Chapter Text
Qin Wanyue had been crying for three hours, forty-seven minutes, and twenty-four seconds.
Twenty-five.
Twenty-six.
Twenty-seven.
It was getting annoying.
Not that anyone had the guts to say it out loud — no one except Sha Hualing.
"Nobody can stand your crying anymore!" she shouted, thoroughly displeased with the situation. Shen Qingqiu huffed but ignored her, as this was exactly the kind of behavior he expected from her. It wasn’t surprising that she was Luo Binghe’s best friend — dressed scantily, always showing off her cleavage, flaunting herself, seducing anyone and everyone to get what she wanted. No surprise she hung out with one of the most popular students at the university.
(The whole university gossiped about how Sha Hualing had won Luo Binghe’s affection with her beauty. What they didn’t know was that not only did Sha Hualing have a girlfriend, but Luo Binghe probably never even noticed her pretty legs.)
“Sha Hualing!” came the sharp voice of Ning Yingying, who promptly scolded her. The girl crossed her arms and pouted (rather cutely) at her friend. Shang Qinghua brought a tray of tea, clearly meant for the girl who wouldn’t stop crying, but Qiu Haitang and Xiao Gongzhu immediately grabbed some for themselves as well, ignoring the strange look Shang Qinghua gave when he noticed the cookies meant for the grieving woman had been snatched by the two girls.
A sarcastic laugh rang out, fearlessly, from Sha Hualing, echoing through the room.
Shen Qingqiu watched the scene unfold from the kitchen nook, sipping the tea Luo Binghe had just made a few moments earlier.
“Is it good?” Luo Binghe asked, his eyes soft and gentle, and Shen Qingqiu smiled as he said yes, watching the tension immediately disappear from Luo Binghe’s shoulders.
“Well, well, one of your girlfriends just disappeared in the forest, and your biggest concern is whether I liked the tea you made?” Shen Qingqiu asked, closing his eyes, speaking in a low voice that no one else could hear. He didn’t seem to be taking the situation very seriously.
Luo Binghe looked at him with guilt, like a puppy caught chewing on its owner’s shoe. “She’s not my girlfriend…” was the first thing out of his mouth.
Shen Qingqiu almost interrupted him to say: but she wishes she were.
But he kept quiet.
Even though his gaze was sharp.
“She’s probably fine. Still out looking for some fruit.”
Shen Qingqiu thought: she’s been missing for hours.
“If you’re so desperate to find your idiot sister, stop crying and go search for her yourself in the forest! Maybe you won’t be as dumb as her and get lost!” Sha Hualing nearly shouted at Qin Wanyue, completely out of patience, rolling her eyes as she stormed out of the room. Ning Yingying was torn between helping her distraught friend or reprimanding Sha Hualing for being so rude.
The door opened as Mobei Jun and Gongyi Xiao entered the large, cozy, and very (very, very, very…) isolated country house.
“We didn’t find any signs of life or a phone signal in the area,” Gongyi Xiao concluded, his concern for their friends evident. He approached Qin Wanyue, expressing his sympathy and promising that everything would be alright.
“We walked quite a bit, but nothing,” Mobei Jun added, looking at Luo Binghe, who only then turned his gaze away from Shen Qingqiu to assess the situation in the room.
“Hm? How strange…” He put a hand to his mouth, looking thoughtful. “We usually get a signal here. Maybe the tower’s under maintenance? It should be back in a few days, then we can ask for help.”
“Can’t we leave and call for a rescue? It’s going to get dark, and Qin Wanrong is out there, lost and alone, and-”
“You don’t want to get lost like her, do you?” Shen Qingqiu asked, perhaps sounding a bit harsh, but the idea was just too stupid. “We’re kilometers and kilometers away from civilization. The van’s not working anymore, and it would be dangerous for us to leave the house.”
It had already been decided, hours earlier, when they realized the van wasn’t working anymore, that the best course of action was to stay put for the three days they had promised to spend there. If they didn’t return after three days, their parents would find it strange and come looking for them. If they were lucky, the lack of communication over these three days would alert someone even sooner.
“This is all very strange,” Qiu Haitang said, lowering her cup of tea. Her expression was slightly arrogant, as if she didn’t want to let Shen Qingqiu speak any further. “Don’t you all think it’s weird that this is happening? First, there’s no signal, then the van stops working, and now Qin Wanrong is lost in the forest.”
Shang Qinghua looked thoughtful as he sat down on the couch, glancing around. “Well… the way you put it, it almost sounds like a slasher horror movie.”
“We’re not in a slasher horror movie, Airplane-bro,” Shen Qingqiu interrupted, noticing Qiu Haitang’s look of disgust every time he spoke. Why was she even here? She hated him with all her heart. “We’re in the middle of the forest. Of course, the signal would be bad. The van was my fault. No one in my family had used it in a long time, and I should’ve checked if it was working properly.”
After all, the van they used to get to Luo Binghe’s family’s country cabin actually belonged to Shen Qingqiu — even though it had been stored in his family’s garage, way in the back, along with several other cars that no one used.
“Now, about Qin Wanrong…”
Luo Binghe quickly stepped in to explain, never leaving Shen Qingqiu’s side. Both of them were still in the kitchen, observing the conversation through the partition wall that separated the kitchen from the living room. “I told her not to go into the forest alone, it could be dangerous. I told her three times, and she went anyway.”
At that moment, Qin Wanyue broke down into more tears, barely able to string together a coherent sentence.
“She… she wanted to go pick flowers… to give to you…”
Shen Qingqiu turned his gaze toward Luo Binghe, expecting to see some sign of compassion or sorrow on his face. Perhaps a sense of guilt. After all, if she was dead or missing, in the end, it was because of her desire to court Luo Binghe.
There was nothing on his face.
And yet, when they had arrived at the cabin hours and hours ago, while unloading the luggage and supplies, Luo Binghe had been so careful not to let Shen Qingqiu carry anything heavy. He made sure Shen Qingqiu had one of the best beds in the house; at some point, while Shen Qingqiu was organizing his things, he got a splinter, and Luo Binghe immediately blamed himself, saying it was his fault that the place had so many old wooden pieces of furniture. Shen Qingqiu had laughed, saying he liked that furniture and that it was fine. Luo Binghe had rushed to get the first aid kit as if Shen Qingqiu were dying and treated his injury with all the love and care in the world.
Still, here he was, standing motionless, feeling nothing upon learning that Qin Wanrong — who had followed him around, calling him gege and trying to win his heart — was missing, possibly dead, after going to pick flowers to impress him.
Shen Qingqiu didn’t notice, but a small smile escaped onto his own face — a subtle smile, unnoticed by Luo Binghe, unnoticed by anyone there, except for Qiu Haitang.
“She’s probably alive. She knows how to take care of herself,” Ning Yingying encouraged, smiling slightly, wanting her friend to feel better soon.
Shen Qingqiu heard a muttering nearby and realized that Sha Hualing was still there, rummaging through the fridge in search of something to drink. “As dumb as she is, she probably fell into a hole and died,” she said, completely unfazed by the sensitivity of the subject. Luckily, only Luo Binghe and Shen Qingqiu heard her comment.
“Are you hungry?” Luo Binghe asked his friend. It wasn’t a secret that, of every girl there, she and Ning Yingying were the closest to Luo Binghe. She glanced into the fridge again, as if staring at it long enough would make food magically appear.
“Yes, but I have some snacks I can eat, hm…”
Then, Luo Binghe’s attention immediately turned to Shen Qingqiu. “Laoshi, are you hungry?”
Shen Qingqiu gave one last glance at Qin Wanyue — her eyes were red from crying, her hands still trembling. Ning Yingying was trying to make her drink something to keep her from getting too dehydrated, but it seemed futile. Despite Gongyi Xiao’s efforts to calm her, the other two girls were too wrapped up in their own concerns to care about the situation. Shang Qinghua and Mobei Jun weren’t even around anymore. Shen Qingqiu noticed that night had already fallen outside, and he couldn’t help but think that, even if Qin Wanrong were still alive, it would be difficult for her during the night — alone in the forest, clumsy and naive as she was, with the dangers growing worse and-
Shen Qingqiu’s thoughts were interrupted when Luo Binghe wrapped an arm around his. Luo Binghe always seemed to seek some form of physical contact. “Laoshi?”
“Ah, sorry, I was thinking about Qin Wanrong-”
He saw the exact moment Luo Binghe’s light, friendly smile vanished, his expression becoming more serious, a little darker. “Why?” he asked immediately.
Shen Qingqiu couldn’t help but laugh, knowing Luo Binghe well. “It’s probably very dangerous out there for her alone... Are you sure you don’t want to see if we could all go look for her together?”
“Hm… It would be dangerous for Laoshi to go into the forest.”
“I could stay here while you all go.” He wasn’t being serious with this suggestion, but he noticed the exact moment Luo Binghe pouted.
“It would be dangerous for Laoshi to stay here alone.”
“Would it, hm?” Shen Qingqiu then pulled away from Luo Binghe’s embrace, thinking it wouldn’t be good if the others saw them like that. “I’d love some dinner. Do you need help?”
During the time Shen Qingqiu had tutored Luo Binghe privately, he was always greeted with a delicious lunch or snack at Luo Binghe’s apartment. He couldn’t help but smile, imagining what kind of delicious meal his dedicated student would prepare for him now.
“No need.” Luo Binghe smiled, already ushering Shen Qingqiu out of the kitchen. “Why don’t you join the others, Laoshi? I’ll prepare dinner.”
“Are you sure you can do it all alone…? You really don’t need any help?”
Luo Binghe gave a wide smile. “You’re all my guests. Let me serve you.”
──★ ˙🐷 ̟ !!
There were eleven chairs at the table, but only ten people were seated. It was an odd aesthetic choice. Why eleven chairs? One place was clearly empty with no one in it. Why not move the chair and eliminate the vacant space…? It was almost like a reminder.
Qin Wanrong met Luo Binghe when she was a freshman in college and he was already in his second year. She kept failing all her classes and constantly asked for Luo Binghe’s help with her assignments.
Annoying .
Luo Binghe served the sweet and sour pork dish at the table. Almost two cups of cornstarch, three eggs, enough vegetable oil to deep-fry the meat, a cup of ketchup, a cup of rice vinegar, a cup of sugar, three tablespoons of soy sauce, another three tablespoons of cornstarch, this time dissolved in water, and two cups of water. Red bell peppers, large onions, and carrots.
Oh, and nearly two kilos of pork. Season, beat, mix, form a paste, fry, fry, fry , cook the vegetables, mix in the sweet and sour sauce, and serve.
At the table, people helped themselves to the meat along with bowls of fried rice, some other vegetables on the side they could add to their plates, and a cucumber salad served separately. There was a jug of jasmine tea, another of green tea, and a delicious pomegranate juice with an intense red hue. There was also a vegetarian option for people like Ning Yingying or those who didn’t want meat: a tasty noodle dish with vegetables, made in a smaller portion, which some people at the table chose over the pork.
Qin Wanrong clung to Luo Binghe like a tick, unfortunately, she wasn’t one, as she was annoyingly talkative and always following him around. It didn’t take long for rumors to spread across campus that Luo Binghe was sleeping with her — both her and her sister. Some even said he had threesomes with them. Luo Binghe never confirmed nor denied the rumors, but people thought the fact that he didn’t push Qin Wanrong away was a clear sign that they had something going on.
It didn’t take long for the compliments about Luo Binghe's cooking to start pouring in, everyone's eyes lighting up, and for a moment, they even seemed to forget the disastrous situation. That is, if it weren't for Qin Wanyue trying desperately to eat something for the first time all day — motivated by Ning Yingying, who was practically forcing food into her mouth, desperate for her friend to not get sick from not eating.
Not that Luo Binghe cared about anyone else's compliments when he was only waiting to hear certain words.
“What do you think, Laoshi? Is it to your liking?” Luo Binghe asked, pouring a glass of pomegranate juice for him. Their chairs weren’t too close together, but close enough for them to hear each other clearly.
“It’s delicious, as always, like everything you make, Binghe.”
Anyone watching from afar would see a cheerful, happy, and friendly girl walking next to the boy she liked so much, trying to get his attention, trying to win him over with flirtations, letters, and sweets she kept giving him.
A smile formed on the student's face as he watched Shen Qingqiu take a piece of pork drenched in the sweet and sour sauce, lifting it to his lips, the golden, fried meat, with small vegetables falling off, the sauce lightly dripping, and the look of satisfaction on his face as Shen Qingqiu chewed the delicious food.
No one noticed that the sweets she gave him were thrown in the trash, the letters were torn without ever being read, and the flirtations ignored without a second thought. Perhaps she was too busy gazing at Luo Binghe, imagining her future as his dear wife, the mother of his children, to notice that Luo Binghe’s eyes were looking at someone else, not at her.
“Would Laoshi like some dessert? I could make whatever Laoshi wants,” Luo Binghe offered.
“You don’t have to go to all that trouble-”
“I’d love some dessert,” Xiao Gongzhu said with a smile on her lips. She sat next to Luo Binghe, so it was easy for her to overhear. “How about some Herb Jelly? It’s my favorite dessert.”
Luo Binghe pretended not to hear, and noticing this, Shen Qingqiu sighed. “How about glutinous rice balls? I think we have the ingredients to make that, not sure if we brought gelatin.”
“Hm? But I don’t like rice balls.”
Shen Qingqiu scoffed, and in a still formal but sarcastic tone, said, “Well, maybe you could go buy gelatin so we can make Herb Jelly then.”
“I could check if we have gelatin-” Gongyi Xiao suggested, catching Luo Binghe’s attention.
“There’s no need. If Xiao Gongzhu wants Herb Jelly so much, she can go check and make it herself.” Despite the hard words, his voice was calm, and there was a gentle smile on his face.
Sha Hualing let out a loud laugh, which Ning Yingying quickly scolded her for, but she still didn’t hold back from saying, “As if she’s ever set foot in a kitchen in her life.”
Xiao Gongzhu glared at her, fire in her eyes. “And you? Have you ever been in the kitchen for any reason other than-”
“Laoshi, you like sago with mango cream, don’t you?”
“Huh? Yes, but…” Shen Qingqiu seemed thoughtful for a moment. No one at the table seemed to notice their conversation, too preoccupied with stopping Sha Hualing and Xiao Gongzhu from fighting. “I thought we didn’t have any mangoes or sago?”
“We do have sago,” he said proudly, leaning closer to Shen Qingqiu at the table. “Since Laoshi likes sago in his tea so much, I made sure to bring some. I can see if there’s a tree with mangoes in the forest tomorrow.”
Qin Wanyue, who had been quiet up until then, listening from a distance, lowered her gaze. Apparently, her sister being lost in the forest wasn’t a good enough reason for Luo Binghe to go out and look for her, but… searching for mangoes to make dessert for Shen Qingqiu… that seemed like a good enough reason.
Not that Luo Binghe had ever told Qin Wanrong she could be his girlfriend. Not that Luo Binghe had ever offered to help her with homework, tests, and studies. Not that Luo Binghe had ever exchanged more than three sentences with her in a day. Yet, she still thought she had a chance.
Ah… poor, annoying girl.
A smile spread across Shen Qingqiu's face. “If that's what you want to do, I’d love it.”
──★ ˙🐷 ̟ !!
Luo Binghe calmly washed the dishes, humming while he distracted himself by cleaning the dirty plates, handing them over to Shen Qingqiu to dry and put in their places. Although Gongyi Xiao had offered to help with the dishes, he was promptly refused by Luo Binghe, as was Ning Yingying when she wanted to assist, but all she got was, "Why don’t you stay with Qin Wanyue instead? I can manage." In the end, Shen Qingqiu had to insist on helping Luo Binghe, who didn’t want to let his Laoshi do any work for him.
Eventually, Luo Binghe accepted on the condition that he would do all the hard work, and Shen Qingqiu would just keep him company — even though Shen Qingqiu ended up putting away the dishes Luo Binghe washed.
“Binghe…” Shen Qingqiu spoke softly as Luo Binghe cleaned one of the knives he had used to cook. It was sharp and large, probably used to cut the meat.
“Yes, Laoshi?”
“You divided the shopping list among the group, assigning who should bring what so we’d have enough food here at the country house, didn’t you?”
Luo Binghe stopped humming and turned to face his tutor. “That’s right.”
“I asked if you wanted me to bring meat.”
“Hm.”
“And you said it wasn’t necessary.”
Exactly with those words. Not saying he didn’t want it, but that it wasn’t necessary.
“Then Gongyi Xiao asked again in the group chat if you wanted him to bring meat, and you replied saying you weren’t sure if the cabin’s freezer would be working, so it wasn’t necessary to bring any.”
Luo Binghe remained silent, his attention returning to the knife he was scrubbing.
“When we were unloading the car, I helped you put things in the fridge, and at no point do I remember seeing any meat.”
Luo Binghe turned around again, a slight smile on his lips.
“Oh, how strange, isn’t it?”
Shen Qingqiu sighed, unable to ignore how beautiful and endearing Luo Binghe’s smile was, especially when the cabin’s yellow light hit him just right. “Why that face, Laoshi? You know I’d never lie to you… You just have to ask the right question.”
Shen Qingqiu stared at him for a few more seconds, various thoughts swirling through his mind. In the end, he sighed again and finally put away the plate he had been drying for nearly two minutes. “I guess… I guess someone must have brought the meat and put it in the fridge.”
Luo Binghe resumed humming, this time letting his beautiful voice sing along to the lyrics of the song.
Shen Qingqiu thought that perhaps the less he knew, the better it would be.
Or, at least, he could still pretend to be ignorant.