Mrs. Gu was the one most excited about holding a banquet for Gu Qingchi. Mr. Gu was taking care of all the arrangements, so she didn’t have to worry about a thing. She only needed to worry about what to wear at the banquet. She was a bit more troubled than usual this time around since she needed to pick out an outfit for Gu Qingchi.
Mrs. Gu seemed to take great pleasure in it.
She woke up early in the morning and began making phone calls to designers, stylists, and even some store managers from various stores that she frequented.
By the time Gu Qingchi woke up, there were already several rows of display racks in the living room, all of which were full of clothes. There were also rows of leather shoes and heels next to them. The stylist was off to the side sorting through boxes of ties and accessories.
Half of the clothes were menswear and half were womenswear. In the living room, a large mirror had been set up. Mrs. Gu was wearing a little dress, carefully sizing up the heels on her feet. Once she caught sight of Gu Qingchi, she enthusiastically began waving him over.
“Good boy, come quick! Come take a look! Which design do you like?”
Gu Xie had originally been reading the newspaper. Upon seeing Gu Qingchi, he put down the newspaper and brought him some breakfast. He’d just set the food down when Mrs. Gu began ushering Gu Qingchi. He then interrupted her.
“I’ll pick out my clothes first. I’ve already brought out breakfast. It’ll get cold if we let it sit.”
Mrs. Gu didn’t mind. She welcomed anyone who was willing.
In the past, Gu Xie had always picked out his outfit very quickly. It wouldn’t take more than two sets of clothing for him to make his pick.
However, this time, he held back his impatience. He put on whatever his mother wanted him to and changed into several different outfits. He kept this up until Gu Qingchi finished his breakfast. It was only then that he quickly and firmly pointed at the outfit he wanted. He’d even decided on the tie and cufflinks.
Mrs. Gu still wished to continue. She spoke rather regretfully.
“Is this the one you want? I think the top over there should be more form-fitting than this one.”
Gu Xie nodded.
“I like this one.”
Mrs. Gu didn’t nag at him for long. She soon turned her attention to Gu Qingchi.
Gu Qingchi’s sense of style was practically nonexistent.
If he must have a preference, it would be that he preferred clothing with many accessories and bright colors. Generally, he liked clothes with a lot of metal buttons or chains.
Gu Qingchi, however, was also very self-aware, so he never insisted on wearing any particular outfit. He would simply wear whatever he was told to wear.
Up until now, all the outfits he wore had been put together for him by someone else, but, even so, he was still capable of putting together the most indescribable clothing combinations known to man.
However, he has a good face, good proportions, and clothes tended to look good on him, so this tiny flaw of his wasn’t too obvious. He was capable of pulling off even the most indescribable set of clothing, so he’d always been well looked upon in the fashion industry.
It was rare for someone with such an extreme sense of style to be so favored by the fashion industry. It was to the extent that no gossip account or marketing account would be willing to complain about his clothing. If the fashion representatives of the entertainment industry were to be named, Gu Qingchi was sure to be mentioned. He basically managed to establish himself as a fashion icon through his face alone.
Gu Qingchi, well aware of his own abilities, handed over the choice of outfit to Mrs. Gu. He was not going to be like Gu Xie, casually picking out an outfit and refusing to switch.
He listened to Mrs. Gu, doing whatever she said. He was the very image of an outfit changing robot.
Gu Qingchi didn’t feel too tired from all the clothes changing. On the contrary, Mrs. Gu ended up feeling distressed on his behalf. He spent twenty minutes trying on different clothes before they quickly settled on an outfit.
Gu Qingchi wasn’t as broad-shouldered as Gu Xie and Mr. Gu. In comparison to his father and older brother, he seemed a bit more slender. He could wear a suit like Gu Xie’s. However, he was also suited to suits for individuals that were tall in stature but not quite yet an adult in build.
There were many more designs for the latter, and they also looked a lot better. The suit that they ended up settling on was of this style. It was tuxedo-like, shorter in the front, highlighting the waist, and longer in the back.
“This outfit is for the banquet. I’ll put it away for you for now. The other clothes are also pretty nice. I’ll put them in the cloakroom for you to wear later.”
There wasn’t just formal wear. There were also a lot of casual clothes which were suitable for young people. Mrs. Gu also picked out quite a few of those clothes.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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Mrs. Gu went on to pick out her heels. She just never seemed to tire of this sort of thing. Gu Qingchi was on the sofa behind her, sucking on a lollipop. He was chatting with Xie Luyu. He knew the date of the banquet, so he sent an invitation to Xie Luyu.
[I’m picking out an outfit. I just finished.]
[What’s the design? Show me. When the time comes, we can be a match.]
Gu Qingchi took a photo of the clothes that were set aside for him.
Xie Luyu let him know that he got the photo.
Gu Qingchi continued typing.
[I want to get a tattoo.]
Xie Luyu didn’t ask why.
[When do you want to get the tattoo?]
[I want to get one now.]
Xie Luyu took quite a while before replying.
[I know a place. It’s very clean, and the tattoo artist is very skilled. His appointments have been booked all the way up until the end of the year, but he owes me a favor. He says he can clear out some time for us right now.
I’m coming to pick you up now. Once you finish getting the tattoo, we can go out for lunch. The tattoo parlor is close to this hotpot restaurant. It’s the one you mentioned wanting to go to.]
Gu Qingchi bit down on his lollipop. He turned his head and mumbled to Mrs. Gu.
“Mom, I’m going out for a bit at noon.”
⁂
Xie Luyu deliberately wore the same style of outfit as Gu Qingchi. He wore a fancy denim jacket with a t-shirt underneath it, just like Gu Qingchi. He also added a pair of sunglasses and a silver necklace to his outfit.
He also wore two metal rings on his hands, one on his index finger and one on his ring finger. It didn’t have any meaning to it. He’d only thrown them on because they looked good.
The location of the tattoo shop was rather out of the way. The street it was on was called the intersection. The intersection wasn’t very popular, known only to locals. They all referred to it as “the intersection over there”, and, eventually, it came to be known as just “the intersection”.
The shops along the intersection were all quite old-fashioned. There was even a record store open with foreign rock bands from over ten years ago plastered on the door. This street had once been a popular gathering spot for young people.
Now, there were more shops than there were people, and the shops were only still there out of an attachment to the area.
Not many people were around and the car was stopped right in front of the shop, only ten some meters away from the door, so Gu Qingchi decided to forego the disguise. Xie Luyu also had his sunglasses in his hand instead of on his face. He held hands with Gu Qingchi, casually hooking the sunglasses on his shirt collar.
Once they entered the shop, everything went dark.
A young man with brightly dyed hair was at the front desk. He whistled when he saw them.
“The boss is inside. He said that you guys can head on in.”
There was a man further inside the shop, an unlit cigarette in his mouth. He was organizing his things. His tools were placed on the table. Upon seeing Xie Luyu and Gu Qingchi, he raised his head and put down the cigarette.
“You’re here.”
Xie Luyu had Gu Qingchi sit down.
“Yep. This is my lover. He wants a tattoo.”
The man nodded.
“Where do you want to get the tattoo?”
Gu Qingchi held out his arm and took off his watch.
There were several scars along his wrist. They looked rather startling against his skin.
The man took a glance. He didn’t ask any further. He simply nodded to express that he understood.
“Wrists are easy to tattoo. What would you like tattooed there?”
Gu Qingchi had already decided on what he wanted tattooed.
He smiled, somewhat embarrassed, and pulled up a chibi drawing that he’d worked really hard on. Unfortunately, the nicest thing that could be said about it was that he’d worked hard on it.
The chibi was sitting on the ground, big fat tears rolling down his face.
“I’ll get a tattoo of this.”
The tattoo artist raised an eyebrow.
“Did you draw that yourself? It’s a pretty chubby drawing.”
Gu Qingchi nodded. He then hesitantly glanced at Xie Luyu.
“Is it?”
The tattoo artist also turned to look at Xie Luyu.
Xie Luyu sat off to the side, his chin resting upon the back of the chair. He hadn’t quite caught up with the situation.
He was still stretching his neck to see the drawing. His opinion of the drawing was clearly biased.
“It wouldn’t be cute if it wasn’t chubby. It’s good to be chubby.”
Xie Luyu turned to look at Gu Qingchi.
Gu Qingchi’s eyes curved.
He’d drawn this based off of Xie Luyu. Xie Luyu was always the first to cry whenever he got hurt. Gu Qingchi was clearly the one who’d gotten hurt, but Xie Luyu was always the one who cried the most.
Xie Luyu was very cute when he cried, but Gu Qingchi didn’t want him to cry again.
He wanted to have him tattooed so that, if he were to ever pick up the knife again, he would see his crying image.
Xie Luyu belatedly came to the realization. Gu Qingchi wanted to tattoo his image on his wrist.
He looked at Gu Qingchi, his eyes wet. He was like a big golden retriever that wanted hugs from his owner.
Gu Qingchi reached out and caressed his hair, confused.
“What’s wrong? Aren’t you happy? I thought you would be happier.”
Xie Luyu nodded. He then shook his head again.
“I’m afraid you’ll be in pain.”
Gu Qingchi believed him. He stroked his hair to comfort him.
“I’ve already looked it up. It doesn’t hurt.”
Xie Luyu nodded, stretched out his hand to hold Gu Qingchi’s hand, squeezed it carefully, and hummed.
How could he be happy?
Gu Qingchi may have chosen a design related to him for the tattoo that would accompany him from here on out, but Xie Luyu still could not bring himself to cheer up.
He couldn’t help but feel upset every time this matter was brought up. How could he possibly cheer up?
It started with pain, and it would end with pain. Gu Qingchi shouldn’t have had to go through this.
The tattoo artist coughed, breaking up the somewhat heavy atmosphere.
“It’s definitely cuter if it’s chubbier. It’ll also be able to cover everything if it’s chubby.”
He gestured at the scars.
It took less than two hours to complete the tattoo, and it was then wrapped in plastic wrap.
Night had already fallen by the time he returned home.
Mrs. Gu instantly caught sight of his wrist.
“What’s wrong with my little boy’s wrist?”
Gu Qingchi calmly held out his hand and showed Mrs. Gu.
“Mom, I got a small tattoo.”
He then spoke somewhat apologetically.
“I really wanted to get the tattoo, so I didn’t say anything beforehand.”
Mrs. Gu carefully held Gu Qingchi’s wrist.
Mr. Gu and Gu Xie also came up to him.
Mrs. Gu suddenly realized that Gu Qingchi had already grown up. He was no longer the baby that she could swaddle in her arms and protect from all harm.
He was at an age in which he could get tattoos by himself. Mrs. Gu needed to raise her head in order to meet his eyes.
Mrs. Gu carefully took in Gu Qingchi’s wrist.
Gu Qingchi’s arm was white and pale. Only the wrist stood out.
Mrs. Gu looked a little sad. She wasn’t just sad about her little boy having grown up. She was even more sad about the scars that had been running up and down her little boy’s wrist. Her little boy had originally been fine. His wrists had originally been so pale and unblemished, but, now, it had become scarred.
“Good boy, did it hurt?”
Gu Qingchi shook his head. Mrs. Gu was still a little unbelieving. She spoke softly.
“Next time, you have to tell me in advance. If my good boy wants it, Mom will definitely agree. Mom will find the best tattoo artist for you. I promise it won’t hurt at all.”
This is so cute but so sad at the same time. Ugh my heart, it’s so confused. 💔🤧
+1 🥹
Confused heart +1 :’DD
😭😭😭😭
Thanks for the chapter ❤
😭😭😭 Agreed with the rest of the comments. Am happy but also sad for them 😔
Thank you for the update ❤️💯
The moment when he got the tattoo was so sweet yet heartbreaking. Good boy deserves only happiness from now on.
Thank you for the chapter!
I can’t help but tearing up a little~ TTwTT
Thank You for the new chapter ( ˘ ³˘)♥
My darling… I just want you to be happy…. Always.. and forever… 😘 we love you..
A family member did something similar with a tattoo on their arm when they were going through a rough patch mental health wise. They are doing much better now, but it was a reminder “to hold on” until they could talk to someone. This is really beautifully done.
Thx for the ch (ㅅ˘ㅂ˘)