Chapter 23 – Meeting
Shi Cha lay sprawled on the bed, scrolling through posts in two fan forums again. Finally, feeling content, he got up to start making breakfast.
But just as he passed the dining room, he suddenly heard a knock at the door.
Startled, Shi Cha looked toward the entrance.
That morning, his older brother, Shi Jian, had messaged him saying he was coming over. But just ten minutes ago, he had sent another message saying something had come up and he couldn’t make it.
The three polite knocks definitely didn’t belong to Du Yan either. If it had been Du Yan, he would already be shouting at the door by now.
Another three knocks came. Shi Cha pressed his lips together, picked up the kitchen knife he had casually left on the table the night before, and slowly walked to the door.
He peered through the peephole.
The person outside was currently turned away from the door, phone pressed to their ear as if on a call, and in the other hand, they were holding a neat, square-shaped black bag.
Shi Cha tightened his grip on the knife, latched the door chain from the inside, and gently cracked the door open.
Just as he did, the person hung up the phone and turned around.
Shi Cha’s pupils dilated, his voice full of surprise and delight. “Brother Lin Ran?!”
He couldn’t comprehend it. Just yesterday, he had resigned himself to the idea that he wouldn’t be seeing Lin Ran for a long time. Who would’ve thought that the very next morning, Lin Ran would show up at his door?
Had heaven heard his wish and sent him this miracle?
Lin Ran looked at the stunned Shi Cha and gave him a smile.
That smile was like a bright moon falling into one’s arms—it dazzled Shi Cha so much that his eyes went a little blurry.
However, when Lin Ran’s gaze shifted downward and caught sight of the knife in Shi Cha’s hand through the narrow gap in the door, that smile nearly froze on his face.
Following his gaze, Shi Cha also noticed the kitchen knife he had grabbed for self-defense.
He quickly hid the knife behind his back and, with one hand, unhooked the door chain.
As the door opened, Shi Cha immediately turned sideways, firmly preventing Lin Ran from seeing the knife behind him.
Lin Ran pretended not to notice and walked in, placing the bag he was holding onto the dining table.
“I just moved in yesterday and thought I’d bring something to the neighbor next door. Didn’t expect to run into your brother on his way to deliver porridge to you. That’s when I found out… the neighbor next door is actually you, little Shi Cha. Your brother had to leave in a hurry, so he asked me to bring the porridge over for him.”
Shi Cha watched as Lin Ran, like it was the most natural thing in the world, went into the kitchen to get bowls and chopsticks, and oddly enough, didn’t feel anything was out of place.
What he was confused about was: “Didn’t a young woman move in next door last night?”
Lin Ran walked out of the kitchen with the utensils. Hearing this, he realized Shi Cha had misunderstood, and smiled as he explained, “That must have been my personal assistant. She was helping me move in last night.”
As if afraid Shi Cha might still be mistaken, he clarified again:
“She was in the car yesterday too, sitting in the very back row, wearing black-rimmed glasses.”
Shi Cha thought for a moment. There had been a girl wearing black-rimmed glasses in the last row of the van yesterday. But the one directing the movers next door last night—he’d only heard her voice and never saw her.
So at first, he hadn’t connected the two.
The thermal container had done its job well—the porridge was still warm even after all this time.
Unfortunately, the other breakfast items Lin Ran had brought had gone completely cold while he was chatting with Time.
“Sorry, I was talking with your brother earlier and didn’t notice the food had gone cold,” Lin Ran said apologetically.
“Huh? Oh, I’ll go heat it up,” Shi Cha replied, grabbing the bag off the table and heading into the kitchen—returning the kitchen knife he’d been hiding along the way.
Shi Cha moved quickly, and within a few minutes, everything was reheated.
With the table now full of steaming food, Shi Cha and Lin Ran each had a bowl of seafood porridge, sitting across from each other.
Shi Cha kept his head down, eating spoonful after spoonful of porridge, feeling like the atmosphere was a little strange. He didn’t quite dare to look up at the person sitting across from him.
Lin Ran picked up a soup dumpling and placed it on the small plate in front of Shi Cha.
“Don’t just drink porridge—try some of the others too.”
The porridge, from the taste alone, was clearly homemade—probably by his mother. As for the other items, judging by the packaging, Shi Cha figured Lin Ran must’ve bought them himself that morning, especially since a few of the shops didn’t offer delivery.
Since it was a kind gesture from Lin Ran, Shi Cha wasn’t about to refuse.
He picked up the soup dumpling and gently bit into it. The scalding hot broth inside spilled out through the tear and burned his tongue.
“Hiss~” He let out a small cry of pain.
Lin Ran immediately put down his chopsticks and stood up in concern.
Leaning over the table, he reached out and gently lifted Shi Cha’s chin.
“Let me see your tongue,” he said, voice low and serious.
Shi Cha looked up at Lin Ran looming over him and obediently stuck out his tongue.
Seeing Lin Ran still staring at it, Shi Cha, tongue still out, mumbled, “It’s fine, doesn’t hurt anymore.”
But as Lin Ran lightly touched the tip of his tongue with his fingertip, Shi Cha gasped again.
Lin Ran lowered his hand. “Still saying it doesn’t hurt?”
With that, he turned around, went into the kitchen, and poured a glass of cool boiled water, handing it to Shi Cha.
“Hold this in your mouth to cool your tongue. Until it’s healed, no spicy food.”
Shi Cha glanced at Lin Ran, then obediently held a mouthful of cool water to help lower the temperature on his tongue.
After a few rounds of this, the burning sensation finally began to fade. Shi Cha timidly asked, “Can I eat now?”
Lin Ran picked up a soup dumpling and tasted it. It really wasn’t hot anymore.
Only then did he pick up another dumpling and place it on Shi Cha’s plate. At the same time, he took the dumpling Shi Cha had bitten into earlier and moved it to his own plate.
Shi Cha stole a glance at Lin Ran and noticed that he seemed a little unhappy.
He stirred his porridge with a spoon and mumbled an apology, “Sorry.”
Lin Ran suddenly looked up. “Why are you apologizing?”
Still keeping his head down, Shi Cha poked at his bowl with the spoon. “Because you’re upset.”
Lin Ran sighed. This little one was too sensitive.
He set his chopsticks down. “Look at me.”
Shi Cha lifted his head at the sound of his voice, only to see Lin Ran gazing at him seriously.
“I am a bit upset—but not at you. I’m upset with myself. I don’t have much experience taking care of people, and that’s why you ended up getting burned. I wasn’t angry just now—I was just thinking about what I need to do better in the future so I can take proper care of you.”
Shi Cha’s lips parted slightly. He wanted to ask, Why do you want to take care of me?
But then it occurred to him—Lin Ran was his brother’s friend, now living next door. His brother had just run into Lin Ran earlier this morning, so it was likely he’d asked Lin Ran to look after him.
It must be because of his brother that Lin Ran was being so kind.
Shi Cha gave a small nod. “Oh. I see.”
Lin Ran: “???”
I was talking about taking care of you—what exactly did you just ‘see’?
Lin Ran picked up his chopsticks again and ate the half-bitten soup dumpling Shi Cha had been burned by.
Then he reminded him, “It’s not hot anymore. Eat while it’s warm—once it gets cold, it won’t taste good.”
Shi Cha’s ears turned red, and his chest warmed. He obediently nibbled at the dumpling in small bites, a flicker of sweetness and delight fluttering in his heart.
Even if Lin Ran was only taking care of him because of his brother’s request, he still didn’t mind that Shi Cha had taken a bite of the food. Just like yesterday on the show—so it hadn’t been for show after all.
Even if he was only being treated like a friend’s younger brother, Shi Cha was still very happy.
With his lashes lowered, he hid his expression from Lin Ran. In his eyes, unseen from across the table, was the shy joy of a boy falling in love.
The meal dragged on slowly. Though both of them had thoughts in their hearts, neither wanted their time together to end too soon.
But as soon as the clock hit 8:30, Shi Cha’s phone alarm went off.
He had promised his livestream viewers yesterday that he would be on time today.
Now, holding his phone, he hesitated. If he started the stream, Lin Ran definitely couldn’t stay. But if he didn’t, he’d be going back on his word.
Lin Ran noticed his inner struggle and asked, “You’ve got something to do, don’t you?”
Shi Cha pressed his lips together. As expected, Lin Ran was thoughtful and understanding. He gave a small nod.
Seeing that, Lin Ran stood up.
Shi Cha immediately thought Lin Ran was about to leave, and quickly added, “There’s still half an hour left.”
Lin Ran curved his lips into a smile. “I’m not leaving yet. I’ve got to clean up this whole table first, don’t I?”
Shi Cha’s attempt to make him stay had clearly been seen through, which only made him feel more embarrassed. Bracing himself, he stood up as well. “I can clean it up myself.”
But Lin Ran stopped him. “Didn’t you just burn your tongue? Sit down—I’ve got it.”
Shi Cha didn’t quite understand.
He’d burned his tongue, not his hands, so why couldn’t he clean up? Besides, his tongue didn’t even hurt anymore.
But Lin Ran firmly pushed him back down into the chair, so Shi Cha could only watch as Lin Ran rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt and began clearing everything from the table. He took the bowls, utensils, and plates into the kitchen sink.
Through the clear glass door, Shi Cha could see Lin Ran washing the dishes in the kitchen.
Water soaked the well-defined muscles of Lin Ran’s arms, and droplets trailed down his forearms as he moved.
Shi Cha glanced over, then quickly turned his head away, blushing, unable to keep watching.
It was the first time he realized that having someone else in his home didn’t feel uncomfortable at all.
In fact, he found himself wishing that he could see this person—and this scene—every single day.
Shi Cha shook his head, beginning to suspect something was wrong with him.
He hadn’t even been thinking too hard lately, yet now he was indulging in completely unrealistic fantasies.
He rolled up his own sleeve and looked at his forearm.
Because he spent so much time indoors and didn’t exercise, his arms were slim, pale, and lacking any muscle—completely different from Lin Ran’s toned and defined forearms.
Shi Cha pressed his lips together.
Would Brother Lin Ran think I’m too weak and skinny?
Should I start working out?
Author’s note:
Xiao Shi Cha lifted his head and stuck out his tongue, looking at Lin Ran in confusion. “Mmmph… it doesn’t hurt.”
Lin Ran’s gaze deepened. He leaned over the table and gently took that reddened little tongue tip into his mouth. “This way, it won’t hurt.”
Xiao Shi Cha: “Mmmph… mmhh~”
Thank you for the chapter~