Chapter 42 Like

Chapter 42: Like

"Like this style of clothes? I had two sets made to fit you."

Shen Jiyue noticed Xiang Wei had taken a few of his clothes over the past few days, and assumed he was interested in this type of clothing, so he had several sets made in his size, which just arrived today.

But why the sudden interest in suits now? Before he knew what style Xiang Wei preferred, his wardrobe had all sorts of outfits—including suits, of course. Later, when he saw that Xiang Wei only liked casual wear, he stopped adding suits to his wardrobe.

On closer reflection, this shift toward wanting to wear suits happened a few days ago, after they went out for barbecue together. There was no warning, no gradual shift—it was sudden. Shen Jiyue's gaze sharpened, and it was easy to spot the reason for this oddity.

—The new friend Xiang Wei had made while going to get his sauce. They got along so well that, despite clearly craving the food, he'd followed the man to his table, sauce bowl in hand, chatting the whole way.

But after they got back, he never heard Xiang Wei mention the man. And when they were leaving the barbecue, he didn't see Xiang Wei go say goodbye to him either, so Shen Jiyue assumed it was just a passing acquaintance.

But seeing how Xiang Wei had been changing up his style these past few days, it didn't look good no matter how he looked at it.

A guy with a consistent style suddenly starting to take care of himself, changing his look—either it was for work or it was for love. He'd found someone he fell for at first sight, dressing up to match what his crush liked, starting to show off his feathers.

If he suddenly started chewing gum, that would be an even worse sign.

Shen Jiyue frowned deeply, looking at the person wearing his white shirt, clutching his suit jacket and a pair of shirt garters in his arms.

Thinking about Xiang Wei wearing these things, his Adam's apple bobbed. Then he thought about how the other might be dressing up to please someone else, and his brow furrowed so hard it could crush a mosquito.

Xiang Wei had come to raid Shen Jiyue's wardrobe. Ever since mistaking that person last time, the snake had done some deep thinking and concluded it must have been an environmental issue. But his nose was also a bit unreliable, so he needed to get more familiar with the smell to prevent another mistake.

He was too embarrassed to ask Shen Jiyue, "Can I smell you?" If Shen Jiyue asked why, wouldn't that reveal that the snake had once failed to recognize him? Xiang Wei wasn't about to let that happen.

So after thinking it over, with advice from his teacher Dou Sha Bao, the snake took an unconventional approach—he chose to wear clothes that carried Shen Jiyue's scent. Wearing them every day would naturally help him get used to that plum blossom fragrance, and he definitely wouldn't mistake someone again next time.

So on the first day he was back, Xiang Wei came to Shen Jiyue's wardrobe and grabbed a shirt. But a shirt had to be washed after a day of wear, and once washed, he'd be out of clothes again. So he came back the next day to grab another one.

Technically, two shirts to alternate should have been enough, but after he wore them and they were washed and dried, the scent faded. That was why he'd been coming so frequently to stock up these days.

Now he'd even grabbed a suit jacket and a pair of things he had no idea what they were. Whatever, he'd take them first.

When he heard Shen Jiyue say he'd had new clothes made for him, did that mean he couldn't come grab clothes anymore? How could that be? They were so close now, and the man wouldn't even let him wear his clothes? The snake was stunned.

"Oh." Since Shen Jiyue had brought it up, Xiang Wei couldn't very well say he just wanted to wear his clothes. If asked why, he'd be found out. Dammit.

( ^` )

No more clothes from now on. Xiang Wei hugged the remaining ones tightly, thinking optimistically—it didn't matter. The snake had already committed this scent to memory. What happened last time definitely wouldn't happen again.

Afraid Shen Jiyue would tell him to put the clothes down, Xiang Wei answered and tried to slip out of his room. He didn't make it—he was called back.

What else? The snake's round eyes were full of confusion as he stopped to listen. Seeing that Shen Jiyue hesitated to speak, as if weighing his words, Xiang Wei considerately walked back and sat down beside him, patiently waiting.

After calling him back, Shen Jiyue's words were on the tip of his tongue but he didn't know how to say them. Should he just ask directly, "Do you have someone you like?" And if he said yes, what then?

Should he respect it, bless it, and let go gracefully, maintaining their friendship? Or should he force the issue, pursuing him even knowing he had someone he liked?

The former wasn't his style. His heart wasn't broad enough to witness the person he loved actively pursuing someone else as a friend. As for the latter... Shen Jiyue thought about it, then looked at him, wondering what the odds were that Xiang Wei would accept him.

From the moment Shen Jiyue realized his feelings to deciding to pursue him, he'd always thought Xiang Wei wasn't interested in romance yet, so he could take it slow, not rush and scare him off.

He never expected this sudden twist—love at first sight at a barbecue place? He wanted to laugh but couldn't.

"Why do you like wearing suits now? Didn't you find them uncomfortable?" Out of concern born from love, he ultimately didn't ask directly.

Xiang Wei was sitting close to him, the plum blossom scent right under his nose even stronger. He couldn't tell if it was from the shirt he was wearing or coming from Shen Jiyue's body. He was dazed for a moment.

He blinked, and the snake answered: "I don't like them." The snake didn't like shirts and suit pants—they felt tight and restrictive, hard to move in. Loose, casual clothes were much more comfortable to wear.

After answering, he saw Shen Jiyue's unconvinced expression. His gaze fell on the shirt Xiang Wei was wearing and the jacket in his arms, as if accusing him of dishonesty, of lying.

The snake pulled the clothes closer to his chest, afraid he'd say "if you don't like them, give them back." Struck by a sudden idea, he casually said: "I like your clothes. They smell nice."

So could he keep borrowing his clothes? He blinked.

The snake was just a snake—he didn't sweat, wouldn't dirty the man's clothes. So please, feel free to lend him clothes!

Huh? Why did the man's ears turn red?

Xiang Wei's eyes widened in surprise. His hand shot out, pinching his earlobe. It was hot. But no worries—the snake's hands were cool.

Shen Jiyue was caught off guard by his flirtatious words. Before he could react, Xiang Wei pinched his ear, and he instinctively looked up at him.

But Xiang Wei still didn't realize what a big deal he'd made. His gaze was full of curiosity as he looked at him, especially at his ears, which had turned red in an instant. He even covered his ear with his whole palm.

...

The two stayed like that in silence for a moment. Shen Jiyue tilted his head slightly, pulling away from his hand. He didn't know what to say to him, and even started to doubt himself—was Xiang Wei really the type to fall for someone else?

"You..." The words stopped as soon as they started. Shen Jiyue rubbed his brow, lowered his gaze to avoid his eyes, and said softly: "You can't say things like that casually to others." Especially to someone like him, whose intentions were anything but pure.

Xiang Wei didn't understand. He was telling the truth, so why couldn't he say it? He looked at him disapprovingly and argued confidently: "I'm not lying! Your clothes do smell nice! I'm complimenting you!"

Not thanking the snake was bad enough, but now he wouldn't even let him say it! Unless Shen Jiyue could give him a good reason or two, the snake wouldn't change his words.

Shen Jiyue saw his unconvinced expression and wanted to sigh again, but his ears grew even redder. Really.

"Saying things like that can make people misunderstand." He had to break it down for him. Shen Jiyue continued: "If a person says something like that to another, and is wearing their clothes while making such intimate gestures, it usually means they like them and want to be with them."

"I like—" Xiang Wei definitely knew what liking was. He liked snake eggs, milk tea, eating foods that were considered unhealthy, blue skies, white clouds, gentle breezes, heavy rain, grass, big trees, money, and shopping.

The snake had so many likes. No doubt about it, the snake also liked Shen Jiyue. He was his first human friend, the snake egg's other caretaker. They were so close and had so much contact—he definitely liked Shen Jiyue.

But before he could finish his sentence, Shen Jiyue interrupted him, saying seriously: "This kind of thing is very ambiguous. You can't do it casually with just anyone."

Shen Jiyue knew what he was going to say. Like—well, who said the like between friends wasn't like? The like between family was also like. But it just wasn't the like between lovers that he wanted. So it was better not to say it at all, because even knowing this like wasn't that like...

He'd still take it to heart.

"Oh." Xiang Wei nodded, not understanding why he had to emphasize it so many times, but this must be really important, so he promised: "I'll only say it to you."

"...No, that's not—" Shen Jiyue felt helpless, though he was a little happy inside. He didn't know how to explain it clearly. "There are many kinds of like. The like for food, the like for friends, and then there's the like you feel for a lover."

Xiang Wei nodded again eagerly. Mm-hmm, the snake knew all of that! The snake liked all of them!

"This last kind of like is different from the others. It's exclusive. You've watched TV shows and movies—the like between the male and female leads is this kind. It's wanting to be together, not letting anyone else in. They fall in love, get married, and might even... In this relationship, they give love, exchange love, and share love."

Shen Jiyue tried his best to explain in a way he could understand what romantic love was like, so he would truly understand that he couldn't casually make such ambiguous gestures toward others.

Xiang Wei followed his slow pace of speech and thought, then drew an analogy: "I like Snake Egg, you like Snake Egg too, and Fu Yunyan and the other friends in the Praise Group also like Snake Egg. This kind of like is family love. I welcome everyone to like Snake Egg—it's not exclusive."

The snake was actually quite smart when he actually put his mind to it. He continued: "In TV shows, the male lead likes the female lead and wants to be with her. The second male lead also likes the female lead and wants to be with her. They both like her, and neither of them wants anyone else to have her. That kind of like is exclusive."

Now that he understood, the snake said happily: "That's simple, I understand now. When I don't want to be with someone, I won't say that to them."

Seeing this, Shen Jiyue breathed a sigh of relief. Xiang Wei was good-looking—if he let him out there casually flirting, he didn't dare imagine how many people would fall for him. Even Fu Yuncen would have to concede.

The next second, Shen Jiyue saw the guy who'd just claimed he totally got it now holding his clothes and politely asking if he could leave, and whether he could come back tomorrow to pick up more clothes.

Shen Jiyue really wanted to ask, "Do you actually get it?" But since the guy had already said he did, pushing it again would just piss him off, so he helplessly nodded and waved his hand.

Fine, fine. At least he promised not to go around flirting with people. If he wants the clothes, whatever, let him have them.

The snake had no idea the guy was doubting him in his head. He happily took his loot back to his room, and tomorrow he could grab another piece of clothing from him, maybe even the day after that.

Clothes in hand, the snake got ready to shower. After a quick wash, Xiang Wei slipped into his pajamas and started figuring out how to wear what he'd brought back.

He knew what the jacket was for—you wear it over your clothes. But what the heck were these two rings?

Xiang Wei stretched them open and saw they were huge loops. He held them up to his wrist—nope, too big. Maybe they were some kind of necklace? Since he'd seen Chang Hu wearing necklaces, the snake wasted no time—*duang*—and slipped it over his head.

The snake went to the mirror to check it out and realized it didn't look right as a necklace—way too big!

He took it off and stared at it some more. Finally, with the help of a photo search app on his phone, he figured out what it was and how to use it.

In the video, a guy with bare legs slipped it over his thigh, tightened it, then used the clips to hold his shirt hem in place so it wouldn't ride up.

The snake: Ugh, what a pain.

Xiang Wei did the same, slipped it onto his leg, carefully adjusted the tightness, stood up, moved his leg around, and wow, having his leg squeezed felt so awkward.

The snake took it off again. Time for bed—he'd put it on tomorrow!