Last night, after Ye Mingxuan, Lin Jiale, and Zhang Shushu emerged from their meeting, Tan Sizhe’s study door remained tightly shut. The man seemed to be handling matters inside.
To avoid disturbing him, Ye Mingxuan tiptoed across the floor and went to sleep in the bedroom.
When he woke up naturally, the man was gone. Only the indentation in the mattress and lingering warmth remained, mingled with the woody fragrance that was his signature scent, lingering in the bedroom.
Ye Mingxuan rose with disheveled hair, slightly greasy from the night’s sleep. Scratching his scalp, he got out of bed to wash his hair.
Entering the bathroom, he crossed his hands to lift the hem of his shirt, revealing his snow-white abdomen.
His eyes caught his reflection in the mirror, and Ye Mingxuan froze. He stared in surprise at his stomach.
It was no longer flat, but subtly protruding.
He pressed a finger against his stomach. It didn’t feel as soft as before—slightly firm and swollen, as if a ping-pong ball had settled inside.
Ye Mingxuan: ???
How could this be?! Why had his belly grown? Was it because he’d been eating too much lately?
In the mirror, he turned sideways, fully exposing his stomach. A round bulge of flesh was visible spilling over his waistband.
Ye Mingxuan scratched his head, recalling that he had indeed been eating more than usual lately. Between eating and sleeping, a bigger belly seemed reasonable.
Seemed like it was time to find a way to lose weight.
He walked into the bedroom, smoothed out the sheets, and grabbed the corners of the quilt with both hands, giving it a sharp flick into the air. It floated down and settled neatly on the bed.
“Mr. Mingxuan, let me handle that!” Aunt Fu entered carrying a broom. Spotting him tidying up, she exclaimed, “How could you possibly do housework? I’ll take care of it.”
Ye Mingxuan awkwardly withdrew his hands and stepped aside. “I… was just making the bed.”
“If you do my work, what would I do?” Aunt Fu chuckled. “There isn’t much housework to do in a gentleman’s home to begin with. If you take it all off my plate, I might as well be here on vacation.”
She’d said this to him once before.
At Tan Sizhe’s house, Aunt Fu only needed to cook and occasionally clean. Laundry was handled daily by a dedicated service. Working as a housekeeper here was remarkably easy.
Unlike Ye Mingxuan and his mother, though the Ye family’s villa was spacious, Zhao Dongxuan didn’t hire many servants. The Ye family’s chores, big and small, fell on them—washing clothes, cooking meals, cleaning, watering plants, weeding—keeping them busy every day.
But Zhao Dongxuan didn’t pay them much. She argued that since she provided them with a maid’s quarters, three thousand yuan a month was sufficient.
This was unreasonable by any standard, since Ye Mingxuan and Liu Yan handled all the household chores themselves.
Three thousand yuan a month fell short of A City’s average basic wage, and they still had to cover Ye Mingxuan’s tuition and living expenses.
So mother and son stretched each meal into three servings. Leftover meat went into the fridge, reheated day after day until it lasted a week.
Yet Liu Yan never uttered a single complaint. She worked tirelessly, always praising her employer’s kindness, and silently endured Zhao Dongxuan’s occasional criticism.
Over time, Ye Mingxuan grew increasingly like Liu Yan. Even when a voice inside him protested that this was wrong, his mouth felt sealed shut, unable to speak.
He pitied his mother and didn’t want her to keep toiling. So when Zhao Dongxuan suggested that taking her place in the marriage could give Liu Yan a better life, Ye Mingxuan agreed.
As they spoke, Aunt Fu had finished sweeping one corner of the bedroom. “Mr. Mingxuan, breakfast is ready. Please go eat.”
Ye Mingxuan snapped back to reality and nodded quietly….
Breakfast was Chinese-style: steamed buns, fried dough sticks, soy milk, and scallion pancakes. In the soft morning light, they glistened with deliciousness.
But today, for some reason, Ye Mingxuan took a bite of the bun. A greasy, oily taste flooded his mouth, making him involuntarily retch.
Aunt Fu was cleaning the sofa. Hearing his retching, she rushed over: “What’s wrong? What’s wrong?!”
Ye Mingxuan shook his head, clutching his chest as acid rose in his stomach with each word. “Just suddenly feeling a bit queasy.”
He glanced at the filling inside the bun. Aunt Fu took it and sniffed. “That shouldn’t be it. These buns are fresh—I made them this morning.”
Ye Mingxuan: “I’ll finish it.”
But the moment it touched his lips, he gagged again. The taste was like eating a meat bun on a bus filled with the stench of sweaty feet and body odor, while the bus itself was bouncing along a rugged mountain road.
His stomach churned violently, dizziness and nausea overwhelming him. Ye Mingxuan rushed to the bathroom to vomit up the acid.
Aunt Fu gasped in alarm, rushing over to pat his back. “What happened? Was it too greasy?”
Ye Mingxuan shook his head. After vomiting the last bit, he rinsed his mouth with water and splashed his face. “I think I have gastroenteritis.”
“Gastroenteritis? What have you been eating lately?”
“Nothing special. Just home-cooked meals. At school, I only eat at the cafeteria.”
Aunt Fu: “Could the cafeteria be unclean? I saw on Douyin that many student cafeterias don’t wash their cooking utensils—it’s so dirty!”
Ye Mingxuan looked confused: “I don’t know.”
“You can’t keep throwing up like this. Come on, Aunt Fu will take you to the hospital.”
At the mention of going to the hospital, Ye Mingxuan immediately shook his head. “No, Aunt Fu, it’s fine. I’ll just eat lighter meals. I’ll be better soon.”
Aunt Fu insisted, “That won’t do. I’ll call your husband.”
“No need!” Ye Mingxuan stopped Aunt Fu from grabbing his phone, urgently saying, “Seriously, it’s fine. I’ll be better in a few days. Don’t trouble the boss…”
“Are you really okay?”
Ye Mingxuan had just finished vomiting, his face pale with moisture glistening in the corners of his eyes. “I’m really fine.”
Finally, he finished his soy milk. Aunt Fu boiled him a corn cob, which Ye Mingxuan munched on.
All the classroom windows were open for ventilation. Cool air poured in from outside, dispelling the stifling heat inside.
Lin Jiale and Zhang Shushu were playing Honor of Kings. After listening to the lecture for a while, Ye Mingxuan lowered his head and searched on his phone: How much does treating gastroenteritis cost?
The search results immediately displayed the answer: “Varies from a few hundred to a few thousand.”
Ye Mingxuan scrolled down. Many posts mentioned spending hundreds on IV drips for gastroenteritis, plus hundreds more on medication.
Just seeing the numbers on their receipts made his stomach clench.
Ye Mingxuan hung his head, closing his eyes in anguish.
Going to the hospital would cost so much. Forget it, forget it.
Just eat light meals for a few days.
Just as he was feeling down, his phone buzzed. Ye Mingxuan answered: “Hello?”
“Mingxuan.”
The cool breeze from the window jolted Ye Mingxuan awake: “Brother Yu Sen?”
…
The line went dead. Tan Sizhe set his phone down and flipped it over repeatedly. “Why isn’t he answering?”
“Is he okay?” Bai Yu stared at the clear liquor in his glass. “Ye Mingxuan has classes. He’s got his own life, you know? He can’t be answering your calls all day.”
“…” Tan Sizhe downed his champagne in one gulp. “According to his schedule, class should be over by now.”
Bai Yu gasped. “Wait, you memorized his class schedule?”
Tan Sizhe replied, “I asked Mingxuan for a copy a few days ago.”
“So obedient, giving him whatever he wants,” Bai Yu chuckled. “If someone sold him one day, he’d probably count the money for them.”
Tan Sizhe poured another glass of champagne, the golden liquid swaying in the stemmed glass. “Who dares to sell him?”
“Oh my, oh my, who dares sell him? And who claimed before the wedding they had nothing to do with him? Oh my, oh my.”
Before Tan Sizhe could turn cold and deny everything, Bai Yu scurried to the door: “Man, stop pretending. That upturned corner of your mouth already gave you away.”
Tan Sizhe shot him a cold glance. Bai Yu shrugged: “I’m outta here!”
…
Ye Mingxuan ran downstairs and spotted Yu Sen approaching from afar.
Yu Sen wore a casual hoodie today. Sapindus leaves cascaded down in the wind, fluttering onto his clothes. He brushed his hair and smiled at Ye Mingxuan, looking every bit the college student.
Ye Mingxuan’s eyes flickered as he called out, “Brother Yu Sen.”
“I’ve wanted to see you for days, but I’ve been too busy.” Yu Sen handed him a paper bag. “I bought you some cupcakes.”
“Brother Yu Sen, I can’t accept these.”
“Take it,” Yu Sen ruffled his hair. “I bought it for you. If you don’t eat it, I’ll have wasted it.”
Ye Mingxuan had no choice but to accept it.
“Oh, right,” Yu Sen pulled a ticket from his left pocket. “I have a performance in City A on October 6th. I saved you a front-row seat.”
Ye Mingxuan blinked, reading the band name printed on the ticket: “Is this your band?”
“Yeah, it’s our band’s solo show that day.” Yu Sen’s eyes were gentle and clear, his voice matching that tone. “You’ll come support us, right?”
Ye Mingxuan nodded earnestly. “I will!”
Yu Sen beamed. “Then it’s settled. See you then.”
“Mm!”
After bidding Yu Sen farewell, Ye Mingxuan examined the cake in the paper bag. Creamy frosting enveloped cherry jam, dotted with translucent crimson cherries—it looked utterly delicious.
Ye Mingxuan returned to the classroom.
Lin Jiale had just lost a game and was sulkily charging his phone when he saw Ye Mingxuan come back. “Mingxuan, what did you buy?”
Ye Mingxuan smiled slightly and handed him the cake. “Someone gave it to me. You can have it.”
“Really?!” Lin Jiale eagerly unwrapped it. “Wow, this brand is pretty pricey! You’re not eating it?”
Ye Mingxuan shook his head longingly. “My stomach’s upset. I can’t eat. You have it.”
Lin Jiale: “Alright, I’ll eat it then.”
“What’s this? What’s this?” Zhang Shushu leaned in. “Cake? Can I have a bite?”
Lin Jiale couldn’t refuse him. He unwrapped it. “Just one bite.”
Ye Mingxuan sat down, unfolded the tickets, studied them carefully for a moment, then folded them carefully and tucked them into his backpack.
…
When he got home that evening, Tan Sizhe was nowhere to be found. Aunt Fu said Tan Sizhe had a dinner party tonight and wouldn’t be back for supper.
Ye Mingxuan pressed his lips together, nodded quietly, took off his coat, and sat down to eat.
His part-time job contact time was 7 PM. The address sent by Xiao Wang showed it was nearby—just a ten-minute walk from the community gate.
Ye Mingxuan could easily stroll over after dinner each day and still make it on time.
But adhering to his no-tardiness principle, he prepared to leave half an hour early.
“Aunt Fu, have you seen my white bag?”
Ye Mingxuan rushed downstairs. He had packed a special bag for tutoring sessions last night, stowing it in the study, but now it was nowhere to be found.
Aunt Fu emerged with soapy hands: “It’s on the sofa. The gentleman came back this afternoon to pick up something and left your bag in the living room.”
Ye Mingxuan spotted the white bag’s corner peeking out from the sofa and walked over to sling it onto his back.
Was it his imagination? The bag seemed heavier than yesterday. Ye Mingxuan didn’t dwell on it, heading to the entryway to change his shoes before leaving.
His tutoring location was in a moderately new residential complex. The surrounding environment was pleasant, with convenience stores and snack shops readily available.
Finding the address, Ye Mingxuan knocked on the door.
Xiao Wang opened it, with a middle-aged woman behind him.
The woman, Wang Fang, greeted him warmly: “Teacher Xiao Xuan? Come right in!”
Ye Mingxuan politely greeted her and slipped on shoe covers.
He was teaching Xiao Wang’s niece, Le Le.
Le Le was just starting seventh grade. Wang Fang feared she might struggle with the schoolwork and asked Ye Mingxuan to help build her foundation.
His student was Xiao Wang’s niece, Le Le.
Le Le had just started seventh grade. Worried she might struggle to keep up with the school curriculum, Wang Fang had asked Ye Mingxuan to help build her foundational skills.
Le Le, her hair in two small braids, beamed brightly as she pulled out a stool for Ye Mingxuan to sit on.
Ye Mingxuan was charmed by her cuteness, though he wasn’t the type of teacher to indulge it. He’d bought Le Le several workbooks.
Placing his backpack on his lap, Ye Mingxuan shifted the stool closer to the desk. As he opened the bag, something rolled out.
Ye Mingxuan flinched and looked down, spotting several candies rolling on the floor.
He froze for a moment, glancing inside his backpack to find it unexpectedly stuffed with candies and cookies.
The other person seemed worried he might go hungry during this short hour and had secretly packed plenty of snacks.
