The three large basins of water were neatly placed on the living room floor, and Song Zi Qiao, lying on the sofa, was finally awakened.
Rubbing his eyes as he sat up, he saw the two of them squatting around the basins, backs turned to him.
“You two laying eggs or what?”
Shi Zuo An was startled by the sudden voice and almost fell backward, barely caught by Xia Ao, who steadied him so he could regain his balance.
…
Using the hand on his lower back for support, Shi Zuo An stood up. Squatting for so long had made his calves numb, so he habitually stomped his feet on the floor a couple of times.
The discomfort eased slightly.
“You guys chat for a bit, I’ll go check the pot in the kitchen,” Xia Ao gave Song Zi Qiao a glance and turned into the kitchen.
With the warmth at his lower back gone, only Shi Zuo An and Song Zi Qiao remained in the living room.
Song Zi Qiao’s eyes widened.
He had witnessed every detail of Xia Ao reflexively catching Shi Zuo An when he was about to fall.
He jumped up, draped an arm over Shi Zuo An’s shoulders, and guided him to the sofa. “Hey, man, can you tell me how you two even got together?”
His gossiping soul was ablaze.
“After all these years, I never thought he’d be into dating… Wow, this was kept secret really well. He’s been living in Country D for over six years. You two were dating online all this time?”
Questions kept coming, and Shi Zuo An, whose shoulders were locked by Song Zi Qiao, felt his head throb.
“We weren’t dating—”
“Not dating, and yet you both stay out all night and show up in the stairwell the next day dressed like this?” Song Zi Qiao’s face was full of disbelief.
Shi Zuo An then realized he was still wearing the clothes he had pulled off Xia Ao that morning!
After all this time, he hadn’t even noticed!
And he’d been standing in the kitchen doorway chatting with Xia Ao, running back and forth carrying two basins of water!!!
Shi Zuo An felt all the blood rush to his head, nearly bursting his cheeks.
His uncontrolled shouting summoned the “chef” out of the kitchen. Opening the kitchen door, he saw Shi Zuo An’s head practically buried in the floor.
“…I’ll get you some clothes. While there’s still water, go take a shower. By the time you finish, the food will be ready.”
With that, he led Shi Zuo An back into the master bedroom, opened the wardrobe, and took a thin white sweatshirt and black casual pants from the top shelf.
“These pants are a little small for me when I bought them, but they should fit you perfectly.”
“Aren’t you going to shower?” Xia Ao looked exactly like he did when they had just left the hotel.
“It’s fine, I’ll wait until the food is done,” Xia Ao said, pulling out a new towel and fresh underwear from the drawer. “These might be a bit big for you, just make do.”
!
A man can be killed but must not be humiliated!
Shi Zuo An snatched the cloth from Xia Ao’s hands and, before pushing the bathroom door open to go out, didn’t forget to bump the other guy hard with his shoulder.
You didn’t even… just because you’re bigger doesn’t mean your technique is all that skilled!
The instant cold water hit his body, Shi Zuo An shivered involuntarily.
Taking a cold shower in mid-April was still too harsh.
But under the current circumstances, the electricity was already out, how much longer would the water and gas hold?
He quickly rinsed the shampoo off his hair and body. The brand-new soft towel absorbed the water from his skin, and he slipped into the clothes Xia Ao had prepared for him.
The top was slightly large, hanging past his hips, but the pants fit perfectly.
He neatly draped the towel over his head and opened the door to let the next person in for a shower.
As soon as the bathroom door opened, the rich aroma of stewed meat hit him.
Looking closer, Song Zi Qiao was already sitting at the dining table, chopsticks in hand, reaching toward the dishes.
Xia Ao, noticing the movement, smacked his wrist.
“Hey, Shi Ge, you’re done washing.” Song Zi Qiao’s spot allowed him a full view as Shi Zuo An pushed the door open.
?
Since when were these two close enough to call each other “brother (Ge)”?
Seeming to notice Shi Zuo An’s expression, Song Zi Qiao explained, “Xia said you’re two years older than him. Back when I was in school, I was a year younger than him.”
So…?
Being older, he’s technically the eldest.
Shi Zuo An mentally marked both of them down for major offenses, but said nothing aloud: “Who still wants to shower? Hurry up.”
“Xia, you go first. I’ll just eat a couple of bites first.” Song Zi Qiao stayed put. “Before you came out, Xia didn’t let me touch my chopsticks.”
Shi Zuo An pulled out the seat next to Song Zi Qiao and sat down.
Four chairs surrounded the dining table, Xia Ao sitting directly across from him.
“Food won’t shut your mouth.” Ignoring the meat still on Song Zi Qiao’s chopsticks, he grabbed the bowl. “Go wash first.”
“I want to eat first!”
“No, you’ve spent the whole night in the stairwell without changing. You stink.”
Song Zi Qiao looked innocently scolded, rolled up his sleeve, and sniffed his underarm, no smell at all.
He glanced at the person across from him, who had just unleashed that verbal assault, and then at the person sitting beside him.
Ten minutes ago, that guy had been even messier than him, and yet during the water fight, Xia Ao hadn’t complained once.
He was just unnecessary.
Song Zi Qiao grumpily put down his chopsticks, borrowed a set of clothes, and went into the bathroom.
At the dining table, only the two of them were left.
Shi Zuo An picked up a piece of meat and, while at it, asked with concern, “Why aren’t you wearing a jacket? Be careful not to catch a cold.”
“No worries, my inner heat’s strong.” Xia Ao smiled and served a bowl of rice cakes, pushing it across. “Song Zi Qiao tends to speak without filter. Don’t take it to heart.”
“You two have known each other a long time.”
“Yes. Back in high school, I was pretty introverted, only knew how to study hard, and no one wanted to be friends with a bookworm like me. Later he was assigned as my deskmate. A quiet, obedient student getting dragged into the usual antics by a ‘bad kid.'”
Cliché, but these routines somehow always worked.
“No wonder you even gave him priority for showering.”
Xia Ao shrugged.
After finishing dinner, Xia Ao went to take a shower.
The three of them then tidied up all the scattered food in the house. Xia Ao continued to sleep in the master bedroom, Shi Zuo An won a game of rock-paper-scissors and got the second bedroom, and Song Zi Qiao could only sleep on the living room sofa.
He didn’t mind, though, his nap on the sofa before dinner proved it was pretty comfortable.
The next morning, Shi Zuo An woke up feeling off.
His body was unusually heavy, lifting his arms made them crash back onto the bed. He tried to call out, but his throat felt blocked by something hard, no sound came out.
Looks like he caught a cold.
He stared blankly at the snow-white wall, using all his strength to press the back of his hand to his forehead.
It was burning hot.
How could he catch a cold?
Shi Zuo An turned over, trying to think through his foggy mind:
Was it from running outside with bare legs yesterday? Or having shampoo still in his hair, with the wind making it cold against his scalp? Or maybe that damn cold shower?
Suddenly, there was a rustling sound at the bedroom door.
Followed by three knocks.
“Are you up yet?”
It took Shi Zuo An two minutes to recognize Xia Ao’s voice.
“…I’m up.”
Ugh, what a horrible-sounding voice.
In his panic, he even startled himself.
From outside the door came again, “Alright, I’m coming in—”
“What’s going on? I could tell your voice sounded off earlier.” Xia Ao came in and saw Shi Zuo An on the bed, staring blankly at the door like a corpse, his cheeks flushed. “It’s already ten. You’re still in bed, and Song Zi Qiao’s a little worried too.”
Shi Zuo An finally noticed someone following behind Xia Ao.
“It’s nothing, probably just caught a chill yesterday, a little cold.”
This guy ran around half-naked all day yesterday, how did he come out completely fine?
Are people’s constitutions really that different?
Shi Zuo An tried to push himself up with his arms, but failed.
So he raised his right arm and said, “Could you help pull me up?”
…
Like a zombie.
Xia Ao quietly cursed in his mind.
But he moved closer to the bed, folding Shi Zuo An’s outstretched arm back down.
The back of his hand rested against Shi Zuo An’s forehead.
“You’re a bit hot.”
“What? Let me check.” Song Zi Qiao, ever meddlesome, leaned in and pressed his forehead against Shi Zuo An’s. “Whoa, you definitely have a fever. Xia, do you have any fever medicine at home?”
“…Wait a sec, I’ll go look.”
Xia Ao left to find some fever medicine. Song Zi Qiao didn’t sit idle, he said he’d get a wet towel to put on Shi Zuo An.
Having lived alone for so many years, Shi Zuo An was rarely sick, and when he was, he bore it alone. Yet now, being taken care of while lying in bed left him feeling strangely touched.
He happily waited as Song Zi Qiao came in with a wet towel, the cold fabric pressed against his forehead.
Immediately, Song Zi Qiao’s face turned serious, bringing some bad news.
“The water’s out.”
Although he had expected the water would go out soon, he didn’t expect it to stop on the very next day.
Before Shi Zuo An could voice any complaints, the bedroom door opened again. Xia Ao came in empty-handed, and the result was obvious at a glance.
“No cold medicine. I don’t stay here often, and all the medicine at home has expired five or six years ago.”
This was really bad.
“Forget it, it’s nothing. A little cold, rest for a couple of days and it’ll be fine.” With that, he struggled to sit up.
Xia Ao frowned. “Don’t push yourself… By the way, Song Zi Qiao, does your ex-girlfriend also live here? Would she have any cold medicine?”
“Uh… she should, I guess. She lives alone and usually keeps some medicine on hand.”
“What floor do es she live on? Can you ask her to lend us some? We can trade food or water.” Xia Ao’s expression was serious.
At a time like this, both medicine and food were extremely precious resources. If Shi Zuo An’s forehead hadn’t been scorching enough to fry an egg, Xia Ao wouldn’t have suggested it so boldly.
But compared to the earlier scene in the stairwell where Song Zi Qiao had clung to Xia Ao crying, now being asked to trade with his ex for cold medicine made him fidget and avoid eye contact.
Anyone with eyes could see that his excuse of “settling things” with his ex wasn’t as confident as he made it sound.
“So why did you two break up?” Shi Zuo An asked, his throat no longer sore and his forehead feeling cooler, as if half his strength had returned!
He leaned sideways, prying for gossip, only to be met with a speechless look from Xia Ao.
What? Curiosity’s not allowed?
Shi Zuo An returned the look unabashedly.
“Ahhhh, stop forcing me, I’m not saying it! You want me to admit that I clogged her toilet two nights in a row when I stayed at her place?!” Song Zi Qiao covered his ears with his hands. For some reason, he seemed to think that if he couldn’t hear it, no one else could either.
The small bedroom fell into a deathly silence.
He finally realized he had just blurted out something utterly embarrassing.
His face went ashen.
“…Ah?”
Author’s note:
Xiao Song is still a good kid 【Drooping Bunny Head】