TIPS – Chapter 157

“Nothing much, just a temporary guest,” Song Jingwei said as he walked over to the young man and entered the house together with him.

“…” Shen Junxi turned his head and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, then straightened up and put on a serious expression, acting as if nothing had happened.

Song Jingwei raised an eyebrow at him, and a smile slowly bloomed on his lips.

Maybe this is what liking someone feels like—he can make people happy, and even someone stingy with their smiles can’t help but show one.

At this moment, Qin Xiaodong was taking a bath in the luxurious bathroom of the Shen family’s main house. After spending a few days in the village, he had a rough idea of the local economic level. A house as grand as this one was truly beyond his expectations.

“Phew…” After thoroughly enjoying the bath, he put on the thick clothes that Yang Shi had prepared for him and finally felt warm.

When he came out, Yang Shi told him to go to the living room. She said, “My daughter-in-law wants to talk to you. Go have a look.”

Qin Xiaodong was dumbfounded. This auntie’s daughter-in-law wanted to talk to him? Were ancient women this bold? Wasn’t it supposed to be the young man from earlier who wanted to talk to him?

In Qin Xiaodong’s mind, Song Jingwei was the son of this family.

“Uh, Auntie, why does your daughter-in-law want to talk to me?” he asked with difficulty, wanting to clarify in advance. Maybe he misunderstood.

“That I don’t know. Go and ask him yourself,” Yang Shi said with a smile when she saw how nervous he looked. “Why so nervous? My daughter-in-law is a good person. He won’t give you a hard time.”

“Uh…” Qin Xiaodong felt like his brain was on a completely different wavelength from this auntie’s. Scratching his head in frustration, he made his way to the living room.

However, what he saw in the living room wasn’t what he had imagined. There was no beautiful young woman. Instead, there were two young men—one of whom he recognized as Song Jingwei, and the other he didn’t know. Oh, and there was also a baby, just over a year old. The two men looked like they were playing with the child.

Qin Xiaodong’s expression stiffened. Why did this scene look a bit strange… yet oddly harmonious?

“Come sit,” Song Jingwei said when he looked up and saw him.

“Uh… okay…” Qin Xiaodong walked over with a weird expression and sat down.

It was Shen Junxi who poured him tea, smiling as he pushed the cup in front of him and gestured for him to drink.

“Oh—thank you,” Qin Xiaodong quickly said, feeling even more uneasy. This unfamiliar man seemed like he couldn’t speak… like a mute.

“His throat isn’t well, so he can’t speak,” Song Jingwei explained when he saw him staring at Shen Junxi, confirming his suspicion.

“…” Qin Xiaodong widened his eyes, then gave an apologetic smile and said awkwardly, “Sorry, I didn’t know…”

“It’s fine. He just doesn’t talk—that doesn’t make him any different from other people,” Song Jingwei said as he handed the child to the man beside him.

Shen Junxi quietly took the child with a smile and sat beside his “wife,” nodding at this statement. He felt secure now. His partner had him in his heart, and that meant more than anything.

“Right, right,” Qin Xiaodong nodded quickly, then asked curiously, “Are you two… brothers?”

“Hm?” Song Jingwei shook his head. “No, we’re not. He’s Shen, I’m Song.” Seeing the confusion and tangled expression on Qin Xiaodong’s face, he smiled. “Here, men can marry men. I’m his wife.”

Upon hearing that, Shen Junxi’s smile widened, while Qin Xiaodong looked as if he had seen a ghost. “You… you two are… a couple?” Men could get married? What kind of ancient setting was this? It was way too progressive!

“Mm.” Song Jingwei, clearly feeling it wasn’t shocking enough yet, pointed to the baby in Shen Junxi’s arms and said, “This is our son.”

“You can… still have kids?” Qin Xiaodong was utterly confused now.

“Yes.”

“Then… I want to ask, who… gave birth…?” He squeezed the words out of his mouth with difficulty, feeling like a thousand wild horses were stampeding through his mind.

“Does it matter?” Song Jingwei looked sideways at him.

“…Right, it doesn’t matter,” Qin Xiaodong quickly changed the subject. “What’s the baby’s name?”

“Shen Chang,” Song Jingwei answered.

Qin Xiaodong suddenly understood. So the baby had Shen’s surname. That meant… Song Jingwei was the daughter-in-law of this family. Holding his almost-dropping jaw, he said, “Auntie said you had something to talk to me about?”

In his eyes, someone so manly being someone else’s daughter-in-law was just too mind-boggling.

“Are you sure you can leave in three days?” Song Jingwei asked.

“I’m sure. I set it up before I came—within a four-hour window on the third and sixth day, I can leave,” Qin Xiaodong replied.

“Okay. Then stay here for the next three days.” Song Jingwei lowered his eyelids, hiding the emotions in his eyes. His calm demeanor made it impossible to guess what he was thinking.

“Okay, thank you for taking me in,” Qin Xiaodong said sincerely. With the freezing weather outside, life had become unbearably difficult. If Song Jingwei hadn’t taken him in, he might not have survived another three days.

And so, Qin Xiaodong stayed in the main house of the Shen family. The family often had guests over, so adding one more made little difference.

The only issue was that he was frequently blinded by the couple’s affection. He’d witnessed them holding hands and being affectionate more than once. Qin Xiaodong had reached the point where he wanted to gouge out his own eyes—not because he disapproved of love, but because their affection was unexpectedly touching. To his surprise, he’d grown fond of watching their daily life together… He even found himself wanting to fall in love with a man. Damn it! Please, no!

Today was the same. The two were sunbathing in the courtyard when Qin Xiaodong accidentally caught sight of the gentle, elegant man turning to kiss his “wife.”

But clearly, the one who was supposed to be the “wife” had the strong and dominant aura, okay!?

Still, damn it—why did the scene feel so full of love? The cold, noble top being pushed down, gasping softly under the tender bottom…

“Ugh! Stop!” Qin Xiaodong covered his eyes and forced himself to stop imagining things, but the little play in his mind kept running, already heading into R-rated territory.

Coming here had opened a whole new world for him. Was that a good thing or a bad thing?

Fortunately, he wouldn’t be staying long. Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

That morning, after breakfast, Qin Xiaodong got ready to leave. Looking at the warm, cozy household, he felt a little reluctant—it had really been a comfortable stay.

Neither Yang Shi nor Shen Dongming knew where he was going; they thought he was heading back to his hometown. Song Jingwei simply said, “I’ll walk him out. I’ll be back soon.”

Shen Junxi gestured, “I’ll go too.”

Normally, if the young man made such a request, Song Jingwei would agree without hesitation. But this time, he shook his head and refused.

“Stay home and watch our son. I’ll be right back.”

“…” Shen Junxi looked at him quietly. Though it wasn’t obvious, he still sensed that his partner had been acting differently these past few days.

“It’s just to the edge of the village,” Song Jingwei explained as he put on his cloak.

“…” Shen Junxi silently helped him straighten his clothes. He didn’t insist further, just gestured, “Be careful on the road and come back soon.”

“Alright.” Song Jingwei gave the young man a deep look, then headed out with Qin Xiaodong.

“He really wanted to come with you, didn’t he? Why didn’t you let him?” Qin Xiaodong asked. After spending the past few days with Song Jingwei, he had a rough sense of their relationship. It looked like a “queenly bottom” and a “devoted top”—a rather complicated couple dynamic.

“What would he do—watch you vanish into thin air?” Song Jingwei replied as they walked.

“So you’re afraid he wouldn’t be able to handle it?” Qin Xiaodong chuckled, then curiously asked, “You like him, don’t you? I can tell he’s head over heels for you.”

Song Jingwei glanced sideways at him and said, “What does that have to do with you?”

Qin Xiaodong scratched his nose. “Not really anything, I guess. I just hope you two are in love. Happy endings are great. I can’t handle tragic ones.” But the atmosphere between them seemed peaceful and warm—surely they were happily in love?

“Maybe,” Song Jingwei finally said after a long silence, as they neared the grove.

“Huh?” Qin Xiaodong had already forgotten which question he was answering.

“Now’s the right time. How are you planning to go?” Standing at the edge of the woods, Song Jingwei looked deep into the forest.

“Hmm, there’s still plenty of time—no rush.” Now that he was here, Qin Xiaodong didn’t feel that same urgency to leave as he had a few days ago.

He thought Song Jingwei would be impatient, would urge him to leave quickly. But no—he said nothing. He simply stayed by his side in silence.

“Hey… say something…” Qin Xiaodong said quietly. “Once I go through, we might never see each other again. That’s kind of sad.”

“It’s fine. Things like this happen every day,” Song Jingwei said calmly.

“Heh, you’ve got a good mindset. That line sounds just right coming from you.” Qin Xiaodong grinned.

“If…”

“Hmm?” Qin Xiaodong perked up his ears. He waited a long time, but the rest never came. What was he trying to say?

Song Jingwei didn’t know what he wanted to say either. Or rather—what would be the point of saying it? After hesitating for a long time, he finally asked, “Under what circumstances would you consider staying here?”

“Huh?” Qin Xiaodong was stunned, then smiled and said, “That’s impossible, isn’t it? How could I possibly stay here?” After a pause, he added, “Of course, if time travel research succeeds in the future, maybe I’ll come back on a work trip or something!” It was a nice thought, but who knew if it would actually happen? This project had already taken two years of preparation.

“There’s really no chance you’d stay?” Song Jingwei murmured.

“Hmm… isn’t that obvious? My family and friends aren’t here—why would I stay? This place is just a strange land to me. It’s fine for a visit, but to settle down? Definitely not.” Qin Xiaodong gave it some serious thought before replying.

“Oh.”

“Heh, but you really do trust me, huh? I said something so ridiculous and you still believed me.” Qin Xiaodong laughed. If someone had told him they were from another world before he started grad school, he definitely would’ve just sneered and thought they were crazy.

“Mm.” A gust of wind blew through the forest. Song Jingwei straightened his coat and said to him, “It’s getting late. You’d better go.”

“Alright. See you, buddy.” Qin Xiaodong patted Song Jingwei on the shoulder, then slowly walked into the forest, turning back several times along the way. He felt a subtle fondness for this ancient man who had come to see him off. He didn’t quite know what it was—just that he was a little reluctant to leave.

If he could, Qin Xiaodong would’ve invited him to visit his own world. But unfortunately, that was impossible.

“Goodbye.” Watching Qin Xiaodong disappear from sight, Song Jingwei opened and closed his lips in a silent farewell.

Back home, it was still early. Someone in the family asked, “He’s gone? Where’s the boy from? Is it far?”

Song Jingwei was a little quiet but still answered, “He’s gone. His home is very far away.”

“I see. Then it must be a long journey.” Yang Shi said regretfully, “We didn’t even ask if he had any travel money.”

“Don’t worry, he’ll get home safely.” Song Jingwei said, and went back to his room.

Papers were still scattered across his desk—half-written plans, account books he’d looked through…

Looking at these things, he suddenly felt a strange sense of detachment, as if they could become very distant from him at any moment. Maybe not just these things—maybe this whole world. If he wanted to, he could leave it all behind. Or perhaps, more accurately, abandon it.

Thinking about this, Song Jingwei fell into a trance.

“…” Shen Junxi walked in and saw his wife standing still by the desk, motionless, and became worried. He came closer and studied him carefully. There was no reaction, and his expression made people uneasy.

It had been like this for several days now.

The young man pressed his lips together. Ever since that strange stranger moved in, his wife had become like this—making him fearful and confused.

He reached out and gently wrapped his arms around Song Jingwei’s waist from behind.

“…” Song Jingwei had already sensed the young man’s arrival and knew he was standing beside him, but he didn’t turn around. He didn’t want to see his face.

“…” What’s wrong? Shen Junxi called to him in his heart, tightening his embrace.

“My thoughts are a mess right now. Let me calm down,” Song Jingwei said, pulling the young man’s arms away from his waist.

It was the first time he had so directly pushed the other away, asking for space to think.

“…” Shen Junxi let go and stepped back two paces.

If he still thought nothing was wrong now, then he was just being naïve. Something had happened between them—that much was clear.

What made him panic was that he didn’t even know what had caused it. So what on earth was going on?

Shen Junxi knew he shouldn’t disturb Song Jingwei right now, because the other had clearly shown he didn’t want to be bothered. But he couldn’t bear the torment of not knowing. He took out his long-unused brush and ink, wrote a line on a piece of paper, and handed it to Song Jingwei.

“I’m fine. You go out first. Let me calm down.” Song Jingwei said, without even looking up at the young man’s face. He muttered to himself, “It’s nothing. It’ll pass in a few days.”

Three days from now, this trouble will be over—no matter the outcome.

“…Mm.” Shen Junxi forced a smile. After turning and leaving, he leaned against the door and looked up, trying to suppress the pain in his chest—but he still couldn’t help covering his eyes.

He didn’t understand how things had suddenly become like this. Just a few days ago, everything was still fine.

Right in this very room, that person had been in his arms, kissing him, saying he loved him…

Inside the house, Song Jingwei could never have imagined that one sentence of his could push someone into despair. Even if he had known, at a time like this, he would have only thought the young man too emotional—not that he himself was at fault.

No one is perfect, and his flaw was likely that he was too rational, too emotionally detached.

But that wasn’t quite accurate either. If Song Jingwei were truly that detached, would he still be troubled now? There would be no need to worry—he could just return to his own world in three days and treat everything here as a dream, a passing illusion to forget.

But he hadn’t done that. The reason he was troubled was because Shen Junxi—and the child—carried enough weight to keep him wavering between leaving and staying…

Shen Junxi stood outside the door for a while.

He couldn’t hear anything inside.

He knew Song Jingwei needed calm and space right now, so he didn’t disturb him.

He let out a long sigh and slowly walked out of the courtyard.

His despondent appearance was very noticeable to Yang Shi. She stopped what she was doing, looked at her son, and asked, “What’s wrong? Did you two have a fight?” If it wasn’t a quarrel with his wife, Yang Shi had never seen Shen Junxi look like this before.