Chapter 25.1
Editor: Princess
Uncle Zhuang was the butler of the Yu Residence. He handled everything, big or small, inside the house. But this white food container Yu Pei pulled out, he was sure he’d never seen it before. So how did it end up in Yu Pei’s backpack?
“It’s my desk mate’s lunchbox. He gave me some egg pancakes this morning.” Yu Pei said with a smile. “I wanted to pack some cherries that big brother bought and share them with him.”
“I can wash it for you.” Uncle Zhuang offered.
And saying this, he rolled up his sleeves, ready to clean the container. But Yu Pei stepped aside to avoid him and said, “No need, Uncle Zhuang. I’ll do it myself.”
Since Yu Pei refused his help, Uncle Zhuang could only stand by and watch in silence as Yu Pei washed the container carefully and filled it to the brim neatly with cherries.
And seeing that Uncle Zhuang had been staring at him the whole time, Yu Pei washed another plate of cherries and held it out to him. “Uncle Zhuang, do you want some?”
“Uncle Zhuang doesn’t want some.” Uncle Zhuang smiled and shook his head.
Yu Pei picked up the plate of cherries and walked out. “Then I’ll take these to big brother.”
Yu Qing was eating at home today. His face bore a six or seven-point resemblance to Yu Pei’s, but he rarely showed any emotion. His straight brows were always tightly furrowed, except when he saw his one and only little brother. Then, and only then, did his brows relax, and a warm smile appeared on his face. “Ah Pei.”
“Big brother, have some cherries.” Yu Pei pushed the plate of cherries toward him.
And following Yu Pei’s lead, Yu Qing picked up a cherry from the plate. But then, he noticed a white container beside Yu Pei, also filled with cherries. He couldn’t help but ask, “Ah Pei, are these the ones you’re taking to school later?”
“En.” Yu Pei nodded. “I want to share them with my desk mate.”
Yu Qing continued, “Will there still be enough cherries in the kitchen for you? If not, I’ll have someone buy more.”
Yu Pei said, “There’s plenty. Thank you, big brother.”
With that, their simple conversation ended, and silence returned between them. However it wasn’t an awkward silence, just a quiet understanding. Yu Qing looked at the teenager sitting at the dining table, eating obediently with his head down and a sudden tightness gripped his chest.
Yu Pei was always quiet when he ate. His long eyelashes drooped down, shielding all his emotions, making it impossible for others to see what he was thinking. Clearing his throat, he spoke again, his voice slightly hoarse. “Ah Pei…”
“Hm?” Yu Pei lifted his head at the sound, revealing those light tea colored eyes hidden beneath his lashes.
Yu Qing wanted to apologize, however when he opened his mouth, only a sigh escaped. “You told big brother that Gu Zheng is transferring to our school and will be staying at our house?”
“En.” Yu Pei nodded. “Gu Zheng said he doesn’t want to stay in the dorms.”
“That’s fine. If he doesn’t want to stay in the dorms, he can stay at our place. I’ve already had his room cleaned up, he’ll be living next door to you.” Yu Qing sighed again. “I’m always busy. I don’t have much time to spend with you.”
“It’s okay.” Yu Pei pressed his lips into a small smile. His eyelashes drooped again as he stared at his reflection in the soup bowl. “I’ve grown up. I can take care of myself.”
“Ah Pei, do you… do you ever…” Yu Qing’s voice trailed off, the last few words barely escaping his lips.
Yu Pei didn’t hear him clearly. “Big brother, what did you say?”
“Nothing.” Yu Qing chuckled lightly. “Finish your food. You’ll need to take a nap soon.”
“Mm.” Yu Pei nodded. After he finished his lunch, he wished Yu Qing a good nap and went back to his room to sleep.
That afternoon at school, when Yu Pei pulled out a whole container of cherries from his backpack and handed it to Luo Changzhou, he immediately attracted attention from the people around him.
“That’s a lot of cherries.” Tan Qiming wasn’t exactly a foodie, but seeing so many cherries still made his mouth water. After all, cherries weren’t cheap. And here was Yu Pei, casually handing over an entire container.
Seeing Tan Qiming staring at the lunchbox in Luo Changzhou’s hands, Yu Pei was afraid he might try to take some from him, so he said, “There are plenty at home. I’ll bring you some tomorrow.”
Hearing this, Luo Changzhou glanced at Tan Qiming.
Tan Qiming said immediately: “What do you take me for? Don’t worry, I won’t touch your Yu Pei’s stuff.”
Yu Pei’s ears turned slightly red when he heard Tan Qiming say “your Yu Pei”. Ever since he and Luo Changzhou started drinking tea together every day with their white porcelain cups, Tan Qiming had been teasing them nonstop.
“Then don’t look like you’re drooling over them.” Luo Changzhou said as he stuffed the lunchbox into his backpack.
“I’m not drooling!” Tan Qiming protested. Then, as if something suddenly occurred to him, he turned to Yu Pei and asked, “Did you say you have a lot of cherries at home?”
“En… My big brother bought a lot.” Yu Pei realized he might’ve said too much.
Luckily, Tan Qiming didn’t overthink it. He just said, “Your big brother really spoils you. My mom doesn’t even buy them for me.”
Luo Changzhou pulled out his English notebook from his desk drawer. “We have a spelling test in English later. You should be reviewing instead of staring at cherries.”
“What?!” Tan Qiming looked horrified. “We have a test?!”
After getting confirmation from his desk mate, he cursed, “Crap!” and immediately buried his head in his notebook to cram.
Yu Pei was good at English. He had already memorized all the words their teacher, Tian Mi, planned to test them on, so he wasn’t in a hurry. He just flipped through his English textbook casually, and seeing that Luo Changzhou hadn’t touched his cherries, he asked, “Changzhou, why aren’t you eating them? You don’t like cherries?”
Hearing this, Luo Changzhou glanced at him, then leaned over and whispered into his ear, “There are too many people at school. I don’t want to share.”
Anyone who has been a student probably knows this feeling. If you have something delicious, you feel obligated to share, but at the same time, you kind of don’t want to. What Yu Pei didn’t expect was that Luo Changzhou—the school’s top student, known for his cold and distant demeanor—would also think this way. It made him want to laugh.
However Luo Changzhou’s warm breath tickled his neck, making him shrink back slightly. But then he leaned closer and whispered back, “It’s fine. I really have a lot at home. I can bring more for you.”
Then, he grinned and added, “I’ll sneak them to you so no one else sees.”
⸻
This time, it was Luo Changzhou’s turn to shrink back a little. He sat up straight, his deep blue eyes darkening slightly as he stared at Yu Pei. Then, the corners of his lips lifted. “I was just joking. My mom likes cherries. I’ll take some back and share with her.”
“Oh, Auntie likes cherries?” Yu Pei said. “If I had known, I would’ve brought more.”
Luo Changzhou couldn’t help himself. He reached out and ruffled Yu Pei’s hair lightly. “It’s fine. There’ll be plenty of chances. The spelling test is about to start. Go over your notes.”
Yu Pei treated Luo Changzhou’s words like a royal decree. He didn’t think too deeply about whether there was anything odd about what was just said. He just lowered his head immediately and started seriously memorizing vocabulary. However Luo Changzhou, the one who had spoken, got distracted.
Using the corner of his eye, he observed the teenager beside him secretly. His gaze traced along Yu Pei’s features, as if sketching them stroke by stroke—from his fair cheeks to his long, feathery eyelashes, from his light tea colored eyes to his soft, slightly flushed lips, down to the strands of hair that brushed against his ears. The curve of his lips remained unchanged the entire time.
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