When returning to school, one must pass by Xicheng University, and the West University Affiliated Hospital is also nearby. Cheng Shixu suddenly caught the scent of food and felt a bit hungry, so he suggested grabbing a midnight snack. At worst, they could just climb over the wall to get back in; no one checked the dorms on weekends anyway.
Lu Jian rode his bike to a food stall and stopped. “My friends are here. We might as well eat together.”
“Brother Lu!”
Several tables were set up at the entrance of the food stall. Summer nights were always packed with people. Cheng Shixu met the eyes of Jin Yi, who was greeting them. Jin Yi only glanced at him once, then stood up as they approached, draping an arm over Lu Jian’s shoulder and whispering, “Why did you bring him along?”
Lu Jian patted his back and turned to grab a plastic chair. “Sit.”
After sitting down, Cheng Shixu noticed that everyone at the table was looking at him strangely. He did not feel much of anything. Empty beer bottles littered the ground; almost everyone had a case of beer under their feet. Jin Yi looked like he had drunk quite a lot, yet he remained very sober. Occasionally, he would drink some beer to maintain his muscle, but no one usually drank like this.
It seemed Jin Yi was quite tough. Drinking like this and still being able to win a gold belt in his previous life was impressive.
“Who is this?” A bald man with a shifty gaze, who looked like a classmate from vocational school, squinted at him. He had a crafty look for someone so young, his eyes glowing with a strange light as he scanned Cheng Shixu up and down.
Cheng Shixu lowered his eyes and remained silent. It had been a long time since he had been looked at with such a gaze. His hand tightened around the glass. In the past, no matter where he went, no one dared to look at him like that. He felt that after playing “well-behaved” for so long, his temper had truly improved quite a bit. If this were in the past and He Yu were not around, he would have thrown the glass directly at him. If He Yu had been there, the bald man’s eyes would already be swollen shut.
The sound of glass shattering echoed, and the entire table froze. They all stood up in unison to look at the perpetrator. Lu Jian stared heavily at the bald man. After the initial shock, the bald man slammed the table and stood up in a fury. “Who the hell do you think you are, smashing a cup in front of me?”
Cheng Shixu saw that he wanted to throw a punch, so he rested his hand on the armrest of the chair. Jin Yi spoke first, standing next to Lu Jian. “We all work together, keep your mouth shut.” Although he was playing peacemaker, it was a blatant defense of Lu Jian. “Baldy, you are paying for this meal.”
The bald man did not seem to buy it. He puffed on a cigarette and sat with his legs spread wide like a boss. “You are so biased it is pathetic. If you really cannot handle it…” As he spoke, several men from the next table ran over and stood behind him. His gaze shifted to Cheng Shixu. Before he could speak, Lu Jian grabbed Cheng Shixu and stood up. “Let us go.”
Although it had been tense, the situation instantly dissipated. Jin Yi called out for drinks. “Come, come, I will toast you. Brother Lu is just like this when he loses a match in the ring and is in a bad mood. Bear with him a little.”
“I am only doing this for your sake. That brat Lu Jian has a temper harder than a rock in a latrine; he is going to get into trouble sooner or later.”
The sounds of their conversation drifted over from behind. Cheng Shixu was pushed into his seat. He looked up to see that Lu Jian had already gone to order food. He really wanted to ask Lu Jian if he had just been angry because of the bald man’s lecherous look or simply because his friend had been provoked.
“Boss, two bowls of beef noodles.”
After ordering, Lu Jian took a bottle of soda from the refrigerator, opened it, and handed it to Cheng Shixu. “This is all they have. See if you can drink it. That bald guy is very crafty. If you run into him again in the future, avoid him if you can, or you will likely end up penniless.”
Cheng Shixu saw the drink was a “Beibingyang” soda; it cost 7 yuan a bottle. Lu Jian was truly generous. He leaned his arms on the table and tilted slightly. “Does Little Lu know he is crafty and still get into a conflict with him?”
Lu Jian silently pushed him away. “Do not get so close.” He poured a cup of the shop’s free boiled water and looked past Cheng Shixu toward the outside, exchanging glances with Jin Yi, who was still toasting. Sorry, buddy. Jin Yi raised an eyebrow, finished his drink, and flipped the cup over; all good, brother.
Though the bald man was not old, he was actually a small manager at the boxing arena. All the betting passed through him. In other words, Lu Jian and Jin Yi were both eating out of his hand; they had to kneel to him.
“Just stay away from him in the future. Someone with skin as delicate as yours will snap at the first touch.” Lu Jian poured another cup of water and looked at Cheng Shixu’s clothes. He could tell the quality was excellent; the color, cut, and material were all skin-friendly and looked great. Even the denim jacket over the T-shirt looked soft and highlighted Cheng Shixu’s frame.
The hem was quite loose, probably lacking much muscle.
“You say my legs will snap at the first touch?” Cheng Shixu found this amusing and made a fist. “Want to arm wrestle?” In his previous life, he might not have been able to beat the “Old Antique,” but the young Lu Jian should not be a problem.
Lu Jian grasped his hand. “You really want to compete?”
“Come on. Loser calls the other ‘Dad’.”
Lu Jian: “Just call me ‘Brother’.”
The stakes were set, and both exerted force at the same time. The entire table shook slightly under the pressure of their arms, making tiny creaking sounds. Cheng Shixu’s face gradually contorted as he stared fixedly at their locked fists, occasionally letting out heavy grunts.
Lu Jian, however, did not change his expression. His arm was hidden under his sleeve, the veins invisible, but the back of his hand was crisscrossed with protruding blue veins mixed with crimson. If you ignored the rough fingertips and the calluses on his palms, it was beautiful.
Bang!
Dozens of seconds later, Cheng Shixu lost miserably. When he released his grip, his palm was bright red, the crook of his thumb the reddest, almost turning purple. He grumbled, “What is going on? I could not beat the old one, and I cannot beat the young one either.” Was it not just a slight difference in height?
It was truly strange. Lu Jian had not even eaten his three meals on time, so how had he grown so tall?
He was already nearly 1.8 meters tall now. Who could understand the sadness of how he used to be perfectly enveloped every time he sat on Lu Jian’s lap in his past life?
“What old one or young one? Are you confusing me with the person in your dream again?” Lu Jian had just asked this when the boss arrived with two bowls of beef noodles. “Little Lu, bringing a friend over, eh?”
Lu Jian replied, “Yes. Oh right, Boss, I broke a glass at the door just now. Let us settle the bill together later.”
“Pah!” The boss waved his hand. “Small matter. Enjoy your meal, I have work to do.”
“Alright.”
Turning back, Lu Jian saw Cheng Shixu staring at the beef noodles with no intention of eating. He felt a bit embarrassed. With his capabilities, this was all he could afford to treat him to.
The dinner delivered by a private car that evening was a price point he could not reach.
“If you are not used to eating this… when I get my salary next month, I will take you to eat some steak that you rich people usually have.”
Cheng Shixu stared at the beef noodles with a puzzled expression. His nose twitched, and he took several deep sniffs. It was too similar. It was exactly like that bowl of beef noodles he had eaten in the hospital room after waking up from fainting in the lab in his past life. Beneath the green onions floating on the surface was a layer of fried garlic.
That was the first time he had eaten “unknown” food. He had never found the same taste afterward.
He had been interrupted by many things and had not checked the surveillance footage in time to see who had sent him to the hospital. By the time he wanted to check, half a year had passed; there was no footage left to check.
He truly had not expected it to be like this…
Cheng Shixu picked up his chopsticks and spoon. “I am used to it.” He took a sip of the soup. The taste was completely different from other beef noodle broths—very unique, with a rich, fragrant, crispy fried garlic flavor, and a hint of Sichuan pepper. He could not describe the exact taste. “What a unique broth.”
The boss heard him from behind the curtain and said, “That is right, our family has a secret ancestral broth recipe. The marinated sausage we added for you is marinated in that same pot of marinade; it has been decades.”
Cheng Shixu lifted his chopsticks. “It is very fragrant, Boss.”
“Come back if you like it, I will give you a discount next time.”
Cheng Shixu said with a smile, “Sounds good.” The moment he lowered his head, his nose stung. He finally understood why Lu Jian had been so concerned about whether he had his check-ups on time. He had just taken it as a bit of fun between a couple; Lu Jian was always old-fashioned, so liking regular check-ups seemed normal.
He never expected there would be this factor involved.
The person who had sent him to the hospital from the lab back then was Lu Jian.
The faintly glimpsed image gradually became clear; it was exactly the young, slightly green Lu Jian in his early twenties.
But he was someone who always forgot “strangers” as soon as he turned around.
The necklace at the Crown Bar, the bowl of beef noodles by the hospital bed—the necklace was easier to explain; if He Yu had come to the house, he might have discovered it. But this bowl of beef noodles… he did not know how many years it would have been before he discovered it.
He discovered that he had had many intersections with Lu Jian when he was young in his previous life.
“No way, is it so good you want to cry?” Lu Jian saw his eyes were a bit red and glanced at his bowl. “It is not even spicy.”
Cheng Shixu took a deep breath and took another bite before saying, “I got sand in my eyes. Do you like spicy food?” He saw Lu Jian add several spoonfuls of chili, turning the soup bright red.
Lu Jian nodded as he ate. “Yes. I like it.” When he was young and conditions were poor at the orphanage, they did not have much warm clothing in winter, so everyone stayed huddled under the covers and rarely moved around. Ginger kept the body warm, and seeing the director always eating dried chili, he asked for some. Eating it like that, he became accustomed to it.
He liked spicy food.
Another thing he did not know.
He was a very incompetent boyfriend; his understanding of Lu Jian might not even be one-tenth of Jin Yi’s. He turned to look at Jin Yi, who was drinking enthusiastically while playing finger-guessing games outside.
Lu Jian had been putting on a great performance in front of him; perhaps Jin Yi was the original version of Lu Jian, rather than someone silently accompanying him here, eating beef noodles and drinking boiled water.
“Do you want to go play with your friends? I am going back after I finish eating.” Cheng Shixu ate very quickly. The beef noodles were fragrant, but he really was not in the mood to finish them all; more than half was left over.
“It is fine, I will walk you back.” Lu Jian thought to himself that if he did not see him back, there was no guarantee he would not get robbed on the short walk from here to the school. He buried his head and slurped the noodles, finishing the whole bowl quickly. When he wiped his mouth, he saw Cheng Shixu had half a bowl left. “Is your appetite this small?”
Cheng Shixu: “No. Just cannot eat anymore. Eating too much at night causes indigestion.” If he went to sleep after eating, he was afraid his muscles would turn into fat.
“Alright.” Lu Jian stood up after wiping his mouth. “Boss, check, please.”
Cheng Shixu found that Lu Jian really liked paying the bill. He was like that when he was old, and he was like that when he was young. The key was that the old Lu Jian was a rich brother, while the young Lu Jian was a poor ghost. It might be that 300,000 weight pressing down on him.
Every time he went on a date or traveled with Lu Jian, he never spent a cent. Apart from gifts he bought for holidays and Valentine’s Day, Lu Jian spent everything.
Thinking about it now, he actually felt a bit ashamed. He had not cared about these things before, thinking, Let Lu Jian spend if he wants to, we are a couple anyway, what is mine is yours.
He and He Yu’s friends were actually the same; whoever had money spent it, and they did not really mind.
After thinking for a long time, in the blink of an eye, they arrived at the school’s back gate. Cheng Shixu stepped inside, then turned and strode toward Lu Jian, taking out a watch he had swiped from He Yu’s lab earlier. “Give me your hand.”
As soon as Lu Jian saw the watch, he felt it was worth a fortune. “I do not want it.” If it were anything more, he truly could not afford to pay him back.
“This watch is to remind you when to return to the dorm to sleep.” Cheng Shixu forcefully grabbed his hand and helped him put it on. It was a beautiful wristwatch, He Yu’s craftsmanship, though a bit flashy. This was not the style Lu Jian wore in his previous life; that was a different model from the Summer X series, with a minimum value of over a million.
He could not afford to buy that for him now, so he had to take one from He Yu first. He remembered He Yu giving him several in his past life; he had given one to Jin Yi as a welcoming gift, and Jin Yi had quite liked it.
“If you wake up from the dream, what will you do?”
Everything around them was quiet; even the shadows of the trees stopped swaying. This question sounded exceptionally empty, falling very lightly on Cheng Shixu’s back.
Lu Jian watched his figure pause, then take a step forward before saying, “If you wake up from the dream and find that I am not the same person as him, what will you do?”
Cheng Shixu lowered his eyes slightly and chuckled. “I never considered you the same person as him anyway.” He turned around, looked earnestly at Lu Jian, and said, “You are you, and he is him.” He then turned and walked toward the main gate, chatting with the security guard and signing his name before he could go in.
Just before entering, he looked back and only saw that the place where they had just stood was empty. The moon tonight was beautiful and bright, casting a large shadow over Lu Jian’s eyes and nose bridge. Regrettably, Lu Jian had walked away very quickly.