CH 44.1

A Bird; My Friend

Translated by boilpoil

Edited by boilpoil

At six next morning, there is a delivery for fresh seafood coming. Bai Yao has set an alarm, and put it under his pillow so it wouldn’t wake Mu Mu’er.

Bai Yao ends up stopping the alarm three seconds after it starts ringing. He remains until he’s sure Mu Mu’er didn’t get woken up.

Mu Mu’er is sleeping soundly by Bai Yao’s side, holding his hand as usual. Bai Yao gently puts it down, and quickly washes his face and brushes his teeth before going downstairs.

Ten past six, the truck is here. Bai Yao helps the delivery person move the boxes into the kitchen from the backdoor. After inspecting them, he signs them off.

Bai Yao ordered ten whole varieties of fish, four varieties of shrimp, plus sea mollusks.

He’s planning to go the next two weeks with them.

And even now, he can’t get to rest yet. He now does a thorough inspection of each fish, to see that they’re still absolutely fresh and not rotting.

Five of the boxes can be frozen directly, but the rest require additional cutting.

Like tunas. They’re only sold whole, so Bai Yao needs to chop them up into pieces and place each piece into the fridge after lining them up. This must be done quickly, too, to ensure it isn’t exposed to room temperatures for long. This is paramount to ensure the quality of the ingredients.

After everything is done, it’s almost eight. Mu Mu’er usually wakes up some time after eight, so Bai Yao plans to slip back into bed, and be there for the boy when he wakes up.

He’s about to head up the stairs when knocks come from the backdoor, alongside yells, “Yao-ge! Let me in!”

Bai Yao blanks out for a moment, almost suspecting his ears are playing a trick on him for lack of sleep, but the knocking continues.

Looking around, it’s a mostly slender and tall person at the door, waving at him when he spots him looking.

This is Qi Ya.

Bai Yao deliberates for a moment what will happen if he doesn’t open the door – Will Qi Ya leave as he hopes he would, or just pry the door open to look for food in the kitchen himself?

The probability of the latter exceeds 90%. Bai Yao walks over to open the door, “coming.”

Qi Ya enters without much grace, patting on Bai Yao’s back, greeting his friend he’s seeing for the first time in months, “yo, I’ve been here a while already, and you’re not picking up the call. What were you doing in the kitchen?”

Bai Yao nods and fistbumps him on the shoulder in response, “you sure came quick. Thought you’d be out for a few days more.”

“You know I miss you, Yao-ge.”

Qi Ya is only two months’ Bai Yao’s junior. Though the promise of good food has him always calling Bai Yao ‘older brother’ affectionately.

Bai Yao raises his brow as he watches Qi Ya glancing at the kitchen, “you sure it’s me you miss?”

Qi Ya just returned to the city a few days ago, and immediately hopped on a ride for Qiaohai. He didn’t tell Bai Yao to surprise him.

Well, ‘surprised’ might be understating the severity of the situation, as Bai Yao is no longer sure if his stock of fresh imports will even last a few days out.

“I’ve booked a room in the inn for a week. Let’s spend some time together, see how lonely you’ve been with no one to talk to for so long,” Qi Ya begins to blabber as soon as he enters the door, “I’m sure you haven’t any reason you don’t want me here. Anyway, long time no see, man. I know you wake up early, so I woke up even earlier to come on time. Well? Should we celebrate my triumphant return or not?”

Ask Bai Yao to describe Qi Ya with one word——Loquacious.

Maybe it has to do with him being a crow, but he never shuts up. He’s always able to talk about something, for hours if there’s no one to stop him.

It’s barely eight in the morning, and Bai Yao’s brain is already hurting from the ceaseless buzz. Remembering that Mu Mu’er is still sleeping upstairs, he ‘shh’s while Qi Ya is catching a breath.

Qi Ya notices Bai Yao’s gaze upstairs, and, connecting it with what happened their last phone call, he asks, suppressing his voice.

“Is your… upstairs? Your ‘friend’ with benefits?” Qi Ya wonders, “you’re living together? Like, long-term f-buddies? Oh man, you’ve…”

His words are cut off as the sound of a door opening comes from upstairs. They both look up, and Bai Yao suddenly realises that Qi Ya’s personality is the absolute worst for compatibility – Mu Mu’er’d not even make a satisfactory meal for him.

It’s too late, though.