Tang Wulin Brings Breakfast

When the morning sunlight streamed through the gap in the curtains, Gu Yue sleepily groped for the phone beside her pillow. She could not even be bothered to open her eyes. Her fingers slid across the screen by feel until she found the familiar chat window and sent a message: "Wulin, bring breakfast. The usual." After sending it, she tossed the phone aside and burrowed deeper into the blankets like a sleepy cat.

In the cafeteria, Tang Wulin was having breakfast with Xie Xie across from him. When his phone screen lit up, he set down his chopsticks, an unconcealable gentle smile curling at his lips. He quickly replied with an "OK" gesture. Almost at the same time, a chubby kitten sticker popped up in reply. The kitten was yawning, with a messy tuft of fur on its head. Tang Wulin could not help chuckling.

"Boss, are you bringing food to that lazy Gu Yue again?" Xie Xie poked at the fried egg on his plate with his chopsticks, obvious dissatisfaction in his voice. He looked up at Tang Wulin's irrepressible smile and felt even worse. "It's not like she doesn't have legs. The cafeteria is only a few steps from the dorms, isn't it? Tell me yourself, how long have you been bringing her meals?"

Tang Wulin put away his phone and took a sip of soy milk, his tone calm. "It's no trouble."

"No trouble?" Xie Xie's voice rose. "Why are you never this 'convenient' with me? How many years have we known each other? I can count the number of times you've brought me food on one hand!" The more he spoke, the more worked up he became, as though all the resentment he had bottled up lately had finally found an outlet. "Ever since Gu Yue showed up, think about how many times you've turned me down! Last time, we agreed to check out that newly opened soul tool shop, but one call from Gu Yue and you vanished. And last year, our 'Brothers' Day'—there's only one day a year! But you went shopping with her, then called me over to carry the bags! I was hauling huge bags behind you two that day like some lackey..."

Tang Wulin listened quietly. Only after Xie Xie finished in one breath did he slowly say, "Gu Yue... is different."

"What's so different about her? She's got one nose and two eyes, doesn't she?" Xie Xie grumbled, though his momentum had visibly weakened. He actually knew how much Gu Yue meant to Tang Wulin, but being "neglected" by his brother still left him feeling stifled. He remembered that shopping trip. When Gu Yue was trying on clothes, Tang Wulin had waited quietly outside the store, but his gaze kept unconsciously following her figure inside. She had only glanced at a dessert shop, and Tang Wulin had immediately gone to line up. Xie Xie had never seen that kind of care and patience from his brother before.

Tang Wulin did not explain further. He simply finished his breakfast in a few bites, got up, and bought another meal. He packed it carefully: Gu Yue's favorite seafood congee and several light side dishes.

Watching Tang Wulin carefully inspect the meal container, Xie Xie suddenly lost his nerve. He lowered his head and picked at the food in his bowl, already cold, thinking that he needed to get to the bottom of the real relationship between the boss and Gu Yue with Xu Xiaoyan. They were definitely more than just friends.

"Fine, fine, go already. Don't let the congee get cold." Xie Xie waved him off. His tone was awkward but no longer barbed. "Remember not to be late for afternoon training."

Carrying the breakfast, Tang Wulin turned back for one last look at Xie Xie when he reached the cafeteria entrance, then nodded. "See you at the training grounds."

On the way, he imagined Gu Yue still curled up in bed. When she received breakfast, she would probably squint and mumble a vague thanks before taking small bites, like a finally fed cat—lazy and picky. Thinking of that, the lines of his face softened without him realizing it.

In the dorm room, Gu Yue heard a light knock and slowly shuffled to the door with the blanket dragged around her. When she opened it, warm breakfast was placed in her hands, carrying the scent of sunlight from outside and a familiar, comforting smell. She raised her still-drowsy eyes to meet Tang Wulin's calm gaze, mumbled something indistinctly, then gently closed the door.

Tang Wulin lingered outside for a moment. Only after hearing rustling sounds from within did he turn and leave.

At noon, sunlight poured down, and the cafeteria was bustling with noise at the height of lunchtime. Gu Yue sat beside Tang Wulin, while Xie Xie dropped into the seat directly across from him. The dishes arrived, steaming hot. Tang Wulin picked up his chopsticks and naturally nudged the braised pork knuckle toward Gu Yue, then pushed over the stir-fried vegetables. He knew she liked them. Xie Xie stared wide-eyed, feeling like an unnecessary third wheel and uncomfortable all over.

He had just reached out with his chopsticks to grab a piece of ribs when Tang Wulin had already placed the biggest, thickest chunk of pork knuckle into Gu Yue's bowl. The meat gleamed with oil and nearly covered the entire top of her bowl. Xie Xie's chopsticks froze midair, and the corner of his mouth twitched. That indescribable, stifling feeling rose in him again. He jabbed at the white rice in his bowl as if in protest.

"Boss!" Xie Xie raised his voice, carrying a hint of grievance he did not even notice. "I want some too!"

Tang Wulin looked up at him, his gaze a little helpless, as though looking at a noisy, immature child. He slowly picked through the dish, then finally selected the smallest piece of meat, one with a bit of bone attached. With a flick of his wrist, it traced a small arc through the air and landed on Xie Xie's plate with a smack, splashing a few drops of sauce.

Xie Xie looked at the pitiful piece of meat on his plate, then at the "mountain of meat" in Gu Yue's bowl. He nearly snapped the chopsticks clenched in his hand. His chest heaved a few times before he finally gritted his teeth and viciously shoved that piece of meat into his mouth, chewing with loud crunches, as though he was not chewing meat but some woman who had stolen his boss away.

"Oh, Xie Xie, that expression..." Xu Xiaoyan, who had been covering her mouth and laughing beside Xie Xie, could no longer hold it in. She nudged him with her elbow and lowered her voice, her tone full of teasing. "Why does it look to me like... you're jealous?"

"Jealous?!" Xie Xie was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, his voice suddenly shooting up as rice nearly sprayed from his mouth. "Xu Xiaoyan, what nonsense are you talking about? I'm a grown man. Jealous of another man? How could you even come up with that?"

His face flushed a little, though it was unclear whether it was from anger or something else.

Gu Yue, who had been quietly eating all along, raised her head at that moment. Her clear gaze traveled between Tang Wulin and Xie Xie, and a faint, nearly imperceptible curve touched her lips. In an even tone, she said, "Xie Xie, you and Wulin... couldn't be in that kind of relationship, could you?"

"Pfft—cough, cough, cough!" Tang Wulin sprayed out the mouthful of soup he had just swallowed and coughed until his face turned red. Xie Xie, meanwhile, went completely stiff, his eyes wide as he looked from Gu Yue to Tang Wulin, who was still coughing. He looked as though he had been struck by lightning.

Several seconds of dead silence.

"Gu! Yue!" Xie Xie finally seemed to find his voice, both anxious and furious. "You, you, you... what kind of nonsense fills your head all day long? Have you read so many novels that you've gone crazy? The two of us! Have a pure! Brotherly bond! Truer than gold! It's not that... that whatever-it-is you're imagining!"

The more he spoke, the more agitated he became. He waved his arms and stumbled over his words, trying to prove something through vehement denial and sheer volume.

Gu Yue merely watched him quietly. After he finished bristling, she replied unhurriedly, "Oh? Is that so?" She even gave a soft laugh. To Xie Xie's ears, that laugh was utterly suspicious. Holding her chopsticks, she casually pointed them in his direction, teasingly adding, "Such a big reaction makes it hard not to suspect something."

"I!" Xie Xie nearly choked on his own breath. He pointed at Gu Yue and stammered "You" for ages without managing to say anything else. His face turned even redder. This time, it was definitely from anger.

Seeing that the two of them were about to start bickering again, Tang Wulin finally stopped coughing and quickly raised a hand to stop them. "All right, all right, both of you, say less." His face still carried the flush left by his coughing fit, and he looked both embarrassed and exasperated. He swiftly changed the subject. "This afternoon's training will be intense. Hurry up and eat your fill. Afterward, go back and rest for a while so you'll be in good shape."

With that, the gunpowder smell at the table finally faded somewhat. Gu Yue lowered her head and continued eating the huge pork knuckle in her bowl at an unhurried pace, as though she had not just dropped a thunderbolt. Xie Xie let out a heavy snort and lowered his head to shovel down rice, though the tips of his ears were still faintly red. Xu Xiaoyan looked from one to the other, her shoulders shaking as she desperately tried not to laugh.