At night, Shen You was standing by the sink and washing the thermos with an air of unfamiliarity. After washing it a few times, he lifted his head up in silence for a moment before lowering his head back down to continue cleaning. His tightly furrowed eyebrows signalled how extremely annoyed he was and how much he disliked this kind of chore, but for whatever reason, he still had quite the patience to wash it well.
What kind of big deal could giving him congee be? If he placed a takeout order, it would still mean someone’s bringing him food. Whoever would be moved by this is a piece of coward shit.
And as Shen You thought so, he went down later in the evening to pass the thermos to the security post.
He asked the security guard there, stuffing a randomly grabbed tip into the other’s hands,
“There will be a guy, a Mr. Gu, coming tomorrow morning to pick this thermos up. Don’t forget to give it to him.”
Can’t keep in contact with him; don’t keep having anything to do with him.
Shen You’s body and mind kept warning himself.
The security guard said,
“Sure, Mr. Shen. But I won’t be working the shift tomorrow morning. I will tell Xiao-Hu1 later when he comes to take over.”
Shen You nodded his head and went back home.
At the same time, Gu Lai had not slept, following tutorials on his phone for some new breakfast recipes. As per usual, he split it into two portions: one for Yu Xi, the other for Shen You. When he arrived at the security booth in Shen You’s residential complex on his way to work, he grabbed that light blue thermos back and passed a white one over.
Then he sent Shen You a message:
[ I left your breakfast at the security booth. Don’t forget to come down and pick it up. ]
“Thank you for helping out.”
Gu Lai gave his thanks to the security guard and took his leave without dallying.
“Tang Yi Shan, what do you think he is doing……”
Sitting on the VIP lounge chair by the second floor bar near the dance floor, Shen You’s body was lying bonelessly on the leather sofa. He tilted his head to slowly blow out a ring of smoke which obscured his sharp, handsome face. He extinguished the cigarette on the table and spoke with a lazy tone,
“Couldn’t have actually broken his brain from the fall, right?”
There were other sons from wealthy families around but none of them dared to get any closer. So with Tang Yi Shan and Ke Jing, the three of them took up one table.
Tang Yi Shan looked very gentlemanly as he held a set of tarot cards in his hands. It seemed as if he played with them often as he lined the cards up in order and without even lifting up his head, he said,
“It’s just a meal. How much could it be worth? If he wants to pay for it, then accept it. After all, you aren’t losing anything. As long as it’s not poison, then anything can be made to happen. When I was in high school and chasing after girls, it’s either shelling out cars or jewellery for them, and what could I say?”
Ke Jing was very into mixing drinks these days and he let the waiter bring over ten different bottles of different colors. He lifted his head and laughed at their conversation despite being preoccupied with playing around with his concoctions,
“You’re not in need of money, so gifting jewellery is the same as pulling out a piece of hair from your head. How could they even be compared?”
Tan Yi Shan was only giving out things that he had a lot of and didn’t care about so he looked as if he was very emotionally invested when there actually wasn’t anything attached at all.
Shen You poked a finger in his direction, signalling his agreement,
“Finally, you’re speaking human words.”
Tang Yi Shan could hear something beneath those words and he casually tossed out a card. From the distant lights, he stared at what was in front of him and had quite the interest to say,
“Hoh, what can’t be compared huh? Shen You, explain to your bros here.”
The lights were changing into all sorts of colors, shining across the wheel of fortune quite clearly. Symbols like the sphinx that looked like an angel, demons, swans, poisonous snakes, and goddesses covered the card; it all represented the rise and fall of each person’s destiny, a kind of representation of the fair circle of life and karma.
“Interesting, but I haven’t said those words. So why not ask the one who originally asked instead of me?”
Shen You grabbed a bottle of wine before finding that it was mixed with all sorts of crap by Ke Jing and put it back in disinterest. With furrowed eyebrows, he said,
“What a waste you’ve created.”
Tang Yi Shan said,
“That is not called a waste; it’s called ruining things.”
Ke Jing snorted and said uncaringly,
“You don’t need to pay for this anyway. I’ll foot the bill.”
Tang Yi Shan sighed as he looked at the cards in his hands. When he lifted his eyes, he saw Shen You looking at his phone in a particular contemplative way and he said with a look on his face,
“Oh as humans, we can’t be missing too much love after all.”
Shen You seemed to be thinking of something so he didn’t hear him, but Ke Jing shuffled over and asked inquisitively,
“What what? Can’t be missing what?”
Tang Yi Shan muttered to himself,
“Also can’t be missing too many brain cells.”
Ke Jing: “…..”
Gu Lai had a detailed plan for what he wanted to do and at the moment his career was at the top of his priorities. This didn’t leave him with a lot of free time to focus on his relationships or socialization. Every day after work he would search online for new lessons and ways to cook food; even using up all the money he had left to sign up for a well known cooking class. When the construction project ended, he could immediately join the class.
For the following 26 days, Shen You’s breakfast did not stop coming. The food was more extravagant the day after the next, better tasting one day after another. Yet weirdly enough, Gu Lai had never taken the initiative to talk to him or do anything more. He would only remind Shen You at the same time everyday to grab the food and then add a good morning and Shen You would reply with a thank you without feeling any bit of embarrassment or awkwardness.
As time passed, the guards at the security booth all got to know Gu Lai.
He had a crazy learning speed, or at least Yu Xi had thought so. Because she was his neighbour, she could eat food every morning that did not repeat itself, and after half a month or so, she had gained over eight pounds. Supposedly she should be feeling great pain at what was happening and yet she could not control her own mouth……
Like clockwork, Gu Lai came to knock on her door. Yu Xi wandered over like a ghost and opened it up a sliver, sticking out her hand reflexively. Through the door, she asked expectantly,
“What did you make today?”
The two of them acted a little like when visiting someone in jail.
“Crab meat dumplings, shrimp wontons, deep fried ribs with mint, and lotus shaped pastry.”2
At first it was only simple kinds of congee, but as time passed, the degree of difficulty in the food became like the difference between the ranks of Iron and Challenger in League of Legends.3
Gu Lai passed the food over to her hands, and he seemed to have thought of something as he added,
“There won’t be any tomorrow. Don’t forget to go buy yourself some breakfast tomorrow.”
“Huh?!”
Yu Xi didn’t care one lick about her image as an elegant, composed lady and pulled her door wide open in shock. With her messy hair rumpled like a bird’s nest and eyes wide and full of surprise and questions, she pouted and asked while feeling betrayed,
“Why won’t there be any? You can’t just do that to me, just because I forgot to wash the dishes yesterday…..”
“It’s not because of that. I’ve already learned all the recipes I need. The work at the construction site also ends today, so I’m heading to a proper, professional cooking class starting tomorrow.”
Gu Lai was wearing something comfortable and loose today. Just a simple t-shirt with words on it, black lounge pants, and very clean black running shoes. With a black mechanical watch on his wrist, all in all, it painted him with a very youthful look. But it was not only because of his outer appearance but also that attitude of wanting to keep improving himself.
Yu Xi somehow felt like she was old. She wasn’t that old, but looking at Gu Lai’s bright and wide smile, a feeling of withering and decay burst out from inside of her. She quietly leaned on the door and said with her long hair covering most of her face,
“What you’ve made is good enough. Why do you need to keep learning so much, spending your money so frivolously? Those training classes are always a scam.”
Behind her was a dead quiet apartment. The curtains pulled tight without letting in a single ray of sunshine. It seemed as if the expensive makeup and jewellery had become the heart’s only comfort, and with the passing of time, she would naturally and subconsciously be used to the darkness, and even scorn how bright and piercing the sunlight could be.
Gu Lai had a set plan for his own future, so he had done a lot of prep work beforehand,
“No worries. I’ve checked over all the information. It’s a normal and standard training class with professional chefs. When I pass the exam, I will graduate. I will first work a bit and when I have saved enough money, I’ll open up a restaurant.”
Yu Xi yawned,
“Really. Well, that sounds like a good plan. I’ll make sure to have some friends over and make sure you get a lot of business.”
A faint dimple appeared on his cheeks as he heard her words, and Gu Lai reminded her,
“Open up your blinds. It’s a pretty good day with the sun shining very brightly. Let your room air out a bit.”
Every year, the summer will always have a few bouts of rain. After the suffocating heat waves pass, it will be a very refreshing kind of humidity. The sun was still high up in the sky, but it wasn’t as piercing of a shine. And following the speckled shadows of a tree, it covered up the chirps of crickets.
Gu Lai had received his pay yesterday, which meant that it was the end of his work contract. Thus, he had nothing to do today, and he planned to circle around the city slowly, taking a look at the scenery and also, at the same time, give Shen You his breakfast.
As usual, Xiao-Hu took the bag and then passed a cleaned thermos over to him through the window,
“Mr. Gu, you’re here to give your friend some breakfast again huh. You’re about ten minutes late today.”
The food had taken a bit more time to make today, so without knowing it, he had been delayed. Gu Lai said to Xiao-Hu,
“Sorry, there was a bit of traffic on the road today. Thank you!”
He smiled very warmly, and even just standing there, he could attract numerous pairs of eyes to him. When Shen You walked downstairs, he saw Gu Lai getting into his car and he subconsciously paused his footsteps. Only when he saw that car leave and disappear into the distance did he move out of the side bushes.
When Xiao-Hu saw him, he passed over the bag and completed his mission for today. He felt a bit disappointed that the two of them just missed each other and he said,
“Mr. Shen, your friend just came by. If you had been here earlier, you might have been able to meet him.”
Shen You didn’t know what he should say and he grabbed at his pockets before realizing that he hadn’t bought his wallet. So he passed over an unopened box of cigarettes and said,
“For your troubles.”
This brand was not cheap, being at a price point that humans with an average amount of wealth would not buy. At first, Xiao-Hu didn’t feel as if he could take it, but in the end, Shen You just left it on the window sill before leaving.
Humans only need seven days to create a habit, and before he knew it, Shen You had created the habit of waking up early and taking a look at his phone before heading downstairs to grab breakfast. When he would sleep at night, he would always contemplate in his mind what kind of food he would have for tomorrow.
Perhaps he should have rejected this kind of behaviour but humans have always been a complex creature. Logic and reason will always tell us the correct and harmless answer and yet very few people will actually follow that. Feelings and emotions give in to this path filled with poison and yet it is extremely tempting; a path of thorns that people cannot resist.
Gu Lai had not texted a lot, so for the short period of time within the month, there were very few texts and it would always be in the same repeating cycle of words. If it was not a ‘good morning’, then it would be for Shen You to go down to the security booth and pick up his food. Scrolling through it all, it seemed as if he was an emotionless machine. But today, a rare event was to be seen as there was one extra message.
Gu Lai: [ There’s medicine in the bag. Don’t forget to take some. ]
Shen You thought to himself, who cares about your stupid medicine. He has a whole pile at home, yet he couldn’t help himself but lie on the sofa, reading that message over and over again, quietly thinking that perhaps Tang Yi Shan was right……
He did quite lack being loved.
But Shen You thought that this reason was not enough. If it was way back before then, he would have thought that Gu Lai seemed to be perfect, a ten out of ten, without any bad aspects or imperfections.
Handsome, elegant, not crass, detailed and meticulous, caring; no downsides to pick at.
This kind of person seemed to always only exist in fictional stories, but he has now appeared right in front of his eyes, breathing and alive…..
Hmm, but there were still some downsides; he didn’t have as much money as himself.
Shen You opened the bag and took the medicine out, examining the name. He realized that this was the same kind as the one he said last time, and underneath it were four single-use plastic food containers, all filled with beautifully decorated food: perfectly golden ribs, pastry exquisitely decorated as lotus flowers, soup dumplings with a translucent skin, and also a bowl of wontons.
The food was portioned very well, exactly enough that it wouldn’t be too fulfilling, but it also won’t be too little and not be enough.
Shen You thought as he ate, Gu Lai’s cooking skills seemed to have gotten better again. He sent a message as he subconsciously bit the spoon: [ Thanks. ]
After a few minutes, Gu Lai returned his message: [ No problem, as long as you like it. ]
And then there were no messages at all.
Shen You put forth all the patience he could ever have and focused on his mantra during this short period of time. He had repeatedly told himself: don’t return his messages, don’t take the bait, don’t have any hope, don’t fall into Gu Lai’s trap once more, and so forth so many times until he finally calmed down.
Now sitting on the carpet with the air con on, he slowly, one by one, pushed down on the prayer beads in his hand, rotating them with a patience he had never had before. After a moment, he got up and prepared to wash the dishes when he realized that today’s breakfast was not in a thermos, but single-use plastic containers.
Then is there a need to wash it?
For whatever reason, Shen You had this faint feeling that Gu Lai would not continue giving him breakfast anymore. An indecipherable look appeared on his face, one that made him hook up his lips as he thought to himself, this man could only persevere for this long. Yet at the same time, there was an unexplainable sad feeling of loss.
His phone lightly buzzed, creating vibrations through the table. Shen You somehow felt deeply unsettled, unwilling to let it go like this, and sent Gu Lai a message: [ Do I need to return the lunch box back? ]
Gu Lai was just shopping at a mall, and when he saw the text, he quickly returned: [ It’s ok. It’s a single-use box so you can just throw it away. ]
The thermos contained too much moisture inside, which could soften the crispiness of the food, turning even the ribs soft and soggy. Since it could affect the taste of the food, he used plastic boxes today.
Shen You took a deep breath and typed out with an emotionless face: [ Will you still be coming tomorrow? ]
Once he clicked send, he suddenly felt as if this was too passive aggressive and he quickly retracted it.
However, it was still seen by Gu Lai who suddenly remembered something and said to Shen You:
[ Apologies. I have to attend a training class tomorrow, so I may not be able to come in the future. Don’t forget to eat breakfast ]
Shen You thought, weren’t you a construction worker, why would you still need training to do hard labor at this time and age? Who are you trying to kid huh?! And then he lit up a cigarette. In the end, annoyed by how slow texting was, he gave Gu Lai a call. When the call was picked up, he immediately got straight to the point and fakely smiled as he asked,
“You need training to move some bricks and wood around over there?”
Gu Lai had not heard the underlying mockery and after a moment of confusion, he explained,
“No, it’s not for the construction work. I am planning to become a chef, so I registered for classes which start tomorrow morning.”
So it was like this……
Shen You narrowed his eyes slightly, looking quite satisfied with this answer, and held no embarrassment for being in a situation akin to having interrogated the wrong person. Hearing that it was quite noisy on the other end of the call, he asked,
“Where are you now?”
Gu Lai didn’t think much about it and reported his location, which just so happened to be at the mall of the movie theatre they had been at last time,
“It’s my day off, so I planned to take a look around.”
Shen You asked: “By yourself?”
Gu Lai nodded: “Just me.”
And then he remembered the blunder that had happened the last time they met up and said,
“It was just a coincidence that we bumped into Yang Mian last time.”
Was this an explanation?
Shen You reflexively took a look at his phone, as if wanting to see Gu Lai’s face through the screen. He slowly took a drag of his cigarette, and after a long period of silence, he rose up and grabbed his keys from the table. He stated very directly,
“Wait for me there.”
Gu Lai was confused,
“Huh?”
Shen You said,
“You’ve made me so many meals, I’ll pay for your ticket. Find a place to wait for me.”
As he finished his sentence, he hung up. Finding that the movie from last time, << ET >>, was no longer playing in theatres, he searched through the current movies. Out of habit, Shen You skipped over all the tear jerker high school/university romance chick flicks and instead picked out a thrilling horror movie.
Click here to bypass all the footnotes!
TL Tidbits:
A little sneak peek of the next chapter with something Plum brought up when they first read the chapter: Uh oh… isn’t someone afraid of ghosts…? : )
Notes:
*1 if you recall, “xiao” can be a part of a name or as a prefix for someone younger, or for an affectionate way to call someone (at least someone a bit better than acquaintance). Here I’m just using the “-” to differentiate that it’s not part of a name, but as a prefix.
*2 here are some pics of the dishes, from top to bottom, left to right: crab meat dumplings, shrimp wontons (the name of the dish for the wontons i shortened as is but it’s basically very thin layered dumplings), deep fried ribs with mint, and lotus shaped pastry
crab meat dumplings
shrimp wontons
deep fried ribs with mint
lotus shaped pastry
*3 I’m using League here as I think it’s probs the game most people can recognize but it should be in reference to the ranks of Iron / Legendary King in Honor of Kings (which is like League).
At night, Shen You was standing by the sink and washing the thermos with an air of unfamiliarity. After washing it a few times, he lifted his head up in silence for a moment before lowering his head back down to continue cleaning. His tightly furrowed eyebrows signalled how extremely annoyed he was and how much he disliked this kind of chore, but for whatever reason, he still had quite the patience to wash it well.
What kind of big deal could giving him congee be? If he placed a takeout order, it would still mean someone’s bringing him food. Whoever would be moved by this is a piece of coward shit.
And as Shen You thought so, he went down later in the evening to pass the thermos to the security post.
He asked the security guard there, stuffing a randomly grabbed tip into the other’s hands,
“There will be a guy, a Mr. Gu, coming tomorrow morning to pick this thermos up. Don’t forget to give it to him.”
Can’t keep in contact with him; don’t keep having anything to do with him.
Shen You’s body and mind kept warning himself.
The security guard said,
“Sure, Mr. Shen. But I won’t be working the shift tomorrow morning. I will tell Xiao-Hu1 later when he comes to take over.”
Shen You nodded his head and went back home.
At the same time, Gu Lai had not slept, following tutorials on his phone for some new breakfast recipes. As per usual, he split it into two portions: one for Yu Xi, the other for Shen You. When he arrived at the security booth in Shen You’s residential complex on his way to work, he grabbed that light blue thermos back and passed a white one over.
Then he sent Shen You a message:
[ I left your breakfast at the security booth. Don’t forget to come down and pick it up. ]
“Thank you for helping out.”
Gu Lai gave his thanks to the security guard and took his leave without dallying.
“Tang Yi Shan, what do you think he is doing……”
Sitting on the VIP lounge chair by the second floor bar near the dance floor, Shen You’s body was lying bonelessly on the leather sofa. He tilted his head to slowly blow out a ring of smoke which obscured his sharp, handsome face. He extinguished the cigarette on the table and spoke with a lazy tone,
“Couldn’t have actually broken his brain from the fall, right?”
There were other sons from wealthy families around but none of them dared to get any closer. So with Tang Yi Shan and Ke Jing, the three of them took up one table.
Tang Yi Shan looked very gentlemanly as he held a set of tarot cards in his hands. It seemed as if he played with them often as he lined the cards up in order and without even lifting up his head, he said,
“It’s just a meal. How much could it be worth? If he wants to pay for it, then accept it. After all, you aren’t losing anything. As long as it’s not poison, then anything can be made to happen. When I was in high school and chasing after girls, it’s either shelling out cars or jewellery for them, and what could I say?”
Ke Jing was very into mixing drinks these days and he let the waiter bring over ten different bottles of different colors. He lifted his head and laughed at their conversation despite being preoccupied with playing around with his concoctions,
“You’re not in need of money, so gifting jewellery is the same as pulling out a piece of hair from your head. How could they even be compared?”
Tan Yi Shan was only giving out things that he had a lot of and didn’t care about so he looked as if he was very emotionally invested when there actually wasn’t anything attached at all.
Shen You poked a finger in his direction, signalling his agreement,
“Finally, you’re speaking human words.”
Tang Yi Shan could hear something beneath those words and he casually tossed out a card. From the distant lights, he stared at what was in front of him and had quite the interest to say,
“Hoh, what can’t be compared huh? Shen You, explain to your bros here.”
The lights were changing into all sorts of colors, shining across the wheel of fortune quite clearly. Symbols like the sphinx that looked like an angel, demons, swans, poisonous snakes, and goddesses covered the card; it all represented the rise and fall of each person’s destiny, a kind of representation of the fair circle of life and karma.
“Interesting, but I haven’t said those words. So why not ask the one who originally asked instead of me?”
Shen You grabbed a bottle of wine before finding that it was mixed with all sorts of crap by Ke Jing and put it back in disinterest. With furrowed eyebrows, he said,
“What a waste you’ve created.”
Tang Yi Shan said,
“That is not called a waste; it’s called ruining things.”
Ke Jing snorted and said uncaringly,
“You don’t need to pay for this anyway. I’ll foot the bill.”
Tang Yi Shan sighed as he looked at the cards in his hands. When he lifted his eyes, he saw Shen You looking at his phone in a particular contemplative way and he said with a look on his face,
“Oh as humans, we can’t be missing too much love after all.”
Shen You seemed to be thinking of something so he didn’t hear him, but Ke Jing shuffled over and asked inquisitively,
“What what? Can’t be missing what?”
Tang Yi Shan muttered to himself,
“Also can’t be missing too many brain cells.”
Ke Jing: “…..”
Gu Lai had a detailed plan for what he wanted to do and at the moment his career was at the top of his priorities. This didn’t leave him with a lot of free time to focus on his relationships or socialization. Every day after work he would search online for new lessons and ways to cook food; even using up all the money he had left to sign up for a well known cooking class. When the construction project ended, he could immediately join the class.
For the following 26 days, Shen You’s breakfast did not stop coming. The food was more extravagant the day after the next, better tasting one day after another. Yet weirdly enough, Gu Lai had never taken the initiative to talk to him or do anything more. He would only remind Shen You at the same time everyday to grab the food and then add a good morning and Shen You would reply with a thank you without feeling any bit of embarrassment or awkwardness.
As time passed, the guards at the security booth all got to know Gu Lai.
He had a crazy learning speed, or at least Yu Xi had thought so. Because she was his neighbour, she could eat food every morning that did not repeat itself, and after half a month or so, she had gained over eight pounds. Supposedly she should be feeling great pain at what was happening and yet she could not control her own mouth……
Like clockwork, Gu Lai came to knock on her door. Yu Xi wandered over like a ghost and opened it up a sliver, sticking out her hand reflexively. Through the door, she asked expectantly,
“What did you make today?”
The two of them acted a little like when visiting someone in jail.
“Crab meat dumplings, shrimp wontons, deep fried ribs with mint, and lotus shaped pastry.”2
At first it was only simple kinds of congee, but as time passed, the degree of difficulty in the food became like the difference between the ranks of Iron and Challenger in League of Legends.3
Gu Lai passed the food over to her hands, and he seemed to have thought of something as he added,
“There won’t be any tomorrow. Don’t forget to go buy yourself some breakfast tomorrow.”
“Huh?!”
Yu Xi didn’t care one lick about her image as an elegant, composed lady and pulled her door wide open in shock. With her messy hair rumpled like a bird’s nest and eyes wide and full of surprise and questions, she pouted and asked while feeling betrayed,
“Why won’t there be any? You can’t just do that to me, just because I forgot to wash the dishes yesterday…..”
“It’s not because of that. I’ve already learned all the recipes I need. The work at the construction site also ends today, so I’m heading to a proper, professional cooking class starting tomorrow.”
Gu Lai was wearing something comfortable and loose today. Just a simple t-shirt with words on it, black lounge pants, and very clean black running shoes. With a black mechanical watch on his wrist, all in all, it painted him with a very youthful look. But it was not only because of his outer appearance but also that attitude of wanting to keep improving himself.
Yu Xi somehow felt like she was old. She wasn’t that old, but looking at Gu Lai’s bright and wide smile, a feeling of withering and decay burst out from inside of her. She quietly leaned on the door and said with her long hair covering most of her face,
“What you’ve made is good enough. Why do you need to keep learning so much, spending your money so frivolously? Those training classes are always a scam.”
Behind her was a dead quiet apartment. The curtains pulled tight without letting in a single ray of sunshine. It seemed as if the expensive makeup and jewellery had become the heart’s only comfort, and with the passing of time, she would naturally and subconsciously be used to the darkness, and even scorn how bright and piercing the sunlight could be.
Gu Lai had a set plan for his own future, so he had done a lot of prep work beforehand,
“No worries. I’ve checked over all the information. It’s a normal and standard training class with professional chefs. When I pass the exam, I will graduate. I will first work a bit and when I have saved enough money, I’ll open up a restaurant.”
Yu Xi yawned,
“Really. Well, that sounds like a good plan. I’ll make sure to have some friends over and make sure you get a lot of business.”
A faint dimple appeared on his cheeks as he heard her words, and Gu Lai reminded her,
“Open up your blinds. It’s a pretty good day with the sun shining very brightly. Let your room air out a bit.”
Every year, the summer will always have a few bouts of rain. After the suffocating heat waves pass, it will be a very refreshing kind of humidity. The sun was still high up in the sky, but it wasn’t as piercing of a shine. And following the speckled shadows of a tree, it covered up the chirps of crickets.
Gu Lai had received his pay yesterday, which meant that it was the end of his work contract. Thus, he had nothing to do today, and he planned to circle around the city slowly, taking a look at the scenery and also, at the same time, give Shen You his breakfast.
As usual, Xiao-Hu took the bag and then passed a cleaned thermos over to him through the window,
“Mr. Gu, you’re here to give your friend some breakfast again huh. You’re about ten minutes late today.”
The food had taken a bit more time to make today, so without knowing it, he had been delayed. Gu Lai said to Xiao-Hu,
“Sorry, there was a bit of traffic on the road today. Thank you!”
He smiled very warmly, and even just standing there, he could attract numerous pairs of eyes to him. When Shen You walked downstairs, he saw Gu Lai getting into his car and he subconsciously paused his footsteps. Only when he saw that car leave and disappear into the distance did he move out of the side bushes.
When Xiao-Hu saw him, he passed over the bag and completed his mission for today. He felt a bit disappointed that the two of them just missed each other and he said,
“Mr. Shen, your friend just came by. If you had been here earlier, you might have been able to meet him.”
Shen You didn’t know what he should say and he grabbed at his pockets before realizing that he hadn’t bought his wallet. So he passed over an unopened box of cigarettes and said,
“For your troubles.”
This brand was not cheap, being at a price point that humans with an average amount of wealth would not buy. At first, Xiao-Hu didn’t feel as if he could take it, but in the end, Shen You just left it on the window sill before leaving.
Humans only need seven days to create a habit, and before he knew it, Shen You had created the habit of waking up early and taking a look at his phone before heading downstairs to grab breakfast. When he would sleep at night, he would always contemplate in his mind what kind of food he would have for tomorrow.
Perhaps he should have rejected this kind of behaviour but humans have always been a complex creature. Logic and reason will always tell us the correct and harmless answer and yet very few people will actually follow that. Feelings and emotions give in to this path filled with poison and yet it is extremely tempting; a path of thorns that people cannot resist.
Gu Lai had not texted a lot, so for the short period of time within the month, there were very few texts and it would always be in the same repeating cycle of words. If it was not a ‘good morning’, then it would be for Shen You to go down to the security booth and pick up his food. Scrolling through it all, it seemed as if he was an emotionless machine. But today, a rare event was to be seen as there was one extra message.
Gu Lai: [ There’s medicine in the bag. Don’t forget to take some. ]
Shen You thought to himself, who cares about your stupid medicine. He has a whole pile at home, yet he couldn’t help himself but lie on the sofa, reading that message over and over again, quietly thinking that perhaps Tang Yi Shan was right……
He did quite lack being loved.
But Shen You thought that this reason was not enough. If it was way back before then, he would have thought that Gu Lai seemed to be perfect, a ten out of ten, without any bad aspects or imperfections.
Handsome, elegant, not crass, detailed and meticulous, caring; no downsides to pick at.
This kind of person seemed to always only exist in fictional stories, but he has now appeared right in front of his eyes, breathing and alive…..
Hmm, but there were still some downsides; he didn’t have as much money as himself.
Shen You opened the bag and took the medicine out, examining the name. He realized that this was the same kind as the one he said last time, and underneath it were four single-use plastic food containers, all filled with beautifully decorated food: perfectly golden ribs, pastry exquisitely decorated as lotus flowers, soup dumplings with a translucent skin, and also a bowl of wontons.
The food was portioned very well, exactly enough that it wouldn’t be too fulfilling, but it also won’t be too little and not be enough.
Shen You thought as he ate, Gu Lai’s cooking skills seemed to have gotten better again. He sent a message as he subconsciously bit the spoon: [ Thanks. ]
After a few minutes, Gu Lai returned his message: [ No problem, as long as you like it. ]
And then there were no messages at all.
Shen You put forth all the patience he could ever have and focused on his mantra during this short period of time. He had repeatedly told himself: don’t return his messages, don’t take the bait, don’t have any hope, don’t fall into Gu Lai’s trap once more, and so forth so many times until he finally calmed down.
Now sitting on the carpet with the air con on, he slowly, one by one, pushed down on the prayer beads in his hand, rotating them with a patience he had never had before. After a moment, he got up and prepared to wash the dishes when he realized that today’s breakfast was not in a thermos, but single-use plastic containers.
Then is there a need to wash it?
For whatever reason, Shen You had this faint feeling that Gu Lai would not continue giving him breakfast anymore. An indecipherable look appeared on his face, one that made him hook up his lips as he thought to himself, this man could only persevere for this long. Yet at the same time, there was an unexplainable sad feeling of loss.
His phone lightly buzzed, creating vibrations through the table. Shen You somehow felt deeply unsettled, unwilling to let it go like this, and sent Gu Lai a message: [ Do I need to return the lunch box back? ]
Gu Lai was just shopping at a mall, and when he saw the text, he quickly returned: [ It’s ok. It’s a single-use box so you can just throw it away. ]
The thermos contained too much moisture inside, which could soften the crispiness of the food, turning even the ribs soft and soggy. Since it could affect the taste of the food, he used plastic boxes today.
Shen You took a deep breath and typed out with an emotionless face: [ Will you still be coming tomorrow? ]
Once he clicked send, he suddenly felt as if this was too passive aggressive and he quickly retracted it.
However, it was still seen by Gu Lai who suddenly remembered something and said to Shen You:
[ Apologies. I have to attend a training class tomorrow, so I may not be able to come in the future. Don’t forget to eat breakfast ]
Shen You thought, weren’t you a construction worker, why would you still need training to do hard labor at this time and age? Who are you trying to kid huh?! And then he lit up a cigarette. In the end, annoyed by how slow texting was, he gave Gu Lai a call. When the call was picked up, he immediately got straight to the point and fakely smiled as he asked,
“You need training to move some bricks and wood around over there?”
Gu Lai had not heard the underlying mockery and after a moment of confusion, he explained,
“No, it’s not for the construction work. I am planning to become a chef, so I registered for classes which start tomorrow morning.”
So it was like this……
Shen You narrowed his eyes slightly, looking quite satisfied with this answer, and held no embarrassment for being in a situation akin to having interrogated the wrong person. Hearing that it was quite noisy on the other end of the call, he asked,
“Where are you now?”
Gu Lai didn’t think much about it and reported his location, which just so happened to be at the mall of the movie theatre they had been at last time,
“It’s my day off, so I planned to take a look around.”
Shen You asked: “By yourself?”
Gu Lai nodded: “Just me.”
And then he remembered the blunder that had happened the last time they met up and said,
“It was just a coincidence that we bumped into Yang Mian last time.”
Was this an explanation?
Shen You reflexively took a look at his phone, as if wanting to see Gu Lai’s face through the screen. He slowly took a drag of his cigarette, and after a long period of silence, he rose up and grabbed his keys from the table. He stated very directly,
“Wait for me there.”
Gu Lai was confused,
“Huh?”
Shen You said,
“You’ve made me so many meals, I’ll pay for your ticket. Find a place to wait for me.”
As he finished his sentence, he hung up. Finding that the movie from last time, << ET >>, was no longer playing in theatres, he searched through the current movies. Out of habit, Shen You skipped over all the tear jerker high school/university romance chick flicks and instead picked out a thrilling horror movie.
Click here to bypass all the footnotes!
TL Tidbits:
A little sneak peek of the next chapter with something Plum brought up when they first read the chapter: Uh oh… isn’t someone afraid of ghosts…? : )
Notes:
*1 if you recall, “xiao” can be a part of a name or as a prefix for someone younger, or for an affectionate way to call someone (at least someone a bit better than acquaintance). Here I’m just using the “-” to differentiate that it’s not part of a name, but as a prefix.
*2 here are some pics of the dishes, from top to bottom, left to right: crab meat dumplings, shrimp wontons (the name of the dish for the wontons i shortened as is but it’s basically very thin layered dumplings), deep fried ribs with mint, and lotus shaped pastry
crab meat dumplings
shrimp wontons
deep fried ribs with mint
lotus shaped pastry
*3 I’m using League here as I think it’s probs the game most people can recognize but it should be in reference to the ranks of Iron / Legendary King in Honor of Kings (which is like League).
