The Stars In Your Eyes

This Saturday Bai Yutang and Yu Dong will celebrate their birthday in Jian Kang Lu's apartment. This is the first time for Bai Yutang's friends visiting their love nest. Bai Yutang will pick them up downstairs.

The people they invited were the same as last year's birthday party. Tang Yuxuan, Liu Xiang, Mu Xiaoya, and Ling Yue. Yu Dong and Bai Yutang agreed to treat them for dinner. Since they need to cook, these people come early at noon after they have their lunch.

In Jian Kang Lu's apartment, he has this big flat screen smart TV with a nice stereo sound system. He also has the latest gaming console and wide variety of blu-ray movies. 

And don't forget that bookshelves full with Jian Kang Lu's collection. These are only a small part of his collection. His lover said most of his book is in his parent's house.. They have their own small library, since all of his family members like to read.

With all of these things, his friends can entertain themselves while Bai Yutang and Yu Dong prepare the dinner. Because games can only be played by two people, they choose to watch movies, while Liu Xiang admires Jian Kang Lu's book collection. Even though Jian Kang Lu likes to buy e-book nowadays, if he finds a good book he likes, he will buy the hardcover version.

Bai Yutang understands. Even though e-book is practice, somehow to see the physical things and touch it with your own hands, smelling that wood scent emitted from the paper, is a privilege that only book lovers will understand.

Even though Bai Yutang's cooking skill rapidly improved, he's not a chef after all. He could only make simple dishes he mastered from the internet. So, for today he chose just to make something simple that his lover also liked to eat.

Bai Yutang makes seaweed salad with sesame dressing for appetisers, along with the spring roll and pan fried vegetable dumplings. For the main menu he chose hong kong style shrimp chow mein noodles, steamed jasmine rice, salt and pepper fried chicken, beef brisket and radish in clear broth, and stir-fry vegetables. For dessert he only made fruit jelly and fruits with milk and cream soup.

But these scoundrels cleaned up all the spring rolls and the dumplings every time Bai Yutang lifted them from the pan and put it on the plate. Not even five minutes when he wants to put the next batch into the plate, the previous batch is gone.

"DongDong, you're supposed to help me cook! Why do you join the battle with them and finish all these dumplings? I warn you, this is the last and you guys can't touch this. Jian Ge has not yet come home and I can't let you guys finish all of these without leaving some for Jian Ge."

Yu Dong only says sorry with a weak voice and continues to chop the ingredients for the beef soup. Bai Yutang didn't let him chop the beef, only the vegetables. And Yu Dong is really bad at this kitchen job.

Yu Dong's face brightened when Mu Xiaoya came to the kitchen and helped him chop the vegetables, while Ling Yue washed them and cut the beef. From her symmetrical cut, Bai Yutang could see Ling Yue is more familiar with the kitchen's task compared to this pair of kitchen noobs. Yu Dong and Mu Xiaoya were destined to order food for the rest of their life if they married one day.

Mu Xiaoya asked him, "Senior, did Jian Ge often help you cook also?"

From her tone, Bai Yutang knows this girl already imagines a lot of things. Maybe she imagined the scene where both of them are in a romantic situation cooking together. Unfortunately, reality is far from novels or movies.

Bai Yutang shook his head, "I didn't let Jian Ge help me cook. Jian Ge already tired working the whole day, how could I let him help me cook? Usually I already finish cooking when he comes home."

Bai Yutang never let Jian Kang Lu help him cook. First, Bai Yutang didn't want to. He feels that it was his responsibility. Two, Jian Kang Lu is even worse than Yu Dong in the kitchen. And third, if his lover is standing next to him in the kitchen, for sure they will "cook" something else here and the real food will be burnt.

Mu Xiaoya looks disappointed, but then brightens again, "So he just sits and watches you cook."

Bai Yutang could only give her a straight face, and nod. He really didn't want to know what's on Mu Xiaoya's head.

Last week, she was already pestering him so much about Feng Mian.

[Senior, i'm a girl, so i know exactly this Feng Mian wants to get close not to become your friend. But more than that. I don't know why, but you really need to set boundaries.]

That message still comes until the next few minutes, full of speech and lessons about how to reject a girl politely, and just cut her out by mentioning that Bai Yutang already has someone he liked.

In that lesson, Mu Xiaoya reminded him how Jian Kang Lu treated him nicely.

Bai Yutang is speechless, but also ashamed. He also knows that, and doesn't want to disappoint his lover. He thought he already did his best not to pay attention to Feng Mian. And he really is not interested in her.

But Bai Yutang didn't know how to reject. Even when he admits that Mu Xiaoya is right.

[I know, senior. It sounds ruthless, and harsh, telling you to reject a girl while you also don't know she really wants to be your friend, or approach you to be your girlfriend. But senior, when we're being too nice, sometimes it was crueller than bluntly rejected. Being too nice will hurt people around you, and also give false hope to a girl. Girls tend to have expectations and hope for more when a man they like treats them nice.]

With that lesson from Mu Xiaoya, Bai Yutang stop responding to Feng Mian's text. And planned to told her bluntly that he have someone he like. Maybe Feng Mian will laugh at him, mock him for being overconfident. But Bai Yutang also remembered what Mu Xiaoya said next.

[It was better for a stranger to be mad at you, or laugh at you, rather than compromise the good things you have right now. Don't forget, i'm Jian Ge and your number one fans.]

———

This is still 2 pm, usually Jian Kang Lu will wrap the Saturday round at this hour, and will come home right after he finishes. But since today his kitten is having a birthday dinner at home, he wants to buy some beer and light wine for those kids. And also some snacks and also birthday cake.

He sent a message to his kitten, and he was right. They haven't bought birthday cakes and didn't have any wine at home. His kitten reminds him not to buy so much.

Saturday round without his kitten is lonely. Since the nurses and residents already accustomed to seeing his kitten accompany him to the Saturday round, when they saw Jian Kang Lu alone today, they asked him.

"Where is Yutang? Why didn't he come today?"

Jian Kang Lu smiled and said, "He invited his friends for birthday's dinner today. He said he wanted to let his friends taste his cooking."

The nurses, and the residents too, know that this Bai Yutang is living together with Jian Kang Lu. The nurses like to talk to his kitten. Even though his kitten didn't say much and was not a talkative person, he was polite and nice.

Sometimes Jian Kang Lu heard them talk and laugh in the nurse station. Jian Kang Lu didn't know what they're talking about, his kitten only said they talked about trivial things. This and that.

The resident's ear perked. 'Cook?'

The senior nurse asked again, "Yutang can cook? I want to taste his cook too! Even my daughter can't cook. She needs to learn from Yutang. I'll tell her later at home that even a smart boy from T university like Yutang can cook, then why on earth she doesn't want to learn."

Jian Kang Lu smiled, "TangTang is busy so he can't cook often now. But you can ask him later if he finished his exams at the end of June."

The young nurse gasped, "Why so long? It's still two months! Yutang didn't have class on Saturday. Please let him cook for us too, Doctor Jian."

"TangTang is busy with his project, presentation, and studying for final exams. So his free time is really limited. Rather than that, why don't I bring you the macaroon from the H store next week? It's so good, not so sweet and lots of flavour. Is that okay?"

With that promise, the nurses soon forgot about their plan to pester his kitten. Jian Kang Lu didn't want his kitten too tired. He is already busy lately. Even his kitten sometimes yawns when they have breakfast in the morning, a sign of lack of sleep. Jian Kang Lu didn't want his kitten to have to cook for someone else because he can't refuse these nurses.

His kitten cooking for his family or best friend is fine, but Jian Kang Lu really didn't want his kitten's cook tasted by someone who was not close to him.

He really needs to restrain himself. Jian Kang Lu didn't know what made him turn into a possessive man when talking about his kitten. He never acted like this before, and didn't like to be someone like this.

Sometimes Jian Kang Lu wants to say, "TangTang, don't cook for anyone else. Just cook for me." But he knew it was too much.

Even Jian Kang Lu will hate his partner if they say those words to him.

After the Saturday round finished and Jian Kang Lu already walked away, the residents gossiped in low voice.

"I bet Yutang is the one that used to cook lunch for Doctor Jian last year."

"I think so. That legendary lunch box. But I have to say that having someone to cook for you is very nice."

Both of them are single, a lonesome dog who not only didn't have someone to cook for them. They even didn't have someone to accompany them eating.

And they're not stupid. They never thought Doctor Jian didn't marry until now because of that reason. But when they see those loving looks from their superior once in a while when they look at that young man, and that young man appears every week, they can't help their brain to form an idea. That their superior and this young man is a couple.

But it doesn't matter. It was not their business, and they owe this Doctor Jian so much. They know that some people already gossiped about Doctor Jian and his young friend. A nasty gossip. But they always defend their superior and almost fight last time when they hear some people say those nasty words.

So what if Doctor Jian is gay? He is nice, and an excellent doctor. Besides, they don't know the truth. To have assumptions and then speak nasty about that without knowing the real truth, is the same with slandering.

And the most annoying thing was, sometimes people who say those vicious words are the people that think they're righteous, and religious. They forgot, slandering is one of the biggest sins among all. Better to hold your tongue when you want to speak bad about another person if you don't know the truth behind that.

A person's self esteem is on the tongue.