Extra 1
Ye Yunche had recently developed a habit. Every morning before leaving the house, he would put a carton of milk in the refrigerator.
He had even drawn a little heart on the carton with a marker.
It was specifically for Yueyue.
Yueyue liked drinking ice-cold milk, so he always chilled it in advance.
One day, he came home late. The first thing he did after walking through the door was open the refrigerator to check.
The milk was gone, and the empty carton had been crushed and tossed into the trash.
Ye Yunche picked up the empty carton and walked into the living room. Xiao Qitang was sitting on the sofa with a glass of water in his hand, a white ring still clinging to the corners of his mouth.
“Did you drink my milk?” Ye Yunche asked.
Xiao Qitang gave the glass in his hand a little shake and flashed him a roguish grin.
“The one from the fridge with the heart drawn on it? I thought it was set aside especially for guests.”
Ye Yunche didn’t blow up on the spot. Instead, he carried the empty carton over to Liuyue and began complaining in an aggrieved voice.
“Yueyue, look what he did.”
“I bought that milk especially for you, and I even drew a heart on it. Xiao Qitang drank it on purpose!”
Liuyue glanced at the empty carton, then at Xiao Qitang sitting on the sofa with an expression so smug it was practically begging to be hit.
She patted the seat beside her in reassurance.
“All right, all right. I’ll buy you a carton of milk tomorrow too. How about I draw a little cloud on it?”
Leaning against the back of the sofa, Xiao Qitang said with infuriating smugness, “Then I’ll come by tomorrow too and help you taste the new one.”
In the past, if Ye Yunche had heard him provoking him like that, he probably would have exploded.
But now, he couldn’t even be bothered to argue with Xiao Qitang.
He tossed the empty carton into the trash and answered crisply, “Fine.”
The next morning, before leaving, Liuyue stuffed a whole new carton of milk from the convenience store into the refrigerator. She even drew a blue cloud on it.
Ye Yunche slept until noon. After lazily getting out of bed, he opened the refrigerator and saw the carton. The corners of his lips lifted involuntarily.
Then his amber eyes flickered, as if he had just thought of some mischievous idea.
He opened the new carton, added several spoonfuls of salt, and shook it thoroughly.
After that, he left the house as though nothing had happened.
That evening, he picked Liuyue up from work and returned home with her. Xiao Qitang was waiting at the door again.
Ye Yunche deliberately said within his hearing, “Yueyue, want some cold milk? It’s the carton you specially bought for me this morning.”
As he spoke, he shot Xiao Qitang a provocative sidelong glance.
Xiao Qitang responded with the childish determination of a little kid and hurried into the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator, unscrewed the carton, poured the milk into a glass, and took a sip.
He held the mouthful in his mouth for a moment, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed.
His expression turned slightly strange.
He set down the carton and turned to Ye Yunche, raising his voice a little. “Ye Yunche? You…”
Ye Yunche stood where he was, grinning wickedly.
“Tasty, right…? It was bought by Yueyue, of course it’s delicious.”
Liuyue still hadn’t noticed anything unusual. Seeing Xiao Qitang’s awkward expression, she asked in confusion, “What’s wrong? I bought it this morning. It should be fresh.”
Xiao Qitang could still taste the salt in his mouth. Meeting Ye Yunche’s gleeful expression, he ground his teeth and said, “It’s delicious.”
…
Extra 2
Xiao Qitang had recently developed a habit.
Every time he came over for a meal, he brought ingredients that were only half-prepared.
Sometimes it was beef he had braised in advance, sometimes half a roast duck, and sometimes a bag of frozen dumpling filling.
He claimed it was because he felt awkward coming empty-handed, but Zhu Liuyue had realized that he did it on purpose.
Everything he brought needed to be cooked fresh. Every time, he would claim one of the burners in the kitchen and then naturally find an excuse to stand beside her for a long while.
One day, he brought a box of handmade dumplings.
Ye Yunjin was cooking plain noodles, while Ye Yunche was making egg fried rice.
Xiao Qitang glanced at the two occupied burners. Without saying a word, he quietly put the dumplings into the refrigerator.
Ye Yunche noticed and asked, “You brought dumplings. Why aren’t you making them?”
Xiao Qitang looked like a put-upon wife and answered weakly, “Both burners are occupied. I’ll wait until you’re finished.”
Ye Yunjin turned the heat down a little and glanced at him. “You can use the induction cooker.”
Xiao Qitang pointed toward the induction cooker in the corner of the counter, which was buried beneath a pile of bowls and dishes.
“This one? Forget it. I don’t want to trouble anyone. You guys go ahead.”
As he spoke, he happened to be standing right in the way of Liuyue reaching for a bowl.
Liuyue tried to go around him and nearly stumbled as she passed. Xiao Qitang quickly reached out and steadied her by the waist.
Ye Yunjin saw straight through the man’s little scheme and was thoroughly displeased.
Yet he continued smiling as he asked Liuyue, trying to reclaim the spotlight, “Yueyue, do you want an egg in your noodles?”
Before Zhu Liuyue could answer, Xiao Qitang jumped in.
“Add one. Soft-boiled.”
Liuyue turned to look at him, seemingly puzzled about how he knew.
Xiao Qitang gave her an especially innocent look. “I secretly remembered. Didn’t you only eat soft-boiled eggs the last time you had noodles?”
Ye Yunche’s hand, still gripping the spatula, paused.
The calm, composed expression on Ye Yunjin’s face cracked.
The two brothers exchanged a glance.
At that moment, they were perfectly in sync. Both thought the same thing:
Tsk. He got to show off again.
…
Extra 3
There was an unspoken rule between Ye Yunjin and Ye Yunche.
Ever since the three of them had started living together, they had decided that, to avoid hurting each other’s feelings, the position of the slippers by the entryway would determine who got to sleep with Liuyue that night.
If the toes of the slippers pointed toward the bedroom, it meant, “I’m sleeping with Yueyue tonight.”
If they pointed toward the door, it meant, “I’m sleeping with Yueyue tomorrow night.”
That afternoon, Ye Yunche had come home especially early. He crouched by the entryway and positioned his slippers with the toes pointing toward the bedroom. Then he nudged them closer to the middle, making sure they were nearer to the bedroom door than Ye Yunjin’s pair. Only then was he satisfied.
At ten that night, Ye Yunjin came through the door. He had not even taken off his coat when his eyes swept over the two pairs of slippers by the entryway.
He looked down for a second, then bent over.
Unhurriedly, he arranged his own slippers with the toes pointing toward the bedroom—and placed them even farther forward than Ye Yunche’s.
Hearing the noise at the door, Ye Yunche poked his head out of the kitchen.
He exclaimed excitedly, “Brother, what are you doing? I put mine there first this afternoon!”
Ye Yunjin straightened up and said calmly, “Who decided that putting them there first counted?”
Ye Yunche did not even bother finishing the dishes. He hurried over.
Crouching down, he nudged his slippers forward another inch.
Ye Yunjin glanced at them, crouched down as well, and pushed his own pair a little farther ahead.
Neither of them was willing to give way. The two brothers were being ridiculously childish.
They were just like a couple of kindergarteners squabbling.
Liuyue came out of the bedroom to get some water and happened to see the two brothers crouched by the entryway, competing over the slippers.
She stopped to watch for two seconds, then yawned.
“What are you two doing down there?”
Ye Yunche looked up and complained pitifully, “Yueyue, my brother is cheating. I put my slippers there this afternoon.”
Ye Yunjin pressed his lips together. “I didn’t see them.”
Liuyue glanced at the two of them, then simply bent down and picked up both pairs of slippers. She placed them side by side, flat on the floor.
All the toes pointed toward the door.
The two brothers looked up at her at the same time.
Ye Yunche spoke first. “Yueyue, what does this direction mean?”
Liuyue carried her glass of water toward the bedroom.
“It means neither of you is allowed in tonight.”
When she reached the bedroom door, she paused and turned to look at them.
“If you two keep arguing, you can sleep by yourselves tomorrow, too.”
The door closed.
The two people crouching in the entryway released the slippers in their hands and looked at each other.
Ye Yunche stood up first. “This is all your fault. If you hadn’t insisted on moving them—”
Ye Yunjin stood as well. “If you hadn’t come home early and put yours there—”
Inside the bedroom, Liuyue was on a video call with Xiao Qitang.
The man on the other end craftily tugged down the black tank top he was wearing.
“Liuyue, those two are both so immature.”
“But don’t worry. I’ll keep you company…”
