Translator: Lynn
The driver got out of the car and began to unload the green plants. Jiang Yuduo took a look in the trunk and noticed that the pots were much larger than the ones he had bought for Lucy last time. He intended to help.
Just as he was about to step forward, he heard Lin Xu’s surprised voice, “Brother Cheng, what happened to your hand?”
Jiang Yuduo quickly estimated the time. It had been about 30 seconds since Lin Xu got out of the car. The injury was quite noticeable, so it took quite some time for him to notice it.
Perhaps he hadn’t been paying as much attention to Cheng Ke as he thought.
But looking at it from another perspective, it seemed suspicious.
Any normal person would have noticed it at a glance. Lin Xu should have seen it too, so why did it take him so long to express surprise upon seeing it?
Jiang Yuduo turned his head and glanced at Lin Xu.
“I accidentally fell,” Cheng Ke explained. “It’s fine. It will heal in about a month.”
“I’ve fallen off a horse before,” Lin Xu patted his arm. “It’s really uncomfortable. You can’t do anything with that hand. It’s inconvenient.”
“It’s alright,” Cheng Ke shook his hand. “It’s better than having a broken leg.”
Jiang Yuduo stopped paying attention to their conversation and went to help the driver.
Just as he was picking up a cart, Lin Xu had already caught up and said, “San-ge, let me do it.”
“Let’s do it together,” Jiang Yuduo replied.
“Okay.” Lin Xu effortlessly lifted a pot of flowers from the back compartment. It seemed to be a money tree1THIS money tree, not the ones with real money as leafs. 
. The pot was quite large, but Lin Xu handled it with ease.
Of course, being a model, she must have worked out regularly.
Jiang Yuduo also took a pot and placed it on the cart.
“You guys can start unloading,” Cheng Ke approached them. “I’ll bring these pots inside.”
Jiang Yuduo couldn’t help but think that Cheng Ke was truly a sheltered young master. He believed that a cart would solve everything, but pushing four giant pots of flowers on the cart without the assistance of two people would be impossible to climb the slope in front of the store.
Cheng Ke pulled the cart, then stopped and glanced at Jiang Yuduo, whispering, “Are the wheels broken?”
Jiang Yuduo glanced at the back compartment where Lin Xu and the driver were moving the flower pot, and he didn’t hear Cheng Ke’s words. If he had heard them, he would have burst out laughing.
“These are four lumps of soil,” Jiang Yuduo whispered back, stepping to the other side of the cart and pushing toward Cheng Ke. “Do you think they’re just empty flower pots? How have you grown up?”
“I grew up drinking morning dew. What’s your excuse?” Cheng Ke pulled the cart again, this time heading towards the slope. “We elves… no, little fairies…”
“Do elves drink morning dew?” Jiang Yuduo interrupted him. “Don’t spirits eat bugs?”
Cheng Ke looked at him and after a moment, he said, “San-ge, I now understand why you haven’t had a girlfriend. Your thought process has been infected by Chen Qing…”
“Don’t say that,” Jiang Yuduo said with a serious expression. “Chen Qing has had several girlfriends, and one of them nearly got married.”
“…Oh.” Cheng Ke didn’t know how to respond, so he continued pulling the cart, with Jiang Yuduo supporting the flower pot and pushing the cart from behind. Together, they managed to push it up the slope in front of the store.
“But I’ve never thought about having a girlfriend,” Jiang Yuduo stated.
“Why?” Cheng Ke asked.
“No particular reason. I simply haven’t given it any thought,” Jiang Yuduo said. “If any woman shows interest in me, my instinct is to hide.”
“Then why haven’t you hidden from me? Because…” Cheng Ke began, but he didn’t finish his sentence. Jiang Yuduo waited for a while, but when Cheng Ke didn’t continue, he caught up with him and asked, “What?”
“You’re selling yourself short, like picking unripe fruit that’s still on the tree,” Cheng Ke replied.
At least Jiang Yuduo understood that sentence, and he wasn’t entirely satisfied with the assessment. “I’m not unripe, I just haven’t met the right woman.”
Cheng Ke looked at him but remained silent.
“I watch all kinds of adult films,” Jiang Yuduo added, “I’m still watching…”
“Masturbation? What does masturbation have to do with falling in love?” Cheng Ke sighed. “Monkeys know how to masturbate, so what’s there to brag about?”
“Damn,” Jiang Yuduo was shocked. “I never expected you to be that kind of person, young master!”
“I never expected you to be that kind of person either, San-ge,” Cheng Ke sighed. “Let’s go, let’s get the flowers. There’s still a lot more to do.”
Lin Xu and the driver had already moved the flower pots to the back compartment. Jiang Yuduo went over and directly placed them in the pushcart inside the car.
As he was about to pull the cart away, Cheng Ke came over to help. Jiang Yuduo pointed to Cheng Ke’s plaster cast and said, “Forget it. I’ll handle it.”
“I’ll do it,” Lin Xu jumped out of the car and assisted Jiang Yuduo in pushing the cart toward the store entrance.
Jiang Yuduo didn’t really want Lin Xu’s help, but he couldn’t manage it alone, and… he didn’t want Lin Xu, who always made him feel somewhat uncomfortable, to be left alone with Cheng Ke.
One by one, Jiang Yuduo pushed the cart into the store and then unloaded the flower pots.
“While we’re moving,” Lin Xu said, “Are you treating me…”
Jiang Yuduo felt upset, and when he heard Lin Xu, who was openly gay, suddenly say that he immediately misunderstood and was shocked. “What?”
“Huh?” Lin Xu was taken aback by his reaction, and he was silent for a moment. “What… what did you think I meant?”
“Oh,” Jiang Yuduo regained his composure. “What did you say?”
“…Oh,” Lin Xu paused for a couple of seconds before smiling. “I just wanted to say… we might see each other often in the future.”
“Yes,” Jiang Yuduo responded.
“San-ge, if you think I’ve done something wrong,” Lin Xu said, “just let me know.”
Jiang Yuduo looked at him.
“I’m also very straightforward,” Lin Xu felt a bit embarrassed by Jiang Yuduo’s gaze. “I feel like you, San-ge, tend to put on a cold face when you have something on your mind, so… I just wanted to clarify that I don’t mind, and I don’t have any… opinions about you.”
“Oh,” Jiang Yuduo said. “That’s good.”
The driver by the door had already unloaded the flowers from the car and was preparing to leave.
Standing there shivering, Cheng Ke tugged on his coat and frowned, looking like an uptight boss who doesn’t communicate well.
Jiang Yuduo sighed. “Can’t you just go inside and stay? Who else would dare to snatch these flowers?”
“In that case, you move them,” Cheng Ke immediately turned around, shrunk his neck, and went back to the shop.
“San-ge, have you known Brother Cheng for a long time?” Lin Xu asked.
“Not long,” Jiang Yuduo remained cautious towards Lin Xu and didn’t provide a definite answer.
“I can tell that you two… are quite familiar,” Lin Xu said, “I wouldn’t dare to speak to him like that.” Jiang Yuduo tugged at the corner of his mouth, trying to suppress his laughter, but ended up tugging even harder.
But honestly, if he hadn’t met the troublesome Cheng Ke first, he probably wouldn’t have dared to talk to Cheng Ke like that, especially not in Cheng Ke’s current state when he was performing or working.
“Brother Xu said you two are… friends,” Lin Xu moved a flower pot onto the cart and said with some difficulty, “I thought maybe…”
Jiang Yuduo took his hand and positioned the flower pot upright.
“I thought maybe you were dating,” Lin Xu smiled.
Jiang Yuduo remained silent, just looking at him.
Lin Xu’s speculation suddenly made his current emotions hard to decipher.
Seeing his lack of response, Lin Xu also grew embarrassed and looked at him. “Really?”
“Huh?” Jiang Yuduo was surprised.
“…Ah,” Lin Xu quickly lowered his head, dragging the cart with only two flower pots on it. “I talk too much…”
In the past two seconds, Jiang Yuduo’s mind raced at an incredible speed, smoke almost coming out of his ears.
He needed to make a quick decision on whether to make Lin Xu think there was something suspicious going on between him and Cheng Ke, and how to maintain a safe distance between Lin Xu and Cheng Ke.
“Well,” Jiang Yuduo stepped onto the cart, looking at Lin Xu who had turned around. “I don’t mind.”
“…Oh,” Lin Xu nodded.
After moving all the flower pots into the store and arranging them in the back room, Cheng Ke and Lin Xu ran up and down a few times to plan the placement of each plant. They would wait for the workers to arrive in a few days and then move everything into position slowly.
Jiang Yuduo sat on the second floor, observing the tile layers at work.
He had no concept of where each plant of different sizes and shapes should be placed, or the kind of visual impact they could create. Those matters related to aesthetics and art were beyond his expertise, and it wouldn’t be appropriate to constantly follow Cheng Ke around. What he could do was watch the tile layers, making sure the lines were straight and the gaps were even. Those were things he could still assess.
“The young people these days are more promising than others. Look at you,” the master remarked while laying bricks. “This shop is running so well. It must have required a significant investment. How capable you are! My own son can’t do it, you know? He doesn’t want to learn anything, just idles around. I even had to rent out his house, but he won’t bother to collect the rent…”
Jiang Yuduo felt a bit uncomfortable hearing that.
This store had nothing to do with him; he was here accompanying someone.
He might be a bit more capable than the master’s son, going to collect rent several times a month… but the rent he collected wasn’t for himself.
“I’ll go ahead then,” Lin Xu came down from the third floor and spoke to Cheng Ke. “Brother Cheng, if you need any help, just let me know. I also participated in the decoration at Brother Xu’s place. If you need any soft furnishings later on, just tell me, and I’ll find them for you.” “Okay, thank you for your hard work,” Cheng Ke replied.
“San-ge,” Lin Xu walked up to Jiang Yuduo. “I’m leaving now. You keep yourself busy.”
“Oh, take care,” Jiang Yuduo responded, unsure of what else to say. He continued watching the tile layers do their work.
Cheng Ke escorted Lin Xu downstairs, but he didn’t return for a while. Jiang Yuduo started to feel uneasy and got up to stand by the window, looking down.
There was no one at the store’s entrance, neither Cheng Ke nor Lin Xu was there.
Jiang Yuduo suddenly panicked, turned around, and rushed downstairs. He leaped directly from the second-floor staircase to the first floor, the height of the store floor being higher than that of a regular residential building. After rolling half a circle and trying to stand up with the help of his hands, he found someone in front of him.
“Damn it!” Cheng Ke exclaimed, hugging a paper bag. “Who the hell are you trying to scare to death?”
Jiang Yuduo felt like his eyeballs could pop out. When he realized everything was fine, he let out a sigh of relief and stood up.
He couldn’t let Cheng Ke worry any longer. He needed to come up with a reasonable explanation for his behavior right away.
After hesitating for a second, he looked at Cheng Ke and asked, “Am I handsome?”
Cheng Ke stared at him and after a while, he said, “Screw you.”
Jiang Yuduo glanced at the paper bag in his hand. “Where have you been?”
“There’s a fruit supermarket across the street!” Cheng Ke walked upstairs. “I went to buy some oranges! You’re giving me a heart attack as soon as you come back! Hurry up! Yes, you can call me ‘grandpa’ if you want. Calling me ‘uncle’ doesn’t reflect your age anymore.”
Jiang Yuduo smiled and remained silent.
Cheng Ke took out the oranges from the paper bag and handed a few to each of the busy workers. Then he approached Jiang Yuduo, who was sitting at a small table and placed the remaining oranges beside him. “Want some?”
“Yeah,” Jiang Yuduo took one and started peeling it slowly, bowing his head.
Cheng Ke sat down, holding an orange in his hand, and looked at Jiang Yuduo.
After the scare earlier, he thought about the question Jiang Yuduo had asked: “Am I handsome?”
Handsome.
Jiang Yuduo had long limbs, and when he jumped down from the second-floor edge, his movements were quite graceful and elongated, as if he was about to fly.
Very handsome.
This kind of handsomeness was very different from when he was the San-ge.
Jiang Yuduo had various states, just like a crystal lamp.
It may seem tacky, but every reflection of light made it look beautiful.
“Here,” Jiang Yuduo peeled an orange and handed it over. “Don’t squeeze the one in your hand too much, or it’ll break.” “Why?”
Cheng Ke squeezed the orange. “It will become loose after a while, making it easier to peel.”
“Are you struggling so much to peel an orange? Why not just peel it directly?” Jiang Yuduo took the orange from his hand and placed the peeled one in his hand. “No wonder elves like you are extinct.”
Cheng Ke was momentarily stunned before recalling their previous conversation, and he smiled for a long time. “I’ve noticed that you hold grudges. You can remember a single line forever.”
“Well, it’s not about holding grudges, but more about having a good memory…,” Jiang Yuduo cleared his throat halfway through his sentence, lowered his head, and began peeling the orange.
Cheng Ke smiled and remained silent, slowly enjoying the orange.
The tile layers were still working swiftly. Cheng Ke ordered some takeout for lunch, and within an hour of eating, they finished laying the remaining bricks.
“Let me tell you, boss. You just need to inspect them. If there’s any piece that doesn’t fit well, I’ll knock it out and reapply it for you,” the master confidently said while packing up their tools.
Cheng Ke stood in front of the newly laid bricks, carefully inspecting them, even touching them with his hands.
Jiang Yuduo realized that Cheng Ke was very observant about certain things. This morning, Cheng Ke was familiar with the workers, and they indeed paid great attention to detail. Cheng Ke had the confidence to vouch for their workmanship. They probably didn’t work too carelessly.
However, Cheng Ke didn’t show any signs of satisfaction. The workers packed up their things and waited beside him for a while before he turned around and nodded. “The craftsmanship is really impressive.”
“Just as I said.”
“Well, you found no faults,” the worker replied, lifting his face.
“If any of my friends need brick installation in the future, I will definitely recommend you,” Cheng Ke smiled.
After the workers left, Jiang Yuduo helped Cheng Ke organize the materials piled up in the store and counted them.
“You’re very meticulous in your work,” Jiang Yuduo couldn’t help but comment as he watched Cheng Ke record the number of materials on his phone.
“Xu Ding was busy before, and I didn’t take care of it,” Cheng Ke explained. “Now that we’re nearing completion, I can’t afford to make any mistakes.”
“Yes,” Jiang Yuduo nodded.
“Close the doors and windows for me,” Cheng Ke said, looking at him. “After that, you can go home and drop off your luggage, then head to the mall.”
“Why?” Jiang Yuduo asked.
“I need to buy something,” Cheng Ke replied. “When I go to Chen Qing’s house for Chinese New Year dinner, I can’t go empty-handed, can I?”
He took a deep breath.”I don’t have the same close relationship with Chen Qing as you do.”
“But you’re my friend,” Jiang Yuduo said.
“Don’t worry about it,” Cheng Ke waved his hand.
Jiang Yuduo pulled the luggage back and helped Cheng Ke tidy up in a casual manner, taking out the clothes and hanging them in the closet.
“We still have enough time,” Cheng Ke glanced at his phone, “You…”
“Understood,” Jiang Yuduo glanced at the mess on his bed, “I remember you said yesterday that you don’t make the bed. Don’t you owe me now?”
Cheng Ke clicked his tongue.
Making a bed wasn’t difficult, but making a bed out of the bundle Cheng Ke had rolled it into was more challenging. After a while, Jiang Yuduo threw the quilt onto the bed and said, “It’s done.”
“Hey,” Cheng Ke chuckled, “Are you annoyed?”
“No,” Jiang Yuduo sighed, “I just find it impressive how you managed to roll things up like this overnight.”
“When I sleep alone, I’m quite restless,” Cheng Ke said, “I have to occupy the entire 1.8-meter bed.”
“I sleep peacefully,” Jiang Yuduo said.
“Seems like it,” Cheng Ke recalled, “Do you only turn over once during the night?”
“Well,” Jiang Yuduo nodded, “Sometimes I don’t even turn over at all.”
“Do you sleep standing up or something?” Cheng Ke asked joking.
Realizing his question wasn’t appropriate, Cheng Ke was about to apologize when Jiang Yuduo smiled and said, “Never mind, I’ll tell you when the time is right.”
“Tell me what?” Cheng Ke asked, surprised.
“It’s something that happened when I was a child,” Jiang Yuduo said.
Cheng Ke looked at him and nodded after a while, “Okay.”
“Let’s go,” Jiang Yuduo walked toward the door, “Let’s go to the mall.”
“Let’s go to the wholesale market first,” Cheng Ke caught up with him and said in a single sentence.
“Isn’t it a shopping mall?” Jiang Yuduo turned his head back. “Why the downgrade? Are you looking down on us, Chen Qing?”
“We’re going to buy a coat,” Cheng Ke pointed to the coat he was wearing. “I’ve been trying to find a similar one for you, but I haven’t had any luck.”
“The wholesale market isn’t here. Do you have obsessive-compulsive disorder?” Jiang Yuduo sighed. “I bought these clothes last year, so I might not find the same ones anymore.”
“Just a bit,” Cheng Ke replied. “I think yours is thick, warm, and not too heavy.”
“Alright,” Jiang Yuduo hesitated and took off his coat. “Here…”
“Thank you!” Cheng Ke promptly accepted it.
“I’ll sell it to you for a hundred yuan,” Jiang Yuduo joked.
“Damn!” Cheng Ke chuckled. “Are you even human?”
Jiang Yuduo smiled and didn’t say anything.
“You can wear my coat,” Cheng Ke took off his coat and handed it to him. “This one isn’t particularly warm, but it’s quite lightweight. Anyway, you’re not afraid of the cold.”
“Alright,” Jiang Yuduo put it on, wearing Cheng Ke’s coat.
Cheng Ke reached into the pocket of Jiang Yuduo’s coat. He knew there was a knife in there, but when he put his hand inside, he found nothing.
“You didn’t bring your knife?” Cheng Ke felt a bit surprised.
“I didn’t bring it today. It’s a holiday,” Jiang Yuduo explained. “I won’t be fighting.”
Cheng Ke’s coat wasn’t particularly warm indeed, and Jiang Yuduo felt that Cheng Ke had bought it solely because it looked good. Besides its appearance, it didn’t have any other advantages.
But the clothes smelled nice, and the perfume in Cheng Ke’s closet seemed to have changed. The current scent had a grassy fragrance, which Jiang Yuduo quite liked.
Once they got in the taxi, he pulled the collar of the coat and sniffed again.
“No way,” Cheng Ke asked in a low voice, “Can you still smell it? I just put it on today.”
“No,” Jiang Yuduo felt a little embarrassed. “I just wanted to smell it. Did you change your perfume?”
“My sense of smell is fine,” Cheng Ke replied. “This scent is similar to the previous one, I can barely detect it.”
“That’s because your nose is blocked. It’s obvious,” Jiang Yuduo sniffed again. “Aren’t you the one with rhinitis?”
“Get lost,” Cheng Ke said.
Jiang Yuduo smiled and turned to look out the window.
When he was in the car, he habitually looked outside, not at the street view, but it made him feel safer to see things outside.
“Hey, let me ask you something,” Cheng Ke approached him and whispered in his ear.
“What’s the matter?” Jiang Yuduo asked.
“About Lin Xu,” Cheng Ke cleared his throat, “Did you say something to him today?”
“Thinking back just now, I suddenly felt so ashamed. I stumbled over my words for a long time and didn’t know what to say. I just… he asked me if I was your… boyfriend…” Jiang Yuduo said the word “friend” very softly, and as he said it, his hair felt tangled.
“So, you told him to ask me?” Cheng Ke said.
“I just mentioned it casually…” Jiang Yuduo suddenly realized something in the midst of speaking. “Did he really ask you?”
“Yes,” Cheng Ke nodded.
“Then you… son of a bitch!” Jiang Yuduo felt his face burning with embarrassment. “Damn it… I can’t believe it… and you, why did you tell him?”
“I said no,” Cheng Ke replied.
Jiang Yuduo was stunned. He looked at Cheng Ke and then suddenly exclaimed after a long pause, “Oh! Damn!”
Cheng Ke narrowed his eyes. “Oh, what does that mean?”
“It means I understand,” Jiang Yuduo felt a bit uneasy under Cheng Ke’s gaze, so he turned his head away.
What a humiliating situation.
Is Lin Xu a complete idiot?
Can he really ask about something like this?
“The way you’re making me feel right now,” Cheng Ke said, “I should say yes?”
Jiang Yuduo abruptly turned his head.
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