Chapter 17
It must have rained during the night; even in the morning, the sky was still overcast.
A rapid knocking woke Jian Wu from his slumber. Half-asleep, he didn’t care who was beside him and just grabbed someone, ordering: “Go open the door.”
Song Shuci was slightly more awake, but not by much. He hadn’t slept well last night due to all the commotion and was still drowsy.
He blindly fumbled to get up, put on his slippers, and went to open the door. As soon as the door opened, he heard He Yong’s booming voice: “Good morning, Professor Song! I’ve brought you breakfast! I knew Teacher Jian would still be sleeping in!”
The straightforward Teacher He was too pure, clearly never suspecting Jian Wu and Song Shuci’s sexual orientation, and completely oblivious to the concept of “men should avoid physical contact.” After speaking, he walked in carrying baozi and practically bounced onto Jian Wu, his enthusiasm like a sun forcefully squeezing through the cloudy sky.
“Jian Ge! Wake up! Get up and eat baozi!”
Jian Wu was startled awake and met Song Shuci’s darkening expression behind He Yong.
Whether Song Shuci’s subtle expression stemmed from being woken up or something else, Jian Wu didn’t have time to think, nor did he want to.
But perhaps from being Song Shuci’s boyfriend for so long, he subconsciously felt guilty and hurriedly pushed He Yong off him.
“Jian Ge, you actually pushed me,” He Yong was deeply hurt and brought up the past, “You even dodged my hug last time, do you not want to be brothers with me anymore!?”
“Cough,” Jian Wu said, “Don’t get oil from the baozi on the bed, we’ll have to pay a cleaning fee.”
After making an excuse, he suddenly realized he was feeling guilty again. What was he feeling guilty about?
So, the rebellious Jian Wu pulled He Yong back and gave him a big hug: “Of course not, we’re definitely best friends!”
He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but after the hug, Song Shuci’s expression seemed even darker.
However, he didn’t have time to think about it, as He Yong suddenly exclaimed.
“Jian Ge!” He Yong pointed at Jian Wu’s clothes. “Your pajamas!”
Damn it!
How could he have forgotten!
Jian Wu’s heart skipped a beat, and he subconsciously exchanged glances with Song Shuci.
Last night, to prevent Ling Meng and the others from seeing their matching pajamas, they hadn’t opened the door. But sleepy this morning, neither of them had remembered.
They almost spoke simultaneously to explain.
Jian Wu: “Coincidentally wearing the same thing!”
Song Shuci: “He borrowed mine.”
“What?” He Yong looked confused. “What are you talking about?”
He looked at Jian Wu and Song Shuci, who were looking at each other, and said inexplicably: “I was just about to say, Jian Ge’s pajamas are so cute, I want to buy one too.”
Jian Wu, Song Shuci: “?”
So he hadn’t recognized them.
“Wait,” He Yong hadn’t looked closely at Song Shuci when he first entered. Since Song Shuci was half-hidden behind the door, he hadn’t paid attention to his clothes. Now, after hearing their unconvincing “explanations,” he suddenly realized, “Holy crap, why are you wearing matching pajamas?”
Jian Wu, Song Shuci: “…”
Wow.
Their performance just now was a textbook example of protesting too much.
Jian Wu counted on his fingers, his mind racing, trying to find an excuse to explain this away. But Song Shuci gave him a look that said “don’t act rashly.”
He looked back suspiciously, but Song Shuci’s gaze became even more determined.
“What are you two whispering about?” He Yong asked.
“Uh…” Jian Wu subconsciously looked at Song Shuci again, who shook his head slightly.
Having grown up together, they were experts at exchanging secret signals and glances. They had countless times cooperated in front of their parents and teachers, understanding each other’s meaning with just a look. So Jian Wu took the hint and chuckled: “Nothing, you’re mistaken.”
“Hmph, you two are wearing the same clothes without me,” He Yong, sulking, quickly consoled himself, “Alright, Jian Ge, send me the link, I want to buy the same one as you. The three of us will wear them together and make Ling Meng jealous, hahahahaha.”
He started laughing at his own words.
Jian Wu looked at Song Shuci in disbelief, as if to say: That works too?
Song Shuci slightly raised his chin, as if to say: See, I told you he would convince himself.
So this is what being naturally oblivious is like.
Jian Wu blankly opened his phone, searched for a similar style of pajamas, and sent the link to He Yong. The latter finally left happily, warmly reminding Jian Wu to remember to eat the baozi before leaving.
The door closed, leaving Jian Wu in a state of disarray.
“Your colleague is quite interesting,” Song Shuci commented leisurely while washing up.
Jian Wu: “Haha.”
“You’ve known him for so long, yet I understand him better than you do.” Song Shuci seemed to be comparing them. “Seems like you weren’t very sincere.”
“Shut up,” Jian Wu said in exasperation, “Hurry up and take off those pajamas, stop flaunting them around.”
He went to the bathroom first, took off his pajamas, put on a pair of light-colored wide-leg jeans, and changed into a T-shirt with Squidward’s world-weary face, with four large characters printed on the back: “Retire Early.”
As soon as he came out, Song Shuci commented: “What ugly clothes are those?”
Jian Wu retorted: “This is a limited edition collaboration, do you understand fashion?”
Song Shuci, finding it increasingly unbearable, frowned: “Can you throw away your cartoon clothes?”
During the years they were together, all of Jian Wu’s clothes were bought by Song Shuci. Choosing clothes for him was one of Song Shuci’s greatest joys. If anyone complimented his clothes, Song Shuci would proudly declare that he had chosen them, like a hardcore player of Love Nikki-Dress UP Queen.
To be fair, Jian Wu also admitted that Song Shuci had good taste.
The clothes Song Shuci picked always looked good on him, and they were of good quality and durable, so Jian Wu still kept many of the clothes he had chosen for him, leading to the previous awkward encounter in the elevator.
The only point of friction in their aesthetics was Jian Wu’s love for cartoon T-shirts, which Song Shuci found childish and disliked. They had argued about this many times.
If it were before, Jian Wu might have compromised. After all, it was just clothes, he didn’t care that much. But now–
“Mind your own business.”
After throwing down these harsh words, Jian Wu put on a black sports jacket, grabbed the baozi, and strode out of the room.
He arrived at the hotel restaurant and just happened to run into He Yong and Ling Meng, who were having breakfast together. They waved at him, and Jian Wu sat down with his baozi.
“Where’s Professor Song?” Ling Meng looked behind him, not seeing anyone, and added, “I heard you two shared a room last night.”
“Mm,” Jian Wu took a bite of his baozi, not wanting to talk about it, “I don’t know what he’s doing.”
“He Yong just said you two were wearing the same pajamas,” Ling Meng said with a subtle expression, “What’s going on?”
Others might not know, but she did. Song Shuci was a married man with children. This whole thing sounded too strange.
“I lent it to him,” Jian Wu said without changing his expression. “He forgot to bring his, and I happened to have an extra one, so I lent it to him.”
These words might not be very convincing coming from someone else, but coming from Jian Wu, it was a different story.
After all, Jian Wu was the kind of person who would buy seven identical cartoon T-shirts in rainbow colors and wear them for a week.
If he liked a piece of clothing, he would definitely buy a bunch of them, so he could change and wash them, saving himself the trouble of choosing clothes. If it weren’t for worrying about his students misunderstanding him as being sloppy and not changing his clothes, he probably wouldn’t even change the colors.
So it was perfectly normal for him to buy two identical sets of pajamas and accidentally pack both of them into his suitcase.
Seeing Ling Meng’s thoughtful expression, Jian Wu said helplessly: “What are you thinking about?”
“Nothing, I just think it’s something you would do,” Ling Meng said. “After all, there’s probably no one in the world with a messier wardrobe than you, it’s normal to take the wrong clothes.”
Jian Wu: “No personal attacks.”
“Not necessarily,” He Yong said sincerely, “My wardrobe is also quite messy.”
A wardrobe was a rather private item. Ling Meng and He Yong had only seen Jian Wu’s disastrous wardrobe when they helped him move. He Yong had always lived in City B and hadn’t moved, so they hadn’t had the chance to admire his wardrobe.
Unexpectedly receiving such righteous support, Jian Wu patted He Yong on the shoulder: “Good brother.”
“I can’t stand you two,” Ling Meng said, “Two young men in their prime, will you die if you dress up a little?”
“What’s the point of dressing up? Buying clothes costs money and time, and you have to organize them,” Jian Wu said.
“Exactly, it’s too much trouble,” He Yong quickly agreed. “Besides, Jian Ge is already handsome enough.”
Ling Meng ignored them: “Such a waste, what a waste of your face.”
“Hey, speaking of waste,” He Yong remembered, “We didn’t finish the skewers yesterday. It would be a waste not to eat them. And the pineapple and meat skewers, do you want some? I’ll reheat them.”
“Are they still good?” Jian Wu asked.
“Don’t worry, I put them in the hotel fridge last night.” He Yong was very enthusiastic about food. He quickly reheated the skewers and brought them over.
“I think they taste even better after being left overnight,” He Yong said happily, his mouth full, “More flavorful!”
The edges of the golden pineapple were grilled to a dark yellow, like a layer of caramel, paired with the cumin and pepper-covered meat, making them very appetizing.
Jian Wu even put aside his baozi and started eating the skewers one after another.
Just as he was enjoying the food, a voice suddenly came: “Eh? Professor Song!”
Jian Wu was startled, and the skewer fell back onto the tray.
Song Shuci had just come out of his room and arrived at the restaurant entrance. He Yong waved at him as if afraid he wouldn’t see them: “Professor Song! We’re over here!”
Ling Meng also greeted him with a smile: “We’re having breakfast.”
Seeing Song Shuci, the skewers in Jian Wu’s hand suddenly lost their appeal.
Noticing Song Shuci looking over, he quickly pushed the pineapple and meat skewers aside, trying to pretend nothing had happened, but Song Shuci still caught him.
Song Shuci, under He Yong and Ling Meng’s enthusiastic calls, sat down at their table and looked pointedly at Jian Wu: “Didn’t you say last night you weren’t eating pineapple and meat skewers anymore?”
The word “anymore” was subtly used, but fortunately, Ling Meng and He Yong didn’t notice.
He Yong’s focus was on: “How is that possible? This has always been Jian Ge’s favorite. Who told you he wasn’t eating it?”
“Yeah,” Ling Meng also said, “There aren’t many places that sell pineapple and meat skewers. Jian Wu finally found a place near the school and recommended it to us. We often go there for dinner.”
“Oh,” Song Shuci looked at Jian Wu and smiled, “Then I must have misheard.”
Jian Wu pretended nothing had happened and fiddled with his phone, trying to reduce his presence. However, the oblivious He Yong nudged him: “Eat, Jian Ge, why did you stop eating?”
Worried about wasting food, he handed Jian Wu a large bunch: “There’s still a lot left.”
“He doesn’t eat spicy food,” Song Shuci intercepted, “Give him the non-spicy ones.”
“Ah?” He Yong held the skewers and looked at Jian Wu in confusion, “Doesn’t Jian Ge love spicy food? We often have hot pot together.”
“Mm,” Song Shuci said, “He does like spicy food, but not with these skewers, because the chili affects the taste of the pineapple.”
After speaking, he deliberately sought Jian Wu’s agreement: “Right, Teacher Jian?”
Jian Wu: “…Ah, yes, yes, yes.”
The way he said it made it seem like he was being picky.
Seeing him agree, Song Shuci chuckled softly, seemingly very pleased.
He Yong and Ling Meng, having had so many barbecues with Jian Wu, hadn’t noticed this small detail. He Yong asked him, slightly displeased: “Why didn’t you tell us?”
“It’s not something worth mentioning,” Jian Wu said.
He Yong persisted: “Then why did you tell Professor Song?”
“…”
“Stop, stop.” Jian Wu made a pause gesture and put on an adorable, appeasing smile, “Don’t ask, let’s eat.”
When he smiled, the small mole on his cheek moved like a small butterfly. Song Shuci’s gaze fell on his face, his heart suddenly stirring.
He took a non-spicy pineapple and meat skewer and held it to Jian Wu’s lips: “Try it?”
“I–”
Jian Wu, just realizing what was happening, hadn’t even had time to say “no” when Song Shuci, taking advantage of the slight opening of his lips as he said “I,” fed the meaty end of the skewer into his mouth.
The distance he held it was just right, neither poking him nor giving him room to refuse.
He Yong and Ling Meng, watching: “Uh.”
Jian Wu, his mouth full, snatched the skewer from Song Shuci’s hand and mumbled: “Are you sick?”
Song Shuci elegantly wiped the grease from his hands with a tissue: “My kindness is being repaid with ingratitude.”
Jian Wu chewed and retorted: “I think you only have ingratitude, not kindness.”
The two onlookers, witnessing the two men bickering like elementary school students, fell into a brief silence.
