When they were almost at the bottom of the apartment building, Lu Yuxing remembered something: "You don't have any food at home."
Shang Jue: "?"
Lu Yuxing gently said, "Baby, I don't even have a salt shaker at home."
Lu Yuxing: "Let’s go shopping together. We can buy some vegetables, meat, seasonings, and tableware. Let’s drop off the cake first; it’s a bit of a hassle carrying it around."
"Why? I don’t even cook."
"I'll cook. You haven’t had dinner yet, right?"
Shang Jue: "My stove has never even been used. It’s too troublesome, let's just order takeout."
Lu Yuxing didn’t answer and instead asked, "How did you celebrate your birthdays before?"
"Well… just received gifts, I guess."
"And then?"
And then? Of course, there wasn’t any 'then.'
He couldn’t remember when it started, but Chen Xuerong and Shang Xinrong stopped pretending to be a loving couple in front of him. After that, every year on his birthday, Shang Jue would receive gifts from them at different times, but the family never gathered peacefully to celebrate together. He never thought much of it, as that was just the daily routine of his household. At least on his birthday, he still got gifts.
Whenever he felt the sadness creeping in, he’d take out the expensive gifts other kids could never get no matter how much they begged their parents, and slowly, his mood would settle. He always reminded himself not to be so sentimental.
Shang Jue: "Then I’d open the gifts and go to bed. Do you want to hear more details, baby? Alright, first, stretch out your hand, untie the ribbon on the gift box, open the packaging, and after opening it, there’s another layer of wrapping, then..."
"Got it," Lu Yuxing interrupted his rambling. "But in my family, we’d always cook a big meal for birthdays in the evening."
He was half truthful in saying that. He had indeed celebrated birthdays like that before: longevity noodles and cake, the smell of dishes filling the air around the table, with his dad, mom, and brother's cheerful laughter. But that was many years ago.
Now, he could only recall blurry outlines of those warm scenes.
He turned and glanced at Shang Jue’s profile. His lips were pressed together, not smiling this time, reminding Lu Yuxing of the side profile he had once seen when Shang Jue smoked, cold and lonely, but with his eyelashes lowered, there was an inexplicable softness about him.
"So let’s have a proper dinner. If you find it troublesome, I’ll go buy the groceries." After saying that, Lu Yuxing paused for a moment, feeling a bit surprised at his own words.
He realized he wasn’t exactly the person he thought he was. Deep down, he still longed for that kind of warmth at the dinner table that made you want to hold your breath in anticipation.
Shang Jue pouted, thinking the guy holding his hand and talking endlessly about dinner was really annoying.
"Go, go. Baby, put the cake away, and then we’ll go shopping."
Lu Yuxing was satisfied.
They went upstairs, Shang Jue put the cake in the fridge, and then they headed to a nearby supermarket to buy meat, vegetables, and many kitchen supplies.
Pushing the shopping cart and weaving through the aisles, Shang Jue suddenly felt as if he were actually in a relationship with Lu Yuxing, which made him speed up the shopping process immediately.
---
By the time they returned home, it was already dark.
They had bought quite a few things, some of which needed to be stored in the fridge.
Shang Jue's fridge was stocked with snacks and instant meals, and a cake box was taking up space, leaving no room for the fruits and vegetables they brought back.
Lu Yuxing asked him, "Do you want to eat the cake first?"
Shang Jue thought for a moment and decided against it. "Let's have it after dinner."
He had a hard time controlling himself when it came to sweets, and the cake could wait until tomorrow, but if the food were left until then, he probably wouldn't feel like eating it.
Lu Yuxing replied, "Okay."
So the cake would have to stay where it was for now.
Shang Jue opened up the new kitchenware and spice jars they had bought, disinfected them, and moved them into the kitchen. When he came out, he saw Lu Yuxing clearing out other items in the fridge that were taking up space.
Lu Yuxing also spotted a bag of snacks his brother had asked him to bring to Shang Jue a month ago. The unopened package of dried mangoes still lay quietly in the corner.
He took it out, opened it, and decided to eat a piece, treating it like clearing out the trash.
Shang Jue noticed and frowned at Lu Yuxing’s casual behavior, saying lightly, "You're eating my dried mangoes."
With a piece of the yellow dried fruit in his mouth, Lu Yuxing didn't expect to be reprimanded for having a snack. He pulled the bitten piece from his mouth and turned his head, looking innocent. "Aren't you... allergic?"
Shang Jue was taken aback and opened his mouth in surprise.
You actually remembered that.
Feeling a bit annoyed, he found himself at a loss for words.
He hadn’t opened that bag of dried mangoes for fear of indulging himself, and he couldn't bear to throw it away, so he had left it sitting there collecting dust.
He walked over, took a piece from the bag in Lu Yuxing's hand for himself, and seeing Lu Yuxing frowning at him, Shang Jue explained, "I’m not allergic to mangoes that badly; I just want to try a bite."
Lu Yuxing thought that Shang Jue should know what he was doing and let it go.
Shang Jue picked a big, meaty piece, took a bite, and realized he should be more careful, so he tossed the rest aside.
Seeing him abandon it, Lu Yuxing picked it up, thought for a couple of seconds, and popped the remaining half into his mouth.
Shang Jue: "……"
Suddenly, Shang Jue felt like the dried mango in his mouth had lost its flavor.
No, he...
Was he being ridiculous?!!
Picking up trash to eat in my house—what is he trying to save on?
He stood across from Lu Yuxing, dumbfounded.
Lu Yuxing lifted his eyelids and saw Shang Jue’s shocked expression. A hint of embarrassment colored the area near his ears and neck, not heavy but unusual on Shang Jue's face.
He couldn’t help but smile, the corners of his mouth curling up, not realizing how rare it was for such an expression to appear on his face.
Shang Jue was stunned for a moment, then raised his arm in despair to cover his face and eyes.
After a while, he lowered his arm, and seeing Lu Yuxing’s smile fade, he finally managed to speak normally: "Babe, could you... eat something normal next time?"
Lu Yuxing: …
"I don't want to waste it; that's all. Do you care a lot?"
Of course.
"A little," Shang Jue replied. "Mostly... it’s unhygienic."
Hearing him seriously say the word "unhygienic," Lu Yuxing felt a mix of emotions.
He pulled Shang Jue closer by the waist.
"Unhygienic." He repeated Shang Jue's words and then lowered his head slightly, pressing his mouth, still tasting of mango, against Shang Jue’s.
"……"
The person in his arms seemed to turn into a wooden plank.
Lu Yuxing felt hands pushing against his waist, not very hard but with a sense of insistence.
But his first reaction was that Shang Jue might be startled by him, so he moved his hand from Shang Jue's waist to the back of his neck, gently squeezing to comfort him.
Shang Jue's neck retracted suddenly, his jaw clenched, and his breathing became hurried and heavy.
Lu Yuxing's lips were soft yet passionately warm, with the flavor of Shang Jue's favorite fruit. Shang Jue wanted to say something to push the annoying guy away, but opening his mouth would only invite Lu Yuxing's lips to press against him first.
With the hand cradling the back of Shang Jue's neck rubbing against the delicate skin there, he heard Lu Yuxing let out a low hum, and their noses collided when Lu Yuxing adjusted his angle.
His nose tinged with a sense of warmth, his teeth instinctively loosened, and the barrier of his mouth was instantly breached by Lu Yuxing. The last time their lips had unintentionally collided, a sudden electric shock had jolted his nerves, but this time, the slow, entangled kiss transformed the overwhelming sensation into something deeper and longer-lasting.
Shang Jue felt a rush through his body, as if every pore was opening up, the sensation from Lu Yuxing’s kisses too direct for him to deny.
He realized that being kissed so deeply felt good, but being pressed against the guy who was stealing his breath was something he couldn’t accept.
"Ugh..." His sharp canines instinctively wanted to bite down, wishing to drill two holes in this guy's mouth…
If the guy had two holes in his mouth, what would he sound like when he talked? Would he leak air?
When their eyes met, he saw Lu Yuxing’s dark eyes were a shade deeper than usual, half-lidded and completely immersed in the kiss.
"……"
If Lu Yuxing had unwrapped a bag of strawberry dried fruit instead of mango, Shang Jue wouldn’t have let that soft, wet tongue wander and conquer his mouth.
When they finally pulled apart, both of their breaths were sweet, and saliva formed a shining thread between them, making Shang Jue want to die on the spot.
Lu Yuxing held him, panting, his heart racing and pulse quickening.
His lips lingered against Shang Jue's cheek and brushed against the corner of his mouth, while his nose nuzzled against Shang Jue’s temple. The sensation was so comfortable that he unexpectedly found himself a bit addicted.
“This is what’s unsanitary; the other was called thrift.”
They had kissed several times already; before he lost his memory, they must have done it even more. To put it bluntly, it was just an exchange of saliva. He didn’t understand why Shang Jue was so hung up on the idea of “unsanitary” when they had already done something much more unhygienic many times.
“……” Shang Jue took a deep breath and exhaled deeply. You just want to say this? Then can’t you just say it with your mouth!? Why do you have to demonstrate with your mouth to explain?
“I admit I was wrong first.” Shang Jue finally couldn’t hold it in and spoke up.
Lu Yuxing looked at him in confusion, not understanding why Shang Jue suddenly admitted fault.
Shang Jue continued to speak to himself: “But I think for this matter, you can’t blame everything on me. Shouldn’t you also bear some responsibility? Look, I’m also half a victim now, right?”
“……Shang Jue?” Lu Yuxing was completely lost: “Are you talking to me?”
Shang Jue thought: Yes, I am, but not the current you.
“Ha, no, I’m just acting, baby.”
“……”
Lu Yuxing felt a bit worried about Shang Jue’s mental state. “Are you too hungry?”
Shang Jue huffed through his nose: “Hungry.”
Especially wanting to eat dog meat. Could you please do me a favor and chop off your mouth to cook me some spicy dog meat?
Lu Yuxing rolled off to the kitchen to cook.