CH 8

Ruan Jiangjiu placed a steaming bowl of ramen on the small table in front of Lu Bai. The surface was topped with tender yellow poached eggs and sliced beef, which made it look very appetizing. As he placed some chopsticks next to Lu Bai’s hand, he prompted, “Go wash your hands.”

“Oh.” Lu Bai nodded a bit dazedly and got up.

The bathroom was very small, but as with the tiny living room outside, it was clean to the point of being nearly immaculate. Lu Bai then remembered that in the original book, Ruan Jiangjiu, despite being born into a poor family, and growing up in the squalor and mishmash of people living on Fuyu Street, actually had a cleanliness obsession. Later on, even though he had become Lu Bai’s nominal canary, he still lived the same difficult life and was almost forced to follow the unspoken rules.

Lu Bai looked at himself in the mirror, fists clenching slightly on the sink edge. For the sake of repaying the kindness shown by the other party today, he had to reach out and pull Ruan Jiangjiu free with him. As long as the most important plots still happened, there was a lot of room for small plot twists. He just has to find some twists that also help out Ruan Jiangjiu as well.

~~~~

After eating, Ruan Jiangjiu gathered up a new set of toiletries and an unopened new shirt for Lu Bai, “Un, there’s also new underwear,” said Ruan Jiangjiu, his arms crossed and his eyes meaningfully panned down, “Whether you can wear it or not is another matter, so you’ll just have to work with it.”

Lu Bai was shocked. His eyes widened and his ears turned completely red. He “you- you”d for a long time angrily but couldn’t find the right words, so he simply turned around and strode into the bathroom, closing the door with a crisp snap.

Ruan Jiangjiu couldn’t help laughing. This kid is so thin-skinned and so careless, yet he dares to imitate others in raising canaries.

This kid wants to teach him a lesson even in his dreams, and yet he can stand in front of him and the other side is fully convinced of his fake identity. In order to better experience his new role as ‘Ruan Jiangjiu’, he has sunk himself into the role inside and out. From altering his temperament and micro-expressions to even his clothing and hair, he’s skilled enough that he doesn’t easily get recognized. But in front of this kid, not once had he deliberately disguised himself, and this kid wasn’t even the slightest bit suspicious – it’s as if he was convinced that there really is a Ruan Jiangjiu living on Fuyu Road and working in a bar.

How intriguing. Ruan Jiangjiu narrowed his eyes and looked towards the place where the sound of running water was coming from, with a strong interest in his eyes.

~~~~

With his hair still half wet, Lu Bai lounged on Ruan Jiangjiu’s bed, fighting sleep. Wearing the oversized white shirt he had been given, he unintentionally revealed a large portion of his collarbone and his pair of white thighs. He was really tired and his eyelids were heavy. Although this place is small and old, it was very clean, and the bed is dyed with the light fragrance of Ruan Jiangjiu, which somehow puts him at ease and makes him slip into sleep within a few breaths.

When Ruan Jiangjiu finished his own shower and had blow-dried his hair, he walked into his small bedroom to see this scene and was rendered speechless. Qin Gu always said that this young man was scheming and pretentious, but in his opinion, the Lu family had raised Lu Bai as a fluffy white rabbit with red eyes. In a strange adult man’s home for the first time, he would dare to completely let his guard down – this behavior in the eyes of a normal man is more tempting than deliberate seduction.

“Wah!” A thick blanket suddenly fell from the sky, enveloping Lu Bai’s entire body. Lu Bai waved his hands around and finally got his head out of the attacking blanket. He scowled at Ruan Jiangjiu with some dissatisfaction; when you’re fast asleep, being suddenly covered by a blanket like that is really annoying, okay?

Ruan Jiangjiu just looked at Lu Bai’s disgruntled appearance in silence for a few seconds and shrugged, “You’ll catch a cold sleeping on top of the blankets like that. I don’t want to have to take care of a patient in the middle of the night.”

Lu Bai blinked, pacified, “Oh.”

Suddenly, thinking of something, Ruan Jiangjiu turned around and opened a drawer in search of something. Not a moment later, he threw the thing into Lu Bai’s arms.

Lu Bai looked at the… rabbit lamp in his hand? Fist-sized, snow-white suede, with a button under the base. Lu Bai gently pressed it, and a soft light came on.

Then Ruan Jiangjiu remarked casually, “Aren’t you afraid of the dark? I don’t have any night lights here, only this.” This lamp is a toy that his grandfather had custom-made for him when he was a child, he had almost forgotten about it. If his grandfather had not tossed it at him unexpectedly when he had returned to his house, he would have, but it came in handy now.

Lu Bai looked at him full of curiosity now, “You… like rabbits a lot?” He felt a bit complicated when he thought that Ruan Jiangjiu actually liked such cute animals before he blackened.

Ruan Jiangjiu watched Lu Bai’s not-very-subtle changing expressions, “Anyway, I don’t hate them.” After saying so, he made a bed for himself on the floor and shut off the lights.

Lu Bai felt a little guilty about occupying someone’s bed and asked, “This bed is quite big, why don’t we just sleep together?”

Ruan Jiangjiu was already lying down with his arms under his pillow and looked meaningfully at Lu Bai, his eyes were a bit deep. It was only then that Lu Bai remembered that not long ago he had wanted to adopt someone and make them his canary, and quickly exclaimed, “Don’t worry about me, I wouldn’t do anything to you!”

Ruan Jiangjiu almost laughed out loud as he withdrew his eyes to look languidly at the ceiling, “Oh?”