AD Chapter 28

The next day at work, Qin Yi indeed didn’t come to the shop. Master Xia and Master Liu had both taken leave to handle their own gigs outside.

Xiang Nan had only booked customers for the morning, and in the afternoon, Niao Niao dragged him to help set up the shop.

“Don’t worry about this for now. You and Shen Du grab the air pump and go blow up the balloons over there.”

Xiang Nan put down the broom, grabbed the tools, and headed over.

“Shen Du.”

There was no response. Niao Niao turned around and saw the young man staring blankly at the wall clock, holding a string of lights he had already prepared.

She walked up to him and waved her hand in front of his face. “Shen Du?”

“Hm?” Shen Du snapped out of it.

“What’s up with you? You’ve been zoning out and staring at the clock multiple times. Do you have something to do later?” Niao Niao packed the string lights into a nearby box. “If you do, why don’t you leave first? Xiang Nan and I can handle this.”

Xiang Nan, who was busy unpacking balloons, also glanced over.

Shen Du blinked and replied with an “Oh,” saying, “I’m fine.”

“Alright then. Go help Xiang Nan blow up the balloons.”

Shen Du responded, put the lights into the box, and walked over. Xiang Nan was wrestling with the air pump, his strength so intense that the bird tattoo on his neck seemed to flutter.

“Did the pump offend you?” Shen Du asked with amusement.

Xiang Nan didn’t reply, not even sparing him a glance.

Shen Du: “…”

It suddenly dawned on him that ever since learning Xiang Nan was gay, they hadn’t spoken alone. Initially, he had intentionally kept his distance, but later, he had simply forgotten.

From Xiang Nan’s perspective, it probably looked like Shen Du was giving him the cold shoulder, leaving the poor guy clueless about what had happened.

“Hey, share some balloons with me.”

Still silent, Xiang Nan tossed the bag of balloons and an extra air pump in his direction before sitting down heavily on a stool.

Shen Du wasn’t annoyed. He opened the bag, grabbed two balloons, and started working, occasionally glancing at the person beside him.

He figured he needed to clear things up.

It wasn’t that he was self-absorbed enough to think Xiang Nan liked him—it was just that keeping secrets made interactions awkward.

The problem was, he’d promised Qin Yi not to mention it to Xiang Nan, and he couldn’t tell if Xiang Nan even wanted him to know.

Hmm… tricky.

Shen Du noticed how uncomfortable Xiang Nan looked under his gaze, shifting uneasily on the stool. He seemed ready to leave but hesitated for some reason.

The struggle was almost comical.

Shen Du suppressed a laugh.

Before they knew it, the two of them had awkwardly finished the task. Shen Du tossed the last balloon into the air, stretched, and then heard the sound of a chair scraping against the floor.

Xiang Nan tossed the air pump onto the counter and looked down at him. “Brother Shen, let’s fight.”

Shen Du: “…?”

Niao Niao, who was hanging string lights, was startled. “Fight? What fight? You’re friends. No fighting allowed.”

Xiang Nan didn’t budge, still staring at Shen Du. Shen Du, curious about what the kid was up to, decided to play along.

“Alright,” he agreed readily. “What’s your goal?”

Seeing the two of them casually setting up a match, Niao Niao was so shocked she almost ran over to stop them. Then Xiang Nan pulled out his phone, opened a 1v1 game room, and said, “I don’t know what I did to offend you before, but let’s settle this the proper way. If I win, no matter what happened before, we’ll let it go. And you’ll help me rank up.”

There was no need for such dramatic phrasing—it wasn’t that serious, kid.

Shen Du chuckled. “And if I win?”

Xiang Nan was clearly prepared. “If you win, I’ll do whatever you say.”

That hardly seemed fair.

Shen Du narrowed his eyes. “Alright.”

Realizing it was just two overgrown kids looking for an excuse to play games, Niao Niao relaxed and shook her head in exasperation, leaving them to it.

Shen Du logged into his account and joined the room.

“What mode?”

“Standard rules: whoever gets three kills first or destroys the first tower wins.”

“Okay.”

Shen Du didn’t particularly care about winning and picked a random hero.

It was just to kill time.

When Qin Yi walked into the shop, the two were in the heat of battle.

Xiang Nan shouted, “You don’t need to go easy on me—I’ve got the skills!”

Shen Du replied lazily, “I’m not going easy on you. If I were, you’d have lost already. A noob who needs me to carry them in Star Glory matches—what skills do you have?”

Xiang Nan yelled back, “I said no need to go easy!”

Hearing the chime of the doorbell, Niao Niao turned and exclaimed, “Brother Qin!”

Distracted, Shen Du’s hand slipped, misclicking his flash. Xiang Nan seized the opportunity and finished him off with a combo.

The score was 3–2, with Xiang Nan taking the lead.

He immediately stood up, holding his phone triumphantly. “You lost! You still have to help me rank up!”

After one game, the kid had completely shed his earlier grumpy demeanor.

Shen Du: “…”

He instinctively glanced toward the door, then sighed in exasperation. “Got it. No need to yell—I’m not going to back out.”

Xiang Nan raised his head and laughed loudly. When he saw Qin Yi approaching, he quickly called out, “Brother Qin.”

Qin Yi responded with a hum, his gaze landing on Shen Du. The moment their eyes met, Shen Du was the first to look away.

“Are you bullying someone?” Qin Yi directed the question at Xiang Nan.

Xiang Nan: “??”

Xiang Nan: “How could I? I’m relying on my strength!”

“Look, this is the person you said you’d protect back then.”

Shen Du also remembered and chuckled dryly. “Pretend I never said that.”

Xiang Nan was baffled, not knowing what the two of them were talking about. He stuffed his phone into his pocket, leaned over, and asked, “Brother Qin, didn’t you have something to do today? Why did you come to the store?”

“To pick someone up.”

Qin Yi’s gaze shifted to Shen Du, who was secretly making small movements. “Coming?”

Shen Du froze mid-motion as he stood up. “I’m still on duty. You came too early.”

“No problem. I’ve approved your leave.”

Shen Du: “…”

The boss really was willful, wasn’t he?

Since he was already standing, he couldn’t sit back down. Shen Du simply said, “I’ll go to the restroom first.”

A few minutes later, the two of them left the store under the watchful eyes of Niao Niao and Xiang Nan.

Qin Yi had switched to a black Jeep today. Shen Du couldn’t distinguish the exact model, but it still looked very cool.

He nervously got into the passenger seat, fastened his seatbelt with a heavy heart, sat upright in his seat, and carefully placed his hands flat on his knees.

Like a child.

A fleeting smile appeared in Qin Yi’s eyes. “What do you want to eat later?”

Shen Du, surprised that this was the first thing he said, let out an “ah.”

“Don’t ‘ah.’ I’m asking you what you want to eat.”

“…”

This wasn’t quite what he had expected.

Seeing his suspicious gaze, Qin Yi spoke lightly. “What did you think I was going to ask?”

In the passenger seat, the boy’s face flushed red. He immediately pressed his lips into a firm line and said, “Anything.”

“What does ‘anything’ mean?”

“‘Anything’ means anything.”

“How about Western food?”

Shen Du was getting annoyed.

Was this guy’s brain broken? He already said “anything.”

He glared over unhappily and was about to reach for his phone when he suddenly heard Qin Yi calling him, “Xiao Du, Xiao Du.”

“…”

Shen Du’s heart jumped, and his outstretched hand hovered awkwardly.

The next second, a familiar mechanical female voice rang out in the car: “Yes, I’m here.”

Shen Du: “…………”

Qin Yi seemed oblivious to Shen Du’s odd reaction and spoke as usual. “Help me navigate.”

He reported the name of a well-known Western restaurant.

Damn it, when had this guy switched to an AI assistant?!

Shen Du didn’t say a word the whole way. Later, he even treated the steak like it was Qin Yi’s face, stabbing it seven times up and eight times down, cutting it into pieces, and then stuffing it viciously into his mouth. He stuffed it so full that his cheeks puffed out like a squirrel’s.

It was all because of those ridiculous dreams, making him think Qin Yi wanted to pursue him. It made him overthink.

But judging from Qin Yi’s behavior, how could it possibly look like he was pursuing him?!

He was so deep in thought that he completely failed to notice Qin Yi watching him from across the table. When he finally noticed, it was unclear how long Qin Yi had been staring.

Shen Du froze for a moment and frowned. “What are you looking at?”

Qin Yi didn’t answer. Instead, he glanced at the empty plate in front of him. “Are you full?”

“More or less.”

In truth, he was already full. Just now, he’d been too busy venting his frustration, mindlessly shoving food into his mouth. When he finally realized, he was already stuffed.

Qin Yi let out a quiet “oh.” “You seemed to be enjoying it.”

What kind of comment was that?!

Shen Du replied dryly, “So what?”

“How was the steak?”

Shen Du felt exasperated but still answered, “It was okay, but I prefer Chinese food.”

“How does it compare to my cooking?”

“…”

“What’s one plus one?”

“…”

“Shen Du.” Just as Shen Du was about to explode, Qin Yi suddenly called his name. “Have you ever had a girlfriend before?”

“…”

Shen Du went silent, the words “Are you an idiot?” stuck in his throat.

A girlfriend?

To be honest, he had never even held a girl’s hand in his life, let alone had a girlfriend.

“I—” He instinctively started to answer, but when he caught sight of Qin Yi’s gaze, he quickly changed his tune. “I have. I started dating in middle school.”

“Mm.” Qin Yi looked at him calmly. “Did you date many?”

Shen Du frowned. Starting in middle school didn’t necessarily mean dating many, did it?

He pressed his lips together, coughed, and began to make things up. “At least five, six, seven, eight, nine.”

“…”

Feeling guilty, Shen Du avoided eye contact and naturally didn’t notice Qin Yi’s expression.

“Was it five, six, seven, eight, or nine?”

How could he possibly clarify that? Shen Du mumbled, “Too many to remember. Probably eight—no, nine.”

“Mm, nine it is,” he affirmed confidently.

That should be about right. He remembered a classmate in high school who changed girlfriends three times in one year.

…Damn it, maybe he had said too few.

Qin Yi was silent for a moment before saying, “You’ve had quite a rich romantic history.”

Shen Du didn’t know why he felt the need to brag. “It’s just average.”

After speaking, he glanced at Qin Yi out of the corner of his eye and saw that his response didn’t seem to provoke any particular reaction.

But before he could dwell on it, Qin Yi asked, “Then you must be good at kissing, right?”

…Crap.

Before Shen Du could answer, Qin Yi followed up, “How far did you go with your girlfriends?”

“…” Shen Du was momentarily speechless.

How was he supposed to make this up?

When someone feels guilty, their eyes tend to wander, but this private booth had excellent privacy, leaving him with nothing to look at.

Shen Du finished looking at the paper lanterns above his head, then glanced at the wall paintings, and finally fixed his gaze on Qin Yi. He decided to counterattack, “Stop asking me questions all the time. You haven’t said anything about yourself. What about you?”

“How many boyfriends have you had? And how far did you go? Ki—” Shen Du abruptly shut his mouth.

Asking a gay guy about his kissing skills seemed a bit too strange, didn’t it?

Qin Yi left a strong impression on people in three aspects: his face, his hands, and his mouth. His face was good-looking, his hands were good-looking, and his mouth was good-looking too. Shen Du figured it probably felt nice to ki— Wait, what the heck? Was he crazy?

What kind of inappropriate things was he thinking?

“Why didn’t you finish your question?”

“…”

What else was there to ask?

“You finish answering my first two questions before I say anything else!” Shen Du said irritably.

“Me?”

Qin Yi wiped his hands with a damp cloth. “Believe it or not, I only have one thing to say.”

“I’ve never been in a relationship.”

Never… been in a relationship?

That had to be a lie, right?

Someone like Qin Yi had never dated anyone?

Shen Du even remembered overhearing Lu Ning mention a younger high school student.

Oh, right, maybe it was just flirting. If he flirted with someone and then dumped them, it wouldn’t count as a “relationship.”

The more Shen Du thought about it, the more likely he found this explanation. After all, Qin Yi was the kind of person who thought even cats were too clingy.

After dinner, Qin Yi drove them home. While Qin Yi focused on driving, Shen Du buried his head in his phone, playing the once-popular game Goose Goose Duck. He was quite engrossed.

The car was filled with a fresh scent, and the air conditioning was set to a comfortable temperature. Everything felt normal, and Shen Du gradually let go of the worries he’d had the previous night, relaxing once again.

So when Qin Yi parked the car in the lot of a park, Shen Du didn’t think anything was amiss.

After getting out, Shen Du pocketed his phone and naturally headed toward the supermarket.

“Where are you going?” Qin Yi called after him.

“Aren’t we feeding the cats?” Shen Du turned his head and asked, “There’s no food. Do you have any in the car?”

Qin Yi said, “We’re not feeding them. We’re picking them up.”

Shen Du thought he misheard. “Picking them up? Picking them up where???”

“Taking them home.”

“…”

It was already getting dark. Elderly men and women were dancing in the square, the music lively and energetic. Qin Yi walked over to the bushes they had visited before, crouched down, and waited for a moment. Soon, two cats meowed and ran over.

Thanks to Shen Du’s regular feeding, the two cats no longer looked like strays.

Qin Yi scratched the tabby cat’s chin and patted the calico’s head.

“Ungrateful cat,” Shen Du crouched nearby and glared at the tabby. “I’ve fed you so many times, and you’ve never let me pet you.”

How come Qin Yi managed to pet it so quickly?

As if sensing what was about to happen, the tabby softly meowed and placed its paw on a pile of fallen leaves, making a rustling sound.

“Meow…”

“Is it… letting me pet it?” Shen Du was about to reach out but paused, suddenly suspicious. “Could it be in heat?”

“…”

“Shen Du, it’s summer now,” Qin Yi stated calmly.

“So what if it’s summer?” Shen Du raised his voice and said, “Who says cats can’t be in heat during summer? If it wants to, it can do it anytime, anywhere.”

Qin Yi raised an eyebrow and said, “For safety’s sake, we should probably have it neutered.”

“…”

Shen Du turned his head to look at him. “Are you really taking them home?”

Qin Yi picked up the calico and stood up. “What else?”

Shen Du was speechless. By the time he reacted, Qin Yi was already walking away with the calico in his arms.

Shen Du grabbed the tabby, which was about to lick his hand, and stood up. “Hey, wait for me—”

Not far from the park, there was a pet hospital. The two of them brought the cats in for check-ups. When registering their information, the nurse noticed that the calico Qin Yi was holding was actually male, and she cried out in shock.

“Oh my gosh! I’ve never seen a male calico before! OMG!”

“Let me see, let me see.” A doctor inside, who had been busy, put down what he was doing and came over. He gently lifted the calico’s leg. “Whoa, it really is. What kind of luck do you have to pick up such a rare cat on the street?”

“If it’s so rare, how did it become a stray?”

“Who knows? Some things can’t be explained by common sense.” The doctor stood up, wiped his hands with a disinfectant wipe, and looked at Qin Yi and Shen Du. “Are you adopting these two cats?”

“Yes,” Qin Yi replied. “Please help us with a check-up.”

Both of them were handsome, but Qin Yi, with his mature demeanor, was especially captivating.

The nurse, recalling her earlier outburst, blushed slightly, tidied her somewhat messy bangs, and asked softly, “What names are you planning to give them?”

She directed the question at Qin Yi.

To her, Shen Du still looked like a student, so she naturally assumed that the older-looking man would be the one to make decisions.

However, to her surprise, Qin Yi turned to the boy beside him. “What names should we give them?”

The nurse was momentarily stunned and then looked at Shen Du.

Shen Du paused for a moment before blurting out, “Da Mao and Er Mao.”

He had tested these names when feeding the cats before. The two cats responded to them.

The tabby was Da Mao, and the calico was Er Mao.

“Alright.” Qin Yi turned back to the nurse and said, “Those will be their names.”

The nurse filled in the names and turned the form around. “Please fill in your name and contact information here.”

“Hand it over to me.” The doctor, who had settled Little Mao, returned to take Da Mao for its check-up.

Just as Shen Du was about to hand over the cat, Da Mao, sensing danger, began purring nervously and burrowed into Shen Du’s arms. The stress response made it impossible for the doctor to handle it, so Shen Du had to follow him in to help soothe the cat.

After registering, Qin Yi greeted the nurse and stepped outside to smoke a cigarette.

Dark clouds pressed down, the thick clouds rumbling with a low roar.

When Shen Du came out of the clinic, he realized it had started raining.

Shen Du looked around. “Qin Yi?”

“Mm.”

A voice responded from not far away.

The rain seemed to be getting heavier, and countless people were rushing to find shelter, separating the two of them.

Under the rain-filled sky, illuminated by the streetlights, Shen Du looked up and saw Qin Yi standing beneath a lamppost, looking back at him through the crowd. His posture was tall and straight, a cigarette held between his fingers, with raindrops falling on his brows.

Shen Du jogged over.

“The doctor said Da Mao and Er Mao aren’t doing too well. They need to stay in the clinic for observation for a few days. What are you doing here? It’s raining, and we didn’t bring an umbrella. We need to hurry back.”

Qin Yi extinguished his cigarette and tossed it into a nearby trash can.

“Why aren’t you saying anything? That cigarette still had a lot left. Why not—”

“Shen Du.”

The rain grew heavier, gradually soaking their clothes. The wind shifted shadows, and the rain drizzled down, leaving a misty layer on the trembling lashes of the young man.

“Mm?”

This summer, Yunshan seemed to be especially fond of rain.

Another loud clap of thunder rolled through the sky.

Qin Yi quietly gazed at him. After a long moment, he finally spoke amidst the steady sound of the rain.

“The cigarette that day tasted really good. Do I still have a chance to have it again?”

His voice was slightly hoarse as he called Shen Du’s name once more.

“I mean, I like you. Will you be my boyfriend?”