He Juan could no longer recall the last time he had ever had this much fun.

After a simple breakfast, he took Mu Yuze to go bowling. This was the first time Mu Yuze had ever done something like this, but he surprisingly got a knack for it. He had an excellent aim, only slightly stiff and uncoordinated because he was still unable to control his strength properly yet. But once he got the hang of it, he was literally undefeatable. It got to the point where He Juan only had to stay by the side and become his personal cheerleader everytime he achieved a strike.

Bang!

The pins fell down one after another like dominos after Mu Yuze threw a perfectly straight ball. The boy swiveled around, eyes bright and dazzling, as he demanded in a suppressed tone, "Did you see that."

"I did. Of course, I did!" It took every drop of He Juan’s willpower not to lift the boy into his arms and swung him around like a helicopter. How could someone be so adorable? It was practically illegal! Instead, He Juan settled on clapping to show his appreciation, smiling so wide that he was sure to have muscles cramp by the end of the day. "Xiao Ze is so awesome! Brilliant! So powerful! Even Gege can’t do it in one try!"

Mu Yuze let out a harrumph, feeling irked yet proud at the exaggerated praises. How he managed to showcase such emotions without even changing his expression was something that He Juan could not figure out.

After that, he went to play a few more rounds – all ended up in strikes – and almost broke the new record in the place before He Juan decided to call it a day.

"Look at you," he clicked his tongue once Mu Yuze timidly told him that he wanted to stay a little longer. He Juan pulled the boy closer to him and used his sleeve to wipe the sweat trickling down his fair cheeks, concerned and amused at the same time. "You’re sweating so much. Your body is not healthy yet so don’t overdo it, okay? If you want to play more, Gege will take you here again next time."

Mu Yuze pursed his lips tight, obediently staying still and let He Juan fuss on him. "...Okay."

"Good boy," He Juan praised in satisfaction, grinning. He took a new bottle of mineral water, twisted the cap open and offered it to Mu Yuze. "You must be thirsty. Here, drink more to replenish your energy."

Afraid that Mu Yuze would catch a cold, He Juan ended up buying a signature shirt from the bowling place and asked Mu Yuze to change out of his soaked sweater. After taking a break for a while, He Juan brought the boy out of the place.

"...Are we going home?" Mu Yuze asked gingerly as he fastened his seatbelt.

He Juan offered him a grin without answering.

Next, they went to the cinema.

Because Mu Yuze had never gone to a place like this, he ended up becoming so distracted by the LED posters along the hallway that he almost got swept away by the crowd. He Juan swore his heart stopped beating for a few seconds when he turned only to notice that Mu Yuze was missing. In the end, he insisted that they hold hands so that none of them would get lost and Mu Yuze could only comply with an extremely reluctant look, much to He Juan’s amusement.

For safety reasons, instead of buying only two tickets, He Juan had booked the whole theater just for the two of them. And of course, such a thing did not escape from Mu Yuze’s sharp eyes. "Why is there no one here?" He asked in confusion after seeing the empty theater.

He Juan shrugged casually. "Perhaps they all go to watch a different movie?"

Mu Yuze cast him a skeptical look. "...All of them?"

"All of them," He Juan nodded solemnly. He herded Mu Yuze to the best seat in the theater and sat himself down beside the boy, placing the huge bag of popcorn between them.

Judging from the glances Mu Yuze was sneaking at him, it looked like he had an inkling of what He Juan had done. He Juan resisted a sigh. Why was Mu Yuze so sharp at a time like this? It did not help either that instead of asking right to his face, Mu Yuze chose to stare at He Juan with such intense suspicion that it almost made He Juan fidget on his seat.

"Okay, okay," he barked out a helpless laugh and lightly flicked Mu Yuze on the forehead. Whatever should he do with the boy? "It’s not because of you, okay? It’s me. My occupation is... not suitable for me to appear in public so often."

Mu Yuze furrowed his brows. "But—"

He Juan could easily guess what he wanted to say. "I know," he shoved a piece of salty popcorn into Mu Yuze’s mouth, his eyes crinkling in smiles. "I ate together with you twice before, and there’s also today. That’s because I made prior preparation for it, Xiao Ze. Do you get it?" He thought it would be a suitable time to let Mu Yuze discover more about himself. If Mu Yuze were to ask him about it, he would certainly be willing to answer.

Alas, once again the boy did not act according to his expectation. He merely nodded and asked nothing more, despite the fact that he must have a lot of questions in his mind.

He Juan let out a soft chuckle. ’Stubborn little guy,’ he thought.

Just in time, the lights in the theater turned dim and the projector screen lit up. They did not talk again for the time being.

***

Coming out of the cinema, He Juan saw that the sky was getting dark and after confirming that Mu Yuze could still eat after all the popcorn he had consumed earlier, He Juan took him to eat a light dinner. He listened happily as Mu Yuze talked about the action-superhero movie they had watched earlier, his black-blue eyes sparkling akin to a cut of exquisite onyx bathed in the moonlight and a tiny smile was ever present on the corner of his lips.

Like this, He Juan could pretend for a moment that Mu Yuze had been living a perfectly normal life as a lively and cheerful boy, rather than a pitiful victim from years of domestic abuse.

After the satisfying dinner, they moved to the last destination for the night: pet shop.

Mu Yuze’s eyes were positively shining when they stepped through the door only to be welcomed with the adorable sights of little animals playing behind the display cases.

He Juan chuckled and ruffled his hair gently. "Let’s buy some supplies for Kitty, shall we? It looks like she’s going to give birth soon. It will not do good for her and her babies if she does it outside in such freezing weather."

"En!" Mu Yuze nodded firmly.

While Mu Yuze was engrossed in choosing the best and softest blanket for Kitty, He Juan’s phone buzzed with a new notification. He pulled it out to find a message from his subordinate, the one he had been waiting for all day long. [Boss, everything’s ready.]

He Juan smiled. Finally, he could give Mu Yuze his birthday present.