TLLKTBD CH 11

Chapter 11: Do You Have Any “Other Tasks” for Me to Do?

When Lu Qian arrived home, the first thing he saw was Jin Lang wearing his black apron, carrying a pot of soup from the kitchen.

He had felt uneasy at work the entire day. Thankfully, everyone had their own office cubicle, so he buried himself in work, minimizing any chances of others noticing his unusual behavior. His eyes frequently drifted toward the document inside his bag—Jin Lang’s medical examination report.

After much deliberation, he finally decided to take it out and study it carefully.

Jin Lang. A good name. But since its owner had yet to formally introduce himself, he decided to skip that part for now.

Height: 183 cm.
Weight: 70 kg.

Damn. This kid was actually three centimeters taller than him! Yesterday, Jin Lang had either been sitting or standing with a slight hunch, so he hadn’t noticed his height. Why was everyone so well-nourished these days? Even Xu Yang was 186 cm… Lu Qian clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction and continued reading.

Date of birth: August 22.

Hmm? That meant his birthday was a little over three months away. Given their current relationship, would he need to celebrate it for him? Ah, he’d figure it out when the time came.

The rest of the examination results seemed fine. Tests for syphilis, HIV—everything was clear. Even hepatitis B—completely negative. His body was clean and healthy.

As this thought flashed through Lu Qian’s mind, his face immediately burned.

That damn Jin Xiaomi! He had deliberately made Jin Lang undergo a medical checkup and even had him personally hand over the report. Receiving it last night without any mental preparation had been beyond awkward. Just thinking about his panicked escape last night made Lu Qian want to bury his head in his hands and groan.

Xiao Qi had even thought his chronic headaches were acting up again and had rushed to find medicine for him.

After enduring the long workday, he returned home—only to find this tall, handsome young man cooking dinner for him. The scene was too perfect; he could only cover his eyes in disbelief.

“You’re back, sir. Would you like to take a shower first? Dinner will be ready by the time you’re done.”

Lu Qian was quite pleased to see that Jin Lang remembered the rule of showering first upon returning home.

“You can really cook, kid? Smells amazing.” Lu Qian leaned closer to the table, inhaling the aroma of the food, surprised. “How can someone so young be this skilled?”

Jin Lang frowned slightly at being called a “kid.”

“I’m not a kid. I’m already twenty,” he protested before continuing, “I used to work part-time at a Chinese restaurant. I was lucky to have met an experienced chef willing to teach me, so I picked up quite a few dishes back then. I forgot to ask what you like to eat, so I made some simple home-style dishes. Try them and see if they suit your taste.”

“Alright, alright. I’ll take a shower first. If you’re hungry, don’t wait for me—just start eating,” Lu Qian said as he rushed off to the bathroom. “And stop with the formal ‘sir’ stuff. It sounds weird.”

After his shower, he couldn’t even be bothered to dry his hair properly before heading straight to the dining table.

Jin Lang, already seated and waiting for him, noticed Lu Qian’s damp hair. A few droplets of water had fallen onto his gray cotton loungewear, leaving behind darker patches of wetness.

“Dry your hair properly, or you’ll get a headache,” Jin Lang said, getting up to fetch a clean towel from the balcony.

“I’m starving. I haven’t eaten all day,” Lu Qian ignored the towel and immediately reached for a piece of sweet and sour pork ribs with his bare hands.

Seeing that he was already eating, Jin Lang naturally draped the towel over Lu Qian’s head and began drying his hair for him.

However, after a few minutes, he noticed something was off.

Lu Qian, who had been happily eating with exaggerated enthusiasm, suddenly froze in place.

Jin Lang found it strange. He slowly stopped his movements and, after confirming that Lu Qian’s hair was relatively dry, tossed the towel into the laundry basket before sitting back down.

Looking at Lu Qian, he saw that his expression was stiff and awkward, as if something was troubling him.

“Um… do you not like the food?” Jin Lang asked nervously. “I forgot to ask about your preferences last night, so I just made some common dishes. Is this okay?”

Such a tall, upright young man—someone who should have been living confidently and carefree—was instead weighed down by reality, forced into a position where he had to cautiously ask, Is this okay?

The casual yet careful tone in Jin Lang’s voice made Lu Qian sigh unconsciously.

He forced an awkward smile. “It’s delicious, really. Hurry up and eat.”

Quickly regaining his composure, he focused on his meal, shoveling food into his mouth. Over and over, he reminded himself: That was just a towel. Just a towel.

Otherwise, was he seriously going to think that this young, good-looking guy would want to touch a nearly thirty-year-old man like him?

Get over yourself, he scolded himself, but the tingling sensation on his scalp refused to fade.

Jin Lang, seeing that Lu Qian had resumed eating with gusto, finally relaxed and started eating as well.

However, as he ate, he suddenly recalled something Lu Qian had said earlier—he hadn’t eaten all day?

Why?

Was he too busy to eat, or was it because there was no one to eat with?

Jin Lang always voiced his questions the moment they formed in his mind.

“Why didn’t you eat today?”

“Huh? I am eating,” Lu Qian replied, puzzled. He even lifted his nearly empty bowl to show him.

“I meant earlier. You didn’t eat all day? No breakfast? No lunch?”

“Oh! I had a glass of milk in the morning, but then I got so busy I forgot about lunch.”

Lu Qian didn’t want to admit that when he was alone, he often lost the will to eat. He knew this kind of behavior was childish—almost like emotional blackmail. It might make those around him feel obligated to eat with him, and that wasn’t his intention.

Children raised in orphanages lived in overcrowded, noisy environments, yet each of them was deeply lonely.

He should have been used to doing things alone by now.

But for some reason, he just couldn’t get used to eating alone.

Unless he was absolutely starving, he would rather grab a few snacks or a chocolate bar for quick energy rather than sit down for a proper meal.

He thought no one had noticed this habit.

But what he didn’t know was that Jin Xiaomi had already figured it out—and had even told Jin Lang about it.

Jin Lang noticed that Lu Qian was deliberately avoiding the question and figured that he didn’t want others to know about this little secret. However, Sister Jin had specifically told him to make sure Lu Qian ate properly. He could watch over him during breakfast and dinner, but what about lunch?

“Sister Jin said you work at a big company as a manager and that your job keeps you very busy,” Jin Lang asked casually.

“It’s a bit busy, but don’t listen to Sister Jin’s exaggerations. We’re just a small interior design studio, and my job is to handle the drafting work,” Lu Qian replied. When talking about his work, his eyes couldn’t hide the joy he felt.

“Where is your company located? Do you need me to pick you up and drop you off?”

“There’s no need. The office is very close, just a ten-minute drive away. It wouldn’t be any trouble for me,” Lu Qian declined his offer.

“Since it’s so close, how about I bring you lunch every day and eat with you? You’re way too thin—you should really eat properly,” Jin Lang finally got to the point.

“Huh? Bringing lunch every day sounds like a hassle. Don’t you have anything better to do?” Lu Qian couldn’t understand why he was making things so complicated.

Hearing that, Jin Lang raised an eyebrow. “Right now, the only thing I need to take care of is you. Or do you have some other ‘tasks’ for me to do?”

“No, no other ‘tasks.’ If you want to bring lunch, then bring lunch. Whatever makes you happy,” Lu Qian said hastily, brushing off the topic and focusing on his meal instead.

“Alright, sir,” Jin Lang responded with a bright, toothy smile.

Finally, after their combined efforts, they cleared the dinner table with not a single morsel left. Looking at the clean table free of leftovers, the feeling was simply satisfying.

“You cooked dinner, so I’ll clean up,” Lu Qian said, getting up to tidy the dishes.

“I’ll do it! Just tell me how you usually clean up the kitchen so I won’t mess up your usual way of doing things,” Jin Lang said, standing up alongside Lu Qian. He was well aware of his role—he wasn’t just a guest here.

Lu Qian looked at the polite and respectful Jin Lang, who kept calling him “sir” and speaking so formally. He knew this was the “Simba” version of Jin Lang. He couldn’t refuse his offer, especially since he didn’t want to risk giving him another opportunity to ask, “Do you have any other tasks for me?”

Sigh… This person doesn’t quite match what Jin Xiaomi described. Didn’t she say he was “innocent and kind”? Was she tricking me?

After a whole evening of cooking and cleaning, Jin Lang had worked up a light sweat again. So after tidying up the kitchen, he went for another shower.

When he stepped out of the bathroom, he saw that Lu Qian had already set up his usual Friday night routine.

“What’s this…?” Jin Lang, dressed in a comfortable cotton pajama set, looked at the table in the living room. It was stocked with snacks and a bottle of red wine. He tilted his head, towel-drying his hair as he asked in confusion.

“My Friday movie night. You want to join?” Lu Qian swirled his wine glass at him.

Seeing Jin Lang nod, he pulled another glass from the cabinet. He gave up the three-seater sofa to Jin Lang and curled up in the single-seater himself. Once they were both settled, he started the movie.

Jin Lang glanced around and realized that Lu Qian was likely a huge movie enthusiast. His entire home theater setup was top-notch—an ultra-large screen, a subwoofer sound system… Everything was clearly arranged for an immersive movie experience.

“You enjoy watching movies, sir? Is this a regular Friday tradition?” Jin Lang asked before the movie started.

“Yeah. Friday nights are long, and I don’t have to rush to work the next morning, so I can relax and watch one or two movies. I always stop by the rental store after work on Fridays. I have a membership there. If you want, you can rent movies too—just give them my name,” Lu Qian said while staring at the screen, snacking without even looking at Jin Lang. It seemed he was ready to dive into movie mode.

Jin Lang nodded. He liked movies too, but he never had the time or spare money to cultivate the hobby. He could only watch whatever reruns played on TV—he’d probably seen Flirting Scholar^[1] hundreds of times by now. And yet, he still found it enjoyable every time.

Now, he was sitting in a cozy living room, watching a high-definition movie with an advanced sound system, surrounded by snacks and red wine. This was truly the good life.

Red wine?

A reminder from Sister Jin suddenly popped into his mind: “He can’t handle alcohol well—don’t let him get drunk.”

Jin Lang glanced at Lu Qian, who had been nothing but refined and well-mannered these past two days. It was hard to imagine him turning into some kind of wild beast when drunk.

The movie began—it was the seventh installment of an American action franchise. Jin Lang hadn’t seen the previous movies, so he was a bit lost at first. Lu Qian, who seemed to have watched them all, occasionally explained past events to him. Thanks to his explanations, Jin Lang gradually got into the story.

If nothing else, the car stunts alone were exhilarating.

The two of them watched with bated breath until the film neared its conclusion. The intense, heart-pounding action had passed, and the characters were now lounging by the beach, chatting peacefully under the sun. A serene and beautiful scene. The ending song started playing.

Jin Lang finally relaxed.

He turned to say something to Lu Qian—only to be stunned when he saw his slightly reddened eyes.

What happened?

Wasn’t he just fine a second ago?

Jin Lang stared blankly at Lu Qian.

It wasn’t until the end credits flashed the words “FOR PAUL”^[2] that Lu Qian sniffled slightly.

Noticing Jin Lang’s confused gaze, he explained a bit sheepishly, “Paul was the actor who played Brian. He passed away in a car accident while filming this movie. This ending was dedicated to him. I’ve been following this franchise for a long time, so… I got a little emotional.”

He rubbed his nose in embarrassment.

Ah, so that’s what it was.

Jin Lang nodded in understanding. Even if it wasn’t someone you personally knew, the loss of a life was still a somber thing.

Lu Qian seemed to still be caught in his emotions, sitting there in a daze.

Jin Lang was suddenly reminded of his own father, who had also died in a car accident. He fell silent. The only sound left in the room was the song playing softly in the background.

“It’s been a long day without you, my friend
And I’ll tell you all about it when I see you again…”

By the time Lu Qian snapped out of it, he noticed a slight mistiness in Jin Lang’s eyes.

Was he getting sleepy?

“Hey, movie night is over. Go to bed,” Lu Qian patted the couch, motioning for him to head to his room.

Jin Lang blinked his big eyes, scratching his head awkwardly. “Sorry, I spaced out for a bit.”

Seeing that Lu Qian had no intention of leaving the couch, he asked, “Sir, aren’t you going to sleep?”

“Mmm, I want to sit for a while and read a book,” Lu Qian casually pulled out a book from under the sofa—likely something he had been in the middle of reading before.

“Then I’ll stay with you,” Jin Lang offered while tidying up the table.

“No need. I like reading alone. Don’t disturb me. Go to sleep. Good night,” Lu Qian put on his glasses, lowered his head, and started reading, ignoring him.

Jin Lang quietly washed the wine glasses and set them on the drying rack. Then, before heading to his room, he softly said, “Good night, sir. See you tomorrow.”

Once the door to Jin Lang’s room closed, Lu Qian finally lifted his gaze. Through the upper rim of his glasses, he looked toward the closed door.

“See you tomorrow.”

A gentle smile curled his lips, revealing a small dimple on his right cheek.

(To be continued…)