DMPSA CH 33

Chapter 33: I Thought He Was Different from the Others

At certain moments, Su Qing felt quite slow on the uptake.

For example, when someone used to chase after him, unless they directly said something like “I like you” or “I’m pursuing you,” he wouldn’t really notice.

Like this time, when Yue Qi said he didn’t like green peppers, Su Qing just thought he simply didn’t like green peppers.

It wasn’t until the afternoon when Da Wang came in, saw him quietly sitting in front of an empty lunch box, dazed, and asked what he was doing. Only then did Su Qing feel a slight discomfort in his chest.

“I was thinking about what kind of cookies to bake next,” Su Qing said, with a confused expression. “I sent some baked green pepper cookies to Dr. Yue today, and he said he didn’t like green peppers.” He stood up to clean the dishes he had used, muttering, “Why didn’t he say so earlier? No one likes baked green pepper cookies. I thought only he liked them.”

“I thought he was different from the others.” Only when Su Qing said those words did he feel a tightness in his chest. His throat felt constricted, and his eyes began to sting.

“Hey, Da Wang, I’m not feeling well. I’m going upstairs to lie down,” he said, tossing the lunch box aside without cleaning up. He hurriedly walked upstairs.

Da Wang watched him, a little confused, but also vaguely aware of what had happened.

Dr. Yue hadn’t shown up in almost a month. And now, he said he didn’t eat green pepper cookies?

In fact, no one in the world wanted to eat those strange green pepper cookies, but for Yue Qi, he had always been the exception in Su Qing’s mind. To hear now that he didn’t like them was truly startling.

Da Wang shook his head. He thought that Dr. Yue probably wouldn’t show up again. Maybe it was for the best, as it would provide closure—no one would be hanging onto anyone else, making things uncomfortable for both parties.

Su Qing lay on the bed, beginning to seriously think back on everything that had happened over the past year. When exactly did the simple relationship between guest and host change? It started with being regular customer, then friends, and eventually it crossed boundaries, becoming a vague and tangled mess over these past days.

Yue Qi was a good person, so good that he let himself dig in deeper, retreating in the process.

So good that he had made Su Qing mistakenly believe that he would be willing to let someone as flawed as him pursue him.

Su Qing realized that it was his own fault. On the surface, he had intended to be honest, but deep down, he had just shifted the pressure of the situation onto Yue Qi. Pretending to be fearless and laying everything out for him was, in reality, just selfishly wanting Yue Qi to bear the burden.

Now that Yue Qi had rejected him, Su Qing was flustered.

He hadn’t been as calm as he had thought. He couldn’t let go nor could he keep holding on, like a spoiled child who now just wanted to sit on the floor and cry, kicking his legs.

Su Qing thought he could accept the outcome, and he thought he wouldn’t feel inferior. But now he realized that his previous seeming lack of inferiority had been because he had never actually sought anything. Now that he couldn’t get what he wanted, he saw just how low his self-esteem had been, down in the dust. When he suddenly realized that he wasn’t good enough for the person he liked, and that the person might think the same, his heart still ached terribly.

Su Qing lay there for several days. Da Wang came up to check on him a few times. He wasn’t sick, his temperature was normal; he was just lazily lying in bed, sleeping all the time.

“Let him sleep. It’s better than binge eating,” Da Wang thought. “Some people, after a breakup, wander around aimlessly, lost in their own world. Then, when they snap out of it, they realize they’ve turned into a little pig. Now that’s frustrating!”

Christmas passed, then New Year’s. Su Qing slowly recovered, and everything seemed to return to normal.

He had been sleeping well recently, and his energy during the day had improved. He decided to adjust his business hours again.

On the signboard, he added the words “Not” in front of “Night Owl Tea House,” changing it to “Not Night Owl Tea House.” Below, he wrote a messy handwritten line: “A good cat is one that sleeps early and wakes up early.” His new business hours were from 2 PM to midnight.

It was good to try and be a bit more like a normal person.

Time passed quickly, and soon it was the end of January. The last day of January was a Sunday, which was also Su Qing’s birthday. He received many birthday wishes, and to his surprise, even the big celebrity Qin Yang sent him a “Happy Birthday” message.

Su Qing looked at the short four words, feeling a mix of emotions. He politely replied with “Thank you” to each of the birthday messages, and the day was almost over.

Tonight, he skipped work again. At 10 PM, he quietly lay on the bed, trying to sleep at a normal time, just like a regular person. He tried to force himself to lie still in the darkness, trying to feel the passage of time, just like a normal person would when unable to sleep.

It was 11 PM. It was 11:50. It was 12:01. The birthday had passed.

Su Qing didn’t feel sleepy. He also didn’t receive the message he had been waiting for.

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February came, and the Lunar New Year was approaching. This year, the holiday would fall in mid-February, and the tea house would close for the holiday on the eve of the small new year.

On New Year’s Eve, Su Qing was alone in the shop. Ta Xue had become Da Wang’s cat, and Da Wang took both Ta Xue and Da Huang home. He originally planned to take all five cats, including Su Qing, with him, but Su Qing refused. So, Da Wang left Jasmine, Hua Dian, and Cha Cha to keep him company during the New Year.

Su Qing nestled alone in the tea house, trying not to think about the part-time job he had lined up for these days. He had heard that renting a lover for the day was really profitable.^[1]

“Ugh, what a loss,” Su Qing sighed, rubbing Jasmine’s head.

Just as Su Qing was lounging on the long sofa, feeling a bit tipsy, he heard someone moving inside the tea house.

Hmm? Did I forget to lock the door? Did someone come in?

Who is it? Who would come to the tea house on New Year’s Eve?

Is it him?

Su Qing’s heart raced a little. He stuck his head out, both expectant and hesitant.

He saw the person walking toward him.

(To Be Continued…)

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