Mid-Autumn Mishap

Li Yuan returned, carrying milk tea. He handed each of them a cup.

Lu Xingyan walked slightly behind and to the side of Xu Yi, like a bodyguard.

Xu Yi didn’t notice anything wrong. After all, Li Yuan was still pulling him aside to recap the clues they’d missed in the script murder game.

Seeing the two chatting happily, Lu Xingyan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He had gone too far. Xu Yi had grown suspicious.

Luckily, he had managed to fool him.

But from the few words Xu Yi had said earlier, Lu Xingyan could tell that if he truly confessed, the other would only use every means to escape him.

That made things incredibly difficult for Lu Xingyan.

Both sides seemed to be getting better, yet precisely because of that, it became more complicated.

How could he make sure that Xu Yi’s online identity wouldn’t be hurt, while also clearly expressing that he really liked Xu Yi?

Lu Xingyan’s mind wandered, brainstorming absentmindedly.

Xu Yi, who was walking ahead, suddenly turned to glance at Lu Xingyan. “I’ll go back to the dorm with you guys. Tonight is Mid-Autumn Festival; I’m afraid you’ll be too lonely.”

Lu Xingyan looked at Xu Yi’s expression, which seemed like a bestowal of grace, and laughed heartily. “Sure. Tonight, big brother will cook you a small hotpot.”

They were lucky enough to be assigned to a newly renovated apartment-style dormitory. It could house four people, and they were allowed to use appliances of moderate power.

“You can cook?” Xu Yi was skeptical. In his mind, Lu Xingyan should be some rich young master.

“Of course,” Lu Xingyan said smugly.

“Then let’s go buy groceries together!” Li Yuan suggested. There was no large supermarket outside the school, and they were still in the city center, so it was the perfect time to buy everything they wanted.

Xu Yi had no objections, so the three changed direction toward a big supermarket.

It was a newly opened store. Near the entrance, where shopping carts were lined up, there was a row of little yellow carts.

When Xu Yi walked in, he happened to see a few girls around their age ride one inside.

The cart moved slowly, but it looked fun.

Xu Yi had never ridden those small carts for children when he was little, so when he saw the little yellow cart, he couldn’t help but stare a few times.

Li Yuan seemed to notice them too. He rushed over excitedly. “Damn, this is so high-tech. I’ve never ridden a cart to buy groceries before. Let me scan one—we can take turns riding it outside.”

Without waiting for Xu Yi or Lu Xingyan to respond, Li Yuan ran off and scanned the code himself.

He even complained, “Damn, it’s expensive.”

Xu Yi felt a bit of anticipation. He leaned over to take a look.

Ten yuan per hour.

It was indeed a bit pricey, since supermarket carts were free.

“I’ll scan it,” Xu Yi said, taking out his phone.

Luckily, Li Yuan didn’t argue with him. Otherwise, Xu Yi would have felt awkward—he wasn’t good at handling that kind of situation.

“Whoever scans the code gets to ride the longest. Our Yi gets half an hour, and brother Yan and I get fifteen minutes each. How about that?” Li Yuan said with a grin.

Lu Xingyan knew that Li Yuan had deliberately suggested this because he saw that Xu Yi wanted to ride.

But Xu Yi was only tough with people he knew well.

Outside, he had thin skin.

Letting him ride alone would probably make him embarrassed.

After all, these little yellow carts were mainly designed for parent-child use. They were low to the ground, making an adult look like they were squatting while sitting.

The speed was much slower than walking.

Lu Xingyan walked over and said casually, “Why don’t we ride together? You and I for half an hour, and you for half an hour, so everyone gets half an hour.”

As he spoke, he pushed Xu Yi, whose ears were turning red, into the front seat of the little yellow cart. Then, with a long stride, he easily sat down in the back seat.

The cart was originally designed as a parent-child double seat. Two grown men looked a bit cramped, but they still fit.

Xu Yi felt his back pressed tightly against Lu Xingyan’s warm chest.

His face must have been bright red.

And Li Yuan was standing right next to them, staring.

*So gay.*

“I really want to squat in front of Yi, so all three of us can sit on it,” Li Yuan said, looking serious.

Xu Yi’s lips twitched. In his mind, an image surfaced from an internet meme: ten people on a single motorcycle.

Luckily, Li Yuan wasn’t that crazy. He chose to scan another cart.

“Let’s go, let’s go. If we eat too late, we’ll get fat,” Lu Xingyan said. Seeing that Xu Yi hadn’t moved, he directly grabbed the handlebars and started moving.

Xu Yi’s body stiffened.

Lu Xingyan’s arms seemed to completely enclose him.

And because they were pressed so close, and due to the height difference, Lu Xingyan’s chin kept brushing against Xu Yi’s hair.

Xu Yi was overwhelmed by the scent of the mint shower gel.

*This is too weird.*

“Embarrassed?” Lu Xingyan’s voice suddenly came from behind.

Xu Yi instinctively wanted to snap back.

But before that, for some reason, he let out a soft “Mm.”

That voice was syrupy, as if he was acting spoiled.

Xu Yi closed his eyes. He wished he could turn back time to before they entered the supermarket.

He would never agree to ride the little yellow cart.

Suddenly, Lu Xingyan let go of the handlebars, and the cart came to a stop.

Then, something dropped onto Xu Yi’s shoulders.

He tilted his head slightly and saw it was Lu Xingyan’s hoodie.

Lu Xingyan’s hand reached around Xu Yi’s waist, grabbed the zipper of the hoodie, and said, “Lift your head.”

Before Xu Yi could think, he obeyed.

“Good.” The zipper was pulled all the way up. “This way, your double chin won’t get caught.”

“I don’t have a double chin,” Xu Yi stubbornly retorted.

Then the hood was pulled over his head.

Xu Yi’s breath caught. He was completely enveloped by Lu Xingyan’s scent.

Lu Xingyan also tugged at the hood. “Now, you’re the driver.”

“Don’t secretly sniff my clothes, okay?”

Xu Yi jolted and nervously grabbed the handlebars. “Who would want to smell your sweat?”

“Alright, hurry up and head to the hotpot ingredients section,” Lu Xingyan said, carelessly patting Xu Yi’s waist.

Xu Yi felt his head go hot.

The supermarket’s air conditioning was strong, and being wrapped in the other’s clothes didn’t make him feel hot at all.

But his face was burning.

Actually, Lu Xingyan’s clothes didn’t smell like sweat at all.

The dry scent of laundry detergent was quite pleasant.

Li Yuan had already passed them and kept looking back to urge them on.

They played in the supermarket for almost an hour before heading back with two bags of ingredients.

Since the bags were heavy, Lu Xingyan hailed a taxi.

After getting out of the car, Xu Yi held Lu Xingyan’s clothes in his arms the whole time.

Because the other’s hands were full, he completely forgot about it.

He carried them all the way back to the dorm.

Suddenly, Lu Xingyan sneezed.

Only then did Xu Yi remember the clothes in his hands.

He silently hung them over the back of a chair and joined the two in preparing the ingredients.

The troublesome part of eating hotpot was preparing the ingredients and washing the pot.

Lu Xingyan even specially prepared a dipping sauce for both Xu Yi and Li Yuan, a recipe he learned from a friend.

Xu Yi looked at the oily bowl. It had chopped green onions, oyster sauce, and a big spoonful of minced garlic — it looked appetizing.

But he still asked doubtfully, “Isn’t this too oily?”

“This oil can absorb the hotpot oil. It’s super fragrant when you eat it,” Lu Xingyan said as he spread the tablecloth and brought over the pot.

The small pot wasn’t very big; basically, one serving would fill it up.

The guys ate quickly, constantly scooping out servings into three bowls, then adding more, then scooping again.

The three chatted and laughed for an hour.

Since they bought whatever they liked at the supermarket, they had bought a bit too much.

After eating, all three were holding their painfully full stomachs, leaning against the side to rest.

Li Yuan struggled to stand up. “I still have a box of egg yolk mooncakes my mom sent. Want to eat them while watching the moon together?”

Xu Yi turned his head with difficulty. “I can only take one more bite.”

After all, it was for the sake of ritual.

Even though it was uncomfortable, they didn’t want to spoil the mood.

Li Yuan dug out a box of digestive tablets from his spot, along with a small mooncake placed on a disposable plate.

He cut the mooncake into three equal parts and placed them on the desk.

“By the time we’ve cleaned up the trash, we should be able to eat a bit,” Li Yuan said, handing out the digestive tablets.

Xu Yi rested for a moment, then stood up to help clean.

Lu Xingyan took the pot, poured the solidified oil into a bag, and went to wash it.

Xu Yi and Li Yuan bundled up the tablecloth, wiped the table, and tidied up.

Finally, they sealed the trash bag to prevent the smell from spreading.

Xu Yi walked to the balcony and opened the window to air out the room.

The small table was right by the balcony. They sat on cushions on the floor.

On the table, Li Yuan’s cut mooncake was already laid out.

They just waited for Lu Xingyan to come out and watch the moon together.

The moon was big and round, brightening the night outside considerably.

The three sat behind the small table, leisurely gazing at the moon.

They managed to share the mooncake.

Then they took out their phones, downloaded a mobile game, and played a noisy round of phone battle for a while.

Only when their stomachs felt less uncomfortable did they wash up and get into bed.

Xu Yi finished bathing first. Lying in bed, he felt terribly thirsty, so he asked Lu Xingyan, who was still downstairs, to pass him a glass of water.

“What a lazybones,” Lu Xingyan said, but he still filled Xu Yi’s cup to the brim.

After eating hotpot at night, it was easy to get thirsty.

He deliberately filled the cup to the top, in case Xu Yi would need to come down for a refill later.

Lu Xingyan thought he was being very thoughtful. He also took out his phone to chat sweetly with his online girlfriend, saying goodnight.

“Ah!”

Xu Yi suddenly let out a short cry.

Lu Xingyan hurriedly leaned in with concern. “What’s wrong?”

Xu Yi held his water cup. His pale chin and neck were covered with transparent water stains.

The pajamas below, which were already worn thin, were also more than half soaked.

The same went for the spot between Xu Yi’s crossed legs.

Right in the middle of the bed, there was a large, wet watermark.

Xu Yi’s eyes were red-rimmed. He looked at Lu Xingyan in despair. “Why did you fill it so full?”

Lu Xingyan was mesmerized by the sight. He even felt that the pink lips cursing him were frighteningly beautiful.

Until he was impatiently slapped on the leg, Lu Xingyan awkwardly rubbed his nose. “I was just worried you wouldn’t have enough to drink.”

“Am I a water buffalo?!” Xu Yi took another sip self-destructively.

He closed the bottle cap, his eyes vacant. “I’ll go back to sleep tonight. I didn’t bring a spare sheet.”

Seeing him like this, Lu Xingyan found it strangely beautiful.

But he also felt both sorry and guilty.

“Take off the sheets and clothes; big brother will hang them out for you,” Lu Xingyan said, but he climbed onto Xu Yi’s bed.

“I have extra pajamas in my cabinet. You can squeeze in with me tonight. After all, it’s my fault.”

“I’ll take responsibility.”