Chapter 18: Major Mishap

The traces of “hiding” were too obvious.

The elegant He Lucheng froze.

In the corner of his eye, He Yu also froze. Jian Mingzhou saw her take a half-step back, seemingly bewildered.

…Is this action serious?

No one spoke in the living room for a moment.

Jian Mingzhou, feeling too much immersion, silently clenched his hands on his legs and took a deep breath of the silent air. He quickly thought about what to say to break the deadlock.

“It’s my manga!”

He Yu finally woke up and shouted, claiming ownership, “I hid it at Cousin’s place when I came over last time!”

He Yì, on the side, also suddenly regained consciousness.

“Yes, yes, it was Xiao Yu who hid it!”

Jian Mingzhou just breathed a sigh of relief when He Yì dramatically lifted his face and said, “Look at you, causing trouble for Cousin!”

He Yu immediately cooperated, “I’m sorry, Cousin, ah… Look at my memory; how did I forget I hid it here!”

“…”

Jian Mingzhou was stunned by this overly dramatic and embellished performance!

His lips opened slightly, wanting to stop it.

However, the eyes of the people around him had changed from the initial understanding to hesitation, and finally to a knowing and tacit understanding. Ni Ran even sighed with understanding:

“So it was Xiao Yu’s!”

He Lucheng had already started to quietly fade away.

Jian Mingzhou couldn’t bear to watch and spoke up, “…Editor He, where is the bathroom? Can you show me?”

“…Alright.”

…

The two turned the corner of the living room.

Jian Mingzhou glanced at He Lucheng, who was fading away by his side, and quickly shifted his gaze.

Oh no, he looks like he’s walking alongside a stick figure.

The bathroom was in the corridor.

They reached the doorway and stopped. Jian Mingzhou didn’t go in. He stood face-to-face with He Lucheng.

After a while, he said softly, “It’s okay; everyone knows it’s Xiao Yu’s.”

Surprisingly, He Lucheng was very clear-headed. “They don’t believe it!”

Jian Mingzhou, “…”

After pondering for two seconds, he consoled him with the other’s words, “Liking BL is not a big deal.”

He Lucheng, in his state of elegance, cracked. “I don’t like BL…”

After five minutes of psychological preparation.

He Lucheng finally recovered a bit and returned to his graceful appearance. “Forget it; rumors will dissipate someday.”

Jian Mingzhou, “Hmm.”

“Tonight, I’m going to make myself a Vichyssoise to cheer myself up.”

“…” What’s that?

He Lucheng acted as if it were normal. “American-style Vichysoisse.”

Jian Mingzhou paused. “…Alright, Lusen.”

Back in the living room, a group of people fell silent for a second.

Immediately, as if to intentionally avoid making He Lucheng uncomfortable, they made lively noises.

He Lucheng, unaffected, drifted into the kitchen.

Jian Mingzhou, feeling awkward, returned to sit next to Xie Jing. He saw He Yù, the pitiful one, following He Lucheng into the kitchen. You could faintly hear her pitiful tone.

“Will our siblings break apart?”

“Will I rest eternally on your blacklist?”

“…” Jian Mingzhou.

Familiar keywords were easily captured.

Xie Jing turned his head to look at him.

Jian Mingzhou took a sip of juice and calmly said, “Yù is overthinking.”

Xie Jing smiled noncommittally. “Hmm.”

–

At this moment, He Lucheng was in the kitchen preparing his “happy soup.” The DVD that was supposed to be played was interrupted, so everyone in the living room was finding their own amusement.

“Hey! What are you two exchanging glances so lovingly for?”

He Yì suddenly teased.

Jian Mingzhou turned his head, only to see Ni Ran rubbing her eyes. “I’m having a staring contest with Asong, trying to see who blinks first.”

He Yì sneered, “Childish!”

After saying that, he turned his head and, catching sight of Jian Mingzhou silently observing, suddenly became sunny and grinned widely.

“Hey Brother Mingzhou, let’s try—”

Zhou Xuyang grabbed him and said, “Try what? You’re trying it with me.”

Jian Mingzhou’s thoughts swirled: … Possessiveness!

Zhou Xuyang continued, “Brother Mingzhou, you should try with Xie Jing.”

“?” Wait, when…

Ni Ran enthusiastically added, “Yeah! Brother Mingzhou, compete with Xie Jing!”

Jian Mingzhou was suddenly assigned a task and looked at Xie Jing.

Xie Jing was still casual. “I don’t mind. Do you want to compete, uncle?”

Jian Mingzhou thought about it; he had not blinked in a contest since university.

As long as he activated the mode of immersing himself in manga in his mind, he could forget about blinking.

But Xie Jing seemed to have some strange mind-reading ability. He might read two censored men from his eyes…

Jian Mingzhou had to gather his thoughts and focus, looking at Xie Jing. “Let’s do it.”

“Hmm.” Xie Jing’s gaze met his.

As their eyes locked, Jian Mingzhou involuntarily blinked. Xie Jing’s brows and eyes were naturally deep, and up close, there was a kind of attraction.

With long eyelashes drooping, the gaze was deep within the pupils.

Under concentration, it would give people a deep and affectionate illusion…

I’m not sure if it was the tense atmosphere, but Jian Mingzhou’s heartbeat slightly accelerated. As if sensing his subtle change, Xie Jing suddenly smiled at him.

“Uncle, are you nervous?”

“…!”

Jian Mingzhou’s eyelashes moved again, and his eyes suddenly felt sour.

Was this intentional? Truly cunning!

Xie Jing continued to look at him with a smiling expression.

Jian Mingzhou steadied his emotions, blinked forcefully with his sore eyes, and retaliated with composure, “Xiaojing, you sometimes seem quite affectionate.”

As the words fell, the breath in front of him suddenly stalled.

Beside them, Ni Ran loudly declared, “Xie Jing, you blinked!”

The tense atmosphere suddenly relaxed.

Xie Jing lightly closed his eyes, turned his head, and admitted with a smile, “Hmm.”

Jian Mingzhou breathed a sigh of relief, blinked his sore eyes forcefully, and heard a voice from above say, “Uncle, you’re playing dirty.”

He looked up and saw Xie Jing grinning down at him.

“I’m just answering your question.”

Everyone around could hear their conversation.

He Yì jumped up, fully agreeing, “Brother Mingzhou! Don’t you think so too? You don’t know what happened at the banquet yesterday.”

He pressed his chest. “Xie Jing’s gaze was like electric shocks!”

…Not chatting, but electric shocks.

Jian Mingzhou looked at Xie Jing thoughtfully.

Xie Jing looked at He Yì and, with a slight smile, said, “Nonsense.”

He Yì, “…”

He Yì was quickly dragged away by Zhou Xuyang for a battle.

Jian Mingzhou’s emotions surged. He was ready to eat a few bites and then witnessed the two of them blowing into each other’s eyes and accusing each other of not wiping away eye crust.

Such despicable methods, and then they began wrestling.

He: … …

He turned to Xie Jing and said, “We are quite noble.”

Xie Jing looked straight ahead, agreeing deeply, “Of course.”

–

When dinner time arrived, the siblings from the He family came out of the kitchen.

He Lucheng, holding a delicate plate, floated past them and sat on the small sofa, looking noble and not like an ordinary person.

Jian Mingzhou’s gaze fell.

Oh, that Vi…Vichy…whatever…

“What’s wrong?” Xie Jing noticed. “Do you want to drink it too?”

Jian Mingzhou shook his head in awe. “I’m just admiring its prestigious name.”

Without disturbing the beautifully isolated He Lucheng, they ordered takeout and ate in front of the coffee table, as usual. Amidst the chattering, He Yì suddenly mentioned:

“The regional youth competition is about to start, right?”

“Oh, the coach mentioned it last week.”

Jian Mingzhou asked, “Is there any competition?”

“Yes, there’s a regional youth competition next weekend. We’re in the track and field team, and we’ll all be participating.” He Yì added, “Hey, Brother Mingzhou! Can you come to cheer for us when you’re free?”

Next weekend.

Jian Mingzhou thought about it: All the exhibits should be finished this month, so there should be no problem next month.

He agreed, “Sure, I’ll come to cheer for you.”

Xie Jing smiled on the side.

Jian Mingzhou turned his head:?

When He Yì and the others changed the topic and didn’t pay attention to this side anymore, Jian Mingzhou leaned in and asked,

“Xiaojing, what were you laughing about just now?”

Amidst the noisy surroundings, he lowered his head close to Jian Mingzhou’s ear.

“I just suddenly thought, uncle, you won’t say again later, ‘I’m just casually cheering for them; cheering for me is serious.'”

“…”

Jian Mingzhou solemnly said, “In the spirit of competition, I will cheer sincerely for each one of you.”

He expected a teasing response from Xie Jing, but unexpectedly, there was a hint of seriousness in Xie Jing’s nonchalant expression. “Hmm, that’s good.”

He then withdrew and added, “Uncle, your words really have the style of a youth manga.”

Jian Mingzhou remained composed. “Of course.”

Soon, Xie Jing was pulled away by others to chat, and Jian Mingzhou was just lowering his head to continue eating when his thoughts suddenly paused.

He glanced at Xie Jing, who was chatting and laughing.

…Isn’t Xie Jing supposed to not read manga?

…

The gathering didn’t end until around eight in the evening.

People left one after another, and Jian Mingzhou exchanged a few polite words with He Lucheng before leaving with Xie Jing.

It was only when they got downstairs that they realized it had started raining outside.

So, the two of them stopped at the entrance of the apartment building.

Looking out from here, the winding stone path was dotted with raindrops, and not far away, the streetlights emitted a slightly yellowish light in the night, illuminating the diagonally falling rain threads.

Water droplets started falling from the eaves overhead.

Jian Mingzhou watched, feeling like it was a scene from a manga.

Suddenly, Xie Jing raised his eyebrows and asked, “Uncle, in this situation in a manga, wouldn’t the protagonist either run out in the rain with their clothes on or be stranded under the same eaves because they didn’t bring an umbrella?”

Jian Mingzhou always remembered his identity as a young manga editor. “No, they would miss the competition the next day because they caught a cold in the rain.”

Xie Jing, “…”

Jian Mingzhou took out his phone again, saying sensibly, “So, I’ve called a car. I told him to come a bit closer.”

The sound of the rain mixed with Xie Jing’s voice.

“…Thoughtful.”

The car he called arrived shortly.

Jian Mingzhou and Xie Jing opened the car door and sat in the back seat.

The taxi left the residential area, entered the rain curtain, and rainwater slid down the car window, forming winding watermarks.

Outside the window, the retreating streetlights condensed in the water droplets.

The interior of the car was dimly lit, and Jian Mingzhou leaned back, staring absentmindedly out the window. Perhaps because it was too quiet, there was a stranger in the front, and Xie Jing also remained silent.

While watching, his phone suddenly vibrated.

He opened it, and it was a message from Xia Ye.

[Chief Editor]: How’s the intelligence today? [Pushes up glasses]

“…”

The scenes from the afternoon replayed in his mind. Jian Mingzhou pondered for a moment, then, out of kindness, replied:

“Be a bit kinder to him; he’s already pitiful enough.”

“?”

Looking at the screen in the dim light was a bit dazzling.

After replying, Jian Mingzhou was about to turn off his phone when a message appeared in the upper left corner:

[Jing]: [Little dog rolling over]

Jian Mingzhou:?

He turned to look at Xie Jing, who was next to him, and Xie Jing was grinning and holding his phone.

Jian Mingzhou asked, “Why send a message?”

Xie Jing replied, “Chatting with Uncle.”

“…” Face to face, can’t it be said orally?

The sound of the drizzling rain was somewhat hypnotic. Jian Mingzhou turned off his phone, leaned back, and helplessly said, “If you have something to say, can’t you say it mouth-to-mouth?”