Translated by Eve
Edited by Kara
Although Song Xuanhe already knew that Zhou Rong was going to come looking for him, he hadn"t expected him to come so soon. Yesterday, Song Jiani had just warned him to be careful of Zhou Rong. Today, Zhou Rong called that morning.
When his phone rang, Song Xuanhe acted like he hadn"t seen the contact name. He picked up the call and spoke into the receiver in the languid tone of someone who had yet to completely wake up. “Who is it?”
The other person paused for a moment before laughing. “Brother, I only left for half a year. You already deleted me as a contact?”
Song Xuanhe"s voice was tinged with impatience. “Your name.”
The bright voice darkened, but it still held a smile. “It"s me, Zhou Rong.”
Song Xuanhe rubbed his eyes that were teary from his yawn, his face void of expression. His voice was flat. “Zhou Rong?”
“Yeah.” Zhou Rong"s laugh came through the phone. His voice then lowered slightly. “After spending some time outside, I came back to discover that so many things had changed. And Chao er…I hadn"t expected to be unable to find people I know after coming back. I can only look for you to have a drink with. Are you free tonight? Let"s go drinking.”
“Okay.” Song Xuanhe agreed, sounding happy. However, there was no expression on his face as he said this. “Pick a place and let me know when.”
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“A good friend.” Zhou Rong"s laugh was bright. “I only have you in the Capital now. We"re not going home until we"re drunk tonight.”
Song Xuanhe: “Remember to send me the location.”
After hanging up, Song Xuanhe yawned again. He then headed downstairs, looking exhausted. He searched his kitchen for a moment and discovered that there were only fruits and a few drinks in his fridge. The drinks had been bought when Xiao Yuanmu had still lived here. Song Xuanhe casually glanced at the interior of his fridge before grabbing an apple. He washed it and then took a bite. He then sat down at the table, slowly waiting for his brain to wake up.
A few minutes later, his mind finally cleared up. However, before he could think about how to deal with Zhou Rong, the image of Xiao Yuanmu sitting in front of him and eating in an unhurried manner appeared in his head.
Xiao Yuanmu ate in the way that you would expect from him, based on his personality. He didn"t show any expression and ate at an unhurried pace. Song Xuanhe had never been able to tell whether the other thought something was delicious or not from his face. It was almost like the other"s chopsticks had a measuring function: every time he picked up food, it was always more-or-less the same amount.
Back then, Song Xuanhe would occasionally think about how he had heard that chefs don"t like to eat the food they cooked. That was because they would feel full just from the process of cooking. He had wondered if Xiao Yuanmu was also like this. Otherwise, why would Xiao Yuanmu always eat so little? Furthermore, Xiao Yuanmu always liked to watch him eat when he himself was done eating as if, as the chef, watching the other eat would satisfy him.
But, Song Xuanhe didn"t believe that Xiao Yuanmu was the type to be satisfied by just that. After all, from what he knew, Xiao Yuanmu wasn"t the type of person to feel accomplished upon seeing other people feel content.
Back then, he had been curious to figure out what differences there were between the book Xiao Yuanmu and his real self. The curiosity had led him to gradually pay attention to each and every one of Xiao Yuanmu"s actions, from his posture while eating to how he looked while working or reading. As he had observed the other, he slowly and unwittingly discovered many little habits that other people would have had difficulty noticing.
For example, Xiao Yuanmu hated fish. He even hated cooking fish. Every time he cooked fish, he would stand about three centimetres further away from the counter than usual. Furthermore, he never ate the fish dishes he made. However, he really liked to eat vegetables. It didn"t matter what vegetable it was—he would even eat bitter melon with gusto. He would usually eat a few more bites of vegetables compared to meat.
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Another example was that Xiao Yuanmu had a habit of gently rubbing a finger over a book"s page when he read. The slower the action was, the more interested he was in the book.
His eyes also lit up when he was happy. It would look like his eyes were full of stars. Even if he didn"t smile, Song Xuanhe would be able to tell that he was really happy.
Also, for some baffling reason, he was really disliked by small animals. Meanwhile, he really liked them. He had even brought the puppy Song Xuanhe had picked up at the orphanage gate with him to America.
Another example was that his jaw would tense when he was unhappy. When he was angry, his Adam"s apple would bob slightly. When he was losing his patience, his fingers would tap against something. When he was sad, he would ignore other people. And…he would go through h.e.l.l to keep up appearances. Even if he wasn"t feeling well to the point of breaking out into a cold sweat, he would not reveal any of it to outsiders.
It was only after Xiao Yuanmu had left that Song Xuanhe had suddenly realized how well he actually understood Xiao Yuanmu.
【You"re going to see Zhou Rong!】The System"s voice suddenly chimed：【Actually, you don"t have to follow the plot for this kind of thing. You can completely avoid it. You can invite him out some other time. As long as you two meet, it will be considered completed.】
Song Xuanhe had eaten half of his apple. He raised a brow, surprised. “This is the first time I"ve heard you try to persuade me to not follow the plot.”
【You"re my host. I"ll obviously think about your safety.】The System said：【Besides, your mission is almost done. There"s no need to take such a risk.】
“Zhou Rong"s been thinking of me all this time. It"ll be dangerous if I don"t go.” Song Xuanhe finished his apple and tossed the core into the trash. “Besides, I want my last days in this world to be carefree. I won"t feel a.s.sured unless I deal with him first.”
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The System still felt worried：【Since you have finished the main storyline mission, my main consciousness has gone into hibernation. I won"t be able to save you.】
“Don"t worry.” Song Xuanhe smiled. “I"ll be fine.”
It was currently the end of June. July was just around the corner. There were more and more people on the streets now. Girls, who didn"t fear the cold, also started to wear shorts and short skirts.
Song Xuanhe walked down the street at a leisurely pace. He paused when he saw someone waving at him at the corner. He then waved back half-heartedly.
“You look like you don"t want to see me,” Guan Zhi said, arms folded, “Did you forget that you said that you"d take me out to eat? I even finally got to come back to China for school break. Are you planning on going back on your word?”
“If I was going to go back on my word, would I have come out?”
Song Xuanhe had already decided to meet up with Zhou Rong after stopping by his studio. However, he had received a call from Guan Zhi as soon as he headed out the door. At first, when he had heard the other say that he was in China and wanted him to take him to eat at the alleys, he had wanted to hang up. But, Guan Zhi had heard about his studio from somewhere and had come to wait for him at the entrance.
To prevent the Song Family from finding out about his studio before Fashion Week, Song Xuanhe had no choice but to reluctantly agree.
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“Then, what"s with your expression?” Guan Zhi snorted. “If you don"t want to go with me, I"ll go with someone else. There"s a lot of people who want to go with me. Do you think that I can"t do without you?”
Song Xuanhe rubbed the other"s head. He then pulled him forward. “Let"s go, shorty.”
Guan Zhi was taken aback. Soon after, he leapt forward, wanting to smack Song Xuanhe on the head in a fit of shame and rage. However, the other dodged him. He then said, “That granny makes food on the spot. She doesn"t have a lot of energy. If we"re too late, there won"t be any left. Hurry up.”
“Who are you calling short?!” Guan Zhi chased after him. “I"m still growing. It won"t even take a year. In a few months, I"ll be taller than you.”
Song Xuanhe smiled. “Mn, still growing at nineteen years old. You"re growing up so fast.”
Guan Zhi paused and then pounced onto Song Xuanhe, wanting to hit him.
Song Xuanhe grabbed his fist and smiled. “The granny"s stand is over there. There"s only a few bowls of her tofu pudding left. Hurry up, or you"ll be too late.”
Guan Zhi looked over and saw that there was indeed still a line there. He threw Song Xuanhe off and quickly headed towards the back of the line.
Song Xuanhe hadn"t been lying. The granny made the tofu pudding fresh every day. The sauce and toppings were also limited. By the time they went over, there were only four bowls left. It also just so happened that there were three people in front of Guan Zhi. He would be able to buy the last one.
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However, when it came to his turn, the kindly granny said, “Young man, I"m out of tofu pudding for today. Come back tomorrow. Granny will save you a bowl.”
Guan Zhi could smell the thick scent of tofu pudding. He stared at the last bowl on the stand and said, “Granny, there"s still one bowl there.”
“That bowl is for my husband,” The granny said, “Every day, I keep the last bowl for him. It must be your first time here. The regulars all know this.”
Guan Zhi turned to look at Song Xuanhe. Song Xuanhe shrugged. “I didn"t know either.”
“Okay.” Guan Zhi turned around, disappointed. “Thank you, I"ll come back tomorrow.”
The granny smiled and hollered for them to come back. She handed two cups of soy milk to them. “Have this soy milk. Granny will make sure to leave a bowl for you tomorrow.”
Guan Zhi accepted it and gave her his thanks. The disappointment on his face lessened a lot. As soon as he tasted the rich, fragrant soy milk, he felt happy.
Song Xuanhe laughed upon seeing how quickly his expression had changed. He thought that the other was indeed still a kid. He then looked at his watch and said, “I took you to eat tofu pudding as I promised. I have something to do now, so I"ll be heading out first.”
“No way.” Guan Zhi tugged on him. When he saw Song Xuanhe turn his head around, he parted his lips. However, no words came out for a long time. In the end, he said, “I didn"t get to eat the tofu pudding, so it doesn"t count. You have to eat with me every day after work instead to fulfill your promise.”
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Song Xuanhe rolled his eyes and threw off his hold. “You know where this place is. You can come by yourself tomorrow.”
“It"s not the same.” Guan Zhi followed after him. “Besides, there"s other stuff too. You said that you"d take me to eat everything.”
Song Xuanhe paused. He turned to look at the other, a probing gaze in his eyes. “You keep pestering me. Do you like me or something?”
Guan Zhi froze. His cheeks then flushed, and it looked like steam would soon come out of his ears. He raised his voice: “There"s no way I"d like you!”
Song Xuanhe smiled and nodded. “Then, don"t follow me. Otherwise, I"ll think that you like me.”
Guan Zhi gritted his teeth as he watched Song Xuanhe disappear into the crowd. His expression shifted a few times before he ultimately decided to chase after him.
Eve: Xuanhe, you don"t just casually know someone THAT well and not feel something for them. Also Guan Zhi is so cute, don"t bully him Xuanhe hahaha.
Kara: He bao, my son, you noticed he doesn"t like fish, because he stands 3cm further away from the kitchen counter. BUT, YOU REFUSE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE FEELINGS FOR HIM??!!?!?! (ﾉꐦ ๑´Д`๑)ﾉ彡┻━┻ Every time we have an introspection chapter, it hurts me more than anything else. _:(´ཀ`」 ∠):_