This family had never been so lively. Although the atmosphere was deadlocked for a while, if the number of people can represent the level of liveliness, the first sentence would still count.
For Jian Chi, it was an indescribably bizarre scene. Shao Hang and Wen Chuan haven’t had any conversation since entering the door, and they invariably regarded each other as non-existent. This kind of tacit understanding made Jian Chi slightly relieved. When Wen Chuan’s voice sounded, his heart that just fell, tightened again. .
“Where did you go just now?”
Wen Chuan’s voice was light, and he didn’t say ‘you guys’.
Jian Chi didn’t hide it, but stopped when talking about overcoming the wall, “I went for a walk nearby with Shao Hang. We walked past a school and went in for a walk.”
“When did he come here?”
This sentence was asked in front of Shao Hang, it seemed that Shao Hang’s existence was regarded as air. Jian Chi paused for a while, “This morning…”
“Why are you asking for so many details?” Shao Hang interjected, squinting at Wen Chuan, and spitting out a warm voice with a smile, “Aren’t you looking after him too much?”
“I didn’t ask you.”
“I don’t mind answering.”
Shao Hang propped his chin and unhurriedly continued: “What, you had nowhere to go after leaving school, and the Fu family finally kicked you out?”
“Are you talking about yourself?” Wen Chuan’s face was as deep as water, his thin lips parted slightly, “I don’t have thick skin like you to come here uninvited and stay at someone else’s house.”
Shao Hang put down his right arm on the armrest and narrowed his eyes dangerously, “Say that again?”
There were faint signs of cracking on this topic, and Jian Chi, who was caught in the middle, was sweating in his palms. He interrupted appropriately: “Don’t say anything here, we still have dinner later, and my dad and Jing Jing are there.”
The last sentence froze the two men who were filled with gunpowder smoke. Shao Hang let out a sarcastic snort from his nose and turned his head away, while Wen Chuan lowered his eyelashes and whispered to Jian Chi, “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”
Jian Chi turned on the TV as background sound, his heart was still suspended there, and distracted, he replied, “It’s okay.”
If something really happened, he didn’t know how to end it, he just hoped that the peace could be maintained, at least until the meal was over.
Jian Chengchao was busy all alone and came up with a table of dishes. Jian Chi wanted to go in and help, but worried that he would not know what would happen in the living room after walking away, so he could only sit until dinner was served, stiff.
“After dinner, you can sit around as you like. After the meal is finished, I can refill it, I cooked a big pot.”
Jian Chengchao handed out the bowls and chopsticks. Wen Chuan, who had been here a few times, naturally took over to help. Shao Hang, who didn’t realize this point at all, had a sullen face. Wen Chuan placed the bowls and chopsticks in front of him with a bang.
Jing Jing sat between Wen Chuan and Jian Chengchao. The child may have a natural intuition and did not show kindness to Shao Hang from beginning to end. Jian Chi originally wanted to sit next to Jian Chengchao, but Shao Hang had occupied that position in advance. Wen Chuan sat silently beside Jing Jing, leaving the only vacant seat in the middle. Jian Chi, who was a bit slower, could only bite the bullet and sit down.
The table in front of him was steaming hot from the pot, but Jian Chi couldn’t even taste it. He seemed to be sitting beside two sources of hot and cold, facing him.
“Come on, eat shrimp.” Jian Chengchao put a big shrimp in Jian Chi’s bowl, and then Jing Jing.
Jian Chi buried his head and peeled the shell, then suddenly Wen Chuan’s chopsticks flashed in front of his eyes. There was an extra piece of spare ribs in the bowl. Wen Chuan said in a normal tone, “This tastes good.”
Jian Chi didn’t think much, and continued to peel the shrimp shell. After a while, another pair of chopsticks appeared. Shao Hang took a fried pork with green pepper and put it into his bowl. It was probably the first time he had done such a thing. Naturally, he said it like an order: “Eat this.”
Jian Chi, who didn’t like green peppers, was silent for a while, then heard Wen Chuan say lightly to Shao Hang, “He doesn’t like green peppers.”
Shao Hang paused, his eyes sank slightly, and the scar on his brow bone twitched, “If you say he doesn’t like it, then he doesn’t like it?”
“We have lunch together and he picks out the green peppers every time.”
Jian Chi, who was caught in the middle, was a little worried about the pair of chopsticks that were squeezed tightly in Shao Hang’s hand, and hoped that their quality was not too bad.
Jian Chengchao, who was concentrating on eating, only heard the phrase ‘eat lunch together every day’. He raised his head and asked curiously, “By the way, how is your school food? Are you used to it?”
It was a coincidence that this digression came, Jian Chi didn’t know whether to thank his father or sigh first. Even though it was not inherited, Jian Chengchao’s dullness may really be a good thing.
The meal was eaten in a hurry. Wen Chuan spoke very little, he didn’t take the initiative to speak after that sentence, and occasionally served Jian Chi silently. Shao Hang soon returned to normal, and chatted with Jian Chengchao back and forth a lot about Jian Chi’s hypocritical modesty. After eating, Jing Jing ran to the sofa to watch TV. Probably because she was too full, she was falling asleep on the pillow. Shao Hang glanced at her and said lightly, “The child is sleepy, why don’t you take her home?”
Wen Chuan pursed his lips. Hearing this, Jian Chengchao also noticed the sleepy Jing Jing and responded: “Yeah Little Wen, take Jing Jing back first, it’s almost eight o’clock, she needs to go to bed early. You don’t have to help clean up, there’s me and Jian Chi here.”
“What about him?” Wen Chuan stared at Shao Hang, who was quite content.
“Little Shao is staying here tonight,” Jian Chengchao didn’t think much about it. He thought Wen Chuan was reluctant to leave, and explained with a smile, “His family has gone far away, it’s too lonely to be by himself, so he came to visit Jian Chi for a few days. If you have time, you can all come hang out.”
As soon as Jian Chi heard this, he knew that Shao Hang had probably sold a sad story in front of Jian Chengchao. Wen Chuan thought the same as he deeply looked at Shao Hang’s victorious smile and gave a muffled ‘en’.
When leaving, Jian Chengchao asked Jian Chi to go out and send them off. The three of them walked down the stairs, but no one said a word. Jian Chi spoke first: “Don’t listen to my dad’s nonsense, I will find a reason for Shao Hang to leave tomorrow.”
Wen Chuan held Jing Jing, his voice dark: “Do you need my help?”
After hesitating for a few seconds, Jian Chi shook his head, “It shouldn’t be that troublesome.”
In fact, Jian Chi didn’t think of what to do yet. If he wasn’t helpless, he didn’t want to ask others for help too easily. Wen Chuan seemed to have a lot to ask, but now was not a good time. He squeezed the hand that was holding Jing Jing, causing Jing Jing to raise her head in confusion. She looked at Wen Chuan, then at Jian Chi. Wen Chuan spit out a ‘goodbye’ in a low voice, and before Jian Chi could react, his back disappeared into the night.
No amount of reluctance could change the fact that Shao Hang will stay here tonight.
Jian Chi walked upstairs with heavy steps, calculating in his heart how likely it was that Shao Hang would sleep on the sofa. There were only two bedrooms in this house, one for Jian Chengchao and one for him. They were all single-person spaces. It is difficult to make a floor mat, let alone make a new bed immediately.
Asking him to sleep in the same bed with Shao Hang, just thinking about it in his mind gave rise to a layer of goosebumps.
Jian Chi closed the door. There was TV sound in the living room, and the sound of Jian Chengchao washing dishes in the kitchen could be heard, but Shao Hang was nowhere to be seen. Jian Chi had a bad premonition. He stepped into the room and the closed bathroom door was covered with a layer of white mist, and there was the sound of rushing water.
“Shao Hang.”
There were so many times that Jian Chi didn’t have the energy to be angry in the face of Shao Hang’s random behaviors. After subconsciously shouting, the flames went out. When the bathroom door was opened, the gushing mist blinded his vision. Shao Hang was standing there covered in water, with his black hair lying softly on his forehead. If he ignored those sullen eyes, he did seem a little bit obedient, yet he was not hiding his nakedness: the body, the belly covered with muscles, rolling with water droplets.
“What?”
He said lazily.
Jian Chi took a look and looked back, a little bit stabbed.
“Nothing, I wanted to remind you not to forget to put on your clothes later. We don’t have the habit of watching people run around naked.”