Extra 1: Graduation trip (6) - Pay Attention to Me

Translator's Note:

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Here you go, and I wish you a good read.

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During lunch everyone was so baffled they couldn't even taste their food, their whole three views had been subverted.

 

It was only when they walked out of the store that Chen Yingying realized: "I forgot to take a picture and check in!"

 

"Forget it, it wasn't that good anyway. Let's take some photos at the tourist attraction later," Han Meng said.

 

After much discussion, the party had planned to go to an ancient town closest to the hotel, it would take them twenty minutes to get there by bus. Although the summer vacation had not yet begun, and it wasn't the peak tourist season, there were still many tourists on the bus. They get on the bus at the last few stops and could only squeeze in with difficulty.

 

As the driver took a sharp turn, a group of people fell forwards, and Yin Che was accidentally elbowed by Guo Zhixiong, who staggered backward and fell into the arms of the people behind him.

 

Guo Zhixiong turned back to apologize, only to see Jiang Yao clutching the strap handle with one hand, holding a person with the other, and lovingly rubbing Yin Che's bumped arm. Yin Che also didn't move, allowing him to hug and rub to his heart's content.

 

The two people were obviously showing off, but neither spoke.

 

The scene was weird beyond description...

 

When the bus arrived, tourists got off one after another, and their group followed the stream and walked for two minutes until they reached the entrance of the old town. Looking around, the buildings still retained their traditional style, but the interior was transformed into various stores, with souvenir shops and craft stores being the most numerous, as well as coffee shops and dessert stores that had nothing to do with the old town but were only there purely to meet the needs of tourists.

 

Chen Yingying greeted everyone at the entrance and suggested taking a group photo. She said, "Since there are too many of us, let's split up and explore on our own. We'll meet back here at 4 pm and have dinner together."

 

Zhang Ke said with a smile: "Class monitor, you can't change your commanding habits."

 

Chen Yingying replied, "Once a Class monitor, always a Class monitor."

 

Then everyone disbanded and split into several groups, quickly blending into the bustling crowd.

 

Yin Che declined Han Meng and Zhang Kexiao's invitation and left alone. He wanted to find a coffee shop with a sofa to take a rest. More than one person did not sleep well last night. He was about to turn into an alley when someone suddenly pulled his backpack.

 

Turning around, someone was standing in front of him. They took his backpack and put it on their own shoulder, then lifted his chin at him, took his hand, and turned to walk in the other direction.

 

Yin Che followed behind, and his drowsiness disappeared.

 

People were coming and going, and all of them were fading into the background. In his field of vision, only that figure was clear.

 

Jiang Yao took him through seven or eight twists and turns before finally entering a cake shop. The interior was decorated in a very artistic way, with milky-white wallpaper and tables and chairs. It was as if they had drilled into a milk carton, and also looked a bit like a wedding venue.

 

Jiang Yao found an empty seat and settled him down before walking towards the cashier. Yin Che thought he was going to order a cake, but after a few conversations, Jiang Yao was actually led in by the cashier.

 

Inside was the kitchen where they made the cakes, separated by only a layer of glass, making the process completely transparent. The old pastry chef who was originally making the cake moved aside, freeing up half of the counter, and even brought out a set of work clothes.

 

Jiang Yao directly put on the pastry chef's uniform on top of his t-shirt. The pure white pastry chef's uniform was clean and comfortable, with a single row of oblique buttons neatly aligned. The small stand-up collar made his neck look long, and his broad shoulders and narrow waist were straight and heroic.

 

Jiang Yao rolled up his sleeves twice, put on the gloves, and glanced at the store outside the glass.

 

Yin Che met his eyes, and his heart beat a little faster.

 

Most of the girls who came to the store came in groups, standing in front of the display case picking cakes. When they paid, they occasionally looked up and saw the boy behind the glass, immediately whispering to their peers. The sound of their conversation was not small, and several tables nearby could hear it, so the discussion spread further and more and more people noticed the young apprentice who was mixing eggs and flour. One girl even picked up her phone to take a sneaky photo.

 

— But suddenly, a figure blocked her view.

 

The girl looked up in confusion and saw a boy standing in front of her, quite handsome but with a cold expression that made him seem difficult to approach.

 

"It's not good to take pictures secretly." The boy said.

 

The girl awkwardly agreed and put away her phone.

 

He wondered if Jiang Yao heard him from behind the glass as the latter looked up and smiled at the outside.

 

A few excited whispers could be heard around him. But Yin Che still stood in front of the glass, his face still cold and motionless, watching Jiang Yao whisk the egg whites, pour the batter into the mold, put it into the oven, and at the same time wash and cut the fruits, and whip the cream.

 

No matter how strict the standard was, he looked like the perfect stay-at-home man.

 

After doing all this, the cake was baked. Jiang Yao proceeded to spread the cream on top of it, decorate it with the fruits, and finally walked out of the back kitchen with the finished cake, placing it on the table.

 

It took about two hours in total, and it was so skillful that it seemed to have been done countless times, without a single mistake, which seemed like a miracle.

 

Jiang Yao's eyebrows raised almost reaching the sky, and his face was full of "praise me" but he didn't say anything.

 

Yin Che's legs were sore from standing, so he sat down and tilted his head to look at him: "My birthday is tomorrow, did you forget?"

 

"How could I forget, I specially-" Jiang Yao's words stopped, "Okay, you got me."

 

Yin Che couldn't help but laugh: "It's your will that is not firm."

 

Jiang Yao bent down and touched the corners of his mouth, "You little rascal, close your eyes."

 

"You haven't explained why you did it earlier."

 

"You close your eyes first."

 

Yin Che looked at him for a while before closing his eyes obediently, "You'd better have a reasonable explanation, or else..."

 

The English love song playing in the store suddenly stopped, and the tune changed to a cheerful one.

 

Yin Che frowned, vaguely aware that this didn't seem like Jiang Yao's idea. "Can I open them now?"

 

"Just wait a bit longer... Okay, you can open them now."

 

Yin Che slowly opened his eyes, the cake was still the same cake, with two candles added on top, one "1" and one "8," but there were also more people around.

 

"Brother Che! Happy birthday!"

 

The group of people who were supposed to be shopping all appeared in front of him, holding big and small gifts while smiling at him.

 

"How did you guys..."

 

"Don't ask us, we don't know either." Han Meng shrugged, "Jiang Yao insisted on celebrating your 18th birthday today and your 19th birthday tomorrow."

 

Chen Yingying said, "We reasonably suspected that he just wanted to show off twice."

 

Zhang Ke said, "If it weren't for your sake, Brother Che, we wouldn't even have bothered with him."

 

Yin Che was really confused now. So he didn't forget about his birthday, but why did he want to make such a big fuss about it? Did Jiang Yao really want to show off twice in front of his classmates? That was too much.

 

"What the hell are you trying to do?"

 

Jiang Yao hadn't spoken since Yin Che opened his eyes, and was focused on folding his birthday hat. He put it on Yin Che's head and whispered, "To make up for last year."

 

Yin Che was stunned.

 

Han Meng said, "Last year has already passed, remember? We went to KTV together."

 

"That time doesn't count, just forget about it." Jiang Yao squatted down, picked up his hand hanging by the side, and kissed the back. "Let's forget about that time and just remember this time, okay?"

 

The boy in front of him held his posture very low, Yin Che's mind wandered a bit, thinking of the figure squatting on the roadside with his head in his hands.

 

It was indeed a birthday they both wanted to forget.

 

"I can't remember it clearly anymore..." He bent over and met those eyes, "I just remember you gave me flowers, cut me a cake, and then you said we had to see your dad... but we didn't go. Yesterday, I saw finally met him though. It's the same for me. I don't feel any regret."

 

Jiang Yao smiled. "Hmm... that's good."

 

Zhang Ke was confused. "Weren't you happy that time? Why do you have to forget it?"

 

Han Meng vaguely recalled the phone call that didn't feel quite right and kicked him secretly. "Don't ask things that shouldn't be asked."

 

After everyone finished giving their gifts, they put together three tables and sat down around them. The waiter then brought a lighter and lit the candles. Yin Che blew them out with one breath.

 

Zhang Ke asked, "Brother Che, aren't you going to make a wish?"

 

Yin Che took the cake knife from Jiang Yao and said, "My 18-year-old wish has already been fulfilled. I'll save my 19-year-old wish for tomorrow."

 

He was about to cut the first slice when he was suddenly interrupted.

 

"Wait!" Jiang Yao looked at the cake from side to side, "I knew something was missing. It's missing the two words 'Happy Birthday.'"

 

Upon hearing this, the clerk immediately brought the chocolate sauce for decoration: "Use this to write."

 

Everyone was horrified. "Don't let him write it!"

 

Jiang Yao said, "Who else is going to write it if not his boyfriend?"

 

"..."

 

There didn't seem to be anyone else who was more suitable, they couldn't actually ask the birthday boy to write it himself.

 

"It's fine, you write it," Yin Che said.

 

Han Meng asked, "Are you sure, Brother Che?"

 

Zhang Ke: "We were originally having a good time today..."

 

Guo Zhixiong: "Once he finishes writing this, you might even want to forget about this birthday."

 

Yin Che: "It shouldn't be that bad."

 

Jiang Yao: "Hear that! CheChe still loves me the most."

 

It wasn't really about whether or not he loved him. Yin Che thought. Since the cake was made so well, the writing must have been practiced in advance, so it shouldn't be too much of a fail...

 

This thought shattered into pieces when Jiang Yao wrote the first letter, causing the entire message to crumble into a mess by the time he finished.

 

"How is it?" Jiang Yao straightened up. "It was a bit difficult to control, so it may be a bit crooked."

 

"How is this is f***ing 'a bit'?" Zhou Haoliang said. "I could write better than this with my foot."

 

"Tsk, such a malicious heart," Jiang Yao said. "CheChe, what do you think?"

 

Yin Che quietly picked up a plastic spoon and carefully scraped off the layer of chocolate sauce, leaving no trace as if the two words were never there in the first place. Then he cut the cake and said, "Everyone, help yourselves."

 

Jiang Yao: "?"

 

The others cheered: "Yes!"

 

Jiang Yao was deeply hurt and quietly sat in the corner while everyone else was cutting the cake.

 

Yin Che took a piece of cake and sat opposite him, saying, "Here, the first piece."

 

Jiang Yao tasted nothing but bitterness and said, "Is it really that ugly? If I knew, I wouldn't have written it. It was perfect before..."

 

"It is ugly," Yin Che lifted the spoon he used earlier, put it in his mouth, and licked off the chocolate sauce that formed the words "Happy Birthday." He swallowed the two words and said, "But... it's also very sweet."

 

The author has something to say:

 

Is the cake sweet or is CheChe even sweeter?

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