What Are Your Tastes? chapter 37

 New Year’s Eve

Lu Yunchu didn’t rush to sleep. These past few nights, before sleeping, he would sketch unrelated drawings—sometimes creative ideas he was interested in, sometimes Zhou Yanchuan.

Except for the first sketch he drew while Zhou Yanchuan was asleep, all other poses were drawn from memory or imagination. Now, only a few blank pages remained in this sketchbook.

Setting his phone aside, he received a reply from Zhou Yanchuan on WeChat shortly after.

【Aren’t you going to see the fireworks?】

【Doesn’t seem very meaningful to me either.】

He didn’t mind going out alone, but he wouldn’t go to such events when alone.

Zhou Yanchuan didn’t ask further, simply replying with a single word: 【Okay】.

Lu Yunchu put down his phone and closed the sketchbook.

Having communicated with Ning Ruowei and subtly informed Tao Jin, he understood his own feelings, but hadn’t thought about achieving any specific outcome when it came to his feelings for Zhou Yanchuan.

Perhaps his upbringing had influenced his temperament.

For a long time, he had harbored disgust towards his biological father—not just because he knew about his father’s other women and children, but more so because of his father’s attitude towards him and his mother.

Countless variations of “What could you have without me?” had reached Lu Yunchu’s ears.

What could he have, indeed?

Yet he had still found a way to gain belief, gradually drifting further from the direction expected by Lu Changming.

After all, they were father and son, sharing a fatal similarity—both could effortlessly dominate their own realms, and neither could be shaken by the other.

This sense of control was self-contained and had nothing to do with another person.

“Possessiveness” was too crude an emotional experience, stripping away the inherent purity and beauty of human nature, something Lu Yunchu disliked.

Underneath their superficial similarities, this was the biggest difference between him and his father. Lu Changming’s eyes only held his own desires; he would stop at nothing to achieve his goals, even disregarding others’ wishes.

Lu Yunchu couldn’t do that.

Zhou Yanchuan was not his prey, and he didn’t need to succeed. He remained close as a friend simply because he wanted to.

On the afternoon of December 31st, Lu Yunchu and Zhou Yanchuan went to the supermarket together to buy hotpot ingredients.

Approaching the New Year, there were far more shoppers than usual, and the supermarket shelves were stocked with a variety of New Year’s goods.

“Oh, by the way, are you going back to S city for Chinese New Year?” Zhou Yanchuan pushed the shopping cart next to Lu Yunchu. “I mean, for the Spring Festival.” There was just over a month left until the lunar new year.

Lu Yunchu didn’t hesitate for a moment. “Not going back.”

Zhou Yanchuan had initially asked thinking he would definitely go home, but after receiving the answer, he was momentarily at a loss for words.

Carefully selecting hotpot ingredients, Lu Yunchu seemed completely unconcerned with the question about his family, showing no intention to explain.

“Do you think we should get potato slices or sweet potato slices?” Lu Yunchu lifted two boxes of ingredients, seeking Zhou Yanchuan’s opinion.

“Let’s just get one of each.”

“Dad, I want this!”

A loud little boy accidentally bumped into Lu Yunchu, who steadied him with a gentle hand. “Be careful.”

“Lele! Why are you running so fast!” The boy’s father hurried over and apologized to Lu Yunchu before taking the boy to a young woman across the aisle, likely the boy’s mother.

At the end of the year, there were many customers shopping as families.

Lu Yunchu had also gone shopping with his parents before, although he could count those times on one hand. At those times, he always felt like he was an outsider in his own family, as if something was missing.

Later, he realized that what was missing was a sense of belonging.

Taking the shopping cart from Zhou Yanchuan, Lu Yunchu walked alongside him.

His ideal family… was somewhat like the current state. Glancing briefly at the oblivious Zhou Yanchuan, his gaze returned to the front.

“Let’s go,” Zhou Yanchuan placed several boxes of sliced meat into the cart.

They didn’t buy much, but ended up with two bags in the end.

“I’ll carry one too.”

Just as Lu Yunchu picked up the two bags of food, Zhou Yanchuan took one bag without asking.

“Is your hand okay now?”

“I don’t feel anything,” the bag wasn’t heavy, and he couldn’t feel the weight even when holding it in his right hand. “I’m almost becoming left-handed, so I need to keep moving.”

“Exaggerating.”

As a precaution, a few minutes later Zhou Yanchuan switched the bags to his left hand.

Zhou Yanchuan had a large electric hotpot at home, and they had already agreed to have hotpot there. Back in the neighborhood, Lu Yunchu followed him directly to the door.

The weather was colder now, and the apartment had the air conditioning on, with dry hot air circulating inside. A ceramic basin set as a decoration next to the sofa held half a basin of water, likely for humidification.

There was a set of tea utensils on the coffee table, which Lu Yunchu hadn’t seen during his previous visits.

Following his gaze, Zhou Yanchuan suggested, “It’s still early, want some tea?”

“Sure.”

Zhou Yanchuan’s movements in making tea were as skilled as ever, not missing a single step. After washing the teacups, he asked as if enlightened, “Do you prefer coffee more?”

He himself hardly drank coffee, but he had received quite a bit as gifts. If Lu Yunchu liked it, he could prepare some.

“Just tea is fine,” Lu Yunchu glanced again at the tea set on the table, “this tea set is very beautiful.”

He wasn’t just saying it to be polite; the elegant blue teapot and cups exuded a refinement that surpassed most of Zhou Yanchuan’s usual aesthetic.

“Is it?” Zhou Yanchuan poured tea into the two freshly washed cups, “I bought it a while ago. I often drink it in the office, so I don’t bother to bring it home, just keep it there.”

No wonder he hadn’t seen it displayed before.

“Have you always liked Gongfu tea?” Lu Yunchu hadn’t quite figured out Zhou Yanchuan’s preferences and always felt he wasn’t the type to be fond of such intricate things.

“Yeah,” Zhou Yanchuan took a sip, gently placing the cup down. “My dad used to love fussing over it. After work, he’d unwind with it. We had a small tea tray at home, nothing fancy, and ordinary tea sets, but we used them for years. When I was young, my mom didn’t let me drink tea, so my dad would secretly let me have some. I didn’t find it tasty, though—bitter and troublesome to brew. But after my dad passed away, I grew to like it…”

As he spoke, he noticed Lu Yunchu lowering his head, lost in thought.

“Don’t feel sad for me. I’m happy to share this with you now.”

“Sorry,” Lu Yunchu refocused on the tea, “it tastes good.”

“This is Jin Junmei, different from what we have in the office.” As the sky darkened, Zhou Yanchuan boiled water again and glanced out the window. “I never thought I’d spend New Year’s Eve with you this year.”

The TV began broadcasting scenes of the evening fireworks. Although there was some time left, the riverside had already been transformed into expansive parks and green spaces, attracting crowds throughout the day on holidays.

The news presented a lively scene. Reporters randomly interviewed several pedestrians, asking them about their wishes for the coming year.

Lu Yunchu’s attention wasn’t on the TV; he picked up a fresh cup of hot tea and blew on it.

“And last year? What did you do?”

“Well… nothing special. Just stayed home,” Zhou Yanchuan often spent Lunar New Year’s Eve alone, and the Western New Year didn’t matter much to him. “Younger folks like you care more about these New Year celebrations.”

Lu Yunchu couldn’t help but laugh. “You don’t consider yourself young?”

He shook his head. “My friends are all married, with kids, just talking about family matters. No more youthful topics. I’ve been made to feel old.”

Lu Yunchu listened as he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and glanced at it.

It was a WeChat message from Lu Changming.

【You’re really not planning to come back home, are you?】

His heart sank suddenly, and his smile faded bit by bit.

Lu Changming had explicitly told him to leave and not step foot inside their home again. After a year of settling down in another city, what now?

Immediately, another message appeared: 【You might as well not come back ever.】

“What’s wrong?” Zhou Yanchuan asked.

“Nothing,” Lu Yunchu moved his fingers a few times, blocked that name, and deleted the chat box altogether. “That’s enough of that. Let’s get ready.”

The ingredients for the hot pot they bought were mostly ready, and only a few vegetables needed slicing before they could be cooked.

The cooking pot was placed in the middle of the dining table, and soon the soup started bubbling and boiling. They began adding things into it.

They had bought orange juice suitable for the meal at the supermarket, poured it into two glass cups, and clinked them together lightly.

“Happy New Year,” they both said almost simultaneously.

Lu Yunchu looked up, and through the transparent cup, he could vaguely see Zhou Yanchuan’s smiling face.