EAY Chapter 57

Consumption Concepts

Consumption Concepts

57

“I don’t want to move,” Li Tianyi collapsed on his seat, watching the others bustling around. When he saw Qi Ye helping Shi Ran put on his quilt cover, he sighed, “When can I have a best friend like Qi Ge?”

No one paid him any attention, so he continued, “Shi Ran, I feel like you’re quite independent and don’t really need anyone to take care of you. How about giving Qi Ge to me, okay?”

Still no reaction. Li Tianyi suggested again, “I’ll pay, Qi Ge, I’ll pay you to take care of me, how about it?”

A pillow smacked Li Tianyi in the face. Meng Nan couldn’t help but say, “That’s enough, hurry up and tidy up, or you won’t get any sleep tonight.”

“I’m so tired, how are you guys so amazing? Sitting on the bus for so long… Oh, wait, Shi Ran and Qi Ye don’t count. Meng Nan, you’re the real warrior! You started yesterday and only arrived today. But why do you still look so energetic? I just felt like I couldn’t take it anymore as soon as I woke up this morning,” Li Tianyi said. “How do you maintain your energy? Teach me.”

“You know the answer, with the environment in my hometown, if I had a physique like yours, I would have starved to death long ago,” Meng Nan said, reaching out his hand to him. “Fifty yuan, and I’ll make your bed and fetch water for you.”

“Really?” Li Tianyi carefully examined his expression. When he realized he wasn’t joking, he began to ponder, “Is that expensive or cheap? Are you trying to rip me off?”

“Oh, you’ve gotten smart, kid. Back in the day, I could ask for a hundred yuan and you’d happily agree,” Meng Nan said.

Li Tianyi took out his phone. “I’ll ask my girlfriend.”

“I advise you not to,” Meng Nan said.

Li Tianyi didn’t believe him and insisted on asking. Before long, his girlfriend called, her voice so loud that the entire dormitory could hear her: “Li Tianyi, are you missing hands and feet?! You’re perfectly healthy and not sick, why are you spending money to have someone else make your bed! If you dare spend that money today, you’re finished! Save the money and come eat barbecue with me tonight!”

Meng Nan picked at his ear. “I told you not to call, serves you right.”

Shi Ran, sitting on the upper bunk, said, “I remember your Xiao Ning being a very gentle girl, how can she be so fierce? Li Tianyi, reflect on your behavior.”

Li Tianyi, however, looked as if he was enjoying it, clutching his phone to his chest. “You guys don’t understand, this is my girlfriend’s way of caring about me. Besides, she’s never been the gentle type, otherwise, how could she have done something like confessing downstairs in the dorm building? Do you guys remember?”

Shi Ran turned to watch Qi Ye put on the quilt cover. Meng Nan also went back to doing his own things. Li Tianyi was still happily saying, “She’s scolding me for my own good, to keep me from spending money recklessly.”

Meng Nan said, “I remember now, you guys had a fight about spending money before too, right? She returned the necklace or bracelet you bought her, didn’t she?”

“Yeah, actually, Xiao Ning isn’t stingy at all, she’s very generous to her friends and everything. It’s just that she believes money should be spent wisely. In her view, buying brand names isn’t necessary, too much makeup isn’t necessary, and spending money to buy services just for enjoyment like I was about to do is even more unnecessary.” Li Tianyi scratched the back of his head. “I admire her consumption habits now, but I vaguely feel that we might argue about this kind of thing in the future.”

Shi Ran was surprised. “You can predict that?”

Li Tianyi said, “I wouldn’t call it predicting, just a feeling, I guess. Like once during this winter vacation, I suddenly went to see her. I thought she would be especially happy and surprised, but actually, Xiao Ning was more concerned about the plane ticket costs. And also, the hotel I booked was canceled by her, and then she changed it to a cheap hotel. The bed was too hard, the walls were too thin, and the window was so small, I didn’t sleep well at all.”

Meng Nan couldn’t help but say, “You deserve it, you couldn’t wait to go see her after only a few days of winter vacation, and you went so suddenly. Oh, do your girlfriend’s parents know she’s in a relationship? Has she told her family?”

“Definitely not, her family is just like mine, they like to ask all sorts of questions, it’s annoying.”

“That’s the thing, what if her family found out when you suddenly went? You brought her more than just a little trouble,” Meng Nan said. “As for the hotel thing, she was just trying to save you money.”

Qi Ye had finished putting the quilt cover on Shi Ran’s quilt and folding it. The two of them leaned against the quilts, scrolling through their phones, listening to the two of them talking.

“Well, I’m just a little depressed, actually, Xiao Ning is very generous to me. That day, she took me everywhere to eat, wanting to introduce me to all the foods she’s loved since she was little. It’s just a pity that my appetite is too small.” Saying this, Li Tianyi felt even more that he should perform better, otherwise, he wouldn’t have a chance to go to his girlfriend’s place for good food in the future.

Li Tianyi pondered, “I feel like my girlfriend is eager to be independent. Although her allowance isn’t small, it seems like she’s always under a lot of pressure when spending her parents’ money. If I keep spending my parents’ money and keep being a useless person in the future, will Xiao Ning look down on me and break up with me?”

Meng Nan said, “Yes.”

The two on the upper bunk, who were scrolling through their phones, mumbled, “This, we’re not sure.”

Shi Ran was missing the sweet and sour pork ribs from the cafeteria. He went to eat with Qi Ye that night. He went to occupy a more private spot by the window, and Qi Ye went to get the food.

“It seems like it’s pretty happy at university too,” Shi Ran said to Qi Ye with a smile, taking the chopsticks. “You don’t have to do anything yourself to eat, the prices are fair, there are many options, the taste is pretty good, and you don’t have to wash the dishes.”

“Isn’t Grandpa’s cooking also very good?” Qi Ye sat down opposite him.

Shi Ran said, “Well, my grandpa’s cooking skills are okay, but he doesn’t like to cook, and I don’t like to cook either, and I make it kind of terrible. Like for breakfast, we always buy it outside. For lunch and dinner, we either cook noodles or instant noodles. I used to often make that kind of thing at home, just boil a pot of green vegetables and meatballs or something, and then add salt and light soy sauce, even that tastes better than the dishes I painstakingly stir-fry.”

Qi Ye put the ribs in his plate for Shi Ran. “It’s pretty much the same as the way you make spicy hot pot or hot pot.”

“That’s right, my family eats hot pot every winter, using that electric hot pot, we don’t cook anything else at all. I remember one year, Grandpa bought a box of white radishes and cabbage back, and I ate so much that winter, I’m sick of seeing those two vegetables.”

Coincidentally, besides the sweet and sour pork ribs, Qi Ye also got braised beef with radish and cabbage. He looked at the dishes helplessly. “I’ll get you two different dishes again.”

Shi Ran stopped him with a smile. “Sit down, sit down, that was a long time ago, I still love to eat radish and cabbage now.”

“I actually like to cook quite a bit. When I first came back from the countryside as a kid, I wasn’t very close to my parents and sister, so I would always watch my dad cook in the kitchen, and then I would follow along, slowly helping out. Then Dad even bought me a small apron and taught me some simple dishes. When I made a decent plate of scrambled eggs with tomatoes, I realized that my relationship with my family had improved.”

Shi Ran listened blankly. “Wow, so it seems that cooking became the opportunity for you to break the ice with your family.”

“Yeah, isn’t there a saying that the kitchen is the warmth of a home?” Qi Ye leaned forward, revealing a handsome smile. “So you don’t have to worry, I’ll take care of that warmth in the future.”

“Hey, what are you saying?” Realizing what he meant, Shi Ran’s face turned slightly red.

He buried himself in his meal. As he ate, he felt that there was nothing to be shy about. If he could really form a family with Qi Ye, it would really be a pretty happy thing.

Shi Ran took the initiative and said, “Then, it seems like we won’t argue about cooking in the future.”

“No, we won’t. I’ll take care of everything in the kitchen.”

“The kitchen is really not a small matter. I’ve lived with my grandfather for so many years, and we often argue about cooking. I won’t be so ignorant in the future.”

“I’m not making myself suffer, I really like doing these things.” Qi Ye paused, then continued, “It’s all empty words to say too much now, anyway, you just wait and see.”

“Then I’ll look forward to it.” Shi Ran smiled. “I’m also looking forward to what we’ll argue about in the future.”

“Why think about those things?”

“It’s natural to think about them. Look at Li Tianyi, who’s so carefree, he’s thinking about so many random things just from being in a relationship. I can definitely think more than him,” Shi Ran looked at Qi Ye with a happy expression. “But right now, I can’t think of anything.”