TA •Chapter 59

The late-night supper went on much later than usual. In the past, Jiang Yuduo would have either left early or told the brothers to wrap it up quickly, but tonight he did not say a word. He sat there the whole time, watching the excited crowd.

People like this rarely got to gather so completely even once or twice a year. It was not that they had any especially deep feelings for one another, just that it was lively when they got together. Some of them probably had not even met more than a few times, but after one gathering they could all become familiar. After all, they were all "one crew."[[N]]

Besides, Jiang Yuduo did not feel like moving right now.

Cheng Ke had been listening to the people beside him talk while drinking the whole time, laughing every now and then, clinking glasses with him and taking a few sips, and he had drunk quite a lot over the course of the night. He did not seem annoyed or bothered at all.

That was enough. It was fine to leave later.

Jiang Yuduo suddenly had no idea how he was supposed to face the time alone with Cheng Ke after everyone had left.

He was already this old, yet there had never been a problem he had even thought to think about before. But now it was stirring around in some corner of his mind, leaving him faintly unsettled.

"All right, let's disperse, let's disperse," Chen Qing said as he stood up and shouted, "Everybody go home and sleep."

The shop immediately erupted into a racket. Not a single word could be heard clearly.

"We all drank plenty tonight. Once we're done, go straight home. Keep it together and don't start any trouble for me!" Chen Qing shouted again, straining his voice.

"Don't worry, Qing-ge!" someone answered loudly.

Jiang Yuduo handed his wallet to Chen Qing. Chen Qing insisted on finishing the skewers in front of him before taking the wallet to pay.

"You drunk?" Jiang Yuduo asked Cheng Ke.

"A little dizzy, but it's okay," Cheng Ke yawned. "Anyway, there isn't much to do later. I'll just flop down and sleep."

"Mm." Jiang Yuduo answered.

After Chen Qing finished paying, he came over and handed the wallet back to him. "Third Brother, you drive my car. Take Ji… Ke-ge home first."

"Let's all take a taxi," Jiang Yuduo said, waving it off. "I drank a lot. I can't drive right now."

"Aren't all the cars in this area already taken by these bastards?" Chen Qing thought about it, then raised his head and shouted outside, "Who's taxi has arrived!"

"Qing-ge needs a car!" someone outside answered at once.

Within a few minutes, a taxi pulled up. Jiang Yuduo stood and followed Cheng Ke out. He only took one step before staggering and bumping his forehead into the back of Cheng Ke's head.

"What's wrong?" Cheng Ke turned around. "Dizzy, huh?"

"No," Jiang Yuduo said, a little embarrassed. He casually grabbed a chair by his leg and tossed it aside. "Chair leg."

Cheng Ke smiled but did not say anything. When he kept walking, Jiang Yuduo felt that he was not doing much better either. His steps were a little unsteady, and the cat lamp he held was swaying so much it barely lit up.

Still, at least he did not stagger like Jiang Yuduo had.

It seemed that Cheng Ke had not been bluffing when he said his alcohol tolerance was pretty good.

The taxi driver looked visibly relieved when he saw the two of them and Chen Qing get in. After hearing the address, he shot the car forward.

"Did we scare you?" Chen Qing asked with a laugh from the front passenger seat.

"A little," the driver said. "When I got here, more than a dozen of you shouted at once… I thought there was going to be a fight."

"Who'd be fighting on New Year's?" Chen Qing laughed cheerfully.

"True, it's almost New Year. But during New Year we don't get to have it this easy either. We still have to make runs," the driver said.

"We're out here spending money, you're out here making money," Chen Qing said. "You've got it worse."

The driver laughed for a long time.

The car first stopped downstairs at Cheng Ke's apartment building. Cheng Ke got out, while Jiang Yuduo remained seated, a little hesitant. The bed was already made, the things had all been put away, and Cheng Ke was only going back to sleep now. He probably did not need any more help…

"Third Brother?" Chen Qing turned around.

"Hm?" Jiang Yuduo answered.

"Get out of the car," Chen Qing said.

"Hm?" Jiang Yuduo froze.

"Hurry up. I'm about to drop dead from sleep. I need to go back and sleep," Chen Qing said.

"Fuck." Jiang Yuduo got out of the car.

After the taxi drove off, he looked at Cheng Ke. "You can… manage by yourself?"

"You're asking only after I'm out of the car?" Cheng Ke glanced in the direction the taxi had disappeared. "If I said I could manage, would you walk back too?"

Jiang Yuduo cleared his throat and did not know what to say.

"Does Chen Qing think I'm paralyzed or something," Cheng Ke said as he walked toward the elevator, "I probably ought to hire a nanny to help me walk every day."

Jiang Yuduo followed behind him and smiled.

"Don't go back later. It's too late," Cheng Ke said, pressing the elevator button and looking back at him.

"Mm." Jiang Yuduo nodded.

"Is Meow okay?" Cheng Ke asked as he stepped into the elevator.

"He'll crawl into the cat food bag and eat on his own," Jiang Yuduo said. "If he could open the cans, he could finish every can in one day."

Cheng Ke laughed when he heard that, looking at the cat lamp in Jiang Yuduo's hand. "He'll probably end up bigger than that lamp."

"I'll keep it," Jiang Yuduo said. "See when he can outgrow it."

Cheng Ke did not say anything else, and Jiang Yuduo had nothing else to say either. His head was a little dizzy, and once he stood inside the elevator, it felt like he was so dizzy he could almost hear it.

It was only after they got inside the door that he felt a little better.

"Want some water?" Cheng Ke asked.

"Don't worry about me," Jiang Yuduo said as he flopped onto the sofa. "If I want water, I'll pour it myself."

"Mm." Cheng Ke poured himself a glass of water and drank it, then went into the bedroom.

Jiang Yuduo stared blankly at the TV screen, which was off.

A long time passed and Cheng Ke still had not come out. Jiang Yuduo was a little lost. Had he already gone to sleep?

He had come back from outside after eating late-night food and not even washed his face, something even he could not stand. Yet the young master was actually this unconcerned now?

…He couldn't have passed out, could he?

Jiang Yuduo quickly got to his feet.

The bedroom door had not been closed. After he took only a couple of steps, he saw Cheng Ke.

Cheng Ke was standing in front of the open wardrobe, tugging at a shirt and sniffing it.

"What are you smelling?" Jiang Yuduo had watched for a while before he finally could not help asking. He was also deeply amazed that Cheng Ke was so slow to react that he did not even notice a person standing at the door for so long.

"Shit!" Cheng Ke was startled and quickly let go of his collar. "Why don't you make a sound at all?"

"Why don't you say you're deaf?" Jiang Yuduo said. "And blind. I've been standing here forever."

"Really?" Cheng Ke paused. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Jiang Yuduo said. "This is the first time I've ever seen someone smell themselves so enthusiastically."

"No," Cheng Ke laughed and shook out his clothes as he walked over. "Why does it smell like cumin all over me?"

"I smell booze all over you," Jiang Yuduo said.

Cheng Ke really had drunk a lot today. What he smelled first now was indeed alcohol… Of course, it might also have been his own smell. He had not drunk less, and when Chen Qing got excited, he had even splashed half a cup of wine onto Cheng Ke's body…

"That's your smell…" Cheng Ke leaned closer, trying to smell the collar of his shirt.

Maybe because he was dizzy, or maybe because he moved too suddenly, his forehead hit Jiang Yuduo's nose head-on.

A sharp sting immediately shot through Jiang Yuduo's nose. He almost lost control and swung an arm at Cheng Ke.

But Cheng Ke quickly steadied himself with a hand on the doorframe.

"Not only do your clothes smell like cumin," Jiang Yuduo said, rubbing his nose, "your hair does too."

"Fuck," Cheng Ke muttered as he ran a hand through his hair. "What the hell am I supposed to do about that."

"What do you mean, what are you supposed to do," Jiang Yuduo said, looking at him. "Take a shower!"

After he said that, the two of them fell silent for a few seconds.

Then Cheng Ke nodded. "Right, I'll go take a shower."

"You okay?" Jiang Yuduo asked automatically.

The second the words left his mouth, he regretted it. He remembered that Cheng Ke had said he was not Chen Qing.

Cheng Ke turned his head and looked at him. "Should be fine. I simulated it the other day. Just lift one arm and use the showerhead to rinse."

"Oh." Jiang Yuduo nodded.

He almost blurted out then, then how are you going to put on shampoo and body wash? But he held it in.

He suddenly felt a little awkward. When he had been with Cheng Ke before, he had not really felt this way. He had only been careful, afraid that some careless move might scare Cheng Ke.

He did not know what was wrong today.

Ever since he had said there was not a single girl he liked while they were drinking, he had never managed to settle down.

He really did not have a girl he liked. After all these years mixing around on the streets, there were always girls trying to cling to him, but he had never fallen for any of them. He had found them all annoying and wanted to avoid them, even the big-chested, long-legged ones.

Yes, even if that had been his type, not every big-chested, long-legged girl would have been someone he liked. There had to be chemistry… but that chemistry had never come.

Not once. Not even by chance.

That suddenly made him feel a little off.

Especially in front of that gay young master who looked at him thoughtfully, he suddenly felt awkward.

Even though he had not asked that question out loud.

But he felt that as long as someone was not stupid, they would probably guess what he had wanted to ask.

No, Chen Qing probably would not have guessed.

But Cheng Ke was not Chen Qing.

Cheng Ke came out with a change of clothes. It was only when he walked past Jiang Yuduo that Jiang Yuduo turned around and hesitated before following him to the bathroom door.

He did not mind helping. Cheng Ke was not drunk, but he was definitely dizzy from drinking. If he fell again… But he still minded a little that Cheng Ke might mind.

"Brave warrior, please stay your step," Cheng Ke said as he pushed open the bathroom door. He turned and cupped one fist in the other toward Jiang Yuduo with one arm. "I have escorted you a thousand miles, yet all journeys must end in parting…"

He was definitely still drunk.

Jiang Yuduo turned away and went back to the living room, sitting down on the sofa.

Cheng Ke went into the bathroom and closed the door.

It was already deep night now. There were no sounds around them at all, only the faint ringing in his ears from having drunk too much and made a racket all night.

That feeling was uncomfortable, like being stuffed under a blanket. It was not that there was no sound, but that he could not hear it.

He got up to pour himself a glass of water. When he twisted the tap open and heard the water flowing into the cup, the space around him suddenly seemed to open up.

He drank the water slowly, making slurping sounds on purpose, waiting for the sound of Cheng Ke showering in the bathroom to start up.

But after he finished the glass of water, there was still no movement in the bathroom.

He was a little worried. Just as he was about to go knock on the door, there was a thud from inside the bathroom, followed by the clatter of something falling.

"Cheng Ke?" He rushed to the bathroom door and slapped it twice. "Did you fucking fall!"

"No," Cheng Ke's voice sounded a little strained. "I just knocked the shelf over."

"How'd you knock the shelf over if you didn't fall?" Jiang Yuduo slapped the door again. He no longer cared whether Cheng Ke was Chen Qing or not. "Open the door. I'll wash you!"

"No need." Cheng Ke answered very simply.

Then there was another crash. It was obvious at once that this was flesh hitting the wall, and there was a sharp PIA. From the sound of it, the point of contact had to be at least his back slamming against the wall.

"I'm opening the door!" Jiang Yuduo twisted the handle.

Cheng Ke did not answer that question, only cursed furiously, "Fuck your mother, what kind of shitty-ass clothes are these!"

Jiang Yuduo breathed out in relief and took a string of keys from his pocket. At least if he went in now, Cheng Ke would still be wearing clothes and probably would not curse at him.

He picked a key at random and jabbed it into the lock, twisted it a few times, and with a click the lock sprang open.

When he pushed the door open, Jiang Yuduo froze. Cheng Ke's posture was a little miserable.

His outer pants were already off, and he was only wearing briefs. He was bent over toward the door like he was bowing, while his shirt was only half off, his head and arms still stuck inside it.

"Don't you still have one arm? Your right arm can bend too," Jiang Yuduo said, at a loss. He stepped over and pulled on the sleeve to yank the left side down first. "How are you even unable to take off a shirt?"

"The right arm won't come out!" Cheng Ke said, his hair already rubbed up into a mess by the shirt and standing on end. "I can only take off the left arm first! But I can't use my right hand to get the left sleeve off! I can only fucking rub my way out of it!"

"I already said I'd help you," Jiang Yuduo sighed, tugging open the cuff so the hand in the cast could come free. "Haven't you taken this shirt off for the last couple of days?"

"Yeah. If I'd known this would happen, I would have brought a pair of scissors in." Cheng Ke said.

"It's a wool sweater. You're just going to cut it off?" Jiang Yuduo said.

"If you came in any later, I would've just ripped it off." Cheng Ke frowned.

Jiang Yuduo helped pick up the shelf that had fallen over and put the shampoo and body wash bottles back on it. When he turned his head, he suddenly saw a bottle still sitting in the toilet.

Just as he was about to reach out and grab it, Cheng Ke shouted, "What are you doing!"

Jiang Yuduo was startled and turned to look at him. "What's wrong? Didn't you pee and flush?"

"Get lost! I flushed it." Cheng Ke said.

"If you flushed it, why the hell are you shouting?" Jiang Yuduo said.

"That's the toilet," Cheng Ke said.

"And?" Jiang Yuduo stared at him. "How about, Young Master, you flush it one more time and let us send that bottle of face wash down with it?"

Cheng Ke said nothing.

Jiang Yuduo reached out and took the bottle out.

"I don't want it anymore. Please throw it away for me, thanks," Cheng Ke said.

Jiang Yuduo tossed the bottle into the trash can beside him, then did not know what else to do.

Actually, Cheng Ke shirtless in briefs was nothing much. But at that moment, he suddenly felt at a loss. On one hand, he wanted to help Cheng Ke, but on the other hand, he was afraid Cheng Ke would be embarrassed.

And he himself really could not help Cheng Ke wash like he had with Chen Qing and remain completely unfazed.

After a few seconds of staring, Cheng Ke nodded. "All right. Thanks for your hard work."

Before Jiang Yuduo could react, he had already turned on the showerhead.

The showerhead had been hung up carelessly and was a little loose. The moment the water came on, it jerked upward and sprayed a faceful of cold water all over Jiang Yuduo.

Cheng Ke hurriedly turned the water off. "Fuck, I didn't know the showerhead was crooked…"

"Even if it wasn't crooked," Jiang Yuduo wiped the water from his face, "you should wait until I take my clothes off. I'm not wearing a raincoat."

Cheng Ke looked at him. After a long while, he turned around and braced his right arm against the wall. "Let's keep it simple. Just help me rub body wash on my back, I can reach everything else."

Jiang Yuduo frowned. Cheng Ke did not seem inclined to wait for him to take his clothes off. He stared at Cheng Ke's back for two seconds, then had no choice but to say, "Fine."

Jiang Yuduo took off the showerhead and turned on the water. Once it got warm, he sprayed Cheng Ke's back with it. "Don't you need to wash your hair? You smell like cumin and roast fur."

"Have you eaten it?" Cheng Ke said irritably. "I can wash my own hair with one hand."

"Oh." Jiang Yuduo did not say anything else. He rinsed his back thoroughly, then took the bottle and squeezed some body wash onto it. "Want me to scrub your back with a towel?"

"No need, just rub it on a little," Cheng Ke said.

"Mm." Jiang Yuduo set the bottle down, rubbed his hands together, and began to circle his back.

He had only made two circles when Cheng Ke suddenly drew forward a little.

"Hm?" Jiang Yuduo stopped. "Are my hands cold?"

"Not cold, but…" Cheng Ke turned his head and cleared his throat. "Use the towel to scrub. The blue one."

"Okay." Jiang Yuduo picked up the towel, wrapped it around his hand, and pressed it against Cheng Ke's back to scrub.

From shoulder to waist, it went swish.

Cheng Ke sucked in a breath. "Third Brother."

"What?" Jiang Yuduo did another swift swish.

"When you scrub Chen Qing's back, are you this ruthless too?" Cheng Ke asked.

"When I scrub him, I use way more force. He likes being scrubbed until he yowls," Jiang Yuduo said, pausing. "Do you think I'm too strong right now?"

"Too strong," Cheng Ke said, turning his face, frowning. "Mainly because I don't want to yowl."

"All right, I'll go lighter then," Jiang Yuduo sighed. "For someone like you, how do you even get scrubbed at the bathhouse? Wouldn't one move from the attendant be enough to scrub you unconscious?"

"I've never had anyone scrub me," Cheng Ke said. "I've never been to a bathhouse."

Jiang Yuduo glanced at him. "Then why the hell did you want me to scrub you?"

Cheng Ke said nothing, only glared at the wall.

Jiang Yuduo waited a while. Seeing that he had no intention of speaking, he had no choice but to keep scrubbing his back, using about the same force he used when brushing Meow's fur.

If Cheng Ke still could not take that, then he would have to use his hand.

He paused.

In that instant, he suddenly remembered what Cheng Ke had said earlier.

You help Chen Qing shower. Would Chen Qing get hard?

As that sentence echoed in his ear, he also suddenly realized why Cheng Ke had insisted on making him use the towel… fuck!

Jiang Yuduo was utterly shocked.

"Hurry up," Cheng Ke urged him. "What are you standing there frozen for?"

Jiang Yuduo quickly swished the towel over his back a few more times. Cheng Ke sucked in a breath, but made no sound.

He gentled his movements and kept going.

When he swished down to the side of Cheng Ke's waist, he suddenly felt a little curious.

Would Cheng Ke right now…

He was somewhat embarrassed by his own curiosity, but maybe because he had been drinking, he simply could not suppress it.

By the time the side of Cheng Ke's waist had gone a little red from the rubbing, he finally made up his mind.

He leaned slightly forward from Cheng Ke's side and shot a quick glance. Although Cheng Ke was wearing underwear, if there had been any change, it would still have been easy to see.

…There didn't seem to be any change?

Cheng Ke, who had not made a sound the entire time, suddenly cleared his throat by his ear.

Jiang Yuduo looked up and immediately met Cheng Ke's gaze. Cheng Ke had turned his head slightly and was looking at him.

That startled him so badly he almost whipped Cheng Ke's face with the towel.

"What!" he shouted.

"I'm not hard," Cheng Ke looked at him. "With the way you're scrubbing like you're peeling skin off, even if I did get hard, you'd still scrub me down into the ground."

"I…" Jiang Yuduo opened his mouth but could not speak. He felt embarrassed, but he did not know what to say to get some of that face back. In the end, he only said, "You've got a mole here at your waist."

"Mm," Cheng Ke lifted his arm and glanced at his waist. "It used to be a birthmark. When I was little it was a pretty big patch. Later it slowly turned into a mole."

"Oh." Jiang Yuduo answered, then continued scrubbing his back.

"That's enough, rinse it off," Cheng Ke said. "You're about to scrub my skin off."

"You have to scrub it red to feel good, get the blood moving," Jiang Yuduo said, setting down the towel and taking the showerhead to rinse his back.

"Your clothes are wet by now, aren't they?" Cheng Ke asked.

"Obviously." Jiang Yuduo said.

"Go change. Take a set from my closet first," Cheng Ke said. "I can wash myself now."

"…Mm." Jiang Yuduo turned off the water, handed him the showerhead, and then quickly left the bathroom.

Hearing Cheng Ke close the bathroom door, he let out a long breath in the living room. He stood there blankly for a while before going into the bedroom and randomly finding a set of Cheng Ke's sportswear to change into.

Then he returned to the living room, flopped onto the sofa, and stared at the ceiling in a daze.

It always felt like something was not quite right.

But he did not dare think too hard about it.

If you did not want to think about some things, then they did not exist.

Washing his hair one-handed should have been somewhat difficult. It was almost half an hour later before Jiang Yuduo heard the bathroom door open and Cheng Ke came out.

Probably because putting on clothes was such a challenge, Cheng Ke only came out wearing briefs, with water still dripping from his hair.

"Do you want me to help you get dressed…" Jiang Yuduo had not even sat up before Cheng Ke was already at the sofa. He lifted his right leg and stepped over him, kneeling on the sofa with one knee.

"What?" Jiang Yuduo froze.

Cheng Ke looked down at him for a while. Water from his hair dripped one drop at a time onto Jiang Yuduo's face. Jiang Yuduo wiped his face. "What the hell are you asking me for?"

"Don't move around," Cheng Ke said, pointing at him. "My wrist is fractured."

"Huh?" Jiang Yuduo looked at his fingertip.

The fingertip quickly moved out of his line of sight. Cheng Ke's hand pressed against his forehead, and he suddenly lowered his head.

It was only when Cheng Ke's lips pressed heavily against his mouth that Jiang Yuduo finally reacted, and his breathing stopped all at once.