[Ding-dong, ten points have been credited.]
In the evening, as Chen Zhou was resting on the bed, 126’s voice suddenly sounded.
[Got it.] Drowsy, Chen Zhou finally perked up a bit upon hearing this.
[Host, please check out the new task.]
[Alright, spill it.]
[Please complete Task Three: encounter Cao Ying by chance and go shopping together.]
After listening, Chen Zhou was speechless for a moment before giving a soft laugh. “Is this really considered a chance encounter?”
126 felt a bit awkward. [Ahem, it counts. The host will meet the protagonist if you take a stroll around the market tomorrow. Keep it up.]
Chen Zhou curled his lip. “Fine.”
No matter what, he had finally solved his food and lodging problems, so he didn’t need to trouble 126 for help, and staying behind would also allow him to give Xu Nian a hand.
Thinking of this, Chen Zhou felt a bit more at ease, pulled the quilt over himself, and fell asleep. With his poor sleeping habits, he always liked to hug the quilt while sleeping without covering himself properly with it.
126 thought to itself that the host was truly worrisome, then turned up the air conditioning temperature in the room slightly. After doing this, 126 went to check on the situation of that old punk from yesterday, unexpectedly discovering that the man was covered in injuries. 126 seemed to realize something and felt somewhat surprised, but quickly lost interest and adjusted that scumbag’s parameters instead.
The man could forget about recovering from those injuries for at least a month or two.
The next day, Chen Zhou was woken up early in the morning by the clattering noises downstairs. If he wasn’t mistaken, it should be the restaurant crew starting to prepare ingredients and clean up.
Not daring to delay, Chen Zhou quickly tidied himself up and went downstairs.
The busy people downstairs all greeted Chen Zhou when they saw him. Chen Zhou smiled, subconsciously searching for another figure. Sure enough, he spotted Xu Nian in the corner a moment later.
Xu Nian was organizing the tables, but the wound on his hand was hurting a bit. He glanced at it and continued working with unconcerned indifference.
However, Chen Zhou noticed his abnormality. Walking over, he saw the terrifying scratch on the back of Xu Nian’s hand, which hadn’t been treated properly.
“Bro, what happened to your hand?” Frowning, Chen Zhou picked up Xu Nian’s hand to inspect it.
Suddenly caught in the act, Xu Nian felt a bit self-conscious and quickly pulled his hand back, acting as though he didn’t care. “Just a scrape, it’s nothing.”
“How is that nothing?” Seeming very afraid of such wounds, Chen Zhou pulled Xu Nian over to treat it.
Xu Nian didn’t understand why the other person cared so much about these injuries, but he obediently followed along, watching as Chen Zhou fetched medicinal liquor to treat him.
Chen Zhou seemed quite skilled at handling wounds, and it was finished in no time. “Don’t let it touch water.”
As he chattered away with instructions, Xu Nian found himself spacing out, feeling as though it had been a very long time since anyone had taken such careful and precious care of a wound for him.
“Did you hear that?”
Staring at Chen Zhou’s moving lips, Xu Nian missed what he said and could only retract his hand as a cover. “Yeah.”
With that, he went back to work.
“He didn’t even say thank you,” Chen Zhou muttered, pausing before adding, “He just doesn’t cherish himself at all.”
After thinking for a moment, he called out to 126, [Can you do me a favor?]
Xu Nian spent the entire morning tidying things up in a daze, occasionally glancing at his injured hand. The wound seemed to heal very quickly; before long, it didn’t hurt much anymore, but Xu Nian kept finding his attention wandering.
On the other side, Chen Zhou had already headed out to complete his task.
Close to noon, the sun was scorching. Chen Zhou swallowed hard at the sight of the old-school popsicles by the street, but ultimately held back.
He couldn’t spend money recklessly right now.
Following 126’s instructions, Chen Zhou navigated through several winding alleys until he finally reached the designated spot.
Not far away, Chen Zhou spotted Cao Ying along with a very refined-looking young man beside him.
126’s voice squeezed into his mind, [That is the protagonist shou, named Xu Heyun.]
Chen Zhou knew this person; he had learned from the received information that he and Cao Ying were colleagues, good-looking with a gentle and jade-like personality, which explained why Cao Ying had fallen for him.
By this time, the two of them should already be in a tacit mutual affection stage. Chen Zhou had a headache. [Do I have to go over right now? Is playing this third wheel an absolute must?]
126 maintained a smile, [Yes. Don’t forget your persona, host.]
Fine, Chen Zhou sighed and slowly shuffled over.
When he was about two steps away from Cao Ying, he spoke up, “Brother Cao, you’re here too.”
Strictly adhering to the original owner’s personality at the moment, Chen Zhou spoke in a soft voice tinged with a trace of shyness and embarrassment.
“Xiaojia!” Seeing him, Cao Ying’s eyes suddenly lit up. “You’re here too? Out shopping?”
In reality, Chen Zhou was empty-handed, yet he lied without changing his expression or missing a heartbeat. “Yeah, I came out for a stroll, didn’t expect to run into you here.”
Cao Ying smiled and introduced him to the person by his side, “This is Li Jia from our village. We grew up together, he’s like a younger brother to me.”
Having said that, he looked down at Xu Heyun with a smile, showing unspeakable intimacy.
“Xiaojia, this is your brother Xu Heyun. We’re colleagues.” Although the words were directed at Chen Zhou, his eyes remained fixed on the person beside him.
Slightly shorter than Cao Ying, Xu Heyun had gentle brows and eyes. Smiling after hearing the introduction, he extended a hand. “Hi, Xiaojia. Nice to meet you.”
[They match so well.] Chen Zhou praised sincerely.
[…Host, don’t forget your identity as a secret admirer. You need to maintain that state throughout this task.]
A bad premonition arose in Chen Zhou’s heart. [What do you mean? Being part of a trio isn’t enough, you also want me to keep up that shy and secretly caring demeanor?]
126 was calm as water, [Points.]
Darn it, he had him wrapped around his finger. Chen Zhou had no choice but to give up bargaining.
Chen Zhou pursed his lips and shook the other man’s hand.
“If you’re still planning to stroll around, why don’t you join us?” Cao Ying invited. How could Chen Zhou refuse?
He had no choice but to accept with a feigned appearance of delight.
The three of them walked down the street like that, with Cao Ying in the middle and Chen Zhou and Xu Heyun on either side.
Chen Zhou was so embarrassed he was lightly picking at his fingers, while still having to respond to Cao Ying’s words every now and then, acting as though he cared deeply about everything the man said.
Stopping by a wood-carving shop, the three of them paused to look at the exquisite handicrafts.
Chen Zhou’s attention was captured as he stared blankly at a small bird. This carved wooden bird was lifelike, placed on the counter with an adorable and naive look.
Ever since he was young, Chen Zhou had no resistance to such things, especially decorative trinkets. He couldn’t quite explain why himself.
Yet he had no money right now and could only look.
Just as Chen Zhou was mesmerized, a sound suddenly came from the doorway.
“Old Xu! How did you end up here?” Cao Ying’s somewhat excited voice rang out by the entrance. “It’s been forever since the two of us last saw each other.”
Hearing those words, Chen Zhou felt a chill run down his spine and mechanically turned his head.
Crap. He felt shocked inside, it was actually Xu Nian.
This whole thing was genuinely a coincidence. Xu Nian had been busy at the shop when he suddenly realized that kid was missing.
Recalling his awkward blunder of going to look for him yesterday, he dismissed the idea of asking around. A moment later, he grabbed his keys and went to the market to buy supplies.
He was bargaining with a vendor in the fish-selling section when he caught sight of a familiar figure over there. Narrowing his eyes to look, he confirmed it was Cao Ying, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time.
The two were friends and had kept in touch over the years, though contact had dwindled later as he became overwhelmed taking care of his mother.
Just as he was about to go over and greet him, he suddenly saw a slender figure appear in front of Cao Ying, prominent shoulder blades, hands behind his back, slightly lowering his head.
Xu Nian recognized that it was Li Jia.
He let out a self-deprecating laugh, feeling somewhat awkward inside without quite knowing what kind of feeling it was. Looking at that back, Xu Nian suddenly felt like something was wrong with him. What kind of relationship did he and Li Jia have? They were just getting a bit closer recently, so what right did he have to mind someone else’s business?
Whatever. He sighed; it was none of his business anyway, and Li Jia could do whatever he wanted. Besides, the guy was still staying at the shop to help out for free and didn’t owe him anything.
Thinking this, Xu Nian watched the three of them walk into that shop, but his steps, initially heading back, still changed direction.
“Just came out to buy some things and saw you, so I thought I’d say hi.” After being spotted by Cao Ying, Xu Nian responded to him.
Chen Zhou exchanged a glance with him before looking away, standing awkwardly in the back. What on earth was going on? They could run into each other even here.
Chen Zhou wasn’t too keen on letting Xu Nian see him in this kind of situation, but there was nothing he could do.
As Cao Ying was introducing Xu Nian, he suddenly called out to Li Jia. Walking over shyly, Chen Zhou muttered, “Brother Xu Nian.”
Xu Nian suddenly curved the corners of his lips. Without letting Cao Ying speak, he said, “We know each other. How could we not?” Staring at him, Xu Nian gave Chen Zhou the distinct feeling of being targeted by a hunter.
Chen Zhou didn’t catch what was said afterward; he was just praying for Xu Nian to leave, as he didn’t like joining crowds anyway. But things didn’t go as hoped when he heard Cao Ying ask if they wanted to go together. Snapping back to reality and before he could react, he heard Xu Nian’s voice.
Carefree and flat, the man said, “Sure.”
Chen Zhou felt like collapsing.
And so, this bizarre group actually expanded.
Leaving the shop, Xu Heyun bought the wooden bird Chen Zhou had been eyeing, making Chen Zhou’s mood sink even further. Glancing at the item in the other man’s hand, he asked 126 if it could provide some money.
Sighing, 126 suddenly conjured a bird right before Chen Zhou’s eyes. It was lifelike with gorgeous feather colors, hovering around Chen Zhou in a way only he could see. Only then did Chen Zhou feel satisfied.
Right now, Xu Nian was standing beside him, walking in sync. Chen Zhou kept his head down, not daring to look at him; this inexplicable sense of guilt was vague and undefined, yet it clearly hovered all around Chen Zhou.
After a while, unable to hold back any longer, Chen Zhou said, “Bro, I came out to buy things today and happened to run into Brother Cao Ying.”
He didn’t know why he felt the need to explain, but the words slipped out anyway.
Gazing straight ahead without a ripple of emotion, Xu Nian simply replied, “Oh.”
Chen Zhou silently shut his mouth, not daring to say another word. Talk about a guilty dog barking first.
Arriving at the school gate, Cao Ying and Xu Heyun left, leaving only Xu Nian and Chen Zhou behind.
The two of them walked back in silence, but before long, it actually started to rain.
The rain wasn’t heavy, but as time passed, it showed signs of turning into a downpour. The moisture in the air grew heavier, the wind blew with a chilly bite, and the dirt on the ground turned muddy.
Seeing this, Chen Zhou immediately took off his outer jacket, wearing only a tank top, and held his clothes up to block the rain.
Xu Nian had originally intended to go buy or borrow an umbrella by the roadside, but when he turned his head, he saw this guy taking off his jacket and wrapping it over his own head.
Momentarily forgetting how to react, Xu Nian heard Chen Zhou say, “Bro, it’s not far, let’s sprint back!”
In the past, Xu Nian would have called him an idiot or silently gone looking for an umbrella. But right now, looking at the young man in front of him, whose hair was soaked by the rain, clinging to his cheeks, smiling as he spoke as though a rainy day was some kind of blessing, Xu Nian felt it had been far too long since he had encountered someone with such vitality.
The person in front of him even ate watermelons with total earnestness and tried his best to live a good life no matter what. He rarely saw such a smile, which made him all the more eager to cherish it.
Recalling how back in the village this guy would always call him “brother”, and even told him to eat well and take care of himself during his most dejected moments, Xu Nian remained completely silent this time. He allowed this person to grab his arm and run wildly with him through the rain.
Back at the restaurant, it was inevitable that both of them were soaked to the bone, especially Chen Zhou, because he had covered most of his clothes over Xu Nian’s head.
Without delaying, Chen Zhou headed straight upstairs to take a shower.
Xu Nian stayed put downstairs, holding that jacket in his hands. He watched the owner of the clothes go upstairs, then looked down at the garment in his grasp.
It was still new, worn with great care by its owner, just dampened by the rain.
Acting on a sudden impulse, Xu Nian raised the jacket up to his face, leaned in, and gently inhaled.
There was the smell of rainwater, yet mixed within it was the faint, lingering scent belonging to the clothes’ owner, blended with a trace of sweetness like jasmine flowers. That fragrance wove through the tip of his nose, refusing to dissipate for a long time.
A moment later, realizing what he was doing, Xu Nian snapped back to his senses and gripped the garment tight.
He must have truly lost his mind. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he closed his eyes.