Daily meals
Chen He didn't quit the game; he took off his headphones and casually placed them on the corner of the table. The client was still flashing, but he didn't open it again. He simply leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.
It was broad daylight outside, the curtains were half-drawn, and light streamed in. He simply lay down on the bed.
I slept very soundly. The dream was layered upon layered, with absurd and noisy scenes: the scorching sun on the basketball court, the pursuit of unknown creatures, the snow-covered ground, and flying at high speed. It was as if everything that I hadn't had time to digest during the day had rushed in all at once.
People come and go in those incoherent fragments, and Chen Yuchuan's shadow flashes by from time to time. Sometimes he is standing under the lamp carrying water, and sometimes he is squatting next to him in my dreams, with a blurred expression.
When I woke up, it was already getting dark. My head felt like it had been hit hard, throbbing and aching. But a lingering feeling remained; something from the dream was left unsaid, and the sounds from the dream seemed to still echo in my ears, like the afterglow of a noisy revelation.
Shen He rubbed his temples, waiting for his headache to subside slightly before getting up and going to the computer. The game client was still running, and Chen Yuchuan's avatar was lit up, showing he was always online.
He paused for a few seconds, opened the message box, didn't look at the dozens of messages in the history, and only replied with a question mark. Then he washed his face, put on his coat, and went out.
The streets around the hotel were more lively than I had imagined. Restaurant signs were lit up, and the smell of cooking oil and the noise of people mingled together. Shenhe randomly found a relatively quiet little shop, ordered a bowl of noodles, and the taste was indeed not very good. He could only manage to eat a few bites.
As the night breeze swept by, he got up and walked back. The area in front of the hotel was empty, the neon lights reflecting on the ground with a cold glow. A car was parked not far away, its black exterior gleaming and its sharp edges aggressive.
Chen Yuchuan leaned against the car door, his shoulders and back slumped as if he had lost all his strength. One hand was in his pocket, and the other hand casually held an unlit cigarette.
The cigarette twirled between his fingers, he wasn't really smoking it, it was just a prop to pass the time. He was hidden between the shadows of cars and the lights, the sharpness in his eyes was softened by the night, making him look somewhat gloomy.
He watched Shen He approach, smiled, and said in a low voice, "Just came out for a walk to clear your head."
Shen He glanced at him, grunted in response, and walked past him, heading straight for the convenience store. His shadow was elongated under the lamplight, giving him an air of aloofness.
Chen Yuchuan followed the look, but the smile on his lips disappeared. He lowered his head, slowly twirling the cigarette in his hand before finally holding it between his fingers, as if he wanted to light it. He looked sharp yet dejected, like a still stone monument in the night.
The air conditioning in the convenience store was a bit too strong. Shen He casually picked out some instant food and milk. As soon as he finished paying and pushed open the door, he saw Chen Yuchuan standing on one side of the door.
Unlike his dejected appearance just now, he seemed to have regained his spirits, and his eyes were bright.
There wasn't a trace of cigarette smell on him; he'd thrown away that cigarette somewhere. He had a bunch of car keys in his hand, which he was casually twirling around.
"Buying these?" Chen Yuchuan glanced at his bag and scoffed, "Won't your stomach feel uncomfortable after eating them?"
Then, as if finding an excuse, she said, "I'm hungry too, let's go get something to eat together."
Shenhe didn't answer, but took a step forward, though his pace slowed down a little.
Chen Yuchuan naturally followed, falling half a step behind him. The night wind blew, and the streetlights stretched their shadows long, one in front of the other, but occasionally sticking together.
Chen He didn't turn around, but out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Chen Yuchuan's somewhat dejected figure reflected in the glass shop window.
His expression remained unchanged. He switched to carrying a different bag, walked past the hotel entrance, and headed towards Chen Yuchuan's car.
Chen Yuchuan realized the tacit agreement in that silence, and his breathing became lighter. He spoke up without hesitation, "I know a shop here that's guaranteed to be delicious."
The place Chen Yuchuan mentioned wasn't far. The two were led into a courtyard that looked quite nice. The waiters prepared hot tea and snacks in an orderly manner. The wooden lattice partitions, the dark solid wood tables, and the chairs covered with a layer of soft velvet looked very comfortable. The light was softly diffused by the gauze shade. After closing the courtyard gate, the noise was completely shut out.
Shen He casually flipped through the menu, ordering a few simple, home-style dishes, and then casually added a slice of tender lamb. His movements were natural, as if it were just a casual remark.
Chen Yuchuan remained silent, pretending to be nonchalant as he flipped through his phone for a while, but his movements became noticeably lighter, revealing his undisguised smugness.
As the waiters left one after another, Shen He raised his hand and touched the warm teapot. It was crystal clear and made of an unknown material. It made a crisp sound when touched by his fingertips.
Chen Yuchuan rested his chin on one hand, his gaze seemingly lingering on the movements of his fingertips, and suddenly chuckled: "How do you still remember that I like tender lamb?"
Shen He glanced at him, took out a tissue and slowly wiped his hands, his voice unhurried: "Is it possible that I just like to eat it?"
As soon as he spoke, the air went silent for a moment. Chen Yuchuan looked at him, a smile curving his lips, but he didn't say anything.
Before long, the dishes were served one after another. Amidst the rising steam, the table was almost completely covered, mostly dishes that Shen He had casually commented were "quite delicious" before.
Shen He glanced at it, his eyebrows twitching almost imperceptibly.
Chen Yuchuan looked at him and casually said, "It seems like we ordered too much."
Shen He picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks and calmly replied, "That's a waste."
Chen Yuchuan moved the plate of tender mutton next to himself, a smile playing on his lips: "Then let's not waste it."
The food tasted even better than Shen He had imagined. After a few bites, he felt his internal organs being enveloped by the warmth of the food, and his shoulders and back relaxed as he sank into the chair.
Chen Yuchuan picked up some food, but despite being starving all day, he didn't eat a single bite, his gaze constantly drifting to the person opposite him. The year they parted, Shen He still had a youthful air about him, and his eyes always held a hint of inquiry and amusement when he looked at him. Now, however, Shen He's features had matured, his cheeks were no longer fleshy, and his lines were sharper, giving him a more defined and angular appearance.
So he casually remarked, "You seem to have lost weight."
Shen He raised his eyes and replied calmly, "You're mistaken."
She didn't say much, but she completely shut Chen Yuchuan down. He paused for a moment, but didn't press the matter further, instead lowering his head to pick at the food in his bowl.
But he couldn't help but look at Chen He. The person he had watched hundreds of times without being able to see clearly was now sitting right in front of him.
The soft light bathed his face, outlining a distant arc between his eyebrows and eyes. His eyebrows were sharp, but the lines of his brow bone were soft, like a stroke of sharpness that had been restrained.
His eyelashes were long and thick, hanging down naturally and obscuring his brown pupils. His nose was straight, outlining the sharp lines of his face. His lips were thin but full, with a pale color. His features were attractive in a non-aggressive way, but his overall appearance and eyes balanced this out perfectly. He was clearly satisfied with his current environment; his posture was relaxed and natural, without any artifice.
In a daze, Chen Yuchuan heard his heart pounding rapidly, unable to distinguish whether it was the excitement of his sympathetic nervous system caused by hunger or the indescribable restlessness aroused by the person in front of him.
His heart pounded against his eardrums like a drumbeat, and the blood was pumped so fast that his fingertips trembled slightly.
Seeing that the person opposite him hadn't eaten a single bite for a long time and was just sitting there staring at him, Shen He reached out and tapped the table: "I thought you ordered so much because you hadn't eaten all day and were starving."
Chen Yuchuan stared at those clean, strong hands, paused for a moment, then suddenly snapped back to reality. He mechanically picked up food with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth. Shen He, of course, had no idea that he almost never ate food from outside. No matter how exquisite or clean something was, if it came from outside, it would automatically be labeled "dirty" in his mind. This was an acquired, clearly defined obsession with cleanliness.
The outside world is a very broad concept, and later it even included his "home". His daily life was taken care of by the family of servants who had taken care of him since he was a child, and they just happened to stand on the boundary between the inside and the outside.
Shen He was different. What Shen He wanted to eat, he also wanted to eat. What Shen He had touched, he even considered "clean." Shen He was the only one who stood within the lines.
In this atmosphere of almost losing and regaining something, he ate bowl after bowl, even more than he had imagined.
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