TT Extra 2

Chen Ting chose to pursue graduate school. But staying in school did not mean he could stay with Pei Yiyao long-term. In fact, the opposite happened. After making this decision, Chen Ting began a long-distance relationship with Pei Yiyao.

Because Chen Ting chose to study abroad.

For him, grad school was never a necessity. If he had decided to stay in his hometown, find a stable job, or even just raise crabs at home, he would have been fine without it.

But there was one thing he could never do, and that was part ways with Pei Yiyao. And Pei Yiyao’s future was not going to play out on a tiny fishing boat.

Dreams came in all shapes and sizes, and no dream was better than another, but Chen Ting had no dream of his own. So he chose to follow Pei Yiyao’s instead. He decided to go to graduate school, so that later he could find a better job in a bigger city.

If he was going to take the exams, then of course he would aim high.

For students majoring in English, studying abroad was definitely a solid choice. Chen Ting happened to like the London accent, so he went to the UK.

Yang Shulin, not yet ready to join the workforce and with a comfortable family background to fall back on, decided to follow suit when he heard Chen Ting was applying. With the two of them abroad together, homesickness became much easier to bear.

And besides, Pei Yiyao spent all his holidays overseas anyway, so it gave them more chances to meet.

Most importantly, the weight Chen Ting had never managed to lose back home melted away within a month of arriving in the UK. His face noticeably slimmed down, and the weight didn’t bounce back. He was so thrilled he couldn’t resist posting about it on his Moments feed.

The second he posted, the likes came flooding in from all sides. Pei Yiyao’s expression, however, grew colder by the day. He was one step away from hopping on a plane to Britain just to deliver takeout.

Pei Yiyao had not expected Chen Ting to leave. In their relationship, it had always felt like Chen Ting was the one doing the waiting.

But that did not mean Pei Yiyao felt bitter about it. He was just… a little sour. Really, just a little.

Chen Ting had left far too cleanly. He did not allow anyone to follow him to the UK. With a flick of his hand, he waved goodbye and marched off with Yang Shulin through the departure gate, not even sparing a glance back.

Pei Yiyao was left behind in N City, coldly abandoned. Without Chen Ting, his entire life was consumed by study. He had no time for anything else. Strangely, though, even though he had always spent his school breaks the same way, the loneliness this time felt especially sharp.

Sometimes, while walking, he would suddenly stop in his tracks, only because he remembered this was the path he used to take with Chen Ting every day.

Students passing by would glance curiously at the campus heartthrob standing there in a daze. Autumn leaves drifted down as the long-legged boy stood beneath the trees, light and shadow scattered across his face, cool and aloof with just a touch of melancholy that made him all the more captivating.

From halfway across the globe, Chen Ting could still feel the hormonal aura of his boyfriend radiating from campus forums and WeChat Moments. He saved the photos while furiously typing his accusations.

Donghu Crab King: Look at this. Look at this!

Donghu Crab King: [screenshot] [screenshot] [screenshot]

With the real deal gone, someone was always eyeing the school heartthrob, dreaming they might be the one to “pluck” him.

Pei Yiyao: Jealous?

Donghu Crab King: Am not.

Pei Yiyao: Someone confessed to me yesterday. The day before too. And the day before that.

Donghu Crab King: [Have you seen my forty-meter-long saber.jpg]

Pei Yiyao: Fifteen centimeters.

Donghu Crab King: Pei Yiyao, I’m breaking up with you!!!

In the kitchen, Yang Shulin, who was cooking instant noodles, heard the roar and rushed into the living room in a panic. “What happened? What happened?!”

Meanwhile, Pei Yiyao’s classmate, sitting beside him in lecture, watched the famously cold-faced cool guy break into a rare smile, and quietly declared it a miracle.

In the end, Chen Ting blocked him. Pei Yiyao had to call Yang Shulin’s phone and beg him to relay messages. It took a full two hours of coaxing before he was finally forgiven.

After Chen Ting unblocked him, Pei Yiyao changed his contact name to: Super Fierce.

Every morning, Pei Yiyao would time his international calls to line up with Chen Ting’s wake-up schedule so they could video chat.

At first, Chen Ting would wake up a few minutes early to brush his teeth and wash his face. But it did not take long before he started treating Pei Yiyao’s calls as his alarm clock. Pei Yiyao had to beg him again and again before he would finally roll out of bed. Then, still half-asleep, he would slowly get dressed, carry his phone into the bathroom, set it on the counter, and chat with Pei Yiyao while washing up.

The length of their calls depended on how much free time Pei Yiyao had. If he had class, he would squeeze it in between lessons. If he did not, he would stay on the line until he watched Chen Ting walk into his classroom.

Students at N University often saw Pei Yiyao holding up his phone on video call with Chen Ting. Sometimes in the classroom, sometimes walking along the paths, sometimes seated in the cafeteria. Chen Ting would sometimes miss the campus scenery and ask him to walk around and show him.

One year later, before Chen Ting had even returned from abroad, Pei Yiyao went overseas as well. But he did not choose the UK, where Chen Ting was. Instead, following the guidance of his academic advisor, he went to the United States.

Chen Ting once asked him, since he was always going to study abroad anyway, why had he come back to China in the first place?

Pei Yiyao said, “Being ranked the best in the world is just a number. Knowledge is not born from a single school. It comes from seeing the world. N University is excellent too. There’s no doubt about that.”

He paused, then added, “And at the time, I just wanted to come home. I had this feeling… that I needed to.”

Pei Yiyao was deeply grateful for that decision. If he had not returned to China, he never would have met Chen Ting. Or perhaps, because of family ties, they might have met after he returned from his studies. But by then it would have been too late.

Even a second later would have been a loss too great to recover.

After finishing graduate school, Chen Ting returned to China for a while before moving to the United States to accompany Pei Yiyao. That short trip ended up stretching into years.

Chen Su had no objections. It was only a few years, and they were still young. They would return eventually. Long-distance relationships were not good for emotional connection, and all she wanted was for Chen Ting and Pei Yiyao to be happy together, not to wear down their love over things that could be avoided.

With the full support of his family, Chen Ting felt much more at ease. Before long, he found a job teaching Chinese to children, which he considered a small contribution to the global spread of Chinese culture.

During the day, Chen Ting went to work and Pei Yiyao went to class. Whoever got home first would make dinner. But Pei Yiyao’s cooking was something that truly defied description. Eventually, Chen Ting banned him from the kitchen entirely. If Chen Ting came home late, takeout was the only option.

Sometimes Chen Ting would go to campus to find Pei Yiyao, since once Pei Yiyao got buried in his studies, he often lost track of time. Chen Ting would pack up food and bring it to him, no matter if it was day or night, as long as he was free.

Over time, Pei Yiyao’s classmates and professors all got to know Chen Ting. To them, he was like a little angel from the East who always smelled delicious. Because of this, the typically solitary Pei Yiyao suddenly found himself surrounded by new friends. Everyone liked gathering at their apartment for hot pot nights and all kinds of parties.

Foreigners saying “Ting Ting” always gave the name a strangely adorable sound.

And somehow, they all assumed Chen Ting was underage.

Sometimes, when Chen Ting came looking for Pei Yiyao, one of his classmates would spot him and call out over their shoulder, “Your little boy is here.”

Pei Yiyao would glance outside and instantly spot his curly-haired little guy. In the depths of winter, Chen Ting always wore a knit beanie and a big black puffer jacket, his hands tucked inside the sleeves. He was already petite to begin with, and bundled up like that, he looked even smaller.

This was their second winter together in the United States. Chen Ting stood in the hallway, waving at Pei Yiyao. They had planned to go out for Chinese food that evening.

He did not have to wait long. Pei Yiyao soon wrapped things up, said a quick goodbye to his classmates, and ran over with his books tucked under one arm. He brushed the snowflakes off Chen Ting’s shoulders and asked, “Was it cold on the way here?”

Chen Ting nodded, then shook his head, and commented, “Compared to the magical cold attacks we get down south, this is still a little weak.”

As he spoke, he extended his hand. “Here.”

Pei Yiyao understood immediately. He slipped his hand into the wide, warm sleeve and clasped the toasty hand inside, then walked with him slowly toward the exit. Over his coat, he wore a puffer jacket that matched Chen Ting’s. They were a couple set.

The oversized clothes did not make him look bulky at all. In fact, they somehow made him seem even taller and more graceful.

The year Pei Yiyao graduated from graduate school, he proposed to Chen Ting in the small apartment where they had lived for years.

The proposal was nothing extravagant. Just cake, flowers, rings, and a candlelit dinner. It was about the most romance a science guy like him could come up with. The meal, of course, had to be ordered, because his cooking was still a disaster.

Chen Ting did not mind the lack of surprises. He let Pei Yiyao slip the ring onto his finger, thinking that this marked his official step into the second phase of life. That night, he even took the initiative for once.

But the next morning, while he was still basking in dreamland, Pei Yiyao dragged him out of bed, rushed them through a marriage registration at a speed no ordinary person could fathom, and then whisked him onto a flight bound for Saint Petersburg.

Even after boarding the plane, Chen Ting still felt like he had not fully woken up.

After the long-haul flight and a change in transportation, he found himself staring at a vast forest blanketed in snow, the icy wind slicing through the air. His face was utterly expressionless. Just when he had thought the most dramatic thing Pei Yiyao could do was take him to a bridge in the middle of the night, the man now pointed toward the Russian wilderness and said, “See that? There’s a lake in there, and by the lake is a pretty wooden cabin. I’m taking you there for a barbecue.”

Chen Ting very nearly considered roasting Pei Yiyao on a spit instead.

One of Pei Yiyao’s friends had arranged to host them in celebration of their marriage, and Chen Ting had the distinct honor of riding a dog sled pulled by six Alaskan huskies.

Unfortunately, not a single photo Pei Yiyao took of him came out decently.

It was a surprise. A very big surprise.

And totally unexpected. Completely unexpected.

Chen Ting felt that with the way Pei Yiyao had brought him here, if this were a movie, the plot would probably involve him being locked away, subjected to an overwhelming possessiveness, until the world forgot that “Chen Ting” ever existed and only The Captive Lover remained.

But Pei Yiyao had no way of guessing what was going on inside Chen Ting’s head. He really just wanted to be alone with him. Completely alone. Away from everything, with no third party to interrupt them. A world so quiet that only the sound of falling snow and their own heartbeats remained.

He remembered Chen Ting once saying that he loved snowfall, but always complained that the rivers back home never froze thick enough.

Well, the ice here was plenty thick.

Unfortunately, Chen Ting was bundled up in layers, wrapped so tightly that only one eye peeked out. He sat on the frozen lake in a meditative pose and refused to move.

“Go on, run,” he said, urging Pei Yiyao forward.

Pei Yiyao had no choice but to tighten his grip on the rope and begin pulling Chen Ting around the ice. Chen Ting was laughing freely, but as always, joy too easily tipped into disaster.

“Hey!” Chen Ting ended up sprawled on the ice in the most ungraceful manner, trying to execute a kip-up but failing miserably due to how much he was wearing. With no other option, he blinked his big, dark eyes up at Pei Yiyao. “Hey, your precious Ting Ting has fallen.”

Pei Yiyao crouched down beside him. “Need a hand?”

“If you don’t help me up now, you’re going to lose me forever.”

“Coming.”

Pei Yiyao used both hands to lift him upright. They played for a while longer until Chen Ting started complaining about the cold and wanted to go back inside to sit by the fire. Pei Yiyao led him back to the shore, then crouched down in front of him. “Get on. I’ll carry you.”

Chen Ting pounced onto Pei Yiyao’s back and clearly felt him sway a little, as if even carrying him now took some effort.

“If you dare say I’m fat, I’m divorcing you,” Chen Ting declared, once again proud of his impeccable foresight.