A Shocking Revelation and a Spicy Surprise

Hearing the name, Su Yan’s hair nearly stood on end, knowing the renowned Qi Nian was currently cowering in the guest room closet. He paused, his hand still covering Su Xiaosa’s mouth, and let out a dry, awkward laugh.

“Qi Nian, you mean?”

“He’s just an ordinary guy, I guess.”

“Anyway, we’re not very close. Why do you ask?”

‘Forgive me, Qi Nian. To speak highly of you would be to seal your doom.’

No sooner had he finished speaking than his phone, tucked away in his hoodie pocket, vibrated several times. His eyelashes fluttered slightly as he decided to busy himself with drinking water.

‘Anything was better than awkwardly waiting for death.’

Lu Lin turned on the faucet, his voice somewhat muffled by the rushing water. “Is that so?”

“I thought you two were quite close.” Su Yan, unable to discern the subtle chill in Lu Lin’s voice, could only see his back from where he stood.

Su Yan returned Su Xiaosa to their room, relieved that Lu Lin hadn’t decided to make a fuss about the “Lu Lin is a stinky idiot” comment. Little did he know, something far more unsettling awaited him.

Lu Lin immersed the strawberries in cool saltwater, then turned, a faint smile playing on his lips, to face Su Yan. “Yanyan,” he began, “I won’t stop you from making friends.”

“Do you think I’m a controlling person?”

Su Yan almost instinctively nodded in agreement. ‘So, Lu Lin knew he was a complete pervert!’

‘No, wait, why would he suddenly bring this up?’

Su Yan swallowed the water in his mouth with difficulty, then carefully placed the cup back in its original spot before cautiously glancing at Lu Lin.

Lu Lin was wearing a pink kitten apron, one Su Yan had bought on a whim. The sight of it on him created a jarring contrast:

‘I look cold, but I love pink.’

He carried the washed strawberries from the kitchen to the living room, dividing them into two baskets: one for the cake, the other for Su Yan to enjoy. “Call him out now,” Lu Lin instructed.

After speaking, Lu Lin didn’t return to the kitchen. Instead, he picked up a tissue to wipe his fingertips, then casually sat down beside Su Yan, close enough for Su Yan to catch the faint scent of his shower gel.

“You knew?” Su Yan exclaimed, stunned by Lu Lin’s composure. “How did you know?”

Lu Lin tilted his head, resting his chin on his hand, his eyes sparkling with amusement. “There are several pairs of slippers by your front door.”

“There’s unfinished instant noodles in the kitchen, and more than one toothbrush on the vanity.”

“How do you think I knew?”

Su Yan had initially worried that Lu Lin’s personality would trigger a cascade of problems. Instead, Lu Lin merely offered a faint smile, tilting his head to look at him, as if genuinely unconcerned.

“Aren’t you going to scold me? Or him?” Su Yan asked, taking a strawberry from the basket and offering it to Lu Lin, his lips pressed together in a subtle plea for appeasement.

“I won’t scold you. Do you want me to scold him?” Lu Lin asked, his posture unwavering. A moment later, he turned his head, his gaze unfocused, drifting to some corner of the room.

“No,” Su Yan replied firmly, having already envisioned Qi Nian crying and begging for mercy, a sight that inexplicably stirred a pang of pity within him. “I thought you’d be upset about this.”

“I didn’t mean to hide it from you,” Su Yan said, grasping both of Lu Lin’s hands and looking at him with a pitiful gaze.

Lu Lin cast a sidelong glance at the hands gripping his, then gently withdrew his own. “Alright,” he replied.

“Aren’t we having dinner? Call your friend out to eat,” Lu Lin said, not sparing Su Yan another glance. This lack of attention, however, sparked a peculiar sensation in Su Yan’s heart.

“You’re really not angry?” Su Yan asked, his voice hesitant.

“Mm.”

‘Why did he sound like a sulking wife asking to be appeased?’

Su Yan popped a strawberry into his mouth, maintaining a healthy skepticism towards Lu Lin’s assurances that he wasn’t angry. Still, since everything was already out in the open, there was no harm in letting Qi Nian emerge.

With that thought, he made his way to the guest room, peering into every corner. Still, Qi Nian was nowhere to be seen. Just as bewilderment began to set in, a voice drifted down from above. “Can I come down now?”

Qi Nian, clinging to both sides of the doorframe like a spider, slowly descended. “This spot was safer,” he declared, “and didn’t you tell me to hide?”

Indignant at Su Yan’s ‘are you an idiot’ look, he retorted defiantly, “You didn’t mention he was your boyfriend earlier.”

“Am I so unsightly?” Qi Nian demanded, patting non-existent dust from his clothes, his gaze fixed on Su Yan with a resentful glare.

Only then did Su Yan realize Qi Nian had interpreted his actions as: ‘Oh, you’re so embarrassing! My boyfriend is coming over; quickly hide, or where will I put my face?’

Su Yan stepped forward and clapped a hand over Qi Nian’s mouth, making a “shh” gesture. “My boyfriend is very fierce,” he whispered.

“Be careful, he might beat you to death,” he breathed out in a hushed tone.

Qi Nian’s hair, now dyed back to black, had shed its rebellious aura, making him look somewhat younger. His expression was one of shock, his mouth agape as he pointed at himself. “You want your boyfriend to beat me to death?”

Su Yan, of course, hadn’t meant it literally, merely teasing him. “My boyfriend has turned over a new leaf,” he clarified, “he won’t beat you to death.”

Su Yan wondered if both their brains had short-circuited, discussing such idiotic topics right at the room’s entrance. Fortunately, Lu Lin was too preoccupied to pay them any mind.

Watching the myriad expressions flitting across Qi Nian’s face, Su Yan couldn’t help but laugh aloud. He patted Qi Nian’s shoulder. “I can’t let you stay tonight.”

“You wouldn’t want to hear anything you shouldn’t, would you?” Su Yan remarked, leaving Qi Nian with that one sentence before departing, his face a canvas of rapidly changing emotions.

Qi Nian: “…”

‘I should report them; someone here is getting frisky.’

The aroma of cooked food wafted from the kitchen; even the small cake had been swiftly prepared by Lu Lin. It was an astonishing speed, truly a model Chinese man — that is, if one overlooked certain… aspects.

This was the scene Su Yan walked in on: Lu Lin had folded the apron and set it aside, now idly turning the ring on his finger. Even upon hearing Su Yan approach, he didn’t look up with his usual smile.

‘Why did it feel a bit cold?’

“Come, let’s eat,” Lu Lin said, having even thoughtfully served the rice.

As Su Yan’s close friend, Qi Nian took it upon himself to assess whether the boyfriend was truly up to par. After all, their Su Yan had always been the epitome of detachment, the ‘number one person without desires.’

‘And now he was actually saying things like: ‘You wouldn’t want to hear anything you shouldn’t, would you?”

Qi Nian followed behind Su Yan and settled into the seat opposite him. Two portions of each dish graced the table. Before he could voice a question, Lu Lin’s voice drifted from diagonally across.

“This one isn’t spicy, and this one is,” Lu Lin said, gesturing to the plates on either side.

“Your friend doesn’t like spicy food, right?”

Qi Nian silently awarded Lu Lin a point in his mind. Su Yan’s judgment was indeed commendable.

Without a second thought, Qi Nian picked up his chopsticks and selected what appeared to be the most delectable sweet and sour pork ribs. The moment it touched his tongue, his smile slowly faded.

He silently looked up at Su Yan, who was eating with great relish, his beautiful eyes curving into smiles. “Lu Lin,” Su Yan praised, “you’re amazing at cooking.”

Qi Nian could only swallow his words. He painstakingly finished the bowl of rice with the help of the soup, then declared, “Thank you for the meal, I’m full. I’ll be leaving now.”

Su Yan: “?” ‘See? This is the consequence of poor language skills, making a thank you so awkward.’

This was Su Yan’s first time dining with Lu Lin, and the atmosphere between them had already shifted. Even in silence, there was no awkwardness at the dinner table; he cherished this feeling.

Thinking of this, his heart would always skip a beat. He couldn’t help but wonder if staying together like this wouldn’t be so bad.

‘No, no, Lu Lin isn’t mine. I must be completely deluded.’

“Does your friend dislike my cooking?” Lu Lin asked, his eyelashes lowered, an air of disappointment about him.

Su Yan looked up, noting that Qi Nian’s plate was almost untouched. He frowned. “Your cooking is delicious.”

“Perhaps it just wasn’t to his taste. I’ll definitely talk to him about it.”

‘When did Qi Nian become so picky! Lu Lin worked himself to the bone making all these main dishes, and he just—!’

Sweet and sour pork ribs, Mapo tofu, spicy chicken… Lu Lin had even made dessert.

Su Yan then noticed a letter on Lu Lin’s earring: ‘S’.

Unsure what he was thinking, his ear tips reddened for a moment, and the atmosphere plunged into an eerie silence.

Su Yan finished his meal shortly after Qi Nian left. Lu Lin hadn’t eaten much, simply sitting quietly, waiting for Su Yan to finish, which prompted Su Yan to ask, “Aren’t you hungry?”

“Mm.”

Su Yan nodded, thinking that if Lu Lin got hungry later, he could cook for him, even if all he seemed to know how to make were different kinds of noodles.

He took responsibility for loading all the dishes into the dishwasher, while Lu Lin tidied the kitchen. Su Yan initially didn’t want Lu Lin to do these tasks, but Lu Lin wouldn’t let him into the kitchen at all.

Lu Lin’s潔癖 (germophobia/obsession with cleanliness) meant his cleaning sessions lasted half an hour, leaving Su Yan to sit idly on the sofa, waiting.

Outside, the world gradually succumbed to the dense darkness of night, and Haishi entered its plum rain season, with large raindrops pounding the ground.

Su Yan picked up his phone, unlocked it, and saw his search history:

‘How to make a beautiful cake?’

‘Spicy chicken tutorial.’

‘Sweet and sour pork ribs tutorial.’

He couldn’t help but marvel, ‘Could it really be this delicious on the first try? As expected of the genius, all-rounder protagonist gong.’

‘No, wait, whose phone is this?’

Su Yan abruptly flipped the phone over. The phone case was the same, the wallpaper was the same, and even the password was the same. No, there was a difference: the bottom right corner of this transparent phone case had two letters printed on it: ‘sy’.

His face flushed. He hadn’t intended to pry into Lu Lin’s privacy. He pressed the screen off and put it back in its original spot. His own phone in his pocket was vibrating frantically, and he frowned as he pulled it out.

[Niannian: I suggest your boyfriend stop cooking in the future.]

[Niannian: He’s destined to be unconnected to the culinary world, don’t force it.]

[Niannian: Yanyan, I think if you eat too much of his cooking.]

[Niannian: You’ll. Die.]

The other side was still typing, messages coming in rapidly, giving Su Yan no chance to interject. He pressed his lips together, not understanding Qi Nian’s meaning.

Ding-dong—

The phone vibrated one last time.

[Niannian: Eat less, it’s not good for *that*.]

Su Yan finally understood this last message. He expressionlessly pressed the phone off and, without Lu Lin’s knowledge, walked behind him. He picked up a pair of chopsticks and took a piece of spicy chicken from Qi Nian’s plate.

The moment it entered his mouth, his taste buds exploded. The chili used was likely the world’s spiciest, ghost pepper, making his eyes water instantly. Not only was it unbelievably spicy, it was also incredibly salty.

Seeing this, Lu Lin wiped away Su Yan’s tears with the back of his finger. “I should have thrown it away sooner.”

He wasn’t apologizing; he was regretting not having discarded it earlier.

Su Yan blinked his rabbit-red eyes, his mouth sealed shut, and pointed at himself, then at the dish on the plate. Others might not have understood Su Yan’s unspoken meaning.

Lu Lin understood. He retrieved a bottle of iced water from the refrigerator, twisted it open, and handed it to him. “It’s the takeout I ordered earlier.”

Su Yan’s expression clearly meant: ‘I don’t have this kind of chili at home! When did you buy it?’

Su Yan seemed to finally understand why Qi Nian hadn’t eaten a single bite of the food. Every bite avoided was a year added to one’s life.

“Still uncomfortable?” Lu Lin gently touched Su Yan’s face, his dark pupils reflecting Su Yan’s slightly angry expression. Su Yan wasn’t particularly keen on talking to Lu Lin right now.

Yet, he also felt this was a kind of progress. In the past, Lu Lin might have already been planning an ‘accidental’ car crash…

“I’m feeling better,” Su Yan said, sitting obediently with his knees hugged to his chest, his fringe damp with cold sweat. “All the rooms have bathrooms; you can shower whenever you want.”

“I’ll go home tonight.”

“Don’t.” Su Yan blurted out, then froze, wondering what exactly he was saying “don’t” to.

Given Lu Lin’s personality, no one had the right to change his decisions, not even the original novel’s protagonist shou could interfere with any of his choices.

“Alright,” Lu Lin replied with a smile.

Su Yan: “!”

The thunderstorm arrived swiftly and departed just as quickly. After only a short while, the sound of rain vanished into the night.

It was already very late. Su Yan settled Lu Lin in the room next to his. No one had ever stayed in this room before, so Lu Lin’s潔癖 (obsession with cleanliness) shouldn’t act up, right?

Su Yan emerged from the shower, casually dressed in a T-shirt and shorts. Water dripped from his fringe onto the floor. Having showered for too long, his face was flushed, complementing his delicate and handsome features…

As he lay on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, he checked the time: eleven at night. For some reason, he felt a sudden thirst.

He quietly stepped out and bumped into Lu Lin in the dark. Su Yan let out a soft “Hiss.”

“Are you also getting water?” Su Yan turned on the light. “Why didn’t you turn on the light?”

Lu Lin followed his lead. “Mm, water.”

Su Yan had grown accustomed to his man of few words demeanor. He went to the refrigerator on his own, took out a bottle of iced soda water, and handed it to him. “Here, drink this.”

“Get some sleep early. Good night, Lu Lin.” Su Yan rarely called him by his name. He returned to his room and closed the door.

Just then, his phone rang. Who could be calling so late at night?

“Yanyan, I almost never saw you again!”

“I’m in so much pain! Wuwuwu…” After that sentence, there was a string of Qi Nian’s whimpers, followed by five minutes of omitted crying.

Su Yan’s heart clenched. He gripped his phone and gently comforted, “Take your time, tell me what happened?”

“I was in a car accident!”

“But luckily it was a minor one. Just a broken leg, I’ll have to lie in bed for a while. You know, I’ve always been a good driver.”

Su Yan was used to Qi Nian’s self-praise, and besides, Qi Nian was in trouble now, so he just went along with it.

“It’s all because a car inexplicably appeared in my blind spot and drove straight at me! Tell me, could it be some enemy of my dad’s trying to kill me?”

“My dad has always been quite ill-mannered. I told him long ago that he’d provoke people. Now look what happened, his son almost went to heaven!”

‘Who could it be?’ Su Yan already had a vague answer in his mind.

“I’m coming over now.” Su Yan pursed his lips, a difficult sentence escaping him. He was truly upset now.

He was truly too self-indulgent, too conceited. He was an idiot.

“No need, it’s so late already. After talking to you, I’m feeling better.” Qi Nian didn’t want to trouble his good friend.

“But I really need to give my dad a good talking to.” After Qi Nian said this, he was met with a busy signal. After a moment of confusion, he continued to wail in front of the doctor.

Su Yan’s call had been hung up by Lu Lin.