Chapter 43

Chapter 43

Shen Yue swore he definitely didn't mean to call Wei Jinchuan a "dumbass."

After having given Wei Jinchuan so much grief earlier, he genuinely wanted to flirt properly and play along with the situation. But whether his brain short-circuited or Wei Jinchuan was truly an idiot, the terms "silly goose" and "goofball" that had been swirling in his mind for so long somehow just came out as something else.

At this moment, Wei Jinchuan—who had thoughtfully made ginger soup for Shen Yue and silently taken over the chore of cooking—was suddenly insulted, his eyes filled with disbelief: "You're calling me that?"

"That's not an insult!" Shen Yue racked his brains. "It's a term of endearment... Alright, don't dwell on it. Help me serve some rice, not too much."

Shen Yue deftly changed the subject.

Wei Jinchuan grumbled, "Why do you always need others to do everything for you?"

Despite saying this, he still served Shen Yue a large bowl of rice.

Shen Yue looked at the rice that almost completely occupied the space for his dishes and cursed inwardly again: *Doesn't understand human language.*

He was a meat-lover but preferred lean meat over fatty cuts. While he could tolerate it during business dinners, he was much pickier in private. Even slightly fatty meat was unpalatable to him. Unfortunately, Wei Jinchuan had made braised pork. Shen Yue longingly inhaled the meaty aroma wafting from the plate but pointedly didn't touch it with his chopsticks.

The other dish was spicy chicken. Shen Yue had no particular issue with chicken itself, but it was either bony or included skin. The soft texture of skin was no different from fatty meat to him. As for bones... Shen Yue had always been an elegant person. He disliked gnawing on bones for a mere morsel of meat at the expense of his image—though the main reason was actually the hassle. Thus, the second seemingly delicious dish was also vetoed.

Fortunately, there was still a plate of green pepper and potato slices on the table. As Shen Yue's favorite vegetarian dish, potatoes undoubtedly saved his life at this moment.

With clear focus, Shen Yue didn't even glance at the two meat dishes, focusing solely on the potato slices.

Wei Jinchuan asked curiously, "You don't eat meat?"

"No, I don't," Shen Yue offered an insincere smile. "I'm a vegetarian."

"..." Recalling the few times he'd eaten with Shen Yue, where the other had been a total carnivore, Wei Jinchuan felt something was off.

Just as he was about to say something, he suddenly noticed Shen Yue frown. Shen Yue slightly bent over, pulled out a tissue, held it to his mouth, and made a face as he spat something out.

Wei Jinchuan's heart sank, thinking his cooking wasn't to Shen Yue's taste. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Shen Yue took a sip of water, crumpled the used tissue into a ball, and tossed it into the trash. "Ate some garlic."

"..." In all his years, Wei Jinchuan had never seen anyone react so strongly to eating garlic.

He explained, "Adding garlic makes it taste better."

Shen Yue had never cooked, so he didn't understand this. However, Wei Jinchuan's skills were indeed not bad—they could even rival Shen Cuo's, which was high praise in Shen Yue's book. So, he reluctantly accepted the explanation.

Thinking of Shen Cuo, Shen Yue began to feel nostalgic. In the past, whenever his brother cooked for him, he would always pick out the things Shen Yue disliked eating. A situation like today had never occurred before.

"Hey, bro?"

After finishing the meal, and with the rain still falling, Shen Yue didn't feel like moving at all. He continued lazing on the sofa by the floor-to-ceiling window, his voice husky and lazy: "What's up? What made you suddenly call me?"

Having just eaten, his voice carried a sense of contentment, and his languid tone was like a hook, making whoever heard it feel a restless itch.

Shen Cuo paused: "What are you doing?"

Listening to the rain outside, Shen Yue narrowed his eyes in comfort: "Just finished eating. Don't feel like doing anything, just want to lie here."

Shen Cuo moved to a quieter place: "When are you coming back?"

"Not sure yet. It's raining here; flights are canceled. Don't know when they'll resume."

Shen Cuo said: "Next Friday is Grandma's birthday. Can you make it back?"

Hearing the word "Grandma," Shen Yue, who had been lying on the sofa in a daze, instantly sobered up.

It was as if a string tied around his brain had been pulled taut. The hand holding the phone suddenly went pale, and his index finger seemed to lose strength, curling unconsciously.

Shen Cuo: "It's fine if you don't want to come back. I'll talk to Mom and Dad. Just stay in Jiangcheng and relax. I'll come keep you company once I finish up these busy days."

Shen Yue's heart tightened. He was currently living with Wei Jinchuan and definitely didn't dare let his brother come stay with him.

He feigned nonchalance: "No need, I'm not a kid anymore. If word gets out, Zhao Lian will laugh at me again."

Shen Cuo was silent for a moment but didn't insist: "How's my place? Anything uncomfortable?"

"None," Shen Yue joked, "It's perfect living alone. The location's great, and they sell everything you could want downstairs. It almost makes me want to settle down here."

Shen Cuo let out a very rare laugh: "It's a bit small, but..."

Before he could finish, Wei Jinchuan walked out after washing the dishes, pulling a few tissues to dry his hands. Seeing Shen Yue chatting happily on the phone with someone, he decided to butt in: "Who are you talking to so happily?"

His voice wasn't too loud or soft, but as Wei Jinchuan walked over to Shen Yue, his words clearly traveled through the phone to Shen Cuo's ears far away in Haicheng.

Shen Cuo's voice on the phone cut off abruptly, followed by a heart-pounding, deadly silence. After what felt like an eternity, Shen Cuo's voice came through again: "Who's there?"

Shen Yue wanted to explain but, in his panic, accidentally ended the call.

Damn it.

He looked at the call-ended notification on his phone screen lying face-up on his lap, his eyelashes trembling slightly.

Wei Jinchuan, seeing his pale expression, thought it was due to not handling the earlier rain properly. Remembering the ginger soup he'd kept warm in the pot, he quickly brought it over.

He had followed Shen Yue's suggestion and added plenty of sugar, even tasting it himself to confirm it wasn't unpleasant, before handing it to Shen Yue.

Worried Shen Yue might refuse to drink it, he explained: "I added sugar. It's not spicy."

Shen Yue looked up at him, his face expressionless, yet more unsettling than outright anger.

Wei Jinchuan didn't know what he'd done wrong this time, but Shen Yue's expression reminded him of when the other had given him the cold shoulder before. Instantly feeling extremely wronged, he found himself stubbornly holding onto the bowl of ginger soup without letting go.

Shen Yue grew even more irritated. He didn't know why his brother particularly disliked Wei Jinchuan. He'd turned a blind eye to all his previous lovers, but when it came to Wei Jinchuan, he refused to make any exceptions. That's why Shen Yue hadn't told his brother about Wei Jinchuan staying with him. Who would have thought it'd be such a coincidence that this guy spoke up while he was on the phone with his brother, and worse, his brother heard it? It felt like cutting off any escape route.

And he couldn't even blame anyone—Wei Jinchuan hadn't done it on purpose. He'd had a busy day, and after finishing, he'd just asked who Shen Yue was talking to. If Shen Yue made a big deal out of that, wouldn't it make him seem utterly ungrateful after enjoying Wei Jinchuan's attentions all day?

Shen Yue irritably ran his hand through his hair, only able to pray his brother hadn't recognized Wei Jinchuan's voice.

But his hopes were clearly dashed. After the call ended, his brother sent him three messages in a row.

The first contained little information, just a question mark.

The second was equally concise, just a name: [Wei Jinchuan?]

The third: [I want an explanation within ten minutes.]

Shen Yue couldn't explain. After reading these three messages that were so characteristic of his brother, his heart sank.

Wei Jinchuan pressed his lips together, his arm slightly unsteady from holding the same position for too long.

After a brief standoff with Shen Yue, the other man completely ignored him and went back to his phone. The thought annoyed Wei Jinchuan, so he lowered the ginger soup slightly to ensure it was within Shen Yue’s line of sight and said, his voice cold, "Ginger soup."

But how could Shen Yue possibly be in the mood for soup now?

He was already upset because of Shen Cuo’s messages, and Wei Jinchuan, with absolutely no tact, kept going on about that "soup." He pushed the porcelain bowl away, splashing a few drops: "I don’t want it."

He didn’t even glance at Wei Jinchuan, his mind wholly occupied by the phone. Anger surged in Wei Jinchuan, especially since he had caught a glimpse of Shen Yue’s screen earlier—it was clearly a chat interface.

Shen Yue was chatting with another man, right in front of him!

The anger he had barely suppressed once again seized his heart. Stubbornly, Wei Jinchuan raised the bowl of soup and forcefully pressed it to Shen Yue’s lips, desperate to make Shen Yue acknowledge him: "You promised earlier to—"

Before he could finish the word "to," Shen Yue, repeatedly interrupted, finally lost his patience and swatted the bowl away.

With a sharp "clang—", the porcelain bowl shattered into pieces on the floor. The ginger soup, reddish-black from the brown sugar or from being over-reduced, spilled across the floor, splattering onto the sofa, the carpet, and Wei Jinchuan’s hand, leaving a red patch that burned.

"What is your problem?" Shen Yue finally looked up from his phone, turning it off and tossing it aside. "Can’t you see I’m busy? Do you have to bother me right now?"

Wei Jinchuan froze. A falling shard had somehow cut him, leaving a bright red gash on the pad of his right thumb. Combined with the scalding ginger soup, his hand was burning with pain.

Remembering a bit of first aid, Wei Jinchuan knew he should run the burn under cold water. But faced with Shen Yue’s cold, annoyed gaze, he felt nailed to the spot, unable to move.

His numb mind briefly dulled the pain in his hand, but his heart was gripped tightly by Shen Yue’s look, tearing through him with soul-crushing agony.

The pain felt physical.

Again... Why was he looking at him like this again?

What had he done wrong? What had he done wrong?

Hadn’t Shen Yue forgiven him? Shen Yue had even agreed to give him a chance, so why couldn’t he like him the way he used to?

Why was he being treated like this just for caring about Shen Yue?

Wei Jinchuan’s eyes stung with sudden, overwhelming hurt. He knelt down and began picking up the porcelain shards.

One piece, two pieces... The bowl had shattered too finely. With no trash can nearby and too tired to fetch one, he used his right hand to gather the fragments, cupping them in his left palm until it was a bloody mess.

Whether it was the left hand holding the shards or the right hand picking them up, both were crisscrossed with crimson cuts. By the end, there wasn’t a spot left untouched. The sight alone made Shen Yue wince in sympathy, yet Wei Jinchuan acted as if he didn't feel a thing, stubbornly continuing to pick up the pieces.

"Enough!"

Shen Yue hadn’t expected things to escalate like this. In fact, he had regretted shattering the bowl the moment it happened. He stood up from the sofa, crouched down, and grabbed Wei Jinchuan’s hands, letting the fragments fall to the floor. "Alright, stop picking them up. Can’t you see you’re bleeding?"

Wei Jinchuan didn’t speak or stop. He didn’t even look at Shen Yue, simply picking up the shards again one by one.

"Enough, I said enough!"

Shen Yue knocked his hands away, getting cut himself in the process, but he paid it no mind. Instead, he grabbed Wei Jinchuan by the collar with both hands. "What’s the point of this? Hurting yourself like this—do you expect me to feel bad for you?"

Before he could finish the sentence, Shen Yue’s angry eyes met Wei Jinchuan’s blurred, watery ones, and the rest of his words stuck in his throat, unable to emerge.

"You’re crying?"

He stared at Wei Jinchuan’s tear-streaked face in disbelief. "What... why are you crying?"

Wei Jinchuan had been crying quietly, but being discovered and yelled at made all his pent-up emotions spill out. Clenching his teeth, he continued picking up the shards while sobbing quietly.

Shen Yue’s attempts to stop him were futile, so he grabbed his wrists to prevent him from moving. Wei Jinchuan’s sudden crying scrambled his thoughts. He took a deep breath. "Just stop crying, okay? Can we talk properly?"

Wei Jinchuan, gasping for breath, felt even more aggrieved by Shen Yue’s attempts to comfort him. What little restraint he had left vanished, and his sobs grew louder.

Shen Yue felt a headache coming on. He had seen men cry before, but never like this.

He didn’t know what to do and couldn’t help reflecting on his earlier actions. He sighed. "Alright, go make me another bowl of soup. I’ll finish it this time, okay?"

Wei Jinchuan’s body trembled with sobs, but the shattered porcelain fragments on the floor were a glaring reminder of his failure. He struggled stubbornly to break free from Shen Yue’s grip, wanting to clean up the mess, but Shen Yue stopped him again.

"What are you trying to do? What exactly do you want?"

Wei Jinchuan finally looked up at him, struggling to hold back his tears as he spoke with difficulty, "Is that... all you’re worried about?"

Relieved that he was finally speaking, Shen Yue said, "What else? If you really want to die, jump out the window. Who are you putting on this act for? You—"

"Shen Yue!"

Wei Jinchuan couldn’t bear to hear any more of those harsh words and interrupted him.

"Why... don’t you like me anymore?"

Wei Jinchuan choked back sobs, his eyes red and tears like pearls streaming down his cheeks. He stared at Shen Yue with a mix of resentment and bitterness, yet every word he spoke was laden with deep affection: "Shen Yue, can you please like me again? Can you be a little nicer to me? Please?"

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