So You Like Me Too

After taking the breakfast handed over by Fu Xueyan, Shen Lin thanked him in a low voice. Fu Xueyan rubbed his head and said, “Let’s go to work together? ”

“En.”

The breakfast that was there at the entrance of the community was basically [1]jianbing, [2]youtiao, and steamed dumplings. Fu Xueyan didn’t know what he liked to eat, so he brought a bit of everything. Shen Lin sat on the front passenger seat with the bag in his hands. He looked at Fu Xueyan who was sitting by his side and earnestly driving the car. After a while of twisted emotions, Shen Lin picked up a steamed dumpling and embarrassedly asked, “Did you eat?” 

Fu Xueyan took advantage of changing the lights to turn around and look at Shen Lin who was holding up a steamed dumpling with a blushing face. He narrowed his eyes, smiling, “Will you feed me?”

Shen Lin averted his eyes a bit and he did not dare to look at him. But he also didn’t want to miss this somewhat intimate chance. So he lifted the steamed dumpling with somewhat shaky hands. But he still managed to hand it over to Fu Xueyan’s mouth, “It is not very hot.”

Fu Xueyan’s mood improved on seeing Shen Lin’s shy appearance. He swooped down to bite the steamed dumpling, “Not bad.”

Shen Lin thought that he would be able to finish such a small dumpling with just one bite. But Fu Xueyan only bit off half the dumpling and he held the remaining half in his hands, not knowing what to do. 

When Fu Xueyan saw the foolish expression Shen Lin had while holding the steamed dumpling, his heart went soft. As there were a few more seconds for the red light to go off, he lowered his head again and bit the dumplings in Shen Lin’s hand. This time the dumpling was even smaller. Shen Lin could feel his soft lips sticking to his fingers. Even after the red light went off the warm feeling of the tip of the tongue which brushed past his fingertips still remained. 

Even after he took Shen Lin to the coffee shop, his face was still blushing. Fu Xueyan looked at the time and got out of the car. He glanced at the breakfast that Shen Lin was still holding. He wanted to take it from his hands and throw it away. It must have turned cold after coming all the way here.

When he saw Fu Xueyan reaching out his hands, Shen Lin didn’t understand what he meant, “Do you still want to eat?”

Fu Xueyan immediately explained on seeing that he was not handing it over to him, “It has become all cold. So throw it away.”

For the first time, Shen Lin went against Fu Xueyan’s will in front of him. He quickly hid the breakfast bag behind him and said a little anxiously, “I have a microwave oven in my store.”

Fu Xueyan looked at Shen Lin who was nervously keeping his hands behind his back. With a “puff” he started laughing and said, “Why are you so cute, good boy Shen.”

Shen Lin only remembered what he had done when he heard his laughter. He wanted to stretch out his hands from behind his back and hand them over to Fu Xueyan but he was really unwilling to do so. After struggling for a while, he looked down at the ground and whispered, “Can I keep this breakfast? I will treat you to a meal.”

Fu Xueyan touched his chin and pretended to think, “Do you want to repay me for treating you to breakfast?”

Shen Lin thought that he had misunderstood, so he hurriedly explained, “No.”

“Then what do you wanna do?”

“I just want to invite you for a meal. I didn’t mean anything else. ”

Fu Xueyan stared at his red earlobes with a fully smiling face, “Okay. But I will only eat what you make with your own hands.”

Shen Lin has been holding his mobile phone all day to search for recipes. He was somewhat happy and really nervous. He could cook. After all, he has been living alone for many years now. But cooking for himself was completely different from cooking for Fu Xueyan. When cooking for himself there was no need to care about the taste, as long as it can fill his stomach. But he wished to make it a bit better when he was doing it for Fu Xueyan.

Fu Xueyan went directly to pick him up after he got off work. Shen Lin had been standing earlier to wait at the store gate. Fu Xueyan got out of the car and opened the door for him. He asked in between, “Do you want to go to the supermarket to buy the ingredients for the dishes?”

Shen Lin nodded. There were only a few eggs and tomatoes at his home and it was definitely not enough to cater Fu Xueyan.

The two drove to the supermarket. Fu Xueyan took the initiative to push a cart, and Shen Lin walked by his side. His heart was full of indescribable emotions.

On seeing that he had been walking with his head down, Fu Xueyan said with a hearty laugh, “Don’t forget to divide the give me a half when you find the [3]money.”

Shen Lin immediately raised his head, “You…what would you like to eat?”

Fu Xueyan thought for a while, “What can you make?”

Shen Lin was a little embarrassed, “I can cook a few ordinary home-cooked foods.”

“Can you make sweet and sour steak? ”

“Yes.”

“Steamed bass? ”

“Yes.”

“Boiled beef? ”

“Yes.”

“[4]Buddha jumps over the wall? ”

“Yes. . . . . . I’m sorry for this. I don’t know much about this dish. ”

Fu Xueyan was amused by his stupid look and laughed twice, “Fool. I will just eat whatever you choose. ”

Shen Lin also felt that he was stupid. He quietly took two steps before asking, “Do you like meat?” 

Fu Xueyan looked at him with a smile on his face, “Yes, chef. Look for it and buy it. ”

Shen Lin looked at Fu Xueyan who had been standing with a smile the whole time, and he moved down his eyes shyly, “Then I’ll buy it.”

They purchased a lot of things from the supermarket. So when they came out Shen Lin wanted to carry the things but Fu Xueyan had already taken all of them in his hands. Shen Lin stood beside him and wanted to take it, “I’ll help you.”

Fu Xueyan rarely got any chance to show off, “No need. I can carry it.” He lifted the bags with both his hands. It wasn’t really light, but it didn’t matter.

Shen Lin saw that the area between his thumb and forefinger had turned red as it was being strangled by the plastic bags. After thinking, he said seriously, “I was six years old when I started following my father to study martial arts. When I was eight years old, I broke the wrist of a sixth-grader. Even though I look very thin, I am actually very strong. I can help you carry the things.”

Fu Xueyan didn’t expect Shen Lin to be so persistent and serious about this matter. He sighed helplessly, “I just wanted to show off.”

Shen Lin had already stretched out his hand when he finished speaking, “I know that this matter is nothing to you. But I still want to help you by sharing a little burden.”

Fu Xueyan narrowed his eyes and smiled. He stopped declining him modestly and handed over the things to Shen Lin’s hands. He rubbed his hair twice and said, “Let’s go.”

When Fu Xueyan entered Shen Lin’s house, all the arrangements were according to their expectations. Shen Lin’s house wasn’t very big. It was neat and tidy, with warm-colored sofas and curtains, and there were a few pots of green plants on the balcony. Shen Lin took out the pair of slippers which he had just brought, from the bag and wore it. Shen Lin placed some things on the dining table and then said in a low voice: “You can sit down. I’ll go prepare.”

Fu Xueyan helped him bring the ingredients to the kitchen, “Shall I help you?”

Shen Lin quickly waved his hand, “No need, no need. ”

When he saw him standing nervously in the kitchen, Fu Xueyan didn’t know what to do. So he took the initiative to go out, “Then I’ll just sit down? ”

“Okay.”

Shen Lin waited for him to go out before taking the ingredients he had just bought for washing. He had tried his best to make himself less nervous today, but he still felt like he hadn’t done well enough.

He really likes Fu Xueyan but he didn’t want the Fu Xueyan to talk to himself. He didn’t want Fu Xueyan to know how boring he [SL] was and how awkward the situation was.

Fu Xueyan sat on the sofa and casually changed between the TV stations. His mind was filled with the picture of Shen Lin earnestly explaining today that he was strong. His eyes were full of persistence and reluctance. Shen Lin was too gentle. Fu Xueyan’s parents are living abroad all year round. From graduation to the present, he has been busy with entrepreneurship for so long. He hasn’t enjoyed anyone’s care for many years. Although today’s matter was just a small one, it still warmed his heart for a long time. He suddenly felt that he was fortunate. He was glad that Shen Lin fell in love with him at first sight and glad that he had some affection for Shen Lin.

When Shen Lin came out with a plate of sweet and sour snacks, he got up and went to the kitchen to help clean up the dishes and chopsticks.

The three dishes that Fu Xueyan ordered were prepared but Shen Lin didn’t know how to make Buddha jumps over the wall.

Fu Xueyan took a piece of pork ribs and put it in his mouth to taste. Shen Lin’s hand holding the chopsticks tightened a little. He looked at Fu Xueyan expectantly with his pair of eyes, like a child waiting to be praised: “How does it taste?” 

Fu Xueyan finished the whole piece of ribs before commenting like a food expert: “The sweetness and sourness are moderate, and the texture is crisp and soft.”

“Full marks.”

After finishing the meal and simple cleaning, Shen Lin sent him downstairs. Instead of driving home directly, Fu Xueyan invited him to take a walk together. Shen Lin followed him quietly without making a sound, and Fu Xueyan didn’t say anything either. The place where Shen Lin lived was old and there wasn’t much greenery in there. There is only one large flower bed. Fu Xueyan took off his suit and placed it on his arm. The two walked around the flower bed. Then Fu Xueyan suddenly took Shen Lin’s hand. Shen Lin was taken aback by his action. He stopped walking and looked at Fu Xueyan at a loss.

Fu Xueyan smiled at him and pulled him to continue walking, and said with some regret, “Why didn’t I meet you earlier? ”

After pausing for a while he said, “Not too early. During my school time, I wasn’t like this. I was really amazing. I was simply the most popular school prince at that time. You don’t laugh at me. I am not bragging.”

Shen Lin allowed him to hold his hands and he followed behind. When he heard him saying this, he felt like there was a lump in his throat.

“Lemme think. Don’t look at me sitting in the office and not being diligent. Actually, I used to play well. If I got to know you at that, we could have become good teammates. And if you didn’t like playing, then you could have helped me get me a towel or bring me water. In this way, I wouldn’t have to go back to the classroom with a bunch of different drinks from the girls after the game. It was really heavy. ”

Fu Xueyan took Shen Lin around the flower bed, “When I was in school, I participated in a lot of co-curricular activities. I was very talented. Unfortunately, I didn’t go to learn martial arts. At that time, we lived in a city. If I went to enroll in a martial arts class, would I have been able to meet you? Is it too late to study it now?” Fu Xueyan laughed and said, “Anyway, since I have you to protect me now, it doesn’t matter if I learn it or not.”

For the entire journey, Shen Lin didn’t say anything. Fu Xueyan took his hand and said, “I was really good at singing at that time. It should be better than now. To tell you the truth, I have even participated in the selection of campus stars. Haha, it feels pretty embarrassing to tell it to you now. I won first place at that time, and now that particularly ugly trophy is still in my cupboard. If I had known you at that time, I would have definitely not gone to any of those competitions. I would have sung all the love songs to you alone.”

Tn

[1]  jianbing, a savory Chinese crêpe / pancake 

[2]  youtiao (deep-fried breadstick) 

[3]  When Fu Xueyan saw that Shen Lin was looking down while walking, he jokingly said this. By this dialogue, Fu Xueyan is joking meaning that Shen Lin was looking for some money that had fallen down. 

[4]  Yes. This is a name of a real dish. It is a name for a Chinese dish that uses many non-vegetarian ingredients.