Chapter 128: How Old Are You, Anyway?
Shen Xiumo sat at the barbecue stall, a lamb skewer in his left hand and a cold beer in his right.
He took a sip of beer and stared up at the sky, lost in thought.
Jiang Su glanced at him, seriously suspecting that Shen Xiumo had been frozen stupid from sleeping on the floor last night.
The owner brought over another large plate of grilled skewers, and Jiang Su handed one to Shen Xiumo.
Shen Xiumo took it and began to chew, his profound expression still fixed on the sky.
Jiang Su couldn’t help but call out to him, “President Shen?”
Shen Xiumo turned his head. “Hm?”
“What are you looking at?” Jiang Su asked.
“Nothing…” Shen Xiumo glanced at Huo Qingyan sitting nearby, then leaned closer to Jiang Su and whispered, “I was just wondering why I came on a trip with Huo Qingyan…”
As Shen Xiumo leaned in, Huo Qingyan turned to look at them.
Jiang Su asked Shen Xiumo, “Why?”
Shen Xiumo sighed dramatically. “Probably because I got my head stuck in a door.”
He hadn’t had a good night’s sleep or a decent meal since he got here.
This was his first time eating at a place like this.
The food was okay, but there were too many mosquitoes.
Shen Xiumo slapped his calf, leaving a dead mosquito on his hand, which he wiped away with a tissue in disgust.
It was already late by the time Jiang Su finished work for the day.
Shen Xiumo and Huo Qingyan were about to head back to Qingyang City, so they insisted on having a meal with Jiang Su.
The closest place to them was this barbecue stall.
Jiang Su had filmed in poor conditions before, eating and living with the crew, so he wasn’t particular.
It was Shen Xiumo and Huo Qingyan who seemed out of place.
After sitting for a long time, Huo Qingyan had only eaten a single vegetable skewer and hadn’t touched anything else, only occasionally taking a sip of beer.
Jiang Su finished the skewer in his hand before asking, “What time is your flight tomorrow?”
“Ten o’clock,” Huo Qingyan answered.
Shen Xiumo looked up. “Are you going to see us off?”
Jiang Su replied, “Are you dreaming already?”
Shen Xiumo: “…” He had been too presumptuous. He would never ask such a question again.
Jiang Su had already lowered his head and continued eating.
Shen Xiumo noticed that Huo Qingyan wasn’t eating much. “Why aren’t you eating? This stuff is pretty good.”
Huo Qingyan ignored him.
Shen Xiumo finished a skewer in a few bites and said again, “It’s really good, isn’t it, Jiang Su?”
Jiang Su: “…” What does it have to do with me.
Jiang Su glanced at Huo Qingyan, then quickly looked away. “Why do you care if he eats or not.”
He didn’t want to eat, yet he insisted on coming.
So pretentious…
Shen Xiumo chuckled, finding it quite satisfying to watch Jiang Su shut Huo Qingyan down.
Huo Qingyan pressed his lips together, then reached out, picked up a skewer, and started eating.
…
When they got back, Shen Xiumo was the first to rush into the bathroom.
“I’m showering first!” He was terrified that Huo Qingyan would stop him again later!
Damn it, he had never felt so wronged in his life.
Shen Xiumo dashed into the bathroom like a gust of wind.
The others: “…”
It dawned on Jiang Su that he hadn’t heard Shen Xiumo or Huo Qingyan showering the previous night.
He looked at Huo Qingyan thoughtfully.
Did Huo Qingyan really go to sleep without showering?
Sensing Jiang Su’s gaze, Huo Qingyan looked up at him.
He noticed the strange way Jiang Su was looking at him.
He wanted to ask, but Jiang Su had already taken his script and sat down at the desk.
When they were together before, Jiang Su was always the one to start conversations with him.
He didn’t know what to say.
The atmosphere was awkward.
Fortunately, Shen Xiumo finished his shower quickly and came out.
…
In the middle of the night, Jiang Su woke up thirsty.
As he was about to get up for some water, he heard the faint sound of someone tossing and turning on the other bed.
Jiang Su turned on the bedside lamp and looked over.
Huo Qingyan and Shen Xiumo were sleeping back-to-back on their sides, with enough space between them for another Jiang Su to lie down.
Huo Qingyan’s sleeping posture was relatively neat, while one of Shen Xiumo’s legs was already dangling off the edge of the bed.
Now he believed that Shen Xiumo had fallen off the bed on his own.
Jiang Su stared at the other bed for a while and saw that neither of them moved again.
As he went to get a drink of water, he heard a noise behind him.
He turned back to see that Huo Qingyan, who had been sleeping on his side, had rolled over.
Jiang Su frowned, walked over, and looked down at Huo Qingyan. He noticed his complexion was very poor and asked quietly, “Huo Qingyan, what’s wrong?”
There was no response from the man on the bed.
“Stop pretending. I know you’re not asleep,” Jiang Su said, his tone a little impatient this time.
Huo Qingyan opened his eyes, his gaze clear.
“I’m fine,” he said, his voice a little hoarse but otherwise normal.
Jiang Su felt that something was off, but seeing him like this, he didn’t press further.
He reached out to turn off the light and go back to sleep, but then something occurred to him.
“Is your stomach bothering you?” Jiang Su turned back to look at Huo Qingyan abruptly.
Huo Qingyan’s expression faltered for a moment, and his tone became somewhat helpless. “I…”
In truth, his stomach had started to feel uncomfortable when they were at the barbecue stall.
It began to hurt on the way back.
By midnight, the pain was severe, and he couldn’t sleep, tossing and turning.
He hadn’t expected Jiang Su to notice.
He had only intended to use the trip with Shen Xiumo as an excuse to see Jiang Su, not to cause him any trouble.
Facing this version of Jiang Su, the guilt in his heart surged like a tide, nearly drowning him.
“Was your stomach bothering you back at the barbecue stall?” Jiang Su asked, though he was already certain of the answer.
Although Huo Qingyan came from a wealthy family, he wasn’t that pretentious. He’d had stomach problems in the past from not eating on time.
“There’s a clinic nearby that’s open 24 hours,” Jiang Su said, already grabbing his jacket and putting it on.
“There’s no need to see a doctor, I…”
“Hurry up,” Jiang Su interrupted.
He had already opened the door and walked out.
He waited in the doorway for a moment, and Huo Qingyan followed.
The light in the hallway was bright and clear. Now, Jiang Su could see how pale Huo Qingyan’s face was, completely drained of color.
“Huo Qingyan, how old are you, anyway?” Jiang Su said irritably. “You don’t know how to speak up when your stomach hurts?”
Huo Qingyan lowered his head slightly, looking strangely pathetic, like a primary school student being lectured by the dean.
Jiang Su mocked him, “Are you trying to look pitiful?”
Huo Qingyan’s expression was incredibly gentle. “I’ve never thought of myself as pitiful.”
Jiang Su’s face froze for a second.
Huo Qingyan looked at him and said in a very serious tone, “I am a very lucky person.”
He had once received Jiang Su’s wholehearted love.
No one was luckier than him.
It was he himself who had, bit by bit, snuffed out the Jiang Su who had loved him with all his heart.
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