Shen Yu stood with one hand in his pocket, watching as Qi Fang said goodbye to his friends in the private room. Those being addressed froze in their seats, their gazes unfocused and wandering, looking everywhere but at Shen Yu.
These were all Qi Fang’s friends. Shen Yu knew this clearly. With his excellent memory, he recognized people he had met just a few times, but he didn’t bother greeting this group.
There was no need.
Qi Fang’s friends weren’t his friends. Shen Yu disliked wasting time on idle chatter with unfamiliar people.
He’d rather review experimental data twice more than spend that time socializing.
Forsaking unnecessary social activities was Shen Yu’s principle. From childhood, only Qi Fang had constantly followed him, engaging in pointless activities. Though it hadn’t caused major disruptions, it was still…
Shen Yu reflected for a moment and found it quite troublesome.
For instance, from junior high through university graduation and even after starting work, Qi Fang had unfailingly delivered meals to Shen Yu for over a decade, rain or shine.
When they were younger, he bought buns from street vendors, deliberately choosing the celery and pork ones Shen Yu despised. Eventually, Shen Yu couldn’t bear it any longer. He took time from his busy studies to discuss with Qi Fang whether celery should exist on Earth. Afterward, Qi Fang switched to mushroom and pork buns, still delighting in bringing them to Shen Yu.
As they grew older, Qi Fang began learning to cook. His initial experiments were taste-tested by several friends, including Qin Xiaosa, all of whom ended up in the hospital.
After several bold and reckless culinary experiments, Qi Fang’s talent in this area was finally unearthed. His achievements skyrocketed, and Shen Yu transitioned from a reluctant taster to a willing recipient. Even now, he couldn’t comprehend Qi Fang’s intentions.
Shen Yu believed that cooking was a waste of limited life on endless, monotonous, mechanical work, detrimental to humanity’s precious time resources. However, he grudgingly understood Qi Fang’s decades-long persistence.
After all, to each his own. If Qi Fang treated culinary arts as a career to develop, it wasn’t entirely unreasonable.
Shen Yu typically respected those who persevered in their careers.
“Um… Professor Shen, we’ll be going now,” Qi Fang’s friends awkwardly but politely said as they passed Shen Yu. “It’s late. Take care on your way home.”
Shen Yu nodded in response.
Once the room emptied, Qi Fang grabbed his jacket from the sofa and walked out with Shen Yu.
“Why did you come back early?” Qi Fang rubbed his nose, feeling inexplicably guilty.
Heaven knew this was his first time going out with Qin Xiaosa and the others in months. In the past, when Shen Yu was at home, he would always be home before nine o’clock and would never do such a thing as hanging out in the middle of the night.
“The conference ended early,” Shen Yu replied, looking straight ahead. “There was a flight available.”
Qi Fang pressed the elevator button for the underground parking garage, coughed, and asked, “Then… why did you come to find me? It’s already past midnight. Shouldn’t you rest first?”
At this question, Shen Yu suddenly turned to look at him.
Shen Yu’s eyes were beautifully willow-shaped, with slightly upturned corners forming an alluring curve. However, his pupils were jet-black, his gaze cold and sharp. When he stared silently at someone, the pressure was intense.
Reportedly, during Shen Yu’s lectures, the students below all resembled quails, none daring to boldly raise their heads and meet Professor Shen’s gaze.
— Except for Qi Fang.
When Shen Yu looked at him, Qi Fang’s heart felt like fizzy soda, bubbles bursting forth with a tart sweetness. The bubbles flowed through his blood to every limb, making his whole body feel as if it might float away.
Just as he was drifting on this feeling, Shen Yu withdrew his gaze and said flatly, “Qin Xiaosa posted on WeChat Moments.”
Good brother, Qi Fang thought.
Shen Yu took out his phone, opened his chat with Qi Fang, and showed it to him, stating matter-of-factly, “Two days ago, you said you were sick. I was afraid you might drink yourself to death, so I came to check on you.”
Qi Fang: “…”
“In marriage, caring for one’s partner is a responsibility.”
As the elevator doors opened, Shen Yu added, “Whether I like you or not has nothing to do with fulfilling my duties.”
The sweet bubbles that had just risen in Qi Fang’s heart shattered. After a moment, he realized Shen Yu was actually responding to what Qin Xiaosa and the others had said in the private room.
So he had heard.
Accustomed to Shen Yu’s businesslike manner, Qi Fang didn’t feel awkward. He rubbed his chin and said, “I don’t take care of you out of duty.”
Shen Yu neither agreed nor disagreed, offering no response.
In the car, Qi Fang started the engine and suddenly remembered something. “Did you take a taxi here?”
Shen Yu lifted his long lashes and looked at him silently, as if to say: What else?
It was well known that Professor Shen, an undisputed career powerhouse, had survival skills close to those of a fish out of water. The most advanced mode of transportation Shen Yu could manage was riding a shared bicycle.
He had learned that only out of desperation to make it to an academic conference during a traffic jam.
Qi Fang turned the steering wheel, driving onto the elevated highway. After some thought, he spoke up, “I… don’t go to bars every day. Tonight, I just wasn’t in a good mood, so…”
“That’s your personal matter,” Shen Yu interrupted, looking at the passing scenery. “There’s no need to tell me.”
“We’re married now,” Qi Fang replied even more quickly. “My personal matters are your personal matters. Your personal matters don’t have to be mine, but I want to share mine with you. You don’t need to exchange yours in return. Why not ask a few more questions?”
“…” Shen Yu simply leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. “Tired.”
Unfortunately, this didn’t stop Qi Fang’s mouth. On the drive home, Shen Yu kept his eyes closed, listening to Qi Fang expound on how he had spent the past few days alone, his thoughts surging like tides, raising his glass to the moon, his shadow making three. The fluency and beauty of his sentences, the richness of his emotions, and the rises and falls in his tone were worthy of a great literary work.
But Shen Yu wasn’t a literature professor. He dozed off during this dissertation, showing no reaction at all.
Qi Fang parked the car in the community garage and looked at the person beside him as he turned off the engine.
Shen Yu was curled up in the passenger seat, wrapped in a thin long coat, his face pale, his brows slightly furrowed as if he were uncomfortable.
“Shen Yu?” Qi Fang called twice. Seeing no response, his expression turned serious. “…Shen Yuyu?”
He touched the back of Shen Yu’s hand resting in front of him. Even after sitting in the car for so long, it hadn’t warmed up and was still cool.
Qi Fang unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the driver’s door. He flipped open the armrest compartment and grabbed a chocolate from the assortment of colorful candies inside. He got out and walked around to the passenger side, unwrapped the chocolate, and held it to Shen Yu’s lips, saying softly, “Did you skip dinner again? Be good, don’t sleep yet. Eat this first.”
In his daze, Shen Yu heard Qi Fang calling him. When he opened his eyes, his vision was blurry. He instinctively parted his lips, swallowing the sweet chocolate.
By the time he came to his senses, he found himself sitting on the sofa in their apartment.
Shen Yu took off his coat and placed it aside. Instead of asking how he got upstairs, he saw Qi Fang emerge from the kitchen with a spatula, arms crossed, staring at him for a moment before asking, “How long has it been since you’ve eaten?”
“…” Shen Yu slowly took out his phone, glanced at the time, and after a moment’s recollection, replied, “About thirty-some hours.”
From the end of the conference, post-discussion with experts and research fellows from various countries, retrieving luggage from the hotel, catching the earliest flight, landing and returning to the apartment, going out to find Qi Fang, to coming back now.
“Not that long,” Shen Yu said. “I ate something on the plane.”
Qi Fang laughed in exasperation. “Ate something?”
“A cup of coffee,” Shen Yu answered politely, responding to every question.
Qi Fang: “…”
*
By the time Shen Yu finished unpacking his business trip luggage, the wall clock in the bedroom pointed to 4 a.m.
The duplex apartment was filled with the rich aroma of pumpkin and millet porridge. Shen Yu returned to the living room to see Qi Fang bringing the freshly cooked porridge to the dining table.
The golden pumpkin shreds were fragrant and glutinous, the millet cooked to a soft mush. As Qi Fang ladled the porridge into a bowl, he looked up to find Shen Yu had silently approached.
He had taken off his coat, revealing a beige turtleneck sweater underneath. Shen Yu pulled at his sleeve, exposing a slender wrist, then reached out to take the bowl of porridge.
“Thank you,” Shen Yu said politely before even receiving the bowl.
Qi Fang seemed to want to say something but ended up just sighing and pushing the bowl toward him. “Eat first. I added extra sugar for you.”
Shen Yu sat down and began eating the porridge quietly but quickly — it was late, and he had a class at the university at 10 a.m. tomorrow. He needed to sleep soon to maintain sufficient energy.
Halfway through his meal, he remembered something and said to Qi Fang, “Remember to take your medicine.”
Qi Fang was ladling porridge for himself when he instinctively asked, “What medicine?”
“You have a cold,” Shen Yu said flatly, putting down his spoon. “You should probably go to the hospital, but I don’t have time tomorrow. You’ll have to go by yourself.”
‘How does he still remember that,’ Qi Fang thought. If he had known Shen Yu would be concerned, he wouldn’t have pretended to be unwell on WeChat a couple of days ago.
“No way,” Qi Fang said casually. “I’m all better now. I’m so strong I could knock out three Qin Xiaosas with one punch.”
Shen Yu: “…”
He said no more. After finishing his porridge, he immediately got up and went upstairs.
Qi Fang watched Shen Yu’s retreating figure as he first entered the study, seemingly organizing some documents and files. Ten minutes later, he came out and went into the bedroom, closing the door behind him, shutting out both the light and Qi Fang’s gaze.
Qi Fang looked away, letting out a soft sigh. He muttered to himself, “…Keep trying.”
Leave a Reply