SYU 29. Sooner or Later, You’ll Scrub Your Skin Off

Chen Xiucheng woke shivering from the cold, scrambled to find his clothes, and sneezed three or four times in a row.

He looked at the mess on the floor and, remembering how much Wu Jinshan hated anyone touching his things, quickly began tidying up.

Aside from the fact that he was gay and liked men, Chen Xiucheng knew almost nothing about what Wu Jinshan actually liked.

But he did know what Wu Jinshan hated.

And there were a lot of things Wu Jinshan hated. He hated noisy environments. He hated his plans being disrupted. He hated people moving his things. He hated anyone mentioning his mom. He hated fast food, barbecue, and anything unhealthy. He hated Lin Lu. He also hated…

Forget it. There were too many things Wu Jinshan hated.

Chen Xiucheng figured he was probably just one insignificant item on that long list of things Wu Jinshan disliked.

He tried to return the books to their original places from memory. Once everything was back in order, he headed downstairs to cook. But just as he opened the door, he ran into Wu Jinshan coming from the other end of the hallway.

“I was in a bad mood just now and accidentally knocked over some books,” Chen Xiucheng said, propping one hand against the doorframe and clearing his throat, sounded a little guilty. Rather than wait for Wu Jinshan to notice and pick a fight later, he figured it was better to get it out now. If they were going to argue, might as well do it while his mood was still rotten.

Wu Jinshan glanced past him into the room, then back at him, and gave a knowing look. “Oh, did the books survive?”

“They’re perfectly fine.”

He rolled his eyes, cooked only for himself that night and left Wu Jinshan to figure things out on his own.

Chen Xiucheng had said he would find a part-time job, and he really did. He picked up some light work in the tourist district, working two days and resting five. On his days off, he gradually became close with Wu Yashan. By the time Wu Jinshan noticed, the three of them had already grown so attached that it felt like they had known each other forever.

It had started because Wu Yashan wanted someone to play with. But once she roped him in, Chen Xiucheng decided it was actually a good idea. So when he wasn’t working, he’d tag along to Uncle Wu’s poultry farm to help gather eggs, feed livestock, and haul manure.

He was too embarrassed to freeload off Wu Jinshan, but whenever he went home from the farm, Uncle Wu would send him off with fresh eggs, certified chicken thighs, or even a freshly roasted duck.

Thanks to that, meals at Wu Jinshan’s house became noticeably richer. Of course, if Chen Xiucheng was in a bad mood, none of that richness had anything to do with Wu Jinshan.

Under Wu Yashan’s enthusiastic leadership, Chen Xiucheng even visited her family’s villa. Her little brother, Chongshan, was eight years old and currently in second grade. He was throwing a tantrum with their mom, Lin Xiulian, refusing to go to tutoring.

Lin Xiulian was a hardworking, capable, warm-hearted woman, but she was completely overwhelmed by her two mischievous children. She couldn’t bring herself to hit them, and scolding didn’t work. When their father, Mr. Wu, was home, they would pretend to behave but go right back to being little demons. The only person they genuinely feared was their older brother, Wu Jinshan.

Chen Xiucheng could get along with just about anyone, and even helped Lin Xiulian manage the kids. Chongshan wouldn’t do his homework, but he was willing to listen to Chen Xiucheng. In return, Chen Xiucheng had to play tactical shooter games with him and Yashan.

One day during a conversation, he happened to mention that his father used to be a head chef at a high-end restaurant. On a whim, he boasted that he would make all kinds of mooncakes and sticky rice dumplings for Yashan and Chongshan.

He even bought fermentation starter to try brewing sweet rice wine. He started posting food and DIY content on a social media platform and even picked up a small fan. Those few days, he did not feel like talking to Wu Jinshan, so he threw himself into his own business instead. With that man out of sight and out of mind, life went on quite comfortably.

One day, Uncle Zhao came over to clean Wu Jinshan’s house and unlocked the backyard cottage, saying that Young Master Shan was on holiday and might want to swim, so he needed to clean the pool.

Uncle Zhao had been working for Mr. Wu’s family even before Wu Jinshan was born. He was an old hand, practically part of the family. Wu Jinshan never allowed outsiders into his home, but he made an exception for Uncle Zhao, who came by from time to time to clean, especially to maintain the backyard. Chen Xiucheng went with him that day and asked Uncle Zhao to teach him how to use the lawn mower.

That evening, when Wu Jinshan came home, he saw Chen Xiucheng’s phone sitting in the living room, but there was no sign of the person. He heard the faint sounds of trimming branches coming from the backyard and glanced out the window. After asking Uncle Zhao, he learned that Chen Xiucheng was in the pool house.

A few years ago, Wu Jinshan had renovated the pool house. He installed an arched frosted glass roof that could be opened or closed, and the pool itself had an automated cleaning system. With regular maintenance, it was not too hard to keep clean.

Uncle Zhao and Chen Xiucheng had already been working on it for three days. When Wu Jinshan went down, he found the man standing by the pool, holding a clean cloth, doing something he could not quite make out.

He was wearing a pair of black utility shorts, his back exposed, barefoot, a woven bracelet around his wrist with a tiny bell that jingled softly as he moved. Probably from being out in the sun lately, his skin had lost some of its previous paleness, now carrying a healthier glow, though still a few shades lighter than Wu Jinshan’s.

The pool water had already been filtered and disinfected. The sky-blue surface reflected the young man’s movements, and the noise around him masked any approaching footsteps. Chen Xiucheng didn’t notice anyone coming up behind him.

“What are you doing? Thinking about swimming?”

Wu Jinshan’s sudden voice startled him. Chen Xiucheng spun around.

“I am,” he replied. Then, as if remembering something, he set down the cleaning tool and ran over to the bench nearby to pick up a bag. “But I don’t know how. Can you teach me? I even bought swim trunks.”

From the plastic bag tumbled out a pair of swim trunks with blue-green floral print, along with an alpaca-shaped swim ring and an inflatable pineapple float still waiting to be filled.

Seeing Chen Xiucheng placing his hands on his waistband, Wu Jinshan quickly stopped him. “You can change in the dressing room at the back.”

“No need, no need. It’s not like anyone else is here. I’ll just change right here.” Chen Xiucheng quickly pulled off his utility shorts.

Wu Jinshan had already turned and was heading toward the exit.

Behind him, the voice rose in exasperation. “Hey, aren’t you going to teach me how to swim?”

After a moment, Wu Jinshan returned with a fruit platter in hand and found Chen Xiucheng completely naked, sitting on the bench in a daze.

“Why aren’t you wearing your trunks?”

Chen Xiucheng grabbed the swim trunks to cover himself and stammered, “I… I thought you weren’t coming back.”

Right after Chen Xiucheng said that, Wu Jinshan placed the fruit platter on the round table beside him and walked away again.

“Fuck!” Chen Xiucheng was so pissed he flung the swim trunks into the pool and pointed at the exit, “What, you got fucking ED now? Premature ejaculation? Impotent as hell?”

A few days later, Wu Jinshan went to the kitchen to get a drink of water and saw Chen Xiucheng wearing a mask.

“Just a cold. I’ll be fine in a few days,” Chen Xiucheng croaked, his voice hoarse. He made a wobbly OK gesture with his fingers.

“Then why the mask?” Wu Jinshan reached out like he was about to pull it off.

Chen Xiucheng immediately backed away and dodged. “What if you get sick too? Better safe than sorry.”

Wu Jinshan didn’t reply. He poured a glass of warm water, slid it toward him, and turned to leave.

That day, Chen Xiucheng stayed home to rest. After taking some cold medicine, he slept straight through to the evening. When he got up and went downstairs, he discovered that Wu Jinshan had hired someone to install a smart temperature and humidity monitoring system at home. He said it was to control indoor temperature, humidity, and air quality in real time.

He also laid out a whole list of new rules for Chen Xiucheng.

He could keep making fermented rice, but the alcohol content could not exceed two percent. Wu Jinshan would personally test it.

No barbecued or overly pungent food in the house. Instant noodles were off-limits unless necessary. He had to drink three large glasses of water a day, could only have one can of Coke per week, had to put things back in their original place after using them, and was required to strictly sort all trash.

And most important of all, nudity was strictly forbidden.

He was allowed to borrow the bicycle and e-bike, but outside of work hours, he could only go to his uncle’s or Yashan’s place. Anywhere else was off-limits. Wu Jinshan even warned that the cows on the mountain would eat him alive.

Chen Xiucheng thought those cows were the least of his worries. If anyone was going to chew him up and swallow him whole, it was probably Wu Jinshan. He grumbled with annoyance, “Might as well install a camera on me while you’re at it.”

He figured he wasn’t so desperate that he had to put up with this. The tourist district job didn’t come with housing, but it wasn’t like he couldn’t afford a hotel. He remembered the list of motels and inns Wu Jinshan had given him earlier. It was finally going to come in handy.

But the moment he opened his phone, disaster struck.

Her mother had pulled her funding.

Oh god. He had only called her a few days ago to get some backup, not to make her sabotage his survival.

He checked his wallet. There was less than a thousand yuan left.

Forget it. Life is about knowing when to bend and when to endure.

Wu Jinshan being particular was nothing new. Back when their dorm conflicts were at their worst, Chen Xiucheng had survived it just fine. Now that they was living under the same roof, even if Wu Jinshan came up with the most ridiculous rules, Chen Xiucheng figured he could get used to it and accept them calmly.

He rested at home for two days. During that time, Lin Xiulian heard from Yashan that he had caught a cold and called to check in. She said the climate here was very different from Qinhai, with large temperature swings between day and night, and drier air. He should avoid running the air conditioner constantly and be careful not to catch a chill.

By the time Chen Xiucheng was mostly recovered, Wu Yashan came by with a batch of ingredients for mooncakes and sticky rice dumplings. She rang the doorbell and pointed to the cart. “Brother, these are for Brother Cheng. Aunt Shen picked up the zong leaves while she was out grocery shopping this morning.”

Wu Jinshan received them at the door and carried everything into the kitchen. Spotting Chen Xiucheng at the counter chopping vegetables, he put on a strange tone and said, “Brother Cheng, your zong leaves.”

Chen Xiucheng gave him a sideways glance, set down the knife, and tapped open a new message on his phone. He sent Yashan a sticker to say thank you.

Wu Jinshan did not leave. He stood to the side, watching him, and said sternly, “Don’t get any funny ideas about my sister.”

Chen Xiucheng nearly burst out laughing. “She’s twelve. What kind of thoughts do you think I’d even have?”

“Oh, right. Too young. You probably prefer them a bit older.”

“I… I’m not arguing with you.” Chen Xiucheng began trying to shoo him out of the kitchen, not wanting him to get in the way. He wondered what had set Wu Jinshan off this time. His words were laced with hostility, and there was a strange tension in his expression.

“Straight guys,” Wu Jinshan sneered. “Always pretending to be something they’re not.”

He reached out and snatched Chen Xiucheng’s phone, flipping through the chat history.

“Being straight doesn’t mean I fall for every woman I see.”

Chen Xiucheng’s face darkened. Wu Jinshan either kept completely silent or said things so maddening they made his blood boil. There had to be something wrong with his brain.

He genuinely wondered if Wu Jinshan had cast some kind of curse on him. The Wu Jinshan who spoke like a normal person, he could actually get along with. But the one who constantly picked fights for no reason, he wanted to launch that one straight into orbit.

Wu Jinshan held the phone high above his head with one hand and blocked Chen Xiucheng with the other, flipping quickly through the contact list. Pointing to the unfamiliar names that were not his second uncle or Yashan, he asked, “Who are these people?”

“They’re coworkers from the tourist district.”

Chen Xiucheng jumped around, reaching and yelling, trying everything to get his phone back, but no matter what he did, Wu Jinshan’s height advantage made it impossible. The unfairness of it drove him mad.

Once he confirmed there was nothing suspicious, Wu Jinshan finally returned the phone with great generosity and said, “Well, you are the type who enjoys flirting.”

Chen Xiucheng’s face instantly flushed red. He glared at Wu Jinshan and snapped back, “And who exactly have I flirted with?”

No matter how well he hid it, Wu Jinshan could not keep his body language in check. His hand trembled slightly as he climbed the stairs, and his steps were unsteady. He seemed desperate to flee to his bedroom.

A few minutes later, the sound of the upstairs shower came on again. Wu Jinshan was taking yet another bath.

Chen Xiucheng looked up and listened for a while, blinking in confusion. Then he shouted at the ceiling, “You psycho. Keep this up and your skin’s gonna peel right off.”