ICY Chapter 4

Chapter 4

“A Li, good morning.”

Su Zhao Li and Chu Nan Du saw Jiang Shi standing outside the residential complex as soon as they exited. Last night, Su Zhao Li had thought it over himself and realized he was being too sensitive; Jiang Shi hadn’t done anything wrong.

But now he couldn’t bring himself to apologize, so he could only stiffly ask, knowing full well, “What are you doing here?”

Jiang Shi, hearing this, thought, “No way, if I don’t coax him better, I won’t be able to walk to and from school with him.”

“I’m here to go to school with you. Look, I made breakfast for you, and a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. Can you forgive me?”

Su Zhao Li hadn’t expected Jiang Shi to apologize to him. Last night, he had stared at the “typing” indicator on his phone screen, but hadn’t received a message. He thought Jiang Shi had figured things out on his own and was thinking about how to question him. He didn’t think he would see Jiang Shi this morning. When he saw Jiang Shi, he thought Jiang Shi was coming to clear things up with him.

Su Zhao Li looked at the insulated bag and orange juice in Jiang Shi’s hand, feeling a little like crying, his heart seeming to melt.

He awkwardly said, “You didn’t do anything wrong. I was just being too sensitive.”

Jiang Shi saw his slightly red, watery eyes and thought Su Zhao Li was forcing himself. “No, no, how can you say that? It was my fault. You’re clearly very good. You’re not sensitive. Don’t cry, don’t cry, I… it’s all my fault.”

Su Zhao Li suddenly burst into laughter through his tears. He really wanted to hug Jiang Shi. Jiang Shi was silly, but adorably so.

Seeing Su Zhao Li smile, Jiang Shi finally felt relieved. The anxiety he had felt all morning finally settled.

No one paid attention to Chu Nan Du, who was standing beside them, dumbfounded. Chu Nan Du was completely frozen. His ears must be playing tricks on him. Was this for real?

Su Zhao Li and Jiang Shi walked away together, lovey-dovey and harmonious, leaving Chu Nan Du alone in confusion.

Couldn’t they see such a big person as himself?!

*

“So much!”

Su Zhao Li looked at Jiang Shi, who was wearing a jacket, and couldn’t help but smile.

After the morning self-study session, the group went to the cafeteria to eat. Su Zhao Li couldn’t wait to open the insulated bag, which was filled with several insulated containers.

“Open it and see. I made everything myself.”

Chu Nan Du also watched curiously from the side, shocked by the food inside: mini wontons, egg-wrapped sandwiches, egg noodle soup, lettuce and shrimp-paste egg pancakes, millet porridge, bok choy, and even a strawberry custard toast for dessert.

“This is too lavish!”

The extravagance attracted onlookers who couldn’t help but exclaim. Su Zhao Li also looked at Jiang Shi with a smile. Jiang Shi was a little shy under his gaze.

“I misspoke. I didn’t make the dessert. My mom made it, but I learned how to make it this morning, so I can make it for you in the future.”

“You made everything else?”

“Yes,” Jiang Shi said, a little embarrassed to look at Su Zhao Li.

“Why did you make so much?”

“I didn’t know what you wanted to eat for breakfast, so I made a little of everything.”

“It must have taken a long time.”

“It didn’t take long. Hurry and try it.”

“I can’t eat it all myself. Will you eat with me?” Su Zhao Li asked Jiang Shi.

“Can I eat too?” Chu Nan Du admitted that he had spoken too loudly earlier. He was willing to submit for the sake of delicious food.

“Go get chopsticks, spoons, and empty bowls, and get one for Jiang Shi too.”

“Got it.” Chu Nan Du went happily.

“Hurry and try it.”

Urged by Jiang Shi, Su Zhao Li picked up a spoon and scooped up a wonton.

“Hot~” Su Zhao Li was burned.

“Spit it out!” Jiang Shi anxiously reached his hand towards Su Zhao Li’s mouth.

“I swallowed it.”

“Does your throat hurt? I didn’t notice. I’ll go buy water.”

Su Zhao Li quickly stopped him. “Look at my tongue. It doesn’t hurt.”

Su Zhao Li stuck out his tongue for Jiang Shi to see. The tip was a little red, giving Jiang Shi a strange feeling in his heart.

“Hurry and sit down and eat with me.”

*

“Ah—” Chu Nan Du, who was happily returning with bowls and chopsticks, didn’t dare to move forward. Su Zhao Li was feeding Jiang Shi! Were they dating? Wouldn’t he be superfluous?

But what did being a third wheel matter in the face of delicious food?

Chu Nan Du remained outwardly calm, but kicked Su Zhao Li under the table.

“What does Ge Ge want to eat? The mini wontons are delicious. Want to try one? Ah—” Su Zhao Li took the spoon from Chu Nan Du’s hand. Unlike the one for Jiang Shi, which Su Zhao Li had carefully cooled, this one was freshly scooped from the bowl.

“Hot, hot, hot, hot! Trying to murder your own brother!” Chu Nan Du glared at Su Zhao Li. He had seen it just now. Jiang Shi had also eaten the mini wontons, but Jiang Shi hadn’t been burned at all.

As expected, a married son is like water thrown away.

“What else do you want to try?” Jiang Shi asked Su Zhao Li.

“I want to try everything.”

Chu Nan Du finally managed to swallow what was in his mouth, watching the harmonious scene in front of him, feeling more and more superfluous.

The three of them barely managed to finish all the breakfast. Because the school provided trays, they didn’t have dish soap to wash the dishes, so they could only take the bowls home to wash.

“Give them to me. I’ll take them home to wash. You’ve already done the cooking.”

“It’s okay. It’s to make up for it. Just eat well.”

“Really, let me wash them. I can also bring you the cookies my caregiver makes. I can’t make them, but they’re really delicious.”

“Haha, really, you don’t have to. It’ll just be a bother for you to bring them to me again.”

“That’s true.”

“So give them to me.”

“Then I…”

“I’m waiting for the cookies at noon.”

“Okay.”

Chu Nan Du watched the back-and-forth between the two. So this was the flirting between young couples.

*

“Are you two dating?”

“Not yet.”

“Then why were you feeding him this morning, and arguing over this and that? I thought you two were dating.”

“Do you understand the atmosphere of ambiguity?”

“No, I thought Jiang Shi was someone who didn’t understand anything. No, he really doesn’t understand anything, but he fell for you too quickly.”

“This is just the beginning. He hasn’t opened the orifice yet. There’s still a long way to go.”

“I see you’re enjoying it quite a bit.”

“I’m going to drink my orange juice.”

*

“Caregiver, Caregiver, Caregiver!” Su Zhao Li went straight to the kitchen to find Mother Chu as soon as he got home.

“What’s wrong, my little A Li? Are you hungry?”

“No, Caregiver. Can I learn how to make cookies with you later?”

“Sure, but why do you suddenly want to learn?”

“A friend made dinner for us this morning, and I want to treat him too.”

“Okay, I’ll teach you after lunch.”

“Thank you, Caregiver.”

After lunch, Su Zhao Li immediately took action. He only let Mother Chu direct him, and he wanted to do everything himself.

“Caregiver, how much should I pour?”

“You pour, and I’ll watch.”

“Okay, that’s enough.”

Su Zhao Li was working busily in the kitchen. This was his first time making them, and he was being extra careful with every step.

“Looking good,” Chu Nan Du said, munching on an apple in the doorway.

“A Li said a friend treated you to dinner this morning. Shouldn’t you think about returning the favor?”

“You should see who the other person is before I go and ingratiate myself.”

“Besides, I introduced A Li to him. Isn’t that the greatest gift I could give him?”

“It’s the person A Li likes.”

“Caregiver~” Su Zhao Li whined from inside the kitchen.

“Okay, okay, our A Li is shy. I won’t ask, I won’t ask.”

*

“Did that friend of yours forgive you?” Mother Jiang asked caringly.

“He forgave me. Thanks to Mom’s great idea. He’s even bringing me cookies for lunch.”

“Hey, why are you being so polite with Mom?”

“Mom, buy more oranges in the future. He really likes orange juice. I’m going to squeeze orange juice for him every day from now on.”

“Okay.”

“Why are you being so overeager?” Father Jiang, who was standing beside them, couldn’t help but interject.

“Bang!”

“Wife, wife, I was wrong, I said the wrong thing, wife, I was really wrong! Son, come help me! I don’t have my phone, wife!”

The door opened. “As expected, my son loves me more.”

“Dad, give me the phone. Mom wants you to buy 20 pounds of oranges, then come back.”

“Bang!” The door closed.

The door opened again. It was Jiang Shi.

“Dad, you’re not allowed to say bad things about him anymore.”

The door closed again.

Father Jiang outside the door was furious. Who had he offended?

“Wife, I bought twenty pounds of oranges. Can I come in?”

“Come in.”

The door was open. Father Jiang, covered in sweat, carried the oranges into the house.

“The food’s on the table. Eat by yourself.”

“Wait, isn’t our son going to bring orange juice to his friend this afternoon? Let me squeeze them. I’ll squeeze them for our family’s never-before-seen ancestor.”

“Ding-a-ling,” the alarm rang.

“Dad’s back? Where are the oranges? I’m going to squeeze some orange juice.”

“Your dad already squeezed them for you.”

Father Jiang, sitting upright on the sofa, was already looking forward to his son’s praise.

“Dad, you don’t have to squeeze them for me next time. I want to squeeze them for A Li myself.”

“A Li?” Mother Jiang’s ears perked up. “A Li is cute. Isn’t there a little fox named A Li?”

“Mom, he’s cuter than a little fox. You have to meet him next time.”

“Okay, okay.”

Mother and son were chatting and laughing, while Father Jiang collapsed on the sofa, feeling seriously wounded.

“A Li.”

“You’ve been waiting long, right? Send me a message next time before you leave.”

“Okay. Here’s the orange juice. It might not taste very good. My dad squeezed it. Don’t worry, I’ll definitely squeeze it myself in the future.”

“It’s okay. Here are the cookies. This bag is for you, and the other one is for your parents. I made them myself.” The more Su Zhao Li spoke, the more embarrassed he became, and the softer his voice grew.

“A Li, you made them yourself? Then they must be delicious.”

“Try them. If they’re good, I’ll make them for you often.”

“Delicious, delicious.”

“That’s good. I didn’t have much time at noon, so I only made two simple kinds. I’ll make you better ones in the future.”

“Thank you, A Li.”

Chu Nan Du slowly walked out of the residential complex. He had now figured out that he shouldn’t stand next to them when they first met, or he would be overwhelmed by sweetness.

“Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go to school.”

*

“Mommy, Dad, come and see the cookies A Li made himself. He specially asked me to bring them to you. Enjoy them, I’m going to take a shower first.”

Jiang Shi’s tone was still floaty, with a sense of pride.

“Has our son fallen for him?”

“Not bad, not bad. I thought our son would be dull his whole life. The person who can make him fall is really amazing.”

“Our son is only a senior in high school. No, our son is already a senior in high school.”

“Our son is already a senior in high school. It’s going so fast.”

“We need to start preparing the betrothal money.”

“Yes.”

“No, no, what are we discussing? It’s too early, too early. You’re even giving our son ideas. Now our son is about to run away.”

“Here, eat a cookie and smile. No wonder our son isn’t close to you. Our son isn’t very smart, so when you’re together, think in his way. Our son’s world is so simple and beautiful that you’ll fall in love with it if you experience it for a while.”

“Besides, isn’t our son’s lifelong happiness important? I like A Li, such a cute daughter-in-law, even before I’ve met him.”

Mother Jiang picked up a cookie, her eyes narrowing happily.

“My wife is still perceptive.”

“That’s right. Learn from me.”