Lu Ze had a terrible night’s sleep. The sofa was far too small, so he didn’t dare to turn over, and he spent the entire night dreaming—dreams that were utterly bizarre.
One moment, he was being chased by Jiang Yijie; the next, he bumped into Han Jing, and now both of them were chasing him. Midway, he ran into Liang Xiao, who was holding a banana and asked if he wanted to eat it. Lu Ze said no, but Han Jing said she wanted it. So Liang Xiao gave the banana to Han Jing and then grabbed Lu Ze to escape together.
Jiang Yijie continued chasing them. Liang Xiao asked Lu Ze what Jiang Yijie liked to eat. In the dream, Lu Ze couldn’t remember no matter how hard he tried. Jiang Yijie caught up to him and demanded to know why Lu Ze ate pork belly with Liang Xiao instead of him. That’s when Lu Ze woke up.
The moment he opened his eyes, he was completely dazed, unsure of where he was. He absentmindedly turned over, only to realize there was nothing beneath him.
“Sh*t…”
Instinctively, Lu Ze reached out to grab the nearby coffee table for support, but he used too much force and ended up pushing the table away with a loud screech.
Hearing the commotion, Liang Xiao poked his head out of the kitchen. What he saw was Lu Ze with one hand on the coffee table and the other on the sofa, his upper body suspended awkwardly between the two in a twisted position.
Liang Xiao quickly walked over and supported Lu Ze by his chest. With Liang Xiao’s help, Lu Ze managed to sit back on the sofa and laughed, saying, “I must’ve been half-asleep… damn…”
“The sofa’s too small,” Liang Xiao commented.
Leaning back against the sofa, Lu Ze rubbed his face vigorously, yawned, and said, “I dreamed all night… I’m exhausted… What time is it?”
“Past eight,” Liang Xiao replied.
Lu Ze froze with his hands still covering his face. Through his fingers, he peeked at Liang Xiao and asked in disbelief, “What time?”
Liang Xiao deliberately pulled out his phone to check and then held it up for Lu Ze to see. “Eight forty-five.”
Lu Ze immediately felt even more tired. He tilted his head back with his eyes closed and asked, “Didn’t we agree not to wake up early?”
“Then why don’t you sleep a little longer?” Liang Xiao suggested.
Lu Ze shook his head, stretched lazily, and said, “Forget it—I’m kind of hungry. Got anything to eat?”
“I was just about to cook some noodles.”
“Alright. I’ll have noodles too.”
Liang Xiao looked down at him but didn’t move. Lu Ze raised an eyebrow. “What? Are we out of noodles?”
“No,” Liang Xiao replied. “It’s just that I’m not good at cooking. Let’s order takeout instead.”
Lu Ze was genuinely surprised. “You can’t cook?”
“I can—but it doesn’t taste very good.”
Getting up from the sofa, Lu Ze stretched again while putting on his shoes and laughed. “Let me do it then. I didn’t expect you to be bad at cooking—you seem like someone who’d be great at it.”
This time it was Liang Xiao’s turn to be surprised. He asked, “You know how to cook?”
Lu Ze snapped his fingers confidently and said with pride, “Not only can I cook—I’m really good at it! Bet you didn’t see that coming.”
“Hmm,” Liang Xiao responded skeptically.
After washing up in the bathroom, Lu Ze walked into the kitchen and teased him: “You’re not just being modest, are you? Like one of those people who always score in the top three but insist they don’t know anything.”
“No,” Liang Xiao chuckled lightly. “I’m really not good at it—just barely edible.”
“Watch me show you what I’ve got.”
Lu Ze tried to roll up his sleeves but realized halfway through that he was still wearing Liang Xiao’s short-sleeved shirt, which had no sleeves to roll. He laughed and completed the motion anyway, then turned to ask Liang Xiao, “Do you have any vegetables?”
“Yes,” Liang Xiao replied, opening the fridge. “What do you need?”
Lu Ze walked over, picked out a few vegetables and two eggs, and asked, “How do you like your eggs?”
“Anything works.”
“Then like mine—soft-boiled yolks. Go wait outside; it’ll be ready in about ten minutes,” Lu Ze said.
The kitchen was separated from the living room by a transparent sliding glass door. Liang Xiao sat on the sofa, watching Lu Ze handle the vegetables with skillful ease—far better than his own abilities. This surprised him since Lu Ze seemed like someone who grew up in a happy, well-off family, where self-sufficiency might not have been necessary. Yet his cooking skills were unexpectedly proficient.
Suddenly, a phone on the coffee table rang. Liang Xiao realized it was Lu Ze’s phone, displaying “Boss Xu.” He picked it up and walked to the kitchen. Lu Ze glanced back and said, “My hands are busy—can you answer it for me?”
When the video call connected, Liang Xiao discovered that “Boss Xu” was actually Lu Ze’s mother—a young and beautiful woman.
“Mom, why are you calling so early?” Lu Ze asked.
“Oh my, who’s this handsome guy?” Xu Jingjing asked, looking at Liang Xiao behind Lu Ze.
Lu Ze laughed and stepped aside. “A new friend I just made.”
Liang Xiao greeted her politely, “Hello, Auntie.”
Xu Jingjing smiled warmly. “Hello! What’s your name, handsome?”
Feeling slightly awkward with such an enthusiastic elder, Liang Xiao replied, “Liang Xiao.”
“Xiao Xiao? Where are you two? This doesn’t look like a dormitory,” she asked.
Hearing her call him “Xiao Xiao,” Lu Ze was so startled that his knife slipped onto the cutting board. Suppressing his laughter, he quickly said, “Don’t call him that! Just address him properly.”
Xu Jingjing laughed just as much as her son. “What? Isn’t that proper?”
Liang Xiao had never been called “Xiao Xiao” before and awkwardly changed the topic. “Auntie, we’re at my place right now—not in the dormitory.”
“Your place? You’re not classmates?” she asked.
“No,” Liang Xiao replied.
“He’s a senior in his fourth year,” Lu Ze added while still chuckling so much that his hands trembled as he chopped vegetables. “He lives off-campus. I stayed at his place last night and am making breakfast now.”
“I see,” Xu Jingjing said. “Since you’re not at school, I thought I’d stop by since I’m passing through.”
“Oh wow, finally decided to visit me?” Lu Ze teased.
“Well, you just went through a breakup—I was worried you’d be upset.”
“Don’t worry; I’m fine,” Lu Ze said. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll hang up now—we’re about to eat.”
Xu Jingjing smiled at Liang Xiao and said, “Alright, goodbye, handsome. Come visit us with Xiao Ze when you get a chance.”
Liang Xiao nodded. “Alright, goodbye, Auntie.”
Lu Ze clicked his tongue. “Not saying goodbye to me?”
Xu Jingjing replied, “Oh, bye-bye, baby!”
This sudden “baby” caught Lu Ze off guard. After the video call ended, he coughed awkwardly and said, “My mom… she’s just like that.”
Liang Xiao responded with a simple “Hmm.”
Lu Ze glanced at him and noticed that Liang Xiao’s face was slightly red. This immediately made Lu Ze burst into laughter again.
Liang Xiao took the knife from Lu Ze’s hand. Leaning on the cutting board, Lu Ze laughed while explaining, “Don’t mind what she called you earlier… she probably just didn’t know what else to call you…”
Xu Jingjing usually added “Xiao” to her friends’ names—Xiao Jie, Xiao Yu, Xiao Xin—but calling Liang Xiao “Xiao Xiao” sounded awkward. “Xiao Xiao” felt even more like a girl’s name than “Xiaoxiao.”
Looking at Liang Xiao’s cool demeanor, Lu Ze internally called him “Xiaoxiao” again and couldn’t stop laughing.
Liang Xiao’s face remained faintly red as he looked at Lu Ze and said, “Stop.”
Lu Ze paused for a second but then laughed even harder, struggling to speak between bursts of laughter. “First time… seeing you… embarrassed…”
Watching Lu Ze laugh endlessly, Liang Xiao felt he had to intervene somehow. On impulse, he called out softly, “Baby?”
Lu Ze stared at him in shock. His laughter turned into a coughing fit as his face turned even redder than Liang Xiao’s.
