Chapter 48 Ex-boyfriend vs. Current Boyfriend
After a long night, Xu Yuewei slept through more than half of her precious day. When she woke up, she glanced at the time and saw that it was almost 2 p.m. The blue curtains in her bedroom could not block out the sunlight.
She lost her balance and fell onto her forehead, feeling her whole body heat up.
She didn't feel anything in her throat. She swallowed hard, and although she had the courage to call Jiang Shiyan's name, she didn't have the strength. Her voice was so weak that it sounded like bubbling soda or a cat's comfortable purring.
Then she remembered the mug she had ruined.
Then I got thirsty.
Xu Yuewei forced her eyes open and typed: 【I want to drink water.】
She listened intently for a while after receiving no reply, but there were no footsteps outside the bedroom door.
Where are they?
They clearly went home together last night.
Perhaps illness makes people vulnerable. Xu Yuewei began to feel anxious and insecure. She wondered if he was playing her again, just like last time when he showed her a condom after kissing her. This time, he left her alone in this unsafe house again.
Speaking of which, does this mean they've gotten back together? When they first got together, there wasn't any special ceremony; they just held hands without saying a word.
Young people simply like what they like; there's no need for complicated reasoning.
Xu Yuewei sighed, got up, and shuffled to the living room in her heavy fluffy slippers, stopping at the dining table.
On the table were a box of fever reducers, an empty cup, and a black thermos. I unscrewed it and took a sip; the water inside was lukewarm.
Then I moved to the kitchen, where there were three steamed buns in a wok on the stove. They were a bit cold, but we didn't have a steamer at home, so if we turned on the heat, they would turn into pan-fried buns.
She had little appetite and put the pot lid back on.
The rented room was poorly furnished; the kitchen was incomplete, and there was no thermos. The kettle had to be reheated several times a day to cool the boiled water.
She turned back and looked at the unfamiliar thermos standing next to the empty cup, suddenly realizing that this was just a room, not a home.
Just then, a few meters away, she heard the sound of a key turning in a lock. The metallic sound made her heart race, and in a moment of panic, she grabbed her thermos for self-defense.
The door opened, and a man wearing a knitted hat and a mask walked in, but what kind of thief would be carrying a scallion?
Jiang Shiyan hung the key on the wall and asked her casually, "You're up? Did you take your medicine?"
“…Hmm.” Xu Yuewei put the thermos back. “I just drank some.”
"I bought some groceries."
Jiang Shiyan looked down to show her the bag in his hand, and the Kapibala keychain was swaying slightly against the wall next to him.
Xu Yuewei chuckled softly, prompting him to look up: "What's wrong?"
She shook her head with a smile: "It's nothing."
Jiang Shiyan put down the bag again and took off his hat and mask: "I'm just afraid of being bumped into again."
He thought she was laughing at his comical appearance, but Xu Yuewei didn't explain. She cleared her throat and said, "I caught it from you."
Her heart, which had been beating calmly, began to race again. She shouldn't be nervous, but Jiang Shiyan stood there straight, the scallion sticking out of the bag in his hand. He gave a serious "hmm".
Xu Yuewei opened her mouth: "What's going on?"
Who was it that... nibbled at her like that last night?
Jiang Shiyan carried the groceries to the kitchen, then returned to face her: "I feel a little...unreal."
“…Who isn’t?” Xu Yuewei rubbed the calluses on her thumb and whispered, “I didn’t see you when I got up, and I thought so too.”
"...Let's cook first."
"……good."
This time, the range hood sucked away the smoke and the noise made the atmosphere less than warm, but Xu Yuewei stood next to him, occasionally handing him some condiments, and Jiang Shiyan didn't chase her away.
He was cooking stir-fried green peppers and potatoes. Unlike restaurants that slice potatoes thinly, he cut them into thick slices, then added some water and simmered them briefly. The starch sank into the sauce, making it sticky and perfect with rice.
While the sauce was simmering over low to medium heat, Xu Yuewei suddenly leaned against his left arm holding the pot handle, turned her face to the side, and wiped her tears into his soft sweater.
She held back her strength, not leaning her whole body against him, but Jiang Shiyan felt an immense weight on his arm, as if he were falling to the ground.
He turned off the stove, turned around, and hugged her.
The kitchen window is well-sealed, preventing any air from getting in. However, when strong winds blow through the upper floors, they create a raging howling sound, which, through the window, makes the small space seem exceptionally safe.
The sweater was thick, and Jiang Shiyan couldn't feel the dampness on her chest, but he knew she was crying.
Xu Yuewei felt the arms wrapped around her tightening, as if squeezing out the air, leaving her all alone.
*
After finishing her meal, Xu Yuewei lay on the bed in a daze.
I just took her temperature, and it was exactly 38 degrees Celsius. Her fever wasn't very high, and she had no other discomfort except for feeling tired.
"Is it because I'm almost recovered and the viral load is low that you have a mild case?"
Jiang Shiyan sat on the edge of the bed, put away the mercury thermometer, and then felt her forehead.
Xu Yuewei grabbed his hand as he withdrew it: "Do you regret it? Last night."
"A little." He touched her cheek with the back of his hand. "Your face is so red."
Xu Yuewei blinked her dry eyes: "Isn't it said that fever can kill cancer cells? It's not a bad thing to have a fever once in a while, right?"
She paused for a moment, then added, "My dad rarely gets a fever."
She felt his hand stiffen slightly, and gently nuzzled against it, saying slowly, "Say something, otherwise I'm not sure what to do."
Their eyes met, and under her rare, sincere gaze, Jiang Shiyan closed his eyes tightly, held back for a moment, and when he opened them, he couldn't help but say, "Damn, I should have debuted back then."
Over the years, Jiang Shiyan has never regretted refusing the invitation from the management company. He regards singers as a kind of commodity, and he would rather be the one holding the puppet strings, just like when he was in school and his class choir sang, he always had to be the conductor.
But if he had debuted earlier, he would have earned a lot of money by the time he was twenty, enough for her to be able to introduce him openly to her materialistic father after their relationship was exposed.
But the real Jiang Shiyan, at twenty years old, was just a poor boy, and he even misunderstood her, thinking she was cheating on him because she was materialistic.
Xu Yuewei deftly deflected the question by saying, "It's not your fault. We were too young when we met."
In the hazy days of adolescence, hormones surge, and a single misstep in the fog can plunge you into a swamp.
Growing up has its advantages; you see clearly what you want, and you become more determined.
In a moment of impulsiveness, Xu Yuewei blurted out, "Let's get married."
Jiang Shiyan paused for a moment, then opened and closed the two fingers that were pressed against her face, gently pinching her: "Rejected."
Xu Yuewei realized she was being delirious, and her face burned even hotter after she said those words. Dissatisfied with his frivolous response, she pretended to be annoyed and slapped his hand away, turning to the side while hugging the blanket: "So, are you going to act like a hooligan?"
"You shouldn't be saying that."
Do you admit that you're actually a bit of a chauvinist?
He raised an eyebrow: "Aren't you adapting well?"
Xu Yuewei, with a sudden burst of strength, grabbed his arm and pulled him. He leaned towards her, twisting his waist and bracing himself on either side of her, his entire body dangling above her.
“I don’t like that about you,” she whispered, “but I like you.”
One person had a fever, while the other's blood was rushing upwards. It was unclear whose lips and tongue were hotter, but they intertwined and created a fire that burned very, very deep.
*
Jiang Shiyan went to the hotel to move his luggage over, while Xu Yuewei, not wanting to sleep through the first day of the new year, got up to tidy up the house.
The rented apartment is small, with one bedroom, one living room, one kitchen, and one bathroom. If he wants to come and live with us, he can only stay in the living room.
It is said that the previous tenants were a couple who paid for their own bed to be replaced with the current 1.8-meter double bed, which is just right for the two of them, but Xu Yuewei does not plan to let Jiang Shiyan into her bed yet.
This is too fast, she thought.
The sofa in the living room is big enough for someone to sleep on, or you could add a folding bed, but it would be just make do. The thought of having people living in a large apartment make do with this kind of environment doesn't bother Xu Yuewei at all; in fact, she's quite happy about it.
It feels like we're going back to those days when we squeezed into a cramped rental apartment together.
After mopping the floor, she was completely exhausted and collapsed on the sofa to rest. The thin layer of sweat on her body slowly dried in the air-conditioned room. She looked towards the bathroom and really wanted to take a shower.
Having already risked her health last night, Xu Yuewei used her reason to control her thoughts. She thought she should cool off and sweat it out, so she went back to bed and wrapped herself in the blanket.
As she closed her eyes, she suddenly remembered something from the past.
That happened in high school. After a period of rumors about them, they stopped talking to each other and didn't greet each other when they met on their way to and from school. They just lived peacefully as neighbors.
As a result, the water supply to the community was suddenly cut off one night.
Xu Yuewei was taking a shower, her hair just starting to lather.
To make matters worse, Ye Wanzhi had gone out for the past few days. Her old friend wanted to get her to do business together, so she went to the friend's city to meet him and stay for a few days.
The water outage in the old neighborhood came without warning, and no one knew when the water would be restored. The bathroom heater was almost drying her skin. Xu Yuewei, with her hair covered in foam, wrapped in a towel and went out to get her phone. It took her a long time to mentally prepare herself before she finally dialed Jiang Shiyan's number.
The dial tone while waiting for the call to connect was like a prayer ritual of tearing flower petals, alternating with her inner hopes that "he must answer" and "he shouldn't answer."
The call was connected.
Xu Yuewei felt as if her tongue had shortened, and she couldn't even remember how she spoke.
Soon, Jiang Shiyan came downstairs, carrying a small blue bottle of water that was still half full. He knocked on the door and went upstairs to avoid bumping into her disheveled appearance.
Xu Yuewei poured the water into the basin and put the bucket back at the door. The water was only enough to rinse off the shampoo that had dripped onto her body; her hair still couldn't be cleaned.
She barely managed to wrap her hair with a towel, used the last bit of water to wash the water droplets from her eyes, then hurriedly put on her pajamas, praying for water to come soon.
Time passed slowly, and then a knock sounded on the door in the quiet space.
She was startled. She peeked through the peephole and saw no one outside. She then pushed the door open a crack, and the light from inside spilled out of the door frame, illuminating two 5L water bottles on the cement floor.
At that moment, her face was clean, but her eyes still felt a raw, chemical-induced irritation. She couldn't help but lean out and look upstairs.
Jiang Shiyan was climbing the stairs two steps at a time when he heard the noise. He turned around in surprise and saw that she was dressed. After hesitating for a moment, he came back.
He helped her carry the two buckets of water inside, straightened up, and leaned on the doorframe, his breathing slightly unsteady: "You opened the door without even asking?"
When asked the question, Xu Yuewei forgot what she was going to say and timidly defended herself: "I heard a knock on the door, it was you."
Am I necessarily a good person?
Jiang Shiyan gripped the door panel with his right hand. "Aren't you avoiding me?"
Xu Yuewei instinctively pulled the door back, but unexpectedly, the hand he was holding on the door frame didn't exert any force at all. The huge impact drowned out her suddenly accelerated heartbeat. She leaned back a bit before she could stand up, and her calf hit the bucket.
She stared blankly at the door for a while, then looked through the peephole. There was no one outside, but the motion-activated lights in the hallway were still on because of the loud noise.
She carried the water back to the bathroom and saw a tissue stuck to her forehead in the mirror, to stop the foamy water seeping from her hairline from getting into her eyes.
How ugly. She thought.
Xu Yuewei quickly washed her hair, sat cross-legged against the headboard, cuddled in the blanket for a while, and then sent Jiang Shiyan a message: 【Thank you.】
Now that times have changed, if she encounters a similar situation again, she can simply go and borrow his bathroom, and it wouldn't be unreasonable for him to help her take a bath.
Because they are now boyfriend and girlfriend again.
This thought swirled in her mind, and Xu Yuewei pulled the blanket over her blushing face.
*
When Jiang Shiyan returned home, he moved very quietly, and the Kapibala keychain remained hanging motionless on the wall.
He carried the suitcase in instead of dragging it, saw the spotless living room floor, didn't go inside, put the suitcase in the entryway, and went out again.
When they came back, they brought in a set of bedding and a new pair of men's slippers.
The bedroom door was ajar, but Jiang Shiyan quietly pushed it open and saw Xu Yuewei lying on her side on the bed scrolling through short videos.
He opened the door wide without a word, making a noise: "Why don't you get some sleep?"
"If I sleep any longer, I won't be able to sleep tonight."
With a swipe of her finger, Xu Yuewei played a video with the caption "Look closely, this man is called Xiao Shuai." She immediately realized something, turned off the screen, and asked him, "Has filming for 'Guanshan' finished?"
"It'll be soon."
"That guqin music...?"
“Of course I’ll find someone else.” Jiang Shiyan looked around the bedroom. “I won’t take over anymore. It’s just right for the two of us unemployed to squeeze into this room.”
The blue curtains were half-drawn, and the setting sun cast a slanting line between light and shadow. There was a similar line when she went to his lounge before, but this time she was in the shadows while he was in the light, and he had entered her hidden world.
Xu Yuewei couldn't stop Jiang Shiyan's intrusion. She watched as he carried a few winter clothes, opened her wardrobe door, and casually folded them on top of her sweaters.
Why didn't you separate your winter and summer clothes? Shall I pack them for you?
When packing the things sent to Guangyang, Xu Yuewei thought it would be a one-time solution, so she packed her spring and summer clothes as well. However, after unpacking them here, she found it troublesome and simply put them all in the closet for the time being, only maintaining their outward appearance.
"casual."
Xu Yuewei lay dejectedly on the bed, letting him be, her eyelids drooping as she watched the snail man's free labor.
Jiang Shiyan squatted down, first placing her own clothes on her lap, then folding her summer clothes, making room in a corner to stuff them in, and then tidying up the pile next to her.
Xu Yuewei had been watching leisurely, but when his hand reached for the pile of clothes, in a flash, she bent over and stood up abruptly: "Wait!"
Unfortunately, it was too late.
Jiang Shiyan's hand had already reached under the pile of clothes, touched a foreign object, and pulled it out.
The pink silicone product is soft on the outside and hard on the inside, and its shape is a bit... terrible.
Jiang Shiyan looked at her with a complicated expression: "...You really are keeping a mistress hidden away."
How can this not be considered a current boyfriend?
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Author's Note: [doge]
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