Chapter 43 – Awo awo awo… awo awo awo ah awo…
If his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him—or if he wasn’t hallucinating—then Shao Zhan was fairly certain that before Yang Sa fell back into sleep, he licked his lips.
Shao Zhan’s mind felt like it had been struck by lightning.
In his daze, it was as if he heard three words tumble from Yang Sa’s lips—
“I’m sorry.”
Was it meant for him?
Or for someone in the dream?
Compared to the one who had fallen back asleep, Shao Zhan was anything but calm.
Everything came so gently, so suddenly—just like that drizzly midsummer night three years ago.
Shao Zhan tried to steady his breathing and reached for the phone on the nightstand. He glanced at the time: 3:45. With a flick of his thumb, he switched it to silent mode.
How was he supposed to sleep after this?
He gazed at the faint light creeping in through the window and gently pressed a hand to his pounding chest, holding on to the hope that, beyond the heavy veil of night, dawn would eventually come.
…
Once the initial panic had passed, Shao Zhan quietly watched the sleeping face beside him. He consciously slowed his breathing, doing his best not to disturb the other person.
But reality often doesn’t go according to plan. There’s nothing you can do when your household includes a chicken that’s been scared half the night and still insists on crowing—your chances of a peaceful morning are basically zero.
“Awo awo awo… awo awo awo ah awo…”
There had never been a day where Shao Zhan wanted to pluck that d*mn parrot and stew it more than now.
He wanted to jump out of bed and carry out his evil plan on the spot—but he was also reluctant to leave this sweet moment by his pillow.
Accompanying the crowing were hurried, frantic footsteps. Shao Zhan could practically picture Uncle Zhou chasing the chicken around, coaxing it like it was his own son.
Propping up his slightly stiff neck with one hand, he basked in this small, perfect moment. Then suddenly, a gurgle gurgle sound came from under the blanket.
Shao Zhan instinctively reached to cover his stomach—only to realize the sound wasn’t coming from him.
Amused in the soft morning light, Shao Zhan let out a silent laugh. As if in protest, the head beside him rubbed against the pillow a few times, the hair sticking up with static like a tiny porcupine.
He kept still, maintaining the same position as he listened to a string of relentless gurgle gurgle gurgle sounds in the air.
“This guy…” Shao Zhan couldn’t help thinking to himself, “…is he raising a cat in his stomach or something?”
After chuckling to himself for a while, he carefully climbed out of bed, moving as quietly as he could so as not to disturb the person still dreaming.
As much as he wanted to stay longer, he didn’t want this to turn into something awkward—he didn’t want the other person to bolt in embarrassment in the middle of the night. So he reined in his curiosity, even though deep down, he’d long been hoping for a day like this.
There was also another concern—he didn’t want anyone to see Yang Sa walking out of his room. He didn’t know exactly what the other man was planning, but he had a gut feeling this detour wouldn’t help.
Like a cat walking on velvet paws, he silently slipped out of the room. Just as he was carefully closing the door behind him—
BOOM!
A thunderous crash exploded behind him.
Qin Chuan, who had come to the kitchen for some brown sugar water to ease his stomach pain, stood frozen, red-eyed and hollow like a zombie. He looked down at the limited-edition astronaut mug he’d just knocked over and the red dates rolling away beside it.
Then he lunged for Shao Zhan’s neck like a corpse risen from the grave: “You heartless bast*rd! I stayed up all night worrying about your d*mn business, nearly turned into a dried-up corpse—and you’re in there playing house with your little secret lover?! Are you trying to kill me?! Huh?! Just say it—do you want me dead?! Say it! Do you—ugh… ugh… sob sob sob sob… sob sob sob sob sob…”
Shao Zhan, feeling guilty, was startled by the sudden outburst. He didn’t take the attempted choking seriously at all—instead, he hooked one arm around the hysterical person and quickly slapped a hand over his mouth.
Trying to calm the distressed Qin Chuan, Shao Zhan leaned in to whisper an explanation in his ear. Unfortunately, Qin Chuan—already sick and extra sensitive—panicked even more. Flushed and flailing, he cursed furiously, “Bast*rd! Don’t come any closer, you old pervert!”
And then—
Bang! Bang! Two dull thuds rang out.
Just as the third bang hit, the two of them turned their heads to see Jiang Ranan and Zhuang Bai enthusiastically introducing an iconic Chinese health drink—douzhi (fermented mung bean juice)—to an early-rising foreign guest.
Startled by what they saw, the pair dropped their cups in unison. From their perspective, it looked like Shao Zhan was crouching low, sweet-talking an angry little lover.
Seeing Qin Chuan’s furious (or flustered?) red face, even the worldly little foreigner couldn’t hide his shock. His douzhi hit the floor with a splat, and he gave a big thumbs up, genuinely impressed: “Your team… really knows how to play.”
Shao Zhan’s face darkened instantly. “It’s not what you think.”
Qin Chuan also waved his hands frantically. “My taste is not that low, okay?!”
“Then how do you explain the two of you,” Jiang Ranan pointed at them, “hugging like that?”
Shao Zhan and Qin Chuan instantly separated, as if electrocuted. Especially Qin Chuan—he raised his hand in a dramatic orchid gesture and began frantically brushing off his fuzzy bear-print pajamas like he’d touched something dirty.
Trying to ease the awkward tension, Jiang Ranan stiffly shifted topics, mechanically recommending youtiao and sweet bean buns to the guest.
Shao Zhan wanted to ask the foreigner if he knew what Yang Sa liked to eat for breakfast, but he didn’t want to come off as too obvious. While he was still figuring out how to phrase it, a blood-curdling scream tore through the base—
“AAAAAAHHHH… AAAAAHHHHHHH! SOMEONE HELP! EMERGENCY! SOMETHING TERRIBLE HAS HAPPENED! AAAAAHHHHHHHHHH—”
Everyone followed the sound and rushed into Tangyuan’s room, only to see the chubby guy lying flat on the bed, screaming with his front teeth practically rattling loose.
He was staring in horror at someone clinging to his waist.
Disturbed by the yelling, the blue-fat blob slowly woke up—only to find himself face-to-face, at dangerously close range, with the yellow-fat blob beneath him.