Chapter 9 – Breakfast

Ye Zhou knew he wasn’t young anymore, and many things were best left untried because he might not be able to bear the consequences. So he didn’t plan on calling Guan Heng, just putting the business card away.

Before returning home, Ye Zhou had already eaten dinner at the hospital; all he needed to do was clean up a bit before sleeping.

He couldn’t bathe in his current state, only able to wipe himself down with a wet towel, which caused much inconvenience in his daily life, but there was no alternative but to adapt. He practiced moving around in his wheelchair in the living room before entering the bathroom with a change of clothes. His left wrist was bandaged, but the injury wasn’t severe, merely a sprain, so he wrapped it in plastic wrap and a plastic bag before wetting the towel.

Although bathing was a bit of a hassle, that wasn’t the most difficult part. The hardest part was getting dressed and undressed. An action that usually took less than a few minutes left him sweating profusely. Added to the fact that he hadn’t yet gotten used to his cast, he would subconsciously use his leg to exert force, causing him to frown in pain at the slightest movement. By the time he finished wiping himself down and came out, an hour had passed, and he felt like he’d taken a bath in vain.

Ye Zhou originally intended to sleep in the guest room, but then he remembered the doctor’s advice to elevate his feet as much as possible while sleeping to reduce swelling. So he grabbed a pillow and a thin blanket and returned to the living room, struggling to move his body onto the sofa. After lying down, he raised his left foot onto the armrest. Fortunately, the sofa was large and comfortable, making it not uncomfortable to lie on.

When one is injured or sick, it’s the easiest time to feel exhausted. Ye Zhou fell asleep as soon as he lay down, sinking into a deep, dreamless sleep.

The lighting in the first-floor living room was quite good, the windows large enough to see part of the courtyard. Ye Zhou wasn’t woken up by the sunlight streaming in, but by the sound of soft footsteps.

As soon as he opened his eyes, he subconsciously looked at the clock hanging on the wall and saw that it was only seven in the morning. From where he lay on the sofa, he could catch a glimpse of the courtyard gate. He saw Guan Heng quietly open the gate and walk out.

Ye Zhou hadn’t fully woken up yet and couldn’t see what Guan Heng was wearing, only vaguely thinking that Guan Heng had gone out early.

But he didn’t think too much about it and quickly fell back asleep.

After an unknown period of time, perhaps half an hour, Ye Zhou was half-awake and half-asleep, dreaming a dream whose content he couldn’t remember. Then he was awakened again by the sound of the door opening.

Ye Zhou looked toward the courtyard again. Guan Heng had returned. Hadn’t he gone to school?

At this point, he was somewhat awake but still didn’t want to move from the sofa, as he wouldn’t be going to the restaurant today. The sound of Guan Heng opening and closing the door wasn’t loud, but because he was sleeping in the living room, it was particularly clear in the quiet morning. He closed his eyes and listened to Guan Heng’s footsteps. The man’s footsteps were like his own person, unhurried, peaceful, and steady, even sounding somewhat enjoyable, but how come they seemed to be getting closer?

And right at that moment, Guan Heng’s voice sounded from outside the door: “Ye Zhou?”

Ye Zhou opened his eyes hazily. Was he hearing things, or was he still half-asleep?

However, a few seconds later, Guan Heng’s voice sounded again: “Are you here?”

Ye Zhou finally woke up from his dream-like state and hurriedly called out, “I’m here! Wait for me a minute!”

“No rush.”

If Ye Zhou wasn’t sure that Guan Heng couldn’t see into the living room from outside, he would have thought Guan Heng had known all along that he was sleeping on the sofa. But at that moment, he didn’t have the heart to think about it. He hurriedly smoothed his hair with his hand. When he realized what he was doing, he froze for a moment, then laughed. He never thought he’d have a day like this…

Ye Zhou quickly regained his composure, slowly crawling from the sofa to the wheelchair, then pushed the wheelchair to the door.

Guan Heng stood outside the door wearing a casual shirt under a V-neck sweater, stylish and handsome, in his usual style. He stood against the backlight, the sunlight seeming to pour down from behind him, dazzling to the point where one couldn’t look away.

“Good morning,” Ye Zhou said, looking up at Guan Heng, a hint of surprise flashing through his eyes. He was still wearing pajamas, his hair a little messy, but it was a good kind of mess: “You got up so early.”

Guan Heng handed him the breakfast in his hands, clearly bought outside earlier: “Good morning. I have class in the morning, I’ll be leaving soon, sorry for disturbing you.”

“It’s fine, no problem.” Ye Zhou was a little surprised. He hadn’t expected Guan Heng to be so considerate, feeling a little flattered. “Thank you, you’re troubling yourself.”

Although Ye Zhou had the habit of cooking, he wouldn’t actually cook when he was alone at home, mainly because he couldn’t finish eating by himself, and buying too much would result in leftovers. Besides, he ate two meals a day at the restaurant, so breakfast was usually just something simple. He hadn’t even thought about the problem of eating, but Guan Heng had thought of it first, which was indeed a bit overwhelming.

“Well, but for lunch…”

Ye Zhou knew Guan Heng was busy most of the time and didn’t want to trouble him further. He quickly said, “Fang Ji will be over later. I can also cook. If I need anything, I can get him to buy it for me.”

“That’s good.”

Guan Heng left after delivering breakfast, as if it were just an afterthought, no different from when Ye Zhou first met him. Ye Zhou wouldn’t be presumptuous enough to think Guan Heng had any ulterior motives. Because if another neighbor needed help, he would do the same.

But it couldn’t be denied that Ye Zhou was touched by Guan Heng’s breakfast. After eating breakfast and having nothing else to do, he thought about what he wanted to ask Fang Ji to buy and sent him a shopping list.

Because of Fang Ji’s need to manage the bar, he led a life of reversed days and nights, so it was already afternoon when Fang Ji arrived at Ye Zhou’s house. If not for the breakfast, he would have been starving with his stomach pressed against his back. It wasn’t until Fang Ji arrived in the afternoon with bags of groceries that Ye Zhou finally had lunch.

Fang Ji had forgotten that Ye Zhou needed to eat in the morning and apologized as soon as he entered the door: “Sorry, I forgot. You haven’t eaten breakfast yet, right?”

Ye Zhou was putting the items from the bag into the refrigerator when he heard this and paused: “…I’ve eaten.”

“Hmm?” Fang Ji had bought lunch to eat with him and had just opened the lunch box when he heard these words. He glanced at Ye Zhou and immediately understood: “Where did you get your breakfast? Did your neighbor buy it?”

Ye Zhou didn’t hide it: “Yes.”

“Your neighbor is quite nice,” Fang Ji said with a smile, not mocking Ye Zhou but stating a fact. Modern people were relatively cold and independent, and neighborly relations weren’t necessarily bad, but at most, they were just nodding acquaintances. And because of his schedule, Fang Ji rarely encountered his neighbors; he didn’t even know whether his next-door neighbor was male or female.

In comparison, Ye Zhou also felt that he was indeed lucky: “Very nice.”

Fang Ji stuffed a mouthful of rice into his mouth, asking casually, “Still not considering it?”

He had expected Ye Zhou to deny it as he had before, but unexpectedly, Ye Zhou’s answer this time was different: “We’ll see.”

Fang Ji raised his eyebrows, nodded, and didn’t ask any more questions, apparently sensing some progress last night. They weren’t young men anymore, and their love lives didn’t require others to comment. Ye Zhou always had a good sense of propriety in such matters, so he wasn’t too worried.