"Today's important for you two. How could you forget to eat? I've got some freshly baked pineapple buns here. There are five in this bag. Here, have them. Go buy a bottle of water nearby to take inside, so you don't choke."
Shang Shujue pushed one of the greaseproof paper bags into Jian Yichen's hands. After saying this with a smile, he turned and left without waiting for their reactions.
He headed toward Song Yanqing's lounge. The two stared after him, stunned for quite a while before they came to their senses and unconsciously exchanged a glance.
Had Shang Shujue originally planned to take the pineapple buns to coax someone? Yet when he saw Jian Yichen going hungry, he had generously given him half...
"Tianlin, do you think those people online only say all those nasty things about Brother Jue because they're jealous of him?"
Jian Yichen looked at the sweet, fragrant pineapple buns in his hands, then looked up at Shang Shujue, who did good deeds without needing thanks. His previously gloomy eyes sparkled, and warmth filled his heart.
"Yeah, definitely. Brother Jue really is the perfect example of someone beautiful inside and out. He's actually so generous. These pineapple buns don't look store-bought. Could he have made them himself?"
Qi Tianlin hadn't quite expected Shang Shujue to be so gentle either. He looked down at the pineapple buns in Jian Yichen's arms, then at Shang Shujue's retreating figure as he rounded the corner, and ventured a bold guess.
"Om nom... dunno (chew, chew, chew)... sho yummy (chew, chew, chew)... I'm so happy ˚‧º·(˚ ˃̣̣̥᷄⌓˂̣̣̥᷅ )‧º·˚ (chew, chew, chew) so delicious (っ˘ڡ˘ς)..."
The pineapple buns smelled so good that Jian Yichen was dazed. Unable to resist, he took one straight out and started munching. One bite revealed its soft, sweet, fragrant goodness, and he was so happy that his eyes shone and filled with tears.
"Is it really that good? Let me try some!"
"No! Brother Jue gave them to me!"
The two lads began a battle over the pineapple buns in the corridor. In the end, Jian Yichen came out on top. In the face of delicious food, friends came second. In other words, he was a greedy little foodie.
Shang Shujue had no idea what those two were doing. He placed the pineapple buns he had made himself in front of Song Yanqing and raised his eyebrows when Song Yanqing looked up, looking a little smug.
"I made them myself. The baking room just sent them over. Do me a favor: eat one, and we'll call it making up."
Song Yanqing liked pineapple, and pineapple buns were his absolute favorite. Shang Shujue had run out of options, so he had thought of making him pineapple buns to get him to stop being angry.
Song Yanqing looked at the pineapple buns, then at Shang Shujue. Who knew what he was thinking? Only after a long silence did he reach out and open the paper bag to look inside. Their crusts were golden and crisp, and they were neither too big nor too small, but it was obvious that there was something stuffed inside.
"I even added pineapple filling especially for you. I guarantee you'll want more after eating one. Are you really not going to try?"
Seeing that Song Yanqing only looked without any intention of eating, Shang Shujue reached over and pulled a chair toward him, spun it around, and straddled it. Resting his arms on it, he raised his eyebrows at him.
"You're so eager to get me to eat them. You haven't poisoned them, have you?"
Song Yanqing withdrew his hand and raised his eyes to Shang Shujue. Seeing his smug, praise-me expression, the mischievous streak and scheming radar in his heart began beeping, prompting him to say that.
Shang Shujue: "...∑(´△｀)?!"
"Is there something wrong with your brain?! If I wanted to kill you, would I need such a dirty trick?! Eat them or don't!"
Shang Shujue's leisurely, smug confidence instantly vanished at Song Yanqing's words. Nothing felt right anymore, and his good mood was gone.
He finished speaking with a fierce scowl, then reached to snatch the pineapple buns off the table. Song Yanqing reached out too, and both grabbed the paper bag at the same time.
"What are you doing? I never said I wouldn't eat them."
Song Yanqing gripped the bag so tightly that the veins stood out on his arms, showing just how much force Shang Shujue was using. His expression, however, barely changed.
"Heh, you still want them? Maybe in your next life! I'm never making you pineapple buns again. You think you can get things from me that easily?! Let go! I'll count to three. Three..."
Shang Shujue was so angry he laughed. With two dry chuckles, he increased the force with which he tugged at the pineapple buns, pulling so hard he practically wanted to squash them into pineapple pancakes.
"Wasting food is shameful! Shang Shujue, let go. Stop counting. I'm not letting go. Let me eat them. I'll eat them even if they're poisoned. Stop pulling. The paper's going to tear."
Song Yanqing's face still showed little expression, but the urgency in his words was unmistakable. A closer look would reveal tiny beads of sweat covering his forehead. He was starting to panic.
"I'll eat them all myself. Let go. You can't have them!"
Shang Shujue was in the heat of his anger and had no intention of letting go. His pretty face had turned red from all the pulling, yet he still refused to release his grip. Song Yanqing always found some reason to piss him off! What rotten luck!
All he could think about was how he had tried everything to coax Song Yanqing for ages without success, then come up with making pineapple buns for him, burning his hands on the oven several times in the process.
He had brought the pineapple buns over in high spirits, thinking that once the other man saw them, he would happily eat and bicker with him like before.
They would still be sworn enemies, but that tense feeling of being at each other's throats whenever they met was already gone. Yet what happened? After seeing the pineapple buns, not only had this bastard refused to eat them, he had actually said the buns he made were poisoned.
Unforgivable! (ꐦ°᷄д°᷅)
Song Yanqing knew his remark had angered Shang Shujue, but he said things like that to him normally too. Shang Shujue would simply trade barbs with him, leaving him speechless every time. He had already prepared himself to be roasted into a heart attack.
But now, not only had Shang Shujue failed to fire back, he was furiously trying to take back the pineapple buns he had given him. What was wrong with him? Where were his inner thoughts? Why couldn't he hear them anymore?
"Shang Shujue, stop pulling. I'll let go."
"Like I'd believe your... Aah-"
Song Yanqing felt that he couldn't keep fighting force with force, so he let go after saying that. But Shang Shujue didn't believe him and was still pulling hard, so, unsurprisingly, he toppled backward.
"Watch out!"
Song Yanqing swiftly stood and caught Shang Shujue's wrist. The tug jerked him backward, and the pineapple buns in his hands fell to the floor. Song Yanqing failed to save them.
The momentum of that pull also sent their heads crashing hard together. With a dull duang, both clutched their heads and cried out in pain.
"Oww~"
"Hiss~"
That instant concussion left both of them dizzy and dazed, as though every star in the galaxy were spinning around inside their heads.
From the system space, Nuomi watched Shang Shujue crouching on the floor, clutching his head with a mask of agony on his face, and Song Yanqing slumped over the desk, holding his forehead with a glum expression of suppressed pain. Nuomi silently stretched out a chubby paw and made a six at them.
"As expected of two people who'll share a bed someday. Even their reactions after bumping heads are perfectly synchronized... Absolutely legendary..."
"I finally understand why the bureau brought Song Yanqing along too. This guy is practically the host's nemesis."
"With those two together, even if the host really becomes this world's god, there'll still be someone who can keep him in check."
Shang Shujue, in unbearable pain: Would you shut up already?!
Song Yanqing, whose head was buzzing: ...It hurts so much.
The laughing-out-loud zone: feel free to leave your hahahas or abstract reaction memes...