Chapter 03 The food outside is not as delicious as yours

 

The school doctor’s words gave Huai Xu a reminder.

Anyone studying medicine knows how significant emotional factors can be in causing illness. 

Many diseases that cannot be cured often start from negative emotions.

Jing Zheng xuan seemed strong and healthy on the outside, 

but he constantly had small injuries and illnesses. It was possible that the root cause was psychological.

If that was the case, intervention was necessary as soon as possible.

Huai Xu decided to have a heart-to-heart conversation with Jing Zheng xuan.

For such a conversation, a quiet place was essential, 

especially for one involving deeper emotional aspects, 

a comforting and reassuring environment was needed.

Fortunately, Jing Zheng xuan didn’t live in the school dormitory; he had his own place nearby.

Before their freshman year started, the Jing family had bought a three-bedroom apartment near the school, initially intending for Huai Xu and Jing Zhengxuan to live together. 

However, Huai Xu felt that staying in the dormitory would be more convenient, and he could chat with his roommates from different parts of the country, so he politely declined.

Huai Xu and Jing Zheng xuan had always been inseparable since childhood. 

Now that they were in college, Huai Xu felt it was time to start becoming more mature and independent. 

Thus, he had the idea to gradually distance himself from Jing Zheng xuan.

No matter how close their relationship, they would eventually meet the right person at the right time and enter the realm of marriage.

Given how popular Jing Zheng xuan was, Huai Xu felt he should not become an obstacle in his childhood friend’s path to marriage.

The true meaning of friendship was hoping for the other person’s happiness, and Huai Xu naturally felt the same.

However, his efforts to preserve their friendship were strongly opposed by his childhood friend.

From the moment they received their acceptance letters up until the night before school started, 

Jing Zheng xuan had adamantly refused to let them live separately.

Huai Xu tried to persuade him for a long time, but in the end, he had to threaten to sever their friendship before Jing Zheng xuan reluctantly agreed, 

though with conditions—Huai Xu had to eat three meals a day with him and also stay over on weekends.

Huai Xu had no choice but to agree, understanding Jing Zheng xuan’s good intentions.

Huai Xu had no father growing up and had poor health. 

Although his mother had more than made up for the missing paternal love, 

there were many things he had to be careful about in life.

Because of his stomach problems, he couldn’t eat things that were too hot or too cold. 

He also couldn’t have food with too strong seasoning, 

and the proportion of meat and vegetables had to be just right; 

otherwise, he would get stomach pains.

These requirements were hard to meet with the cafeteria food.

Huai Xu was supporting his childhood friend as they walked toward the school gate when, 

after just a few steps, Jing Zheng xuan stopped.

When he stopped, Huai Xu couldn’t continue, since their height and build difference was significant.

Huai Xu looked at his childhood friend in confusion: 

“What’s wrong?”

Jing Zheng xuan hid the emotion in his eyes and said a few words: 

“Go to your dorm.”

That wasn’t possible!

If they went to the dorm, wouldn’t Huai Xu’s emotional support plan be ruined?

Huai Xu insisted: 

“Let’s go to your place. I need to talk to you.”

Suddenly, Jing Zheng xuan tilted his head and leaned close to Huai Xu’s head, saying lightly, 

“Can’t go that far.”

Seeing this, Huai Xu thought he was unwell again, 

so he abandoned his emotional support plan and decided to take care of his health first.

It was indeed closer to go to his dorm.

Huai Xu compromised and led Jing Zheng xuan toward the dorm.

Along the way, Jing Zheng xuan leaned on Huai Xu, close but without making him feel burdened.

He kept observing Huai Xu’s expression and, seeing that he seemed unaffected, cleared his throat:

“That person... who is he?”

Huai Xu didn’t immediately understand, asking, 

“Who?”

Jing Zheng xuan spoke in a calm tone: 

“The one from the medical office.”

“Oh, you mean him,” 

Huai Xu realized, 

“A senior from our department, Xie Kaiyan.”

“I’ve never heard you mention him before.” 

Jing Zheng xuan’s voice came down from above, seemingly emotionless.

Huai Xu was pleased with Jing Zheng xuan’s progress.

Since childhood, his friend had always been dominant.

In kindergarten, he had to be his best friend; 

in elementary school, his best companion; 

in middle school, he had even chased off several classmates who had written love letters to him.

Though Huai Xu wasn’t interested in early romance, Jing Zheng xuan’s behavior had been somewhat rude. 

They’d talked about it at length and even had a period of cold war. 

Luckily, in the end, Jing Zheng xuan came to understand and never acted so violently or rudely again.

Huai Xu knew that his childhood friend cared deeply for him and didn’t allow anyone to harm him, 

while also being somewhat unwilling to let anyone get too close to him. 

Now, the fact that he could ask about it calmly was a huge improvement.

So, Huai Xu replied happily: 

“We just met recently. He’s a genius in our department, and I didn’t expect him to be so easy to get along with.”

Jing Zheng xuan lowered his eyelids to hide his emotions and didn’t speak.

Huai Xu didn’t notice his unusual reaction. 

He thought Jing Zheng xuan wasn’t feeling well again, so he quickened his pace toward the dorm.

A while later, a voice suddenly came from above: 

“Easy to get along with?”

Huai Xu nodded: 

“Yes, everyone who knows him says he’s nice. Every time we have rehearsals for the school anniversary, he buys milk tea for everyone.”

“You can’t drink milk tea.” 

Jing Zheng xuan abruptly interrupted.

“I know,” 

Huai Xu continued, 

“so he bought me milk.”

Jing Zheng xuan: “…Does he know you have stomach problems?”

Huai Xu frowned slightly: “I think he does? I never told him.”

Jing Zheng xuan didn’t say anything more.

After a moment of silence, he asked: “Are you going to eat with him?”

Huai Xu guessed that his childhood friend’s possessiveness had surfaced again, and couldn’t help but smile: 

“No, no. No outside food compares to what you make.”

Jing Zheng xuan rubbed Huai Xu’s shoulder and chuckled lightly.

Huai Xu knew that his childhood friend had been successfully appeased.

Since the atmosphere was so good, Huai Xu decided to ask the question he was curious about: 

“What happened to your sprained ankle?”

“...I,” 

he began to speak, but Jing Zheng xuan furrowed his brow and muttered, 

“…I feel dizzy.”

“You’re really good at timing that dizziness,” 

Huai Xu teased. Although he wasn’t sure if Jing Zheng xuan was faking it or it was genuine, 

he didn’t want to take chances and continued to be cautious.

What if it was real dizziness? Wouldn’t pressing him for answers be bullying?

He put aside his doubts and took out a piece of candy from his bag: 

“Have a piece.”

Jing Zheng xuan replied, “No energy.”

“You sure are fragile.” Huai Xu said, starting to unwrap the candy.

Jing Zheng xuan reached out and stopped him: “Give me a different one.”

Huai Xu looked up: “Why?”

“I want something sour.” Jing Zheng xuan said expressionlessly.

Huai Xu smiled: 

“I’ve never seen anyone actively ask for something sour. Let me see if I have any.”

The candy had been placed by Jing Zheng xuan, so Huai Xu knew exactly which flavors were there. 

He said directly: 

“There’s lemon flavor.”

Huai Xu rummaged through his bag, and sure enough, the next piece was lemon-flavored candy.

He unwrapped it and fed it to Jing Zheng xuan.

“Eat it. Be careful, it’s sour.”

Jing Zheng xuan sucked on the candy and said coolly: 

“Not sour enough.”

They walked for a few more minutes and arrived at the dorm.

The dorm was a four-person room with bunk beds and desks below. 

Since they had arrived at the cleanest desk, Huai Xu had to let his friend sit there.

Huai Xu’s dorm was among the cleanest among the boys.

The windows were spotless, and someone cleaned every day, even emptying the trash every day.

The four desks were arranged against the corners, and everything was neatly tidied.

At that moment, Huai Xu’s roommates were all present.

Jing Zheng xuan nodded politely at the three of them.

The three roommates didn’t find it strange that Huai Xu had brought Jing Zheng xuan back. 

They had gotten used to it.

“Huai Xu, is your friend feeling unwell again?” 

one of the roommates asked, cleaning his messy desk.

“Yes, he got overheated while playing basketball,” 

Huai Xu explained, helping Jing Zheng xuan to the cleanest desk to sit.

Huai Xu was a bit of a clean freak and obsessive-compulsive. 

His desk hardly had any clutter, and most things were stored away in drawers or cabinets. 

Only a few books and miscellaneous items that couldn’t fit were neatly arranged on a shelf. 

The bedsheets were so smooth that there wasn’t a single crease.

Looking at his three roommates’ beds, it was clear how strong Huai Xu’s tidying skills were.

Jing Zheng xuan hung Huai Xu’s bag on the designated hook.

The second roommate sealed his leftover lunch and threw it into the trash can, then looked at Jing Zheng xuan: 

“I heard you helped our school team beat the sports school next door. That’s impressive!”

“It’s alright.” 

Jing Zheng xuan responded indifferently, as expected.

The third roommate adjusted the air conditioning temperature and asked: 

“You’re okay, right?”

Huai Xu couldn’t tolerate the cold, so his roommates were considerate and turned the temperature up when he was around.

Jing Zheng xuan glanced at the temperature control panel and said calmly: 

“I’m fine.”

The three roommates were very considerate of Huai Xu, so Jing Zheng xuan treated them more kindly than usual, 

but even so, he wasn’t overly friendly, since he had never been a particularly easygoing person.

Suddenly, Jing Zheng xuan took another lemon candy from Huai Xu’s bag.

Huai Xu took a towel he had placed in the bag, wet it with cold water, and handed it to him: 

“Wipe your face.”

Jing Zheng xuan took it obediently, wiping his face and neck. 

Then he asked: 

“Is my shirt still in the closet? I want to take a shower.”

Huai Xu touched his forehead: 

“You want to shower after feeling better? Don’t make it worse.”

“I’m not dizzy anymore.” 

Jing Zheng xuan took Huai Xu’s hand and started fiddling with the beads of the sandalwood bracelet.

Huai Xu thought it was inappropriate: 

“You should sweat it out first. Let me go take a shower, then you can do it afterward.”

Jing Zhengxuan raised an eyebrow: “Why?”

Huai Xu raised his fist, pretending to hit Jing Zheng xuan’s shoulder, but dropped it in the air: 

“How dare you ask? You’ve been leaning on me with your sweaty body, but since you’re the sick one, I won’t argue with you. I’ll settle the score when you’re better.”

Jing Zheng xuan grabbed Huai Xu’s fist: 

“Ugh, now my head’s dizzy again.”

“Pretending.” 

Huai Xu glared at him and freed himself, entering the bathroom.

The dorm was left with just Jing Zheng xuan and Huai Xu’s three roommates. 

They exchanged glances, feeling extremely awkward.

When Huai Xu was around, they were at ease, but without him, 

they didn’t know how to deal with Jing Zheng xuan.

By the time Jing Zheng xuan was fiddling with his phone, 

the three roommates had already exchanged looks a thousand times and finally made an excuse to leave.

The time on the phone displayed 16:00. 

Jing Zheng xuan didn’t say anything, and their departure was exactly what he wanted.

He unexpectedly said “Goodbye.”

The three of them were surprised and left even faster.

When Huai Xu came out of the shower, he was drying his hair and asked where the roommates had gone. 

Jing Zheng xuan simply explained, stood up, and took the towel to help Huai Xu dry his hair.

“No need, I can do it myself,” 

Huai Xu said, not wanting to trouble the sick Jing Zheng xuan.

Jing Zheng xuan stubbornly continued: 

“I’ll do it.”

“You’re really not dizzy anymore?” 

Huai Xu was still a little worried.

“I’m fine,”

Jing Zheng xuan said, finishing drying Huai Xu’s hair and grabbing the blow dryer.

Huai Xu stopped him: “I’ll blow it myself.”

Jing Zheng xuan remained persistent: “It’ll be done soon.”

“...Alright,” 

Huai Xu gave in, realizing he couldn’t argue, and let him do it.

Jing Zheng xuan’s fingers were long and slender, with beautiful veins on the back of his hand. 

His fingers, defined by their joints, weaved through Huai Xu’s hair, and the soft, smooth strands made Huai Xu feel flustered.

After the drying was done, Jing Zheng xuan quickly entered the bathroom.

Huai Xu thought he wasn’t feeling well again and asked with concern: 

“Are you okay?”

Jing Zheng xuan slammed the door shut and grunted: 

“I’m fine.”

In the bathroom, he furrowed his brow, cursing himself for lacking self-control...

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A little note in case you wondering why the title about cooking when they not, cause I do LOL

"Food from outside could never taste as good as what you make."

This sentence conveys a deep sense of intimacy and familiarity. It’s a heartfelt compliment that acknowledges the other person's effort while highlighting the bond and mutual understanding shared between them. The word “tastes good” here goes beyond flavor, expressing emotional warmth and connection.