Sweet, Although Short Chapter 18

Translated by Raine

Edited by Amaris

After a whole night of tossing and turning restlessly, Knight Ning slept rather poorly.

He woke up in a daze, wore his underwear and slippers, revealing a pair of long legs as he stood on the bathroom's entrance.

The door handle was layered in black and gold colour, making it look simple yet unique, which was quite different from the usual cla.s.sical style his family was obsessed with.

Ning Can slowly realized… This was not his house! He was currently living with Xia Yan!

When he remembered the moment his b.u.t.t was burst open four years ago, his lower body parts immediately felt chilly!

Go… Go back to the bedroom now!

When Ning Can was about to turn around, he saw Xia Yan was coming back from his morning exercise.

He was wearing a sleeveless T-s.h.i.+rt, exposing his pale coloured arms, which made him look even st.u.r.dier.

This man's shoulder was broad yet his waist was slim, a thin layer of sweat rolled down his chin. The moment it dripped onto his collarbone, Ning Can felt like he could hear the screams of countless women.

Ning Can forced a smile, "Morning…"

Xia Yan didn't say anything, but his pair of clear eyes upon exercising suddenly darkened.

Ning Can couldn't look at him nor move a single bit, he could only stand still under the stage lights like an actor who had forgotten his lines.

The 'stage lights' were Xia Yan's eyes.

After a while, Xia Yan said, "Are you… going to take a bath?"

Ning Can acted as if he had found his last hope, he immediately answered, "Yeah, that's right!"

Xia Yan's voice sounded pretty normal, "You first."

Ning Can said in a m.u.f.fled voice, "OK!" He pressed down on the doork.n.o.b firmly, and fled straight into the bathroom.

Outside the door, Xia Yan took a breath, and calmly went back to the bedroom, He picked up the mineral water on the table and doused it over his face.

After finis.h.i.+ng the quick bath, Ning Can realized that he didn't have any clothes to change into.

He looked at Xia Yan's bathrobe, and then looked at the T-s.h.i.+rt he wore before…

What was he fretting about! Of course he would choose his own clothes, it was only clothes anyway, not leftover food or anything.

Ning Can braced himself and put it on, but he was faced with another tough choice.

He had to choose either to wear his damp underwear or to go totally bare-b.u.t.t.

What was he fretting about again! Of course… of course he had to wear Xia Yan's bathrobe!

After he wore the bathrobe, he prayed for three minutes before heading out. What he wished for was: 'No matter what, please do not (let me) b.u.mp into Xia Yan.'

All this time he was never good at forming any devout words, so when he went out the door……

Ning Can's face turned awkward, "Um… I…"

Xia Yan was obviously pausing for a while, and his voice was unusually hoa.r.s.e, "Just wear it, it's ok."

At first Ning Can also thought nothing of it, but now he felt like it was actually a problem. Still, he certainly had to pretend it was nothing, so he quickly said, "Ha… that's right, I used to wear your clothes often."

Xia Yan froze.

Ning Can felt like his words were inappropriate, for he suspected it might recall the past when they were still cottoning up to each other. Unfortunately, he didn't get the chance to correct himself.

Who would have thought that Xia Yan would curl up his lips and smiled, "That's right, you used to wear my coat a lot."

Ning Can muttered in a low voice, "It's not like you're afraid of the heat, why did you wear such long-sleeved coat in summer."

Xia Yan said, “I don't like being exposed to the sun."

"I know," Ning Can remembered it clearly. "But you certainly like the sun very much."

Xia Yan glanced at him and didn't reply.

He was afraid of (being exposed to) the sun, but he indeed liked the brightly s.h.i.+ning sun because the person he liked had the word bright in his name.

After a few casual chats, Ning Can's talkative trait started to show up, and he ended up talking a lot to Xia Yan.

The two of them actually had a lot of things to talk about. They had been together for a long time. There were a lot of past events and mixed feelings between them. They were like a pair of strings entwined together, just by moving randomly, they could create the most beautiful piece of fabric.

Xia Yan also couldn't help but lower his guard.

In these four years, he didn't dream about Ning Can anymore, didn't try to remember Ning Can anymore, he even made up his mind not to see Ning Can again for the rest of his life.

But as soon as he met Ning Can, everything changed.

Ning Can gave him a very deep pain, but also gave him unparalleled joy.

All this time Ning Can had always been the most special one to him. Even though time seemed to have buried his feelings deep, in fact, the more he tried to hide, the more he was exposed.

Ning Can's stomach grumbled.

Xia Yan immediately said, "Go and change your clothes, I'll cook."

Ning Can rubbed his belly and said, "You cook by yourself?"

Xia Yan paused for a moment, "Mn."

He never actually ate at home, he usually ate at the company's gathering.

Ning Can was actually not that hungry, because when he was hungry, he would have a stomachache. He said, "Just a bowl of noodles is okay, be quick."

Xia Yan's voice was very gentle, "I understand."

He certainly understood, he knew everything about Ning Can: He knew that Ning Can loved to eat noodles in the morning; marinated mashed potatoes sprinkled with chives, which was very common, and was the thing he ate in these ten years; Ning Can hated porridge the most, the only thing he could accept was millet gruel, but it could not be cooked until it was too mushy; Ning Can hated red wine but loved to drink beer, especially the Roosevelt No.10 Belgium craft beer, which would make him drop-dead drunk.

The hot water which dripped on the back of his hands made Xia Yan suddenly snapped out of it.

He knitted his brows, holding his buffeted train of thoughts down.

Xia Yan couldn't stand Roosevelt 10's flavor, because that night, Ning Can's mouth was filled with the bitter yet strong caramel smell of the liquor.

At first, he thought that the smell of Roosevelt 10 beer made his dream come true, but in fact, it pushed him into h.e.l.l instead.

It's very tasty! Ning Can thought of having a third bowl,  but Xia Yan said, "Don't eat too much, you'll have an upset stomach after awhile."

Ning Can felt fully satisfied and content, thus he said, "It's really delicious."

Xia Yan didn't respond.

Ning Can added, "Your skills are almost on par with Queen Mother!"

This was certainly a supreme compliment, because Mother Ning once set this as the standard to be her stupid son's spouse.

Knowing too much was certainly not a good thing. Xia Yan felt kinda bad inside his heart, but his complexion looked as casual as usual, "The one Auntie made is really tasty."

Ning Can was abnormally quiet as he said, "She doesn't make it anymore."

Xia Yan asked casually, "Why?"

Ning Can sighed, “It's not because I'm not at home, she…" He stopped talking.

Unfortunately, Xia Yan already knew what he was going to say.

Ning Can had been away for four years and Father Ning was busy with work. Even if Mother Ning made breakfast, there was no one around to eat it.

Mother Ning probably was angry with her child, which was why when Ning Can came home, she didn't especially cook for him anymore. The chef at home had superb craftsmans.h.i.+p, the noodles were cooked finely and beautifully, but it didn't have the flavor Ning Can desire.

Xia Yan changed the subject and said, "It's almost time, let's go together?”

Ning Can immediately said, "Okay!” It would be best to get a ride, because he was too lazy to drive.

Half a month later, Xia Yan was carrying a bag of fresh fruits, standing in front of the apartment, his heart filled with unfathomable feelings.

How did it end up like this?

The person he cherished with his whole heart was just separated by one door.

He once thought that he would never meet him again, that their relations.h.i.+p was cut off on that absurd night, that happiness would never approach him again.

But right now… Ning Can was inside the house, lying on the sofa, waiting for his fruits.

Xia Yan pushed open the door. Ning Can exclaimed in surprise. After seeing Xia Yan clearly, Ning Can immediately greeted him, "Quick, come here, you almost scared me to death!"

The projector was showing an old horror movie with ghastly pictures, strange sound effects and frightening atmosphere, but Xia Yan's heart was filled with softness and warmth.

Xia Yan said, "I'll go wash the fruits first."

Ning Can immediately pressed the pause b.u.t.ton and jumped out of the sofa and said, “I'll go with you."

Xia Yan said, "You don't have to, I can…"

Before he finished speaking, he could already see Ning Can's tense face. Ning Can forcefully explained to him, "I'm not scared or anything, it's just because I want to eat some fruits while watching."

Xia Yan's eyes carried a trace of a smile, and he didn't try to decline Ning Can anymore. "Okay."

The two entered the kitchen. Xia Yan opened the convenience store bag, the fresh coin-sized cherries and blueberries inside immediately made Ning Can beaming with joy, "It looks amazing!"

Xia Yan took out another box of loquats. Ning Can became even happier, "Do you have a spoon? Because I'm a master at loquat peeling now!"

Xia Yan had taken out a stainless steel spoon and gently sc.r.a.ped it over the loquats.

Ning Can was surprised and asked, "Do you also use TikTok?"

Ning Can loved to eat loquats, but loquats' skin were very hard to peel. He often ate it and messed up both his hands, which made him very upset. Later, when he learned this skill, it was so amazing that it impressed everyone he met. After he peeled a whole box, he wouldn't let anyone else eat it.

Xia Yan of course didn't use TikTok, he also didn't like to eat loquats. It was because he knew Ning Can loved to eat it and he occasionally saw his a.s.sistant peeling loquats this way, of course he would remember how to do it.

Ning Can carried the fruit tray happily and called Xia Yan, "Let's watch it together, this film is very interesting. I just started the film a little, let me replay the movie…"

"It's okay, you don't have to," Xia Yan's voice quivered imperceptibly, "you can just tell me the general storyline."

Ning Can happily said, "You have always liked it this way."

Since they grew up together, every time there was a popular DVD, they always watched it together. Usually when Xia Yan came to Ning's house, Ning Can would have already watched it halfway. Xia Yan never let him replay the movie, instead, he would get Ning Can to explain the story (to him).

Ning Can laughed at his strange habit.

In fact, Xia Yan only wanted to hear Ning Can's voice. When he was young, he had an unspeakable thought. He yearned to become close to Ning Can, to become his beloved.

Ning Can explained it quickly, and then the movie started.

He whispered to Xia Yan, "I think there's something wrong with that little girl, maybe she's a ghost!"

Xia Yan felt that the only ghost existed inside his heart.

A pitch-black room, a strange yet familiar atmosphere, a person that felt distant yet as close as a fingertip's length, the thought of wanting to let go yet wanting to keep holding on… He felt like he was sitting on a sea of poppies, enduring the huge temptation.

On the contrary, Ning Can heartlessly brought up the past.

He forgot that embarra.s.sing night four years ago and had let go of their four years entanglement. Because of the familiar interaction, because of more than ten years of habit, and maybe some trace of nostalgia, he became that Ning Can again, the one who was Xia Yan's best friend.

Xia Yan's mind was in such a mess, he looked like he was thinking about a lot of things, yet he also looked like he wasn't thinking about anything.

"f.u.c.k!" Ning Can screamed and desperately grabbed Xia Yan's hand.

Xia Yan returned to his senses, and saw a big b.l.o.o.d.y mouth on the screen.

Ning Can looked extremely pale and scared, "I… I knew she wasn't human!"

Xia Yan couldn't help but said, "Don't watch it if you're scared."

"Who… who's scared! Are you scared?"

Ning Can's 'Senior General' was powerful and unyielding. Even if he was about to be killed, he wouldn't be scared, so he said, "If you're scared then you can go upstairs first, I want to watch it to the end."

His mouth said so, but the light in his eyes clearly said: Xia Yan, if you dare leave me, I'll cry right in front of you!

How could Xia Yan have the heart to leave Ning Can? He moved his gaze and fixed it on the screen, "It should be over soon, let's watch it till the end."

Ning Can however, didn't dare to move his gaze around. At first, he did look around, s.h.i.+fting his gaze away all the time. He simply raised his ears, listening to the movements in the movie.

Later, he was distracted. Even though he was hearing ghastly noises, his eyes were glued to Xia Yan's earlobe.

It was a little red around these tiny moles.

Long time ago, Xia Yan was as fair as a jade, and those tiny red marks were as red as ruby earrings. Now that he was tanned, the healthy wheat colour completely covered up its beauty.

It was at this very moment, because of the cinereous light, those red marks became much brighter than the sun. It was red like a red plum on a vast snowfield.

Ning Can remembered the time when they turned the reddest.

18 years old, inside the car, the Xia Yan who was pus.h.i.+ng him down, he looked as fair as jade, and his moles looked as red as blood.

Author's Note

The author has something to say:

There will be something new in the next part~

Smooches! ( ˘ ³˘)♥

Translator's Note

Aww Ning Can is such a tsundere I'm crying?