RTCBM 35

Mu Yuan looked at his stance and was a bit confused. “What’s with you now? Move aside, don’t block the way.”

Wen Shang walked straight up to him, grabbed his arm, and yanked him back toward the bed. “Take off your shoes, change your clothes, and get your ass back in bed to rest.”

“What the hell is wrong with you? You trying to babysit me or something?”

“Yeah, I am.” Wen Shang was clearly pissed. “You’ve always done whatever the hell you want because no one’s there to keep you in check. You don’t even care about your own health.”

With Mu Yuan’s hot temper, getting snapped at like that should’ve set him off immediately. But just before he could blow up, something in his head hit a reset switch. He suddenly remembered that rainy night when Wen Shang crashed at his place. The next morning, he woke up to find a warm breakfast waiting on the table, the fridge stocked with freshly bought groceries. Even after leaving, Wen Shang still messaged him, reminding him to cut back on junk food and eat something with actual nutrition.

He had no parents growing up. It was his second uncle who raised him from the ground up. After his uncle passed, the only person who ever pushed him to take care of himself had vanished from his world. And now, with Wen Shang standing there laying down rules, Mu Yuan couldn’t help but feel something strangely familiar.

He never really liked fighting with Wen Shang anyway. In the end, he calmed down, gave him a grin, and went along with it. “Fine, I won’t go. Happy now? Just look at that grumpy face of yours. Tsk.”

Mu Yuan sat down on the bed, shrugged off his jacket and tossed it aside. Then he opened the nightstand and pulled out two strawberry milks. He tossed one over to Wen Shang. “My little bro brought me a whole box of these yesterday. Pretty good. Try it.” He sat on the edge of the bed and started drinking.

Wen Shang glanced at the carton in his hand. The packaging had two big words printed on it: “Student Milk.” He looked up at Mu Yuan again. That guy was chugging it like a champ. He finished one and immediately cracked open another.

Wen Shang sat down next to him and joined in, drinking strawberry milk together.

“How is it?” Mu Yuan tilted his head and asked with a grin.

“A bit too sweet.”

“Oh.” Mu Yuan pointed at the top of the carton. “There’s a QR code right here for a prize draw. You see it?”

Wen Shang couldn’t spot any QR code.

“What’s wrong with your eyes? It’s right here.” Mu Yuan pointed it out again.

Wen Shang’s attention shifted to the carton. Mu Yuan seized the chance. In a flash, he grabbed the carton from Wen Shang’s hands and squeezed it hard. Milk sprayed out like a busted faucet, splashing all over his face.

Now’s the time. Before Wen Shang could react, Mu Yuan dashed for the door, yanked the handle, and bolted.

Wen Shang hadn’t expected that shameless stunt from the guy. He cursed loudly, “Fuck!” then rushed into the bathroom to wash his face. By the time he made it out into the hallway, Mu Yuan had already reached the hospital entrance and was flagging down a taxi. Wen Shang cursed again and ran after him.

The drive from the city to Nathan Road took about an hour. The address Mu Yuan gave was far off, and GPS couldn’t locate it. The driver ended up circling around for another half hour before finally finding the place.

The two-story house with white walls and blue tiles looked old, probably several decades past its prime. Vines crawled up the stainless steel gate, and two heavy U-locks were clamped across the bars.

Mu Yuan took a key out of his pocket and tried them one by one until he got the locks open.

No one had lived here for years. The place smelled stale and stuffy, just like his old home back in the city’s rundown district. Dust covered every surface, but the furniture was neatly arranged.

The first floor was just a kitchen and a living room, nothing worth checking out. He went straight upstairs and entered the bedroom closest to him. He opened the desk drawer and pulled out a few old workbooks. The name written on them was “Mu Xuan.” His father’s name.

Then Mu Yuan checked the other rooms. He found the bedrooms that used to belong to his second uncle and his grandparents. Based on how everything was laid out, this place had clearly been the old Mu family residence.

After making a full round, Mu Yuan returned to his father’s room. He had never met his birth father. Everything he knew about the man came from what his second uncle told him, just vague impressions. Now, standing inside this room, it felt like the closest he had ever been to him.

His second uncle once said his father had always been at the top of his class and graduated from a prestigious university. Looking around at all the classic literature filling the shelves, Mu Yuan felt both admiration and a twinge of shame. His dad had been brilliant with books, yet somehow that part never made it into his genes.

He randomly pulled out a copy of Faust, flipped through a few lines, and immediately felt a headache coming on.

He shut the book and slid it back into place. Then he picked up another, The Complete Poems of Neruda, flipped through a few pages, but couldn’t get into it. He put it back and tried another one. Nothing.

After repeating this a few more times, he grabbed a copy of Classic of Mountains and Seas. As he opened it, something slipped out and hit the floor. At first, he thought it was a bookmark. He bent down to pick it up and realized it was a photograph.

A family photo.

His grandparents were seated in the center, his father and second uncle standing behind them. Off to the side stood a young man who bore a resemblance to them. Judging by the look, that had to be Mu Yong’an, the third uncle he had never met.

From what Mu Yuan had heard, Mu Yong’an was his grandfather’s illegitimate son. His grandmother had never liked him. Yong’an left the Mu family at eighteen and never came back. No one had heard from him since.

Mu Yuan carefully slipped the photo into his pocket. Then he opened his father’s wardrobe, found a crossbody bag, and packed a few books into it to take with him.

The town was nothing like the bustling city center. Mu Yuan had planned to catch a ride back, but there wasn’t a taxi in sight. He pulled out his phone to call one through the app. Just as he typed halfway through the address, his phone died and shut off automatically.

It was around dinnertime, and everyone had gone home to eat. Even finding a passerby to borrow a phone from was hard. Mu Yuan’s stomach was growling. He stood alone in the middle of a quiet road, not knowing what to do next.

Suddenly, he heard the rumble of an engine behind him, followed by a sharp honk. Mu Yuan turned around and saw a black Jaguar XJ pulling up not far from where he stood. Through the windshield, he spotted the man sitting behind the wheel.

His face instantly lit up with joy. He had completely forgotten everything he did back at the hospital earlier. He ran up to the car, knocked twice on the window, and grinned in a deliberately friendly way. “Wen-ge, what a coincidence. What are you doing here?”

Wen Shang slowly rolled the window down, turned his face slightly, and gave him a cold, sidelong glance.

“You weren’t following me, were you?” Mu Yuan asked with a teasing smile.

Truth was, Wen Shang had been following him. He had been so pissed off earlier that he was planning to catch Mu Yuan and drag him back to settle accounts properly. But he hadn’t expected the whole thing to take him an entire afternoon.

Mu Yuan’s words only made him more irritated, especially with the memory of getting milk splashed all over his face still fresh.

Wen Shang didn’t answer his question. He just asked, “You can’t get a ride, can you?”

Mu Yuan nodded honestly and grumbled, “This place is goddamn remote. There’s not a single cab around. I tried using the ride app, but my phone died. Seriously, what bad luck.”

Wen Shang lifted his eyes with a tight, fake smile and stared at him. His mouth moved slowly as he spoke two words. “Serves you.”

Mu Yuan froze, stunned. He hadn’t even processed what just happened when Wen Shang added, “Walk back.”

The window rolled back up, the gas pedal tapped lightly, and the car shot forward like an arrow.

Mu Yuan panicked when he saw him driving off and took off running after the car. “Wen-ge! Come on, let’s talk this out. Don’t leave me behind like this!”

The Jaguar sped up. Determined to catch the ride, Mu Yuan threw away his pride and went all in. A real man knows when to bow and when to bend. He shouted at the top of his lungs, “Wen-ge! I’ll apologize, alright? What happened this afternoon was my fault. I was wrong. I’m sorry. Please stop the car!”

Mu Yuan was too caught up in shouting to watch where he was going. He tripped over a rock and almost slammed into the ground. The books in his bag spilled everywhere. He staggered a few steps before managing to steady himself.

Sitting behind the wheel, Wen Shang saw the whole scene unfold through the rearview mirror. His foot finally lifted off the gas and pressed down on the brake.

Mu Yuan rushed to gather the books scattered across the ground and stuffed them back into his bag. At this point, he stopped caring about his usual arrogant act. He ran up to the car and grabbed onto the half-lowered window with both hands, gripping it tightly. Backed into a corner, he threw all pride aside and pulled out the same old pitiful trick he used to control Mu Huafeng back in the day. With a face full of forced misery, he stared pleadingly at Wen Shang.

“Wen-ge, I’m begging you.”

That look on his face made it seem like he had just suffered some great injustice.

Something in Wen Shang’s chest stirred. For a second, he wasn’t looking at Mu Yuan anymore. In his eyes, it was like he was staring at ‘Xiao Xing.’

Mu Yuan saw him hesitating and gritted his teeth. Going all in, he dropped his voice and whined softly, “Wen-gege…”

That was the last straw.

Wen Shang glared at him. “Get in.”

Mu Yuan hugged his bag to his chest and skipped happily around the front of the car. He pulled open the passenger door and climbed in with a grin.

He reached for the seatbelt hanging from the backrest and tried to buckle up, but no matter how he tugged and fumbled, he couldn’t get it to latch.

“What the hell’s wrong with this thing? Why won’t it buckle?”

The passenger side buckle had been acting up since last week. Wen Shang hadn’t had time to take it to the shop. Usually it worked if you fiddled with it a few times, but Mu Yuan was not the patient type. The way he dealt with problems was to use brute force.

“Can you not be so rough?”

“But it just won’t click.”

Wen Shang let out a slow breath. “Stop. Hands off.” He leaned forward and reached over to fasten the seatbelt for him.

They were close. Mu Yuan could smell the faint scent of strawberry milk still clinging to Wen Shang’s face. It was sweet and soft, strangely pleasant. He couldn’t help leaning in closer, pressing his nose near Wen Shang’s cheek and taking a deep sniff.

Click.

The seatbelt finally latched. Wen Shang lifted his head and saw Mu Yuan squinting his eyes, sniffing like some pervert. He was speechless.

“What the hell is wrong with you now?”

“Nothing,” Mu Yuan quickly shook his head. There was no way he could admit he was sniffing his face. If Wen Shang got mad and threw him out, he really would be walking home.

Mu Yuan’s stomach growled in protest, and he used it as an excuse to change the subject. “I’m starving. Did you bring anything to eat?”

He looked around the car as he spoke. His eyes landed on a box of sea salt soda crackers in the back seat. He reached over to grab them, but before his hand could touch the box, another hand shot out and snatched it away, not letting him even graze it.

“Don’t be so stingy. Let me have a couple, it’s not going to kill.”

“You can’t eat soda crackers. The doctor literally told you that yesterday.”

“He did? I don’t remember that at all.”

“Because you’re deaf.”

“Tch.” Mu Yuan curled his lip in annoyance. “Can’t eat this, can’t eat that. What the hell can I eat?”

“Nothing that’s hard to digest. No spicy, sour, or cold foods either. While you’re recovering, stick to porridge, soup, milk, bread, and..”

“Alright, alright, I get it.” Mu Yuan waved his hand to shut him up and rubbed his loudly complaining stomach.

After a short pause, he added, “But I’m still hungry.”

“I’ll take you to eat once we’re back in the city.”

“Oh.”

There was still over half an hour of driving left before they reached the city. Bored out of his mind, Mu Yuan started looking for someone to talk to. The only person within reach was Wen Shang, but he wasn’t exactly the chatty type. Mu Yuan could ask five questions and get maybe one or two replies in return.

After a while, the lack of energy in the conversation killed his mood. Mu Yuan stretched lazily, then pulled a book out of his bag and started reading on his own.

Wen Shang turned the wheel at a bend in the road and glanced at the book in Mu Yuan’s hands. It was The Moon and Sixpence. Honestly, the book didn’t match the guy holding it at all.

He kept that thought to himself and focused on the road. Not long after, a dull thud came from the passenger side. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the book slip out of Mu Yuan’s hands and fall to the floor.

Mu Yuan was slumped against the window, sound asleep. Whatever dream he was having must have been a good one, because he was grinning like an idiot and mumbling nonsense in his sleep.

If he had to put it into words, Wen Shang could only think of two words: Too dumb. The sight made him want to laugh a little. If he weren’t driving, he might have actually pulled out his phone and snapped a picture of that dumbass sleeping face.

By the time they got back to the city, it was already past nine. Dinner hours were long over, so Wen Shang and Mu Yuan decided to grab a late-night meal.

They picked a well-known supper spot in the business district. Mu Yuan stared at the menu filled with spicy dishes, gulping hungrily as his eyes lit up. Wen Shang knew the guy was practically drooling, but what he couldn’t eat, he couldn’t eat. He called the server over and ordered a pot of pork bone porridge and a plate of steamed Anhui fish.

The server nodded while jotting things down. “Would you like anything else?”

“Just those two, thank you.”

“Hey hey, I haven’t ordered yet!” Mu Yuan quickly stopped the server before they could walk away. “One order of spicy crayfish, one plate of crispy duck tongues, one grilled squid roll, and—”

Wen Shang frowned as soon as he heard the list. Everything Mu Yuan rattled off was straight off the do-not-eat list from the doctor. “Can’t you show a little self-control?”

“I’m ordering it for you,” Mu Yuan replied like it was the most natural thing in the world.

“If I want to eat something, I can order it myself.”

“But I’m helping you pick. I’ve been to this place loads of times. I know exactly what’s good.”

Mu Yuan insisted on ordering for Wen Shang, and Wen Shang kept turning him down. The poor server stood there waiting through the back-and-forth and finally couldn’t take it anymore.

“How about I come back once you’ve decided?” the server suggested politely. “I’ll go take another table’s order first.”

Once the server left, Wen Shang said, “Can you stop messing around?”

“I’ll stop if you let me order for you,” Mu Yuan said with a grin.

“What difference does it make? You can’t eat any of it anyway.”

Mu Yuan widened his eyes dramatically, leaned forward with his elbows on the table, cupped his cheeks with a cheeky smile, and said, “Of course it makes a difference. The doctor told me to avoid certain foods, so I can’t eat anything good. That’s why I want to order everything I love, then watch you eat it. That way, it’s like I’m eating too. Psychological comfort, you know?”

What kind of logic was that… Wen Shang didn’t bother arguing anymore. He pointed at Mu Yuan and said, “Once the food hits the table, you’re not touching a single bite.”

“Alright~”

Wen Shang always ate clean and healthy. The stuff Mu Yuan ordered was mostly greasy, fried, or grilled junk. He wasn’t even that hungry, but still tried a little of each dish. The only things he didn’t go near were the stinky tofu and durian pancakes.

Mu Yuan noticed it right away. He slid the plates of stinky tofu and durian pancake closer to Wen Shang. “These two are really good. You’ve got to try them.”

Wen Shang ignored him on purpose and kept his head down, focused on his stir-fried beef ho fun.

Mu Yuan pushed the plates even closer and urged, “Come on, just give them a taste.”

“No,” Wen Shang rejected flatly.

“Why not?”

“Don’t want to.”

“You don’t like the smell of stinky tofu and durian?” Mu Yuan poked his shoulder, curious.

Wen Shang’s silence was as good as confirmation. Instead of backing off, it only made Mu Yuan more eager to mess with him. He picked up a piece of durian pancake with one hand, stinky tofu with the other, and held both right up to Wen Shang’s face, half coaxing, half teasing. “Just try one bite. I swear it tastes way better than it smells. Really. I’m not lying.”

Wen Shang said nothing.

“You won’t know if you don’t try. Come on, open up. Ah—”

Wen Shang stared at the two offending items being forced in front of him. After a long hesitation and under Mu Yuan’s relentless pestering, he finally gave in and took a bite of both the stinky tofu and the durian pancake, somewhat reluctantly.

Right then, Lin Haoran and a few others happened to walk into the restaurant and caught the scene mid-bite. His buddies burst into laughter as they came over to tease them. “We haven’t even had our late-night meal yet and we’re already being force-fed dog food. Look at you two!”

Lin Haoran nudged Wen Shang with his elbow. “So when did you two get together?”

Before Wen Shang could say a word, he turned to Mu Yuan and joked, “Xiao Xing, this guy’s eating durian and stinky tofu. Can you handle that breath tonight?” Just to make his point clearer, he even made a kiss gesture with his fingers.

Wen Shang happened to be pouring tea at the time. When he heard his so-called friend’s words, his hand shook and spilled tea on the table.

Mu Yuan’s mischievous side flared up. He casually slung an arm over Wen Shang’s shoulder, a sly grin tugging at his lips. “What are you talking about? Ah Shang is mine. I can handle him however he is.”

For a moment, Wen Shang was stunned, but he said nothing and let Mu Yuan lean on him like that.

Blinded by the scene in front of them, Lin Haoran and the others quickly moved to a different table, putting as much distance as they could between themselves and the so-called couple.

“Did you mean what you just said?” Wen Shang asked after they were gone, watching Mu Yuan sip his porridge.

“Are you dumb? You couldn’t tell I was joking?”

Wen Shang’s hand shot out and pinched Mu Yuan’s thigh hard. A bruise instantly formed under his pants, and Mu Yuan let out a sharp yelp.

Wen Shang grabbed him by the cheek, squishing his mouth open, then scooped up a full spoon of porridge and shoved it in.

“Stop screwing around like that again.”