Jiang Que’s face was still a little red, his mind a jumble of confusion, but his intuition told him he should first clarify the things he had just managed to figure out before getting tangled up in the previous kiss. So he said:
“Next time you ask me those questions about emotions like before, can you give me a little more time?”
“I don’t quite understand, analyzing these emotions takes time. If you suddenly skip topics, I can’t keep up with you. You have to wait for me.”
“And… for things like kissing, don’t just kiss me like that suddenly, I don’t know what to do.”
In this situation, whether to say he likes it or something else, to return the kiss or stand still, or to take further action, he didn’t know.
He needed to match the situation he was facing with the behavior of the few similar humans he had seen in order to know how to react, otherwise he would just stand still like his brain had crashed, not knowing what to do.
“Okay,” Shen Tazhi agreed.
“I’ll wait for you next time.”
He remembered his previous worries – now all dispelled by Jiang Que’s response, a slight smile playing on his lips.
Taking advantage of Jiang Que’s inattention, Shen Tazhi also raised his hand to touch his lips that he had just kissed, lowered his eyes, feeling his heartbeat finally calming down.
He was no less nervous than Jiang Que, he just didn’t show it.
After all, as the older one guiding the relationship, if even he got flustered, things would be too chaotic.
Previously, he teased and flirted with Jiang Que so effortlessly because he knew Jiang Que had no clue about what liking and love meant, just treating it with a somewhat reckless attitude.
Regardless of whether Jiang Que would understand what it means to like someone, if the tentacles did have a maturation period, he would agree to help Jiang Que hatch the eggs. So why not just be a bit more ambiguous, perhaps one day Jiang Que would understand on his own.
As for what to do after understanding, whether to move forward or distance himself, it was entirely up to Jiang Que.
Now that Jiang Que was starting to understand gradually, and not distancing himself after understanding, Shen Tazhi was a bit at a loss.
Kissing…
Shen Tazhi put down his hand that was rubbing his lips.
After this sudden attack, Jiang Que probably wouldn’t actively say he wanted to kiss again for a while, which was good as it would give him some time to rebuild himself mentally.
Not only Jiang Que was unprepared, but he was too.
After all the hustle and bustle, when they returned home, it was almost ten o’clock. Shen Tazhi checked the time, cooked some rice first, and then began to teach Jiang Que how to make butter cookies.
He first taught Jiang Que to take out the butter to soften it. While waiting for it to soften, he prepared the powdered sugar, eggs, and flour.
Because he was preparing to make two flavors – butter and matcha, he had two portions of butter ready. When it was time to add the powdered sugar and beat it after melting, it required two people to use a mixer to beat it.
But Jiang Que’s mind was in disarray now, wanting to find something to distract himself. He insisted on doing it himself, holding one whisk in each tentacle, trying to beat the butter at the same time.
Shen Tazhi laughed beside him. “Que Que, after beating it, you still need to add eggs and milk. You can’t handle it alone. Let me…”
Jiang Que split two more tentacles, rolled up the eggs and milk separately, insisting, “I can do it.”
Helpless, Shen Tazhi could only stand by and watch. When Jiang Que had beaten it almost enough, he told him to add the eggs. Watching Jiang Que awkwardly break the eggs, picking up eggshells and throwing away the trash, tentacles flailing around, it took a while for things to calm down.
Thankfully, the next step was to add milk and continue beating, then add flour and matcha powder to knead the dough. It wasn’t as difficult as beating the eggs. With Shen Tazhi’s verbal instructions, the kitchen didn’t witness any more chaotic tentacle dances.
The most crucial step in making butter cookies was getting the right level of beating and water-to-flour ratio to knead a suitable dough.
With Shen Tazhi observing nearby, even though Jiang Que was still mentally conflicted and distracted by what had happened in the supermarket, he didn’t completely mess up. Soon, he had rolled out two doughs – one yellow and one green – and placed them on the greased paper.
Next was rolling out the dough, using molds to create shapes, or piping them out with a pastry bag. After demonstrating a few, Jiang Que understood and took over the molds from Shen Tazhi, earnestly working away.
Kissing… liking…
Shen Tazhi… partner…
Stop thinking about it, can these jumbled thoughts just leave his mind already?!
Jiang Que’s movements in making the cookies became more forceful.
Shen Tazhi didn’t know that Jiang Que was already feeling overwhelmed inside. Watching him energetically making the cookies, he thought he still had a child-like mentality, easily forgetting what had just happened when he encountered something interesting.
Shaking his head with a smile, Shen Tazhi glanced at the time.
It’s half past ten, and we can also start preparing lunch.
Shen Tazhi then went over to the stove to heat up oil for lunch, while Jiang Que sat at the table behind him, stamping out cookies one by one. As he stamped, he muttered to himself frantically, trying to use his limited life experience to figure out how to deal with the current situation.
By the time Shen Tazhi finished cooking, Jiang Que had just finished stamping out all the face cookies. He spoke before Shen Tazhi could say anything:
“Shen Tazhi, look, I stamped out a lot of little birds.”
He used the long-tailed tit mold that Shen Tazhi had originally used, creating round, cute little birds tilting their heads.
The butter cookies were all round little tits, neatly arranged in a 6×6 grid. Shen Tazhi turned off the exhaust hood, looking at the table full of tits and smiled:
“Amazing, they look so good.”
“Of course.” Jiang Que was complimented and temporarily forgot his earlier discomfort. He leaned over to show Shen Tazhi the other side of the table, where there were matcha-flavored cookies, “Look at this, this one’s for you.”
Shen Tazhi looked over and saw another 6×6 grid on the other table, neatly arranged green twigs.
Que and Zhi, Jiang Que and Shen Tazhi.
Even when Jiang Que was stamping cookies with a distracted mind, he didn’t forget to pair himself with a branch.
“Do we have this mold at home?” Shen Tazhi asked in confusion.
Not to mention that there were very few stores that specialized in twig-shaped cookie molds, and he didn’t remember buying anything similar on purpose.
Jiang Que picked up a nearby mold to show Shen Tazhi: “It’s a deer mold. I looked for a twig mold for a long time but couldn’t find one. Only the deer antlers were the closest, so I stamped out deer first, then cut off the excess parts, leaving only the antlers.”
This was much more time-consuming and laborious than simply stamping cookies, but it also effectively distracted him from his restlessness.
“You’ve really worked hard.” Shen Tazhi praised him with a smile, “Coming up with such a method is really impressive.”
Shen Tazhi’s praise almost went straight to Jiang Que’s heart, making him feel light and airy. He completely put aside what had happened in the supermarket and focused wholeheartedly on the butter cookies, only reluctantly tearing his gaze away when he and Shen Tazhi put the cookies in the oven together.
Jiang Que took the initiative to say, “I’ll go wash up for lunch. I want to have these cookies during the afternoon class.”
“Sure.” Shen Tazhi pondered for a moment, “I’ll let Du Lulu know in advance. Since we have a bit extra cookies, if you’re willing, you can give her some.”
“Okay,” Jiang Que agreed with a single breath.
He first went to wash his hands and tentacles, then had lunch with Shen Tazhi.
Originally, he had planned to give some cookies to Du Lulu after lunch, but after spending so long in the kitchen that morning and feeling a bit uncomfortable with the dirt on his body, Jiang Que decided to take a shower upstairs first.
In reality, he wasn’t dirty at all, but after spending so long in the abyss, he had grown accustomed to feeling completely clean under the effects of the array. The slightest bit of dirt made him feel uneasy.
“Splash—”
The water from the shower head poured down, and Jiang Que took a deep breath, carefully washing the pitiful tentacle he had twisted, finally clearing his mind to some extent.
He belatedly realized just how foolish and irredeemable his actions that morning had been. He covered his face again, squatting down and letting the water drench him completely.
Stop reminiscing, it’s too embarrassing.
Jiang Que smacked his own forehead several times, but the more he did so, the clearer the events that had transpired earlier became in his mind. He could even recall every subtle expression Shen Tazhi had made at the time.
Why did he act so immaturely?
Shen Tazhi was so calm and collected, he must think he’s immature from the bottom of his heart, otherwise why would he show that helpless yet amused expression?
…But Shen Tazhi did say he was beginning to understand “liking,” so does that mean he was accepting his intentions?
Jiang Que didn’t know. His exceptional memory forced him to replay his own embarrassing moments, and now he wished he could wash away all the memories in his mind along with the flowing water.
Can he forget everything completely? If only he hadn’t gone out today.
First, he encountered other annoying humans on the road, then saw a couple, Shen Tazhi’s strange reaction, the kiss he had missed… Huh.
Jiang Que suddenly raised his head.
How come in his memory there was Shen Tazhi looking down, rubbing his own lips with his hand?
This scene seemed so cornered, as if he had glimpsed it unconsciously from the corner of his eye. He hadn’t even noticed it at the time, or only realized it was off now when recalling it.
At that time… Shen Tazhi seemed quite flustered too?
Jiang Que furrowed his brows, trying hard to recall once more, but this tiny fragment of memory was just too blurry. No matter how much he searched, it was only this tiny bit.
But no matter how you looked at it, that action was very odd.
Jiang Que’s heart, which was originally jumping wildly due to embarrassment, gradually calmed down.
He squinted slightly.
Could it be? Was Shen Tazhi’s calmness and maturity all an act?
Without solid evidence, Jiang Que didn’t dare to jump to conclusions. He slowly stood up, leaning against the wall, and began washing his tentacles again, making a decision in his heart:
He needed to find an opportunity to test it out.
Would the always perfect, seemingly invincible Shen Tazhi who was the strict elder who protected him be flustered because of him?
If so…
Jiang Que touched the corner of his mouth that had been kissed, recalling Shen Tazhi’s casual pulling away after kissing him, and couldn’t help curling his fingers.
He wanted to see what lay beneath Shen Tazhi’s outer shell.
—
The time spent in the shower was a bit long, and by the time Jiang Que came downstairs, it was almost one o’clock.
The cookies had already been taken out of the oven to cool by Shen Tazhi. Jiang Que tasted two pieces, then went to give Shen Tazhi two pieces, giving him a meaningful look before preparing to go to today’s tutoring class.
It wouldn’t be too late to ask after the class, especially since he still had questions for Du Lulu.
At this moment, Du Lulu, who had come to teach Jiang Que under the scorching sun, looked at the mountain-like cookies in front of him, and at Jiang Que, who was smiling with narrowed eyes, clearly not well-intentioned and likely to continue asking questions about “love” or “liking,” slowly uttered a sentence:
“Is this… a Hongmen Banquet1a banquet with hidden intentions like assassinations?”
