Chapter 35: Together. That state-owned restaurant in Xiguan...

That state-owned restaurant in Xiguan looked much more impressive than the others. Song Qingshu followed He Feng and had a meal with Sun Jing'an and Sun Jinglin.

Although he hadn't eaten much in the morning, whenever He Feng stared at something for a long time while browsing the market, He Feng would buy it.

He couldn't eat much, so He Feng would just give it to him, giving him a bite. If he liked it, he'd have a couple more bites. If he didn't, he'd eat it himself.

Sun Jinglin enthusiastically introduced the food, saying how delicious it was.

He and Sun Jing'an agreed and ordered three meat dishes, two vegetable dishes, and a soup. The dishes included two cold dishes: cold beef and preserved egg and tofu, braised fish and sweet and sour spare ribs, and braised choy sum with oil residue and tomato and egg soup.

The portions were generous, more than enough for four people. He Feng refused to order more and declined the offer of drinks.

On the way here, He Feng had been arguing with Sun Jing'an over who should treat whom, neither backing down. Song Qingshu squeezed He Feng's hand, Sun Jinglin tugged on his arm, and anyone who didn't know better would have thought a fight was imminent.

In the end, Sun Jing'an went first, saying he could treat him back the next time He Feng brought Song Qingshu to pick up medicine.

He Feng agreed.

That afternoon, the two of them were preparing to visit Tian Mengfan. Song Qingshu hadn't eaten much, yawning as he leaned back in his chair, listening to He Feng and Sun Jing'an's conversation.

Sun Jinglin was excited, as if he couldn't wait to get to the army, peppering him with questions.

He Feng turned and touched Song Qingshu's face. "Are you sleepy?"

Song Qingshu smiled faintly and shook his head. He rarely saw He Feng chatting so much with others, reminiscing about his past in the army.

He wanted He Feng to talk more, so he could understand the past through words, a He Feng who was about his own age.

"What are you doing this afternoon? If not, don't leave today. We have room for you," Sun Jing'an said.

Sun Jinglin nodded repeatedly in affirmation, genuinely curious about the army. "So, what do you do during your downtime?"

Before He Feng could reply, Sun Jinglin was slapped by Sun Jing'an. "I've never seen you ask me before, why are you so interested today?"

The slap wasn't heavy or painful, but Sun Jinglin pouted and touched his head. "What are you doing? I'm the smartest in the family. What if I get hit like that?"

"I'll purr for you again." Sun Jing'an ruffled his fluffy black hair and looked at He Feng.

He Feng felt Song Qingshu's belly. He was so thin, and a full stomach would bulge a little, making it look softer and feel the same.

It looked like he was truly full.

He replied to Sun Jing'an, "I have something to do this afternoon, so I have to leave. I have to feed the chickens, ducks, cats, and dogs at home."

Actually, before arriving, he had asked Mrs. Liu to help look after Xiaohua and Xiaohei. He had also prepared two large bowls of wheat bran for the chickens and ducks, enough for them.

"Okay, let's go back to the clinic, isn't it on the way?" They both rode motorcycles when they came here. Sun Jinglin chattered all the way and thought it was cool.

Song Qingshu sat quietly in the back, hugging He Feng's waist, his fair little face pressed against He Feng's back, forming a very strong contrast with Sun Jinglin.

Song Qingshu, whose hand was held by He Feng, shook his head, "We have to go north."

Sun Jing'an nodded, "Okay, I won't force you to stay. We have to go back to the clinic, otherwise the old man will not eat alone again."

"He Feng, come and get together more often in the future when you have nothing to do."

He Feng responded, obviously not taking it seriously.

He knew in his heart that it was far away and it was not easy to come here. If he was kept here again, it would only cause trouble to others.

It would be more comfortable to be at home farming and feeding chickens and ducks. "You can come to our village to play when you have nothing to do."

"Okay, okay, how about next summer vacation?" Sun Jinglin looked at He Feng with bright eyes.

As soon as He Feng agreed, Sun Jinglin was dragged out by the collar, "Let's go, the old man is going to nag you again."

As they walked out, Sun Jingan's voice came over, "Look at my brother, he's so quiet, and look at you, you only know how to act good in front of the old man, when can you be a good boy next to me."

Sun Jinglin stuck out his tongue, shook him off and ran to sit on the motorcycle.

He Feng pretended not to hear the word "brother" and took Song Qingshu out, "After visiting Tian Mengfan's house, we'll go home."

Song Qingshu agreed.

The two stood at the door of the restaurant and said goodbye to the two Sun brothers. After they walked away, Song Qingshu pulled He Feng to let him get closer to him, and murmured with an embarrassed laugh.

He Feng didn't hear clearly, and when he put his ear close to the other person's ear, he heard Song Qingshu said to remember to buy things.

He Feng, who understood, smiled and wanted to take him home right away. He asked Song Qingshu to get in the car, and when the other person hugged him obediently, he replied, "I knew you were calling me brother."

How could he be so lovable.

Song Qingshu himself was embarrassed and didn't dare to respond.

...

Tian Mengfan's home wasn't far from Xiguan. Just across the bridge was the old residential area. Tian Mengfan lived in the first house in the second alley.

Song Qingshu stood at the gate of the small courtyard and knocked on the door. Tian Mengfan didn't come out, but a little girl did.

She had a small braid on her head and her eyes were black and bright. She looked up at Song Qingshu: "Brother, who are you looking for?"

Song Qingshu took out three big White Rabbit candies from the bag on He Feng's back, squatted down and handed them to her, "Shuangshuang, don't you remember your brother?"

The little girl stared at Song Qingshu again, "It's Brother Qingshu!" She happily took the candy and ran into the house with Song Qingshu, "Brother, come out quickly, Brother Qingshu is here!"

The child's voice was crisp and loud, and it woke up Tian Mengfan who was sleepy while reading a book. He didn't hear clearly what Shuangshuang said, "Don't make noise, I'll come out to play with you later."

Shuangshuang didn't care and pushed open his door. Tian Mengfan frowned and turned to look at him, and found a familiar figure.

The pen in his hand slammed down on the table, and he rushed over to hug Song Qingshu, his tone and actions as excited as ever, "Song Qingshu! Why are you here?"

It had only been two months since they last met, and Song Qingshu looked very much like before, but the gloom that had surrounded him before was gone, and although his illness was still visible, he didn't look listless.

It seemed that he was living a good life.

"He Feng brought me here to go shopping in the city." Song Qingshu looked at the many books on the desk in his room, and it seemed that he was really working hard to get into college.

Tian Mengfan leaned over to look outside, "Where's he?"

Shuangshuang's laughter came from outside, "A little higher!"

There was a swing in the yard, and Shuangshuang usually liked to sit on it and play by herself. Now it should be He Feng pushing her.

The little girl was happy to have someone to play with, and her tone was extremely excited.

Song Qingshu and Tian Mengfan talked about what had happened in the past two months, and talked about everything except his relationship with He Feng.

Compared with his life in the village, Tian Mengfan's life is rather boring. He occasionally goes out to find some odd jobs to earn some money, and spends most of his time studying at home and accompanying Shuangshuang.

It also gave his mother a hot meal when she got home, as she would have to cook leftovers after a day's work at the factory.

Just before leaving, Song Qingshu remembered what he had bought for Tian Mengfan. He Feng had suggested buying milk, eggs, and other things, but Song Qingshu shook his head and bought a bag of peach cakes and a bag of sesame candies, Tian Mengfan's favorite treats back in Hejia Village.

As he brought them out to the market, Tian Mengfan kept saying no, but Song Qingshu explained that they were for his friend, and if Tian Mengfan didn't want them, it meant he looked down on him and didn't want to be his friend.

Tian Mengfan had no choice but to accept them, but there was something he had been hesitant to say.

Song Qingshu had already seen that he had something to say, so he had He Feng wait at the entrance of the alley on his motorcycle, and then walked into the clean courtyard.

"Go ahead."

"Qingshu, aren't you going home to see him? Are you with him?" The two sentences were completely unrelated, but what Tian Mengfan wanted to know most was that when Song Qingshu had spoken to him earlier, his expression and eyes had changed when he mentioned He Feng, a look of indescribable affection.

Song Qingshu looked at him with a smile. He was indeed not stupid. His voice was as gentle as usual, "Well, I'm not going home. We're together."

Tian Mengfan looked at the tall figure sitting on the motorcycle outside the door and nodded. "If we're together, then we're together. He takes good care of you. As long as you are happy and satisfied, that's all that matters."

He paused and mentioned another matter: "Your stepmother sold your house. It's better not to go back. Home may not be the same as before."

Shuangshuang ran over while chewing sesame candy and hugged Song Qingshu's thighs, "Brother Qingshu, are you leaving?"

"Thank you," Song Qingshu looked Tian Mengfan in the eye. "You're the first person to know he and I are together, and you didn't object. Thank you for telling me about my family. Don't worry about me."

He said sincerely, "I hope you can get into a good university." He

bent down again to speak to Shuangshuang, his tone even softer and more approachable to the child. He wiped the sesame seeds from the corners of the little girl's mouth. "Yes, Shuangshuang, listen to your brother at home and study hard."

Shuangshuang nodded vigorously, her dark eyes reflecting Song Qingshu's beautiful face. "I will, brother!"

Song Qingshu smiled and waved goodbye to the two of them. He said he would come again someday, then turned and walked towards He Feng.

Tian Mengfan looked at his back and remembered the first time he met Song Qingshu during his trip to the countryside. The young, thin man, carrying a light-colored canvas bag, stood before him, extending his slender white hand and saying, "Hello, my name is Song Qingshu." He

was already handsome, but his sickly look made him look even more fragile. Tian Mengfan was stunned for a moment before extending his hand to say hello.

Song Qingshu had no family and a congenital heart disease. Even if they were together, someone might criticize them, that person wouldn't be him.

Because he and Song Qingshu were friends.

The sound of the motorcycle leaving was loud, and the two figures gradually faded.

He Feng took Song Qingshu to buy the things he had been longing for. Sun Jing'an told him about some heart-healthy foods and bought a whole bunch of things: pecans, oats, soybeans, hawthorns, oranges, and a large pomelos.

Pomelos weren't sold at the market back home, so He Feng saw one and grabbed the largest one to peel for Song Qingshu back home.

The two of them explored almost the entire old street, and He Feng's baggage piled up. He also took Song Qingshu to buy some thicker clothes, remembering the romantic things Song Qingshu had mentioned earlier. He bought two pairs of clothes for each of the two pieces of clothing Song Qingshu liked. He

also bought a pair of cloth shoes for each of them.

He Feng was almost completely absorbed in buying clothes for Song Qingshu, wanting to buy him whatever he put on. It was not

until Song Qingshu said he was tired and wanted to go home that the two of them set out on their way home.