The restaurant was bustling with people at noon—a noisy scene.
Chen Xu glanced at Song Ming with a hint of guilt, “Sorry for dragging you into this.”
“It’s okay, it’s not your fault. Don’t worry about it.”
Like an older brother, Song Ming gently patted his shoulder, showing he really didn’t mind.
“But…” He hesitated for a moment before continuing, “Do you have some history with Ji Chunxiao? Why is he like that?”
Chen Xu was also curious about this.
Logically, at this time, he and Ji Chunxiao should be strangers; this whole situation was very abnormal.
The familiarity Ji Chunxiao exhibited was so strong that Chen Xu couldn’t just ignore it.
He had a wild guess deep down, but he suppressed it.
“Let’s not talk about that for now.” Chen Xu sighed, then smiled again, “What would you like to eat? This meal is on me.”
Knowing that Song Ming often skimped on meals, he instinctively declined, “That’s not necessary…”
“I insist.”
Looking at him, his eyes filled with gratitude, “Please don’t refuse, Song Ming, I want to treat you.”
Finding it hard to talk in the crowded restaurant, they decided to take their meals back to eat in Chen Xu’s dorm room.
Pushing open the white door, there it was on the small desk—the lunchbox for today.
The deep blue lunchbox lay under the light, its shell slightly warm from the sun.
Picking it up, Chen Xu felt the warmth seep from his fingertips into his heart.
He truly was very grateful to Song Ming.
For helping him in such a gentle and discreet way during his most difficult times.
Chen Xu turned to Song Ming, “This was your doing, wasn’t it? Arranging for Xu Ke to secretly leave it in my room every day.”
“…So you found out.”
Song Ming had suspected as much on the way over. After all, their only connection was these lunches.
He rubbed his nose sheepishly, “I noticed you often skipped buying meals, and since I had spare lunchboxes that I didn’t like, I thought I might as well give them to you.”
“I was worried you’d refuse or feel burdened if you knew, so I decided to just leave them secretly.”
“I wasn’t sure if it really helped you.”
He spoke without any expectation of gratitude, as if it were mere routine kindness.
But for Chen Xu, those lunches from his previous life had been a significant aid, both spiritually and materially.
“Thank you, Song Ming. Thank you so much.”
These long-overdue thanks finally found their rightful place in this bizarre rebirth. As he spoke, Chen Xu’s eyes reddened with gratitude and guilt.
“Hey, what’s this about?” Song Ming was somewhat amused, quickly handing him a tissue, “It’s nothing big.”
Sitting down, he thought for a few seconds before explaining,
“I wanted to help you because you remind me of my younger brother.”
“Brother?” Chen Xu was surprised; during all their time as classmates, Song Ming had never mentioned a brother.
“I thought you were an only child.”
“No, I have a twin brother, a few minutes younger than me.”
As Song Ming spoke of his brother, his expression softened with affection and nostalgia, “Twins are inherently inseparable, and we were very close. But when we started high school, my parents divorced. I stayed with our mom, and he went abroad with our dad.”
“He was only fifteen then, struggled with the language barrier, felt homesick, and often cried when he called me. After the divorce, our dad faced financial strain. My brother often didn’t have enough to eat until I found out and asked our mom to send him some money each month.”
Looking at Chen Xu, his eyes warm with the empathy of an older brother, he said, “When I noticed you hesitating to buy meals, it reminded me of my brother when he first went abroad. I just thought I’d help you out, like someone had helped him.”
“So, don’t thank me too much. If you don’t mind, just think of it as a meal from an older brother.”
After seeing Song Ming out of the dorm, Chen Xu leaned against the door, exhaling deeply.
Ever since he realized he had mistaken the person, his anxious eagerness to express his gratitude had finally settled.
Chen Xu thought, “Song Ming is so kind that he doesn’t even need thanks.”
What else can I give him?
Song Ming deserved all of his love, according to his previous life trajectory.
But as he lay back on his bed, Chen Xu touched his steady and regular heartbeat.
Was this reasonable or not? Why hadn’t his gratitude towards Song Ming transformed into love?
Chen Xu closed his eyes, pondering when he had realized he had fallen for Ji Chunxiao in his past life.
The boundaries of feelings were too blurred; Chen Xu couldn’t recall the exact moment his feelings had changed.
All he could remember was the day they got together.
Initially grateful for the mistaken lunchbox, Chen Xu had been an obedient ‘lickspittle’ for a good while for Young Master Ji.
He was well-behaved and did whatever he was asked.
Ji Chunxiao was only too happy to take advantage of him.
“Little Chen Xu, go buy me lunch, two servings.” Or, “Write an 800-word reflection for me.”
Being pampered at home, the wealthy young master had no qualms about bossing someone around; in fact, Ji Chunxiao just wanted to see how much his obedient deskmate could tolerate.
But Chen Xu earnestly did everything he was asked.
Really, he’s so good to me?
With his narcissism flourishing, Ji Chunxiao reached a conclusion with his quirky logic—Chen Xu must like me.
Once he realized this, the young master’s demands became even more outrageous, just to see how much Chen Xu truly loved him.
The one-sided ambiguous period was in full swing for Ji Chunxiao, while Chen Xu still thought he was merely repaying a debt.
They progressed slowly, but soon there was a turning point.
The day they confirmed their relationship was a rainy night with thunder so loud it seemed to shake the heavens, lightning illuminating the sky.
Assigned for duty, Chen Xu sat at the back of the classroom, pale-faced with his backpack.
Despite the doors being shut, they barely muffled the thunder.
The rain was too heavy; even with an umbrella, it was useless. He didn’t plan to brave the storm and was even prepared to spend the night in the classroom.
The damp air seeped in through every crack, and the sudden drop in temperature chilled his exposed skin.
So cold.
Chen Xu tightened his school jacket and buried his head in his arms on the desk, to no avail.
Suddenly, he remembered Ji Chunxiao.
Before he left that evening, Ji Chunxiao had asked him to buy some snacks to eat together later.
This had almost become a daily routine for them; Chen Xu would listen to the long list of foods from the young master, buy them, and then they would eat together.
But today, Ji Chunxiao would probably go hungry.
He just couldn’t make it back.
As he thought about how to appease the angry young master tomorrow, a sudden tapping on the glass startled him, and he instinctively stepped back into the classroom.
In the dark, the figure outside was indistinct.
His heart raced, imagining it could be some rain-soaked killer.
But the next moment, lightning revealed Ji Chunxiao’s drenched handsome face, his impatience evident as he used his elbow to force open the unlocked back door.
Young Master Ji was soaked, in a foul mood.
Since it started raining after he returned to the dorm, he had tossed and turned, glancing outside nearly every minute.
With such heavy rain, his little lickspittle couldn’t come back, and he didn’t know if he would be scared.
Considering how much Chen Xu adored him, he grudgingly decided to come and fetch him himself.
The soaked jacket dripped onto the floor, forming a puddle, wet hair sticking to his skin, and droplets running down into his clothes.
Young Master Ji had never been so disheveled, his face as stormy as the weather.
Seeing him like this, Chen Xu was startled, then couldn’t help but slightly curl his lips. His body was still cold, but his heart warmed.
He didn’t look friendly, but this wasn’t some rain-soaked killer; this was a hero coming to his rescue, his hero alone, albeit a grumpy one.
The rain seemed to lighten a bit outside, and the two of them huddled close together, starting to make their way back.
The wind carried the cold rain, almost freezing them.
Chen Xu instinctively moved closer to Ji Chunxiao, who stiffened for a moment but then, as if it was the most natural thing, wrapped his arm around Chen Xu’s shoulder.
“Hey, Little Chen Xu.”
After a long silence, amid the roar of the storm, Ji Chunxiao spoke.
He said, “You really like me, don’t you?”
It was a very certain tone.
Surprise and confusion showed on Chen Xu’s face.
Did he like him?
He must.
The joy he felt when he saw Ji Chunxiao appear in the classroom just now was genuine.
Thunder rumbled in the sky, but it couldn’t drown out the powerful thumps of his own heart.
Chen Xu thought, maybe I’ve liked Ji Chunxiao for a long time. He’s been so good to me, bringing me food; it’s right for me to like him.
With this thought, he nodded, agreeing with Ji Chunxiao’s statement about liking him a lot.
Young Master Ji was barely satisfied, awkwardly saying, “Little lickspittle, then I’ll grudgingly give you a chance.”
