Before going to bed at night, no matter what, one should eat something before resting. “
I…” Qiao Huaiyao hesitated, not feeling like eating anything. Before he could come up with an excuse, Bai Jinyan suddenly said, “I forgot, you can only have plain porridge now.”
Qiao Huaiyao: “???!!”
Deprived of the right to enjoy delicious food, Qiao Huaiyao followed Bai Jinyan and saw him taking two small bags of rice. He couldn’t help but make a disapproving sound.
Bai Jinyan smiled and ruffled his head, “I’ll make something delicious for you after military training.”
Qiao Huaiyao raised half an eyebrow, “That sounds about right.”
After purchasing some supplies in the market, they returned to the dormitory. Qiao Huaiyao packed his daily necessities together into a suitcase for the next day.
The instructor had specially mentioned that the dormitories during military training would all be four-person rooms, and space was limited. They had to take out the belongings from the suitcase and arrange them in the dormitory, then put the suitcase back on the university’s bus. They could only retrieve their own suitcase after military training ended.
Qiao Huaiyao didn’t bring many things, just the necessary toiletries and two sets of military training camouflage uniforms issued by the university.
As he finished arranging the clothes, Qiao Huaiyao smelled an unusual fragrance. He suspiciously got up and followed the scent to the kitchen door, asking, “Brother, what are you cooking?”
Bai Jinyan was holding a small piece of meat in the kitchen and said, “Come.”
“Huh?” Qiao Huaiyao took a bite of the small piece of meat, “Delicious.”
It tasted somewhat like barbecue but not as greasy as regular barbecue, more like dried meat. It wasn’t tough to eat, and sprinkled with cumin, it was quite similar to the taste of grilled meat from outside.
Looking at the row of skewers on the plate, Qiao Huaiyao narrowed his eyes and playfully bumped into Bai Jinyan with his shoulder, “Didn’t you say I can only have porridge?”
“Right, you can only have porridge,” Bai Jinyan said without changing his expression. “These are for myself.”
He paused for a moment and teased, “You can watch me eat.”
Qiao Huaiyao sensed the banter in Bai Jinyan’s eyes, and he couldn’t help but smile. He pounced on Bai Jinyan from behind, “Brother, I can’t bear to do this to you!”
Bai Jinyan made sure to use lean meat without a trace of fat. Qiao Huaiyao understood his intentions. Bai Jinyan held him with one hand and subtly stepped back half a step to keep him away from the still-warm stove.
Qiao Huaiyao only playfully bumped him, intending to get up, but he felt Bai Jinyan’s hand on his waist tighten a bit, which made it difficult for him to straighten up for a moment. Bai Jinyan put him down, slightly bending his knees and lifting him up before Qiao Huaiyao could react.
“Huh?!” Qiao Huaiyao tried to straighten his back, but his body swayed as if he was about to fall. He instinctively held Bai Jinyan’s neck and lowered his head, brushing his lips against the slightly cold earlobe, and his eyes widened in surprise.
Bai Jinyan seemed to be completely unaware of that touch. Qiao Huaiyao pursed his lips and tried to act as if nothing had happened, but his body stiffened unconsciously. A warmth spread on his face, and he still felt the fleeting sensation on his lips.
Not daring to make any more movements, Qiao Huaiyao asked in a small voice, “Brother… put me down, please.”
Bai Jinyan turned and carried him out of the kitchen, placing him on the dining table, “Drink some cold medicine before the meal.”
Feeling the slightly cold medicine cup, Bai Jinyan stood up and said, “I’ll get some hot water.”
Qiao Huaiyao was about to say he didn’t need it and could just drink it cold, but when he looked up, he caught a glimpse of Bai Jinyan’s back, and that… the blood-red shade from behind his ear.
Qiao Huaiyao coughed lightly, not knowing what to do, and didn’t know where to look. He held the hand on the table, the fingertips curling into his palm, the neatly trimmed nails pressing into his hand, causing a slight pain.
After drinking the cold medicine, Qiao Huaiyao’s pounding heart finally calmed down a bit. The slightly bitter taste helped him regain his composure. Bai Jinyan said, “Let’s eat.”
“Yeah, sure.” Qiao Huaiyao opened his mouth, but his words stuttered for a moment. He had a simple and light dinner with Bai Jinyan.
The dry and non-greasy meat didn’t have the enticing taste of sizzling barbecue, but it had its own unique flavor. As the night grew darker, Qiao Huaiyao stood by the window, and in the distance, he could vaguely see the bustling barbecue stalls still open. The lights outside were bright, and he drew the curtains and sat at the desk.
On the desk was his newly organized notebook. The notes he had given to Qiu Shufeng probably hadn’t been copied yet and returned to him. The notebook seemed to have limited space, so he wrote on both sides of the paper, making it quite inconvenient to photocopy.
It seemed that Qiu Shufeng was busy with a party recently and might not have had the time to make copies. With nothing else to do, Qiao Huaiyao took a new notebook and reorganized the notes he had written before. Each time he did this, he could add new information, and when he got back the old notebook, he could cross-reference and supplement each other.
Writing the notes for the major courses could help him calm down quickly. Even though Bai Jinyan was taking a shower in the bathroom, Qiao Huaiyao couldn’t help but recall the accidental touch just now. Even though it was already in the past, it kept replaying in his mind.
Bai Jinyan’s blushing earlobe was an exceptionally vivid memory.
Qiao Huaiyao sighed softly, forcing himself to forget about it, and he continued to write notes, attempting to let the content of the major courses cover everything else.
Buzz, buzz.
While he was writing the notes, Qiao Huaiyao’s pen stopped as he heard the vibrating sound of his phone. Seeing that it wasn’t his own phone, he got up and called out, “Brother, your phone is ringing.”
The sound of water in the bathroom paused for a moment. “Answer it,” Bai Jinyan asked, “Who’s calling?”
Qiao Huaiyao glanced at the caller ID, “Lu Lu, your assistant.”
Saying that, Qiao Huaiyao answered the call and walked over to the side of the bathroom. “Hello?
My brother is taking a shower. What’s the matter?”
Lu Lu seemed a bit taken aback upon hearing that the person on the other end wasn’t Bai Jinyan. After a moment, he responded with a smile, “Well, it’s nothing major. I just wanted to ask where to put the luggage brought over from the set.”
“The manager isn’t here, and I’m waiting in the car. Should I send the luggage to the university dormitory now, or do you want me to leave it in the car?”
All the luggage Lu Lu brought was placed in the car’s trunk, and he hadn’t hurried to take it out yet, intending to ask Bai Jinyan first.
Qiao Huaiyao was about to say that Lu Lu could leave the luggage in the elevator, and he could take it himself. However, before he could speak, the bathroom door opened.
Bai Jinyan’s hands were still wet, and he didn’t pick up the phone, saying, “No need to bring it up, just send it to the hotel.”
“Hotel?” Qiao Huaiyao was taken aback. He instinctively asked, “Aren’t we living together?”
thank you for the chapter!! I like the progress in their relationship so much🥰