TAO | Chapter 44

Wei Xiaochi’s wrist twitched slightly, immediately catching Jiang Zhan’s attention, which startled him into stopping his movement.

“What do you want to eat?” Wei Xiaochi asked, his expression slightly unnatural.

Jiang Zhan’s fingers slid down, changing from holding Wei Xiaochi’s wrist to clasping his hand. His eyes darted nervously as he stammered, “What, what do you want to eat?”

Hearing Jiang Zhan stumble over his words, Wei Xiaochi couldn’t help but stammer back, “I, I don’t know.”

Jiang Zhan said no more, holding Wei Xiaochi’s hand and aimlessly wandering, his ears tinged with a faint blush.

After walking for more than twenty minutes, Wei Xiaochi, who had never been one for much physical activity, was the first to give in. His legs were sore, and his stomach was growling.

Adjusting his glasses, Wei Xiaochi glanced at the tall and straight figure of the alpha. “…Can we eat something?”

Jiang Zhan immediately turned his gaze to him. “What do you want to eat?”

Although Wei Xiaochi said he didn’t know, his mind was full of ideas: cold noodles, ramen, steamed buns with porridge—all economical and practical choices. However, given Jiang Zhan’s expensive taste and picky appetite, Wei Xiaochi didn’t dare voice these thoughts.

So, they walked for another ten minutes, their hands still clasped. Wei Xiaochi’s palm was getting sweaty from the heat.

“Cold noodles,” Wei Xiaochi finally blurted out. He couldn’t hold it in anymore; he was starving.

Once he started talking, the rest came more easily. “Have you ever had cold noodles? Let me treat you to some.”

Jiang Zhan’s mouth twitched. He wasn’t some alien—of course, he’d had cold noodles before. Even if he hadn’t eaten outside, Aunt Zhou had made them at home.

But looking at the omega’s eager expression, he lied with a deadpan face, “Never.”

Having always said he would treat Jiang Zhan to a meal but ending up with the latter footing the bill and even sharing half his food, Wei Xiaochi finally saw a chance to return the favor.

Upon learning Jiang Zhan had never had cold noodles, Wei Xiaochi decided to show the young master some new experiences.

This time, it was Wei Xiaochi pulling Jiang Zhan along, leading him to a clean cold noodle shop.

Pushing the door open, Wei Xiaochi went straight to the counter. “Boss, two servings of cold noodles—one large, one small.”

“Anything else?” the boss asked enthusiastically. “Our stuffed flatbreads are also excellent.”

Looking up at the LED price list above, Wei Xiaochi saw that the pork-filled flatbreads cost twelve yuan each.

Remembering Jiang Zhan’s love for meat, Wei Xiaochi swallowed nervously and asked in a low voice, “Do the flatbreads have a lot of meat?”

The boss enthusiastically replied, “Don’t worry about that. We’re all about integrity in our business. Don’t be fooled by our new renovation; we’ve been here for years…”

Before he could go on, Jiang Zhan, impatient with the chatter, pulled out his phone to pay.

Wei Xiaochi quickly stopped him. “I said it’s my treat.”

Pulling out a fifty-yuan bill, Wei Xiaochi said to the boss, “And one flatbread, pork filling.”

The boss confirmed, “Just one?”

Wei Xiaochi nodded.

The boss made change and said, “Take a seat. It’ll be ready soon.”

At such a small shop, customers had to retrieve their own utensils. Wei Xiaochi grabbed two pairs of sterilized chopsticks and chose a corner table with Jiang Zhan.

As they waited for their food, an awkward silence settled between them.

Wei Xiaochi pulled out a few tissues and busied himself wiping the table. At moments like these, he needed to keep his hands occupied to distract himself from the tension.

It had never been this awkward interacting with Jiang Zhan before. Now that they were “dating,” it felt strangely uncomfortable.

It was Wei Xiaochi’s first experience with early dating, and he hadn’t expected it to be so awkward.

Jiang Zhan’s eyes followed the movement of Wei Xiaochi’s hands.

The omega’s fingers were pale and slender, the veins on the back of his hand clearly visible. Moving upward were his narrow shoulders, a delicate neck, and light-colored lips.

Lips.

Suddenly, Jiang Zhan leaned over and planted a quick kiss on them before retreating.

Wei Xiaochi froze, slowly lifting his gaze.

Across from him, the alpha sat properly, but his eyes were fixed on Wei Xiaochi—burning, expectant, and with a touch of shyness.

Wei Xiaochi swallowed silently, his face heating up as if on fire.

Their food was served: two bowls of cold noodles and a flatbread. The boss placed them on the table.

Wei Xiaochi hurriedly lowered his head, his heart pounding.

Neither of them moved. Time seemed to freeze around them.

Finally, it was Wei Xiaochi’s low blood sugar that forced him to break first. He pulled the small portion of cold noodles toward him and pushed the flatbread and large portion toward Jiang Zhan.

Afraid Jiang Zhan wouldn’t know how to eat it, Wei Xiaochi broke apart the chopsticks and began mixing the sesame sauce into the noodles. “You, you have to stir the sauce in thoroughly. Make sure it’s even.”

Jiang Zhan, equally awkward, replied, “Mm.”

“There’s chili on the table. You can add some if you like.”

“Mm.”

“You eat the flatbread. I don’t eat that much.”

“Mm.”

After giving all the necessary instructions, Wei Xiaochi buried his head in his noodles, not saying another word.
---

Leaving the cold noodle shop, the hot summer wind hit their faces.

Walking side by side, Wei Xiaochi and Jiang Zhan awkwardly maintained a slight distance between them.

After a few meters, Jiang Zhan’s fingers brushed against the back of Wei Xiaochi’s hand.

Alpha kept his eyes straight ahead, lips pressed tightly together, his sharp profile exuding a cool vibe. Yet his hand slowly sought out the omega’s.

Wei Xiaochi shrank back slightly, but Jiang Zhan persisted, finally clasping his palm.

Helpless, Wei Xiaochi let the alpha hold his hand.

They walked back toward school. After about ten minutes, when they were almost there, Wei Xiaochi tried to pull his hand away, worried about being caught by Wei Minzhen.

But Jiang Zhan, staring straight ahead, kept walking, pulling Wei Xiaochi along.

Wei Xiaochi watched as they veered away from the school. He glanced up at Jiang Zhan, who seemed oblivious, eyes fixed forward.

Circling the school block again and again, it finally dawned on Wei Xiaochi that this was what couples called a “walk.”

But wasn’t this version of a “walk” too hardcore? They were strolling under the blazing noon sun.

Jiang Zhan didn’t offer water or allow breaks, dragging him around for half an hour. Wei Xiaochi’s hand felt sore from the grip, his legs ached, and he was parched.

This early dating thing was both physically and mentally exhausting.

It wasn’t until just before the end of the lunch break that Jiang Zhan finally let him return to the classroom.

Once back in the classroom, Wei Xiaochi downed half a cup of water and slumped onto the desk, unwilling to move.

Zhang Mingyang, returning with a smug expression, raised an eyebrow at the sight of Wei Xiaochi sprawled like a dead dog. “So, you’ve heard?”

Wei Xiaochi wasn’t in the mood to bicker. He shot him a glance, then turned away, leaving Zhang Mingyang with the back of his head.

Zhang Mingyang drawled, “I had a chat with Old Yang today. The math test scores are out.”

As the math class representative, Zhang Mingyang had a good relationship with the teacher.

Hearing this, Wei Xiaochi subtly shifted farther away, determined to keep his back to him.

Judging from Zhang Mingyang’s tone, it was clear he hadn’t scored better than Wei Xiaochi. But the difference was probably less than five points, or Zhang Mingyang would’ve been even smugger.

Sure enough, Zhang Mingyang said, “Tsk tsk, you did so badly it’s not even worth looking at.”

Wei Xiaochi pretended not to hear.

Zhang Mingyang only got more energetic. “Hey, weren’t you acting all high and mighty? Weren’t you going to make me call you Dad?”

Wei Xiaochi buried his head, playing dead.

Zhang Mingyang tapped his desk. “Who’s the real dad now? Playing dead, huh?”

Wei Xiaochi swatted his hand away. “Get back to your side of the line.”

Zhang Mingyang whined teasingly, his fingers hovering provocatively over the dividing line on the desk. “You’re such a sore loser.”

His hand crossed the line, provoking, “Sore loser, sore loser.”

Wei Xiaochi grabbed his compass and poked Zhang Mingyang’s fingers every time they crossed the line.

Zhang Mingyang kept showing off until the third period, when the English teacher handed back the morning’s test papers. Wei Xiaochi had scored three points higher than Zhang Mingyang.

Wei Xiaochi sat up straight, energized, and waved his fingers along the dividing line.

“Who’s the Dad now?”

“Sore loser, sore loser.”

Zhang Mingyang: …

—

After rubbing Zhang Mingyang’s face in his victory, Wei Xiaochi felt refreshed. But when he received a WeChat message from Jiang Zhan after school, asking him to wait for him, his mood soured again.

He had originally thought sparing an hour for Jiang Zhan every day after school was a reasonable decision. Now, he was beginning to regret it.

Sigh.

Who knew how many more roads awaited him.

Author’s Note:
This story is super sweet, trust me.
No spoilers, just read on.