Chapter 24 – Take it easy, Hunter

Editor: Sammy

Proofreader: Bubbles

Nearly every passerby couldn’t help but look in Winston’s direction.

Hunter lamented. Some people were just like this when even their silence radiated a natural light.

The phone in Hunter’s pocket vibrated and he fished it out to take a look. It was a message from Winston: [I’m waiting for you below the London Eye.]

As his lips lifted and broke into a smile, Hunter thought of a mischievous idea at once. Rather than answering Winston’s message, he remained standing at his original spot, wanting to see how long it took the other to notice that he was there.

The moment Winston lifted his head, a couple of girls gleefully covered their mouths as they watched him leave.

Hunter believed he’d notice him, but who would’ve thought that he’d unexpectedly turn away.

Hunter instantaneously thought of something else. Taking out his phone, he kneeled down and took a picture of Winston and the ferris wheel.

Roughly hearing a clicking sound, Winston finally turned his head over.

“You’re late? Yet even dared to stealthily take a picture of me?”

Winston unhurriedly moved towards him. Hunter was still crouching in his original spot and surrendered his phone. “If I really can’t take a picture, then you can delete it.”

“You can keep it.”

Winston then jerked his head, indicating for them to go queue up.

At this moment, Hunter was in a predicament.

Winston was clearly a man of few words. As they had to stay in the cabin for 30 minutes, he wasn’t confident that the two of them had much to talk about aside from enjoying the scenery.

More importantly, the visitors here were either families or couples, so Winston and him, these two grown men, sitting on a ferris wheel was truly a little weird.

Hunter regretted why he’d previously mentioned wanting to ride the London Eye even more. Dining together and watching some opera was good enough!

Hold on… Dining while watching opera seemed to sound very strange?

Luckily, each cabin could take about 20 people. Some visitors had children noisily chirping and buzzing, making it less awkward.

Winston sat beside Hunter who gazed out the window at River Thames.

“It’s quite pretty.” Hunter nodded.

But in fact, even if the scenery was much more beautiful, he’d still feel sleepy after looking at it for over ten seconds.

“Someone told me that after the race ended, you drove back and cried.”

Winston’s voice was very close due to the children excitedly chattering about in the cabin; he had no choice but to lean towards Hunter so he could clearly hear what he had to say.

“I didn’t cry, I just sweat a lot.”

In the end, which scoundrel would dare say it!

He must beat the other up!

“Actually, it’s normal for the results in Formula One to fluctuate.”

“Are you consoling me?” Hunter unwillingly questioned.

“You don’t need my consolation.”

“Why?”

Didn’t you hear that I cried?

“If you hadn’t met me, you would’ve been quite satisfied and proud of being able to achieve such despite your predicament… Since you’ve got an even higher goal now, why would I console you?”

Hunter observed Winston, and at that moment, the sense of regret after finishing the race suddenly rushed forth, souring his eyes once more, but he could only hurriedly shift his face away.

“I didn’t know that you were such a narcissist.” Hunter faced back towards River Thames.

“Isn’t it you who’s allowing me to be so narcissistic?”

“…I thought that I was getting closer to you. You’ve beaten the ‘Great White Shark’ Ciel, yet I’ve fallen from sixth to eighth. It feels like I’m getting further and further away.”

“But I wish that on the track, the harder you strive to chase, the further away you’ll be from me.”

“Why!” Hunter turned back, feeling a little furious, only to realise that Winston had been watching him since the start.

“Because I want to always be chased by you.” Winston’s voice sounded so light, as if it would break when touched.

Hunter became aware that he seemed to be afraid whenever this man spoke with such a tone, as if… he’d already lost before he could even begin fighting.

He secretly took a breath. Don’t overdo it.

Unknowingly, the ride had reached its peak where both the river and the sky interweaved together, creating an indistinguishable boundary.

Everything was tiny, yet the world was infinitely vast.

“Hey, Winston… since you and I have reached the peak, shouldn’t you say something and leave me with an impression of a memorable moment?” Hunter spoke half-jokingly.

“Then what do you want to hear?”

“Didn’t you graduate from Eton College? How about showing me a nobleman’s temperament?” Hunter flashed a big smile.

Winston remained silent, but Hunter didn’t feel sorry.

After all, it could be considered a miracle for this guy to accompany him on a ferris wheel.

When the cabin started to descend, a cool voice broke apart from the chatters of the visitors and flowed to Hunter’s ears.

“Had I the heavens’ embroidered cloths, enwrought with golden and silver light, the blue and the dim and the dark cloths, of night and light and the half-light, I would spread the cloths under your feet.”¹[1] Aedh wishes for the Cloths of Heaven – A poem by William Butler Yeats

Winston’s voice sounded so close, yet so far.

Hunter turned around in surprise.

Winston had recited a poem just because he’d joked about having him display a little of his noble temperament.

Hunter had always supposed that if someone ever recited a poem for him, he’d definitely find it pretentious but also hilarious. And yet of all the people, it just so happened to be Winston.

He possessed a sort of expression that was so indifferent. He hadn’t thought of wanting to please anyone, and simply did it just because Hunter wanted him to do it.

From his voice, both River Thames and the heavens seemed to have turned into Hunter’s cloth.

“But I, being poor, have only my dreams… I have spread my dreams under your feet.”

Winston moved slightly towards Hunter who wanted to shift his sight away, but his purview was in Winston’s sphere. He couldn’t evade him no matter how he tried.

There were so many things inside that he couldn’t understand.

Too deep, too wide… and too far.

“Take it easy, Hunter. Because my dreams are supporting you from beneath your feet.”

It was akin to an extremely reluctant sigh.

For the first time, a peculiar feeling arose within Hunter; he strolled in the fundus of Winston Vann’s eye, every step was carefully watched by the other, until he reached the deepest depths.

But he abruptly returned to his senses when a child made a sound.

“Hey… What’s this? Who wrote this?”

“Is that really important? You wouldn’t know who it was anyway, even if I told you,” Winston softly spoke.

“If you don’t want to say it, then don’t.” Hunter discontentedly snorted.

He then realised that two female university students were looking at them while secretly laughing with their hands covering their mouths.

Hunter passed his phone to the other side and asked, “Hey, could you help take a picture of my friend and I?”

“Of course!”

Hunter flashed a peace sign with his fingers and jabbed Winston with his arm. “Don’t you dare put on an expression that looks like the London Eye is falling.”

He meant to give face in any case and smile.

Just as the other side was about to tap on the capture button, Hunter felt someone holding his shoulder. He subconsciously looked at the man beside him and discovered that the other had actually smiled.

Hunter only reacted to it when the click sounded.

Winston had already put down his hands. Facing the girls, he bowed his head and after saying thanks, he retrieved Hunter’s phone.

He glanced at the picture and returned it to Hunter. “You should be satisfied.”

Hunter lowered his head and noticed that a shallow-smiling Winston had a hand around him while staring at the camera lens; he, on the other hand, was looking at Winston’s profile.

The fuck was with this tender-heartedness? Those who didn’t know would think that he was so in love with this guy who was cold and indifferent most of the time. What ‘the years are peaceful, but forever’?²Derived from ‘那天，阳光明媚，岁月静好’, which roughly means ‘on that day, the weather was fine, the sun was shining and life is peaceful’

Goosebumps were about to rise.

“I want to delete and retake! Those who don’t know will assume that I’m having an affair with you!”

“If you want to retake, retake it yourself,” Winston replied indifferently.

Hunter’s finger hovered over the ‘delete’ button, and after hesitating for three seconds, he decided to forget about it…

Even though his expression would give others goosebumps, he might be the only one who had Winston’s smile?

It might fetch a good price if I sell it to the media!

“If you dare scheme to sell my picture, I’ll make sure to rip off little Hunter.”

Fuck! How did you know what I was thinking?

Hunter widened his eyes.

“It looks like you’re really considering selling it.” Winston’s eyebrows seemed as if they wanted to stir up.

“How could that be! I’m just curious why you’d think that way!”

“Because you’ve previously done such a thing before.”

“Previously? You can’t be referring to the previous life again right?”

“Mm.”

“Fine, I must’ve been an idiot in the previous life.”

They returned to the ground as the ferris wheel completed one round. The two of them exited with the other visitors.

Hunter smiled while asking, “Then are we still going to the Tower of London?”

“We already went. Where do you want to go after the Grand Prix next year?”

This sentence inexplicably lifted up Hunter’s mood.

It meant that Winston believed Hunter would still be in Formula One, to top it off, he’d even accompany him to the places he wanted to visit.

The two of them walked through the streets of London and occasionally spotted some scenic areas.

Lunch was at a restaurant that Winston had chosen.

Hunter assumed that this guy was so pretentious that the restaurant they’d go to would definitely be high end, he never expected that he’d just take him to a small restaurant in a corner.

There was a row of old stores just right by the window, with a gothic church roof pointed towards the sky.

Hunter propped up his chin while gazing out of the window. “Did you pick this place based on the scenery?”

“It’s because the steak here is the best I’ve ever eaten,” Winston replied.

“Huh? I thought that you’d prefer those Michelin-starred restaurants more?”

Even if delicious was delicious, those restaurants had too many etiquettes and lacked the casual sense of freedom.

“Also, I like watching you sit in a bright place.”

If other guys were to say these kinds of words, it would feel somewhat unreasonable and funny, but it felt justified when Winston said it, just like when he casually recited a poem.

–

The author has something to say:

When frying eggs:

Hunter: Say, if I’d truly sold your picture, would you really rip off little Hunter?

Winston: You also did that in the previous life, didn’t it still hang there well?

Hunter: You scared the shit out of me…

Winston: Furthermore, I quite like to play with it.

Hunter: …

–

[1] Aedh wishes for the Cloths of Heaven – A poem by William Butler Yeats

[2] Derived from ‘那天，阳光明媚，岁月静好’, which roughly means ‘on that day, the weather was fine, the sun was shining and life is peaceful’

nura: so sorry for the long delay for this chapter! hoped ya’ll enjoyed this one <3

• 1
  [1] Aedh wishes for the Cloths of Heaven – A poem by William Butler Yeats
• 2
  Derived from ‘那天，阳光明媚，岁月静好’, which roughly means ‘on that day, the weather was fine, the sun was shining and life is peaceful’