The Mid-Autumn Festival dinner was no different from any other family dinner. A large group of people finished their meal in silence, and when Grandmother Pei gave the order, they returned to their respective courtyards. After returning to the courtyard, everyone really celebrated the festival. Each family set up a new banquet, and the family ate happily together.
Pei Che stayed with Grandmother Pei for a while, and came back only after she was tired. As soon as he entered the courtyard, he found that Jiang Miao had placed a lot of things on the table outside, including moon cakes, fruits, and some side dishes.
"Finally you're back." Jiang Miao smiled and waved at him, "Come on, you're the only one missing. Today is Mid-Autumn Festival, how can we not enjoy the moon?"
Pei Che's originally somewhat sad mood was instantly washed away. He walked over and sat with them. While admiring the moon, he told stories he knew about Mid-Autumn Festival.
At night, Pei Che thought about the scene of watching the moon at night, and still felt full in his heart. This scene seemed to have only happened before his parents passed away. After his parents passed away, every festival that symbolized reunion would be the grandmother crying secretly, and he remained silent, while Mu'er lived in her own world without knowing it.
All this changed after he met Jiang Miao. His days began to become full of expectations. The little things in life could make him smile knowingly. Tonight made him feel the warmth he had not felt for a long time. Pei Che could no longer hide his feelings. He half-raised himself, looked gently at Jiang Miao who was sleeping beside him, and gently kissed him on the forehead.
This kiss seemed to have exhausted all his strength. Pei Che smacked his lips and fell asleep contentedly.
He didn't see that Jiang Miao beside him opened his eyes, his eyes were full of shock. Looking closely, there was a hint of expected emotion in the shock. He knew that the phrase "fake play becomes real" was not made up for nothing!
Jiang Miao touched his forehead, and the wet feeling seemed to still be there. He quietly turned his body and looked at the handsome face beside the pillow. Even with his eyes closed, he was outstanding. How could such a person kiss him quietly in the middle of the night? Jiang Miao was puzzled and couldn't help but want to wake Pei Che up to ask him what he was thinking just now and what he meant by doing this. After thinking about it, he still controlled his hand and couldn't wake Pei Che up. He hadn't figured out his thoughts yet. If he didn't handle it well, he would lose his friends.
Pei Che didn't tell him clearly anyway, so Jiang Miao decided to pretend that he didn't know, and then tell Pei Che clearly when he had thought it through! From beginning to end, Jiang Miao didn't feel sick or uncomfortable after being kissed by a man, and he never thought about staying away from Pei Che.
"Brother Jiang, are you back?" After the holiday, Fang, the concierge of the Imperial College, was standing at the door dutifully to welcome the students back to school. Seeing Jiang Miao walking with the crowd, he smiled brightly and greeted Jiang Miao.
"Yes, we have to go to school tomorrow. If we don't come in the afternoon, it will be too rushed tomorrow. No one has lived here for a few days, so it's a good time to clean up while there is still sunshine." Jiang Miao said with a smile. He was carrying two packages, and the two little ones followed behind Jiang Miao, each holding a small package.
Brother Fang looked over at Jiang Miao and said, "Where is Master Pei? Why doesn't he come with you?" Master Pei looked gentle, but he was actually quite strong. With him around, Jiang Miao only had to carry light things.
Jiang Miao explained, "His good friends asked him to go boating on the lake, and he won't be back until later." They also invited him, but Jiang Miao felt that the two children should focus on their studies, so he declined the invitation and took them directly back to the Imperial College.
When Brother Fang heard about boating on the lake, his expression immediately became mysterious. I don't know what he was thinking about, and he smiled in a lewd way.
"What's wrong with you?" Jiang Miao was a little confused, not knowing why he had that expression.
Brother Fang said, "Brother Jiang, you may not know that recently a group of prostitutes have come to Cuiwei Lake. They are all very beautiful and talented, attracting many talented scholars. If I had the money, I would also like to go there and take a look."
"You said... Cuiwei Lake?" Jiang Miao hesitated. The name of the lake sounded familiar, as if he had heard it today.
"Yes, Cuiwei Lake. Although the lake is not particularly big, the scenery there is very beautiful, especially now, with the fragrance of osmanthus on both sides of the river and the red leaves of Qiongshan in the distance. It must be very interesting to swim on the lake." Brother Fang's eyes were full of longing. In fact, Jiang Miao also admired him a little. The Imperial College was worthy of being the number one institution of learning. Even the gatekeeper spoke very politely.
However, the content of his words made Jiang Miao frown. It seemed that Han Qin and the others had said something similar when they invited Pei Che to go boating. It seemed that Pei Che and the others were going to Cuiwei Lake. Thinking of what Brother Fang had just said about the prostitutes, Jiang Miao curled his lips. What boating? It was clearly to see the beauties. If he had known earlier, he would have gone together!
"Brother Jiang, what's wrong with you?" Brother Fang asked curiously when he saw Jiang Miao was a little dazed.
Jiang Miao told the two children to take their things and go in with him.
Brother Fang stood there looking at his back, confused, not knowing why Jiang Miao was suddenly so anxious.
After returning to the yard, Jiang Miao put down his things and started to clean and wash. After cleaning, he stood in the yard for a while and then began to clean up the fallen leaves on the ground.
These fallen leaves are in various shapes and colors, ranging from dark yellow, light yellow to apricot yellow, and spread on the ground like a natural carpet. The moment Jiang Miao saw it, he thought of Pei Che. If Pei Che saw such a scene, he would be very happy. The reason why he didn't clean it up as soon as he came in was that he thought that if Pei Che came back early, he could see such a beautiful scene.
After cleaning the yard, Jiang Miao sat there for a while, until the sun gradually set, and then he realized that he hadn't cooked yet. He went to the kitchen, looked at the dishes on the chopping board, picked out a few, thought about it, and put some back.
He thought, why do so much? Pei Che probably won't come back for dinner tonight. It's so pleasant to cruise the lake and watch the beauties. He's already so happy that he doesn't want to leave.
When he put the vegetables into the basin and prepared to take them out to wash, he suddenly turned around and took back the vegetables he had just picked out. He found an excuse for his behavior. It was just after the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the difference in food could not be too big. Even if there were only three people, they had to eat a rich meal.
Cooking is a troublesome thing for others, but in Jiang Miao's hands, it is something that allows him to temporarily put aside his worries and indulge in it.
"Brother, when can we eat?" Xiao Shitou and Pei Mu looked at the prepared food on the table, then looked at Jiang Miao who seemed to be thinking about something, and asked the question carefully.
"Ah? Oh, it's time to eat. No need to wait." Jiang Miao came back to his senses, served the two children some rice and placed it in front of them.
"Brother, don't you want to eat? Are you waiting for Brother Che to come back and eat together?" Little Shitou became curious when he saw that he didn't serve himself any food.
"Why am I waiting for him? Children should not talk while eating. Just concentrate on eating." Jiang Miao immediately denied it and quickly served himself a bowl of rice to show that he was not waiting at all. However, while eating, his eyes that looked towards the courtyard gate from time to time betrayed his thoughts.
Little Shitou curled his lips secretly, thinking that the adults were so overbearing. This must be what the teacher told them: "The officials are allowed to set fires, but the common people are not allowed to light lamps."
After dinner, it was completely dark. Jiang Miao washed up with the two children, and after they returned to their rooms, he went to the yard alone. He opened the door, and it was pitch black outside. It was very quiet, not even the sound of insects chirping, let alone the footsteps of people returning late.
Jiang Miao's mind was full of thoughts, and he felt that his brain was in a mess. He didn't know whether he was angry with Pei Che for coming home late, or angry with himself for not doing his best. He suddenly frowned, bolted the door, walked quickly to the bedroom, blew out the candle, lay down on the bed, pulled the quilt over him and fell asleep.
(End of this chapter)