STIDM 13

Realizing that arguing would lead nowhere, Chen Qing turned around, dragged Yan Lu into the bakery and slammed the door shut from the inside, locking it tight.

They went into the small back room. Chen Qing poured himself a big glass of cola and downed it before his anger finally subsided.

He wiped his mouth, then noticed the awful look on Yan Lu’s face. Only then did it hit him just how ridiculous his earlier words had been.

He felt completely embarrassed. Setting the glass down, he poured one for Yan Lu too.

“I was just too pissed off and said a bunch of nonsense. Don’t take it to heart.”

Yan Lu took the cola. “It’s fine. I’ve thought about this for a while now. Even if there’s nothing between you two, he’s been fooling around since forever. I have a rough idea how many people he’s taken to bed.”

Chen Qing gave a dry laugh. “I mean it. I never slept with him. Back then, I only stayed close to Zhong Zong because that asshole wanted me to. He didn’t want Zhong Zong getting into trouble.”

Yan Lu set the cup down. “Alright, enough about him. My life doesn’t revolve around that guy.”

Then he turned his head slightly and raised his brows at Chen Qing with a small smile. “Weren’t you going to teach me something? Go on. Let me experience this dessert happiness philosophy of yours.”

As the sky darkened, Yan Lu slung his bag over one shoulder and waved goodbye to Chen Qing.

Zhong Zong’s place wasn’t exactly close, but it wasn’t far either.

Yan Lu had a cigarette between his fingers and took a long drag.

He hadn’t wanted to feel sentimental or emotional, but it crept up on him anyway. He figured he would let the feelings run their course for the length of one cigarette. Once it was done, that would be it. No point thinking too much about it.

His phone suddenly rang.

He glanced at the screen. It was Zhong Zong.

The guy asked what he wanted to eat, but before Yan Lu could reply, he caught sight of something that made his pupils shrink.

“Fuck.”

All Zhong Zong heard on the other end was the sound of harsh breathing, followed by a loud crash.

The call cut off. Only the dial tone remained. Zhong Zong looked at his phone, then immediately turned and rushed toward Chen Qing’s bakery.

He didn’t even have time to hop on his bike.

While running, his mind kept jumping to all the possible scenarios.

An enemy. A gang.

He had already dealt with the group that attacked Yan Lu last time. They shouldn’t dare mess with him again.

At an intersection not far from home, he finally saw Yan Lu.

The guy was surrounded by a group of angry people. In his arms was a child who was crying uncontrollably. Yan Lu looked fierce, but Zhong Zong could tell the guy was drowning in awkwardness. His ears were red, his whole body was tense. He was clearly trying not to scare the kid but failing completely.

He held the child helplessly, blood running down his arm.

Yan Lu had grabbed the kid just in time. The boy had a backpack on and had almost been hit by a motorcycle. Luckily, Yan Lu reacted fast.

But his own arm got scraped by the motorcycle, leaving a deep cut that started bleeding right away.

The moment the child saw blood, he started wailing, and now Yan Lu’s head was pounding.

To make matters worse, people had gathered around. Those who didn’t see what happened were giving him suspicious looks.

Yan Lu was miserable and had no idea how to fix the situation.

He looked down, trying to comfort the child, when someone suddenly grabbed his arm.

He looked up. It was Zhong Zong.

The man took off his jacket and pressed it over the bleeding cut. Then he gently took the crying child from his arms and stuffed a candy into the kid’s mouth.

The child quieted down instantly.

Holding the boy, Zhong Zong asked him a few questions, then pulled out his phone and called the police.

After giving a brief statement at the station, Zhong Zong quickly took Yan Lu to the hospital.

In the taxi, Yan Lu sat there holding his shattered phone screen, heart aching a little, his hand still throbbing with pain.

It really was the worst luck.

Yan Lu was feeling genuinely down.

—

Inside the hospital.

The doctor was rambling on about post-care instructions. Yan Lu sat there, listening half-heartedly, while Zhong Zong was surprisingly attentive. He even took out his phone to jot down what to eat and what to avoid.

When it was all done, Yan Lu stared at him blankly for a while. Only when Zhong Zong looked up did he ask with confusion, “Why are you taking notes so seriously?”

Zhong Zong chuckled and slipped his phone back into his pocket. “You expect me to count on you to remember it? Might as well let your arm rot.”

“I’m seriously starting to think you have a split personality or something. The way your attitude changes is completely insane. Back then when I got jumped, you acted like you cared. So why didn’t you come save me?”

“And how do you know I didn’t?”

“You didn’t come up to help at all…”

His voice trailed off. Truth be told, he didn’t actually know if Zhong Zong had helped or not.

After all, when Shi Ying arrived, everything had already descended into chaos. The scene was such a mess that not hitting the wrong person was already a miracle.

Seeing Yan Lu go quiet, Zhong Zong reached over to hold his hand. Yan Lu’s pupils shrank. He quickly jerked his hand away, looking slightly panicked as he glared at him.

“What are you doing?”

Zhong Zong missed the grab but didn’t get mad. He kept reaching for the hand again, trying to hold it. “Don’t move. You want your arm to stay broken?”

“I’m telling you, don’t treat me like one of your little lovers. We’re just fuck buddies. Get that through your head.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

As he said that, Zhong Zong successfully caught Yan Lu’s hand and wrapped it in his own.

His palm pressed close and their fingers interlocked.

Yan Lu made a few half-hearted attempts to pull away, weak and lacking any real effort.

Eventually, he gave in. Fingers linked over the back of Zhong Zong’s hand, while he tried his best to keep his lips from curling up.

It wasn’t like he didn’t want to let go. Zhong Zong just refused to release him.

On the way home, they made a stop at the supermarket. Zhong Zong carried the meds in one hand and picked through lettuce with the other.

Watching him move so naturally, Yan Lu stood to the side, stunned.

“You know how to cook?”

Zhong Zong didn’t even look up. “Try living alone for three years and see if you can keep eating takeout for that long.”

Yan Lu answered blankly. “I could.”

Zhong Zong gave him a helpless glance. His gaze paused at Yan Lu’s lower abdomen. Just as he was about to say something, he stopped.

Then, his eyes wandered up and down Yan Lu’s body. His gaze swept across his chest and between his legs.

Yan Lu felt creeped out. He nearly raised his hand to cover his chest when Zhong Zong finally said, “No matter what, I can’t let you get skinnier. Right now, you’re just right.”

That filthy look in his eyes. Even without asking, it was obvious what kind of thoughts were behind it.

Yan Lu didn’t get embarrassed or angry. Instead, he boldly leaned closer, laughing as he placed a hand on Zhong Zong’s ass and gave it a quick feel.

“Yours isn’t bad either.”

Zhong Zong smirked and tugged his hand forward. “Only that part is good?”

Pervert. Complete pervert. The kind of pervert he couldn’t handle at all.

Yan Lu pulled his hand back. For some reason, he suddenly blurted out, “You being good in bed is something plenty of people know. You don’t need to rub it in.”

Zhong Zong paused as he picked through the vegetables. After a moment, he pushed the cart toward the meat section and said casually, “Is it because you’re a clean freak, or do you think I’m dirty?”

Even though he didn’t say much, Yan Lu could feel the shift. The energy around Zhong Zong dropped, and his tone carried a quiet hint of distance.

Yan Lu’s throat went dry. He stared at Zhong Zong’s back, watching him walk away, cold sweat starting to form along his spine.

He didn’t mean it like that. He had already been trying hard to pretend he didn’t care. Besides, he had no right to question or criticize Zhong Zong’s past.

But he liked him. And no matter how hard he tried, the jealousy kept bubbling up inside.