Single Sofa Fight

Lin Jingshang unfortunately caught another cold. This time the symptoms weren't severe, just a stuffy nose and sore throat. He originally planned to take some medicine and tough it out, but Xie Dang saw through his act during their video call that evening.

"You have a cold." Xie Dang used a declarative sentence.

"Huh? Is it that obvious?" Lin Jingshang touched his nose. "Just a little bit..."

"Body temperature," Xie Dang interrupted him.

"No measurement, so it shouldn't be burned..."

"I'll be there in ten minutes," Xie Dang said, and then hung up the video call.

Ten minutes later, the doorbell rang. Xie Dang stood at the door carrying a bag containing a thermometer, several kinds of medicine, and a box of throat lozenges.

Body temperature measured: 37.8℃, low-grade fever.

He took the medicine and drank warm water with practiced ease.

"I have medicine here..." Lin Jingshang protested weakly.

"It's expired." Xie Dang glanced at the medicine box in the lower drawer of his coffee table.

Lin Jingshang: "..."

How did you know?

After everything was taken care of, Xie Dang sat down on the sofa and took out his laptop.

"Aren't you going back?" Lin Jingshang asked.

"Observation period to prevent recurrence of the illness." Xie Dang didn't even look up.

Looking at his matter-of-fact attitude, Lin Jingshang thought to himself: What observation period? You're just making excuses to stay here!

But he was happy. Wrapped in a blanket, he nestled at the other end of the sofa, watching Xie Dang work under the light. His stuffy nose didn't seem so bad anymore.

After a while, he felt a little sleepy and slumped against the armrest of the sofa in a daze.

Half-asleep, he felt someone gently adjust the position of his head to make him more comfortable, and the blanket was carefully tucked in. He tried to open his eyes, but his eyelids were too heavy, and he eventually fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, Lin Jingshang woke up in his bed, paused for a few seconds, and then realized that he had clearly fallen asleep on the sofa last night.

Was it Xie Dang who brought him back to the bedroom?

He walked out of the bedroom and saw Xie Dang in the kitchen, cooking porridge. He looked tall and straight in the sunlight.

"Awake? How are you feeling?" Xie Dang turned to look at him.

"Much better." Lin Jingshang scratched his head. "Um... thanks for last night."

"Hmm." Xie Dang turned back and continued stirring the porridge in the pot. "Remember to take your medicine on time next time."

---

Lin Jingshang discovered that the refrigerator was empty and prepared to go to the supermarket for a big shopping trip.

He took out his phone and made a shopping list, adding the brand of coffee beans Xie Dang often drank and the zero-sugar Greek yogurt. After finishing, he sent a screenshot of the list to Xie Dang.

[Lin Jingshang]: Do we need to replenish anything at the supermarket?

【Xie Dang】: None available.

Half an hour later, Lin Jingshang was pushing a shopping cart and picking out fruit in the fresh produce section when his phone suddenly vibrated.

[Xie Dang]: If you see this, buy a box of strawberries.

Lin Jingshang was taken aback; Xie Dang almost never ate fruits with high sugar content.

He replied with "OK," then, somewhat puzzled, went to the refrigerated section and grabbed a box of strawberries that looked the freshest.

While queuing to pay, he looked at the coffee beans, yogurt, and strawberries lined up side by side in his shopping cart. Half of the items in the cart belonged to him, and the other half to Xie Dang, all mixed together.

He carried all his belongings back to Xie Dang's apartment, where he now spends most of his weekends. He sorted the items and put them in the refrigerator, carefully washing the box of strawberries and placing it in a glass bowl.

Xie Dang came out of the study, saw the strawberries in the glass bowl, said nothing, picked one up and tasted it.

"Is it sweet?" Lin Jingshang asked.

"Not bad," Xie Dang commented, then picked up another one and held it to Lin Jingshang's lips.

Lin Jingshang opened his mouth and took it; it was indeed very sweet.

In the evening, Lin Jingshang sat cross-legged on the living room carpet playing games, while Xie Dang read a book beside him. The bowl of strawberries was placed on the coffee table between the two of them.

Lin Jingshang was playing a game and would occasionally reach over to grab a strawberry. After a while, he noticed that Xie Dang would also reach over to grab a strawberry while reading, and the bowl of strawberries was quickly emptied.

A few days later, while Lin Jingshang was tidying up his backpack at home, he felt something hard. He took it out and saw it was a brand new, limited-edition game cartridge—the one he'd casually mentioned wanting to play a few days earlier but hadn't been able to buy.

He was stunned, turning the cassette tape over and over in his mind. He had never asked Xie Dang for it and didn't even remember when he had asked for it.

Was that box of strawberries also because I once casually remarked that "strawberries taste best in this season"?

---

In Xie Dang's apartment living room, there's a comfortable single sofa made of sheepskin, offering excellent comfort and making it the perfect spot for an afternoon nap. Ever since Lin Jingshang started coming and going frequently, this sofa has become a hotly contested spot.

After lunch that day, the two of them simultaneously glanced at the sofa.

Lin Jingshang moved quickly, rushing forward and grabbing the handrail, declaring his ownership: "Mine!"

Xie Dang was a step behind, standing to the side, looking at him expressionlessly: "I need to take a lunch break."

"I need it too!" Lin Jingshang buried his face in the soft sheepskin and said in a muffled voice, "Don't you understand respecting the elderly and caring for the young?"

"Based on my biological age data, I do not meet the standard of being old, and you do not meet the definition of being young."

"I'm mentally immature!" Lin Jingshang said shamelessly.

Xie Dang looked at his shameless behavior, remained silent for a few seconds, then suddenly bent down and picked him up along with the blanket.

"Hey! What are you doing!" Lin Jingshang exclaimed, kicking his arms and legs wildly.

Xie Dang ignored him, carried the person to the double sofa, put him down, and then calmly sat down on the precious single sofa, adjusting the angle of the cushions.

"Xie Dang! This is robbery!" Lin Jingshang was so angry he wanted to pounce on him.

"An effective strategy." Xie Dang had already closed his eyes, preparing to fall asleep.

Lin Jingshang ground his teeth, looking at the other party's calm demeanor, knowing that he wasn't strong enough and couldn't take it back. He angrily slumped onto the double sofa, turning his back to the robber and covering his head with a blanket.

The two-seater sofa was comfortable, but it was nowhere near as good as the throne.

Lin Jingshang tossed and turned, growing angrier the more he thought about it.

After a while, he felt the sofa cushion next to him sink in. He secretly pulled the blanket down a little and glanced over. Xie Dang came over and sat down next to him, still holding the single sofa cushion in his hand.

"Here you go, the double sofa is wide enough." Xie Dang stuffed the cushion under his head.

Lin Jingshang, holding the cushion, paused for a moment, and his anger instantly dissipated by more than half. He hummed softly, said nothing, adjusted the cushion, and settled into a comfortable position.

Xie Dang lay down next to him.

The two-seater sofa was still a bit cramped for two adult men; their shoulders were touching and their legs were close together.

Lin Jingshang could feel the warm body temperature of the person next to him.

Is it alright to squeeze in like this?

He secretly scooted closer to Xie Dang, closed his eyes, and left the comfortable single sofa all alone.

---

Xie Dang sends Lin Jingshang a weather forecast every morning without fail, with details down to the temperature, humidity, wind speed, and probability of precipitation.

That morning, the forecast showed sunny skies turning cloudy during the day, with only a 10% chance of precipitation. Lin Jingshang looked at the bright sunshine outside the window and put his umbrella back. Then, just before he was about to leave work in the afternoon, a torrential downpour suddenly began. He stood at the company entrance, dumbfounded.

How could he encounter something with only a 10% chance? What incredible luck!

He was debating whether to rush to the subway station in the rain or wait for the rain to subside when his phone rang.

"Wait for me at the door," Xie Dang said before hanging up the phone.

A few minutes later, the familiar black sedan pulled up in front of the company. Lin Jingshang opened the car door and got in, still a little wet.

"Thank you so much. I'm so glad you came. This awful weather is terrible; they said it wouldn't rain."

Xie Dang handed him a dry towel, looking straight ahead: "I brought an umbrella."

Lin Jingshang paused in drying his hair, noticing a long-handled umbrella on the back seat. He was taken aback: "You knew it was going to rain?"

"The probability model has errors. Based on real-time cloud image analysis, the probability of precipitation in the afternoon has been revised to 65%," Xie Dang explained.

Lin Jingshang looked at Xie Dang's profile as he focused on driving, then lowered his head, covering his face with a towel to hide the slight upturn of his lips. Xie Dang always did the most thoughtful things in the most rational way.