Chapter 7
After Song Shuci’s question, there were about ten seconds of silence. It was like a pause or slow-motion scene in a typical cheesy drama.
But Jian Wu felt that he and Song Shuci weren’t suited for melodrama.
So he looked up at the sky, refusing to admit he was nervous, and retorted to Song Shuci: “I’m naturally talkative.”
Song Shuci chuckled, seemingly mocking yet strangely intimate: “Don’t I know whether you’re naturally talkative or not?”
“There are many things you don’t know.”
“Like what?”
“Like–”
Jian Wu was about to speak when he caught sight of Zheng Yu, who had finished adding chili, walking towards them.
He abruptly stopped talking and looked in Zheng Yu’s direction. Song Shuci followed his gaze and tactfully stopped asking.
They both tacitly ceased their conversation, putting on welcoming smiles for Zheng Yu, like countless times in their childhood when they were caught whispering secrets by their parents.
Zheng Yu, suddenly faced with two similar smiling faces, froze for a moment, inexplicably shivering.
“Professor Song is still here?” Zheng Yu stood beside Jian Wu with the plate, rubbing the goosebumps on his arms.
Song Shuci hummed in agreement.
Although Zheng Yu didn’t know what was going on, he could sense the atmosphere had become awkward because of his arrival.
He tried to say something to ease the tension: “Do you two know each other? Your little expressions and mannerisms when you smile are so similar.”
He was just joking. After all, according to his understanding, Song Shuci had just returned to China, and Jian Wu had been working at the affiliated middle school for more than half a year. One studied medicine, the other taught biology, how could they know each other?
But the speaker had no intention, while the listeners took it to heart. The two exchanged glances and, suspiciously, said nothing.
Zheng Yu’s radar suddenly went off.
Before he could figure it out, Jian Wu excused himself: “I’m going to get something.”
Zheng Yu: “Ah?”
Seeing Jian Wu take off his gloves and prepare to leave, Song Shuci called out to him: “Teacher Jian!”
Jian Wu’s eyelashes fluttered slightly as he turned around. Zheng Yu also looked at Song Shuci.
This time, Song Shuci’s gaze was fixed on Jian Wu.
“Can I talk to you for a moment?” he asked politely.
Jian Wu’s refusal was incredibly blunt: “No.”
But after saying “no,” he didn’t immediately look away, but continued to look at Song Shuci, as if there was still room for negotiation.
Song Shuci pondered for a moment, then tentatively took a step forward.
“Professor Song,” Jian Wu’s gaze suddenly focused on Song Shuci’s neck. “Have you ever heard that people gulp when they’re nervous?”
Seeing Song Shuci touch his Adam’s apple as expected, Jian Wu, finally feeling vindicated, turned and walked away.
Leaving behind Song Shuci’s slightly exasperated words: “Do you have to be so vengeful?”
Zheng Yu’s gaze moved thoughtfully between the two, then he jogged over to Jian Wu with the plate: “Teacher Jian, I brought you some other things, not pineapple and meat skewers, do you want to eat something?”
Jian Wu didn’t speak. Receiving no response, Zheng Yu glanced at him and noticed that, under the cover of night, Jian Wu’s hands were trembling, his lips too.
It was already spring in April, and Jian Wu’s hoodie looked quite thick, so he couldn’t be cold.
This discovery made Zheng Yu look back at Song Shuci. The man was still standing there, silently watching them.
Not cold, then it must be anger.
He nodded amicably at Song Shuci, then turned back and patted Jian Wu on the shoulder: “Try it, this grilled eggplant is quite good.”
This time, Jian Wu softly thanked him.
But his voice seemed to tremble slightly.
“Are you alright?” Zheng Yu asked.
Sensing Zheng Yu’s concern, Jian Wu, who had been somewhat absent-minded, immediately forced a smile: “I’m fine.”
As if to prove he was normal, he reached out to take the eggplant Zheng Yu offered, but because his hand was shaking, the eggplant fell to the ground.
Zheng Yu: “Uh…”
Jian Wu picked up the eggplant with a deadpan expression and threw it into the nearby trash can. Zheng Yu handed him another one: “There’s more here.”
Jian Wu didn’t take the eggplant, but instead took an ear of corn from the small tray and took a large bite: “It’s okay, I don’t mind at all.”
“Mind… mind what?”
Jian Wu said firmly: “It’s fine if the eggplant fell, anything that can fall on its own isn’t anything good.”
Although he felt Jian Wu’s state wasn’t quite right, Zheng Yu still said honestly: “It didn’t fall on its own, you dropped it because you didn’t hold it steady.”
Jian Wu, inexplicably feeling targeted: “…Then it was too heavy.”
After finishing the corn, Jian Wu wiped his hands, took a deep breath, seemingly calming down a bit, then sincerely apologized to Zheng Yu: “By the way, Professor Zheng, there’s something I need to tell you. I just used you as a shield in front of Professor Song without your consent, saying I was pursuing you.”
The amount of information in this sentence was overwhelming. Zheng Yu was surprised, and also a little happy: “Professor Song? You’re pursuing me? Why?”
“I can’t tell you the reason for now, but in short, I’m very sorry. Is there anything I can do to compensate you?”
“It’s nothing, I don’t mind,” Zheng Yu said. “But did you two just… have an argument?”
Facing Zheng Yu’s curious gaze, Jian Wu sighed: “Not really an argument, maybe we’re just naturally incompatible. He angers me with his words, and I anger him with mine. We can’t communicate without bickering.”
“So you two really know each other?”
Jian Wu originally wanted to deny it, but he inexplicably remembered the messages he received from Song Shuci on his phone.
He was silent for a moment before saying: “I guess so.”
“I see.” Zheng Yu’s expression was subtle: “But…”
Jian Wu was looking for a trash bag to throw away the corn cob, and hearing this, he turned around and asked: “But what?”
“Just a friendly reminder,” Zheng Yu shook the pineapple and meat skewers in his hand and chuckled dryly, “According to tonight’s accommodation list, you two… seem to be sharing a room.”
Jian Wu was stunned.
He didn’t understand why two people who couldn’t even share a bed properly when they were together had to torture each other by sharing a room after breaking up.
Zheng Yu’s explanation was: “Previously, the number of men on our bus was odd, so we booked several standard rooms and one double bed room. We didn’t expect Professor Song to join at the last minute. The hotel was booked long ago, and because it’s peak tourist season, changing it now would cost a lot more.”
“So you let him take my double bed?”
Jian Wu remembered that they had even rolled dice in the group chat to decide who got the double bed room. In the end, Jian Wu, with the good luck of rolling a six, had won the privilege of having a room to himself. He hadn’t expected this happy event to turn into a disaster.
“Then…” Zheng Yu said with difficulty, “We can’t let Professor Song sleep on the streets, can we?”
Jian Wu said coldly: “I don’t mind.”
“Dean Ling specifically instructed us to make Professor Song, a young talent of our school, feel the warmth of our school.”
Jian Wu twitched the corner of his mouth. “Two people squeezing into one bed is indeed quite ‘warm’.”
He exclaimed in frustration: “Can’t he book another room himself?”
“That depends on Professor Song’s own wishes, but Teacher Jian…”
Zheng Yu hesitated, choosing his words carefully: “You only paid for half a room originally. You were given the double bed room before because of the odd number of people. Now, having you two share a room is just following the original rules.”
It seemed reasonable.
Jian Wu took a deep breath: “Does he know he’s sharing a room with me?”
“We haven’t informed Professor Song yet. We just told him that the rooms were booked in advance and couldn’t be changed, so he would need to share a double bed with someone else.”
“It’s fine, then I’ll book another room myself,” Jian Wu asked, “Which way is the hotel?”
Zheng Yu pointed in a direction. Just as Jian Wu was about to go, he reminded him: “Hey, Teacher Jian, didn’t you say you were going to get something?”
“Not anymore!”
With this urgent matter, what else could he get? Besides, he had made that up.
Jian Wu went straight to the hotel. Fifteen minutes later–
He stood dumbfounded at the hotel reception desk, silently taking two steps back.
Seriously?
The cheapest double bed room was 800 yuan a night. The money he saved on tickets and transportation by joining this activity wasn’t even this much.
As the old saying goes, you get what you pay for.
Jian Wu, his mind in turmoil, checked his phone balance under the hotel’s large screen. In the end, he decided that compared to having no money and having to share a bed with Song Shuci, having no money was definitely scarier.
What was he afraid of? It wasn’t like he had never shared a bed with Song Shuci before.
At worst, he could let Song Shuci sleep on the floor. Anyway, he wasn’t in a relationship, so he wasn’t afraid of misunderstandings.
Jian Wu quickly convinced himself and confidently prepared to return to the barbecue area, but he bumped into Song Shuci and He Yong in the hotel lobby.
He Yong was Jian Wu’s colleague, a physical education teacher at the affiliated middle school. They had a good relationship, and He Yong had also signed up for the social gathering, in the same group as Jian Wu.
Although he was a PE teacher, he had the advantage of not being hunched over a desk all day. His eyesight was incredibly sharp, 20/4 vision without glasses, making him a legend in the proctoring world of the affiliated middle school. Even the most unruly students had to honestly fill in their answer sheets when he was proctoring.
“Jian Ge!”
Teacher He spotted Jian Wu in the crowd at a glance. He was young, enthusiastic, and had a booming voice. His shout made even the passersby between them subconsciously quicken their pace, afraid of blocking their reunion.
However, just as the sunny and cheerful He Yong opened his arms, preparing for a hug, Jian Wu sidestepped, dodging the embrace and pushing him aside.
“Wait a minute, I have something to say to Professor Song.”
He Yong: “Mmph.”
Glancing at the dejected He Yong in the distance, Jian Wu, after confirming their conversation wouldn’t be overheard, said to Song Shuci: “There’s something I need to inform you about.”
Song Shuci pointedly looked at his watch: “Fifteen minutes ago, you rejected my invitation to talk.”
“Can I talk now?”
“Then invite me.”
“…” Jian Wu said, “I invite you to have a five-yuan chat with me.”
“Give me the money.”
“No cash.”
“Mobile payment is also fine.” Song Shuci opened his WeChat personal QR code.
“Not adding you.”
“Then this.” Song Shuci extended his hand, palm up, towards Jian Wu.
This was their childhood game, clapping hands instead of giving money.
Actually, Song Shuci found this gesture quite intimate.
Because of Newton’s third law, they would share the pain and experience in this moment, like some kind of deep connection.
But Jian Wu didn’t think that much about it.
He hesitated for a moment, then raised his hand, clapping and counting: “One, two, three, four, five, done!”
His palm still retained the burning and stinging sensation from the clap. Song Shuci withdrew his hand, his gaze falling on Jian Wu’s slightly anxious face, and softly asked: “What is it?”
Jian Wu also unconsciously rubbed his palm.
“You might not know yet, but we’re sharing a room tonight,” he emphasized, “A double bed room.”
Song Shuci raised an eyebrow slightly, clearly surprised. He paused and said: “So?”
“So,” Jian Wu gestured with both hands, “While there are still rooms available, please quickly go and book another one.”
“Why don’t you book one?”
Jian Wu was honest: “It’s expensive.”
“I don’t have money either.” Song Shuci said shamelessly.
Jian Wu gritted his teeth and lowered his voice: “Someone with a 500,000 annual salary lacks this little bit of money?”
“Mm,” Song Shuci lowered his voice to match him, infuriatingly saying, “Very much so.”
“You’re not lacking money, you’re lacking decency.” Jian Wu commented.
“You’re right,” Song Shuci smiled at him, “I’m really curious how Teacher Jian will feel sharing a room with me.”
Jian Wu lowered his eyes, took a deep breath, then looked at Song Shuci again, his voice suddenly turning cold: “Having a partner and sharing a room with your ex-boyfriend, isn’t that inappropriate?”
Song Shuci paused, then shamelessly changed his tune: “When did I say I have a partner?”
Jian Wu: “?”
“Oh, are you talking about my line ‘Why are you so certain I’m single’?” Song Shuci glanced at his expression. “If you put the emphasis on ‘why,’ as a general question, interpreting it as me being single isn’t wrong, is it?”
Jian Wu also realized: “You tricked me?”
Perhaps because he had finally cleared his name after the dirty water he had thrown on himself for the sake of testing Jian Wu, Song Shuci seemed very happy: “I didn’t.”
Jian Wu finally lost his patience, his expression annoyed: “Can you stop nitpicking and just say it straight, do you have a partner or not?”
“Do you care?”
“Are you going to tell me or not?”
“Generally speaking, besides my parents, only HR and my pursuers care about this question,” Song Shuci looked into his eyes, “Teacher Jian, which one are you?”
“None of them,” Jian Wu gritted his teeth, “I’m just afraid I’ll lose control and chop you up, and then someone will come looking for revenge.”
“You don’t have to worry about that, B City has good public security, the procuratorate will help me get justice.”
“Have you ever heard,” Jian Wu squeezed out through gritted teeth, “that a good ex should be like a dead person.”
“Heard it,” Song Shuci retorted, “But no one said a dead person can’t come back to life.”
Jian Wu didn’t expect him to bring up even superstitions to argue. He said weakly: “You’re a medical science researcher… can you be a little scientific?”
“Don’t you know the more experiments you do, the more you believe in fate and metaphysics?” Song Shuci said seriously, “Statistics show that praying to Buddha and gods is very common among researchers, perhaps even more so than ordinary people.”
Jian Wu: There’s no point talking to him.
Seeing them dawdle, He Yong finally lost his patience: “What are you two talking about? Are you done yet?”
After his loud question, he took a few steps closer, looking at them with confusion: “Jian Ge, we’re so close, is there anything I can’t hear?”
“It’s nothing,” Jian Wu put on a gentle, persuasive smile. “We’re talking about Approaching Science.”
Song Shuci added naturally: “–the episode about the ex who came back from the dead.”
He Yong: “Huh?”
