch the fireworks with crescent-moon eyes.

A sense of helpless, indulgent tenderness overflowed in his heart. Silently, Zhou Zifei continued his confession to the person he loved:

Sheng Jia, the reason is simple.

I just want you to be happy. I want you to laugh freely. I want you to be a carefree child.

Even if it’s only temporary, I hope you can have a bit more joy.

But Zhou Zifei would never tell Sheng Jia these thoughts.

He hoped that whenever Sheng Jia remembered this day, he would talk about the fun things and the good food like a happy child, as if he had returned to a carefree childhood. He didn’t want Sheng Jia’s final memory of this day to be the struggle of dealing with adult emotional complications.

Zhou Zifei hadn’t been part of Sheng Jia’s teenage or young adult years, so at the very least, in this amusement park and in this moment, he wanted to protect Sheng Jia’s small spark of innocence.

The sound of the fireworks gradually faded, until the night sky grew silent, leaving only the flickering of residual stars.

Sheng Jia reluctantly withdrew his gaze and turned back to Zhou Zifei, catching his eyes unexpectedly.

The man before him was looking down at him with such focus that a profound emotion seemed on the verge of spilling out from his deep gaze.

Yet, Zhou Zifei didn’t speak. Keeping eye contact, his arm moved slowly.

First, he naturally reached out to straighten the crooked headband on Sheng Jia’s head. Then, as he lowered his hand, his fingertip seemingly by accident wiped away the sweat from Sheng Jia’s cheek.

Only after completing these actions did Zhou Zifei lean in close to Sheng Jia’s ear and speak: “The fireworks are over. Shall we walk around somewhere else?”

Even though Sheng Jia knew the crowd was noisy and Zhou Zifei was only leaning in so he could be heard, he still couldn’t help but hold his breath at the sound of that low, gentle voice. Once the other man pulled away, Sheng Jia rubbed his tingling earlobe.

“Teacher Sheng! Did you see the fireworks? They went bang and turned red, then they turned pink—”

From a distance, Zhou Jiayi called out excitedly. He was in Auntie Zhang’s arms, waving his little arms in the air.

Sheng Jia instinctively started to walk toward the boy, but paused, turning back first to answer Zhou Zifei’s question.

“Let’s see if Yiyi wants to keep looking around. It’s up to him.”

Seeing Sheng Jia smile and head over to pinch Zhou Jiayi’s flushed cheeks, Zhou Zifei sighed inwardly:

He only wanted to love this one “child,” Sheng Jia, but Sheng Jia seemed to love many other children.

“Zhou Jiayi, do you still want to walk around?”

As Zhou Zifei approached, he saw the boy yawn. Though he still wanted to play, a child’s energy is limited; by now, his eyes were nearly closing as he spoke to Sheng Jia.

“I… I want to play…”

The little head rested on Auntie Zhang’s shoulder. He insisted on playing, but his voice was soft and weary.

Sheng Jia touched the boy’s sweaty forehead and coaxed him gently: “Yiyi, let’s come out and play again next time. We’ve been playing all day, and Teacher Sheng is tired too. Shall we go home?”

Sheng Jia was very good with children. With just a gentle rub of the forehead, the boy fell asleep. Before he could even respond, his eyes closed into a deep slumber.

Seeing the boy drift off, Auntie Zhang smiled and whispered: “Teacher Sheng is truly amazing. Yiyi usually loves to play so much that he’ll throw a tantrum if the Young Master tells him to sleep, even when he’s exhausted.”

“Of course, Teacher Sheng is a professional.”

Zhou Zifei was the first to look proud. Seeing his “shared glory” expression, Sheng Jia felt his face flush with embarrassment, waving his hands to say it was just because he had a lot of experience with kids.

As they walked through the still-bustling park and realized the boy was sleeping soundly, their voices grew a bit louder.

“Auntie Zhang, you take Zhou Jiayi back with the driver first. I’ll see Teacher Sheng off.”

Zhou Zifei wanted to take Sheng Jia home as he had before, but this time Sheng Jia adamantly refused.

“Zifei, you should go back early. You didn’t feel well after the roller coaster today; there’s no need to see me off.”

Sheng Jia urged him earnestly. His tone was firm, so Zhou Zifei couldn’t refuse and obediently got into the car.

“Teacher Sheng, remember to send me a message when you get home. We walked all day; it’s best to soak your feet after your shower.”

Zhou Zifei sat in the passenger seat, the window halfway down, continuously nagging. Sheng Jia smiled and said “Okay” to everything; it was clear he was truly happy today.

“Teacher Sheng, we’re heading out then.”

“Mm, get home safely.”

Zhou Zifei waved at the person by the roadside. The window began to roll up, but just as the driver was about to start the car, Sheng Jia spoke again.

“Wait a moment—”

Sheng Jia jogged over. He bent down near the passenger window. The light from the streetlamp behind him spilled over his back, crowning him with a soft, fuzzy halo of light.

Zhou Zifei quickly told the driver to stop. The window rolled all the way down. He leaned out and asked, “What is it?”

Sheng Jia bit his lip slightly, his eyes moist and his gaze gentle, as if he had something to say. Zhou Zifei felt a sudden tension; he held his breath, afraid of startling the person before him.

“Today… has been my happiest day in a long time.”

“Thank you.”

With that, Sheng Jia pulled something from his pocket—a photo.

In the photo, Zhou Zifei was looking away while being hugged by a mascot, his expression one of slight disdain, while Sheng Jia stood not far beside him, smiling at the camera and pointing his index fingers at him.

“I asked the staff with the Polaroid to take this while you were being hugged by the mascot.”

“This is for you. I… I just wanted to tell you that I was really happy today.”

Zhou Zifei had excellent vision; even in the dim light of the roadside, he could clearly see Sheng Jia’s fingers trembling.

In an instant, Zhou Zifei’s eyes stung, and he felt a ridiculous urge to cry.

Just as he had said, his reason for coming to the amusement park was simple: he just wanted Sheng Jia to be happy. And how could Sheng Jia not understand such a simple reason?

Perhaps at some point when Sheng Jia asked that question, his heart had skipped a beat for Zhou Zifei, and he had been nervous and expectant of the answer. Even if that flutter wasn’t quite “love” yet, at least for a second, their hearts had resonated.

Zhou Zifei didn’t dare look up, afraid that if he did, he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from kissing Sheng Jia’s lips.

Instead, he looked down, took the photo, and looked at it carefully. He asked in a forced, lighthearted tone: “Teacher Sheng has learned how to prepare secret little gifts?”

“Not really…”

“It’s just a photo. Besides, you’ve helped me so much. I… what I do isn’t nearly as much as what you’ve done.”

Seeing that Zhou Zifei had accepted the photo, Sheng Jia’s other clenched hand finally relaxed. He possessed very little, didn’t know how to socialize, and was always too slow and clumsy. But he wanted to give something back to Zhou Zifei—the person who had helped him so much since they met. A single photo was far from enough to repay him.

He just…

He just felt today was worth remembering. At the very least, they should have a shared memory.

A memory belonging to Sheng Jia and Zhou Zifei.

Zhou Zifei pressed the photo against his chest for a moment, then looked up. His gaze was full of the same yearning he had directed at Sheng Jia countless times before.

“Teacher Sheng, do you remember what I said before?”

“Perhaps in many moments you aren’t even aware of, you have already given a lot to the person who is good to you. So never say you aren’t doing enough.”

His voice paused. Finally unable to suppress the surging love in his heart, he made an impulsive and sudden move.

He reached his arm out of the window and pulled Sheng Jia toward him, loosely circling him in his arms. His left hand rested on the soft black hair at the back of Sheng Jia’s head, pressing him gently against his shoulder.

“As long as you are happy, that’s enough. As long as you are happy, everything is good.”

Zhou Zifei let a kiss fall on the ends of those hairs, light as a feather, and released him before Sheng Jia could even process it.

“Teacher Sheng, it’s late. Go home and rest.”

“There will be plenty of chances to see each other in the future. We can say everything slowly, and do everything slowly.”

Many years had passed, and he was still looking toward where his lover was coming from, but he knew the wait was worth it.

Zhou Zifei believed that one day, Sheng Jia would slowly, and perhaps with difficulty, fall in love with him.