30 – Anyone want some milk?

Chapter 30: Anyone want some milk?

Another week passed in the blink of an eye.

This weekend, Xie Qingcheng decided to leave the medical school dormitory. He intended to return to that old downtown area on the outskirts of Huzhou.

Xie Qingcheng and his sister, Xie Xue, had moved out of their former home after entering college. It was inevitably awkward for two grown siblings to live together in a single room of less than twelve square meters.

However, the two of them were on very good terms with their neighbors. Every other week, the siblings would take turns visiting their old neighborhood to have meals with Auntie Li, who cherished them like her own children, and stay for a few days.

He hadn’t been able to return home for a while because he was busy, but he finally found some free time this week. Having decided to go home, Xie Qingcheng called Xie Xue.

“I’m going to Aunt Li’s place this weekend. I’ll pick you up.”

However, he received an unexpected answer.

I already stopped by to see her the evening before yesterday while I was passing by.

“……Why didn’t you tell me?”

Well—.

Xie Xue vaguely deflected.

I just dropped in while I was wandering around the area.

“You have to transfer subways three times to get from Huzhou University to Moyujiang. There aren’t even any large shopping malls nearby. You went all the way there alone?”

Y-yeah.

“Xie Xue, don’t lie to me.”

Xie Qingcheng’s tone turned sharply cold.

“You’re hiding something from me lately.”

After hesitating for a long time, unable to find the words, Xie Xue finally stammered an “Ah.”

Oppa, my phone is about to die.

“Xie Xue!”

Seriously, the battery is dead, so visit our siteI’m hanging up. Go by yourself. I have things to do this weekend. stolen contentGive my regards to Aunt Li! Bye!

Just as Xie Qingcheng was about to add something, the indifferent mechanical sound of beep, beep, beep returned.

As the call was unilaterally cut off, Xie Qingcheng’s expression hardened. He tossed his phone onto the table, stepped out onto the dormitory balcony, and smoked a cigarette with a troubled mind.

Even if Xie Xue wasn’t going, he still had to go home.

Since he was visiting Aunt Li, he wanted to clean the house. Even if he didn’t visit often, that place was the true home for him and Xie Xue.

Thus, on Friday evening, after finishing his lectures, Xie Qingcheng packed a few simple things and took the subway toward Moyujiang.

The neighborhood was one of the rare shanty towns that hadn’t been demolished by the city; since it had once been a concession area, it was a place where red bricks and white walls left a strong impression. The government spent money every year to beautifully repair the exterior, but that couldn’t change the fate of an aging beauty. The crisscrossing clotheslines were wrinkles that powder couldn’t cover, and the peeling paint in every corner was like dull lip gloss. Positioned among the stylish modern buildings in this state, it exuded a strong sense of an era, like a grandmother standing prominently among young people to take a photo.

Xie Qingcheng entered the mouth of the alley. The neighborhood ladies and uncles, who happened to be gathering laundry, welcomed him.

“Has Teacher Xie arrived?”

“Mr. Xie, have you eaten? I have some boiled corn here; I’ll bring some over later.”

After exchanging brief pleasantries with the neighbors, Xie Qingcheng turned the corner of the building where many shabby bicycles were parked and opened the front door of his house.

At first, the neighbors called him ‘Xiao Xie.’ Then, as Xie Xue grew up and [visit our site]became visit our siteclose [unauthorized copy]with the neighbors due to her affectionate personality, he passed that nickname on to his younger sister. In exchange, Xie Qingcheng earned the respectful titles of Professor Xie or Mr. Xie.

The only adult who didn’t call Xie Qingcheng by his professional title was Auntie Li.

Xie Qingcheng’s house and hers were in the same alley. He went into his room, changed into the clothes he had brought, and then came back out to knock on Auntie Li’s front door.

“Goodness, so noisy! Do you want to die? What time do you think it is—.”

He knocked for a while, but the old, peeling front door showed no sign of opening; instead, the attic window upstairs opened. The man upstairs poked his balding head out and started cursing, but he quickly swallowed his words upon discovering the person standing below.

“Oh, it was Mr. Xie.”

“Mister. Where is Aunt Li?”

“Ah, right. Since Xiao Xie visited a few days ago, she figured Mr. Xie wouldn’t be coming for a while and went to meet a younger friend of hers.”

“That friend of hers?”

Xie Qingcheng frowned.

“Yeah, goodness. You know that person’s personality well. Even at that age, she’s obsessively into some cheongsam show or whatever with her friend. She’ll probably be out playing for two days.”

“…….”

“Mr. Xie, have you eaten?”

Having finished his chatter, the man gestured toward Xie Qingcheng.

“If you haven’t, come up and eat with this old man.”

Of course, Xie Qingcheng wasn’t the type to draw a hard line or be distant with his neighbors.

“What are you eating?”

“Mango.”

The man reached out through the narrow gap of the window with a hand as shriveled as old tree bark. In that hand was a large, peeled mango.

“…….”

The mischievous old man chuckled upon seeing Xie Qingcheng’s expression. The few strands of hair remaining on his head swayed wildly in the breeze.

“Look at this, look at this. Look at that frown and that serious face. Hahaha, it’s killing me.”

“……I’m fine. Please eat it yourself, Mister. I’ll be going now.”

With that, he swung the door open and entered his house.

The inside of the room was divided into two spaces by a simple blue curtain serving as a partition. The side with a window showing the outside view was Xie Xue’s room. Although it was a small space, several cute succulent pots and a blooming gardenia pot caught the eye by the window. The princess bed that Xie Qingcheng had replaced for her when she was in middle school was occupied by colorful dolls and cushions, and a yellowed celebrity poster was pasted on the wall next to the bed.

Tossing his outer coat onto his own bed, Xie Qingcheng hooked his long fingers into the knot of his tie and pulled it loose to breathe.

His bed was pushed against the wall with the entrance door. Similarly, a curtain acted as a partition. Being unskilled in domestic affairs, he continued to use the old wooden bed his parents had used. The old furniture had stayed by his side through thirty years of time and was still sturdy.

Exhausted from a hectic week, Xie Qingcheng poured water into a cup, took his medicine, and lay on the bed to close his eyes for a moment. By the time he woke up, the day had completely darkened.

Since Aunt Li wasn’t home, he didn’t feel like sitting at the table to prepare a meal. He took out his phone and ordered delivery food.

Just as he was about to close the delivery app after finishing the order, a messenger notification popped up. It was He Yu.

[Where are you now?]

He was too lazy to even move his fingers to reply.

Then, a second pop-up window appeared.

[I came to the med school, but you weren’t there.]

“…….”

Too tired to even type on the keyboard, he sent the shortest reply possible.

[Home.]

Regardless, He Yu’s reply was long and detailed.

[Home? Did you go to your family home? Is Xie Xue with you?]

When a person who always lives with their nerves on edge returns to a zone of relief and lets go of the tension, it is often difficult to wind the spring back up immediately.

Xie Qingcheng was exactly such a person. With his tie loosened and the top two buttons of his shirt undone, lying on the antique bed, his whole body felt melted. Too lazy to even twitch a finger, he pressed the voice message button and spoke. A languid, husky voice flowed out.

“You annoying brat, Xie Xue didn’t come with me. Why on earth did you come to the med school on a weekend? I don’t have a baby bottle to put in your mouth. Do you not know how to order delivery alone, so you’re asking me to do it for you, or what?”

Of course, Xie Qingcheng wasn’t usually this harsh.

The problem was that his pride had been greatly wounded after He Yu caught him cheating last time. He had spent the entire week ignoring this damn kid, pondering how to make up for that mistake.

In the midst of that, he felt irritated that [Read on Read BL Novels]the kid had contacted him first. He [visit our site]simply wanted to unauthorized copyignore this crazy brat and rest in peace.

Sure enough, when he expressed his annoyance, the crazy kid fell into a long silence.

Then, another message flew in.

[I’m bored.]

Xie Qingcheng sent a disinterested voice message.

“Go play with your classmates.”

[I want to see Teacher.]

“Can’t you understand plain speech, He Yu? I said I want to rest because it’s the weekend. And I told you I’m at home. You’ve only been here a few times as a child; you don’t even know the way.”

It was an irritated rejection, but perhaps because he was lying there with an exhausted body, a drowsy nasal tone lingered in his voice.

A reply came back instantly.

[Don’t worry. I remember it perfectly.]

“…….”

Well. That’s why he’s the top of the school and the top of the grade.

“Don’t come. I don’t have time to look after you. Unless you’ve had a seizure. Did you have one by any chance?”

[No.]

“Then don’t come.”

[You lost the bet last time. I don’t think I’ve decided on the penalty yet.]

Xie Qingcheng stared blankly at the ceiling. His face, tinted blue by the light of the phone screen, grew increasingly gloomy.

“……He Yu. What on earth do you want.”

Perhaps considering the answer, the reply this time was slow.

Just as Xie Qingcheng, losing patience, tossed his phone aside and tried to go back to sleep, a reply finally arrived. This time it was a voice message. It was a pleasant, gentle, and subtle voice.

However, unlike the voice, the content was utterly brazen.

I didn’t have a seizure, but I’m not in a great mood. I’m tired of acting in front of others, but I don’t need to do unauthorized copythat Read on Read BL Novelsin front of Teacher, so I’m going to see Teacher to change my mood.

“……Am I a playground? You just come visit because you’re bored to change your mood?”

Xie Qingcheng flared up in the face of that pleasant voice.

“He Yu, what is this change of heart? You used to avoid me faster than a stray dog, and now that you’ve had a bit of fun, you’re seeking me out first? What, have you become addicted?”

In truth, He Yu couldn’t understand himself either.

Until now, he had followed Xie Xue with his eyes, harboring a small amount of expectation.

But that expectation had vanished. He didn’t want Xie Xue to notice this kind of gaze, so he had to look away.

In the midst of that hopelessness, he might have realized that Xie Qingcheng was the best target to soothe his melancholy. Xie Qingcheng was the person who knew him better than anyone, and besides…….

At least the shape of his eyes was exactly like Xie Xue’s.

Even knowing he was a fake and not Xie Xue, it provided a certain amount of comfort. Moreover, the feeling of winning the bet against Xie Qingcheng was truly thrilling. To outsmart Xie Qingcheng. It was something he couldn’t have even imagined, let alone expected, in the past.

Just as Xie Qingcheng said, he seemed to be a bit addicted.

But he hadn’t expected Xie Qingcheng, whom he thought would call him, to remain completely silent. He Yu, who spent a week in frustration, finally bestowed the stolen contentgrace of sending a message this evening. Then, as he was repeatedly Read on Read BL Novelsrejected, his expression hardened and he sent a voice message. He wanted Xie Qingcheng to recognize the displeasure embedded in his voice.

I’ll be there right now.

Irritated, Xie Qingcheng threw his phone against the wall. He Yu’s annoying voice automatically played in the cramped house.

Professor. You haven’t contacted me for a week; surely you aren’t doing that because you’re scared?

Xie Qingcheng let out a sigh.

“Scared my ass.”

He Yu, a man of action, did not speak with two tongues. Xie Qingcheng prayed in his heart that He Yu had remembered the address wrong and gone to some random person’s house. However, the moment someone knocked on the old security iron gate with a leisurely touch, he changed his mind. He decided it would be more realistic to hope He Yu fell into a manhole under construction on his way than to hope his intelligence had dropped.

Knock, knock, knock.

“…….”

Xie Qingcheng, completely drained and sprawled on the bed, twitched his fingers but did not get up.

He Yu, exercising the spirit of a 21st-century college student who considers the elderly and infirm, waited patiently for Xie Qingcheng. He simply bent his index finger and knocked on the door from time to time until Xie Qingcheng came out.

He didn’t even throw a single fit of irritation.

Rather, the sharp-eared old man living upstairs got irritated and flung open the attic window.

“What’s with all the knocking! Before you knock like that, at least ask if anyone’s home! Huh? I’ve never seen your face before, who are you looking for? Are you a participant in a community service program? Did you come to visit a lonely senior citizen?”

“…….”

What an embarrassment to the neighborhood, a total disgrace.

Xie Qingcheng, the lonely senior citizen who had been pretending to be dead on the bed, had no choice but to get up, swing the security door wide open, and shout toward the upper floor.

“It’s fine, Mister. He’s someone I know.”

As he did so, he grabbed the young man standing outside by the collar and yanked him through the half-open gap of the door.

“Just get in.”

The shabby security iron door slammed shut behind them with a thud. The recoil was so strong that the character for ‘Fortune’ (福) attached to the door rattled and became crooked.

Xie Qingcheng, with a dark expression, threw He Yu against the wall.

“What do you think you’re doing right now.”

A faint scent of fabric softener wafted from He Yu, who was leaning against the wall. He even exuded the fresh scent of youth that one usually feels after long exposure to sunlight.

This scent mixed with the cold smell of cigarettes that permeated Xie Qingcheng’s house.

He Yu arched an eyebrow and pointed upward with his finger.

“The neighbor told me, didn’t they? That I came to visit a lonely senior citizen.”

Passing by Xie Qingcheng, who blocked his path, he turned on the fluorescent lights in the house as if it were natural. His movements were so natural that he seemed like someone who frequented the house, let alone a volunteer.

The most infuriating part was that the volunteer student, after taking a tour of the house, showed courtesy to the ‘lonely senior citizen’ he had come to care for and made one request.

“Hyung, I’m hungry. Is there anything to eat?”

Irritated, Xie Qingcheng replied while brushing back the hair that had fallen over his forehead as if tearing it out.

“Go suck a baby bottle.”

“Are you going to feed me milk?”

“…….”

Xie Qingcheng bluntly took a carton of sterilized milk from a box and threw it at He Yu.

Then, He Yu glanced at the milk and said,

“The ingredients aren’t great, so I don’t drink this brand of milk.”

“…….”

Under Xie Qingcheng’s piercing gaze, his frost-like lips twitched.

“Then what do you want to drink, young master? Should I call someone to find you a ranch?”