Alternate selection of films

Xie Dang's birthday happened to fall on a Saturday.

Lin Jingshang arrived at Xie Dang's apartment early in the morning carrying large bags and holding the pot of mint he had carefully tended, which had already regained its vitality.

"Happy birthday!" Lin Jingshang shouted as he entered the door.

"Today is your birthday, so I'll cook. You don't have to worry about anything, just wait to eat!"

Xie Dang watched him dart into the kitchen, like a busy little squirrel, taking out the ingredients he had brought one by one, his face expressionless, but his eyes gentle.

Lin Jingshang claimed he would show off his skills by cooking an authentic home-style birthday feast.

As a result, just handling a single fish almost turned the kitchen into a crime scene. In the end, Xie Dang couldn't stand it anymore, so he put on an apron and took over as head chef.

Lin Jingshang stepped down to the second line, taking on tasks such as washing vegetables, handing out seasonings, and causing trouble.

"Xie Dang, is this the bottle of soy sauce?"

"Xie Dang, should we peel the ginger?"

"Xie Dang..."

Xie Dang was getting a headache from his noise. Unable to bear it any longer, he picked up a piece of freshly stir-fried meat, let it cool for a few seconds, and stuffed it into his mouth.

"Quiet down."

Lin Jingshang's mouth was stuffed shut, and he chewed with his cheeks puffed out, his eyes sparkling. He nodded and finally quieted down.

The meal was a chaotic affair, but in the end, it turned out to be quite presentable, with a table full of food.

In the very center was a bowl of longevity noodles that Lin Jingshang insisted on having, which he made himself under Xie Dang's guidance. The noodles were uneven in thickness and didn't look very appealing, but on top of them lay a perfectly soft-boiled egg—Xie Dang's doing.

"Although it looks a bit ugly, it tastes absolutely okay!" Lin Jingshang pushed the bowl of noodles in front of Xie Dang, his eyes full of anticipation.

"You must finish it! It symbolizes a long and healthy life!"

Xie Dang looked at the bowl of noodles, which looked very appealing, picked up his chopsticks, and quietly began to eat. He ate very slowly and carefully, even finishing the soup.

"How is it?" Lin Jingshang asked nervously.

"Not bad." Xie Dang put down his bowl and gave it high praise.

Lin Jingshang breathed a sigh of relief and smiled smugly.

After finishing their meal, the two leaned back on the sofa to digest, while sunlight streamed in through the balcony, falling on the lush mint and the two pots of string plants.

Looking at the increasingly vibrant space, Lin Jingshang suddenly remembered something, took something out of his pocket, and handed it to Xie Dang.

It was a silver key.

Xie Dang stared at the key, paused for a moment, and then looked up at him.

"My spare key to the apartment." Lin Jingshang said a little embarrassed.

"Didn't you leave your car keys with me before? It's only fair that way. In case I lock myself out again someday, or if you want to come over and water the plants or something, it'll be convenient."

His reasons were stammering, his eyes darting around, and he just couldn't bring himself to look at Xie Dang.

Xie Dang looked at the key in his palm, the metal slowly warming up, and rubbed the key's teeth with his fingers.

After a while, he stood up, walked to the drawer in the entryway, took out another key, walked back, and put it in Lin Jingshang's hand.

"Backup".

Lin Jingshang looked at the familiar key in his hand, then looked up at Xie Dang's calm face, and felt a warm glow in his heart.

After the keys were exchanged, the physical boundaries between the two became increasingly blurred. Lin Jingshang gradually filled Xie Dang's apartment room with clothes, starting with one or two spare T-shirts, and eventually taking up half the wardrobe. Several novels and comics brought by Lin Jingshang also quietly appeared on the bookshelves in Xie Dang's study.

Sometimes when Lin Jingshang works late, he will wander over to Xie Dang's place because it's close to the company.

Sometimes when Xie Dang needs a quiet environment to handle international meetings, he will go directly to Lin Jingshang's small apartment because the network is stable there.

That weekend, Lin Jingshang was looking for an important document at home. He searched through all the drawers but couldn't find it. He was so anxious that he was sweating profusely. He called Xie Dang for help.

"I remember putting it on the desk in the study after I finished reading it last time, why isn't it here anymore?"

"The second drawer from the left, the black folder," Xie Dang's voice came from the other end of the phone.

Lin Jingshang ran to the study, opened the second drawer on the left, and sure enough, the black folder was lying there quietly.

"Found it! How did you know it was with me?"

"I put it away after you used it last time," Xie Dang said calmly.

Lin Jingshang held the folder, stunned for a moment. Xie Dang not only knew where he put things, but also helped him organize them? It was a strange feeling; his life had been silently taken over by another person.

One day, Xie Dang was having a video conference at Lin Jingshang's apartment.

Lin Jingshang was curled up on the living room sofa watching a movie, wearing headphones so as not to disturb him. Halfway through the movie, he felt a bit cold, so he got up and grabbed a gray cashmere cardigan from the corner of the sofa and wrapped it around himself. It was Xie Dang's coat, which he didn't know when he had left it there.

The clothes still had the cool, woody scent that Xie Dang often used. They were a little big, but very warm.

During a break in the meeting, Xie Dang came out of the study to get some water and paused when he saw Lin Jingshang, who was wrapped in his cardigan with only his head showing.

"Cold?" he asked.

"Hmm, the air conditioning is set low here." Lin Jingshang buried his face in the soft wool. "Let me wear this for a while."

Xie Dang didn't say anything, walked over and turned up the air conditioner temperature by two degrees, picked up his water glass and went back to his study.

Lin Jingshang watched his natural actions, feeling as if a kitten's paw had gently scratched his heart. His books appeared on his bookshelf, and his clothes were on his body.

---

Xie Dang developed a new habit at some point: every Saturday morning at seven o'clock, he would appear downstairs at Lin Jingshang's apartment building and pull Lin Jingshang out of bed to go for a morning run.

Lin Jingshang complained bitterly about this; his bed on weekend mornings was his sacred and inviolable territory.

"Xie Dang... just ten more minutes, just ten more minutes..." He buried his head in the blanket, sleepy and pleading indistinctly, not wanting to leave the warm bed.

"A disrupted biological clock can lead to decreased work efficiency." Xie Dang stood by the bed and reached out to lift the blanket.

"Ahhh! It's cold!"

Lin Jingshang sprang out of bed, his face contorted with grief and indignation, glaring at the culprit who had disturbed his peaceful sleep. His resistance was futile, so he dejectedly changed into his workout clothes and was dragged out of the house by Xie Dang.

The air in the park was fresh in the early morning, and there were quite a few people jogging.

Xie Dang ran with ease and his breathing was steady.

Lin Jingshang followed behind him, panting heavily, feeling like his lungs were about to explode: "I can't go on... let's rest for a bit..."

He stopped after running less than a kilometer, supporting himself on his knees and panting heavily.

Xie Dang turned back, looked at his flushed face and rapid breathing, and frowned slightly: "Your cardiopulmonary function needs to be improved."

Lin Jingshang rolled his eyes at him, annoyed.

The following Saturday, Xie Dang brought two identical fitness trackers in different colors. He handed one to Lin Jingshang: "Wear this and monitor your heart rate and exercise data."

As a result, morning runs have become a data monitoring class.

"Heart rate too high, slow down."

"Unstable cadence".

"Your breathing rhythm is disordered; please adjust it."

Lin Jingshang was running with a sense of despair until one time, because he had stayed up late the night before, he felt a little dizzy while running and his steps became unsteady.

Xie Dang stopped immediately and grabbed him to support him: "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, I'm just a little dizzy..." Before Lin Jingshang could finish speaking, Xie Dang pressed him down onto the bench next to him.

Xie Dang looked down at the data transmitted by the bracelet, his brows furrowed: "Signs of low blood sugar. I must eat breakfast before running from now on."

From then on, every time before his morning run, Lin Jingshang would see Xie Dang downstairs carrying soy milk and steamed buns.

He still doesn't like running, and he always wants to stay in bed when he's woken up.

But as he ran in the morning sunlight, looking at the tall, straight figure ahead and feeling the gaze directed at him, it didn't seem so unbearable. One morning, Xie Dang couldn't come because of a last-minute international meeting. Looking at the empty downstairs and the quiet bracelet, he felt a little empty inside.

Habits are a terrible thing.

Friday nights are their tacit movie night. They usually watch a movie together at Xie Dang's apartment, with the curtains drawn, the projector on, and them snuggled up on the sofa.

The right to choose a film is rotated, and this week it's Lin Jingshang's turn.

He enthusiastically chose a highly-rated sci-fi blockbuster with stunning special effects and a mind-bending plot. From the very beginning, he was completely engrossed, experiencing moments of tension and awe as the story unfolded.

However, after watching for less than half an hour, Lin Jingshang felt a weight on his shoulders.

Turning his head, he saw that Xie Dang had fallen asleep on the sofa at some point, his head resting on his shoulder, clearly exhausted.

Lin Jingshang watched the intense interstellar war on the screen, then glanced at the peacefully sleeping face on his shoulder. He silently picked up the remote and turned the volume down several notches. He remained in that position and watched the entire movie. His shoulder went numb several times during the film, but he didn't dare move.

Xie Dang woke up when the movie ended and the end credits song started playing.

He straightened up, rubbed his temples, and his eyes were still a little blurry from just waking up.

"Are you done releasing them?" he asked.

"Hmm." Lin Jingshang stretched his shoulders. "Look, she's asleep."

Xie Dang glanced at the cast and crew list on the screen and objectively commented: "The plot logic has loopholes, and the application of physical laws is not rigorous."

Lin Jingshang: "..."

Watching a movie with a top student is just asking for humiliation.

Next week, Xie Dang will have the right to choose a film, and Lin Jingshang is mentally prepared to watch a three-hour academic documentary.

Xie Dang played an old black-and-white film about the life of a mathematician; the dialogue was obscure, and the pace was slow. Lin Jingshang tried hard to concentrate, attempting to understand the complex mathematical theories, but his eyelids grew heavier, and his consciousness became increasingly blurred…

When he was woken up by the end credits music, he found himself slumped against Xie Dang, almost drooling on Xie's shirt.

He frantically stammered, "I'm so sorry! I fell asleep!"

Xie Dang turned off the projector, turned on the lights, and looked at his flustered appearance, saying calmly, "Yes, the immersion in the movie was low."

Lin Jingshang was a little embarrassed: "Um... what was the movie about?"

Xie Dang succinctly recounted the plot and core mathematical theories to him.

Lin Jingshang was completely confused.