"Mr. Du," Aunt Wei interrupted them, carrying a box, "The oysters have just arrived, when do you plan to eat them?"
Xu ran over to help and hugged the box, weighing it in his hands, "That's quite a lot, where did you buy them?"
Du Ziyu shook his head, "I have no idea, they were sent by someone else. You open it first. Aunt Wei, do we have any lemons at home?"
"We do," Aunt Wei went to the kitchen, and Xu found a pair of scissors to open the package. The thick foam box was filled with broken ice, exuding a strong salty sea odor.
He dug out a palm-sized, earthy and slightly metallic shiny oyster from the ice, with a "G" on the shell, and said, "Gina, let's have it while it's fresh."
They were standing at the dining table in the large living room, visible from the main door to the backyard, and it felt awkward to eat here while being watched by others.
And he wanted to spend time alone with Du Ziyu.
Xu suggested, "You have a small sitting room in your room, right? Let's go up and eat there."
"Not a good idea," Du Ziyu frowned. Shouldn't meals be eaten where they were meant to be eaten? How could they hide in the room?
Xu tried to persuade him, "Isn't there a table in the small sitting room?"
"There is..."
"No chairs?"
"Of course there are..."
"Then that's settled," Xu picked up the box and, seeing no one was paying attention, leaned in close to Du Ziyu and whispered, "Let's go, we'll have our own little world up there."
Du Ziyu glared at him, seeming both annoyed and angry, but Xu continued to smile.
Aunt Wei came out with two lemons and a small knife in her hand.
"Oh, please put the things here," Xu instructed.
He opened the box, and Aunt Wei placed the lemons and the knife on the blocks of ice. Du Ziyu turned to leave, but not in the direction of the stairs.
Xu's heart skipped a beat, thinking he had messed up, "Where are you going?"
Du Ziyu didn't look back, torn between thinking his own ears were too soft and being urged on by Xu, and with a sudden impulse to break the rules, he was up for it.
He answered sullenly, "To get some wine." The wine cellar was in the basement, and he had to select the wine himself.
Xu knew he was willing to go, so he said loudly, "Ok, no hurry."
Aunt Wei next to him, seeing him holding the box, was full of disbelief, "Are you... are you going upstairs to eat? Can't you eat here? It's not proper to go upstairs, it's against the rules."
Xu looked at her in disbelief, "Why are you always talking about rules, nothing beats doing what you really want to do."
Aunt Wei closed her mouth, but there was still worry in her eyes.
Xu reassured her, "It's just eating, nothing can go wrong. Frowning all day is an easy way to get wrinkles."
Aunt Wei couldn't help laughing, "What a smooth talker, I'm at this age already."
"It's precisely at this age that you should be more carefree," Xu said to Aunt Wei. Seeing Du Ziyu returning with a bottle of white wine, he said to Aunt Wei, "We're going upstairs. Watch them work here, and if you need us, come upstairs."
Aunt Wei could only nod, and Xu Zhu followed Du Ziyu upstairs to his room, into the adjacent small living room, where the suitcase was placed on the table.
Du Ziyu was sitting uncomfortably on the sofa.
Xu Zhu opened an oyster for him and remarked, "It's really plump."
Then he cut a lemon in half, squeezed the juice onto the oyster, and handed it to Du Ziyu.
He took it, looked at Xu Zhu, and didn't eat it.
Xu Zhu nodded, encouraging him, "Try it."
Du Ziyu pursed his lips, as if finally summoning up the courage.
His movements were refined, a handkerchief held under his lips, his lips pressed against the edge of the oyster shell, gently sucking, sweat and oyster meat entering his mouth, cheeks slowly savoring its taste and texture.
Xu Zhu opened one for himself, the plump and juicy oyster in his mouth carried the unique freshness of seafood, and a faint milky fragrance flowing between his lips and teeth.
"It's really good," Xu Zhu licked his lips and took a sip of wine, "much better than the ones my dad buys. He probably gets cheated with inferior ones again."
As he spoke, he opened another one for Du Ziyu, who relaxed a bit and took it from him.
Xu Zhu chuckled to himself; although it was his own home, Du Ziyu still seemed so restrained, as if he were visiting a stranger's house.
"Who sent you these oysters?" Xu Zhu asked, "Introduce them to my father, so he won't be fooled by unscrupulous merchants."
Du Ziyu lightly wiped his lips and said, "Lin Gaohan had someone send them over."
Hearing this name, Xu Zhu was startled and asked, "Are you two very close?"
Du Ziyu shook his head and said, "We haven't seen each other for several years. Why do you suddenly ask? I remember your group had him as a spokesperson for a project?"
Xu Zhu fiddled with an oyster in his hand and nodded, "Yes, I chatted with him this morning."
Seeing that he seemed pensive, Du Ziyu asked, "What did you talk about?"
"Nothing important," Xu Zhu recalled, "he's a bit strange."
Du Ziyu chuckled, and Xu Zhu, puzzled, looked at him, "What’s funny?"
Du Ziyu said, "I’m afraid he thinks you're even weirder."
"Hey hey," Xu Zhu said, "you don't think so too, do you?"
Du Ziyu smiled and looked into his eyes, nodding his head.
"Okay!" Xu Zhu dropped the oyster in his hand, raised his hands in mock anger, and pounced on him, "So this is what you think of me."
He pushed Du Ziyu onto the sofa, with a fierce expression on his face, but it made the other person burst into laughter, curling up in his arms, soft black hair in disarray, cheeks flushed.
Xu Zhu propped himself up on top of him, wrinkling his nose and asking, "What is it about me that's weird? Tell me!"
With a smile lingering at the corner of his mouth, Du Ziyu replied, his breath finally calming down, "You are quite strange, you are different from us."
Xu Zhu was taken aback, and he remembered something, "Lin Gaohan said something similar," he sneered, "and he said I'm a good person."
"He’s right," Du Ziyu blinked, "what else did he say?"
Xu Zhu recalled, "He asked me what the three of you have in common."
"The three of us?" Xu Zhu explained, "You, him, and Wu Dao."
Du Ziyu suddenly fell silent and lowered his eyes in thought.
"Do you understand what he meant?" Xu Zhu asked.
Du Ziyu shook his head and slowly said, "I don't know why he included me in that."
Seeing that he had a lot more to say, Xu Zhu got off him and lay on the side, with one arm draped loosely over his slim waist.
"The Lin family went bankrupt ten years ago," Du Ziyu’s eyes looked up at the ceiling, but his mind drifted back in time, "before that, their family had a good relationship with ours, and he used to visit our house often when he was a child."
Xu Zhu remembered the photos of Du Ziyu as a child in the old house, and couldn't help but feel jealous of Lin Gaohan, having missed the time when his crush was growing up.
"Since Uncle Lin’s accident, Lin Gaohan lost contact, only learning a few years ago that he entered the entertainment industry," Du Ziyu continued, "for a big family like ours, being seen in public is not allowed. From now on, he will always be labeled as an actor, and can never be accepted back into the family."
Being forced to sever ties with the world of his childhood is like losing a segment of one’s life, losing a place to call home. Would Lin Gaohan feel like there’s a missing piece in his heart, being adrift in this life without roots?
Xu Zhu tightened his arm and stared at his sleek profile, asking softly, "Do you feel the same way, that he is just an actor?"
Du Ziyu gave a bitter smile and said, "It's this kind of feudal remnant of thought…"
"Exactly," Xu Zhu propped himself up on one elbow, leaning down to look at him, "otherwise, the son of a nouveau riche like me, wouldn’t I be more looked down upon?"
Du Ziyu turned to look at him, a little agitated, "Who looks down on you!"
Xu Zhu quickly reached out and stroked his face, comforting, "No, no, no, I'm just making a comparison, no one would dare to disrespect me."
Mist gathered in Du Ziyu's eyes. Xu Zhu quickly hugged him and continued to apologize, "It's my fault, I shouldn't make jokes so casually."
After the person in his arms calmed down, he asked again, "Lin Gaohan said you are of the same kind. Does this mean something happened to Wu Dao's family as well?"
Du Ziyu shook his head, the fabric of his hair rubbing against his clothes, making a rustling sound.
Xu Zhu thought for a moment and guessed, "Wu Dao is also in the entertainment industry, and didn’t obey the family’s arrangements. Could that be what he was referring to?"
Du Ziyu spoke up, his voice muffled, warm breath blowing against Xu Zhu's chest, "More or less, castaways and rebels."
"I see!" Xu Zhuo's face suddenly lit up. "No wonder they say we have something in common."
Du Ziyou looked at him, puzzled, with his face tilted upwards.
Xu Zhuo affectionately placed his palm on Du Ziyou's cold face, gently brushing under his eye with his thumb, and said, "Are you with me not rebellious enough?"
Immediately, Du Ziyou blushed from ear to cheek and stammered, "Who, who is with you?"
He was still nestled in Xu Zhuo's arms, and his denial lacked conviction, but Xu Zhuo was not one to argue verbally, so she didn't contradict his words.
Du Ziyou continued, "And how would he know, know about us..."
Seeing him become incoherent with anxiety, Xu Zhuo quickly said, "Don't worry, he thinks we're just friends."
Receiving a reassuring look from Xu Zhuo, Du Ziyou finally felt some relief.
"Alright, do you still want to eat? I'll help you open it." Xu Zhuo got up, of course, he wanted to spend more time with Du Ziyou, but there were still important matters to attend to.
Du Ziyou also sat up, refusing, "No, I'm a bit full."
"In that case, I'll take it down and ask Aunt Wei to cook it," although it was a waste to cook food that was already prepared, Du Ziyou surprisingly had no objections, "shall we go down?"
Dinner was already prepared, and the oysters were cooked quickly. After they finished dinner, they took a walk in the garden.
The workers who had moved the gym equipment had already left, and the pool had been filled with water again after being cleaned.
Xu Zhuo suggested, "Summer is the best time for swimming, will you come?"
Du Ziyou hesitated, "I've hired a coach but haven't started lessons yet."
Xu Zhuo smiled, no wonder the pool was unused, he didn't expect the prodigy Du Ziyou to not know how to swim.
"I'll teach you," Xu Zhuo said. "Are your swim trunks ready?"
Du Ziyou borrowed a pair from him. Xu Zhuo was taller, and after changing into the trunks, he felt a bit tight in the groin area, but it was still within an acceptable range.
After warming up, he swam a few laps in the pool before Du Ziyou came downstairs.
Du Ziyou looked uncomfortable, hugging his elbows, exceptionally shy.
The warm light from the ceiling illuminated Xu Zhuo's gaze as it swept over his exposed pale chest, flat abdomen, slender legs, delicate ankles, and scrunched-up toes, making him involuntarily swallow.
He felt that his swim trunks were even tighter.