Sun He woke up because he felt ticklish. He grudgingly opened one eye and Gu Liwei was smiling at him amusedly. Sun He frowned then turned over, pulling the blanket over his head. Gu Liwei laughed then pulled the blanket off Sun He.
"Good morning! It's time to wake up."
Sun He ignored Gu Liwei and kept his eyes closed. Gu Liwei chuckled and joined him in bed raining kisses all over his face. Sun He felt a kiss on his lips. He smiled happily and he grabbed Gu Liwei's neck, pulling him closer to himself. Sun He deepened their kiss and felt his spine tingle. He felt Gu Liwei pull away from him but brought himself closer to his lover, wanting more. His hand caressed Gu Liwei's back and a moan escaped his lips. Gu Liwei froze at the feeling of Sun He's erection against his. He grabbed Sun He's hands that were heading towards his belt and got off the bed. He stared at the lustful look on Sun He's face and his eyes darkened. Gu Liwei stepped back from the bed trying to calm himself down. He wanted to have Sun He, to ravage him but knew that he could not. Sun He was surprised by Gu Liwei's action and looked at him curiously.
"Your family is in the living room waiting for us."
Sun He's eyes widened and a choked cry left his swollen lips. "Why are they here?"
"I invited them over."
Sun He got off the bed and ran to the bathroom. His eyes fell on the swollen lips reflected in the mirror and he felt like crying. He glared at Gu Liwei who was standing in the doorway of the bathroom, before turning on the cold water. Sun He did not know how many times he threw cold water at his face trying to lessen the redness of his cheeks and the swelling on his lips. He looked back up at the mirror. His face was pale making his swollen lips look even more noticeable.
"Why would you kiss me knowing they were here?" He asked, ignoring the fact that he, himself, had deepened their kiss and ignored Gu Liwei's attempts to talk to him. "Why would you even invite them over?" Sun He groaned, undressing himself as fast as he could.
Gu Liwei stared at the naked man in front of him and he felt his hands itch. He stared as Sun He got inside the shower, his eyes fixated on the faint shadow. Gu Liwei looked down at the tent in front of him and sighed. He closed the bathroom door and once he felt calm enough headed back to the living room.
Sun He only remembered that it was his birthday when he saw the balloons all over the living room. His mother and sister were here, as were Tan Ling, Cao Zhiqiang, and Gu Liwei's parents, Wei Meihui and Gu Cheng. They sang him happy birthday and Gu Liwei was standing in the middle of the living room with a cake in his hands. Sun He looked at the happy smiles on his family's face and he felt like crying. He could not remember the last time that they all gathered to celebrate his birthday. The years prior, he would spend his birthday with his mother and sister in the morning, and then at night he would have dinner with Tang Jing and Cao Zhiqiang. Some years Tang Jing would not be able to attend because of his hectic schedule then Sun He would just have dinner with Cao Zhiqiang before heading to his apartment to Fang Cai. Sun He was happy. Everyone who was dear to him were here to celebrate his birthday. He blew on the candles in front of him, wishing for more years like this.
Gu Liwei had prepared a big lunch for his birthday. Sun He wondered how he could have slept through the whole morning, but feeling the slight pain behind him, he blushed. Sun He ate the longevity noodle to the cheers of everyone and almost choked trying to not laugh. After he was done eating it, his birthday lunch officially started. Everyone was eating happily and there did not seem to be any estrangement between any of them. Tang Jing was conversing with Auntie Gu and Auntie Wang, showing off his ring. Uncle Gu was discussing investments with Cao Zhiqiang and Gu Liwei. Sun Ya who was sitting next to Sun He leaned over and whispered, "He is a good one, isn't he?"
Sun He followed her sight to Gu Liwei and smiled. "Yes, he is."
Sun He helped Gu Liwei put the dishes in the dishwasher after everyone had left. He was overflowing with happiness. He thought of many words that he could use to express to Gu Liwei how happy he was and how grateful he was for everything, however only a few words fell out of his mouth. "Thank you."
Gu Liwei smiled before hugging Sun He from behind. "The day is not over yet. Do you want to open up your gifts now?"
Sun He nodded and followed him to the living room. Sun He had received some noise-cancelling headphones from Sun Ya, a set of fifty-nine pens from his mother, containing water-resistant ink and diverse sizes of pen tips. Cao Zhiqiang's gift was a leather-bound sketchpad with Sun He's name engraved at the bottom. Sun He smiled softly, really happy about all the gifts he had opened so far. He hesitated to open Tang Jing's gift in Gu Liwei's presence as he was sure it would probably be something outrageous. Sun He sighed dreadfully, slowly tearing the paper away, revealing a box. Sure enough, he thought.
Sun He's cheeks reddened at the sight of the complete set of sex toys. He put the box away quickly, ignoring the sound of Gu Liwei's laughter next to him. Sun He cursed Tang Jing lowly under his breath and opened up Uncle Gu's gift. The small box revealed a beautiful calligraphy set. Sun He was surprised. He remembered briefly speaking to Uncle Gu telling him that he had done a little bit of calligraphy when he was a teenager. Calligraphy was one of the ways Sun He had bonded with his father, however after his father had passed away, all of his calligraphy tools were put away to collect dust. Sun He had wanted to restart his hobby but had not had the chance to. Sun He felt his heart swell up and he swallowed with difficulty. Auntie Gu's gift filled up his heart even more and Sun He could feel his emotions bursting out. Auntie Gu had given him a collage picture frame of Gu Liwei from infancy to present. From the cute and cuddly Gu Liwei, to the rebellious teenager, every single photo that he had lingered for more than a minute on were right here before his eyes. Sun He's hand clenched on the frame but he quickly released his tight hold, fearing he would somehow damage the frame.
Droplets of tears fell on his face. Sun He looked at the droplet on his hand stunned. His mind was jumbled and his heart hurt. Sun He did not know how to express how he felt, however he knew he was happy. So painfully happy.
Gu Liwei wiped the tears off his face. Sun He looked up at him and saw the distressed look on his face and his heart skipped a beat. He no longer felt like opening the rest of his presents. Sun He put the frame on the living room table before pulling Gu Liwei towards him. Their eyes met and they simultaneously closed them, savoring the feeling of their lips' embrace.
When Sun He woke up, it was nighttime. Gu Liwei had moved him from the sofa to the bed and was lying right next to him. Sun He stared at the relaxed look on his face and could not bear waking him up. He got off the bed, grabbed a shirt at random before heading to the living room. The living room to his surprise was already cleaned and his gifts were neatly organized on the living room table. Sun He grabbed the picture frame that he had received and briefly thought about where he could hang it up. Remembering that they would be moving soon, Sun He sadly put the frame in the study room along with the presents he had gotten from his family and Cao Zhiqiang. Sun He resentfully put Tang Jing's gift in the guestroom, ignoring the fact that it had come handy a few hours prior.
The only gift left unopened was a very small box that Sun He guessed was from Gu Liwei. Inside the box was were three simple keys. Sun He was confused and stared at the keys for a long time, resisting his urge to go ask Gu Liwei what they meant. He put the keys back in the box and left the box on the living room table before he headed to the kitchen to make them dinner.
Gu Liwei was still not awake by the time Sun He finished cooking. Sun He was slightly worried but thinking of the big lunch that Gu Liwei had made for him, he sighed. Gu Liwei probably had to wake up early in order to make all those dishes, and considering they did not go to bed until three in the morning, he definitely did not get a lot of sleep. Sun He hesitated before waking him up. Gu Liwei looked at him drowsily.
"Dinner is getting cold." Sun He whispered softly.
Gu Liwei hummed before getting up and heading to the bathroom. After they ate dinner, Sun He finally dared to ask Gu Liwei what the keys were for. Gu Liwei smiled teasingly and looked at the time.
"How about you accompany me somewhere?"
Sun He looked at him confused, wondering what he was up to. He felt even more confused when Gu Liwei brought him to a new developed community. Sun He listened to Gu Liwei as he explained to him the various amenities in the community. According to Gu Liwei, there will be a gym, an outdoor pool, as well as a recreation center. Gu Liwei stopped in front of a modern building that was surrounded by trees.
"There are two apartments in this building, each with its own entrance and its own garage. Each apartment has about 5 rooms and 2 bathrooms, one bathroom being attached to the master bedroom. This unit is a little bit isolated from the rest of the community but it's quiet and you would rarely be disturbed by your neighbor."
Sun He finally looked at his surroundings excitedly. From what he could see in the dim light of the streetlights, this unit was probably worth a lot. Sun he could only hear the quietness of nature that is rarely found in City S. His eyes fell on the little garden in front of the unit and he could not wait to see the inside.
"Which one do you want to see?" Gu Liwei asked amused. "I have the keys to both."
Sun He stared at Gu Liwei, shocked. "How come?"
"My friend owns a few buildings in this community, and this unit happened to be one of them. When he heard I was looking for an apartment, he told me about this unit and left the keys with me after showing me around."
"We'll have to invite him out to thank him for this favor."
"Oh, you are finally ready to meet my friends?" Gu Liwei teased pulling Sun He towards the entrance of the downstairs apartment.
"I have always been ready. Who told you not to ask me to after that first time?"
Gu Liwei chuckled, his eyes twinkling. "Okay, I'll schedule something for the end of the month."
Sun He hummed, agreeing with his plan.