Chapter 40: Don’t tell Lies

He Yu said this, and Xie Xiaobao obediently stayed home waiting for He Yu to arrive.  

It would take about half an hour for He Yu to get here from the company.

With nothing else to do, Xie Xiaobao took out the keychain he had just made.  

He shook his hand gently, and the little cat hanging on the keychain swayed along.

Xie Xiaobao stared at it for a moment, then hung the little cat back on the keyring.  

When He Yu arrived downstairs, Xie Xiaobao pocketed the keys and happily went downstairs.  

He skillfully sat in the front passenger seat and buckled his seatbelt while greeting He Yu, “Where are we going?”  

He Yu started the car, smiled, and deliberately kept it mysterious: “You’ll know once we get there.”  

With that, the car made a U-turn and sped off.  

Xie Xiaobao turned to look out the window.

It was just past six in the evening—not too early, not too late.

The sky had already darkened, and the neon lights along the roadsides flickered on.

The sky hadn’t fully turned black yet.

The streams of people and cars rushing home from work converged like flowing water, giving Shen City its unique bustle and clamor.  

Xie Xiaobao rested his head against the window, staring absentmindedly.

His short black hair lay smoothly against the nape of his neck, the contrast making the black and white even more distinct.  

He Yu glanced at his side profile once, then turned his gaze back to the road ahead, his fingers gripping the steering wheel tightening unconsciously.  

The atmosphere inside the car grew somewhat quiet.

He Yu turned on the radio, and a sentimental love song played.

The gist was a secret crush confessing to the one they like, the lyrics tender and stirring.  

The singer’s deep, lingering voice wove through the cramped car cabin like an invisible hand, playfully teasing the listener without intention.  

The car moved steadily forward, but because of the song, the mood inside felt oddly strange.  

Xie Xiaobao had only been casually watching outside.

After finishing, he turned to look for a topic to chat about, but his eyes unexpectedly landed on He Yu’s side profile.  

The man’s sharp features, the slightly thin lips curved into a gentle arc, made Xie Xiaobao’s words catch in his throat.

When he tried to speak again, he completely forgot what he wanted to say.  

His heart thumped irregularly.

Flustered, Xie Xiaobao turned his head away carefully and took two deep breaths to calm the sudden rush of heat flooding his face.  

“Why is your face so red? Is it hot in the car?” He Yu noticed his movements and asked from the side.  

“Mm, mm… yeah, it’s a bit warm.”  

Xie Xiaobao, trying to cover up, rolled down the window.

The cool breeze outside brushed his face, ruffling the strands of hair on his forehead.  

The sudden heat of emotions was only momentary.

He Yu didn’t notice Xie Xiaobao’s unease; seeing the back of his dark head, he turned his attention back to driving.  

He Yu had taken Xie Xiaobao to a seafood hotpot restaurant.  

The hotpot restaurant was an established name, famous for its fresh ingredients and unique broth base.

Many people came here every day just by reputation.  

At this hour, it was the peak of the after-work rush.

The crowd outside the hotpot restaurant was dense, many customers waiting outside for their turn.  

He Yu had booked a table in advance.

After reporting their number, they followed the waiter inside.  

They didn’t reserve a private room.

He Yu knew Xie Xiaobao liked lively atmospheres, so he chose a spot a bit off to the side in the main hall—not too noisy, and no awkwardness of being alone in a private room.  

Once seated, the waiter handed them a tablet to order.

He Yu pushed it over to Xie Xiaobao, “Take a look and see what you want. Their pork brain, shrimp paste, and tripe are all good.”  

Xie Xiaobao looked over the menu, first ordering a yuan yang pot base, then choosing the dishes He Yu recommended, plus a few more he thought looked good.  

He then leaned over to He Yu and said, “I’ve ordered. Do you want to add anything else?”  

He Yu took the tablet and handed it back to the waiter with a smile, “What you picked is enough. I can eat all of it.”  

Xie Xiaobao pursed his lips and smiled.

Blinking mischievously, he looked down at the bare table, showing only a small swirl of hair.  

He Yu liked this person.

Even the swirl of hair exposed was adorable.

He reached out and ruffled Xie Xiaobao’s head, “I’ll go mix your dipping sauce. Want it spicy?”  

Xie Xiaobao moved his head away from He Yu’s hand, lowering his eyes as he said he did want it spicy.  

He Yu smiled and went to the other side to prepare the sauce.  

After adjusting the dipping sauce to Xie Xiaobao’s taste, He Yu also picked up a plate of cantaloupe and brought it over.  

“Eat this first to line your stomach.” He put it down and then went back to prepare his own sauce.  

The two ate some fruit and chatted for a while before the pot base was brought over and set on the table.  

The ordered dishes came one after another, neatly arranged.

He Yu declined the waiter’s offer to help cook the food and started cooking it himself.  

Pouring a glass of sour plum juice for Xie Xiaobao, He Yu waited until the pot boiled before cooking the fresh tripe first, placing it on the plate in front of Xie Xiaobao.  

“The tripe here is fresh. Just a quick dip makes it tender and crunchy.”  

Xie Xiaobao picked some up, blew on it, and then ate it.

Just as He Yu had said, it was tender and crunchy with an excellent texture.  

After eating it while still hot, Xie Xiaobao looked up, his eyes curved into a smile filled with delight, “Delicious!”  

“Eat more if you like it.” He Yu leisurely cooked more tripe for him, “Careful, it’s hot.”  

Xie Xiaobao’s plate piled high with food, while He Yu’s remained empty.

Feeling shy, Xie Xiaobao picked up a couple of chopsticks of food and offered them to He Yu, “You eat too.”  

He Yu put down his skimmer, ate the tripe from Xie Xiaobao’s plate, then added a plate of fatty beef slices to the pot.  

At first, Xie Xiaobao shyly insisted that He Yu eat first, but he couldn’t win against He Yu.

After a few rounds, he accepted the situation and stopped trying to grab the skimmer.  

Every time He Yu took food from his bowl, Xie Xiaobao would pick up half of it again and put it back into He Yu’s bowl.  

They ordered a lot of dishes and ate for almost two hours, one cooking while the other ate.  

Xie Xiaobao was stuffed and burped, leaning back in his chair, contentedly rubbing his belly.  

He Yu still sat upright, slowly sipping his sour plum juice.

Seeing Xie Xiaobao like this, a smile crept up at the corner of his mouth, “Want to go for a walk later to help digest?”  

Xie Xiaobao blinked and, thinking he had nothing else to do that night, agreed.  

After paying the bill, He Yu walked out side by side with Xie Xiaobao.  

Xie Xiaobao tilted his head and asked where they were going.

He Yu pressed his shoulder, telling him to stay seated in the passenger seat before turning to start the car, “To the beach.”  

The weather was nice that day.

A crescent moon hung high in the dark blue sky, and twinkling stars scattered like jewels across the expanse.

Everywhere he looked, the stars glittered brilliantly.  

It took just over twenty minutes to drive from the hotpot restaurant to the beach.

Not far from the city limits, the endless coastline appeared, and the neon lights flickering across the water blurred the boundary between sea and sky.  

Xie Xiaobao had eaten too much and was worried about getting car sick, so he kept the window open, lazily resting like a full little cat against the car window.  

The closer they got to the beach, the fresher the air became.

The sea breeze, salty and unique, brushed across his face.

Xie Xiaobao squinted contentedly and sighed in enjoyment.  

There were quite a few people at the beach at this hour.

He Yu found a place to park, and the two got out together.  

The sand was fine and soft; stepping on it left a deep footprint.

Finding it inconvenient to walk, Xie Xiaobao took off his shoes and carried them, running barefoot on the beach.  

In truth, he had grown up by the sea, so he always felt a natural affinity for the ocean and the sand.  

He Yu had come straight from work, still dressed neatly in his shirt and dress pants.

Watching Xie Xiaobao happily run off in the distance, he chuckled helplessly, took off his dress shoes, and chased after him barefoot.  

Having not been to the beach for a while, Xie Xiaobao was like a cub seeing the ocean for the first time, splashing in the water barefoot.  

White waves chased the wind and rolled up, instantly covering his ankles, then retreating like startled creatures.

Xie Xiaobao rubbed his feet on the wet sand and went to splash in another spot.  

He Yu placed his shoes side by side with Xie Xiaobao’s sneakers and unbuttoned two buttons on his shirt, looking less formal and stern.

He then followed Xie Xiaobao’s footprints to catch up.  

“Do you really like the sea?”  

Xie Xiaobao flashed him a joyful smile and nodded vigorously, “I do. I grew up by the sea.”  

He Yu stood shoulder to shoulder with him.

The waves rolled up and back, gently tickling their feet, a tickle that reached deep into their hearts.  

“Looks like after you went abroad, you also picked a city by the sea.” He Yu looked down at him, his gaze warm.  

Mentioning going abroad suddenly made Xie Xiaobao pause.

Realizing it, he curled his toes shyly, “Ah… yes, that’s right.”  

“Where did you go later?” He Yu smiled, remembering their childhood.

“Not long after you went abroad, I went too. You used to call my older brother ‘big brother.’ After going abroad, you found it a bit awkward.”

Back then, he was still young and thought everyone was abroad, so meeting was uncertain.  

Only as they grew up did those childish and unrealistic thoughts fade.

Yet the little shadow from those days stood before him again, and those faded memories resurfaced.