Lu Hui watched helplessly as the door slammed shut with a loud “bang,” narrowly avoiding his nose.
This marked the fifth time he had been kicked out of the house.
Accompanied by Ji Fanyang’s extremely restrained “If you don’t wash the dishes again, you might as well join the trash can,” Lu Hui stood in silence facing the closed door for a while, then turned and went downstairs.
It was midsummer, and Lu Hui didn’t have his keys or phone. All he had was a card, so he went to the electronics store to buy a dishwasher.
Carrying the dishwasher on the street, he was intercepted by an arm, “Hey handsome, check out Qifa Culinary School.”
Lu Hui lowered his head; his 6’1″ frame holding the dishwasher did look a bit awkward, especially since the salesgirl was only 5’0″. He furrowed his brows, “Not interested.”
“Not interested? You should at least take a look.” The salesgirl walked aside, allowing Lu Hui a clearer view. She tiptoed to place a brochure on the dishwasher’s box. “Don’t you want to personally cook a delicious meal to treat your girlfriend?”
“Boyfriend,” Lu Hui corrected.
“Lover,” the salesgirl smiled, her eyes curved. “Either works.”
“I can bake a cake,” Lu Hui said. “I don’t need this.”
“Just take it; you never know.” The salesgirl hugged a thick stack of brochures and ran off to distribute them, leaving Lu Hui standing there in contemplation.
When Lu Hui returned home carrying the dishwasher, his new residence was in the Liuting District, Wanfeng Garden, Building Five, Sixteenth Floor. Standing in the elevator, Lu Hui flipped through the brochure repeatedly. Perhaps he should learn to cook; he couldn’t always let Ji Fanyang do all the work.
The elevator door opened, and he coincidentally met a neighbor on the same floor.
“Going out?” The neighbor, a young girl, asked with a bright smile.
“Yeah,” Lu Hui nodded.
“If you have time, come to my place.” The girl walked into the elevator, bringing a whiff of fragrance.
Lu Hui shook his head and walked to his doorstep. He knocked on the door, and a note was wedged in the door panel, “Busy, returning late. -Yang.” Lu Hui sighed, put down the paper box with disappointment.
Rarely having two days off, he had a spat with Ji Fanyang on the first day over the dishwashing issue, mainly Lu Hui’s fault, but he stubbornly argued with Ji Fanyang. Now, Lu Hui crouched beside the paper box, looking like a large dog that had done something wrong.
“Had a fight with the wife?” The girl from downstairs, fetching a package, stood next to Lu Hui. “Come to my place.”
“No, didn’t bring my keys,” Lu Hui mumbled.
“I’m Xie, Xie Min,” the girl held four packages, “If you don’t mind, you can come to my place for a while.”
Lu Hui thought for a moment, stood up, lifted the dishwasher, and followed Xie Min into the adjacent apartment. “I’m Lu, Lu Hui.”
“You’re a tenant?” Xie Min asked.
“No, a relocated resident.” Lu Hui said, bending over to place the dishwasher at the entrance. “Can you cook?”
The straightforward question caught Xie Min off guard. “A little.”
“Can you teach me?” Lu Hui widened his eyes, appearing handsome. With his lips pursed and eyes wide open, he had a somewhat pitiful and innocent, childlike demeanor.
“…Sure.” Xie Min quickly surrendered. She smiled and asked, “Did you really get kicked out by your wife?”
“Yeah, our relationship is good,” Lu Hui said. “I just don’t like washing dishes.”
“You’d rather cook than wash dishes?” Xie Min asked.
“Yeah.” Lu Hui walked to the kitchen, washed his hands, and with his determined dark eyes, he said, “I want to cook for him.”
Xie Min, with a mix of curiosity and infatuation, watched the man in the kitchen. She was somewhat captivated. “Alright, what do you want to cook?”
“Spicy and Sour Shredded Potatoes,” Lu Hui said.
Prepared for more complex dishes, Xie Min awkwardly cleared her throat, “Well, let’s start with something simple.”
“Where’s Lu Hui?” Ji Lian and Fan Shuqin walked out of the airport.
Ji Fanyang helped them with their luggage while walking beside them, “He has something to attend to today.”
“Son, you don’t look well,” Fan Shuqin said with concern. “Did you not eat well?”
“No, I and Lu Hui are together now,” Ji Fanyang said.
The sudden revelation caught the elderly couple off guard.
Ji Lian pretended not to hear clearly, “Aren’t you two roommates?”
“It’s not just a roommate,” Ji Fanyang said seriously. “I like him, and we’re together. We plan to spend our lives together.”
“A child saying ‘spend our lives together.’ How can you say such things to your old man?” Ji Lian frowned. “You say ‘spend our lives together,’ why didn’t Lu Hui come and tell me?”
“I haven’t told him that you were coming,” Ji Fanyang said. “If you don’t agree, just buy a plane ticket and fly back.”
“What do you mean, Ji Fanyang?” One sentence left Ji Lian pointing at Ji Fanyang. “Have you ever talked to your father like this?”
Having been around Lu Hui for so long, Ji Fanyang’s skills in retorting had exponentially increased. He calmly said to Ji Lian, “I’m telling you in advance so that you can rein in your temper in front of Lu Hui.”
“Alright, alright.” Fan Shuqin gently pulled the standoffish father and son, and she said to Ji Lian softly, “We’ll go to the hotel first, and we’ll call you when it’s time.”
Ji Lian snorted, “We’ll take a taxi, no need for you to send us.” With that, he snatched the suitcase from Ji Fanyang and walked towards the taxi area with Fan Shuqin.
Ji Fanyang stood still, shaking his head helplessly, and walked toward the parking lot.
“Add oil after the water dries up, or it’ll cause an explosion,” Xie Min patiently instructed.
Lu Hui listened attentively, and in no time, he had cooked two dishes. Wearing an apron, he had an awkward but strangely charming sense of domesticity.
Xie Min picked up chopsticks and tasted the shredded potatoes, “It’s okay, but needs more salt.” She picked up a piece of stir-fried tofu and put it in her mouth, “Hmm… this one’s not bad.”
Lu Hui took a pair of chopsticks and tasted it himself. Ji Fanyang preferred mild flavors, so he figured his cooking wouldn’t be disliked.
The doorbell rang, and Xie Min ran to open it. The one knocking was Ji Fanyang, holding a note, “Is Lu Hui here?”
“Yeah, he’s with me,” Xie Min glanced at the tall figure in the kitchen brushing the pot. “Come in.”
Ji Fanyang squinted, “Did he tell you he had a fight with his wife?”
“Yeah, um… I thought so, he didn’t deny it,” Xie Min said.
Ji Fanyang sighed, “Thank you for taking him in.” He changed into his shoes at the door, and seeing the dishwasher at the entrance, a warm feeling emerged in his heart.
Lu Hui poked his head out of the kitchen, saw Ji Fanyang, and retracted his head, pretending to be sulking.
Ji Fanyang entered the kitchen, raised his hand to rub Lu Hui’s head, “Sorry.”
“With the dishwasher, neither of us has to wash dishes anymore,” Lu Hui said. He handed the chopsticks to Ji Fanyang, “Try the dishes I made.”
“Did you spend the whole afternoon learning to cook?” Ji Fanyang asked, taking a bite. “Not bad.”
“Yeah, what did you do?” Lu Hui asked.
“Nothing much.” Ji Fanyang didn’t want Lu Hui to know about his parents’ bad attitude.
Now it was Lu Hui’s turn to squint, using his investigative skills, “Your complexion doesn’t look good. Today is your day off, and if it’s not work-related, it must be family matters. Did you secretly call your parents over without telling me?”
“Well… let’s not talk about this,” Ji Fanyang said.
“Then what the hell do you want to talk about?” Lu Hui wiped his hands dry, walked out of the kitchen, and said to Xie Min, “Thank you, I need to go out and cool down.”
“Huh?” Xie Min was confused. It seemed that this couple had another quarrel.
“No, Lu Hui, wait.” Ji Fanyang walked out of the kitchen, but Lu Hui took the lead, slamming the neighbor’s door in frustration.
“How did this…” Xie Min was puzzled.
“Sorry, sorry.” Ji Fanyang pinched his nose, changed into his shoes, and picked up the dishwasher. “Thank you for your hospitality. Can I take these two dishes back? I’ll wash the plates and return them later.”
“Uh? Sure, sure.” Xie Min nodded.
“Really sorry.” Ji Fanyang opened the door and walked out of the room. Standing a few steps away, he stopped in front of his own door.
Lu Hui, who had let his temper flare, stood downstairs, realizing he had forgotten both his keys and phone. With not even a hundred yuan on his card, he had gone from leaving home to becoming a homeless man in no time. He scratched the back of his head and walked down the street.
