Ah Ju suffered inhuman treatment, feeling wronged and angry. He shouted through the door: “Did I ask you?! Did I ask you?! I’m asking my little sister-in-law!”
Lu Jiaheng: “Your little sister-in-law isn’t eating either. Get lost.”
Chu Zhi quickly clutched his arm and craned her neck out: “I’ll eat, I’ll eat! What blueberry thing?”
Little Ju: “Blueberry muffins!”
“Is there still apple pie?”
“Yes!”
Lu Jiaheng: “…”
The two kept shouting through the door for a while. Chu Zhi couldn’t wait anymore, pushing against the man holding her down while kicking her legs.
Lu Jiaheng felt like his status had somehow dropped quite a bit after being away from home all afternoon.
He looked down at the girl squirming to get out like a little carp: “What love potion did you give him all afternoon?”
Chu Zhi was quite innocent: “I didn’t do anything.”
Lu Jiaheng used his long legs to pin down her kicking little legs, bending down to lightly bite her lips in frustration: “You’ve almost turned him straight.”
Chu Zhi was quite delighted: “Isn’t that good? Then I can feel at ease.”
“…”
Little Ju had lived alone abroad for many years, with maxed-out cooking skills. He especially liked to experiment with making desserts – even his hobbies had a housewife-like quality.
Chu Zhi had only had water and juice since getting off the plane. She was starving and bounced into the kitchen, where fragrant smells wafted through the air. She went up to Little Ju and peered into the bowl in his hands: “What kind of salad is this?”
Ah Ju usually cooked alone, and now having someone show such keen interest in his cooking made him very happy: “Pear and cheese salad.”
Chu Zhi propped her elbows on the counter, resting her chin in her hands as she watched him work: “What special delicious foods are there in America? I only know about hamburgers and hot dogs.”
In Chu Zhi’s family, both her father and Mrs. Deng could cook, but only Chinese food. While eating apple pie, Chu Zhi listened to Little Ju explain various American cuisines. The two chatted enthusiastically, completely forgetting Lu Jiaheng’s existence.
Finally, as Chu Zhi swallowed her last bite of pizza, Lu Jiaheng grabbed her wrist and pulled her up from the chair, dragging her straight to the room: “Finished eating? Keep me company while I study.”
Chu Zhi looked longingly at the fruit on the table: “But I still want to eat some fruit.”
“You shouldn’t eat fruit right after meals.”
Chu Zhi made an “oh” sound and patted her round belly, feeling she probably couldn’t eat fruit right now anyway. “I want to take a shower too.”
Lu Jiaheng turned his head: “You want to shower right after eating?”
Chu Zhi entered the room and pulled out her pajamas from her small suitcase, laying them neatly on the bed before obediently sitting beside them: “Then I’ll wait a while before showering.”
Lu Jiaheng laughed, pulling his schoolbag over and putting on his glasses.
His desk was next to the bed. Chu Zhi scooted further in while sitting on the bed edge, lying on his desk watching him: “Lu Jiaheng.”
“Mm.”
“You look kind of handsome in glasses.”
Lu Jiaheng raised an eyebrow and looked up, his peach blossom eyes hidden behind the lenses, his lashes lifting slightly, looking quite beastly.
Chu Zhi said seriously: “Like a well-dressed beast.”
“…”
“Makes my heart flutter,” Chu Zhi continued, blinking her big eyes.
“…”
Lu Jiaheng: “You should go take your shower.”
Lu Jiaheng’s room didn’t have extra pillows and blankets. In the evening, he specially brought down a set from upstairs. When Chu Zhi returned from her shower, the bed had fresh sheets and covers, and bedding was laid out on the floor.
Chu Zhi rubbed her half-dry hair, barefoot on the carpet: “Are you sleeping on the floor?”
Lu Jiaheng looked at his book without raising his head: “The bed’s too small. You sleep there.”
Chu Zhi slowly made an “oh” sound and climbed onto the bed using both hands and feet. She knelt at the edge, looking at him: “You’re not sleeping with me today?”
Lu Jiaheng looked up.
The young girl wore a peter pan collar pajama, her long hair loose, lips pursed as she hugged a pillow while looking at him dejectedly, appearing a bit disappointed.
Lu Jiaheng’s tongue darted out to lick his lips.
He turned his head, making a soft hiss: “Chu Chu.”
Chu Zhi tilted her head, chin resting on the pillow: “Mm?”
“Do you trust me that much?”
Chu Zhi hugged the pillow while sitting against the wall, her white toes curling against the sheets as she peeked at him with her eyes, her voice soft: “Otherwise would I have come with you?”
A moment of silence.
Lu Jiaheng lowered his eyes and laughed softly: “What were you in your past life?”
Sometimes, Lu Jiaheng found Chu Zhi terrifying.
With just a casual sentence from her, he was willing to do anything for her.
Lu Jiaheng put down his book, pushed back his chair and stood up, walking to the door to turn off the lights.
Only the desk lamp remained lit in the room. He bent down to pick up the pillow from the floor and put it at the head of the bed.
Chu Zhi happily placed her pillow against the wall at the head of the bed too. His bed was indeed a bit small – the two pillows were squeezed together. She lay on the inside, covered with the blanket, blinking as she looked at him: “Lu Jiaheng, I won’t come again in the future, and you shouldn’t go back either.”
Lu Jiaheng glanced down at her without speaking.
Chu Zhi played with the corner of the blanket, not looking at him as she spoke slowly: “That day when I saw girls’ clothes hanging at your place, I was really unhappy. But I was afraid you really didn’t like me anymore, and I was also afraid of seeming too sensitive and clingy, so I never dared to ask,” she clutched the blanket, “But we’re going to be apart for so long, and I agreed when you had to leave. I can’t distrust you like this, and I can’t have my mind full of just romance. We need to become more excellent and capable even when the other person isn’t around.”
Chu Zhi raised her lashes to blink at him, her arm emerging from under the covers to pat the bed beside her as she lectured: “So you won’t see me for more than a year after this. You should cherish every minute and second you can see me now, and sleep with me.”
Chu Zhi stayed for a week, with a ticket booked to return at the end of the month.
Until she left, Chu Zhi never got to see Little Ju’s dream man.
Little Ju attended the same school as Lu Jiaheng but studied a different major. He had an easier schedule than Lu Jiaheng. One weekend afternoon, with Chu Zhi’s encouragement and urging, he finally gathered the courage to send his first message to his idol.
Chu Zhi found it incredible that they had never chatted before. She widened her eyes looking at him: “You two have never spoken?”
Ah Ju looked at her in panic: “If I open my mouth, won’t it be obvious I’m a man?!”
Chu Zhi seriously felt that if you didn’t listen carefully, his voice could actually pass quite well.
“So you two have never had any interaction?”
“We have.”
“What kind?” Chu Zhi asked curiously.
Little Ju recalled dreamily: “I’ve run into him several times, but always dressed as a woman. He didn’t realize I was a man,” he finished and said seriously, “I’m getting used to women’s clothing now, I bought several sets of women’s pajamas.”
“…”
Chu Zhi stared at him blankly: “But what if he falls for the female version of you, when you two, when you two—” her cheeks heated up as she unconsciously raised her hand to pinch her ear, “what happens when you two take things further and he finds out?”
The handsome man looked a bit dejected: “But if I don’t do this, I might not even have a chance of him seeing me as someone he could fall in love with.”
Chu Zhi was also dejected, feeling that turning a straight man gay seemed both strange and difficult.
It was like if someone’s orientation was for women, but you had to forcefully turn them towards men. This gave her a bit of a guilty feeling, unless the person truly fell for Little Ju and turned because it was him specifically.
After persistent research between the two of them, Little Ju arranged his first meeting with his idol without wearing women’s clothes. Chu Zhi secretly followed behind, wearing one of Lu Jiaheng’s large coats, her small face hidden behind huge sunglasses and a knit hat – looking somewhat like Leon from “Léon: The Professional.”
Just as she was about to leave, Lu Jiaheng grabbed her arm and pulled her back in.
Her boyfriend was dissatisfied that his little flower had been focusing all her attention on Little Ju lately. He picked her up and walked into the room while stripping off her disguise, dropping the knit hat and sunglasses along the way. After exchanging some kisses, he contentedly held her for an afternoon nap.
Chu Zhi obediently curled up in his arms playing with his eyelashes: “Lu Jiaheng.”
“Mm?”
“What does Little Ju’s idol actually look like?”
Lu Jiaheng opened his eyes, tightening his arms around her: “Why are you so curious about someone else’s idol?”
Chu Zhi grinned and tugged at his eyelashes: “I’m tired of looking at your face, I want to try something new.”
Lu Jiaheng’s eyes narrowed as he raised his hand to smack her bottom.
Through her clothes, it made a muffled sound, the force a bit heavy. Chu Zhi let out an “ah” and raised her hand to push him: “What’s wrong with you now, why are you always bullying people!”
He closed his eyes again, laughing lowly: “I’ll let you know what bullying really means later.”
His hand was still on her bottom. Chu Zhi blushed and squirmed, then squirmed again, pulling away from his arms. Thinking about it, his previous action seemed both vulgar and somehow suggestive, so she hit his arm twice.
The man let her fidget, quietly lying on his side with closed eyes, his embrace and the wall creating a small space.
Chu Zhi lay on the bed, propping up her face as her fingertip lightly traced the faint blue shadows under his eyes: “Lu Jiaheng, I’m leaving tomorrow.”
Lu Jiaheng lifted his eyelids, his black eyes looking quite deep.
Her expression looked extremely reluctant to part, her bright eyes full of emotion.
Lu Jiaheng’s heart stirred and he tightened his arms around her, his gaze softening as he waited for her next words.
The young girl’s fair finger gently stroked his sharp jawline as she looked at him sadly: “Before I go, I really want to see what Little Ju’s idol looks like.”
“…”
Lu Jiaheng coldly snorted, expressionlessly holding her head and roughly pressing it against his chest without any gentleness: “Say anything more and I’ll let you know what bullying means right now.”
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