When they went to meet everyone else, He Nuo could tell that Shi Yan wasn’t in a good mood. He Nuo felt guilty for making him unhappy when Shi Yan was just trying to treat him to a good meal. For as long as he could remember, his Mama would give the rare meat and fish dishes they had to his fourth and fifth brothers, then afterwards she would give them to his younger brothers. He Nuo was used to choosing vegetable dishes, so he gradually moved away from eating fish and meat. He had only taken one bite of the ribs they had for dinner before he felt that it was so greasy he could barely swallow it, while the green vegetable and flaming fish were lighter-tasting so He Nuo liked them. His usual portion was just a bowl of rice and a few mouthfuls of vegetables, and there was once when he only ate a bowl of rice because he returned home late after school. He ate so much today, yet Shi Yan was still dissatisfied, and he didn’t know how to explain that he really had eaten until he was very full.

Their schoolmates were about done with singing and dancing in the conference room borrowed by their parents, so not long after they arrived, they all moved to the spare courtyard to prepare their so-called barbeque supper. Everyone was busy trying to pa.s.s the meat and fruits they got to the girls; most of the meat they got were beef and mutton. They wanted the girls to be in charge of chopping them up, while the guys would be in charge of skewering the meat and setting up the charcoal fire. Shi Yan took out two cans and some fruits from his bag like a magician, “These are what we brought. I didn’t bring any meat, the mutton smell would stink up my bag.”

He Nuo once again thought that he was really foolish and careless. When everyone said that they would play together at night, they would of course prepare some snacks to bring over. Yet he had came empty-handed again like he did in his first year. He thanked Shi Yan in embarra.s.sment.

“I didn’t tell you on purpose. If you brought something I’d have to carry it anyway, it’ll just be extra weight that I can’t be bothered with. One bag is enough. After you put your stuff down go into the room to play, don’t stay out in the courtyard for too long. It’s all smoke here.” As Shi Yan spoke, he was dragged away by someone else.

He Nuo handed the stuff over to the rest and felt very moved by Shi Yan’s arrangement. If Shi Yan had delivered the fruits, everyone would think that he was the one who brought them; but if he was the one who delivered it, then everyone would think that both of them had brought the fruits here. In the afternoon too, Shi Yan must have remembered the New Year’s party incident that occurred during their first year, which was why he prepared an extra portion to serve as He Nuo’s. He thought of the dispute they had at the party in their first year; at that point in time, Shi Yan was just a hypocritical and arrogant person in his eyes. He would’ve never even dream that the two of them would become friends, much less that he would take off his tinted gla.s.ses to look at Shi Yan — aside from the arrogance he possessed that was brought about by his sense of superiority, Shi Yan was actually a really kind and chivalrous person, or else how could he have so many followers?

Those who liked to barbeque were walking around the courtyard in a disorderly mess, while those who wanted to laze about went into the room to play poker or chess. When He Nuo entered the room, he didn’t see Shi Yan in the main room. Before he could check the other rooms, he was dragged away by someone to play poker with them. But he didn’t know how to play poker which caused his partner to lose all the time, but fortunately they were all just playing for fun so his schoolmate didn’t really care much. However, he still gave up his position to someone else who knew how to play before he went to watch a guy and girl playing chess. The guy actually couldn’t win the girl which surprised He Nuo, he had always thought that girls were more proficient in checkers.

He was quite engrossed in watching them when he heard someone shout in the courtyard, “The mutton skewers are ready, the first pot of mutton skewers are up for sale~~~”

“Xinjiang’s mutton skewers, fragrant mutton skewers are fresh out of the oven~~~.” Someone was even joking around by pretending to cry out in a Xinjiang accent. The people in this room all jumped up and rushed outside like a swarm of bees. The two who were playing chess didn’t move, so He Nuo didn’t move either. After awhile, the bees came back in again. They had at most managed to s.n.a.t.c.h just one skewer, and they even had to pa.s.s their skewers around after one bite. Most of them didn’t even manage to get one so they returned dispiritedly. Shi Yan was right after all, there wasn’t enough meat to feed these many wolves, plus the stove itself wasn’t very big so only a limited amount of skewers could be cooked at any one time.

After the people outside had lured the wolves in the room outside thrice, the situation became similar to the story of “the boy who cried wolf”. The wolves in the room no longer scrambled out of the room to fight the others for mutton. They’d rather eat melon seeds, peanuts and fruits as they gathered together in groups to chat. He Nuo was curious, so he put on a mask and went to watch how people barbequed mutton skewers. It was extremely interesting. So how did the students know whether or not the meat was cooked through? They would taste the meat as they barbequed them to confirm how well done it was and how it tasted, so it’s no wonder that there would be so few skewers per batch, the barbequers would have cleaned off a third of it through tasting alone.

When He Nuo got up and was about to leave, one of his schoolmates called him and told him that a new batch was ready, so he gave He Nuo three skewers. He Nuo looked one round around the courtyard and didn’t see Shi Yan, so he entered the house to look for him. What greeted him was the sight of Shi Yan’s cla.s.smates. When one of them saw how He Nuo looked like he was looking for someone, he pointed to the room behind him.

“O, thank you.”

He Nuo didn’t even think about how that guy had known who he was looking for before he went straight to the room that was pointed out to him. When he opened the door, He Nuo was so stunned that he didn’t budge from the entrance. The entrance was facing a huge bed; Shi Yan lied on the bed and was leaning against the bed’s headboard, one girl was leaning on his left side while she ma.s.saged his shoulder and arm while another girl sat at his right as she ma.s.saged his leg. When Shi Yan heard the door open, he opened his eyes and smiled when he saw He Nuo. He Nuo immediately felt his face heat up under his mask. He wanted to say something, but he didn’t know where to start his explanation from.

It was Shi Yan who spoke first, “Come on in. Close the door, or else it’d be cold.”

He Nuo anxiously waved his hands, “No, I, I’ll go out.” He was speaking in a fl.u.s.tered manner under his mask when Shi Yan had already jumped off the bed and pulled him into the room. Then he kicked the door close. “Come and sit on the bed, it’s nearer to the heater.”

That was when he saw that He Nuo was holding mutton skewers. He chuckled and s.n.a.t.c.hed them to eat, but he realised that the oil had already congealed on the mutton. He pa.s.sed it to the girls, “Go and barbeque them again, it can’t be eaten when it’s cold.”

The two girls left the room, but He Nuo still stood rooted to the spot as he was at a loss. Shi Yan pulled him over to the bed to sit down, “Take off the mask ba, there’s not much air circulation in here.” He Nuo uttered an “oh” before he took off his mask.

Shi Yan grabbed his overcoat over, “Move inside, it’ll be more comfortable for you to lean on.” Then he wrapped his overcoat around He Nuo. At such a close distance, Shi Yan realised that He Nuo’s face was flushed red, “You have a fever?” He raised his hand to He Nuo’s forehead to check his temperature.

He Nuo immediately dodged his hand, “No, I’m alright.”

Ever since the start of winter, Shi Yan had grabbed He Nuo’s hand and touched his face and forehead countless times to check his temperature because of He Nuo’s colds and fevers, but he had never seen He Nuo avoid his touch before. Shi Yan’s large hand once again fell upon his forehead and neck, but he didn’t seem feverish, “What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing.”

“Then why is your face red again?”

“…….” The moment he asked that, even He Nuo’s ears were tinged with a pink blush.

Shi Yan had his own doubts, but he suddenly thought of an answer like a lightbulb had appeared over his head.

He b.u.mped He Nuo’s shoulder as he mocked, “You’re embarra.s.sed?”

He Nuo got angry, “I’m not.”

Shi Yan laughed happily, “You shouldn’t be. I have nothing to be ashamed of, so why are you getting all shy for me?”

“You,” He Nuo’s skin wasn’t as thick as Shi Yan’s. He couldn’t out-talk Shi Yan, so he turned around.

Shi Yan wanted to continue teasing him, so he leaned in even closer, “Are you tired? I’ll ask them to ma.s.sage you later.”

“I don’t want that.” He Nuo stood up and wanted to leave. He knew that he couldn’t out-talk Shi Yan, and if he stayed Shi Yan would continue bullying him.

Shi Yan hurriedly pulled him back, “Ok, ok, I won’t get them to do it. I’ll wait on you instead, okay?”

“I don’t want you either.”

“You don’t want me, but can’t I take the initiative?” Shi Yan half joked as he seriously pulled He Nuo down, “I’m offering my personal services, aren’t you going to appreciate it?”

He Nuo laughed as he pushed his hand away, “I’m not a young master like you, let me get up.”

“You’re not a young master, you’re almost my ancestor now, grand master.”

T/N: Urk why is Shi Yan so attentive and caring towards He Nuo……..it makes it hard to hate him sometimes………….