Chapter 28: Tasting the Food
Translator: Xena
Sorry for the late upload, was super busy with a christmas presentation last week 🙁
“For your girlfriend?” Before Cheng Yinian could cover for him, Lu Yan spoke up first. “Why didn’t you just buy it online and ship it over? Did you two actually meet?”
“…No.” Chen Xiangsui paused deliberately, as if considering his words. “I saw it in a store and bought it because it seemed pretty good. I plan to mail it over.”
“I get it, I get it.” Lu Yan smiled meaningfully, patted Chen Xiangsui’s shoulder casually, helped him put down his things, and then returned to his own bunk.
Cheng Yinian wore the cotton slippers Chen Xiangsui had given him. He kept one pair in the dormitory and left the other at the rented apartment. Chen Xiangsui deliberately handed the clothes Lu Yan had placed on his desk earlier to Cheng Yinian, including the white dress. “Can you put it on?”
“…Maybe.” Cheng Yinian, hearing the inexplicable hope in Chen Xiangsui’s voice, couldn’t bring himself to give a definitive answer.
Chen Xiangsui pulled his phone from his pocket and waved it in front of Cheng Yinian twice. “Can we exchange photos?”
Before Cheng Yinian could think of a reply, Chen Xiangsui continued, “You said before that you’d be happy to send it to me.”
Anyway, he’d done similar things plenty of times before. This time, he’d merely revealed his identity to Chen Xiangsui, so it seemed no different. Moreover, he couldn’t very well argue with him, so he nodded. “What kind of photos will you send me?”
“I still don’t know what you like about me.” Chen Xiangsui looked a bit dazed. “Can you tell me?”
“…You idiot.” Cheng Yinian awkwardly averted his gaze from Chen Xiangsui’s eyes, somehow unable to hold back from blurting out that sentence.
Chen Xiangsui couldn’t help but stare in astonishment, his mind frantically searching for answers. “I’m sorry, I’m slow with these things. Do you want to see me wearing the scarf you gave me, or when I’m playing basketball?”
He paused for a moment before continuing, “How about childhood photos?”
Cheng Yinian’s eyes lit up. Chen Xiang’s childhood photo still served as his desktop background. The boy of around 9 year old looked sweet and adorable. He liked Chen Xiangsui no matter what, he thought, but he was even more curious about the Chen Xiangsui he had never met.
“…I want to see your childhood photos.” Cheng Yinian spoke up, somewhat embarrassed.
“Then can I see your childhood photos too?”
Cheng Yinian fell into an awkward silence for a moment. “…Got it. But you’ll have to send me a lot then.”
“Mm.” Chen Xiangsui smiled joyfully.
That evening, when Cheng Yinian opened WeChat, he received a series of photos from Chen Xiangsui—about ten in total. They showed a little boy in kindergarten uniform, a primary school student standing at the school gate holding his father’s hand, and middle school photos that already bore some resemblance to the current Chen Xiangsui.
Chen Xiangsui: [I searched for a long time. These are the ones I specifically picked out, which looked a bit better.]
Cheng Yinian: [Were there any bad photos?]
Chen Xiangsui: [Some of them look a bit silly.]
Although Cheng Yinian wanted to say that Chen Xiangsui was still pretty silly even now, he held back. [I want to see.]
Chen Xiangsui: [You don’t mind?]
Cheng Yinian couldn’t help but laugh. How could such a question possibly be directed at him? [If you’re willing to send it, I’ll look at it.]
Before long, Chen Xiangsui sent over a photo of a little boy who had fallen into a muddy puddle. His entire body was caked in mud, with only his face vaguely recognizable. Tears streaming from the corners of his eyes mixed with the mud, leaving two streaks that looked downright comical. Sitting at his desk, Cheng Yinian couldn’t help but laugh.
“Is this really you?” Cheng Yinian couldn’t help but turn back, wiping away the tears of laughter that had welled up in the corners of her eyes.
Chen Xiangsui silently nodded once. “You haven’t sent yours to me yet.”
Cheng Yinian immediately composed himself, selected a few photos from the album, and sent them over. Besides the photos he took himself while wearing the white lace dress Chen Xiangsui bought for him, there were also a few childhood photos he just got from his mother yesterday. While he talked with his mother, the latter couldn’t help but bring up his childhood. She said that back then, Cheng Yinian was quite the charmer—he could get along with any child and was always running around and making a ruckus.
Cheng Yinian touched the vocal cords in his throat and gave a bitter tug at the corner of his mouth.
As a child, Cheng Yinian was small and slender, as if he could be easily scooped up with a single hand. When a smile graced his fair face, it would reveal a small dimple on his left cheek.
Chen Xiangsui: [You were adorable as a child.]
Cheng Yinian didn’t know how to respond, so after some thought, he simply said thank you. Chen Xiangsui called his name. He instinctively turned around to see the other person setting his childhood photo as the lock screen right in front of him.
“That way, I’ll get to see you more often.”
Cheng Yinian watched as the other person’s fingers lifted from the screen. “Why did you go out of your way to tell me?”
“I was afraid you wouldn’t like it.”
Cheng Yinian suddenly recalled seeing Chen Xiangsui’s lock screen during his live stream. “…It’s your phone. You can set it however you want.”
“I can’t disregard my Xiongdi’s1Little brother feelings.” Chen Xiangsui was inexplicably taking things very seriously.
Cheng Yinian seemed to be dealing with a little brat, who pretended to care about his feelings while constantly acting spoiled—demanding photos and demanding to call him “Gege.” For some reason, he suddenly felt a twinge of mischief and set that ridiculous childhood photo as his wallpaper right in front of Chen Xiangsui.
“You like this one?” Chen Xiangsui looked puzzled. “Is it that special?”
Cheng Yinian: …
He felt that Chen Xiangsui probably had no sense of shame.
……
“Hungry?” Seeing Cheng Yinian set the matter of photos aside, Chen Xiangsui put down his phone and suddenly asked. Then he took a pot out of his cupboard. “I’ll make you something to eat.”
Cheng Yinian was about to say he wasn’t hungry when his stomach growled at the worst possible moment. For some reason, he always got hungry at this exact time every night. His stash of instant noodles had just run out, and by the time he got to the supermarket, it might already be closed.
Chen Xiangsui chuckled softly. “I have some instant curry I bought earlier. I’ll cook that for you.”
After speaking, Chen Xiangsui plugged in the pot, then pulled out a large handful of ingredients from the cabinet beside him. With practiced ease, he whipped up a curry rice dish and two fragrant side dishes that made one’s mouth water. The food was placed on Cheng Yinian’s table, “Try a bite and see if it suits your taste.”
Cheng Yinian couldn’t resist the enticing aroma wafting toward him. He instinctively took the spoon Chen Xiangsui offered, scooped up a mouthful of curry, and popped it into his mouth. Though it was just instant curry, Chen Xiangsui added other ingredients for seasoning, resulting in a more complex and layered flavor.
“Do you like it?” Chen Xiangsui watched Cheng Yinian eat and asked.
Cheng Yinian didn’t think twice and simply replied, “I like it.”
“Whenever you need me, I’ll cook for you.”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Lu Yan and Xu Zitang walked in from outside. Seeing their two roommates eating, Lu Yan couldn’t resist leaning in, “What good stuff is this? Let me have a bite too.”
“I only made one for Yinian.” Chen Xiangsui spoke up casually from the side, gesturing toward the pot and a few leftover ingredients still sitting on his desk. “You can use my stuff.”
Lu Yan clicked his tongue in disapproval. “Look, this is what a real roommate is like. Could it be that he really wants to keep Yinian around by making these delicious treats?”
“…Hmm.” Chen Xiangsui seemed to have been struck at his core, deliberately averting his gaze from Lu Yan. The person opposite seemed unconcerned, chuckling a few times as he took a packet of noodles from Chen Xiangsui’s table. “Alright, alright, I know, Yinian is your darling now. I’ll take the ingredients, then.”
Cheng Yinian’s gaze instinctively swept toward Chen Xiangsui, only then realizing that the other’s sense of shame seemed rooted in aspects he couldn’t fathom.
On the other end, Lu Yan had already cooked up a pot of steaming noodles. He picked up a mouthful with his chopsticks and held it to Xu Zitang’s lips. “Try some.”
Xu Zitang dug right in, raving about the noodles’ flavor. Lu Yan then carried the pot over to Cheng Yinian. “Even Xu Zitang thinks it’s delicious. Give it a try.”
Cheng Yinian picked up a small bite and put it in his mouth. The taste was indeed quite good, so he nodded and offered a few words of praise. Lu Yan also invited Chen Xiangsu. The next moment, the latter picked up the chopsticks Cheng Yinian had just used and took a small bite of noodles. “How about it? Not too shabby compared to Xiangsui’s, right?”
“Yinian just said he likes mine.” Chen Xiangsui was stating what he believed to be facts.
Lu Yan couldn’t help but grin and joke, “Jealous? I won’t bother you anymore. You two lovebirds can be alone now.” After speaking, he returned to his seat and joined Xu Zitang at the same table.
Cheng Yinian felt inexplicably awkward. His gaze lingered briefly on the chopsticks Chen Xiangsui had just used before quickly shifting away. “I like the food you cook, not you. Don’t use that kind of misleading phrasing.”
“Don’t you like me?” Chen Xiangsui looked as though he’d suffered the greatest injustice, as if something was weighing down his emotions until they could no longer be contained.
“I…” I like you. Cheng Yinian had wanted to blurt it out countless times, but each time the words died on his lips. Before he could think of his next line, Chen Xiangsui continued, still wearing that aggrieved expression. “You said you like Age, so liking Age means liking me.”
“….” Cheng Yinian felt an unprecedented pounding in his chest. His ears flushed as he opened his mouth, his lips trembling several times before he managed to utter the words, “I like you.”
“I know.” Chen Xiangsui’s lips curved into a perfect smile. He gently wrapped an arm around Cheng Yinian’s shoulder, letting the other’s face brush lightly against the hollow of his neck. “My best Xiongdi.”
“……”
Cheng Yinian felt countless ellipses flying through his mind. Sometimes he genuinely wanted to pry open Chen Xiangsui’s skull just to see what was inside.
“Don’t ever talk to me like that again.” Cheng Yinian took a few steps back, attempting to break free from Chen Xiangsui’s grip.
Chen Xiangsui looked utterly perplexed. “But you’d say that to Age.”
“…The internet is the internet, and reality is reality.” After debating with Chen Xiangsui so many times, Cheng Yinian could probably guess what the other was about to say next. “If you ask what the difference is, just think of it as a rule for bookkeeping formats—it’s fixed.”
“I understand.” Chen Xiangsui hung his head low. “Then I’ll go on WeChat and tell you I like you.”
Cheng Yinian: “……”
