TA • Chapter 18

Given that the atmosphere between them had still been extremely tense just twenty minutes ago, even though it had eased a little now, Cheng Ke still did not want to show any special concern. That would look like he was trying to curry favor, and it would be ridiculously stupid.

But he sat in the chair and watched for at least two minutes, and Jiang Yuduo had stayed exactly like that all along, turned sideways with his head down, looking at his arm under the tap as he ran cold water over it.

His arm was still shaking. To be honest, the wound was pretty long, but not deep. For someone like Jiang Yuduo, who got injured like it was a profession, it should not have hurt enough to make him tremble.

Then maybe he was just cold.

Looking at the weather, it might snow by midnight, and Jiang Yuduo was still running cold water over it… Even if he was shivering from the cold, did he really have to keep doing it?

Miao jumped down from the sofa and walked from Cheng Ke’s leg toward the kitchen, its tail brushing against his ankle.

Cheng Ke found a way in and said toward the kitchen, “Is Miao hungry?”

Miao cooperated perfectly, rubbing against the kitchen doorframe as it meowed.

But Jiang Yuduo did not move. He still stared intently at his shaking arm.

Cheng Ke hesitated, then stood up. No matter how you looked at it, this state was a little off.

“Jiang Yuduo?” He walked to the doorway and called out, but did not dare get closer.

Jiang Yuduo’s face turned a little, only a slight angle. If you had not looked carefully, you would not even have noticed it, but after moving that tiny bit, he froze again.

Cheng Ke admitted that he was a little scared now. Combined with Jiang Yuduo’s long-standing impression on him of being moody and unpredictable, he kept feeling that if he got any closer, Jiang Yuduo would seize the kitchen knife on the cutting board beside him and hack at him the next second.

“Are you okay?” Cheng Ke still walked over to the sink and stood behind Jiang Yuduo.

Just from Da Bin’s earlier words, “Third Brother told us to keep an eye on you nearby, afraid that someone would target you when you left later.”

Jiang Yuduo seemed to move very painfully, shifting slightly backward.

Cheng Ke did not say anything else. He reached out and gently patted Jiang Yuduo on the back, and Jiang Yuduo’s body jolted as if it had been shocked.

“I’m turning off the water,” Cheng Ke said as he slowly twisted the tap shut.

Jiang Yuduo’s arm was still stretched over the sink, unmoving. Cheng Ke gritted his teeth and carefully grabbed his hand, pulling it back.

Jiang Yuduo’s hand and arm were frighteningly cold. The wound had already been washed pale, but a few seconds later blood began to seep out again. It looked like Jiang Yuduo had not lied when he said his platelets were low, because the wound now looked almost as fresh as when it had first been cut.

“Did you sleep?” Cheng Ke asked.

“…No.” Jiang Yuduo’s voice was a little hoarse.

“Then why keep washing it for so long?” Cheng Ke said. “I thought you…”

“I didn’t dare move,” Jiang Yuduo said, his voice very soft, with a faint tremor.

“What?” Cheng Ke blinked.

“They saw you,” Jiang Yuduo said, his brows knotting up, his lips also somewhat pale.

“Who?” Cheng Ke asked. “The people who were fighting just now?”

“No.” Jiang Yuduo’s brows were still furrowed.

“Then who?” Cheng Ke stared at his face.

Jiang Yuduo’s face had completely lost its usual swagger and arrogance. With his furrowed brows, lowered eyelids, and slightly pale complexion, he somehow even looked a little pitiful.

He did not answer Cheng Ke’s questions anymore. He just stayed silent.

When Cheng Ke wanted to pull him back to the living room, Jiang Yuduo finally lifted his eyes and looked at him. “I’m fine. Get out.”

Cheng Ke held his gaze for a while. There was nothing in Jiang Yuduo’s eyes. No emotion could be seen, yet they were not entirely blank either, and for some reason they made people feel afraid.

Fear coming from Jiang Yuduo.

Cheng Ke nodded and turned back to the living room, sitting down beside the table.

He did not look into the kitchen again. He kept feeling that Jiang Yuduo did not want anyone to see him like this.

Cheng Ke looked at the salt spread across the table and the half-eaten barbecue bags, let out a soft sigh, picked up that bottle of liquor that tasted absolutely awful, and poured himself a bowl-bottom’s worth to drink.

Jiang Yuduo’s eyes made him uneasy.

They did not fit Jiang Yuduo’s usual state at all. It felt as if he simply was not the kind of person who could have such an expression.

But this was not the first time Cheng Ke had seen that kind of look.

“The bad people I’ve seen,” Jiang Yuduo had said, “were more than all the descendants your dick has shot out.”

Back then, his eyes had looked very much like this.

Forget it, he did not want to think about that.

Cheng Ke was not a curious child. His upbringing had also never allowed him to dig into someone he was not very close with. Even just thinking about it in his head made him feel awkward and a little embarrassed.

He picked up Miao, who had jumped onto the table, and pinched the cat’s paw, shaking off the salt grains stuck in its fur.

“Trying to steal food, huh,” he said softly, bringing Miao’s paw to its own mouth. “These things are all very salty. You can’t eat them. Don’t believe me? Lick your paw.”

Miao did not lick its paw. It only nipped lightly at his fingers a few times.

“You can stay here tonight,” Jiang Yuduo said as he walked out of the kitchen.

Cheng Ke turned to look at him.

Jiang Yuduo had already returned to normal. Even the hoarseness in his voice was gone. The change surprised Cheng Ke a little.

…The birth of a drama queen, huh.

But soon he felt guilty for having that as his first reaction, frowned, and stayed silent.

“Don’t look so unwilling,” Jiang Yuduo said, carrying the first-aid kit over and sitting on the sofa. He sprinkled some unknown medicinal powder over the wound, then pulled a large wad of cotton into strips and pressed it over it. “If you don’t want to, go out and find the key yourself.”

“I don’t… not want to.” Cheng Ke did not ask why Jiang Yuduo was not helping him look for the key again.

But once the words left his mouth, they sounded awkward. He had meant to say that he did not mind staying here overnight, but no matter how he said it, it sounded like he was afraid Jiang Yuduo might change his mind.

“I don’t dare go out right now,” Jiang Yuduo said quickly, his words a little muffled.

Cheng Ke glanced at him. When Jiang Yuduo said that, he looked somewhat frustrated.

For a boss to be afraid to leave the house, that probably was a bit humiliating for him.

“Mm.” Cheng Ke answered.

“You sleep in the bed,” Jiang Yuduo said, taking a roll of medical tape and biting it open before starting to wrap it around his arm, one circle after another.

“I can sleep on the sofa,” Cheng Ke said. “You sleep in the bed.”

Jiang Yuduo shot him a look. “I’m sleeping in the bed too.”

Cheng Ke froze. After a long while, he asked, “How many beds do you have?”

“One,” Jiang Yuduo said impatiently. “I’m a goddamn bachelor. How many beds do you think I have?”

“We’re sleeping in the same bed?” Cheng Ke was shocked, and very unwilling.

Not just because of that whole “gay” issue between them. Sleeping in the same bed would be incredibly awkward. Cheng Ke had never, from childhood to adulthood, slept in the same bed with anyone. He could not stand having another person beside him when he slept.

“What?” Jiang Yuduo glared at him, apparently shocked as well. “Are you afraid I’m going to take advantage of you?”

Cheng Ke let out a sigh. “I don’t know if you still have any unhealed injuries all over you. Don’t roll onto the floor again just to avoid me. I can sleep on the sofa.”

“Whatever,” Jiang Yuduo said, biting off the tape with his head down. “If you want to sleep on the sofa, then sleep on it. But let me tell you first, Miao peed twice on it today.”

“…What the fuck?” Cheng Ke stood up and walked over to stare at the sofa.

He had not noticed earlier, but now that he looked closely, he realized this sofa really had some history. A fabric sofa looked old after just a few years, and since it was originally gray-blue, it looked even older. The loose threads Miao had scratched out made it look even more aged, and now he was being told there were two puddles of cat piss on it?

“Here.” Jiang Yuduo pointed to the side.

Cheng Ke looked where he pointed and sure enough saw two faint stains.

“But it’s already dry,” Jiang Yuduo said, patting it. “I mainly figured you’d be particular about this. If it were Chen Qing, he’d have just gone to sleep on it.”

Cheng Ke did not speak.

“I can help you get a bedsheet to lay over it later,” Jiang Yuduo said, packing up the first-aid kit. “The piss was on this end, so you can just sleep with your head over there.”

Cheng Ke still did not say anything.

He kept telling himself not to be so fussy, not to be so particular, not to act like some spoiled young master. They could not get the key now, and he did not have his ID… Wait, did hotels really need ID? So next time he went out, should he bring his ID?

Forget it. If he had brought it today, he probably would have thrown it away along with the key anyway.

Jiang Yuduo stood up and went into the bedroom to open the wardrobe.

Cheng Ke had to make a decision right away, sleep on the pee or sleep in the bed.

When Jiang Yuduo was laboriously pulling a bedsheet out from a wardrobe that he did not know was stuffed with what but was definitely packed to the brim, Cheng Ke quietly approached the sofa. He slapped the area beside those two stains, and the smell wafting up made him grit his teeth. “I’d better sleep in the bed.”

“Fuck your grandfather!” Jiang Yuduo said, hugging the bedsheet and staring at him.

“Sorry. I didn’t want to make trouble either,” Cheng Ke said, standing up and pointing at the sofa. “But I can still… smell it.”

“Of course you can, it was peed on this afternoon,” Jiang Yuduo said. “Otherwise would I have told you to sleep in the bed?”

Cheng Ke did not speak.

“Put it back for me, you little shit!” Jiang Yuduo threw the sheet onto the bed.

“Okay.” Cheng Ke hurried into the bedroom, after all Jiang Yuduo had just injured his hand.

He picked up the sheet from the bed and, turning to look at the wardrobe, froze for a moment. “Where exactly did you take this from… what part of it?”

The wardrobe was crammed full of all kinds of blankets, duvet covers, sheets, thick quilts, small quilts, and clothes, packed so tightly there was not even a trace left showing where this sheet had once been.

“No idea,” Jiang Yuduo said, lying back on the bed with one arm under his head, looking at him with some gloating satisfaction. “Just stuff it in somewhere.”

Cheng Ke stared at the things inside the wardrobe for a bit, then reached out and poked between the blankets and quilts. Finally, in the lower middle area, he found a place that seemed to have some extra space.

He balled the sheet up and stuffed it toward that spot.

The sheet went in a little bit. There was hope!

He pushed farther, and it went in a little more!

He heard Jiang Yuduo laughing.

In order to finish quickly, while pushing with one hand he also reached in with the other and forcefully lifted the things inside upward a little, wanting to make some more room for the sheet.

With that one movement, the things in the wardrobe suddenly collapsed above where his arm had divided them.

Before Cheng Ke even had time to react, a pile of clothes and blankets smashed down onto his head, then scattered all over the floor.

“What the fuck!” he yelled in shock.

Just as he thought Jiang Yuduo might rush over and hit him, he heard Jiang Yuduo’s wild laughter.

“I’m really服了 you…” Jiang Yuduo laughed so hard on the bed that his eyes disappeared, one hand clutching his stomach. “So now it can be put in, right?”

Cheng Ke leaned against the wardrobe door and let out a soft sigh. “Sorry. I really… I honestly… have never done work like this.”

“It’s fine,” Jiang Yuduo said, waving it off after laughing for a while longer. “Leave it. Toss it there. We’ll clean it up tomorrow.”

“On the floor?” Cheng Ke looked at him.

“What else?” Jiang Yuduo spread his hands.

Cheng Ke glanced around. The bedroom was very simple, with one bed and two wardrobes. There was a bedside table by the bed, but it held a phone, a desk lamp, a cup, tissues, and a cat-head night light. Cheng Ke thought of the cat head on the key ring. It looked like Jiang Yuduo really liked cats. He instantly felt a little bad about it.

There was also a rocking chair by the window. Cheng Ke picked up everything from the floor and tried his best to pile it all onto the chair.

“Did your family hire over a hundred maids or something?” Jiang Yuduo asked as he sat up and took off his shirt.

“…Ah,” Cheng Ke turned away. Only after saying ah did he realize what Jiang Yuduo had meant. “Where would there be a hundred? Just a few, the cleaning lady and the cook.”

“Pretty envious,” Jiang Yuduo said, jumping out of bed and walking out of the bedroom. “If I absolutely had to be forcefully assigned a lady here, it’d only be Chen Qing’s auntie.”

Cheng Ke laughed. “Damn.”

“I’m going to wash up,” Jiang Yuduo said. “You queue up.”

“Mm.” Cheng Ke answered.

After Jiang Yuduo went into the bathroom, he let out a breath of relief and sat down on the edge of the bed, rubbing his face.

He often stayed overnight at other people’s places too, but there had always been separate rooms. He had never been so awkwardly trapped in the same bedroom with someone like this, unable to decide whether to stand or sit.

He looked around the bedroom again. It really was very simple, and it was obvious Jiang Yuduo lived very casually. A lot of things had scratches and dents from bumps and knocks.

But perhaps because there were too few things, it still looked fairly tidy. Jiang Yuduo was probably someone who did clean up, and that wardrobe packed until it was about to explode was proof.

“You go wash up,” Jiang Yuduo came back into the bedroom, still shirtless, the scars on his body still dazzlingly vivid. “There’s mouthwash beside the cup.”

“Oh,” Cheng Ke stood up. “You use mouthwash?”

“I don’t use that stuff. It came free with something I bought at the supermarket, the kind in a packet,” Jiang Yuduo said, bouncing onto the bed and landing hard before stretching lazily. “You’re so particular, just use that. Saves me from throwing it away.”

“Mm.” Cheng Ke nodded.

Sure enough, there was a small travel packet of mouthwash in the bathroom. He picked it up and looked at it. It was peach-flavored, one he quite liked. Although he still had to wipe his face with tissue instead of washing properly, that was enough to make him very happy.

When he returned to the bedroom after washing up, Jiang Yuduo was already down to only a pair of underwear, lying on the bed with his phone, probably reading a novel.

“Use that one,” Jiang Yuduo said, glancing at him and pointing to the blanket beside him. “You messed up the wardrobe and got it out anyway. Otherwise you’d have to cover yourself with the one Chen Qing used.”

“Thank you.” Cheng Ke smiled.

After smiling, he stood by the bed and hesitated a little. Should he sleep in his clothes, or take them off? How much should he take off before Jiang Yuduo would not have an opinion about it?

“Aren’t you going to sleep?” Jiang Yuduo turned and asked him.

“Sleeping.” Cheng Ke gritted his teeth and took off his clothes. Only after taking them off did he realize that there was also a hole worn through the sleeve of his wool sweater.

Of course, that was nonsense. His arm had been injured that badly, so the inside and outside of the clothes had definitely been worn through too, but he still felt depressed about it.

“Wear my clothes tomorrow,” Jiang Yuduo said. “This fight today cost, what, nearly ten grand?”

Cheng Ke let out a sigh. Just as he was about to pull the blanket over and sit on the bed, Jiang Yuduo slapped the mattress board. “Take your pants off. Fine if you sleep on the sofa, but if you’re sleeping in my bed, you’re still wearing your outer pants? My duvet cover is brand new, for fuck’s sake.”

“Oh.” Cheng Ke had no choice but to stand up and unbuckle his belt.

“I was actually afraid you’d…”

“Afraid I’d what?” Jiang Yuduo clicked his tongue. “I’m not interested in men, okay? What the hell are you scared of?”

“I’m fucking afraid you’d mind what I did to you!” Cheng Ke was utterly speechless. “You still bring up Chen Qing, but what’s the difference between your brain and his? You’re exactly the same model. Don’t bully him about it anymore in the future.”

“I don’t mind,” Jiang Yuduo laughed. “What could you even do to me? Your head still has a hole in the back.”

Cheng Ke really did not want to talk anymore. He gritted his teeth, took off his pants, got into bed, pulled over the blanket, and lay on his side with his back to Jiang Yuduo.

“Your figure is pretty good. Did you train?” Jiang Yuduo asked.

“Sort of,” Cheng Ke said, closing his eyes. “I used to train taekwondo for a while.”

“No wonder. When you fight, you really do look different from the others,” Jiang Yuduo said.

Cheng Ke felt the mattress move a little. Jiang Yuduo was probably turning over.

This awkward sleeping in the same bed made Cheng Ke unable to relax at all. He could hear every tiny movement Jiang Yuduo made.

He was still thinking when Jiang Yuduo’s voice suddenly sounded right behind his ear. “Hey.”

Cheng Ke jumped and quickly turned around, and suddenly his nose was almost touching Jiang Yuduo’s. Shocked, he asked, “What?”

“Teach me when you have time?” Jiang Yuduo said, reaching out to tug at Cheng Ke’s side of the blanket.

Only then did Cheng Ke realize Jiang Yuduo had merely turned over to straighten the blanket. His heart instantly cursed through ten thousand donkeys. “Didn’t you say you were pretty good at fighting?”

“I’m not asking to fight. I just think it’s pretty interesting,” Jiang Yuduo said, lying back down and leaning against the headboard. “You don’t have much art stuff to mess around with anyway, so teach me when you’re free.”

“…Mm.” Cheng Ke could only agree.

Jiang Yuduo nodded, reached to the bedside table, took a cigarette, and lit it.

“You smoke in bed?” Cheng Ke had just been about to turn over and lie down, but now he could not lie back down either. He twisted his neck to look at him.

“What’s wrong with smoking in bed?” Jiang Yuduo bit the cigarette. “I’m not flicking ash on your head.”

Cheng Ke was speechless for a moment. After holding it in for a while, he simply sat up, propped his pillow against the headboard, and said, “Give me one.”

Jiang Yuduo smiled and handed him the cigarette pack and lighter.

“What about the ash?” Cheng Ke asked after lighting his cigarette and looking around. There was no ashtray.

“On the floor,” Jiang Yuduo said. “We’ll sweep it up tomorrow.”

“You just told me not to worry about the blankets and stuff, and now you’re flicking ash on the floor,” Cheng Ke sighed.

“Are you annoying or what!” Jiang Yuduo frowned. “There aren’t any blankets on the floor now, are there!”

Cheng Ke thought about it and actually felt that made perfect sense.

Jiang Yuduo sat up, opened the drawer of the bedside table, took something out, and threw it at him. “Here, here, here, here. For young master use only!”

Cheng Ke looked. It was a cat-head ashtray, made of pale blue glass. He did not know if it had never been used or if it had been washed, but it was very clean and pretty.

“Thanks.” Cheng Ke took the ashtray and tapped ash into it.

After that, neither of them spoke. Jiang Yuduo was probably reading his novel, staring at his phone without blinking. Cheng Ke just kept staring blankly at the two wardrobes. The left one was all bedding, and the right one was probably all clothes.

He wondered if the clothes were stuffed full in that same explosive way too.

After silently finishing one cigarette, Cheng Ke realized he had no sleepiness at all and could only take out his phone, open something at random, and browse.

“Hey, I’ve got a question. It’s a little embarrassing to ask, but I still want to ask.” Jiang Yuduo said while looking at his phone.

“Then wait until you’re not embarrassed to ask it.” Cheng Ke said.

“You’re lying here with me like this,” Jiang Yuduo turned his head, “would you have any reaction?”

Cheng Ke had actually already guessed what he was going to ask. If it had been any other question, with Jiang Yuduo’s personality, he would not have said it was “a little embarrassing to ask” at all.

“No.” Cheng Ke answered.

There really was not. At least not now. Right now, he only felt awkward.

“No way,” Jiang Yuduo said, somewhat surprised. “If I were stuck like this with a woman, I think I’d already have a reaction before she even lay down next to me.”

Cheng Ke inhaled slowly and exhaled, trying hard not to sound too helpless. “Which woman have you ever been stuck like that with?”

Jiang Yuduo thought for a moment. “None.”

“…None?” Cheng Ke turned to look at him and really could not hold it in, shouting, “Then what the fuck are you helping me fantasize about here for!”