TAO | Chapter 91

That afternoon, Jiang Zhan didn’t go out to hand out flyers. Instead, he stayed back to clean the apartment with Wei Xiaochi.

Even though housekeeping had just been there a few days ago and the place wasn’t really dirty, since someone was going to be living here now, they still wanted to do a proper deep clean.

Jiang Zhan made a quick trip back home and brought over a bunch of daily essentials for Wei Xiaochi. While Aunt Zhou wasn’t looking, he even sneakily took a pot from the kitchen.

That night, they used that very pot to cook two big bowls of noodles—each bowl got a fried egg and a hot dog sausage.

After dinner, Jiang Zhan took the initiative to do the dishes while Wei Xiaochi cleaned up the kitchen.

Jiang Zhan didn’t do dishes often. He squeezed out too much detergent, and his hands were covered in soap suds. Water splashed everywhere around the sink.

Wei Xiaochi finished wiping the stove, then walked over with a dishcloth in hand. His slightly hooded phoenix eyes glanced sideways, his pale lips glowing a soft, fleshy pink in the light.

Jiang Zhan caught that glance and got a little flustered. “What are you looking at?”

Wei Xiaochi was going to ask him to wipe down the sink area once he was done, but before he could speak, the kitchen lights suddenly went out.

Darkness swallowed the room. A faint glow seeped in from outside the window—barely enough to keep them from being completely blind.

Jiang Zhan looked up at the ceiling lamp in surprise. “Power’s out?”

Wei Xiaochi replied, “Might be that the electricity card ran out. Do you know where it is?”

Jiang Zhan didn’t. He’d never paid attention to stuff like that before.

He quickly rinsed the soap off his hands under the tap, then fumbled his way out to the living room to find his phone. But halfway there, he suddenly turned back.

“Are you scared of the dark?” he asked.

Wei Xiaochi shook his head. “No.”

Still, Jiang Zhan reached out and took his hand, pulling him out of the kitchen.

“Watch your step,” Jiang Zhan reminded him, and the moment he said that, he bumped his stomach into the edge of the couch. “Tch—”

Wei Xiaochi’s eyes were just starting to adjust to the dark when he saw Jiang Zhan bend forward, making his heart skip a beat. “Are you okay?”

Jiang Zhan quickly straightened up and brushed it off. “I’m fine.”

He stepped forward and found his phone on the coffee table, switching on the flashlight. Then he rummaged through a drawer in the bedroom and found the electricity card.

Sitting on the bed, he held the card in his hand, frowning. “Can you recharge this thing with a phone, or do we have to wait until property management opens tomorrow?”

“No need,” Wei Xiaochi explained. “There’s usually some overdraft balance on the card. You just need to insert it into the meter and the power comes back.”

Jiang Zhan wanted to ask where the meter was, but worried it’d be a dumb question, so he kept his mouth shut.

Wei Xiaochi mumbled half to himself, “It’s probably in the hallway… at least, that’s how it is in my old neighborhood.”

He’d never lived in a fancy complex like this. Back home, the building’s meters were all on the first-floor corridor.

Jiang Zhan got up, flashlight in hand, putting on his cool guy act. “Alright, let’s go find it.”

Wei Xiaochi: “Okay.”

—

There were only two apartments per floor. The meter room was in the hallway, a small locked room with a sign that read Electric Meter Room. You had to swipe the electricity card to open the door.

Jiang Zhan stretched his neck to peek in as Wei Xiaochi inserted the card into the meter. With a soft beep, the digital screen lit up.

Wei Xiaochi pulled the card out, and Jiang Zhan quickly looked away and took the card from his hand.

“I’ll top it up tomorrow. Do I have to insert it again afterward?”

Wei Xiaochi hummed in agreement, then hesitated. “Maybe I should pay for it?”

After all, he was the one staying here. How could he let Jiang Zhan pay for electricity?

Jiang Zhan didn’t seem to mind. “Put it on the tab. When I start making money in the future, I’ll pay it back.”

He no longer acted like some pampered young master. He naturally included both of them in his calculations, thinking of everything they spent now as something he’d repay later—as if it was a loan from his parents.

Wei Xiaochi looked up, stunned at Jiang Zhan. It felt like something inside him finally settled.

He clutched the hem of his shirt and slowly nodded.

“Okay.”

Wei Xiaochi thought, if Jiang Zhan ever needed money someday, even if his little savings of twenty thousand were barely a drop in the bucket, he’d still give it all to him in a heartbeat.

After that night, he never brought up money with Jiang Zhan again.

—

Once they returned and inserted the card, the lights in the living room and kitchen flicked back on.

Jiang Zhan finished the dishes and watched as Wei Xiaochi wiped down the sink area thoroughly, making sure to clean every bit of soap and water.

Jiang Zhan opened his mouth a few times before finally mumbling, “Next time I’ll try not to splash so much.”

Wei Xiaochi turned to glance at him. The tall alpha stood behind him, all long arms and legs, looking weirdly pitiful.

Wei Xiaochi’s heart thudded once and he quickly looked away. “It’s… it’s fine.”

Once the kitchen was tidied up, Wei Xiaochi spent an hour tutoring Jiang Zhan.

Even when it was past 9 PM, Jiang Zhan never brought up going home. Wei Xiaochi felt awkward kicking him out, so he just hovered around the living room, pretending to clean.

Truthfully, he didn’t even know what else there was to clean. Ten o’clock was creeping up, and since tomorrow was Monday, they had to get up early for school.

So Wei Xiaochi finally went to the bathroom to wash up.

He took a quick shower. When he came out drying his hair, the bedroom light suddenly went out again.

Wei Xiaochi paused mid-motion, towel draped over his head as he walked toward the door.

The living room was just as dark.

He called Jiang Zhan’s name. Suddenly, a pair of hands reached out in the dark, and his shoulders bumped into a broad, firm chest.

Jiang Zhan’s kiss came right on cue.

Wei Xiaochi’s back tensed as Jiang Zhan tilted his chin and kissed him.

The alpha’s presence was overwhelming. Wei Xiaochi’s brain started going fuzzy from the lack of oxygen, his fingers unconsciously grabbing Jiang Zhan’s arm.

Just when he was running out of breath, Jiang Zhan finally let him go and leaned in close to his shoulder, letting out a soft, stifled chuckle—like bubbles bursting in champagne, light and fizzy.

Wei Xiaochi felt dizzy from the warmth, his nerves tingling from head to toe, and a quiet joy bloomed through his whole body.

When Jiang Zhan kissed him again, this time, Wei Xiaochi closed his eyes.

—

The quality of teaching at the vocational school was laughably bad. The teachers weren’t strict, the rules were just for show, and the students had zero discipline.

During Monday’s lunch break, Fang Zhixin was in the classroom playing cards when he got a call from an old buddy from middle school.

“What wind blew you my way today?” he said as he slapped a pair of twos on the table. “A pair of twos, you blind? I said I had a pair of twos—take your card back!”

“…What? You’re outside my school?” Fang Zhixin held the phone between his neck and shoulder, tossing out another card. “What are you doing here in the middle of the day?”

He listened for a second, then replied, “Alright, alright, I’m coming.”

After hanging up, he tossed a three of spades onto the table. “Anyone else playing?”

Just as he was about to win, one of his friends threw down his cards in a tantrum. “Your classmate’s outside. Go deal with that first—we’ll continue later.”

“Bullshit,” Fang Zhixin snapped, picking up the pile and shoving it at him. “Even if the emperor himself showed up today, he’d have to wait. Let’s keep going.”

After winning the game, he strolled out of the school gates, pulled a cigarette from his pocket, and lit up while calling the guy back.

“I’m outside. Where are you?” he muttered with the cigarette in his mouth, annoyed. “Shit, you’re such a pain—wait there, I’m coming.”

Across from the school was a row of food stalls. Fang Zhixin walked past them and ducked into a side alley.

He saw the guy waiting there and cursed as he approached, “What the hell are you doing here today?”

Wang Mingzhe’s face was a mess of bruises and colors, his lips trembling. He looked like someone had a gun pressed to his head.

Fang Zhixin immediately sensed something was off. “What the hell happened to your face?”

Wang Mingzhe didn’t say a word. His mouth twitched a couple times before showing an expression of pure terror, desperately motioning with his eyes.

That’s when a figure slowly stepped out from the shadows.

Dark, sharp eyebrows. A deadly cold aura. His whole presence screamed danger.

Fang Zhixin’s pupils contracted instantly. He stared at Jiang Zhan in shock and fear.