Strawberry Pop Pop Pop chapter 68

“Don’t call me by that lousy name!” Lao Liang’s demeanor changed in an instant. “I really don’t understand why Mom chose such a name for me back then.”

Liang Xie was luckier. His name didn’t have repeated characters or sound overly cute.

Lao Liang took a sip of the hot coffee on the table and responded to Liang Xie’s earlier comment, “brother, can’t I look for you when I have nothing to do?”

“You guys usually don’t bother finding me unless there’s a problem,” Liang Xie retorted without reservation.

Lao Liang was taken aback for a moment, then quickly chuckled and said, “I’ve just taken over the company from Dad in the past two years, so I’ve been busy. It’s my fault. I’ll come more often in the future!” He took out a business card from his pocket, walked up to Liang Xie, and handed it to him. “Mom asked me to give this to you. She’s busy and just got off a plane yesterday, but she’s already flying overseas again. You know Dad doesn’t care about any of us; otherwise, Mom wouldn’t have divorced him in the first place.”

Liang Xie’s expression remained indifferent, as if he were listening to someone else’s story.

Seeing Liang Xie’s nonchalant demeanor, Lao Liang sighed inwardly.

Lao Liang and Liang Xie were fraternal twins with the same mother’s surname. Lao Liang resembled their father, while Liang Xie took after their mother, but both of them were Alphas.

Three years ago, due to an unexpected mountaineering accident, Liang Xie injured his leg and never stood up again. However, his disability did not lead to more attention from his busy mother. Instead, it disappointed her, and she rarely came to visit him. His father was even more absent.

On the other hand, his twin brother, Liang Caicai, sometimes cared about him, but not frequently.

“This doctor is quite famous. You should give it a try. I have some free time now, so maybe I can accompany you,” Lao Liang deliberately cleared his schedule for the coming days.

However, Liang Xie knew that returning to a normal life might be difficult for him. He might never be able to leave his wheelchair behind.

In the glass cabinet of the apartment’s study, there were many first-place trophies for photography awards. Now, they were all covered with curtains, and Liang Xie had never entered that study again.

Seeing Liang Xie’s silence, Lao Liang said again, “Mom… she actually cares about you, but she’s busy. This doctor, she managed to find him this year with great difficulty…”

Liang Xie calmly interrupted him, “She gave me this business card last year. It was her secretary who insisted, and she only made time to visit once.”

Lao Liang fell silent for a moment.

“I’ve already been to see this doctor. He suggested a risky surgery, and even if it succeeds, I won’t be able to stand for long. I’d still need crutches, and if it fails, I might end up paralyzed for life.”

He preferred the way things were now.

However, Liang Xie accepted the business card again, this time without calling Lao Liang by his real name. “Thanks for coming to see me, bro. I’m a bit tired. Let’s chat next time.” His wheelchair was electric, so he could return to his room without help from Ms. Zhang.

Ms. Zhang and Lao Liang exchanged glances.

Lao Liang wiped his face irritably and muttered, “What a mess…” He was referring to his mother, who didn’t show any concern for Liang Xie.

Ms. Zhang stood awkwardly on the side. “Mr. Liang, would you like to stay for dinner?”

“I won’t eat. What’s the point?” Lao Liang turned and left.

Inside the room, Liang Xie leaned back in his wheelchair, lost in thought. He rarely spoke, and his attitude was cold, which discouraged most people from talking to him.

Only on the other side of the internet, there was a lively voice always chatting with him, full of vitality. No matter how many times he ignored him, Su Li never got angry.

And now, Liang Xie couldn’t bear to bully Su Li anymore.

His phone screen lit up, and it was still a message from Su Li: [My friend is home. Shall we video chat tonight? I had a lot of interesting things happen at school today, and I want to tell you. If you don’t want to video chat, we can voice chat while playing games.]

Liang Xie looked at the screen filled with Su Li’s messages that were brimming with longing and replied with a slight smile: [Okay.]

After sending the message, Liang Xie opened the movie ticket booking website and selected one of the disabled seats in the theater where Su Li had booked tickets for them.

Liang Xie: [I will watch the movie. Thank you for buying the tickets; I’m really happy.]

The next night, at 8 p.m.

Gu Nuan and Han Yang arrived at the cinema early and took seats in the back row of a couple’s seat. Instead of booking the theater Gu Nuan had reserved, they bought tickets for another one to avoid running into acquaintances.

Before the movie started, Gu Nuan received a call from Ji Mu. He answered the call and spoke for about fifteen minutes. By the time he hung up, the movie had already begun. He hurriedly returned to his seat, leaning against Han Yang, and in no time, he snuggled up…

The film starred He Yunchu but was driven by Han Yang, contributing to only a tiny portion of the box office.

Watching the energetic He Yunchu on the screen, Gu Nuan yawned out of boredom. This film was not his preferred genre, and the lead actor wasn’t someone he liked. In the first forty minutes, Gu Nuan almost fell asleep.

But when Han Yang appeared on screen, Gu Nuan’s drowsiness vanished instantly, and he became fully awake.

Han Yang had less than three minutes of screen time in total, but Gu Nuan couldn’t take his eyes off him. “Bro, you played the psychopath really well!” Gu Nuan teased Han Yang, holding onto his arm and resting his chin sweetly on Han Yang’s shoulder. He praised him repeatedly.

Han Yang couldn’t stand it anymore. “Can you change your wording?”

“Huh?”

Han Yang directly grabbed the back of Gu Nuan’s head with his hand and gently pushed him towards himself. In the pitch-black environment of the cinema, he kissed Gu Nuan deeply.

“If you keep talking like that, I’ll really become a psychopath,” Han Yang said as he released Gu Nuan from the kiss.

There weren’t many people in the theater, and the few who were there sat far away from them, so Gu Nuan was feeling quite nervous from the kiss. His face turned beet red. Meanwhile, Han Yang had already sat back properly and continued to watch the movie as if nothing had happened.

Gu Nuan’s bottom was like it had been greased, and he couldn’t sit still anymore.

He had heard that movie theaters had high-definition night vision survilliance cameras…

He obediently sat up straight, maintaining a friendly distance from Han Yang. But shortly after, Han Yang leaned in, held Gu Nuan’s hand, interlocking their fingers, and pulled him closer. “You’re sitting too far.”

Gu Nuan whispered in his ear, “The security cameras in the cinema are very clear!”

Lowering his voice, Han Yang asked in a tone only the two of them could hear, “Do you care?”

“Me? Not at all,” Gu Nuan feigned nonchalance, his ears burning. “I’m just afraid you’d care…”

“I don’t care at all,” Han Yang leaned in closer. “We haven’t seen each other in ten days.”

“…”

The light from the movie screen fell, reflecting in Han Yang’s eyes. Han Yang turned his head, and there was tenderness in his eyes.

Gu Nuan tugged at the hem of Han Yang’s shirt and said with a beating heart, “Brother, how about we not watch the movie?” After all, they had already seen it once, and Han Yang’s scenes were all finished.

The June night was cool and breezy, and they were kissing in a small alley not far from the movie theater.

Gu Nuan stood on tiptoe, trying to match Han Yang’s height. Through repeated practice, Gu Nuan had become adept at kissing. From the initial puppy-like licks to the current passionate entanglement, Gu Nuan nuzzled against Han Yang’s nose and softly whispered, “Brother…”

He carried the scent of mint all over him.

Han Yang held him tightly around the waist, pressing him against his chest, and nibbled his lips.

Both of them were panting, and a thin layer of sweat appeared on their foreheads, like teenagers who had just tasted forbidden fruit.

The minty fragrance on Han Yang completely surrounded Gu Nuan, and he asked in a husky voice, “Are you hot?”

Gu Nuan shook his head, feeling hot all over from the affection. He snuggled into Han Yang’s embrace and said with reluctance, “I don’t want to go back to the dormitory tonight; I want to be with you.”

“You have an exam tomorrow at 8 AM.”

“This exam is unreasonably early…” Gu Nuan complained nonsense, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. “I can wake up at 6:30 AM,  I can do it! Brother, I don’t want to be apart from you tonight.”

Han Yang no longer refused him as he used to, and they went back to his small rented apartment together.

As they approached the door, Gu Nuan took a step ahead and said, “Wait a moment!”

Han Yang stopped, not understanding what he was up to. Gu Nuan smirked and pulled out a key with a keychain from his clothes, saying, “I have the key; I’ll open the door!”

Han Yang couldn’t help but chuckle, reaching out to ruffle Gu Nuan’s head. “Alright, you can open it,” he said, but added, “Gu Nuan, that keychain looks really ugly, take it down.”

“No, I’ll take it down when I go to bed.” This key held special significance for Gu Nuan. He opened the door and carefully tucked it back into his clothes, guarding it like a treasure.

Han Yang couldn’t persuade him and thought about installing a fingerprint lock.

Once inside, Gu Nuan took a shower first and put on one of Han Yang’s pajamas. Because the pants were too long and large, Gu Nuan rolled them up several times. He held the waist of the pants and looked like a young farmer about to plant rice.

Gu Nuan lay on the bed, hugging a pillow and played with his phone for a while, and it wasn’t until Han Yang, who had showered later, came out of the bathroom that he turned around, holding a hairdryer and blowing Han Yang’s hair, making it messier the more he blew.

“Brother, next time, I’ll bring a set of pajamas here.”

“Hmm.”

“Brother, is it comfortable when I blow-dry your hair?”

“Very comfortable.”

“Brother, there’s still a hint of mint pheromone on your sheets; it smells so good.”

“Really?”

Gu Nuan held a hairdryer in one hand and lifted his sleep pants that kept slipping down with the other. “Can I not wear pants? They keep slipping down.” After saying that, Gu Nuan accidentally let go, and his white thighs, all the way up to his hips, flashed in front of Han Yang’s eyes, and he could even see a hint of Gu Nuan’s underwear edge.

Han Yang was momentarily stunned, his ears turning red. He quickly pulled up Gu Nuan’s pants and tightened them, saying, “No.”