After his initial disappointment and anger, Ding Wentao ironically started clinging to Chen Chao even more than before, whining and grumbling every day. For over a week of winter break, he came over almost every single day. If the floor wasn't too cold in winter, he might have just stayed the night.

It wasn't right to stay at someone else's house like that every day, especially since Ding Wentao had a huge appetite, eating three bowls of rice per meal. Later, when Ding Wentao's parents forbade him from coming, it still couldn't stop him from secretly running over to the Chen Family's house.

Ding Wentao's dad specially bought a lot of things and came to visit Grandpa Chen and Grandma Chen. Grandpa and Grandma Chen said he was being too formal. Back in their school days, Ding Wentao's dad and Chen Guangda were just like Ding Wentao and Chen Chao are now, hanging out together every day. Back then, Ding Wentao's dad often ate at the Chen Family's house, and now his son was continuing the tradition.

Ding Wentao even brought over the laptop his younger uncle had bought him, along with a lot of discs. The discs were also brought back by his younger uncle; a whole box full of movie discs, with all sorts of films. His younger uncle had a friend who sold movie discs and would bring a box back every so often.

Previously, Ding Wentao's dad didn't let him watch them, saying some were inappropriate for kids. Later, after filtering them out once, he was allowed to watch the rest.

Sometimes Miao Jiayan was there too and would watch movies with them.

When it came to movies, his taste didn't align with theirs. Ding Wentao and Chen Chao liked Hong Kong gunfight films, the action-packed "kill or be killed" type. Miao Jiayan didn't really like those, finding them loud and chaotic, and would often fall asleep while watching. He preferred quieter, gentler films.

Chen Chao studied every day. Jiang Li had given him a lot of study materials from the affiliated high school, as well as monthly and final exam papers, which Chen Chao planned to finish during the winter break. Jiang Li hadn't originally believed Chen Chao could study so diligently. Back in elementary school, he could never sit still like this; as soon as his homework was done, he'd close his schoolbag and not spare it another glance.

Only after staying here for a couple of days did she realize how much Chen Chao had changed; he was like a different person compared to his elementary school self.

While Chen Chao studied, Ding Wentao would watch by himself, keeping the volume low.

One day, just as Chen Chao finished a practice test but before he could check the answers, Ding Wentao dragged him over to watch a movie. Ding Wentao had put on a horror movie but was too scared to watch it alone, so he had been waiting for Chen Chao to finish his work.

Just as Miao Jiayan came upstairs, a scary scene was playing in the movie. The sound of the door pushing open coincided with the scene on screen, startling both of them. Ding Wentao even blurted out, "Oh my god—"

His shout stunned Miao Jiayan. Seeing the two of them staring at him with wide eyes, he hesitated at the doorway, a little afraid to enter.

"...What's wrong?" Miao Jiayan asked Chen Chao.

Chen Chao let out a breath and said, "We're watching a ghost movie. You gave us a scare."

"Ah." Miao Jiayan closed the door and walked over, habitually sitting on Chen Chao's bed. He found an empty spot and sat leaning against the wall.

Chen Chao pulled him a little closer, making him sit right next to him.

Miao Jiayan asked, "Brother Chao, are you scared?"

Chen Chao didn't say he was scared, only, "It's warmer if you sit closer."

Miao Jiayan was different from the two of them in this regard as well. He didn't believe in ghosts or gods at all, so horror movies couldn't scare him in the slightest. While the other two watched with bated breath, flinching at every sudden jump scare, Miao Jiayan just thought the effects looked fake.

Eventually, it turned into Chen Chao squeezing up against him, and Miao Jiayan would occasionally comfort him calmly, saying, "Don't be scared, it's all fake."

Ding Wentao looked at Miao Jiayan in surprise and asked, "You're not scared at all?"

"Not scared," Miao Jiayan said. "Just a little bored."

"You're really brave," Ding Wentao remarked.

Miao Jiayan didn't understand what there was to be afraid of.

Chen Chao leaned his shoulder against him, surrounded by the scent of Miao Jiayan's shampoo. Whenever he was startled by the screen, Miao Jiayan would pat him, as if patting a puppy.

One day, Ding Wentao randomly picked out a disc. The two male leads on the cover were both familiar actors, so he assumed it was another gunfight film and put it in.

They watched the movie in a state of confusion, completely befuddled.

After watching for a while, they felt the plot was getting stranger and stranger. Then, the two men were hugging and kissing. It wasn't even a perfunctory kiss, but one on top of the other, accompanied by heavy male panting and clearly suggestive movements.

"Holy crap!" Ding Wentao was already stunned. On one hand, he felt like his eyes were being violated, but on the other, his gaze was glued to the screen, unable to look away.

Chen Chao didn't react as strongly as him, but his expression as he watched the screen was also slightly furrowed, clearly showing a mix of surprise and discomfort.

Miao Jiayan was also very surprised, his mouth slightly agape and his eyes wide, a look of disbelief on his face.

As if possessed, they somehow ended up watching the entire movie.

Ding Wentao kept muttering "Holy crap" as he watched. In truth, the movie was a bit too obscure for them; they couldn't fully understand it. However, the sense of a hidden taboo and morbid curiosity kept Ding Wentao watching, even though he felt repulsed and uncomfortable the whole time.

When the movie ended, Ding Wentao let out a long, heavy breath. "It's finally over. That was torture..."

"What the hell are gay people thinking," Ding Wentao quickly ejected the disc and put in a comedy. "They actually kissed, my god..."

The word "gay" made Chen Chao think about the previous incident again.

Chen Chao glanced at Miao Jiayan and saw he had no reaction. He said to Ding Wentao, "Stop dwelling on it. Give it a rest."

"No, I really need to recover," Ding Wentao said, feeling both physically and psychologically uncomfortable. "That was too intense."

This was their first time encountering a gay-themed movie. They had seen bits of it in movies before, but always in comedic parts where characters were deliberately made to look ugly, often presented as "neither man nor woman." They usually wore hideous makeup, dressed in bright pinks and purples, and spoke in a pinched voice to seduce men. This was also the general public's impression of "gay people"—"sissies" who were different from "normal people."

However, the two male leads in this movie were both extremely masculine men. They had both been in movies before, and had even starred in the gunfight and cop films that boys loved to watch.

They wore ordinary tank tops and shorts, looked handsome when they smoked, and they kissed and had sex passionately.

This was completely different from their impression of "gay people."

The gay people in the movie weren't ugly; they had decency and dignity.

But the one encountered in real life wasn't like that.

On the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month, it was the Little New Year, the day to send off the Kitchen God. Family members usually rushed back home on this day. Grandma Miao had been busy since morning, steaming large buns and stewing a huge pot full of meat.

There was only a small bag of flour left for steaming buns. Grandma Miao asked Grandpa Miao to go get another bag in the afternoon, lest they run out in the coming days, since the grain and oil store would be closed for the Spring Festival.

But yesterday, a pole in the flower shed had collapsed, so Grandpa had to go to the shed during the day. Miao Jiayan said, "I'll go. I can have them deliver it."

"It's cold out, don't trouble yourself." The weather was bad, and Grandma Miao couldn't bear to let him go.

Miao Jiayan put on the woolen hat and scarf his grandma had knitted for him and said, "It's okay, I'm not cold."

The grain store in town was very crowded; the small, square shop was almost packed full of people.

Miao Jiayan ordered a bag of white flour and a barrel of oil, asking for them to be delivered to his home. The female owner wrote it down in her notebook. Miao Jiayan adjusted his scarf and turned to leave.

There were too many people. On his way out, he bumped into someone, and the person squeezed his arm.

Miao Jiayan dodged to the side, and the person let go. As Miao Jiayan was leaving, he inadvertently glanced up and, for a moment, his breathing stopped.

The man was also looking at him.

In truth, in his panic, Miao Jiayan hadn't gotten a clear look at the man's face, and his clothes were different, but Miao Jiayan knew it was him with just one glance.

That stare was direct, revealing a sort of crazed paranoia, and it made one feel cold from head to toe.

Miao Jiayan deliberately avoided taking the country road straight home. Instead, he wandered in and out of various small shops, staying in town for over an hour longer than necessary.

On the way back, Miao Jiayan practically ran the entire way. His woolen scarf filtered the cold wind, but the air he breathed into his lungs was still chilly. Yet, Miao Jiayan didn't dare to stop.

The sound of a motorcycle rumbled from far behind him. Miao Jiayan's mind went "buzz," and he ran even faster.

He didn't know if he should keep running on the road, where someone might pass by and see him, or if he should run into the fields where a motorcycle couldn't go.

The sound of the motorcycle grew closer and closer. Miao Jiayan's heart was pounding so hard it felt like it would leap out of his mouth.

Fortunately, the motorcycle drove straight past. The rider was an uncle in his fifties or sixties whom he had never seen before.

Miao Jiayan stood in place, panting for a few seconds. His legs had almost given out from that last stretch of running.

However, before Miao Jiayan could even catch his breath, the sound of the motorcycle rang out again.

He glanced back, and the fear that had just subsided crept back up again.

He wasn't lucky twice in a row.

Miao Jiayan didn't dare run deeper into the fields; if he were caught there, he'd be too far from the road. But if he didn't run perpendicular to the road, a person could never outrun a motorcycle.

The moment his hair was grabbed and yanked, Miao Jiayan cried out in pain.

The man used brute force, trapping Miao Jiayan by his side, saying urgently, "Don't run, don't run... I'm begging you, don't run!"

Miao Jiayan struggled with all his might, but he was no match for a grown man who did farm work year-round.

The man dragged him toward the motorcycle, trying to get him on it.

Words were useless at a time like this. Miao Jiayan didn't waste his energy talking; he just struggled desperately and managed to kick the motorcycle over.

"I won't do anything to you, don't be scared... Don't struggle..." the man mumbled incoherently. "I've missed you so much, I won't hurt you..."

The cotton-padded jacket Miao Jiayan was wearing was torn open. The zipper split down the middle, but the zipper pull was still stuck at the collar.

Miao Jiayan's face was flushed red from the struggle, but his lips were white. The man was distracted and tried to touch Miao Jiayan's stomach, which had been exposed during the struggle, but Miao Jiayan kicked him away. Miao Jiayan practically screamed, "I'm not like you, let go of me!"

"We're the same, the same..." The man's eyes were bloodshot. He brought his face close, pressing it against Miao Jiayan's ear and sniffing him like an animal. "Look how beautiful you are... we're the same..."

Miao Jiayan didn't clearly hear who—Chen Chao or Ding Wentao—shouted what. The man gave his clothes one last tug, and the zipper pull caught on his neck, choking him for a few seconds.

Ding Wentao grabbed the man's collar, cursing as he punched him, while Chen Chao kicked the man in the stomach.

"Which fucking village is this pervert from!" Ding Wentao was thoroughly disgusted.

In fact, the man was very strong. If it weren't for both Chen Chao and Ding Wentao being there, they might not have been able to beat him. They were students, after all, while the villager had the brute strength from a life of manual labor. If Ding Wentao hadn't straddled him to punch him, the man would have broken free.

"Aren't you gay? Don't you want to touch someone?" Chen Chao punched the man in the neck, saying, "Touch me, then. I'm a guy too."

The man didn't want to get entangled with them; he just wanted to run. There was no one on the road right now, but if someone came, the whole affair would blow up.

Miao Jiayan stood to the side, panting with difficulty, unable to fix the zipper pull. He came over, tugged on Chen Chao's sleeve, and pointed at his own neck.

With a dark expression, Chen Chao helped him with the zipper. When a person's emotions are running high, their hands shake. After failing to fix it after a few tries, Chen Chao simply reached for the collar and brutally ripped the jacket open, sending the zipper pull flying.

Miao Jiayan called out hoarsely, "Brother."

Chen Chao pressed down hard on his head, the force pushing Miao Jiayan to the side, and said, "Wait over there."