WAYCAV Chapter 37

Su Zhiyan’s hand shook.

“Ow!”

The ice cream wrapper scraped against his wound as it passed by, making it sting.

Shen Nianjing propped himself up with his hand, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. “I said ‘I agree,’ right?”

Su Zhiyan quickly lowered his head and blew on his hand. “Sorry, sorry!”

He was genuinely surprised.

Not only was Shen Nianjing not angry, but he’d actually agreed to his request.

The logical chain his brain had preset instantly collapsed at this moment.

Shen Nianjing seemed to never act according to common sense, or rather, he had never followed any of the paths Su Zhiyan had imagined in his mind.

He held a cotton swab in his hand and pulled Shen Nianjing’s hand over, stopping when they were only two palm widths apart. He evenly applied the medicine to Shen Nianjing’s fingers with very gentle movements.

Shen Nianjing looked down at him.

Su Zhiyan had long, thick eyelashes. Sunlight came from the side, casting a curved shadow on the side of his nose. In his serious, focused gaze, Shen Nianjing’s red, burned hand was reflected.

Shen Nianjing’s fingertips trembled.

Su Zhiyan frowned. “Stop moving.”

“Go wait outside. I’ll cook the dumplings.” After applying the medicine, he turned around and put the first aid kit away, handing it to Shen Nianjing, then picked up a cloth to wipe the water stains on the counter.

Watching Su Zhiyan’s practiced movements, Shen Nianjing smiled gently. “I don’t know why, but seeing you like this gives me a sense of peace.”

“…” Su Zhiyan glanced back darkly. “Probably because normal people always work in an orderly way, unlike someone who’s so careless they can burn themselves.”

Shen Nianjing: “.”

He chuckled softly. “Ha! Fine, then I really want to taste dumplings cooked by a normal person.”

“Tch.” Su Zhiyan turned back around.

Shen Nianjing looked at his retreating back, a vague warm breeze passing through his heart, and a smile naturally appeared at the corner of his mouth.

He looked down at his fingertips that had been treated, only feeling that the burning sensation from the burn gradually spread from his fingers, pulsing with his blood and filling his heart.

When Su Zhiyan served the dumplings, he called over his shoulder, “The injured shouldn’t just stand there. Come get the plates.”

Shen Nianjing snapped out of his thoughts and responded cheerfully. “Coming!”

Dumplings cooked by normal people really were delicious!

Before, when Shen Nianjing was alone at home, although he thought he had mastered how to put frozen dumplings in boiling water, every time either a few would break open or some would be half-cooked and pale, or if he cooked them too long they would fall apart, and the skins would get all mushy…

Shen Nianjing looked at the dumplings in his bowl, each one intact with smooth, beautiful skins, and couldn’t help exclaiming, “Su-ge, I’m following you from now on!”

Su Zhiyan: “…”

He didn’t say anything, just poked at the dumplings in his bowl with complicated feelings, having no appetite.

Shen Nianjing had agreed to his request, and he was grateful and relieved.

But he had agreed too easily. Su Zhiyan had no idea what he was thinking.

Shen Nianjing was so skilled at getting along with people and so thoughtful with friends. He was probably doing this to avoid making things awkward, giving him a way out.

He must still mind it deep down.

“Wow, Su Zhiyan!” Shen Nianjing suddenly exclaimed loudly again. “Your dumplings taste like they were freshly made, delicious and chewy!”

His exaggerated reaction made it seem like Su Zhiyan had prepared a full banquet rather than simple dumplings.

“You’re overdoing it,” Su Zhiyan muttered. They were just dumplings.

“Not at all! Without you, I’d have turned them into dough soup again!” Shen Nianjing grinned. “You’d probably say I’m really good at innovative research, and if I used this ability in my major I could definitely publish a first-tier paper.”

Su Zhiyan burst out laughing, his eyes crinkling brightly.

Shen Nianjing watched him, eyes sparkling.

“Hey, this chili sauce is really good!” He grabbed a jar from the table’s storage rack, opened the lid and placed it by Su Zhiyan’s bowl. “It’s fragrant and spicy but not overwhelming. If you like it, there are two new bottles in the kitchen you can take back to the dorm.”

After saying this, he paused and emphasized, “Don’t give any to Wen Bei.”

“Wen Bei can’t handle spicy food anyway. Giving him spicy food would be like robbing his money and harming his life.” Su Zhiyan thought Shen Nianjing’s comment was strange. He lowered his head, scooped some chili sauce onto his dumplings, and took a bite.

It was exactly the flavor he liked.

He had had no appetite just a second ago, but now it suddenly came rushing back.

“Isn’t your mom home?”

“She’s on a business trip. She left me a whole freezer full of dumplings that I have to finish before she comes back.”

Su Zhiyan remembered the scene he saw when he opened the freezer.

Sealed containers and fresh-keeping bags were stacked layer upon layer, piled up like a mountain filling the entire freezer, packed with plump and full dumplings.

“So,” Shen Nianjing’s mouth drooped, “if you don’t help me get rid of them, my stomach will have to make a heroic sacrifice.”

“…” Su Zhiyan smiled a little. No wonder he suddenly messaged him asking him to come eat dumplings at his house.

So he really couldn’t finish all the dumplings.

He’d been preoccupied when he came, but now that things were out in the open, he felt much lighter and had room to think about other things. He hadn’t even figured out why Shen Nianjing had suddenly contacted him, and the answer was already so obvious.

Whatever, Su Zhiyan thought. At least he got to eat a meal of really good dumplings.

A hand suddenly reached toward him, lightly touching his cheek with cool fingertips.

Su Zhiyan froze and looked up at Shen Nianjing.

The person in front of him withdrew his hand and looked at his own finger casually, then looked at him. “I just touched you once. Does that work?”

“Will you be able to rest well tonight now?”

Su Zhiyan felt his face heat up. He put down his spoon and raised his hand to pat his cheek with the back of his hand, looking away. “As long as there’s physical contact, it’s fine…”

His cheek puffed out where his hand pressed against it. “We already had contact today. You didn’t need to do that again.”

“Oh…” Shen Nianjing sounded almost disappointed.

Su Zhiyan looked up at him, feeling something was off.

Shen Nianjing blew on his dumpling and ate with relish even though he was using his left hand to hold the fork.

Su Zhiyan lowered his head.

What exactly felt wrong?

“Can I ask what your recurring dream is about?” Shen Nianjing pulled out a tissue with his left hand to wipe his mouth, asking curiously. “A nightmare… Could it be being chased by ghosts? Monsters? Getting trapped in a ghost wall?[mfn]The traditional belief is that a mischievous or malevolent ghost (鬼) is playing a trick on you. It creates an invisible wall or a spiritual maze around you, preventing you from finding your way. You think you’re walking straight, but the ghost is subtly guiding you in a circle, making you return to the same spot over and over again.[/mfn] Fear of deep water or fear of huge objects? Fear of heights or darkness?”

He asked a whole string of questions, his expression as normal as always, his eyes showing curiosity.

Su Zhiyan’s heart skipped a beat.

He now knew what was wrong.

“Aren’t you suspicious I might be lying?” he asked.

It was too strange. It was one thing for Shen Nianjing not to get angry after hearing what he said, and not getting angry while still being willing to be friends with him showed that Shen Nianjing was just a good person, but how could he believe it so easily?

Such a ridiculous “truth” – normally anyone should question it, right?

Could words really be prophetic? Su Zhiyan thought. He kept saying things like “crazy,” “having an episode,” and “sick” to Shen Nianjing every day.

Could he really have made him abnormal by saying it so much?

“…”

Shen Nianjing slowly blinked.

A long silence.

The air grew still again, but Su Zhiyan felt the time wasn’t as long as before, so he waited patiently for an answer.

Shen Nianjing wore a business-like polite smile, staring at him motionlessly.

After a long while, he raised his left hand with dramatic flair, his voice booming, “Because my trust in you is comparable to my trust in the motherland and the Party!”

“Equally unwavering, loyal and true, sworn to follow to the death!”

His tone was firm, each word powerful and resounding.

Su Zhiyan looked at him flatly.

Great, he was making patriotic declarations again.

If thew motherland knew she had such a good son who mentioned her every few days, she would definitely become even more prosperous and strong.

Shen Nianjing felt a bit guilty under his stare.

He put down his hand and coughed lightly. “The dumplings are getting cold.” After saying this, he lowered his head and ate frantically, almost burying his head in the bowl.

Su Zhiyan watched the “ostrich burying its head in sand” for a while, then poured a glass of juice and pushed it in front of him. “Don’t choke.”

Shen Nianjing: “…Th-thank you.”

Su Zhiyan shook his head and sighed deeply. “You’re really terrible at lying.”

Shen Nianjing’s movements stopped.

“Good thing you studied math. If you’d gone into acting, you would have wasted that good face of yours.”

Shen Nianjing looked up, his eyes sparkling. “You think I’m handsome?”

Su Zhiyan looked at him like he was looking at an idiot and said calmly, “I think you’re stupid.”

“…Oh.” Shen Nianjing lowered his head, silent, then said defiantly, “Fools have fool’s luck, my good fortune is yet to come!”

“And you said before that me not going into acting was a great loss for the entertainment industry. How can you change your mind now?”

Su Zhiyan laughed out loud. “Can’t you even tell sarcasm?”

The atmosphere grew subtly tense for a moment.

The room suddenly became very quiet, even the sound of the second hand ticking was crystal clear.

Su Zhiyan frowned, feeling a bit annoyed with himself.

He shouldn’t have brought this up.

Shen Nianjing chuckled and lazily stretched, then propped his face up with his left hand and looked at Su Zhiyan, studying him for quite a while.

His eyes were long and narrow, very standard phoenix eyes, bright with the sharpness of youth.

Being looked at by those eyes, Su Zhiyan only felt the gaze was very deep, with an inexplicable gentleness, and there were emotions in them he couldn’t understand.

He suddenly had a feeling that Shen Nianjing might be about to tell him the explanation for what happened before.

His palm curved slightly, feeling a bit nervous.

“Are you angry now?” Shen Nianjing suddenly asked this.

“?” Su Zhiyan was confused. “Why would I be angry now?”

“Because you might get angry in a moment.” Shen Nianjing’s tone was certain, then he pressed his lips together. “I’m thinking about whether I should go to the kitchen and get a pot lid first.”

Su Zhiyan: “…” It really wasn’t going to be anything good.

“Su Zhiyan.” Shen Nianjing called his name again, putting both hands on his knees and facing him directly.

Su Zhiyan’s heart tightened, and he instinctively sat up straight. The two of them faced each other, backs very straight, sitting properly, looking exactly like a corporate interview.

“Actually, I’ve had dreams too.” Shen Nianjing said.

Su Zhiyan’s pupils contracted. “…What?”

What dreams? The same as his?

Then… was he still the bottom?

Su Zhiyan suddenly felt his face burning up, turning red from his neck all the way to behind his ears.

Shen Nianjing made an “mm” sound. “What’s wrong with you?”

He had prepared himself mentally and just started, hadn’t even said much yet, so why was Su Zhiyan getting worked up?

Was there alcohol in the air?

No, if so, he should be the first to get drunk.

“Nothing… I’ll go get some ice cream.” Su Zhiyan quickly got up and escaped to the kitchen doorway.

Using the refrigerator as cover, Su Zhiyan squeezed his eyes shut hard.

The person he was apologizing to had actually been having the same dreams as him and had been hiding it well.

Damn! Could anything be more mortifying than this!

He shouldn’t have come over today!

His face was still very hot. Su Zhiyan rubbed his face and picked up the ice cream with both hands.

He glanced toward the dining room from the corner of his eye. Shen Nianjing had his head down and wasn’t looking his way.

“Ahem.” He gathered his courage and asked loudly, “Do you want some?”

“No need—” came a drawn-out voice from the dining table, the tone rising, very much like he was trying to take credit. “I bought it for you in the first place.”

Su Zhiyan: “…”

Damn!

The below-freezing ice cream suddenly felt like a hot potato…

He took two breaths of the cold air from the refrigerator, forcing himself to calm down.

Hiding here forever wasn’t a solution, and it was also wasting electricity.

“…” He numbly closed the refrigerator door and put away his last bit of “dignity.”

It’s fine.

He comforted himself.

Being around someone as unreasonable and abnormal as Shen Nianjing, he should learn to be thicker-skinned.

Otherwise, everything would probably be like walking through flames in the future!

He took a deep breath, tore open the ice cream wrapper and took a big bite.

“!” Delicious.

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