Little Meteor Chapter 11
byChapter 11 “What Should I Do If I Miss You?”
At six in the morning, Shen Mu answered the phone while brushing his teeth, responding indistinctly, “Hello.”
Jiang Chengxuan had just woken up too, his voice carrying a hint of laziness: “Morning, are you up?”
Shen Mu hummed in affirmation. The sound of a power drill next door was quite loud, carrying through the phone to Jiang Chengxuan’s end. Jiang Chengxuan asked, puzzled, “What’s that noise on your side?”
Shen Mu spat out the foam in his mouth: “Wall-hammering percussion. It’s very refreshing.”
Jiang Chengxuan paused for two seconds, then realized, and a low chuckle came through the receiver: “Your neighbor is renovating this early?”
Shen Mu rinsed his mouth and sighed: “Yeah, I don’t even need an alarm clock anymore.”
“Perfect. Since you’re up, don’t linger in bed. Come over for breakfast.”
Shen Mu habitually offered a polite refusal: “Ah? That’s too much trouble for you. I can just buy something downstairs.”
Jiang Chengxuan chuckled lightly: “Why are you being so polite? Just come over. Don’t dawdle.”
After hanging up, Shen Mu sped up his movements, quickly washed his face, changed clothes, and headed out.
Jiang Chengxuan had left the door unlocked for him, but Shen Mu still knocked twice. Jiang Chengxuan called out from the kitchen, “Come in.”
Pushing the door open, the warm aroma of food mixed with a faint scent of cooking oil drifted over, instantly dispelling the morning gloom caused by being forcibly woken up.
He followed the sound to the kitchen doorway. Jiang Chengxuan was standing at the stove, frying dumplings.
“Just sit anywhere,” Jiang Chengxuan said without turning his head, focusing on using chopsticks to flip the dumplings in the pan. “It’ll be ready soon.”
The frozen food they had bought together at the supermarket last night—he was making it today.
He turned off the heat, scooped the fried dumplings onto a plate, and then took two hot steamed pork buns out of the microwave.
“Just make do with this,” Jiang Chengxuan handed him chopsticks and sat down across from him. “I’m usually too rushed to make breakfast, so I don’t often cook. If you want noodles, I can make some.”
“No, no, this is plenty.”
Shen Mu took a bite of a fried dumpling and praised it: “This is good. These fried dumplings are better than the ones at the breakfast shop downstairs.”
Jiang Chengxuan was pouring milk into a cup and joked, “It’s frozen food; how much better can I make it? You’re just being nice because I fed you.”
“It’s genuinely good,” Shen Mu picked up another one. “Crispy outside, tender inside, cooked perfectly.”
Jiang Chengxuan smiled and pushed the milk toward him.
The two ate quietly for a while. Shen Mu casually asked, “What shift are you on today?”
“Day shift, but I have surgery this afternoon. I should be done around seven. What about you?”
“Me?” Shen Mu broke open the steamed bun to let the heat dissipate faster. “The crew won’t be filming at the hospital for the next few days. I probably won’t be able to come back for half a month.”
Jiang Chengxuan’s chopsticks, which were holding a dumpling, paused: “You can’t come back for half a month? Why?”
Shen Mu blew on the hot bun: “The crew needs to film the other scenes in bulk, so we’ll likely be away from the hospital for about half a month. The Producer rented the cheapest location to save money, and it’s quite remote. It’s inconvenient to travel back and forth, so I’ll probably stay in a hotel temporarily. If things go smoothly, it might be less than half a month, but if not, it could be a month.”
“Oh,” Jiang Chengxuan replied, lowering his head to continue eating dumplings. After a moment, he asked, “Then what should I do if I miss you?”
Shen Mu nearly choked on the bun, coughing twice, his ears slightly flushed. Jiang Chengxuan patted his back: “Drink some milk.”
Shen Mu caught his breath and looked up at the person across from him: “Jiang Chengxuan, why are you so…” He paused, searching for a word. “Direct now? I remember you weren’t like this before.”
Jiang Chengxuan poured him half a cup more milk: “I’m thirty-two years old. Why bother beating around the bush? Isn’t ‘playing it straight’ how adults date?”
Shen Mu’s heart skipped a beat at the phrase “date.” He deliberately teased, “If you act like this, I’d suspect you’ve been trained by many people.”
“No,” Jiang Chengxuan answered quickly, looking at him very seriously. “I’ve only ever liked you.”
Shen Mu felt his throat go dry. The current Jiang Chengxuan was too much; every sentence left him speechless.
He lowered his head, poking at the remaining dumplings in his bowl: “When you talk like that, I don’t know how to respond.”
“You don’t need to respond,” Jiang Chengxuan stood up to clear the dishes. “Just knowing that you heard me is enough.”
Shen Mu quickly finished his milk, picking up the empty plate and chopsticks: “I have to go. The crew car should be arriving soon.”
Jiang Chengxuan took the plate from his hand and put it in the kitchen: “I’ll walk you down.”
“No, no,” Shen Mu waved his hands repeatedly. “I still need to go back and pack my things.”
“Then I’ll walk you to the door.”
Shen Mu was rapidly putting on his shoes. Jiang Chengxuan said, “Send me a message when you arrive.”
“I know.”
“Don’t stay up late.”
“I’ll try.”
“Mumu.”
Shen Mu’s steps halted. This time, he was certain he wasn’t dreaming. His ears grew even redder. He turned around, trying his best to appear composed: “Is there anything else?”
Jiang Chengxuan sighed softly, then suddenly stepped forward and placed a kiss on his forehead: “Try to come back early. I really will miss you.”
Shen Mu froze in place. Jiang Chengxuan stepped back half a pace, a gentle smile in his eyes: “Hurry up. The car must be waiting impatiently.”
Shen Mu practically floated downstairs. The soft touch on his forehead felt like a lit seal, leaving him completely dazed.
The crew’s car was already parked at the community entrance. The Assistant Director poked his head out the window and waved at him: “Teacher Shen, over here! Get in quickly!”
Shen Mu snapped back to reality, raising his hand to vigorously rub his face. He pulled open the car door and ducked inside, lowering his head: “Sorry, did I keep you waiting?”
The coordinator and a few grips were sitting in the car. The coordinator sister was looking down, checking documents. Hearing him, she looked up and smiled: “Not late, not late, just right… Hey, Teacher Shen, why is your face so red? Are you okay? Do you have a fever?”
At that question, the other gazes in the car turned toward him curiously.
Shen Mu’s eyes flickered, and his speaking speed unconsciously quickened: “I’m fine, I just… I just ran too quickly! Yes, I was afraid of delaying everyone’s time, so I ran all the way here. I’m a little out of breath.”
As he spoke, he raised his hand to fan himself. A young grip next to him was outspoken: “Teacher Shen, you didn’t run. Your face is red like… well, like that.”
Although he didn’t say it explicitly, the teasing tone and meaningful pause instantly made the atmosphere in the car a little ambiguous.
The more Shen Mu tried to explain, the more it sounded like he was trying to cover something up, so he simply stopped talking. Everyone present was perceptive and consciously fell silent.
Shen Mu raised his hand to touch his forehead, then pulled it back as if he’d been electrocuted.
Jiang Chengxuan… why had this person become like this now?
“Teacher Shen?” The coordinator sister handed him a schedule. “This is the general arrangement for the next half month. Please take a look. The intensive filming period might be quite demanding, so please bear with us.”
Shen Mu took a deep breath, trying to pull his focus back to work. He took the schedule: “Okay, thank you.”