AVRL 29

Perhaps because he had slept too much during the day, after washing up and lying in bed, Meng Chi didn’t feel sleepy at all. So he just took his new phone and idly scrolled through his moments feed.

Yang Zile had posted a rambling, topsy-turvy version of “Don’t Get Angry” ten minutes ago—

【Getting upset over small things, why bother when you think back? If anger makes you sick, no one can take your place, and it’s exhausting and draining. Don’t compare with neighbors or relatives; let the trivial matters of children and grandchildren be.】

It was clear that he had deliberately chosen this after careful selection.

Meng Chi smiled silently and thought about giving it a like, but he was afraid of provoking his master’s displeasure, so he refrained.

Meng Chi had all sorts of people on his WeChat—tea-buying customers, tea-selling merchants, and some college students who had come to the shop saying they wanted to learn tea ceremony. His moments feed was full of all kinds of posts: beautiful girls’ selfies, crying baby photos, cats, dogs, little rabbits, and more.

When he scrolled past a photo of a hand holding a soft whip, Meng Chi’s thumb suddenly stopped.

It was posted by Yu Tingzhi, around five in the afternoon. In the frame, besides his hand, there was half an easel and a small black kitten. The caption read: 【Angry.】

From the background of the photo, Meng Chi recognized it as the area near the balcony in Yu Tingzhi’s living room. Yu Tingzhi was holding the soft whip that had been wrapped around his lower back last night, apparently trying to tease the little black cat. But the cat ignored him, presenting him with a round, puffy rear end.

Below this post, She Shan had commented: You’re using my exhibit to play with the cat? Can’t you go buy a cat teaser yourself?!!

Yu Tingzhi replied: None of your business.

Looking at those somewhat childish three words, Meng Chi inexplicably found it amusing. Yu Tingzhi was becoming more and more different from the artist he had imagined.

Meng Chi thought about it—although he hadn’t seen a cat at Yu Tingzhi’s place during the day, he had spotted cat food in the cabinet.

The little black cat was very small, probably not long after birth. It wasn’t entirely black; there were small patches of white at the tips of its ears and the tip of its tail. It wasn’t Song Min’s pure black cat.

Oh, so Yu Tingzhi had gotten a cat of his own.

It was only then that Meng Chi noticed Yu Tingzhi’s profile picture had also changed, now featuring this little cat. In the photo, the cat had curled itself into a ball, showing only its two white ear tips—looking even cuter than the fully black one from before.

After looking at the cat for a while, Meng Chi exited the image viewer. Just as he was about to scroll further down, he caught sight of the half picture frame in the photo. Compelled by some force, he opened the image again and zoomed in. He saw that Yu Tingzhi’s wrist had a bit of paint on it, and he could also see a sheet of drawing paper on the easel. Through the blur, he could make out interwoven, tangled brambles painted over a light wheat-colored background.

Meng Chi stared at it for a few seconds, then lifted his gaze toward the painting of spring in the garden on his table.

He hadn’t returned the painting yet, and now he’d also acquired a set of clothes to return.

Meng Chi let out a long breath. Before going to sleep, he was still thinking that he needed to keep his promise and find a time to return both the painting and the clothes.

===Chapter 26 section===

That Meng Chi would be taking Du Feng’s place to go to the countryside and source tea during the spring tea season was now set in stone. Du Feng had gone to Yang Zhengfeng and said that it might not be appropriate for him to compete, and that Meng Chi should go instead. But Yang Zhengfeng hadn’t agreed; he’d even scolded Du Feng, telling him to be more confident.

There was no room for negotiation on this matter, but Meng Chi accepted it well and told Du Feng to focus on the competition. Du Feng could only sigh and pat him on the shoulder, saying that once the master had cooled down, he would go to the countryside and swap back with him.

Meng Chi was leaving Zewu in three days, heading to Xichi, and would be gone for at least twenty days.

During this period, because of his personal matters, Meng Chi had asked Du Feng to cover several of his performances. So in the days before his departure, he stayed put at the shop, making up for those shifts.

The day before he left, Meng Chi finally found time to accept a dinner invitation from Chen Yan at a newly opened hotpot place near Zewu University.

“I told you this place has the real hotpot flavor,” Chen Yan said. He wasn’t a native of Zewu and always complained that the local hotpot wasn’t authentic enough, but he was always the first to try any new hotpot restaurant that opened.

Meng Chi fished a piece of fatty beef from the tomato broth: “Not bad.”

Chen Yan scoffed. “Not bad my ass. I didn’t even see you touch the spicy pot.”

Meng Chi swallowed his food unhurriedly before saying, “I’ve been getting heaty lately.”

Chen Yan had already heard about Meng Chi getting chewed out by Master Yang and being “exiled to the countryside.” At that, he set down his chopsticks and said, “If you ask me, isn’t your master being a bit too controlling? Being a model is your own business, isn’t it? What, does he think posing nude brings shame to the teahouse?”

Meeting Meng Chi’s rather icy gaze, Chen Yan pursed his lips, shut up, and stuffed more meat into his mouth.

After a two-second silence, Meng Chi said, “He doesn’t think I’m embarrassing him. He’s afraid that people will use it against me and affect my future development.”

“Huh?” Chen Yan asked. “Affect what future? Lele told me that photographer is pretty famous—maybe you’ll get another wave of popularity.”

Meng Chi gave him a speechless look. Chen Yan clicked his tongue again. “But yeah, with fame comes trouble. Once you’re well-known, everything about you will be dug up. All those jealous, envious people will say all sorts of nasty things—how annoying.”

Before he’d even become famous, he’d already attracted some unsavory thoughts from Mr. Chen. The man’s words had been unpleasant, but Meng Chi didn’t really care about that. What he didn’t want was for his master to end up with an undeserved reputation for failing to teach his disciple properly.

Sensing that Meng Chi didn’t want to talk about this, Chen Yan didn’t press further. Although he hadn’t known Meng Chi for long, he knew a great deal about his past—that he had essentially cut off contact with his biological parents and that Yang Zhengfeng had looked after him all these years.

To Meng Chi, Youran Teahouse was his second home, and Yang Zhengfeng was more than just a master—perhaps he could even be considered a surrogate father.

Otherwise, Meng Chi wouldn’t have stayed at Youran Teahouse even after completing his apprenticeship, and he hadn’t jumped ship even when other companies had offered him big money to recruit him.

“Oh, right,” Chen Yan remembered something and asked, “What’s going on with you and Song Min? I ran into him when I arrived and wanted to invite him along, but he shook his head like a rattle-drum and looked super awkward.”

“Nothing,” Meng Chi said calmly. “He rejected me.”

Chen Yan, who was drinking water, nearly choked at that. “Rejected? Wait—you confessed that night? No, that doesn’t add up—if you got rejected, why was he the one drunk out of his mind?”

He got rejected too, of course.

But Meng Chi wouldn’t casually reveal others’ privacy. He just said casually, “He was in a bad mood.”

Chen Yan nodded. Seeing that the broth in the pot was running low, he looked around for a waiter, and then he spotted a familiar, tall figure.

Yu Tingzhi stood by the cash register, having just paid his bill, talking to She Shan beside him. Seeming to notice Chen Yan’s gaze, he turned his head and glanced over—and then didn’t look away.

A moment later, She Shan also turned his gaze. Upon seeing Meng Chi’s profile, he grinned and said, “Oh!” then turned to Yu Tingzhi. “Go say hello?”

Yu Tingzhi didn’t refuse.

“What are you looking at?” Meng Chi asked, seeing Chen Yan staring blankly toward the register. He followed his line of sight and saw Yu Tingzhi and She Shan walking toward them.

Meng Chi felt an inexplicable ache in his teeth.

It wasn’t far—just over ten seconds—and soon the two had reached their table.

“What a coincidence, running into you here too,” She Shan said to Meng Chi, then glanced at Chen Yan across the table, who promptly addressed Yu Tingzhi as “Teacher Yu.”

“Is this your student?” She Shan asked Yu Tingzhi.

Only then did Yu Tingzhi shift his gaze away from Meng Chi’s face. He looked at Chen Yan and nodded.

“Are you guys finished eating?” Meng Chi’s gaze swept past Yu Tingzhi and settled on She Shan’s face.

“Yeah. If we’d known you were here, we’d have joined you,” She Shan said.

Meng Chi smiled. “Guess we’re just not fated.”

She Shan shot a sidelong glance at Yu Tingzhi. “Bullshit. With all the hotpot places around, running into each other right here—how is that not fate? I’d say fate runs deep.”

Meng Chi laughed. “Whatever you say.”

Chen Yan’s gaze darted among the three of them, finally landing on Yu Tingzhi’s face. Watching the way Yu Tingzhi looked at Meng Chi, he couldn’t help feeling there was something fishy going on.

This hotpot place, located near the university, wasn’t very big. To squeeze in as many seats as possible, the aisles were narrow. With two tall guys like Yu Tingzhi and She Shan standing there, they completely blocked the path, and even the waiter coming to add broth couldn’t get through.

They didn’t linger to be a nuisance. After exchanging a few words, they prepared to leave. Just before going, Yu Tingzhi suddenly said softly to Meng Chi, “Try not to eat too much spicy food.”

Meng Chi’s chopsticks halted mid-air. He shot Yu Tingzhi a somewhat fierce glance.

“Oh, and the opening is the day after tomorrow. Don’t forget to come,” She Shan also reminded him. But Meng Chi’s mind was still stuck on Yu Tingzhi’s “kind” reminder, and he forgot to tell She Shan that he was about to head to the countryside and wouldn’t have time for the opening.

Because of Yu Tingzhi’s words, Meng Chi inevitably recalled the absurdity of that night—Yu Tingzhi’s teasing smile, his reckless mouth, and those mischievous hands.

The hotpot’s steam swirled around him, and Meng Chi’s ears grew warm. He took a gulp of water, forcing the useless thoughts out of his head.

“You’re pretty close with Teacher Yu, huh?” Chen Yan eyed Meng Chi’s suddenly flushed face suspiciously, and as he looked closer, he spotted an ambiguous red mark behind his earlobe.

Meng Chi paused, then said, “Not really. He was there painting while She Shan was taking photos of me.”

“Oh, he seems pretty concerned about you though,” Chen Yan said, lifting his cup for a sip, his tone unreadable.

“…”

Meng Chi: “I guess it’s a teacher thing—wanting to manage everyone they see.”

Chen Yan: “…”

Then why doesn’t he manage me?

Meng Chi didn’t particularly want to talk about Yu Tingzhi, so he changed the subject and asked Chen Yan how things were going with his new partner.

Chen Yan raised his cup lazily and said, “Same old. Still haven’t gotten to sleep with him.”

Meng Chi: “…”

He hadn’t known Chen Yan for just a day; he was used to his carpe-diem approach to sex. He just gave him a glance and said nothing more.

After finishing the hotpot, Chen Yan went off to find fun with his classmates, while Meng Chi returned home reeking of hotpot.

As soon as he walked in, he spotted the black Armani coat hanging on the wardrobe. Even though he’d worn it for less than an hour that day, he’d still sent it to the dry cleaner; it had come back yesterday, and he hadn’t had a chance to return it to Yu Tingzhi.

He was leaving for the countryside tomorrow, so it was best to return the clothes and painting as soon as possible. With that in mind, Meng Chi pulled out his phone and opened his WeChat chat with Yu Tingzhi. He thought about asking if Yu Tingzhi was home so he could drop them off, but after a moment’s consideration, he abandoned that idea and decided to just send them via same-day courier tomorrow.

But he didn’t have Yu Tingzhi’s phone number. Meng Chi thought for a moment and opened Chen Yan’s chat window.

Since he was a student, he should have his teacher’s number.

Chen Yan did indeed have it. After sending a string of digits, he followed up with a voice message—

“What? Moving on so soon?”

Meng Chi was just about to type out a retort when Chen Yan sent another message, which auto-played right after the first—

“That catch is way harder to get than Song Min. But if you actually managed to land him, bottoming wouldn’t be a loss either, right?”

Author’s note:

Chi Chi: Thanks for the invite, already bottomed, and indeed, no loss.