The level of stink from the snail rice noodles was nothing compared to real stinky tofu.
Jiang Tongyan was sent flying ten meters away by the smell, nearly tumbling headfirst out of the window.
Qian Xiaoke, with the stinky tofu in his hand, advanced step by step. Jiang Tongyan looked as if he were a virtuous young woman about to be forcibly taken, his eyes filled with grievance and fear.
“Don’t come any closer.”
“Oh, come on, just try it!” Qian Xiaoke had ordered quite a bit—not just stinky tofu but also two bowls of rice noodles.
He wasn’t that inconsiderate; after all, someone had helped him move, so he couldn’t just buy only one serving of stinky tofu for the other person.
He set the rice noodles aside and held a paper box filled with stinky tofu, with two long and thin toothpicks stuck into it.
“It’s delicious.” Qian Xiaoke was practically drooling. He had already swallowed about half a litre of saliva and had no patience to wait for Jiang Tongyan. He picked up a toothpick and started eating. “You rich people really don’t know how to enjoy life.”
Jiang Tongyan was having a serious existential crisis.
Although the snail rice noodles might stink, at least it looked like a normal and edible bowl of noodles.
But the thing in Qian Xiaoke’s hands right now—Jiang Tongyan seriously doubted whether eating it would send him straight to the ICU.
“Qian Xiaoke,” Jiang Tongyan said, “can’t you eat something more decent?”
“This is decent!” Qian Xiaoke retorted. “Just because you haven’t eaten it doesn’t mean you can deny its value. That only exposes your ignorance.”
“……” Jiang Tongyan was wounded.
“I’m ignorant?” Jiang Tongyan said. “Do you know what school I graduated from? Do you know what I do for a living? Do you know how much I make each year?”
“Nope,” Qian Xiaoke said, “but you also don’t know how delicious stinky tofu is.”
Jiang Tongyan lost. He realised he would never be a match for Qian Xiaoke.
The matchmaking god was incredible—when tying red strings, he truly upheld the principle of ‘one thing conquers another’, demonstrating the utmost professionalism!
Jiang Tongyan sighed helplessly, furrowing his brows as he watched Qian Xiaoke ‘savour his delicacy’.
“What’s the texture like?” Jiang Tongyan couldn’t help but ask.
How could he eat with such relish?
The entire room was obviously reeking with the smell.
Qian Xiaoke answered honestly, “I’m not very educated, so I don’t know how to describe it well, but anyway, it’s just really tasty.”
He thought for a moment and added, “The outside is slightly crispy and charred, but when you bite into it, the inside is incredibly soft and tender.”
Qian Xiaoke looked at Jiang Tongyan. “It’s seriously so good.”
Jiang Tongyan felt like this description didn’t match the smell at all. He wasn’t convinced.
“Jiang Tongyan, you really should learn more about our country’s cuisine,” Qian Xiaoke said. “People like you…”
He explained, “Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mean to discriminate against you. It’s just a pity. People like you, who grew up abroad and live such out-of-touch lives, are missing out on so much good food.”
Jiang Tongyan glanced at him. “Hey, you got some on your nose.”
Qian Xiaoke chuckled sheepishly. “Wipe it off for me?”
His hands were occupied—one holding the paper box, the other gripping the toothpick—so he couldn’t do it himself.
Jiang Tongyan had no choice but to grab a tissue from the coffee table and vigorously wipe Qian Xiaoke’s nose as if venting his frustration. He rubbed so hard that Qian Xiaoke’s nose tip turned red.
With his nose reddened, he looked even more like a rabbit.
Kind of cute.
Jiang Tongyan was a bit distracted for a moment and felt restless inside. However, with Qian Xiaoke’s mouth full of that awful smell, he couldn’t bring himself to kiss him.
“You really won’t try it?” Qian Xiaoke asked sincerely.
Jiang Tongyan looked into his eyes and suddenly softened.
Ah, men—once they fall in love, their brains stop working. Whatever the other person says, they just go along with it.
“Fine… I’ll try it.” His mouth moved before his brain, and Jiang Tongyan knew he was doomed.
In truth, he really didn’t want to admit that he had fallen for Qian Xiaoke.
This kid had nothing to his name—shouldn’t he be into someone like that flight attendant instead?
Jiang Tongyan couldn’t figure himself out, but he couldn’t control himself either.
Hearing that he was willing to try, Qian Xiaoke beamed, his eyes crinkling with joy. He looked unbearably cute.
How could this man be 27 years old? Jiang Tongyan thought to himself. When Qian Xiaoke tricked him in the beginning and said he was only 20, he really looked that age.
Qian Xiaoke seemed like the kind of cheerful boy who had been well-protected and never faced hardships, but in reality, he was no delicate greenhouse flower—he was a tenacious little blade of grass striving upward with all his might.
Jiang Tongyan looked into his eyes, and his own heartbeat went completely out of rhythm.
“Then you feed me.” He even set conditions. “If you feed me, I’ll eat it.”
Qian Xiaoke laughed. “How can such a grown man still act so childish?”
Even though he said that, he still fed him.
It was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. The smell was overwhelming, but the taste was undeniably amazing.
This was a completely different experience from eating snail rice noodles, and Jiang Tongyan was once again shocked.
“Well?” Qian Xiaoke asked eagerly. “Isn’t it delicious?”
Jiang Tongyan was too embarrassed to admit it. He was someone who cared a lot about saving face!
“It’s just… pretty average.”
“Then I won’t give you any more,” Qian Xiaoke said. “I’ll finish the rest myself.”
“…Give me another piece,” Jiang Tongyan leaned in. “Don’t be so stingy!”
Qian Xiaoke dodged and laughed. Somehow, the two of them ended up playing a game of cat and mouse around the apartment like a couple of fools.
They teased each other all the way through their very late dinner.
After cleaning up, Qian Xiaoke opened the window to air out the smell, then turned to Jiang Tongyan and asked, “Are you leaving?”
He could swear he wasn’t trying to chase him away—he was just asking since it was already so late.
But when Jiang Tongyan heard it, it sounded exactly like he was being kicked out.
Unhappy, he grabbed his keys and stormed toward the door, radiating frustration from head to toe.
Qian Xiaoke was completely baffled. “I was just asking! Why are you mad? If you don’t want to leave, just stay! I didn’t say anything!”
Jiang Tongyan had already stomped all the way to the doorway. He turned around and snapped, “Qian Xiaoke, you’re a liar!”
“What did I do now?!”
“You know what you did!”
“What did I do?” Qian Xiaoke was genuinely clueless.
He had spent the whole day moving, he was exhausted, and his brain wasn’t exactly the sharpest to begin with. Now, it was barely functioning, and yet Jiang Tongyan was making things difficult for him.
Qian Xiaoke also felt wronged!
“I don’t know,” Qian Xiaoke admitted. “I’m not smart—don’t make me figure it out.”
“Oh, so you do know you’re stupid.” Jiang Tongyan sulked, throwing a silent tantrum.
Now, both of them felt aggrieved.
Qian Xiaoke was frustrated because he had no idea what had set Jiang Tongyan off. He realised that being around rich people was like ‘serving the emperor’—you never knew when they’d suddenly flip out for no reason.
And Jiang Tongyan? He was upset because Qian Xiaoke had said before that he would let him cuddle him every day. Still, today, after he had waited outside the apartment complex for so long, worked hard to help him move, and even helped him clean up—this brat was just sending him away at the end of the night?!
Is he even human?
Qian Xiaoke, do you have a heart?!
Qian Xiaoke turned toward the door and saw Jiang Tongyan still standing there, looking utterly betrayed.
“Just say what you want directly,” Qian Xiaoke said. “You already called me stupid, so why are you still beating around the bush?”
Jiang Tongyan thought about it and realised he was right. Qian Xiaoke was someone who thought in straight lines, so hints wouldn’t work on him.
So, even though he found it incredibly embarrassing, Jiang Tongyan still pointed at his crotch and said, “You haven’t done it today.”
This was Qian Xiaoke’s duty!
Jiang Tongyan absolutely wasn’t just trying to take advantage of him!
Absolutely not!
Qian Xiaoke stared at him, first confused, then burst out laughing.
Jiang Tongyan was so mortified that he wanted to hoist him up and throw him straight out the window. He barked, “Qian Xiaoke, shut up right now! If you keep laughing, I’ll kill you!”
Qian Xiaoke rolled around on the couch and laughed so hard he could barely breathe.
“You won’t kill me,” Qian Xiaoke said between gasps. “Murderers have to pay with their lives! I’m not worth you throwing your life away for—HAHAHA!”
Jiang Tongyan realised that Qian Xiaoke had completely figured out his personality by now.
“Fine, laugh all you want. I hope you laugh yourself to death.” Jiang Tongyan fumed. “You’re such a liar. You owe me so much, and you’ll never pay it all back in this lifetime!”
With that, the angry Jiang Tongyan turned around, ready to storm out—only for Qian Xiaoke to grab him and pull him back.
“Alright, don’t be mad,” Qian Xiaoke coaxed, not even meaning to act cute but somehow still managing to sound exactly like he was. “I’ll do it, okay?”
“I didn’t ask you to do it.”
“Right, you didn’t ask me. I’m the one taking initiative.” Qian Xiaoke grinned. “This is my duty.”
He patted Jiang Tongyan. “Here or in the bedroom? I read online that you need to be as relaxed as possible for the best results. You should probably lie down in the room.”
Of course, Jiang Tongyan wanted to lie down, but he had to act reserved.
“Is your bedroom even clean enough for me to lie in?”
“You slept in my old apartment just fine, so don’t pretend to be a germaphobe now.” Qian Xiaoke dragged him toward the bedroom. “Come on, come on, let’s get this over with so I can wash up and go to bed. I’m exhausted!”
Qian Xiaoke led the way, and Jiang Tongyan trailed behind, staring at the back of his head with a dumb smile on his face.
He was so stupid, Jiang Tongyan thought. He really should stay away from him. If he spent too much time with him, his IQ might drop too.
But thinking was one thing—Jiang Tongyan’s biggest talent was saying one thing while doing another.
Once they entered the bedroom, Jiang Tongyan lay down first.
Qian Xiaoke climbed onto the bed and started massaging his shoulders and arms, even ruffling his hair a bit.
Jiang Tongyan commented, “Your massage technique is… a bit wild.”
“Does it feel good?” Qian Xiaoke asked. “I learned it online.”
Jiang Tongyan didn’t dare to answer. If he praised him, it would hurt his own pride. If he complained, Qian Xiaoke might get mad. The best choice was to shut up.
Finally, after waiting the whole night, Jiang Tongyan got his long-awaited ‘daily touch’.
Qian Xiaoke remained committed to his ‘saving the dying and the wounded’ philosophy, performing his task with great ‘professionalism’ and care.
But he was really exhausted today. He started kneeling on the bed, but slowly, slowly, he ended up lying down, too. Once he was down, his eyelids got heavier and heavier, and within minutes, he dozed off—still holding onto Jiang Tongyan.
Jiang Tongyan turned his head to look at him, caught between amusement and exasperation. He couldn’t bear to wake him up, and he was too greedy to leave. So he simply closed his eyes as well.
Neither of them took off their clothes, and the position they ended up in was anything but normal.
In the middle of the night, Qian Xiaoke shifted in his sleep, moving closer to Jiang Tongyan. As soon as he did, Jiang Tongyan woke up and instinctively pulled him into his arms.
And that was how Qian Xiaoke spent the first night in his new home—sleeping soundly with Jiang Tongyan, wrapped in each other’s warmth. The only problem was that the air still carried a faint trace of stinky tofu.
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