Blinded by Lust chapter 42

The wind on the mountain was strong. Huo Zhanyan was afraid to let go of his hand blocking the wind. He hurriedly said to Wu Bie, “Get a few more out.”

Wu Bie was also influenced by his urgency, quickly putting a cigarette in his mouth and taking out a few sparkler sticks from the box. He borrowed fire from Huo Zhanyan’s sparkler, and all the sparkler sticks in his hand ignited, illuminating their surroundings considerably.

The bright flames lit up Wu Bie’s face, and at this moment, he was holding a cigarette, squinting his eyes from the smoke, while Huo Zhanyan stared at him blankly.

Noticing Huo Zhanyan’s gaze, Wu Bie glanced at him and slurred, “What are you looking at?”

“Wu Bie.” Huo Zhanyan solemnly called out his name, “Sing me a birthday song.”

Normally, he’d just sing a couple of lines casually, but being called so earnestly to sing made Wu Bie hesitate. Firstly, he wasn’t good at singing, and secondly, why should he sing for Huo Zhanyan? Did Huo Zhanyan not realize that it was already generous enough that he hadn’t hit him? Why did he keep pushing for more?

“Sing my ass. What’s there to sing about?”

Huo Zhanyan was relentless, “You promised to celebrate my birthday. You won’t even sing a birthday song; how can you call it celebrating my birthday?”

Wu Bie wanted to reiterate that he had never agreed to anything, that it was Huo Zhanyan who had taken the initiative to drag him, a fine young man, to this remote place.

Huo Zhanyan’s lips slightly curled, as if he were being playful. “You sang for me before.”

The mountain breeze swayed, the flames flickered, and shadows danced across Huo Zhanyan’s face. Wu Bie’s familiar face was now so close that it felt surreal.

The identity of “Zhanyan” was fake, but the person Huo Zhanyan was real. His tone, his facial expressions, and his body language all resembled “Zhanyan.” Wu Bie always saw “Zhanyan” in him, or rather “Zhanyan” was just Huo Zhanyan himself.

Since it was “Zhanyan,” then she had privileges in Wu Bie’s eyes, and he would almost always comply with her requests.

“He said, ‘This little pain in the storm and rain is nothing! Wipe away your tears, don’t ask why!’”

As sudden as it began, it ended just as abruptly. Huo Zhanyan wasn’t even prepared, and Wu Bie had already finished singing.

Huo Zhanyan’s reaction was the same as before; first, he was stunned, then he burst into uproarious laughter, this time laughing more freely than last time, not as restrained.

“Stop laughing.” Singing wasn’t his strong suit, and Wu Bie knew he must have sung off-key. For someone as thick-skinned as him, being laughed at wasn’t a big deal; it was just that the one laughing was Huo Zhanyan, which made him somewhat embarrassed. “Is that enough? You’re always making a fuss.”

Huo Zhanyan mumbled, “I haven’t made my wish yet.”

Just then, the sparkler in his hand finished burning. Wu Bie looked around, found a large rock, and placed the cake down.

“Hurry up, and once you’re done, let’s get down the mountain.” Wu Bie brushed off the ash from his cigarette, gazing at the view from the mountaintop. Only a few households below had turned on their lights, scattered across the rolling mountains. Not only was the scenery nice on the mountain, but the air was also fresh. Visiting occasionally was quite good. The next time they had a company outing, this would be a good choice.

Just as Wu Bie was lost in thought, someone tugged at his pant leg. He looked down and saw that Huo Zhanyan was squatting by a rock, though he didn’t know when he had gotten there.

“Can you stop standing there? At least pretend to celebrate my birthday with me. Don’t zone out while I’m making a wish.”

Was it Wu Bie making a wish or Huo Zhanyan? It wasn’t his birthday, so why shouldn’t he zone out?

“Why are you so demanding?” Wu Bie couldn’t stand Huo Zhanyan’s incessant chatter. To shut him up, he reluctantly squatted down.

A palm-sized cake had a candle shaped like a “19” stuck in it. Huo Zhanyan closed his eyes, hands clasped together, making a wish. Nineteen years old, still a child, Wu Bie thought. He really didn’t need to argue with a kid; this was the last time. Once Huo Zhanyan went back to school, they would go their separate ways.

After a while, Huo Zhanyan opened his eyes, the dim candlelight illuminating his bright pupils, his eyes fixed intently on Wu Bie.

“Aren’t you going to ask me what my birthday wish is? And say something like you’ll help me make it come true?”

Just looking at his face made Wu Bie feel a twinge of compassion, but once Huo Zhanyan opened his mouth, his fantasies would shatter.

Wu Bie sneered, “You wish. I’m not interested in your wish.”

Huo Zhanyan’s expression dimmed immediately, his lips pouting. “You were romantic before; why are you so unromantic now?”

“Shouldn’t you know best? Stop trying to play innocent here.” Wu Bie pretended to stomp out the last of his cigarette, but Huo Zhanyan stopped him.

He pulled out a sparkler, lit it with the cigarette butt, and held it out to Wu Bie, talking to himself, “Even if you don’t ask, I’ll tell you what I wished for.”

“I’m not interested in hearing it.” Wu Bie rummaged through the bag that came with the birthday cake. It seemed too small for a knife, as the bakery only provided two forks. He took a bit of frosting with the small fork and put it in his mouth; it was decent, not too sweet.

Even if Wu Bie acted indifferent, Huo Zhanyan still told him, “I wished that you would like me a little.”

While Wu Bie was tilted, focused on eating the birthday cake, he paused at Huo Zhanyan’s words. His expression froze, and the emotions in his eyes flickered away. He took a deep breath, stuck the fork into the cake, and turned to meet Huo Zhanyan’s eager gaze.

“Hasn’t anyone told you that saying your wish out loud makes it less likely to come true?”

Huo Zhanyan looked serious. “I only believe in making things happen through effort.”

Wu Bie yanked off Huo Zhanyan’s gloves that were tucked into his pocket. Huo Zhanyan hurried to stop him, but couldn’t, and Wu Bie also pulled at his collar, revealing two wobbly necklaces.

“You didn’t realize these gloves are too small for you? And this necklace is for women. This pocket watch isn’t a gift for you either. If you keep trying to be all sentimental with me, watch out or I might just hit you.”

Huo Zhanyan covered his collar and looked at Wu Bie defensively. “It was a gift for me! I am Zhanyan, whether you want to admit it or not. We’re dating; unless you say we’ve broken up, we haven’t!”

Wu Bie was so angry he felt like smashing the cake right in Huo Zhanyan’s face. He pointed at him and couldn’t find the words for a long time.

“Do you want to break up with me?”

This question was impossible to answer; no matter how he responded, it seemed to confirm his connection with Huo Zhanyan.

Wu Bie got up with a cold face and kicked Huo Zhanyan’s sneaker with his toe. “Let’s go down the mountain.”

It was already generous of Wu Bie to agree to celebrate his birthday with him. If he kept nagging him, Wu Bie would really lose his temper.

Huo Zhanyan took the hint and replied, “Okay,” as he started to clean up the trash on the ground.

Wu Bie stood to the side, his gaze landing on Huo Zhanyan’s motorcycle. It looked new, with shiny paint.

Typical of a guy, seeing a motorcycle made Wu Bie eager. He waved his hand and slapped the seat.

Once Huo Zhanyan had packed everything into the storage compartment, Wu Bie suddenly said, “I’ll ride down the mountain.”

Huo Zhanyan looked at him with some skepticism. “Can you do it?”

Wu Bie couldn’t stand the tone of doubt in his voice. What did he mean by “Can you do it?” He had never been incapable.

“When I was secretly riding motorcycles as a kid, you had just learned to walk.”

Who was he looking down on?

Huo Zhanyan mumbled softly, “I didn’t learn to walk that late.”

“What?”

Huo Zhanyan shook his head vigorously, like a rattling drum, and took out the motorcycle key from his pocket, handing it to Wu Bie. He knew Wu Bie could ride; he just worried about the bumpy mountain roads and couldn’t help but quietly remind him, “Just ride slowly.”

Wu Bie took the key and confidently swung his leg over the seat, starting the engine.

“If you want to be safe, get on. Otherwise, stay here.”

Whose motorcycle was this anyway? Huo Zhanyan dared only to question in his heart but obediently sat behind Wu Bie.

Looking at Wu Bie’s back, he actually felt quite okay about sitting behind him.

Huo Zhanyan leaned closer to Wu Bie and asked through his helmet, “Can I hold you?”

“Huh?” The motorcycle started moving, and Wu Bie didn’t catch it. He noticed through the rearview mirror that Huo Zhanyan was shaking his head, but he didn’t bother to care.

Just from the roar of the engine, he could tell this motorcycle wasn’t cheap. The tires had good traction, but the ride was still a bit bumpy.

As they swayed along, Huo Zhanyan slid down slightly, his arms wrapping around Wu Bie’s waist. Wu Bie was so focused on descending that he didn’t even notice the tightening grip around his waist.

After a long downhill stretch, they finally reached flat ground. The motorcycle sped up like a cheetah racing through the mountains. The night wind howled past their ears; the feeling of freedom and exhilaration was different from being at sea. This was the extreme thrill brought by speed, stimulating the nerves, keeping them in a constant state of excitement.

Huo Zhanyan lifted Wu Bie’s visor and loudly asked him, ‘Is it fun, Ge?'”

Wu Bie didn’t answer directly, but just from the sound of his voice, it was clear he was very happy. “Who bought you the motorcycle?”

“My brother!”

This kid, lying again, Wu Bie thought. Wasn’t Huo Zhanyan supposed to be unloved by his father and mother? Yet someone bought him such an expensive motorcycle? It seems gay people don’t tell the truth at all.

The wind howled as it poured into the helmet. While Huo Zhanyan was helping Wu Bie put down the visor, he said, “Wu Ge, don’t forget about me.”

The wind was loud, and Huo Zhanyan’s voice was soft. He wasn’t sure if Wu Bie heard him. He paused deliberately, but Wu Bie didn’t react much; he probably hadn’t heard. Feeling a bit disappointed, he lowered the visor for Wu Bie.

Once the visor was closed, the various sounds outside the helmet diminished significantly, but Wu Bie felt that his heartbeat sounded like thunder, along with the loud noises of him swallowing and breathing heavily.