LHKE Ch36

After Shen Li realized that he wouldn’t be able to get out of bed after Lu Changting hung up the phone, he simply lay back down.

“I ordered takeout,” Lu Changting said, wrapping his arms around him. “Let’s stay in bed a bit longer.”

Shen Li chuckled. “Since when did Young Master Lu start delivering takeout himself?”

With his eyes closed, Lu Changting casually replied, “He manages Wangjiang Tower, so it’s easiest to reach him.” He added, “In the future, if you need anything and I’m not around, just contact him.”

By the time the takeout arrived, Shen Li and Lu Changting had already gotten up and freshened up. Lu Changting went downstairs to collect the food—two layered insulated wooden boxes—and brought them into the room, placing them on the small table in the side room.

Shen Li came out dressed, casually closing the ornate sliding door behind him.

Lu Changting began setting out the dishes while using a remote to turn on the projector. “Let’s find a movie to watch.”

Shen Li poured himself a glass of water and suddenly asked, “Have you seen Clouds Don’t Make Me Happy?”

“No, do you want to watch it?” Lu Changting asked, searching for the title and then playing it. “What’s it about?”

“Let’s watch it,” Shen Li suggested, sitting cross-legged by the table, seemingly on a whim. “It’s about unrequited love, the kind of admiration a seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy feels for another boy. It’s a same-sex love story.”

Lu Changting always felt like the concept of unrequited love was haunting him, as he frequently heard people mention it, which was starting to annoy him.

But since Shen Li wanted to watch it, he would watch it with him. Lu Changting put the remote down, sat next to Shen Li, and took a sip from Shen Li’s glass of water.

Seeing the director’s name in the opening credits, Lu Changting furrowed his brow slightly.

The plot was fairly simple. The two main characters were a top student in their grade and a notorious school bully. Their paths crossed one evening after school when the top student, who was habitually the last to leave the classroom, found that his bicycle had been stolen. He stood there, bewildered, when the school bully and his friends came to retrieve their bikes.

It was late, and the dimly lit, empty parking lot cast shadows. The top student stood alone in the darkness, while the bully’s bike was parked a few steps away. As the bully walked by, he paused.

“Your bike got stolen?”

The top student looked up at the tall boy, unable to see his features clearly against the light, and instinctively caught a set of keys the bully tossed to him.

“Borrow mine,” the bully said, extending his hand. “Give me your meal card, and return the keys tomorrow at Class 12, along with the card.”

The top student, stunned, handed over his meal card and murmured a thank you.

The bully didn’t even glance at the meal card, casually slipping it into his pocket before turning to leave with his friends.

He was really cool.

But once they left the school, the group’s teasing and laughter quickly revealed the boy’s hidden feelings.

“Wasn’t that the top student in our grade just now?”

“Who else? Why do you think Feng Jiang suddenly decided to play Good Samaritan?”

“If Feng Jiang hadn’t been with us all day, I would have suspected he stole the bike himself.”

The teased boy raised an eyebrow, his tension gradually easing. “Shut up, you guys.”

The scene then shifted to the first day of school, during the new students’ assembly in the auditorium. The top student was giving a speech, and from his perspective, he could see the side profile of the boy with his neat uniform collar.

Later, whenever the bully passed by the honor board with the top student’s picture, he would always glance up. His bike was always parked nearby, and he lingered in the classroom late into the evening…

The film pieced together a narrative about unrequited love, from the two becoming friends to the occasional moments when those hidden feelings briefly surfaced.

In the heat of summer, one boy bought a watermelon, clumsily cutting it into small pieces, his hands sticky with juice, and packed it into a container to bring to the other.

Despite his terrible grades and lack of interest in studying, he still found excuses to borrow notes, ask questions, and create opportunities to meet.

Even though they lived in opposite directions, he lied and said it was on his way, walking part of the way home together every night before taking a longer route back.

By the time Lu Changting and Shen Li finished eating and cleaned up the dishes, more than half of the movie had passed.

The story was good, with a distinct sense of youthful innocence typical of teenage romances. However, Lu Changting found the main character a bit too dense and was getting frustrated with the slow progress between the two leads.

“How has Fang Zhi still not realized that Feng Jiang likes him?” Lu Changting couldn’t help but frown again. “It’s so obvious.”

Shen Li smiled but said nothing.

The latter half of the movie became more ambiguous, with many scenes capturing the blush of young love. But in the end, Feng Jiang never confessed his feelings.

The two boys studied hard for their college entrance exams, but went to different cities for university and gradually lost touch.

Years later, Fang Zhi attended a school reunion and casually asked about Feng Jiang, but some people, once lost in the passage of time, can never be found again…

As the end credits rolled on the projector screen, Lu Changting still hadn’t fully processed the last ten minutes of the film. “That’s the ending?” he asked, surprised.

“Did they not meet again after all these years?”

Shen Li looked down at their hands clasped together and quietly said, “That’s the normal ending for unrequited love.”

Although it leaves a sense of regret, in real life, many people end up like this—there are no dramatic misunderstandings or accidents; they simply drift apart naturally, slowly losing contact and gradually fading from each other’s lives.

Lu Changting turned off the projector, withdrew his hand, and wrapped Shen Li in a hug. After a moment of silence, he asked in a muffled voice, “Why do you want to watch a tragedy?”

It really dampened his mood.

“Actually, there’s a hidden ending,” Shen Li said, patting his back reassuringly. “When Fang Zhi walks out of the school, he’ll see Feng Jiang waiting for him at the school gate, just like how he used to wait for him every day after school.”

The unresolved feeling in Lu Changting’s heart eased just a little.

But his frustration wasn’t entirely because of the movie. He couldn’t help but wonder if Shen Li had once harbored a similar unrequited love for that “Xiao Gege.” The thought of Shen Li having gone through the pain of loving someone so deeply made his chest feel tight.

He sighed inwardly and leaned down to kiss the corner of Shen Li’s lips. “Thank you for loving me.”

The sudden change of topic caught Shen Li off guard. “Hmm?”

“Unrequited love and one-sided love are both so exhausting,” Lu Changting said. “Thank you for loving me.”

Shen Li chuckled softly. “I should be the one thanking you.”

He continued, “Thank you for loving me. Thank you for choosing to be with me.”

Lu Changting smiled, scooped him up in his arms, and started walking toward the bedroom. “Then we should do something that two people who love each other would do.”

…

There were plenty of beautiful days in the summer. The next morning, when they stepped outside, the weather was clear, bright, and sunny.

Shen Li wore a simple plain white T-shirt paired with light-colored jeans, and his fresh, woody scent carried a hint of assertiveness as it spread on the breeze.

Lu Changting was also dressed in a white T-shirt, but with black casual pants. The two of them looked like they were wearing couple outfits, and their striking looks naturally drew the attention of passersby. The curious glances grew even more varied when people noticed their clasped hands.

After checking in and entering the amusement park, Lu Changting grabbed a park map and asked Shen Li what he wanted to do.

Shen Li glanced down at the map. The amusement park was circular, with an artificial lake in the center featuring leisure boat rides and a haunted house. Various other attractions were scattered along the paths that circled the lake.

To the right of the entrance was an indoor fun city, with activities like ring toss, archery, claw machines, and trampolines—likely more appealing to kids and young girls, but it didn’t interest him much. So, he pointed to the nearest attraction beyond the fun city. “The roller coaster.”

“Okay,” Lu Changting said, folding the map and putting it away before taking Shen Li’s hand and leading him toward the fun city.

Inside the fun city, besides the small attractions, there were also stalls selling various items. Many couples were picking out balloons and trinkets. Lu Changting noticed a lot of girls wearing fluffy ears and horns and thought it looked interesting. He turned to Shen Li and asked, “Should I get one for you too?”

“What?” Shen Li followed his gaze and, seeing Lu Changting’s eyes light up like he’d found a fun toy, couldn’t bring himself to refuse. “…Sure, buy it.”

Lu Changting led him to a stall and chose a red devil horn headband, paying for it.

Shen Li played with the headband for a moment but felt too embarrassed to wear it himself. So, he reached out and placed it on Lu Changting’s head instead, then patted it and said, satisfied, “You look really cute.”

“It was for you,” Lu Changting protested, reaching up to take it off.

“Let’s go.” Shen Li, stifling a laugh, grabbed his wrist and, half-pushing, half-pulling him forward.

There weren’t too many people in line for the roller coaster, so Shen Li and Lu Changting only had to wait a few minutes before it was their turn. They got into their seats and fastened the safety harnesses. Lu Changting turned to check Shen Li’s seatbelt before sitting back properly.

The roller coaster started slowly, and as it climbed to the highest point, they could see the entire amusement park below. When it plunged downward, Shen Li gripped Lu Changting’s hand tightly, and Lu Changting squeezed back just as firmly.

Surrounded by cheers and screams, Shen Li tried to stay composed at first but soon got caught up in the excitement. He called out loudly, “Changting!”

Lu Changting responded at the top of his voice, “I’m here!”

After they got off the roller coaster, Shen Li reached out to smooth Lu Changting’s wind-blown hair, then adjusted the headband on his head, his eyes bright with joy.

“Are you that happy?” Lu Changting asked, also fixing Shen Li’s hair, a smile in his eyes.

Shen Li pulled him toward the next ride. “Being with you makes me happy no matter what we do.”

And so, they went from the roller coaster to the drop tower, the spinning umbrellas, go-karts, bumper cars, and the log flume…

After the log flume ride, even though both had worn raincoats, their clothes still got a little wet. It was about time for lunch, so they decided to take a break from the rides and head to the aquarium-themed restaurant.

Lu Changting used a napkin to wipe the water droplets off Shen Li’s cheeks and neck. At the table next to them, two young women kept stealing glances at them and whispering to each other.

They were used to being stared at and talked about, so they didn’t pay much attention. After ordering food and drinks, Shen Li looked at the many new photos on his phone and chose one of Lu Changting’s back to post on his social media.

It was the one with the devil horn headband.

Lu Changting leaned over to look at his phone screen. The two were so close, with their heads bowed, that they didn’t notice the girl at the next table secretly raising her phone.

“Did you get the shot?”

“My hand shook…”

“They’re so handsome, even a blurry photo can’t hide their good looks.”

“The guy with the headband is too cute! How can someone be both so cool and so adorable?”

“Other people’s boyfriends never disappoint.”

Sensing something, Shen Li looked up just in time to catch the phone taking the picture.