Chapter 153

Chapter 153

◎You Agreed to Him?!◎

Anyway, he had already accepted Ren Suiyi's previous explanation within one second, so listening to one or two more explanations wouldn't hurt—it would just deepen his trust in Ren Suiyi, and he wasn't opposed to that.

So go ahead, say it quickly—he's all ears!

Is this just his work habit kicking in? What a childish way to put it...

The more Meng Qi thought about it, the harder he tried not to laugh. The joy rising from deep within his heart contrasted sharply with the despair he had felt when questioning Ren Suiyi earlier, making him feel like he had two personalities.

"You guessed right. I did notice your feelings for me a long time ago, and I understood your obsessive possessiveness toward me. But back then, I only saw you as a younger brother—that was one reason I couldn't accept you. So before you confessed your feelings to me, I kept pretending not to see or hear anything. I'm sorry, Meng Qi. I apologize for that." Ren Suiyi's apology was straightforward and sincere.

But where there's one, there could be two, maybe even three?

The first reason made sense. What would the next one be? Meng Qi couldn't wait to hear it. To not delay Ren Suiyi's explanation, he patted Ren Suiyi's shoulder and said bluntly, "Feelings are about mutual consent. Not accepting them is fine. I forgive you. Keep going."

Meng Qi's frankness and easygoing attitude caught Ren Suiyi off guard for a second.

Perhaps he never dreamed that Meng Qi would forgive him so readily. A shadow quickly clouded his eyes before receding like the tide, probably because he remembered that Meng Qi had told him more than once that he no longer liked him. From that perspective, Meng Qi's uninvolved attitude made sense.

Having figured out the connection, Ren Suiyi wasn't hurt by Meng Qi's indifferent attitude. He stayed confident and continued, "Another reason is about you. You've never been consistent since childhood—you have a three-minute passion for everything. I didn't think you'd love me forever. I kept thinking I'd wait and see—maybe tomorrow, next week, next month, or next year, your feelings for me would fade. Or maybe after you go to college or enter society, you'll meet better people and see a world richer and more colorful than the one around me. You'll realize love and family affection are worlds apart. If by then you still firmly choose me..."

"There's no 'if,' and those are all your assumptions. I don't think it's a 'me' problem," Meng Qi defended the "Meng Qi" in the book. "'I' never had direction because I never found something I was truly interested in. The heavyweight sports you and Jiang Baixi both like—taekwondo, jeet kune do, military boxing—'I' don't like them."

If the "Meng Qi" in the book were never coming back, there could be no "if," so Ren Suiyi's hypothesis didn't hold.

Moreover, saying the "Meng Qi" in the book lacked direction—from an outsider's perspective, Meng Qi didn't fully agree either. If the book's "Meng Qi" really had no direction, could he have liked someone for so long? Could he have drawn such a beautiful eye? Could he have gone to school day in and day out for over a decade and still gotten into such a good university?

And claiming he treated Jiang Baixi and the book's "Meng Qi" equally, both like younger brothers—bullshit. His heart was tilted all the way to the South Pacific.

Meng Qi had to interrupt Ren Suiyi because he really didn't want to listen anymore.

Ren Suiyi was smart and good at reading people. Seeing Meng Qi's expression and tone turn sour, he immediately stopped his hypothesis and agreed with Meng Qi. "You're right. It's not your problem; it's mine. I took things for granted and ignored your feelings. So it's still my fault," he apologized without hesitation or sophistry. "I'm sorry, Meng Qi. I apologize. Are you still willing to forgive me again?"

One sheep to herd, two sheep to herd—having forgiven once, what was one more time?

Besides, his attitude of admitting fault was quite sincere.

Meng Qi frowned in thought and decided that "I forgive you" wasn't that hard to say. So he told Ren Suiyi, "Yeah, I forgive you."

"How can you be so adorable?" Ren Suiyi pulled Meng Qi into his arms, rubbing his chin back and forth against Meng Qi's round head, laughing triumphantly like a general who had just conquered a city. "Thank you, Meng Qi. Thank you for forgiving me. Thank you..."

Adorable my ass—he was a tall man over 1.8 meters! How could "adorable" be used to describe him? Meng Qi forcefully broke free from Ren Suiyi's embrace, bent down to pick up the two fish that had been eavesdropping on the ground, and strode off quickly, his pace revealing a sense of frantic escape.

Ren Suiyi immediately gave chase. When he caught up, he smiled and wrapped his arm around Meng Qi, leaning close to his ear and asking, "Can we make up, okay? This time, let me pursue you. You can temporarily not accept me, but don't ignore me, okay? And don't drive me away, okay?"

No, no, no—none of that! The top priority now is to find a way to get rid of you!

Though he thought this, he couldn't say it out loud. He couldn't go head-on; he needed a roundabout way.

Thinking hard, Meng Qi raised his hand to cover the ear on Ren Suiyi's side and said ambiguously, "We'll see how you perform."

Even a vague answer made Ren Suiyi happy. He smoothly took the fish from Meng Qi's hand, carried them himself, and walked with Meng Qi, brushing against him as they headed back to the road toward Xiangyanghua Elementary School.

Elder Gu had already started preparing lunch.

A large brown-red ceramic basin sat outside the kitchen door, with a thick layer of finely chopped pork filling at the bottom. As Meng Qi and Ren Suiyi walked over side by side, Elder Gu was directing Liang Wenkai to pour chopped celery into the basin, while he himself held several seasoning boxes, ready to sprinkle them in.

With one glance, Meng Qi knew Elder Gu was going to steam big buns. He quickened his pace, came before Elder Gu, and said in a consultative tone, "Uncle Gu, do you know how to make meat rolls? How about steaming some meat rolls along with the buns?"

Meat rolls are a distinctly regional Beijing-style snack. Before coming here, Meng Qi had never eaten or even heard of them. But after arriving, he fell in love with this light and nutritious flour-based dish, especially during the period when he was throwing up badly. On mornings when he didn't feel like cooking, he would buy a meat roll from the breakfast shop downstairs and pair it with a bowl of five-grain soy milk.

Now, smelling the fragrance of celery and seeing such a large basin of filling, his craving immediately kicked in. He wished he could take a bite right now.

But Elder Gu looked a bit troubled and asked him, "What's a meat roll?"

Right, this wasn't the capital city—it was thousands of miles away. Elder Gu didn't know meat rolls, just like past him, who was ignorant of things far away.

Meng Qi regretfully pursed his lips, then smiled and said to Elder Gu, "It's a bit like a twisted roll... but forget it, I don't really want it. Just steam the buns."

But Elder Gu said, "Tell me how to make it, or what it looks like, and I'll try to make a batch for you. It might not be as authentic, but I can promise you won't be disappointed."

"It's fine, Uncle Gu. Go ahead with what you're doing. Don't delay the kids' lunch on time." Meng Qi shook his head, deciding not to trouble Elder Gu.

Seeing Meng Qi's firm refusal, Elder Gu didn't insist. He later told Meng Qi that he would look up some information and make a special batch for him another day.

Ren Suiyi handed the two fish he was carrying to Liang Wenkai, who was waiting nearby for Elder Gu to assign him another task, telling him to handle them. Then he rolled up his sleeves, walked to the sink, quickly washed his hands, returned to Elder Gu's side, and said unhurriedly, "You season the filling, and I'll make the meat rolls."

Huh?!

Meng Qi snapped his gaze to Ren Suiyi, his eyes full of shock—the child of fate, Young Master Ren, could make meat rolls?! Was going to make meat rolls?! This possibility was about as likely as aliens visiting Earth...

"Stop looking so surprised. I can make clear soup noodles, so why wouldn't I know how to make meat rolls?" Ren Suiyi lightly lifted Meng Qi's chin, closing his half-open mouth.

Right, last night he had made a particularly delicious bowl of clear soup noodles. Besides not knowing how to use a wood-fired stove, his other kitchen skills were commendable—he wasn't someone who never touched kitchen work.

Meng Qi quickly accepted this, smiled, and thanked Ren Suiyi. Remembering it was his idea to have meat rolls, he asked fawningly, "Do you need an assistant?"

Ren Suiyi flicked Meng Qi's forehead. "No need for you here. Go catch up on sleep. By the time you wake up, the meat rolls will be ready."

Meng Qi happily ran back to his room.

As he pushed the door open, Wang Boyuan was standing by the glass window, looking at him with a scrutinizing gaze.

Meng Qi dropped his smile, his eyes shifting uneasily. "What's wrong?"

Wang Boyuan asked instead of answering, "Where did you go?"

"To catch fish. Caught two. There'll be fresh fish soup for lunch."

"Was catching fish fun?"

"...It was okay."

"I can see that. You and he have gotten a lot closer than before you went fishing." Wang Boyuan put heavy emphasis on the word "closer," dragging out the ending.

Meng Qi's gaze turned to the window, where he happened to see Ren Suiyi holding a long rolling pin, rolling out dough. That step was necessary for making meat rolls—only by rolling the dough to the right thickness and spreading a layer of filling on top would the steamed meat rolls be fragrant and soft.

But no matter how well he could make meat rolls or clear soup noodles, he shouldn't stay here.

Looking back at Wang Boyuan's eyes, Meng Qi explained grimly the reason for their closer relationship. "He apologized to me. I didn't want to argue with him about those things, so impulsively I told him I forgave him. And then..."

What came next was embarrassing; Meng Qi didn't know how to say it.

Wang Boyuan glanced at Meng Qi and immediately knew what he was struggling with, so he cut to the chase. "And then he took the chance to confess to you?"

Meng Qi was silent for a moment, then mumbled, "Mm."

"What does 'mm' mean? You agreed to him?" Wang Boyuan frowned, glanced out the window, then sighed as if resigned. "Even if you did, he—"

"Agreed to what? Of course not. My life is on the line; I have no mind for romance."