Transmigrated as the Villain and Driven Crazy by the Vengeful Male Lead - Chapter 55

Chapter 55: Still New Year’s Eve — It’s Sweet.

This was the first time they had watched fireworks beneath the snow-capped mountains.

The night view of the small town was intricate and sprawling, captured entirely within their gaze. Lv Shuyao stood behind Su Cheyue, pushing the wheelchair, staring at the other man’s half-loosened dark hair, gradually falling into a daze.

The wooden wheels creaked softly against the street surface, a sound quickly swallowed by the boisterous crowds. The townspeople were kind-hearted; seeing someone traveling by wheelchair, they graciously stepped aside to give them a wide berth.

This gave Su Cheyue an illusion: that he and Lv Shuyao, amidst the warm and earnest glances of the crowd, were walking step by step toward the snow mountains, the wind, the moon, and the fireworks—toward everything that represented beauty and eternity.

Unfortunately, they could not hold hands.

He had been surprised by the proactive invitation, and subsequently at a loss for how to act. Ever since he was fifteen, he hadn’t truly celebrated New Year’s Eve with any sincerity.

However, to spend even one more minute or second alone with the person behind him—he was willing.

Su Cheyue had not forgotten how he used to guard against and distrust Lv Shuyao. The fact that his thoughts had shifted so earth-shatteringly made it impossible even for him not to despise his own inconsistency.

When did it begin?

Was it when Lv Shuyao drank that bowl of medicine for him? Or when he shielded him with his own body, blocking the heart-piercing claws?

Was it when Lv Shuyao treated him like an ordinary cat, being all “handsy,” or when they witnessed Chang Huaichen kissing Jiang Zhiqing…

Every time Su Cheyue looked back, every time he thought of a scene, a look, a smile, or a touch, his breath would hitch.

Details he had never cared about before were now like a rising river flowing backward, suddenly surging up to overwhelm and drown him.

In the night, he would rub his fingertips, repeatedly recalling the sensation of those brow hairs pricking his skin. Then, with eyes closed, he would endure a heartbeat that felt like collapsing mountains—painful, real, yet joyous and addictive.

It was a form of frantic sinking, reckless and desperate. Because even now, he still didn’t know exactly why Lv Shuyao had come to his side, why he had gambled everything on his recovery, and why he was constantly plotting to leave.

Yes, gambling everything.

Marriage, dignity, cultivation, life; the tireless embraces, the concern, and the trust—he seemed willing to give Su Cheyue everything, and once given, he seemed able to bear any consequence.

But could he bear… could he bear a seed sprouting, an icicle melting, or a heart suddenly catching fire?

Su Cheyue was in a state of extreme contradiction. He even felt that his current self was unworthy of Lv Shuyao. If he could just stand up, hold his hand, and protect him, would he still feel this suffocatingly dark and humble misery?

But if he stood up, Lv Shuyao would leave. Perhaps he would withdraw his blade like a cold executioner and walk away without looking back, leaving Su Cheyue alone and covered in wounds.

What should he do…?

The wheelchair came to a stop. The warmth of the person behind him suddenly drew near. Su Cheyue gripped his robes instantly, his heart skipping beats, so flustered he didn’t even hear what Lv Shuyao said.

“What’s wrong?” The handsome features were so close they made one lose focus—a distance Su Cheyue simply could not respond to right now.

Maintaining his leaning posture, Lv Shuyao stared at him for a while, a slow worry surfacing between his brows. “Are you uncomfortable?”

“Should we go back?”

“No.” Su Cheyue’s refusal was ten thousand times faster than his logic. “…I’m not going back.”

Didn’t you used to hate crowded places? Is your mood really that bad tonight? Why?

Lv Shuyao felt it was strange. Seeing how pale Su Cheyue’s face was and how his fingers were digging into the fabric of his robes, he assumed he was cold and thus unwell.

“Are you cold?”

Su Cheyue shook his head weakly. In the next second, a dark outer robe was draped over him.

It was filled with Lv Shuyao’s aura, his scent—a faint fragrance as bewitching as the man himself.

“The temperature isn’t too low today, so I didn’t prepare a thick coat for you. Wear mine.” He suddenly knelt down and gathered Su Cheyue’s hands into his own palms. “Your hands aren’t cold, though.”

Su Cheyue suddenly felt like crying.

Can you please not leave?

“Su Cheyue,” Lv Shuyao looked up. “Let’s eat something. I just saw someone selling red bean cakes nearby. Do you want some?”

Su Cheyue looked deep into his eyes and asked softly, “Do you want to eat some?”

Lv Shuyao was stunned.

Do you want to eat some?

Whether before he transmigrated or after, it seemed a long time since anyone had asked him that question.

Even he had almost forgotten what he liked or disliked; he had become someone who accepted anything, someone who wasn’t picky at all.

“I… I’m alright.”

That means no.

In fact, after spending so much time together, Su Cheyue could sense that Lv Shuyao didn’t actually like sweets; he only made them in various ways to please Su Cheyue.

But his own tastes were hidden so deeply and tightly that Su Cheyue couldn’t tell what he actually enjoyed.

“Did you bring money?” Su Cheyue asked.

Lv Shuyao said, “Of course!”

“Give it to me.”

Su Cheyue took his money pouch, poured out all the silver, and handed back only a few pieces of loose change to Lv Shuyao.

“If you only had this much silver tonight, enough to buy only one kind of food on this street, what would you choose?”

Lv Shuyao answered without thinking: “Red bean cake.”

Su Cheyue: “…”

“Not red bean cake.”

“Then pear flower candy? I just saw—”

“Not pear flower candy either,” Su Cheyue frowned. “Nothing sweet.”

“Ah…”

Lv Shuyao looked left and right, racking his brain. He stood by the street for a long time but couldn’t figure out what Su Cheyue actually wanted to eat.

“I’ve got it.”

“What?”

“Use this money to rent a restaurant kitchen for an hour. They have all the ingredients. Whatever you want to eat, I’ll make it right now.”

“…”

Why does he never think of himself?

Su Cheyue’s heart felt like it was melting. He looked away and whispered, “Don’t be like this.”

Lv Shuyao was confused: “Why?”

Su Cheyue closed his eyes, then looked at him again. Lv Shuyao was still half-kneeling, leaning against Su Cheyue’s knees. Su Cheyue withdrew his hand from the other’s palm and suddenly pressed down on the back of Lv Shuyao’s neck, pulling him close until their breaths mingled. “Because I will—”

“Pear flower candy! Delicious pear flower candy! If it’s not sweet, it’s free!”

A flash of joy appeared in Lv Shuyao’s eyes: “It’s that street vendor from before!”

He stood up, and Su Cheyue let go of his hand, releasing the restraint that had almost snapped.

“I’ve thought of something, Su Cheyue.”

Su Cheyue said, “I told you I don’t want to eat…”

But Lv Shuyao acted as if he hadn’t heard. He ran over to chat enthusiastically with the vendor. Watching from a distance, Su Cheyue felt a twinge of annoyance.

He’s so naturally familiar even with a complete stranger.

He really is kind to everyone, and smiles at everyone.

Su Cheyue sulked for a while. The vendor took the silver and left, satisfied, carrying his shoulder pole. Lv Shuyao walked back, hiding his hands behind his back mysteriously.

Su Cheyue was no longer in the mood and said to him, “Push me back.”

Lv Shuyao reached out one hand, but only pushed him to a corner under the eaves, away from the noisy crowd.

“Wait a moment.”

He turned his back, rustling around. After a while, he muttered to himself sorrowfully, “It’s a bit small.”

What is small?

“Lv Shuyao, what are you doing? Turn around.”

Lv Shuyao turned around with a look of defeat, clutching a white, ring-like object in his hands. “I thought it would be enough…”

“What is this?” Su Cheyue raised an eyebrow.

“On the Preliminary New Year in Tianjin Alley, you didn’t receive the pear flower wreath Qingsang made.” He smiled again. “I know you wanted one.”

Su Cheyue: “…So that’s what you were talking to the candy vendor about?”

“Yeah.” He moved behind Su Cheyue and began gently combing through his hair with his fingers. “Pear flowers are hard to find in winter. I asked if he had any extra branches left, and I bought them all.”

“I wove a pear flower wreath to tie your hair. You never tie your hair, Second Young Master.”

The warmth of his fingertips moved through the hair, lightly tugging at the scalp. Su Cheyue felt every sensation with meticulous detail, his voice softening: “Is it not good-looking when loosened?”

“It’s good-looking.”

The words escaped his lips almost instantly. Realizing what he’d said, Lv Shuyao’s fingers froze in that soft, smooth hair, unable to move further.

…It is good-looking.

It was just that standing behind him every day, facing this silk-like dark hair, watching it flutter like light feathers when the wind blew—with the ends carrying an unconscious, lazy messiness—it always made his heart itch.

He shut his mouth and continued tidying, only to find that the woven wreath was indeed too small to hold Su Cheyue’s thick hair.

“It really is too small. It won’t tie…”

Su Cheyue turned his gaze and said, “Come to the front.”

Lv Shuyao reluctantly let go. Su Cheyue silently took his hand, picked up the wreath from his palm, and studied it for a moment. Then, with a flick of his wrist, he slid it onto his own porcelain-white wrist.

“It’s not small. It fits perfectly,” he said.

Lv Shuyao tilted his head, seeing the soft light in Su Cheyue’s eyes and the lights of ten thousand homes behind him.

“Lv Shuyao.”

“Yeah?”

“Lower your head.”

At this moment, Lv Shuyao was incredibly compliant. Whatever Su Cheyue said, he did. He bent down, his eyes level with Su Cheyue’s.

Su Cheyue suddenly leaned in, his lips brushing past the tip of Lv Shuyao’s nose. Lv Shuyao’s heart skipped a beat, his fingers curling.

They remained in this posture for what seemed like a long time, yet perhaps it was only an instant. Su Cheyue’s voice, carrying a hint of a smile, sounded in his ear: “There’s something here.”

He raised his hand and brushed the corner of Lv Shuyao’s eye, lingering at the tip of his brow to pick off a speck of white.

“…What is that?”

It looked like a pear petal, or perhaps a grain of sugar frosting.

When did that get there? Lv Shuyao thought embarrassedly.

Bewildered by the close proximity, he was about to straighten up when Su Cheyue held him in place, his voice low: “You’ll know what it is once you taste it.”

Lv Shuyao watched helplessly as Su Cheyue brought his fingertip to his own lips, opened them slightly, and licked the speck of white into his mouth.

His Adam’s apple bobbed violently.

“It’s sweet. I like it,” Su Cheyue said, letting him go.