Chapter 11: Splash of Water

The two faced each other in silence, and He Lucheng’s “happy birthday” was still stuck halfway.

He Yi stood up and exclaimed, “You finally came back!” Only after shouting did he realize that the scene was a bit awkward. He lowered his voice and looked around.

“… Do you two know each other?”

He Lucheng regained his composure, returning to his elegant demeanor as he squeezed in with a cake in hand. “Colleague,” he said, greeting Jian Mingzhou.

“How coincidental; I didn’t expect Deputy Editor Jian to be here too.”

Jian Mingzhou nodded, “Indeed, quite coincidental.” He hadn’t expected it himself.

Xie Jing glanced around, then leaned over and whispered, “Is he Tomato…”

Jian Mingzhou, “Shh.”

“…Seems like it.”

After finishing the cake on the other side, the atmosphere at the table became lively again, and no one paid attention to this little episode.

He Lucheng sat across from Jian Mingzhou, and He Yi exclaimed, “I didn’t expect you two to be colleagues. Is Brother Mingzhou also an editor?”

Jian Mingzhou nodded. “Yes, quite coincidentally.”

“Goodness, I didn’t expect you guys to be colleagues. Is Mingzhou also in the literature department, like Cousin?”

He Lucheng, elegantly wiping his hands with a wet napkin, replied, “No, Deputy Editor Jian is…”

“The manga department,” Jian Mingzhou quickly interjected.

The hand-wiping motion paused. He Lucheng glanced at him, didn’t say anything more, and took a sip of cola.

On the other hand, He Yu made an envious sound, poking her head over Xie Jing. “Wow! Manga! Does that mean you know many manga artists? Can you help me get autographs?”

“I can ask my colleagues.”

Jian Mingzhou added, “There are several departments in the manga section, not necessarily the same one.”

For example, shoujo manga, shounen manga, and dual protagonist shounen manga…

He Yu became even more excited. She even wanted to chat with Jian Mingzhou, but Xie Jing, sitting next to her, showed no intention of giving up his seat.

She could only peek through the gap between Xie Jing’s long arms and legs. “Then we…”

Xie Jing lifted his drink. She lowered her head. “After finishing eating…” He pulled his arm back. She scooted closer. “When you have time…”

Jian Mingzhou, “…”

He pressed down on Xie Jing, saying to He Yu, “Let’s chat after we finish eating.”

He Yu happily nodded and said, “Okay!”

Xie Jing, holding his drink with both hands, was seemingly oblivious and turned his head. “What’s up, Uncle? Do you also want to drink this?”

Jian Mingzhou looked at Xie Jing in a complicated way. Xiao Jing read the air.

“Or should I get you something else?”

“…,” he took it. “No, thanks.”

Lunch was lively and cheerful.

There were many people around, and the noise was loud. Jian Mingzhou could mostly hear the voices nearby.

As lunch was about to end, He Lucheng turned to He Yiyi and asked, “Is there coffee?”

He Yiyi casually picked up the coffee that came with the meal and said, “Here.”

He Lucheng said elegantly, “Not this one. I only drink freshly ground Americano.”

Jian Mingzhou, “…”

“Cousin, why are you so picky?” He Yi was speechless, “There are coffee beans in the kitchen; you can grind them yourself.”

He Lucheng nodded and stood up to go.

Jian Mingzhou finished the last bite of lasagna, and his phone vibrated. It was a distress message from the author.

He had just finished eating, so he went to the side hall to make a call.

—

The call lasted for twenty minutes.

Jian Mingzhou emerged from the side hall and saw He Lucheng sitting on the sunny side of the table, elegantly sipping the Americano he had just ground himself.

Jian Mingzhou: …

The scene was artistically elegant and filled with pretentious design.

Jian Mingzhou fell silent for a moment, took a picture from afar, and sent it to Xia Ye: [Image]

The reply came in the next second.

[Editor-in-chief]:?

[Editor-in-chief]: Why are you with the enemy? [Sharp glasses]

“…,” Oh no, he had turned his pen into an emoji.

[Mingzhou]: I attended a birthday party for Xie Jing’s friend and met him.

[Editor-in-chief]: I thought you betrayed me. [Raises eyeglasses]

Jian Mingzhou marveled at his suspicion.

After some thought, he sent another message: How about I set your photo as my screensaver so that you can feel involved too?

[Editor-in-chief]: …Don’t do misleading things.

And why am I involved in a child’s friend’s birthday party?

Jian Mingzhou regretfully gave up.

After a few seconds, not knowing if Xia Ye had zoomed in on the photo, another message came.

[Editor-in-chief]: Crush the Oreo next to him and put it in his coffee.

“…”

Jian Mingzhou thought Xia Ye was quite kind; others would poison it, but he chose Oreo. He replied with admiration:

[Mingzhou]: It might taste good.

[Editor-in-chief]: Forget it; put something else.

[Mingzhou]: …

He turned off his phone and ignored Xia Ye’s personal grievances, then turned his head and looked around.

From this side of the small hall, there was a whole transparent glass wall facing a spacious swimming pool.

Xie Jing sat at the bar near the door, surrounded by a crowd, looking very popular.

Just as he was watching, Xie Jing suddenly turned his gaze in this direction.

Then he said something to the people around him and stood up, walking directly towards Jian Mingzhou.

Jian Mingzhou blinked, looking directly at Xie Jing as he approached.

“Why did you come over?”

“Finished with the call?” Xie Jing sat down next to him. “Seeing you alone here, isn’t it boring?”

Jian Mingzhou said, “It’s fine.”

I just finished watching a farce.

The two were sitting here, and suddenly, the younger sister rushed over from the living room—

He Yu rushed over to the table like a small missile, with a pair of double ponytails on her head, lifting her head. “Hey, hey, what are you guys talking about? Brother Mingzhou, I came to talk to you~”

Jian Mingzhou glanced at Xie Jing and thought, Please don’t say anything shocking.

He nodded. “Sure.”

He Yu immediately started chatting, talking about her favorite manga and authors:

“…I bought the complete set of Xueying, Miaowei, and Tk’s manga. Last time, I wanted to attend Xiaolu’s signing event, but unfortunately, I had to go to a cram school and didn’t get a spot.”

Jian Mingzhou, “Hmm.”

He did have Xiaolu’s signature; he signed many copies of update guarantee certificates and make-up repentance books.

“Miaowei’s work hits my cute spot, and there’s also that ‘I Was Fucked by My Roommate’…”

 Oh my god! Jian Mingzhou’s eyes widened. She said it out loud!

Beside him, Xie Jing suddenly raised his eyebrows and spoke, “Roommate XX…?”

He Yu’s incessant voice came to a halt.

Her gaze swept back and forth between the two, and suddenly, she grinned mischievously, wiggling her eyebrows.

“What’s up, interested? Want to see?”

Jian Mingzhou took a deep breath. If I remember correctly, that’s not just BL; it’s 18+!

He quickly added, “Xiao Jing doesn’t really read manga.”

A gaze with a hint of a smile lightly drifted onto him. Jian Mingzhou, under Xie Jing’s gaze, turned and said,

“Xiao Jing, if you’re not interested in our conversation, you can go over there and find friends to hang out with.”

Xie Jing rested his head on his hand and said, “I can be interested.”

“…,” Jian Mingzhou.

He Yu’s eyes instantly sparkled. “Oh~ are you really interested? Want to see?” She widened her smile. “It’s two men kissing~”

Jian Mingzhou’s heart skipped a beat, feeling his face instantly heat up.

…Too straightforward!

Xie Jing’s knuckles rested on the table, and he looked at He Yu without much change in expression.

Jian Mingzhou quickly changed the subject: “The author you like is handled by another editor. If there’s a chance, I can help you get To’s autograph.”

“Really!?” He Yu’s attention was drawn back, and she cheered, adding Jian Mingzhou on WeChat, “Thanks,Brother Mingzhou! I won’t bother you guys anymore.”

She smiled at Xie Jing again and walked away.

With her departure, only the two of them were left sitting here.

Jian Mingzhou felt his ears still slightly warm and was about to say something when he heard Xie Jing speak.

“About two men kissing…”

He held his breath and turned towards Xie Jing. Xie Jing looked calm, his eyelashes lowered. “Uncle, have you seen it?”

Jian Mingzhou’s gaze fell, and he held his water glass and said, “No.”

“Is that so? I’m a bit curious about what it’s like for two men to kiss.”

Jian Mingzhou took a sip of water and said, “…It should be similar to kissing between a man and a woman.”

“Maybe not quite the same,” Xie Jing said, supporting his chin and turning his head to look outside. “But I haven’t kissed anyone, so I’m not very clear.”

Jian Mingzhou, momentarily stunned, looked at him.

But Xie Jing seemed quite popular.

He said he didn’t have a girlfriend last time; could it be that he never had a girlfriend?

A moment of silence passed between them.

After about ten seconds, Jian Mingzhou heard Xie Jing clear his throat, seemingly casually caring.

“Just like BL, nothing too extraordinary.”

…

By the pool, a few tables were already set up.

He Yi and Zhou Xuyang were calling Jian Mingzhou from the other end of the pool.

“Brother Mingzhou! Come play board games together.”

“Xie Jing keeps winning; come and distract him!”

Jian Mingzhou responded and walked out of the living room through the side door.

The afternoon sunlight was slanting down. Jian Mingzhou thought: Aside from being a bit pretentious and somewhat against our editor-in-chief, He Lucheng is actually a good person.

As he approached the pool, Xie Jing was already there.

Seeing him coming over, Xie Jing pointed to the tabletop and asked, “Uncle, do you know how to play board games?”

“I should.” Jian Mingzhou pulled out a chair and looked again at the beautiful He Lucheng alone in the house. He asked He Yi, “Should I also call your cousin?”

“No need; he doesn’t like sunbathing. He’ll come out when the sun sets.”

“…,” said Jian Mingzhou.

Using “okay” to describe He Lucheng was still too simplistic; he was a person with complex attributes.

With everyone gathered, they began playing board games.

Jian Mingzhou was pulled by He Yi and sat across from Xie Jing.

After playing a couple of rounds, he realized that Xie Jing’s mind was genuinely sharp: deduction, concealment, disguise, and suggestion, seamlessly executed from start to finish.

Midway through the game, Jian Mingzhou glanced at Xie Jing.

Xie Jing, holding the cards, lifted his eyes to meet his gaze and smiled lightly.

It might be the tension in the psychological battle.

Jian Mingzhou’s heartbeats quickened slightly. He calmly lowered his gaze and continued to look at the cards.

…

They played board games for almost an hour.

After winning a risky round on Jian Mingzhou’s side, thanks to his stable gambler mentality, he finally managed to surpass Xie Jing.

Having played for so long, Jian Mingzhou felt a bit thirsty.

He stood up and said, “I’m going to get some water.”

His seat was conveniently facing the pool. He pushed his chair back, and the chair legs got stuck in the drain grid by the pool with a bang! Jian Mingzhou, who stood up abruptly, stumbled over the chair.

He swayed, and with a splash, he fell into the pool.

“Oh god! Brother Mingzhou—”

He Yi jumped up in shock.

However, the next moment, the table was knocked down forcefully.

Even before everyone could react, a figure rushed forward, and another splash of water erupted: splash!

Almost instinctively.

Xie Jing also jumped in.