“I’m already a mature man,” Lu Shen said, “so I feel it’s necessary for me to take care of you.”
“Hmm.” Bian Shengjian coldly chuckled but didn’t say anything.
“Alright.” Lu Shen sighed softly, “Then next time, I won’t come to pick you up.”
“Am I talking about that?” Bian Shengjian stared at him, “Hmm?”
“…Then what were you talking about?” Lu Shen looked at him puzzled.
“Can’t you find a proper job? Why do you keep coming to my school every day?” Bian Shengjian glared at him, “Last time, the time before that, and the time before that, people in my class started to think you were my dad… Are you that free?”
“Yeah, I do have some free time,” Lu Shen nodded in agreement, “And I can work from home with my current job…”
“Get lost.” Bian Shengjian pushed him on the shoulder, annoyed.
“Well, last time it was me who attended the parent-teacher meeting for you, saying I was your dad,” Lu Shen said, trying to appease him, “Your actual dad wasn’t available.”
“Shut up,” Bian Shengjian pointed at him, “Drive us home!”
“Alright.” Lu Shen smiled and nodded, then suddenly added, “By the way, about Uncle’s situation…”
“I’ve already discussed it with him,” Bian Shengjian interrupted him.
“Alright.” Lu Shen said and then glanced at him slyly, reaching out to touch Bian Shengjian’s leg, “Young Bian, are you…”
“No!” Bian Shengjian clicked his tongue, then sighed and said with a hint of weariness, “Hey, don’t call me that with that face of yours… It feels weird.”
“Do you feel like I’m calling you like my son?” Lu Shen looked ahead and before Bian Shengjian could respond, he added, “Hey, I’m driving, don’t fiddle around.”
“Are you out of your mind?” Bian Shengjian was exasperated.
“You’re already in the third year of high school, can you speak more politely?” Lu Shen gave him a sideways glance, “Did you bring all the materials you need for studying?”
“I brought them,” Bian Shengjian replied in a drawn-out tone, leaning back on the headrest and muttering, “You’re so annoying.”
“Let’s endure this year together,” Lu Shen said as he parked the car in the garage, pulling the handbrake, “But don’t worry, I’ll be there with you.”
“I’m just studying, what’s there to be afraid of?” Bian Shengjian clicked his tongue.
“Aren’t you afraid?” Lu Shen smiled and looked at him, “I still remember a long time ago…”
“Get lost!” Bian Shengjian tossed his heavy school bag onto him, “My hands are sore, carry it for me.”
“Alright.” Lu Shen lowered his head to gauge the weight, “You’ve got quite a lot today… What time do you plan to study until?”
“Whether I finish or not, I’ll go to bed at exactly half-past twelve,” Bian Shengjian shrugged.
“Well, don’t overexert yourself,” Lu Shen extended a hand to pinch his shoulder and, with the other hand, carried a bag of groceries he had brought from the back seat, “I also bought your favorite…”
At that moment, the elevator door on the garage’s first floor suddenly opened, revealing their downstairs neighbor, Mrs. Huang. As soon as she saw them, she started talking excitedly, “Oh, Xiao Lu, you’re back? Did you go grocery shopping?”
“Yeah, we did,” Bian Shengjian forced a polite smile but was internally cringing, “Just got back.”
“Aren’t you taking your grandson out today?” Lu Shen smiled, taking a step forward and using the opportunity to push Bian Shengjian into the elevator, “Last time I saw him, he was clamoring for skewers from the new shop on the corner.”
“That’s right!” Mrs. Huang started to talk animatedly about her precious grandson, “Let me tell you, he’s so hard to please, always wanting to eat junk food outside… Oh dear, that’s all gutter oil and dodgy meat, you know.”
Bian Shengjian stood behind Lu Shen, his eyes fixed on the elevator’s ascending numbers, breathing a sigh of relief only after it reached their floor. He then hastily poked Lu Shen from behind, “Hey.”
“We’re heading in now,” Lu Shen smiled and held Bian Shengjian’s hand, leading him out of the elevator, “You should hurry back home and cook.”
“Alright.” Mrs. Huang watched them with a wide grin.
“…Damn,” Bian Shengjian finally relaxed once they entered their apartment, kicked off his shoes, and flopped onto the couch, “I thought we wouldn’t run into her today… Always bumping into her at the wrong times.”
Lu Shen carefully arranged the shoes that Bian Shengjian had kicked over before speaking, “Well, we’re neighbors after all.”
“Just you, always being chummy with everyone you meet?” Bian Shengjian shot him a side-eye and continued, “I wonder what’ll happen if we get a new neighbor, and I’m not around, and you strike up a conversation with her…”
“Darling,” Lu Shen took off his coat and threw it aside, not waiting for Bian Shengjian’s reaction before using his slight height advantage to press him down, “You can eat messily, but you can’t talk recklessly.”
“Get off, you’re heavy,” Bian Shengjian clicked his tongue and pushed at Lu Shen, “Have you been eating too many pig’s trotters lately…”
Lu Shen didn’t respond but lowered his head to kiss Bian Shengjian on the lips, holding his flailing arm with one hand and pressing his leg against him.
“Lu…” Bian Shengjian was completely pressed into the soft couch cushion by him, feeling like his whole body, including his nose, was about to be flattened, “You idiot… I still have homework to do…”
“Do it,” Lu Shen pulled back slightly, his breath slightly hurried as he smiled at him, “What’s wrong?”
“Get lost.” Bian Shengjian took a few deep breaths and raised his arm to shield his face.
“Quickly do it, we still need to eat later,” Lu Shen smiled and pinched his chin.
“Do you think I can fucking eat after this?” Bian Shengjian struggled to move his head away from Lu Shen’s lips, “I really…”
“Protest denied,” Lu Shen’s heavy breath blew against his neck, and one hand swiftly moved towards the gap in the couch, searching along his smooth side, “Cooperate a bit, or I’ll lose face.”
“Eat shit,” Bian Shengjian muttered.
“I won’t eat shit,” Lu Shen’s breath grew heavier, and one hand reached into the gap in the couch, “I’ll eat you.”
****
“Alright,” Lu Shen ran his hand over Bian Shengjian’s sweaty back, then chuckled, “When should we get matching tattoos?”
“No,” Bian Shengjian replied with his eyes closed.
“Come on,” Lu Shen leaned over to his side, pressing his arm onto Bian Shengjian’s stomach, “Really? No?”
“Enough!” Bian Shengjian was irritated to the point where he could have kicked Lu Shen to the ground, “Go cook! Why are you so annoying!”
“As you wish,” Lu Shen smiled, kissed him once more, and then resignedly washed his hands before entering the kitchen to cook.
Bian Shengjian lay on the couch for a while before finally getting up and leaning against the wall near the kitchen, his gaze quite focused on the older man cooking. But it had to be said that even if he was an older man, he was still very easy on the eyes, with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and even his hand holding the spatula had well-defined joints. Bian Shengjian couldn’t help but……cough, appreciate him.
“Taste it,” Lu Shen had just finished cooking a plate of pork, used chopsticks to pick up a piece, and gestured for Bian Shengjian to try it, “Is it flavorful enough?”
Bian Shengjian leaned over, naturally took the piece of pork into his mouth, and after chewing for a moment, nodded in satisfaction, “Hmm, it’s good.”
“Clean the chopsticks, let’s get ready to eat,” Lu Shen said, placing the dishes on the table and casually patting Bian Shengjian’s butt as he passed by, “Hurry up, you still need to study later.”
“Bastard, Lu Shen…” Bian Shengjian was directly stunned in place by the sudden slap on his butt, and he yelled in annoyance, “Is it intentional?”
“Oh,” Lu Shen placed the dishes on the dining table before turning around, looking at him with a smile, “Yes.”
Bian Shengjian stared at him for a few seconds but gave in, probably because of the delicious dishes on the table. He reluctantly went to the kitchen to get the tableware.
“Eat a bit more,” Lu Shen scooped a spoonful of vegetables into Bian Shengjian’s bowl.
“Eat your own,” Bian Shengjian didn’t even lift his head, but from his expression, it seemed like he was enjoying the meal.
Lu Shen smiled and took a bite of rice, then poured a bowl of soup for himself and placed it within Bian Shengjian’s reach, saying, “Specially made crucian carp soup for brain nourishment.”
“Hmm,” Bian Shengjian took a sip of the soup, smacked his lips, and commented, “It’s good.”
“Well, of course,” Lu Shen raised an eyebrow proudly, “You see, although you sing beautifully, I’m the one who can cook.”
“…Is this your only ambition?” Bian Shengjian swallowed a bite of food, looking at him with an expression that said ‘are you serious?’
“Of course not,” Lu Shen put down his chopsticks and looked at him seriously, “My greater ambition is to take care of you in the future.”
Shenjian remained silent for a moment, then finally picked up his chopsticks and started eating after a long pause, then said, “Let’s just eat, don’t make it so cheesy,”.
“Okay,” Lushen replied with a smile, reaching over to pat him gently.
“Did you organize the wrongly answered questions like I asked?”
After finishing their meal and washing the dishes, Lu Shen sat back down. He reached out and took Shenjian’s notebook with the wrongly answered questions. As he flipped through it, he asked, “Hmm?”
“I did,” Shenjian replied without looking up, his eyes fixed on the problems. “Take a look yourself, don’t disturb me.”
“Alright.’ Lu Shen grabbed a red pen from the table and, leaning over, selected a few particularly noteworthy problems from Shenjian’s notebook and wrote them on a blank sheet of paper. He planned to go over them with him later. However, considering the time, he decided to get up and take a shower first, to avoid the low water pressure during the peak hours around 9 o’clock.
Bian Shenjian sighed and rubbed his face, forcing himself to focus entirely on the exam paper. He struggled to ignore the sound of running water coming from the nearby bathroom. His mind had always been difficult to concentrate, even though he was now in his third year of high school. Even with the persistent presence of Lu Shen, who watched over him like an annoying guardian, he doubted he could ever find that feeling of being completely absorbed in studying, even if he had only three days left until the college entrance exam.
The sound of water from the bathroom stopped, and shortly after, the door opened. Lu Shen, perhaps to avoid disturbing him, walked on the floor with wet feet, making almost no noise.
“Lu Shen,” Bian Shenjian couldn’t help but call out, “Take a look at this problem.”
“Hmm? Coming,” Lushen replied, walking over with a trace of moisture on his hair dripping onto Bian Shenjian’s exam paper. “Which one?”
“Number 37,” Bian Shenjian said, straightforwardly.
“Let me take a look,” Lu Shen took the exam paper and began to read it. After a few seconds of contemplation with a furrowed brow, he started explaining earnestly, “This question is actually quite similar to the tricky one I gave you last night. They generally follow the same pattern, so you should first read the question stem here……”
After listening to the explanation, Bian Shenjian nodded and began to write it out again on his exam paper following Lu Shen’s thought process. Lu Shen, not getting tired of it, reiterated what he had said before, “You have to learn to apply the same principles to different problems. These kinds of questions often have the same underlying concept.”
“I know,” Bian Shenjian suddenly paused, sighed, and said, “I just feel like… my brain might not be very good at this studying thing.”
“It’s not too late,” Lu Shen reassured, patting him on the back. “It’s never too late.”
“Okay.” Bian Shenjian took a deep breath, picked up his pen, and continued writing. He quickly got back into the zone, and Lu Shen didn’t disturb him further, only providing explanations and feedback when needed.
They spent many nights like this together, even long after Bian Shenjian had passed the college entrance exam. He would occasionally reminisce about those days of hard work, and Lu Shen would still be willing to accompany him, making late-night snacks to keep him alert.
Tsk tsk.
Bian Shenjian couldn’t help but curl the corner of his mouth.
When he looked at the clock on the table again, he realized it was getting late. It was already one in the morning.
He stretched lazily, and when he realized there was no more sound from behind, he froze for a moment. Then, he quietly got up and tiptoed over. Sure enough, Lu Shen was already leaning against the bed, asleep, and he was hugging a pillow in his arms.
Bian Shenjian took a deep breath and carefully walked over to turn off the light. Just as he was about to lie down beside Lu Shen, Lu Shen suddenly stirred, half-awake, and looked at him. “…Are you done?”
“Yeah, go to sleep,” Bian Shenjian patted his arm, feeling his heart soften.
“Goodnight,” Lu Shen kissed the corner of his eye, “You’ve worked hard, boyfriend.”
“You too,” Bian Shenjian lightly touched his lips, then quickly settled down, letting out a yawn. “Goodnight.”
“I’ll wake you up tomorrow,” Lu Shen also closed his eyes, placing his hand on Bian Shenjian’s belly and caressing it. “Stay covered, don’t catch a cold.”
Bian Shenjian held onto one of his hand and closed his eyes too.
“Okay.”
