The silence inside the car was a stark contrast to the noise outside.
Cheng Yue felt a bit awkward looking at Ji Xu, and he heard the sound of his own gulping.
He hadn’t really considered whether Ji Xu was a pervert, because enjoying pressing on injuries didn’t seem too abnormal. After all, he used to like picking at his own scars when he was younger.
And anyway, if it were someone else, he might… but when it came to Ji Xu, it didn’t seem so abnormal. It felt like it was acceptable for him.
“Lift up your shirt,” Ji Xu said.
“Huh?” Cheng Yue was stunned for a moment, hesitantly lifting his T-shirt.
As soon as Ji Xu’s hand touched his skin, Cheng Yue took a nervous breath, trying to tense his stomach to slightly resist Ji Xu’s touch.
But Ji Xu’s cool fingertips glided over the bruise on his abdomen and then withdrew.
“Okay, that’s enough.” Ji Xu carefully looked at it, moved his hand away, and then looked up at him.
“How come you say it’s still not healed?”
Cheng Yue blinked and glanced down at his abdomen, lying, “Is it? It still hurts a bit.”
“Don’t get into fights next time.” Ji Xu turned away and started the car. “What do you want to eat?”
Cheng Yue thought for a moment and said, “How about the spicy crayfish? The place Uncle Pang took us to last time?”
The restaurant served incredibly tasty spicy crayfish. Even Cheng Yue, who usually didn’t like spicy food, could eat two bowls.
After they finished eating, Cheng Yue secretly packed a bowl of fresh shrimp porridge, because Ji Xu hadn’t eaten anything.
On the way back, Cheng Yue, holding the porridge close to his chest, worriedly turned to Ji Xu and asked, “Do you never eat before a court session?”
Ji Xu nodded as he drove.
“Why?” Cheng Yue asked, curious.
Ji Xu smiled, looking at the road in front of them, and said softly, “The first time I went to court was for a domestic violence case. My client had been hospitalized four times because of the abuse. Back then, Tang Jing and I had just started our firm before graduating from college. I prepared for that case for three days and nights, argued fiercely in court, and eventually won my first case.”
“How old were you then?” Cheng Yue asked admiringly.
“22,” Ji Xu replied.
Cheng Yue was surprised.
“But soon after, my second case came up,” Ji Xu continued, looking at him. “Because of my involvement, my client was locked in their home and tortured for nearly two days. The opposing party claimed it was due to my attitude that led them to seek revenge, but they didn’t dare come after me directly and instead targeted my client.”
“And then?” Cheng Yue asked eagerly.
“He ended up in prison,” Ji Xu said, pressing the elevator button and continuing, “But I should have sent him to prison after the first case.”
After that incident, Ji Xu realized that some things should either be done perfectly or not done at all, to avoid future problems and eliminate potential threats.
This also applied to some emotions he hadn’t sorted out yet, like his feelings for Cheng Yue, so he had spent these past few days working carefully to sort out his thoughts.
In the end, he didn’t come to a conclusion.
Because Cheng Yue couldn’t be separated from him, he couldn’t show feelings he hadn’t figured out yet under these circumstances.
Moreover, their relationship wasn’t equal; if he showed his feelings, Cheng Yue would think even more, and Ji Xu knew his position in Cheng Yue’s heart, so he couldn’t use it as a threat to coerce a child into a half-hearted relationship.
After they exited the elevator and Ji Xu opened the door, Cheng Yue darted into the room like a whirlwind.
Ji Xu smiled at Cheng Yue’s eager back as he slowly changed his shoes, picking up Cheng Yue’s bag and coat from the floor.
When he was about to shake out the coat, something fell out and landed on the floor.
Ji Xu bent down to see what it was—a sealed food container.
“Hey!” Cheng Yue, who had rushed into the bathroom, suddenly remembered the porridge he had secretly bought for Ji Xu and hurriedly opened the door, just in time to see Ji Xu picking up the container from the floor.
Ji Xu saw him come out and shook the container in his hand. “When did you pack this? Aren’t you full?”
Cheng Yue fidgeted with his hands and hesitated. “I was worried you’d be hungry later, so I packed it for you.”
Ji Xu was taken aback, then smiled.
Cheng Yue had never seen Ji Xu smile like that before, and the smile made his back feel suddenly cold. He turned around and ran back to the bathroom.
Ji Xu glanced at the porridge, smiled, and took it to the dining table, opening it to eat.
He usually didn’t eat before court sessions, especially the day before.
Eating made him feel somewhat relaxed, although it didn’t decide the outcome of a case.
But it was his habit since the second case he took for the client who had suffered domestic violence.
Urgency kept him highly focused; he needed to hit the mark with precision.
After Cheng Yue finished using the bathroom and watched TV on the sofa for a while, he started feeling sleepy.
It was only just past ten, a time when he used to stay up until at least two in the morning, but high school life had changed that.
Ji Xu noticed Cheng Yue yawning for the fifth time and walked over.
“Go take a shower and get to bed.”
Cheng Yue drowsily looked up at him, sat up straight, and waved his hand. “I’ll watch TV for a bit more.”
Cheng Yue wanted to wait until Ji Xu finished his work before heading to his room to sleep, thinking Ji Xu must be bored working alone in the living room.
He disliked being alone in the living room while doing homework.
But soon, he was so sleepy that he didn’t realize when he fell asleep.
After finishing his conversation with Mu Jia, Ji Xu looked up at the sofa and saw that Cheng Yue had fallen asleep at some point.
He smiled and walked over, turning off the TV that was still playing.
Then he bent down, picked Cheng Yue up, and carried him to his room.
The next morning, Cheng Yue woke up to find breakfast left on the dining table with a note.
[Eat breakfast before going out. I’ve gone to work.]
Cheng Yue frowned and looked at the wall clock—it was only eight. He had set an alarm to have breakfast with Ji Xu today, but Ji Xu was already working.
Cheng Yue sighed and slowly ate half of the breakfast on the table. Just as he was about to go back to sleep, his phone on the table rang.
He picked it up and saw it was a call from Chen Zong. He answered the phone.
“Are you up yet!” Chen Zong shouted.
“No,” Cheng Yue replied, sounding a bit unenthusiastic.
“Then you keep sleeping. I’ll talk,” Chen Zong said casually.
“The venue is booked for the event. It starts at noon. Where’s your place? I’ll pick you up at 11:30.”
Cheng Yue didn’t respond.
Chen Zong waited for a moment, then sighed, “Damn, you’re really honest. Fine, message me when you wake up.”
After ending the call, Cheng Yue sighed and sent Chen Zong his address before heading back to bed.
He slept until the ringing of his phone woke him up.
Groggily, Cheng Yue reached out from under the covers to grab his phone.
Seeing the time on it, he immediately jumped out of bed, struggling to put on his pants as he answered the call.
“I’m coming, I’m coming! I’m going downstairs now!” Cheng Yue said, holding the phone between his ear and shoulder while laboriously pulling on his pants.
“Where are you going?” Ji Xu asked. He glanced at Tang Jing, who was walking towards him from the hallway with a worried look. After signaling that he was okay, Ji Xu turned and went to the window.
“Ji Xu?” Cheng Yue’s movements slowed as he heard the voice on the other end. He stuttered, “I’m going to the… the event at my school I mentioned yesterday.”
“All classes?” Ji Xu didn’t quite remember what Cheng Yue had told him the previous day.
“Probably,” Cheng Yue replied, looking down at his half-put-on pants.
“Are the people who went to the bar with you last time going too?” Ji Xu asked, frowning.
Cheng Yue, feeling guilty, didn’t say anything.
“Accept the video call,” Ji Xu said and hung up.
Cheng Yue was stunned for a moment. Within less than a minute, Ji Xu’s video request came through.
Cheng Yue wiped his face, trying to wake up, and then accepted the video call.
The phone screen flickered a couple of times before Ji Xu’s frowning face appeared in the large frame.
Seeing Ji Xu for the first time on video, Cheng Yue noticed something different. His first impression of Ji Xu had been of someone tall, fierce, and not very smiley.
But now, although Ji Xu’s face looked a bit grim, he appeared much gentler and less intimidating on video.
And it was only when Ji Xu’s face suddenly appeared in the small video frame that Cheng Yue realized Ji Xu was quite good-looking.
He had nice eyes, a high and straight nose. Before he could see Ji Xu’s mouth, the screen was suddenly covered in a white mist.
Cheng Yue realized Ji Xu had just exhaled smoke.
“Be careful when you go out. Don’t go to places you shouldn’t. If I find out you did, you’ll be in trouble,” Ji Xu said, putting out the cigarette and tossing it in the trash.
He turned back to the screen and added, “Send me the location of where you are once you get there. I’ll come pick you up when I’m done here.”
Cheng Yue nodded repeatedly, assuring Ji Xu. Just as he was trying hard to prove he wouldn’t go to those places, the phone in his hand suddenly slipped and fell onto his lap.
Actually, it fell right onto his groin.
Well, it fell directly onto his… well, you get the idea.
Cheng Yue swallowed, unable to move the phone from his groin.
“Cheng Yue?” Ji Xu, seeing only a white fog on the video, frowned in confusion.
Cheng Yue tried several positions to figure out how to pick up the phone without Ji Xu seeing that he was only in his underwear.
“Cheng Yue?” Ji Xu called out again.
Cheng Yue, blushing deeply, felt the phone vibrating on his groin, and was acutely aware of some changes in his body.
Even though he had just woken up, it was normal for a guy to have certain reactions. However, with Ji Xu on the video, and the phone pointed at his groin, it felt very awkward.
Before Ji Xu could get too upset, Cheng Yue adjusted to what he thought was a perfect position.
He thought that if he used one hand to grab the phone, the other hand would cover his groin as he picked it up.
But it didn’t go as planned.
He was so nervous that he picked up the phone too quickly, and his other hand was too slow in covering himself.
As a result, the video showed him holding his groin for a second or two.
Cheng Yue: “…”
Ji Xu saw what was happening on the video, cleared his throat, and said, “Take care of yourself.”
Cheng Yue: “…”
Just as Cheng Yue cleared his throat and was about to say something, Ji Xu ended the video call abruptly.
After a minute of silence in the room, Cheng Yue, face flushed, threw the phone on the bed and hurriedly pulled up his pants.
As soon as he got dressed and tidied himself up, his phone on the bed rang again.
Cheng Yue, too embarrassed to look at the phone, closed his eyes and answered the call. “I really wasn’t… you know… I was just…”
“Just what? It’s late, and you’re still at it!” Chen Zong shouted. “I’ve been waiting outside your place for ten minutes. Why didn’t you answer your phone!”
Cheng Yue wanted to die of embarrassment.
He took a deep breath and tried to salvage the situation. “I didn’t know it was you calling. I didn’t get the chance to…”
“Why were you… you know… and then why do you need to explain?” Chen Zong asked, suddenly curious.
“I wasn’t… you know… Dammit!” Cheng Yue finally swore, feeling like throwing caution to the wind. “Why does it matter whether I did it or didn’t?”
Translator’s note:
Though I’m not sure what’s the case for you guys, I disagree with Ji Xu’s method of abstaining from food (imagine intaking only water for days?) especially when facing situations where you need to actively think. Personally, I become quite irrational when I don’t get to eat anything before facing important occasions similar to this, and I wanted to dissuade you guys as this practice isn’t normal (and is definitely verrry unhealthy in the long run)… Well pardon me for my rant TvT; hope you guys have a great weekend ahead!
Sincerely yours,
A sleep-deprived pre-med student
