TSIBAMS Chapter 23

Chapter 23

“There’s no rice at home, I guess I’ll order takeout,” Qi Guang said, poking his head in.

Ye Xing snapped back to reality, “I want barbecue.”

“You want to drink too!” Qi Guang crumpled the kitchen paper in his hand and threw it at Ye Xing.

Ye Xing reached out and steadily caught the paper ball, “No one understands me like…”

Before he could finish, Qi Guang walked up to Ye Xing and placed his hand on his forehead.

Ye Xing was stunned.

“It doesn’t seem as hot as before,” Qi Guang muttered, “The fever reducer really worked.”

“I really had a fever?” Ye Xing frowned, “I thought it was a dream.”

“So, you’re not drinking,” Qi Guang pulled out his phone and opened the takeout app.

“Then barbecue is fine too,” Ye Xing said.

Qi Guang ignored him and quickly placed an order on his phone, “Just wait.”

He looked up at the person before him, wearing his pajamas, hair a mess from sleep, looking like the master of this house, and couldn’t help but find it a bit funny.

“What are you looking at? Am I handsome?” Ye Xing said.

“Looking at your sweaty self!” Qi Guang grabbed a bath towel and pushed him into the bathroom, “Please go take a shower!”

While being forcibly pushed along, Ye Xing turned back, “Damn, what is with this guy!”

“Unless you want to go home now, don’t even think about sleeping in my bed tonight,” Qi Guang closed the door and took a set of clean pajamas and a new pair of underwear, still in the packaging, from the wardrobe.

The sound of rushing water came from the bathroom. Qi Guang was too lazy to let him open the door to get clothes, so he just tossed them on the bed.

He went to the living room, turned on the TV, and sat on the sofa.

The TV was like a half-family member to him, even though he rarely actually sat down and watched it seriously. But when he was alone at home, he would usually turn on the TV, any channel, just as long as there was sound.

At least with the sound, the loneliness wouldn’t feel so real.

But in fact, when Ye Xing was there, he didn’t have the desire to turn on the TV. It was just that today’s Ye Xing was too hard to coax, always absent-minded, his smile like a puppet. He really needed the TV to bring some sound, or rather, the air of normal life to the house.

When Ye Xing finished his shower, the takeout had already arrived. He opened the bathroom door, wrapped in a bath towel, with a room full of steam that followed him out, looking a bit inappropriate.

Qi Guang said, “Clothes are on the bed.”

Perhaps because the TV was too loud, Ye Xing frowned, “What did you say?”

Qi Guang sighed, went into the room, and handed him the pajamas from the bed, “Wear this.”

“Thanks,” Ye Xing took the clothes.

“And this,” Qi Guang handed him the new underwear as well.

Ye Xing swallowed, and there was a slight awkwardness in the air.

Seeing that he didn’t reach out, Qi Guang added, “It’s new, never worn, no need to thank me.”

Ye Xing came out after changing, “Qi Guang, I think your nanny-like qualities are getting worse.”

“Young Master Ye, it’s time to eat,” Qi Guang said, head down, arranging the dishes.

On the coffee table was a plate of fried noodles and a bowl of porridge.

At this time of day, almost no one made porridge anymore. Luckily, Shuai Xiaoyun’s family restaurant offered late-night snacks, and Qi Guang had asked them to make a light bowl of porridge, leading to this strange combination.

“Don’t tell me this porridge is for me,” Ye Xing said, sitting on the sofa.

Qi Guang moved the porridge over, “Congratulations, you guessed it.”

“Damn it!” Ye Xing looked defeated.

“Be civilized, you’re almost an adult,” Qi Guang said.

“No,” Ye Xing asked, “Why do you get to eat fried noodles, and I have to eat this porridge? Is this your way of treating guests?”

“The guest treatment of two sets of pajamas a day, even a five-star hotel doesn’t have this luxury,” Qi Guang smiled at him, “Young Master Ye, you should be content.”

“Shut up!” Ye Xing unhappily took a spoonful of porridge and put it in his mouth.

“That’s more like it,” Qi Guang said, “I’ll treat you to something good after you get better.”

Ye Xing looked at him, “Treat me to what? Anything less than 500 per person wouldn’t impress Young Master Ye.”

“Damn it!” Qi Guang sighed, “If I cook it myself, it would be 1000 per person!”

“You can cook?” Ye Xing asked.

“So, Young Master Ye might need to pay me back 500,” Qi Guang said, taking a bite of noodles and putting it in his mouth.

Ye Xing shook his head, “Is this joke never going to end!”

“What joke? Is it about 500 again, Young Master Ye? You have so many jokes,” Qi Guang said.

Ye Xing, who had been frowning, didn’t say anything, but couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Please don’t laugh, it looks worse than crying,” Qi Guang continued eating.

“Damn it!”

Just then, Ye Xing’s phone rang. The caller ID was Zhou Tian.

He had been wanting to say this since he woke up. Why was Zhou Tian always blowing up his phone every time he didn’t come home at night? This guy was even more dedicated than the school dormitory auntie.

“Hello,” Ye Xing answered the phone.

“Ye Xing!!!!!! I thought you were kidnapped?” Zhou Tian exclaimed on the phone.

Qi Guang, who was eating noodles nearby, couldn’t help but cover his ears.

Ye Xing glanced at him and then said, “I was sleeping all afternoon, didn’t hear it.”

“Where were you sleeping?” Zhou Tian asked.

Did he need to know where he was sleeping?

If he told the truth, considering Zhou Tian’s persistent nature, he would probably have to start from when he went out and fought Chen Hui.

Ye Xing helplessly turned his head and saw his clothes from the day hanging on the balcony. It looked like they had been washed and were drying. He silently gave the nanny Qi a thumbs up in his heart.

He quickly came back to his senses, organized his thoughts, and was about to answer when Zhou Tian interrupted him again, “You still have your keys with me!”

“Ke…keys? How are they with you?” Ye Xing was almost tongue-tied by the sudden interruption.

Qi Guang looked up at him.

“Auntie Fang gave them to me when she left this afternoon. She said you left your keys at home and asked me to give them to you,” Zhou Tian said.

“Then keep them, I’ll get them from you tomorrow,” Ye Xing said.

Zhou Tian exclaimed again on the other end of the phone, “You’re not going home today??”

Ye Xing quickly pulled the phone away, “We’re playing games, gotta go, see you tomorrow!”

After dinner, Qi Guang was so tired he couldn’t keep his eyes open. It was said that using your brain a lot when studying made you tired. This long-lost feeling gave him some peace of mind. He went straight to the bathroom to shower.

While Qi Guang was showering, Ye Xing cleaned up the leftover takeout containers and trash and threw them downstairs.

Before going to sleep, Qi Guang forced Ye Xing to take his temperature. Seeing that his temperature was completely normal, he closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

He slept until the next afternoon. When Qi Guang opened his eyes, he jumped up, “Oh no!”

Oh no, today was the bar’s opening day.

“No, it’s not over!” Ye Xing, who was reading in the study, called out, “It’s only one in the afternoon.”

Qi Guang breathed a sigh of relief. The bar opened at six, so he could get up, clean himself up, and then head over.

He washed his face in the bathroom, brushing his teeth as he peeked into the study, “You’ve been up for a while?”

“I slept too much yesterday afternoon, so I didn’t sleep much last night,” Ye Xing said, not looking up from his book.

Qi Guang tilted his head, “What are you reading so seriously?”

Ye Xing held up the book, the cover facing Qi Guang –

“Stories of the Sahara.”

“Ah, a book by San Mao,” Qi Guang went back to the bathroom to rinse the toothpaste from his mouth, “Her writing is quite interesting. I finished her complete works in one go.”

“It is quite interesting. I must go to the Sahara and take some photos in the future,” Ye Xing replied.

“You like taking photos?” Qi Guang asked, “Could you be a professional?”

“No, I got a DSLR when I graduated from junior high. I took a class during the summer vacation, but I didn’t listen much to the theory. I only understood the three parameters and knew how to press the shutter. So, it’s just a hobby,” Ye Xing explained.

“Hmm, still an expensive hobby,” Qi Guang dried his hands and went back to the room to find his phone, “What do you want for lunch?”

“I ordered takeout, it should be here soon,” Ye Xing said.

Qi Guang walked to the study, looking at him, “If I hadn’t woken up, would you have eaten it all by yourself?”

He put down his book and looked at Qi Guang in disbelief, who had turned into a three-year-old, raising his voice and saying, “Little Qi, do you know how long you’ve been sleeping? If you hadn’t woken up, I would have thought you passed out. I don’t have any survival skills, I would have had to call 120!”

With that much lung capacity, it seemed like he was back to life today.

Qi Guang smiled softly in his heart.

When Qi Guang rode his motorcycle and dropped Ye Xing off downstairs, Zhou Tian was at the entrance of the store playing hopscotch with a child.

The white chalk lines on the ground were not very clear, but the two boys, one big and one small, were hopping on one foot and then landing on both, having a great time.

Ye Xing hadn’t taken off his helmet yet, and shouted at Zhou Tian, “Little Zhou sister!”

“You motherf… Qi… Ye Xing?” Zhou Tian left the child and walked towards them.

“Long time no see,” Ye Xing hung his helmet on the rearview mirror.

“Why are you wearing Qi Guang’s clothes again? I almost didn’t recognize you,” Zhou Tian looked at Ye Xing and then at Qi Guang, “You guys really have similar builds.”

Qi Guang was still sitting on the motorcycle, “Long time no see, my former desk mate.”

Zhou Tian sighed, “This ‘former desk mate’ sounds like an ex, the kind that steals my best friend!”

Ye Xing was amused, “Don’t be sad, my mom even gave you my house keys, it’s a good deal!”

“Oh yeah,” Zhou Tian pulled out a set of keys from his pocket and gave them to him, then said, “Auntie Fang is really too kind. Did you tell her that you often eat at my place? She added my WeChat and insisted on giving me a red envelope, but I didn’t accept it.”

“Please give my WeChat to Auntie, this guy eats, drinks, and sleeps for free at my place!” Qi Guang interjected.

Ye Xing glared at Qi Guang.

Zhou Tian laughed uncontrollably, “Why does it sound like you’re having such a miserable time?”

Ye Xing didn’t say anything, nor did he laugh.

“The 1984 bar is opening at six this afternoon. You guys should both come,” Qi Guang changed the subject, “Ye Xing knows the address.”

Zhou Tian made an OK gesture, still not forgetting his original topic, “Was it your dad who came to pick up Auntie Fang yesterday? He looked quite young, and the car he was driving looked very expensive!”

To be honest, Ye Xing didn’t know who Fang Rong left with, but it wasn’t important to him. Whether it was an uncle, a distant relative or a trustworthy partner, he had no desire to know.

He answered indifferently, “No.”

Qi Guang glanced at him and said to Zhou Tian, “How will you guys get there later? Take my sister with you too, by the way.”

When it came to a crucial moment, your sister could be sold out.

As expected, Zhou Tian’s attention was immediately diverted, looking excited, “Sister Xiaoyun is going too? Where do I pick her up?”

“She’s probably reading at home right now, I’ll give her a call later,” Qi Guang said, putting on his helmet.

“Okay! Okay!” Zhou Tian looked delighted.

“I’m leaving now, see you later,” Qi Guang said and started the motorcycle.