Chapter 21

Ye Chen took a few steps closer and placed the bowl and plate on the low table by the kang^[1]Heatable brick bread, which contained a plate of tomato scrambled eggs and a bowl of rice.

“…You can cook too?” Shen Mofeng didn’t have high expectations for Young Master Ye’s culinary skills. With a hint of indulgence in his smile, he resignedly leaned towards the low table.

Worried that Shen Mofeng might find the dishes shabby, Ye Chen quickly spoke up, releasing a small train and blowing its whistle: “The chef my family used to hire taught me a few tricks. Don’t underestimate this tomato scrambled eggs dish. There are many details involved in making it, different from what ordinary people make…”

He stood by the kang, very close to Shen Mofeng, speaking earnestly. Shen Mofeng smiled with a hint of amusement, tilting his face slightly upwards to look at him. As he gazed, Shen Mofeng suddenly raised a hand, hooking his index finger under Ye Chen’s chin and lightly brushing his cheek with his thumb.

Ye Chen was taken aback. “What’s wrong?”

“Is that soot on your face? It hasn’t been wiped off… Go look in the mirror,” Shen Mofeng said calmly, but inwardly he flicked his finger.

There was a soft sensation lingering on Shen Mofeng’s finger where he had touched Ye Chen’s chin and cheek, stirring up a flurry of emotions within him.

…His cheeks are quite tender. Shen Mofeng couldn’t help but flick his finger again.

Well, of course they’re tender, he’s only nineteen…

His thoughts veered towards ambiguous territory.

A man who was about to celebrate his twenty-sixth birthday secretly appraising the face of a nineteen-year-old boy for its tenderness… This seemed to border on being a bit of an old lecher. Although subjectively, Shen Mofeng found this wave of lasciviousness rather enjoyable, and legally there was no issue, after assessing it with the moral yardstick, he couldn’t help but laugh lightly with a self-deprecating expression.

Actually, a little young… Shen Mofeng thought.

Unaware of Shen Mofeng’s rogue thoughts, Ye Chen turned and walked into the bathroom connected to Shen Mofeng’s room.

The conditions of these rural houses varied, with a few top-tier rooms equipped with flush toilets and solar water heaters belonging to the main creative team of the crew. For others, bathing and using the toilet were more troublesome. Among the top-tier rooms, Shen Mofeng’s living quarters were the most comfortable. The bedroom was directly connected to a small bathroom, so there was no need to leave the bedroom in the middle of the night. Although the bathroom was decorated quite rudimentarily, it had all the necessary facilities.

Ye Chen looked into the mirror, discovering two streaks of cigarette ash on his face—here, cooking was done not with an induction cooker but with a stove. Ye Chen had learned how to build a fire from a fellow villager, and he had been busy at the stove for quite a while, not paying attention to his dirty face.

He turned on the tap and splashed water on his face, wiping it dry with a tissue, then lowered his eyelids, greedily scanning the array of toiletries stored under the washbasin.

Ever since he had become penniless overnight, Ye Chen had been using a bar of sulfur soap from Shanghai, which cost over a dollar each. He had been reluctant to use the remaining high-end shower gel and shampoo, only using them when he was feeling particularly down to give himself a little treat and boost his morale, so that he could continue to bear the poverty of supporting his family… Currently, he had two-fifths of a bottle of shower gel and three-quarters of a bottle of shampoo left, both of which cost nearly a thousand yuan each, and he wouldn’t buy them again after they were used up.

Because he had been reluctant to use good things for too long, Ye Chen couldn’t help but think about them since he saw these high-end products two days ago, almost going blind with desire.

Ye Chen squatted down, stealthily picking up each bottle and jar, checking the remaining amount and production date, and selecting four bottles with more remaining and a farther production date, deciding to help his Shen Ge use them to avoid wastefulness due to expiration, thereby reducing unnecessary burden on Mother Earth!

But how to use them? Ye Chen’s mind gradually became active, and he propped up his chin, rolling his eyes and starting to devise a plan.

Finding an excuse to sneak into the bathroom to pour out half a bottle while no one was looking might be easy, but these were personal items. Taking them without asking was stealing, and Ye Chen was a decent person before he went bankrupt. He couldn’t do something like that. If he wanted to use them, he had to do it openly and aboveboard. Not only did he need Shen Mofeng to know and approve of his use of the bathroom items, but it also had to be logically reasonable and not collapse his character. That was the ultimate essence of mooching.

Ye Chen pondered, “…”

Heaven did not create Ye Poor, for all eternity to mooch as night falls!

…

On the other side, Shen Mofeng, who hadn’t eaten for several meals, picked up a bite of tomato scrambled eggs and put it in his mouth.

The moment the scrambled eggs, dipped in the sweet and sour sauce, entered his mouth, Shen Mofeng’s digestive system, which had been oppressed by smoking, suddenly came to life. He chewed on the scrambled eggs for a moment, suddenly feeling hungry. The long-lost craving, accompanied by a desire for food, rose from his empty stomach, blossoming on his tongue.

…Is tomato scrambled eggs really this delicious? Shen Mofeng was stunned for a moment, then buried his head and continued eating. The tomatoes in the dish had stewed until soft, while the eggs remained tender and moist, like fluffy little clouds. The aroma of the eggs was rich, the sauce was sweet and savory, and the perfectly balanced slightly sour taste was appetizing. After devouring a mouthful of rice mixed with tomatoes and eggs, Shen Mofeng, who hadn’t eaten properly for several meals, let out a satisfied sigh.

The kid’s cooking skills are so good?! Shen Mofeng’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down, folding up his sleeves to the elbow, revealing his toned and muscular forearms. He sat cross-legged on the rural kang, adapting to the local customs. With one hand holding the bowl of rice and the other holding the food, he looked like a handsome farmer.

At this moment, Ye Chen walked out of the bathroom and sat opposite the low table, leaning against the edge of the kang. Because he was busy calculating how to take advantage of the situation, his expression was unusually submissive, and his tone was so soft that it was almost unreasonable. “So, Shen Ge, how does it taste?”

The demeanor, the actions, and the tone of voice all made him look like a skillful little wife who had just married a handsome farmer, completely without any sense of discord.

Shen Mofeng looked up and stared at him quietly for a moment, then suddenly burst out laughing.

The little wife looked confused, innocently widening his eyes and rubbing his hands on his thighs a couple of times. “What’s wrong?”

Even more so.

Shen Mofeng turned his head away, suppressing his laughter. He couldn’t even swallow his food anymore.

The little wife sat on the kang, feeling confused and helpless. “Shen Ge… What are you laughing at?”

“Ahem.” Shen Mofeng suppressed his smile, cleared his throat, and said warmly, “It’s delicious. You have good cooking skills.”

Without replying, Ye Chen didn’t dare to ask him what he was laughing at. He focused his mind and brought out the lie he had thought of in the bathroom just now, thickening his skin and saying, “Shen Ge, the water heater in House where I live is broken.”

Shen Mofeng raised an eyebrow. “The water heater is broken?”

“Yeah.” Ye Chen nodded vigorously. “I can’t take a shower… Have you finished bathing today? Can I borrow your water heater?”

Shen Mofeng suppressed a surge of evil fire and gentlemanly said, “Let Xiao He take a look. Maybe he can fix it.”

“No need to trouble him.” Ye Chen looked sincere, laying the groundwork for future mooching. “I asked Xiao Gao to take a look, but it’s not easy to fix. It won’t be fixed for a while.”

“If Xiao He insists on coming, I’ll just shut off the water valve…” Ye Chen cunningly calculated.

Shen Mofeng fell silent for a moment before saying, “Let Xiao He take a look. Just in case.”

Ye Chen shook his head, insisting, “No need. It definitely can’t be fixed. It’s too late at night to bother him.”

Shen Mofeng took a deep breath, thinking to himself that if he were a bit more beastly, this kid would have been devoured entirely by now.

He didn’t want to overanalyze Ye Chen’s behavior. It was understandable for the water heater to be broken, and borrowing someone else’s bathroom to take a shower was reasonable. But refusing to let Shen Mofeng send someone to fix it, even refusing to let someone take a look… besides trying to flirt, what else could it be?

Could it still be about mooching shampoo?! Shen Mofeng almost burst out laughing at his absurd speculation.

After learning about Ye Chen’s fallout with his family, he was indeed a bit worried about Ye Chen’s financial situation. However, being poor as a top celebrity and being poor as an ordinary person were completely different concepts. For a top celebrity, not being able to afford the latest designer clothes could be considered poor. As for situations worse than that, unless they were involved in drugs, gambling, or had massive family debts, they wouldn’t be affected in their daily lives. Ye Chen was probably not involved in any of those situations.

So, it could only be…

As Shen Mofeng thought, his eyes gradually darkened. He looked Ye Chen up and down with his gaze, noticing the slender contours of his neck and shoulders, delicate collarbones, thin wrists, and ankles… These lingering signs of youthfulness made him feel guilty. But the face, which was obediently asking for anything, was so beautiful and enticing that it ignited a flame in his heart.

“Is it okay, Shen Ge?” Seeing Shen Mofeng’s noncommittal response, Ye Chen calmly raised the stakes. “Can I borrow your bathroom? I’ll make roasted sweet potatoes for you tomorrow morning. The ones I make are really sweet, they can even be roasted until they’re dripping with syrup…”

Shen Mofeng bit down on his cigarette and averted his gaze. “No.”

Disappointment was almost visible in Ye Chen’s eyes. “Why not…”

Shen Mofeng gazed at him quietly for a moment before smiling. “No reason.”

He did feel something for Ye Chen, but he didn’t want to do anything about it. Firstly, their relationship hadn’t progressed to that level, and secondly, Ye Chen was still too young. He even doubted whether Ye Chen understood what his actions meant: at the age of nineteen, without any promises or guarantees from the other party, giving oneself completely to a senior in the entertainment industry whom they had only been with for a little over a month… Wasn’t that too impulsive and reckless?

But he wasn’t a saint either. A beautifully obedient young man taking a bath in his room, then coming out disheveled… coupled with his own feelings for this beautiful young man… could he really endure that?

“Alright, Shen Ge, I’ll go back first.” The “plan to mooch shower gel, shampoo, body lotion, and essence” that he thought was foolproof had unexpectedly failed. Ye Chen looked as dejected as a stray cat caught in a downpour, wilted from head to toe.

He cleaned up the empty plates and bowls on the low table, stood up, and headed towards the door. After a few steps, he paused, turned his face slightly, and said softly, “Then I’ll roast sweet potatoes for you tomorrow morning too. One sweet potato weighs about half a kilogram, is roasting two enough?”

The crow cannot stop repaying favor; after all, Shen Mofeng had no obligation to lend him his bathroom in the first place, and Ye Chen understood this well.

“Then I’ll fry you a sunny-side-up egg and squeeze a cup of corn juice for you?” Ye Chen shrugged off the responsibility onto the local villagers. “The ingredients here are quite plain, nothing fancy, but whatever I make tastes better than what others do. You’ll know once you taste it…”

“You…” Shen Mofeng’s heart almost melted at Ye Chen’s pitiful appearance. Barefoot, he stepped forward and blocked Ye Chen’s path, feeling both amused and exasperated. “Forget it, you can use my bathroom.”

“Are you sure?” Ye Chen’s eyes lit up.

“How could I not be sure…” Shen Mofeng raised a corner of his lips, mocking lightly. Putting on his coat and slipping on his cotton slippers, he flicked his cigarette and walked out ahead of Ye Chen. “Go ahead and wash. I’ll go to the courtyard for a smoke.”

The author has something to say:

Ye Qiongqiong’s Account Book for Today:

Almost there! Keep it up! ╰(*°▽°*)╯

Shen Mofeng’s Account Book for Today:

– His little face is especially tender, and he looks especially silly with ash on it without realizing it.

Shen Mofeng’s Favorability: +10.

Current Favorability: 50/100, Two Stars

– Cooking is delicious, saved my dog life.

Shen Mofeng’s Favorability: +20.

Current Favorability: 70/100, Two Stars

– Excuse of the water heater being broken, wanting to shower in my room, trying to flirt with me, my old virgin self is helpless, and got flirted with. 🙂

Shen Mofeng’s Favorability: +10.

Current Favorability: 80/100, Two Stars

– I didn’t lend him my bathroom, he’s all pitiful but still wants to roast sweet potatoes for me, he wants to be obediently killed by me. 🙂

Shen Mofeng’s Favorability: +20.

Current Favorability: 100/100, Breaking through Two Stars, reaching Three Stars! ╰(*°▽°*)╯

Ye Qiongqiong, completely clueless: ? How did I end up conquering Shen Ge?? Is it weird for guys to borrow each other’s bathrooms? (=ﾟДﾟ=)

I realize I might be addicted to keeping accounts…

How about that, how about that, breaking through to Three Stars in one chapter!

Four Stars: 0/500

Five Stars: 0/1000

The road ahead is long and winding… not so easy to reach…

TN:

I feel so embarrassed for ML🙈. The fact that he nailed the truth on the head but thought it was delusional and settled on the actual delusional thoughts MC’s acting has made him have is hilariously sad.