TVDC 55: Sour Tangerine

Qiu Xuning couldn’t hide his shock and stared at him in surprise, then quickly averted his gaze, feeling a little inexplicably annoyed. “Y-you’re teasing me again!”

He Zhiyuan said, “I’m afraid you can’t see people clearly.”

Qiu Xuning calmed himself down, and then said softly, “You’re exaggerating too much.”

He Zhiyuan didn’t say anything, and after a moment, he spoke again, “Remember what you promised me.”

Qiu Xuning paused for a moment, and gave a gentle “hmm” in response.

He Zhiyuan looked at him, his voice much softer now, “Although I didn’t manage to teach you how to swim, I still have to charge the tuition fee.”

Qiu Xuning choked slightly. “…What kind of tuition fee do you want?”

He Zhiyuan thought for a moment, his brows and eyes softening considerably, and the coldness frozen on his face gradually faded away. “Next year, live with me.”

Qiu Xuning froze, a trace of panic flashing in his eyes. “That’s it?”

He Zhiyuan said in a low voice, “Just that.”

Qiu Xuning didn’t say a word.

He Zhiyuan said, “Next year, I can continue teaching you, and if we live together, it’ll be more convenient.”

After a moment, Qiu Xuning finally said softly, “My mom won’t agree.”

He Zhiyuan thought for a few seconds, and said, “They’ll agree.”

Qiu Xuning lifted his eyes, looking at his face with a hint of confusion. “Why?”

He Zhiyuan looked at him and said softly, “When the time comes, they’ll agree.”

Qiu Xuning didn’t understand. He hesitated, as if wanting to speak but stopping himself, and He Zhiyuan asked, “You don’t want to?”

Qiu Xuning said shyly, “It’s not a matter of wanting or not wanting to…”

He Zhiyuan interrupted him, “I just want to hear you say yes.”

Qiu Xuning felt a sudden warmth surge through his chest, and the words of refusal instantly got stuck in his throat.

At this moment, He Zhiyuan was unusually patient, not saying a single word, simply waiting for Qiu Xuning’s reply.

After waiting for quite a while, he finally heard Qiu Xuning speak shyly and hesitantly, “…Distance makes fondness, but up close, it stinks. You might end up hating me by then.”

From He Zhiyuan’s angle, he could see Qiu Xuning’s soft cheeks, which was rather peculiar. His entire body was slender and thin, yet his cheeks were plump, and the lines of his face were gentle, soft like a child’s face, making one’s fingers itch just looking at him.

When Qiu Xuning lifted his eyes, he happened to see He Zhiyuan reaching out his hand. Before confusion could even surface in his eyes, he could only watch in surprise as He Zhiyuan’s hand gently pinched his cheek.

Qiu Xuning looked at him in surprise, his cheeks pulled out of shape, his words coming out slightly airy. “Why are you pinching me?”

He Zhiyuan only pinched twice, then withdrew his fingers, the pads still holding the memory of Qiu Xuning’s soft, delicate skin, leaving him with a strange sense of reluctance. “I won’t hate you.”

Qiu Xuning reached up and touched his face. The pinch hadn’t been hard, yet it left him feeling slightly ticklish. “…You say you don’t hate me now, but maybe you will someday.”

He Zhiyuan didn’t say anything.

Seeing that He Zhiyuan remained silent, Qiu Xuning became a little upset instead. “Why aren’t you saying anything?”

He Zhiyuan glanced at him, neither lightly nor heavily, and said, “Do I hate you now?”

Qiu Xuning was at a loss for words. They were already living under the same roof, along with Qiu Zhaozhao and Zhou Mingmei, so it wasn’t really a problem. But if in the future it was just the two of them living together, wouldn’t that be… practically the same as cohabiting?

Qiu Xuning gave a vague response, and He Zhiyuan didn’t want to push him any further. After all, there was still time.

That night, Qin Shouze called Qiu Xuning. After hesitating for a moment, Qiu Xuning still picked up.

Qin Shouze asked cheerfully, “Did you see the class group chat?”

Qiu Xuning replied, “I haven’t looked yet.”

Qin Shouze said, “It’s okay if you haven’t checked. The time’s been set—it’s at six o’clock the evening after tomorrow. Have you decided yet? Do you want to come and hang out?”

Qiu Xuning cleared his throat and said in a lowered voice, “I’ve thought about it for a long time. I don’t really feel like going, so I’ll skip it. You guys have fun.”

Qin Shouze was a little helpless with Qiu Xuning, who seemed gentle and easygoing, but in truth was stubborn and unmoved by persuasion, which made him hard to read. Qin Shouze licked his lips, his tone tinged with disappointment. “Have you really decided?”

Qiu Xuning picked at the corner of the table and said softly, “I’ve made up my mind. I really don’t want to go. Anyway… it doesn’t make any difference whether I go or not.”

Qin Shouze didn’t know what else to say. He couldn’t persuade Qiu Xuning, yet couldn’t bring himself to hang up. He asked again to make sure, “You really won’t come?”

“Mm, I don’t want to go,” Qiu Xuning said.

Qin Shouze let out a disappointed “oh.” He wasn’t very good with words, and since he couldn’t convince Qiu Xuning to join the class gathering, he had to change the topic and asked, “Are you still coming to the swimming hall tomorrow?”

Qiu Xuning thought of the things He Zhiyuan had said to him. He paused for a moment, then said, “I’m not going. I’m too stupid, my ge doesn’t want to teach me anymore.”

Qin Shouze’s heart skipped a beat, his tone unable to hide his excitement. “He’s not teaching you anymore?”

“…Mm.” Qiu Xuning noticed the change in his tone and found it a little strange but didn’t think too much of it.

Qin Shouze realized he had gotten too excited. He quickly composed himself, and lowered his voice to say, “If he’s not teaching you, how about I teach you instead? You’ve seen it yourself, my skills are pretty good, teaching you would be more than easy for me.”

Qiu Xuning didn’t even think about it and immediately refused. “No need, I don’t want to learn anymore.”

Qin Shouze fell silent after hearing that, and when Qiu Xuning noticed he wasn’t saying anything, he spoke softly, “If you don’t have anything else, I’ll hang up now?”

Qin Shouze said in a low voice, “Qiu Xuning, do you… do you hate me?”

Qiu Xuning was startled. “Why would you say that?”

Qin Shouze said, “Because you always turn me down. What is it about me that makes you dislike me?”

He felt a little dejected, and even his tone grew heavy with sadness.

Qiu Xuning thought for a moment, then said, “I don’t hate you, it’s just… I’m really not used to interacting with other people. No one in class probably likes me anyway.”

Qin Shouze quickly said, “How could that be! I—”

His heart began to pound uncontrollably, his voice softening as he said, “—I just really like you, don’t Yang Siyue like you too?”

Qiu Xuning had never heard something so straightforward before. He felt a bit embarrassed, and his heart softened. “…Thank you for liking me, I don’t dislike you either.”

Hearing that, Qin Shouze couldn’t help but laugh, pressing his fist to his lips to stifle it. “Alright, I get it. If you don’t want to go to the gathering, then don’t—it’s my fault for overthinking. You’ve never liked these lively events anyway; you would just feel uncomfortable if you went.”

Qiu Xuning nodded, then remembered they were on the phone and that Qin Shouze couldn’t see him nodding. So he spoke up again, “So I won’t go. You should have fun and enjoy yourself.”

Qin Shouze agreed and wanted to find something else to say, but Qiu Xuning spoke first. “I’m hanging up now?”

Qin Shouze paused for a moment and said reluctantly, “Alright, you can hang up.”

After hanging up the call, Qiu Xuning let out a long breath, opened the window, and closed the screen.

The weather was hot, only cooling down a little by night. Qiu Xuning lightly scratched his neck—he easily attracted mosquitoes, and even here, he kept getting bitten just the same, which made him a bit irritated.

At dinner, Zhou Mingmei had prepared a whole table of good dishes, but once they sat down, her face remained unhappy.

Qiu Zhaozhao sat quietly eating beside her, not saying a word. Qiu Xuning felt the atmosphere was strange, so he casually asked a question.

Zhou Mingmei said, “It’s your sister. Last time she came home, she only stayed one night before leaving. When I went to Guangmao Market today, I saw Zheng Youqing—he was with a woman and even buying her furniture. I called your sister to tell her, and she didn’t even react.”

When Qiu Xuning heard that, his delicate brows furrowed slightly, and he said softly, “Didn’t jie say she was going to break up with him?”

Zhou Mingmei said, “Break up? If she really does, where would she find another man as decent as Zheng Youqing? At her age, it’s already lucky enough that someone wants her, and she still doesn’t hold on, always running around. Now look—Zheng Youqing’s with another woman.”

As she spoke, she grew even angrier and said, “I can’t control her anymore. She’ll suffer for it sooner or later.”

Qiu Shunming picked up a piece of braised pork, eating it so that his mouth was slick with grease. “Why bother with her? She’ll end up crying about it sooner or later.”

Qiu Xuning didn’t take part in that kind of talk. After finishing his meal, he took a plate of fruit and went upstairs to give it to He Zhiyuan.

Zhou Mingmei and the others were already used to how attentive Qiu Xuning was toward He Zhiyuan, but Qiu Shunming couldn’t help but complain, “Why is Ningning being so nice to that kid?”

Zhou Mingmei said, “He Zhiyuan gave us money. It’s fine if those two get along better, they’re relatives after all. Yet you—you lie to people and still have the nerve to complain?”

Qiu Shunming choked on her words and said gruffly, “What kind of damn relative is he supposed to be?”

Zhou Mingmei said, “He’s your relative, so don’t go cursing him unless you want to curse yourself too.”

Qiu Shunming rolled his eyes, too lazy to argue with Zhou Mingmei.

Qiu Xuning was carrying a plate of fruit, and when he saw that the door wasn’t closed, he pushed it open and went straight in.

“I cut up some fruit for you to eat, you can—” Qiu Xuning saw He Zhiyuan was shirtless and instantly froze, his voice stuck mid-word.

He Zhiyuan tilted his head slightly and glanced at him.

Qiu Xuning’s voice dropped lower. “Are you going to eat or not?”

He Zhiyuan picked up the T-shirt draped over the chair and slowly put it on.

Although Qiu Xuning hadn’t learned how to swim, after all this time, he had gotten used to seeing He Zhiyuan’s body, so his reaction wasn’t as strong as before. His face only turned slightly red, and he said nothing.

He Zhiyuan walked over to Qiu Xuning’s side and saw the fruit plate in his hands. Several peeled tangerines were arranged neatly together, and he smiled. “You peeled them?”

Qiu Xuning said quietly, “If not me, then who else?”

He Zhiyuan reached out and picked up a piece, put it into his mouth, paused for a moment, and glanced at Qiu Xuning.

Qiu Xuning smiled until his eyes curved into narrow crescents. “Is it sweet?”

He Zhiyuan raised an eyebrow. “Sweet—very sweet.”

As he spoke, he picked up a few more slices and put them into his mouth.

Qiu Xuning’s lips parted slightly, and he stared in a daze.

He Zhiyuan glanced at him, picked up a small tangerine slice, and pushed it into Qiu Xuning’s mouth.

Caught off guard, Qiu Xuning had the slice shoved into his mouth and accidentally brushed against He Zhiyuan’s fingers. His face scrunched up, and he hurriedly pushed the tangerine slice out with his tongue, catching it in his hand.

He Zhiyuan looked at the faint trace of moisture on his fingertips and said, “You licked me.”

Qiu Xuning’s face flushed red, and he muttered softly, “Who told you to feed me in the first place?”

He Zhiyuan lifted his hand, brought that finger to his lips, and pressed it lightly against them.

Qiu Xuning stared blankly. When he came back to his senses, his heart suddenly pounded hard. He opened his mouth to say something but didn’t know what to say. He Zhiyuan’s action was so natural—not even his eyebrows moved. Maybe it was just a casual gesture, yet his own heart was in complete disarray.

Qiu Xuning’s gaze began to wander, and he asked softly, “Do you like sour things?”

He Zhiyuan said, “I don’t like it.”

“Then why are you eating it?”

He Zhiyuan gave a faint smile and didn’t reply.

Qiu Xuning lowered his head, put the small, half-sour tangerine slice into his mouth, and after taking just one small bite, his face scrunched up from the sourness. He stuck out his tongue, spitting, “Peh, peh, peh!”

It was really sour, not sweet at all—yet He Zhiyuan had somehow eaten it without a problem.