“What… are you doing?”

A voice suddenly came from the doorway, startling Zhao Ziqiang so much that he almost fell off the narrow bed. He sat up quickly, clutching his chest as he watched the person walk in and close the door.

“What’s going on? You scared me…”

Sun Wanjue glanced at him with a blank expression before turning his head to the side.

“You….., accompany me to the bathroom.”

“…”

Zhao Ziqiang looked speechlessly at the boy, whose face was suspiciously flushed as he turned slightly away. He wanted to make a teasing remark but couldn’t bring himself to say it. After all, the boy was the host, so he resigned himself to the situation, put on his pants, and got out of bed.

The bathroom was located outside in the backyard on the first floor, shared by the entire row of houses. When Zhao Ziqiang went there for the first time, he was shocked; there were no lights, just a row of old-style squat toilets. Because the water pipes had frozen from the snow, they had to haul water in buckets to flush. He glanced at the boy walking confidently by his side. At just fifteen years old, he was nearly as tall as Zhao Ziqiang. It was just this fear of going to the bathroom that made him look like a child after all.

Sun Wanjue felt almost too scared to step away from Zhao Ziqiang, which satisfied Zhao Ziqiang’s male pride quite nicely. When they reached the bathroom door, he stopped, adopting a senior tone.

“All right, you go in. I’ll wait outside.”

But Sun Wanjue didn’t budge, standing frozen in place. After a minute of this stalemate, Zhao Ziqiang resigned himself and stepped into the bathroom first. Only then did Sun Wanjue follow, walking to the second squat toilet. He turned slightly away from Zhao Ziqiang, pulling down his pants, while Zhao Ziqiang couldn’t help but stare at what was in his hands.

“What are you looking at?”

Although Sun Wanjue’s tone was flat, Zhao Ziqiang could sense a hint of shyness and irritation in his voice. The negative impression he had of Sun Wanjue from their first and second encounters had completely faded; no matter how he looked at it, Sun Wanjue was just an awkward kid going through puberty.

Once Sun Wanjue finished, Zhao Ziqiang thought it would be easier to take care of his own business now rather than running back down later. He stepped into the space where Sun Wanjue had been, started to undo his pants, and casually turned to the boy waiting nearby.

“You don’t have to wait for me. You can go back first.” He genuinely didn’t mean to be dismissive.

Unexpectedly, the boy just frowned and stubbornly didn’t move, leading Zhao Ziqiang to think that he might be too scared to go upstairs. Not wanting to rush him, Zhao Ziqiang quickly finished his business, pulled up his pants, and went upstairs with Sun Wanjue.

When they reached the bedroom door, Zhao Ziqiang noticed the boy hesitating and lingering, probably wanting to say thank you but feeling embarrassed. So he decided to take the initiative and said, “No need to thank me.”

To his surprise, the boy looked down, huffed softly, and turned to head back into the room. Zhao Ziqiang rubbed his nose and deliberately muttered, “Being a good person is hard,” as he walked toward his own bedroom. When he glanced back, he saw that Sun Wanjue was indeed pouting slightly, standing up from the bed and slamming the door shut.

This little exchange brightened his mood considerably. After taking a shower, he felt relaxed and quickly drifted off to sleep.

The next day, Zhao Ziqiang woke up early as usual and made breakfast for the family. He had volunteered for this task, and although the pay wasn’t much, the family treated him well, for which he felt grateful.

The boy had been running outside every morning, but today he sat quietly at the dining table with his sister, waiting for breakfast. Zhao Ziqiang found this behavior puzzling, and just then, Sister Wang smiled and explained, “This kid, just yesterday, said he didn’t care about breakfast. But today…”

Sun Wanjue’s handsome face turned red. “Mom!”

Curious, Zhao Ziqiang looked at Sister Wang, who didn’t seem to mind and continued to spill the beans. “Let me tell you, Xiao Zhao, yesterday I asked him why he didn’t eat breakfast before going out to play. He said he wasn’t hungry, but when I mentioned that your cooking smells so good, do you know what he said? He said, ‘I don’t care!’ But look at him today… Haha!”

Under Sun Wanjue’s cold glare, Sister Wang finally stopped, pressing her lips together as she chuckled to herself, refraining from saying anything more.

During the meal, the boy didn’t say a word, focusing intently on his food. His hair had grown long, and he casually tucked it behind his ears. Sun Wanjue’s shoulders were broad, and it was clear he would grow into a strikingly handsome young man. However, his skin was much fairer compared to his family, who all had darker complexions. Zhao Ziqiang couldn’t help but wonder where this child got his unusually reflective skin tone—was he some sort of anomaly? His thoughts wandered as he observed the boy.

He was jolted back to reality when Sun Wanjue shot a glare at him, as if he had been caught. Zhao Ziqiang quickly looked down, pretending to focus on his meal.

Throughout the breakfast, Sun Yan occasionally placed food into Zhao Ziqiang’s bowl. While he outwardly appeared to enjoy the attention, he inwardly chuckled at himself, realizing he had never considered that he might have an appeal to young girls.

After finishing breakfast, the shop wasn’t too busy, and Sun Wanjue headed out as usual. The couple didn’t really know what their son did every day, but Sister Wang often mentioned how responsible Sun Wanjue was, excelling in his studies and having just gotten into a key high school this year. Aside from his lack of social skills, he didn’t seem to have any bad habits.

Initially, Zhao Ziqiang thought that Sun Wanjue didn’t help his parents and was too focused on playing. But after hearing Sister Wang defend her son by saying she stopped him from helping out, he decided not to voice his concerns.

The boss’s family, except for the boy, all loved to laugh. After getting to know people, Sun Yan always had a smile on her face, unlike that cold-faced young master. Zhao Ziqiang felt much more at ease.

At noon, Qian Wang lay in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling while the kitchen was noisy with clattering sounds. After lying in bed for over three hours, he still couldn’t bring himself to get up.

He picked up the notebook beside him and typed, “Sun Kan is like water, gentle and all-encompassing; Zhao Ziqiang is steel, steadfast and unyielding.” After a long pause, he added, “I’m such a fool,” and then closed it.

He leaned down, burying his head in the sheet on the left side of the bed. He inhaled deeply; it smelled like fresh grass and shower gel. How had he not noticed this smell before? It was actually quite pleasant.