“Hello… What’s… What’s the issue…” Qin Youyou asked in a low voice after he closed the kitchen door.

Chen Yushen had gotten through to Qin Youyou and he wasn’t able to tamp down his joy. “There’s no issue, Youyou. I just wanted to ask you how you’ve been recently. Have you been well?”

“Everything is very well… Thank you,” Qin Youyou’s finger lightly tapped the edge of the stove a few times. He hesitated. “Chen Yushen, if you don’t have any issues, then there’s no need to call me. I’m now home every day and… To be overheard is not good.”

The other side was silent for a moment. “I know Youyou. I understand.”

“Even though I borrowed your money, I’m definitely going to repay it, you don’t have to worry about that. I don’t want you to get the idea we’re going to resume contact. If you can’t accept that, then I will return the money right now…”

“No, don’t!” Chen Yushen was frantic. “You don’t need to say that, Youyou. I didn’t mean for this to bother you, I only wanted to know if you were doing okay…”

Qin Youyou’s head lowered and he was quiet.

“I’ve noted this for the future. I’m just so happy I could do something for you. Please, don’t deprive me of that right? I’m just… To see that you are well, it makes me happy.  Truly…”

Qin Youyou paused. “Thank you.”

When he took the finished food to the bedroom, Wei Dong was looking down at his phone. Qin Youyou rinsed a towel and brought it over to wipe his hands. Wei Dong set aside his phone and wiped his hands while looking at him. Qin Youyou didn’t dare raise his head.

“If you don’t want to say, I won’t ask. You don’t have to be anxious.” Wei Dong sighed.

Qin Youyou hummed, then looked down to set up the side dishes, passing it over.

Wei Dong accepted one. Holding it in his hand he spoke. “Whatever you are hiding has got to do with money. But, even if I found out, there’s nothing I could do about it. So if you don’t want me to know, forget about it.”

Qin Youyou swallowed his rice but didn’t say anything.

“I’ll make a full recovery,” Wei Dong said. “Wait for me to be able to go out and work again. I won’t allow you to shoulder all the pressure, Youyou.”

Qin Youyou swallowed the mouthful of rice and frowned. “Can you stop always thinking like this every time, Ge? I don’t want to tell you because I don’t want you to overthink it like you always do. I want you to get into a good mindset, without worrying about anything. I… I can support us, really.”

Wei Dong gazed at him for a long while, until Qin Youyou broke contact by lowering his head.

He just said in a whisper, “Okay.”

Qin Youyou had said that he will support the household, but Wei Dong really didn’t know how he could manage it. In his eyes, this kid was always the one who would shed tears at the drop of a hat. He didn’t know how he would fare when faced with that reality, or if he would know what to do.

Every time he calculated the household expenses they needed to cover, he’d then wake up in the middle of the night to find Qin Youyou leaning over his laptop, working on a design under the dim light of the small desk lamp, and then Wei Dong couldn’t fall back asleep.

Sometimes he couldn’t help but start hating himself.

He looked at Qin Youyou sprawled out over the desk, his face smooshed flat, his long eyelashes lowered, sound asleep.

Wei Dong had thought that on his discharge from hospital, Qin Youyou would have been able to relax, but instead, it just meant that it was easier for him to spend all his free time on designing. Every time it happened, he couldn’t bear to go back to sleep, so Wei Dong would just watch him. He hated himself for being unable to walk over, pick him up and nestle him back in bed. He wanted to call out to Qin Youyou to come lie down and sleep, but thought it would be better to let him sleep for a while. If he woke him up, Qi Youyou would simply rub his face and proceed to continue working.

Wei Dong’s was naturally silent—no matter how much pain he held in his heart, he would not show it. Before meeting Qin Youyou, people had simply thought that his moods never changed.

He’s a person who, the more he cares, the more taciturn he becomes.

Maybe it was because his current physical condition made him more sensitive to these things, or maybe it was Qin Youyou didn’t know how to conceal things properly. As the days went by, Wei Dong started to notice more and more things were different to before.

Qin Youyou would buy groceries and buy a large assortment: vegetables, meat, fish, shrimp, and eggs prepared all different ways, and even fruit to go with. But each time, he doesn’t cook a lot—it was basically only a portion for Wei Dong. For himself, Qin Youyou would always usually pour some soup over his rice, add a mouthful or two of greens to his bowl, and polish it down in a few mouthfuls. By the time Wei Dong looked over at him, he’d already set down his chopsticks and rubbed his stomach saying, “I’m full. Ge, you eat slowly.”

Wei Dong had asked him several times, “Have you forgotten how much food you used to eat?”

Qin Youyou would grin at him. “Before, there was always a lot of running around to be done, but now I’m staying home every day, so there’s no need to eat as much as I did before. And it’s better to have smaller portion sizes.

Wei Dong would say nothing further.

It’s not that he didn’t have anything to say, only that the words were stuck in his chest and wouldn’t come out.

Emotions would accumulate up bit by bit, until one day, they would erupt.

Actually, there are things these two people were well aware of, but they wouldn’t bring up, worried they would touch on the other’s sore spots. These days, both were having a rough time, and each was scared of causing the other pain, so they would simply avoid it, walk carefully around it, and try their best to maintain the delicate emotional balance between them.

On this day, Qin Youyou went out to buy breakfast as per usual. He brought it back for Wei Dong saying, “Ge, eat it while it’s hot, and don’t leave any for me. I’ve already taken out my half.”

“Don’t you like eating with me anymore?” Wei Dong asked him.

Qin Youyou smiled. “How is that possible? I was just so hungry I ate already, please don’t blame me for eating first, Ge.”

Wei Dong smile, picked up the spoon and started eating.

Before long, he’d finished eating the congee and eggs. There were two steamed buns left after he’d finished eating.

“I can’t eat anymore,” he said.

Qin Youyou tidied up, taking it to the kitchen.

Wei Dong sat up against the head rest, looking at him phone for a bit, then turned his head to call out “Youyou.”

“Yes?” Qin Youyou’s voice came from the kitchen.

“Come here for a second,” Wei Dong asked.

Qin Youyou came running over. “What’s wrong, Ge?”

Wei Dong beckoned him. “Come here.”

Qin Youyou walked over with a smile, reaching out his hand. He had no idea what he was up to.

Wei Dong took his hand and pulled him into his arms, held the back of his head and kissed him.

Qin Youyou started. His mouth was sealed and he whimpered a bit, before he stopped moving.

Wei Dong kissed him fiercely for a while, for several minutes, and only separated when they were both panting.

“Did you eat the two buns?” he asked.

Qin Youyou froze, his face turning red. “Huh? I…”

Wei Dong rubbed his red lips with his finger. “Your mouth tastes like the steamed buns I just ate.”

Qin Youyou’s expression changed and he stuttered. “You… You left it. I was scared of wasting it…”

“You’re not scared of wasting it—you’re trying to save money.” Wei Dong cupped his face, looking into his eyes. “You didn’t even eat when you went out, did you? Whatever I leave, you sneak into the kitchen to eat. If I have nothing leftover, then you don’t plan to eat at all. Have I guessed correctly?”

Qin Youyou was speechless. He had no idea what to say.

Wei Dong’s eyebrows gradually furrowed as he looked at Qin Youyou for a long time. Eventually he asked softly, “if our family has reached the point where we need to save money on food, Qin Youyou, then we should save together, huh? Every day you change what you make me, but you yourself don’t even have enough to eat…”

“I don’t…” Qin Youyou quickly sat up and half kneeled in front of Wei Dong. “I’ve never not had enough to eat, Ge. Why don’t you believe me, I just—”

“You just need to save a little, right? Save a bit more to use on me.”

“Ge, I—”

“Is it worthwhile, Qin Youyou?” Wei Dong glared at him, suddenly giving a mocking laugh. “Even if you starve yourself to death, work yourself to death, exhaust yourself to death, what good is it? Right now I’m no better than a cripple—what good is you saving those few yuan on meals? You can’t save me—even if you don’t take another bite from now on, you still can’t save me. Haven’t you figured that out yet?”

Qin Youyou’s eyes quivered as he looked at Wei Dong in front of him, completely at a loss. “Ge, what are you talking about? I’m just afraid of wasting… Why are you being like this…”

“Youyou,” Wei Dong fell back weakly against the headboard. He raised his chin slightly, his eyes wet and trembling. “It would be better… If you left.”

Qin Youyou couldn’t make a sound. He stared wide-eyed at Wei Dong, the words he’d just heard reverberating through his mind. He thought, what did he just say?

“We should break up,” Wei Dong said. “You don’t need to stay here anymore.”