Everyone who knew Song Jian’an said he had a screw loose. When he was young and lived with Jiang Xue, his mind was only filled with studying. Later, when he was recognized by the Song family, the surrounding environment became complicated and people’s hearts were hard to fathom, but his mind was still only filled with studying.

Song Bo was solely focused on currying favor, but his son, Jiang Shi, was an anomaly. Later, Song Jian’an came along. He often wore black-rimmed glasses, had an unremarkable appearance and a dull personality. He looked easy to bully, but his personality was even more difficult to deal with than Jiang Shi’s.

The story of the real and fake young masters once became a laughingstock for everyone. They laughed when the once-high-and-mighty one returned to the village to be a farmer, and now they also laughed at the real young master’s out-of-place rustic air.

It wasn’t that no one tried to sow discord between him and Jiang Shi in front of Song Jian’an, but Song Jian’an acted as if he didn’t hear, continuing to do what he had to do.

Zhang Chi was the first to feel puzzled and came to ask him why.

Song Jian’an smoothed out the test paper on his desk. “They have mistaken the primary contradiction for the secondary one. My relationship with Jiang Shi is, at best, a secondary contradiction. Song Bo’s relationship with others is the primary contradiction. Because of Song Bo’s inaction, those people dare to provoke me so openly. The root cause lies in Song Bo’s lack of concern for Jiang Shi and me, as well as the decline of the Song family.”

Zhang Chi: “…”

His head was starting to hurt. He was about to grow a brain.

Song Jian’an said, “Classmate Zhang Chi, this is content from political philosophy. It’s a key point that will be on the test.”

Zhang Chi thought, he deserved it for asking that extra question.

He snatched the snacks from Song Jian’an’s desk, walked a few steps, then turned back. “Wait… aren’t you a science student?”

“Hmm… just memorizing it in my spare time, for fun.”

“…”

Six.

Song Jian’an had always been unfazed by favor or disgrace. Even someone like Song Bo couldn’t elicit any extra emotion from him, but there was one exception.

Cheng Ye.

His lifelong enemy.

Back in Lincheng, he couldn’t beat Cheng Ye in exams. Later, when he returned to Jiangcheng, he had better educational resources than in Lincheng, but he still couldn’t beat Cheng Ye in the college entrance examination.

Later, when he heard that he was with Jiang Shi, Song Jian’an completely broke down.

He found Jiang Shi and looked at him as if he were a good young man who had gone astray.

“Jiang Shi, tell me, were you deceived by Cheng Ye?”

Jiang Shi was helpless. “No, we’re both willing. Although Cheng Ye wasn’t very nice to you before, hasn’t he changed now?”

Song Jian’an frowned. “Changed? Where has he changed? I see he’s one way in front of you and another behind your back. Don’t be deceived by his appearance.”

But Jiang Shi looked like he was hopelessly in love. No matter what he said, he was determined to be with Cheng Ye. Song Jian’an scrutinized Cheng Ye for a long time and found that Cheng Ye was only a jerk to outsiders, but he was indeed impeccable towards Jiang Shi.

But Song Jian’an was still unhappy.

With Jiang Shi’s looks, what kind of boyfriend couldn’t he have? Why did he have to be with a poor boy whose father didn’t dote on him and whose mother didn’t love him?

Song Jian’an was unhappy when Cheng Ye was poor, and he wasn’t much happier when Cheng Ye became rich.

Men turn bad when they have money. Who knows how much Cheng Ye’s sincerity is worth?

In contrast, Song Bo was very happy. He kept urging Song Jian’an to get on good terms with Cheng Ye. “You have a good relationship with Jiang Shi now, and you’re from the same hometown as President Cheng. You should visit him more often. Maybe if he’s happy, we can even cooperate with him.”

Song Jian’an turned a deaf ear.

Song Bo added, “I’ve heard that President Cheng enjoys tea tasting. I have a box of high-quality tea leaves here. You can send it to him another day.”

Song Jian’an really couldn’t understand how he got such absurd news. With Cheng Ye’s personality, tea tasting? Could he even tell the difference?

“I’m not going.”

Saying this, he grabbed his jacket from the sofa and prepared to go out. Song Bo followed behind him. “Where are you going?”

Song Jian’an had no intention of hiding anything and said frankly, “Going to Jiang Shi’s house for dinner. His mom made food.”

Song Bo was stunned. “Then you…”

Song Jian’an said, “Don’t waste your breath. I won’t help you with anything. I am me, and you are you. Whether my relationship with them is good or bad has nothing to do with you.”

At this time, Song Jian’an had already taken over the family company, and his aura was much more composed, but he still spoke directly.

“It’s already come to this, and you still want me to please Cheng Ye? Haven’t you forgotten what you did before? You should be secretly rejoicing that he’s willing to let the Song family go and not bother you. You’re still thinking of getting close to him. If you really bring it up in front of Jiang Shi and make him remember what you did before…”

Song Bo shivered.

Song Jian’an no longer looked at him, put on his jacket, and went out.

The weather had turned to autumn, the ginkgo trees by the road a brilliant gold. The sun was like a ripe persimmon, warm but not hot.

Song Jian’an drove to the Jiang’s Fresh Mart opened by Jiang Xue.

He didn’t find Jiang Xue inside. He looked around the supermarket, turned in a circle, picked up a cucumber and asked, “Boss, how much is this?”

He woke up, looked at the girl, then at the cucumber in her hand, his expression a little dazed. “I forgot…”

Song Jian’an said.

The girl took a few more glances at the young man, took two cucumbers, picked up a tomato, and then said, “And give me two pounds of ribs.”

Jiang Shi pushed the suit-clad Song Jian’an inside. “You go chop them.”

He took the girl’s cucumber and tomato and fiddled with the scale for a long time. Two cucumbers and one tomato weighed out to the sky-high price of three hundred and fifty.

Jiang Shi: “…”

Is this thing supposed to be used like this?

The girl, holding the ribs, tilted her head to look at the scale. “How much is it…” She saw the astronomical price on it and fell silent. “Can I return it?”

Jiang Shi scratched his face. “My mistake, something must be wrong. Let me study it again…”

But the girl kept staring at his face. When Jiang Shi finally figured it out, the girl suddenly exclaimed, “You’re Jiang Shi!”

Jiang Shi was startled by her and subconsciously looked around. Seeing no one else, he said to the girl, “Shh! Be quiet.”

The girl covered her mouth and stomped her feet on the spot.

“It really is you! I just thought you looked a bit familiar from outside, so I came in to buy vegetables. The more I looked, the more it looked like you, and I didn’t expect it to really be you! Is this your fresh mart?”

Jiang Shi said, “It’s opened by a relative of my family. I’m just helping out for a while. This time it weighs out to five dollars and twenty cents. This should be right, right?”

The girl was no longer concerned with the price of the vegetables. She took out her phone. “Can I take a picture with you? I’ve liked you for a long time.”

Jiang Shi smiled, pulled down his mask, and took a picture with the girl.

The girl held her phone and looked at it for a long time. “Is Brother Yezi not with you?”

Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.

A Land Rover pulled over on the side of the road. Cheng Ye, wearing a black windbreaker, got out with his long legs. He walked over quickly, his tall body shielding Jiang Shi behind him. “What’s wrong?”

Jiang Shi said, “I ran into a fan who came to buy vegetables.”

The girl was still screaming silently. “Brother Yezi, I didn’t expect to see you in person. I’ve watched the whole variety show you and the young master were on. You guys…”

Cheng Ye deftly weighed the cucumber and tomato on the scale. “Six yuan. Mobile payment or cash?”

The girl’s gushing words were suddenly cut off. “Mobile…”

The next second, a QR code was shoved in front of her.

Jiang Shi stood behind Cheng Ye, tugging at his clothes. “I just weighed it, wasn’t it five dollars and twenty cents?”

Cheng Ye said, “You weighed them together. The cucumber is three yuan, and the tomato is five.”

Seeing the girl take out her phone, Jiang Shi quickly said, “It’s just a few yuan, you don’t have to pay.”

But in the end, the girl still paid. Watching her leave, Cheng Ye’s face was a little sour.

Jiang Shi gave him a nudge. “What’s with that expression?”

Cheng Ye said, “If you keep watching our family’s shop, it’s going to go bankrupt sooner or later.”

Jiang Shi said, “But she’s a fan. There’s no reason to make a fan pay…”

“You have so many fans. If none of them pay, what will our mom earn?”

Jiang Shi: “…”

Song Jian’an summed it up in one word.

“Stingy.”

Jiang Xue, carrying seafood bought from another shop, arrived late. “Everyone’s here? Close the shop and go home to cook.”

The sun set, and cooking smoke rose. Jiang Shi closed the window, and all the noise was enclosed in the small house.

Two successful presidents were helping Jiang Xue, while a big star who hadn’t taken any jobs for several months was lying on the sofa like a lord.

Jiang Xue glanced outside and was immediately annoyed when she saw Jiang Shi like that.

Cheng Ye was squatting on the ground washing crabs when Jiang Xue’s voice came from above his head. “I already told Jian’an. Just now at the shop, Jiang Shi didn’t even know how to use the scale. Look at how lazy he is now. He probably wishes someone would feed him at mealtimes. You’ve spoiled him.”

Cheng Ye listened, showing no intention of changing, only saying, “He doesn’t need to be fed when he eats.”

His tone even sounded a little regretful.

Jiang Xue was speechless.

She took a knife and cut shredded potatoes, then shooed the muddle-headed Song Jian’an out to accompany a certain lazybones. Instantly, only she and Cheng Ye were left in the kitchen.

Jiang Xue asked, “Now that the country allows same-sex marriage, what are your plans?”

Cheng Ye replied to her, “Jiang Shi doesn’t want a ceremony, but I do. We’ve compromised. He doesn’t like trouble, so we’ll just invite some close relatives and friends.”

“That’s fine too. After all, with your identities, it’s better to avoid letting in some people with ill intentions.”

After saying that, Jiang Xue couldn’t help but nag, “If you ask me, you shouldn’t spoil him too much. Look at Jiang Shi now, he doesn’t work, just lies at home all day. I can’t stand it. I asked him to help me sell vegetables, and not only was he unwilling, he didn’t even know how much a pound of Chinese cabbage costs. It makes me so angry.”

Cheng Ye let out a laugh and turned to look outside. Jiang Shi was talking to Song Jian’an about something, their heads close together.

And so, the smile on his lips fell again.

Jiang Shi and Song Jian’an were studying Zhang Chi’s social media feed. There was a large crowd of people in it. Jiang Shi pointed to one of the men. “Him. I bet he has a thing with Zhang Chi.”

Song Jian’an studied it for a long time. “How can you tell that?”

Jiang Shi said, “Gay intuition.”

Song Jian’an didn’t understand and was greatly shocked. “He’s actually gay?”

Jiang Shi put away his phone. “We’ve been friends for so many years. Maybe it’s because birds of a feather flock together?”

Song Jian’an was a little dazed, then began to doubt his own sexual orientation.

Jiang Shi patted his shoulder. “Don’t worry. This world has heterosexuals, homosexuals, and then there’s you. You’re cultivating the path of heartlessness, destined to roam only in the ocean of knowledge for your entire life.”

“…”

The aroma of food wafted out from the kitchen. An ordinary day, an ordinary dinner. As bubbles rose from the glass, Jiang Shi felt happiness overflowing as well.

The moon hung by the window, the sound of crickets stopped at the corner of the wall downstairs. Summer passed and autumn came, times changed, but some things would never change.

It was already eleven at night when they left after dinner.

Song Jian’an stayed for the night. Jiang Shi and Cheng Ye went back.

The area downstairs of the apartment complex was quiet. The stars twinkled, and the shadows cast by the ginkgo trees were like rows of small fans.

Jiang Shi jumped onto Cheng Ye’s back. Their shadows merged into one. He swung his legs.

“The first time we met, you carried me on your back too.”

Cheng Ye adjusted the person on his back into a more comfortable position.

“Yes, and I’ll carry you in the future too.”

“How long is the future?”

“As long as it needs to be.”

“Will you carry me when I’m forty?”

“I will.”

“What about fifty?”

“I will.”

“What about seventy or eighty?”

“I will. I’ll carry you into the coffin when I die.”

“Ptooey, ptooey! What’s with all this talk of death? We’re going to live to be a hundred.”

“Live to be a hundred.”

Jiang Shi was quiet for a while.

“When I’m old and not good-looking anymore, will you still like me?”

“Young master, I answered this question a long time ago.”

There are thousands of beautiful faces in the world, but there is only one named Jiang Shi.

[End of story.]