After being moved to tears by the sworn enemy's pheromones - Chapter 32

Anyone would question how Shen Jin knew that Gu Yu was strong and robust. Realizing he had misspoken, he simply insisted, “I saw a flyer with Gu Yu’s picture on it, advertising a rich woman’s quest for a baby. Is that not allowed?”

 

Qin Zhu looked at him mockingly and asked deliberately, “Are you really incapable, Shen Jin?”

 

Knowing he couldn’t outmatch Qin Zhu, Shen Jin nudged Gu Yu with his elbow, thinking of passing the buck: “Come on, you tell him yourself if I’m capable or not.”

 

He signaled Gu Yu with body language to speak well of him, but Gu Yu didn’t even lift an eyelid: “Is ‘I can’t’ said in a foreign language those many times?”

 

Everyone else laughed heartily, understanding the implication.

 

“Oh, it seems being strong and robust is true.”

 

“Is that why you all want to find freshmen juniors?”

 

“You two should behave. If it weren’t for my state-issued ID card, I’d think I was a stray dog on the street.”

 

Shen Jin’s efforts were all in vain. He could only cool his face with the back of his hand and secretly “punch” Gu Yu under the table: “I praised you for being able to post the flyer, but you say I’m not capable?”

 

Gu Yu, cooling down in the noisy environment, corrected Shen Jin softly, “I never saw the flyer about the rich woman seeking a baby, but I did see a rabbit wagging its tail at me, begging for a bite of rabbit food.”

 

They didn’t dare make eye contact, but Shen Jin refused to back down: “Fine, a rabbit that once tore apart lions and tigers asked me to tell you that your rabbit food is delicious, but it suggests you don’t let your hands shake from nervousness next time.”

 

“…” Gu Yu, gritting his teeth, tried to take away his chicken leg, “Clearly, it was like it had just finished a marathon.”

 

They didn’t dare make eye contact but could fight over a chicken leg with chopsticks for a long time until Shen Jin began to whimper. Only then did Gu Yu return the chicken leg to him, softening his voice, “How come it seems like you’ve never had a chicken leg, senior?”

 

Shen Jin was smiling, his face still flushed.

 

“Rarely ate…”

 

When he was younger, chickens seemed to have no legs, fish only had heads, and strawberries were always green and sour.

 

But now he had more memories. Just thinking of the shrimp and crab meat Gu Yu put on his plate made him smile and feel warm inside.

 

“Less spicy tastes good too.” Shen Jin tossed the chicken leg to him, “I have another one, this is for you~”

 

“Rewarding me with something I bought?” Gu Yu no longer moved his chopsticks, turning to slowly watch a game tutorial on his phone, “Eat without speaking, rest without talking, hurry up and eat.”

 

The two tacitly didn’t mention the earlier tentative kiss. When the gathering ended, as they were parting, Gu Yu, with slightly red ears, looked down and asked, “Come over tomorrow to clean, I’ll cover lunch and dinner. Anything you want to eat?”

 

Shen Jin looked up at the sky in the opposite direction, thinking while answering, “Pepper chicken and frozen marinated shrimp… maybe.”

 

His face felt hot, thinking this guy had changed, but he forgot that Gu Yu was still Gu Yu—who immediately turned and left, saying, “Okay, got it, but we won’t have those two dishes.”

 

It took him a few seconds to snap out of his daydream. He wanted to take off his jacket and throw it at Gu Yu: “Your clothes!”

 

“Keep it.” Gu Yu waved at him from afar, “Forgot it hasn’t been washed for a few days, remember to wash it and return it.”

 

“Damn…” Shen Jin quickly took it off and smelled it, relieved there was no noticeable odor.

 

He clutched the jacket in his hand, not wanting to put it back on, but two roommates grabbed his arm and forced him into it, saying:

 

“Are you pretending to be his dad?”

 

“The junior left you his original scent, don’t waste it.”

 

The moonlight illuminated the campus paths, casting light on the bashful hibiscus flowers with closed petals along the roadside. The gentle, affectionate autumn night always made people linger.

 

Later, the three chased and played their way back to the dormitory. Shen Jin zipped up the jacket to his chin, burying his face in it and laughing freely, without any rebuttal.

 

*

 

That night, after washing up, Shen Jin lay on his desk to cool down for a long time, repeatedly pulling open a drawer. It took a while before he took out an old wooden box.

 

Qin Zhu asked, “What’s that?”

 

Seeing a jade comb inside the box, he was a bit surprised, “Damn, did you time-travel while working as an NPC at Rongchuang Park?”

 

“An elder left it for me.” Shen Jin took out the comb and climbed into bed, saying, “Hurry up and sleep, it’s late.”

 

Qin Zhu, puzzled for a moment, turned off the light and asked no more questions.

 

As the room darkened, Shen Jin placed the comb by his pillow and then curled up under the covers, secretly reminiscing about everything related to Gu Yu.

 

Thinking about their first meeting years ago, that heavy rain, Gu Yu’s warm embrace, and the prospect of seeing Gu Yu again tomorrow.

 

Unknowingly, his chest rose and fell faster, his breathing slightly erratic, and he began to cough lightly.

 

“Are you okay?” Xu Tingyun, hearing his cough, asked, “Do you need some medicine?”

 

Qin Zhu seemed to have held it in, but couldn’t help blurting out, “How can your parents be so heartless?”

 

“It’s fine, I’ll be okay in a bit.” Shen Jin responded to his roommate’s concern, taking the opportunity to brag, “I’m heading to Gu Yu’s place tomorrow, there should be some strong tonic soup there. I won’t die anytime soon.”

 

However, under the clear moonlight, Shen Jin’s thoughts were slightly disturbed. As he turned over again, he looked at the white jade comb, and many faces from his past flickered in his mind, finally settling on the corridor of the same hospital.

 

Perhaps, there were reasons why his parents were so heartless.

 

The year of his college entrance exams, he had a small incident during the first exam.

 

To sum it up, that morning, no one else was home except his younger brother, who suddenly fell ill.

 

In his panic, he called Shen Yuecheng and 120, sent his brother off in an ambulance, and then rushed to the exam. The invigilator, who he had never met, was more anxious than he was, saying it was fortunate he hadn’t missed the first 15 minutes and urged him to start the exam quickly.

 

Later, he forgot how he managed to finish the last few dozen words of his essay. He only remembered getting slapped.

 

His mother, with trembling hands, asked him, “You were the only one at home. If you didn’t take your brother to the hospital and went to the exam instead, what good school could you get into? What if something had happened to your brother? Is the college entrance exam more important than his life?”

 

Back then, Shen Jin stood in the bright and spacious hospital corridor, opening his mouth but saying nothing.

 

Perhaps because of this small incident, his parents didn’t spend much money to treat his pneumonia later, but instead took him out of that hospital.

 

Originally, the illness caused by a cold was not very contagious, but to eliminate even the smallest risk, his parents sent him back to his hometown to stay with elderly relatives for the summer.

 

The elder was his great-great-uncle, the youngest brother of his great-grandfather. Due to improper medication in childhood, he became mute and never married. Seeing Shen Jin, he was so happy that he wouldn’t let go of his hand.

 

When the elder was younger, the younger generation often vied to give him food in exchange for help with farm work. Now that he was old, few cared for him.

 

Every time young Shen Jin returned to his hometown, his great-great-uncle would happily and mysteriously drag him into the house, revealing layers of cloth-wrapped packages filled with Shen Jin’s favorite preserved plum candies.

 

Of all the grandchildren, his great-great-uncle liked Shen Jin the most. Over the years, he would greet people with a gesture, measuring from his waist to his chest, asking if they had seen a child that tall coming to the village.

 

So, when they met again, Shen Jin hugged his great-great-uncle and cried.

 

The elder was overjoyed to have him back, but also seemed to know that Shen Jin had endured many grievances. He would often touch Shen Jin’s pale little face with his wrinkled, cracked hands and take him to the best doctor in town, buying many medicines.

 

Relatives talked about how the elder had a lonely life, but the villagers said he was a remarkable old man. He could hum and play chess with people, chase away those who encroached on his fields, and watch many shows on TV.

 

The summer of Shen Jin’s third year in high school was perhaps the warmest time of his 18 years.

 

He lived under the protection of his great-great-uncle for more than two months, receiving a kind of care he had never known. He thought such days would last for years, but one day he saw the elder wearing a vibrant shroud and inviting him to a lavish meal, making him realize that the elder knew his time was short.

 

That afternoon was probably the hardest Shen Jin had cried in years. The elder, understanding his sorrow, patted his back while smoking, and with his limited literacy, wrote: “In the future, I will bless you, and your fortunes will rise. In the next life, we shall meet again as family.”

 

That was the first time Shen Jin felt fortunate to be born into his family.

 

The next day, the elder didn’t wake up, leaving a large black-and-white photo and a letter by his pillow.

 

The letter said, “I have lived freely, except for being mute, without illness or disaster, with no regrets. Now I bid farewell to this world, leaving my house in the second team of Tanjiacun and 18,000 yuan to my great-grandnephew Shen Jin. I also leave a jade comb that I never gave away. If you meet a good person, you can pass it on as a family heirloom. Now I go west, hoping to meet the father and son butchers from the east of the village and win the chess game. I will surely win.”

 

Through the wooden windows of the old house, quiet sunlight streamed in. Shen Jin knelt by the bed and cried for a long time, but the long-standing knot in his heart seemed to unravel.

 

When the elder was buried, the hall was filled with people who couldn’t shed a tear, but Shen Jin looked at the black-and-white portrait and smiled at his great-great-uncle.

 

Life was good.

 

There were always parents who treated their children as punching bags, private property to be disposed of at will, or reflections of their failed lives. And there were always parents who did not love their children.

 

Standing in the hall with the breeze brushing his face, Shen Jin no longer sought the reason why.

 

Later, just as his great-great-uncle said, he was lucky enough to be admitted to C University. He didn’t sell the old house for 30,000 yuan as others suggested, but cleaned up the few rooms, took the 18,000 yuan left by his great-great-uncle, and left home.

 

The F District was only a two-hour drive from the university city of C, but from then on, it was like mountains and rivers apart, severing all ties.

 

Last winter break, his father called to ask if he was coming home for the New Year. He naturally replied, “Aren’t you tired of pretending to be a good person, Shen Yuecheng? There is karma in this world.”

 

As a child, his parents had tried to give him away more than once.

 

Unloved, he was a burden, especially since his grades were average and he had the potential to differentiate into an omega. He just didn’t want to remember or admit it.

 

Shen Yuecheng was stunned for a few seconds before cursing him and hanging up.

 

Shen Jin put down his phone and continued playing his game, occasionally grabbing red envelopes in the group chat, and managed to pass the New Year in a good mood.

 

To this day, it seemed he had indeed been blessed by the gods, gaining the courage to walk his own path, always meeting good friends and teachers, and even… having the chance to fight Gu Yu again.

 

He grasped the jade comb in his hand, then tucked it back under his pillow. Unable to resist, he took out his earphones and called Gu Yu.

 

Gu Yu answered immediately but took a moment to speak, “Cough, what’s up?”

 

Shen Jin licked his lips without saying anything, placing the phone aside and closing his eyes to sleep.

 

At that moment, he realized he had become much more confident. At least, when teasing Gu Yu, he no longer blushed or had a racing heartbeat.

 

This is what it means to disturb Gu Yu and still be able to sleep first.

 

He listened to Gu Yu’s voice, his lips curling up slightly, but he refused to speak.

 

Gu Yu would probably soon think he had pressed the wrong button and hang up the call.

 

However, only silent breathing came from the other end of the line. Shen Jin, drowsy and drifting off, seemed to hear a low voice whispering, “Good night.”

 

*

 

The next day, Shen Jin was woken up by his phone’s low battery warning.

 

Dazed, he saw that the voice call was still connected and immediately snapped awake, instinctively wondering if he had snored or talked in his sleep.

 

“Damn…” He took a deep breath, calming down from all the emotions of the previous day. He minimized the call window and said, “I pressed the wrong button last night. Why didn’t you hang up? My phone’s out of battery.”

 

Gu Yu replied calmly, “Fun fact: if you blow into the bottom hole of your phone, it can recharge.”

 

Before Shen Jin could curse, Gu Yu continued, “You pressed the wrong button, why should I hang up?”

 

Shen Jin, annoyed, sent three cat punching emojis: “Do you want me to beat you up?”

 

Gu Yu responded with the same emoji: “Bring it on.”

 

They exchanged emoji attacks for three minutes before Shen Jin, tired, got out of bed and said, “I’ll be at your place by 11:30.”

 

After getting dressed, he glanced back at his pillow and thought to himself: Great-Granduncle, please keep protecting me.

 

Then he walked out into the Sunday sunshine, breaking into a jog. He arrived at Gu Yu’s place a little before 11:20.

 

Smelling the aroma of cream puffs as soon as he opened the door, he lowered his head to rush in but was caught by Gu Yu, who handed him a clean towel for his back.

 

“Why are you so sweaty?” Gu Yu asked. “Put this on your back, or you’ll catch a chill.”

 

“I ran a bit on the way,” Shen Jin said, taking a cream puff and wandering around the house, intending to start cleaning.

 

The air was filled with a rich, sweet aroma. He frequently checked the kitchen to see what they would have for lunch—discovering that the dishes he had mentioned yesterday were not there. Feeling a bit disappointed, the sound of him cleaning the windows dropped several tones.

 

Gu Yu seemed to know what he was thinking and said, “With the weather changing, you should avoid cold and spicy food. Do you still want to get better?”

 

Shen Jin was taken aback and replied defiantly, “I’ve almost quit smoking. Isn’t that harder than solving conic sections?”

 

“The hardest problem has always been sequences, hasn’t it?” Gu Yu easily saw through his excuse and said, “You want chicken and shrimp, but I have other recipes. No menu changes.”

 

“Oh…” Shen Jin had been curious for a while. “When did you learn to cook? I don’t remember hearing about it before.”

 

Gu Yu answered nonchalantly, “High school summer vacation was really boring, so I gave it a try—just follow the recipe and watch it twice. It’s not that hard if you’re not stupid.”

 

Shen Jin was suspicious, “Are you calling me stupid? Why doesn’t my cooking taste as good?”

 

Gu Yu, holding a grudge, said, “No need for fake compliments. Someone recently told me my cooking wasn’t as good as the cafeteria’s.”

 

“…” Shen Jin just wanted him to stop, “I thought you didn’t want to take responsibility, so I spoke without thinking.”

 

But as soon as he said it, Shen Jin realized it was inappropriate and quickly straightened up, adding, “I mean, I didn’t want to let my enemy off the hook—you admitted yesterday you owe me compensation. I’ve decided what I want.”

 

Gu Yu, nervously chopping garlic, replied in a lower voice, “Oh… what does Senior want?”

 

Looking at Gu Yu’s back, Shen Jin, feeling like a pampered little animal who couldn’t be left alone, pressed his flushed face against the glass as if it were Gu Yu’s back.

 

“I want… to come and eat your cooking every day.”

 

Besides that, it seemed his heart was also speaking out of turn, saying he wanted to see him often, stay by his side, lift all four paws, and… have him hold him.