TT Chapter 12. Rock Sugar Pear Soup

After finishing the bowl of rock sugar pear soup, Chen Ting felt much better. The worst of the coughing had already passed, and he finally had the strength to speak again. Lying on the edge of the bed, he looked at Pei Yiyao and said, “You don’t have class this afternoon? You don’t need to stay with me. You should go.”

“Yeah,” Pei Yiyao replied, but he made no move to get up. He raised his wrist and glanced at his watch. “There’s still half an hour.”

Chen Ting sniffled. After a bit of thought, it clicked. Pei Yiyao probably had no class during the first period and now had half an hour before the second one started.

Was he planning to stay with me until then?

Chen Ting snuck a glance at him. “There’s… some snacks in my drawer.”

Pei Yiyao misunderstood. “You shouldn’t eat anything now.”

“They’re for you.”

“No need.” Pei Yiyao had little interest in snacks. As his gaze swept across Chen Ting’s neatly arranged desk, he saw exactly what he expected: lots of adorable knickknacks. A palm-sized cactus, a ceramic noodle bowl about the size of Chen Ting’s face shaped like a pig, and a keychain shaped like a hairy crab.

Chen Ting poked his head out again. “Do you want to read something?”

Pei Yiyao looked up. Chen Ting’s eyes were shining, and perhaps from a few more coughs just now, his eye corners looked a little damp. Pei Yiyao paused for a few seconds. “What kind of book?”

“Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.”

“…”

Chen Ting had suggested it just because motorcycles seemed to suit Pei Yiyao’s vibe. The book was philosophy, mostly there for show. His real collection was full of thrillers and horror stories. He was obsessed with the eerie madness of Edgar Allan Poe and loved the spine-chilling horror of Junji Ito.

Unfortunately, no matter how many times he tried to get Yang Shulin to read them, he never took the bait.

Pei Yiyao seemed to catch the hopeful look in Chen Ting’s eyes. He pulled out one of the books and said, “Lie back down.”

Chen Ting obediently lay down.

In that quiet and peaceful atmosphere, the half hour passed quickly. Pei Yiyao read fast, but it still was not enough time to finish the entire book. When he stood up, Chen Ting cheerfully told him, “You can take it with you.”

Pei Yiyao’s hand paused for a moment. In the end, he did take the book.

He was not particularly interested in reading it. Nothing compared to the beauty of physics and its logic. But he was afraid Chen Ting might cry.

After Pei Yiyao left, Chen Ting lay on the bed with his mind at ease. He had not been sleepy before, but now he was starting to feel light-headed again. He did not know how much time had passed when his phone suddenly rang. He picked it up without thinking, and to his surprise, heard Ruan Xin’s voice.

“Auntie Ruan?”

“It’s me. Ting Ting, are you sick? Are you feeling any better?”

Chen Ting was briefly puzzled about how she knew, but then thought of Pei Yiyao and understood. He quickly shook his head. “I’m feeling much better now, Auntie Ruan.”

“Did Yiyao come visit you?”

“He did. He even brought me rock sugar pear soup.”

Chen Ting took the opportunity to give Pei Yiyao some credit. As expected, Ruan Xin was delighted. “Good, good. If he hadn’t, I’d have given him a good scolding when he got home. He never knows how to take care of people. At this rate, he’ll never find a wife.”

Only now did Chen Ting truly understand why someone like Pei Yiyao, cool as he was, would show up with a pot of pear soup. He must have overheard that Chen Ting was sick, told Auntie Ruan, and then followed her instructions.

“You make sure to get proper rest, okay? If you can take time off, take it. Missing a class or two isn’t a big deal. And if anything happens, just go to Yiyao. Look at how tall he is. It’d be a waste not to send him running errands…”

While Ruan Xin was affectionately chatting away with Chen Ting, Pei Yiyao, on the other hand, had not gone directly to class. He had made a detour to the cafeteria.

Past two in the afternoon, the cafeteria was almost empty, with just a handful of students scattered around.

Pei Yiyao found the same plump lunch lady from earlier and handed her the thermal container.

“Could you make another one for me? I’ll pick it up after class.”

The plump lunch lady took the container with a cheerful smile. “Alright, I’ll make sure it’s extra sweet. Is it for your girlfriend?”

Pei Yiyao paused. “No.”

“Don’t be shy. You’re so handsome and thoughtful, I’m sure you’ll win her over in no time.” The lunch lady gave him a knowing look, clearly feeling very fond of him.

She knew these things. She had worked at the school for years and seen countless young couples. Nothing could escape her sharp eyes.

Pei Yiyao did not bother correcting her. It would only waste time. He simply thanked her and left.

Watching his retreating figure, the lunch lady could not help but mumble to herself, “First-years are always a little shy…”

By evening, Pei Yiyao appeared once again at Chen Ting’s dorm, thermal container in hand. Yang Shulin happened to be there too. Watching Pei Yiyao, who moved around the room like he belonged there, calmly pour out another serving of pear soup and hand it to Chen Ting, he blinked in disbelief. He could not begin to imagine what on earth had happened in just one afternoon.

Pei Yiyao, on the other hand, looked perfectly at ease. Once Chen Ting finished eating, he gave a small nod, picked up the container, and left.

Yang Shulin clicked his tongue in amazement and immediately leaned in for gossip. “Ting Ting, what’s going on between you two? That’s some rapid friendship development!”

Chen Ting smiled. “He’s actually always been pretty nice.”

Even Yang Shulin was starting to believe that. Not long after, Bai Yu and Jiang Hai came back. When they heard that Pei Yiyao had been there, they were full of regret.

“He already came? What a waste, what a damn waste. If we’d known, we would’ve come back earlier!”

Yang Shulin raised an eyebrow. “Weren’t you two just complaining about the genius?”

Bai Yu pushed up his glasses. “What? No. You’re misremembering.”

Jiang Hai chimed in, “Jealousy makes people ugly.”

“Exactly,” Bai Yu agreed.

Yang Shulin was genuinely surprised. He had no idea when his two top-student roommates had reached such lofty heights of personal growth. But before he could process it, Bai Yu sighed in regret again.

“If we’d known, we should’ve saved a few problems for him to solve while he was here!”

“Pfft… cough, cough, cough, cough…”
Chen Ting choked on his water and almost coughed himself to death right there in bed.

That night, Chen Ting lay awake, tossing and turning. When he saw that the desk lamps at Bai Yu and Jiang Hai’s side were still on, he could not help but think of Pei Yiyao again. For once, he decided to message him first.

Donghu Crab King: Are you coming again tomorrow?

Wait, that sounded a little too eager. Like he was hoping he would. Chen Ting quickly followed up with another line.

Donghu Crab King: I’m feeling much better now. You don’t have to go to the trouble again.

Pei Yiyao’s reply came back almost instantly.

Pei Yiyao: See it through to the end.

Chen Ting stared at the concise response. In his mind, that supervisor face from the afternoon reappeared all over again. He stuck out his tongue under the covers and continued typing.

Donghu Crab King: Then I’ll treat you to a meal next time.

Pei Yiyao: Okay.

Donghu Crab King: By the way, that night after our group dinner, were you really eating nearby too?

Chen Ting suddenly remembered the night he got drunk. Pei Yiyao had been just around the corner. What a coincidence.

Pei Yiyao: I was returning a vehicle.

Donghu Crab King: Returning?

Pei Yiyao: A motorcycle.

Donghu Crab King: Wait, that motorcycle wasn’t yours???

Pei Yiyao: It’s Xu Yiming’s.

Chen Ting was stunned by the sudden revelation. That sleek, badass motorcycle… wasn’t Pei Yiyao’s? It belonged to Xu Yiming?

It took him a few seconds to recover. Then he started thinking it through. Ever since the beginning of the semester, everything surrounding Pei Yiyao had seemed a bit off. He was the cool, quiet type who never liked to be the center of attention. If it had not been for that night when Chen Ting got drunk, the two of them probably would not be chatting so casually now.

But getting filmed during military training was one thing. Riding a motorcycle and entering a swimming competition? None of it looked low-key.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt like he had stumbled on something important.

Donghu Crab King: Everyone thinks you look super cool on that bike.

Pei Yiyao: Oh.

Donghu Crab King: Oh?

Pei Yiyao: Other people’s opinions don’t matter.

Donghu Crab King: Then why borrow the bike?

Pei Yiyao: Couldn’t get a cab.

Donghu Crab King: …

Chen Ting’s curiosity was officially triggered.

Donghu Crab King: What about the swimming competition? Why’d you join that?

Pei Yiyao: They kept pestering me, so I picked one that wasn’t on the sign-up sheet.

Donghu Crab King: …

A shocking truth revealed itself in that moment.

Chen Ting suddenly had newfound respect for the student council’s ingenuity. In Yang Shulin’s words, this was peak mischief. Just to get Pei Yiyao to compete, they went and slipped in a swimming event just for him.

Too slick. Way too slick.

And Pei Yiyao was exactly the kind of person who would never go back on his word.

Whether someone was cool or handsome, those were all just other people’s opinions. A truly cool guy did not even care if he was cool.

Pei Yiyao: Get some rest.

Chen Ting: Mm. Good night.

Pei Yiyao: Night.

See? A cool guy only needs one word to say good night.

Chen Ting sighed to himself, then glanced at the other three in the dorm. All of a sudden, he felt a quiet pride in holding onto a secret no one else knew. Now he finally understood what people online meant when they said—A real heartthrob never thinks he’s one.

The next morning, his cold was much better, and the coughing had eased too. So he decided to go to class. It was still early, and he figured there was no way Pei Yiyao would bring him more pear soup today. He waited by the door for a few minutes and, sure enough, no one showed. In high spirits, he followed Yang Shulin out to buy a whole grain pancake.

But as he entered the classroom, happily chewing his breakfast, his good mood was scattered by a room full of pointed, knowing stares.

“Uh… do I have scallions on my face?” Chen Ting instinctively wiped his cheek.

Everyone stayed suspiciously silent. Their gazes shifted in unison toward an empty seat in the second row, where a thermos cup sat on the desk. The moment Chen Ting laid eyes on it, something clicked, but it also felt ridiculous. It was a cup now, but yesterday it had clearly been a container.

He gave up trying to reason it out.

Bracing himself, Chen Ting walked over and flipped open the lid. As expected, it was rock sugar pear soup.

“Pei Yiyao dropped it off,” Wu Yingwen said, raising his brows with an exaggerated smirk.

The second row was prime seating. There were 28 students in Class 423, just enough to completely surround Chen Ting. Faced with all those curious eyes, Chen Ting thought to himself that cool guys could be a real handful sometimes.

Chen Ting suddenly covered his mouth and let out a few coughs.

The crowd instantly forgot about gossip and rushed to check on him.

“I’m okay. I’m a lot better now.”
He pulled out a face mask just in time, offering a sheepish smile as everyone watched him with concern. Then he put it on.

There. Mouth sealed.

Across the room, Yang Shulin gave him a silent thumbs-up. Ting-ge, you’ve got this.