Chapter 3180: Camellia Tree Alley Bitter Summer 22

Wait for Chenshu to finish bathing and come back to Jin Chen's room, while drying his hair with a towel and walking over, he sees his little boyfriend lost in thought, holding a small box and sitting dazedly on the edge of the bed.

Chenshu walked a few steps closer, smiling, straddled Jin Chen's thighs, wrapped his arms around his shoulders, lowered his head to look at him, and the scorching heat of his breath fell entirely onto his lips, warm and moist, "Do you miss me a lot?"

Jin Chen stopped being dazed, his beautiful black eyes locking onto him, as if trying to make up for the missing amount of these seven days. He embraced Chenshu's waist, pulling him closer into his arms, then lifted his head to kiss him, urgently feeling the warmth belonging to lovers.

Chenshu held Jin Chen's lips, fingertips pressing on his shoulders, they kissed passionately for a while, then he let out a low pant.

Jin Chen was continuously kissed gently and tenderly by him, immersed in the affection given by his brother, and after a while, reluctantly he pulled away from his lips, forehead touching Chenshu's forehead, noses brushing, he whispered longingly, "Brother… I really miss you."

Chenshu looked at Jin Chen's eyes full of love, so beautiful that anyone would find it hard not to palpitate, thus he became uncontrollably, ardently moved by him. He lowered his head and kissed him again, his lips landing on the slightly protruding lip bead, lightly pressing.

Cicadas chirped one after another on the trees outside the window, buzzing the evening air and the lovers' hearts.

Once the kiss could somewhat relieve their longing, Chenshu couldn't pull away from Jin Chen's embrace, so he simply stayed in that posture, leaning in Jin Chen's arms to look at the small box on his pillow, quite curious, "What is this?"

Jin Chen lowered his gaze, as if just remembering this. He opened the box lid; inside lay a ring quietly, its band set with a gemstone that, when lit by the remaining glow from outside the window, refracted into specks of light. The style was a bit old-fashioned, but well maintained, showing the owner's cherishment of it.

Chenshu stared at the ring, for a moment lost in thought.

"I found it just now while rummaging through clothes…" Jin Chen paused, his expression again becoming somewhat bewildered, as if recalling a very distant memory.

But these years he has been taking medicine to suppress his condition; the side effects have made his memory not great in some aspects, especially regarding before age ten—those childhood fragments are like being shrouded in mist, hazy and indistinct.

He seemed a bit dazed, and after a while said, "My uncle said before he left that this is my mother's keepsake."

But he can hardly recall his parents' faces anymore; all that remains is an empty, aching longing whenever he thinks of them, like a wind blowing through an empty room, leaving nothing behind.

Chenshu felt a sourness in his heart; he had wanted to change the topic to something light, but saw Jin Chen take out the ring, lift his hand, and gently kiss his fingertip.

Jin Chen buried his side face in Chenshu's palm, lifted his eyes to look at him, dependent and at a loss, pleading yet hopeful, he gazed at him carefully and asked the question he feared would be refused, "Brother, can I give you this keepsake?"

Jin Chen's love was insatiable and greedy, more suffocating than the humid, muggy steam of late summer.

He was wicked and greedy, wanting to use everything to keep Chenshu by his side—even a ring, even a promise—wanting to give him all he could, so he would have a reason for the other to also leave his affection for him.

Chenshu came to his senses, suddenly laughed, "Sure."

He leaned into Jin Chen's embrace, reached out his hand, and let Jin Chen slip the ring onto his finger; the band was a bit small, but it fit just right on his ring finger. Chenshu turned the ring, lifted it to look, flexed his knuckles twice, and the diamond sparkled lightly with his movement.

A moment later, Chenshu's phone on the desk rang; he reached over to answer, and Wen Anhe's half-dead voice came from the earpiece, "I'm saying… you don't need to shower for over an hour, do you? I'm about to starve to death at your place!"

Chenshu chuckled, his hand slowly playing with Jin Chen's earlobe, "Sorry, I'll be right over."

He hung up and told Jin Chen, "Come to my place for a meal."

Jin Chen naturally nodded in agreement, but didn't forget to ask warily, "Is Wen Anhe a good friend?"

Chenshu held his hand, interlocking their fingers, pulling him close to his side, "Yes, he's the first good friend who knew I had a boyfriend."

He tilted his head, looking at Jin Chen's eyes, "Xiao Chen, can you accept having dinner with him?"

Jin Chen solemnly nodded: "Yes."

His impression of Wen Anhe only needed one sentence from Chenshu to jump from five points to forty—enough to share a meal together.

As Chenshu and Jin Chen just entered the door, they saw Wen Anhe standing before that sculpture, arms crossed, head tilted, admiring it.

Hearing the door sound, he turned his head, made an exaggerated expression, right hand over his chest, "Goodness! This is a work full of love! One can feel the emotion the creator poured into it—how delicate, how gentle, how…"

"Alright, alright." Chenshu cut him off, changed his shoes and entered, "You're getting sick from hunger, huh?"

Jin Chen felt a bit awkward, politely said, "Thank you."

Wen Anhe's eyes lit up, "Oh, you even say thanks? I thought Xiao Miusi would just stare at me coldly."

Jin Chen: "……" This person doesn't even understand social etiquette as well as he does.

On his way back, Chenshu bought vegetables, the bag holding fresh veggies and meat, plus a bag of flavored soy‑marinated snacks, the kind that goes well with beer in summer—not too spicy and without cilantro, so Jin Chen can eat it too.

Chenshu carried the vegetables to the kitchen; Wen Anhe enthusiastically greeted Jin Chen to come to the sofa, "Come on, come on, Xiao Miusi, have a seat—do you want to know what Chenshu's been up to at the academy?"

Jin Chen had been a bit uneasy, occasionally glancing toward the kitchen, but hearing that he immediately turned his head, earnestly staring at Wen Anhe, showing clear interest.

"Mm!" he nodded.

Jin Chen listened intently; he rarely heard Chenshu talk about his own past, but coming from Wen Anhe's mouth, those fragments became vivid, piecing together a Chenshu he had never seen—the energetic, high‑spirited Chenshu at the academy.

Jin Chen was so absorbed he even forgot to glance toward the kitchen.

When Chenshu had finished cooking several dishes and brought them out, he saw that Jin Chen, who usually dislikes talking to strangers, was chatting happily with Wen Anhe.

You should know, even when he first met Jin Chen, he had gone through several days of just exchanging greetings—like a wary black cat, keeping a safe distance, observing him, scrutinizing him, making sure he posed no threat before gradually drawing near.

And now, he's chatting this easily with someone he's barely known for half a day.

Chenshu felt a twinge of jealousy.

He laid the dishes on the table, set out the bowls and chopsticks, and called out, "Xiao Chen."

Jin Chen immediately turned his head, rose and walked to his side; Chenshu watched him approach, tilted his head up, and kissed him on the lips.

"Dinner's ready—first go toss the clothes I took off into the washing machine."

Jin Chen responded, obediently turned and did it, his steps a bit lighter than usual.

Wen Anhe sat on the sofa, witnessed the whole process, and made a meaningful "tsk tsk tsk" sound.

He rose from the sofa, walked to the table, pulled out a chair and sat down, teasingly looking at Chenshu, "Unbelievable, amazing!"

"But don't say it—this Xiao Miusi of yours is indeed interesting; he looks icy, but once you get talking he's pretty cute. And he really cares about you—I told him about your glorious deeds, and he listened without blinking."

Chenshu, while Jin Chen was away, reached his hand toward Wen Anhe.

"You know your stuff—take a look at how much this ring is worth."

Wen Anhe lowered his gaze to Chenshu's finger, "Eh… where did you get this?"

Wen Anhe pondered a few seconds, "If I'm not mistaken… this ring's value could buy you a decent apartment in the city center of Lofty City, at least several hundred thousand as a baseline."

Chenshu lowered his eyes to the ring on his hand, turned it, "Got it."

So, if this is Jin Chen's mother's keepsake, the uncle who, according to Jin Chen, once treated him well—how could he only give eighty thousand to let Zhang Jianguo's family raise the child, especially when Jin Chen still needed medication at the time? Is it that the uncle doesn't care about Jin Chen, or… that Jin Chen's aunt and uncle concealed the true amount?