Chapter 36

Chapter 36

Since that day, Pei Qingji would notice whenever something was missing in the house, and the next day, those items would appear in the same spot.

For example, if the toothpaste ran out, or if he casually mentioned that the toothbrush needed replacing.

Sometimes it wasn't even something he mentioned—Pei Qingji would notice on his own.

He would bring things over when he came to cook for Cheng Yuan.

Cheng Yuan had refused outright at first, but Pei Qingji said this:

He said, "I want to do something for you and the child too."

Cheng Yuan was taken aback for a moment.

He went to the bathroom to wash up, and when he turned on the faucet and tried to turn it off, it wouldn't shut no matter what he did. Water immediately poured all over the floor.

Cheng Yuan's expression changed. He frantically grabbed a mop and cleaned up the puddles, but there was too much water—some of it even spread into the living room.

He tried stuffing a towel under the door, but the water still seeped through, and the living room was flooded too.

Cheng Yuan had no choice but to call his landlord.

"Hello, I'm the tenant in 201. I wanted to ask—the faucet here is leaking and I can't turn it off. What should I do?"

The landlord said, "Ah, that's an old problem. It's too late tonight—why don't you wait until tomorrow?"

"Or you could try fixing it yourself. It's pretty simple. People in your building have this problem all the time—you can ask them."

The landlord hung up. Cheng Yuan looked at the water all over the floor and let out a deep sigh.

Ugh, he shouldn't have chosen such a cheap place. It was bound to have all kinds of problems.

Cheap apartments like this often have these issues. After all, the price is low, so you put up with some things, but when it keeps happening, it does get annoying.

But if the water kept flowing like this, there wouldn't be anywhere dry to stand—even the bedroom might get flooded.

Cheng Yuan looked at the things on the floor, including the cartons of milk and fruit that Brother Zhou had brought. If he didn't move them, they'd get soaked.

The water on the floor wasn't too deep, but it formed a thin layer, and the floor was tile—very slippery.

Cheng Yuan took a few steps and nearly slipped, so he didn't dare take another step.

He pressed his lips together tightly, trying to figure out what to do, when suddenly there was a loud knock at the door.

Pei Qingji's slightly anxious voice came through, and he pounded on the door harder, calling out his name a few times.

"Cheng Yuan?!"

There was no sound from inside. His heart tightened, and he fumbled for his phone to call.

In the bathroom, Cheng Yuan saw the incoming call from Pei Qingji on his phone screen and thought it was a bit odd.

He hesitated for a moment before answering, his voice calm. "Did you need something?"

He didn't realize that when he ran into a problem, his first instinct wasn't to ask Pei Qingji for help—he usually messaged Brother Zhou or handled it himself.

Pei Qingji breathed a sigh of relief when he heard his voice, and asked, sounding a little tense, "I knocked on your door and you didn't answer. Did you go out?"

But the light was still on.

Cheng Yuan just said, "The faucet in my house is leaking."

He glanced at the time on his phone screen—it was around mealtime.

"The door's unlocked. Just come in."

The floor was too slippery, and he was afraid of falling, so he let Pei Qingji come in by himself.

Pei Qingji hung up the phone, pushed the door open, and walked in—then froze.

Most of the living room and bathroom floors were covered in water, with nowhere dry to step.

Cheng Yuan stood in the bathroom, still holding his phone, looking at him.

Pei Qingji quickly walked over, careful not to bump his belly, bent down, and carried him out of the bathroom, setting him on the living room sofa.

"I'll take care of it. You sit here—the floor is very slippery."

He crouched down, rolled up Cheng Yuan's pant legs, then stood up and looked at the water on the bathroom floor, frowning slightly.

"I'll need some tools for this. Do you have a wrench at home?"

Cheng Yuan shook his head. He had just moved here, so of course he didn't have anything like that.

"Wait here a sec."

Pei Qingji frowned, said briefly, and headed out the door.

He knocked on the neighbor's door.

"Hello, do you have a toolbox?"

It took a while for the door to open, revealing a guy wearing glasses. He seemed annoyed, like he'd just woken up.

"What's with all the knocking? Who are you?"

"Nope."

The door slammed shut.

A rare flash of embarrassment crossed Pei Qingji's face. After all, this young master had never been turned down by anyone—except for being rejected by Cheng Yuan, he'd never been shut out by anyone else.

He went door to door, and after trying several neighbors, he finally found someone willing to lend him tools.

"Hi, do you have a toolbox I could borrow?"

This time, an elderly couple opened the door. They were very friendly and said they'd be happy to lend him their toolbox.

"Is it a pipe leak?"

Pei Qingji was taken aback. "You..."

The grandpa said, "You're wondering how I knew, right?"

"We get this problem often around here, so basically every household has a toolbox and knows how to fix things themselves. You guys must be new here, right?"

Pei Qingji nodded.

"Young man, with clothes as expensive as yours, do you know how to fix it?"

Pei Qingji froze. He'd watched other people fix stuff before.

"Let me tell you, this thing is really simple."

The grandpa was a total chatterbox, just rambling on, until the grandma tugged at his sleeve to shut him up.

"Haha, guess I got a big mouth. Here, take it."

Pei Qingji said, "Thanks, I'll bring it back when I'm done."

The grandpa waved his hand. "It's late, we're heading to bed. Just bring it back tomorrow."

Cheng Yuan sat on the couch, looking up how to fix a leaking bathroom. He heard the door and looked up.

Pei Qingji smiled. "Got a toolbox."

He was kinda surprised he actually managed to borrow one.

"You know how to fix stuff?"

He suddenly felt like he didn't even know this guy. When the hell did he learn to fix pipes, and why didn't he know?

Pei Qingji said he'd try.

He carried the toolbox into the bathroom, rolled his sleeves up to his forearms, showing off smooth muscle.

Those hands, with those sharp knuckles that played electric guitar, were actually fixing the pipe.

He remembered what the grandpa said, frowned a little, and clumsily twisted the wrench.

Pei Qingji's white shirt was all stained, black marks standing out like crazy.

He crouched on the floor, his leather shoes soaked in water, sweat beading on his forehead.

He was a total mess—even his pants were covered in black grime.

Pei Qingji frowned, seriously following the steps.

He wiped the sweat off his forehead. The back of his white shirt was soaked—water or sweat, who knew.

Spring had just passed, and it had been warming up these past few days, but it was still a bit chilly.

Pei Qingji wasn't wearing much, and after sweating like that, he'd definitely catch a cold.

After messing with it for a while, he actually managed to fix it. He turned the faucet on and off to make sure it wasn't leaking anymore, then put everything back in the toolbox.

He also mopped the floor until it was spotless.

Cheng Yuan watched him, soaked in sweat, and pressed his lips together.

"There's a towel over there. Go dry off."

Pei Qingji's head shot up, his eyes lighting up.

He looked away, avoiding his gaze. "I'm not worried about you, just 'cause you helped me..."

Pei Qingji's eyes dropped in disappointment. He said he'd go home to shower, then rushed back to cook.

The place was small but spotless. Cheng Yuan sat on the couch, watching him bustle around the kitchen, then lowered his eyes.

His phone buzzed on the side—a message from Brother Zhou.

"Brother Zhou: Water leaking at home? Hold on, I'll be there in like half an hour."

"Cheng Yuan: It's already fixed..."

He typed again.

"Cheng Yuan: Grandma's clothes came in. Do they fit her okay?"

"Brother Zhou: Grandma says she loves them. Ugh, she talks about you every single day. When you moving back?"

The place he lived had terrible public transport, and it was far from his grandma's—driving there was a pain.

Plus, there was only a clinic around here. If he needed a real hospital, it'd take forever.

He lowered his eyes and didn't respond.

Cheng Yuan opened Weibo, which he hadn't touched in ages, and it was all Pei Qingji.

"Has anyone noticed bro hasn't posted much these past few days?"

"Maybe he's writing a new song, trying to surprise us."

"Bro, come back soon, we miss you."

Had Pei Qingji really not been working this whole time...

Cheng Yuan lowered his eyes, thinking, yeah, that checked out—he showed up on time for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day. If he was actually working, he wouldn't have time.

Cheng Yuan didn't get it. Pei Qingji used to be a workaholic, basically living in the recording studio 24/7.

Besides endorsements and other gigs, he was writing new songs and filming MVs every day.

He knew Pei Qingji had always dreamed of taking his music worldwide.

Was he just giving up on that dream?

Cheng Yuan looked up at Pei Qingji bustling in the kitchen. Something must've been too hot—he yanked his hand back.

The blisters on the back of his hand hadn't fully healed, leaving scars that ruined the look of that hand.

Before long, a few dishes were on the table.

Cheng Yuan looked at Pei Qingji standing there, hesitated, then asked, "You... eaten yet?"

Caught off guard by the concern, surprise flickered in Pei Qingji's eyes, quickly turning to delight.

He held back the excitement inside, shook his head, and his low, raspy voice came out with a hint of hurt.

"I haven't had a bite to eat all day..."

Pei Qingji stared directly at Cheng Yuan, a flicker of hope in his eyes, but the latter didn't react, just gave a cold "Mm."

He dropped his gaze, hiding the hurt in his eyes.

Silence hung in the air again.

Cheng Yuan pressed his lips together, and after a long moment, said, "Sit down and eat."

A faint light flickered in Pei Qingji's sad eyes as he snapped his head up.

Cheng Yuan didn't look up, just kept his head down, gripping his chopsticks tight as he quietly ate the rice in his bowl.

Author's note:

N/A