ASSHKHME Chapter 61

Chapter 61: Missing You

The sunset glow filled the sky, the only vibrant color in the gray winter.

Chen Zhuo came out of the library, exhaling a cloud of cold white air. He had Bluetooth earphones in his ears, listening intently to Xie Yu speak.

He stopped in his tracks, surprised. “So, you’re going to have a sister or brother who’s nineteen years younger than you? No, next year it’ll be twenty years. If you were any worse, you could’ve given birth to them yourself.”

Xie Yu’s magnetic and clear laughter lightly brushed against Chen Zhuo’s eardrums. He said, “Tell me about it. I can’t go back today. I’m going to the hospital with my mom tomorrow for a check-up. Sigh, I don’t know what to say, it’s so sudden.”

Chen Zhuo walked along the cobblestone path, his slightly curled, short hair swaying gently in the wind. He pulled up the hood of his down jacket.

His eyelashes, dampened by the cold air, appeared even darker. Chen Zhuo spoke softly, “Don’t you mind? Being an only child for nineteen years?”

Xie Yu leaned against the windowsill, looking at the winding river not far from the window. He was silent for two seconds before saying, “Xiao Zhuo’er, I actually have selfish reasons.”

Chen Zhuo stopped, his palm covering the earphone. “What?”

Xie Yu’s voice seemed to come from far away, carrying a heaviness completely different from his usual self.

“I don’t know how to tell you this. I don’t want you to think I’m ascumbag who doesn’t want to take responsibility. It’s just, I really feel pressured. I don’t know how to face my parents in the future. We can’t keep this a secret forever, right? We can’t hide it for the rest of our lives.”

Chen Zhuo listened quietly, a smile creeping into his eyes and eyebrows.

Regardless of how his relationship with Xie Yu ended up in the future, at least at this moment, he knew that Xie Yu was seriously considering their future.

The future was truly a delightful word.

Xie Yu plucked at the large leaves of the bird of paradise plant. “Whether it’s a sister or a brother, they can share the pressure on my shoulders. When my parents find out about us someday, they can have some comfort in their hearts.”

Before Chen Zhuo could speak, Xie Yu quickly added, “Xiao Zhuo’er, even if this child didn’t exist, I wouldn’t let you have an underground relationship with me forever. I will take responsibility for our relationship, don’t misunderstand me.”

Chen Zhuo chuckled softly, his laughter scattering in the wind, filled with joy. “I know, none of that is important. What’s important is my aunt’s thoughts and her health.”

Xie Yu stopped tearing at the leaves and said softly, “What’s important is that you are important too.”

The north wind howled. Chen Zhuo gave a questioning “Hmm,” “The wind was too loud just now, I didn’t hear you clearly. What did you say?”

Xie Yu said in a sticky voice, “It’s nothing, baby, you’re so good.”

The Bluetooth earphones had excellent quality.

That clear “baby” made Chen Zhuo’s ears turn red. He stared blankly at the withered yellow grass.

Xie Yu also scratched the tip of his nose a little embarrassedly. He didn’t hear Chen Zhuo’s reply, but he heard his unsteady breathing and said softly, “Xiao Zhuo’er, I miss you.”

This time, even Chen Zhuo’s face turned completely red.

He could tease people without batting an eye, but when he was teased back, he couldn’t handle it at all, a total high offense, low defense.

Chen Zhuo tried to hide his face in his collar, afraid that people would see his joy, and whispered, “I miss you too.”

Xie Yu stopped tearing at the poor plant and started picking at the paint on the wall, pressing his luck. “Then call me ‘husband’ and let me hear it.”

Chen Zhuo laughed. “Get lost, you wish.”

Xie Yu also laughed. “You’re stingy. I’ll bring you a gift when I get back tomorrow.”

Chen Zhuo walked toward the cafeteria. “What gift?”

Xie Yu said mysteriously, “Hmm…it’s a secret.”

Chen Zhuo’s heart felt sweet. The feeling of being in love was really good, like soaking in honey. “Okay, I’ll wait. I’m almost at the cafeteria, I’ll hang up first. We can chat when I get back to the dorm.”

Xie Yu stuck to him. “Then give me a kiss.”

Chen Zhuo looked at the scattered crowd around him and quickly “mua”-ed. “Okay, okay, I’m hanging up.”

Without waiting for Xie Yu to say goodbye, Chen Zhuo hung up the phone.

The cold wind didn’t stop, but Chen Zhuo’s face grew hotter and hotter, and his heart “thumped, thumped, thumped,” screaming with first love.

“Hey! Xiao Zhuo, what are you doing? Your face is all flushed, thinking about spring?”

Jiang Song popped out from somewhere again. This time, he didn’t dare to hook his arm around him, cautiously looking around. “Where’s your husband? Not here, right?”

“What husband, don’t call me that.” Chen Zhuo touched his face with the back of his hand, stubbornly saying, “It’s from the wind.”

Jiang Song smiled slightly, his face saying: I don’t believe you.

Chen Zhuo raised his eyebrows. “Jiang Jiang, can I treat you to dinner?”

Jiang Song crossed his arms. “Sure, if you treat me to the canned rice noodles on the second floor, I’ll tell you what questions your husband asked me that night at the bar.”

Chen Zhuo nodded, very generously. “Okay, and I’ll give you an extra fried chicken leg, no, two!”

Jiang Song laughed. “Deal.”

Half an hour later, Jiang Song, with no regard for his image, gnawed on the big chicken leg, revealing everything that happened at the bar that day.

Chen Zhuo rested his cheek on his hand, not knowing what he was thinking. Looking at the rice noodles in his bowl gradually “increasing”, he picked up a chopstick and took a bite.

He could almost see Xie Yu’s tangled and struggling appearance, like a lost little wolf-dog who couldn’t find his way home, pitifully biting his tail and turning in circles.

Chen Zhuo had always thought that Xie Yu was acting impulsively, getting carried away for a moment. It turned out that he had gone through a ideological struggle, and had thought it through carefully before confessing to him.

“Xiao Zhuo, what a coincidence! I couldn’t find a seat.” Zhao Jiashu carried a bowl of rice noodles and his foggy glasses, squinting as he sat down opposite Chen Zhuo. Only then did he realize there was someone else. “Huh?”

Jiang Song met Zhao Jiashu’s scrutinizing gaze, his movement of sucking on the chicken leg bone freezing. “…”

Chen Zhuo introduced, “Jiang Song, from the Academy of Fine Arts, one year above us. This is Zhao Jiashu, my roommate.”

Zhao Jiashu wiped his glasses, put them on, and said friendly, “Hello.”

Jiang Song’s idol image fell apart before he could even put it on, so he simply didn’t care anymore. He spat out the chicken bone. “Hello.”

After Zhao Jiashu greeted him, he withdrew his gaze and focused on eating. “Yu-ge said he’s not coming back today. Is it because you two fought this morning? Why does he get so easily riled up and run away?”

Hearing this, Jiang Song “pfft” burst out laughing. “Hey, they fought? Where did they fight?”

Zhao Jiashu replied naively, “In bed, you woke me up.”

Chen Zhuo facepalmed, helplessly explaining, “Literal meaning, not that kind of fighting, and not the kind of fighting you’re thinking of.”

Jiang Song chuckled, looking at Zhao Jiashu as if he were an alien, his pair of peach blossom eyes narrowed with laughter. “You really are a standard engineering student. Fighting? Hahahaha, really good, hahahaha…”

Zhao Jiashu looked bewildered and said dissatisfied, “What are you laughing at? What do you mean?”

Chen Zhuo glared at Jiang Song and quickly interrupted this dangerous topic. “Xiao Shu, Xiao Shu, the rice noodles are going to get mushy, eat them quickly.”