“I’ll wipe it up,” Yan Jun said to Zhang Yuwen as he set Xiao-Qi down to help with the housework. Zheng Weize brought out a stuffed toy from his room to play with her. She loved it, babbling happily and toddling around, holding onto the sofa with one hand for support and the toy with the other.
“Xiao-Qi’s mom is working the night shift tonight. Can she sleep here for a night?” Yan Jun asked.
“Of course.” Zhang Yuwen was fond of the little baby. “Can you manage?”
“It’s no problem for me. I’m just worried we’ll disturb you.”
Yan Jun didn’t meet Zhang Yuwen’s eyes as he went to change the rags. The aroma wafting from the kitchen made him feel even more homesick.
“Chef.” Yan Jun patted Chang Jinxing’s arm as Chang Jinxing tasted the soup. He smiled at Zhang Yuwen when he came out of the kitchen again.
“What?” Zhang Yuwen asked, puzzled.
“We’re friends,” Yan Jun said.
“Yeah, we are. What about it?”
Yan Jun wanted to confess something to Zhang Yuwen. If Zhang Yuwen had just laughed him off, he would have dropped the idea, but Zhang Yuwen said “Yeah,” which made him feel like maybe Zhang Yuwen could understand his difficulties.
However, this wasn’t the best time for it.
Chang Jinxing’s culinary skills were as good as advertised. The braised pork knuckles were tender, the huge platter of blanched seafood included springy prawns and smooth shellfish, and the piping hot steamed fish was perfectly cooked and seasoned with soy sauce. More than half of the fish was devoured as soon as it was served. Chang Jinxing flipped it over while he was serving the dishes, and by the time he went back into the kitchen for the vegetables and came back out to take his seat at the dining table, all that was left of the fish was bones.
“Oops, sorry!” Chen Hong said. “We didn’t wait for you.”
“The flavor of a dish starts changing the moment it leaves the pot,” Chang Jinxing said with a smile. “If you want to taste it at its most delicious, you have to eat it as soon as possible. That’s how you show respect to the chef.”
He’d put a lot of thought into impressing his roommates, meticulously planning the meal so that the six dishes and the soup were served at almost the same time. This was the perseverance of a great chef.
“How long are you two going to keep wiping the floor?” Chang Jinxing said as he served up the last dish. “Let’s dig in!”
Zhang Yuwen nonchalantly separated from an embarrassed Yan Jun. A group of gay guys living together would inevitably enjoy teasing each other, and the best way to avoid being teased was to strike first and tease someone else. Zhang Yuwen understood this well, but based on his observations, any two of these guys could easily make up a pair. There were so many possible combinations that he didn’t know where to start.
When all the dishes were served and everyone raised their glasses for a toast, Zhang Yuwen chose a pair and launched his attack. “To Xing-ge’s and sister-in-law’s health.”
Zheng Weize was teaching Xiao-Qi to say “thank you” when he heard this. “Hey! Hey! Don’t talk nonsense!” he exclaimed, exaggerating his response in both embarrassment and excitement. “Who knew you could be so cheeky!”
Zhang Yuwen raised his glass. “Now you know.”
Everyone roared with laughter. “Zhang Yuwen looks serious and decent on the surface,” Chen Hong remarked, “but deep down, he’s all mischief.”
Zhang Yuwen approved of this evaluation and had no intention of refuting it, but he did interrupt to change the subject back to Chang Jinxing and Zheng Weize. They all started ribbing Zheng Weize about whether he waited for Chang Jinxing to return home every night, and what were they always doing in Chang Jinxing’s room…?
It was true: Zheng Weize liked going into Chang Jinxing’s room to lie on his bed and chat with him. Chang Jinxing never chased him away, either. Zheng Weize gave Chang Jinxing skincare products and face masks, and Chang Jinxing accepted them all. Chang Jinxing kept smiling, offering neither confirmation nor denial, which was probably a typical player strategy. Zheng Weize, however, was blushing hard from all the teasing.
Seeing that Zheng Weize was about to get worked up, Chen Hong stepped in to smooth things over. “You’re the youngest here, so everyone sees you as their younger brother. We’re just fooling around.” He put an affectionate arm around Zheng Weize.
The joking finally stopped. Yan Jun, who had been seriously feeding Xiao-Qi baby food while everyone else roasted Zheng Weize and Chang Jinxing, occasionally laughed out loud at their interactions. He’d had a bit of the red wine that Zhang Yuwen had brought out for the occasion, and the lock on his heart was coming loose a little. He almost believed these were his friends now.
“Someone in your family must be a chef.” Zhang Yuwen only had to look at Chang Jinxing’s food presentation to guess. “These are truly remarkable culinary skills.” Chang Jinxing winked at Zhang Yuwen, partly teasing and partly hinting, and Zhang Yuwen let him off without probing further.
“Thank you, Yuwen.” Chen Hong raised his glass again. “It’s thanks to you that we could all get to know each other.”
“Yeah!” Everyone set down their chopsticks and raised their glasses.
“That’s the work of fate.” Zhang Yuwen clinked glasses with them. As the group of good friends came together, drinking to their hearts’ content, the crisp clinking of their wine glasses sounded just like the jingling of coins in a purse—a simultaneous reminder to all four tenants that they still hadn’t paid their rent. Silence hung in the air for a few brief seconds before they awkwardly laughed it off.
After dinner, Yan Jun and Chen Hong chatted as they washed dishes in the kitchen. Xiao-Qi, who was learning to walk, toddled around the house, Zheng Weize close behind her. “What do you do for a living?” Chen Hong asked Yan Jun. “You always seem to be very busy.”
“Equipment sales,” Yan Jun replied.