Chapter 1
After Zhan finished studying, he shut down his laptop and set it aside. Then he put on his jacket and left the room.
Since he had returned home, he hadn't eaten anything, and now it was past ten o'clock. Downstairs, he peeked around to see if he could spot his housemate. He saw A-Bo pressing on his phone, holding a can of soft drink. Zhan stood in the corridor, and if it weren't for the hunger he felt, he would have just gone back to his room and endured it. After a while, he began descending the staircase, trying not to make any sound. From a distance, he looked at A-Bo's phone screen and saw what looked like a photo he had taken with I-Bo at the park. He stopped and stared at the phone in surprise. After a few seconds, the photo disappeared, and he couldn't figure out where A-Bo had gotten it. He knew I-Bo wouldn't have sent the pictures to him. So, his housemate must have posted the photo on his status. Zhan was stunned, and his heart sank. At that same moment, A-Bo turned around, sensing that someone was standing behind him. Zhan stepped back slightly, feigning nonchalance, and said, "I was just heading to the kitchen."A-Bo set his phone down, turned properly, and looked at him in surprise. Zhan bowed his head and quickly made his way to the kitchen, walking briskly. When he came out, he didn't see A-Bo in the living room. After returning to his room, he set down the cup of tea he was holding, quickly picked up his phone, and opened WhatsApp. He opened his housemate's status and saw the photo, but his face was covered with the caption "Sean." However, the photo he had seen on A-Bo's phone had his face clearly visible. He kept staring at the photo, even though his face was hidden, and before he knew it, a smile escaped his lips because they looked so good together. He put the phone down, then picked it up again and replied to I-Bo with the picture, saying, "What if your boyfriend sees it?" He set the phone down, picked up his tea cup, and turned around slowly.His phone vibrate, signaling a new message. He picked it up and saw that I-Bo had replied, "Aren't you my boyfriend? You are my chosen one, and the other is my parents' choice." Zhan simply replied, "Hmm," then turned off his data and set the phone aside. Suddenly, his entire body went cold as he repeated I-Bo's words "parents' choice" in his mind. Despite his hunger, he lost his appetite and didn't even drink much of his tea. After getting ready for bed, he came back out, turned off the light, and lay down. His phone vibrated again, and he slowly pulled it toward him. He saw that his housemate was calling him. Just before the call ended, he picked up, held the phone to his ear, and remained silent. I-Bo said, "Why did you go offline?" Zhan gave a faint, forced smile and said, "I just got ready for bed.""Okay, do you have class tomorrow?" Zhan paused for a moment, and even though he didn't have class, he said, "Yes, I have..." I-Bo asked, "When?" "In the morning.""Okay, I had to stay back because of some work on my system, so I might not return tonight. Maybe we will meet at school tomorrow." Zhan said, "Alright."I-Bo said, "Okay, good night. It seems like you're already getting sleepy, right?" In a soft voice, Zhan replied, "Uh-huh, see you in the morning." I-Bo said, "Take care." Then he hung up. Zhan put his phone down, turned over, and closed his eyes.In the morning, Zhan came downstairs and saw the living room was very tidy. A pleasant scent wafted everywhere from a diffuser he noticed in the corner. He leaned against the staircase and gazed at the living room. After a while, he headed to the kitchen. Through the kitchen window, he looked outside at the small garden. The garden entrance was near the garage. Since moving into the apartment, he had only been out there once or twice. A-Bo was outside doing push-ups. Zhan turned and looked at the yogurt, various berries, granola, nuts, kiwi, and apples laid out in the kitchen. He realized A-Bo was about to make a parfait. Zhan felt an urge to help him prepare it, but then he caught himself and decided to mind his own business. He took out some noodles to cook. While cooking, he looked up and saw A-Bo leave the garden.After finishing his cooking, Zhan left the kitchen and went to his room. About twenty minutes later, he came back downstairs and entered the kitchen. The fruits were still there. He took a small bowl and began picking out some of the various berries, careful not to make it obvious that he had touched them. He washed them in the sink and started eating. Suddenly, he turned and locked eyes with A-Bo at the kitchen door. Zhan himself didn't know why he started laughing. He pulled a berry from his mouth and said, "I was going to wash these for you, so I can help you dice them." As he said this, he set down the bowl and picked up a knife to start peeling a kiwi. He heard A-Bo say, "Come on, get out and leave me alone." Zhan glanced at him and said, "I want to help you wash them..." Seeing the look A-Bo gave him, he put down the knife, washed his hands in the sink, and set the bowl of berries he had taken next to the remaining fruits. Then he headed for the door, walking past him to leave the kitchen. A-Bo followed him with his gaze and said, "You can't even keep your own room clean, yet you want to wash someone else's food?"Zhan turned and looked at him. He knew this comment was coming. He said, "Since you cleaned the whole house, I was just trying to help because I'm going to school..." A-Bo said, "You're dirty, young man. Don't use school as an excuse for your mess." Saying this, he went back into the kitchen. Zhan stood at the doorway watching him. He saw A-Bo use even liquid wash to clean the fruits, as if obsessed with cleanliness. He pushed the bowl of berries Zhan had taken to the far end of the kitchen so he wouldn't have to see them near him, then began washing the fruits in the sink. He used salt and even vinegar to wash them. Zhan thought to himself, "Well, this isn't new; everyone does that." He secretly waited to see if A-Bo would use a sponge on the fruits, but he didn't go that far. Zhan stood by the kitchen door until A-Bo finished making his healthy parfait. Then Zhan went into the kitchen, picked up his bowl of berries that A-Bo had pushed aside, placed it near him, and looked at him. A-Bo didn't even glance at him. Then Zhan saw him take the remaining yogurt and pour some into his bowl while continuing what he was doing. Zhan wanted to laugh but held it in. He watched A-Bo's rich parfait loaded with fruits, granola, and nuts. Then he saw him pick up honey and drizzle it on top.Just then, the living room door opened. A-Bo put down the honey and went to the kitchen door to see who had entered. Quickly, Zhan reached out and licked the honey and yogurt. Right in front of A-Bo's eyes. A-Bo turned and came back into the kitchen. Zhan quickly stepped back. Without even looking at Zhan, A-Bo took a spoon and scooped right from the spot where Zhan had put his hand, then dropped the spoon in the sink.Zhan didn't know what happened next....he just saw the bowl of parfait tipped over on the kitchen floor. A-Bo stepped back, staring at the parfait without blinking. Zhan was so tense he couldn't move, then he grabbed the base cabinet and burst out laughing uncontrollably, as if possessed. A-Bo just kept staring at the parfait on the floor. After a few seconds, he touched his head, trying not to laugh too, because Zhan's laughter alone was enough to make anyone laugh, even unintentionally. Zhan was laughing a mischievous laugh. What made him laugh even more was that A-Bo didn't yell at him, and now the parfait was all over the floor, and A-Bo had clearly knocked it over himself. A-Bo just turned and walked out of the kitchen. Zhan followed him with his gaze, howling with laughter. Then A-Bo came back, looked at him, and said in a low voice, "If you ever come into the kitchen again while I'm doing something, I will throw you out that window. I didn't know you were a witch." Saying this, he left the kitchen again. Zhan couldn't stop laughing. He looked at the bowl with a little leftover yogurt that A-Bo had poured for him, then at the rich parfait lying on the floor, and laughed even harder. Nothing had made him laugh this much in a long time. He laughed until he was satisfied, then began cleaning the kitchen. Then he started to feel sorry for A-Bo, because despite all his effort, he didn't get to eat a single spoonful. At least Zhan had licked some honey and yogurt. The incident was so funny to him. He swept up all the fruits and granola from the floor and threw them in the trash.After he finished wiping down the kitchen, A-Bo came back, freshly showered. Zhan went out to the living room and saw his housemate sitting on the couch, pressing on his phone. Smiling, he went into the living room, sat down, and greeted him. I-Bo looked up, glanced at him, and replied. Neither of them said anything more. After a while, I-Bo said, "Didn't you say you were going to school in the morning?" Zhan bowed his head and said, "I just changed my mind." He turned and saw A-Bo coming downstairs, his face expressionless, holding his car keys. Zhan followed him with his eyes, trying not to start laughing again, until he left the living room. Then he looked at I-Bo and began to tell him what had happened in the kitchen. He couldn't hold himself back anymore; he burst out laughing so hard he almost fell off the couch. I-Bo just looked at him. Finally, Zhan stopped laughing and said, "Isn't it funny?" I-Bo smiled as much as his lips would allow and said, "It is. What did he say to you?" Zhan said, "He was very shocked too. I know that if he had known what would happen when he left that yogurt for me, he never would have done it. Look at him, he stressed himself out cleaning the whole house today." He finished speaking with a laugh.I-Bo said, "That's true, but you're not going to school? Why did you tell me you were going?" Zhan was silent, then said, "I just changed my mind in the morning." I-Bo said, "Okay." His phone began to vibrate, and he stood up and said, "I'm going out. See you later." Zhan looked at him and said, "Did you have breakfast?" I-Bo said, "Yes." Zhan said, "Okay, bye." I-Bo turned and headed for the door, and Zhan watched him until he left.****In the evening, Zhan was in the kitchen after returning from school when he heard the apartment door open. His heart sank because, since he had returned and found the apartment empty, he had been feeling scared. It wasn't until he heard A-Bo's voice in the living room that he relaxed. He leaned against the kitchen cabinet, counting the days since he had last seen I-Bo. (😳 Don't tell me that man is jealous again?) After a while, he turned off the stove because he was done cooking. He peeked into the living room and saw A-Bo with a friend who was not from the area, testing something on his laptop. It seemed he was also doing a Ph.D. Zhan came out of the kitchen and greeted the friend, who replied while looking at him. Then the friend looked at A-Bo and said, "Is he your brother?" A-Bo replied curtly, "Yeah," while continuing to show him what he was showing him. In broken English, the friend said he wouldn't mind marrying Zhan. A-Bo looked up at Zhan and said, "You, young man, go away and give us some space." Zhan looked at him in surprise because he hadn't even been sitting in the living room; he was on his way upstairs. Femi looked at A-Bo and said, "I am very serious, Prince. I will marry him if you will give him to me. He is very beautiful. Is he half-cast?" A-Bo said, "Talk to I-Bo about that, Femi." Femi shifted in his seat and said, "I-Bo has no joy at all. He isn't as straightforward as you." A-Bo said, "He will listen, since it's about you marrying his brother..." Femi laughed heartily and said, "I will definitely visit Chengdu soon, then." A-Bo didn't say anything more to him.:: Days turned into nights, and Zhan's exam period approached. The week they were to begin, the exams would start. From the day he had hit Yiming until now, he hadn't seen so much as a glimpse of him at school. Still, his mind was uneasy because he could see that Yiming was just waiting for him to return to China before doing anything to him. He deeply regretted hitting him. He wished he hadn't done it and had just ignored him since he wasn't harming him. When he remembered that in just two weeks they would finish exams and he would return to China, his whole body went cold. During all this time, his encounters with I-Bo had decreased significantly. He only came to the apartment when he was bringing something to Zhan, and he never stayed long. But Zhan excused him, since I-Bo had told him that this period was also their external defense. Maybe he was concentrating on that and also giving him space to focus on his own studies. But what surprised Zhan was that he never saw A-Bo with a laptop or anything indicating he was studying. He would only see him with the TV remote and a bowl of fruit, watching football or wrestling ten times over. It seemed like he didn't sleep. And when his friends came, he never bring them into the apartment.On Friday, Zhan was at school with Yu-Bin, studying for a course they had an exam for on Monday. There was a heavy storm in the city. Zhan said, "Let's go to my apartment and continue studying there, okay?" Yu-Bin said, "Of course. I'll come to your apartment. But what about that strict brother-in-law of yours? I still can't believe you refuse to tell me why they switched your housemate." Zhan looked at him and said, "How am I supposed to know? I asked my housemate, and he said it's just because he's busy with his upcoming defense and doesn't have much time. He's always in the library." Yu-Bin laughed and said, "Is he the only one doing his defense? Isn't A-Bo also doing his defense? Don't they do them at the same time? I have actually figured out why he stopped staying in your apartment, I swear." Zhan said, "What's the reason?" Yu-Bin laughed and said, "Honestly, I have more respect for your housemate now. His sense of propriety and modesty is impressive. You see, back then, there was nothing between you, which is why you lived with each other minding your own business in your old apartment. You maintained a respectful distance. But now that he has started to like you, he fears that the devil might use the opportunity of you living under the same roof to tempt you both. Your housemate has a good sense of modesty." Zhan just remained silent and didn't say anything except offer a faint smile. Yu-Bin said, "What he has avoided is just that, nothing more. After all, the heart has no bones. And A-Bo, with his charm and charisma alone, would not let him interfere in your affairs at home. His charisma alone can shake a person, I swear." Zhan was putting his phone back in his bag and said, "What you dislike in him is exactly what makes him who he is. He just loves being on his own and not having people meddle in his business, that's all. But he is kind, caring, and down-to-earth. It's only since we started living together that I've realized this." Yu-Bin opened his mouth wide while looking at him, then shifted in his seat and said, "My goodness. Today, you are the one praising A-Bo yourself. What exactly did he do to you that makes you see him as caring and kind from living together in your apartment?" Zhan raised his eyes and looked at him, then said, "You wouldn't believe me if I started telling you."Yu-Bin said, "I'm listening to you. Tell me how it happened that you realized this, so I can see if it will convince me..." Zhan's phone began to vibrate in his bag. He opened the bag and took out his phone. Yu-Bin peeked at the screen to see who was calling him, then clasped his hands and said, "My goodness."💚💙❤️🖤
