Jealousy and Schemes

Once Xu Shuche became busy with academic matters, he would become extremely focused and immersed.

It was as if nothing else in the world could disturb him.

Compared to academics, eating could easily be pushed to second place.

Jian Yixun knew he had this habit.

So when Xu Shuche refused to eat the first time he asked, Jian Yixun had already prepared himself to feed him.

Before, in the dormitory, Xu Shuche had once been just as absorbed while replying to emails from his supervisor.

Jian Yixun had come back from outside with a bag of fruit.

He sat beside Xu Shuche, cut the fruit into small pieces, ate some himself, and fed some to Xu Shuche.

So feeding him a few edamame beans now didn’t feel strange at all to Jian Yixun.

Jian Yixun felt completely justified on his side.

Naturally, he had no idea that Song Jiatang’s mind had already exploded into chaos.

Song Jiatang stared at Jian Yixun’s hand placed in front of Xu Shuche.

He felt the blood in his whole body rush straight to his head.

Jian Yixun was no longer only picking food for him alone.

Not only was Jian Yixun picking food for Xu Shuche, he was even feeding him personally.

Song Jiatang trembled lightly.

He kept recalling the Jian Yixun who had once treated him with cold impatience.

For the second time in his life, he felt completely at a loss.

So Jian Yixun wasn’t cold to everyone.

He was simply gentle to the people he wanted to be gentle to, and too lazy to deal with everyone else.

Song Jiatang vaguely understood this realization in his mind.

He forced a somewhat stiff smile onto his face.

“Brother Xun, are these edamame good? I want to try some too.”

Jian Yixun hummed and pushed the small dish of unpeeled edamame toward him.

“Aren’t there some right there?”

Song Jiatang blinked at him pitifully.

“I don’t really know how to peel them. Can I eat the ones you peeled?”

Jian Yixun glanced at the dish of beans.

“You can peel them yourself. It’s not hard. They boiled them well—just pinch them and the shell comes right off.”

Song Jiatang moved his lips, about to say something else.

Just then Xing Bai lifted the curtain of the private room and walked back in.

“Have you finished ordering? Let me see what you picked.”

Jian Yixun pushed the receipt toward him.

Xing Bai flipped through it casually and laughed.

“What’s going on today? Why are you only eating light food and not your beloved devil-spicy dishes? Did going to university make you lose half your soul?”

“Not really. Just not ordering it today,” Jian Yixun said lazily while scrolling through his phone.

“My senior can’t eat spicy food, so I have to take care of him.”

The teasing words Xing Bai was about to say were silently swallowed back.

Alright then.

He looked at Xu Shuche, who was still sending messages with his head lowered.

Then his gaze shifted back to his old friend.

Seeing the emotion in Jian Yixun’s eyes, he couldn’t help being stunned for a moment.

This was the first time Xing Bai had ever seen Jian Yixun look at someone so seriously.

It was as if everything else around them had disappeared.

The only person he cared about was Xu Shuche.

Song Jiatang had always believed that as Jian Yixun’s childhood friend, he understood Jian Yixun’s habits very well.

For example, he had a bit of a cleanliness obsession.

He would never share chopsticks with others, and he would never allow anyone to take food from his own plate.

But Xu Shuche’s appearance shattered all of his understanding.

Jian Yixun peeled shrimp for Xu Shuche.

He allowed Xu Shuche to take food from his plate.

And he even smiled while watching him do it, without the slightest hint of anger.

Although the two of them sat opposite each other, Jian Yixun and Xu Shuche seemed to have some kind of natural barrier around them.

It was as if they could isolate everyone else and leave behind a small world that belonged only to the two of them.

Song Jiatang felt like he was going insane.

He had coveted his childhood friend for many years.

But he had never imagined that during the few years he spent abroad, someone would suddenly appear beside Jian Yixun.

Someone who could share his joys and sorrows.

And that person was a man.

A beautiful man of the same type as himself.

If it had been a girl, or a completely different type of man, perhaps Song Jiatang would not have felt so unwilling.

But the more he thought about it now, the more painful it felt.

Why was Xu Shuche acceptable, but he, Song Jiatang, was not?

Song Jiatang glanced at Xing Bai beside him countless times, hoping he would say something for him.

But Xing Bai seemed determined not to help him.

He simply ate his own food while occasionally joining the conversation between the two opposite him, seemingly quite content.

The only clown at this table was Song Jiatang.

He trembled with anger.

He barely ate anything.

When Jian Yixun looked up and noticed most of the dishes still left on Song Jiatang’s plate, he pretended not to see them.

Instead, he turned toward Xu Shuche.

“Senior, are you full? If you’re not, should I order you some more?”

Xu Shuche had already seen the prices of the dishes while ordering earlier.

Hearing this, he quickly waved his hand.

“No need. I’m full.”

“It’s fine even if you’re not full. When we get home we can make you a late-night snack,” Jian Yixun whispered as he leaned close to him.

“The aunt at my house makes instant noodles really well. You can try them when we get back.”

When he said this, the two of them were extremely close.

Their warm breaths brushed against each other.

A completely ordinary conversation somehow looked extremely ambiguous between them.

Seeing their intimate interaction, the hatred in Song Jiatang’s heart deepened.

He suddenly spoke up.

“Brother Xu must really like this restaurant. You finished everything on your plate. Unlike me—I can only eat a little because I need to maintain my body for dancing.”

“Ah, you…”

Xing Bai quickly stepped in to smooth things over.

At the same time, he silently regretted bringing Song Jiatang here in the first place.

“Dancing doesn’t mean you have to starve yourself forever. You can still eat things you like.”

Song Jiatang smiled faintly.

“That’s different. I have strict body management. I’m always very demanding of myself. After all, not everyone can follow my current mentor and join a famous dance troupe.”

“Are you part of a foreign dance troupe?” Xu Shuche asked.

“That’s really impressive.”

He spoke sincerely.

Because in the eyes of someone whose only strength was studying, being able to join a dance troupe already sounded extremely impressive.

Song Jiatang looked at him suspiciously and carefully examined Xu Shuche.

But Xu Shuche’s gaze was completely sincere.

His praise didn’t seem fake at all—it truly sounded like genuine admiration.

“He’s been learning dance since childhood,” Xing Bai explained.

“So he studied dance at an art school abroad as well. Xiao Song even sent me a lot of practice videos from his dance academy. If we get the chance, I’ll show them to you sometime, Brother Xu.”

By the time the four of them finished dinner, it was already past eight at night.

Xing Bai suggested going to Jian Yixun’s house to sit for a while and maybe play a few rounds of games.

But Jian Yixun refused.

“My senior’s biological clock says he sleeps at exactly ten-thirty,” Jian Yixun said confidently, using Xu Shuche as his excuse.

“If we want to play, we can do it tomorrow. Don’t delay my senior’s sleep.”

Xing Bai sneered and went to the counter to pay the bill.

At some point, a bit of tomato sauce had gotten onto Xu Shuche’s clothes.

After asking where the restroom was, he hurried over to clean it off.

In the restaurant lobby, only Song Jiatang and Jian Yixun remained.

Song Jiatang blinked, cherishing this rare chance to be alone with him.

His voice sounded aggrieved.

“Brother Xun, why won’t you even look at me?”

Jian Yixun truly had no interest in looking at him.

His voice was stiff.

“Why should I look at you?”

“I…”

Song Jiatang pressed his lips together.

His voice carried a hint of tears.

“I’ve been abroad for so many years. Don’t you care about me at all?”

“Care about what?”

Jian Yixun let out a cold laugh.

“You almost made it so I couldn’t even get into university. Should I care about you because of that?”

Song Jiatang’s expression changed slightly.

He had always believed that his sexual orientation was the biggest barrier between them.

That was why Xu Shuche had been able to take advantage of the situation.

But Xu Shuche was also gay.

He liked men too.

In Song Jiatang’s mind, Xu Shuche was simply a cunning gay man pretending to be normal in order to get close to Jian Yixun.

As long as he exposed this secret, Jian Yixun would definitely cut ties with him completely—just like he had done with Song Jiatang years ago.

Should he say it or not?

He had never sabotaged someone before.

So now he felt unusually nervous and conflicted.

But if he didn’t say anything, he would have to keep watching Jian Yixun be so close with another gay man.

Since they were both gay, why couldn’t it be him instead?

Maybe once he revealed the truth, Jian Yixun would immediately distance himself from Xu Shuche.

And he could take the opportunity to step in.

Suddenly, everything became clear to Song Jiatang.

The path in front of him seemed to open up.

“Brother Xun, I want to tell you something. It’s about Brother Xu.”

Song Jiatang gathered his courage and gently tugged at Jian Yixun’s sleeve.

“It’s very important.”

Hearing Xu Shuche’s name, Jian Yixun finally lifted his gaze from his phone.

He looked at him with a hint of inquiry.

“Brother Xun, you know I’m gay. I like men.”

Song Jiatang spoke hesitantly.

A perfectly timed look of difficulty appeared on his face.

“You see… people like us can tell who in a crowd is the same as us. I’m pretty good at it. When I was in America, I could spot other gay people at a glance.”

Jian Yixun frowned slightly and patiently hummed.

“So?”

“So…”

Song Jiatang glanced toward the restroom.

Then he stood on his toes and whispered into Jian Yixun’s ear.

“Brother Xun, be careful of Brother Xu. I think he’s gay. I can tell.”

A trace of disgust flashed across Jian Yixun’s eyes.

“Mm. What else?”

“Didn’t you say before that you hate it most when gay people approach you under the excuse of friendship?”

Seeing Jian Yixun’s calm expression with almost no reaction, Song Jiatang grew a little panicked.

“He’s probably one of those cunning gay men. Don’t let him deceive you.”

“That’s it?”

Jian Yixun suddenly laughed.

He reached out and lightly patted Song Jiatang’s face.

“I already knew.”

“You’re coming to tell me this now—what exactly are your intentions?”

“Do you think that by speaking badly about my senior, I’ll reconcile with you?”

“Don’t dream, Song Jiatang,” he said softly.

“Compared to my senior… do you even deserve it?”