AD Chapter 14

“How about it, have you considered getting a tattoo?”

Shen Du had heard that the collarbone is one of the most painful areas to get a tattoo. This is because the skin here is relatively thin, and the nerve endings are densely distributed, making it more sensitive to pain.

Thinking of this, the little courage he had immediately disappeared.

“…Maybe not,” he found the perfect excuse for himself. “A tattoo on the collarbone is too obvious, and I still have to go to school.”

Qin Yi hadn’t expected him to agree: “Mm.”

Shen Du quickly changed the subject and pointed at other designs: “Are these all ones you’ve drawn recently?”

Qin Yi nodded and said, “Except for Psyche, the others don’t have names yet. Do you have any ideas?”

Shen Du pointed at himself: “Are you asking me?”

Qin Yi: “I’m asking the handsome guy.”

The handsome guy couldn’t stop smiling: “Since you’re flattering me like this, alright, I’ll help.”

He casually picked up a few: “Is there a direction, or any requirements?”

“Just do whatever you think is best.”

“Just so you know, if it doesn’t turn out well, don’t blame me.”

Shen Du moved a chair over and sat next to Qin Yi.

He looked at the designs and searched on his phone for a long time, choosing several names, but none of them felt right. It always seemed like something was missing. Qin Yi didn’t rush him, only got up to adjust the air conditioning when he noticed Shen Du absentmindedly rubbing his arms.

The two sat side by side, with a faint scent of orange in the air. As Qin Yi was outlining, he glanced over and saw the boy had filled an entire A4 sheet with all sorts of strange names, scribbling them out hastily once finished.

Qin Yi noticed Shen Du liked to bite the pen while thinking, his lashes delicate and his gaze focused when he lowered his eyes, looking like a little kid.

Shen Du thought seriously, sitting for an entire afternoon, and only when Qin Yi called him did he realize it was time to leave.

Sitting for so long was tiring. Shen Du put the pencil down on the table, stood up, and stretched: “I only came up with two.”

“No rush, you can take these home and think about it slowly,” Qin Yi handed him a wet wipe to clean his hands.

Shen Du misjudged the length of their arms, and when he reached out, his hand landed directly on Qin Yi’s hand. He was stunned for a moment, but the next second, he laughed: “I’m coming up with the names for you, what do I get in return?”

Qin Yi made a gesture as if grasping at air: “What do you want in return?”

Shen Du sniffed and hinted: “I’ve been eating takeout lately, and I’m so sick of it.”

After speaking, he sneakily glanced at the person next to him.

It was probably because of the air conditioning, as he had caught a bit of a cold. His voice had a slight nasal tone, and his tone was softer than usual. Qin Yi glanced at him from the side and, after finding a file folder in the drawer, put the drawing papers inside and handed it to him: “How about I treat you to a meal?”

Shen Du had been waiting for this sentence: “I want a feast!”

The two walked side by side to the stairs, just in time to bump into Xiang Nan, who was coming out of the door. The young man chatted with them for a bit, and when he heard they were going to eat together, he wanted to join.

Shen Du wasn’t too happy about it. He had traded his energy and intellect for this meal, and now someone else was barging in. He wanted to refuse, but since Xiang Nan had asked Qin Yi, he didn’t have the right to say anything.

Qin Yi walked ahead, silent, seemingly tacitly agreeing.

Shen Du rolled his eyes behind him.

Qin Yi drove, taking them across half the city to a Vietnamese restaurant. The food looked pretty lavish, but Shen Du couldn’t get used to it. After a few bites, he put down his chopsticks, while Xiang Nan, who had a bigger appetite, finished most of the dishes.

Shen Du, watching from the side, sighed: “Youth is great, your stomach has so much energy.”

Xiang Nan didn’t catch the sarcasm in his words and instead gave him a lesson: “Brother Shen, you’re just not eating enough. I could take you down with one hand.”

“Xiang Nan is right, you really should eat more,” Qin Yi said from across the table, his gaze sweeping over Shen Du’s body.

Shen Du’s competitive spirit flared up, and he stared coldly at Qin Yi: “One hand to take me down? Try it.”

It had been hot recently, so Shen Du was wearing loose short sleeves and casual shorts. He stood up, lifted his shirt, and scoffed: “I’ve got abs too, you know?”

His waist was slim, with the muscles of his abs clearly defined, extending down to the waistband of his pants, giving off a sense of strength that seemed at odds with his lean physique, though it was softened by his fair skin.

Before Xiang Nan could speak, Qin Yi spoke first: “Stop it.”

He frowned, looking somewhat displeased.

Shen Du wasn’t happy but still sat back down and gave him a glare.

After dinner, Qin Yi drove Xiang Nan home first, then headed back with Shen Du. He drove straight into the underground parking lot. Since it was Shen Du’s first time here, he didn’t know where to go, so he stood by the wall with the file folder in hand, his hands in his pockets, waiting for him.

After Qin Yi grabbed what he needed from the trunk, he said, “Let’s go.”

Shen Du followed behind him. “Boss Qin, this meal doesn’t count, I didn’t even eat well.”

“Next time, you pick what we eat,” Qin Yi pressed the elevator button, glancing at him through the elevator door. “Are you hungry? Want to eat something else?”

Shen Du was a bit tired and yawned. “Go out again after just coming back?”

“Make it yourself,” Qin Yi said. “There should be some food at my place.”

“Forget it.” Shen Du didn’t believe that someone with such hands could cook. “If I eat more, I won’t be able to sleep. You can keep it for yourself.”

Back at home, Shen Du threw his things on the sofa, quickly closed the windows, and turned on the air conditioning. After cooling down, he put on his slippers and went to take a shower. When he came out, he received a message from Qin Yi.

【Blame: Don’t casually show your abs in front of other men next time.】

【°: ?】

【°: Do you guys care about that? You tattoo artists have seen this stuff before.】

【Blame: He’s gay.】

【°: ?】

【°: Who’s gay?】

【°: Is Xiang Nan gay??】

No way, he’s not joking, right?

Xiang Nan, who had gone straight to bed at home, had no idea he was being gossiped about, especially by his most admired Brother Qin.

Qin Yi was lying on the sofa, typing with one hand, not blinking as he lied: 【Mm.】

【Blame: Not all gays are as discreet as I am.】

【Blame: Be careful next time.】

Shen Du, startled by the gossip, was suddenly wide awake.

Xiang Nan is gay? He didn’t seem like it at all. Oh wait, didn’t Niao Niao say that before Shen Du came to the shop, Xiang Nan didn’t talk to anyone except Qin Yi? Now it made sense why he was so friendly with him and called him “brother.”

【°: Does anyone else at the shop know?】

【Blame: No, so I hope you keep it a secret for now.】

【Blame: Don’t tell Xiang Nan you know.】

【°: Then why are you telling me?】

【Blame: Because I don’t want to see someone dancing on a high-voltage wire.】

Shen Du: “…”

Impressive.

The next day at the shop, Shen Du looked at Xiang Nan differently.

At lunch, Xiang Nan came over as usual to play games with him. If this had been before, Shen Du would have agreed without thinking. But now, knowing that Xiang Nan was gay and probably interested in him, he felt awkward.

“I don’t feel like playing today. You can solo queue.”

Xiang Nan, who still didn’t know that Shen Du knew about his sexuality, stubbornly asked, “Why? You don’t have anything to do, right?”

“Who told you I have nothing to do?” Shen Du pointed at the scrap paper beside him and said, “I still have to come up with names for your boss’s tattoo designs. I’m busy.”

“It’s our boss,” Xiang Nan corrected, then glanced at the tattoo designs on the table. He paused for a moment. “You mean Brother Qin asked you to come up with names for his designs?”

Shen Du noticed the “our” in Xiang Nan’s words and thought, see, he exposed it. He was distracted and didn’t notice the shock in Xiang Nan’s eyes. “Yeah, what’s the problem?”

Xiang Nan stared at him for a long moment. “I’m going to talk to Brother Qin.”

“Are you saying I’m lying?” Shen Du was speechless.

Xiang Nan didn’t explain further, quickly walking upstairs.

“Brother Qin.” He pushed open the door and went straight to the point. “You asked Shen Du to come up with names for your designs? You never let anyone interfere with this stuff before.”

When he first joined the industry, he had followed Qin Yi and learned the craft. Back then, he saw Qin Yi drawing a lot of designs, some with names, some without. He wasn’t skilled enough yet to draw anything, but he was itching to help come up with a few names.

Just two or three, that’s all.

But Qin Yi had refused, saying the designs were like his children. Xiang Nan still remembered the amused look on Qin Yi’s face when he asked, “You want to help me name my children?”

“You call him ‘brother’? How come you’re calling him by name now?” Qin Yi looked at his expression and guessed what was going on.

Xiang Nan said, “You’re my brother. Brother Qin, what’s going on with you letting Shen Du name your designs? You wouldn’t have fallen for him, would you?”

He knew Qin Yi’s sexual orientation.

If Niao Niao and Master Xia were there, they’d be shocked by all the expressions on Xiang Nan’s face.

Xiang Nan asked bluntly, but Qin Yi wanted to admit it, though he couldn’t.

What others guessed was one thing, but hearing it from his own mouth was another.

He couldn’t joke with Shen Du’s reputation.

“Didn’t Niao Niao ask him to help on the second floor?” Qin Yi continued with his task, saying, “I had to find something for him to do.”

“Really?” Xiang Nan clearly didn’t believe it and was about to ask again when he heard Qin Yi call him.

“Xiang Nan.”

His tone was cold, without any emotion.

Xiang Nan froze, immediately shutting up, looking like he had done something wrong and lowering his head.

Qin Yi’s tone softened a little: “Help me sharpen the pencil.”

After three days, Shen Du had named all the tattoo designs. During this time, he had done a lot of research, but none of the names were as impressive as “Psyche.”

Maybe that’s the difference between an outsider and an insider.

Anyway, it was done. If Qin Yi didn’t like it, he could change it himself.

Shen Du placed the last sheet of paper into the file folder when he suddenly smelled the aroma of food.

It was still before 7 PM, and the sky hadn’t darkened yet. He didn’t know what the neighbors were cooking, but it smelled so good.

He put the file folder away and ran to the balcony, shouting, “Qin Yi!”

At this moment, Qin Yi was adding seasoning to the pot while looking at the recipe. He vaguely heard someone calling him, so he put down the spoon, stood at the kitchen door, and patiently waited for a moment. Once he confirmed it was Shen Du calling him, he took off his apron and walked out.

As he walked, he loosened the buttons on his shirt collar.

The glass door in the corridor slid open with a whoosh. Shen Du leaned against the place where he had been lying that night, propping his head up as he looked over. When he saw Qin Yi coming out, he waved his hand.

“What are you making to eat?”

Qin Yi asked, “What did you just call me?”

Shen Du pretended not to hear and looked at his shirt collar, teasing, “Boss Qin, off work now? Not pretending anymore?”

At the shop, Qin Yi would have wanted to weld the buttons onto his collar. But now that he was home, was his true nature showing?

He had already undone two buttons, looking nonchalant, as if inviting anyone to come and take a look.

It was kind of sexy.

Shen Du looked a few more times, and Qin Yi tilted his body slightly.

Shen Du’s mind slowly began to process, “?”

If he wasn’t mistaken, Qin Yi had just given him a glare, right?

Shen Du touched his own face. Was he some kind of little rogue?

What was this guy doing, acting like he was taking advantage of him? He wasn’t interested in him!

“Hey, what’s with that expression? Am I going to eat you?” he asked with a blank expression.

He promised, if Qin Yi dared to say “yes,” he would really rush over and eat him!

Qin Yi didn’t answer. Instead, he said, “It’s been a long time since I cooked. I made too much.”

Shen Du tilted his head. “Are you inviting me?”

“Otherwise?”

“With that line, it’d be hard not to come, right?”

After saying that, Shen Du leaned on the railing, as if he was about to climb over.

Qin Yi was startled and quickly stepped forward. “Is my door just for decoration?!”

Shen Du was just joking and didn’t really want to climb over. Seeing Qin Yi react so strongly, he got even more excited. “Don’t be scared, if the police come, I won’t blame you. I’m just going down an unconventional path.”

They were close, almost the same distance as when they borrowed fire that night. Qin Yi calmed down and crossed his arms, looking at him coldly. “Then show me how you’re going to get over.”

“Heh.” Shen Du smiled and put his foot down. “I don’t want to go anymore.”

Qin Yi saw his “smug” expression and said nothing more. He turned and walked back, ignoring Shen Du’s calls. No matter what Shen Du said behind him, he didn’t look back.

Not getting a response, Shen Du lost interest and turned to leave.

Just as he was wondering whether he should go next door to bum some food and make a good impression, his phone rang. It was a call from Xu Qingluo.

Since Xu Qingluo had gone to some remote place with his grandfather for poverty alleviation, they hadn’t been in touch for a long time. This call came at the right time because Shen Du had something to ask him too.

He picked up the phone.

“I have something to tell you,” both of them spoke almost at the same time.

Shen Du paused. “You go first.”

Xu Qingluo’s voice didn’t have the usual energy: “Do you remember our class monitor from high school?”

Shen Du had never been a top student, and in high school, he and Xu Qingluo were always at the internet café, the gaming hall, and school, running around. To discipline him, the homeroom teacher made him the class monitor when they started their second year.

Since he became a class officer, Shen Du had more interactions with the class monitor. Although they weren’t particularly close, they were still closer than the other classmates, often playing basketball together and sometimes going to the internet café on weekends.

“Yeah, why are you suddenly bringing him up?” After graduating from high school, Shen Du had blocked the class group and hadn’t opened it since.

Shen Du guessed, “Did he get married? Did he invite you?”

“Shen Du, the class monitor passed away,” Xu Qingluo said.

Shen Du fell silent, and his teasing mood vanished instantly. “You’re joking, right?”

“It’s true,” Xu Qingluo said, a bit sad. “I just heard it from some classmates. He was buried half a month ago, and the classmates went to see him off.”

“It was colon cancer. Shen Du, he was still so young…”

“…”

Qin Yi had finished preparing the meal and was sitting at the dining table waiting.

The doorbell never rang. He looked at the time; it was already 8:30 PM, and if Shen Du didn’t come soon, the food would be cold.

Just as the food was served, Qin Yi took a few photos. He looked through his album, and although he hadn’t cooked for a long time, the presentation was still quite good.

He chose the most appetizing photo and sent it to Shen Du.

After placing his phone face down on the table, Qin Yi tapped his fingers on the table absently.

Shen Du didn’t reply.

Five minutes passed. Qin Yi picked up his phone again, opened the chat window, and typed: “Are you coming tonight?”

He deleted it.

【Blame: Are you still coming?】

Shen Du still didn’t reply.

He didn’t know how much time had passed, but it was long enough for the food to have completely cooled. Qin Yi stood up and threw all the beautifully prepared dishes into the trash.

He listened to the ticking of the wall clock and suddenly felt how eerily silent the long night was.

The next day, Shen Du arrived at the shop more than half an hour later than usual. When Niao Niao saw him, she patted her chest in relief. “Why are you so late? I thought something happened on the way. Brother Qin was about to go out to look for you.”

Shen Du didn’t expect that Qin Yi hadn’t started working yet at this time. “I got sidetracked on the way, lost some time.”

Qin Yi shifted his feet and didn’t immediately approach. When he met Shen Du’s indifferent gaze, as if seeing a stranger, his brows furrowed.

Niao Niao was confused. “Did you get lost on the way?”

Shen Du smiled faintly. “If you say so, then sure. Are you done cleaning? I’ll help you.”

Qin Yi didn’t know what had happened, but he instinctively felt that Shen Du wasn’t in a good mood.

And indeed, Shen Du wasn’t in a good mood.

Hearing the news about the class monitor’s death so suddenly left him with mixed emotions. He had been thinking about it all night, and he still hadn’t fully processed it.

He couldn’t muster any energy that day. He didn’t want to go to the second floor, no matter how much Niao Niao tried to get him to move. When people came to chat, he just listened, not saying anything. If they didn’t get a response, they naturally left.

Niao Niao thought he was sick and, worried, said, “Why don’t you ask Qin Ge for a sick leave and go to the hospital?”

Shen Du replied, “I’m not sick.”

Soon after, Xu Qingluo called again to talk to him about this matter. Originally, Shen Du was almost getting over it, but Xu Qingluo, being the truly sentimental person he was, pulled him back into it.

That night, Shen Du lay on the sofa, not wanting to eat, play games, or take a shower, just staring at the ceiling in a daze.

He wasn’t a particularly sentimental person, but he hated goodbyes.

He thought of his grandparents and of Shen Yuanyuan.

At that moment, the smell of food wafted in.

Shen Du covered his stomach and turned over on the sofa.

Before long, another wave of even more delicious-smelling food drifted in.

On this hungry night, the tempting aroma lingered around his nose, like a demon whispering in his ear, “Come over, come over…”

When the smell of braised pork reached him, he could no longer resist.

Shen Du didn’t bother putting on his shoes or grabbing his phone. Barefoot, he hurriedly knocked on the door of the apartment next door.

He was going to tell Qin Yi that he was disturbing the peace in the middle of the night!

The door opened halfway with a swish. Qin Yi leaned against the side, blocking the entrance with his whole body, raising an eyebrow as if he had been waiting for a while.

Shen Du felt a little dazed under his gaze. The momentum he had built up immediately weakened by three points. “Do you know what you’re doing?”

“I know,” Qin Yi smiled at him, “I’m tempting a certain moody little friend to come over for dinner.”

“Well, looks like the little friend took the bait.”