Chapter 5
After Ti Xiao casually blurted out that joke about wanting to eat together, he immediately regretted it. The other person had only said it out of politeness, but Ti Xiao had taken it seriously. He felt embarrassed for not being more reserved and for possibly giving the impression that he was trying to take advantage of the meal.
What he hadn’t expected was that Xiao Yao genuinely wanted to invite him to eat.
Since they were going to eat together, there would undoubtedly be more opportunities for contact. With contact, there was a chance for sparks to fly, and that could only mean one thing—marriage was on the horizon!
Ti Xiao now understood that the reason fate had kept them apart all this time was because it was setting up for something big.
Excitement instantly overshadowed his previous frustration over his oily hair.
“Sure, I have time.” Ti Xiao nodded enthusiastically, his little tuft of hair bouncing along with his eager mood, revealing his excitement without trying to hide it.
Seeing this, Xiao Yao couldn’t help but smile. Just as he was about to say, “Alright,” his phone rang.
“Sorry, I need to take this call.” Xiao Yao glanced at the caller ID and frowned. Without hesitation, he stood still and answered the call right there.
The reason he didn’t try to step away was simple: he was speaking in English, and Ti Xiao, who could barely understand anything beyond basic words like “yes” and “no,” definitely wouldn’t understand the conversation.
Of course, Ti Xiao didn’t disappoint Xiao Yao’s expectations. All he could catch were a few “yes” and “no” responses. Anything more complicated, like the word “cutest,” was beyond his comprehension.
Xiao Yao’s hand was large, with distinct knuckles, and when he held his sleek black phone with force, the back of his hand appeared a little pale. Some stray black hair on his ear brushed against the back of his hand, and Ti Xiao noticed a pale mole on the side of his left ring finger.
As Xiao Yao spoke on the phone, he felt a curious and probing gaze directed at him. He subconsciously looked up and met Ti Xiao’s sharp black-and-white eyes.
Ti Xiao quickly turned his face to the side, desperately trying to act as though he didn’t care, despite being extremely self-conscious about it. I have to be polite. I can’t eavesdrop on someone else’s phone call.
But, Xiao Yao’s fluent English was something that made Ti Xiao, whose English barely passed the college entrance exam, envious.
“Sorry.” Xiao Yao ended the call and turned to Ti Xiao. “A friend’s coming over in a bit. Let’s do it another day. I’ll take you out to eat then.”
With that, he rushed upstairs.
So, “another day” really meant another day.
Ti Xiao stood frozen in place, touching the little tuft of hair on his head, wondering if that meant they had made plans. “Another day” was fine, too. Another day makes me happy!
A wide grin spread across his face.
But while Ti Xiao was happy, Xiao Yao was not.
In a café, Xiao Yao sat across from a woman with light golden hair, someone who looked somewhat similar to him. She was talking, her plum-colored lips moving as she conversed with him. Xiao Yao lowered his gaze, not listening to a word she said, suddenly regretting agreeing to meet up. He should’ve just taken Ti Xiao out to eat instead.
Eating with Ti Xiao would surely be far more interesting than this.
………………………..
“Why are you here again this weekend? Finished your homework?” It was noon on the weekend, and Ti Nanyi, who should have been at home, was at Ti Xiao’s house, eating his oranges and petting his cat.
“Ah, I was watching a movie nearby with my classmates this morning, so I thought I’d drop by and visit my dear uncle,” Ti Nanyi said, speaking around a mouthful of orange.
Ti Xiao snorted from his nose. “I bet you got a 57 and don’t want to go home.”
Ti Nanyi’s mother, Ti Xiao’s sister-in-law Ren Yue, had just returned from a business trip at noon.
“That’s not it.” Ti Nanyi spat out the orange pit. “I’m here to deliver some intel. Guess what I saw this morning?”
“I’m not guessing. Just tell me,” Ti Xiao responded lazily, still sketching, not in the mood for small talk.
Ti Nanyi clutched her chest, making a dramatic sad face. “I saw our English teacher at a café with a blonde and blue-eyed lady. She was really pretty!”
“And then?” Ti Xiao asked.
“We just left. I should’ve dragged my classmate over to listen to them talk. I regret it so much!”
“Was it really that interesting?” Ti Xiao replied absentmindedly.
Even if it was interesting, it couldn’t compare to how pleasant Xiao Yao’s English sounded. Whatever Xiao Yao said, it sounded like music to Ti Xiao’s ears!
Ti Nanyi left to face her mother’s scolding, and the room returned to silence. Occasionally, the soft purring of the cat could be heard. While Ti Xiao was about to order dinner, he noticed a large pumpkin sitting in the corner of the room.
It was a gift from Aunt Zhang, who lived upstairs and was part of the neighborhood committee. She had brought it to him as a “bribe” for helping with the winter solstice display on the community bulletin board.
At the entrance of the neighborhood, there was a large blackboard. During holidays, the committee would either write or draw relevant themes on it, claiming it was to educate the neighborhood’s children and strengthen community bonds. Since Ti Xiao had moved here and revealed that he could draw, he had basically taken over the blackboard. The committee members treated him like a treasure.
“Winter solstice, huh.” Ti Xiao hefted the heavy pumpkin in his hands, deep in thought.
Pumpkin soup was one of the few dishes that a kitchen novice like Ti Xiao could make. After steaming the pumpkin, he would add milk and a bit of light cream, then blend it together. It smelled delicious and kept him warm.
As the house filled with the fragrant scent of pumpkin and cream, Ti Xiao went to the convenience store in the neighborhood to buy some supplies. There, he ran into Xiao Yao.
Xiao Yao was standing at the end of the checkout line, his jacket draped over his arm, his face showing signs of fatigue. Even his normally straight posture seemed slightly slouched as he waited to pay.
When Ti Xiao saw Xiao Yao, his first instinct was to touch his hair.
Thankfully, thankfully, it wasn’t oily, and he hadn’t tied it into a messy knot—perfect.
He slyly approached Xiao Yao from a distance, then took a closer look. Xiao Yao’s shopping basket only contained a few cans of beer.
At this point, Ti Xiao had fully imagined a sad, lonely Xiao Yao, who was down on his luck. He was acting all dramatic as he casually walked over, pretending to have run into him by chance. “Xiao Yao?”
Xiao Yao had been listening to people talk at a café all day, his mind was already irritated. When he heard Ti Xiao’s voice, he turned around and froze for a moment. It was the first time he saw Ti Xiao with his bangs down.
“Xiao…” Xiao Yao almost let the nickname his friends gave him slip out, but he quickly corrected himself, “Hello.”
“It’s not good to drink on an empty stomach. Why don’t you get something to eat?” Ti Xiao approached, acting all righteous, completely unaware of the “Xiao” that almost escaped.
As he got closer, a gust of air carried the sweet scent of pumpkin and cream into Xiao Yao’s nose.
It was sweet.
To strike up a conversation, Ti Xiao went on a tangent, talking about the dangers of drinking on an empty stomach, despite the fact that he was the kind of person who would be out cold after a single drink. He talked about his dad and older brother getting drunk every holiday, turning the conversation into a long monologue about the drawbacks of drinking on an empty stomach.
“Do you want to try this tuna rice ball? It’s really good,” Ti Xiao said, carefully picking out a triangular rice ball from his basket.
For some reason, hearing Ti Xiao talk in his ear didn’t make Xiao Yao feel annoyed. On the contrary, it made him want to hear him talk a little more.
After thinking for a moment, Xiao Yao smiled slightly, almost imperceptibly, and reached out to take the rice ball, his finger lightly brushing Ti Xiao’s hand.
“Sure.”