Despite the heap of concerns still lingering in Zhai Yao’s mind, they were momentarily subdued by Shen Ziyao’s antics.
Upon hearing that her little brother had found a place to stay and knowing that it was even his classmate’s residence, Zhai Bing felt elated. She bought a plethora of gifts and insisted on visiting Shen Heng’s home, intending to familiarize herself with the surroundings and to acquaint herself with his household in the process.
Her gesture, however, was met with rejection from Zhai Yao.
The day of his moving was on a weekend. Zhai Yao specifically bought a second-hand phone from the flea market for Xiao Lajiao, telling her to message him if she needed anything.
Although Xiao Lajiao didn’t recognize many characters and her learning ability was slower than average children, she still knew some basic words and could send text messages.
Liang Hao was present when Zhai Yao returned home accompanied by Shen Heng to pack his luggage.
Perhaps because Zhai Yao was finally scramming, for once, Liang Hao didn’t display his typical despicable expression—one that brimmed with resentment, as if someone had obstructed his victorious wagers. Instead, he had taken the initiative to help Zhai Yao pack his belongings in advance, lest Zhai Yao would have a change of heart and decide not to move in the end.
Zhai Yao couldn’t be bothered to deal with Liang Hao the whole time, nor did he talk much to Zhai Bing. It was only when Xiao Lajiao tugged at his clothes did he raise his hand and pat her head.
Before departing, he cast a final glance at the apartment.
In a fleeting instant, he seemed to see himself and Zhai Bing playing hopscotch together by the doorstep during their childhood days.
Although Zhai Bing’s eyes appeared to redden, she ultimately didn’t say much either, just lingering at the door until the figures of Zhai Yao and Shen Heng disappeared at the alley’s entrance.
“Are you satisfied now?” Zhai Bing asked Liang Hao behind her as she took out a cigarette and lit it.
Liang Hao stretched comfortably and pulled Zhai Bing into his arms, leaning in to whisper ambiguously in her ear, “Wifey, tonight we can finally have a good night’s sleep!”
…
*
It was already noon when they exited Dragonfly Alley.
Zhai Yao didn’t have much stuff, just a backpack and a carry-on bag in total. The two of them hailed a taxi back to Shen Heng’s place and happened to meet the senior caregiver downstairs.
The senior caregiver was somewhat surprised to see them back. “How come you two are back already? …Haaa, I thought you guys wouldn’t be back for lunch, so I only made a meal for Gramps and me! How about I head back upstairs and whip something up for you guys?”
“No need, there’s still some noodles in the fridge. I’ll cook when we return.” Shen Heng paused before asking, “Where’s Gramps?”
“He’s playing Chinese chess at the activity centre. He forgot his water bottle, so he asked me to come back and get it for him.” The senior caregiver smiled and said, “Gramps is in great spirits today, telling everyone that his grandson’s back from summer camp!”
Shen Heng cast a brief glance at Zhai Yao, his expression unchanged, before turning to the senior caregiver. “You can go ahead first then, or he might get anxious again.”
“Right right, then I’ll leave it to you guys to settle your own lunch!” With that, the senior caregiver hurriedly ran towards the elderly activity centre…
Back at home, Shen Heng left Zhai Yao to tidy up his room first. He then went to the kitchen to wash his hands and retrieved noodles from the fridge.
Afterwards, he also washed some tomatoes, cracked a few eggs, shredded cucumbers for braising, and made a pot of noodles.
Once the noodles were cooked, he went to the guest room door and pushed it open.
“Time to…”
Shen Heng halted mid-sentence.
In front of him, Zhai Yao was seated on the bed, with half-unpacked luggage by his feet, cradling a gray crocheted puppy in his arms, seemingly lost in thought.
He absent-mindedly combed through the puppy’s fur with his fingers as sunlight streamed onto his face, casting a spot of light on his black hair.
Due to that action, the usual icy gaze in his eyes and the sharpness of his brows seemed to soften slightly, giving birth to a gentle facade with a hint of docility.
Pretty decent hair condition, probably feels really soft to the touch.
Shen Heng thought.
Alas, the facade was just that, a facade. In a split second, when Zhai Yao noticed Shen Heng standing at the door, he reverted to his original self, and the crocheted puppy in his hand was hurled straight at Shen Heng.
“What are you staring at? Nothing interesting here.”
Shen Heng reached out and caught it.
The crocheted puppy bared its teeth, glaring fiercely at Shen Heng.
On closer inspection, it somewhat resembled its owner.
Shen Heng settled the puppy aside. “Come out and eat.”
Zhai Yao rose and followed Shen Heng out of the room.
Shen Heng lowered his gaze and shut the door, his lips slightly tightening and forming into a thin line.
“Are you smiling?” Zhai Yao shot him a glance, his tone leaving a cool breeze in its wake as he asked.
“No.” After a moment’s hesitation, Shen Heng continued, “Just didn’t expect that.”
Zhai Yao frowned.
Shen Heng: “You still play with toys.”
“……” Zhai Yao closed his eyes, then immediately spoke frostily, “I possess a heavy negative energy since I was little. The fortune-teller said I must place a dog by my pillow to suppress it.”
“Mm.”
“.”
Damning hell, he doesn’t believe it, does he?
“The noodles are ready.” Shen Heng turned around and walked to the dining table, pulled out a chair, sat down, and began to eat the noodles by himself.
Zhai Yao looked at him and sat down on an adjacent chair, picking up a chopstick and began slurping the noodles.
The noodles, after having soaked in cold water, had a nice chewy texture when eaten.
The braised cucumbers were also perfectly seasoned, neither too salty nor bland, offering a refreshing and tasty bite.
In no time, they each finished off a large bowl of noodles.
Zhai Yao got up and served himself another bowl.
“Wanna practise fencing tonight?” Zhai Yao asked between bites.
“Today’s no good.” Shen Heng grabbed his cigarette pack with the intention of heading to the balcony for a smoke. “You go ahead and practise on your own for now.”
Zhai Yao acknowledged with a “Mm,” showing no interest in asking further. He simply continued slurping his noodles.
Right then, Shen Heng came to a sudden halt with his back turned to Zhai Yao, and said, “You two are quite alike.”
“?” Zhai Yao lifted his gaze, his cheeks still puffed with noodles as he chewed.
“You and your dog.”
“……”
Zhai Yao swallowed his mouthful of noodles expressionlessly and retorted, “Patient now, I’ll beat the sh*t out of you in a sec.”
…
*
Once more in the afternoon, Zhai Yao did a quick tidy-up of his room.
By the time the room was nearly cleaned up, he was already drenched in sweat.
Zhai Yao grabbed fresh clothes and headed to the shower. During that time, the apartment’s entrance door sounded twice in total.
Once it was Shen Ziyao coming back, and the other time was Shen Heng leaving.
Shen Heng didn’t inform Zhai Yao where exactly he was going or what he was going to do. He merely left a spare key on the coffee table for the latter to take it when going out.
Similarly, Shen Ziyao made no mention of Shen Heng. His attention was solely focused on Zhai Yao, to the extent that he even skipped his usual afternoon nap, eagerly wanting to bring out all the delicious treats at home to pamper his precious grandson.
For a brief moment, Zhai Yao even had a sense of illusion.
—That originally, there were only him and Shen Ziyao in this house.
He was the grandson, and Shen Ziyao was the grandpa. At most, an additional senior caregiver to round out the household.
As for Shen Heng, it was as if he had never existed.
Shen Ziyao wouldn’t actively inquire about him, and it seemed like he had never even thought of him either.
Zhai Yao quietly listened to Shen Ziyao’s long-winded and endless chatter until he finally seized a moment to interject, saying, “I’m feeling a bit tired.”
“Okay okay okay, hurry up and go to sleep!” Shen Ziyao dismissed him with a cheerful wave, a mixture of laughter and admonishment in his voice. “You little rascal, so impatient!”
Zhai Yao tugged at the corner of his lips, revealing a small smile, before rising from his seat and returning to his room.
After standing at the window for a while, he took out his phone and opened the chat, which contained only one message detailing a transaction record of 200 yuan.
After much back-and-forth contemplation, he eventually pressed the “send” button.
——【Out-of-reach: When are you coming back?】
Yet, as the afternoon wore on, he still received no response from Shen Heng.
…
*
As per usual, the same few familiar faces were seen in the Flying Dragon Skating Rink—the non-mainstream crowd with colourful and vibrant dyed hair, the Nokia girl, and Xie Ziming who was overseeing the counter.
The only difference this time was a new face, Luo Le, who had just got a large sleeve tattoo.
Xie Ziming cracked open a beer and chugged down half in a single tilt of his head before squinting his eyes as he sought confirmation on the news he had just heard from Zhai Yao.
“You’re saying… you’ve moved out, and now you’re staying at Shen Heng’s place?”
Zhai Yao merely hummed a “Mm” in acknowledgment, similarly cracking open a can of beer and taking a sip from it.
“The hell! Something this major… why didn’t you mention anything about it beforehand?!” Xie Ziming’s eyeballs looked as if they were about to pop out and fall onto the table.
“Well, I just moved today, and aren’t I telling you now?” Zhai Yao didn’t even bother to lift his head, looking as if he was absentmindedly scrolling through short videos on his phone.
Only that once in a while, he would exit out to check his WeChat messages.
Shen Heng had yet to reply.
Meanwhile, Xie Ziming still hadn’t fully recovered from his shock.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
In his memory, Zhai Yao had always been someone who absolutely disliked being clingy with people. It was to the extent that even Xie Ziming, who was very close to him, had never spent a night anywhere with Zhai Yao outside of internet cafés.
Moreover, wasn’t Zhai Yao’s relationship with Shen Heng supposed to be bad?!
Confusion washed over Xie Ziming once more.
And right at that moment, the one even more confused was Luo Le, who was by his side.
Based on his understanding of Shen Heng, not only was it unlikely for him to accept someone else living in his house, but he also wouldn’t permit outsiders to even come close to entering his home.
Shen Heng’s sense of territoriality and level of personal privacy were both fiercely pronounced, almost to the point of being extreme.
He and Zhai Yao had barely known each other for a month, so how could that be possible…?
Xie Ziming and Luo Le shared a look, their brain waves resonating on the same frequency once again.
Outside, the sky briefly brightened with a sudden streak of lightning.
Then, it was immediately followed by the rumble of thunder, signalling the start of a torrential rain.
Zhai Yao’s gaze shifted from his phone and swept past the vibrantly dyed hair crowd gathering at the door, watching the rain. He took a quick look outside, turned to Luo Le, and asked, “Did you get in touch with Shen Heng today?”
Luo Le appeared dazed. “No, what’s wrong?”
Zhai Yao turned his head away, his voice carrying a frosty tone. “Give him a call.”
After a brief pause, he added, “Ask if he brought an umbrella.”
“?” Luo Le was perplexed, thinking: You’re already living in his house, can’t you contact him yourself?
But he wasn’t one to talk much, so he promptly whipped out his phone and called Shen Heng without much fuss.
Zhai Yao seemed nonchalant, yet his body inconspicuously leaned a notch closer to Luo Le.
Only a busy signal was heard from the phone.
Dffq—
Dffq—
Dffq—
“Sorry, the subscriber you have dialed is currently unavailable. Please try again later… Sorry, the subscriber you have dialed…”
“No one’s answering.” Luo Le shrugged. He was about to reassure Zhai Yao that there was no need for concern, as any adult would know to seek shelter from the rain, when his expression abruptly darkened.
“Oh, shoot!” He exclaimed. “What’s today’s date?”
“August… the 13th?” Xie Ziming was bemused. “What’s up?”
Luo Le slapped his forehead. “Shoot, shoot, shoot, it’s the 14th of the seventh month of the lunar calendar! Don’t tell me Heng-zi f*cking went up to Fang Mountain?!”
Xie Ziming: “Fang Mountain? Isn’t that place a bloody cemetery?”
Luo Le nodded. “The roads in that area are in a bad state, and with such heavy rainfall, I’d bet the buses are almost certainly out of service.”
“Damn, why on earth would Boss Shen go to that kind of place at such a late hour?!”
“That idiot…” Zhai Yao muttered a curse under his breath, swiftly pocketed his phone, grabbed an umbrella from the corner of the counter, and rushed out of the skating rink…
…
*
The onslaught of rain arrived with startling suddenness, and the precipitation level was notably astonishing.
Raindrops drummed loudly on the umbrella, and soon the road was flooded with puddles.
Zhai Yao, gripping his bicycle’s handlebars alongside the handle of an open umbrella wedged under his arm, sped through the heavy downpour.
Later, perhaps deeming the umbrella too cumbersome, he simply closed and stowed it away, then pressed hard on the pedals, leaving the city behind as he headed towards the pitch-black, winding mountain roads…
Soon after, the urban cacophony of car horns and pedestrian chatter faded into distant silence, replaced by the relentless drumming of torrential rain on the mountain’s foliage.
The sky grew darker and darker.
Along the mountain road, street lamps appeared at considerable intervals, emitting dim light that barely illuminated a small circle beneath them.
There was still no answer from Shen Heng’s side; instead, it was Luo Le who called Zhai Yao midway through his ride to check if he had managed to find Shen Heng.
During the call, Luo Le also mentioned he had just searched around the Cultural Palace again, but he was still unable to locate Shen Heng.
Upon hanging up, Zhai Yao passed by a bus stop shelter along the way and took a short rest.
He brushed the rainwater from his face, the taste of severe physical exertion tinged with a metallic tang lingering in his throat.
Several pieces of soaked-through joss papers floated in the road puddles. Under the veil of night, rows of finely constructed tombstones lined the mountainside.
Zhai Yao wanted to smoke to calm his nerves, but the rain had completely drenched his cigarette pack. No matter how hard he tried, the cigarettes just wouldn’t ignite.
Not only that, but even his phone had begun to glitch due to water damage, leaving him uncertain about how much longer it would last.
Zhai Yao clenched his phone tightly, deciding to call Shen Heng one final time.
If he still couldn’t connect through, he’d not bother anymore!
The line crackled to life with a “beep—beep—”
Just as Zhai Yao thought there was no hope left, Shen Heng’s somewhat hoarse voice suddenly came through.
“Hey.”
Zhai Yao shut his eyes tight and didn’t utter anything for a few seconds.
All that filled his ears was the sound of his teeth chattering, grinding together with a harsh, gritty noise.
“Zhai Yao?” Shen Heng called out softly again.
“Where are you now?” Zhai Yao asked, his breath betraying a slight tremor.
“At Fang Mountain—there’s no bus service because of the rain, and the signal’s weak in the mountains. I’m walking down now.” Upon saying that, Shen Heng paused a short while before continuing, “Where are you?”
Zhai Yao didn’t respond; he was freezing his butt off right now, so much so that he seriously felt like murdering someone.
A moment of silence ensued at the other end of the line before Shen Heng’s deep voice came through once more. “I see you.”
Lifting his gaze, Zhai Yao peered into the distance through the dim illumination of the bus stop and the curtain of rain.
A tall and lean figure emerged from the storm, his white shirt thoroughly drenched and clinging to his body, holding a phone in his hand—reminiscent of a traveller returning to the human world from a divine hideaway in the mountainous forests.
Zhai Yao pursed his lips, stepped out of the bus stop shelter as the figure neared, and walked straight up to him.
Then, he threw a punch without the slightest hesitation, hitting Shen Heng squarely on the cheek.
Shen Heng’s head jerked to the side from the impact, and the area of his cheekbone reddened in an instant.
A frown creased Shen Heng’s brows. He had initially wanted to counter by restraining Zhai Yao’s wrist, but the instant he caught sight of the latter, he momentarily faltered.
Zhai Yao’s face had taken on a ghastly pallor, drained of all colour, and his body continued to tremble incessantly.
Shen Heng glanced past Zhai Yao’s shoulder at the bicycle parked beside the bus stop and the umbrella leaning against the signpost. The darkness in his eyes quivered, before it gradually softened.
“I really didn’t hear it.” Shen Heng’s Adam’s apple bobbed, his hand hesitating before gently touching Zhai Yao’s drenched hair.
Long and slender fingers threaded through his hair.
“You f*cker…” It was only then that Zhai Yao felt a wave of exhaustion wash over him; his legs, from the continuous biking uphill, felt as though they were filled with heavy lead, aching and weak, pushing him towards the urge to kneel on the ground.
“You f*cker… Laozi’s being frozen to death right here…,” Zhai Yao uttered through clenched teeth.
He never revealed to Shen Heng that it was precisely during a storm identical to the current one that his parents met their fate, crushed beneath a massive boulder that fell out of nowhere in a landslide while on their way back to their hometown for some errands.
Before they left, they had even promised Zhai Yao and Zhao Bing that they would bring back wild apricots from their hometown.
Ever since then, mountain rains had haunted Zhai Yao’s dreams. To him, it was a relentless nightmare from which he could never escape, growing only more vivid with each passing year.
“Let’s move to the shelter first,” Shen Heng said, reaching to pull Zhai Yao’s arm, but Zhai Yao swatted it away with one swift motion.
Zhai Yao turned and made his way back to the bus stop shelter, with Shen Heng silently following behind.
The bus stop was quite small, with its signpost haphazardly plastered with various advertisements, all faded to a palette of washed-out hues.
Ads for farmstay rentals, chicken farm contracting, infertility treatments… and some were so aged that their contents were completely lost to time.
Beneath the canopy stood a long bench, corroded with rust and wobbling on its legs. Taking a seat would set it swaying and creaking with an ear-piercing sound, as though it could give way at any time.
Shen Heng and Zhai Yao sat at opposite ends of the bench, separated by some space, with the umbrella that Zhai Yao had brought from the skating rink resting between them.
Neither spoke. One’s gaze lingered on the tombstones lined on the distant mountain, while the other lowered his, busying himself with crumbling a soaked cigarette between his fingers into flecks.
Eventually, Zhai Yao decided to simply strip off his T-shirt, wring out a puddle of water, and carelessly toss it aside, leaving his upper body bare.
Compared to wearing that drenched shirt, going shirtless proved to be somewhat more comfortable and warmer, lest the dampness burrow into his bones with its bone-chilling cold.
“Achoo—” Zhai Yao sneezed and rubbed his nose.
From his peripheral vision, he saw Shen Heng looking over at him. Zhai Yao’s expression darkened, unwilling to exchange glances with him. After he finished crumbling the cigarettes into bits, his attention shifted back to the mountain road once again, hoping against hope for a passing car they could hitch-hike down the mountain with.
However, luck did not seem to be on their side, as they saw nothing but a frog jumping across the road, with not a single soul in sight.
The white figure beside him shifted; Shen Heng also began unbuttoning his shirt, taking it off to wring it dry.
Zhai Yao still refused to look at him, thinking to himself: That’s right. Freeze to death, you idiotic ding-dong.
Yet, immediately after, the idiotic ding-dong stood up and walked towards him.
Then, he sat down, snuggling close to Zhai Yao.
Soon thereafter, he reached out and wrapped his arm around Zhai Yao’s shoulder, tugging him closer towards himself.
With a shiver, Zhai Yao tried to pull away, but Shen Heng firmly held him down by the shoulder.
“Don’t move.”
Shen Heng’s body was just as drenched and cold, but the moment their skins touched and pressed together, a gentle warmth quickly began to emanate between them.
Zhai Yao’s back tensed; he had never before been in such close skin contact with anyone in his entire life.
How he wished to ruthlessly throw another heavy punch at Shen Heng’s face—to break his nose bridge and then dislocate his jaw!
Two hecking grown-ass men sitting bare-chested under a bus stop shelter and appreciating the rain together… That was just plain weird!
Yet, as the warmth seeped into him, he found himself reluctant to pull away.
Ultimately, Zhai Yao simply closed his eyes, secretly deciding that once they were off the mountain… No! As soon as the rain stopped, he was going to kill Shen Heng to vent his frustration!
“I came to visit my mom.”
Shen Heng’s voice was right by his ear, but amidst the continuous rain, it seemed somewhat muffled and distant.
“I burnt her some offerings. It was sunny when I left, and there was no mention of rain in the weather forecast.”
Zhai Yao remained silent, and as he turned away his head, he caught sight of the arm Shen Heng had wrapped around him and its glaring burn scar.
Zhai Yao’s lips moved, and he eventually grumbled, “Even ghosts wouldn’t put stock in the weather forecast.”
Shen Heng’s lips twitched slightly, and he softly hummed a “Mm” in response.
“I originally wanted to call Luo Le to ask him to drive the shop’s van and come pick me up, but I couldn’t get through since my phone had no signal.” Following a brief interlude, Shen Heng resumed, “I didn’t expect you to come. I felt a bit surprised.”
Hearing this, Zhai Yao gave a cold laugh. “Guess I fricking brought this upon myself, huh.”
“Now I owe you another favour.”
Zhai Yao frowned impatiently. “Enough with the bullsh*t. Call Luo Le now and ask him to come over. My phone’s broken.”
Shen Heng took out his phone and pressed the power-on button. “Mine’s dead too, ran out of battery right after I took your call.”
Zhai Yao muttered a “f*ck” under his breath and then looked towards the night sky. “The rain isn’t seriously gonna last all night, right?”
“I don’t know.”
“Say, if we were to freeze to death right now, how do you think the headlines would frame it?” Zhai Yao felt speechless just by thinking about it. “Two men found dead from the cold in the middle of the night on a mountain, naked and huddled together?”
“……” Shen Heng’s gaze dropped, as if pondering. “Spicy.”
“?”
Spi… f*ck!
Zhai Yao couldn’t help but laugh out of sheer anger, raised his leg, and kicked Shen Heng’s calf. “Screw off and put your clothes back on! Even if Laozi dies and becomes a ghost, I’m gonna be a pure and scandal-less one!”
As it turned out, the heavens above didn’t actually plan on making them front-page news.
After another half an hour or so, the rain gradually began to ease.
Twenty minutes more and the rain completely ceased.
Water droplets fell rhythmically from the shelter, stirring ripples in puddles below.
Frogs croaked in waves, while the summer insects spared by the “calamity” wildly serenaded the night, celebrating their survival.
The moon peeked out from behind the clouds, its glow rendered even more pristine by the cleansing rain.
“Let’s go.” Shen Heng withdrew the arm that was embracing Zhai Yao and grabbed the umbrella and his shirt. “It’s about four kilometres to the main road. We should be able to hail a taxi there.”
With the sudden disappearance of the residual warmth, Zhai Yao felt as if something had been hollowed out inside him.
Following suit, Zhai Yao rose to his feet, draped his clothes over his shoulder, and pushed the bicycle. Together with Shen Heng, they walked side by side on the damp, post-rain mountain path…
Sure enough, when they reached the highway at the foot of the mountain, a taxi happened to pass by just then.
And by then, Shen Heng had already slipped his shirt back on, concealing the scar on his arm.
Zhai Yao placed the bicycle horizontally in the boot and got into the taxi.
Borrowing a charger from the taxi driver uncle, Shen Heng quickly phoned Luo Le for a brief update once his phone turned on.
Meanwhile, Zhai Yao also tried switching on his phone—still a black screen; it was probably completely broken.
“Don’t force the power on.” Shen Heng cast a brief glance at his phone. “I’ll fix it when we get back.”
By the time they got home, it was already very late. The senior caregiver, upon seeing them fully drenched from head to toe, hurriedly urged them to take a warm shower.
“You go first,” Shen Heng said. “Give me the phone.”
Zhai Yao wasn’t betting on Shen Heng actually getting his phone to work again. While closing the bathroom door, he said, “It’s in my trouser’s pocket, get it yourself.”
Shen Heng retrieved Zhai Yao’s phone before returning to his room and changing into dry clothes. Settling down at his desk, he switched on the desk lamp and took out a toolbox from the drawer.
The slightly ajar door opened with a “creak.” Without turning back, Shen Heng called out, “You’re done washing up already?”
No one responded from behind.
Shen Heng wrinkled his brows, turned to look, only to see Shen Ziyao staring at him with a look full of contemplation, as if on the brink of voicing something yet holding back.
“What’s wrong?” Shen Heng asked.
Shen Ziyao’s beard trembled; he rubbed his hands, seemingly trying hard to remember something.
Finally, he asked, “Hmm, is today some special day?”
Shen Heng’s gaze darkened.
Lost in his own thoughts, Shen Ziyao murmured under his breath, “I seem to remember I needed to do something, but I forgot… What exactly was it again?”
Shen Heng pressed his lips together, then shortly afterwards, turned back to fix Zhai Yao’s phone.
Following another brief interval, he uttered softly, “It’s already taken care of.”
“It’s taken care of?”
Shen Ziyao tilted his head, wanting to ask more, but upon noticing that Shen Heng’s attention was no longer on him, he rolled his eyes in self-inflicted annoyance.
Shen Ziyao thought to himself: It’s fine as long as it’s taken care of.
He turned around wobbly and went back to the sofa to wait for his precious grandson.
…
*
Zhai Yao came out of the bathroom after the shower, towelling his hair as he pushed open the door to Shen Heng’s room.
“Your turn to take a—”
Zhai Yao’s voice halted as he saw Shen Heng, under the warm glow of the desk lamp, with his back turned towards him, dismantling and prying open the cover of his phone with tweezers and a screwdriver.
His technique was so adept, he could easily start a business simply by hanging an “Old Phones Repair” signboard.
Hearing movement behind him, Shen Heng stopped his work, gave a faint “Mm,” stood up, and simply instructed, “Leave the stuff here, don’t touch them.” He then left the room for his shower.
The bathroom soon echoed with the sound of running water.
Zhai Yao came back to his senses, stepped further into the room, and walked towards the desk.
—There quietly lay his phone, disassembled into countless pieces.
Zhai Yao slowed his towelling, wondering if it could still be reassembled back together. He reached out, wanting to touch them, but very quickly retracted his hand just before making contact.
He carelessly wiped his hair a few more times, threw the towel over the backrest of the chair, and sat down on Shen Heng’s bed.
The current him had no phone to play with, and his own cigarettes were also reduced to crumbs. Not to mention, he also didn’t know where Shen Heng kept his cigarettes.
Sitting there bored to death, Zhai Yao thought he might as well go chat with Shen Ziyao, but he also feared saying something wrong and triggering his illness again.
In the end, he could only lean back against the headboard, staring blankly out at the endless night sky.
His gaze casually swept over and landed on the copy of “How the Steel Was Tempered” on the bedside cabinet. Zhai Yao, who hadn’t touched a book since forever, unprecedentedly picked one up and randomly skimmed through the pages.
He remembered it was a mandatory read back in his primary school days, and the teacher had even required a book review. Back then, he was still what adults considered a “well-behaved child.”
As he read, Zhai Yao noticed someone had made markings under some paragraphs.
Likely to be dates, beginning in January of this year and continuing until now.
Zhai Yao spent a long time trying to figure out the connection between those dates, to no avail. On the contrary, he ended up muddle-headed from scrutinizing the text, his eyelids fighting to stay open as his vision began to blur, with the black words merging into an array of black dots…
When Shen Heng returned to the room, what welcomed him was precisely this scene—
Zhai Yao lying on his bed, bare feet dangling off the edge, with prominent ankle bones and slender ankles so thin that they could probably be completely held by one hand.
And in his embrace was the book, “How the Steel Was Tempered.”
Under the warm yellow light, Zhai Yao lay with closed eyes, breathing steadily, his usually pursed lips now relaxed and slightly apart due to being in deep sleep.
His hair, still wet from not being blow-dried, clung to his forehead; a droplet of water slid down to his eyelashes, causing a slight flutter.
Shen Heng silently withdrew his gaze, walked over to the bedside, and bent down to take the book from Zhai Yao’s arms, but he couldn’t pull it free despite several tugs.
Zhai Yao curled his legs and held on even tighter.
Shen Heng stood by the bed, observing him with lowered eyes.
After a moment, he turned and left for the guest room, returning with the gray crocheted puppy Zhai Yao had brought with him.
Shen Heng brought the puppy close to Zhai Yao, gently nudging his arm with the its nose.
The tactic certainly did the trick; Zhai Yao loosened his hold on “Steel,” and instinctively grabbed the crocheted puppy into his embrace.
He first rubbed his face against it, then his furrowed brows smoothed out, and finally, he sank even deeper into slumber.
“And yet he said he doesn’t play with toys…”
Shen Heng mumbled under his breath, then his lips curved into a smile.
As if surprised by his own reaction, he briefly froze, cleared his throat needlessly, then leaned over to move Zhai Yao’s feet onto the bed before sitting back down at the desk to continue repairing the phone.
Yet, for reasons unknown, the current him simply couldn’t calm his restless self, repeatedly glancing back at Zhai Yao after several minutes’ interval, then looking away, only to find his gaze returning shortly thereafter.
The background hum of the TV in the living room faded away. Shen Ziyao, sneaking a peek into Shen Heng’s room through the crack of the door, saw Zhai Yao sleeping soundly. After a soft chuckle, “hehe,” escaped his lips, he quickly covered his mouth and even gestured a “shhh” to Shen Heng before retreating to his room for the night.
The room fell silent again—
The old-fashioned clock on the desk continued its relentless tick-tocking.
Beyond the window, a faint fragrance wafted in from some nocturnal plant, the type that only bloomed under the cover of night.
The third-year senior high school student in the next building was still diligently at their revision, their silhouette casting shadows on the window curtains.
Abruptly, the mobile phone lit up, and after a white screen, the brand’s logo appeared.
Shen Heng stretched his sore and achy shoulders and neck, then tidied up his repair tools on the desk, and put them back in their original storage places.
He tilted back gently against the chair, removed his glasses, and massaged his brows.
Then his gaze drifted back to Zhai Yao once again.
He was still hugging his crocheted puppy, fast asleep.
Standing up, Shen Heng noticed it was nearing 2:00 AM and decided it was time to wake Zhai Yao up and drive his ass back to his own room.
He reached out to shake Zhai Yao’s shoulder but paused momentarily in silence as soon as his touch brushed against him. Then, he let his hand meander upward, eventually coming to rest on Zhai Yao’s cheek.
A slight pinch shouldn’t wake him up.
Shen Heng squeezed the soft flesh on Zhai Yao’s cheek using his two fingers and tugged it upward.
“What are you doing?”
Without any warning, Zhao Yao’s eyes flickered open, still drowsy-eyed as he had just woken up.
Shen Heng’s hand froze abruptly, failing to pull back from beside Zhai Yao’s cheek in time.
He glanced down, pursed his lips, and offered a muted explanation. “There’s a mosquito.”
Zhai Yao’s face remained stoic as he responded, “Oh, so the mosquito is you, then.”
“.” Shen Heng, unusually at a loss for words.
“And the one before, that was fricking you as well, wasn’t it?”
“The phone’s fixed.” Shen Heng averted his gaze, changing the subject. “Get off my bed.”
Just as he spoke and attempted to seize the moment to retract his hand, Zhai Yao caught and gave it a sudden tug towards himself, causing Shen Heng to lose his balance and tumble onto the bed.
Right then, Zhai Yao flipped over and straddled him, prompting the crocheted puppy to roll down from the bed, teeth bared and glaring at them.
With Shen Heng now beneath him, Zhai Yao held one of Shen Heng’s wrists in place, while his free hand moved towards Shen Heng’s face, ready to pinch. “I should’ve fricking guessed it was you… Mosquitoes don’t leave bites like that…”
As it turned out, Shen Heng’s face had hardly any flesh on it, so Zhai Yao simply decided to switch targets. He went straight for his ear and pinched it, thinking to himself that he might as well settle the score for the previous ear-twisting he had suffered at the hands of Shen Ziyao!
The moment Zhai Yao’s fingers brushed Shen Heng’s ear, he felt Shen Heng’s body stiffen in an instant.
Just when Zhai Yao thought he had discovered Shen Heng’s ticklish spot and was ready to double down, a powerful force, accompanied by a gust of wind, suddenly overturned him, leaving him pinned underneath.
As Zhai Yao swung his fist in a wide arc, Shen Heng deftly dodged by tilting his head, then caught Zhai Yao’s fist and effortlessly pinned both his hands to the sides.
His glare bore into Zhai Yao, breaths coming slightly heavier. “Asking for a beating, are you?”
Previously, Zhai Yao was bested by Shen Heng in their fight on the first day he transferred schools, due to being sick.
Next, it was due to his unfamiliarity with fencing that he lost to Shen Heng again.
This time, if he couldn’t regain his ground, it would really be indefensible!
Inhaling deeply, Zhai Yao took an aim at Shen Heng’s forehead and launched a headbutt.
However, Zhai Yao had already tried this manoeuvre back at the Flying Dragon Skating Rink, and Shen Heng, well-prepared, clutched the hair on the former’s forehead, intending to widen the gap between them.
With a mindset of all or nothing, Zhai Yao refused to give up and directly bit down hard on Shen Heng’s collarbone.
Shen Heng let out a stifled groan, his eyes quickly darkening before he pushed Zhai Yao away in one swift motion.
Upon seeing a clear set of teeth marks branding on Shen Heng’s collarbone, Zhai Yao sneered as he wiped his mouth with his hand.
“Admit defeat or not?” Zhai Yao glared at Shen Heng provocatively. “Well? Who’s asking for a beating?”
Shen Heng’s expression tightened, his Adam’s apple bobbing.
At the present moment, the area around his collarbone continued to throb with stinging pain, as if it were ablaze and seething.
And accompanying it was a strange feeling that couldn’t quite be explained or understood.
In the end, he slightly tugged his shirt up to cover it and remarked in a lowered tone, “Are you a kid or what, still resorting to biting?”
“Oh, are you not fricking one then? Sneaking pinches on people’s face while they’re asleep!” Zhai Yao retorted, “I wouldn’t even do that in kindergarten.”
Shen Heng stopped bickering with him, pivoted, and made his way to the kitchen without even turning his head as he said, “I’ll brew some ginger soup. Drink some later, and then take your puppy and go back to your room to sleep.”
Zhai Yao watched Shen Heng’s departing figure, frowning as he touched his own cheek and cursed under his breath, “Seriously, what a damn nutcase.”
With a cold expression, he picked up the crocheted puppy from the floor, dusting it off.
Then, a realization struck him—
That wasn’t right, how did his dog wind up in Shen Heng’s room???
…
*
In the kitchen, a small clay pot bubbled with brown sugar ginger soup, casting a layer of fog on the glass windows.
Shen Heng, deeming it wasn’t concentrated enough, washed another ginger and started slicing it on the cutting board.
His countenance bore no emotion, yet his hands danced with precision, cutting the ginger into meticulously uniform strips.
However, he had actually been zoning out right from the start; the teeth marks left by Zhai Yao’s bite on his collarbone still stung faintly, with the surrounding area also showing some redness and swelling.
He carelessly brushed against the bite mark with the hand that had just handled the ginger, causing a burning sensation to spread from his neck up to his earlobe.
He wasn’t afraid of the pain or the burning sensation. Rather, it was an unfamiliar feeling lurking beneath them that left him perplexed.
This sensation was entirely new to him; it was as if a seed that had broken through the soil was taking root inside him, clinging to his veins, and sprouting and proliferating rapidly in a chaotic manner that left him somewhat frustrated and confused.
Shen Heng furrowed his brows and closed his eyes, only for an image of Zhai Yao being pinned underneath him moments before to surface in his mind.
Marked by a blend of obstinacy, fierceness, and franticness.
Shen Heng quickly reopened his eyes, his frown etching even deeper lines into his forehead.
Suddenly feeling a sharp pain in his hand, he quickly withdrew the knife, only to see a gash on the pad of his index finger, from which blood was seeping.
Shen Heng wordlessly turned on the faucet and rinsed his hand under the water.
As he watched the blood wash away only to well up again, a medley of complex emotions flickered in the depths of his usually unfathomable eyes…
*
…
Zhai Yao, holding his phone in one hand and carrying the crocheted puppy in the other, returned to his room.
He tossed the puppy onto the bed and unlocked his phone—
Several new message notifications were displayed on the screen.
From Xie Ziming, Luo Le, Zhai Bing…
And one that said nothing but a—【^_^】
A subtle curve graced Zhai Yao’s lips. It was from Xiao Lajiao.
He replied with a—【^_^】, and only then did he recall that it was already well into the night.
Browsing through his phone, he realized its responsiveness and everything else seemed to be working quite well.
Who would have thought Shen Heng actually did manage to repair it.
Not bad, this way he wouldn’t have to worry about studying poorly. After graduating, he could set up a stall near the entrance of a computer city and probably earn a good amount in a year.
Zhai Yao’s fingers curled slightly, betraying a yearning for a smoke.
Sounds like Shen Heng’s in the living room; might as well ask him where’s his cigarette pack.
Zhai Yao got up and opened the door.
Then, he frowned. “What’s this now?”
His gaze landed on Shen Heng, who stood with a cigarette dangling from his lips, an air of rare impatience about him as he rummaged through the first-aid kit for a band-aid.
The blood was still streaming out of his hand without end.
A brief silence fell over Zhai Yao before he spoke up once more, “Are you using human blood to make ginger soup?”
Shen Heng ignored his jest and spoke in a subdued voice, “Don’t just stand there, come and help me.”
…
From Yunz:
Literally me throughout the whole chapter:
But ngl my heart ached at the revelation that Zhai Yao’s parents passed away due to being hit by falling boulders… and the panic he must’ve felt when he knew Shen Heng was caught in the same situation…. Haaa… my heart isn’t strong enough for this (つд⊂)՞・゜・。
Hope you guys enjoy this 2.5x long chapter. There’ll also be only 1 chapter next week due to its length, and we’ll be back on regular release rate the week after~
Edit: Chapters from here and onwards are VIP locked on the raw website~ Once again, I highly encourage you guys to support the original author whenever possible! The whole novel costs $2.53 USD. If you’re unsure about buying the whole novel, you can also opt to buy chapter by chapter at a cost of around $0.03 USD! Here’s a very detailed guide from ShokoTL. If you have any questions regarding the purchasing, you can dm me on discord~
also me throughout the whole chapter 😢💔🐶
thanks for the chapter
/group hug/ ε(┬┬﹏┬┬)3
Thank you for reading and commenting~
thanks for the update. Awesome character development by the author. For translator? What do you mean by next chapters are vip locked? How can we unlock it?
They are locked on the original raws website. The translator will pay to unlock and continue to translate them for us for free, but if you want to support the original author by paying $2.35 for the whole novel or ¢0.3 for each chapter, you can do so. This is all stated in the translator’s note
*¢0.03 not ¢0.3
Understood. Thank you.
No problem
They make me so giddy ☺️
A lot happened (and not all of it was good 😣) in this chapter but I’m glad they’ve discovered some new sides to each other and gotten closer. Can’t wait for more character development!!
Thanks for reading and commenting~ ❤️ And yesssss, I could just be biased, but I’m really liking the development of hengyao 🥹 Just the gradual realization and falling in love… I’m so weak for this.
+1 I’m also weak for this sort of dynamic!! The slow build is soooo good!
Thank you for the chapter ☺️
Thanks for reading and commenting!! ヾ(≧▽≦*)o
Ive read this chapter at least 5times 😂. I shall title it the sexual awakening of Shen Heng! Lol! I can’t wait to read Zhai Yao’s own awakening moment cos he is still clearly clueless.
The gay awakening 😂😂😂 Shen Heng: “…Spicy.”
Thanks for reading and commenting!!
Thank you for the update!!!
I srsly love these two ;-;
Thanks for reading and commenting!!
Right right?! This duo is really comical and soooo subtly sweet towards each other in their own ways. Every time I translate their interactions, my mouth would always automatically be curling up…
o((>ω< ))o precious bby fr /hugs/
Oh boy! Shen Heng has unlocked: Desire