Chapter 71
Five minutes left!
He stood up. A rare feeling of tension coursing through his body.
It was unexpectedly a message from Qiao Shao, and he saw it an hour late.
He Shen changed his clothes in thirty seconds. He ran his fingers through his hair as he rushed down the stairs. As soon as he reached the ground floor, he flung his arm out and hailed a taxi. Once he got in, he called Qiao Shao.
This series of actions were executed so swiftly and smoothly that even secret service agents might be put to shame.
After a few rings, Qiao Shao answered the phone.
“Yeah?” It was noisy over at Qiao Shao’s end. He must have already arrived at the restaurant.
He Shen regained his breath and said, “I just saw your WeChat.”
Qiao Shao hesitated and asked, “Oh, so have you eaten already?”
He Shen immediately said, “Not yet.”
Qiao Shao was relieved said, “Are you still coming or do have something else planned?”
Even his He Shen had some gigantic matter to attend to it would have been flung to the back of his mind. “I’m on my way.”
“Oh,” Qiao Shao wondered, “then why are you calling? I thought you weren’t coming.”
It was like there was a lump of sugar in the pit of He Shen’s stomach. “I might be late.”
Qiao Shao asked, “How long?”
He Shen said, “It will take fifteen minutes if there’s no traffic jam.”
Qiao Shao grumbled. “I thought it would be fifty minutes. What are you worrying about? The restaurant won’t close.”
He Shen felt that the sugar in his stomach disappear. “But I’m making you wait…”
Qiao Shao said, “I could just eat while waiting for you. After all, I did say I was the one inviting you.”
The hand holding his phone, tightened. He Shen asked, “Aren’t you angry?”
Qiao Shao asked blankly, “What’s there to be angry about?”
He Shen chuckled, and said regretfully, “The first time you invited me out and I’m late.”
It was like an electric current passed through Qiao Shao’s ears and he couldn’t help holding his cell phone a little further away. His voice sounded a little uneasy. “Are you making fun of me?”
He Shen was slightly surprised.
Qiao Shao said, “Are you taking a jab at how I’ve never invited you out to eat before?”
Just you wait. In the future, I’ll invite you to eat all over the world!
He Shen couldn’t hold back his smile. He found that he didn’t need to see Qiao Shao; just hearing his voice was enough to dispel the haze in his heart.
En, he really was in too deep.
He Shen asked, “Let’s talk this over?”
Qiao Shao: “En?”
He Shen: “I’ll be the one to treat you this time.”
Qiao Shao was very unwilling. “I already said I was the one who’d be treating you!”
He Shen said, “Next time, you’ll treat me.”
Qiao Shao: “I’m not that poor, you know. You don’t always have to treat me.”
“It’s not a question of money,” He Shen sighed. “I don’t want to be late the first time you invited me out.”
Qiao Shao suddenly felt that his phone was burning up. Even his cheeks were hot. “What?”
He Shen said, “Although I can’t wear an armor of gold and come astride a seven colored magic cloud, the least I can do is not be late.”
Here we go again! The terrible straight man was at it again!
Although Qiao Shao was born after the turn of the century, even he has heard the famous love story of Zhi Zhun Bao and the Zixia Fairy!
He said, “Who cares if you are late or not. Come if you want. If you don’t want to come, then don’t!”
After saying so, he hung up. When he hung up, he remembered something and went online to search for that passage.
He hadn’t seen A Chinese Odyssey but he vaguely remembered that it was a tragedy…
After checking, en…
This was just too sad!
Qiao Shao sent a message to He Shen. “Can you stop talking nonsense in the future!”
He Shen thought he had gotten sick of his teasing, and said, “If you don’t like it, then I won’t talk like that anymore.”
Don’t be greedy. It was good enough just to keep things as they are. Even if Qiao Shao finds someone he likes, he can stay with him forever as his good friend.
The following second, Qiao Shao said, “At the end of the movie, the Zixia Fairy died!”
He Shen was dazed.
Qiao Shao said, “The heroine died, and the hero left. This is a complete tragedy!”
He Shen called him. His voice was deeper because he was holding back his emotions. “You told me not to talk nonsense, because you don’t like tragedies?”
Qiao Shao: “Of course. I don’t want to die …”
Then he realized what he said, and quickly changed his statement, “And you shouldn’t be comparing me to a girl!”
He Shen’s heart was beating so fast that he was on the verge of blurting out his feelings. Just another second and he would have come right out and said it.
The driver in front said, “Sorry, there’s a traffic jam.”
He Shen suddenly calmed down.
Qiao Shao also heard what the driver said. “I’m hanging up now!”
What was he doing talking nonsense with He Shen!
Also Zhi Zhun Bao and the Zixia Fairy, they were clearly representatives of failed and unrequited love!
The crucial point was that his target of unrequited love clearly had no self-awareness!
Qiao Shao Shao was a very miserable young man.
With the call disconnected, He Shen sat there for a while, until the driver chatted with him, “Are you going on a date with your girlfriend, young man?”
He Shen didn’t say anything.
The driver said, “Oh, how great it is to be young. I also fell in love when I was in high school. Such is the beauty of youth, it is sweeter than honey …”
He hadn’t finished talking when He Shen said, “Not a girlfriend.”
Driver: “Ah?”
He Shen raised the corner of his lips. “That’s my future boyfriend.”
Driver:”!”
If he weren’t a veteran driver, their next stop might have been the hospital!
He Shen looked down at his phone and listened as his heart jumped madly about.
This really won’t do. It was impossible not to be greedy.
He must hurry and grab Qiao Shao for himself. He won’t let anyone else have him. Such a good Qiao Shao can only belong to him.
Qiao Shao felt that he hadn’t been waiting long, but before he knew it, it was already 11.50.
He sat by the window and spotted He Shen almost instantly.
He had just stepped out of the elevator and walked straight towards him, attracting the attention of almost everyone there.
Qiao Shao looked at him, feeling that he hadn’t fallen for no reason.
This guy was born with fine, smooth skin. He was tall, and in good shape. Since birth, his long legs must have been the envy of everyone.
His facial features were also impeccable. Those straight, dashing eyebrows, twinkling eyes, tall nose bridge; when he wasn’t smiling, he appeared a bit cold, and when he smiled, it was enough to muddle people’s minds.
En……
Qiao Shao was relieved.
He shouldn’t be gay. He Shen was just that good.
As soon as he entered the restaurant, He Shen saw him.
Qiao Shao didn’t need to beckon him over, he was already heading straight for him.
Qiao Shao said as he bit down on his straw, “It must have been hard for you, spotting this little shorty in this crowd.”
He Shen smiled immediately, and Qiao Shao’s head went a little dizzy from his smile. “Even in a room full of people, no one could be as eye-catching as you.”
Qiao Shao stared at him. “It’s enough that I make fun of myself. No need to add to it!”
He Shen said: “No, I mean, no one here is as good-looking as you are.”
Qiao Shao: “………………”
Shut up, you wretched straight man!
He didn’t overdo it and said brusquely, “Hurry up and order.”
He Shen was afraid that he already gotten hungry. He took the menu and said, “Did you get tired of waiting? It’s my fault for not checking my phone.”
Qiao Shao said, “It’s fine. I already finished my homework and I was bored at home.”
Although he’d waited for 20 minutes, he had been talking with He Shen for fifteen or sixteen minutes of that.
He Shen quickly and easily ordered the dishes. Then, he saw the watermelon juice Qiao Shao had and said, “Give me a drink.”
“The waiter saw that I’d been waiting for a long time, and gave it to me, if you want to drink …”
While Qiao Shao was speaking, He Shen had already taken his cup and said, “Let me have a drink first. I’m really thirsty.”
It wasn’t the first time they shared the same drink. And guys didn’t pay much attention to this kind of thing, especially if they have a good relationship.
But now …
Watching He Shen use the same straw as he himself did…
Qiao Shao Shao could only growl in his heart: have a little self-awareness, you stupid straight man!
He Shen saw that he was staring and looked up. “Don’t worry. I won’t drink it all. I’ll leave some for you.”
Qiao Shao’s heart trembled and he said, “I don’t want it anymore. You can have it.”
He Shen didn’t need to be polite with him. He said, “En, then you can order another glass.”
Qiao Shao didn’t dare order watermelon juice again. He deliberately ordered an ice Americano that He Shen would never drink.
It was good to drink something bitter. He needed to calm down!
They served the meats very quickly. Qiao Shao wanted to get the tongs but He Shen immediately confiscated it. “Let me.”
Qiao Shao said, “I can do it too.”
It wasn’t his first time eating at a place like this and grilling was quite fun.
He Shen came up with the best reason. “I was late, so you can consider this as my punishment.”
Qiao Shao was dumbfounded. “Is such self-blame necessary!”
Wasn’t it just being a little late? He wasn’t even unhappy about it.
He Shen said sincerely, “You don’t know how sorry I am.”
The child had asked him out for the first time and he unexpectedly didn’t see it. He almost missed it. If he really had missed it…
He would think about it for days and nights on end.
Qiao Shao: “…”
He always felt that there was something more to his words, but Qiao Shao ordered himself not to think too much into it.
Lunch was naturally pleasant and at when they had finished eating, Qiao Shao went to get fruit as usual.
When picking sweet fruits for He Tang Tang, Qiao Shao’s brain hole erupted–
Dad’s standard for choosing a spouse was gentleness and sweetness. Wasn’t He Shen’s sweets addiction another kind of sweetness?
Stop it, brain!
To make himself clear his mind, Qiao Shao also took two lemons!
In the end, it was still He Shen who paid for this meal. He insisted that Qiao Shao treat him next time.
Qiao Shao said, “I could treat you now and treat you again next time too.”
He Shen said: “No, I love you … being so generous but I feel sorry for your wallet.”
His pause made Qiao Shao’s heart pause too.
This ‘Straight man’ He! He can’t even speak right! It was enough to drive people mad!
Qiao Shao said, “My family’s not that poor. My dad … When he doesn’t drink, it’s really good.”
He Shen said, “In any case, you’ll never be richer than I am.”
Qiao Shao thought about his tens of millions of pocket money and the tens of millions of debts that He Shen was carrying.
Ha ha ha … Wait until I bury you in money in the future!
It wasn’t long before the final exam and Old Tang held a class meeting.
“My students, this will be your last first year high school exam. You teacher hopes that you will get good results and prove that you have not wasted your effort this past year! It will not be so easy when you go to 2nd year high school. 2nd year is a very important time in your high school career……”
The students have heard this so often, they’ve grown calluses on their ears.
Starting from the first grade of elementary school, the class teacher would say that the first grade was the most important! The second grade teacher would say that the second grade was the most important.
Until high school …
The teacher changed around several words, but the meaning remained unchanged forever.
Qiao Shao was very nervous. He really wanted to get a good score.
He even set himself a small goal …
If he did well in the exam, he will have a good chat with He Shen.
The author has something to say: there will be a scene like the one in the summary, but … I think it may not be the same as you think.
Do you want to hear a spoiler about how their identities will be exposed?
For the detailed version, I’d have to tell you the exact time but the short version is that — it will be at a big occasion!