SLWP Chapter 9

Actually, the idea of Chen Xu being a lapdog wasn’t suddenly born; Ji Chunxiao had thought it over already.

Since Chen Xu had so cleanly broken up with him, Ji Chunxiao had wanted to win him back.

He had no other experiences to draw from; Chen Xu was his only romantic endeavor. Reflecting on the past, Chen Xu managed to woo him by being a lapdog, so of course, Ji Chunxiao thought he could do the same to win back Chen Xu.

Ji Chunxiao, the scholar of Chen-ology, named this phenomenon—lapdog conservation.

According to the timeline, they only became deskmates after being split into different classes in their senior year.

Now stuck in Class 12, Ji Chunxiao was discontented but without a remedy, merely shifting his seat from the middle of the last row to beside the window.

As the teacher explained problems at the lectern, Ji Chunxiao couldn’t understand, so he turned to gaze outside the window.

Across a courtyard, he could see Class 3 on the second floor.

Chen Xu sat right in the middle, and Ji Chunxiao could see him from the window for an entire class period.

While others took notes during class, Ji Chunxiao wrote in his notebook:

“Wifey drank two cups of water this morning.”

“Wifey passed by Song Ming on his way to get water, talked to that annoying guy for a bit.”

“Wifey seems to eat something every third period.”

…

He recorded all these and the next day would place two bottles of water and a box of snacks on Chen Xu’s desk at the entrance of Class 3.

Chen Xu glanced at him in surprise, “What are you doing?”

Ji Chunxiao had been blatantly ignored last time when Chen Xu threw away what he had brought right in front of him, yet here he was, forgiving and forgetting.

Even though he was no longer as attentive and understanding as before, why was Ji Chunxiao still seeking him out?

Unaware of what his ‘wife’ was thinking, Ji Chunxiao, fearful of Chen Xu throwing away his gifts again, carefully explained,

“I brought you extra water so you won’t have to go get it yourself.”

“And some snacks, in case you get hungry after class.”

That way, the wife wouldn’t need to pass by Song Ming, reducing their interactions.

Ji Chunxiao was pleased with himself and pushed the bottled water further onto the desk.

As he walked back, he deliberately kicked Song Ming’s desk, giving him a warning look that left Song Ming speechless.

Is this guy in elementary school?

Pondering over the lunchbox for a long time, Ji Chunxiao wanted to prepare it himself, but lacking the talent, he still needed to practice.

So for now, he had to rely on the housekeeper’s help.

Disliking that the old lunchbox was the same model as Song Ming’s, he decisively threw it away and specifically bought a new one, planning to have “Ji Chunxiao” printed in big letters on it.

That way, his wife could see it at a glance and would definitely not mistake it again.

But when the vendor confirmed the print content, he hesitated,

“Maybe not so big…”

What if his wife didn’t want to see his name now that she was upset with him?

“A bit smaller, even smaller.”

He revised it repeatedly, the name intended to cover the whole lunchbox surface, ending up just a tiny corner on the back.

No bigger than a fingernail, “Ji Chunxiao” stood alone.

He added a few more words until he was somewhat satisfied.

It was “Chen Xu’s Ji Chunxiao.”

When Chen Xu returned to his dormitory after class, sure enough, there was a bag hanging on the doorknob.

Inside was a new lunchbox.

He could guess with his knees it was from Ji Chunxiao.

Despite his refusals, the daily lunch was as reliable as clockwork. Not one to waste food, Chen Xu had no choice but to eat it.

Today’s dish was squirrel-shaped mandarin fish, crispy on the outside and tender inside, the soft fish meat draped with sweet and sour sauce, aroma wafting enticingly.

Chen Xu liked sweet and sour dishes, but when he was with Ji Chunxiao, he always acquiesced to his preferences.

Out of five dishes in a meal, maybe four were what the young master liked, and only the last dish would be sweet and sour.

He thought Ji Chunxiao never cared about his culinary preferences. But the recent meals, all different sweet and sour dishes, proved otherwise.

So… Ji Chunxiao did know?

He believed he understood Ji Chunxiao well, but now he realized his understanding was not complete.

For instance, he always thought Ji Chunxiao wouldn’t care about others, but Ji Chunxiao knew what he liked.

Or that he thought after being dumped, Ji Chunxiao would never see him again at best, or become strangers at worst.

But Ji Chunxiao didn’t. He was just awkwardly trying to please him, all while looking so pitiful and apologetic.

After class in the afternoon, Ji Chunxiao stopped by Chen Xu’s dorm to collect the empty lunchbox bag.

Chen Xu had a small appetite and usually left a bit behind, but today the lunchbox was very light, all eaten.

Young Master Ji was very happy.

He had always felt his wife was too thin, always devising ways to make him eat more. Now having the chance to feed him from high school, he was determined to take better care of his wife!

He took a call—it was the family butler, saying the person he was looking for was waiting at home.

“Oh, okay, I’m coming back now, please take good care of them.”

After hanging up, he hopped down the short steps at the dorm entrance, sending a message to Chen Xu,

“I won’t be attending the evening self-study, so I can’t walk you back to the dorm tonight.”

Before pressing send, he hesitated and edited the message,

“…Please don’t walk back with Song Ming, okay?”

The person the butler had found was a chef. In his previous life, after starting university, he and Chen Xu didn’t stay in the dorms but moved in together.

Not wanting Chen Xu to cook, he planned to hire a chef. After comparing many, he chose Chef Li.

Chef Li wasn’t particularly extraordinary in culinary skills, nor did his dishes particularly suit Ji Chunxiao’s taste, but he had one strength—he was very good at making sweet and sour dishes.

Young Master Ji, who placed great importance on meals, almost didn’t hesitate. He could compromise on his own tastes, but his wife was so thin, the food had to be delicious to encourage more eating.

Back in this life, he went by his previous impressions to find Chef Li again, intending to hire him once more.

The salary offered was generous, so the contract was signed with little negotiation.

Chef Li asked, “Does the job include preparing all three meals for you?”

“No.”

Ji Chunxiao shook his head, showing him the lunchbox, “Just prepare lunch, that’s all.”

He paused, then added, “And please teach me to cook, just the sweet and sour dishes.”

Chen Xu saw Ji Chunxiao’s message only after evening self-study. He lowered his eyelids, expressionless.

Stowing his phone back in his backpack, he saw Song Ming at the back door of the classroom, waving him over, “Chen Xu, let’s walk back together.”

He wanted to agree, but the message from Ji Chunxiao flashed through his mind. He could even guess Ji Chunxiao’s somewhat upset yet cautious tone when he wrote that message.

He looked at Song Ming and shook his head, “No thanks, I’ll go after I finish the final questions. You go on ahead.”

“Alright then.”

Song Ming didn’t mind and left on his own.

He had initially wanted to walk back with Chen Xu and then share a box of the newly made mung bean milk crisps with him, but it was fine not to walk together; he could just bring them over from the dorm later.

Back at the dorm, Song Ming packed a portion in a paper box and placed it on Chen Xu’s desk.

But the first to return wasn’t Chen Xu, but Ji Chunxiao.

Worried Chen Xu might be hungry at night, he had detoured half the city to buy Chen Xu’s favorite mung bean crisps on his way back to school.

But when he went to place them on Chen Xu’s desk, he found another box already there.

It was a simple paper box, clearly homemade, not bought.

Ji Chunxiao, still harboring a grudge from his previous life, recognized at a glance that these crisps belonged to Song Ming.

Compared to the heartfelt effort of homemade, the mung bean crisps he carefully protected all the way seemed insignificant. His expression darkened, maliciously wanting to throw away Song Ming’s box, but in the end, he didn’t touch it, just placed his own more conspicuously.

Ji Chunxiao sat on the floor leaning against Chen Xu’s bed, unusually lacking confidence.

His heart was filled with sour bubbles, thinking, Song Ming has better grades than him, is more considerate and understanding, and is the moonlight in his wife’s heart.

Even cooking, he had tried today with Chef Li, and the burn under the Band-Aid still stung, but Song Ming could make the mung bean crisps his wife really liked.

Even the most lofty people feel unworthy in front of someone they like, Ji Chunxiao was no exception.

He was somewhat anxious and afraid, truly scared that Chen Xu would fall for someone else.

Initially planning to finish two difficult problems and then head back, Chen Xu struggled with the question for nearly forty minutes without finding an answer and decided to give up.

As he approached his dorm room, he noticed the light was on.

To facilitate dorm supervisors’ inspections, their rooms didn’t have locks, and friends frequently came and went; perhaps someone was inside?

He pushed open the door, first seeing two boxes of mung bean crisps on the desk. Looking down, there was Ji Chunxiao, almost asleep against the bed.

Hearing the door, Ji Chunxiao rubbed his eyes as if he had dreamed something unpleasant, his eyes still red.

He didn’t stand up but embraced Chen Xu’s legs when he walked over.

His cheek rubbed against Chen Xu’s dark school pants as he looked up at him with an indescribable sense of grievance in his tone,

“I can make you lots and lots of delicious food, can you not like Song Ming, please?”