Chapter 49
Qiao Shao had no idea what Lou Xiao was seeing through his blurred vision. He asked, “What are you doing here so early?”
Lou Xiao didn’t want to enter the apartment anymore, he quickly handed over breakfast.
Qiao Shao blinked. “Breakfast?”
He took the plastic bag and said, “You’re so nice to He Shen.”
He came over so early just to give him something to eat. He treats his friends really well!
Lou Xiao raised his eyebrows and said, “He was the one who sent me a message asking me to buy it for you.”
Granted, he was already a light bulb, but like hell was he going to be accused of being a third-party.
Qiao Shao quickly thanked him, “Thank you.”
He Shen was also an amazing buddy. They were all good brothers!
Lou Xiao didn’t want to look at him more. He kept his line of sight fixed straight ahead, saying, “I’m going.”
Qiao Shao suddenly got an idea. “Have you had breakfast?”
When would the school tyrant have had time to get breakfast? Eight in the morning was bedtime for him.
“If you haven’t yet, then let’s eat together. You bought so much, we wouldn’t be able to finish these off.” Qiao Shao invited him in.
Lou Xiao paused.
Qiao Shao pulled him in by the hand and said, “Come in quickly, what are you standing in the door for?”
It was like this that Lou Xiao entered the apartment. He sat at the dining table looking straight ahead, not daring to look around. He planned to eat a bit, like a polite guest and then leave quickly.
Qiao Shao went to the kitchen with the plastic bag, and found tianjin-style fried pancakes, fried glutinous rice balls, congee with pickled vegetables, soy milk and fried dough sticks. He set each of them on a plate and came out with them one by one.
Lou Xiao thought, ‘They’re already like an old-married couple, it’s really amazing’.
“You bought a lot.” Qiao Shao brought out some chopsticks.
“I didn’t know what you wanted to eat.” Lou Xiao replied.
Watching Qiao Shao pick up the only fried pancake, Lou Xiao raised his eyebrows. “You want to eat that?”
Qiao Shao said, “Oh, did you want this? Here, you have it.”
Lou Xiao, who received the fried pancake said, “This is spicy.”
“Oooh.” Qiao Shao really wasn’t fond of spicy foods. He was surprised. The school tyrant who looked as though he treated everyone as beneath him was in fact, actually quite attentive. He even knew that he didn’t like spicy foods.
Qiao Shao picked up the fried glutinous rice balls.
Lou Xiao couldn’t help but asked again, “Can you eat such oily foods?”
Qiao Shao looked completely perplexed. “Why can’t I?”
Lou Xiao was too embarrassed to mention it. He could only euphemistically say, “I thought you’d want to eat the congee.”
Qiao Shao said unhappily. “I hate eating congee. I’m tired of eating that.”
For a time, all he ate at home was congee. He was so sick of it, he could just vomit.
Tired of it……
You’re already sick of eating this?
Lou Xiao couldn’t say anything more.
In short, you yourself know your body best. He wouldn’t say anything.
Qiao Shao had something to ask Lou Xiao, and now that they were eating, he thought about how to broach the subject.
“En……”
Qiao Shao looked at Lou Xiao and said, “Last night we slept really late.”
The school tyrant was startled: what a weird opening to a conversation.
Qiao Shao said, “He Shen slept even later than I did. I really admire his endurance.”
We skated for so long but he was still able to stay up until early morning. He really couldn’t help but admire him.
Lou Xiao: “???”
Qiao Shao said, “In any case, I’m completely exhausted. I actually didn’t move much, he was the one who carried me along but I’m the one who’s too tired to stand.”
Lou Xiao: “…………………………”
Qiao Shao continued: “He’s better that I am. He was moving around for hours but could still stay up all night after taking a bath. It’s really amazing.”
Almost there. He could probably now turn conversation to about making money!
Lou Xiao suddenly stood up. Qiao Shao nearly jumped from fright.
The fried pancake in the school tyrant’s hand almost fell to the ground. With his ears slightly red, he said “I-I’ll be going!”
Qiao Shao was dazed. What’s with this situation, why is he suddenly leaving? He hasn’t even gotten to raising the main topic!
“Hey …” Qiao Shao asked, “Why are you in such a hurry?”
Lou Xiao said with his back turned to him, “Although I know … but … well, I think it’s be better if you were a bit more careful.”
Qiao Shao didn’t understand. “What should I be careful about?”
What exactly was Lou Xiao talking about? He couldn’t understand at all.
Lou Xiao was vexed. “You shouldn’t be telling others what you get up to at night.”
One really mustn’t judge a book by its cover. This kid looked so well-behaved but was so unexpectedly free with his words.
Qiao Shao was thoroughly confused. “Why shouldn’t I talk about it? Is ice-skating a taboo?”
Lou Xiao was on his way to the door when he heard his and halted in his steps. “Ice skating?”
“Yeah,” Qiao Shao said, “After you left last night, the three of us went to the ice rink and played for a long time.”
The school tyrant gave himself a dead-eyed stare for his inference of events. He looked back at Qiao Shao. “So you’re saying He Shen took you ice skating and that’s why you’re tired?”
Qiao Shao wondered, “What else could it have been about?”
Lou Xiao couldn’t answer!
Qiao Shao looked at him for a while, and asked hesitantly, “Did you misunderstand something?”
Lou Xiao insisted, “No.”
Qiao Shao really couldn’t make heads or tails of it. “Then, when you said that about last night, I…”
Lou Xiao interrupted him, “If there’s nothing else, then I’m gonna go.”
He couldn’t stay here chatting. This old beast’s child wasn’t ordinary. He wouldn’t be able to hold his own.
Seeing that he was about to leave, Qiao Shao became anxious. “Wait.”
Lou Xiao didn’t want to wait at all.
Qiao Shao also didn’t dare beat around the bush anymore, and asked, “Um, do you know about He Shen’s family situation?”
Lou Xiao stopped.
Qiao Shao lowered his voice and said nervously, “Well, I know he’s been working late all night and is very short on money.”
Lou Xiao tuned back around and looked at Qiao Shao. “You didn’t ask him?”
Qiao Shao said, annoyed, “I asked but he just talked nonsense.”
Saying that it was some kind of test his family set for him. Make ten million before he reached twenty? Did he think he was writing some novel or shooting a TV drama or something?
Lou Xiao thought for a while, and felt that given He Shen’s character, he may indeed hide it.
Those broken matters with his family might just scare Qiao Shao to death if he found out. When all was said and done, these two have only been together for about a month, and their relationship hasn’t grown enough to withstand the wind and rain.
“I’m also not quite sure.” Lou Xiao said to Qiao Shao.
Qiao Shao was slightly disheartened. “I thought you …”
Lou Xiao said half-truthfully. “We knew each other when we were little, but we lost touch for more than ten years. He suddenly came to East High half a year ago and we started hanging out again.”
Qiao Shao was unwilling to give up and asked, “He didn’t tell you why he’s short of money?”
Lou Xiao looked at him: “Do you think he’s the type of person to confide in others?”
Qiao Shao was stumped by this question —
No. He Shen was the type of person to keep everything locked up within him and try to solve things by himself.
Qiao Shao was still worried, and he asked again, “Is someone in his family sick?”
This was what he was most worried about.
Lou Xiao saw his worry and reassured him. “I can say for sure that all his relative are healthy.”
A bit too healthy.
Qiao Shao let out a sigh of relief, “That’s good.”
If it’s not that kind of emergency then everything else was fine.
When Lou Xiao saw him like this, he couldn’t help asking, “Aren’t you afraid?”
Qiao Shao looked at him. “Afraid of what?”
Lou Xiao said, “Like what if he was deep in debt, you …”
“I’ll help him!” Qiao Shao said confidently.
If no one in the family was ill, then chances were that he was repaying a debt. The creditor probably set a three year term limit and so He Shen was working hard to repay it.
He wasn’t afraid of this. If things turned impossible, when the time was right, Qiao Shao will give … oh, will lend him the money.
Isn’t it 10 million? He could even pool that much by himself.
Lou Xiao revealed a little smile and said to himself, ‘OK, looks like Lao He didn’t waste his affections on this kid.’
He Shen slept until three o’clock in the afternoon.
Qiao Shao had just finished the last question when he saw He Shen come out and said, “Lou Xiao came to deliver breakfast, but it’s gone cold now.”
He Shen looked at the time and said, “Why didn’t you wake me up?”
“Wake you up for what? It’s too early to return to school.”
“I said I’d take you to eat barbecue.” He Shen remembered what he promised.
Qiao Shao laughed. “We can eat any time, besides, I hadn’t finished my homework.”
He Shen glanced at his paper and asked, “You’re finished?”
“I just finished. Help me take a look. Tell me how many points I can get on these.” He felt that he did quite well so he was sure he got a good score!
“Wait until we get back to school tonight and I’ll take a look. Let’s go eat first.”
Qiao Shao stared blankly.
He Shen asked him, “Not hungry?”
At first, Qiao Shao really wasn’t hungry but then his stomach suddenly rumbled.
He Shen said with a smile, “Let’s go. If we eat now, we can just make it back to school in time for evening self-study.”
Qiao Shao quickly packed up his books and agreed, “Okay!”
He had changed his school uniform early on, so he could already leave after packing.
He Shen took off his pajamas, put on his shirt and was about to tie his necktie when he paused and looked at Qiao Shao. “Come and help me.”
Qiao Shao said, “Can’t you learn how to do it by yourself?” He said, but still went over to him.
With no outsiders around, Qiao Shao didn’t have as much misgivings, and he stood on tiptoes to tie it for him.
He Shen looked down…
Looked and…
He didn’t look away.
Qiao Shao finally noticed. “What?”
He Shen said unhurriedly, “I feel like a husband going off to work.”
Qiao Shao’s hands went numb.
He Shen, with his face inclined to one side, finished his statement. “and you’re my little wife tying my necktie for me …”