Wen Qi instantly froze when he opened the door and found two people making out.
The young man immediately turned his eyes in a different direction while scratching his head which didn't itch, pretending not to see anything.
As he wanted to go inside, he couldn't even step into the room shrouded in the intimacy of both people who had noticed his presence, so he could only stop at the doorway.
Thinking that his presence had ruined two people's intimacy, Wen Qi was about to run away but he felt like there was a huge wall behind his back that made him unable to walk backward.
After witnessing the pair of lovers in front of him, he felt the atmosphere in the room became quiet and awkward as if the earth was also reluctant to provide a solution to the situation he was in because it shared the shame of three people at once.
Wen Qi found out that Ai Zhiyi and Chu Weixu were lovers. When he was eleven, he knew that his older cousin had left the village as a teenager. None of their families weren't aware of the news.
At that time, he had no idea why his older cousin, Ai Zhiyi, had left his family. All he knew was that he went to a distant city to live. It wasn't until he was thirteen that people in their family often talked of it as the most humiliating thing to teach children his age that such romance would only bring bad luck to the family.
Wen Qi thought, what's wrong with that? If his cousin loved someone, wasn't that natural? What's the difference between men and women as long as it's love?
However, their family in the village had ancient thoughts. Plus, Ai Zhiyi was in a relationship with someone from a prominent family, even very influential in Guangzhou, where the family now blamed his family that Ai Zhiyi was the one who got Chu Weixu trapped in such a relationship.
Who knows? After Wen Qi turned fifteen, he was taken by his parents to live in Shanghai, and he accidentally found both of them.
They weren't in very good condition at that time. They lived in the house of the owner of a noodle shop and help the owner to serve customers. But, because of their kept working hard, both of them were finally able to live as well as they were now.
At first, Wen Qi didn't know what the figure of the man who ran away with his older cousin looked like. He only recognized the man by a name that was often mentioned by people in his family and had never seen his face. When they met for the first time in the city, his first impression was … handsome!
He had often heard that people in prominent families were beautiful and handsome, but seeing him in person was far from what he thought. He thought that Ai Zhiyi was lucky to have him.
Now, after seeing the intimacy of both of them, Wen Qi suddenly felt jealous amidst the awkwardness he felt. He also wanted to find someone like Ai Zhiyi had, who loved him with all his heart.
Meanwhile, Ai Zhiyi finally managed to suppress his embarrassment and forced himself to look at the person who had just opened the door. As soon as he lifted his head, he saw Wen Qi standing awkwardly at the door.
Even though Wen Qi was his family, still, Ai Zhiyi had some shame about being 'caught red-handed'.
However, he thought again that it was better than having to be caught by others, so Ai Zhiyi could still push himself.
Ai Zhiyi smiled politely and greeted, "Hey, Wen Qi, why are you standing there? We've been waiting for you. Come on in."
The words instantly lightened the mood. Even Wen Qi who had felt awkward was able to return to being himself where he was always friendly and fun. Then he walked in with a big smile.
"Brother Ai, I'm sorry for not being able to help Brother Chu here yesterday," Wen Qi said as he arrived at the counter, showing regrets on his face as he glanced at Chu Weixu as if he was also apologizing to him. He then looked back at Ai Zhiyi and smiled widely, "But, now, I have a few weeks off. So, I can come here more often to help."
Ai Zhiyi was an understanding person. He knew that Wen Qi was busy with his studies, so he didn't mind at all. "It's fine. You've already told me your reasons, so you don't have to push yourself next time if you're busy. Besides, the customers here aren't that crowded either, Weixu can still handle it on his own."
Chu Weixu heard it but didn't comment. He quietly dusted the cups one by one although his own heart was a bit annoyed that he had to stop fondling his lover because of the young man's sudden presence.
As for Wen Qi, he thought that he had to take responsibility as he was also paid for by them in this place, and felt guilty as he let Chu Weixu do everything alone, while the man had other things to do. So, Wen Qi said confidently, "Brother Chu is also busy with the scripts, isn't he? There's no way he won't have any trouble. I promise this is the last time."
Hearing the young man's words, Chu Weixu suddenly burst into laughter before Ai Zhiyi had a chance to reply. He patted the young man's head and teased him, "Hey, brat, what Xiaoyi said is true. There's no need to overthink anything. Just fill your head with knowledge so you won't be any more stupid in my eyes. Don't make it get any worse, okay?"
Wen Qi's cheerful face instantly became sullen. He pursed his lips, and replied in a sulky tone, "Heh, I'm not as stupid as you think! I never even got a C in any of my courses!"
Chu Weixu giggled in amusement. The more annoyed the boy was, the more eager he was to tease him, "You're cheating. I know you're cheating. An idiot like you can't get good grades."
"Argh!"
Wen Qi angrily swung the tote bag he was holding at Chu Weixu, but the man swiftly managed to avoid it, making Wen Qi even more annoyed that he wouldn't be satisfied if he hadn't taught the man who mocked him a lesson.
While Ai Zhiyi only smiled at the behavior of both of them as he continued Chu Weixu's work, dusting the few remaining cups.
He was quite calm in the chaos of two people who mocked each other. He didn't need to chide them as this habit had often happened. He was used to having to hear them fighting in the morning.
Not long after, Ai Zhiyi glanced at his watch, which was already eight in the morning. He gently patted Chu Weixu's back who was still teasing Wen Qi.
Chu Weixu turned his head, smiling. "What is it?"
"I get to go. Do your work and stop teasing Wen Qi," Ai Zhiyi replied in a quiet tone.
Chu Weixu's brows furrowed, he took Ai Zhiyi's hand and looked at his watch. He then asked Ai Zhiyi in surprise, "I thought your schedule was ten o'clock. Don't you still have two hours left? Where are you going? Has your schedule changed?"
Ai Zhiyi shook his head slowly. "I just wanted to leave early because I have some business to do."
Hearing the answer, Chu Weixu instantly fell silent, showing suspicion on his face. Yet, as Chu Weixu had trusted his partner completely, he could still handle himself and didn't ask anything other than saying, "Oh, alright. Don't forget to pick up your stuff upstairs."
Ai Zhiyi, "I know."