At 4:58 a.m.
Shen Yu sat on the bed in disheveled pajamas, staring blankly at his extended left hand.
Qi Fang quickly changed into his pajama pants, grabbed a clean towel, soaked it in water, and wiped Shen Yu’s hand with deep remorse. He said, “I’m sorry, Comrade Shen Xiaoyu. It’s my fault for not raising my ideological awareness and guarding the key position. I surrendered at the first sign of trouble. Please scold me harshly.”
Shen Yu: “…”
Shen Yu wasn’t fully awake yet.
He only remembered grabbing something, and then his hand became dirty. The whole process took less than a minute, leaving Shen Yu quite bewildered.
It wasn’t until Qi Fang finished wiping his hand clean that Shen Yu gradually came to his senses. His gaze fell on a certain area.
“…” Qi Fang defended himself. “Shen Yuyu, I’m not that quick because of any condition. It’s because you suddenly grabbed me…”
Shen Yu remained noncommittal, his expression unreadable as to whether he believed Qi Fang or not.
Realizing his image was irreparably plummeting, Qi Fang panicked and desperately tried to salvage his dignity. “If you don’t believe me, try it yourself. I’m sure you’d be the same!”
Hearing this, Shen Yu looked down at his own pants, then raised his eyes to glance at Qi Fang.
“You do it,” he said seriously.
*
About twenty minutes later, Shen Yu lay face down on the blanket, his cheeks flushed.
As it turned out, his willpower was just as weak and easily conquered as Qi Fang’s. In fact, his reaction was even more intense—right now, for instance, Shen Yu felt as hot as if he had a fever.
Qi Fang had already left the room to make breakfast. Shen Yu rolled over a couple of times on the bed, then dug out the box of kidney tonic from the nightstand. He pondered deeply whether he should take a dose as well.
Before he could reach a conclusion, Qi Fang knocked on the bedroom door, saying cheerfully, “Time to get up for breakfast, Shen Yuyu. We’re having tonkotsu ramen today.”
Shen Yu stuffed the medicine box under his pillow and got up, responding slowly, “Mm.”
Today’s work schedule was still packed. At noon, Qi Fang sighed deeply once, twice, three times at the boxed meal brought by his assistant, Xiao Lin.
“?” Assistant Xiao Lin pushed up his glasses and politely inquired, “Are you dissatisfied with me or the meal I brought?”
Qi Fang opened the lunch box, showing no appetite for the array of dishes inside. He sighed wistfully, “Your Professor Shen hasn’t ordered meals for me these past few days.”
Ever since Shen Yu no longer believed he was anemic, he had stopped ordering special meals for him. Instead, various strange kidney-nourishing medicines had appeared at home.
“Look at this food,” Qi Fang pointed at the lunch box. “We had chicken yesterday, so why are we having duck today? If it were your Professor Shen, he’d surely consider a different combination.”
Assistant Xiao Lin kindly reminded him, “Professor Shen always ordered beef for you.”
“Beef is good, beef is great,” Qi Fang said. “You should learn more from Shen… Actually, never mind that for now. I’ve been a bit hot-tempered lately.”
Xiao Lin noticed his boss’s mood was quite peculiar today.
How to put it? His complaints were mixed with a hint of sweetness, a touch of melancholy, a dash of pride, a bit of inner conflict, and, lastly, six parts of happiness that seemed rather punchable in Xiao Lin’s eyes.
“I’ll email you the cafeteria menu for the coming days,” Assistant Xiao Lin said. “If there’s anything you’d like to eat on a particular day, please let me know in advance.”
Qi Fang grunted twice, then suddenly noticed his phone screen light up. He opened it to find a message from Shen Yu:
[Can you come to the school cafeteria to have lunch with me today?]
Qi Fang immediately replied: [I’ll be there in twenty minutes.]
Assistant Xiao Lin only felt a black shadow flash before his eyes. When he looked up again, he saw Qi Fang had already teleported to the CEO’s office door. Qi Fang didn’t forget to loosen his tie and take off his black suit jacket, replacing it with a more casual coat.
The office door opened and closed. Xiao Lin lowered his head and looked at the newly opened lunch box on the table.
A moment later, he calmly put it away, deciding to eat this 150-yuan CEO lunch himself.
*
When Qi Fang parked his car and arrived at the school gate, he was surprised to find Shen Yu waiting for him outside the security office.
Shen Yu was looking down at the messages on his phone. Occasionally, groups of two or three students passed by, all curiously eyeing this teacher with outstanding presence.
Even Zhao Minqing passed by. He stopped a few meters away and glanced at Shen Yu. Seeing that Shen Yu didn’t notice him at all, he couldn’t help but darken his face before turning and leaving.
“Why did you come out to wait?”
Shen Yu only looked up when he heard Qi Fang’s voice.
Qi Fang said, “It’s not like I don’t know where your cafeteria is.”
Shen Yu replied, “I wanted to go together.”
Qi Fang’s heart soared at these words.
There were many people around the school, and since Shen Yu was a teacher, it wasn’t appropriate to hold hands. So, the two walked side by side toward the cafeteria. Qi Fang rubbed his nose and asked somewhat bashfully:
“Shen Yuyu, why did you suddenly ask me to come have lunch with you today? Am I… not disturbing you?”
Shen Yu turned his face and glanced at him.
“Half an hour doesn’t count as a disturbance,” Shen Yu paused, then added, “The cafeteria has new dishes today.”
Today was S University’s anniversary. Qi Fang saw many places decorated with various photo-op signs, and many students were checking in and taking photos.
The faculty cafeteria was on the top floor. Shen Yu used his meal card to pay for both of them, and they each carried a tray to sit in a corner.
Qi Fang suddenly felt this scene was quite remarkable.
It was like something out of a dream.
A few months ago, he couldn’t have imagined sitting here in the school cafeteria with Shen Yu, face to face, tasting new dishes from the canteen.
And it was Shen Yu who had invited him, no less.
“In the future, if you eat anything you like, take a picture and send it to me,” Qi Fang said. “I’ll make it for you at home.”
Shen Yu nodded, thought for a moment, then pointed at a dish on the table and said softly, “Then I like… this one.”
Qi Fang looked at it, quickly cataloging the ingredients in his mind, and promised, “This isn’t difficult. I’ll make it this weekend.”
Shen Yu’s eyes curved slightly, as if he was very pleased.
As they ate, they chatted. Qi Fang did most of the talking, recounting stories about the clueless vice president and poker-faced assistant at his company, gossiping about the love-hate relationships between the HR and Finance departments, the rivalry between the Tech and Production departments, and the amusing incidents caused by this year’s new, dimwitted intern.
Shen Yu shared a few stories from his lab, though his narration was quite straightforward – like how the senior sister in the group tried to grow mushrooms in a petri dish for a midnight snack, or how the junior brother secretly bowed three times to Shen Yu’s lab coat after his paper was accepted for publication…
Before they knew it, nearly fifty minutes had passed. Most of the teachers had left the cafeteria when Shen Yu finally came to his senses.
He glanced at the time, then looked at Qi Fang. “I need to go back to the lab now.”
“See you tonight,” Shen Yu said.
“I’ll walk you to the lab building,” Qi Fang replied.
The midday sun shone brightly, and there weren’t many students on the campus paths. The few they encountered were couples, whispering to each other, oblivious to anyone else around them.
To reach the lab building, they had to pass by a central lake. As they walked along the lakeside, Qi Fang noticed no one was around and took the opportunity to hook his finger with Shen Yu’s.
“Professor Shen,” he teased, “will we get caught if we date on campus?”
Shen Yu lowered his lashes, swinging their linked hands slightly.
“We won’t,” Shen Yu answered seriously. “We’re grown-ups now.”
*
That evening, after returning home, Shen Yu saw Qi Fang had forwarded him a WeChat message.
“Our high school is planning to hold an alumni day event,” Qi Fang said. “They’re inviting us alumni to go back for a visit.”
“Do you want to go, Shen Yuyu?” he asked.
The event was scheduled for this weekend. Shen Yu considered his plans for that day and nodded, “We can go.”
“Let’s invite Qin Xiaosa and Li Congming, too,” Qi Fang added. “It’s been a long time since we’ve been back.”
Their high school wasn’t in the provincial capital, but in Q City, over a hundred kilometers away. Their elementary and middle schools were there, too.
After Chen Ziqiu passed away, Shen Wenxun frequently traveled abroad. Meanwhile, Qi Fang’s parents moved to the provincial capital after he started university, relocating their company headquarters and business operations along with them.
Come to think of it, it had been quite a while since they’d visited that modest little city.
After dinner, Qi Fang and Shen Yu briefly planned their itinerary, deciding to leave on Saturday with Li Congming and Qin Xiaosa and stay in Q City for two days before returning.
“You…” Qi Fang suddenly remembered something and asked instinctively, “Shen Yuyu, will your lab project be okay?”
Usually, Shen Yu spent most of his weekends at school. Despite being secretly delighted about their recent outings, Qi Fang couldn’t help but worry about Shen Yu’s work.
Shen Yu shook his head and said, “It’s fine.”
“I can handle things on my computer,” he added.
“That’s good,” Qi Fang sighed in relief, saying, “I’ll let Assistant Xiao Lin handle my work. Worst case, I can ask my dad to fill in at the company.”
Shen Yu: “…”
After dinner, Qi Fang casually washed the dishes. When he came out, he was surprised to find that Shen Yu had already wiped the table. Although the cloth wasn’t wrung out properly, leaving water marks all over, at least an attempt had been made.
At the same time, Qi Fang noticed Shen Yu’s face was a bit red.
“What’s wrong? Is it hot in here?” Qi Fang was taken aback. As he stepped closer, he saw Shen Yu trying to hide something behind his back.
“…Shen Yuyu?” Qi Fang narrowed his eyes.
Shen Yu pressed his lips together and actually took half a step back.
Qi Fang glanced around at their surroundings.
On the wet table was a half-drunk glass of warm water, a cloth, and tiny bits of cardboard crumbs.
Wait a minute, cardboard crumbs?
Qi Fang felt a sense of foreboding. “Shen Yuyu, what did you eat?”
Realizing he couldn’t hide it anymore, Shen Yu slowly brought out his hand. In his palm lay a box of kidney-strengthening tonic.
Qi Fang: “??!!”
“You took it?” Qi Fang asked in disbelief. “W-why?”
Shen Yu thought for a moment, then answered, “I felt I might need this medicine too. If it works well, then you could try using it.”
Qi Fang: “…”
*
After taking a hot shower, Shen Yu’s face became even redder.
He looked like a freshly picked peach, with a faint pink hue under his fair skin, appearing quite adorable.
Qi Fang sat on the edge of the bed, blow-drying Shen Yu’s hair. He said sternly, “I’ve locked that medicine in the safe. Don’t even think about taking it again.”
Shen Yu pressed his lips together and said softly, “I won’t take it anymore.”
He felt a bit hot now, and his body was uncomfortable.
Qi Fang’s hair-drying technique was always vigorous, reportedly a skill honed from tidying chicken coops back home. Shen Yu had never noticed anything wrong with it before; at most, his hair would be a bit messy after drying.
But today, Shen Yu noticed Qi Fang’s fingers unconsciously brushing past his nape, ear tips, and even the side of his face several times. He couldn’t help but squirm uncomfortably.
Qi Fang immediately asked, “Did I pull your hair?”
Shen Yu shook his head.
Qi Fang turned the hairdryer back on, its whirring resuming.
When the hair was dry, Qi Fang looked at Shen Yu’s flushed face and dazed expression and couldn’t help but scold him. “You’re feeling unwell now, aren’t you? Those are medicines. How could you take them carelessly?”
“Luckily, taking it once occasionally doesn’t have major side effects,” Qi Fang muttered. “Bear with it for a couple of days, and you’ll be fine.”
He put away the hairdryer, turned off the bathroom light, and came back to find Shen Yu already curled up under the covers, with his face pressed against the cool bedding, only his clear eyes visible.
“Do you have a fever?” Qi Fang also got into bed, worriedly feeling Shen Yu’s forehead with the back of his hand. Finding it only slightly warmer than usual, he relaxed.
Shen Yu buried himself in the blanket. After enjoying the coolness of the bedding, he began to feel hot again. He turned over and suddenly heard Qi Fang ask:
“Shen Yuyu, do you… want me to help you?”
“Like this morning,” Qi Fang coughed and added by way of explanation.
Shen Yu lifted his long lashes and glanced at him.
“I saw what you put on the bottom shelf of the bookcase,” Shen Yu suddenly said.
Qi Fang didn’t understand at first. “Huh? What thing?”
Shen Yu thought for a moment and said, “A small box… your express delivery.”
Qi Fang: “.”
Wait… wait a minute, wasn’t that the ultra-thin strawberry-flavored XXX with spiral ridges he’d bought online? How did Shen Yu find out?
Shen Yu, nestled in the blanket, looked at him and asked softly, “…Can we use them?”
Leave a Reply