As soon as they stepped out of the school gates, they spotted a yellow sports car parked nearby. Its sleek exterior alone screamed "expensive."
Jiang Wei was all too familiar with that color... Since they were young, every car Mrs. Tang owned had been that exact shade.
"Is that..."
Before he could finish, a woman stepped out of the car. Her makeup was exquisite, and she wore a British-style khaki dress with a matching small hat and long black boots. Standing among the crowd of parents waiting for their children, she looked entirely out of place; one could easily believe she was someone’s older sister rather than a mother.
Jiang Wei finally realized where the voice in his memory had come from.
That memory was quite distant, dating back to primary school. Back then, Tang Zihe didn't have the deceptive skills he possessed now—the ability to wrap people around his finger with just his face and his words. Back then, he was a complete, adorable, and pitiful little pushover.
Whenever he was bullied, Jiang Wei was the one who stood up for him. Once, a kid in their grade had some sort of conflict with Tang Zihe and brought his older brother from a higher grade to settle the score. Although the two didn't actually get into a physical fight, by the time Jiang Wei heard about it and rushed over to help, he saw that the skin on Tang Zihe’s heel had been scraped raw. Blood had even soaked into his shoe, and the bullies were long gone.
Jiang Wei first helped Tang Zihe to the infirmary. Deciding against a direct confrontation, he went straight to their homeroom teacher to report the incident. To his fury, the female teacher simply asked, "If a dog bites you, are you going to bite it back?"
He was young then, but his courage was anything but small. Despite having only met Mrs. Tang a few times, he called her directly and recounted the entire incident right in front of Tang Zihe. Mrs. Tang must have been livid; she showed up at the school that afternoon, her small leather boots clicking sharply on the floor.
"The child is young, and his mistakes can be forgiven, but that is no excuse for you, as a teacher, to brush off a student. I can accept an apology from that boy to my son, and we can leave it at that. But as an educator, for you to speak as if your students aren't human beings... that is unacceptable. Furthermore," Mrs. Tang tapped her finger on the desk and stood up, her voice cold, "if a dog bites me, I indeed won't bite back. But please remember: I will beat it to death."
The image of Mrs. Tang in that office—tearing into the teacher (whose face Jiang Wei could no longer recall) until she didn't dare talk back and eventually apologized—was deeply etched into Jiang Wei’s mind.
"Is this Jiang Wei?" Mrs. Tang blinked, taking Jiang Wei’s hand with a look of pleasant surprise. "It’s been so long. I didn't expect you to grow up even more handsome than before."
Jiang Wei scratched his head. "Not at all, Auntie. It’s been so long since I've seen you, and here I am crashing at your place for a meal again. I’m actually quite embarrassed."
"What are you saying? You’re more than welcome," Mrs. Tang said, lowering her voice intentionally. "You have no idea, during those first few months after you left, Tang Zihe would often talk about—"
"Mom." Tang Zihe cleared his throat, interrupting her. "What are you saying?"
Mrs. Tang gave a toothy grin. Since she’d already said that much, she decided to give her son some face. "Fine, let’s head back first. We can chat more at home."
Jiang Wei turned and smiled at Tang Zihe. The lingering anxiety and tension in his heart vanished completely.
"So, you missed me that much?" Jiang Wei whispered playfully into Tang Zihe’s ear as they got into the car.
"You believe everything she says?" Tang Zihe arched an eyebrow, refusing to admit a thing.
Jiang Wei arched an eyebrow back but didn't push the subject.
***
"Honey, I'm home!" As soon as Mrs. Tang unlocked the door and stepped inside, she threw herself into Mr. Tang’s open arms.
"Our son is back too. Oh, and Jiang Wei! You’ve grown so tall. You must have had quite the growth spurt these past two years." Mr. Tang patted Mrs. Tang’s back while addressing the two at the door.
Tang Zihe looked down to find his slippers, acting as if he hadn't seen his parents' display of affection. Jiang Wei greeted Tang’s father with a smile.
After all, both of them were used to the Tang couple’s lovey-dovey way of interacting.
"Everything is set out. We were just waiting for you two to get back so we could start the pot," Mr. Tang said with a chuckle. "I heard Jiang Wei was coming, so I pushed back all my social engagements tonight just to come home and eat together."
Jiang Wei was crouching, waiting for Tang Zihe to find him some slippers. Hearing this, he scratched his head sheepishly again.
"Stop scratching, or you'll go bald." Tang Zihe finally found a pair of unopened pink slippers and handed them to Jiang Wei.
"Pink? They're actually kind of cute." Jiang Wei took them, inspected both sides, then stood up and put them on. "My hair is thick and lush. If anyone’s going bald, it’ll be you."
Tang Zihe huffed and turned toward the dining table.
Jiang Wei followed him, wearing a triumphant, beaming smile.
If there was one thing people could never give up, "hotpot" would surely be at the top of the list.
Jiang Wei took a deep sniff. The aromas of the tomato and spicy soup bases mingled in the air, creating a scent that no perfume in the world could ever rival.
"The meat should be ready, right?" Mrs. Tang stared at the spicy pot, her eyes filled with longing.
"It’s ready." Mr. Tang used the serving chopsticks to place some meat into her bowl. "Eat up."
Jiang Wei took the opportunity to steal a glance at Tang Zihe’s expression. He found that the other boy treated his parents' intimacy like thin air, calmly picking meatballs out of the pot.
Thus, even though he had experienced this many times before, Jiang Wei—who was still a bit nervous—tried to put on a facade of calm. However... halfway through, his hand gave a slight tremor, and a meatball slipped back into the pot, betraying him.
Fortunately, because Mr. and Mrs. Tang were busy discussing work matters, they didn't look over. Only Tang Zihe noticed the small blunder.
"Do you have Parkinson's?" Tang Zihe mocked, likely trying to get back at him for earlier.
"It’s just too slippery, okay?" Jiang Wei said with a strained smile. He used his chopsticks to fish the meatball out again, trying to move it to his bowl.
Three, two, one.
The meatball showed him no respect whatsoever, falling back into the pot once more and sending up a few splashes of soup.
Jiang Wei: "..."
Was this the legendary "home-field disadvantage"? Was the pressure so strong that even a meatball wouldn't give him face? This was too much!
Tang Zihe couldn't help it; he let out a laugh.
Jiang Wei grew even more annoyed.
"Need help?" Tang Zihe asked after he’d had his laugh, deciding to offer a friendly hand.
"No." Jiang Wei simply changed targets and picked up a slice of beef instead.
"Meatballs are meant to be scooped with a ladle, you know?" Tang Zihe stood up, grabbed a slotted spoon from the other side, waved it boastfully a couple of times, and then placed it in front of Jiang Wei.
Jiang Wei had to admit, he really hadn't noticed the ladle there.
At that moment, Mrs. Tang mentioned she wanted to remove her makeup before eating properly. Mr. Tang followed her upstairs, leaving only the two of them in the living room.
Jiang Wei suddenly pinched his throat, making his voice go through nine turns and eighteen bends of exaggerated sweetness.
"Okay~ Thank you, Brother Tang. Brother Tang is so kind~"
Tang Zihe nearly gagged on his dinner.
Jiang Wei clearly enjoyed watching the other's expression contort. He blinked and continued in that same affected tone, "Brother Tang~ I want some shrimp paste. Could you scoop some for me~?"
*Ugh...* Tang Zihe wanted nothing more than to stuff the ladle directly into Jiang Wei’s mouth to make him shut up.
"Son!" Mrs. Tang poked her head out from upstairs and called down. "Your dad and I have to head out for a bit. The guest room upstairs is ready, so make sure Jiang Wei stays over tonight."
Hearing this, Jiang Wei choked on his soup and burst into a fit of coughing.
"Oh, okay," Tang Zihe nodded. "Be safe out there tonight."
After Mr. and Mrs. Tang left, Jiang Wei was still doubled over, his face flushed red from coughing. It seemed he had been genuinely startled.
"Wait... they didn't hear me talking like that just now, did they? ...And why is a room already ready for me?" Jiang Wei finally caught his breath, his words a bit incoherent.
"I hope you didn't cough that soup into your brain." Tang Zihe calmly patted Jiang Wei’s back. "Isn't it always like this?"
Jiang Wei thought back. It was true. Every time he used to come over for a meal, Mrs. Tang would have a room prepared for him in advance. Although he had felt it was inappropriate at first—after all, who crashes for a bed just because they crashed for a meal?—he could never seem to resist Mrs. Tang’s enthusiastic invitations and always ended up staying.
In short: it was impossible to refuse such overwhelming hospitality.
***
After finishing the meal and clearing the table, Jiang Wei didn't act like a stranger. He plopped down on the sofa and stared blankly into space.
"I just thought of a problem," Jiang Wei said, turning to Tang Zihe. "If I want to shower, what am I going to do for a change of clothes?"
"Wear mine." Tang Zihe was rummaging through his backpack, pulling out several exercise books. He looked up at Jiang Wei’s height and added, "Though I'm half a head taller than you now, so they might not fit perfectly."
"I'm still in puberty; I can still grow. Don't look down on me." Jiang Wei’s hand paused. He seemed to think of something, and a brief silence followed his words.
"But I remember that the pheromones of two Alphas repel each other," Jiang Wei said, rubbing his chin. "What if I feel completely uncomfortable and break out in a rash?"
"Pheromones cause repulsion, not an allergic reaction," Tang Zihe said helplessly. "Come on, let’s put your bag in the room, and then I’ll find you something to wear."
Jiang Wei bounced off the sofa and followed him with his bag.
The room was exactly as he remembered it, without even a speck of dust. The furnishings were simple; aside from the bed being twice the size of the ones in the dorm, all the furniture was just a high-end version of the school’s, and it even had its own private bathroom.
Jiang Wei dropped his backpack on the floor. Across the hall was Tang Zihe’s room. The door was open, and he could hear Tang Zihe rummaging around.
"These two are freshly washed. They should only smell like laundry detergent." Tang Zihe tossed the clothes and pants to Jiang Wei. "Give them a sniff?"
He remembered that when Jiang Wei was a kid, he didn't like tea. No matter what kind of tea it was, he only ever tasted bitterness, so over time, he developed a slight aversion to the scent of tea as well. As luck would have it, Tang Zihe’s own pheromone scent was green tea.
Jiang Wei leaned in to sniff them and let out a soft chuckle.
"Don't tell me your laundry detergent is green tea scented," Jiang Wei said with a smile. "It actually smells pretty good, though. These two will do."
"Really? Why can't I smell it?" Tang Zihe stepped closer and leaned down to sniff them too, but he still couldn't catch the scent.
"Well, even if you don't like the smell, you'll have to make do. I'm not going out to buy you clothes in the middle of the night."
"Who said I don't like it?" Jiang Wei arched an eyebrow and smiled. "I quite like it now. Is that a problem?"
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 受气包 | Pushover / Punching bag | Someone who is easily bullied or takes mistreatment without fighting back. |
| 公筷 | Serving chopsticks | Chopsticks used specifically for moving food from a shared platter to one's own bowl. |
| 虾滑 | Shrimp paste / Shrimp slide | A common hotpot ingredient made of minced shrimp. |
| 信息素 | Pheromones | A key concept in the ABO (Alpha/Beta/Omega) genre. |
| 盛情难却 | Hard to refuse such hospitality | A Chinese idiom meaning it's difficult to decline someone's overwhelming kindness or invitation. |
| 绿茶 | Green tea | In this context, it refers to Tang Zihe's pheromone scent. |
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