Since neither Liang Xiao nor Jiang Qing were particularly skilled in cooking, it was Lu Ze who tied on an apron and entered the kitchen the next morning.
At first, Jiang Qing firmly opposed it, so Lu Ze said, “Auntie, you’re being too polite. You’ve already let me stay at your home, so don’t treat me as a guest. I don’t see myself as one either. Let me show off my cooking skills for you to try.”
“Then I’ll help you out,” Jiang Qing offered, standing nearby.
Lu Ze smiled. “You just wait and enjoy the meal. Let Xiao help me.”
“Liang Xiao!” Jiang Qing called out from the living room. “What are you doing? Come here and help Xiao Lu!”
“Coming!” Liang Xiao emerged from the bathroom, water still dripping from his face.
Lu Ze glanced at him once, then again, unable to stop himself from saying, “Wipe your face.”
“Hm?” Liang Xiao looked at him and smiled. “Does not wiping my face affect my ability to help?”
As he spoke, a drop of water slid down his temple and hung on his jawline. Lu Ze reached up to wipe it off and said softly, “It affects the chef’s focus.”
Liang Xiao clicked his tongue and wiped his face with the hem of his shirt.
“Seriously,” Lu Ze looked away, “are you trying to seduce me on purpose?”
Suddenly, Jiang Qing reappeared at the kitchen door. “Xiao Lu, if there’s anything you can’t find, just ask Liang Xiao. I’m going to wash my hair.”
Startled, Lu Ze quickly replied, “Ah… sure! Be careful not to get your wound wet.”
Liang Xiao followed her out. “Mom, how about I help you wash your hair?”
Jiang Qing turned back and pointed at him twice with her finger. Liang Xiao corrected himself. “Alright, alright. You do it yourself. Just call me if you need anything.”
“I won’t need you!”
When Liang Xiao returned to the kitchen, he sighed. “She’s so stubborn.”
“She’d probably do a better job washing her hair than you would,” Lu Ze said. “You don’t even have experience.”
“I… do.” Liang Xiao glanced at him.
Lu Ze raised an eyebrow. “Who have you washed hair for?”
“When I was in high school, I worked at a barbershop for a while and washed hair for customers.”
Lu Ze stared at him for two seconds before narrowing his eyes. “Why do you look guilty?”
“I’m not guilty.” Liang Xiao chuckled.
“Look at me,” Lu Ze demanded.
Liang Xiao reluctantly turned to face him but gave in after three seconds, quickly explaining, “It’s just that the barbershop was near the school, so a lot of girls came in to get their hair washed—really nothing more than that.”
Lu Ze snorted coldly. “They probably went there just because you were washing hair.”
Liang Xiao paused for two seconds before admitting, “…Some did.”
Lu Ze clicked his tongue but after a moment said, “It’s honestly strange that you’ve never had a girlfriend—it’s like finding a brand-new hundred-yuan bill on the ground that no one picks up.”
Liang Xiao smiled faintly. “Back then… I just didn’t want one. I thought it was boring—I wasn’t interested and felt it was a waste of time.”
Lu Ze rested his elbow on Liang Xiao’s shoulder. “A waste of your money-making time, right?”
“Yeah, and a waste of my money.”
After saying that, Liang Xiao suddenly kissed Lu Ze. “Unlike my boyfriend, who probably had a lot of fun in high school, huh?”
“Hey,” Lu Ze quickly cut off the topic. “That’s all in the past. Let’s not bring it up. I was young and foolish back then… Wait, is someone knocking on the door?”
“You’re bluffing me?” Liang Xiao raised an eyebrow.
“No, listen carefully. Someone’s really knocking.”
The two fell silent and indeed heard knocking. Lu Ze patted Liang Xiao on the butt. “See? I told you. Go open the door.”
As Liang Xiao walked to the door, he muttered, “You probably left water marks on my pants…”
Lu Ze glanced at his backside and saw a wet handprint, instantly bursting into laughter.
When Liang Xiao opened the door, it was Aunt Liu’s daughter, Tian Jiajia.
Tian Jiajia froze for a moment upon seeing him. “Liang Xiao-ge, when did you come back?”
“Just yesterday,” Liang Xiao replied indifferently.
Tian Jiajia gave an awkward smile. “I only found out last night about what happened between my mom and Aunt Jiang… I brought some gifts to apologize on her behalf. I’m really sorry.”
“I don’t know what happened yesterday,” Liang Xiao said. “You can talk to my mom about it.”
After a while, Jiang Qing came out of the bathroom drying her hair. “Who is it… Jiajia?”
“Hi, Aunt Jiang,” Tian Jiajia said nervously. “I’m here to apologize on behalf of my mom.”
Jiang Qing sighed. “Don’t just stand at the door—come in.”
While Jiang Qing and Tian Jiajia talked in the living room, Liang Xiao returned to the kitchen and closed the door behind him. He explained to Lu Ze, “That’s Aunt Liu’s daughter—the one who fought with my mom yesterday. She came to apologize.”
“Is she staying for lunch?” Lu Ze asked. “Should I make an extra dish?”
Liang Xiao looked at Lu Ze, who was wearing Jiang Qing’s old apron and holding a spatula, surrounded by the aroma of food that Liang Xiao loved so much.
Every time he saw this version of Lu Ze, he felt an unprecedented sense of stability and contentment—an uncontrollable urge to hug him tightly and kiss him.
Lu Ze waved his hand in front of Liang Xiao’s face and called his full name. “Liang Xiao, what’s your relationship with Aunt Liu’s daughter?”
“Hm?” Liang Xiao snapped out of it and smiled. “Why are you jealous again, baby? There’s nothing between us—we’re just neighbors. Her mom runs a supermarket across from my mom’s nail salon.”
“Oh,” Lu Ze said without much expression. “Then why did you seem so distracted when you saw her? And she even calls you ‘Liang Xiao-ge.’”
Liang Xiao felt helpless trying to explain himself. He glanced through the frosted glass door toward the living room before leaning closer to Lu Ze and placing a hand on his waist. “How was I distracted? I was thinking about you just now.”
“Really?” Lu Ze asked before chuckling at himself. “You know, I didn’t use to be this jealous. Ever since being with you, I feel like getting jealous over nothing—it’s not good at all. If this keeps up, am I going to let you lead me around by the nose?”
“Then, is it okay if I let you lead me by the nose?” Liang Xiao asked with a smile.
“I haven’t really seen you get jealous,” Lu Ze replied.
“That’s because I didn’t tell you,” Liang Xiao said.
“Oh, so you’ve been secretly jealous? That’s not a good habit, Xiao Xiao.”
“I won’t keep it in anymore,” Liang Xiao said as he fiddled with the apron strings behind Lu Ze. “Keeping it in just makes it more sour.”
Lu Ze chuckled for a while, but Liang Xiao accidentally loosened the bow. Lu Ze clicked his tongue. “What are you doing? Not helping and just making a mess?”
Liang Xiao moved behind him and carefully retied the bow. “There, it looks better than the one you tied earlier.”
“Shameless,” Lu Ze said, trying to look back but failing. “I tied mine blindly, and you had the advantage of looking.”
Liang Xiao chuckled softly, took out his phone, snapped a picture of the bow on Lu Ze’s back, and posted it on his social media with the caption: [I tied this.]
Cao Fei: [??? What is this? Did your account get hacked?]
Liang Xiao replied to Cao Fei: [It’s a bow. Can’t you see?]
Cao Fei replied: [I’m not blind! Why are you suddenly posting about a bow? Are you okay?]
Liang Xiao replied: [I’ll introduce you someday.]
Cao Fei replied: [Introduce me to… a bow???]
Sun Zhuoyu: [Did you tie this for Brother Ze? Tsk.]
Lü Xuan: [It’s quite neat. Tsk.]
Mao Xin: [Ze-ge’s cooking is amazing. Tsk.]
Meng Qian: [Why is everyone going ‘tsk’? Tsk.]
Liang Xiao put down his phone and immediately asked, “Baby, why has Mao Xin also eaten your cooking?”
Lu Ze froze for a moment before laughing. “What are you getting jealous about now?”
