TVDC 38: Jealousy

The saying goes, “Illness comes suddenly like a mountain, but leaves slowly like pulling silk.” However, when this is applied to He Zhiyuan, it doesn’t seem to have much significance. After all, he’s young, and in good health. After getting an IV, he went back to sleep and woke up to find his fever completely gone.

Zhou Mingmei knew that Qiu Xuning had accompanied He Zhiyuan to the hospital for an IV, but she didn’t direct her anger at anyone. Instead, she quietly brooded. In the morning, she couldn’t help but say to Qiu Xuning, “The day after tomorrow is your high school entrance exam, and you’re still spending time on other things?”

Qiu Xuning had bought steamed buns and milk for He Zhiyuan and was just about to take them upstairs when he heard Zhou Mingmei’s words. Still a bit dazed, he said, “I just went to buy some buns.”

Zhou Mingmei replied, “I’m not asking if you bought buns. What I’m asking is, why did you go with He Zhiyuan to the hospital? What kind of person is he, and what kind of person are you? He has legs, can’t he go on his own? Why did you have to go with him? How many questions could you have answered, how much knowledge could you have reviewed in those two hours? And you wasted that time on this?”

Qiu Xuning was left speechless. After a pause, he softly tried to defend himself, saying, “The more it gets to times like this, the less you can rush. I still want to go shopping today and relax properly. That way, I’ll be in a great state for the exam.”

Zhou Mingmei had never heard such a reasoning before. She replied, “What kind of nonsense is that? Do you really think you’re guaranteed to get into the top high school?”

Qiu Xuning, with a hint of modesty, humbly said, “I should be able to get into the experimental class…” Before he could finish, he quickly changed the subject, saying, “Mom, I’m not talking to you anymore. If I don’t take the buns up now, they’ll get cold. I’m going to give them to him.”

Seeing him like this, Zhou Mingmei got angry. “He’s not even your real brother! Why are you being so nice to him?!”

Hearing the frustration in her voice, Qiu Xuning didn’t dare to argue. He hurried up the last few steps and finally reached the second floor.

Zhou Mingmei’s voice was piercing, but it wasn’t necessarily aimed at He Zhiyuan specifically. It was more that she just couldn’t hold her tongue; she always felt uncomfortable if she didn’t speak her mind. Of course, she did have some dissatisfaction with He Zhiyuan as well.

Qiu Xuning placed the buns on the bedside table and stood by the bed, lowering his head to look at He Zhiyuan’s face. As he watched, he suddenly smiled softly, his voice gentle, “I know you’re awake. You just moved your eyes.”

In the next moment, He Zhiyuan opened his eyes, glanced at Qiu Xuning, and sat up in bed.

Qiu Xuning suddenly blushed and quickly reached up to cover his eyes. “You’re not wearing any clothes again!”

After saying that, he realized his reaction had been too extreme, so he hurriedly lowered his hand and glanced down, muttering, “You always don’t wear clothes, this bad habit isn’t good.”

He Zhiyuan, knowing that Qiu Xuning would wear short-sleeved shirts and shorts even in the summer for pajamas, wasn’t as particular. He simply replied, “I like to sleep naked.”

Hearing those words, Qiu Xuning’s face seemed to flush even deeper. He turned his back and quietly muttered, “You’re making me feel so self-conscious.”

He Zhiyuan, slowly getting dressed, glanced at him and asked, “Self-conscious about what?”

Qiu Xuning stammered, “You have abs, and I don’t.”

After He Zhiyuan finished dressing, he replied, “You’re fine just the way you are. You don’t need abs.”

Qiu Xuning couldn’t help but say, “You don’t know, people like me get laughed at.”

He Zhiyuan paused, “What do they laugh at you for?”

Qiu Xuning felt a bit embarrassed, lowering his head and speaking softly, “It-it’s because… they laugh at me, call me effeminate, say I look like a girl. And… I don’t have abs, or an Adam’s apple, or body hair…”

Since middle school, Qiu Xuning had been teased like this. Even now, he could still faintly hear people gossiping about him. Although he wasn’t to the point of feeling completely insecure, he always worried that He Zhiyuan might think the same way.

When Qiu Xuning said those words, there was a hint of testing in his tone.

He Zhiyuan reached out and ruffled his hair. Over the past six months, Qiu Xuning had grown quite a bit, now standing at the same height as He Zhiyuan’s chin. Yet to He Zhiyuan, it still felt as though Qiu Xuning was the small, delicate boy from half a year ago. When he reached up to touch his head, the sensation felt a little off.

“Are they important?” He Zhiyuan asked casually, ruffling Qiu Xuning’s soft, smooth hair.

Qiu Xuning didn’t stop him from touching his head, but whenever He Zhiyuan purposely messed it up, he would reach up to smooth it back. “…Just ordinary classmates.”

He Zhiyuan said, his tone serious yet gentle, “Qiu Xuning, listen to me. People who aren’t important don’t deserve to affect you. As long as they don’t impact you, let them think whatever they want.”

“Qiu Xuning, listen to me. People who aren’t important don’t deserve your attention. As long as they don’t affect you, let them think whatever they want.” He Zhiyuan said.

“I-I’m not really bothered,” Qiu Xuning murmured, stealing a quick glance at him before lowering his gaze again. He let out a soft sigh but remained silent.

He Zhiyuan’s voice softened, becoming more sincere, “And besides, you’re not effeminate, and you don’t look like a girl. There’s no such thing as a ‘correct’ way for a man to look. You’re perfect just as you are, and I really like it.”

Qiu Xuning froze for a moment, and suddenly his nose felt a little tight. A faint mist of tears gathered in his eyes. He sniffed, holding back the tears, before saying, “You… you’re definitely going to be really good at comforting girls in the future.”

He Zhiyuan whispered, “I’ll only comfort you.”

Qiu Xuning’s heart skipped a beat, and his face seemed to turn even redder. He lifted his eyes and glared at He Zhiyuan, then softly scolded, “Y-You’re doing this on purpose, trying to make fun of me!”

He Zhiyuan bent down to look at him, “Did you cry?”

Qiu Xuning rubbed his eyes and gruffly said, “I didn’t cry. Why would I cry for no reason?”

He Zhiyuan laughed.

Qiu Xuning’s face was still flushed, and he didn’t dare to look at him. “Hurry up and brush your teeth and wash your face. I bought buns for you, they’re going to get cold.”

As he spoke, he reached out and pushed He Zhiyuan. He Zhiyuan didn’t resist and was gently pushed out of the room.

Qiu Xuning reached up to touch his still-red face, his heart fluttering. With each breath, he could taste a faint sweetness in the air. He tried hard to push aside the memory of how He Zhiyuan had spoken those words, the tone and expression still lingering in his mind. He turned and began folding He Zhiyuan’s blanket.

After breakfast, Qiu Xuning remembered his appointment with Yang Siyue. He hesitated for a long time before finally saying to He Zhiyuan, “You’re feeling better now, right? I want to go shopping with Yang Siyue.”

He Zhiyuan stared at him, silent for a long time.

Qiu Xuning lowered his eyes, feeling guilty, and stammered, “She’s a girl, and she doesn’t have much strength. I can help her carry things.”

He Zhiyuan replied, “I’ll go with you.”

“Ah?” Qiu Xuning froze for a moment.

He Zhiyuan said calmly, “You accompanied me yesterday, so now I’ll accompany you.”

“…Actually, you don’t have to,” Qiu Xuning said softly.

He Zhiyuan frowned slightly, staring at him in silence.

Qiu Xuning couldn’t stand the almost penetrating gaze, and within moments, he gave in. He muttered, “I’ll ask Yang Siyue, is that okay?”

He Zhiyuan nodded, and Qiu Xuning quickly took out his phone, texting Yang Siyue. After a while, she replied: “Sure.”

Qiu Xuning let out a sigh of relief and said to He Zhiyuan, “She agreed, so let’s go together.”

Although the high school entrance exam was approaching, Qiu Xuning wasn’t nervous at all. In contrast, Zhou Mingmei seemed more anxious than he was, as if she were the one taking the exam. Qiu Xuning, afraid of being scolded, made sure to check that Zhou Mingmei wasn’t around before calling He Zhiyuan downstairs.

The two of them headed out together. Qiu Xuning, worried about getting sunburned, wore a baseball cap, though it was a bit too big and didn’t fit his head very well. It was large enough to cover both of his eyes, so he had to adjust the brim from time to time to make sure it didn’t block his vision.

Suddenly, someone snatched the hat away. Qiu Xuning turned to look at He Zhiyuan and asked, “Do you want to wear it?”

He Zhiyuan glanced at him and said, “It can be adjusted in the back.”

Qiu Xuning watched as He Zhiyuan fiddled with the hat in his hands, then placed it back on his head. However, it was a little crooked. Qiu Xuning gently adjusted it with both hands. Though it was still a bit too big, at least it no longer covered his eyes. “…This is Zhaozhao’s hat. I just borrowed it and didn’t expect her head to be bigger than mine.”

He Zhiyuan didn’t say anything.

Qiu Xuning muttered quietly, “Do you want to buy something too? Clothes? Shoes?”

He Zhiyuan replied, “I already have those. No need to buy anything.”

Qiu Xuning let out a quiet “Oh.” He was actually quite sensitive, especially when it came to He Zhiyuan. His intuition seemed sharper, and he could sense that He Zhiyuan didn’t seem to be in a good mood.

It could also be that he was overthinking. He Zhiyuan’s emotions were always unpredictable, and Qiu Xuning wasn’t entirely sure what kind of mood he was in at the moment.

Throughout the walk, Qiu Xuning occasionally tried to talk to He Zhiyuan, but He Zhiyuan responded in a flat, indifferent manner. Gradually, Qiu Xuning stopped paying much attention to it.

When they arrived at the agreed-upon spot, Qiu Xuning saw Yang Siyue. She was wearing a blue-and-white striped shirt and loose denim jeans. Her long hair was down, with a small snake-shaped hairpin tucked in, and she had light makeup on, with a sparkly shimmer at the corners of her eyes, making her look radiant.

As soon as Qiu Xuning saw her, he waved at her. “You haven’t been waiting long, have you?”

Yang Siyue smiled and replied, “I just got here. As soon as I arrived, you showed up. Looks like we’re in sync.”

Qiu Xuning’s eyes curved into crescent moons as he smiled. “You’re right.”

As he spoke, he glanced at Yang Siyue and said, “You look really beautiful today.”

Yang Siyue cast a look at He Zhiyuan, then smiled back. “You look very handsome too.”

Qiu Xuning quickly added, “But you’re wearing makeup? Your skin is so delicate right now, makeup might actually be bad for it.”

“…” Yang Siyue rolled her eyes and said, “Qiu Xuning, you’re such a typical guy.”

Fearing she might be upset, Qiu Xuning hurriedly said, “You don’t need to dress up too much when you come to see me. You’re already beautiful as you are.”

Yang Siyue bent slightly at the waist, laughing and saying with a playful sigh, “Eh, forget it. Why am I even talking to you?”

Seeing that she wasn’t angry, Qiu Xuning let out a relieved sigh. He spoke sincerely, “Actually, you look great even with makeup.”

Yang Siyue tilted her chin up slightly and said, “I know how beautiful I am. Alright, alright, let’s go.”

Qiu Xuning turned to look at He Zhiyuan and noticed he had furrowed his brows. Feeling a bit uneasy, Qiu Xuning asked, “What’s wrong?”

He Zhiyuan glanced at him but didn’t say anything.

It was clear now—Qiu Xuning wasn’t just chatting and laughing with him alone.