"I, a worthless person, wanted to be loved back by you
Desperate and pathetic, I chase after you
There is only you, and so I'll wait for you."
Mo Aini blinked. "What?"
"That's what it says in the tree. Don't know which cheesy romantic left a poem in a cherry blossom tree, I just find it amusing." Hu Chuntian leaned back on the trunk. "And check this out, wimp! Someone really waited for someone here."
Mo Aini leaned closer to see where he was pointing, and saw that there were several scratches in the tree bark. They were like daily tallies of a prisoner, but instead of a jail cell, he tallied his waiting days on a cherry blossom tree. There's a whole bunch of them. "Shit.... That's like 45 days or something."
(Who the hell would wait every day for their lover for 45 days? What a simp.) Mo Aini felt incredulous.
"What do you think happened here? I only saw these scratches this year, but I don't know who left them." Hu Chuntian traced the passage.
"I'm not sure, Da Ge." Mo Aini shrugged as he sat beside him. "Maybe this person's lover went to another school and they waited for that person to return to their meeting spot?"
"If that's the case, I've never seen that person. I hang out at this spot all the time." Hu Chuntian sat down the thick roots. "There used to be a bench near here but it was destroyed by some punk or something."
"Well, it's pretty breezy here. I can see why this would be a nice spot." Mo Aini sat beside him. "Let's begin our lesson now. Foreign Language should be a good place to start."
"My English is already good." Hu Chuntian opened a can of soda from his bag of groceries. "My parents always practice them at home because of their international business ventures and I watch foreign movies whenever I'm bored."
"Oh, really? My English is pretty good as well." Mo Aini's life revolve around the internet so his fluency increased from constant practice. He drank from his own can of orange soda. "What's your favorite English movie?"
"50 Shades of Grey."
Mo Aini spat out his drink. "You're joking!"
"I'm not." Hu Chuntian answered with a straight face. "I also like Twilight as well."
"Okay..." Mo Aini wiped his mouth. (No wonder you're such a problematic love interest. These movies' male leads must be your idols.)
"What about you? What's your favorite foreign movie?" Hu Chuntian asked out of nowhere.
"Oh, there's too many good ones to pick from." Mo Aini rubbed his chin to think about it. "But most of my favorites are from Japan. I like anime a lot, but for standalone, I guess Kimi no Nawa would be my go-to foreign movie."
"What's that?"
"Your Name."
"It's Hu Chuntian, did you forget?"
Mo Aini chuckled and ruffled his hair. "No, silly! I'm not asking for your name, that's the title of the movie!"
Mo Aini unconsciously did it, and he realized far too late. Hu Chuntian's blue eyes widened at him.
"Sorry, Da Ge." He took his hand back and scratched his head. "Your hair just looked so soft so I can't resist touching it."
Hu Chuntian felt a sense of familiarity again. The feeling of Mo Aini's fingers running down his golden locks and brushing his scalp..... It's so.....
"You can keep touching it if you want." Hu Chuntian looked away, finishing his soda.
"Huh?"
"Consider it as payment for tutoring me." Hu Chuntian said. "Just do it now before I change my mind."
"Um.... ok." Mo Aini was weirded out, but his hair really felt so nice to play with so he didn't refuse.
"Anyway..." Hu Chuntian changed the subject, closing his eyes a bit as Mo Aini stroked his head. "This 'Your Name' movie..... What is it about?"
"Oh, it's better if you watch it! The plot twist is pretty good and the ending is bittersweet." Mo Aini picked his phone from his pocket. "I don't know if it even exists in this world..... Ah, it's also here!"
The world of Campus Goddess: Be Worshipped! is pretty similar to the real world, if movies like 50 Shades of Grey, Twilight, and Kimi no Nawa exists. There's only some difference like that anime with Mo Jiagei's look-alike, the Sakuranohime-chan thing.
"Let's watch it with English subtitles as a foreign language practice." Mo Aini said. "There's still a lot of time before class. We can eat while watching."
Mo Aini played the movie on his phone and huddled closer, his right hand never leaving Hu Chuntian's hair. Then he realized something. "Oh, I won't be able to eat if I hold my phone and play with your hair, huh? Guess I'll stop messing with your hair, Da Ge—"
"Don't stop." Hu Chuntian said, like an order. "I'll hold the phone for you, I'm not even that hungry."
He took the phone with both hands.
"But you bought all this stuff, it's your own money." Mo Aini took out a bag of French Fries and the burger that Hu Chuntian bought.
"Feed me then."
"Huh?"
Hu Chuntian rolled his eyes. "Why do you always go 'huh' when I'm giving you what you want? Don't you enjoy these kinds of things, wimp?"
(I'm not enjoying any of this. You're just treating me like a servant.) Mo Aini grumbled internally, but did as told. As the movie started, he hesitantly put a single piece of French fry on Hu Chuntian's mouth.
Hu Chuntian nibbled on it, eyes still glued on the screen.
So there they were, a delinquent and a wimp sitting on a tree. Watching anime and chilling.
In the middle of the film, Hu Chuntian started making various reactions. It started with small 'Ohs" and 'Ahs', and when he was wondering what was going on, he would make a short 'Hmm'. In funny moments, he even showed signs of trying not to smile.
But there was a scene where couldn't take it anymore, and giggled loudly. "Hehehe!"
Mo Aini felt like he was suddenly hit by an arrow in the heart. (How can an annoying little brat's laugh be that cute!?)
Hu Chuntian was so engrossed in the movie, even more than Mo Aini thought he would. He couldn't focus on his favorite film and just watched Hu Chuntian's reactions. His hands were both hair massaging and feeding himself and the Tiger Emperor. He knew Hu Chuntian likes spicy stuff, so he put chili sauce on the fries.
"Taki-kun!"
"Mitsuha!"
By the near end where they were supposed to write each other's names on their palms so they wouldn't forget, Hu Chuntian's expression become grim. He watched as Mitsuha tried so hard to remember Taki-kun's name because stupid Taki wrote 'I love you!'"
That scene really frustrated Mo Aini so much that he just wants to get inside that movie and shake Taki-kun repeatedly, yelling at him, "ARE YOU KIDDING ME, BRO!? YOU COULD HAVE SAID THAT STUFF WHEN YOU MEET EACH OTHER AGAIN!"
But his frustration from that scene didn't last long as he saw tears falling down Hu Chuntian's eyes.
"...Are you crying?" Mo Aini took a handkerchief from his pocket and smiled, amused at seeing him cry. "The movie's really touching, huh?"
"I'm not crying..... The spice got into my eyes, you put too much chili sauce." Hu Chuntian reasoned as Mo Aini wiped his tears for him.
"Hey, it's ok. I cry whenever I watch it too. No matter how many times I've seen this movie." It eventually became a cry of frustration from Taki's stupidity, but Mo Aini digressed for now.
"They'll see each other again, right?" Hu Chuntian asked with teary eyes.
Those eyes full of genuine sadness and sorrow made Mo Aini's chest tighten. He found it so adorable yet painful at the same time, like he didn't like seeing Hu Chuntian cry but also feel happy that he cares.
"Watch till the end. I told you, it will be bittersweet. I spoiled you enough." Mo Aini said.
"Don't stop patting my hair." Hu Chuntian sniffed and glued his eyes again on the phone screen.
"My hand is getting tired, Da Ge." Mo Aini complained. "I don't want to—"
"....Please."
Mo Aini took in a deep breath, feeling like he really was going to have a heart attack. Hu Chuntian saying 'Please'!? He should get a Guinness World Record for being the first man to get the most arrogant delinquent in this otome world to say 'please' to him!
Mo Aini's heart was so full that he's feeling a little dizzy from all the fluffiness. He continued patting the hair, almost adoringly so. (Fuck, if Hu Chuntian could be like this every day, I would—)
He restrained the thought, remembering that he's a 'straight' guy. (Ahem, let's not get too carried away here.)
Eventually, Hu Chuntian finished the movie, a little disappointed. "That's it? We don't get to see if they get together or not, or if they recover their memories of switching bodies with each other?"
"Yeah, I get you. It's an open ending. Japan loves that kind of thing." Mo Aini said. "So, how was it?"
"Not bad...."
Mo Aini chuckled, ruffling his hair even more. "Not bad? If this is your definition of 'not bad', I wonder how emotional Da Ge would get from what he considers 'good' movies."
"I don't want to watch movies like this anymore." Hu Chuntian sniffed on Mo Aini's black handkerchief, and just realized what he was holding. "Uh....What do I do with this? It's.... uh.... It's dirty now."
"You can have it." Mo Aini said. He has 20 carbon copies of that in his drawer anyway.
"I'll buy you a new one." Hu Chuntian said.
"No need." Mo Aini insisted, and changed the topic before Hu Chuntian can respond stubbornly. "By the way, why do you not want to watch movies like this anymore?"
"I don't know. It's too..... terrifying." Hu Chuntian said.
"Terrifying?" Mo Aini cocked his head to the side. "How?"
"People shouldn't experience something like that. Falling in love with someone and then just forget that person." Hu Chuntian frowned, hugging his knees. "It's better if you lost someone and were aware of it rather than have all those good memories disappear."
"That's really profound of you to say, Da Ge. It's like it came from experience." Mo Aini stood up and brushed his clothes. "I'm sorry that we ended up not studying after all. You're already good at English so we'll study other subjects with actual textbooks, okay?"
"En." Hu Chuntian nodded.
Mo Aini offered his hand out.
"What's this for?" Hu Chuntian knitted his eyebrows.
"Oh, it's a habit of mine to always help someone to stand up." Mo Aini slouched down and stretch out his hand closer. "Classes are starting, so let's go together. "
Hu Chuntian hesitated for a while, but took his hand. Mo Aini's grip was strong and he could feel the callouses of his fingers from constant drawing.
Holding hands, they left the shade of the big cherry blossom tree together. Mo Aini looked back one last time to see the engraved poem and the tally of many days.
'I, a worthless person, wanted to be loved back by you
Desperate and pathetic, I chase after you
There is only you, and so I'll wait for you.'
He doesn't know why he felt such melancholy whenever he looks at it. Maybe like movies like Kimi no Nawa, some things really just touch your heart. Whoever waited under this tree for a long time....
He hoped they finally got together with the person they have been waiting for.
------------------------------------------
Read The Mafia Boys' Contract Marriage which is joining WPC right now XD
I know it's shameless of me to advertise like this but I'm desperate :)))) Plus it'll be a pretty fun book, I guarantee you.
If you're a fan of mafia, criminal investigations and detective stories, please check it out and support it.
PS: It will also be a whole lot more spicier than any of my books so far cough cough How much spice? You'll see.