“Oh my god, you’re kidding, RIGHT?!”

That was the first thing Annette said.

Yuri hesitated for a moment. He didn’t know how to respond. It was the sentence he heard immediately after pointing at the person waiting under the clock tower and saying, “That’s my lover.”

He couldn’t say it was a joke, because it wasn’t, but if he said it was the truth, confirming that the person was really his lover, he felt like he would burn with embarrassment.

Seeing Yuri just looking at her without saying anything, Annette widened her eyes even further.

“Oh my god, really?” she said, then looked down at the clock tower again.

But after seeing the person standing below, she said: “Really? No kidding? You’re joking, right?” Yuri decided to raise the white flag and say nothing more.

The person Annette was looking at with a surprised expression was a beautiful, flower-like young man, wearing a black coat and a striped scarf.

The young man was blowing on his hands because of the cold, looking somewhat bored. He absentmindedly looked around the street, looked up at the clock tower, took out his phone to check it, and finally saw the two people looking at him from across the street.

At that moment, the young man broke into a radiant, blooming smile, waving at the two of them – or more accurately, just at one of them – and seeing that smile, Annette clutched her chest and whispered: “Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god” three times in a row.

***************

“Oh, I’m truly surprised.”

Annette said this with a smile, a cup of hot tea and a tart in front of her. She smiled gracefully and charmingly, a stark contrast to her earlier surprised expression. Ling Xinlu also smiled affectionately at her.

“Really?”

“Yes. Yuri only said his current lover was curious about me, he didn’t say anything about who he was dating.”

“Haha, why did you do that, Mr. Gable? Are you ashamed of me?”

Ling Xinlu said this as he nudged Yuri’s waist lightly with his elbow and smiled mischievously. Yuri calmly but firmly replied: “I’m not ashamed.”

But as soon as he finished speaking, Annette narrowed her eyes at him with a scrutinizing look.

“Really not ashamed?”

“……Should I be ashamed?”

Slightly intimidated by Annette’s narrowed eyes and glare, Yuri thought for a moment before asking back.

She immediately yelled: “OF COURSE!”

“How can you date a boy who’s more than ten years younger than you? If that’s not robbing the cradle, what is it?!”

Yuri just silently drank his tea without refuting Annette’s assertion. Annette turned to look at Ling Xinlu, then smiled gently as if she hadn’t just raised her voice.

“But I didn’t expect Yuri to be dating a boy. That was a surprise in itself, and such a lovely one at that, oh my!”

“My god, standing under the clock tower, he looked like he was the only one in color in a black and white photo,” she added, admiration evident on her face.

Then she suddenly beamed. Her eyes sparkled.

“I was so worried when Yuri said his current lover wanted to meet me, I thought it was a jealous lover, or someone who wanted to start a fight or something. I didn’t expect him to be so beautiful and gentle.”

“Ahaha, I am a little jealous. I was so curious about who kept calling ‘Mon sucre’ every time they called Mr. Gable. I didn’t expect it to be someone so beautiful and elegant.”

“Oh my, you heard that too? It’s just a nickname we used when we were working together. Don’t mind it.”

Annette seemed to really like this sweet and adorable young man, she even beamed, something she rarely did. The quick-witted young man responded with a bright smile of his own, something he also rarely did.

Between the two of them, Yuri silently chewed on his tart, while the other two were engrossed in their cheerful conversation, seemingly oblivious to what Yuri was eating or drinking.

If someone were to look from the outside, they might think Yuri was intruding on their date.

“By the way, it seems like you two were close, why did you break up?”

Ling Xinlu asked her innocently, as if he had just remembered something. She let out an “OH”, then wrinkled her nose.

“It was a personality difference, I’d say. I didn’t want to keep dating a man who always had time to swim every morning, but never had time to date me.”

“Annette, that was when I had to stay up for three days straight because of work at the Intelligence Agency……., ……., ……”

“But you still went swimming every morning.” – Annette shot him a sideways glance. And once again, Yuri remained silent.

It seemed she had concluded that silently chewing on her tart was the best option for her, so she ordered another slice.

“Swimming, huh? Mr. Gable really does love to swim.”

“Excessively so. Xinlu, are you okay dating someone who likes swimming more than you?”

“Ahaha, of course not.”

Ling Xinlu laughed brightly and replied succinctly. Annette widened her eyes in surprise and glanced at Yuri.

“Oh my god, so these days he goes on dates with you more than he goes swimming? How is that possible–––when we were dating, he might have skipped dates with me, but he never missed his swim!”

“It’s more like, when he goes swimming, I go with him. Moreover,” Ling Xinlu smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling,

“I also love the water, just as much as Mr. Gable does.”

“Oh, really? I thought no one could love the water more than Yuri.”

“I started to love the water after meeting Mr. Gable. Just like he said, when you’re underwater, it feels like all the heavy things weighing on your heart just disappear.”

Annette nodded: “I see, you two are really well-suited for each other.” Ling Xinlu also smiled innocently and nodded in reply: “Yes”, then turned a smiling gaze towards Yuri, who was still silently chewing on his tart beside them.

“It’s all thanks to meeting Mr. Gable.”

While speaking, Xinlu suddenly reached out and gently wiped away a crumb of tart stuck to the corner of Yuri’s mouth. Looking at Yuri with a now clean face, Ling Xinlu smiled.

“Thanks to Mr. Gable, I also got to experience the water.”

“……”

Yuri froze, looking directly at Ling Xinlu without a word. Under Yuri’s blinking gaze, Ling Xinlu just smiled affectionately.

“Now I can’t live without the water. If I don’t get to be in the water every day, if I don’t get to immerse myself and swim in that warm embrace even for a single day, I think I won’t be able to stand it.”

His slow voice carried a sweetness laced with danger.

Yuri stared at Ling Xinlu, unable to tear his eyes away, as if hypnotized. And at some point, unnoticed, Yuri’s face began to flush.

Still maintaining his usual stoic expression, but from his neck up, he began to turn red, a clear display of embarrassment that only those who understood him could recognize.

So, seeing that face, Ling Xinlu chuckled.

“You don’t know how comfortable it is underwater, how warm and relaxing it is. It feels like heaven to swim in it and then fall asleep.”

Each word, every single one, seemed meant only for Yuri.

Yuri stared motionlessly at Ling Xinlu, then slowly, very slowly, lowered his head. As if he didn’t dare to look directly into his eyes, he quietly looked down at the tart and muttered: “Is that so, that’s nice.”

“Oh, you even fall asleep while swimming underwater?”

Annette asked, her eyes wide with surprise. Ling Xinlu smiled, glancing at Yuri who was still looking down, avoiding his gaze. Ling Xinlu softly replied: “Yes.”

“If I don’t want to come up from the water, then I’ll just sleep there. I was planning to do that today too.”

Next to the smiling Ling Xinlu, Yuri suddenly coughed violently, as if a piece of tart had gotten stuck in his throat.

“Are you alright? Are you choking?”

Ling Xinlu quickly and solicitously handed Yuri a cup of tea, while rubbing his back. “Thank you”, Yuri murmured. Ling Xinlu smiled gently: “You’re welcome.”

Seeing the two of them like that, Annette slowly shook her head.

“You two seem very well-suited. I feel relieved. Even though we broke up, sometimes I still think about him. Wondering if he’s doing well, if he’s happy.”

Ling Xinlu stopped rubbing Yuri’s back and turned to look at Annette. He looked at her with a gentle smile, then gave her the brightest smile he could muster.

“Thank you for your concern, dear Annette. But Mr. Gable is very happy, happier than ever, and will always be.”

They remained silent until Annette waved goodbye: “See you later”, and disappeared down the street.

Only after she turned the corner and was out of sight did Ling Xinlu speak.

“She seems like a good person.”

“……Yes.”

Ling Xinlu breathed a sigh of relief, as if a burden had been lifted, and turned around. He took Yuri’s hand and started walking towards the hotel, which wasn’t far away.

All because of Mon sucre.

When he accidentally overheard the phone call between Annette and Yuri, Ling Xinlu was very bothered by the way Annette addressed Yuri.

So, when Yuri went back to Germany briefly for a relative’s wedding, Ling Xinlu went along. When Yuri said he had to meet Annette, Xinlu insisted on going with him.

As a result, Yuri reluctantly had to introduce his lover to Annette. Although he was a little worried, the meal went quite pleasantly, and they parted amicably. Yuri was on his way back to the hotel feeling relieved.

“You two seemed close.”

Yuri suddenly spoke as they walked down the street, deserted due to the cold. Ling Xinlu looked at Yuri, puzzled. Then he gave a wry smile,

“I should be the one saying that……. It’s strange……. Mr. Gable is usually perceptive, why didn’t you realize that? We weren’t being friendly, we were sizing each other up.”

“Huh?”

“Do you think I could be friendly with the woman who used to date Mr. Gable? And not just me, it seemed like she was also trying to assess what kind of person I am.”

Hearing Ling Xinlu speak in a tone as if Yuri was completely oblivious, he blinked: “Is that so?”

“But, it’s alright. I won.”

Yuri looked back at Ling Xinlu, puzzled, as he raised his head and declared confidently. He tilted his head, not understanding when they had competed, when they hadn’t fought at all.

Beside Yuri, who was berating himself for feeling like he had become quite dense even though he didn’t think he was slow-witted, Ling Xinlu suddenly muttered.

“While I don’t regret meeting her, I do feel uncomfortable. Sitting with someone who used to date Mr. Gable made me more uncomfortable than I thought.”

Yuri silently watched Ling Xinlu sigh heavily with a displeased expression.

“I don’t like it when other people address Mr. Gable intimately, I also don’t like it when they talk with the implication that they used to date him, and I don’t want to hear them keep saying I’m young, that I’ll always be young. ……It’s not like I’m a child because I want to be. I also want to spend my years alongside Mr. Gable as his partner.”

A flicker of frustration crossed Ling Xinlu’s face. He said he had won, but it seemed he still couldn’t help but feel irritated about the things he couldn’t have.

But why?

He had no reason to be frustrated. At least towards Yuri, he had no reason to be frustrated.

Ling Xinlu looked back at Yuri, who had slowly stopped walking. Yuri looked down at his feet for a moment, as if thinking about something, then looked around the deserted street, then fell into thought again. Finally, he gently tugged on Ling Xinlu’s hand. Very gently, to the point that if he wanted to, Ling Xinlu could easily shake Yuri’s hand off.

Ling Xinlu continued to stare intently at Yuri, then showed a look of incomprehension. He kept his gaze on Yuri until Yuri quietly tugged at his hand again, and then he suddenly smiled. He realized that it was a choice Yuri was giving him.

‘Even though we’re on the street, even though there are few people passing by, if you don’t mind, I can hug you.’

The light tug of his hand seemed to be saying that.

And Ling Xinlu didn’t hesitate. He had no reason to hesitate.

Ling Xinlu stepped closer and held him tightly. Yuri also wrapped his arms around him and hugged him back.

“Why would Mr. Ling Xinlu suffer because of me?”

Yuri’s usually indifferent face flushed slightly. He remained silent for a moment with a reddened face, then gave a small nod.

It could have been agreement, or perhaps he felt the same way.

Either interpretation was fine. Because both were true. Yuri reached out. And this time, he grasped Ling Xinlu’s hand.

Yuri started walking, Ling Xinlu quietly following behind.

Yuri half a step ahead, Ling Xinlu half a step behind.

Walking like this, there would be times when they walked side by side, and there would also be times when Ling Xinlu stepped ahead, but one thing would always remain constant.

Their steps, hand in hand, will always adjust to move forward together.

[End Bonus Track Vol 2]