After sitting at Auntie’s house for half an hour, Lu Sili finally learned that, apparently, he was a generous and well-mannered person who always gave gifts for the holidays, but whose health was not very good and needed recuperation, while work kept him extremely busy.
Today’s truckload-of-gifts incident had cemented that image even more. Not only Auntie’s family, but now the entire residential complex knew that the nephew from Building 19, Unit 301 had married a rich, handsome man.
And the man was not only rich and handsome, he smiled politely at everyone he met. The young couple were supposedly very affectionate too, always with an arm around each other when they talked.
Auntie’s family ran a supermarket nearby and got along well with everyone, so naturally the neighbors had nothing but praise for Lu Sili.
The neighbors who had come over to watch the excitement gradually dispersed, and the introverted uncle finally emerged from the kitchen carrying a huge clay pot. Lu Sili took one look and realized it was Buddha Jumps Over the Wall.
Elio’s Notes: Buddha Jumps Over the Wall (佛跳墙) is a rich Fujian soup or stew traditionally made with an elaborate assortment of seafood, meats, and other ingredients.
“You can actually make this at home?” Lu Sili said softly.
Beside him, Su Yuan answered, “Mm. Uncle used to be a chef.”
“Doesn’t he cook professionally anymore?”
“Dad hurt his hand, so it isn’t very flexible now,” the younger sister explained from the side.
Her name was Zhan Kaijun. She had a short bob, narrow eyes, and a small face. She was only in high school but had already grown to 170 centimeters, with long arms and legs and the proportions of a model. Her personality, however, was that of a clever, adorable kid, with a slightly overdramatic teenage streak.
Playing with her new tablet, she explained, “The restaurant Dad worked at had equipment that wasn’t up to code. While he was operating a mixer, a part came loose and flew out, piercing his right palm and damaging the nerves, so he can’t do high-intensity work anymore. But his cooking is still really good. Look, he fed both me and Brother so well we grew up this healthy.”
It was obvious that Zhan Kaijun had grown up surrounded by the love and companionship of her elders. She was cheerful and sweet-tongued. Lu Sili remembered Su Yuan once saying that although his parents had died young, he had still grown up very well. Now Lu Sili believed that completely.
“You can tell how good he is just from looking at these dishes,” Lu Sili said.
Before long, all the food was on the table. Auntie’s dining table was rectangular, and with five people eating, all the dishes were gathered toward one side.
“Time to eat, kids,” Auntie called.
Even though Lu Sili and Su Yuan were already thirty, they were still being filed under the category of “kids.” The two exchanged a smile.
Lu Sili followed Su Yuan over to serve rice. Auntie brought out the cut fruit, and when she saw Lu Sili about to sit at a side seat, she hurriedly pulled him toward the seat of honor.
“You sit here. It’s easier to reach the dishes.”
“No, no, no.” Lu Sili refused repeatedly. “I’m the junior. How could I sit in the seat of honor?”
His elders had doted on him since childhood too, but the hierarchy between older and younger generations in his family had always been strict.
Auntie laughed. “What does that matter? In our family, whoever we like gets the best seat. Listen to Auntie.”
“It’s fine.” Su Yuan gently tugged Lu Sili’s wrist too, telling him to sit down and eat without worrying.
Lu Sili looked from one person to another. Everyone genuinely seemed not to care. His younger sister was even allowed to watch television while eating.
The table was packed with dishes, none of them looking inferior to restaurant food. Su Yuan picked up a piece of abalone and placed it in Lu Sili’s bowl. “Try it.”
Lu Sili took a bite. When he looked up, he realized Auntie’s entire family was watching him, waiting for his reaction.
“It’s delicious.” Lu Sili smiled. “No wonder Su Yuan cooks so well. So he learned from Uncle.”
The moment he said it, even Lu Sili felt a little embarrassed. It had been years since he had praised anyone this sweetly.
But Auntie’s whole family obligingly burst into laughter. Even the reserved uncle smiled. “As long as you like it.”
Auntie chimed in too. “The way you put it, these two men are going to grow roots in the kitchen from now on.”
Lu Sili laughed and pressed his advantage. “Men in the kitchen are no worse than men on a runway.”
Auntie laughed so hard she rocked back and forth. “You’ve got a point. Honestly, sometimes a man in an apron is pretty handsome.”
“Exactly.” Lu Sili gave her an approving thumbs-up.
Auntie teased him. “Looks like our Xiao Lu and I have pretty similar taste.”
The two traded jokes back and forth, laughing loudly.
“Eat, eat.” Auntie placed some white-cut chicken in Lu Sili’s bowl.
Lu Sili agreed and stopped to eat. Only once he quieted down did it hit him: had he been a little too over-the-top just now? Why was he sitting here with an elder openly fantasizing about men?
He secretly glanced up at Su Yuan.
Why is he even more embarrassed than I am? His face is completely red.
Lu Sili laughed to himself and finally relaxed completely.
There were plenty of topics around the dinner table: family gossip, his younger sister complaining about school, and whenever something interesting came up, Lu Sili would contribute a little entertainment-industry gossip of his own.
After dinner, Su Yuan and his younger sister cleared the table. Lu Sili wanted to help too, but Auntie stopped him.
“Xiao Lu, come here.”
Lu Sili sat with Auntie on the sofa. She picked up a cardboard box from the side table and opened it. Inside were red dates and assorted nuts.
“These are some local specialties from our hometown. Don’t turn your nose up at them.”
Lu Sili hurriedly said, “Of course not. Thank you, Auntie.”
Then Auntie pulled a red envelope from her pocket. “I’m your elder, so I’m giving you a red envelope. Happy New Year. I hope you stay healthy and everything goes smoothly at work.”
She knew Lu Sili’s family had money and that his own salary was high. They could not compete with him in the value of gifts, but their goodwill still had to be expressed. The proper gestures should still be made.
Lu Sili lowered his eyes to the red envelope. His first instinct was to refuse because he did not need the money.
But he took Auntie’s words to heart. Lu Sili smiled. “Thank you. Same to you, Auntie.”
He accepted the red envelope openly and without fuss.
Just then Su Yuan came out of the kitchen. Seeing that Auntie had given Lu Sili a red envelope, he joked, “I didn’t get one.”
Auntie erupted. “Then what was the one I gave you before New Year?!”
Su Yuan laughed. “Auntie, we should get going. We both have work tomorrow.”
Auntie agreed. She was just about to get up and see them off when she suddenly remembered something and turned to look for her husband. “Honey! Didn’t you say you made Xiao Lu a gift?”
“Huh?” Even Su Yuan looked surprised.
Uncle came in from the balcony carrying a spherical glass container. He was introverted and not much of a talker, an extremely typical Beta man.
He handed the glass container to Lu Sili. “I tinker with fish tanks and miniature landscapes in my spare time. Su Yuan told me you like moss-type pheromone scents, so I put together some moss and little plants for you. Just set it somewhere and enjoy looking at it.”
Lu Sili knew about miniature landscapes. Creating a stable little ecosystem took a great deal of time and care, and every plant inside had to be selected and maintained carefully.
Lu Sili cradled the glass container and lifted it for a closer look. It had been beautifully maintained, the damp moss carrying a faint scent of soil and oakmoss.
Lu Sili’s nose stung.
He raised the terrarium a little higher so it blocked his eyes, then quietly took a deep breath to steady himself.
Everyone in Su Yuan’s family knew Lu Sili was recuperating. They knew what he liked to eat, knew what kind of pheromone scent he preferred, and had deliberately prepared things tailored to those preferences.
At times and in places Lu Sili knew nothing about, Su Yuan had told his family a great many things about him.
How wonderful must the Lu Sili in Su Yuan’s stories have been to receive this much affection?
Or perhaps they simply loved Su Yuan so much that their affection naturally extended to him too.
An ordinary Beta family. So warm.
“Thank you, Uncle,” Lu Sili said.
Su Yuan seemed to notice the shift in Lu Sili’s mood. He picked up the local specialties Auntie had prepared and said, “All right. It’s getting late. We should head home.”
On the drive back, Lu Sili held the little glass terrarium and stared at it for a long time. Su Yuan drove and asked whether he liked it.
Lu Sili gave it a light sniff. “I do.”
“Next time I’ll ask Uncle to make you a bigger one. We can put it on the cabinet next to the television.”
Lu Sili shook his head lightly. “I’m afraid I’d kill it.”
“You’ve got me.”
“But…” Lu Sili suddenly stopped and did not finish.
Su Yuan could not guess what he had been about to say, so he smiled faintly. “Don’t worry. I grew up watching Uncle make these. I know how to take care of them.”
Lu Sili turned to look at Su Yuan. He had been in an excellent mood all day, smiling constantly.
Seeing him so happy, Lu Sili said, “Okay.”
He simply could not bring himself to say, But we’ll separate after two years.
Back home, Lu Sili placed the small terrarium on the display shelf beside the dining table, where he could see it whenever he ate or drank.
At first, the shelf had held only cups. Little by little, it had accumulated small decorations and some of Su Yuan’s collected souvenirs. Displayed around the house, they made everything look attractive and cozy.
Lu Sili wondered whether Su Yuan would take all of these things with him if they divorced and separated.
He was a little reluctant to lose them.
After getting home, Lu Sili took his medicine and curled up on the sofa to deal with work. Su Yuan was baking bread in the kitchen. Ever since Lu Sili said the croissants were good, Su Yuan had started making them every few days.
After replying to two emails, Lu Sili raised his head and rolled his stiff neck. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Su Yuan crouched halfway down, holding up his phone to photograph the oven.
“Documenting the good life?” Lu Sili murmured.
Lu Sili remembered looking through Su Yuan’s Moments before and finding it rather interesting, so he took out his phone and opened Su Yuan’s Moments again.
He scrolled down to where he had stopped last time and continued from there.
[Part-time dance partner after work.]
That was the day Su Yuan accompanied me to the year-end gala. He photographed a champagne glass, but my back was in the background.
[Cat in the new neighborhood. Cute.]
It looks like the lawn downstairs. A calico cat was licking the back of Su Yuan’s hand. There are cats in the complex? How have I never seen one? Does he like cats?
[Went to Director Jiang’s lecture on secondary sex characteristics in my free time. Learned a lot.]
Why would an orthopedic surgeon go listen to that? Don’t tell me it was because of me?
[My cooking is improving.]
That’s the meal from the day Li Ya came over. Why is there even a photo with Li Ya? I don’t have one!!
[Happy New Year!]
New Year’s Eve dinner at Grandma’s, and the ingredients for tanghulu the next day. If I zoom in, there’s a foot off to the side. Looks like mine.
Why is everything related to me so covert? Lu Sili thought.
The most recent post was a hospital announcement, the kind of WeChat Official Account article the hospital probably required its staff to share.
Lu Sili opened it. It was about an advanced training program at Municipal Hospital, listing many doctors who met the eligibility requirements.
Without even thinking about it, Lu Sili naturally searched the list for Su Yuan’s name.
Sure enough, it was there.
Only after reading Su Yuan’s profile did Lu Sili learn that Su Yuan was still working toward his doctorate.
The article described which countries and hospitals were participating in the program, which leading experts in the field would be involved, how long the training would last, and when the doctors on the list needed to submit their applications.
Will he apply?
Lu Sili, who had been excitedly scrolling through Su Yuan’s Moments only moments ago, suddenly grew quiet.
This was unquestionably a good opportunity. Even as someone outside medicine, Lu Sili recognized some of the universities and hospitals named in the article. The chance to study cutting-edge international techniques abroad should be something any ambitious doctor would want.
Before this, Lu Sili’s mind had been filled entirely with his own ambitions. He had never stopped to think that Su Yuan had ambitions of his own.
And being an orthopedic surgeon at Municipal Hospital would not be the endpoint of Su Yuan’s career either.
“Croissants tomorrow,” Su Yuan called from the kitchen.
Lu Sili came back to himself. “Okay.”
Then he heard the refrigerator door close. Su Yuan came out of the kitchen carrying a box and walked over to the sofa. “I’ve already coordinated with Luke and ordered next month’s artificial pheromones. This batch needs to be collected and destroyed.”
“Okay,” Lu Sili said.
Su Yuan smelled of baking, warm and fragrant enough to make him seem appetizing. He sat down beside Lu Sili to rest and placed the box on the coffee table, muttering to himself, “What a waste.”
Lu Sili: “…”
Realizing how that sounded, Su Yuan quickly turned to explain, “I mean, this stuff is pretty expensive.”
Their eyes met, and the memory of exactly how they had used that artificial pheromone came rushing back.
Their faces were very close. The warm baking scent clinging to Su Yuan blended with the chypre fragrance in the apartment, while warm breath brushed between them and the atmosphere turned intimate.
Lu Sili tried to avoid Su Yuan’s eyes. When he lowered his gaze, however, he saw Su Yuan’s Adam’s apple move.
When he looked back up, Su Yuan seemed to have leaned even closer.
Even someone as slow as Lu Sili was about feelings could tell that a kiss was only inches away.
“Doesn’t this… put you at too much of a disadvantage?” Lu Sili asked softly.
“What?”
“You’re always the one doing more.”
“It doesn’t.”
Lu Sili looked at Su Yuan’s high nose bridge and deep-set eyes and swallowed lightly. Images crowded through his muddled mind.
He tilted his head slightly.
Then the advanced-training list flashed into his mind.
Lu Sili abruptly pulled back and stood up from the sofa.
“Thank you,” Lu Sili said.
Su Yuan looked up at him, breathing a little quickly, confusion splintering through his gaze.
Lu Sili wanted to say something but stopped himself. His fingernails pressed into his palm, grounding him with the faint sting.
“I’ll remember all of this forever,” he said.