The Peaceful Days

Bai Yutang spent his days in peace. At least he tried to. He's glad that Jian Kang Lu is so busy, or else he doesn't know how to hide his dirty thoughts which grow each day.

He tried to act casual. Still try to maintain a normal face when they talk every breakfast and dinner time. Still tried to reply to Jian Kang Lu's messages as usual. Still pretend to be calm every time Jian Kang Lu gives him that dazzling smile.

But he can't help himself to learn cooking like he wants to cook for royalties. His cooking skill improved rapidly in these past months. He could not help not to feel elated every time Jian Kang Lu praised his cook.

He also can't help to be blushed like a girl every time Jian Kang Lu suddenly appears behind him. To feel his hot breath tickling his ear when Jian Kang Lu talks beside him. Bai Yutang could sense that the scent which belonged to Jian Kang Lu became something very familiar to him. A scent that makes him yearn for more.

He also can't help but flustered every time Jian Kang Lu holds his hand on many occasions.

Such as when he wanders lost in his mind and almost hit a glass door when they want to watch movies. Jian Kang Lu hurriedly grabbed his hand and pulled him back, making Bai Yutang's back touch his broad chest, and feel that warmth emitted from Jian Kang Lu's body. Embrace Bai Yutang in that familiar scent, and make Bai Yutang's heart want to explode.

Or when Jian Kang Lu insists on taking him into his birthday party with his friends. That was the first time Bai Yutang met these magnificent people. All of them are dazzling and successful. Even Bai Yutang who never read financial magazines knows about the Sun Group belongs to Sun Hongjia's family. The Sun family must be listed as the top 200 richest families in this country, or maybe top 100.

Jian Kang Lu put his hand on his shoulder when he introduced him to this group. Bai Yutang surely knows that these groups are surprised to see a skinny shabby young man with red face stuttering and sweating profusely come with someone as gorgeous as Jian Kang Lu.

However, Bai Yutang also wonders why these groups look at him like looking at rare animals in the zoo. They are very interested in him. They asked bunch of questions to him and make Jian Kang Lu had to shield him and ask his friends not to torture this young student.

But Bai Yutang started to enjoy himself and forget his nervousness when he saw these dazzling groups danced like a bunch of wild chicken, and sang confidently with a lousy voice. Now Bai Yutang knows what things he can do better than Jian Kang Lu. 

Singing.

Even though Bai Yutang's voice is standard, these people's voices are below standard. He can't help to grin widely when these groups praise his voice similar to a popular singer and ask him to come to every karaoke party they had. They say Bai Yutang's voice saves their ear drums.

One time, Bai Yutang accidentally touched the edge of the sizzling frying pan and burned his fingers. It was only minor burns, but Jian Kang Lu hurriedly held his hand tightly and pulled it under the cold water, then applied the burn ointment gently on his finger.

That accident led to Jian Kang Lu forbid him to cook again, and anxiously told him to be careful when Bai Yutang insisted he wanted to cook. They finally agreed to let Bai Yutang cook again after his hands healed completely. It actually only took two days, but Jian Kang Lu insists to extend it until four days.

There was also last week's incident, when Jian Kang Lu asked him about his decision in the future. Jian Kang Lu told him that he could lend the tuition money for him and his sister, and would pay Bai Yutang 10,000 yuan per month if he kept cooking for Jian Kang Lu.

Jian Kang Lu's first offer is 20,000 yuan per month. He said, since Bai Yutang cooked for him, his quality of life improved and he saved that amount of money which Jian Kang Lu spent every month for his meal.

Bai Yutang of course didn't believe him. Impossible for this man to spend that amount of money just for his food cost. So after he rejects the offer and debates a lot, Jian Kang Lu just holds his hand, looks at him with a puppy face. Asking him with a pleading voice, told Bai Yutang just to stay here and cook for him until Bai Yutang graduates.

Jian Kang Lu also said that the money Bai Yutang's father left should be used for his mother's expenses. With 10,000 yuan it should be enough for his family expenses. With that line, Bai Yutang silent for a long time, forgetting that Jian Kang Lu still held his hand all the time.

Deep inside his heart, Bai Yutang's filthy seed which grows into creepy vines penetrating each cell of his heart, also wants to stay here and taste the sweet drops of happiness each second he spends with Jian Kang Lu. To see that gentle smile, and tender eyes looking at him with delighted expression every time he ate the dishes that Bai Yutang made.

But he is also afraid. He wants to leave this place as soon as possible to prevent this vines growing into terrified thousands of tendrils that stabbed him deep and confined him. By then it was too late for him to escape. Thus, maybe if he left this place and stayed in the dorm, he could forget and buried this seed deep, not to be exposed ever.

But when Bai Yutang heard Jian Kang Lu said, "Can't you please consider this? It will make me very happy if you are willing to do that" and saw that peach blossom eyes of him anxiously stared with his straight brow knitted tight, Bai Yutang knew he could not reject this man.

So finally they settled with 10,000 yuan per month but that also included the 5000 monthly food allowance. Jian Kang Lu's face seems not really happy with that arrangement, but he suddenly holds Bai Yutang and caresses his back, saying thank you in a delighted voice. Bai Yutang can sense gratitude in Jian Kang Lu's voice.

Bai Yutang spends every Sunday with his friends. Last Sunday they had lunch together in the usual cafe. Yu Dong also brought Mu Xiaoya. Suddenly Bai Yutang had an urge to talk with Mu Xiaoya about the confusing things bothering him this past month.

He still can't accept that he might be interested in a man. Maybe this is just an admiration which he mistook as liking. He doesn't know who to talk to. So he was curious whether Mu Xiaoya could help him to straighten this tangled ardor of him.

But Bai Yutang didn't know how to talk to Mu Xiaoya about his feelings. He is also ashamed to remember he scolded Mu Xiaoya harshly back then, and repeatedly told her that he was a straight man.

In the middle of November, Jian Kang Lu lowers his face down and asks him softly when they're having dinner. "Do you remember rule number 8?"

Bai Yutang remembered, thus he asked, "Yes I do, Jian Ge. Where do I need to accompany you?"

Jian Kang Lu answered leisurely, "Boston, next month."

Bai Yutang stunned and dropped the salty egg shrimp from his chopstick. "Boston? Is it a restaurant name? Or Boston in the USA?"

"Boston in the USA. I need to attend a conference there next month, and i really hate to go there alone. So can you accompany me?" Jian Kang Lu answered him, but didn't look at him.

Bai Yutang stares at him, he doesn't know what to say. He does have a passport, but going there means he needs to apply for a visa. And the tickets are also expensive. But he can't find any reason to reject Jian Kang Lu.

"I will be very happy if you can accompany me, it is really painful to go through that long hours of flight alone, and bore me to death." Jian Kang Lu shamelessly says this line. Jian Kang Lu doesn't know why, but he noticed that every time he said "I will be very happy" every time he asked his kitten to do something for him, his kitten could not reject him.

Bai Yutang sighed, he really can't reject anything that Jian Kang Lu asked him to do. "It's not that I don't want to or I can't. But the ticket is expensive… I don't know if it is wise for me to accept it."

"Don't worry about the ticket. If you agree, then i'll contact my travel agent to help you with the visa requirement." Jian Kang Lu immediately answered with a happy tone, raised his head to show that happy face.

Bai Yutang could only agree in the end, and they spent the rest of the dinner with beaming lights emitted from Jian Kang Lu for the rest of the night. He said Bai Yutang will definitely love the city, for it was famous for its historical buildings.

Jian Kang Lu also asked Bai Yutang not to cook dinner on Wednesday, because he wanted to ask Bai Yutang to accompany him shopping, preparing for their Boston trip. Bai Yutang knew he could never win the argument, so he just silently agreed.

The visa application is sent, and Bai Yutang needs to wait for the visa interview schedule. These few days Jian Kang Lu was really excited and asked Bai Yutang whether he wanted to visit another city, maybe watching a Broadway show in New York. Bai Yutang never saw it, and Jian Kang Lu assured him that watching Broadway is a must thing to do if they visit New York. That city is also famous for its architecture.

Seeing Jian Kang Lu so excited and sometimes showing his childish side, made Bai Yutang defeated completely. They planned to visit New York after the conference in Boston just for three days before going back to B city.

Bai Yutang never went abroad before, and it actually makes him excited too. But to imagine spending almost two weeks together with the man that keeps making his heart wildly thump like a wild rabbit, really torturing him.

Especially when he realised they will stay in the same room the whole journey. Bai Yutang didn't know how he could survive there.

Bai Yutang decide that he need to meet Mu Xiaoya soon. He really needs to straighten his mind, and maybe Mu Xiaoya could help him to untangle these horrible vines in his heart.

He really can't imagine if Jian Kang Lu disgusted with him and abandoned him. He can't manage to spend his days without Jian Kang Lu's presence.

This man is too precious for him.

The most important existence in his life.