Chapter 42 Your brother is disgusting.

Jiang Luo woke up very early the next morning. After getting up, she went out to buy breakfast. When she got home, she found that Gu Shiyue was already up. He had just finished washing up and came out of the bathroom.

"Why are you up so early? Didn't you sleep well?"

Gu Shiyue shook his head and said, "Biological clock."

Jiang Luo placed the breakfast on the table: "Eat breakfast first, it's still warm. I didn't know what you liked to eat, so I bought a little bit of everything."

Gu Shiyue walked over and touched his face; it was ice-cold.

Jiang Luo tilted her head, rubbed her face against his hand, and said with a smile, "It's so warm."

It's quite cold outside today, but the weather is lovely, with warm sunshine.

"Don't go out to buy breakfast tomorrow morning," Gu Shiyue said. "I'll make it."

Jiang Luo smiled and said, "Okay."

"Have breakfast and then go back to your room for a nap."

"Which...room should we go back to?"

Gu Shiyue raised an eyebrow slightly: "Which room do you want to go back to?"

Jiang Luo pulled on her ear and said, "I don't know."

"I'm going for a run in a bit, you can sleep at my place."

Jiang Luo blinked: "You're going for a run? Then I'll go too."

Jiang Luo had already planned what to do in the afternoon. He intended to watch a movie with Gu Shiyue first, and then take him to visit some nearby attractions. Jiang Chen wasn't home today; Tian Haoyu had invited him out, giving the two of them a whole day alone.

There are many movies released at the end of the year, and the one Jiang Luo chose is the best-received among the recent releases, attracting a large audience. Today is the weekend, and the theater is almost full.

Their seats were towards the back. As Jiang Luo bent over to pass in front of the seats, the screen went black. There was someone sitting there with their legs crossed, but Jiang Luo didn't see them and tripped over them as she passed.

Jiang Luo stumbled forward and almost fell, but luckily Gu Shiyue caught him in time.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry!" The man quickly pulled his foot back and apologized to him.

"It's nothing," Jiang Luo said.

Gu Shiyue held Jiang Luo's wrist tightly and led him forward.

The movie screen lit up again and started playing advertisements.

I had a very fulfilling afternoon, filled with happiness.

Jiang Luo still planned to eat out at a restaurant that evening, but Gu Shiyue rejected the idea. Gu Shiyue probably knew why, so he simply told Jiang Luo, "I'll cook dinner tonight."

Jiang Luo's cooking wasn't exactly bad, but it was just average. He simply didn't like the food he cooked.

Jiang Luo blinked and smiled, "Actually, I wanted to cook for you, but I'm not a very good cook."

Gu Shiyue still vividly remembers the taste of that bowl of birthday noodles from last time.

"I'll make it for you from now on," Gu Shiyue said.

So the two of them went to the supermarket together to buy groceries. As soon as Jiang Chen returned, he was served a hot meal. He didn't know that Gu Shiyue had cooked the meal today. After taking a few bites, his eyes widened slightly as he looked at his brother and said, "Brother, your cooking tastes different."

Jiang Luo chuckled, thinking to himself, "So you do have a sense of taste."

Jiang Chen always praised Jiang Luo's cooking without question; the child wasn't a picky eater and his sense of taste wasn't particularly sensitive. Jiang Luo didn't mention that he hadn't cooked today's meal, but instead followed up by asking, "What's different?"

"There has been progress."

Jiang Luo laughed out loud: "Your sense of taste has improved, but my cooking skills are still stagnant."

Jiang Chen looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"It was Brother Shi Yue who cooked today," Jiang Luo said.

Jiang Chen glanced at Gu Shiyue.

"Is it delicious?" Jiang Luo asked him.

"Mm." Jiang Chen nodded.

After dinner, Tian Haoyu came to find Jiang Chen to play basketball. Jiang Luo and Gu Shiyue also went downstairs with them and took a walk in the park next to the basketball court.

Halfway through her walk, Jiang Luo received a call from Cheng Jiashu.

"Come to my house to play games." Cheng Jiashu's voice was hoarse as if it had been split open, and that was the first thing he said.

Jiang Luo asked in surprise, "What's wrong? Are you sick?"

"Fever. It's nothing, you're all better now."

Are you at home now? Have you received an IV drip?

"Hang up."

Cheng Jiashu's parents are away on a business trip these past two days, so no one is home. He started having a low-grade fever last night, which worsened today, so they called his father's doctor to come over this afternoon to give him an IV drip. Lin Yu is not home today and doesn't know Cheng Jiashu has a fever; Cheng Jiashu is currently alone at home.

"I give up, why didn't you call me?" Jiang Luo said.

"I already called you," Cheng Jiashu said in a hoarse voice, "Come play games with me, I'm so bored."

"Even in this state, you're still playing games."

"I'm really fine, my fever has gone down. I have a nanny at home, so someone can take care of me. All I need now is someone to play with."

"I'll be there in a bit."

"That's right, hurry up!"

"Let me make this clear beforehand, I'm not playing games with you."

"Hey, you..."

Jiang Luo hung up the phone and said to Gu Shiyue, "Senior, I need to go see Cheng Jiashu. He has a fever, and I'm going to check on him."

"I'll take you there."

"No need, I can go by myself. His house isn't far from here. Besides, I think I'll have to stay at his house for a while. He had a fight with Lin Yu yesterday, so he must be in a bad mood. I'll go and talk to him."

"I'll take you there and then come back."

Jiang Luo smiled and said, "That's too much trouble. You'll have to make two trips."

"Let's go."

"I'll try to come back as soon as possible," Jiang Luo promised. "I won't play games with him."

Cheng Jiashu's house wasn't far; it only took ten minutes to drive there. Halfway there, Jiang Chen received a call from Tian Haoyu using his phone. Tian Haoyu wanted to invite Jiang Luo and the others to play basketball together. They were short-handed because several people had left the court halfway through their game.

Since Jiang Luo couldn't go, and Gu Shiyue had nothing else to do anyway, he went straight there after dropping Jiang Luo off.

Cheng Jiashu sat back on the bed, playing a single-player game with a controller in hand. His hair was messy, and he was wearing pajamas, looking like he hadn't gotten out of bed all day.

"How is it?" Jiang Luo walked into the room. "Has the fever gone down?"

"The fever's gone down. I told you I had an IV drip; I wouldn't have the energy to play games if my fever hadn't gone down." Cheng Jiashu's voice was hoarse, but he seemed to be in good spirits. He tossed a game controller to Jiang Luo, "Play with me."

"I'm not playing." Jiang Luo snatched the controller from his hand. "You shouldn't play either."

"Why--"

"Hey, what are you hey for? You should get some rest now." Jiang Luo put the controller next to the TV and walked over to touch his forehead.

"We won't burn it, will we?" Cheng Jiashu raised an eyebrow.

Jiang Luo pressed him back into the covers: "Lie down properly."

"I'm so hot." Cheng Jiashu pulled out one arm.

Jiang Luo shoved his arm back in: "Keep it warm, even if it's hot."

Jiang Luo sat down on the small sofa next to him: "Why did you suddenly get a fever?"

How would I know?

"I guess he caught a chill last night."

"Do you still remember what happened yesterday?" Jiang Luo asked him.

Cheng Jiashu remembered, but not completely. He said, "I don't remember."

Jiang Luo stared at him for a few seconds, then chuckled and said, "Keep pretending."

"Ugh..." Cheng Jiashu rubbed his face. "It's not like it's anything good, why would I bother remembering it? It's so annoying."

Cheng Jiashu drank too much yesterday, and his words and actions were indeed impulsive and irritable. He's usually a bit willful, but not to that extent. Now that he's sober and calm, he feels a little embarrassed looking back. But his emotions at the time were genuine; he just couldn't control himself because he was drunk. Of course, those emotions haven't disappeared. Lin Yu's decision to immigrate and leave is still a deep blow to Cheng Jiashu, and he can't simply ignore it after a night of sobriety.

How did your chat go yesterday?

"We didn't talk, and we didn't want to talk. What's there to talk about?"

"Is he really going to immigrate?"

"have no idea."

"Didn't he say it wasn't finalized yet?"

"It's none of my business." Cheng Jiashu pulled the blanket over his face.

"It's none of your business, and you still threw such a tantrum yesterday."

"Damn it!" Cheng Jiashu threw off the blanket. "I was drunk! Let him move if he wants, it's none of my business! That Western-minded devil, he'd rather stay in China than move to some damn country!"

Jiang Luo chuckled at his words: "He's not back yet?"

"Who is it?" Cheng Jiashu asked impatiently.

"Lin Yu."

"I don't know, who knows him?"

"Whether this matter is settled or not, you two should find an opportunity to have a proper talk."

Cheng Jiashu turned his face away: "What's there to talk about? It's a waste of time."

“There’s a lot to talk about. Tell him clearly what you’re thinking. Tell him you don’t want him to immigrate. Whether he immigrates or not is his business, but you need to express your thoughts to feel better, right?”

Cheng Jiashu turned to look at him, and after a long while, he sighed softly and said, "To be honest, I don't want to see him at all right now."

"Why?"

"Because of yesterday!" Cheng Jiashu pounded the bed in frustration. "I was so damn embarrassed, so incredibly embarrassed..."

"Here you go." Tian Haoyu handed Jiang Chen a bottle of water.

Jiang Chen raised his arm to wipe the sweat from his forehead and took the water. He unscrewed the cap, took a sip, and rested for a while next to the basketball hoop.

There are several basketball courts in this area, and many people are playing on the court next to them. Jiang Chen was standing there drinking water when he caught a ball flying towards him out of the corner of his eye. He quickly dodged to the side but still couldn't avoid it, and the ball flew past his elbow.

Jiang Chen lost his grip on the bottle, and it fell to the ground, spilling most of the water.

He bent down to pick up the bottle and heard a familiar voice from not far away: "Sorry, it wasn't intentional."

Jiang Chen glanced in the direction of the sound—it was his classmate, Zhao Yi, speaking.

This person has a one-sided feud with Jiang Chen. He loves picking fights with Jiang Chen at school, and he's still the same after leaving school. His family is somewhat wealthy, and he got into a top high school through connections. He's used to being fawned over and can't stand anyone being more arrogant than him.

In his eyes, someone like Jiang Chen, who doesn't like to talk or interact with people, is just "arrogant".

Moreover, the girl he had previously pursued had actually pursued Jiang Chen, so based on that alone, it was impossible for him to find Jiang Chen pleasing to the eye.

Jiang Chen's classmates are mostly from this district, and he occasionally runs into them in the vicinity after school.

This wasn't the first time he'd run into Zhao Yi here; he wondered what was wrong with the guy today.

Jiang Chen is just mild-mannered, not without a temper. He had clashed with Zhao Yi before, and Zhao Yi wasn't considered a "normal person" in his eyes.

Jiang Chen picked up the basketball that had rolled to his feet, looked in Zhao Yi's direction, and slammed the ball against the iron net beside him. The ball bounced violently off the net and flew far away; it would take a long time to retrieve it.

In Zhao Yi's eyes, this behavior was nothing short of a provocation.

"You need to be taught a lesson, don't you?" Zhao Yi walked over with a dark face, followed by several boys.

Tian Haoyu also came over and stood in front of Jiang Chen, asking, "Who smashed whom first? Who deserves to be taught a lesson?"

Did I hit you?

"I don't care who you smash."

Zhao Yi pointed his finger at Tian Haoyu's nose: "You really think I wouldn't dare to mess with you, huh?"

"Come on if you dare."

Zhao Yi's finger almost poked Tian Haoyu's eye, but Jiang Chen raised his arm and slapped his hand away, pulling Tian Haoyu behind him.

"Oh, they're really protective of each other... What a pair of loyal brothers." Zhao Yi looked at Tian Haoyu, then at Jiang Chen, and suddenly smiled enigmatically. "Hey Jiang Chen... you're not like your brother, are you?"

Jiang Chen frowned.

Zhao Yi looked up, pretending to glance around, then asked, "Where's your brother? Why didn't he come to play basketball today?" He looked away and then at Jiang Chen, "He's not with someone else, is he? Like with a guy?"

Tian Haoyu looked puzzled, completely unaware of what Zhao Yi was up to.

Jiang Chen stared at him silently with a cold expression.

Zhao Yi snorted coldly, a mocking smile creeping onto his lips: "Disgusting."

"What did you say?!" Tian Haoyu glared at him.

“I said his brother is gay.” Zhao Yi pointed at Jiang Chen. “Your brother—is gay.”

Tian Haoyu was stunned.

Jiang Chen stood there, stunned, staring at Zhao Yi without saying a word.

“I saw him at the movie theater today, with a guy, and they were even holding hands…” Zhao Yi sneered, her eyes full of disdain, “Your brother is disgusting.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than Jiang Chen punched Zhao Yi in the face.

No matter how much Zhao Yi said, he could control his emotions, but the phrase "your brother is disgusting" completely enraged him.

"Damn!" Zhao Yi covered his nose, and after realizing what had happened, he immediately threw a punch at Jiang Chen, but Jiang Chen dodged it by tilting his head.

"Fuck your mother!" Zhao Yi's nose was bleeding from the blow. He wiped his nose and pounced on Jiang Chen like a madman.

Before Tian Haoyu could react, Jiang Chen had already been tackled to the ground by Zhao Yi, and the two began to wrestle. Jiang Chen was initially pinned down, but then gained the upper hand, kicking Zhao Yi hard in the stomach and pinning him to the ground as well.

"Who are you calling disgusting?" Jiang Chen, his eyes red, punched Zhao Yi hard in the face.

"Your brother! Did you hear me when I said your brother is disgusting? Your brother! Disgusting!" Zhao Yi roared, his fists swinging wildly at Jiang Chen's face.

Jiang Chen dodged most of his punches. Jiang Chen pressed on his neck and silently punched him in the face, one punch after another.

Seeing this, Zhao Yi's brothers immediately rushed to help him. Jiang Chen was outnumbered and was at a disadvantage. He was then overpowered and pinned down by Zhao Yi. Tian Haoyu joined the melee but couldn't withstand the enemy's superior numbers.

As the crowd grew larger, some people tried to break up the fight but couldn't, and chaos ensued.

Gu Shiyue pushed through the crowd and strode over, grabbing Zhao Yi's henchmen by the clothes and tossing them aside one by one like chicks. Zhao Yi was still on top of Jiang Chen, throwing punches at him, when Gu Shiyue grabbed his arm.

Zhao Yi tried to shake him off but failed. He turned around and yelled, "Get the hell out of here!"

Gu Shiyue gripped his arm and stared at him coldly: "Try moving again."