10

It got dark outside, the lights came on inside, and my stomach started rumbling.

Zhang Peng rested his head on my stomach, tilted his ear to listen carefully, and then laughed.

He's really got a knack for laughing today.

"Hey, the little guy in your belly is protesting."

"Protest? Who is it?"

"Roundworms! Stupid!"

"Does it even dare to protest? Damn it, pull it out and kill it!"

"Tch, all you do is talk nonsense! If you pull it out, you'll be dead too! Get up, let's go eat."

I put my hand under my neck; I don't want to move at all right now. It's been over a month since I last did anything, and my back is a little sore.

"Get up!" Zhang Peng sat up and pinched my nose.

"Can I sleep for a while?"

"No, you've been lying here for most of the day. Look, it's already dark."

"Hey, good child, think about how hard farmers work in the fields. How can they not have a break? If they die from exhaustion, who will contribute to your fertile land in the future? Be good, let me lie down for a while. If you're hungry, go out and find something to eat. But I reckon Xia Yu has nothing but raw rice here."

"Who's your fertile land? Stop being so conceited! Aren't you starving? Right now, it's like my stomach is growling."

I sighed, closed my eyes, and said, "I am hungry, but I want to sleep more now. It's important to replenish my energy, otherwise, I won't have the energy to do things tonight. Okay, okay, stop talking in my ear. Go out and find Hua Hong to play with, and check on that kid's work while you're at it."

"Ouch!" I had barely finished speaking when I got kicked in the stomach. I quickly opened my eyes and looked at Zhang Peng, who was already standing up. He had his hands on his hips and was looking down at me.

"You vulgar and useless thing, if you dare to spout nonsense again, I'll kick a hole through your lousy stomach."

"Oh no!" I was startled, and he woke me up instantly.

"Listen, I'm counting to three now. If you still haven't gotten up by then, hmph!"

A long leg swung in front of me, then struck a shooting pose.

I looked down and immediately sat up. This bed was no longer a haven of peace; it was a battlefield!

"One, two..."

"Wait, wait, I'll get up, I'll get up."

After turning around on the bed, I suddenly realized that my clothes were nowhere to be found.

"Hey, where are my pants?"

I jumped out of bed, quickly grabbed the blanket and shook it. Seeing that I hadn't dropped what I was looking for, I kicked the pillow aside and started searching again.

No, no, where did it go?

"Hahahaha~~" Zhang Peng laughed loudly from the side, stepped back to the door and said, "Two and a half! Hey, I'm going to open the door now. If I still haven't found you, I'm ready to expose myself in front of Hua Hong."

"Wait, wait, don't open the door! Give me three seconds, I'll find it!"

It wasn't on the bed, so I jumped off. I glanced at the floor, but still nothing.

"Pengpeng, I think it's in here." Standing in a corner of the room where clutter was piled up like a small mountain, my neck drooped as if it were broken.

Are we going to have to search this place from top to bottom? Wow! That's a huge undertaking!

"Hey, look at this!"

Turning around, Zhang Peng was spinning something around in his hand.

When I saw that, I was speechless.

Zhang Peng laughed even harder.

"Give it to me."

"Why?"

"Oh... there's nothing covering it down there, it feels really cold."

Zhang Peng laughed so hard he bent over, and the next second, Hua Hua's underwear flew straight at my head.

"Haha, take your time getting dressed, you nipple-revealing guy."

I grabbed my underwear, my hand still outstretched in mid-air, when Zhang Peng had already opened the door.

At the door, Red Hair stood straight, his raised left hand clearly indicating he was about to knock.

Their eyes met, and neither of them spoke.

I felt the blood rushing to my face.

The red-haired man, who had been all smiles, stiffened up unnaturally the moment he saw me.

Beside him, Zhang Peng chuckled, a particularly mischievous grin.

It took me a while to exclaim "Ah!" and realize what was happening. I quickly covered my private parts with my pants and shouted at Zhang Peng, "Close the door! Close the door!"

The door finally closed, and I gasped for breath, leaning against the wall. A minute later, I straightened up and pulled on my pants.

Standing by the window, my reflection was faintly visible in the clear glass. I looked myself over, thinking my figure was pretty good. My shoulders were broad, the kind of fabric that would fit well in clothes; my waist, though slender, was quite toned—Pengpeng had said it felt great to wrap my arms around it; my legs were long, everyone who'd seen them said I could be a model; although I wasn't very fleshy, Pengpeng also said a lean physique was more attractive. So, by all accounts, my body was top-notch, certainly not something to be ashamed of. But… what was with that look from Red Hair?

I can understand blushing; I can understand surprise; but why did he cover his mouth with his hand? And that look in his eyes, it was strange, what did it mean?

"Ahhhhh!" I yelled, "That kid saw it! That kid must have seen it! Look at the way he's looking at me, he must think my little brother is too small, but I'm not small! I'm not small! Oh no, oh no, it's all Pengpeng's fault, now I'm going to be laughed at!"

※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※

After getting dressed, I felt awkward for a long time before finally going out.

You still have to meet people, don't you?

Zhang Peng was sitting on the sofa watching TV. When he saw me come out, he acted as if nothing had happened and said to me, "Oh, you've finally come out. Come and sit over here."

I glared at him but didn't reply. My eyes darted around and I saw Red Hair in the kitchen, doing something.

My heart was pounding wildly. Watching his retreating figure, I craned my neck and took a deep breath.

Damn it, why am I so nervous?

"Hey, doesn't it feel like your eyes have lit up?" Zhang Peng said.

"What?"

"Open your eyes and take a good look at this room. Don't you think it's exceptionally clean?"

When Zhang Peng mentioned it, I remembered that I had asked Hongmao to clean the floor. I looked down at the floor... wow, it was really clean, it was even shiny.

"He cleaned the whole house except for our room. Isn't that amazing!"

Is this for real? I could hardly believe my ears. Laziness is a common problem among men, and this red-haired guy didn't seem like a diligent person at all.

Looking at the shiny glass in the window, I went over and touched the window frame... There really wasn't a speck of dust.

Zhang Peng patted the leather sofa he was sitting on and said, "Look, even this has been wiped clean. The armrests are so shiny. Xia Xiang, you should learn from them."

"He really did it? I was just joking with him, I didn't expect him to take it seriously."

"Are you joking? They cleaned this place up before you called it a joke? Pshaw, hindsight!"

"You don't believe me? I really didn't expect him to do this. I was just joking with him. He's a guest, after all. How could I really let someone do these things? If I wasn't so eager to do 'that' with you... hehe, I would have mopped the floor first before going back to my room. Sigh, it's all my fault for not having enough self-control."

Zhang Peng turned his head to look at me, then at the ceiling, and laughed, "It's true that you lack self-control. You said you would mop the floor first... Haha, I really didn't see that coming."

"Fine, don't believe me if you don't want to."

Turning to look towards the kitchen, I asked, "What's he doing in there?"

"What can you do in the kitchen? Cook, of course! Do you think people take a shower in there?"

Cooking? He can even do that?

Indeed, appearances can be deceiving!

I plopped my butt down on the armrest and said, "I wonder if the rice on Xia Yu's side has gone moldy?"

"Probably not. If it's moldy, wouldn't you be able to tell?"

"That's true." Mold rice will turn green, right?

While watching the boring variety shows on TV, my mind kept wandering to the red-haired guy in the kitchen.

Why hasn't he left yet?

How come he was so obedient and actually cleaned this place so thoroughly? Look at that floor, he must have mopped it more than twice. Why was he working so hard?

Why should he stay and cook? Shouldn't he go home?

He's not even going to get his car. What is he planning to do?

Zhang Peng touched my leg and asked in a low voice, "What are you thinking about? Isn't it strange that he's still here?"

After thinking for a moment, I honestly replied, "Yes, I don't understand why he stayed here."

"You've got your eye on me, is that even a question?" Zhang Peng said with a smile.

"Oh? You think so too! Hehe, we're on the same page now. Who can blame me for being so handsome, charming, and lovable? Unfortunately, I already have someone I love and can't reciprocate his feelings. Alas, it's truly a case of unrequited love. Do you think I should advise him to give up?"

With a "smack," I received a slap on the leg.

"Stop being so conceited! Let me tell you, no one but me would dare to want you."

"Why? I have the looks, the figure, and the strength, don't I? What's wrong with me?"

"With your laziness, I doubt many people would want you! Tell me, in all these years we've known each other, how many times have you mopped the floor or wiped the windows? I've been the one washing your clothes! You're a complete lazybones reincarnated!"

"Don't we have a washing machine at home? Why do you need to wash it?"

He had barely finished speaking when he received another heavy slap on the leg.

"Damn! You really think you can clean ink stains and oil stains with just a washing machine? If you don't believe me, do it yourself next time!"

"Hehehehe, I believe you, I believe you." I laughed, stroking Zhang Peng's distinctive short hair. "Thank you for your kindness, sir. If it weren't for you, I don't know what kind of miserable life I would be living now. I will never forget your great kindness."

Zhang Peng chuckled and said, "That's right, that's right, you must repay my kindness properly."

After laughing for a while, Zhang Peng said in a low voice, "In my opinion, he doesn't want to go home."

"..."

Not wanting to go home? Could it be related to a breakup? Thinking this, I didn't say anything. After all, I only knew about it because Red Hair let it slip when he was drunk. Judging from his behavior since he woke up this morning, he hasn't mentioned that painful thing at all, which means he doesn't want others to know. If that's the case, why should I reopen old wounds?

“I think he’s only about twenty-three or twenty-four. If he’s really having a fight with his family, we can just leave him alone for a couple of days and he’ll be fine. But what about him at night? Is he going to stay at Xia Yu’s place again? That’s not convenient.”

Just then, Hongmao came out of the kitchen carrying a rice cooker. Seeing Zhang Peng and me, he greeted us with a smile, "I cooked a pot of porridge. Everyone must be hungry. Come and have some."

Zhang Peng stood up, said thank you, and walked over.

Seeing that I was still sitting there, Red Hair smiled and said to me, "Come on over here, what are you still standing there for?"

I smiled sheepishly, feeling a little nervous facing him. I was worried he might have some negative comments about my "brother."

Red Hair walked over, lowered his head and looked at me, saying, "Hey, what's wrong with you? Did you starve to death?"

"It's nothing, haha... I just felt bad letting you clean this house all by yourself. Why did you take my words so seriously? I was just joking with you."

"Oh, haha, I knew you were joking all along."

You know?

"Yes, anyone with eyes can see that. You're a kind and good person, you wouldn't really expect me to do any work. I did all those things voluntarily."

A good person? Me?

Looking into Hongmao's innocent eyes, I really couldn't agree with his statement. Thinking back to when he caught Zhang Peng and me behind the tree, I just wanted to kick him so hard he'd fly into the air. How could he possibly think I was a good person? At best, I just have the appearance of a good person.

"Don't you believe me? To you, I'm just a complete stranger. My life or death is irrelevant to you. But last night, when you met me, you didn't abandon me. You even kindly carried me back and let me stay overnight. Isn't someone who does that a good person?"

"This..." I blinked, and it seemed to make some sense.

I glanced at Zhang Peng; he had somehow acquired a bowl in his hand and was looking at me, drinking porridge while smiling.

"I didn't lock the door when I went out this afternoon, and the wind made a mess of the house. Even though you have a loud voice and your eyes are wide open, you didn't kick me out, did you? The fact that you did that made me feel that you actually care about me, and at least you consider me a friend. You can talk and laugh, and it feels really good."

Listening to Red Hair's words, I couldn't help but feel a little moved.

Is the person he's talking about really me? Am I really that good? Really that good?

"I'm so glad to have met you."

Red Hair reached out his hand to me. I stared at it for a while, finally realizing he wanted me to take his hand. I turned to look at Zhang Peng. Although we were some distance apart, he seemed to know what Red Hair had said to me, and nodded at me with an accepting look. So, without further hesitation, I reached out and placed my hand in Red Hair's palm.

My heart started pounding again. It was the first time I'd been praised like this, and it would be a lie to say I wasn't happy.

Red Hair pulled me to my feet and smiled at me generously. I suddenly thought his smile was very handsome, sunny and bright, with a touch of innocent childlike charm.

To be honest, I was quite happy to find him.