Ch35 - (II) He is not slow witted, but shy

“…” Rong Jun stared blankly at his refrigerator, lost in thought.

After returning from the supermarket and cleaning the fridge, he began to feel that something wasn’t quite right. He paced back and forth around the house for a while, occasionally returning to the kitchen to open the refrigerator and check the food inside.

No matter how he looked at it, something felt strange.

Why were there so few things here that he actually liked to eat? Most of the food are Yan Chen’s favorite.

How weird. Did they suddenly switched fridge or something?

“Buzz, buzz, buzz—”

The sudden vibration pulled Rong Jun out of his thoughts.

He looked away from the refrigerator, casually closed the door, and walked to the small bar counter separating the kitchen from the living room. Picking up his phone, he saw two familiar characters glowing on the screen.

His heart skipped.

He paused for a few seconds before answering.

“Hello?”

“Qingqing, I’ve finished cooking.”

Rong Jun remembered that he hadn’t agreed to go over today. But when he thought about the few edible things left in his refrigerator, he replied quietly,

“Okay.”

After hanging up, he walked straight to the entrance.

Still dressed in his loose, comfortable loungewear, hardly suitable for going outside. He slipped on a pair of slippers from the shoe cabinet and headed upstairs.

About a month ago, Yan Chen had replaced his door lock with a password lock. He had even gone out of his way to tell Rong Jun that the password was Rong Jun’s birthday.

Even if Rong Jun didn’t want to know it, there was no way he could forget his own birthday.

At first, he felt awkward unlocking the door himself. But one time, Yan Chen had called out from inside,

“I can’t leave the kitchen right now, Qingqing. Can you come in by yourself?”

That had been the first time Rong Jun entered the password.

Since then, his resistance and embarrassment had gradually faded.

Now, standing at Yan Chen’s door, he tapped the keypad, entered the password, and opened the door in one smooth motion.

Rong Jun stepped inside, kicked off his slippers, and walked barefoot across the floor toward the kitchen.

“Wash your hands and come eat.”

Yan Chen smiled as he placed a plate full of food on the table.

Rong Jun glanced at the dishes.

Every single one of them was his favorite.

He nodded silently, walked to the sink to wash his hands, and then returned. But when he passed the refrigerator, he suddenly stopped.

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His thoughts drifted back to the refrigerator he had just opened.

Gradually, a faint pink spread across his cheeks and ears.

When Yan Chen looked up, he caught Rong Jun staring.

Seeing him frozen in place, Yan Chen asked,

“Why aren’t you eating? Is it not to your taste?”

“Huh?”

Rong Jun snapped back to reality. As if trying to prove something, he quickly shoved a large mouthful of rice into his mouth.

“It’s delicious—cough—cough—”

The bite had been too big, and speaking while eating made him choke.

He began coughing violently.

Yan Chen jumped up in alarm, dropping his chopsticks as he rushed over to help him.

“…”

Rong Jun stared at the rice he had accidentally sprayed across the table.

At that moment, he wished the floor would open up so he could disappear into it.

His already pale face and neck were now flushed an intense red.

“Are you okay?” Yan Chen asked anxiously.

Rong Jun nodded vigorously, lips tightly pressed together, and hurriedly pulled a few tissues from a nearby box to clean up the mess.

After things calmed down, Yan Chen gradually noticed that something about Rong Jun seemed… different.

A glint flickered in his eyes as he studied Rong Jun’s reddened face.

After a moment, he returned to his seat.

He stared at Rong Jun for a while.

Then suddenly said—

“Qingqing, I like you.”

Rong Jun’s head shot up instantly.

His eyes widened in shock, and his face turned as red as a freshly steamed crab.

“You—what are you saying all of a sudden?!” he stammered.

Yan Chen answered casually,

“I was just afraid you’d forget, so I’m reminding you.”

“There’s no need to remind me of something like that!”

Rong Jun lowered his head again, clutching his bowl and chopsticks as he desperately focused on shoveling rice into his mouth, anything to avoid looking at Yan Chen.

He looked both embarrassed and irritated.

But Yan Chen wasn’t the least bit intimidated.

Instead, he propped his chin on his hand and watched Rong Jun eat with a dreamy smile, as though admiring a beautiful view.

His eyes were full of delight.

“Qingqing, you look so beautiful when you eat.”

“Pfft—cough—cough—!”

Rong Jun spat out his food again.

In his entire life, he had never lost his composure like this.

And now it had happened twice in a row.

Yan Chen immediately stood up again, handing him tissues and water.

“Are you okay?”

After wiping his mouth and cleaning the table for the second time, Rong Jun sat stiffly in his chair.

“I’m not eating anymore.”

“I was wrong. I’ll shut up,” Yan Chen said with an ingratiating smile.

He placed another piece of food into Rong Jun’s bowl.

But Rong Jun turned his head away without even looking at him.

His expression clearly said:

I’m angry. Deal with it.

Yan Chen chuckled inwardly.

In public, Rong Jun always paid careful attention to maintaining his image. Only in front of people close to him did he reveal this slightly willful side.

Outsiders would never get the chance to see it.

Thinking about that made Yan Chen’s smile deepen.

Unfortunately, it also made his attempt to apologize look completely insincere.

“Qingqing, I really won’t say anything for a while. Come on, eat.”

Rong Jun grew even angrier at his tone.

In the end, it took Yan Chen quite some time to coax him back into eating dinner properly.

After the meal, Yan Chen even washed a plate of crabapples as an apology.

Only then did Rong Jun graciously forgive him.

“I’m really not eating this again next time.”

Yan Chen nodded obediently and handed him another pear.

“Okay, okay.”

Rong Jun took a bite of the pear.

Lost in Yan Chen’s indulgent affection, the corners of his lips slowly curved upward into an uncontrollable smile.

But he deliberately avoided meeting Yan Chen’s eyes, focusing instead on the taste of the pear.

He wasn’t stupid.

Nor was he slow to understand.

He was simply shy.

…

When Rong Jun returned downstairs to his own home, he had barely taken off his slippers when his phone vibrated in his pocket.

He pulled it out and glanced at the screen.

The caller ID read:

Brother.