Tian Jiajia didn’t stay for lunch. When Lu Ze came out of the kitchen, Jiang Qing was standing at the door, symbolically trying to persuade her to stay. Tian Jiajia froze for a moment when she saw Lu Ze, and Lu Ze nodded slightly in acknowledgment.
Jiang Qing immediately understood what was going on. She leaned in and whispered to Tian Jiajia, “Liang Xiao’s friend already has a girlfriend.”
Tian Jiajia blushed deeply, said nothing more, and quickly left.
Behind Lu Ze, Liang Xiao said, “So, is it my turn to get jealous now?”
Lu Ze turned around, holding back a laugh. “Didn’t you just get jealous earlier? No more for now.”
Jiang Qing walked over and overheard Lu Ze’s words. “Jealous about what?”
Lu Ze cleared his throat. “Xiao-ge said he… wants some candy.”
Jiang Qing looked at Liang Xiao curiously. “Since when did you start liking candy?”
“…Recently,” Liang Xiao replied. “Let’s eat.”
At the dining table, Jiang Qing couldn’t stop praising Lu Ze’s cooking. Liang Xiao knew her compliments were genuine because Lu Ze’s skills were far superior to both of theirs.
“Xiao Lu, how did you make this meatball soup? It’s so much better than mine.”
Lu Ze shared the recipe that Lu Jinglang had taught him, and Jiang Qing nodded. “Liang Xiao has loved meatball soup since he was little. Even though mine tastes bad, he always finishes it. But with yours, he might just eat the bowl too.”
Liang Xiao chuckled. “I thought you didn’t know your soup tasted bad.”
Jiang Qing clicked her tongue. “Even if it’s bad, it’s still better than yours.”
“As long as Lu Ze’s cooking is good,” Liang Xiao said.
Under the table, Lu Ze lightly nudged him with his foot.
After the meal, Jiang Qing said to Liang Xiao, “I’ll head to the shop later. Why don’t you take Xiao Lu out for a walk?”
Liang Xiao was staring at the roses Jiang Qing had placed in a small vase when Lu Ze patted his leg. “Auntie is talking to you.”
“Oh, okay,” Liang Xiao responded.
“What are you thinking about?” Lu Ze asked.
“How can these flowers be kept fresh for longer?”
Lu Ze smiled. “Why bother keeping them fresh? I’ll just give you new ones next time—they’ll always be fresh.”
Liang Xiao looked at him, and Lu Ze whispered softly, “I just remembered—this isn’t the first time I’ve given you flowers, is it?”
Liang Xiao nodded slightly. “But last time doesn’t count.”
“Why not?” Lu Ze asked.
“Because back then I wasn’t real,” Liang Xiao replied.
Lu Ze silently laughed for a while—his boyfriend was truly adorable.
·
The two left the house with Jiang Qing. At the entrance of the neighborhood, Jiang Qing waved them off. “Have fun! You can eat out tonight if you want.”
“Don’t overwork yourself,” Lu Ze reminded her.
“I know—don’t worry.”
As soon as Jiang Qing left, Lu Ze stretched lazily and draped himself over Liang Xiao’s shoulder, saying casually, “Where are we going?”
Liang Xiao tilted his head. “Why do you suddenly seem so low on energy?”
“It’s too hot,” Lu Ze replied. “Honestly, I don’t really want to go out. Staying at home with you sounds nice too.”
“Then should we go back?”
Lu Ze thought for a moment and then shook his head. “Forget it. Let’s go for a walk. Are there any fun places around?”
Liang Xiao sighed. “I really don’t know. How about I ask someone?”
Lu Ze raised an eyebrow. “Ask who?”
Liang Xiao smiled. “A friend of mine—a guy. But if I ask him, he’ll probably want to tag along.”
“That’s fine,” Lu Ze said. “Let him join us. It’ll be a good chance for me to meet him.”
“Alright.”
·
Cao Fei suggested they visit the southern part of the city, where there was an old alley area designed for tourists to eat, drink, and have fun. Although it had become overly commercialized and wasn’t very “old” anymore, it was still worth a visit.
As soon as they got out of the car, Lu Ze saw a tall, muscular man standing at the entrance to the alley. The man walked over and immediately threw an arm around Liang Xiao’s neck. “Damn, you’re back? Why didn’t you say anything? I—”
Before Cao Fei could finish his sentence, Liang Xiao frowned and pushed him away. “Talk if you want to talk, but don’t touch me.”
Cao Fei froze for a moment, looked at his raised arm, then at Liang Xiao. “What’s this? Haven’t seen you in half a year and now you’re acting all precious?”
Liang Xiao ignored his remark and instead placed a hand on Lu Ze’s shoulder. “Let me introduce you—this is my boyfriend, Lu Ze.”
Cao Fei stood there completely stunned, as if he hadn’t understood what he just heard. “Who is this???”
Liang Xiao repeated slowly, word by word, “My boyfriend—Lu Ze.”
Cao Fei stared wide-eyed at both of them in disbelief. “Your *what* boyfriend???”
Lu Ze laughed and took the initiative to say, “Hi, I’m Liang Xiao’s boyfriend—boyfriend—boyfriend. My name is Lu Ze.”
For the next few minutes, all Cao Fei could do was repeat variations of “Holy shit.”
“Holy shit! No wonder you were acting like some kind of monk before! Holy shit—you’re gay? Holy shit—you actually got yourself a boyfriend…”
Liang Xiao stopped walking and turned to look at him. “Do you need me to buy you a megaphone so you can announce it door-to-door?”
“No need,” Cao Fei said before continuing his exclamations. “Holy shit—why is your boyfriend so handsome too?!”
Liang Xiao leaned over to Lu Ze and whispered softly, “Ignore him; he’ll need some time to process this.”
Lu Ze chuckled as he snapped some photos with his phone. “If I were your friend, I’d probably be just as shocked.”
“Shocked that my boyfriend is this handsome?” Liang Xiao teased with a smile.
Lu Ze clicked his tongue. “How many sweet-talking lines do you know?”
“How can you call it sweet-talking? It’s just the truth.”
Lu Ze handed the camera to Liang Xiao. “Here, take some tourist photos of me.”
After Liang Xiao snapped a few pictures of Lu Ze, Cao Fei finally regained some composure. He grabbed the camera from Liang Xiao. “Alright, alright, let me take one of you two.”
“Do you even know how to use it?” Liang Xiao asked.
“Damn it! Of course, I know how to use a camera!” Cao Fei shoved Liang Xiao aside. “Hurry up and get over there.”
Liang Xiao walked under the shade of a tree and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Lu Ze in front of a beautiful old shop selling various wines.
Cao Fei crouched down to find the right angle. “Holy shit, with your looks, you two should debut as a duo!”
“Sure,” Lu Ze nodded seriously with a smile, placing one hand on Liang Xiao’s shoulder and making a peace sign with the other. “I can sing.”
“I don’t have any talents,” Liang Xiao said while looking at the camera.
“You don’t need talents,” Lu Ze replied. “Just stand there looking cool.”
Cao Fei kept clicking the shutter furiously. When he felt he had enough shots, he stood up and waved his hand. “Alright, now walk ahead. I’ll take some photos of your backs.”
“Are you addicted to this or what?” Liang Xiao asked skeptically. “Be careful not to drop the camera.”
“Why don’t you ever trust me?” Cao Fei complained. “I brought my brain with me today.”
Liang Xiao chuckled. “Doesn’t look like it.”
“Damn…” Cao Fei laughed too. “I was just shocked earlier, that’s all. Lu Ze, forget what happened before—I’m usually pretty reliable.”
Lu Ze smiled and nodded. “Alright.”
Just as he turned to keep walking, they heard Cao Fei exclaim behind them, “Oh shit!” Both Liang Xiao and Lu Ze turned around simultaneously to see Cao Fei awkwardly laughing. “Keep going, keep going—I just tripped a little.”
Liang Xiao pointed at him. “If you drop the camera…”
“I’ll put my head on the line!” Cao Fei quickly replied.
Lu Ze laughed so hard he could barely catch his breath.
“Wait, no—my *real* head! Damn it, I really didn’t bring my brain today…”
·
The alley was filled with street food stalls, and Lu Ze snacked as they walked along. Liang Xiao’s hands were full carrying everything, so Lu Ze naturally fed him instead. “Ah, open your mouth.”
Liang Xiao obediently opened his mouth without hesitation. The only one feeling awkward was Cao Fei, who got goosebumps all over but still diligently followed behind them taking candid shots like a responsible temporary photographer.
“Is this really Liang Xiao?” Cao Fei muttered to himself. “It is… Damn, this is like seeing a ghost.”
As they passed by an unassuming little shop, Lu Ze stopped and peeked through the beaded curtain at the entrance. “What kind of shop is this?”
“It probably sells bracelets or charms for good luck,” Liang Xiao replied.
“Want to go in and take a look?” Lu Ze seemed interested.
“They’re all scams,” Liang Xiao said.
Lu Ze clicked his tongue. “Aren’t all tourist shops like that? Being scammed is part of the fun when you’re playing tourist.”
Liang Xiao smiled. “Alright, let’s go in and take a look.”
The shop was small, with various bracelets and necklaces hanging on the walls, most of them simple and strung with red cords. On a wooden table by the wall were rows of small bamboo baskets filled with wooden plaques and beads.
This kind of shop could be found at tourist attractions all over the country. In the past, Lu Ze wouldn’t have even glanced at it, but now everything seemed interesting—because this was Liang Xiao’s hometown, and he was here with Liang Xiao.
Lu Ze casually picked up a small wooden plaque and noticed it had characters carved into it. The one he picked up happened to have the character “Liang” on it. Smiling, he raised an eyebrow and showed it to Liang Xiao, who also raised an eyebrow in response.
“Looks like fate,” Lu Ze said. He turned to the shopkeeper and asked, “Do you have one with the character ‘Xiao,’ as in ‘Yunxiao’?”
“Yes, let me find one for you,” the shopkeeper replied.
Lu Ze followed the shopkeeper further inside. Meanwhile, Cao Fei leaned closer to Liang Xiao and whispered, “Is Lu Ze really going to buy something? This stuff is such a scam!”
Liang Xiao rummaged through a bamboo basket and replied calmly, “He knows.”
“He knows and still buys?”
Liang Xiao smiled faintly. “He’s rich and willful—what’s wrong with that?”
“Damn,” Cao Fei laughed. “Fair enough.”
After a moment, he hesitated before asking cautiously, “By the way, how’s your debt situation? Are you sure you don’t need me to lend you some money? I’ve got a bit saved up now…”
“No need,” Liang Xiao interrupted. “I’ll pay it off soon.”
Cao Fei was shocked. “Holy shit! That fast?”
Liang Xiao glanced at him. “Can you tone it down a bit? Stop saying ‘holy shit’ all the time.”
“I fuckiing…” Cao Fei paused mid-sentence and held back. “You’re even policing my speech now? Lu Ze doesn’t seem to mind.”
“He wouldn’t tell you if he did,” Liang Xiao said. “But he really doesn’t mind.”
“What the hell are you rambling about?” Cao Fei glared at him. “If he doesn’t mind, why are you even bringing it up?”
Liang Xiao chuckled softly. Cao Fei nudged his shoulder and leaned in close to whisper something, but Liang Xiao dodged him. “What are you doing? Just talk—don’t get so close.”
“Damn it!” Cao Fei pointed at him. “What’s wrong with you, Liang Xiao?”
Liang Xiao kept smiling. Cao Fei finally lost his patience and snapped irritably, “You’re so weird ever since you started dating! What’s so funny?!”
He leaned in again but was dodged once more by Liang Xiao. Frustrated, Cao Fei covered his mouth with his hand and whispered loudly, “Did you land yourself a rich boyfriend or something? Lu Ze’s family seems pretty wealthy—did he help you pay off your debt?”
“No,” Liang Xiao replied firmly. “I’d never let him do that. We’re serious about each other—stop making wild guesses.”
With that, Liang Xiao walked further inside. The shopkeeper had already found wooden plaques engraved with the characters for “Ze” and “Xiao,” along with various beads.
Lu Ze held them in his palm and showed them to Liang Xiao. “Which one do you think looks better?”
Liang Xiao looked carefully and said, “They all look good—you pick whichever one you like.”
“I think the wooden plaques and these yellow beads both look nice,” Lu Ze said.
“Want both?” Liang Xiao asked.
Lu Ze clicked his tongue. “Should I wear one on each hand? Just the wooden plaques then.”
“Only the two wooden plaques?” the shopkeeper confirmed.
“Yes, one with ‘Ze’ and one with ‘Xiao,’ strung on simple red cords without any extra decorations.”
“Got it. The wooden plaques are 30 yuan each, and the red cords are 5 yuan each, no processing fee. That’s 70 yuan in total.”
Lu Ze took out his phone to pay, but Liang Xiao held his wrist. “Let me handle this.”
Lu Ze was momentarily surprised. They usually didn’t fight over who paid. Liang Xiao had already covered the snacks earlier, so he expected to pay for this. “But you just—”
Liang Xiao smiled at him. “I know. You’re treating us to dinner later, so let me handle this.”
Lu Ze snapped his fingers. “Alright.”
The shopkeeper cut the red cords according to their wrist sizes. Meanwhile, Cao Fei took some photos of the shop and commented, “These good luck charms actually look pretty nice.”
Lu Ze glanced up. “Why don’t we get a good luck charm for Auntie?”
“She—” Liang Xiao started to speak, but before he could finish, Lu Ze had already walked over to the charms and told the shopkeeper, “I’ll take this good luck charm too.”
“Sure! This charm is 50 yuan. We recommend hanging it on a keychain to carry it around for protection and health.”
“I’ll pay for this,” Lu Ze said firmly, holding down Liang Xiao’s arm. “It’s a gift for Auntie.”
After leaving the shop, Lu Ze raised his wrist and shook it slightly. The red cord with the small wooden plaque engraved with the character “Ze” swayed gently—it looked beautiful.
“Let me take a picture,” Cao Fei said. “Let’s capture these two big spenders.”
Lu Ze laughed and grabbed Liang Xiao’s hand, raising it together with his own. “This shop doesn’t look like a new one—it must’ve been here for a long time. If it wasn’t making money, it would’ve closed down by now. Clearly, there are plenty of big spenders like us.”
Liang Xiao intertwined his fingers with Lu Ze’s and gave their hands a little shake. “If you like it, it’s not wasted money.”
“Damn,” Cao Fei said as he took two steps back. “Every time you talk now, I feel uncomfortable all over! Next time you start dating someone, can you at least give me a heads-up so I have time to process it?”
Lu Ze clicked his tongue. “Next time? I’m still alive—where’s this ‘next time’ coming from?”
Cao Fei froze for a moment before laughing. “I was just saying… Fine, fine! No next time! I hereby declare that this is Liang Xiao’s first and last relationship!”
“And when he starts dating again next time, you’ll say the same thing, right?”
“Damn!” Cao Fei snapped angrily. “I’m bad with words—I can’t argue with you… Wait! Isn’t there supposed to be no next time?!”
Lu Ze laughed so hard he squatted down while clutching his stomach. Liang Xiao, still holding his hand, squatted down beside him.
As Lu Ze laughed uncontrollably, he shook Liang Xiao’s hand and managed to say through gasps of laughter, “Tell him to stop being so funny… Have some mercy on people with low tolerance for jokes…”
Liang Xiao stared at him for two seconds before putting on a serious face and asking in a deep voice, “What? Is Cao Fei also your weak spot for laughter now?”
Lu Ze looked up and realized that his boyfriend was actually seriously jealous. He froze for a moment and then completely lost his voice from laughing too hard.
