What Are Your Tastes? chapter 78
Scallion Returns
When Lu Yunchu was hospitalized, Zhou Yanchuan spent most of his time at the hospital. Every couple of days, a nurse would help him change the gauze and apply medication, and now that they were back home, he had to do it himself.
That day, when it was time to apply the medicine, Lu Yunchu prepared the supplies and cotton swabs, waiting for him to extend his arm.
“I’ll do it myself,” Zhou Yanchuan said, feeling awkward for some unknown reason.
“What’s wrong?” Lu Yunchu continued to hold his forearm gently. “Are you embarrassed?”
“Not really…” Although Zhou Yanchuan didn’t think much of the injury, it was unsightly, especially when being closely and intently examined. He felt uneasy. “Don’t you think it looks bad?”
Lu Yunchu paused his movements and looked at him, “Do you think I look bad now?”
“What looks bad?”
“My hair! I don’t have any hair!” Lu Yunchu’s hair hadn’t grown back yet, and he wasn’t used to wearing wigs. Over the past few days, he’d worn a baseball cap everywhere, only taking it off in front of Zhou Yanchuan.
Zhou Yanchuan seemed completely surprised by the question. After staring at his face seriously for a few seconds, he smiled and said, “You don’t look bad at all. I think you’re very pretty right now.”
“When did you become so cheesy?”
“Not cheesy,” he said, suppressing his smile and speaking seriously. “I really think you look good no matter what.”
“Forget it,” Lu Yunchu’s face flushed, and he stopped fussing over his hair but still insisted on applying the medicine. He gently wiped the wound with a cotton swab dipped in medication, noticing that Zhou Yanchuan’s hand was tensed. “Does it hurt?”
“Not really.” He was used to this slight pain, as the nurses had been more vigorous before.
After applying the medicine to the back of his hand, Lu Yunchu changed to a new cotton swab and continued to apply it to the scars near his elbow.
“I don’t think it looks bad,” he continued, “but I don’t like seeing scars on you because they cause pain.” After finishing, he calmly put away the medicine and returned it to the cabinet in the living room.
Zhou Yanchuan sat on the sofa in a daze, muttering softly, “It’s not that painful.”
The furniture ordered last month started arriving while Lu Yunchu was hospitalized. According to the original plan, they should have already moved into the new home, but now they were a few days behind schedule.
Zhou Yanchuan first had the furniture delivered and then hired a moving company for the weekend to move their personal items and a few pieces of furniture they wanted to keep. After that, they would organize everything. The once empty house quickly began to feel like a home.
The new house had four bedrooms and two living rooms, along with a laundry room and a more spacious terrace. As planned, in addition to the master bedroom, they set up a study and a workroom. Lu Yunchu’s favorite coffin-shaped sofa was placed in the workroom; the guest room was prepared for Wu Lan, so she would have a comfortable place to stay if she visited Sen City.
There was an open activity area on the second floor, where they planned to set up a small corner for Sabrina, which could also serve as a casual relaxation spot.
On the night of the move, they didn’t have time to cook, so they went to a store across the street for noodles. Zhou Yanchuan ordered ordinary fried rice noodles, while Lu Yunchu wanted hot and sour noodles.
“You’re eating something so spicy now?” Zhou Yanchuan was a bit worried as he smelled the spicy oil.
“It’s fine now,” Lu Yunchu, who had been scared off by bland food previously, deliberately wanted something spicy. “It’s not that spicy.”
“Really…”
“Boss,” Lu Yunchu raised his hand, “Can I get some more peanuts?”
“Coming right up!” In less than half a minute, a small bowl of peanuts appeared on their table.
At the neighboring table were two young women. Zhou Yanchuan noticed that when Lu Yunchu had just waved, they glanced over and were whispering and smiling. Zhou Yanchuan looked back, and the girls, feeling embarrassed, stopped their conversation and no longer looked at them.
He smiled silently, guessing that they must have recognized them.
In the blazing July heat, as summer came to an end, Tao Jin was about to leave the country, and it was time for Zhou Yanchuan and Yunchu to welcome Sabrina back.
Tao Jin knew about Lu Yunchu’s injury but had refrained from visiting him in the hospital earlier to avoid affecting his recovery. Now, with the opportunity to return Sabrina, he decided to visit and didn’t make them go to his home.
The security at Yijing was very strict. The security guard at the gate used the intercom to let the boy with the dog bag in. To avoid him getting lost, Zhou Yanchuan went downstairs to meet him.
“Come in, no need to change your shoes.”
After entering, Tao Jin carefully placed Sabrina on the floor. The little dog was also visiting their new home for the first time. It kept turning its head, spinning in place, and sniffing the floor, as if assessing whether there was any danger.
Lu Yunchu poured Tao Jin a drink and invited him to sit on the sofa.
“Thank you.”
Sabrina adapted to the new environment quickly. Within a few minutes, she abandoned her initial caution and began to frolic around. Zhou Yanchuan, delighted, opened his arms and called out, “Come here, Scallion, let’s have a hug!”
At these words, Lu Yunchu and Tao Jin froze. Lu Yunchu was extremely embarrassed, while Tao Jin looked confused.
“What… Scallion?”
Realizing he had misspoken, Zhou Yanchuan, seeing he couldn’t hide it any longer, decided to come clean to Tao Jin. “Well… can I give her another name?” He then explained in detail the reason for the name change when they were preparing to adopt Sabrina last year.
Lu Yunchu felt that this wasn’t quite right and was about to mediate when Tao Jin smiled and nodded, saying to them, “From now on, it’s in your hands. The name is, of course, up to you to decide.”
“You really don’t mind?” Zhou Yanchuan asked.
“No problem at all, ‘Scallion’…” he murmured softly, “It’s quite cute.”
“Thank you,” Lu Yunchu said, “Remember to come and visit it when you return to the country.”
“Mm,” Tao Jin’s gaze shifted to Lu Yunchu, “Are you completely recovered?”
“I’m fine now, back at work.” Although Zhou Yanchuan wished he would rest a bit longer, the studio’s progress had slowed significantly without him, and the backlog was too heavy. Even though most clients were understanding, he still felt uneasy and just wanted to get back as soon as possible.
“Why don’t you have lunch at our place?” Zhou Yanchuan suggested, “We’ll whip up something casual, no need to be formal.”
Tao Jin had come alone and, having traveled far, it wouldn’t be right to let him leave without lunch.
Unable to refuse, he called his mother, then stayed for a simple meal. Later, they wanted to send him home, but Tao Jin said his mother was already on her way to pick him up and got ready to leave.
Sabrina seemed to know her owner was leaving, staring at the doorway with wide eyes.
“I’m leaving,” he crouched down to bid farewell to the pet that had once been like family, “Teacher Lu and Mr. Zhou will take good care of you. Be a good dog.”
The little dog was reluctant, panting as it followed him to the hallway.
“I’m going abroad, I really can’t take you with me,” he said, stroking the dog’s head, “I’ll come to see you during the holidays.”
Upon hearing this, Sabrina seemed to understand. Though still reluctant, she didn’t cling to him anymore.
“Teacher Lu, Mr. Zhou, take care. See you again.”
“Goodbye.”
After Tao Jin left, Lu Yunchu held the dog on his lap. Sabrina lay down obediently, just like when they had first found her last year.
“It’s really ‘Scallion’ now.”