Chapter 31
In the kitchen, the young man expertly stir-fried the ingredients in the wok.
Several finished dishes were arranged on the coffee table, waiting for the last dish to be served. The aroma of chili peppers filled the entire room, even the cook couldn’t help but sniff, his mouth watering slightly.
The new tenant arrived just in time. As soon as Jian Wu finished the dry-fried green beans, a knock came at the door.
He didn’t even have time to take off his apron. He turned off the stove, tossed the spatula into the sink, and jogged to the door, greeting the person at the door warmly, “Hello, welcome–”
The smile froze on Jian Wu’s face before he could finish.
Song Shuci, carrying a large suitcase, stood at the door, looking him up and down, apron and all: “Are you cosplaying something?”
Jian Wu slammed the door shut and looked back at his wok.
He seriously considered whether he had cooked any mushrooms and was hallucinating.
But soon, reality proved it wasn’t a hallucination.
With a “thump,” Song Shuci’s hand pressed against the other side of the door, preventing it from closing.
“What?” Song Shuci poked his head through the gap, “Are you going to shut me out?”
Although Jian Wu had briefly forgiven him after learning that Song Shuci had come to give him a gift that night, it didn’t mean he wanted to see him so soon.
Jian Wu forced a smile and spoke through the gap: “Why are you here?”
“The way you’re talking, it’s as if I’m an uninvited guest.”
Jian Wu gritted his teeth: “Aren’t you?”
Song Shuci raised an eyebrow, “Didn’t you read the contract?”
Jian Wu asked cautiously: “What contract?”
“This apartment,” Song Shuci pointed inside, “I just rented it.”
Jian Wu: “?”
Faced with Jian Wu’s disbelief, Song Shuci took out a paper contract from his bag, flipped to the signature page, and showed it to Jian Wu: “Two copies, you should have one too.”
Jian Wu leaned closer to look. His and Song Shuci’s names were clearly signed on the contract.
His own signature was understandable, since he had given the signed contract to Lou Xi, but how did Song Shuci’s name get there?
He reached for the contract, but Song Shuci quickly pulled it back, “Sorry, I’m afraid you’ll tear it up.”
“…” Jian Wu: “You’re quite self-aware.”
“Of course.” He put his foot in the gap and continued to hold the door, asking, “So can I come in now?”
Jian Wu looked at his black leather shoes on his doormat and said with a sullen face: “You’re already in.”
He let go of the door, allowing Song Shuci to enter, and turned to get the contract from the dining table.
—Lou Xi had left his copy of the contract on the coffee table in the living room before leaving. Jian Wu hadn’t looked at it closely. He had just finished cooking and the dishes were hot, so he had used it to protect his coffee table.
Now, he pulled the papers out from under the steaming Maoxuewang and finally flipped to the signature page.
“See, I didn’t lie to you,” Song Shuci closed the door and stood by the entrance, not walking further inside.
“How did you find this place?” Jian Wu asked him, holding the contract.
“Fate,” Song Shuci said.
“I don’t believe you,” Jian Wu guessed, “Did you go look for Lou Xi?”
Song Shuci didn’t explain that he had just happened to run into Lou Xi, just said nonchalantly: “It’s also fate that I was able to find him among so many people in the same school.”
Jian Wu originally wanted to ask, weren’t you supposed to go back to America? But he swallowed the words. After all, they had only signed a three-month contract. It was perfectly normal for Song Shuci to take a three-month break before returning to America.
He dismissed the thought and suggested to Song Shuci, “There are many other good apartments nearby, I’ll return your money, you can find another place to live.”
“Sure,” Song Shuci said reasonably, “Then according to the contract, you have to compensate me for one month’s rent.”
“Song Shuci… don’t push it.”
Generally speaking, Jian Wu wasn’t a stingy person, but he couldn’t stand blatant rip-offs, like the sudden price hike at the hotel… and now Song Shuci’s exorbitant demand.
“I’m just following the contract, how is that pushing it?” Song Shuci said, “What, you’re allowed to disappear suddenly, but I’m not allowed to appear suddenly?”
Jian Wu knew he was referring to the fact that he had left home four years ago with only a breakup letter.
Jian Wu took a deep breath, “Anyway, no matter what, I definitely won’t let you live here.”
“You will,” Song Shuci’s tone was certain.
His inexplicable confidence amused Jian Wu, “Why?”
Song Shuci said: “I can pay more rent.”
Jian Wu scoffed: “Do you think I’m someone who would bow down for a few bucks?”
“An extra 2,000 yuan a month.”
Jian Wu’s hand, holding the contract, paused, “So you think you’re so great just because you have money.”
Song Shuci continued to raise the price: “5,000.”
Jian Wu pursed his lips, “That’s my monthly salary.”
“Then 20,000,” Song Shuci said readily, “Think about it?”
“…” For the first time, Jian Wu felt he might not be as righteous as he thought he was.
“50,000,” he held up five fingers at Song Shuci, intending to make him back down with the high price, “Not a penny less.”
Song Shuci looked at him: “Okay, deal.”
Jian Wu stared at Song Shuci’s mouth, dumbfounded, and mumbled: “Is it that easy to earn US dollars? Did I ask for too little?”
Song Shuci said reasonably: “It’s okay, you can raise the price again.”
He couldn’t raise it any higher, he was afraid he would be arrested for price gouging and disrupting the market.
He directly asked Song Shuci: “Are you willing to go bankrupt just to annoy me?”
“Mm,” Song Shuci smiled, it was unclear whether he was serious or just teasing him.
“Fine,” it wouldn’t hurt to earn some money from his ex, Jian Wu thought, nodding firmly, “If you want to live here that much, then fine, it’s only three months anyway, I won’t renew the contract after that.”
Song Shuci smiled politely: “Thank you, Teacher Jian. Which slippers are mine?”
“Find them yourself!”
As he spoke, he opened the balcony door. His voice was a bit loud and startled the parrot, which was singing on the balcony. The bird flew over angrily, intending to scold him, but suddenly saw the newcomer.
It landed on Jian Wu’s shoulder, took a few steps back, and tilted its head, cautiously sizing up Song Shuci, who was putting on slippers.
The man and bird stared at each other for a moment. Just as the new guest was about to greet it amicably, the bird, indiscriminately targeting anything in sight, squawked its classic line: “Idiot! Idiot!—”
Song Shuci: “?”
Seeing Song Shuci’s confused expression, Jian Wu, his plan succeeding, covered his mouth, unable to contain his laughter. He had never found his parrot’s cursing so pleasant, like music to his ears, refreshing his mind.
Seeing Song Shuci’s increasingly dark expression, he finally offered a kind reminder: “He’s shy with strangers, I suggest you introduce yourself.”
Song Shuci, without thinking too much, said his name. Soon, the parrot also changed its tune: “Song Shuci, idiot! Song Shuci, idiot!—”
Song Shuci’s expression finally cracked. He looked at Jian Wu, who was doubled over with laughter, pointed at the bird, and asked: “Did you teach him that?”
“I don’t have that kind of ability, he’s self-taught. Serves you right for annoying me.” Jian Wu caught his breath, wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes, extended his index finger, and let the parrot perch on it, “Let me introduce you, this is my new parrot, his name is… Jian Wenming.”
Song Shuci twitched the corner of his mouth, “You named him Wenming?”
[Translator’s note: “Wenming” means “civilized” or “well-mannered,”]
“Names are meant to express good wishes,” Jian Wu’s voice was still laced with laughter, “What, didn’t you see him when Lou Xi showed you the apartment?”
“I did,” Song Shuci said, “But he was on the balcony, I didn’t hear him talk.” He smiled and glanced at Jian Wenming, whose eyes had become fierce, and said pointedly, “He’s quite pleasing to the eye when he’s not talking.”
“Mm,” Jian Wu agreed, “Just like you.”
Song Shuci fell silent.
Jian Wu chuckled, feeling refreshed, and asked him: “Hey, did you see Wansui?”
“I did,” Song Shuci put his suitcase aside and walked towards the living room, “But I want to see him again.”
“Okay.” Jian Wu took a few steps forward, and the fish tank by the TV cabinet came into view.
“Wansui–”
Jian Wu called the tortoise swimming inside, and Wansui immediately crawled out.
“You built this?” Song Shuci looked at the decorations in the tank and the small ramp leading out of it.
Jian Wu picked up a small dried worm and held it to Wansui’s mouth: “Mm, I tried many times, this slope is just right for him to climb up and down without too much effort.”
Song Shuci took a few steps closer and also squatted down. Seeing the tortoise, which had grown even bigger, his expression softened. After a moment, he couldn’t help but call out: “Wansui, do you still remember Dad?”
The large tortoise silently turned its head away.
Song Shuci: “…”
“Seems like he doesn’t recognize you at all,” Jian Wu twisted the knife with glee.
Song Shuci said: “If you hadn’t taken him away, he wouldn’t be so indifferent to me.” He was clearly a little unhappy: “I was the one who brought him back from the pet market.”
“Alright, Song Shuci,” Jian Wu couldn’t help but chuckle, “Why are you so jealous?”
He said accusingly: “You were so busy back then, you couldn’t even take care of him. If I hadn’t taken him, he might not even be alive today.”
“Don’t twist the facts,” Song Shuci retorted, “If I had raised him, he might be even bigger now.”
They bickered like a divorced couple fighting for custody of their child. Jian Wu decided to use the classic “ask the child” tactic and said to Wansui: “Then choose yourself, who do you choose?”
Wansui crawled towards him without hesitation.
Seeing the heartbroken expression on Song Shuci’s face, Jian Wu’s mood brightened. He smiled, lifted Wansui onto his lap, and secretly fed him the dried worm he had used as bait, all while in Song Shuci’s blind spot. He pointed at Jian Wenming, then at Wansui, and said to the two pets: “You two are really giving me face today.”
Song Shuci turned to leave.
“Don’t go!” Jian Wu called out to him, “You haven’t paid yet!”
Song Shuci turned back with a resentful expression: “…”
Having had his fun, Jian Wu no longer found Song Shuci as annoying. He stopped joking, put Wansui back in the tank, stood up, patted his hands, and resumed his landlord demeanor: “Did Lou Xi show you the apartment?”
It was as if he had finally accepted his role as Song Shuci’s landlord.
Song Shuci said half-truthfully: “Not really.”
“You two really are…”
Jian Wu took out a bunch of keys from the drawer under the TV cabinet and showed him around:
“This is the living room, that’s the kitchen. The apartment is small, no dining room, I usually eat on the coffee table while watching TV.”
He walked towards the bathroom.
“There’s only one bathroom, we have to share. Everything else is negotiable,” he warned, “But you absolutely cannot fight me for the bathroom between 7:40 and 7:50 am on weekdays, or you’ll have to compensate me for my salary deduction if I’m late for work.”
“Okay,” Song Shuci said.
“As for cleaning, we used to do a whole-house cleaning together on an auspicious day when we both felt like it. Do you… have any objections?”
“No.”
Jian Wu, used to being argued with, was surprised: “Why are you suddenly so agreeable?”
“Mm,” Song Shuci said with a faint smile, “I figured some things out after you scolded me that day.”
Jian Wu didn’t believe him, “You figured things out just from being scolded?”
“Good students always listen to their teachers.”
“Oh,” Jian Wu deliberately provoked him, “I should have scolded you earlier.”
Song Shuci actually replied good-naturedly: “It’s not too late now.”
Jian Wu looked at him, his mood suddenly becoming complex.
“Can I ask you a question?” he suddenly said.
“Ask away.”
“There are so many apartments around here… why did you have to rent mine? Even if it’s to annoy me, it’s not worth spending so much money, right? Or did you really damage your brain from doing experiments?”
“What do you think?” Song Shuci asked.
“Here we go again,” Jian Wu rolled his eyes, “Who wants to play this guessing game with you.”
“Then ask again,” Song Shuci promised, “I definitely won’t use a rhetorical question this time.”
Jian Wu pursed his lips and fiddled with the keys in his hand.
“I remember at the airport, someone threatened me on the phone, saying if I dared to get on that plane, they would never come looking for me again.”
“Professor Song,” he used the formal address to maintain distance, “You came to the team-building activity to learn about B Medical University, you came to my birthday to deliver a gift for your parents, can you tell me, why are you here this time?”
After hearing Jian Wu’s question, Song Shuci suddenly looked down at him. Jian Wu didn’t avoid his gaze and looked back.
Jian Wenming, secretly observing the two who had suddenly fallen silent, perhaps feeling wary, started singing a love song off-key at the top of his lungs.
Song Shuci glanced at the noisy bird. Just as Jian Wu thought he was going to change the subject, the man suddenly smiled and looked back, saying unexpectedly:
“This time, it’s for you.”
