Chapter 42: The Night a Meteor Streaked Past

As an employee who solved all problems for his employer, An Yang immediately opened his phone, showed Meng Weiyu a page, and said, “I can get this within half an hour!”

He was talking about a medical neck brace, the kind that could completely cover the neck.

“An Yang.” Meng Weiyu called his name in a serious tone.

“Present!” An Yang stood straight, his face full of vigor.

Meng Weiyu believed what Shen Zhoudu had said. This person did have a performing personality.

“Do you want to avoid overtime and go home on time?” Meng Weiyu asked like an officer.

“Reporting to BOSS, yes!” After An Yang said this, the dark circles under his eyes became even heavier. It had been too long since he had worked this desperately.

“Call me BOSS,” Meng Weiyu requested.

“BOSS, I want to get off work.” An Yang directly said something treasonous in front of the company boss.

“Then don’t care about what’s on my neck. Go work.” Meng Weiyu pointed at the door.

“I’ll go right now. Call me anytime if you need anything.” An Yang sprinted away, fighting so he could get off work early today.

Seeing that An Yang had completely forgotten about the hickey, Meng Weiyu immediately breathed a sigh of relief and prepared to pull out the top folder.

“BOSS, your coffee.” Shen Zhoudu came back.

“Drink it yourself.” Meng Weiyu did not especially like coffee.

“I added sugar and milk,” Shen Zhoudu reminded him.

“Cough. Then put it down.” Meng Weiyu was once again handled by him.

Shen Zhoudu put the coffee down.

“You clearly saw my neck this morning, right?” Meng Weiyu brought up how Shen Zhoudu had spoken vaguely at home. “Why didn’t you tell me directly?”

Just now downstairs, he had greeted a whole lobby of people. Who knew how many people had noticed?

“I thought it was your special kink.” Shen Zhoudu was completely serious. His attitude toward all of Meng Weiyu’s behavior was: he did not understand, but he respected it.

“If this is a kink, then what kind of kink is it? Exhibitionism?” Meng Weiyu was incredulous. Shen Zhoudu had actually said something this absurd.

“Then I’ll give you this.” Shen Zhoudu bent down and approached. He reached out, making a gesture as if he were touching Meng Weiyu’s face, then used slight force to make him tilt his head to the side, clearly exposing the fair neck with the hickey.

Actually, Shen Zhoudu had not used much force. At least, not as much as usual. But Meng Weiyu’s skin was too pale, so a clear mark had been left.

Before Meng Weiyu could figure out what Shen Zhoudu wanted to do, an unfamiliar sensation immediately came from his neck.

Shen Zhoudu directly took out a bandage and stuck it on his neck, telling him, “Done. Now no one else can see it.”

Meng Weiyu said helplessly, “You should have put it on me before we left.”

“Because there were no bandages left at home.” No matter what question Meng Weiyu asked, Shen Zhoudu could find a suitable excuse. “I found this in your personal tool room.”

Meng Weiyu touched his neck.

“Forget it. Let’s not talk about that anymore.” Shen Zhoudu moved a chair over, sat beside Meng Weiyu, and took out the laptop placed to the side. “I’ll handle work with you. If there’s anything you don’t understand, ask me.”

“Okay.” Meng Weiyu sat upright.

“It doesn’t matter if you can’t finish it.” Seeing his expression as if he were facing a great enemy, Shen Zhoudu found it funny. “An Yang will handle it.”

The moment these words came out, An Yang, who had walked through the door, froze. The lifelessness on his face increased even more.

For the first time, Meng Weiyu felt his conscience was uneasy.

“Come on.” Shen Zhoudu used two words to draw Meng Weiyu’s attention.

Meng Weiyu shivered and instantly returned to the summer of senior year.

Most of the work was similar to the business Meng Weiyu had studied beside his grandfather before. Moreover, Shen Zhoudu acted as the person processing and organizing the information, so after spending a little time, Meng Weiyu gradually got into the state of things. His speed in handling documents became faster and faster.

Once he began focusing on one thing, he would basically ignore the people and things around him.

Shen Zhoudu had long been used to him like this.

His watch sounded an alert. Shen Zhoudu was about to remind Meng Weiyu to rest for a while when he saw An Yang come in from outside.

Used to it, An Yang picked up a cup of water with a straw inserted and placed it beside Meng Weiyu’s mouth.

Meng Weiyu opened his mouth and drank the water without even lifting his eyes.

An Yang placed his hand on the desk, pushed the remaining documents to the corner, and started setting the computer screen’s sleep time.

By the time Meng Weiyu finished handling the folder in his hands, the computer screen also entered sleep mode.

“Boss, I’ll report on the project progress while you were away.” An Yang also placed a fruit plate in front of him and asked him to eat while listening.

Shen Zhoudu held his chin to the side. Although this was not the first time he had seen the two of them work together, every time, he still had to marvel at how Meng Weiyu had managed to find the assistant most suitable for him from a pile of interviewees.

Meng Weiyu numbly ate fruit while listening to An Yang’s report. Suddenly, his movement froze. Then he speared a piece of fruit with his fork and handed it to the seat beside him.

An Yang had not prepared a fruit plate for Shen Zhoudu because Shen Zhoudu had refused.

But since Meng Weiyu took the initiative to feed him, Shen Zhoudu still opened his mouth and bit it.

An Yang was completely unaffected by the married couple showing affection and continued reading his work report.

Actually, he would occasionally come in and interrupt Meng Weiyu’s work, just scientifically making him rest for a while. Otherwise, with Meng Weiyu’s personality, he could work from morning to night.

“That’s how things have been recently.” Seeing that Meng Weiyu had finished the fruit plate, An Yang heartlessly took away the empty plate, then turned the computer screen back on and continued pushing documents toward him. “For lunch today, do you want to eat in the office? Or go to the restaurant downstairs? Or should I book a nearby restaurant you like?”

“I want to eat here.” Shen Zhoudu cut in. “I’ve been a bit tired recently. I don’t want to run around at noon.”

Hearing this, Meng Weiyu lifted his chin arrogantly and said, “Then do as he says.”

After receiving the instruction, An Yang immediately went to have lunch prepared.

After An Yang left, Shen Zhoudu took on the work of a secretary. He opened a pen cap for Meng Weiyu and handed it to him.

“You, as a secretary, don’t seem like a secretary at all.” Meng Weiyu took the pen and complained quietly.

“What am I doing badly?” Shen Zhoudu was someone brave enough to accept mistakes and improve them in time.

Meng Weiyu narrowed his eyes and finally said, “Forget it.”

Shen Zhoudu stood up from his seat.

Meng Weiyu looked up at him in confusion, holding the pen between his fingertips, not understanding what Shen Zhoudu wanted to do.

Shen Zhoudu turned his chair around and, under Meng Weiyu’s surprised gaze, directly sat on his lap.

“You’re heavy.” Meng Weiyu was suddenly pressed down by him and felt like his legs were going numb.

“Is this the kind of secretary you want?” Shen Zhoudu stretched out a finger and tilted Meng Weiyu’s chin upward, smiling as he looked into his eyes.

“Wu.” Meng Weiyu shook his head, extremely dissatisfied. “You’re the secretary. I’m the boss.”

“All right, all right.” Shen Zhoudu suddenly began unbuttoning his shirt.

Meng Weiyu was dumbstruck. He had originally wanted to shout for him to button it back up, but Shen Zhoudu’s movements were too strange. Did other people not start unbuttoning from the first button? Yet he unbuttoned the second and third buttons.

Meng Weiyu anxiously watched him, waiting for him to undo the first button too.

After Shen Zhoudu unbuttoned two buttons, he pulled up his sleeves, exposing the marks left by the rope on his wrists.

“Hurry up.” Meng Weiyu grabbed his collar and said anxiously.

“Pervert.” Shen Zhoudu lowered his head and said this about him.

“Who has any thoughts about you?” Meng Weiyu felt Shen Zhoudu had misunderstood him. “Why did you leave the first button untouched? My obsessive-compulsive disorder is about to act up.”

“Because I would play this kind of game with you.” Shen Zhoudu grabbed Meng Weiyu’s left hand and directly slipped it through the gap of his open shirt.

His palm touched warm skin. Without a barrier of fabric, Meng Weiyu directly touched Shen Zhoudu’s chest.

Meng Weiyu’s hand did not dare move at all. He stared foolishly at Shen Zhoudu.

“Hmph.” Shen Zhoudu said kindly, “You can touch.”

“Who wants to touch…” Meng Weiyu’s voice gradually weakened.

Hearing this, Shen Zhoudu took his hand out.

Meng Weiyu stared at his own left hand, doubting his life.

“Then this.” Shen Zhoudu pressed Meng Weiyu’s head toward his chest.

Meng Weiyu gave up on life and stayed completely still.

“It’s gone soft,” Shen Zhoudu commented.

An Yang came, just like before, at noon to remind his boss, who forgot to rest whenever he worked, that it was time to eat.

The moment he entered, he was frightened by the scene before him.

In the past, Meng Weiyu worked with focus and full energy. Today, he looked dispirited, as if his spirit were wandering, numbly clicking the mouse on the computer.

“Boss, don’t die!” An Yang had not expected that the injuries from the car accident had been that serious.

“Wuwuwu.” Meng Weiyu had suffering he could not speak of.

“To celebrate your return to work, I ordered things you like. There are seven dishes!” An Yang encouraged him to cheer up.

“Wuwuwu.” Meng Weiyu was still moving the mouse, using work to escape life.

“Sigh.” Shen Zhoudu stood nearby, looking at him as if he wanted to laugh but did not.

An Yang was used to his occasional episodes, so he walked over and turned off the computer screen.

The table was filled with dishes. Shen Zhoudu followed his responsibility as a secretary, picked up food, supported it with a bowl, and brought it to Meng Weiyu’s mouth. Respectfully, he said, “BOSS, eat.”

“Can I… eat by myself?” Meng Weiyu asked humbly.

Shen Zhoudu smiled and handed him the bowl and chopsticks.

Meng Weiyu took the bowl, held the chopsticks, and once again, because he had been shaken by Shen Zhoudu, he did not dare casually speak while eating.

During the break, Meng Weiyu, who was alone, wanted to message Ning Wu and pour out his troubles to his friend, but this matter was also difficult to say.

After sending two words, he suddenly did not know what to do.

Meng Weiyu: Muscles…

Ning Wu on the other side suddenly received this inexplicable message. After waiting for a long while and seeing no follow-up, he had no choice but to actively ask Meng Weiyu.

Ning Wu: What about muscles?

Meng Weiyu: Muscles…

Ning Wu: I know a little fact about muscles. When muscles aren’t exerting force, they’re soft. If the shape is obvious, it means that person is secretly exerting force to show off their muscles.

Meng Weiyu: It was hard.

Ning Wu: What exactly are you talking about?

Meng Weiyu: Went soft…

Ning Wu: …

Seeing that his friend’s brain had a problem, Ning Wu simply contacted his husband.

To this, Shen Zhoudu replied: He’s always been strange.

Ning Wu felt that Shen Zhoudu’s words made a lot of sense, so he sent Meng Weiyu one final message.

Ning Wu: Working out muscles is good. If you go to the gym, I’ll accompany you. I’m going to eat now. Let’s talk later.

Meng Weiyu: Not going.

Ning Wu suddenly felt that Meng Weiyu was a little too much, so he turned around and complained to his husband again.

Shen Zhoudu: If you work out, I can call you along in the future.

Ning Wu: No need. I’m a little scared.

Meng Weiyu’s first day back at work passed like this. Although there was still a lot he did not understand, with An Yang and Shen Zhoudu’s assistance, he still finished handling the work before getting off work.

After returning home, Shen Zhoudu said he would contact someone to send dinner over, then prepared to rest.

Meng Weiyu belonged to the type who used up all his energy in one go. Once he relaxed, he became like a leaking balloon with no soul.

“You rest. I’m going to rest too.”

“Then we’ll eat after you wake up.” After being busy for several days, Shen Zhoudu was also tired.

Before Shen Zhoudu finished speaking, Meng Weiyu had already lain down on the sofa, lifted his feet, tilted his head, and fallen asleep.

Shen Zhoudu helplessly looked at him. From the side, he found a blanket and quietly walked beside him, standing above him.

He looked down, his light-blue eyes narrowing as he observed Meng Weiyu’s unbelievably beautiful face with an investigating gaze.

The city had already darkened. Light would not appear in this sky again today.

Meng Weiyu’s thoughts followed the air, slowly sinking downward.

Many fleeting, impossible-to-catch images appeared in his mind.

At night, a meteor streaked across the starry sky. Waves slapped the beach. Summer’s final revelry descended here.

Meng Weiyu smiled and turned his head to look at the person beside him.

The lights on shore clearly illuminated Meng Weiyu’s side profile, beautiful and peaceful. His black eyes shone like stars.

But the person sitting beside him was only a dark shadow.

Meng Weiyu supported himself on the bench with his hand and leaned his face forward slightly, intending to see that person’s face clearly.

Meteor light streaked past, and the muggy wind blew Meng Weiyu’s black hair.

When the light vanished on the other side of the horizon, the previously motionless figure whose face could not be seen moved. His fingertips were right beside Meng Weiyu’s hand. His upper body leaned toward him, and he accurately kissed his mouth.

Meng Weiyu’s eyes widened, as if he could not believe this person had actually kissed him.

Everyone had lips, but this was the first time Meng Weiyu experienced the sensation of lips.

Soft, cool, trembling.

“Wu.” The feeling of being unable to breathe in the dream transferred to Meng Weiyu. He opened his mouth, wanting to breathe hard, but it gave the other person an opportunity.

Something slippery and soft entered his mouth. At the same time, one hand lifted the hem of his clothes and touched his waist.

Meng Weiyu’s reason made him struggle, but his body was far too used to being toyed with by that hand, and even took the initiative to lean into it.

That person kissed him and touched him. Only after that did the person calmly pull his clothes back into place, cover him with the blanket, get up, and leave.

The sound of his retreating footsteps overlapped for an instant with the dark figure in Meng Weiyu’s dream.

When he kissed Meng Weiyu, tears fell from the corner of his eyes. Then he turned and ran away.

Only Meng Weiyu remained sitting on the bench, listening to the noisy sound of the waves, his hand beside his thigh trembling slightly.

“Thud.”

The person fell directly to the floor along with the blanket. Meng Weiyu’s head bumped against something, instantly forgetting most of the dream’s details. He blankly raised his eyes to look at the bright chandelier.

“You’re awake?” Hearing the sound, Shen Zhoudu walked out of the room.

He had just finished showering. His hair was wet, his upper body bare, and he was currently tilting his head back to drink a chilled bottle of mineral water.

Meng Weiyu slowly climbed up from the floor and returned to the sofa. Helplessly, he said, “I’ve known you for so long, but I didn’t know you had exhibitionist tendencies.”

“Is that so?” Shen Zhoudu screwed the cap back onto the mineral water and casually placed it on the table.

“Mm-hm.” Meng Weiyu smiled at him. “Or is it that your body used to be too thin, so you didn’t dare expose it in front of others before? After training it well, you can’t wait to show it everywhere.”

“How do you know my body used to be very thin? I never took my clothes off in front of seventeen-year-old you.” Shen Zhoudu glanced at him sideways.

“Mm-hm.” He clearly had taken them off. During senior year, because of Shen Zhoudu’s tutoring, Meng Weiyu’s grades rose steadily. In the final exam before the college entrance exam, he was already seventh in the grade. To thank this same-aged teacher, Meng Weiyu invited him to his private villa to play, then held hands with Shen Zhoudu, who was wearing only swimming trunks, and jumped into the pool together.

At that time, Shen Zhoudu would occasionally go running, but overall, he was still thin and weak.

Meng Weiyu remembered it clearly.

Of course, he would not say this matter out loud. He could only say, “You spent all day studying before. How muscular could you possibly be?”

“I clearly went running often.” Shen Zhoudu refuted him. “In the school sports meet, I was even the boys’ long-distance running champion.”

Meng Weiyu had never seen someone who loved winning so much.

“You liked exercising that much?” Meng Weiyu asked him.

“I like it now. I didn’t like it before.” Shen Zhoudu picked up the clothes on the sofa and put them on while calmly answering Meng Weiyu’s question.

“Then why did you run all the time?” Meng Weiyu carefully recalled Shen Zhoudu’s past. Back then, he would occasionally see Shen Zhoudu running as if he had gone mad.

“I was under a lot of pressure. I always needed to do something to vent it. Otherwise, I was worried I would kill myself.” Shen Zhoudu brushed his hair back, then sat on the sofa beside him.

“Mm.” His overly honest and cruel words instead left Meng Weiyu unable to respond. Meng Weiyu was quiet for a while, eased the atmosphere, and then boldly asked, “Why didn’t you?”

“I’ve always liked men.” Shen Zhoudu supported his head and looked toward Meng Weiyu. “My parents couldn’t accept that, so I always hid it very well.”

Meng Weiyu had an exquisite mind. Just from one sentence from Shen Zhoudu, he guessed the reason.

“Or rather, I thought I hid it very well, but my parents had long vaguely noticed and kept silently pressuring me.” Shen Zhoudu spoke about the past without concern, as if it were someone else’s matter. “At that time, I was only a teenager. I couldn’t bear the pressure they brought at all, so I could only rely on exercise to vent it.”

Run faster. Faster and faster. Until he left behind all the things that made him suffer, until he left this world.

Over and over, endlessly.

During one of his escapes, Shen Zhoudu reached an unfamiliar, deserted sea area and almost thought his plan had succeeded.

Until Meng Weiyu’s call pulled him back from his unrealistic illusion.

“Then when exactly did you start liking me?” Meng Weiyu now had to know exactly how long the friendship he believed in had existed.

“When I first saw you, I couldn’t look away.” Shen Zhoudu, who liked men, had been dazed the instant he saw Meng Weiyu. The reason he did not fall into love, and instead walked into a love-hate situation with him, was entirely because Meng Weiyu’s actual personality was far too different from his obedient appearance. When Shen Zhoudu was fifteen, his dream gently shattered. “The night you brought me home from the seaside, I was nervous the whole time.”

After Shen Zhoudu fell for Meng Weiyu, he never had an ideal type again.

If appearance and personality were added together like this, then someone like Meng Weiyu was very good.

“I’m heartbroken. I thought there was at least a period of pure friendship between us.” Meng Weiyu could not shake off this feeling of betrayal.

“You can think that.” Shen Zhoudu stood up, took a can of beer from the fridge, opened it, and returned to his original seat. “Because of the pressure my parents gave me, and because you were a pure straight man, I never thought of confessing to you before.”

“Why did you change your mind?” Meng Weiyu felt like he was going to cry.

“A moment of impulse,” Shen Zhoudu said honestly.

“Wu.” Meng Weiyu wrinkled his nose, dissatisfied with this answer.

“What else did you think it was?” Shen Zhoudu smiled and drank beer.

“You liked me so much your heart was about to jump out, your body was trembling, your brain was boiling, and then… finally, romantically and solemnly confessed to me.” Meng Weiyu clasped his hands longingly in a prayer pose and looked out the window.

In the dark sky, something seemed to flash by.

Meng Weiyu froze.

“Hahahahaha.” Shen Zhoudu once again let out an abrupt laugh.

If love were driven by reason, Shen Zhoudu would never have revealed any trace of his feelings to Meng Weiyu.

The moment Meng Weiyu saw the meteor, his movements froze. He remembered the dream he had just had. It was called a dream, but Meng Weiyu guessed that it should be a page from his forgotten memories.

Wait. Who had he kissed?

Shen Zhoudu? Or someone else?

The memory kept rewinding. Meng Weiyu remembered a little more, but his brain kept getting stuck on the image of him being kissed.

Exactly who kissed him?!

“Meng Weiyu.” While Meng Weiyu was spacing out, his eyes utterly blank, Shen Zhoudu walked in front of him and blocked his line of sight with his body.

Meng Weiyu blankly raised his head and licked his dry lips.

Tell me, could he have cheated on Shen Zhoudu behind his back before?

“It’s time to tell the truth.” Shen Zhoudu felt he could get an answer now.

“Ahhhhh, I’m sorry!” Meng Weiyu held his head and collapsed into an apology. “I don’t remember. I really don’t remember. I also don’t know whether I cheated or not. You know my personality. I’m just prone to attracting people. But after seeing the tragedy of my parents, I swore long ago that I wouldn’t casually marry someone. If I got married, I absolutely wouldn’t be fickle. But I also don’t know whether that was just a childish thought from when I was young and whether I changed when I grew up. I don’t remember! But it’s also possible that someone else wanted to seduce me and I didn’t agree. Ahhhhh!”

Shen Zhoudu reached out and pinched his face.

“Gwa.” Meng Weiyu could no longer speak.

“You absolutely did not cheat.” Shen Zhoudu’s smile was sinister. “You can rest assured.”

“Gwa.” Whether it was true or not, as long as you believed it.

“What I wanted you to confess was something else.” Shen Zhoudu relaxed his hand and let him speak.

“I accidentally stepped on Xueci’s cat bowl and broke it. I blamed it on Xueci.” Meng Weiyu tearfully confessed.

“Meow meow meow.” Hearing Meng Weiyu call its name, Xueci quickly climbed up from the floor and responded.

“Not that.” Shen Zhoudu wanted to be clearer.

“Wu, today I wanted to touch your chest. I really wanted to touch it, but that would make me look too much like a hooligan.” Meng Weiyu reflected.

Shen Zhoudu: “…”

Meng Weiyu secretly looked at him.

“Right now… how much do you remember?” Shen Zhoudu asked him directly. “You aren’t seventeen-year-old Meng Weiyu.”