A man’s Adam’s apple is like a secret button set by God.
Touch it, and a current surges through, sending a shiver across every nerve, spreading to the skin.
Ji Linqiu’s cheeks flushed, his eyes seemed to be covered with a layer of mist.
Before he could speak, Peng Xingwang rushed over, holding two green onions: “Big Brother! Teacher!! You left the green onions at the door!!”
The child didn’t notice the ambiguous atmosphere, his attention entirely on the catfish that had been chopped into pieces.
“Wow, you guys are fast. I was just about to get a basin to help.”
Jiang Wang smiled, turned to the balcony to take a call, acting as if nothing had happened.
By the time the call was finished, all the ingredients for the three dishes had been neatly prepared in the kitchen.
“Thanks for the hard work, I’ll do the cooking.”
He walked towards Ji Linqiu again. The latter silently nodded and turned away.
It was as if nothing had happened between them.
The aroma of stir-fried green onions gradually wafted from the kitchen, constantly reminding Ji Linqiu of the other man’s presence.
Ji Linqiu stayed in the living room, helping Peng Xingwang organize things, labeling everything on the storage boxes, even assigning a fixed place for the remote control.
Peng Xingwang had learned the art of organization from a friend and took pride in it as a modern, exemplary practice, eager to tidy the house into a model home.
Ji Linqiu watched this little radish head diligently doing chores, and unconsciously started to drift off.
He enjoyed Jiang Wang’s closeness.
It was like a thirsty fish touching the tide, feeling joy from just a little proximity.
He was too lonely, so meeting someone like this, who also had a lively and warm life outside of work, felt like a stroke of luck.
Any affectionate gesture, any seemingly casual conversation, could be interpreted as wishful thinking.
Ji Linqiu was sensitive, but he didn’t dare to think too deeply.
He was afraid of dragging Jiang Wang into his own whirlpool.
Maybe that straight guy knew nothing, just playing around as friends.
Living day by day like this was already a stroke of luck.
Ji Linqiu would never ask any further questions, as if this was his bottom line.
He must never, ever drag Jiang Wang into the same lonely world as him.
In the kitchen, Jiang Wang cooked the fish absentmindedly.
But the order of cooking wine, soy sauce, and vinegar was still correct – he had memorized everything after reading the text message twice.
He had some things he needed to figure out.
Boss Jiang rarely let his emotional side show. It’s as if he had a natural barrier for emotions, only enjoying a purely rational personality.
This time, he was thinking while cooking the fish, while eating the fish, and even while washing the dishes with Peng Xingwang.
‘Do I like Ji Linqiu?’
‘What kind of liking is it?’
‘How much?’
These feelings were unfamiliar and elusive, so much so that even when they were all sitting together watching “Approaching Science” afterward, Jiang Wang was still distracted.
He wasn’t someone who was overly emotional or fickle, it was just that this was his first time feeling this way, and it had come too late, blooming suddenly, as small as an illusion.
As he thought, his gaze returned to Ji Linqiu’s face.
Ji Linqiu had just taken a bath and was wearing a dotted pajama set with bunny ears. His neck was still warm, steam rising from it.
His cheeks looked soft, and very much kissable.
Jiang Wang couldn’t help but let out a quite loud “Fuck”.
Both of them turned to look at him at the same time: “?”
Peng Xingwang glanced at the alien illustration on TV, then at his brother.
“Are you scared of this?”
The child patted his big brother’s shoulder understandingly.
“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”
Jiang Wang: “…”
Boss Jiang decided to think about this somewhere else.
In the past, when he encountered problems, he was used to calling Yang Kai. Yang Kai lived an optimistic and straightforward life, and chatting about random things with him always seemed to make any problem solvable.
Currently, his good buddy was not yet nine years old and spent his days lounging in Jiang’s bookstore, mooching off the “Naruto” manga series without buying a single volume.
When Boss Jiang went to the store again, he looked at his childhood friend with a bit of melancholy.
Yang Kai, by instinct, felt the complicated gaze from his boss. At first, he hurriedly sped up his reading pace under the gaze, then gave up and grabbed another book to continue reading.
About fifteen minutes later, he gave up.
“Big Brother Jiang.” He approached the counter. “Do you… have something to ask me?”
Jiang Wang leaned on the counter, resting his chin in his hand, “Want some milk tea? I’ll treat you.”
Yang Kai was very cautious, “I absolutely won’t tell you about Peng Xingwang’s secret stash of money!”
“What else?”
“He definitely didn’t secretly give manga books to Fang Xiaoxiao from the class next door!”
Jiang Wang raised an eyebrow and signaled the staff to make two cups of milk tea for them.
Yang Kai’s gaze finally drifted to the milk tea treat. “I want jasmine milk tea, half sugar, with coconut jelly.”
The two of them sat back at the reading table, one pretending to read manga, the other casually accompanying him.
He really wanted to spoil the ending for him.
Preferably spoil “Boruto” as well.
Yang Kai actually had a lot of respect for this big brother, who was famous at Hongshan Primary School. He cautiously asked, “Big Brother, are you unhappy?”
Jiang Wang hadn’t realized that he had such a reputation in Hongshan and absentmindedly replied, “Yeah, there’s something I can’t figure out.”
Yang Kai felt the pressure.
In his class, he was known as the “problem-solving genius,” and his math test scores never dropped below 90, even when he guessed.
But grown-up matters seemed so complicated, and he wasn’t sure if he could help.
“What… is it?”
Jiang Wang thought about it and realized he couldn’t directly talk to a child about something as complicated as confusion over sexual orientation.
“Suppose, just suppose,” he spoke slowly, trying to rephrase the question in the simplest way possible, “I never eat rabbits because everyone treats them as pets.”
‘Oh, it’s a rabbit problem.’
Yang Kai nodded, feeling he still had a chance to help his big brother.
“But one day, I suddenly felt a craving, thinking that maybe… rabbits actually taste pretty good.” Jiang Wang felt his wording wasn’t precise enough and added, “I don’t feel like eating any other rabbits, only a particular one.”
“I feel that this thought doesn’t seem quite right.”
The child listened intently, “Why not?”
“Because it seems like no one else eats them.”
“How do you know no one else eats them?” He looked at Jiang Wang. “Maybe they just didn’t tell you when they secretly ate it.”
Jiang Wang thought that made sense, but there were still some things he couldn’t figure out.
“But rabbits… are supposed to be pets.”
“You said it yourself, you only want to eat a particular one. Maybe that one is especially plump and delicious to you.” The little philosopher swung his legs from the high chair, sipping his milk tea. “Just eat it secretly, and don’t tell anyone.”
“I’ll be found out,” he said instinctively, “if I really want to take responsibility for this rabbit, not just take a bite for fun.”
“…People will find out eventually.”
Yang Kai looked at him as if to say, ‘What on earth are you talking about?’
Is it really so hard for grown-ups to eat a rabbit? Would their grandparents really hit them with a cane?
“Then either hide it well or go somewhere where everyone likes eating rabbits.” He thought for a moment, “I heard people in Chengdu like eating them too? Do you want to go to Chengdu and have some spicy rabbit legs?”
Jiang Wang was silent for a few seconds.
‘Hmm, makes sense. Worst case, I’ll just go somewhere else.’
Once his mind was made up, he immediately stood up and waved to the shop assistant.
“Ah Gui, get the latest set of ‘Naruto’ for this little guy, put it on my tab.”
“You’ve made a lot of sense,” he reached out and ruffled Yang Kai’s head. “Little philosopher, you’re something.”
Yang Kai was startled, “No need! Big Brother, I’ve already read them all!”
“Then get him a set of ‘One Piece’.”
As Jiang Wang drove home after leaving the store, planning to talk to Ji Linqiu, he received a call from Yuhan Province.
“Brother Wang, it’s Duan Zhao. Is your bookstore opening tomorrow at noon?!”
Duan Zhao was a star lecturer at Yuhan Province’s key high school. He had initially met Jiang Wang through bulk purchases of competition books and had gradually become a regular customer and friend.
“Let’s have a meal together! I’ll treat you to steamed shrimp!”
Jiang Wang pulled over to the side of the road to focus on the conversation.
“Do you want to place another bulk order? I recently got some internal materials from a teacher from Southeastern High School’s top classes. I can sort them out and send them to you.”
“That would be great! Thanks, buddy!” Duan Zhao laughed heartily and then said seriously, “I also wanted to talk to you about investing over dinner.”
“Brother Jiang, you’re not just opening one store in Yuhan, right? Even if it’s just this one, you’ll need funds for promotion, marketing, and stocking up. Let me join in.”
“You’re planning to set up a proper company here in Yuhan and develop your business routes, right? So why not let me help you, Brother?”
Jiang Wang agreed quickly, chatting and laughing with him for a while before setting up a dinner appointment for the next evening.
When he got home, Ji Linqiu was just about to call him.
“Xingwang’s dad came by earlier. He wants to take him back to the countryside to see his grandparents in the next couple of days. The long holiday is almost over.”
“That’s perfect.” Jiang Wang responded quickly, “Teacher Ji, come with me to the provincial capital tomorrow.”
“I have a very important friend I want to introduce to you.”
Ji Linqiu was taken aback, “Tomorrow?”
“Yes, I have a document draft I need to prepare now. We can discuss the details in the car tomorrow, okay?” He reached out and ruffled Ji Linqiu’s hair, as if he’d wanted to pet a rabbit’s ears for a long time. “Let’s go inside first; we’ll leave at 8 AM. I’ll drive.”
Sure enough, his hair was fluffy and soft, his fingers sinking right in.
Ji Linqiu kicked him on the butt, “Stop messing around!”
Jiang Wang turned back and made a face at him.
T/N: Yang Kai is very wise for someone who’s not 9 years old yet, let’s be real here. Also, props to Jiang Wang for able to make a good metaphor for his sexuality crisis that a child can understand~
