Seeing the nanny look so troubled, Jiang Yu waved his hand. “Forget it, I will do it myself.”
He went to the cupboard to find a bedding set, but only unopened ones remained. After a quick scan, he headed to the balcony to retrieve the ones Chen Zhiyan had washed clean the night before. He tossed the dirty sheets directly into the automatic washing machine and poured in a massive amount of laundry detergent.
Sweaty, Jiang Yu went to the bathroom for a quick shower and stuffed his discarded clothes into the machine as well. He forgot to hang them out to dry when he left, but even if he had remembered, he would not have been in a hurry. After all, there was Chen Zhiyan.
Leaving the Chen residence, Jiang Yu first stopped at the hospital to visit Lin Jingyao. The guy was completely lost in his game console. A nurse tried to take his temperature, but he told her to wait. After two minutes, he was still playing. Jiang Yu walked over and slapped the back of his head. Lin Jingyao’s hands, still gripping the controller, slammed into the bed railing.
Snap.
It broke. Its final destination was the trash can.
The curses Lin Jingyao was about to shout got stuck in his throat. “Brother.”
“Did you hear the nurse say she needs to take your temperature?”
“I heard her.”
Jiang Yu gave a low hum, tilting his chin up with a lazy tone. “Hand over your head.”
At the command, Lin Jingyao obediently cupped his own face and presented it to the nurse.
The nurse thought, “Oh, they must be a couple.”
Once the nurse left, Jiang Yu stood there pointing at Lin Jingyao, scolding him until he was blue in the face. He called it education, but in reality, he was venting all the frustration he could not take out on Chen Zhiyan.
If Jiang Yu was a little tyrant, then Lin Jingyao was a tiny tyrant, except in front of Jiang Yu, where he had to tuck his tail between his legs. There was no other way; Jiang Yu was terrifying when he lost his temper. He had a gunpowder-like fuse. People often said he and Chen Zhiyan were arch-enemies for a reason. Lin Jingyao felt they might be enemies for life, yet he also sensed that Jiang Yu and Chen Zhiyan’s rivalry was different from how they treated anyone else.
“When someone talks to you, you look them in the eye. Did Chen Zhiyan never teach you that?”
“Why would Chen Zhiyan teach me anything? We are not even that close. Brother, are you thirsty? Have an orange.”
“I am not eating that; it causes internal heat.”
“Eat it with the white pith attached.”
“I do not like it.”
“Then I will eat it.”
“Did you not say it was for me?” Jiang Yu reached out for the orange, then pulled back.
“You did not wash your hands.”
“I only touched a game console.”
“Dirty.”
“Brother, just do not eat it then.”
Jiang Yu glared and continued lecturing Lin Jingyao until his anger completely dissipated. On his way back, he passed a furniture store, went in, bought a bed, and left the address for them to deliver it to the Chen residence.
Having solved the major issue of where to sleep tonight, Jiang Yu was in a wonderful mood. He saw a little girl selling flowers by the road and bought them all. The girl said the flowers did not look great anymore and he only needed to pay half-price, so Jiang Yu paid half and felt like he had snagged a huge bargain.
Back at the classroom, he tossed the wilted bouquet onto Chen Zhiyan’s desk and sat down next to him.
Chen Zhiyan glanced at it. “Do not give me just any trash.”
Jiang Yu clicked his tongue, his knee repeatedly bumping Chen’s under the desk. “I bought this, you bastard.”
“Oh.”
“You do not believe me?”
“I do not.”
“Good, because you should not. I saw a couple breaking up on my way here, and these were the flowers they threw away. They looked decent, so I brought them back specifically for you. I hope you live a long and lonely life.”
“Thank you.”
It was another punch landing on cotton. It was incredibly frustrating.
“Next time, do not pick things up randomly. If they have a disease, it will spread to me,” Chen Zhiyan said as he put on nitrile gloves and a mask. He dropped the flowers into a trash bag and proceeded to disinfect the entire desk, including Jiang Yu.
The smell of alcohol made Jiang Yu cough repeatedly. He pointed at Chen Zhiyan and cursed, “You blind idiot! The wrapping paper is brand new; how could it be something I picked up?”
Chen Zhiyan paused, removed his gloves and mask, and took the trash out.
Jiang Yu’s voice shook with rage. “Chen-Dog, you just wait!”
Li Heng pulled out a tissue to wipe the alcohol from Jiang Yu’s shoulder, saying cheekily, “Brother Jiang, if you want to give Brother Chen flowers, just do it. No need for so many excuses. These flowers are so wilted; you must have put a lot of effort into finding them, right?”
Chen Zhiyan caught a glimpse of Li Heng’s hand resting on Jiang Yu’s shoulder and frowned imperceptibly.
“Talking to you people is exhausting. Li Heng, get the hell away from me.”
During the last period of the afternoon, all the athletes gathered on the playground.
Chen Zhiyan walked toward Jiang Yu holding a heart rate monitor. Jiang Yu was bending over to tie his shoelaces. When he looked up and saw Chen Zhiyan, he turned away with a sour face.
“Stand still.”
“What for?”
“Put this on.”
“No.”
Chen Zhiyan grabbed Jiang Yu’s wrist and led him to the shade under a tree. Jiang Yu shook him off. “Do not touch me. I was kind enough to buy you flowers, and you disinfected me along with the trash. You are the only one with a cleanliness obsession, right?”
Jiang Yu frowned, looking at the dust on his fingertips. He held his palm up. “Where are the wet wipes? Give me one.”
Chen Zhiyan pulled out a wet wipe for him.
Jiang Yu wiped the front and back of his hands until they were soaked. He grumbled, “So slow. If you ever dare throw my flowers away again, I will flip your bed!”
As the last sentence left his mouth, Jiang Yu suddenly remembered the bedding and clothes in the washing machine. He felt guilty again. He grabbed the hem of his shirt and lifted it, obediently letting Chen Zhiyan put the heart rate monitor on him. But Chen Zhiyan pulled his hand down, letting the shirt cover his waist again.
“?” Jiang Yu sneered. “I am not even angry yet, so what are you mad about? Want me to put it on myself? I do not know how. I will give you three seconds; do not make it difficult for me, or else.”
“Go to the restroom.”
“Oh, so you need to pee. You should have said so earlier. Wait, did you not just go? Why do you need to go again?”
Jiang Yu patted Chen Zhiyan’s shoulder and continued, “I read on my phone that this is a sign of bad kidneys. But do not feel inferior; medical technology is advanced these days. Even kidney deficiency can be cured. I will buy you some oysters when we get home so you can supplement your health.”
He sighed, his words implying that Chen Zhiyan was a waste of a large frame.
Chen Zhiyan pressed his tongue against his tooth and said crossly, “I meant we are going to the restroom to put this on. If you want to expose your chest and back in front of so many people, we can do it here. I have no objection.”
Usually, they put it on in the dorm. Today, because Chen Zhiyan had thrown away his flowers, Jiang Yu was so angry he felt even Li Heng was better than Chen Zhiyan, and he had bolted out to curse Chen Zhiyan as soon as class ended.
The Restroom.
Jiang Yu walked to the sink to wash his hands, then turned around to lean lazily against it. Actually, he was half-sitting on the counter with his hands propping him up, looking quite disheveled and unruly.
Chen Zhiyan closed the window and locked the door. He stood in front of him, and they locked eyes for several seconds. Jiang Yu was confused, then he knitted his brows.
“Who the hell are you provoking?”