Yu Feng stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and carried it back to the living room. Zhou Yi followed behind him and asked, “That friend you called for the barbecue earlier—that was him, wasn’t it?”
Yu Feng hummed in affirmation.
“Were you deliberately keeping it a secret to surprise me?”
“You’re the one who insisted on coming over for tea today.”
“What’s Xiao Dao’s real name?” Zhou Yi asked. “It can’t just be Xiao Dao, right?”
“Xie An’yu.”
Zhou Yi glanced toward Xie An’yu’s room. “He really is shy around strangers, huh? It’s been almost half an hour, and he still hasn’t come out. If I stay here, will he just never emerge?”
Yu Feng chuckled but didn’t respond.
“Is he like this with you too?” Zhou Yi studied Yu Feng. “Does he hide away and avoid people like this?”
“He’ll warm up eventually,” Yu Feng said. “He’s not familiar with you yet.”
“Then I should go ‘familiarize’ myself with him.” With that, Zhou Yi headed straight for Xie An’yu’s room before Yu Feng could stop him. Resigned, Yu Feng let him go.
Zhou Yi knocked on the door. Inside, Xie An’yu was sitting shirtless on the bay window, scrolling through his phone. Startled by the knock, he hastily pulled on a shirt and went to open the door.
“I’m leaving, just wanted to say goodbye,” Zhou Yi said with a faint smile at the door.
Xie An’yu was momentarily stunned. His gaze drifted past Zhou Yi to the living room; Yu Feng was leaning against the sofa with his arms crossed, watching them.
Zhou Yi teased Xie An’yu, “Why are you looking at him? Do you need his permission to talk to me?”
Socially anxious people often fear meeting socially outgoing ones. Zhou Yi’s proactive greeting left Xie An’yu a bit overwhelmed. His instinctive reaction was a polite nod, and a wooden ‘Safe travels’.
Xie An’yu’s reaction amused Zhou Yi, who burst into laughter at the doorway.
Yu Feng finally spoke up. “If you’re done ‘familiarizing’, get going already.”
Still laughing, Zhou Yi said to Xie An’yu, “Then let’s meet again sometime.”
After Zhou Yi left, Xie An’yu remained frozen in the doorway. Yu Feng walked over and asked, “Did someone hit your pressure points?”
The muscles in Xie An’yu’s face, stiff for so long, finally twitched, but his body stayed rooted in place—as if he really had been immobilized.
Xie An’yu had probably never encountered someone as naturally outgoing as Zhou Yi before.
“He’s a social butterfly; he’s like that with everyone,” Yu Feng said, then brought his index and middle fingers together and lightly poked Xie An’yu’s shoulder in a mock pressure-point release, he added, “You can move now.”
Xie An’yu startled, then laughed. He hadn’t changed or showered since retreating to his room earlier.
“You’ve been cooped up in your room for so long without showering—you must be ripe by now,” Yu Feng remarked.
Xie An’yu’s sweat had completely dried. He had intended to shower as soon as he got back, but because Zhou Yi was there, he had forcibly stayed cooped up in his room until now.
“Your friend was here, so I was embarrassed to come out and move around, afraid of disturbing you two.”
“You’ll see him often in the future. Don’t feel uncomfortable around him—he’s a good guy, just a bit eccentric,” Yu Feng said. “He was the one who drove you to the hospital that day when you were drugged.”
Xie An’yu was surprised. “He was there that day?”
Yu Feng hummed in affirmation. “I called him over to help. He happened to be nearby at the time. If you want to shower, go ahead quickly.”
***
When Xie An’yu emerged from the bathroom after his shower, he saw Yu Feng in the living room unpacking something—the box that woman with the wavy hair had delivered earlier.
The box was tightly wrapped, layer upon layer. Yu Feng took a while to unwrap it before pulling out a camera lens from inside. He held the lens, examining it carefully, then looked up and saw Xie An’yu. He carefully placed the lens back inside.
Xie An’yu walked over. He had changed into a clean short-sleeved shirt, though the clothes still looked a bit worn. His hair was still half-dry, damp in places, and as he approached Yu Feng, he carried with him the faint scent of soap.
“Brother Yu,” Xie An’yu called out.
“Mm?”
Xie An’yu rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly before suddenly saying, “Maybe I should move out after all.”
Yu Feng looked puzzled. “What’s wrong?”
Xie An’yu hesitated for a moment before asking, “Do you have a girlfriend?”
Yu Feng’s brain didn’t quite keep up with Xie An’yu’s sudden leap in logic.
“You never mentioned it before…”
Yu Feng was momentarily confused, trying to recall where things had gone wrong to make Xie An’yu misunderstand that he had a girlfriend. Then he glanced down at the box containing the lens and immediately understood.
Yu Feng’s gaze settled on the box. “She just came to deliver something to me, and you’ve already mapped out my love life?”
Xie An’yu realized he had made a mistake.
“That was my colleague,” Yu Feng said. “And I don’t have a girlfriend.”
“Not much of a talker, but quite the imagination.” Yu Feng walked past Xie An’yu, who stood there dumbfounded, leaving him awkwardly rooted in place as he headed to the bedroom.
Not long after, Yu Feng returned with a box of chocolates.
Yu Feng wasn’t big on sentimentality, but for some reason, while on his business trip, he felt he should bring something back for the kid at home.
Xie An’yu knew how to bake cakes, so he probably enjoyed sweet things.
“Do you eat these?” Yu Feng asked Xie An’yu. “I didn’t see much else worth bringing back from there, so I just bought this.”
Xie An’yu glanced at the box in Yu Feng’s hand—covered in foreign text, exquisitely packaged.
Yu Feng said, “It’s chocolate. Take it if you want to eat it.”
Xie An’yu had grown up on an island. His family lived by the sea, and his parents often went out fishing. Every time they returned, they would bring him little trinkets—sometimes oddly shaped seashells, other times colorful sea glass. Back then, he was still young, and anything they brought back would make him happy for days.
It was a different feeling from receiving ordinary gifts. These were gifts from afar, holding a deeper sense of remembrance.
Until his parents had an accident at sea, and those who went far away never returned.
There weren’t many people left in Xie An’yu’s life. Aside from his departed parents, no one had ever thought to bring him something back when they traveled far away.
Xie An’yu let out a soft breath, took the box of chocolates from Yu Feng’s hand, and softly said, “Thank you, Brother.”
***
Zhou Yi was highly efficient. Yu Feng had asked him to help find Xie An’yu a stable, easy job, and it didn’t take long for him to find one.
“Cashier at a bookstore. Does that meet all your requirements, Teacher Yu?” Zhou Yi asked Yu Feng over the phone.
“What are the job requirements?”
“I know the bookstore owner. It’s just a matter of a word—as long as the person is mentally sound, has no criminal record, and literate, it’s fine.”
“Work hours?”
“Nine to six, five days a week with weekends off. Someone else covers weekend shifts.”
“Mm, sounds good.”
“Don’t just decide for yourself. You should ask the kid if he even wants to go.”
“You ask.”
“Ah?”
“This matter… isn’t something to say outright, and it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to bring it up. Let’s find a chance to have a meal together, and you can bring it up.”
“…You’re really setting me up here, giving me such a difficult task.”
“Didn’t you want to get more familiar with him? This is your chance. I won’t steal your spotlight—all the noble and righteous credit will be yours.”
***
Yu Feng found an opportunity to invite Xie An’yu out. Since Zhou Yi had helped Xie An’yu before, Xie An’yu felt quite grateful. So, when Yu Feng suggested having a meal with Zhou Yi, Xie An’yu didn’t refuse, even offering to treat them.
Knowing Xie An’yu’s financial situation wasn’t great, Zhou Yi chose an affordable Sichuan-style stir-fry restaurant near their university’s food street.
“The stir-fried clams[mfn]爆炒花甲 (bào chǎo huā jiǎ): Stir-fried clams.
[/mfn] here are especially delicious,” Zhou Yi said enthusiastically as soon as he got the menu. “A student of mine recommended this place. You should also try the stir-fried river mussels[mfn]小炒河蚌肉 (xiǎo chǎo hé bàng ròu): Stir-fried river mussels.
[/mfn].”
“Xiao Xie, can you handle spicy food?” Zhou Yi looked up and asked Xie An’yu.
Xie An’yu nodded and said, “Just order what you want to eat.”
Yu Feng sat quietly to the side. Xie An’yu asked him, “Brother, what do you want to eat?”
“He doesn’t eat spicy food,” Zhou Yi said. “I already ordered him the baby set meal.”
Xie An’yu was slightly surprised and glanced discreetly at Yu Feng, whose expression remained neutral. The next moment, Yu Feng suddenly looked up and met his gaze.
Xie An’yu immediately averted his eyes.
At this restaurant, customers wrote their orders directly on a small notepad. Zhou Yi jotted down a few dishes and handed the notepad to Xie An’yu. “Write down whatever you want to eat.”
Xie An’yu scanned the menu and saw that Zhou Yi had ordered fried rice[mfn]炒飯 (chǎo fàn): fried rice; (Taiwan, colloquial) to have sex; to make love. Fried rice is a dish of cooked rice that has been stir-fried in a wok or a frying pan and is usually mixed with other ingredients such as eggs, vegetables, seafood, or meat. It is often eaten by itself or as an accompaniment to another dish. Many varieties of fried rice have their own specific list of ingredients. In China, common varieties include Yangzhou fried rice and Hokkien fried rice.
[/mfn] and pumpkin with salted egg yolk[mfn]蛋黃南瓜 (dàn huáng nán guā): Pumpkin with salted egg yolk.
[/mfn]. Aside from these two, everything else was spicy—this must be Yu Feng’s ‘baby set meal’.
Xie An’yu felt there were enough dishes and handed the notepad to the waitress.
Even though the restaurant was small, business was booming. Most of the customers were young faces, likely students from the nearby university.
“Xiao Xie, what do you want to drink?” Zhou Yi stood up and asked Xie An’yu.
“Water is fine for me.”
Zhou Yi fetched two cans of cold beer[mfn]啤酒 (pí jiǔ): Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grain—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. The grain is mashed to convert starch in the grain to sugars, which dissolve in water to form wort. Fermentation of the wort by yeast produces ethanol and carbonation in the beer. Beer is one of the oldest alcoholic drinks in the world, the most widely consumed, and the third most popular drink after water and tea.
[/mfn] and a bottle of herbal tea[mfn]涼茶 (liáng chá): Herbal teas, technically known as herbal infusions, and less commonly called tisanes, are beverages made from the infusion or decoction of herbs, spices, or other plant material in hot water. Often herb tea, or the plain term tea, is used as a reference to all sorts of herbal teas. Many herbs used in teas/tisanes are also used in herbal medicine and in folk medicine. Wong Lo Kat (Chinese: 王老吉), or Wanglaoji in Mandarin pinyin, is a Chinese herbal tea, and one of the most popular tisane drinks in China today. It is sold in many forms and different types of cans or cardboard containers.
[/mfn] from the fridge. He seemed very familiar with Yu Feng’s eating habits, asking only Xie An’yu about his preferences and never asking Yu Feng.
Zhou Yi placed the herbal tea in front of Yu Feng and said to Xie An’yu with a smile, “The food here is exceptionally spicy. Don’t be surprised if you’re scrambling for water later.”
Xie An’yu considered himself decent with spicy food, but he had underestimated the heat level of the dishes at this restaurant. After just one bite of the stir-fried river mussels—which were laced with chili threads—his tongue burned, and a sheen of sweat formed on the bridge of his nose.
Xie quickly took a sip of tea, but the water was scalding hot, nearly making him spit it out.
Yu Feng turned to glance at Xie An’yu, noticing his nose was covered in sweat and his lips were slightly parted as he gasped for air.
Zhou Yi watched him and laughed. “I told you it was spicy, didn’t I?” He said, unscrewing the herbal tea that Yu Feng hadn’t touched yet and handing it to Xie An’yu. “Drink this quickly—looks like you’re about to cry from the heat.”
Yu Feng stopped Zhou Yi, pressed down on the herbal tea bottle, and quietly told Xie An’yu, “This one is bitter.
Then he got up and went to the refrigerator to get a carton of milk for Xie An’yu. “Drink this instead.”
Xie An’yu took the milk and gulped down a large mouthful. Zhou Yi called out to a waitress, “Excuse me, please make the rest of our dishes mildly spicy, not the regular spicy level.”
The waitress nodded. “Mildly spicy, right? Okay, no problem.”
After downing half a carton of milk, Xie An’yu finally recovered. He sniffled: “It’s spicier than I thought.”
Zhou Yi couldn’t stop laughing. “Should I order you a ‘baby set meal’ too?”
“It’s fine, I’ll adjust.”
The subsequent dishes were all mildly spicy, which Xie An’yu found acceptable. Halfway through the meal, just as Zhou Yi was about to bring up the job opportunity for Xie An’yu, a student suddenly tapped his shoulder to greet him.
“Professor Zhou! You’re here too!”
Zhou Yi turned to look, smiling. “What a coincidence.”
The student was a girl, accompanied by a companion. She spoke to Zhou Yi without any reservation. “Have you descended to the mortal realm? What brings you here for a meal?”
“What are you saying? Don’t I descend to the mortal realm often enough?”
The girl laughed, her laughter clear and bright. Her gaze sweeping over the other two men sitting at the table with Zhou Yi and said unreservedly, “Professor Zhou, your friends are all quite handsome!”
“What, you want me to get their WeChat for you?”
The girl blinked playfully: “If you’re offering, why not?”
“Give you an inch and you’ll take a mile. Tomorrow in class, I’m calling on you first for questions.”
“Oh no, I should’ve never said hi! I just dug myself a huge hole. I’m leaving now, won’t disturb your meal. Please go easy on me tomorrow—if you must ask, make it an easy one!” As she spoke, she linked arms with her companion and headed out, calling over her shoulder: “Please please go easy on me tomorrow, Professor Zhou! Bye bye!”
Xie An’yu looked outside, meeting the girl’s gaze. Before she left, she even waved at him, a scene witnessed by both Yu Feng and Zhou Yi.
Xie An’yu lowered his head to eat. Zhou Yi wasn’t surprised; Xie An’yu was objectively good-looking. If he were in their department, he’d probably be voted department heartthrob[mfn]系草 (xì cǎo): T/N: From the slang 校草 (xiào cǎo), lit. school grass; the most handsome guy in the school or on the campus; school heartthrob; prince charming; campus beau.[/mfn] or something similar—those kids loved coming up with flashy titles like that.
Their department already had a heartthrob, rumored to be—whether officially voted or just called that, Zhou Yi wasn’t sure. That male student was also his, though his looks were quite different from Xie An’yu’s.
“Students these days don’t even act like students anymore,” Zhou Yi remarked.
Yu Feng shot him a look: “And you don’t act much like a professor either.”
Xie An’yu chuckled quietly.
Zhou Yi decided to get to the point—if he didn’t bring it up soon, the meal would be over. He turned to Yu Feng and began his performance: “Oh, I meant to ask you something.”
Yu Feng met his gaze, knowing he was about to start his act.
“What?”
“A friend of mine opened a bookstore and is looking for a cashier. He asked me to recommend someone trustworthy—do you know anyone suitable?”
Yu Feng couldn’t keep up this act; it was too fake and awkward.
“No.” Yu Feng stood up with his cigarette case, afraid he’d break character if he stayed a second longer. “I’m stepping out for a smoke.”
With that, Yu Feng turned and left. Zhou Yi hadn’t expected the stage to be set, only for the actor to flee. He watched, wide-eyed, as Yu Feng went to the restroom. Sitting at the table in a messy position alone, Zhou Yi mentally cursed Yu Feng a thousand times.
With a sigh, Zhou Yi resigned himself to continuing the solo performance—his noble and righteous reputation was at stake. He turned casually to Xie An’yu: “Xiao Xie, are you currently employed?”
“Professor Zhou,” Xie An’yu lowered his gaze to the bottle of iced herbal tea on the table, “did Brother Yu ask you to help me find a job?”
Zhou Yi thought to himself that this act was completely unsalvageable. He had barely even started, and the topic hadn’t even been properly introduced yet.
Zhou Yi hummed. “You two haven’t known each other long, but you seem to understand him quite well.”
Xie An’yu looked up at Zhou Yi. “I’ve never met anyone like him before.”
Zhou Yi smiled. “He’s a good guy, isn’t he?”
Xie An’yu nodded.
“He’s always been like that—so good it’s almost foolish.”
That’s why he’s never truly happy, Zhou Yi added silently in his heart.
If he only cared about himself, life wouldn’t be so hard for him.
“I’m going out for a bit,” Xie An’yu said as he stood up.
Zhou Yi nodded. “Alright.”
Xie An’yu walked outside and saw Yu Feng leaning against the wall, head tilted back as he gazed at the sky, a cigarette dangling from his lips. The faint sound of footsteps reached his ears, and Yu Feng turned his head, locking eyes with Xie An’yu.
Yu Feng pressed the cigarette butt against the concrete wall, extinguishing it, then spoke. “That job is a good one—stable, easy, with normal work hours. But the choice is entirely yours. You decide for yourself.”
Xie An’yu walked over and stood beside Yu Feng, also looking up at the sky. Tonight, the moon was obscured by layers of clouds, its glow hazy and indistinct.
“Brother Yu,” Xie An’yu said earnestly, “let me take care of you when you’re old.”
Yu Feng let out a deep chuckle. “I’m only twenty-nine.”
I also loved spicy food, but I can’t eat as much spice as I used to. However, I still could handle Samyang Buldak Ramen just fine. Anyway, I feel like hot water is better to get rid of spiciness than cold water (cold water is tastier though). Also, I thought bottled herbal tea is sweet. Afaik, the most popular one—Wanglaoji—is quite sweet.
[dropdown title=”List of Idiom in Chapter 27″]
五顏六色 (wǔ yán liù sè): multicoloured; colourful; variegated; of many colors; every color under the sun.神采奕奕 (shén cǎi yì yì): glowing with health and radiating vigor; in glowing spirits (idiom); bursting with life; radiating health and vigor; brim with energy and vitality; be in buoyant/excellent/high spirits; describes a person who is energetic and radiant.
毫無顧忌 (háo wú gù jì): without scruple; of no scruple; stop at nothing; to have no aversion or hesitation towards immoral behavior, or to not consider the impact on the interests of people or things, or to have no scruples.
知根知底 (zhī gēn zhī dǐ): to know intimately; know through and through; know the background; know the bottom; know the cause of the matter; know the ins and outs; know thoroughly; be fully informed; be wellacquainted; have a deep understanding; know inside out.
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