Chapter 25 What Are the Two Little People Doing

Chapter 25 What Are These Two Little People Up To?

"And these two, why is one sprawled on the other's back?"

"..."

"And, and..."

"Stop!"

Taking a deep breath, Shu Yangkuo abruptly snatched Shi Zai's phone and quickly deleted the photos. Sure enough, without even a glance, the boy had run off to cause trouble.

In theory, these were cultural relics—part of culture. Looking at them was fine, but who would take photos and then foolishly run back to ask about them? As for why he was so secretive, it was simply because the little pup wasn’t mature enough yet; these things had to be introduced gradually.

At least wait until he turned twenty.

Even though the photos were deleted, the images of three different poses were already seared into his mind: one embracing, one from behind, one on top… Even someone who didn’t understand would start imagining things and quickly figure it all out.

Shi Zai snorted. So that’s how it was. Touching and such were just appetizers—he hadn’t even gotten to the main course yet.

"Bro, I want that too."

"...Copy the characters you just wrote thirty more times."

"Why?!"

"...To calm your mind."

Hearing this, Shi Zai slammed the table and stood with his hands on his hips.

"Don’t get all flustered about sex!"

"..."

"This is procreation culture—it symbolizes the passing on of life! It’s also part of human instinct and nature. Even Confucius said, 'Food and sex are human nature.' What’s there to avoid?!"

"...Who taught you that?"

After a pause, Shi Zai grinned. He knew this guy was old-fashioned and would lecture him, so when he overheard a couple discussing the pottery figurines, he memorized everything one of them said. Sure enough, it came in handy now.

After saying all this, Shi Zai noticed the other burying his face in a book, refusing to engage. He sprawled across the book, blocking it.

"Bro, no wonder you like my butt."

"...?"

"Tonight you can put it in... Mmm!"

Shi Zai’s mouth was covered, but he stubbornly finished the last word, "in," before making two more muffled sounds and finally being released.

Pushing him down to sit properly, Shu Yangkuo, his ears burning red, went back to reviewing documents. He really had nothing to say—why did such things have to be talked about endlessly? The little pup was too annoying; he regretted bringing him along. It never occurred to him that Shi Zai would run off and see such things—Shu Yangkuo hadn’t even seen them himself.

After writing for a while, Shi Zai remembered another photo he forgot to take.

"Bro, why is there a lone chicken?"

"..."

"Was it cut off and then made into pottery? Sheesh, I knew it. Good thing I didn’t let you cut mine off in the beginning, otherwise— Mmm..."

Struggling free from the hand covering his mouth, Shi Zai glared, utterly speechless.

Suddenly, an idea struck him. His eyes lit up, and he leaned in.

"Bro, can you play with yourself?"

"...Not allowed!"

"Why are you getting mad at me? I didn’t say anything, just guessing. You have one, why would I need a fake?"

"...You’re not allowed to use your hands on yourself either in the future."

Wow, so domineering. It was the first time he’d seen this side of the man. Shi Zai’s eyes sparkled again—he loved it.

He’d never done it himself anyway, so he nodded eagerly like a chick pecking at rice.

"Okay, okay, only Brother gets to touch me. I’m really fun, especially the butt you love the most. I’m waiting for you— Mmm..."

Shu Yangkuo wished he could seal this little mouth that kept talking about "chicken" and "butt." He really didn’t understand—were boys this age only interested in this? Especially once the floodgates opened, it was like a starved pup seeing a meaty bone—he wouldn't let go once he got hold of it.

No matter what was said, it always circled back to this.

If this continued, the little pup would overindulge and harm himself.

He was also at a loss. If he didn’t let him get a taste of it, who knew how long he’d keep obsessing every day? Shu Yangkuo felt Shi Zai was so fixated he was almost obsessed, thinking about it with every blink. Like a pup in heat, Shu Yangkuo chuckled to himself.

Just as he turned a page, the pup in heat started whining beside him, "I’m starving, I’m starving!" Shu Yangkuo sighed helplessly.

"Endure it."

"???"

"Recite those scriptures I taught you. Calm your mind."

"??? No way? Hahaha, you’re gonna be the death of me! You tell me not to think wild thoughts, but you’re the one thinking them!"

Shi Zai laughed so hard he collapsed onto the table, then suddenly realized.

"Bro, does that mean we can do it tonight??!"

"..."

Only then did Shu Yangkuo snap back to reality, his ears burning red. The little pup was talking about being hungry.

Checking the time, he saw it was already twenty minutes after quitting time. He quickly gathered the documents on the desk and wordlessly took Shi Zai to the cafeteria. No matter how much Shi Zai asked along the way, Shu Yangkuo didn't say a word.

Finally, when Shi Zai threatened, "I’m going to shout it out," Shu Yangkuo reluctantly said, "Wait until your birthday."

Shi Zai was still unhappy—his birthday was over half a month away. Hmph, he had plenty of ways to wear him down.

"Bro, my ID card has the wrong date. Actually, today is my birthday."

"..."

"Then tomorrow?"

"..."

Even after finishing dinner that night, Shi Zai was still revising his birthday, insisting until he said "May 6th," and the stubborn man finally agreed.

Ugh, that day was actually his birthday.

Fine, fine. To keep him from getting the wrong idea about their generational gap, he'd just wait till he turned twenty. Otherwise, one starting with the number "one" and the other with "two"... heh heh, he thought. He didn’t see anything wrong with it—firstly, he was already an adult, and secondly, there wasn’t that big of an age gap between them, just eight years.

But then again, Shu Yangkuo was practically an old-fashioned man and had even lived as a practicing monk for a time, so it made sense that he’d be more conservative.

That night, though, there wasn’t even any touching. Shu Yangkuo said he had to work overtime, so Shi Zai didn’t pester him. He knew he’d slowed down the man’s work progress by disturbing him in the morning, and he also understood that Shu Yangkuo wanted to build a better life for them as quickly as possible. This was a critical period for working hard, and Shi Zai knew when to be serious.

He had his own things to keep him busy too—reciting the sutra? Just thinking about how much he had to do cleared his head of distractions.

Early the next morning, Shi Zai really did wake up at three. The moment he moved, the person beside him woke up. Yang Yun had wanted to come along before, but Shi Zai absolutely refused. "Pink dumpling" (Yang Yun's nickname) was still young, shorter than others his age, and in his final two years of growth—he needed proper rest, otherwise what if he didn’t grow taller? But with Shu Yangkuo, he really had no choice but to bring him along. He already felt guilty about keeping things from him.

After this, he’d have to quickly set up deals with the restaurants. That way, he wouldn’t have to work so hard himself and would still have time to study the characters.

Chunyang Square was still swarming with people. It had to be said, working together really made things faster. After just an hour of selling, Shi Zai estimated they’d already made two mornings' worth of money. He was over here making pancakes, while Shu Yangkuo handled taking money and bagging orders. Neither of them stopped for a moment.

By late April, the days were getting hotter and hotter. Today, just looking at the sun, you could tell it was going to be a scorcher. Shi Zai was so hot that sweat was soaking his hair. He was wearing a specially bought chef’s hat to keep sweat from falling on the counter and making it unsanitary, so he had to bear it, but it was frustrating—especially since he was stationed at the hot griddle with hardly a minute of downtime. While a batch of pancakes was on the griddle, Shi Zai just stripped off his tank top, immediately feeling much more comfortable.

He hadn’t even had two seconds to relax when Shu Yangkuo turned around, stern-faced:

“Put your clothes on.”

“It’s hot, I’ll just go without it for a bit.”

Right after he said that, an elderly man buying pancakes laughed, and there was also a woman covering her mouth as she giggled.

Shi Zai’s face flushed slightly—not because people were laughing at him for being shirtless, but actually because they were laughing at the fact that someone his age was still being told what to do!

He wouldn't put it back on.

As more people gathered, Shi Zai helped bag the pancakes. During a brief two-second break, he turned and saw that Shu Yangkuo had also stripped off his shirt! Shi Zai immediately “hmph!” he said, understanding exactly what he meant, but purposely not giving him the satisfaction. He blinked and laughed:

“Bro, you look so handsome like this! Such big pecs, such hard abs, such broad shoulders! I love it! You should keep it like this all the time!”

“...”

Flustered by three compliments in a row, Shu Yangkuo bore it, ignoring him, and continued selling pancakes.

Within seconds, more people arrived. Shi Zai kneaded dough while admiring the handsome man, almost needing to wipe drool from his mouth. The sun hung high in the eastern sky, casting Shu Yangkuo in a radiant glow. His solid muscles shimmered, his broad shoulders and impressive build standing out strikingly in the crowd. His precise movements exuded an air of restraint, while his bare chest and loose pants gave off a devil-may-care charm.

A shirtless Shu Yangkuo was just a rugged, heart-stoppingly handsome man!

He really wanted to throw himself against that tall man’s chest for some kisses and hugs. Tsk.

It seemed he wasn’t the only one thinking that. Shi Zai glanced suddenly at the customers—a bespectacled, refined-looking man had already been sneakily checking out Shu Yangkuo several times. That look in his eyes... now that Shi Zai understood everything, he could tell at a glance: the man was “craving” his Bro’s body!!

Shi Zai put his shirt back on. In less than a second, the stinky man stopped selling pancakes and put his own shirt back on too.

Over the next few days, the early summer heat officially set in. Shi Zai never went shirtless again, and even took the opportunity during a lull to lecture him:

“From now on, even if I go shirtless, you’re not allowed to, understand?!”

“...”

“If you try to discipline me like that again, I’ll really cry!”

“…Okay, Bro won’t do it again.”

Hearing that, Shi Zai still wasn’t satisfied:

“Hmph, you’re not allowed to let anyone else look at you! If anyone looks at you, it’s your fault!”

“…I know. I absolutely won’t.”

“What are you laughing at?!”

Shi Zai pursed his lips. Actually, he didn’t even need to say it—he trusted Shu Yangkuo completely. Whenever this man wasn’t around him, his face only had four words written all over it: “Strangers, keep away.” He’d once scared Bai Jixiang so badly that the guy didn’t dare call him for a good while.

Perfect—handsome, and only for his eyes.

They were busy all the way until the end of April, to the point where they didn’t even have time to do anything at night. They sold pancakes together in the morning, and between late morning and noon, Shi Zai rushed around contacting restaurants. In the afternoon, he made pancakes to sell in the residential complex, and in the evening, he practiced writing characters. After work, Shu Yangkuo put in overtime every night. Shi Zai knew it was so he could secure another three-month contract next month, so he didn’t bother him. They were both working hard together.

Yesterday, Shi Zai finally reached agreements with three restaurants—he could relax a bit now. Yang Yun hadn’t been idle either; every day, he brought his tools home and practiced carving patterns with the clay Shi Zai bought him, wanting to learn quickly so he could earn money alongside his big brother and older brother.

Shi Zai told him not to rush. He calculated the earnings from the past ten or so days—it was nearly equivalent to three months’ salary for an entry-level worker.

It was the weekend, and both the big and little ones had the day off, so Shi Zai took them out for a stroll. They’d been in Chengzhou for almost a month but had never gone out to have fun. Today wasn’t exactly for fun either—Shi Zai wanted to buy them each something new.

Consider it a gift. Shi Zai wasn’t like Shu Yangkuo, who gave deeply meaningful presents. "Pink dumpling" was pretty clever too—a couple days ago, he gave each of them a little pottery flower. Only Shi Zai had never properly given a gift. Well, he had, but his gifts were practical items, heh heh.

He bought Shu Yangkuo two suits—he really loved how his Bro looked in a suit. There was a term in novels, “a refined scoundrel,” and that was exactly it. He also bought him a wristwatch. After all, he was a cultured man working in a museum—he needed to dress the part to better complement that scholarly vibe.

For Yang Yun, he bought a bicycle. "Pink dumpling’s" classes were nine stops away from home, the farthest among the three of them. Shi Zai wasn’t going to the recording studio anymore, so he couldn’t accompany him on the way. The area around his class was always crowded with students, and Yang Yun often had to squeeze onto buses, sometimes even waiting for the next one. That’s why Shi Zai thought of getting him a bike—a four or five-kilometer ride was much faster than taking the bus, and it would allow him to come home for lunch too.

It would also help him exercise and grow taller faster.

After shopping, the three brothers had lunch at Chunyang Food Court.

Just after leaving Chunyang Square, Shi Zai spotted someone in the distance and suddenly froze, his heart tightening.