MNL Chapter 25
by VolareChapter 25: Accommodation. Is it tasty?
The room gradually fell silent. Xu Jing rubbed his fingers together, looking at the small Buddha statues on the counter, while Shen Yan stared blankly out the window, lost in thought. The two sat quietly like this, neither disturbing the other.
Perhaps because of some unknown affection, Liu Xibai decorated each room exquisitely. One side featured delicate and unique plaster textures, while the other used rough, natural stone textures. Besides the Jianzhan tea set inlaid with silver on the table, there were also fresh flowers that were changed daily.
Xu Jing leaned against the wall, in a lazy posture. A faint fragrance, from who knows where, permeated every corner of the room, and Xu Jing gradually felt sleepy.
He almost forcibly broke free from his drowsiness, managing to clear his mind for a moment. Seeing that the person beside him had no intention of moving or speaking, he quickly closed his eyes again.
The incense in the temple had a calming effect, and Xu Jing slept very soundly, without any of his usual fussiness about sleeping in a new place. He didn’t have any strange dreams either. By this time, it was already dark outside. Once the rain stopped, the room was so quiet that even the sound of breathing became exceptionally clear.
He seemed to remember falling asleep curled up in a corner.
But now, when Xu Jing opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was the chandelier on the beam, its light soft and gentle, not hurting his eyes even when looking directly at it. Besides that, mixed in with the sandalwood was a familiar scent, like the peppermint leaves Qin Xin used to grow, clean and fresh, penetrating straight to his lungs, gently driving away the last bit of drowsiness.
Xu Jing moved, propping himself up to get out of bed, and the white jacket that was covering him slipped down before his eyes. Before he could think, he immediately reached out and grabbed the clothes that were about to fall to the ground.
With a soft “creak,” the wooden door was gently pushed open, and the owner of the clothes walked in carrying two bowls of noodles. After glancing at Xu Jing, he said, “Just in time.”
Just when he was about to fall asleep, Xu Jing had vaguely turned his head and unexpectedly discovered a fleeting look of imperceptible loneliness on Shen Yan’s face. But now, there wasn’t a trace of that emotion, as if that scene was just a fragment of his dream.
However, Xu Jing didn’t have the energy to think about these things right now. As soon as Shen Yan came in, he smelled the aroma. Although the noodles were just ordinary udon noodles, they looked very appetizing. The broth was a vibrant, rich red, topped with a layer of lush green vegetable leaves and sliced fish. After sitting down, Xu Jing couldn’t help but start eating.
The steam from the bowl was still rising, and Xu Jing ate with great concentration. Shen Yan could vaguely see the other’s cheeks puffing out through the swirling vapor. The noodles had just come out of the pot, so they were a bit hot. Xu Jing’s original lip color was already quite bright, but now it was even more rosy. His eyelashes obediently covered his eyes, which were slightly narrowed with satisfaction.
After watching for a while, Shen Yan said, “Eat slowly.”
Only when there was only a little broth left in the bowl did Xu Jing feel full and satisfied, and put down his chopsticks. He took a tissue from his pocket and wiped his mouth. Compared to Shen Yan’s slow and deliberate movements, he felt that he had eaten a bit too messily.
Xu Jing cleared his throat, and then remembered to ask, “Did you make this?”
Shen Yan swallowed the noodles in his mouth and said, “Is there a third person here?”
Xu Jing thought to himself that he seemed to have asked a very stupid question again.
“Is it tasty?”
Xu Jing crumpled the tissue in his hand into a ball, and without being coy, honestly nodded.
Shen Yan smiled and said nothing more.
He remembered that the first time he entered the kitchen was on the day he found out that Zhong Yiqiu had stomach cancer. Stomach cancer required many dietary restrictions, and Zhong Yiqiu was tormented by the illness and couldn’t eat anything all day. For this reason, a young man who had never entered the kitchen began to study recipes, changing the way he cooked every day and was responsible for Zhong Yiqiu’s three meals a day. During that time, Zhong Yiqiu’s favorite thing to eat was udon noodles, although she never ate much each time, she could at least swallow a few bites.
But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t change the final outcome. When Zhong Yiqiu passed away, she couldn’t even finish her last sentence. The congee that had been carefully simmered for three hours was ultimately left on the table as leftovers.
Shen Yan only found out later that Zhong Yiqiu had been planning day and night, enduring and fighting against the disease for six months, just to obtain 30% of the assets under Shen Linzhi’s name. All of this was paving the way for his future life. A woman who graduated with a PhD in Finance from Stanford University was still working tirelessly for her son before her death, while his ridiculous father was accompanying another woman for a prenatal checkup at that time.
Shen Yan’s expression was cold and gloomy, and he gradually lost his appetite. He put down his chopsticks after eating only half of the noodles.
Xu Jing noticed that something was wrong and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Shen Yan shook his head and said, “It’s nothing, I just remembered something from the past.”
Based on his understanding of Shen Yan these days, Xu Jing could probably guess.
“About your mother?”
Shen Yan lowered his eyes and said nothing.
If there was anything in this world that even Xu Jing found difficult, besides English, it would only be comforting people, especially when facing acquaintances. Xu Jing felt like he had lost his voice system and couldn’t speak.
“How did she pass away?”
“Stomach cancer.”
Shen Yan’s voice was a little soft, and Xu Jing racked his brains but could only think of the phrase “my condolences,” but this sentence was too pale and weak at this moment, and he didn’t want to use it to comfort the person in front of him.
Xu Jing remained silent, and finally just reached out and gently patted Shen Yan’s shoulder.
Shen Yan cleared the table and took the dishes to wash. When he went out, he stopped and turned back to look at Xu Jing and said, “I live next door, come find me if you need anything.”
Xu Jing subconsciously responded, but suddenly thought to himself, what could he possibly need him for so late at night?
At this moment, the phone placed on the bedside table suddenly lit up. The person who had been indifferent just now instantly remembered that he still had an important thing to do.
Because the signal had been very poor along the way, he had stopped checking his phone after telling Qin Xin that he was going out to play with friends. Calculating like this, almost six hours had passed since that message.
Xu Jing got up, picked up his phone, and sure enough, it was from Qin Xin. Although there were only three sentences, but—
Four hours ago.
—Okay.
—Son, is it with a boy or a girl?
And just now another line came.
—I understand.
Xu Jing: “…”
Seeing that the phone still had a few bars of signal, Xu Jing quickly made a call. It took a while for the other end to answer, and the tone was somewhat surprised.
“Eh? Son, aren’t you out playing? How do you have time to call me?”
Xu Jing said, “It’s evening now.”
Qin Xin said meaningfully, “Oh.”
Xu Jing knew that Qin Xin must have misunderstood again, and explained, “Mom, it’s not—”
“But there’s one thing I must remind you, there are many things you can’t do at your age, regardless of whether the girl is willing or not, you can’t do it, or your father and I will be the first to break your legs.”
Qin Xin’s stern tone made Xu Jing silent for two seconds, and then he said helplessly, “Mom, it’s Shen Yan.”
The other end was silent for two seconds, and the voice that came again instantly became cold, “Then do you have anything else to say?”
“…” Xu Jing said, “Be careful during the vacation.”
“I know.” Qin Xin also urged, “You and Xiao Yan should have fun and come home quickly, it’s not safe outside, call Mom if you need anything.”
“Okay.”
After Qin Xin hung up the phone, she felt inexplicably melancholy. Usually, she only cared about Xu Jing’s studies and ability development, and was mostly hands-off in other aspects, especially in this kind of matter. But once, she asked Yan Zhe in private and found that Xu Jing didn’t talk to girls at all at school, which made her as a mother not know whether she should be happy or worried.
“Wife, where did you put my pajamas?” Qin Xin was lost in thought, completely ignoring the sound coming from the bathroom, and casually perfunctorily said, “I don’t know, maybe on the sofa.”
After a while, there was a soft closing sound. Qin Xin casually looked back and found that Xu Huaiyang was indeed not wearing clothes, with only a bath towel on his body.
People of middle age will inevitably face the troubles of getting fat, so Xu Huaiyang paid special attention to it, going to the gym every week, which kept his figure in good shape.
But no matter how good-looking he was, she had gotten tired of looking at him after so many years. Qin Xin calmly withdrew her gaze and said, “You’re getting old.”
Xu Huaiyang, who was disliked: “…”
As soon as the phone was hung up, the phone lost its signal again. Xu Jing was a little bored, thinking that he should have brought a few comic books when he came. Just as the room was a bit stuffy, when Xu Jing opened the window to ventilate, he saw Liu Xibai walking out of the room through the transparent wallpaper.
The wooden door closed, making a creaking sound, which was infinitely amplified in the quiet suburbs. Xu Jing happened to have nothing to do, so he put on his coat and followed.
Liu Xibai’s frame was small, and his back looked as slender as a girl. Walking at night was like a ghost coming and going without a trace. Xu Jing followed him frankly, and the sound of footsteps echoed clearly between the two.
The road became more and more familiar, until he looked up and saw the corner of the low-hanging eaves, Xu Jing realized that he had returned to the temple again. At this time, there were more candles here than during the day, and the whole place looked bright, and the firelight made the Buddha statue look even more golden.
Liu Xibai didn’t seem to care whether there was anyone next to him, but just knelt down in front of the Buddha, and then put one hand on his chest with his palm upright, and slowly moved the beads with the other hand, his expression respectful and pious. At the same time, a continuous and indistinct sound came from his mouth.
Got it.
He actually started chanting scriptures.
Xu Jing looked at Liu Xibai with a complicated expression, feeling that he was really idle and bored.