Chapter 3161: Chunshu Alley Harsh Summer 01

Lingcheng's old urban area stretches along the river; by late summer, it is the most grueling time of the year.

The moisture is abundant; everywhere in Chunshu Alley is damp, with self-built houses and old dormitory buildings lining both sides, walls covered in moss at their bases, electric poles tangled with unknown laundry lines, forever hung with clothes.

Chenshu has been here seven days but still can't adapt to the weather.

He returned from abroad, where he had stayed seven or eight years, accustomed to the dry, cool climate; suddenly plunged into the summer of this southern old city, he is very unaccustomed to the humidity, but for now he does not want to go back to that so-called home.

The family is in an uproar over the Old Master's son's bit of property, faces red and ears flushed; as this illegitimate son stuck in the middle, he looks obstructive however you look at it; better to hide in this old house left by his grandmother than stay there and be made a target, and wait for the fuss to die down.

The building Chenshu lives in has no name; everyone casually calls it Building Three of the Old Cotton Mill. The corridors perennially have a damp, gray smell mixed with oil smoke, corners piled with each household's miscellaneous items, and one must walk sideways.

Chunshu Alley is mostly inhabited by elderly people; any young person with some ability has moved out. Chenshu strolls the alley every day, feeling strangely bored, bland, even thinking the plants here grow listlessly, their green drooping, as if they don't really want to live.

If one had to say something interesting… it's probably the neighbor's young man who looks very much to his taste.

The first time he saw him was on moving day; Chenshu was directing workers to carry things upstairs, turned around and saw a person standing motionless at the stairwell, staring at the wall as if competing with it; the youth was tall and slender, wearing long sleeves and pants even in midsummer, his loose clothes unable to hide his thin, beautiful shoulders and neck, with slightly longer bangs falling over his forehead and temples.

Chenshu thought while leisurely descending the stairs, turned the stairwell corner, and—hey—saw him again.

The youth still stood before that wall, its surface gray and dusty, with some cracks, likely from water leakage years ago; to anyone's eyes it was an utterly ordinary wall, with nothing worth a second glance.

Chenshu leaned on the stair railing, smiling quietly as he watched for a while.

The youth lowered his head slightly, his cuff covering half his fingers; his profile was handsome, his slightly longer hair shading his eyes, the strands unable to hide several ear studs, a black tiny butterfly sticker on his pale earlobe.

As an art student, Chenshu always maintains an appreciative attitude toward beautiful things and people; remarkably, the person who perfectly matches his aesthetic—something he never found at art school—would be met in this old city after returning home.

After standing about ten seconds, the youth finally turned his face.

Only then did Chenshu see his full appearance: a narrow face, lips lacking color, eyes extremely beautiful, pupils a deep black.

Chenshu met his gaze, raising a gentle smile, his tone light, as if he were always this friendly and sincere to anyone: 'Long time no see.'

Jin Chen withdrew his gaze, lowered his eyelids, showing no enthusiasm, his eyes black Youyou.

Because Chenshu's words forced him into a social state, he grew a bit dissatisfied.

But he was still polite, merely his tone languid and lazy: 'Good afternoon.'

Immediately after, Jin Chen solemnly expressed his request: 'Can you not disturb me?'

'I'm sorry.' Chenshu replied calmly, also following the youth's gaze to that wall, the gray-dusted wall's cracks winding, nothing there, but he respected each person's rich inner world.

Chenshu naturally shifted the topic, his voice gentle: 'Your ear studs look great; may I ask which shop did them? I'd like to go see too.'

Jin Chen's narrow eyelids slightly lowered, inside wrapped in a faint gloom, he oddly raised a hand to touch his own ear, vaguely shaking his head: 'No.'

'No?'

'I don't remember.' Jin Chen lowered his eyes, not really wanting to continue this topic.

Chenshu tilted his head, not pursuing the question, only reminding him kindly: 'All right, you need to remember what you're holding in your hand. Soy sauce—shouldn't you take it home?'

Jin Chen lowered his head, as if just realizing he had a plastic bag in his hand, then glanced at his wrist's electronic watch—half an hour had passed since his aunt told him to go downstairs to buy soy sauce.

He turned and hurried upstairs, his footsteps thudding in the narrow corridor.

Chenshu stood where he was, watching his hurried back, couldn't help but let out a soft laugh; really adorable.

——

Jin Chen pushed open the door and entered, the Living Room's fan buzzing as it turned, the TV playing a summer drama, the female lead crying her heart out, the male lead standing resignedly in the rain.

Zhang Yue held yogurt, lounging on the Sofa, eyes fixed on the screen, not turning his head, he quickly glanced at the clock on the wall: 'Brother, this time it's been half an hour, eh.'

From the kitchen came the sound of the wok; aunt Jin Xiumei poked half her body out to look, then went back to cooking, holding the meat just taken from the fridge, placing it on the cutting board while saying, 'If next time you can go upstairs within ten minutes, that's about normal speed.'

Jin Chen answered with two muffled 'uh-huh's, his voice indistinct, unsure if he had heard.

He walked to the small round mirror at the entrance, haphazardly tousling his sweat-damp hair in front of it, then stared expressionlessly at his own reflection in the mirror for a while.

After a few seconds, Jin Chen wandered into the kitchen, turned on the faucet and washed his hands thoroughly three times; aunt at the side chattered on about something, seemingly about his work and also about the month's medicine fees.

After washing his hands, Jin Chen dried them and left the kitchen, sitting down on the Sofa.

The fan blew whooshing, messing up his hair; the TV's female lead was still crying, Jin Chen stared at the screen for a while, completely unable to follow the plot, his gaze began to blank.

Zhang Yue suddenly excitedly asked him, 'Brother, I heard Qiao Qiao say a super handsome guy moved into our building, just on our floor—have you seen him?'

This floor has only four households, and Jin Chen, unfortunately, had run into that man moving in seven days ago.

That day, Jin Chen, as usual, was thinking by the Mysterious Wall, when suddenly a noisy clamor made his head hurt; turning his head, he saw many strangers carrying packages taller than a person upstairs, those people and things packed the narrow stairway, squeezing out the light.

At that moment, Jin Chen's complexion turned dazed, he gripped his stiff fingers, maintaining a sideways glance, motionless waiting for those people to pass.

So his first impression of the new neighbor was merely discomfort; it would be better to keep distance, and as for whether he was a handsome guy, he hadn't even seen clearly.

'Brother... you're spacing out again.' Zhang Yue looked at him dissatisfied, but obviously already used to getting no response when talking to Jin Chen, 'Never mind, never mind, let's eat.'

Jin Chen came to his senses, the aunt's voice calling to serve the dishes came from the kitchen, Zhang Yue ran over hopping and skipping, he stood up and followed behind, his steps a bit unsteady, as if he hadn't yet fully landed.