Deluge

Compared to the first, Xu Juan had a more legitimate reason for his second time stepping through the door to Pei Yu’s home.

For the sake of cooking him dinner, Pei Yu brought him to the supermarket to get groceries on the way back. 

There was a novelty to this experience; Xu Juan had never been to a wet market. Of course, the fresh produce section of the supermarket wasn’t quite the same as a wet market, but the smell of the raw ingredients was still very strong.

Xu Juan was rather surprised by this. He had never expected Pei Yu to have such an ordinary side to him. Then again, on second thought, thinking of it this way was quite insensitive. Not everyone was like him, with a personal chef and a cleaning auntie to wait on him, so he never had to do anything himself. 

Pei Yu lived alone, how could he possibly not do grocery shopping and cook? No matter how deity-like a person was, a human still had mortal needs and had to eat.

But his little lovers from the past did indeed pretend to be immortal. So that they could leave him with a good impression, they avoided all the unpleasant topics and only spoke of the latest perfumes and branded bags, or holidaying in Tibet and skiing in Switzerland. Who would have mentioned  “the price of pork has gone up again today” to him?

Xu Juan followed Pei Yu around in high spirits. He realized that he didn’t recognize quite a lot of vegetables; Perhaps, when they were ripened and plated, he would recognize them.

Pei Yu asked: “What do you like to eat? Anything I should avoid?”

Xu Juan smiled a little: “I’m good with anything. Go with your best menu and surprise me, Pei laoshi.”

Pei Yu smiled as well: “My cooking is average. If your expectations are too high, you’ll be disappointed later.”

“That’s not true. As long as it’s cooked by you, I’ll like it.” Xu Juan pushed the grocery cart for him, spouting flattery without an ounce of shame.

Although Pei Yu had already been fed so much sugared water and bewitching potions by him, he had yet to be accustomed. His expression became subtly unnatural and he looked down to pick up two eggplants, tossing them into the cart. 

They had already gotten eggplants, did Pei Yu temporarily lose his memory?

Xu Juan couldn’t stop laughing in his heart, but feigned bewilderment: “Are we getting so many eggplants, Pei laoshi?”

“……”

Pei Yu briefly choked, and unexpectedly pulled himself together: “Yeah, the extras go in the refrigerator.” 

“I see, what a coincidence.” Xu Juan held onto his hand, “I like eating eggplants the most. We really do have a tacit understanding, are you getting more eggplants to hint that I should stay over more often?”

Pei Yu wasn’t expecting him to develop the conversation in this direction. His expression became more unnatural, face stiffening as he said: “We’re just buying vegetables, why are you talking so much?” Then, he pulled his hand from his grip, “Don’t get handsy, push the cart properly.”

Xu Juan said: “Oh, so I’m just a little cart-pusher.”

“……” 

Pei Yu didn’t talk to him anymore. Since he couldn’t out-talk him, he might as well shut up.

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

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They bought a lot of things: Vegetables, fruits, meat, seafood. Once they were home, Pei Yu picked out what he needed and put the rest away in the refrigerator. He brought the ingredients into the kitchen, then rinsed a plate of grapes for Xu Juan to eat first while he waited. 

Xu Juan was deeply moved by his attentiveness and initiative, asking perfunctorily: “Do you want me to help?”

“What can you do?” Pei Yu saw right through him, “Just stay here and behave, don’t cause trouble for me.”

“……”

Xu Juan had no choice but to return to the living room, lean against the sofa and start playing on his phone. 

He opened WeChat and gave a cursory scroll through his Moments, but didn’t find any interesting content. He couldn’t help but want to post something himself, so he called in the direction of the kitchen: “Pei laoshi, can I take a photo of you?”

“No.” Pei Yu rejected him flatly.

“Just from the back.” Xu Juan said, “Let me take just one, I want to PDA.”

“……”

Pei Yu didn’t say anything, it seemed he had given tacit consent.

Xu Juan immediately opened the camera app and pointed the lens in the direction of the kitchen, taking a photo from afar. 

Due to the distance, Pei Yu’s silhouette wasn’t too obvious, but if Xu Juan were to post such a photo, anyone with eyes would know that the person he wanted to do PDA with was the one in the picture, so he accompanied it with a caption: “Fell into the river of love.”

Once the Moment was posted, comments by his close friends started coming in one by one––

Guo Shao: “How many rivers has it been?”

Hou Shijie: “Congrats, cousin. You found true love again.” 

Xu Qingguang: “Get yourself together. You’re always fooling around, when will you be serious?”

Xu Juan ignored his rascal friends and only responded to his sister: “No need for your concern, just worry about your little foreigner boyfriend.”

Xu Qingguang replied: “You’re asking for a beating.”

Xu Juan let out a little laugh before tapping into Pei Yu’s Moments, starting to scroll. 

But Pei Yu was also quite reserved on his social media and didn’t have many highlights. Their circle of acquaintances were different as well, so he couldn’t see any of Pei Yu’s comments and likes. There really wasn’t much to look at.

While Xu Juan was getting bored, his WeChat suddenly vibrated, it was a message from Tang Sisi.

It was obvious that Tang Sisi had seen the photo he posted to his Moments, and sent him a long string of exclamation marks, asking: “Director Xu, you’ve successfully pursued Pei laoshi? Are you for real!!!!!”

“You’re making a fuss,” Xu Juan said calmly, “When destiny makes its move, it can’t be stopped.” 

“……”

Tang Sisi was very curious and kept the questions coming, all of which revolved around wanting to know in detail how he managed to pursue Pei Yu.

But Xu Juan would never pass on his own secret guide to a young lady like her. Even if he did, Tang Sisi would never be able to master it. He made up some stuff, teasing Tang Sisi for a bit before switching up his tone to a more serious one, warning her: “Don’t you spout any nonsense at school, understood?”

Tang Sisi hurriedly said that she understood. 

Xu Juan said: “I don’t mind it, but your Pei laoshi’s reputation is important. It won’t be good if others talked about him behind his back, so don’t tell your close friends either.”

Tang Sisi was jealous of his status and was a little afraid of him to boot. Moreover, both he and Pei Yu knew something that they could use to have leverage over her, so she naturally agreed without hesitation, guaranteeing that word would definitely not get out.

Xu Juan gave a lazy stretch and thought about it for a bit before sending Tang Sisi a red packet.

He said: “When your semester starts, send me your class timetable and help me keep an eye on Pei Yu. If you do well, I’ll buy you a bag.”

Tang Sisi was utterly overjoyed and completely went down the path of being a secret agent.

Xu Juan continued chatting with her for a while. As fragrant aromas drifted out from the kitchen, Pei Yu walked out with two dishes in hand, a plate of hot food and a plate of fruit salad, then said to Xu Juan: “Eat these first, don’t stay hungry. Whatever’s in the pot can cook slowly.” 

Since Xu Juan truly was famished, he ditched all formalities and went straight into eating.

Pei Yu had already eaten dinner, but for the sake of accompanying him, he picked up his chopsticks and mindlessly ate one or two bites, occasionally picking up food to place into the other’s bowl.

Xu Juan said: “Pei laoshi, why are you this wonderful? You’ve completely spoilt me, what am I supposed to do if you ever abandon me in the future?”

Pei Yu gave a little huff: “Even food can’t stop your honeyed tongue.” 

“I’m serious.” Xu Juan went around the coffee table and sat down beside Pei Yu, resting his chin on Pei Yu’s shoulder, “Will you please feed me? I’m really tired, I don’t have the strength to pick up my chopsticks.”

Pei Yu: “……”

How should it be said… When one was shameless, they were invincible.

Being shy didn’t exist in Xu Juan’s book, a mere moment of bewilderment was enough for him to coax Pei Yu into personally feeding him. 

Even Pei Yu himself had probably never expected he would one day do something this romantic and idiotic. Xu Juan felt that the other’s expression was long-suffering, that he was on the brink of overturning the table and leaving.

But Pei Yu endured until the end.

When the final dish was ready, Xu Juan really couldn’t continue eating, raising his hands in surrender after trying a little, saying he was full.

Pei Yu put the chopsticks down, suddenly saying: “All right, then you stay seated. I’ll tidy up the kitchen real quick and we can head downstairs for a walk.” 

Xu Juan didn’t get it: “Go downstairs for what walk?”

“For some exercise.” Pei Yu glanced at him, “It’s very late now, if the food doesn’t digest, you won’t sleep well at night.”

“……”

Xu Juan thought to himself: Pei Yu was sincerely being considerate of him, making sure to cover all grounds. But who said that exercising required going downstairs? They had eaten and drunk their fill, it was now the perfect opportunity to do some “proper work”. 

Xu Juan helped Pei Yu out with keeping the dishes and utensils, following behind Pei Yu and heading into the kitchen.

When Pei Yu turned around, he almost bumped into the other.

“What are you doing?”

“I remembered something.” Xu Juan said, “Pei laoshi, do you have that at home?” 

“Have what?”

“You know, that.”

“……”

It dawned upon Pei Yu then, that he was referring to condoms. His face instantly flushed hot: “I don’t.” 

“I just knew it.” Xu Juan nodded, unfazed, “Good thing I have some in my car. When we head downstairs later, let’s bring them back up with us.”

His steering of the conversation into such a topic was seamless, but Pei Yu wasn’t that shameless and wasn’t used to it at all. Since he was nervous, he completely overlooked how odd it was that Xu Juan even had condoms in his car, and was instead angry and embarrassed: “What are you planning? Didn’t you say it was just sleeping?”

“I’ve already slept all day.” Xu Juan said, “I’ve slept too much——”

His voice was pitched very low, his words utterly tender. With a single push of his hand, he pressed Pei Yu against the kitchen counter: “Now I only want to sleep with you, is that okay, Pei Yu?”