Chapter 43: Instant Noodles Brotherhood
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Because the monthly exam was scheduled for tomorrow, the Wednesday evening self-study was suspended, and everyone could go home as soon as school was over.
An Lan received a message from his mom, stating that his parents had social engagements tonight, and he should handle his own dinner.
“Tsk…”
With the parents not around, it was time to let loose.
An Lan had already planned it out: buy a ham sausage, a small bag of crab sticks, and another bag of instant noodles. Boil them in a small pot, add a can of cola, open the latest episode of an ongoing anime, and enjoy—pure bliss!
When An Lan went to find the crab stick package, he unexpectedly saw someone who he thought wouldn’t appear in the supermarket—someone standing in front of the fresh produce freezer.
That person was Xiao Chen.
Xiao Chen’s school uniform jacket hung loosely at his elbows, and underneath, he wore a T-shirt with the words “Die Scum” on it. His slightly long hair was tied with a small ribbon, adorned with a little bee and sunflower.
Xiao Chen obviously didn’t enjoy shopping at the supermarket. He picked up this and looked at that, then threw it back into the freezer.
Tall and handsome, with that weary yet picky look—it was like a scene from a movie poster. Although for An Lan, it was a bit aggravating.
Although Xiao Chen hadn’t spent all the breakfast funds he gave him, and they had cultivated some friendship during the practice match, Xiao Chen’s temper was inscrutable. It might be better to retreat.
An Lan pushed the cart and went around to the shelf for ham sausages and pickles. Who would have thought that as soon as he turned out from the shelf, he would bump into Xiao Chen head-on.
Oh no? Wasn’t this guy still picking and choosing at the frozen food section?
When Xiao Chen saw An Lan, the corners of his mouth slowly curved up, and that not-so-friendly smile made An Lan’s head ache a bit.
“What… a coincidence, Xiao Chen.”
Holding the cart with one hand, Xiao Chen lifted his chin and looked at An Lan, with eyes that said, “I’ve got you now.”
“Where’s the coincidence? Are you referring to seeing me at the freezer and then turning around and leaving?” Xiao Chen said slowly, taking a glance at An Lan’s cart.
D*mn, did Xiao Chen notice him back then?
So now, is he blocking him?
This feels like a tricky situation…
“Didn’t expect you to come to the supermarket too. Planning to cook something for yourself tonight?” An Lan put on a casual and open expression.
If he stutters again, Xiao Chen will make fun of him.
“It’s all because of my sister. She said she wanted to make steak. The steaks in the supermarket are all frozen… Nothing delicious.” Xiao Chen said leisurely, glancing at An Lan’s shopping cart, “Ham sausages? Instant noodles? Are you planning to eat these junk foods for dinner?”
“Junk food can satisfy your soul.” An Lan laughed. Since Xiao Chen didn’t want to make way for him, An Lan could also “retreat.”
An Lan stepped back and left the shelf.
Unexpectedly, he ran into Xiao Chen again at the self-checkout counter, and they stood back-to-back, making their payments.
Xiao Chen still bought frozen steak and butter. Their steps coincided strangely. Fortunately, Xiao Chen’s legs were a bit longer than An Lan’s, so he walked out of the supermarket gate earlier.
What surprised An Lan was that he seemed to be “following” Xiao Chen all the way, and Xiao Chen didn’t mind at all. This continued until they entered An Lan’s residential community.
What’s… going on?
All these were not just “coincidences,” and more surprisingly, they both entered the same elevator!
The elevator, which was originally quite spacious, became cramped because of Xiao Chen’s arrival.
An Lan, holding plastic bags, naturally moved to the corner, giving the main spot to this big boss.
Xiao Chen held plastic bags in one hand, played with his phone with the other, and his fingers casually touched the floor button. The elevator started going up. After a while, Xiao Chen suddenly looked at An Lan behind him and asked, “Which floor?”
“Eighth… floor,” An Lan replied.
“Oh.” Xiao Chen tapped the eighth floor with his phone.
Xiao Chen got off on the sixth floor, making An Lan take a deep breath. The air in the elevator seemed to freshen up as soon as Xiao Chen left.
Just as the elevator doors were about to close, a hand held the opening, and the doors slowly opened. Xiao Chen smirked at An Lan, “Hmm, no stuttering today.”
“I… never stuttered.”
“If you pretend not to see me next time, do you know what will happen?” Xiao Chen said.
“Are you going to beat me?”
“No, I’ll make you introduce yourself.”
After saying that, Xiao Chen smiled, a bit magnanimous and a bit childish.
It wasn’t until the elevator doors closed, rising to the eighth floor, that An Lan came back to his senses.
While boiling water, An Lan suddenly understood. Didn’t they say Xiao Chen left home with his sister?
They couldn’t stay in a hotel every day, so they must have rented a place.
The high possibility was that Xiao Chen had rented a place downstairs from An Lan’s home.
“Fate…”
Actually, it was more like doomed fate.
Although he always felt at a loss when he saw Xiao Chen, deep down, An Lan knew that Xiao Chen was not a bad person.
For example, he worried that if An Lan performed too well in the practice match for Observing the Mountains and Seas, Xiao Nan would suppress him.
Or when An Lan had a pheromone stress reaction, Xiao Nan also accompanied him to the hospital.
When the water boiled, An Lan put in the instant noodles, fish cakes, and ham sausages.
He was used to putting the seasoning packet in first so that the flavor would be more intense.
He washed a few cabbage leaves, tore them up, and threw them in. An Lan stood with his hands on his hips, waiting for the delicious dish.
At this moment, the doorbell rang.
Huh, could it be that Mom and Dad were back?
Knowing he was cooking instant noodles, Mom would probably nag again.
“Coming—” An Lan answered.
The person outside seemed a bit impatient and actually knocked on the door with their fist.
An Lan had to turn off the heat, walk to the door, and ask, “Who is it?”
“It’s me.”
“How would I know who you are…” An Lan looked through the peephole and then dumbfounded.
Oh my, why was it Xiao Chen?
Undeniably, Xiao Chen’s looks were very resilient. Even looking at him through the peephole, he was a handsome guy—a face that An Lan’s mom would unquestionably buy if he came to sell cleaning products.
“Xiao Chen? What’s up?” An Lan opened the door.
“Are you cooking instant noodles? Why does it smell so good?” Xiao Chen asked.
“Aren’t you pan-frying steak?” An Lan asked.
“Frying what steak? That big ice chunk, who knows when it will thaw.” Xiao Chen raised his eyebrows.
The hint was too obvious. I’m already at your doorstep; you’re not going to invite me in?
Want to die!
“I’m cooking instant noodles.”
An Lan quickly made way and brought out slippers from the shoe cabinet for Xiao Chen.
“Then help me cook too.”
An Lan just realized that Xiao Chen was holding two packets of the same brand of instant noodles.
So he came prepared?
“Didn’t you despise instant noodles as junk food?” An Lan retorted.
He was laughing in his heart, but he had to keep a straight face so that Xiao Chen wouldn’t see through him.
“Junk food can satisfy our souls.” Xiao Chen, looking like an experienced person, patting An Lan’s shoulder.
An Lan sighed helplessly. It seemed that Xiao Chen’s nose was too sensitive and smelled the scent of boiling instant noodles.
Opening the door, An Lan found slippers for Xiao Chen.
An Lan originally thought that Xiao Chen, like a big boss, would wait on the sofa for the food to be ready. However, he was surprised to find that Xiao Chen actually followed him into the kitchen.
“Your ingredients are quite rich,” Xiao Chen said, leaning his face over the pot and sniffing, making An Lan inexplicably want to laugh.
“If you’re hungry, just eat this pot first.”
Xiao Chen, who stood big and tall in the kitchen, made An Lan feel a lot of pressure. It seemed impossible to feed him enough.
Unexpectedly, Xiao Chen shook his head and said, “I’ll help you. Let’s eat together when it’s ready.”
He spoke with a somewhat matter-of-fact tone, making An Lan pleasantly surprised. Although it was just instant noodles and there wasn’t much he could help with, it was unexpected.
Xiao Chen opened both packets of instant noodles and stood aside, looking like a well-behaved child waiting for An Lan’s instructions.
The kitchen instantly became quiet. An Lan felt a bit awkward.
Xiao Chen was the one to break the silence. He pointed at the crab stick packets slightly trembling in the boiling water and asked, “Is this fish roe or crab stick?”
“Crab stick,” An Lan replied.
Although it was a bit awkward, it seemed like they suddenly got closer. Looking at Xiao Chen, who was a big boss, actively talking to him about instant noodles, made An Lan feel quite happy.
“You’re living in this neighborhood now. How do you go to school in the morning?” An Lan asked.
“How do you go to school?” Xiao Chen countered.
The noodles in the pot were about to overflow, and Xiao Chen quickly lifted the lid. “How do you go to school?”
“I scan the code and ride a shared bike.”
“Then I’ll scan the code and ride a shared bike too,” Xiao Chen replied.
Finally, Xiao Chen added, “I’m leaving Observing the Mountains and Seas.”
“What? Why?” An Lan was stunned. “Are you… giving up shooting?”
Xiao Chen looked at An Lan as if he were a fool. “Is Observing the Mountains and Seas the only place in the world to practice shooting? Your Above Cloud Club is pretty good too, and the membership fee and coach fee are cheap.”
Generally, people from families like Xiao Chen’s had some face, and even if they had to leave a high level club due to lack of money, they would find some grandiose reasons. But Xiao Chen bluntly stated that he was changing clubs because it was cheaper.
“If you come to Above Cloud Club, it would be great. With you there, our ‘Above Cloud’ 10-meter mobile target men’s team might even make it to the top three.”
The more An Lan thought about it, the more he felt that it was a good idea for Xiao Chen to come to Above Cloud.
Seeing An Lan’s “future imagination” expression, Xiao Chen laughed lightly.
“What’s wrong?”
“You’re the first person who sincerely welcomed me,” Xiao Chen said.
“With your skill level, which club wouldn’t welcome you?” An Lan found it strange.
“Clubs like Jinxiu Tianxia and Junhe Club wouldn’t dare to take me in,” Xiao Chen replied.
“Fearing to offend the Xiao family?”
“Looks like you’ve heard about my situation from others.”
“Uh… kind of. If you’re not happy at the Xiao family’s place, it’s good to leave. I just worry…” An Lan thought for a moment. It was Xiao Chen’s own business, so he stopped talking.
“What do you worry about?” Xiao Chen crossed his arms, slightly lowered his head, and deliberately smiled at An Lan.
“What else can I worry about? Even if Above Cloud Club is a bit more civilian, you still have to pay coach fees, right? If you’ve left home, does the Xiao family still provide you with living expenses?” An Lan asked.
Xiao Chen laughed, his voice low, and his eyes formed two bridges.
Before, An Lan always felt that Xiao Chen, although handsome, had a somewhat unfeeling and unfaithful appearance, but at this moment, he seemed to have a bit of the lovable charm of a big boy.
“Even a starving camel is bigger than a horse, haven’t you heard that?”
“Oh. Did you save all your pocket money?” An Lan half-jokingly said.
Xiao Chen didn’t speak.
Whether it was pocket money or living expenses, it was Xiao Chen’s privacy, and they couldn’t get into deep conversations for now.
“Do you like the ramen cooked softer and more flavorful, or do you prefer it to be more elastic?” An Lan asked.
“Softer and more flavorful.”
“Okay, keep an eye on the fire. I’ll go get a couple of eggs.”
How could you not put eggs in Shin Ramyun?
Shin Ramyun without eggs was like a soulless dish.
“Get an extra one. I really like eggs in ramen,” Xiao Chen said without hesitation.
But An Lan quite liked his straightforwardness.
We’re classmates, being too reserved is not interesting. Eat when you want to eat, drink when you want to drink.
“Then I’ll get four. I also like eggs in Shin Ramyun.” An Lan also smiled.
Three minutes later, a pot of Shin Ramyun was placed on the dining table.
Holding chopsticks and bowls, the two kept scooping noodles into their bowls.
“Do we have cola?” Xiao Chen asked.
“Tsk, I only have one can. I didn’t expect to eat instant noodles with you when I was shopping at the supermarket,” An Lan replied.
“Wait for me then. I’ll go to my place and get a can of cola.”
“You go ahead. With such a big pot, I can’t finish it anyway.”
An Lan noticed that Xiao Chen used the term “go home,” meaning that in Xiao Chen’s heart, the house downstairs was considered home.
When Xiao Chen came back, he had just opened the cola, and An Lan raised the can towards him.
“What’s this?” Xiao Chen asked.
“Tsk… after eating a pot of instant noodles together, aren’t we brothers? Shouldn’t we clink glasses?” An Lan raised his chin.
Xiao Chen laughed again. “You really are the first at everything.”
“Huh? The first at everything? What do you mean?” An Lan couldn’t understand.
“Among the people around me, besides my sister, you are the first person who stored Su Song Ning’s songs in your phone, the first person to eat instant noodles with me, the first person to call me brother, and also the first person to toast with me,” Xiao Chen said in a calm tone.
However, these so-called “firsts” indicated that Xiao Chen was actually quite lonely.
“Oh, so do you clink or not?”
“Sure, let’s do it.” Xiao Chen imitated An Lan’s tone.
The two cans of cola collided, and each took a sip. An Lan suddenly thought of something.
“Hey, how did you know that Su Song Ning’s songs are stored in my phone?”
“You once gave a phone to a girl in the hospital, she is my sister, wanting to play Su Song Ning’s songs for me to listen to,” Xiao Chen replied.
“So that was your sister?” An Lan showed a surprised expression. “Such a cute girl is actually your sister?”
So, that person was Xiao Chen.
No wonder he withdrew from the competition later.
An Lan didn’t mention Xiao Chen being influenced by Ye Yun’s pheromone, but suddenly, he understood why Xiao Chen could recognize his phone in the KTV.
The lucky cat phone case, after all, Xiao Chen had used this phone to listen to Su Song Ning’s songs.
Xiao Chen’s brows wrinkled, and he directly picked up the crab stick packet that An Lan was about to put in his mouth.
“What do you mean?”
“Because your styles are different. Your sister has a cute style, the kind that makes people want to take care of her. You have an overbearing style, the kind that makes people want to…”
“Want to do what?” Xiao Chen poked at the crab stick with his chopsticks, looking at An Lan.
Feeling displeased by An Lan, Xiao Chen wouldn’t hesitate to poke An Lan’s eyes out with chopsticks.
“In my heart, I torture you a thousand times; on my face, I treat you like my first love.”
After An Lan finished speaking, he poked the crab stick packet back from Xiao Chen.
“It seems like you really want to die.”
The crab stick was once again grabbed by Xiao Chen in mid-air.
Their back-and-forth actions resembled a martial arts duel, and the fate of the crab stick packet was tumultuous and precarious. Finally, it landed on the table with a soft sound.
“Here, have it.” Xiao Chen leaned back, adopting a boss-like demeanor.
“I’ll eat the one in the pot.” An Lan wasn’t going to eat the one that fell on the table.
Xiao Chen remained quiet, just gazing at the lonely crab stick packet.
An Lan clinked his cola with Xiao Chen’s cola. “Hey, what’s wrong?”
“Don’t you think this crab stick packet looks pitiful?” Xiao Chen slightly lifted his chin.
“Huh? What’s wrong?”
“At first, we were all fighting over it, poking and flipping it around. In reality, we didn’t necessarily have to eat it. But once it fell on the table, we started to dislike it, and it could only cool down slowly by itself, eventually becoming trash thrown into the bin. We wouldn’t care about the taste inside it, as it’s no different from other crab stick packets.”
An Lan was stunned; he had never expected Xiao Chen to say such sentimental words.
For a moment, An Lan actually felt a sense of guilt.
The crab stick left on the table was lonely, having lost all its value.
And An Lan didn’t know if Xiao Chen had associated it with something about himself.
“Okay, I’ll eat it.” An Lan resignedly picked it up, putting it into his mouth.
Suddenly, Xiao Chen laughed while holding his chopsticks. “Hey—I was just teasing you! Look at you, feeling sympathy for a crab stick… I didn’t expect you to really…”
An Lan, however, put on a very enjoyable expression.
“Although it’s already cold on the outside, the crab inside is warm, smooth, and just right… just like someone.”
Xiao Chen caught the implication in An Lan’s words, raising his eyebrows. “Who is this ‘someone’?”
“Nobody.” An Lan calmly continued to scoop up instant noodles into his bowl, watching as Xiao Chen was about to dig deeper. An Lan quickly changed the topic, “Shall we stop awkwardly talking and eat instant noodles? Shouldn’t we watch a TV series instead?”
“Huh?”
“There’s a TV series called ‘Warmth and Love of the Corpse.'”
An Lan hadn’t even started recommending it formally, and Xiao Chen directly said, “This TV series sounds a bit twisted.”
“It’s a serious forensic TV series.”
“Oh… forensic, well, then the name is acceptable.”
“Shall we start now? There are all kinds of disgusting autopsy scenes inside. Let’s see who will vomit first?” An Lan asked with a mischievous smile.
“You’re changing the topic so abruptly. But, given your strong survival instincts, let’s watch the TV series,” Xiao Chen said.
An Lan enthusiastically moved his chair next to Xiao Chen, placing his phone in front of them. The TV series had just started for less than three minutes, and the forensic protagonist had already dissected a corpse.
An Lan deliberately turned up the volume to the maximum. The sound of the organs being taken out made people psychologically uncomfortable.
Next, the forensic expert took out the contents of the stomach and gently shook them in a transparent measuring cup, describing the contents.
“Toxicology of the deceased’s stomach… instant noodles, more precisely Shin Ramyun. There are undigested… suspected to be fish cake or crab stick…”
Honestly, if this were An Lan’s first time watching this show, he might have already felt nauseous. But after watching several seasons, An Lan was immune to these scenes. He sneakily glanced at Xiao Chen, who was both eating noodles and staring at the phone screen, and even took the last crab stick.
D*mn… why did it feel like Xiao Chen’s appetite was getting better as he watched this show?
Just ten minutes in, and the entire pot of noodles was finished.
An Lan was about to get up to wash the pot, but unexpectedly, Xiao Chen pressed him down.
“What’s the hurry? Let’s finish this episode first.”
“Huh?”
Originally, An Lan wanted to gross him out, but unexpectedly, this guy was getting hooked?
When this episode ended, Xiao Chen voluntarily took the pot back to the kitchen. His actions in pouring detergent were skillful, and he soaked the bowls and chopsticks together in the pot. This was totally… a look of someone who could do household chores.
“I thought… it’d be good enough if you didn’t mistake detergent for hand soap.”
The hand soap at An Lan’s house was a pump type, looking like liquid soap.
“When I was young, my mom was often not around. Although there were aunties to cook for us, after eating, I washed the dishes myself. If I let my sister wash the dishes, she would end up breaking all the plates in the house.”
While Xiao Chen spoke, he rinsed and wiped the bowls and chopsticks.
His hands were steady, and this Xiao Chen had a very lively vibe, not like a school bully at all. Instead, he seemed like… a good man who was good at homemaking.
“Oh. Your mom often travels for work, right?” An Lan asked casually.
“My mom… is Su Song Ning,” Xiao Chen said.
An Lan was stunned; no wonder Xiao Chen’s sister hurriedly looked for Su Song Ning’s song to wake him up when he lost consciousness due to an overdose of inhibitors.
Xiao Chen lowered his eyes, seeming to regret saying it.
“No wonder…”
“No wonder what?” Xiao Chen didn’t look at An Lan as threateningly as he used to, seemingly not wanting An Lan to inquire about the past or feel sorry for him.
“The most beautiful part of your whole body is your eyes. I was wondering why, and it turns out they resemble your mom’s.”
Even now, Su Song Ning was still a goddess.
Xiao Chen smiled. “That’s right, the most resembling part of me to my mom is my eyes. Also, it’s the most beautiful part.”
After they placed the bowls and chopsticks in the disinfection cabinet, the door opened.
It turned out to be An Lan’s parents who had returned.
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