Chapter 30
The sudden rain did not stop.
After dinner, the two of them worked together to open packages.
To be honest, Jiang Qingyu felt a little ashamed. Many of the things he had bought earlier were still piled up in the space.
Opening packages was something that was extremely fun and addictive at first. But when one still had many things to deal with and did not urgently need to use those items, fatigue was inevitable.
And so, just like the goods piled up in the space, the packages had moved into their own one-bedroom apartment, quietly stacked there as they waited for Jiang Qingyu to find time to favor them.
It turned out that opening packages was also something that required company in order to have the motivation to keep going.
Jiang Qingyu finally got his wish and opened the package containing the puffy cat-ear jacket packed inside an airplane box.
He lifted it up, his expression somewhat indescribable.
What kind of image did he have in Fu Jingqiu’s eyes exactly?
Fu Jingqiu, on the other hand, worked boldly and efficiently, moving with broad, decisive motions like a machine on an assembly line. He opened boxes, took out goods, sliced through tape, turned around, and tossed the boxes aside. One cardboard box after another was stacked in the corner.
This little pair of scissors sure had strength.
Jiang Qingyu completely could not keep up with his speed. All sorts of messy things were piled at his feet, and he still had to decide where to put them, whether to use them now or put them away first.
At first, Meimei still had the mood to make trouble nearby and join in the fun. But very quickly, she too was hypnotized by this regular rhythm. She strolled over to the cat scratcher bowl and went to sleep. From time to time, she turned over, pointing her round little head toward them, so soft that she looked like she was about to melt into the bowl.
Meanwhile, Jiang Qingyu was looking at a certain review app. He added the contact information of all the highly rated merchants, wanting to reserve some of their signature dishes in advance and pick them up tomorrow.
Various cuisines, desserts, staple foods—price did not matter. As long as the presentation was good, the ingredients were fresh, and the reviews were high, he ordered upward of several hundred portions.
He even made the reservations a day in advance, leaving the owners enough time to order ingredients. He continuously switched between different chat windows, paying deposits nonstop.
Besides that, after doing research online, he also went to some Cantonese dim sum shops that sold pure ingredient-source products and wholesaled prepared dishes: rice noodle rolls, shrimp dumplings, steamed chicken feet, steamed pork ribs with char siu, red rice rolls. They tasted just like those in restaurants, but were cheaper and came in larger portions.
He paid extra for all of them to be shipped here by SF Express. They would arrive in one or two days.
By now, Jiang Qingyu had more or less figured out some of Fu Jingqiu’s temperament and personality. When the time came, he only needed to find an excuse to go out for a bit. In any case, he was already bound to the RV. No matter how many goods he took, he could send them into the space without anyone knowing. It was truly convenient and easy.
The system had said that if things continued at this rate, the RV could still upgrade again before leaving this place.
SPA, come! Hot spring and sauna, come!
He had actually been thinking about this recently. He kept feeling uncomfortable all over and wanted to soak in a hot spring to relax.
But then again, what about Fu Jingqiu?
He could not just make him work without letting him enjoy anything, right? That would be too exploitative.
Maybe he could blindfold him and pretend to trick him outside, but actually send him into the hot spring room, hehe…
All right, all right, stop.
Fu Jingqiu finally finished opening most of the packages. When he turned his head and saw Jiang Qingyu holding his phone and smiling strangely, he could not help asking, “What are you doing?”
Jiang Qingyu’s mouth was faster than his brain. “Thinking about hot springs.”
“?” Fu Jingqiu asked, “You want to soak in a hot spring?”
Only then did Jiang Qingyu belatedly realize he had let something slip. He gave two silly hehe laughs and tried to patch it up. “Just thinking about it. Isn’t it raining? And the temperature dropped again. The cold outside is pretty heavy.”
Fu Jingqiu nodded, his expression thoughtful.
He went to tidy up the trash and cardboard boxes, while Jiang Qingyu put away all the food and daily-use items one by one. Anything that would not be used in the short term was thrown into the space. The rest was placed outside, so Fu Jingqiu’s thoughtfulness would not be wasted.
Once everything was done, Fu Jingqiu inevitably had to go take another shower.
By now, the night was already deep, but the rain showed no sign of slowing at all. Under the streetlights, the rain fell like silver needles, crashing down wildly. The damp cement ground was covered with yellow-green fallen leaves.
At night, the temperature here could drop to more than ten degrees below zero. The heater inside the RV had already been turned on. Looking at the cold wind outside, Jiang Qingyu only felt warmth in his chest and said to Fu Jingqiu, “Do you feel very happy right now?”
Fu Jingqiu: ?
Out of nowhere, was there some happy occasion?
Seeing his expression, Jiang Qingyu knew that Fu Jingqiu’s train of thought had not matched his own. He clung to the side of the vehicle window and said, “Look at how strong the wind and rain are outside. We can sit comfortably inside the RV, eat, sleep, and even have a cat to pet. Isn’t that very happy?”
So that was what he meant.
Fu Jingqiu had long since discovered it. This was a fish who was especially easy to satisfy. Eating something he liked made him happy. Sleeping in made him happy. It seemed like there was nothing in this world that could make him unhappy.
Staying beside this kind of person made life feel flavorful every day. Even the worst emotions would gradually be swallowed bit by bit by cheerful factors.
Jiang Qingyu kept mumbling, “Although we turned on the heater, you still need to change to a thicker quilt. From now on, the temperature probably won’t warm up much again. You can take out all your thick clothes too.”
Fu Jingqiu had the habit of checking the weather forecast every morning after waking up. He had already added the next few places they had to pass through to the weather forecast app, so naturally, he knew Jiang Qingyu was right. He answered with an “okay.”
But speaking of this, Jiang Qingyu could not help showing off to him. “Although the weather is cold, I have Meimei. She’s so warm and soft. In winter, she’ll even take the initiative to crawl into the blanket at the foot of the bed. How about that? Isn’t she especially considerate?”
Fu Jingqiu looked at him, and a smile unconsciously appeared on his face. He echoed his words and said, “Really? Hearing you say that makes me envious.”
Jiang Qingyu was quite proud. “But Meimei usually only sleeps with me. I’m afraid you won’t get to enjoy this treatment.”
Fu Jingqiu deliberately said, “If she sleeps at the foot of the bed, she can only warm your feet, right?”
“?” Jiang Qingyu said, “Then what else?”
Do not have such high demands of a little cat!
Fu Jingqiu said, “Nothing. You should sleep now.” After a pause, he added, “Don’t play on your phone with the lights off, and don’t play while lying on your side either.”
Jiang Qingyu: “…………”
Did you install surveillance in my room?
That night, he fell asleep peacefully to the sound of rain. For some reason, Fu Jingqiu appeared in his dream. In the middle of the night, the other man came to his bedroom bare-chested, stood by the bed, looked down at him from above, and said, “The little cat warms your feet. I’ll warm your bed.”
Just that one sentence forcibly scared Jiang Qingyu awake.
So terrifying! He completely could not imagine someone like Fu Jingqiu saying this kind of, this kind of indecent thing!
What was even more terrifying was that he could feel that the version of himself in the dream had been very tempted.
If he had not been so horrified that he forcibly peeled himself out of the dream, he might have lifted the blanket, patted the empty spot beside him, and invited Fu Jingqiu up.
After all, he had such a good figure, his muscles felt nice, and his body temperature was warm. Holding him while sleeping would definitely…
No. Stop, stop!
He really was not gay, ahhhhhhh!
Fu Jingqiu treated him properly as a friend and was so good to him. How could he go and have those, those indec—inde…
He could not even say the word!
Jiang Qingyu sat on the bed in a daze for a while. His cheeks and ears were burning terribly. He really could not sit still, so he got out of bed and went to the living room to pour some water and calm himself down.
Because he was afraid of waking Fu Jingqiu, he did not dare put on shoes. Barefoot, he sneakily opened the door and went over. From afar, he saw that the bed on the booth side was very neatly arranged. A figure lay properly over there, clearly still sound asleep.
He held his breath and carefully went to the water dispenser.
Because the fire in his heart was too strong, the warm water in the thermos was mercilessly abandoned. Jiang Qingyu wanted to drink some ice water to cool down and calm himself.
Everything went very smoothly.
The water line in the glass steadily rose. Jiang Qingyu poured more than half a glass and decided to retreat. Just as he was about to turn around, a dark figure had appeared behind him at some unknown point, standing silently and speaking in a slightly hoarse voice. “Why are you up?”
Jiang Qingyu screamed in fright. The cup in his hand fell, only to be steadily caught by the other person’s quick eyes and quick hands. Ice water splashed out and wet his trouser leg.
Fu Jingqiu immediately bent down, wanting to check his condition. His fingertips lightly brushed past Jiang Qingyu’s ankle. Jiang Qingyu almost went weak in the legs and hurriedly stepped backward, only for the back of his head to slam heavily into the overhead cabinet. He cried out in pain again.
Why was he so unlucky!
Fu Jingqiu heard that his voice sounded wrong. He wrapped an arm around Jiang Qingyu’s waist and lifted him up like he was carrying a sack, then strode over to his own bedside and placed Jiang Qingyu on it before getting up to turn on the light.
The lights came on brightly. The dazzling light made Jiang Qingyu instinctively narrow his eyes and shrink away. Physiological tears were almost instantly forced out.
Fu Jingqiu turned around and saw his eyes full of tears. His heart was startled, and he quickly said, “Did you hit yourself badly? Let me see.”
Before Jiang Qingyu could answer, his chin was pinched and his face turned aside. A large hand touched the back of his head. He did not know where Fu Jingqiu touched, but it hurt so much that Jiang Qingyu cried out again, “Gentler, gentler!”
Fu Jingqiu said guiltily, “Sorry. Did I scare you?”
Jiang Qingyu wanted to cry but had no tears. “It’s one thing for you to stand behind me, but then you suddenly spoke out of nowhere. Of course I’d be scared.”
He did not mention at all that because Fu Jingqiu’s hand had touched his ankle, he had been startled and suddenly backed up, which was why he had hit the cabinet. Fu Jingqiu apologized repeatedly. “It’s my fault. I’ll go get some medicated oil and rub it for you.”
“I don’t want that.” Jiang Qingyu refused. “My hair will smell like medicated oil afterward. I don’t like it.”
Fu Jingqiu sat down beside him. “Then I’ll rub it for you. It’ll feel more comfortable.”
This time, Jiang Qingyu did not say anything. Fu Jingqiu’s palm temperature was just right, and he controlled his strength well, rubbing at an unhurried pace. Jiang Qingyu lowered his head and let the other man comfort him. His collar drooped slightly, revealing a section of slender neck, making him look very obedient.
Only then did he notice that he was sitting cross-legged on Fu Jingqiu’s bed. The bedding still held the warmth of Fu Jingqiu’s body and the scent of his body wash.
Sure enough, Fu Jingqiu was no longer wearing that thin sweater. Today, with the heater turned on, his sleepwear had become even more daring: just a black fitted tank top. As he moved, the muscles in his arms rose, like rolling mountains.
Jiang Qingyu glanced at him. “Did I wake you up?”
Fu Jingqiu said, “No. I woke up naturally.”
Jiang Qingyu said, “And you said you don’t lie. Do you believe that yourself?”
“…” Fu Jingqiu said, “I’m a light sleeper.”
As he said this, the motion of his hand did not stop. His other hand reached to touch Jiang Qingyu’s trouser leg. The fabric was wet with water and clung damply to his calf, icy cold. Fu Jingqiu subconsciously frowned. “Why did you get up in the middle of the night to drink cold water? That’s bad for your stomach.”
Jiang Qingyu was unconvinced. “Who said that? I’ve never heard of it.”
Fu Jingqiu’s expression did not change. “I said it.”
Jiang Qingyu: “…”
What are you doing!
He angrily turned his face, wanting to argue with Fu Jingqiu on principle. But there was not much space by the bed, and because Fu Jingqiu had leaned very close to rub the spot he had hit, when Jiang Qingyu turned his head like this, he nearly bumped into Fu Jingqiu’s nose.
