Lin Jingming looked at Shen Hui while asking him about his meals during school days, how many times a day he ate, appearing just like a concerned old father.
Shen Hui was absent-minded, solely focused on finding a cost-effective parcel to prove his taste. However, he didn’t consider value for money when shopping; the more expensive, the better, which led him to secretly stash away several parcels behind his back.
Lin Jingming noticed his little actions but didn’t mention them. Instead, he took the opportunity to inquire about Shen Hui’s eating habits and was infuriated to learn that Shen Hui sometimes only ate one meal a day.
No wonder he was still as skinny as in high school, his body almost light enough to be lifted with one hand. Initially, when he came back to take care of the old man, he cooked nutritious meals for him every day and supervised Shen Hui’s meals as well, which wasn’t much effort with one more person. When young people eat well, it shows on their appearance quickly. By the time Lin Jingming left the country, Shen Hui’s face had become noticeably plumper.
Lin Jingming suspected Shen Hui wasn’t as chubby back then, but he couldn’t say for sure, as he hadn’t held Shen Hui back then.
Isn’t it said that college students gain weight?
“With so many pots, do you use them?” Lin Jingming plucked the label from Shen Hui’s hand, glanced at the price, and smiled. “Can you fill your stomach just by buying pots?”
Shen Hui realized he might have revealed information he shouldn’t have. He finally understood why his classmate, who ordered fried chicken takeaway every day, always told his mother he was having three meals in the cafeteria during their calls. This was the wisdom of life!
Shen Hui hurriedly remedied, “I also think eating is important, so I’m preparing to cook for myself after graduating from college.”
“You can cook?”
“Yes.” Shen Hui straightened his chest, not changing his expression. “I’ve looked at three cookbooks.”
This action made the two tender points on his fair chest stand out, especially eye-catching. Lin Jingming was teased to the limit, feeling that he couldn’t continue watching Shen Hui like this. He reached through Shen Hui’s knee bend, lifting him up with one hand and supporting his still-bruised back with the other, trying hard to maintain a gentlemanly demeanor. “Let’s go to sleep.”
Shen Hui obediently wrapped his arms around his neck, feeling like a smooth and cool cake, inviting someone to take a bite.
Lin Jingming took a bite of Shen Hui’s cheek, placed him on the bed, and earnestly covered his body with the bedsheet. “Don’t kick the covers.”
“I’m feeling a bit hot.” There was no air conditioning on the second floor of the house.
“Hot or tired, pick one.”
Shen Hui didn’t want to be both hot and tired, so he behaved, but was suddenly startled when Lin Jingming uncovered the lower half of his body. “What are you doing?”
“I forgot to apply medicine.” Lin Jingming took out a tube of ointment from his suit pocket. “I knew you wouldn’t buy it, so I bought it specially.”
Shen Hui wasn’t actually delicate and even a bit rough. Most injuries and illnesses in his eyes were within the realm of self-healing and didn’t require a doctor’s visit. In fact, he rarely visited a doctor because he didn’t want to hear the doctor asking, “Little boy, where are your parents? Why are you here alone?”
Luckily, he had never had any serious health issues. The only time he needed to bother a doctor was when Lin Jingming took him.
Shen Hui endured the shame, sticking his butt out for Lin Jingming to apply the ointment, shy tears welling up in his eyes.
“Why are you crying? Does it hurt?” Lin Jingming wiped the corner of his eye with his backhand. “Let me blow on it for you.”
Shen Hui clenched his butt and vehemently refused, “I’m embarrassed!”
“You’re not shy walking around without clothes; why are you shy now?”
“Who knew you would come?”
Lin Jingming indulged him, saying, “Why did I come? Let’s discuss it when you’re better.”
Wrapped in the blanket, Shen Hui, unusually, didn’t kick up a fuss. Was Lin Jingming pitying him in this state, so he was hesitant to bring up the matter of going abroad?
Shen Hui didn’t ask. Anyway, knowing in advance wouldn’t change the outcome.
The next morning, Lin Jingming not only tidied up Shen Hui’s clothes and placed them neatly by the bedside but also made breakfast with the pots and pans Shen Hui bought.
Shen Hui ate happily. Suddenly, he heard Lin Jingming say they were going to see the old man later.
“I dare not.” Shen Hui feared that the old man wouldn’t agree to their relationship. If the teacher didn’t approve, Shen Hui would probably be too embarrassed to be with Lin Jingming. The old man hoped for a smooth path in his life, but Shen Hui was like a wolf in sheep’s clothing, thinking only of the teacher’s only son.
What was it that people said? Returning kindness with enmity? If it were just the old man, Shen Hui would surely be grateful to him for the rest of his life, but Lin Jingming did even more for him, yet Shen Hui wasn’t content.
That’s the kind of person I am.
Chewing on a grain of rice, Shen Hui said to Lin Jingming, “I’m worthless. I’ve been living off my looks until now. I’ve absorbed all the life lessons the teacher taught me, but still, I won’t go. And don’t tell him about us.”
He wasn’t worthy of Lin Jingming.
When no one else knew, being able to live for one more day was a blessing. He was too terrible, too cowardly to stand by Lin Jingming’s side and ask for forgiveness.
Lin Jingming knew that because of Shen Hui’s childhood environment, he lacked a sense of security. Therefore, he wanted to take him to see the old man, make promises to him, and give him a clear and open identity.
Perhaps in the eyes of others, Shen Hui’s conditions were lacking, but in the eyes of the old man, it was quite the opposite. This was also Lin Jingming’s confidence. The old man had mentioned Shen Hui countless times in the past three years.
But Lin Jingming couldn’t tell Shen Hui about this confidence.
After breakfast, Lin Jingming still managed to coax Shen Hui out with him. Shen Hui was nervous, not knowing how to walk properly. “How about I, I change into women’s clothes? The teacher definitely won’t recognize me and will think you found a girlfriend.”
“Put away your crooked thoughts.” Lin Jingming flicked his forehead. “Are you deliberately trying to surprise him with your weird outfit?”
The old man was happier to see Shen Hui than to see his own son, pulling him aside and asking him all sorts of questions. Shen Hui felt like he was being bombarded with enthusiastic questions from distant relatives. He was both happy and nervous. He signaled to Lin Jingming not to speak and didn’t want to upset the old man.
Lin Jingming pretended not to see and locked the door from the outside while Shen Hui was in the bathroom. They were in the old man’s faculty dormitory, and the bathroom had an old wooden door that could be locked from both sides.
Shen Hui had made up his mind today not to let Lin Jingming speak, so he stared at Lin Jingming, ready to pounce on him if he saw him about to speak.
He didn’t expect Lin Jingming to have this move!
Shen Hui scratched the wall, wishing he could break the door down.
But it was his teacher’s door, so he didn’t dare.
The father and son sat opposite each other on small tea chairs. The old man spoke first, “Alright, what’s the matter? Shen Hui has been looking at you a hundred times over.”
Lin Jingming put away his casual smile. “Dad, you mentioned before about me going on blind dates. I met Shen Hui while doing that, but I didn’t like the person I was set up with and took a liking to Shen Hui.”
Lin Jingming gave Shen Hui some face, not mentioning that he wore women’s clothes for someone else’s blind date and even painted a pitiful picture for him.
“I won’t find another person in this lifetime who can make me worry like he does. I don’t want to look anymore. Being with him, I will take care of him, and he will take care of me. I don’t want to conclude who fell in love first. I just want to spend this lifetime peacefully with him.”
“Dad, do you… agree?”
The old man was first shocked, then contemplative. He had experienced a failed marriage himself and didn’t rigidly believe that only a man and a woman could last long. Across from his room, there was an old couple who met during rural teaching, spending their entire lives together without children. Every morning, they went out together to buy groceries, took walks after meals; whether they had children or not didn’t seem to make much of a difference.
One shouldn’t betray their true feelings just for the sake of being bedridden for the last few years with children serving them. It wasn’t worth it to be unhappy for decades.
The old man was open-minded, knowing his own son had a plan for everything and was the most stable and reliable. His mother had started a new family overseas, with a younger brother twenty years younger than Lin Jingming.
The old man took a sip of tea and sighed, “This child Shen Hui is smart and quick-witted, but no one has guided him since childhood. I’m most afraid he’ll go astray and waste himself… Now with you watching over him, I can finally put a rest to one worry.”
Lin Jingming’s judgment was correct; the old man genuinely cared for Shen Hui.
“Uh, I’m not boasting about my own son…” The old man mumbled to himself. Indeed, he was very reassured by Lin Jingming. This child had been upright since he was young, unlike Shen Hui, who was at the opposite extreme. “I’m entrusting Shen Hui to you.”
As he said this, it sounded a bit like marrying off a daughter?
The old man frowned, suddenly realizing something was wrong, immediately becoming serious. “Didn’t you have a crush on Shen Hui since high school?”
This little brat, daring to pursue his students?
He got sick, and he…
The big bad wolf is put into the carefully tended sheep pen?
Trusting Lin Jingming is one thing, knowing that your son has a belly full of bad water is another. Otherwise, how could I have let Shen Hui obediently come back to class back then? The old man is the strictest when it comes to puppy love, even if it’s his own son, he won’t hesitate to punish him.
It has to be said, when The old man put on a stern face and intimidated Shen Hui, it was somewhat similar to when Lin Jingming did it.
Lin Jingming smiled bitterly, “No.”
“Really?” The old man stood up, showing a tendency to look for a stick everywhere, “How can you guarantee?”
Lin Jingming said, “At that time, I just felt that this kid looked good and had a good vibe, so I felt sorry for him. Otherwise, why would I go abroad to pursue a PhD so easily? Do I have to tie people up?”
“That’s true.” The old man raised his hand, “Hurry up and let him out, stop talking nonsense.”
Shen Hui had only been locked up for less than ten minutes, but it felt like a century to him. He couldn’t hear the conversation between the two, and he didn’t know what The old man’s reaction was.
As soon as the door opened, Shen Hui felt like a defendant waiting for a judge’s verdict, his eyes wide open, and his breath lightened.
But he forgot, his boyfriend was the most outstanding lawyer, turning the situation around effortlessly.
Seeing Shen Hui standing there dumbfounded, Lin Jingming planted a kiss on his lips, “Come out and call dad.”
“Call, call who?”
“My dad.” Lin Jingming whispered softly, “For what I’m about to say, save it for when we’re in bed.”
…
In Shen Hui’s twenty-third year of life, he gained two loved ones.
When he and Lin Jingming came out of school, they still felt a bit surreal, their eyes drifting around the alley, and Shen Hui was a bit afraid to look at his boyfriend, who was so proper and righteous.
School studies were heavy, and they arrived late for summer vacation. It was now the end of class, and Lin Jingming and Shen Hui went home to cook first, waiting for The old man to finish grading papers and come to Shen Hui’s house for dinner.
Shen Hui felt a bit embarrassed. When the old man visited his house before, Shen Hui didn’t understand the significance of having no elders visiting, thinking that The old man would skip him and not even prepare a glass of water.
“The house is too messy, there’s no time to tidy up now.”
“It’s okay.” Lin Jingming said, “I cleaned up the kitchen this morning, there’s a place to sit. I’ll tell our dad that the pot was bought by his daughter-in-law, very housewifely, very useful.”
Shen Hui blushed, “Don’t tell him the price, okay?”
“Don’t tell who?”
“Don’t tell dad.” Shen Hui felt embarrassed. His college living expenses were paid by the Lin family. If The old man knew that he was spending money recklessly on these things… he would be too embarrassed to face anyone.
As for the mess in the house, Shen Hui had given up. The first time The old man visited his house, he didn’t even get a drink of water, and when he left, he even helped him sunbathe the quilt.
The image was irreparable.
Suddenly, there was a panicked call from the crowd, a middle-aged man wielding a knife, indiscriminately attacking unarmed students.
Everyone scattered in panic, students in school uniforms were in a panic because their heavy school bags slowed them down, not knowing whether to throw them away, and instead being dragged down, falling to the ground and watching the blade come closer.
Lin Jingming moved swiftly, using his phone as a brick and throwing it at the attacker, buying two seconds of hesitation.
The next moment, Shen Hui felt empty beside him, Lin Jingming rushed past everyone, unarmed, and fought with the attacker. He dodged the blade, single-handedly immobilizing the attacker’s right hand. The attacker’s attempts to wield the knife wildly were completely ineffective.
When Shen Hui grabbed a brick from the ground and prepared to join the fight, Lin Jingming had already stepped on the attacker’s neck, pinning him to the ground unable to move.
“Are you hurt?” Shen Hui immediately turned red-eyed when he saw blood dripping from Lin Jingming.
“I’m fine.” Lin Jingming had his arm scratched when he snatched the knife just now. He glanced at the struggling attacker and said to Shen Hui, “Stay away from him.”
Surrounded by students and women, everyone looked at the violent attacker with fear. Shen Hui was closest to the two, watching the man struggling on the ground. Seeing more blood flowing from Lin Jingming’s arm, his eyes turned fierce. Before Lin Jingming could react, a brick smashed down on the attacker’s head.
Although Shen Hui was not a good fighter, he had no idea how much force to use. Lin Jingming quickly stretched out his foot to stop him, reducing the force by eighty percent.
Lin Jingming comforted him, “It’s not a big deal to kill him, but don’t dirty your hands.”
He bent down, took off the attacker’s belt and trousers, and tied him up tightly.
Lin Jingming didn’t let Shen Hui do anything, always saying, “You go over there.”
Shen Hui threw away the brick in tears, suddenly turning from a fierce wolf cub to a silly little lamb. He held onto Lin Jingming’s arm and cried like a fool.
They sat on the side waiting for the ambulance, and Professor Lin let the less seriously injured students go first.
“Lin Jingming… you’re bleeding so much… Does it hurt? Forget it, I’m going to get on the ambulance first… I don’t want to wait anymore…”
The attacker initially ran fast, and although he injured several people in the arms and thighs with his knife, they were all superficial wounds. The blade that was meant to stab someone, which turned black in preparation, was blocked by Lin Jingming.
Shen Hui cried like a tearful person, and Lin Jingming felt that this scene was somewhat familiar. He lifted his uninjured hand and rubbed Shen Hui’s hair, looking at the azure sky, suddenly feeling sentimental.
“Shen Hui.”
“Three years ago, when you hugged me and cried, you actually didn’t want to let me go, right?”
Lin Jingming was hugged by the nineteen-year-old Shen Hui, and he was also somewhat moved. After Shen Hui ran away, he suddenly decided to wait until Shen Hui finished the college entrance examination before leaving. He could take Shen Hui with him, stay by his side for another three months, until the university started.
But when he went to find Shen Hui, he heard him talking to his classmates, that disdainful tone still deeply impressed him.
Shen Hui said he couldn’t wait for him to leave early, so he could be free in the future.
Shen Hui said that crying now would let Lin Jingming know that he had truly turned over a new leaf, so he could leave without worrying about him anymore, which was especially worthwhile.
…
Lin Jingming felt that his kindness had been wasted.
Now thinking back, where did the nineteen-year-old Shen Hui get so many exquisite and superb acting skills, crying and scheming?
This little liar.
Sniffling, Shen Hui glared, “You’re not allowed to speak! Don’t touch my head either! Don’t move!”
When they arrived at the hospital, Shen Hui watched Lin Jingming undergo X-rays, stitches, and IV drips, tears flowing freely as if they were free. When he got rich in the future, he must buy many, many ambulances, just like buying aprons.
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