Chapter 15
Jiang Zhong watched the gradually frozen smile on Xi Qin’s face and felt a secret satisfaction.
He could tell that Xi Qin had prepared these dishes specifically for him, and the surprise was genuine. When the words slipped out, he suddenly wanted to tease Xi Qin.
“Ahem, can we start eating now?” Jiang Zhong asked.
Xi Qin, noticing Jiang Zhong’s suppressed smile, deliberately kept his voice steady and said, “Not yet.”
Jiang Zhong, clearly puzzled, looked up with a lingering smile in his eyes.
“Now you can,” Xi Qin said, pleased with the outcome, “Go ahead.”
Jiang Zhong was curious about what Xi Qin was thinking, but hearing that they could eat, he didn’t think much of it and immediately grabbed a piece of red-braised pork.
When the dishes were first served, the red-braised pork caught his eye with its bright, red color. Jiang Zhong had tried making red-braised pork at home before, but he always failed at getting the meat to the right color, no matter how many instructional videos he watched.
“It’s delicious,” Jiang Zhong said, ready to give Xi Qin a thumbs-up. The red-braised pork was incredibly aromatic, tender, and flavorful, with a perfect balance of fat and meat. It was melt-in-your-mouth good and left a lingering taste!
Jiang Zhong went on to taste each of the dishes Xi Qin had prepared, and he enjoyed every single one.
Of course, it could also be because he was looking at the dishes through the ‘Xi Qin made it’ filter.
Jiang Zhong ate three full bowls of rice with the dishes and felt that his waistband had tightened a bit.
If not for the concern about looking unseemly and affecting his image, Jiang Zhong would have slumped into his chair and rubbed his expanded stomach in circles.
Xi Qin was much more restrained. After finishing his meal, he got up to stack the empty plates and bowls and carried them back to the kitchen to put them in the sink.
After resting for two minutes in the chair, Jiang Zhong followed him into the kitchen. “I’ll wash up.”
“No need, you go rest,” Xi Qin said as he put on the dishwashing gloves.
“Let me do it,” Jiang Zhong said, grabbing the fingers of the gloves, “I’m too full, I need to move around a bit.”
Xi Qin finally agreed and let Jiang Zhong wash the dishes, while he leaned against the countertop and chatted with him.
After washing up, Jiang Zhong returned to the bay window spot. Xi Qin glanced at the space left next to him several times, hesitated, and then sat in the gaming chair.
The bay window wasn’t too big or too small, it was perfect for one person to lie down, but a bit cramped for two.
“What time do you start streaming?” Jiang Zhong asked.
“In half an hour. I’ll make a Weibo announcement first,” Xi Qin replied.
“What’s your Weibo name?” Jiang Zhong asked, pulling out his phone. “I’ll follow you.”
Xi Qin told him his Weibo name. When Jiang Zhong searched for it, he found nearly a million followers. Xi Qin’s recent livestream announcement already had several comments.
Jiang Zhong wasn’t very knowledgeable about this area, so he didn’t know if Xi Qin’s number of fans was considered high. He first looked up some well-known game streamers and checked their Weibo accounts.
Hmm… Their follower counts were all higher than Xi Qin’s, and by quite a bit.
Well, if Xi Qin’s fan count were higher, his name would have appeared in the search results for “famous streamers.”
Jiang Zhong casually watched a few videos that Xi Qin had edited and posted on Weibo, finally noticing something important.
“Don’t you ever show your face while streaming?” Jiang Zhong looked carefully at Xi Qin’s equipment and didn’t see any cameras.
“Hmm, I didn’t plan to do this long-term, so I haven’t shown my face.”
“What a pity,” Jiang Zhong said, looking at Xi Qin’s well-defined profile. “If you showed your face, you’d definitely have more fans.”
“It has its pros and cons,” Xi Qin said while adjusting his equipment, smiling. “If your face is too attractive, people might ignore your skills, and there won’t be as many loyal fans.”
“Pff, you’re just as narcissistic as I am,” Jiang Zhong laughed for a while. “Being so handsome that it overshadows your skills, tsk tsk.”
“It’s not narcissism, it’s the truth,” Xi Qin said, turning to look at him. “When I’m streaming, you…”
“Ah, should I avoid it? Should I head back to school?” Jiang Zhong asked.
“No,” Xi Qin laughed. “Do you want to play? I can take you along.”
“No, no, I don’t want to play.” Xi Qin often included three random fans in his games during streams. After playing, those fans would send him sizable gifts in the stream, thanking him and attracting more viewers with the full-screen announcements.
If Jiang Zhong joined, it would mean one less fan, and Jiang Zhong couldn’t spend money on Xi Qin like those fans could.
Besides, with their current ambiguous relationship…
Jiang Zhong didn’t want to take up a slot that could have gone to someone who would contribute more: “Also, I didn’t bring my computer.”
“Use my laptop,” Xi Qin said, evidently not thinking too much about it. He quickly went upstairs to fetch his laptop from the bedroom.
“Okay, I’ll watch your stream then.” Jiang Zhong took the laptop, he actually didn’t want to go back to school yet.
Xi Qin streamed the whole afternoon, and Jiang Zhong would occasionally check on him and play some mobile games.
He even got up to the kitchen, washed some fruit, cut it up, and put it on a plate beside Xi Qin’s laptop, thoughtfully adding two toothpicks.
At this moment, Xi Qin was explaining the location of a hidden point, and his voice even changed pitch with excitement.
Jiang Zhong silently returned to the bay window with his own plate of fruit, and sure enough, he saw comments in the live chat noticing the unusual tone in Xi Qin’s voice, which made him laugh for a while.
Dinner was takeout that Jiang Zhong had ordered. He had initially planned to cook himself, but decided against it, worrying that if he messed up, he wouldn’t even meet the “average” standard and it would be quite embarrassing—especially compared to what Xi Qin had made earlier.
Xi Qin finished his meal quickly and returned to streaming. As he walked past the dining table, he noticed the computer screen on the bay window.
Jiang Zhong, with his back turned, was eating dinner. Xi Qin walked over to the bay window, glanced at Jiang Zhong’s account name and fan title, and then happily returned to start the next game.
The stream ended after nine in the evening. Xi Qin said some words of thanks, his eyes fixed on the chat, and he saw Jiang Zhong’s account name flash briefly.
As before, Jiang Zhong sent a few small gifts and left the stream as Xi Qin signed off.
“I’ll head back now,” Jiang Zhong said, returning the laptop to Xi Qin.
“Wait for me, I’ll go with you,” Xi Qin replied.
“Didn’t you say you weren’t going back today?”
“The time is earlier than expected.” Xi Qin turned off his equipment one by one. “Besides, if you go back alone, I…”
Jiang Zhong interrupted him, “I’m a grown man, don’t say you’re worried.”
Xi Qin laughed for a while. “Alright, I’m scared to walk alone, so just wait for me.”
Jiang Zhong didn’t feel much after spending the day at home, but when he went outside, he noticed that the Christmas atmosphere was quite strong this year. Probably because of the university town, where young people enjoy celebrating various holidays.
The shops along the street had Christmas trees at adult height outside, decorated with colored lights and ornaments. The glass windows were adorned with chibi Santa Claus images and snowflake stickers.
“It’s really cold,” Jiang Zhong said, pulling his coat tighter. “It’s so cold and still no snow, but a lot of people in my circle are posting snow scenes.”
Xi Qin pulled up the hood on Jiang Zhong’s coat and placed it on his head, softly saying, “The weather forecast says it’ll snow in a few days.”
Jiang Zhong’s ears were covered by the coat, so he heard Xi Qin’s words vaguely and looked at him in confusion.
The streetlights cast a mottled light in Jiang Zhong’s wide-open eyes.
Xi Qin felt inexplicably dry-mouthed and his throat tightened. He only met Jiang Zhong’s gaze for two seconds before quickly looking away.
Jiang Zhong: “?”
Xi Qin licked his dry lips and asked in a hoarse voice, “Do you want to get some late-night snacks?”
Jiang Zhong heard him clearly this time: “No, I ate too much today. If you want something, just buy something for yourself.”
“I don’t want anything either,” Xi Qin said.
When they got back to the dormitory, it was almost ten o’clock, and both Deng Letian and Xiao Yuan were already back.
“Hey,” Deng Letian teased as soon as he saw them, “Where did you two go on your ‘date’? You’re only coming back now.”
Xiao Yuan sighed silently.
“Date my foot.” Jiang Zhong, feeling guilty, changed the topic. “How was your gathering today? Anything new?”
Deng Letian hesitated before replying, “It was okay.”
“Letian found a girl he likes,” Xiao Yuan said.
Jiang Zhong teased, “Wow, Letian, you’re about to become the first person in our dorm to become taken. What are your thoughts?”
“None, we’re just getting to know each other for now,” Deng Letian said, unusually shy. “It’s still early, and with New Year’s coming up soon, there’s not much time for a relationship with finals right after. Who has time for dating?”
“Why can’t you date during exams? You could study together,” Jiang Zhong replied.
“That’s not the point,” Deng Letian said seriously. “The point is that after finals comes winter break. If we just started dating, being apart because of distance would be torture.”
Jiang Zhong: “…That does make sense.”
Deng Letian sighed, “It’d be fine if I were in the same city as her like you and brother Qin, but I’m hundreds of kilometers away.”
‘Why is he using me and Xi Qin as an example?’
If it weren’t for Deng Letian’s open demeanor, Jiang Zhong would almost suspect that Deng Letian knew about the ambiguous relationship between him and Xi Qin.
He always hits the embarrassing points right on target.
It’s really awkward.
Jiang Zhong forced a cold laugh: “Hehe—”
But Xi Qin was genuinely happy and said with a smile, “Well, when you return, it will be like ‘¹a brief separation is better than a new marriage.’”
Deng Letian fell into deep thought after hearing Xi Qin’s words.
After a while, Deng Letian seemed to make up his mind and asked, “Do you think if I ask her out alone on New Year’s, she would agree?”
“How would we know?” Jiang Zhong said. “You’ll have to try it yourself. But I suggest you act quickly. If she’s planning to go home for the holidays, she might not be around even if she agrees.”
“Hmm!” Deng Letian nodded seriously.
Jiang Zhong, like a concerned father, patted Deng Letian on the shoulder and went to the balcony to wash up.
While brushing his teeth, Xi Qin came out as well, and Jiang Zhong made space for him.
Xi Qin stood there for a while without moving.
With foam in his mouth, Jiang Zhong asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Jiang Zhong,” Xi Qin called his name seriously, “Are you going home for New Year’s?”
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¹”a brief separation is better than a new marriage” (小别胜新婚) is a Chinese saying that suggests being apart for a short time can make a relationship feel fresh and exciting, similar to the joy of a new marriage.