Chapter 53 – Abnormalities

The restaurant resumed its regular operations after opening, and life returned to normal.

With half a month left before the winter break ended, Guan Heng was already frequently visiting the school and the prison.

After they celebrated the Lantern Festival together by eating tangyuan, signaling the official end of the New Year celebrations, Ye Zhou resumed delivering lunchboxes to Guan Heng once the students returned to school. However, Guan Heng adjusted his schedule, leaving him without classes during the first period on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. This meant that when Ye Zhou delivered lunch, there was no longer a need to rush for noon, allowing Guan Heng to either return home or eat at the restaurant.

Ye Zhou knew that Guan Heng was usually very busy, so he was taken aback when he heard this. “Wouldn’t that affect your work?”

“No,” Guan Heng replied. In the past, since he lived alone, he had nothing to do at home, which is why he filled his free time with work. During the two years he spent with Yue Shu, they were often apart due to his job requiring him to travel for performances, sometimes even leaving the country for a month at a time. But now, things were different. He could see Ye Zhou every day when he returned home, so naturally, he reduced his workload and scheduled his community college classes on weekends. “I can also come home earlier in the evenings.”

Ye Zhou was naturally delighted. Their work schedules were originally staggered, and he didn’t require Guan Heng to make any compromises. But when Guan Heng genuinely made some changes, Ye Zhou could feel that Guan Heng also wanted to spend more time together.

There was nothing more beautiful than two hearts beating as one. If only this blissful harmony could last forever.

One day, the restaurant was particularly busy, and the kitchen staff couldn’t keep up with the demand, so Ye Zhou went inside to help. At that moment, an employee from the front desk hurried in and said, “Boss, the guests at table three ordered an additional sweet and sour fish dish that hasn’t been served yet.”

Ye Zhou thought for a moment and vaguely remembered the order. He reached into his pocket and indeed found the order slip for table three. “Sorry, I forgot about it. Please ask them to wait a little longer.”

Preparing sweet and sour fish took more effort and would take another ten minutes. After thinking about it, he added, “Tell them the sweet and sour fish is on the house.”

The employee immediately replied, “Okay.”

When it gets busy, everyone tends to miss orders, and that’s perfectly normal. But today, Ye Zhou made quite a few mistakes. He accidentally used salt instead of soy sauce in a dish and turned a savory dish into a sweet one. Although it wasn’t bad enough to be inedible, it fell short of his usual standards.

Ye Zhou sighed. Feeling out of sorts, he decided not to continue bustling around the kitchen and went out to see if there was anything else he could do.

The customers came and went in waves. After finishing their tasks, the staff finally had a chance to rest. One of the employees teased, “Boss, you seem distracted today. Did you have a fight with Teacher Guan?”

Ever since they went public, Guan Heng often visited the restaurant to meet Ye Zhou, so the employees followed suit and called him Teacher Guan.

Ye Zhou smiled. “Not at all. We don’t argue.”

They didn’t just avoid arguments; they enjoyed a blissful relationship. Arguments were unlikely to occur, and no one understood how much Ye Zhou cherished this time together.

The employees stopped teasing after a few jokes. Ye Zhou always held himself to high standards, and making mistakes was rare. So, they joked around just to reassure Ye Zhou, knowing they would handle the aftermath together.

Once the employees went back to their respective tasks, Ye Zhou’s smile completely faded.

Before going home that evening, Ye Zhou prepared several dishes in the restaurant’s kitchen to bring home for dinner. Now that Guan Heng returned home earlier in the evenings, Ye Zhou tried to prepare everything at the restaurant so they could eat right away upon returning home. Previously, Ye Zhou was confident in his cooking even without tasting the dishes, but now he was somewhat uncertain. He tasted each dish to ensure there were no issues before packing them up.

As Ye Zhou finished packing, Guan Heng arrived to pick him up. Guan Heng looked at the food containers in Ye Zhou’s hand. “What’s that?”

Ye Zhou listed a few dishes that Guan Heng liked and explained, “It’s just more convenient this way.”

In reality, Ye Zhou didn’t mind the extra effort, especially when it came to cooking. Guan Heng knew how much Ye Zhou loved being in the kitchen at home, and watching him cook was a visual delight. Someone like him wouldn’t seek shortcuts. He enjoyed serving hot meals at the table and seeing the satisfied expressions on others’ faces as they ate his dishes. But Guan Heng didn’t expose him; he simply patted the back of his head. “Alright, let’s go.”

Ye Zhou sighed in relief and walked home with Guan Heng.

In the middle of the night, Ye Zhou seemed restless, mumbling incoherently in his sleep.

Guan Heng opened his eyes and saw Ye Zhou frowning deeply, unsure if he was having a nightmare. He reached over and gently massaged the nape of Ye Zhou’s neck. Whether it was the soothing effect of the action or Ye Zhou’s body remembering Guan Heng’s familiar touch, Ye Zhou suddenly felt reassured. He nestled closer to Guan Heng’s chest and gradually settled down.

This unconscious dependence subtly pleased Guan Heng, even though he had long noticed that Ye Zhou was trying to hide something. He gazed at Ye Zhou for a while, then finally gave him a light peck on the forehead. “When will you tell me the truth?”

For several consecutive days, Ye Zhou woke up in Guan Heng’s arms, snuggled against his chest, almost drooling.

Ye Zhou felt a bit embarrassed. He didn’t remember being such a heavy sleeper, so he quickly moved back to his own pillow. “Is it uncomfortable for you when I do this? I never used to do this. If I lean over again in the future, just push me away.”

Ye Zhou really didn’t remember, so he didn’t know that Guan Heng had been the one pulling him closer these past few days. He was also unaware that he sat up in the middle of the night, staring straight at Guan Heng, seemingly oblivious to everything around him.

“It’s fine.” Guan Heng asked again, “Did you sleep well last night?”

“I’ve been a bit tired lately,” Ye Zhou admitted. These past few days, he hadn’t been getting enough sleep, yawning frequently during the day, despite not recalling doing anything physically exhausting recently. Guan Heng usually left the house earlier than him, and Ye Zhou wanted to adjust his sleep schedule to match Guan Heng’s, but lately, it had been challenging to get out of bed.

“It’s still early, go back to sleep,” Guan Heng said, stroking Ye Zhou’s face before walking to the closet to change clothes.

“Mmm,” Ye Zhou mumbled, admiring Guan Heng’s physique with half-closed eyes. Even though it was a visually pleasing sight, he still felt incredibly drowsy…

When Guan Heng finished changing and looked back at Ye Zhou, he was already asleep.

Excessive sleepiness, forgetfulness, mood swings, lack of focus, and frequent nightmares at night. These were the observations Guan Heng had made recently. Ye Zhou wasn’t always like this; these symptoms had only started recently, and the cause was unknown, but there was definitely a psychological factor involved.

Guan Heng glanced at Ye Zhou for a while longer before closing the bedroom door and leaving.

When Ye Zhou was woken up by his phone alarm, he was still feeling groggy. He forced himself to wash up, change clothes, and have breakfast before heading to the restaurant for work.

Ye Zhou felt that his condition was better today, unlike the previous few days when he made mistakes.

That evening, he chatted with Fang Ji at the bar for a while before going home. He remembered that Guan Heng told him he would be coming home later tonight. Not in a rush to go home, he leisurely strolled along the path through the park, passing by the community center where he first encountered Guan Heng, feeling a flutter in his heart.

Just then, he turned his head and saw Guan Heng approaching him. “Ye Zhou.”

Ye Zhou was surprised but broke into a smile. “Brother Heng, didn’t you say you’d be coming home late tonight?”

“I came to pick you up.”

Ye Zhou asked, “How did you know I’d be here?”

Guan Heng chuckled but didn’t say anything.

The two walked side by side through the park. Maybe it was because they both looked too attractive, or perhaps due to Guan Heng teaching at the community college for some time, many people looked their way, but nobody dared to disturb them.

Ye Zhou chatted happily with Guan Heng throughout their walk, passing by a mother and son.

The mother stood back with her son, waiting until Ye Zhou passed by. Then, the little boy tugged on his mother’s clothes and asked, “Mom, who is that big brother talking to?”

The mother looked at Ye Zhou’s retreating figure and then made a shushing gesture. “Shh, don’t worry about it. Let’s go.”

Beside Ye Zhou, there was no one. He had been talking to thin air.