SVWL Chapter 39.2

The evening self-study was over soon, and today’s bell not only signaled the end of the class, but also signaled the official start of the National Day holiday.

The campus was full of cheerful atmosphere.

The non-dormitory students almost rushed out of the school gate, planning to go back to play all night and sleep late tomorrow.

While dormitory students could only stay in the school dormitory for one night. They would wait for tomorrow morning to take the transportation back to their respective homes and families. 

When going down the teaching building, Luo Luo turned around to ask Shao Ming, “By the way, Ming-ge, when are we going to the milk tea shop tomorrow?”

Shao Ming, the “shop owner”, was very tolerant and nonchalant towards the “clerk”. He replied, “No hurry, just be there before nine o’clock.”

“Really? Then thanks for the leniency! I will definitely sleep when I’m sleepy and wake up naturally tomorrow.” 

Shao Ming reminded him, “Don’t go into the milk tea shop bringing youtiao. Or else, I’ll kick you out.” 

Luo Suo overslept during last holiday, and he brought his breakfast along into the store. It made the store smelt oily, very not appropriate for a milk tea shop. 

Reminded of this, Luo Suo was equal parts annoyed and embarrassed. He sheepishly laughed and said, “Understood, then I will go home first.”

His loud footsteps echoed rhythmically as he ran towards his dorm room. 

Zhu Tong suddenly froze while going down the stairs.

“Youtiao?” 

“Hm, do you want to eat some?” Shao Ming responded subconsciously and suddenly realized something, “Oh, you can’t eat that.”

Zhu Tong: “…”

–In fact, he should be able to eat them without repercussions now. But he thought that it’s better not to try it for now. No need to court danger. 

He asked about youtiao because that’s a common breakfast food. 

Usually, because they wake up early, they go out to have breakfast after the morning self-study. They (Shao Ming, actually) didn’t actually cook it themselves. 

Cooking breakfast seemed a lot less challenging than cooking lunch or dinner.

Although it didn’t seem so sincere, he should take it one step at a time. Trying to challenge himself too much would yield inadequate results. 

Plus, he has time to make breakfast tomorrow, he just needs to wake up earlier than Shao Ming. 

Shao Ming walked a faster pace ahead than him. So Zhu Tong elongated his steps to catch up to him. Once he was side-by-side, he asked, “When will you get up tomorrow?”

Shao Ming turned his head and smiled, leaned over and replied, “I can get up anytime, do you have any orders, Young Master?”

He deliberately said it in an ambiguously sexy whisper. 

Zhu Tong’s face became slightly hot. He explained his odd question, “I mean, when are we going to the milk tea shop?”

Shao Ming instead asked back, “When do you want to go?”

“…”

Zhu Tong paused and replied in an uncertain tone, “Eight o’clock?”

Shao Ming smiled in return. “Okay, then eight o’clock.”

Zhu Tong nodded.

If they go to the milk tea shop at eight o’clock, then Shao Ming should get up at seven at the latest, as he spends half an hour every morning for his routine. 

In this case, he would have to get up half an hour earlier, at least six-thirty at the latest. He could cook while Shao Ming was in the bathroom for half an hour.

‘Half an hour should be enough to make breakfast, right?’ he asked himself.

What is he going to cook? Porridge? But that should be too time-consuming. Maybe he could just fry eggs? 

Fried eggs should be pretty easy.

After thinking about it, he slowed his pace. As Shao Ming took two steps forward, he suddenly realized that something was wrong. When he turned around, he looked at Zhu Tong, who for some reason stopped in the middle of the corridor. 

“…”

He walked back helplessly and grabbed Zhu Tong’s shoulder, “Let’s go home, Young Master.”

He has never seen such a student who wasn’t excited at the prospect of holiday. 

Zhu Tong only felt his shoulders sink, but it was enough to derail his train of thoughts. He was then carried away by a burst of force. 

From behind, about a couple meters or so, there was a flash of light startling both of them. 

The two stopped at the same time and turned back in unison. 

The girl who took the photo was also taken aback. ‘Why did I forget to turn off the flash!! Ahh!!!!!’

Suddenly being stared at by two people at the same time, the girl suddenly panicked. “I’m sorry.”

She just saw that the backs of these two boys were so harmonious, so well-matched. She couldn’t help but take a picture.

Zhu Tong subconsciously turned his head to see Shao Ming.

Just now, it was Shao Ming who moved first.

Shao Ming calmly said to the girl with a smile, “It’s fine, just don’t spread it anywhere.”

The girl immediately raised three fingers¹symbol of solidarity or resistance in various contexts, such as protests or demonstrations. It got popularized from Hunger Games franchise. This is what I can find from googling it, but idk if this also holds up in Chinese culture. It probably has a similar meaning. at them. “I won’t send it to others, I promise!”

Shao Ming smiled at her, turned around again and went downstairs.

The girl opened her photo album to admire the photo she took. Suddenly, she felt that something was wrong.

‘Just now Shao Ming seemed to say… “Let’s go home?”’

‘What does he mean? They don’t live together, do they?’

Fuck! She seemed to have discovered something extraordinary, will she be silenced for this forbidden knowledge she acquired? 

She thought too much. In truth, that kind of thing wouldn’t happen. 

Shao Ming didn’t mind what happened on the stairs, and Zhu Tong forgot about it in an instant. He didn’t even question why she did that.

He was far too focused on thinking about what he should cook for tomorrow. 

The system sighed in his mind, ‘Ten fingers haven’t been touched by spring water under the sun, and yet they’re now used to make soup in the name of love[mfn]this is a couplet: 十指不沾阳春水，今来为爱做羹汤. Basically the system mocked Zhu Tong for being a simp. Because he never did such labor before (his fingers haven’t been “tainted” by worldly experiences) and yet, now he immediately put them to do a service of love, symbolized by “make soup”.[/mfn]… Tsk, very touching.’

‘I’m making soup for the sake of my life, thank you.’ Zhu Tong corrected it in a defensive manner. ‘And didn’t you tell me to take the initiative?’

The system:”…”

After Zhu Tong finished his retortion, he directly turned on his mobile phone and searched for recipes. He was dazzled by all kinds of breakfasts, but there were no ready-made ingredients at home, so he crossed them all. 

In the kitchen, he found that the refrigerator was stocked with eggs, noodles, bread, milk and a few shrimps. 

Because they both rarely eat at home, every time Shao Ming cooked, he always bought fresh ingredients immediately before. 

But at six-thirty in the morning, the supermarket would still be closed. If he wanted to buy it now… it’s too late already, so it’s also closed. 

Zhu Tong frowned and began to search for recipes based on existing ingredients.

Noodles… that should be Shao Ming’s culinary specialty. If he failed at cooking it, it would only be shaming himself. Pass. 

Cooking porridge with shrimp… he imagined a raw shirmp’s fishy smell and slimy texture… pass. 

Bread and milk… both are ready-to-eat food, so cooking it isn’t “heartfelt” enough. Pass. 

In the end only eggs were left.

He searched for omelet recipe video tutorials.

Turn on the stove, add oil, beat the eggs, sprinkle it with salt, and turn over.

The method was very simple, and the kitchen utensils required were equally as simple.

Zhu Tong’s eyes brightened, “This is feasible.”

The system sassed, ‘Easier said than done. Maybe you’ll fail epicly when trying to do it.’ 

Zhu Tong: “…”

Is this system here to help him or to hinder him?

After watching the video tutorial again, Zhu Tong was full of confidence and didn’t care about the dismotivation that the system spouted on him. 

After finalizing the recipe, Zhu Tong set the alarm clock for six-thirty. He then turned off the lights and went to bed.

Early the next morning, the alarm woke him up from his sleep on time.

Zhu Tong walked into the bathroom, still half-asleep. In his daze, he didn’t notice that the lights in the living room were on.

When he came out of the bathroom after washing up, there was a loud frying sound of hot oil from the kitchen. It stopped him at the bathroom’s door. 

After a while, he asked the system, ‘Did you smell anything?’

The system replied, ‘I can only smell what you smell.’

Zhu Tong: “…”

He looked in the direction of the kitchen, thinking, ‘What? After the alarm went off, I only delayed getting up a few minutes late.’

‘Is Shao Ming already up?’

He looked at the wall clock on the TV wall in the living room again. It was six fifty-five, not even seven.

Even if Shao Ming got up a few minutes early, shouldn’t he go to the bathroom?

Zhu Tong approached the kitchen curiously. The closer he got, the more pronounced the smell of fried eggs were. The kitchen door was ajar, so he reached out and gently pushed it open.

There was a young man standing in front of the stove, clad in only light-colored casual shorts. He held the handle of a frying pan in one hand, and skillfully frying eggs with a spatula in the other.

During the two days of room-sharing, because both of them paid special attention to each other’s privacy, Zhu Tong had never seen Shao Ming without clothes.

He knew that Shao Ming had a good figure, but he had never appreciated it in this… blatant manner. 

Shao Ming was tall with a sturdy body, with wide shoulders and a narrow waist. From this angle, he doesn’t look like a teenager – his body looks mature enough like an adult man. His back is covered with a layer of muscles, full of power and alluring masculinity. 

Zhu Tong was stunned for a moment, and even forgot to knock on the door.

In the kitchen, while frying eggs, Shao Ming was thinking about asking the landlady to change the water heater in the bathroom.

After Zhu Tong returned to his room last night, Shao Ming found out that he couldn’t get hot water. In the end, he didn’t shower last night, and instead opted to do it this morning. 

The weather this year was also strange. It’s autumn, and yet it’s still as hot as summer, so he didn’t wear any shirts to help his body cool off.

Guessing the time when Zhu Tong usually went to the bathroom, he thought it would be too late to get dressed before making breakfast. So he really forgo wearing a shirt without much thought.  When he turned his head by chance, he found that there was already a person standing at the door.

He was stunned and said in surprise, “Why are you so early today?”

Zhu Tong’s soul returned to Earth as Shao Ming talked to him. However, his mouth was agape, mind full of confusing thoughts. “I…” 

As soon as the words came out, a warm flow suddenly gushed out of his nose, and two streams of nosebleeds slowly flowed down from under his nose.

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  symbol of solidarity or resistance in various contexts, such as protests or demonstrations. It got popularized from Hunger Games franchise. This is what I can find from googling it, but idk if this also holds up in Chinese culture. It probably has a similar meaning.