Cao Ying had been restless ever since he saw Li Jia that day.
He suddenly realized that the kid who used to follow him around with a runny nose had changed. Pondering the young man’s appearance closely, he noticed that even his demeanor and temperament were completely different.
Had he really changed that much?
A strange feeling suddenly arose in Cao Ying’s heart. He thought of Xu Heyun and his own past, and suddenly had the sensation that it seemed as though he was originally meant to be like this, meant to live this way, and meant to experience all of this.
The feeling was far too absurd, and Cao Ying almost immediately dismissed such an absurd notion.
Realizing that he could not go on like this, Cao Ying got up and wanted to go out for a stroll. After speaking with the hospital doctor, he left the hospital.
The marketplace was still bustling with people, and since it was peak hours, Cao Ying walked down the street in a daze.
He had no destination in mind and did not understand what he was doing, but somehow he found himself unconsciously walking toward Xu Nian’s restaurant.
Actually, he and Xu Nian had been very close during childhood, though now they were each busy with their own affairs and kept in touch less often. When had Xu Nian gotten so close to Li Jia?
As he drew near the restaurant, Cao Ying suddenly stopped in his tracks. He felt a bit wryly amused at himself—what on earth was he doing? He could not even explain it himself.
So he stopped moving forward and stood still for a moment, gazing down the street. Inadvertently glancing up at the second floor, his attention was caught by a sight near the window, and his eyes widened as he looked.
Cao Ying could hardly believe his own eyes.
Since it was only the second floor and relatively low, the scene near the window was not entirely clear, but the general outline was visible.
He saw that on the side not completely covered by the curtains was Li Jia’s profile. Li Jia was talking eagerly to someone opposite him, a smile on his face and his eyes shining brightly.
Suddenly, a hand reached out from the opposite side and stroked Li Jia’s face. The hand was bony and distinct, with slender fingers and a broad palm. Though its exact appearance was not clear, anyone could tell at a glance that it belonged to a man. The half-exposed forearm showed bulging veins, displaying the roughness typical of someone who worked hard.
That hand gently stroked Li Jia’s cheek and eyes, and then pulled him in close, right before the curtains blocked the view inside.
Nothing could be seen anymore.
Cao Ying stood frozen in place, practically forgetting to breathe.
In a place where others could not see, Chen Zhou was resting securely in Xu Nian’s arms.
Ever since those words—”I like you too”—had been spoken, Chen Zhou found Xu Nian growing increasingly uninhibited. Sometimes, taking advantage of moments when no one else was around, Xu Nian would pull Chen Zhou in and gently exchange a kiss with him.
At this moment, Chen Zhou had been lured into the other man’s room, where his breath was entirely stolen, leaving the taste of the other person lingering between his lips and teeth.
“Mm…” Chen Zhou could barely breathe, he had been bitten again, and it stung a little.
“You promised not to bite me.” Chen Zhou pushed Xu Nian away, looking somewhat displeased.
Still unsatisfied, Xu Nian could only offer comfort: “Ge was wrong, I definitely will not do it next time.”
“You said that last time too.”
Xu Nian chuckled, pulled him right back into his arms, and kissed him again: “Such a delicate little crybaby.”
Chen Zhou resolved not to believe Xu Nian’s words ever again.
When the kiss finally ended, Chen Zhou could barely stand steadily on his feet and muttered a soft complaint. Just then, Wang Qi’s voice sounded from downstairs—likely because they were short-staffed—prompting Chen Zhou to hurriedly step back out of Xu Nian’s embrace.
“I have to get back to work.” With that, he scurried off in a rush.
Standing still, Xu Nian felt his whole body growing hot, the young man’s appearance just a moment ago made him wish he could tease him into feeling even more tender ache.
“Tch.”
Annoyed, Xu Nian lit a cigarette. He had smoked very little these days unless he truly could not help it.
Maybe I should just throw Wang Qi outside to do heavy labor someday, he thought to himself.
“Coming, coming!” Downstairs, a flustered Chen Zhou hurried over to find Wang Qi up to his neck in work.
“You kid, if I cannot find you next time, I am firing you.” Wang Qi pointed a finger at Chen Zhou in mild exasperation.
Chen Zhou smiled sheepishly, thinking to himself that it was all because of their boss. Then he quickly dashed off to pitch in.
During these days, Chen Zhou still had to send affectionate care packages to Cao Ying while helping out at the shop, keeping him thoroughly occupied. Yet whenever he thought of Xu Nian, his mood would instantly lift, and he could not help smiling to himself.
At least now he had his ge to cherish him.
At noon, Chen Zhou informed Xu Nian and headed to the hospital as usual.
Cao Ying was still in his hospital room, though this time Chen Zhou immediately felt that something was off about him. Cao Ying kept casting an indescribable, hard-to-read gaze in his direction.
Noticing the odd behavior but failing to understand the reason, Chen Zhou asked, “What is wrong, Brother Cao?”
“Do you really feel like nothing is wrong?”
Cao Ying was eating something when Chen Zhou’s question caught him entirely off guard, causing him to instantly choke and turn bright red in the face.
“Cough, cough, cough…”
Uncertain of what had happened, Chen Zhou quickly handed over a cup of water: “Be careful, take it slow.”
“I am fine, just ate too fast.” Cao Ying took the cup, took a sip, and took a moment to compose himself.
Waiting for him to recover, Chen Zhou sat back down.
“Xiao Jia…” Cao Ying seemed to hesitate, as if words were resting on the tip of his tongue, before finally asking, “You…”
“What is it?”
Struggling to find the right words, Cao Ying seemed to swallow back whatever he was about to say in the end: “Have you been doing well lately?”
It was a baffling question, but Chen Zhou did not think much of it: “Pretty good.”
Suddenly remembering 126 mentioning that Cao Ying was about to be discharged, Chen Zhou figured this would likely be his last visit, meaning his mission was drawing to a close as well.
His life as a cannon fodder character here was probably coming to an end soon. Chen Zhou quietly pondered what he should say.
“That is good.” Cao Ying still looked somewhat distracted. “I reckon… I am pretty much recovered. I should be discharged very soon.”
“That is great.” Chen Zhou breathed a sigh of relief. “Health is more important than anything else. Brother Cao, you need to take good care of your health from now on and never neglect yourself.”
Stunned by those words, Cao Ying raised his head to look at the person across from him.
“You…”
“Brother Cao, I probably have to leave now.” Chen Zhou stood up and smiled. “I am really glad I got to spend these days with you. Remember to take good care of yourself from now on. Um…”
“Actually, I still remember how you always used to help me when we were kids. Thank you.”
At a loss for words, Cao Ying could only stare blankly at him.
“I will be heading out then. Wishing you a speedy recovery.”
With that, Chen Zhou handed the items he brought over to Cao Ying and prepared to leave.
“Li Jia.” Cao Ying suddenly called out from behind him: “Will you… not come anymore in the future?”
Upon hearing those words, Cao Ying suddenly had a distinct sensation that Li Jia did not belong to this place. Perhaps he would leave one day, or perhaps… perhaps he would never see him again…
With a smile, Chen Zhou did not answer whether he would or would not, simply telling him to take good care of his health before walking away.
On his way back, Chen Zhou walked with a light and breezy step. He called out to 126, but unexpectedly received no response.
It was rather strange, ordinarily, aside from times when he was being intimate with Xu Nian and 126 went offline, he had never seen it disappear like this. And for such a long stretch of time, too.
Trying once more to call 126, Chen Zhou was met with silence again.
Deciding to drop it for the moment, he headed back.
That evening, Xu Nian, acting as the ringleader of workplace slacking, brought Chen Zhou up to the small hillside behind the restaurant.
The evening breeze on the mountain was exceptionally refreshing. Sitting beside Xu Nian, Chen Zhou blissfully listened to the chirping of insects.
By his side, Xu Nian was weaving items out of grass while humming a little tune in a low, surprisingly pleasant voice.
Closing his eyes, Chen Zhou felt Xu Nian place something over his ears, presumably an item he had crafted himself.
Sitting back up, Chen Zhou asked Xu Nian, “Ge, how is Aunt Wang doing? Can she leave in the next couple of days?”
“Yeah.” Xu Nian interlocked his fingers with Chen Zhou’s, enclosing his palm completely. “I need to take her back home and look after her for a while. Do you want to come back with me?”
“Okay.” Chen Zhou happened to have the same thought, he needed to go back and check on Li Jia’s parents.
Yet the thought brought a heavy weight to his mind. Even if Aunt Wang eventually compromised, would Li Jia’s parents accept his relationship with Xu Nian? Were they supposed to keep hiding it forever?
Chen Zhou was unwilling to do that, yet he did not want to break Li Jia’s parents’ hearts either. What should he do?
Noticing his silence, Xu Nian tightened his grip around Chen Zhou’s hand as if guessing his thoughts. His voice always brought Chen Zhou a profound sense of security: “Do not worry, your ge is right here. No matter what happens, ge will stay by your side.”
Releasing a long breath, Chen Zhou squeezed Xu Nian’s hand back. No matter what, at least Xu Nian was still beside him.
When they returned to the restaurant, it was already closed for the night. As Chen Zhou headed upstairs, he suddenly remembered midway that the water pipe in his room was broken.
“Ah, it is broken.”
“What is?” Xu Nian glanced at him.
“The water pipe in my room broke. Ge, can I crash in your room tonight?” Chen Zhou looked somewhat troubled.
A broken pipe was a minor issue, but the sound of dripping water at night was truly agonizing, Chen Zhou was terrified of ghosts.
“Pretty please, Ge? I do not want to sleep in a room with dripping water.”
Instead of answering immediately, Xu Nian felt a sudden surge of annoyance flare up inside him, prompting him to grit his teeth and refuse: “No.”
Pouting slightly in displeasure, Chen Zhou retorted, “Why? Then I will go find—”
“Stop right there!” Xu Nian protested.
“Sleep in my room. I will leave the door unlocked for you.” With that, he turned around and walked away without looking back.
Muttering a quiet “tch,” Chen Zhou cheerfully scampered off to fetch his own blanket.
Everyone else had turned in much earlier than a night owl like Chen Zhou, leaving the entire hallway dead quiet when he carried his blanket over to Xu Nian’s room.
Yet Chen Zhou felt an extraordinary surge of nervousness.
How ridiculous, Chen Zhou muttered to himself, it is just sleeping, what on earth am I getting nervous for?
Still, he tried calling out to 126 again, only to be met with silence once more.
Dismissing the inexplicable feeling, he let out a breath of relief.
Standing outside the door, Chen Zhou cleared his mind of stray thoughts and pushed the door open.
Sitting upright on the bed, Xu Nian fixed his gaze squarely on Chen Zhou the moment he entered. Chen Zhou recalled the last time he slept here, he had been relegated to the floor.
Times had certainly changed.
Noticing him standing frozen in place, Xu Nian patted the mattress beside him.
“What are you standing around for?”
“Get over here.”