Chapter 6
Jiang Zhong looked puzzled. Why would he be jealous? Why didn’t he understand a single thing Xi Qin said today?
“Um,” Jiang Zhong pondered his words, “Do you want me to be jealous?”
Xi Qin had a look of ‘What are you talking about?’ and straightforwardly said, “If it were me, I would be jealous.”
“Oh—” Jiang Zhong understood. Xi Qin meant that if only one of the two boys was praised for being handsome in front of the other, the other would be jealous. If you’re going to compliment, you should compliment both.
So, Jiang Zhong waved his hand generously and said, “What’s there to be jealous about? Shanshan has been looking at me for so many years. She probably thinks I’m no longer handsome, just like I don’t find her particularly pretty now. You’re different, it’s normal to be fresh and new.”
Jiang Zhong felt he had spoken quite gracefully, but Xi Qin’s eyes were filled with sympathy and frustration.
“Not normal.” Xi Qin said quietly, “I always think you’re very good-looking.”
“What?” Jiang Zhong didn’t hear clearly. Seeing Xi Qin’s displeased expression, he reassured him, “Even if she praises you for being handsome, it doesn’t mean I’m not handsome. It’s not that I’m narcissistic, but I’ve received more love letters than you since I was young. You’re handsome, but you seem less approachable… I’m not saying that’s a bad thing.”
Jiang Zhong glanced at Xi Qin, who was listening intently, and continued, “We have different styles. Some people like you, and some people like me. We’ll have many opportunities to go out together in the future. If I were to be jealous every time someone praises you, I wouldn’t be able to keep up.”
“Hmm.” Xi Qin nodded in agreement. Although what Jiang Zhong said was completely different from his own feelings, he just liked the phrase “many opportunities to go out together.”
—
During the National Day holiday, Jiang’s parents, who were usually too busy to be seen, finally took some time off for themselves.
Jiang’s parents initially planned to take Jiang Zhong abroad to have some quality time with him. Unfortunately, Jiang Zhong twisted his foot a week before the holiday. The doctor advised that he shouldn’t do strenuous exercise and long walks for two weeks and warned to be careful not to twist his foot again.
Jiang Zhong thought that not being able to play freely would dampen his spirits, and since his parents hadn’t had time for just the two of them for a long time, he decided not to be a third wheel.
Jiang’s mother was heartbroken for her son and left the next morning with Jiang’s father, sweetly embarking on their trip abroad.
The household’s maid was also on leave, leaving Jiang Zhong alone in a quiet house.
Jiang Zhong idly chatted with high school classmates on WeChat or bantered with Deng Letian and Xiao Yuan in the dorm group. Xi Qin hadn’t said a word.
Jiang Zhong originally thought Xi Qin might be traveling or busy with something else. However, out of the five times he asked what Xi Qin was doing, Xi Qin mentioned playing games four times.
Truly busy.
Jiang Zhong didn’t expect Xi Qin’s gaming addiction to be so severe. He didn’t want to disturb him, so they didn’t manage to chat much.
The only time Xi Qin didn’t mention playing games was when his friend forcibly dragged him out to eat.
The result was problematic. After the meal, Xi Qin hesitantly mentioned having something to tell Jiang Zhong.
Jiang Zhong was very curious about Xi Qin’s hesitant tone and felt a vague sense of anxiety.
Xi Qin didn’t go home for the National Day and stayed in his rented apartment.
After Jiang Zhong gave him his home address, Xi Qin reserved a table for a self-service barbecue hot pot restaurant near Jiang Zhong’s home for the next noon.
The next day, Jiang Zhong made a special effort to dress up and took a taxi to the mall entrance, where Xi Qin was already waiting.
After a few days, Jiang Zhong felt that Xi Qin had reached a new level of handsomeness. He wore a military-green long-sleeve T-shirt, a simple silver necklace, light-colored military pants, and trendy sports shoes.
The outfit was much brighter than his usual clothes, looking both sunny and cool. He also attracts a lot of attention.
Jiang Zhong opened the car door and hurriedly walked towards Xi Qin. He felt his physical strength had weakened recently, even a short distance made his heart race.
“Why are you walking so fast?” Xi Qin stepped forward to block him. “Is your foot okay? It won’t heal so easily if you twist it again.”
Jiang Zhong sheepishly touched his nose and said, “I’m just afraid that you will wait too long.”
“Not a minute or two matters.” Xi Qin said.
Jiang Zhong couldn’t help but look Xi Qin up and down and sincerely said, “You… this outfit looks really good.”
Jiang Zhong intended to say ‘you look handsome today,’ but realized at the last moment that it wasn’t quite right and quickly changed his wording.
Xi Qin, however, started discussing his clothes seriously: “I bought this specially this morning and changed into it right away.”
Jiang Zhong jokes, “Did you buy it specifically to meet me?”
“Hmm.” Xi Qin nodded and, fearing his meaning wasn’t clear enough, he emphasized again, “Yes, what do you think of the color?”
Jiang Zhong felt even more nervous and stammered, “It… it looks good, very suitable for you.”
The two of them chatted about the outfit all the way to the self-service barbecue hot pot restaurant and finally stopped at their reserved table, guided by the waitress.
Xi Qin kept looking around while walking to the table. If Jiang Zhong didn’t know him well, he might have thought Xi Qin had never been to a restaurant before.
After the waitress brought them the soup pot and turned on the heat, she left. Xi Qin observed and said to Jiang Zhong, “You go get the barbecue meat, and I’ll get something else.”
Jiang Zhong thought Xi Qin seemed a bit off today. Usually, Xi Qin would ask for his opinion first and never arranged things for others like this.
But Jiang Zhong went along without objection. Perhaps Xi Qin was as nervous as he was.
When Jiang Zhong returned with various barbecue meats, the table already had several plates. Xi Qin wasn’t at his spot, clearly having gone to get more.
After looking around, Jiang Zhong noticed Xi Qin hadn’t gotten any seafood, so he decided to get some himself, hoping to bump into Xi Qin there.
When he came back again, Xi Qin was standing by the table, head down, arranging plates.
Jiang Zhong looked closer and saw that the marinated meats he had gotten were all moved to Xi Qin’s side, while his side was filled with spring-like items.
Two baskets of lettuce leaves, a large plate of green grapes, kiwi, and jujube fruit, green apple-flavored drinks, matcha ice cream, matcha-flavored cakes, and sushi with a thick layer of mustard… The table was filled with all the green foods available in the restaurant.
There was even a small bowl of hot pot dipping sauce covered with a thick layer of cilantro leaves, and the edges of the barbecue meat plates had decorative mint leaves.
Jiang Zhong: “……”
They are both new-generation young people surfing the web every day, so what’s there not to understand?
Jiang Zhong looked up at Xi Qin, who, despite his efforts to suppress it, had sympathy in his eyes.
Now he truly understood why Xi Qin had worn his newly bought clothes just to meet him.
Jiang Zhong: “………………”
Not to mention that he had been nervous for no reason, Xi Qin’s misunderstanding was also quite deep.
Seeing Jiang Zhong’s face turn red and pale, Xi Qin thought Jiang Zhong had understood his meaning. His sympathy deepened. This was the person he had kept in his heart, but he was cheated on by someone else!
“Well…” Xi Qin hesitated to speak, “There are plenty of flowers in the world…”
“No need to be fixated on just one,” Jiang Zhong interjected. Right, he liked grass, not flowers.
Jiang Zhong suddenly felt like teasing Xi Qin, so he popped a green grape into his mouth, leaned against the sofa, and asked with a serious expression, “What did you find out?”
He wanted to hear what Xi Qin had misunderstood and who the unknown female protagonist was.
Xi Qin first moved the dipping sauce in front of Jiang Zhong to his side and replaced it with his bowl without cilantro, then slowly began, “I only found out yesterday. My friend called me out for dinner, and I saw… her with a guy.”
Xi Qin spared the name of the female protagonist. Jiang Zhong’s mouth twitched slightly. The main character with the most significant role didn’t even get a name!
“At first, I thought they were relatives or friends. But halfway through the meal, the guy used a tissue to wipe her mouth. It’s not a big deal, friends can do that. But the way he looked at her…” Xi Qin took a sip of green apple juice and confirmed, “That’s the look of someone who likes someone.”
“Hmm,” Jiang Zhong thought about his situation and couldn’t help but counter, “Maybe she just considers him a friend and doesn’t know the guy actually likes her.”
Xi Qin didn’t expect Jiang Zhong to defend her and sighed, “The guy’s gaze was very overt, anyone could tell! Well, even if… I’m not finished yet. After dinner, they walked away holding hands. Apart from two girls, would friends walk hand in hand like that? Interlocking fingers. Hmm? Would we walk hand in hand?”
Xi Qin stared at Jiang Zhong, with a look of ‘let’s see how you explain yourself.’
Jiang Zhong’s thoughts drifted as he imagined holding hands with Xi Qin while dining out, and he couldn’t help but laugh.
Xi Qin: “……”
“Cough.” Jiang Zhong cleared his throat and asked seriously, “By the way, the ‘her’ you mentioned, who is my ‘girlfriend’?”
Xi Qin: “??? ”
Xi Qin: “…Do you have many girlfriends?”
Could it be that the guy he has always liked is a scumbag?
“Not really…” Jiang Zhong tried to explain.
“I found it strange last time,” Xi Qin interrupted, “If you two really liked each other, how could you not be jealous? So it turns out you’re the same.”
Wait, last time? Jealous?
Jiang Zhong realized, “You’re talking about Xu Shanshan? Who told you she’s my girlfriend?”
Xi Qin was stunned: “Isn’t she? I clearly…” heard.
Xi Qin had heard Xu Shanshan confessing to Jiang Zhong. Now, thinking back, he hadn’t stayed to hear Jiang Zhong’s response and had assumed they were together after seeing how close they remained.
So, Jiang Zhong hadn’t agreed to Xu Shanshan back then? Or…
“Have you broken up?” Xi Qin asked.