Wen He dragged his hunger-hollowed body into the kitchen to wash his hands, then obediently sat down on a chair to wait for the delivery, his gaze straying uncontrollably toward the huge television in the living room.
He had never seen such a big television. It was like watching a movie at the cinema, so satisfying...! Even from far away, he could read the subtitles clearly.
All right, he had actually never been to a cinema to watch a movie.
Ji Chi was quick. Carrying an enormous bag, he walked straight past the person spacing out on the sofa and headed toward Wen He.
He unpacked the dishes one by one. He had ordered five in total: two meat dishes, two vegetable dishes, and a soup.
The soup was lotus root soup, made with starchy lotus root that was soft to bite into, along with goji berries, red dates, and a few pieces of pork rib. It tasted wonderfully savory, too.
So savory that Wen He almost started dancing with delight.
Although Ji Chi loved spicy food, he remembered that Wen He could not eat anything too spicy, so he had only ordered one stir-fried pork with chilies, along with braised pork belly and two vegetable dishes.
As Wen He drank his soup, his gaze unconsciously drifted toward Zhang Shengsheng, sitting all alone.
Slow on the emotional uptake as he was, he seemed to realize that the other man was a little unhappy at the moment.
He put down his soup spoon, got up, walked over to Zhang Shengsheng, and gently patted his shoulder.
"Shengsheng, have you eaten? Would you like to join us?"
Zhang Shengsheng turned to look at Wen He. Usually so lively and cheerful, he now wore an exhaustion he could barely hide.
Ji Chi looked at Wen He discontentedly, not understanding why he had to bother with the person sitting on the sofa.
"Ah... I've eaten. Um, Xiao He, you two go ahead. I've been out having fun all day, and I'm pretty tired... I'll head back and rest first. Bye~ Make sure you eat properly..."
With his head lowered, Zhang Shengsheng rattled off a long string of words, then fled upstairs in a fluster.
He was afraid that if he stayed any longer, he would be unable to stop himself from crying.
A whole week of sweet moments together had been like a dream... Now he had woken up. This was the best outcome for him: knowing early that the other man was not right for him meant he would not hurt even more later.
Otherwise, the longer it went on, the more it would hurt.
[Ah... my God... my heart hurts for him.]
[Actually, this is for the best for Shengsheng... all I can say is, I hope you find someone right for you, Shengsheng.]
[This must be awful for Shengsheng. Someone who takes feelings so seriously would definitely cherish this relationship even more. The more he put into it, the more he would naturally hurt.]
[I've reached the age where I can understand both sides.]
[Sigh, since it's come to this, let's watch Xiao He and Demon Dragon for now.]
[The story of our Demon Dragon and His Highness the Prince continues! The Weisheng ship got a bad ending, so you two had better keep being sweet!]
Wen He watched his hurried footsteps, then turned and returned to the dining room.
Even the pork rib soup did not seem sweet anymore...
Ji Chi reached out and tapped the table, his words seemingly undisguised in their disdain. "Tsk, tsk. Are you a little spotted pig? You've got rice all over your face."
Wen He glared at him angrily, then wiped away the stray grains of rice on his face. The little trace of dejection he had felt was soothed once again by the braised pork belly.
After dinner, Wen He volunteered to take the leftovers to Big Yellow.
Ji Chi accompanied him, and the two went to the backyard to visit Big Yellow again. The moonlight was bright that night, bright enough for Wen He to see the path beneath his feet.
But the moon was actually not as bright as Ji Chi's phone...
Wen He made little hops along the stone path, step by step, as he headed back to the house from the backyard.
Ji Chi followed behind Wen He just like that, the light from his phone illuminating the path ahead of him.
The house was still empty when they returned. Prompted by the production team, the two headed into the house's lounge.
Wen He beat Ji Chi into the lounge by a step. The moment the door closed, he suddenly felt that he, too, had become childish... Why had he competed with the other man to enter the lounge first?
There was no reward for going in first anyway.
[Here we go, here we go. Amazing that the production team still remembered the action mailbox~]
[Xiao He will definitely give his medal to Demon Dragon this time, right?]
[I think that's possible too. They couldn't install cameras in the hospital, and these two spent so long there. Their relationship must have progressed by leaps and bounds!]
Just as the comments said, Wen He gave his Heart-Flutter Medal to Ji Chi, along with a message.
"Thank you. You're a good person. I don't find you annoying at all anymore... except a tiny bit sometimes."
Then he opened his own mailbox. The production team had already taken back the Heart-Flutter Medals inside, leaving only two unopened letters.
He took out the letters, sat down on a chair in the lounge, and slowly opened them.
"Xiao He, this is Lawyer Jiang. There's so much I want to tell you, but I don't know how to begin. I hope tomorrow I can be a little braver and tell you everything clearly. Good night. See you tomorrow~"
It was a letter from Jiang Ye, with handwriting exactly like that of the first night...
So Lawyer Jiang had written the letter on the first day, right?
What had Lawyer Jiang wanted to say? Wen He carefully recalled his date with Jiang Ye that day... The other man seemed to have said nothing after all.
This letter must have been written three nights ago, and the other letter was the same, containing only two simple words. Wen He did not know who had written it, but the sweeping handwriting suggested someone with a rather flamboyant personality.
"Thank you."
Putting the letters away and tucking them into his trouser pocket, Wen He walked out of the lounge.
Ji Chi stood at the door, staring straight at Wen He. The smile on his face was a little hard to fathom...
Wen He gave two wry chuckles and moved aside for Ji Chi, but stopped walking.
Ji Chi moved quickly, going in and coming back out in the blink of an eye.
Wen He was still waiting by the door.
Ji Chi smiled... His smile was radiant, exposing his white teeth. It was the first time Wen He had seen a smile of his without sarcasm or mockery...
Ji Chi wanted to pat the top of his head, but after discovering it was a little greasy, he smoothly hooked an arm around Wen He's shoulders instead and headed upstairs.
His laughter was free and unrestrained, making even Wen He's shoulders tremble along with his body.
But Wen He did not know what he was laughing about...
How baffling.
The baffling man took Wen He to his door, then returned to his own room.
"Hahahahaha..."
The young man's soft laughter was cut off by the bedroom door.
Wen He thought the other man was a little moody, like Fat Orange in Empresses in the Palace... But Ji Chi was better-looking than Fat Orange. Besides, Ji Chi was not Fat Orange.
He was a modern man.
Knock, knock-
Ji Chi Is Annoying: No sneaking off to shower, and definitely no sneaking off to wash your hair!
Ji Chi Is Annoying: Wait until after tomorrow to wash.
Ji Chi Is Annoying: Take your medicine in half an hour.
Wen He pursed his lips discontentedly. He could not shower... but he did not want to go to sleep like this either, all dirty...
He He He: Can I wipe myself down with hot water?
He He He: (Obedient) reaction image.
Ji Chi Is Annoying: Yes.
He He He: (Happy) reaction image.