Chapter 51: Cheng Ye Brought Him the Cake From Ten Years Ago…

The soda slid down his throat. Jiang Shi tilted his head and let out a small burp. He sat up straight and picked up a beef skewer. “I’m curious, in your eyes, am I the kind of person who only curries favor with the powerful?”

“No.” Cheng Ye chuckled. “In my eyes, the young master is very precious.”

And precious people naturally need to be provided for with precious things.

“So you wanted to break up with me?”

Cheng Ye couldn’t stand hearing the words “break up” now. “I didn’t want to break up with you.”

Jiang Shi was holding a soda; he was holding beer. Cheng Ye tilted his head back and took a big gulp. “It’s because I’m not capable. I can’t make money, but I can’t let you suffer with me.”

He had been acting very normal during that time. He said it nicely—if the money was gone, it was gone; he could always earn more. But only Cheng Ye himself knew that during that period, he couldn’t sleep for many nights.

The words sounded nice, but how was he supposed to earn it? What could he use to earn it?

He had hands and feet, but relying on them, how many bricks would he have to move to afford even one of Jiang Shi’s shirts?

Precious people needed to be provided for with precious things. He had no gold, no silver. Love and sincerity were worthless. The business troubles had backed Cheng Ye into a corner, making him even forget that he was still just a teenager.

“I didn’t know how to keep you. I originally thought I could make money. I even arrogantly said before that I could buy you anything you wanted, only to find out in the end that I was too naive.”

Cheng Ye didn’t believe in love.

Cheng Jianbin used to hit him often. His anger would come without warning. Sometimes, in the middle of a perfectly fine meal, he would smash a bowl over Cheng Ye’s head. The table would be kicked over, and his face would be shoved into the broken porcelain and food on the floor.

His verbal abuse was also illogical; he would curse whatever came to mind. The thing Cheng Ye heard most often was—

“It’s all because your old man has no money. Your mother is a bitch who looked down on me for being poor. If I had money, she’d probably be on her knees, eager to lick my stinking feet. Why would she have left?”

Over time, in Cheng Ye’s heart, the bond of money became far more enduring than that of love.

Without money, he didn’t know what to use to keep Jiang Shi tied to him.

He was afraid they wouldn’t even be able to remain friends.

He thought he had disguised it well, but he never expected Jiang Shi to see through it.

Cheng Ye knew he was probably really sick. He wasn’t normal, and he couldn’t explain this abnormality.

But Jiang Shi didn’t press further. He just tilted his head at him. “Let me have a sip of that beer in your hand.”

He handed the beer to Jiang Shi.

The night wind began to carry the chill of autumn. The hair on Jiang Shi’s forehead was blown aside by the wind, and he squinted.

“Cheng Ye, don’t let me hear you say things like that a second time.”

After saying that, he shrank into his chair like a cat, resuming his usual lazy posture. “Take it back. It tastes awful.”

Cheng Ye chuckled and took a sip from the spot where he had drunk.

The owner brought the rest of the barbecue to their side. Not far away, two parents with their child were trying to catch fish in the river with a net, their laughter carrying far.

Looking at the family of three in the distance, Jiang Shi spoke up. “Have I ever told you about my past?”

Without waiting for Cheng Ye to answer, he continued.

“My former parents had a marriage of convenience. Actually, calling it a marriage of convenience is a bit of an exaggeration. Jiangcheng is just a coastal city, not that prosperous. We just ran a small business, considered to have a bit of money at most, but we weren’t some wealthy dynasty.”

“Theirs should be called a union of interests. After getting married, they only planned to have one child. The rest of the time, they did their own things. But they made an agreement not to have any other children besides me.”

“I didn’t know about these things when I was little. In my eyes, they were just too busy, so busy that they only occasionally came back to see me on holidays. Their relationship wasn’t good either. They spoke to each other coolly and politely, and when they saw me, they would only ask about my schoolwork, never about my life.”

“I was so foolish back then. I thought their relationship was bad because I was too stupid. I thought if I were just a little smarter and got the scores they wanted, they would get better.”

“I studied very hard and finally got pretty good grades on my final exams one time.”

“My parents were indeed very happy. I don’t know if their relationship actually improved, but they granted me one wish.”

Jiang Shi shook the can in his hand. The bubbles settled inside. His voice was calm.

“I made a wish. I told them to come back and celebrate my birthday with me.”

Cheng Ye turned to look at him. “Were you happy then?”

Jiang Shi was stunned for a moment.

“I guess I wasn’t that happy. What’s fake is fake, after all.”

“Back then, I was very envious when I saw other families of three. I thought that as long as they were by my side, we would be just like the families I saw.”

But without love in their hearts, how could they be the same, even when they were together?

“Alright…” Cheng Ye took the drink from his hand and stuck a skewer of meat in its place. “It’s all in the past.”

Jiang Shi sniffled from the cold wind and said nothing.

The wind was too cold, so the two didn’t stay long. They finished eating and headed back. Away from the barbecue stall, the riverside path was unlit, a stretch of pitch-black.

The stones underfoot were uncomfortable. After walking a few steps, Jiang Shi reached out and tugged on Cheng Ye’s clothes. “I can’t walk anymore. Carry me.”

In some respects, Cheng Ye could be described as willing to bear any burden without complaint. The moment Jiang Shi said he wanted to be carried, he squatted down in front of him.

Jiang Shi laughed to himself and climbed onto his back.

Cheng Ye’s night vision was excellent; he walked steadily even on the dark path. He supported Jiang Shi’s legs in the crook of his arms, the wind blowing against his face. “Young master, what do you think our relationship is now?”

They had argued, kissed, and gotten each other off, and now Cheng Ye was turning around to ask Jiang Shi what their relationship was.

Jiang Shi’s feet, dangling in the air, kicked his waist. “What relationship could it be? Weren’t you going to be my dog?”

Cheng Ye didn’t get angry. Instead, he chuckled. “Being a dog is pretty good too.”

“…”

That’s so you.

As they walked, the person on his back went quiet. Cheng Ye turned his head and found that Jiang Shi had fallen asleep, leaning on his shoulder.

…

By the time Jiang Shi woke up again, he was back in the dorm. Cheng Ye wasn’t there. The other roommates were asleep, except for Qiu Maolin, who was still reading with a flashlight.

Seeing Jiang Shi sit up, he looked like he wanted to say something but hesitated.

Jiang Shi didn’t notice the complicated look in his eyes and asked, “Where’s Cheng Ye?”

“He went to get hot water for you.”

The water room was long out of hot water at this hour. The only way was to go to the dorm manager to boil some, but the manager had a bad temper, so no one would go to him unless it was absolutely necessary.

Qiu Maolin hesitated, then hesitated some more. “Jiang Shi, do you know how you got back?”

Jiang Shi leaned over to find some water to drink. Hearing the question, his hand, which was twisting a water bottle, paused. “How did I get back?”

“Cheng Ye carried you back. Your eyes were closed, I thought something had happened to you. I was about to call an ambulance, but then Cheng Ye said you were just asleep…”

“Wait, just asleep?”

Clearly, this scene had delivered a huge shock to the straight man, so much so that he still hadn’t recovered.

In any case, Qiu Maolin would never carry his brother, who was merely asleep, back to the dorm.

Jiang Shi sheepishly put the water bottle back in its place. Under Qiu Maolin’s probing gaze, he silently lay back down, pulled the blanket over his face, and turned to face the wall.

The wall was covered with messy graffiti. Jiang Shi reached out and touched it in the surrounding darkness.

He couldn’t see the words on it, but he faced the wall every day. Even if he couldn’t see them now, after sleeping there for so many days, Jiang Shi had long known what was written in which spot.

His hand moved down, his fingertips probing the crack between the bed board and the wall. There, he felt uneven carved marks.

They had been carved stroke by stroke with a small knife. Too much time had passed, and the name at the beginning was worn down and illegible, but the four words that followed were still clear:

—I like you.

Actually, the reason Jiang Shi’s birthday that one time was unhappy wasn’t just because of his parents’ false affection.

Besides the wish for them to celebrate his birthday with him, he had made another wish.

He wanted his parents to buy him a cake. At that time, there was only one cake shop in Jiangcheng. It was very popular and required queuing, and Jiang Shi had been craving it for a long time.

He knew Song Bo and Sun Wanyun were usually very busy, so he didn’t dare ask much of them, only pleading weakly.

“I really like their cake. You don’t have to buy it yourselves, you can ask someone else to. As long as it’s a cake from their shop.”

Song Bo agreed nonchalantly, but returned with a cake from the shop downstairs from his company.

That was the first time Jiang Shi had thrown a tantrum at them. He cried, sobbing uncontrollably, and threw the cake Song Bo had brought onto the floor, smashing it. “I only want the cake from that shop, I told you.”

Song Bo was completely unable to understand. “Song Shi, what are you making a fuss about? It’s just a cake, what’s the difference?”

“It’s different, it’s completely different!”

Sun Wanyun also frowned. “Song Shi, your father and I were already indulging you by coming back to celebrate your birthday. For you, your dad canceled his evening engagement, and I canceled a banquet. We brought back a cake to celebrate with you, and this is how you repay us?”

A perfectly good birthday ended on a sour note.

The housekeeper they hired even gossiped behind his back that Jiang Shi had a bad temper, throwing a fit just because he didn’t get the cake he wanted.

In truth, Jiang Shi had long forgotten the taste of that cake. He asked them to buy this hard-to-get cake simply because he hoped they would spend a little more time on him.

Even if it was for his birthday, just to walk a little farther, to wait in line a little longer.

But they didn’t.

A very young Jiang Shi understood a principle: the cake that requires queuing is the hardest to buy.

Cheng Ye didn’t understand how Jiang Shi had come to like him. But in reality, he had planted a seed in Jiang Shi’s heart a long, long time ago.

So long ago that even Cheng Ye himself hadn’t realized it.

The memory of the cake shop faded from Jiang Shi’s mind until one day, he saw an advertisement on the street.

After so many years, the cake shop had become very successful and had opened a chain.

But the shop was in the provincial capital, while Lincheng was just a small county town. It was a three-hour train ride to the provincial capital.

He stared at it for a little too long, and Cheng Ye noticed. “Want some?”

“No.” Jiang Shi pulled his gaze away and walked past it normally. “It’s too far.”

Even a ten-minute drive was far to him, let alone a three-hour train ride.

But Cheng Ye brought it to him.

Wearing his dusty old clothes, at a time Jiang Shi didn’t know, he got on a train for a three-hour journey, stood in line for an entire afternoon, and brought it back late at night.

Jiang Shi thought he would cry, but at that moment, he had no expression at all. His face was blank, even a little disgusted.

“Cheng Ye, are you sick? You disappeared for a whole day just to buy this piece of junk?”

Cursing at Cheng Ye had become a habit. Cheng Ye didn’t get angry. He placed the cake, which had a corner bumped off at the station, in front of Jiang Shi and handed him a spoon.

“You looked at that ad for a long time. You must like it.”

Jiang Shi gripped the spoon tightly. “Just because I looked at it means I like it?”

“Probably. Go on, try it. The clerk said this is their best-selling one.”

Jiang Shi’s eyelids drooped. Looking at the missing corner of the cake, he asked, “How long did you wait in line?”

“Not long, just a few hours. I just didn’t protect it well on the way back and bumped off a corner.”

“You sat on a train for a whole day and stood in line for an afternoon, just to buy this one cake?”

“As long as you like it.”

After a pause, Jiang Shi spoke abruptly, his voice a little low.

“It’s not my birthday today, and I didn’t make a wish.”

Cheng Ye heard him and chuckled. “You don’t need a birthday, and you don’t need to make a wish. If you want it, you can have it anytime.”

“Even if it’s far away?”

“Even if it’s far away.”

“Even if it means waiting in line for a long time?”

“Even if it means waiting in line for a long time.”

Thump. It was as if something had fallen into the bottom of Jiang Shi’s heart.

That wish he had tried so hard to get as a child, only to have it ruthlessly crushed. After so many years, on a windless afternoon, a three-hour train ride, an afternoon of waiting…

Cheng Ye brought him the cake from ten years ago.