BH (QT) – Phoenix Man (2)

Chapter 2 – Phoenix Man (2) *edited

A young man appeared on the campus of A University, looking as if he had come from a rural mountain valley.

People passing by cast curious glances at Jiang Pingxiu, who was being led by Yan Jingze.

Yan Jingze’s roommate, Huo Liang, was especially curious as he scrutinized Jiang Pingxiu. “Yan Jingze, I’ve never heard of you having such a friend before!”

“Now you’ve heard of him,” Yan Jingze replied.

Huo Liang smiled, “He looks so young!”

“Uh-huh,” Yan Jingze also thought Jiang Pingxiu looked very young. Just thinking that the original owner of this body had exploited an underage child like this made Yan Jingze feel bitter. Moreover, the hand he was holding was trembling and rough, which only made him feel more pained.

Yan Jingze looked at Huo Liang, “Huo Liang, my friend is here, so I won’t eat with you today.”

“Alright then, see you later,” Huo Liang smiled and headed to the canteen.

After Huo Liang left, Yan Jingze looked at Jiang Pingxiu, “Pingxiu, what do you like to eat?”

Jiang Pingxiu tightened his grip on the plastic bag containing the roasted duck and finally mustered up the courage, “Brother Jingze, I… I brought… brought something for you. I… I have to go now.” He looked like this, walking with Brother Jingze would definitely embarrass Brother Jingze.

“You came all this way to see me, so stay and eat first,” Yan Jingze said gently.

Jiang Pingxiu must not have eaten yet, coming all the way in this cold weather. Yan Jingze felt he should let Jiang Pingxiu have something warm to eat before leaving.

“I… I…” Jiang Pingxiu stammered, unable to speak.

By this time, Yan Jingze had already led him into the campus canteen.

A University had several canteens, all located close to each other, and they were all quite spacious, offering a variety of food items.

The one they usually went to was the largest canteen, Canteen No.1, and now Yan Jingze also brought Jiang Pingxiu to Canteen No.1.

White tiles covered the floor, and the walls were painted snowy white. In the middle were large wooden tables and chairs, making the whole canteen look clean and bright.

Jiang Pingxiu looked down at his shoes; these shoes were thrown away by a tenant who used to live in the same apartment as him. They originally belonged to a girl, and he felt they were still good to wear after cleaning them. They were his best shoes, but they were white with a pink tint, and the shoelaces were also pink, a little dirty too.

He felt embarrassed to step on such a clean floor.

“Have a seat here; I’ll go get some food,” Yan Jingze said to Jiang Pingxiu, asking him to sit at a table while he went to buy food with his meal card.

Yan Jingze took a food tray and ordered two portions of rice and two vegetable dishes.

The meals at A University were very affordable, and he initially wanted to buy more variety for Jiang Pingxiu to eat, but he thought that all the money he was spending now was hard-earned by Jiang Pingxiu. He didn’t want to be too extravagant, so in the end, he only bought two of the cheapest vegetable dishes, each costing 1.5 yuan.

After placing the food in front of Jiang Pingxiu, Yan Jingze went back and got two bowls of free soup, along with two empty bowls.

While carrying the soup back, he noticed Jiang Pingxiu looking at him cautiously and then quickly lowering his head, seemingly embarrassed.

Yan Jingze sat next to him and asked with a smile, “Did you bring the roasted duck for me?”

Jiang Pingxiu nodded, lowering his head even further. The plastic bag with the roasted duck was placed on his lap, and he nervously fidgeted with it.

It was now December, and Jiang Pingxiu had been in this city since July, working at the car wash for over five months.

The car wash came with meals and accommodation, so for these five months, he had been living in a dirty shop and eating the simple meals cooked by the shop owner.

For him, this roasted duck he brought back was the best thing he could offer.

However, upon arriving at the school canteen, Jiang Pingxiu realized that the roasted duck he considered good might not be that special here.

The other students were holding stainless steel trays filled with steaming chicken legs and braised pork, and they could afford to eat well.

“Let’s eat together,” Yan Jingze said, taking the plastic bag and opening it.

Roasted duck was best when it was warm, but now it was the cold winter.

Jiang Pingxiu brought the roasted duck over, and the once-oily and fragrant roasted duck now looked excessively greasy.

Furthermore, someone had already eaten the roasted duck, and it was missing a leg. Anyone with discerning taste wouldn’t even consider eating it.

“It’s cold…” Jiang Pingxiu said with a hint of embarrassment.

“It’s still duck meat!” Yan Jingze chuckled, dividing the rice into two bowls and then tearing off the remaining duck leg to give it to Jiang Pingxiu. “Eat quickly.”

Yan Jingze then took a wing for himself and started eating.

Yan Jingze’s actions seemed so natural that Jiang Pingxiu, who had been tense all this while, finally relaxed a bit.

He stole a cautious glance at Yan Jingze and pushed the bowl towards him. “You…eat the duck leg.”

“I like eating wings,” Yan Jingze smiled. “Don’t you know? Wings are more expensive than legs.”

Jiang Pingxiu seemed a bit stunned.

“Quick, eat it. Otherwise, the food will get cold,” Yan Jingze said. He scooped some vegetables onto Jiang Pingxiu’s plate while they were eating. As a young man, Jiang Pingxiu should eat more meat, but he also needed to have plenty of vegetables.

The two vegetable dishes Yan Jingze bought were stir-fried zucchini and carrot with cauliflower, both very common vegetables. Jiang Pingxiu pointed at the zucchini and asked, “Brother, what’s this… I’ve never had it before.”

“This is zucchini,” Yan Jingze replied.

Jiang Pingxiu then pointed at the cauliflower and asked, “What about this… what’s it called? I’ve eaten it before, but I don’t know what it is.”

“This is cauliflower,” Yan Jingze answered again.

Jiang Pingxiu smiled a little, “It’s delicious.”

In truth, this boy had very well-proportioned features, but his hair was dry and yellow, his skin a bit dark, and his face full of broken capillaries. His clothes were also worn out and messy, making him far from good-looking.

However, Yan Jingze found him very good-looking.

Thinking like this, Yan Jingze wanted to slap himself again… but nevermind, the original owner was nowhere to be found, and now he was the one using this body, so he decided not to slap himself.

A meal at A University was quite substantial. Most boys ate one portion, while many girls had half a portion.

However, Jiang Pingxiu finished his portion in just a few bites, not saying anything, but Yan Jingze felt that he probably wasn’t full.

Thankfully, there was still a whole roasted duck, with plenty of meat left.

“Have some more meat,” Yan Jingze placed some roasted duck meat in Jiang Pingxiu’s bowl and thought for a moment before adding, “Let me get you a bowl of congee.”

“No, you don’t have to…”

“Congee is free; it doesn’t cost anything,” Yan Jingze said. The congee cooked in the morning at A University would be reheated if there was any left by lunchtime and offered to students for free along with the soup.

Jiang Pingxiu was somewhat surprised, “It’s free?”

“Yes, it’s free,” Yan Jingze replied. Eating at A University was really cheap, and students could apply for various subsidies, yet the original owner shamelessly exploited Jiang Pingxiu… it was truly disgusting.

Yan Jingze quickly got two bowls of porridge. He didn’t eat any and gave them all to Jiang Pingxiu, who ended up eating both bowls. Even the entire roasted duck, Jiang Pingxiu ate much more than Yan Jingze did.

The growing child had a good appetite!

After Jiang Pingxiu finished eating, Yan Jingze said, “Pingxiu, come with me to my dormitory. I have something for you.”

“Huh?” Jiang Pingxiu was taken aback, but Yan Jingze dragged him to his dormitory. However, Jiang Pingxiu refused to go upstairs. “I won’t go, brother… I’ll embarrass you.”

Yan Jingze’s eyes teared up a little, but he didn’t insist. He asked Jiang Pingxiu to wait for a moment and then went upstairs to fetch the set of warm clothes and a long cotton coat that the original owner had just bought. He came back downstairs and gave them to Jiang Pingxiu.

“Brother, this is your clothes…”

“If I gave it to you, it’s yours now,” Yan Jingze handed the long cotton coat to Jiang Pingxiu and asked, “Where is the car wash shop where you work? I’ll come find you in a couple of days on the weekend.”

Jiang Pingxiu hesitated for a moment before telling Yan Jingze the address of the car wash shop.

Yan Jingze had an excellent memory, and after hearing it once, he remembered the address. He then patted Jiang Pingxiu’s head and said, “Take your time on the way back.”

“Okay,” Jiang Pingxiu’s face turned red, and he slowly walked forward. After walking a short distance, he couldn’t help but turn back and found Yan Jingze still standing there, looking at him. When he turned back, Yan Jingze waved at him.

Jiang Pingxiu quickly turned back and continued walking. When he reached the corner, he couldn’t help but turn back again.

Yan Jingze was still standing there.

His heart felt like it was filled with honey, sweet and flustered. On the way back, Jiang Pingxiu couldn’t stop himself from smiling. As he walked, he almost started skipping.

Having eaten plenty of food and wearing thick cotton clothing, he felt quite warm but he didn’t want to take off the clothes. They were Yan Jingze’s clothes, the clothes given to him by Brother Jingze.

Even though the clothes were a bit big for him and didn’t fit perfectly, Jiang Pingxiu wished he could keep wearing them forever and never take them off.

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15 thoughts on “BH (QT) – Phoenix Man (2)

  1. Ahhh. This made my heart warm. I look forward to this very much!! I was wondering if there was a set update schedule.

  2. And here I was wondering why the of Jing Ze not apply for subsidies if his grade is that good. Turns out he’s too much of a scum to rely on himself and has to squeeze a poor boy that’s 3 years younger than him🙂

  3. Es demasiado bueno este progreso, donde me consigo personas tan lindas? Es demasiado excelente este modo de lectura. Gracias traductor.

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