Chapter 69: “It Wasn’t a Hallucination Back Then, It Was Me.”

Half an hour later, two steaming bowls of noodles appeared in front of Jiang Yao.

The extremely thin noodles were accompanied by finely sliced green and red peppers, chicken leg meat, and over a dozen other toppings. The presentation was enticing, and the unique aroma, a blend of sweet and salty, filled the air.

Jiang Yao’s stomach growled even louder.

The kitchen ingredients had been prepared in advance by someone Duan Zhuxian had arranged.

Although their arrival was rushed, Duan Zhuxian had still managed to make preparations within the limited time.

Sitting face to face, Jiang Yao glanced at Duan Zhuxian’s bowl and then at his own, puzzled. “I feel like something’s missing from my noodles compared to yours.”

Duan Zhuxian explained, “You don’t like shredded carrots and celery, so I didn’t add those. Yuan City’s cuisine tends to be on the salty side, so your bowl is a modified version with extra sweet sauce.”

Jiang Yao was stunned and responded with a delayed “Oh.”

Not far away, the door was still open, and the setting sun collected in the vermilion courtyard was gradually fading. The soft yellow light from the ceiling replaced the daylight, illuminating Duan Zhuxian’s seemingly aloof face and warming Jiang Yao’s heart.

After finishing the noodles, they took a walk along the alley near the door to aid digestion, then quickly returned to the house, planning to get a good night’s sleep to relieve the fatigue of travel.

Although the old house had two floors, it wasn’t very large and was quite compact in layout. The bathroom on the second floor had a large bathtub, and with both of them in it, the space was fully occupied.

Sitting in the bathtub, Jiang Yao let Duan Zhuxian wash him.

Ever since their first bath together, Duan Zhuxian developed this inexplicable habit of washing Jiang Yao, his palm covered with body wash, repeatedly moving over Jiang Yao’s skin as if he couldn’t get enough of it.

At first, Jiang Yao found it a bit strange and was reluctant to let Duan Zhuxian treat him as someone incapable of taking care of himself. However, after being coaxed into it a few times and discovering that Duan Zhuxian’s massage techniques were spot-on, he never refused again.

The body wash, freshly squeezed from the bottle, felt a bit cool, but once applied to his skin, it turned into warm, gentle foam, heated by Duan Zhuxian’s hands.

Basking in the sweet scent of orange blossom, Jiang Yao lay on the edge of the bathtub with his eyes closed, enjoying the experience. When the water washed away most of the foam, he realized that the scent of the body wash was exactly the same as the one he usually used.

He opened his eyes and, sure enough, saw the same brand on the shelf. He also noticed matching shampoo, face wash, shaving cream, and aftershave, all new and unopened.

Jiang Yao was surprised. “You even had these prepared in advance?”

Duan Zhuxian responded with a simple “Hmm.”

Jiang Yao, suspicious, asked, “Did you stay up late last night?”

Duan Zhuxian replied calmly, “It didn’t take long to arrange these. Or are you saying that after living together for so long, you still don’t know which body wash I use?”

Hearing this, Jiang Yao huffed a couple of times.

There he goes again, showing off his good memory.

However, it was one thing for Duan Zhuxian to naturally have a good memory and remember all of Jiang Yao’s insignificant habits, and quite another to be willing to pay attention to these details in daily life and cater to his preferences one by one.

Duan Zhuxian was always so considerate that, after living under the same roof for a long time, Jiang Yao often took his meticulousness for granted, enjoying it without realizing the effort behind it.

Jiang Yao’s eyes flickered, feeling a sweetness that almost crept up to his lips, but not wanting Duan Zhuxian to notice, he covered it with defiance: “Who said I don’t know? I know a lot about you!”

Duan Zhuxian chuckled lightly. “Let’s hear it.”

Seeing Duan Zhuxian’s interested but clearly skeptical expression, Jiang Yao became even more determined. He sat up straight in the water and said seriously, “Listen carefully.”

He cleared his throat.

“You don’t like spicy food, can’t eat peanuts, cantaloupe, or watermelon. You have a general disinterest in desserts, take your coffee with milk but no sugar, and prefer your steak medium-well.”

“You like wearing black, white, and gray. Although you often wear suits, you actually prefer casual sportswear like jackets.”

“You wear a different watch every day of the week, usually wear striped ties, and tie them in a half-Windsor knot.”

“Your average time to fall asleep is fifteen minutes, you drink a glass of warm water first thing in the morning, and you prefer to place things on your left side.”

Jiang Yao counted off each point on his fingers, and finally held up two fingers: “And, every time you squeeze toothpaste, you start from the end of the tube and squeeze out exactly two small beads.”

After saying this, he proudly lifted his face, and a drop of water rolled down from his chin. “So, how about that? Did I win big?”

This time, it was Duan Zhuxian’s turn to be taken aback.

After a moment, Duan Zhuxian chuckled softly. “Yes, you won.”

Jiang Yao, looking smug, leaned back into the water.

He knew, of course, that Duan Zhuxian was humoring him.

Because when it comes to being considerate, he could probably never surpass Duan Zhuxian.

Jiang Yao wasn’t naturally a patient or meticulous person. The fact that he could discover and remember so many small details about Duan Zhuxian in a short time was surprising even to himself.

At that moment, his phone, which was placed to the side, vibrated a few times. Jiang Yao picked it up and glanced at it, replying to a few New Year’s greetings.

Duan Zhuxian glanced at Jiang Yao’s phone screen. “Sun Mengyao?”

Jiang Yao typed and said casually, “You know her too?”

“I don’t know her,” Duan Zhuxian said. “But I know she was in your class, sat diagonally in front of you, and confessed to you once.”

Jiang Yao paused his typing, his hippocampus suddenly in overdrive, struggling to recall the scene of Sun Mengyao’s confession. He had only recently added her as a friend during a reunion dinner at the school anniversary.

Jiang Yao turned his head to look at Duan Zhuxian’s emotionless face and said softly, “Big brother, I don’t even remember her confessing to me. Besides, she’s a girl, so it’s not possible from the start. Could you find someone else to be jealous of?”

Just as he finished speaking, another message popped up on his phone, wishing him a happy Spring Festival and inviting him to dinner.

Sender: Wei Zhihan.

Duan Zhuxian’s eyebrow slowly raised.

Jiang Yao felt a sudden unease, thinking that ever since he had firmly rejected Wei Zhihan, there had been no further messages from him—except this one, which Duan Zhuxian happened to see.

But he loved seeing Duan Zhuxian, a person so rational to the point of being harsh, lose all sense of reason and get irrationally jealous over him, even when he knew there was no real threat.

So, Jiang Yao, feeling both smug and playful, said, “I guess I’m just that lovable. If you keep drinking down jealousy like this, you’ll end up getting sick from it.”

Although he spoke lightly, Jiang Yao couldn’t help but grumble in his heartand.

Duan Zhuxian had no right to talk; it wasn’t as if there weren’t a line of people wanting to pursue him that stretched around the city moat.

He had even witnessed, at a certain cocktail party, someone trying to flirt with a drunken Duan Zhuxian.

It was only because of his own good attitude that he felt comfortable letting someone as captivating as Duan Zhuxian out in public.

However, Duan Zhuxian was ultimately a shrewd businessman. Whether or not he had a valid point, he would never miss an opportunity to take advantage.

Taking this chance, he pulled Jiang Yao by the waist and pressed him into his embrace. “So I need to neutralize it a bit.”

With that, he lowered his head and bit Jiang Yao’s warm collarbone, leaving a faint red mark.

Long baths tend to make one drowsy, and after being teased by a jealous Duan Zhuxian, Jiang Yao felt exhausted. He leaned against Duan Zhuxian’s chest, his eyelids growing heavy.

The milky white curtains were lifted by the warm breeze, and through the gap in the one-way glass, the night was faintly visible. In the distance, the city’s neon lights flickered, and the intermittent sounds of fireworks and firecrackers could be heard, along with the occasional running and laughter of children.

The bathroom seemed to be immersed in this clamor, yet it was incredibly quiet and peaceful, like a dreamy reverie without any particular destination.

In a half-awake state, Jiang Yao saw a beautiful face in the hazy glow. The face had strikingly handsome features, flawless lips and nose, and a pair of deep-set eyes that inherited some European ancestry, resembling a unique work of art that made his heart race and his gaze unable to look away.

Such a charming, magnificent face…

He gazed at it longingly for a moment, then rubbed his eyes and came to full awareness.

Jiang Yao realized that the beautiful deity was actually Duan Zhuxian, who was gently helping him dry off.

*

A few minutes later, Jiang Yao lay in bed but found himself unable to sleep.

Jiang Yao looked around the bedroom and felt that the style was very familiar, so he asked Duan Zhuxian: “Is this your room?”

Duan Zhuxian was wearing glasses and sitting next to him leaning against the headboard while browsing emails. Hearing this, he nodded. “Yes, during my student days, I would come here to stay for a while during every vacation.”

Jiang Yao suddenly understood. “No wonder I couldn’t find you all summer during our second year of high school. You came here to enjoy some peace and quiet.”

Duan Zhuxian was taken aback. “You looked for me?”

Jiang Yao said, “Yeah, didn’t I lose to you in the basketball game back then? I wanted to find you for a rematch, but you wouldn’t respond to my messages. I finally figured out where you lived, but when I got there, it was Shen Tang who opened the door. He said you were out of town.”

Hearing this, Duan Zhuxian’s typing fingers curled slightly.

During that summer of their second year, he had just found out that Jiang Yao had a crush on Shen Tang, which left his heart in turmoil.

Coincidentally, Shen Tang was staying at his house as a guest with his father. Not wanting to see Jiang Yao taking Shen Tang out right under his nose, Duan Zhuxian had come to Yuan City as he did during previous vacations, cutting off all contact with the outside world.

It wasn’t that he was avoiding Jiang Yao, but rather he was escaping from his own inappropriate emotions.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Yao had actually come looking for him that summer, but the person he wanted to find was Duan Zhuxian.

No wonder that when he later turned his phone back on and checked WeChat, Jiang Yao had sent him several emoji messages. He had thought it was just Jiang Yao being bored.

The old-fashioned wall clock quietly passed midnight, emitting a soft chime. Outside, fireworks began to bloom in the night sky.

Jiang Yao, unusually perceptive of Duan Zhuxian’s mood, asked, “What are you thinking about?”

Duan Zhuxian glanced at him and then looked out the window. “Did you make a wish when the fireworks went off at midnight last night?”

Jiang Yao furrowed his brows slightly, feeling that Duan Zhuxian was hiding something, but he still replied, “No, I don’t believe in that.”

“Why not?” Duan Zhuxian asked.

Jiang Yao raised his eyebrows. “Because on my eighteenth birthday, I made a wish to never reconcile with you in this lifetime.”

Duan Zhuxian couldn’t help but laugh softly. “You wasted such a precious eighteenth birthday wish on me?”

Jiang Yao pouted. “It didn’t come true anyway, so it wasn’t a waste. Besides, it just shows that the heavens have no time for the wishes of us mere mortals.”

That birthday coincided with the end of the college entrance exams and the time he found out Duan Zhuxian had changed his college application preferences.

As usual, he was surrounded by a mix of friends and acquaintances, hosting a birthday party in a private room at a restaurant. It was quite lively, but he couldn’t remember most of the details.

He only remembered that a lot of people showed up, while he sat there, feeling out of place amid the laughter and chatter, drinking a lot of alcohol.

At that time, he didn’t eat a single bite of the three-tiered ice cream cake.

In the end, he rushed to the bathroom and threw up miserably.

Half-sitting up, and gazing at the fireworks outside, Jiang Yao suddenly recalled something.

“Speaking of that birthday, maybe it was because I held too much resentment towards you, but when I left the private room, I saw someone who looked exactly like you coming out of the neighboring room. Chen Yiqi said I was so drunk that I was hallucinating.” After saying this, he rarely allowed a self-deprecating smile to curve his lips.

Duan Zhuxian looked at Jiang Yao’s profile, which was tinted red by the fireworks. “Back then, what you saw wasn’t resentment or a hallucination. It was me.”

Jiang Yao turned to meet Duan Zhuxian’s gaze. “You were at that restaurant with friends that day?”

Duan Zhuxian replied, “No, I was alone.”

He had been sitting in that adjacent private room, quietly listening to everyone sing the birthday song for Jiang Yao.

Jiang Yao, still trying to process this, stammered, “You booked a private room just to eat alone…”

“It wasn’t for eating. It was to celebrate your birthday,” Duan Zhuxian said, while looking into Jiang Yao’s bewildered eyes. “I happened to be in Australia visiting my mother on your seventeenth birthday and couldn’t make it back for your party. Later, I promised you that I would definitely celebrate your eighteenth birthday.”

Jiang Yao opened his mouth, and his throat tightened suddenly, making it hard to speak. After a moment, he finally said, “Did you have something to tell me that day?”

He remembered that the figure resembling Duan Zhuxian had been watching him the entire time. Even when he was almost out of the restaurant, he looked back and saw the person still standing there, and their gaze fixed on him from afar.

Duan Zhuxian nodded. “Yes, I wanted to wish you a happy birthday.”

“Duan Zhuxian…”

“Hmm?”

“Sigh, never mind, it’s nothing.”

Jiang Yao suddenly turned his back, burrowed into the covers and buried his face in the pillow, hiding his slightly tingling nose.