Chapter 41 Perfume

Chapter 41 Perfume

After cracking one mystery, Shen Jiyue felt like he knew Xiang Wei a little better.

But Xiang Wei was wrapped in way too much mystery—his skills, his way of talking, his knowledge, his pure heart, his character... What kind of background and upbringing could possibly create someone like that?

Shen Jiyue had to admit he was super curious about Xiang Wei. This guy, with all his secrets, was dangerously attractive to him. The more time they spent together, the more Xiang Wei opened up, and the more Shen Jiyue couldn't wait to see the real, full picture of him.

But no rush. Shen Jiyue set down his pen. He had the patience to dig up his other side piece by piece, to slowly walk into his foggy world.

The next few days went by nice and quiet. Shen Jiyue went to work, and Xiang Wei went back to his school routine.

Since watching that movie last time had shown him feelings he'd never felt before, Xiang Wei now always looked up the background info before watching anything, hunted for fan-made easter eggs, and chatted with other fans who'd seen the same stuff. It gave him a ton of new perspectives.

Because of that, he'd added a few online friends he clicked with. When they had free time, they'd chat about shows, trash-talk characters they hated, and hype up the ones they loved.

Some fans even wrote fanfic for characters they felt got done dirty, and Xiang Wei would always read the whole thing with enthusiasm and shower them with compliments.

He'd just finished reading a post someone put up on their Moments, liked and commented in one go, then put his phone away, ready to head out shopping with Shen Jiyue!

After that amusement park trip, Shen Jiyue realized Xiang Wei was basically a blank slate about the outside world—there was so much he'd never tried. So these past few nights after dinner, he'd been taking him out to walk around, check stuff out, and have fun.

"Slow down, no need to rush." Seeing him running down the stairs, Shen Jiyue frowned, worried he'd trip, and told him to watch his step.

"Are we heading out?" Xiang Wei called out happily.

Xiang Wei was super pumped about this daily outing. Sometimes they'd hit the supermarket, and when he got tired from walking, he could sneak in another popsicle—Shen Jiyue wouldn't stop him then.

They'd also gone back to the amusement park and hit all the rides they'd missed last time: the roller coaster, Ferris wheel, carousel, bumper cars, the whole deal. His favorite was the bumper cars; the one he never wanted to touch again was the roller coaster.

After getting off the roller coaster, the snake felt like a limp noodle that'd been shaken dry—head spinning, stomach churning, body like jelly.

Good thing Shen Jiyue was right there. He led the snake to a bench to sit for a bit, and after some water, he perked right back up.

Oh yeah, they'd also hit the haunted house once. Inside were tons of humans screaming and scrambling around in a panic. Haha, and there were NPC humans with painted faces, messy hair, and ragged clothes who'd suddenly pop out of nowhere—like, they were supposed to be ghosts.

But the snake wasn't scared one bit. Instead, he watched with big interest as humans ran around getting chased by the NPCs. The snake was a brave snake. Shen Jiyue wasn't scared either—he was a brave human.

They strolled out of the haunted house totally calm, having spent barely any time inside. Because it was freezing in there! Shen Jiyue seemed to shiver from the cold and quietly scooted closer to him, grabbing his hand for warmth.

Once they got out and the outside air hit them, Xiang Wei could feel Shen Jiyue's body had gone cold. He quickly grabbed both his hands, then bought him a hot drink to warm up, which helped.

After that, they both agreed to skip the haunted house for the rest of the trip. It was kinda boring, and cold too—what if they caught a cold?

The new stuff the snake had seen these past few days was more than everything he'd seen in the months since he'd taken human form.

Before, when Shen Jiyue told him to go out and hang with friends, he never wanted to. Now he knew how fun it was, and every night after dinner he'd be waiting by the door to head out.

"Where are we going today?" Xiang Wei sat in the car and turned to ask Shen Jiyue next to him. They'd already done the amusement park, and they'd hit the mall yesterday. The day before that was the park. So where to today?

Shen Jiyue buckled his seatbelt and said, "A walk by the river."

The riverside view nearby was gorgeous, especially in the evening when it wasn't hot. Taking a stroll and enjoying the breeze was perfect.

"Okay!" Xiang Wei nodded. He'd passed by the river a lot when delivering food, and he did think it was nice there. Plus, there was a killer barbecue spot nearby.

The drive was quick. There were some people out too, walking in twos and threes, chatting and laughing, with random bursts of laughter ringing out.

Xiang Wei got out of the car and his nose twitched. So good—it was the smell of grilled meat!

The smell was faint, carried by the wind from far off, but because Xiang Wei knew that smell so well, he easily picked it out from everything else.

He turned to look at Shen Jiyue. His hair was a little tousled by the wind, and he was in casual clothes—so different from his usual suit-and-tie look. He squinted a little as the wind hit his face. He didn't look like some hotshot at all, but more like the boy-next-door type from the drama Xiang Wei had been watching lately.

He stood there for a second, then naturally walked over to Xiang Wei's side, falling into step with him.

They'd eaten dinner and chilled for a bit before heading out, so it was already kinda dark. The streetlights were on, and vendors had their stalls set up.

Even though the grilled meat smell was tempting, Xiang Wei had no plans to eat right now. First off, Shen Jiyue definitely wouldn't go for it—eating again right after a meal, worried about indigestion. Second, if he ate now, he'd smell like barbecue the whole night—what if it bothered other people?

They'd walk for a while, digest, get hungry again—then they could go eat. After that, they'd head home. Perfect.

In a good mood, he watched the river water ripple in the wind. His ears caught the sound of wind and water, along with the laughter of passersby. Xiang Wei brushed past many humans, walking slowly.

Only at moments like this did he no longer feel the urge to pull out his phone out of boredom, but instead savor the inner peace of the moment.

"What are you thinking about?" Xiang Wei asked curiously.

He and Shen Jiyue walked in the same rhythm, shoulder to shoulder along the river, breathing the same air, seeing the same scenery, hearing the same laughter. But they were still different individuals with different thoughts.

What could he be thinking? Is he like me, not thinking about anything? Or is he thinking about work? Or maybe about the snake egg hatching?

Xiang Wei guessed idly.

"Nothing much." Shen Jiyue answered casually. He truly wasn't thinking about anything—very unromantic of him.

According to TV dramas, walking by the river with someone you like should involve nervous fluttering, quickened breathing when standing a little closer, and blushing cheeks and racing heartbeats when hands accidentally brush.

He thought of the young people's romantic scenes he'd watched with Xiang Wei these past days—the screen full of pink bubbles—and curled his lips in a smile.

Maybe he was missing a romantic nerve, but at this moment, Shen Jiyue only felt at peace. He simply thought the breeze was just right, comfortable to walk in; the scenery was good, pleasing to the eye; even the surrounding sounds were lively and full of human warmth.

Xiang Wei didn't think his answer was too blunt. Because he himself hadn't been thinking about anything either—they were so in sync!

Feeling the breeze and listening to the passersby's chatter, Xiang Wei also got in the mood to chat. He enthusiastically told Shen Jiyue about the drama he'd watched at noon.

He didn't care about spoilers, just poured it all out to Shen Jiyue. He also mentioned adding fellow drama fans on his contacts, saying how talented they were—some drew fan art, some wrote fan fiction, all incredibly skilled.

Shen Jiyue tilted his head slightly, listening attentively, nodding along, and offering his own thoughts on the plot points and character motivations Xiang Wei mentioned.

They walked and stopped, sitting by the river to rest and chat when they got a little tired. Soon, it was completely dark, and they'd been out for a while. When Shen Jiyue suggested heading back, Xiang Wei proposed going for barbecue.

Seeing his expectant eyes, Shen Jiyue followed him toward the barbecue place. Clearly, Xiang Wei knew this place well.

Though it was a weekday evening and the restaurant wasn't so packed that people had to queue, it was still full—seemed like the food must be decent.

The two found an empty seat and each went to grab meat, vegetables, and dipping sauce. Xiang Wei grabbed a few extra plates, and when he came back, Shen Jiyue had already fired up the grill. Xiang Wei told him which items to cook first—the snake was craving them—then hurried off to mix his dipping sauce.

Following the tutorial posted on the wall, he'd just finished when he caught a familiar faint scent of plum blossom. He turned in surprise and saw Shen Jiyue also coming to grab something, about to head back. He quickly fell in behind him, quickening his steps to talk to him.

"Why did you come over too? Did you forget something?" Shen Jiyue seemed surprised to see him too, glancing at him uncertainly, as if not sure whether Xiang Wei was talking to him.

Xiang Wei: @_@?

Thinking it was because there were too many people around and the noise was too loud for him to hear, he was about to repeat his question when he heard Shen Jiyue's voice from behind him.

Snake: ???

Snake: Wait, what?!

=( )

Behind?

Wasn't Shen Jiyue literally right in front of him?!

Xiang Wei stopped in his tracks, and the "Shen Jiyue" ahead glanced back at him, looking confused. When Xiang Wei didn't say anything more, the man walked off. He turned around and saw Shen Jiyue grilling meat, calling out to him, also looking puzzled, as if asking where he was headed.

Xiang Wei quietly slunk back.

Fortunately, Shen Jiyue didn't make a fuss, just saying calmly, "The meat on this side's ready."

Phew, thank god. Xiang Wei stole a glance at him. Though Shen Jiyue's mood seemed a bit lower than before, he didn't seem to have noticed anything.

Shen Jiyue simply assumed that the person with the same scent as him was a new friend Xiang Wei had just met, and that Xiang Wei had gotten so into the chat that he'd just followed along.

The snake quietly ate his meat, totally confused—why did they smell the same?! He flared his nostrils slightly and sniffed again. Up close, the scents weren't exactly the same, but in a place with heavy smells like a BBQ joint, they seemed similar at first whiff.

The snake had actually gotten the wrong guy!

It was a little embarrassing, so the snake kept his mouth shut.

On the other side, the young man Xiang Wei had mistaken returned to his seat, glanced in his direction, and excitedly told his companion about running into a super friendly, good-looking guy.

The overly chummy snake: ...

After finishing the meal, Xiang Wei stuck close behind Shen Jiyue this time, even when paying the bill and grabbing drinks, which made Shen Jiyue glance at him sideways and tell him to just go wait outside.

The snake shook his head vigorously. No way—what if he messed up the smell again? He had to stick with him.

The two were stuck like glue as they paid and left, staying close even on the way to the car.

It wasn't until after showering and lying in bed, when Xiang Wei was just about to drift off, that he was still thinking about how he absolutely couldn't get it wrong this time. In his dream, he replayed the exact same scene—and this time, the snake really didn't mess up.

==========Author's Note:==========

Snake: It's all because the barbecue restaurant had too strong a smell

Shen Jiyue: How do you manage to make a new friend in the time it takes to grab condiments, and chat so happily with him?