I Only Want You chapter 19
Xie Yun Zhi really intended to take Yan Lan out for a late-night snack. After asking, he took out his phone to contact Secretary Lin to make a restaurant reservation.
Yan Lan shook his head while holding the flowers, extended his right index finger, indicating that Xie Yun Zhi should extend his hand and open it. Then, he wrote on the palm of his hand: “No trouble…”
Xie Yun Zhi looked at the word “trouble” he wrote and thought that Yan Lan didn’t want to go for a late-night snack with them. Unexpectedly, after Yan Lan finished writing “no trouble,” he continued to write: “There are many delicious places outside the gate of the art school.”
It was then that Xie Yun Zhi understood that Yan Lan meant it wasn’t troublesome to make a restaurant reservation.
Yan Lan continued to write: “Do you and Tiantian want to eat barbecue?”
“I’ve tried it, but Tiantian has never had it.”
Yan Lan: “Does he want to try it?”
“I’ll ask Tiantian.” Xie Yun Zhi crouched beside Tiantian, using sign language to ask him.
Without any hesitation, Tiantian nodded.
Just as they finalized their plans for supper, Yang Xiaole came out of the dressing room and asked Yan Lan to come in to remove makeup and change clothes.
Yan Lan handed the bouquet of flowers to Xie Yun Zhi and headed into the dressing room to change. However, before he could take a step out, Xie Yun Zhi quickly grabbed his elbow. “Be careful, I’ll walk you over.”
Yan Lan didn’t insist on walking on his own. After almost stumbling just now, he allowed Xie Yun Zhi to support him to the door of the dressing room. Yang Xiaole then took over, and Xie Yun Zhi and Tiantian waited outside for him.
In the corner of the dressing room, Yang Xiaole first removed the wig on Yan Lan’s head and then began to help him remove makeup. His smile couldn’t be suppressed, “I saw everything, and I even bought you flowers, Gypsophila~ quite clever~”
Yan Lan smiled with closed eyes.
“Did you make plans to go somewhere? I saw him waiting outside with his little nephew.”
Yan Lan nodded.
“Shall I tell the others you won’t be coming for supper?”
Yan Lan nodded again.
Yang Xiaole suppressed his laughter. “Okay, don’t move.”
With light makeup on his face, it was relatively easy to remove. After Yang Xiaole wiped off the eyeshadow and foundation on his face, he stood up to take off the dress. The dress was borrowed and had to be returned in its original condition.
The two junior sisters carefully inspected the dress before neatly packing it into a bag. In the meantime, Yan Lan had changed back into his own clothes and shoes. After confirming that everything was fine, he left the dressing room.
When Xie Yun Zhi saw him coming out, he freed up one hand to pick up Tiantian and walked toward him. “Ready?”
Yan Lan nodded and took the bouquet of flowers from Xie Yun Zhi’s hand.
“Let’s go.”
When they came out of the auditorium, there were almost no people left inside. Only the students responsible for cleaning were still checking if there was any trash left under the seats.
Tiantian was held by Xie Yun Zhi, with his chubby little chin resting on his uncle’s shoulder, and his big blue eyes staring straight at Yan Lan as they walked.
Yan Lan looked at Tiantian and reached out to gently touch the soft chubby cheeks. Tiantian tolerated the touch without frowning or avoiding, making people want to give him a few more kisses.
After leaving the auditorium of the Art Institute, Yan Lan led Xie Yun Zhi to the food street outside the east gate of the Art Institute. They found a well-received barbecue restaurant and sat on plastic stools outdoors. The waiter brought menus, order sheets, and pens, and they just needed to write the numbers next to the names of the dishes.
Yan Lan pushed the paper and pen to Xie Yun Zhi, while he picked up Tiantian and lavishly kissed his face, making kissing sounds.
Originally, Tiantian could endure it, maintaining a serious expression, but after a few kisses from Yan Lan, he surprisingly burst into laughter. His eyes turned into crescents as he struggled, looking like he wanted Yan Lan to kiss him more.
Xie Yun Zhi chuckled and pinched Tiantian’s face, then got up to buy three fresh coconuts from a small truck selling coconuts by the roadside. Afraid that Tiantian would eat something salty, he fed him a few sips of coconut water. He turned to Yan Lan and said, “I’ve bought concert tickets; can I pick you up on the 2nd?”
Yan Lan nodded.
“On the 3rd, I plan to take Tiantian to the children’s amusement park. Do you have time to join us?”
Yan Lan hesitated for a moment, then quickly nodded.
After a while, Xie Yun Zhi spoke again, “During your free time, Yan Lan, you never make plans to meet me?”
Yan Lan remained silent while eating chicken legs.
Xie Yun Zhi used chopsticks to feed Tiantian a piece of scallop meat. Seeing that a minute had passed and Yan Lan still had no reaction, he hesitated and added, “You can contact me. I’ll meet you whenever you’re available.”
Yan Lan just nodded.
Xie Yun Zhi casually glanced at Yan Lan’s phone on the table. “I’ve used up my free messages for this month.”
Yan Lan put down the leftover chicken bone, suppressed a smile, wiped his mouth with a tissue, and opened WeChat, showing his QR code to Xie Yun Zhi.
Xie Yun Zhi happily accepted the code and added him.
Yan Lan’s profile picture was a simple smiling face drawn in a sketch, and the name was “默默” (Momo).
Seeing the name, Xie Yun Zhi finally understood that “默默” was represented by these two characters. He couldn’t help but ask, “Why ‘Momo’?”
Yan Lan sent a message: “It’s from Lele. He said calling me ‘Yan Yan’ or ‘Lan Lan’ sounded too strange, so he decided on ‘Momo,’ and it just sounded right.”
The character “默” clearly conveyed the sense of silence, which, in a way, was quite fitting.
Compared to Yan Lan’s WeChat, Xie Yun Zhi’s appeared much simpler. His profile picture showed swans swimming on a tranquil lake, and the name was “Victor Shieh,” appearing more businesslike.
While Yan Lan was still engrossed in his phone, Xie Yun Zhi didn’t notice that he turned his head to look into the distance, his gaze sharp and piercing. After a few seconds, he slowly turned back, nonchalantly offering coconut water to Tiantian.
After finishing their late-night snack, Yan Lan, holding the flowers, and Xie Yun Zhi, carrying a fully satisfied Tiantian, walked quietly side by side through the tranquil campus. From the east gate to the south gate, Yan Lan watched them, uncle and nephew, board the car. The vehicle disappeared from view, and only then did he turn and head back towards the dormitory building.
Yang Xiaole was in the dormitory. He hadn’t joined Lin Jianxing and the others for late-night snacks, conveniently enjoying the kebabs that Yan Lan brought back—his favorite. Abandoning his thoughts of maintaining a good figure, he temporarily set aside his diet plans and happily indulged in the feast.
Yan Lan informed him about the concert tickets, including the news that, barring any unexpected incidents, they could attend the concert the day after the National Day holiday. Yang Xiaole, delighted, finished all the kebabs that Yan Lan had brought back.
While eating, he was joyful, but afterwards, he wiped away tears while looking at the garbage bag. The next day, he began a rigorous exercise routine, sweating profusely in the dormitory.
Due to the lingering excitement from the welcome party, Yan Lan couldn’t eat in the cafeteria anymore and had to get takeout. As a result, the dormitory often presented a somewhat disjointed scene—one person eating while the other exercised.
Yan Lan comforted him, saying that just one barbecue meal wouldn’t make him gain weight. Yang Xiaole shook his head, expressing his desire to be in the best condition for the concert.
Upon hearing this, Yan Lan was momentarily stunned. He quickly asked, “Why?”
“I’ll go as Nana. We’ll trick Xie Yun Zhi and tell him I can’t make it, so my sister, Nana, will go instead.”
Yan Lan wasn’t entirely supportive, “Is that feasible? What if he figures it out?”
“No worries, he’s seen Nana before, and he didn’t recognize her as me.”
The National Day holiday arrived quickly. On the first day, they didn’t go anywhere, staying in the dormitory and ordering takeout.
Yang Xiaole searched through his things, trying on dresses one after another. Standing in front of a full-length mirror, he asked for Yan Lan’s opinion, as if he were preparing for a date rather than a concert. Yan Lan never brushed him off during these moments. He would honestly comment on which dress looked better and suited him.
On the second day, Yang Xiaole wore a pink spaghetti strap dress, with a wig featuring his favorite brown-pink curls. He revealed his collarbones, adorned with a silver musical note necklace, and wore a pair of white, stable, and beautiful high heels.
Yan Lan, carrying his canvas bag, watched as Yang Xiaole spun in front of him, nodding and applauding.
Yang Xiaole, as happy as a butterfly, joyfully threw himself into Yan Lan’s arms, linking hands as they walked out of the quiet dormitory building.
The campus of the Academy of Fine Arts during the National Day holiday appeared quieter than usual. Local students who should go home went home, and those from out of town went out to hang out. As they walked from the dormitory building to the south gate, they didn’t encounter a single familiar face.
Yang Xiaole loved the Academy of Fine Arts during this time. Holding Yan Lan’s arm, he was in a good mood. “Oh, I look so beautiful today. It’s a shame not to have a drink after the concert.”
Yan Lan shook his head.
“By the way, when will Xie Yun Zhi arrive? How did you explain it to him?”
Yan Lan took out his phone and typed: “Said you have something to attend to, and your sister will go with us instead.”
Yang Xiaole didn’t care much. He wasn’t worried about being discovered by Xie Yun Zhi, who didn’t seem like someone who would spread such information. Otherwise, he wouldn’t trust him to appear dressed as a girl.
After leaving the south gate, Yan Lan immediately saw the Bentley parked on the side of the road. Xie Yun Zhi, sitting in the car, also noticed them and got out.
He had worked at the company during the day, so he was still wearing a dark suit. He didn’t look like he was going to a concert; instead, he seemed ready for a meeting.
Yang Xiaole couldn’t help commenting when he saw Xie Yun Zhi, “Why does your man look like he’s going to buy Roaming the Ocean?”
Yan Lan, hearing this, lightly pinched Yang Xiaole’s wrist, leaving a faint cross mark.
As they approached, Xie Yun Zhi only glanced at Yang Xiaole before focusing his gaze entirely on Yan Lan. He softly said, “Yan Lan, didn’t you forget a promise you made to me?”
Yan Lan hesitated for a moment, then apologetically pulled away from Yang Xiaole, holding his hand.
Yang Xiaole’s eye twitched slightly, acting willful and coquettish, “The heels I’m wearing today are so high! What if I trip without Momo holding me?”
“You walk steadily.”
“There are times when I’m not steady.”
“Then next time, don’t wear such high heels.”
“I don’t care; I want to hold onto Momo!”
Yang Xiaole said this, and both of them turned to look at Yan Lan, waiting for his decision.
Caught in the middle, Yan Lan looked at one and then the other, sighed lightly, and used sign language to communicate with Xie Yun Zhi: “Her shoes are difficult to walk in. I won’t hold her, but I’ll stay close. Is that okay?”
Without nodding or shaking his head, Xie Yun Zhi said, “Let’s get in the car first. Yan Lan, you sit in the middle.”
On the way to the stadium, Yan Lan sat between the two. The person on the left was bored, looking at his phone, while the one on the right seemed to be working, with a laptop filled with dense English lines, one after another.
The concert was scheduled to start at 7 PM and end at 9:30 PM. When they arrived outside the stadium, it was not even 6 PM, but the atmosphere was already lively. Young girls in their twenties were everywhere, dressed in beautiful dresses and wearing glowing headbands.
Outside the venue, there were many support banners, posters, and banners where you could get free concert-related items from stalls.
As soon as Yang Xiaole got out of the car, he excitedly ran to line up to get support items. He wanted to get those related to Bian Xianyang, and judging by the long queue at that booth, it was evident that he was the most popular in the band.
“Momo, I’ll wait in line for this one. Can you get a fan for me from that booth? Remember, it has to be for Bian Xianyang.”
Yan Lan nodded to indicate that he understood and then turned to go queue with Xie Yun Zhi.
As Xie Yun Zhi had taken off his suit jacket due to the heat, he unbuttoned the first button of his white shirt, and the cuffs were rolled up, revealing his powerful and well-defined wrists and a dazzling watch.
Standing next to him, Yan Lan couldn’t help stealing glances at him, looking for two or three seconds before averting his gaze. After a while, he would sneak another look for a few seconds.
Amused, Xie Yun Zhi raised one corner of his lips, not revealing Yan Lan’s secret. Instead, he asked, “Are you hungry?”
Yan Lan nodded slightly.
“After we’re done here, let’s get some food. We’ll also buy your roommate’s portion and bring it back.”
Yan Lan was about to nod when he suddenly seemed to realize something and turned his head abruptly to look at Xie Yun Zhi.
Xie Yun Zhi was also looking at him. After maintaining eye contact for two seconds, he suddenly extended his right hand towards Yan Lan’s face. His thumb and forefinger gently touched Yan Lan’s lower eyelid with a very soft touch. “Sorry, there was a eyelash stuck here. I helped you remove it. If you’re wondering how I knew, I just found out when you all walked out of the school gate together.”