After returning to the stilt house with Qiao Nan, Pei Xu remembered his assistant was still waiting in the car.
There was too much stuff packed in the car; Peng Yi couldn’t carry it all by himself in one trip.
He paused, reluctantly letting go of Qiao Nan’s hand, “Peng Yi is still waiting in the car. I picked up some food on the way. I’ll go with him to move everything in first.”
“Why didn’t you say anything earlier? I’ll go with you,” Qiao Nan grumbled, returning with him.
Pei Xu glanced at him sideways, closing his fingers, but the satisfaction of their clasped hands from earlier was gone.
That feeling was so good, so good that it made him forget everything else.
The two turned back, and halfway, they met Zhao Yutong and the others returning.
Qiao Nan called them over to help move things.
When they reached the car, Qiao Nan saw the SUV, with even the back seats crammed full, and finally understood what his brother meant by “picked up some things on the way.”
Various instant foods, snacks, and drinks were bought in whole boxes.
Self-heating hotpots and frozen foods came in a complete range of flavors.
There was even a mini car refrigerator.
Qiao Nan opened it to find it filled with vacuum-packed, pre-processed seafood, mostly shrimp, even his favorite mantis shrimp king.
Just a few days ago, he had complained on WeChat that they weren’t used to the local Guizhou North flavors, and there was no delivery service in the village.
Eating instant noodles every day was unbearable, so they were planning to catch fish and shrimp from the river to improve their meals.
And today, his brother came to bring comfort.
“Brother, are you my Doraemon?!”
Qiao Nan leaned his head on his shoulder, rubbing affectionately, unable to hide his excitement as he started ordering, “I want salt and pepper mantis shrimp king, blanched prawns, and spicy crab!”
“Okay, I’ll make them for you later.”
Many hands make light work.
The group quickly worked together to carry all the food back to the stilt house.
Others heard the commotion and, seeing so much food, wished they could have called Pei Xu a bodhisattva on the spot.
Qiao Nan and the others sorted and stored the food.
Everything that needed refrigeration or freezing was put into the refrigerator.
Pei Xu borrowed the kitchen from the host family and began skillfully preparing the ingredients.
The kitchen was right by the back door of the living room.
The two doors were not far apart, so Qiao Nan could clearly see the general situation in the kitchen from where he was.
Several girls squeezed by the living room’s back door, watched for a while, then gathered around Qiao Nan, asking, “Your brother can cook?”
“Yeah, my brother’s cooking is delicious,” Qiao Nan lifted his chin proudly, “But my brother only cooks for me. My parents haven’t even tasted his cooking. You guys are lucky today.”
Tall, handsome, and good at home, good men like this were rare.
Qiu Ran and Wu Meng exchanged glances, then lowered their voices and asked, “Does your brother have a girlfriend?”
Qiao Nan immediately became wary, “Why are you asking that?”
Qiu Ran pointed to herself, then to the three other girls, grinning, “Don’t let good things go to outsiders. We four aren’t bad, right? If your brother doesn’t have a girlfriend, could you introduce us?”
In truth, Qiu Ran and the others all came from good families, were pretty, and capable in their field.
They never lacked male admirers at school.
But for some reason, Qiao Nan just thinking about one of them standing next to Pei Xu felt awkward.
“My brother is very busy with work; he doesn’t have time for a relationship,” Qiao Nan was not very willing, vaguely putting them off.
Qiu Ran didn’t believe him, “It’s such a waste for a high-quality handsome guy not to be in a relationship.”
Seeing Qiao Nan’s reluctance, she didn’t press, “Then I’ll go ask for his WeChat myself.”
She was the most outgoing and proactive of the four girls.
As soon as she finished speaking, she headed towards the kitchen.
Not just Qiao Nan, even Wu Meng and the others didn’t react in time.
Qiao Nan watched with wide eyes as she entered the kitchen and started talking to Pei Xu.
However, due to the distance, he couldn’t hear the content of their conversation.
Qiao Nan craned his neck, intently watching the direction of the door, but he only saw Qiu Ran smiling exceptionally sweetly.
Pei Xu’s figure was half-blocked, so he couldn’t tell his attitude.
Qiao Nan suddenly felt like a cat scratching at his heart.
He fretted for a while, then saw Qiu Ran gracefully stroll back.
Wu Meng and the others crowded around, asking, “Did you get his WeChat?”
Qiu Ran spread her hands, “No, he said he has someone he likes.”
Regardless of whether it was true or not, it was a polite refusal.
The girls immediately looked disappointed.
Qiao Nan, however, felt a sense of relief, then frowned in thought, His brother has someone he likes?
He’d never heard of it.
Even when dinner was served, Qiao Nan was still wrestling with this question.
When did his brother get someone he liked?
Why didn’t he know?
Pei Xu used all the seafood he brought and bought some ingredients from the host family, making several home-cooked dishes.
Ten dishes filled the table, making it the most sumptuous meal they had since arriving in Fengxi Village.
Everyone ate very happily.
Qiao Nan, however, was preoccupied and distracted.
Pei Xu peeled a shrimp for him, “Why aren’t you eating? Did I not cook it well today?”
Qiao Nan looked at him as if he wanted to speak but hesitated.
It wasn’t the right time to discuss the matter at the dinner table, so he just shook his head, temporarily suppressing his questions, and focused on eating.
Pei Xu himself didn’t eat much; he was busy peeling shrimp for Qiao Nan.
Mantis shrimp king has many sharp spines and a tough shell, making it difficult to peel.
Zhao Yutong winced and hissed from being pricked while stubbornly peeling, only to look up and see two perfectly peeled mantis shrimp kings on Qiao Nan’s plate.
She instantly became green with envy, “Qiao Nan, your brother is too good to you, isn’t he? Others are mama’s boys, but you’re a brother’s boy!”
Qiao Nan shot her a triumphant glance, “Your envy is useless.”
Zhao Yutong’s face twisted in exasperation, but she reluctantly forgave him for the sake of the grand meal.
Just then, Old Li interjected, “You two are brothers, but you don’t look alike at all.”
Before Qiao Nan could speak, he heard Pei Xu explain, “No, I was adopted by the Qiao family. My household registration wasn’t transferred, so I’m considered an adopted brother.”
“But we grew up together, we’re closer than real brothers!”
Qiao Nan immediately added, intentionally emphasizing the last part.
Pei Xu’s movements subtly paused, and he lowered his gaze, concealing the expression in his eyes.
Old Li’s gaze swept back and forth between the two of them, his brows furrowing slightly.
He seemed to want to say something but ultimately did not.
***
After dinner, it was already getting late.
After letting their food digest, it was almost time to shower and rest.
The stilt house was built too long ago; the rooms didn’t have individual bathrooms.
There was only one communal bathroom per floor, decorated somewhat like the shower stalls in a school bathhouse.
Normally, Qiao Nan and the other three took turns, and they showered in separate stalls.
After more than a week of adaptation, they had long since grown accustomed to it.
However, he worried Pei Xu wouldn’t be used to it, so he specifically told Zhao Yutong and another boy to shower first.
He and Pei Xu would go last.
After Zhao Yutong and the others finished, Qiao Nan called Pei Xu to shower together.
Pei Xu followed him to the area and only then realized the issue.
His expression subtly changed, “Together?”
Qiao Nan lifted the shower curtain of a stall to inspect it.
He picked the cleanest one for Pei Xu, not grasping his unspoken meaning, “The environment is a bit rough, we’ll just have to make do.”
Pei Xu stood still, his Adam’s apple moving with difficulty, his voice hoarse, “You go first.”
***
“That’d be a waste of time,” Qiao Nan quickly grabbed him, “Let’s shower together; we can chat too.”
He had his own little plan.
Zhao Yutong shared their room, so chatting freely was a bit inconvenient.
This was the perfect chance to subtly question his brother about when he developed a crush and who it was.
Pei Xu glanced sideways at the hand gripping his arm, his gaze slowly moving up from that slender, beautiful-boned hand to Qiao Nan’s innocent, oblivious face.
—He didn’t know what kind of invitation he had just extended.
Pei Xu squeezed his eyes shut hard, wanting to say something more, but Qiao Nan gave him no chance to refuse. He pushed him into a stall, urging, “It’s getting late; hurry up and get ready for bed.”
With that, he himself slipped into the adjacent stall.
The stalls were very basic, with old-fashioned shower curtains hanging at the entrance.
The back was against a wall, and the sides were partitioned with panels, leaving a gap of twenty to thirty centimeters at the bottom for drainage.
Pei Xu only needed to lower his head slightly to see Qiao Nan in the next stall, his bare feet on the floor tiles.
The gray tiles made his feet appear remarkably fair, and further up, a segment of his beautifully shaped calf was visible.
There was no soundproofing either.
Rustling sounds forced their way into his ears.
Pei Xu didn’t even need to guess what Qiao Nan was doing right now.
After taking off his clothes, the sound of trickling water quickly followed.
—Qiao Nan had started showering.
Pei Xu leaned against the cold wall, carefully suppressing his suddenly heavy breathing, not even daring to lower his head for another look.
Yet, Qiao Nan’s voice, like a haunting melody, echoing in his ear, “Why aren’t you showering yet? Is the shower broken again?”
The clear young voice, after passing through the humid steam, suddenly became hazy and ambiguous.
Pei Xu’s remaining rationality sunk irrevocably.
He turned on the showerhead, and cold water poured over his head, but it couldn’t extinguish the burning flames.
He maintained a calm voice as he replied, “It’s not broken.”
Qiao Nan “oh’d,” and mumbled something softly that Pei Xu didn’t quite catch.
He was completely drenched, his clothes clinging to his skin, bringing a sticky discomfort, but he couldn’t spare a thought for it.
He roughly tore open the top buttons of his shirt, his face turned to glare fiercely in Qiao Nan’s direction, the sound of water covering his heavy gasps.
Qiao Nan’s voice rang out again, “When you were cooking, did Qiu Ran go to ask for your WeChat?”
“Yes, I didn’t give it to her.”
Pei Xu lowered his eyes, letting out a soft gasp.
In his line of sight, those fair feet constantly shifted.
The aroused, unquenchable desire made him more irritable than ever before.
He even had a dark thought, if he were to go over now, even if Qiao Nan cried and struggled, he could righteously bite his neck, after all, Qiao Nan was the one who had invited him.
“She said you have someone you like,” Finally, getting to the point, Qiao Nan tried to sound casual, “Who is it? Why didn’t I know?”
Pei Xu let out a laugh.
He licked his teeth, his jaw clenched, his gaze piercing through the partition, imagining the pleasure of gently gnawing on the flesh of his neck, veins bulging on his temples, “I lied to her.”
“Oh, I thought it was real,” Qiao Nan’s voice lightened.
“Qiao Nan—”
Pei Xu suddenly called his name, his voice heavy.
“Hm?”
Qiao Nan responded, puzzled, “What’s wrong?”
But Pei Xu said nothing more, only the continuous sound of rushing water.
After a moment, Pei Xu spoke again “Nothing, I’m almost done showering.”
“I’m done too,” Qiao Nan said.
He turned off the water, dried himself, and changed into his pajamas before stepping out, “I’ll wait for you outside.”
“Okay.”
Pei Xu leaned against the wall, obsessively catching his voice.
His fingers twitched slightly as he pulled his phone from his suit pant pocket.
Unlocking it with one hand, he opened the photo album and clicked on a picture of Qiao Nan.
After a long time, he let out a muffled groan, then carefully wiped the water splashes from the screen.
He lowered his head and gently kissed the young man in the photo, his voice hoarse and unrecognizable, “I’m sorry.”