The two new designers were now living in an alley behind the Chen family’s courtyard, frequently riding to and from work with the Chen brothers.
They both knew how to cook, however, Xue Feng liked to entertain girls the most and always invited them over for dinner.
She said with a smile: “Me, ah… There are a lot of young men around me, and I haven’t talked with a young girl in such a long time!”
There were no hidden intentions, she just simply liked to interact with little girls. It was not easy for them to leave their hometown and come out to work, so everyone who met the two girls felt the need to take care of them.
“No!” Chen Kai grinned and joked: “Hey, my mother always dreamed of having a daughter, but unfortunately, she only gave birth to two brats!”
“Chen Kai, who are you calling a brat?” Chen Sen frowned.
“…” Chen Kai immediately put away his smile and started eating.
He wasn’t a coward, really… It’s just that… It really hurt when his brother hit someone!
Zhu Lin and He Rui both held the bowls and giggled. They thought the two brothers were very interesting. The elder brother was always serious, while the younger one was forever ungrateful.
“Leave them alone.” Xue Feng ignored her two sons and greeted the girls warmly: “Let’s eat more food.”
“Yes, Auntie!” The two girls said with a smile.
After dinner, the taciturn Boss Chen sent them back to their residence at the end of the alley, never allowing his little brother to take over that job.
After returning home, He Rui sighed and asked her best friend: “Do you think it’s because Boss Chen thinks his brother is unreliable, so he insists on sending us back in person?”
Zhu Lin thoughtfully said: “I think you’re right… Whenever his brother talks to us, he always interrupts.”
“It doesn’t have to be like this.” He Rui laughed after thinking about it: “I think Little Boss Chen just wants to liven up the atmosphere and has no other intentions.”
Women themselves could feel whether a man looked at them calmly or inappropriately, and they never felt any sort of discomfort from either of the brothers.
People often said that birds of a feather flock together, so they choose to believe that friends who could play together with Shu Ran were all trustworthy.
The next day, the first batch of design drafts had to be submitted for review. It was only after joining that the two new designers learned the factory was engaged in export sales. No wonder they needed unique designers…
They were both very afraid that their designs wouldn’t pass the review, so they were still trying to absorb knowledge the night before and read more books for inspiration.
It ended up being a day when everyone scratched their heads together.
Shu Ran was thinking hard about what birthday gift to give to Xu Shen. It was his first time giving something, and the other party had never had a birthday before…
When it came to birthday gifts, many people immediately thought of cakes, but that thing required baking tools, so Shu Ran didn’t even try to think about it. He wanted to celebrate Xu Shen’s first birthday in a traditional, Chinese style, such as… Eating a bowl of longevity noodles.
However, he didn’t know how to do it!!!
But Chen Sen definitely knew. Taking a chance when no one was around, Shu Ran asked Chen Sen: “Brother Sen, can you make handmade noodles?”
Chen Sen nodded: “Yes.” Then asked: “What’s wrong?”
“I want to learn how to make noodles from you…” Shu Ran scratched his face: “But you can’t reveal anything, especially not to Brother Shen!”
“Okay.” Chen Sen thought for a moment and glanced at Shu Ran.
Since he still wanted to learn the craft from others, Shu Ran had to admit directly: “Brother Shen’s birthday is on the 22nd, and I want to give him a bowl of longevity noodles.”
“Is it twenty-two?” Chen Sen was confused. In the past, Xu Shen never celebrated his birthday.
“That’s what we decided on.” Shu Ran smiled. “We don’t know which one it is anyway, so we just chose this date.”
Chen Sen’s heart moved, and a feeling of envy arose spontaneously: “Okay, then come to my house to learn.”
He always thought that Xu Shen was adoring Shu Ran unilaterally, like holding him in his palms for fear he might fly away or holding him in his mouth for fear he might melt.
Seeing Shu Ran become more and more dazzling, Chen Sen felt panic about Xu Shen’s position for a moment. After all, he was a person who had been abandoned once before, and repeating that might really discourage him…
Unexpectedly, Shu Ran held Xu Shen in his heart like that. Chen Sen felt happy for his brother. When the time came to eat the noodles, Xu Shen might just go crazy with joy.
And so, the two found an excuse to leave the factory and went to Chen Sen’s house to secretly practice their cooking skills.
Shu Ran was a novice in the kitchen, the type that always kept his hands clean. The image of his long fingers working hard on the dough made Chen Sen laugh: “Knead harder, the dough won’t break! If you’re really tired, you can just lift it and let it fall.”
He threw the dough around and said to Shu Ran: “Like this.”
“Oh, I understand!” After watching Chen Sen’s live demonstration, Shu Ran finally learned how to throw the dough. It was really not that difficult to make noodles… He just needed to do this, and then do that!
Shu Ran spent an entire afternoon studying in Chen’s family kitchen, all the way until he felt he was now ready to teach his own class.
After cooking a pot of noodles, Chen Sen took a bite and said: “It’s okay. Remember to put less salt when cooking for Brother Shen. The taste will be the same.”
“That’s good…” Shu Ran breathed a sigh of relief and added for the nth time that evening: “Thank you, Brother Sen!”
Chen Sen waved his hand: “You’re welcome. Just remember to tell me what his reaction was when he ate the noodles.”
“Huh?!” Shu Ran was dumbfounded. Gossip?! Chen Sen wanted to… Gossip?! Chen Sen?!
His “big, serious, and reliable boss” filter cracked and shattered, right?!
“He must be happy when he eats the noodles, how else can he react…?”
“That’s not necessarily the case.” Chen Sen grinned: “He could also be moved to tears.”
Moved to tears? Who?
…Xu Shen?!
Shu Ran let out a laugh, shook his head resolutely, and said: “You’re overthinking. He’ll be too moved to even shed tears.”
After all, Xu Shen was not the emotional type.
He didn’t seem to be the type who had all the little emotions that young people had when they fell in love… Occasionally, he would get jealous, but it was more like a routine. Shu Ran was convinced that Xu Shen’s mentality was too stable to explode.
“Maybe.” Chen Sen said. “It’s just a casual guess.”
Shu Ran thought to himself: “Your casualness is indeed very casual, but your guess is completely off the mark!”
“It’s time for them to get off work.” Chen Sen looked at his watch and said: “You can walk back by yourself. I’ll go and pick them up from the factory.”
“Pick who up?” Shu Ran didn’t react for a moment and looked at him.
“The designers.” Chen Sen said.
“…”
Shu Ran really didn’t expect the day when Chen Sen might favor women over him, but he was pleased and happy regardless…
Ah, spring has arrived! Everything came to life!
Okay, walk back, just walk back…
Shu Ran walked on the road by himself and soon broke out in a sweat. He hated that mobile phones hadn’t been invented yet. Otherwise, he could just send a message and his boyfriend would drive over and pick him up!
If it were Xu Shen, no matter what happened, he would never allow him to walk alone.
That was a dream for the future. Thinking about the scene when he and Xu Shen could send each other messages, Shu Ran curled his lips with some anticipation.
“Where have you been?” Shu Ran said at noon that he would go back home, but Xu Shen didn’t see anyone when he came back, and his mood sank for several hours: “I was worried about you.”
“I went out for a trip, I’m sorry.” Seeing Xu Shen like that, Shu Ran wanted to urge the technology founders to hurry up. “I’ll leave a note next time so you won’t worry.”
“Yes.” Xu Shen felt relieved when he saw the other person. He pulled him over for a kiss and rubbed him up and down, all the way until he couldn’t put him down: “Next time, cover yourself a little bit and I’ll be at ease.”
“Cover…” Shu Ran also kissed Xu Shen. “It’s only for you to see.”
The summer clothes were very thin, and Xu Shen couldn’t help teasing his wife. When he lowered his head, he saw the usually unobtrusive little dots on his chest… Angrily expressing their grievances.
Ah, they probably wouldn’t have thought that even if they grew on a man’s chest, they would still be teased from time to time…
… It was sweltering throughout the day, but it rained heavily at night. The weather has been just like that recently.
…………
When Shu Ran came to the office the next morning, he sat down with a lazy look on his face and immediately took a small breath.
The designers also came and brought their designs for review.
“Good morning, Boss Shu!” Zhu Lin and He Rui sat across from each other nervously. They said hello in a proper manner, but repeated “Good… Good morning!” in their hearts. Boss Shu looked… Particularly gorgeous that day.
Like a blooming flower that had drunk enough water.
“Good morning, you two!” Shu Ran took over their design drafts and said with a smile: “Let me carefully appreciate the fruits of a week’s work.”
“It might not be very good, please give us some pointers!” The two girls said.
“Don’t be modest, you’re the professionals.” Shu Ran looked serious with a vague smile on his lips, but that smile gradually became more and more obvious, making Zhu Lin and He Rui quietly breathe a sigh of relief.
The boss said that the design should be both simple and complicated, but how was that a simple thing to do?!
The girls were worried their designs were too simple to pass the review!
However, the boss looked satisfied.
“The ones I circled with a pen are all good.” Shu Ran praised. “The others are not bad either. Maybe they can still be used with some changes.”
With so many models selected, they thought it was good enough: “Okay, let’s take these and communicate with the masters!”
“Okay, go ahead.” Shu Ran nodded.
Make a sample board, try out the fabrics, clean it up a little and it already looked like a professional product that could be sent to the various offices along the coast. If they were satisfied, they could directly place an order.
Their models were selling like hotcakes, and the bosses they worked with before were very bold in purchasing goods. There was no need to worry about running out of orders.
Some people even came over to ask for business, but Shu Ran declined politely. He had no shortage of customers, so there was no need to suffer with small orders.
In addition to that, other people in Nanshi started doing export sales. The people who came to him were usually export transfer agents, that is, another link between the factory and the foreigners. Since Shu Ran could do business directly with foreign customers, he preferred to recommend all those middlemen to his peers who were just starting on their export sales road.
Shu Ran rested for a while, and when he felt much better, he also went to the workshop to watch the master’s work. After a while, Xu Shen also came.
Shu Ran could feel that the two girls became nervous instantly. It was as if they were worried that Xu Shen would question their ability to work and they needed to work harder for a good performance.
After all, Shu Ran was right. A dead wage would stifle a designer’s inspiration. If designers took on a commission-based partnership, they would work hard to prove their value and excellence. The mentality was more like a partner, rather than a boss-subordinate relationship.
He Rui asked: “Boss Xu, are you also proficient in design?”
Xu Shen stood beside Shu Ran and shook his head: “I’m not proficient, I’m just watching the excitement.”
Shu Ran secretly laughed… You are obviously just being clingy. He told the designers: “Don’t be nervous, he really doesn’t understand this. I’m the one who makes the decision, his opinion is not important.”
Xu Shen immediately glanced at Shu Ran.
The other party glanced back provocatively. Why? Are you not convinced?
Nope. Xu Shen thought with a smile. He really just came over to see the excitement, stay with Shu Ran for a while, recharge his batteries, and go back to work.
The atmosphere became livelier without him. He Rui even dared to stick out her tongue: “Boss Xu is so serious! I’m quite afraid of him!”
“Really?” Shu Ran recalled the first meeting, um… He was indeed quite serious.
“Yes!” Zhu Lin also said. “Brother Sen is also tall, but he is not as oppressive as Boss Xu. He is just too mysterious.”
The two girls rarely saw him communicate with anyone.
That was right. What they felt was precisely what Shu Ran himself felt when he first met Xu Shen. The man had a strong sense of oppression, like someone who was perpetually enveloped in a dangerous aura.
Anyway, the atmosphere around him was very uneasy.
“That’s because you are not familiar with him…” Shu Ran said, but he felt that it would be difficult for Xu Shen to become familiar with others unless he had a purpose.
Zhu Lin quickly stopped talking about Xu Shen and diverted her attention back to Chen Sen: “We just found out yesterday that the lunch we eat every day is actually cooked by Brother Sen! It’s so unexpected!”
“It’s indeed delicious!” Shu Ran also gulped his saliva.
Seeing him give up on his “celebrity baggage” and have such a mundane reaction made the two girls stunned and burst into laughter.
“Your book fans will definitely like you even more if they know you’re so cute!” Zhu Lin said.
Shu Ran quickly said: “There is no need to like me more, just a shallow liking is enough. After all, they are destined not to get me… Really, a shallow liking is enough!”
“That’s right.” He Rui laughed.
A girl’s sixth sense was always very accurate, so Zhu Lin asked: “So… Someone already got you?”
After asking, she felt a little regretful. That was such a private question, what if the other person felt offended?!
However, Shu Ran smiled: “You made me feel shy if you ask.”
“Okay, we understand!” They agreed tacitly and stopped asking.
It turned out that Boss Shu already had someone in mind… She must be a magnificent beauty.
It didn’t take long. The masters and the designers worked overtime together and finally completed a prototype for Shu Ran.
“Your designs are so professional… There are not many places that need modification.” Shu Ran said with admiration after looking at it.
His own designs were not professional enough. Every new model needed to be revised and revised countless times, making the masters feel completely afraid of him.
Now that everything was fine, Zhu Lin and He Rui could start the production work with the masters. Since everyone was so competent, Shu Ran could finally go to Beijing with Xu Shen, feeling at ease.
It was Xu Shen’s birthday in two days, and Shu Ran wanted to wait until after it before leaving Nanshi, but Xu Shen was pressing hard after getting some more money, unwilling to stay idle for two more days. Shu Ran was afraid of spoiling the surprise… Just like that, a surprise might no longer be a surprise!
Although, he was not quite sure whether a bowl of longevity noodles was a surprise or not… It was quite ordinary…
“How about going to Beijing and shopping around…” Shu Ran thought while packing his bags.
Since there was a house in Beijing, they brought a lot more things with them this time, as if they wanted to move there permanently.
Writer Shu suddenly felt something: “In my impression, packing your bags and going on a long journey always brings with it a kind of melancholy…”
Xu Shen stopped what he was doing and looked up at him.
“That’s right…” Shu Ran paused and organized his words: “I’m thinking of that poem… Life is like a distant traveler…1忽如远行客 Is a poem from “Nineteen Ancient Poems”. It means that the sky above the head and the ground on the soles of the feet are, of course, more eternal, and people born between heaven and earth, like travelers who go far away, rush home Brother Shen, we are all just passers-by in this world.”
“Are you still feeling melancholy with me by your side?” Xu Shen put his arm around Shu Ran’s waist and kissed his forehead.
“Maybe it’s because of you that I feel melancholy…” Shu Ran whispered. “Since I met you I’ve become afraid of death.”
“Yeah.” Xu Shen touched his head.
…………
There were many surprises in the rainy season. The train was traveling in the wet weather, and there was a mist in the distance, making the fields look dreamy and picturesque, but the mountains surprisingly empty.
The water vapors made the weather cooler, and the car was very comfortable in the afternoon.
Shu Ran leaned on Xu Shen’s shoulder, and the two of them held hands intimately at an angle that no one else could see.
“It’s better to take the train in winter…” Shu Ran whispered to Xu Shen. “Once the quilt is on, no one can tell what we’re doing.”
“In public…” Xu Shen hooked his hand. “You can’t do much even if you’re covered with a quilt.”
“Yeah, at most we can hold hands and feel free.” Shu Ran sighed.
“That’s not the case.” Xu Shen whispered. “I can still touch you.”
Shu Ran also hooked Xu Shen’s palm: “Stop talking, I’ll get shy.”
“I believe you…” Xu Shen glanced at him.
“You must believe me.” Shu Ran straightened his face.
“Okay.” Xu Shen sat up straight and let go of his wife’s hand: “From now on, the content of our conversations must be healthy and pure!”
Shu Ran’s head lost its support, so he looked sideways at the innocent Teacher Xu who was preaching abstinence. He sneered… Let’s see how long Teacher Xu could be pure!
Xu Shen also squinted, looking at Shu Ran who was crossing his arms beside him, with a cold expression on his face. He didn’t know what he was thinking about, but Xu Shen had long discovered that Shu Ran was really pretty even when he wasn’t smiling… He looked arrogant, but it was the arrogance that was unique to excellent people.
In fact, both of them were the same, but they expressed themselves in different ways. Shu Ran was the kind of person with a high spirit who never experienced hardship, while he was still stubborn and refused to admit defeat even when he was stepped on in the dust. There was no way they could clash when they first met. Instead of fighting, they ignited a raging fire, burning so hard that the earth collapsed.
“What are you laughing at?” Shu Ran looked sideways when he saw Xu Shen laughing.
Xu Shen said softly: “I miss my lover, he is so cute.”
Shu Ran was really shy now and his face turned warm.
It also rained in Beijing, and the delicate yard they neglected for more than half a month looked miserable. Many flowers were damaged, making Shu Ran feel distressed: “It’s so pitiful, the flower heads are all hanging down!”
Otherwise, they could still bloom for a while…
“Help me take a look tomorrow.” Xu Shen also looked at the yard, taking Shu Ran’s words seriously.
The two of them were mostly wet and went back inside to change clothes. Xu Shen turned on the gas stove and boiled water in a large kettle, enough for two people to wash at a time.
“Brother Shen, there’s a room that’s leaking water.” Shu Ran took the basin and set it up before coming back to tell Xu Shen.
“I’ll repair it when the weather gets better.” Xu Shen said immediately.
“Can you do it?” Shu Ran blinked worriedly: “How about hiring a professional master? We’re not short of money.”
“It’s a trivial matter, as long as you have the tools.” Xu Shen was shirtless, grabbing the towel around his neck, and wiping his hair. He walked to the room where the sundries were kept and looked around but…
He couldn’t find a ladder.
Shu Ran saw what he was looking for: “Do you need a ladder? When the rain stops, you should go to the neighbor’s house and borrow one… Ha, ha!”
Xu Shen immediately frowned, turned back to the kitchen to pour a bucket of hot water, and looked toward the bathroom: “Go and wash up quickly, be careful not to catch a cold!”
“Oh.” Shu Ran hurriedly went to wash up. Catching a cold in summer was a heated cold, very uncomfortable.
Xu Shen remembered that when he was cleaning the yard before, he saw a bucket in the yard, half filled with sand, and half with some ginger sprouts inside. He dug out a piece, smashed it three times, and cooked a bowl of ginger soup.
“What?!” Shu Ran felt a little confused when a bowl was stuffed in his hand.
“Drink ginger soup to prevent colds.” Xu Shen said.
“Thank you…” Shu Ran was about to pinch his nose.
Under normal circumstances, Xu Shen would get nervous every time he heard the words “thank you”. Except for some special circumstances, he knew that Shu Ran was not really thanking him, but just annoying him, so he laughed.
“Just drink quickly!” Xu Shen urged.
“Hmm.” Shu Ran pinched his nose and drank the ginger soup. The hot liquid went down his throat and reached his stomach, very stimulating!
“Have you drank some?” Shu Ran looked at Xu Shen with concern.
“I’m in good health. I don’t need it.” Xu Shen glanced at his wife proudly.
“Hello?!” Shu Ran stared at his man but he still had to admit it. Xu Shen was in good health and was never sick.
It was probably Xu Shen’s ginger soup that worked. In the end, Shu Ran felt hot all over after drinking it. He covered himself in the quilt and sweated his soul out, showing no signs of a possible cold.
While he was burying himself in the quilt, Xu Shen helped sort out the luggage, taking things out one by one.
First of all, he was most concerned about their very personal belongings, those little jade things…
“Pick one?” Xu Shen saw him looking over and brought the box to him.
Shu Ran gave Xu Shen an angry look and pointed at something randomly.
“Don’t you want to challenge something else?” Xu Shen asked.
“Stop talking nonsense!” Shu Ran hummed to himself: “I have even challenged you, can I still be afraid of those little weak soldiers and generals?!”
Xu Shen smiled and finally stopped teasing him.
Before going to bed, he changed the rainwater basin with a bucket to prevent the water from flooding them in the middle of the night. After lying down, Xu Shen looked at his wife and hesitated to speak: “I thought you would nag me… Saying that I bought a leaky house at a high price…”
“Won’t nag.” Shu Ran said with his eyes closed. “I’ve learned my lesson. The more you nag your man, the more rebellious he becomes.”
Xu Shen laughed and gently leaned over to kiss his eyelids: “Sleep well, baby.”
Xu Shen rarely called him using endearing words, so Shu Ran hid in the thin sheets, with his ears feeling hot.
…………
The morning sun was already shining on the back of the dripping eaves tiles, so Xu Shen got up early. The wheels of the elegant bicycle under him ran over the bluestone floors of an old alley, and the wind blew his snow-white shirt.
“Who is that?” The residents of that alley saw an eye-catching new face and couldn’t help but be attracted by his free and easy figure.
For Xu Shen, life was the same whether he lived in Nanshi or Beijing. In addition to working hard to save money, he still had to take care of his wife.
A man, wearing an apron and selling breakfast, talked to him with a mouth full of a heavy Beijing accent.
“Good morning! I want two bowls of bean soup and five sesame cakes with meat.” Xu Shen put one leg on the ground and took the basin with a lid from the basket in front of his bicycle.
The uncle took the basin while Xu Shen fished for his wallet to pay while looking at what else to buy.
“Be careful.” The uncle handed the food to him.
“I won’t spill it.” Xu Shen wanted to say “Don’t worry about my driving skills!”, but he swallowed his words again. Thanks to Shu Ran, he could no longer look directly at the words “driving skills”…
There was a snack shop next door. Xu Shen remembered Shu Ran’s instructions and took a few boxes back.
After having an authentic, Beijing-style breakfast, Shu Ran took that box of snacks to visit the neighbor next door and also borrowed a ladder with his sweet talk.
The other party wanted to ask her husband to help, looking very enthusiastic. However, Shu Ran smiled and said no.
It was really not necessary… The man in his family could also repair the roof!
“It’s so annoying! There are so many wild cats here!” Said the friendly neighboring aunt. “They always climb to the roof to fight at night, and repairing the roof is a common thing.”
“It turns out it was a kitten causing trouble…” Shu Ran nodded and prepared to keep a ladder at home.
Xu Shen was also there, coming over to carry the ladder. Shu Ran said: “Why don’t we wait for two days for the roof to dry before repairing? I’m afraid the tiles will be slippery now.”
“No need.” Xu Shen shook his head. “I probably know which tile it is. I can just poke it back with a stick.”
“So powerful?” Shu Ran admired him. That must be a technical job.
Xu Shen looked back at him: “Yes, that powerful.”
The two carried the ladder back to their yard, found a good position, and put it up. Xu Shen took a long bamboo pole and climbed up the ladder, while Shu Ran stood below and carefully supported him: “Brother Shen, be careful!”
“It’s okay.” Xu Shen raised the bamboo pole. He counted the tiles and just pushed the displaced piece back.
Shu Ran only heard Xu Shen get busy for a while, and then say “Okay”…
“I don’t know how effective this repair is.” Shu Ran said while thinking that was indeed a common problem when repairing the roof. They had to wait until the next rain.
“Believe me.” Xu Shen smiled confidently at Shu Ran. Since he said it was fine, everything was indeed fine and nothing would go wrong.
After returning the neighbor’s ladder, Xu Shen took Shu Ran out on his bicycle to hire decoration workers from the work market. Next, they talked to several team leaders and finally selected a team of fellow villagers who could start working that day. There was a lot of carpentry that needed to be done for the store, and the masters expected it to be completed in about a month. As for the warehouse, it was relatively simple and could be finished in about a week.
The two of them spent some time in their future store during the day and went back home in the afternoon. Shu Ran said: “I am short of things at home. Let’s go to the store to buy some sugar, oil, flour, and so on.”
“Okay.” Xu Shen said.
Now that food stamps were canceled, buying and selling things was much more convenient than before, and people could buy whatever they wanted, as long as they had enough money.
It was the evening before July 22nd. Shu Ran’s heart was pounding, afraid that Xu Shen might see something in advance. As for Xu Shen, he was used to running a household so he quickly picked out a bunch of things they were lacking at home. Flour was just a very common item among everything else, so he definitely didn’t think too much about it.
The same went for the other ingredients needed for making dough, they were things he should buy anyway.
After Xu Shen finished shopping, he said: “I’ll steam some buns for you tomorrow.”
Shu Ran: “Okay…”
He fully suspected that Xu Shen forgot his birthday was supposed to be on the 22nd. After all, it was a very random day, and he had never celebrated before.
“This gas stove is really easy to use and has strong firepower!” Xu Shen casually mentioned while cooking dinner.
Shu Ran secretly made a note of it. The heat was indeed very powerful and he had to pay attention to it when cooking the noodles, so as not to burn them.
After a tiring day outside, Shu Ran took a shower early and lay in bed, claiming he was already sleepy. In fact, he was trying his hardest to stay awake and not sleep at all.
However, Xu Shen didn’t doubt it, since he was also quite tired: “I’ll go to bed early too. I’ll have to…”
He didn’t say anything further, feeling that Shu Ran was already asleep.
Tomorrow was July 22nd… He didn’t hear Shu Ran mention anything all day, and Xu Shen himself hesitated to mention it, just going back and forth without saying anything.
Let’s wait and see tomorrow…
Shu Ran lay there until late at night, all the way until he felt that Xu Shen was finally asleep, and sleeping very deeply as well. He got up lightly and went to the kitchen.
Thanks to the fact that the kitchen was far away from the bedroom, he could secretly make noodles, wait for the dough to settle, pull them, and… Pray during the process. Xu Shen, please don’t wake up, don’t wake up, let me succeed, I really want the plan to succeed…
Shu Ran felt his heart was about to burst out of his chest. He looked at the dough second by second and minute by minute, until the noodles were finally ready to be cooked.
So far, things went well.
The noodles he pulled looked exceptionally good, with clear roots and well-proportioned shapes… He loved it!
At one o’clock in the morning of July 22nd, Shu Ran looked at the silent bedroom door nervously. He didn’t dare to go inside carrying the noodles, so he took a pair of chopsticks and carried everything toward the living room.
They went to bed at eight o’clock, so Xu Shen already slept for five hours… It didn’t count as an intrusion if he disturbed him now, right?!
Shu Ran laid out the food, took out a small and exquisite music box he bought during the day, and placed it on the table. However, it still felt a bit monotonous, so he went to the yard, cut some flowers and placed them in vases on the table, giving it a more atmospheric feel.
After everything was ready, his tense nerves finally relaxed, only to find out there was actually a layer of sweat on his back.
For the last step of his plan, Shu Ran walked into the bedroom, first admired his boyfriend who looked so handsome even when sleeping, and then kissed him to wake him up but… He was so deep in sleep… Sleeping like a pig, very comfortable! If he had known he was like that, Shu Ran wouldn’t have been so gentle…! “Brother Shen!”
“Huh?” Xu Shen opened his eyes and asked sleepily: “Wife, what’s wrong?” He was suddenly woken up by a shout and immediately thought that something was urgent, so his expression gradually became serious.
“Brother Shen, we agreed to celebrate your birthday today, have you forgotten?” Shu Ran pulled his hand and said: “Happy birthday!”
“…”
Xu Shen was not really awake at first, but now he was completely awake. He held Shu Ran’s hand in an instant, and… It turned out that Shu Ran remembered! His mind was a little blank, but he still sat up immediately the next second: “Is it dawn yet?!”
He turned to look out the window only to see that it was still dark…
“Not yet, it’s midnight now…” Shu Ran pressed his face against Xu Shen’s: “We can celebrate right after midnight. Get up, I’ve prepared a gift for you.”
“Ah…” Xu Shen was stunned. Now he finally understood what Shu Ran was planning by not mentioning anything during the day. He smiled: “When did you prepare it?” He stood up, put on his shoes, and followed the other person to the living room.
“Just now, I got up secretly and worked hard for two hours.” Shu Ran said proudly. “Isn’t it awesome?”
Xu Shen frowned, a bit upset when he heard that he stayed up late at night, but when he thought that he was doing it for himself, he paradoxically relaxed his brows, feeling both sweet and sour in his heart.
“It’s amazing…” Xu Shen was pressed on the chair, looking at the bowl of hot noodles: “Did you cook it?”
… It took you two hours to cook some noodles?!
He was worthy of being his wife, the one who was too delicate to even dip his fingers in spring water…
“Well.” Shu Ran sat down next to him: “It’s the flour we bought today, this type of noodle is called “longevity noodles”2Longevity Noodles (yī miàn, 伊面), also known as yi mein or e-fu noodles, is a type of noodles that symbolize long life and can always be found on the banquet table at Chinese celebrations. According to tradition, the chef can’t cut the noodle strands, and each strand needs to be eaten whole – no breaking it before you eat it. Most – if not all – blogs and websites trace the history of longevity noodles back to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty (ruling from 141-87 BCE), who told his ministers that he heard that if one had a long face, one would have a long life. As he couldn’t change the length of his face, the emperor decided to eat long noodles because the word for “noodles” sounds similar to the word for “face” in Chinese. The custom then spread beyond the palace to the rest of the country Eating them on your birthday means good things.” He then put the chopsticks into Xu Shen’s hand and continued: “What are you doing standing there, try it quickly! Ah, are you afraid that my cooking will be unpalatable?”
It wasn’t bad… He tried one and it tasted pretty good!
However, Xu Shen was stunned again. Wait… Did he make the noodles himself?!
He looked at Shu Ran for a long time, then looked at his face once more. Under the urging of the other person’s eyes, he finally picked up the chopsticks and put the noodles into his mouth.
“Isn’t it delicious?” Shu Ran asked while holding his chin.
“It’s not bad.” Xu Shen said. It just tasted like homemade noodles, but he ate it one bite after another.
Shu Ran was amused: “Are you really that hungry?”
Well, it’s already been several hours since dinner.
Xu Shen nodded and said nothing.
Shu Ran opened the music box on the table, and a crisp and melodious melody tinkled. Although that kind of operation was very vulgar, it was indispensable.
“I took the time to buy this during the day when you weren’t paying attention. It’s painted and a bit expensive, but the sound is indeed better, better than the cheaper ones. I…”
Shu Ran looked at Xu Shen and noticed that the other party didn’t look at him at all, just immersed himself in eating noodles, looking as if he was eating some delicacies from the mountains and seas…
T.N: Will he cry? Find out next week! •̀⩊•́
