Love Gene Defect - Chapter 5

“Neither.” Ji Zhaoyuan finished speaking and went to the kitchen to cook by himself.

Chu Jiuge simply followed along, his curiosity rising to the full ten. The other man unceremoniously tossed two cloves of garlic towards him. “Peel them.”

He obediently squatted on the ground and began to peel the garlic.

This was something he’d done before; Chu Jiuge’s only girlfriend, who he’d only dated for a few days, had tried to take on the role of a virtuous wife and good mother. Her specialty was roasted eggplant.

The long, slender eggplants were cut in half and roasted until about 70% cooked. The eggplant’s purple skin turned into a sauce-like color, wrinkled and tender, stuck to the soft, fragrant eggplant flesh.

With the bottom of the pan lined with oil, the minced garlic was sautéed until golden brown, and the eggplant was lathered in a sauce made of seafood soy sauce and aged vinegar. A pinch of salt and sugar topped off the dish.

After letting the eggplant marinate in the flavours, it was placed on a grill and sprinkled with chilli powder and cumin. The oil seeped from the dish, landing on the charcoal and emitting a delicious sizzling sound. Chu Jiuge’s mouth watered at the memory.

The eggplant’s flavor was so incredible, it felt like his tongue melted with each bite. Each bite was heavenly, delicious enough for him to give his life for it.

Ji Zhaoyuan watched Chu Jiuge squatting on the ground, just smiling at the garlic. A small piece of garlic skin nestled in his curly hair, making him look entirely ridiculous.

Ji Zhaoyuan pressed his lips together, swallowing down the smile that had nearly surfaced. He lightly nudged Chu Jiuge’s back with his calf. “Can you hurry up?”

“Oh…okay.” Chu Jiuge swallowed his saliva, smacked his lips together, and skilfully pinched both ends of the garlic clove. With a pinch and a tear, he successfully peeled off a plump white garlic. In no time at all, a small mound had formed at his feet.

Chu Jiuge piled the garlic in his hands, rinsed it with water from the tap and handed it to Ji Zhaoyuan. “I heard you can drink the tap water here. Is that true?”

“Mm.” As soon as Ji Zhaoyuan confirmed it, Chu Jiuge leaned towards the faucet and gulped down two large mouthfuls of water directly.

“It’s good! Pretty sweet.” Chu Jiuge wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. His big eyes curled into a squint, appearing happy.

Ji Zhaoyuan had come to the United States in junior high school. He’d adapted to most things, but couldn’t accept Americans’ love for ice. Whenever his stepfather bought gas, he’d also buy two large bags of ice and add it to everything he drank. Watching him made Ji Zhaoyuan’s stomach tremble as if it were freezing.

He poured a cup of water from the nearby kettle and placed it on the marble countertop. “I boiled it this morning so it’s still warm.”

“No need. It’s the middle of summer, so this is the only way to feel cool,” Chu Jiuge said before taking another gulp of water from the faucet. He then splashed his head under the stream. “In China, after playing ball, I was always too lazy to buy water so I would do this. But back home, the tap water isn’t great. Drinking it feels so dry, like it’s turning your throat into sandpaper.”

Ji Zhaoyuan simply glanced at him, neither agreeing or disagreeing, before turning back to the task of deveining the shrimp.

Feeling bored, Chu Jiuge leaned against the wall and played with his phone. As soon as he unlocked the screen, he saw Scarlett’s ample curves almost spilling out. Suddenly, he recalled the unanswered question from earlier.

“So, have you ever been in a relationship?” Chu Jiuge asked. “Boyfriend or girlfriend? I think girls are better. They’re gentle, considerate, and you can bury your face in their breasts.”

Chu Jiuge leaned in very close, his wave of warm breath pleasantly cozy. Still, Ji Zhaoyuan shifted away from him. “They’re all just living organisms made of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen. There’s no fundamental difference.”

Ji Zhaoyuan’s answer surprised Chu Jiuge so much that he froze, and stood in incredulous silence for several seconds before his brain started working again.

Both Scarlett and Emma were stunningly beautiful, but Ji Zhaoyuan hadn’t reacted to their photos at all. There was no doubt about it. He must prefer men.

Did Ji Zhaoyuan think he could lie about his preferences?

Chu Jiuge mimicked the fawning, delicate gestures of Greenhead and pressed himself against Ji Zhaoyuan’s side. I’m so ridiculously handsome, he thought to himself, there’s no way Ji Zhaoyuan won’t let something slip about his preferences.

He daintily lifted his fingers into an orchid gesture, leaned in, and blew a teasing breath against Ji Zhaoyuan’s ear. Each word came out in a deliberately sultry murmur: “And what about me?”

Ji Zhaoyuan couldn’t bear to look at him. “The same.”

Chu Jiuge couldn’t tell from Ji Zhaoyuan’s blank expression whether he was being sarcastic or simply lacked emotional intelligence. “Not exactly the same. Your IQ is too low,” Ji Zhaoyuan continued, his tone solemn and righteous.

“Pfft!” Instead of feeling offended, Chu Jiuge burst out laughing. He clutched his sides, almost rolling on the floor.

Ah, who talks like this? With a cold face and rigid manner, Ji Zhaoyuan was practically a walking, talking textbook.

Chu Jiuge really couldn’t stop laughing. If it weren’t for the ten-hour time difference, he would have called Ji Ming and asked for the detailed story of how Ji Zhaoyuan had once made everybody cry as a child.

Truly, the bookworm was too entertaining, and Chu Jiuge knew he’d have a lot of fun teasing him. He wanted to know even more about him; knowing more about his ‘enemy’ would let him tease him even more.

Ji Zhaoyuan pushed the laughing Chu Jiuge away from him and prepared to heat the pan with oil. He pointed towards the kitchen’s sliding door, clearly signalling for him to leave.

Chu Jiuge wiped away the tears from his laughter, his lips curling upwards as he obediently followed Ji Zhaoyuan’s instructions.

Ji Zhaoyuan was an impressively efficient cook. Before long, two dishes and a bowl of soup were set up in front of Chu Jiuge. Removing his apron, Ji Zhaoyuan sat across from him. “There are two bowls of rice in the kitchen. Go and bring them out.”

“No problem!” Chu Jiuge diligently ran off, bringing rice and utensils to the table. “I didn’t expect you to actually know how to cook. Mine and Ji Ming’s mom have both praised your cooking skills before, but I didn’t believe them.”

Although he’d been complaining about being hungry before, Chu Jiuge didn’t immediately start eating and instead began chatting casually. Ji Zhaoyuan was puzzled. He glanced at Chu Jiuge, but looked away awkwardly as soon as their gazes met.

Ji Zhaoyuan lowered his head, using his chopsticks to poke at the rice grains along the edge of his bowl. “Praised me?”

“Yeah, praised as if it were straight from an encyclopaedia. Smart, good-looking, independent, even good at cooking…” Chu Jiuge smirked mischievously and lowered his voice. “With your credentials, you must have people lining up to date you. So, what is it—boyfriend or girlfriend?”

“Why an encyclopaedia?”

“Huh?” Chu Jiuge, who had expected a dramatic answer to his question, was completely caught off guard. For a moment, he was too stunned to react.

He soon smiled nonchalantly. “Because it’s annoying. When I was a kid, I desperately wanted a set of electric toy trains. I even dreamed about them, basically obsessed. My dad promised to buy it for me, but when we got to the store, he bought me a set of encyclopaedias instead. I cried a lot, and he actually got the trains for me the next day. But the feeling of it…you know.”

Ji Zhaoyuan listened intently, then shook his head. “I don’t understand.”

“Fine, forget it if you don’t understand!” Chu Jiuge couldn’t help but feel upset, as if he’d been rebuffed, but tried to suppress his irritation. “Anyway, I stopped liking the little train later on too. It was just a child’s momentary feeling of resentment, that’s all.”

“I think my mother may have hidden something about me from you and your parents.” Ji Zhaoyuan hesitated, his voice soft, and avoided the other’s gaze. “I’m autistic.”

Chu Jiuge was clearly confused.

Ji Zhaoyuan spoke as if reciting from a textbook, his wording practiced and precise: “Autism spectrum disorder is classified as a pervasive developmental disorder. I cannot accurately understand other’s emotions and, during conversations, I can exhibit self-centered and unilateral behaviours. I’m unable to engage in normal social interactions, including intimate relationships.”

After he spoke, Ji Zhaoyuan lowered his head and began to eat, unilaterally ending the conversation.

Chu Jiuge’s gaze followed the tip of Zhaoyuan’s chopsticks as they moved, drifting from the spicy and sour shredded potatoes to his somewhat thin lips.

“A syndrome? Like a characteristic, not an illness.” Although he was slightly shocked, Chu Jiuge’s voice remained unusually calm. “So you just have low emotional intelligence and say things that don’t sound nice?”

The words were too blunt, striking straight to the heart, yet felt incredibly comforting. They were like a bullet shot before your eyes, unexpectedly exploding into a bouquet of roses.

Ji Zhaoyuan couldn’t describe how he felt. It was if he were being submerged in warm water, feeling suffocated yet longing to sink deeper.

He’d been a loner since childhood, unable to mingle others. Even as an adult, it was still difficult for him to interact with people.

He could only comprehend surface-level emotions. Smiling meant happiness, crying meant sadness. But humans too often say things they don’t mean and have inconsistencies between their words and feelings. It was too confusing.

Still, he didn’t overly care. He paid more attention to the gentle breezes and light rain of the natural world. Humans could all return to their original state as a fertilized egg, with height, weight and looks all written into their genetic code. This alternative perspective helped him to feel a sense of ease.

But the downside to it was obvious. Ji Zhaoyuan couldn’t talk to a fertilized egg, let alone talk about love.

He organized his emotions until they were seemingly easy to express in logical order. Though Ji Zhaoyuan parted his lips, he still found himself unable to speak, just like countless times before. He took a bite of food and swallowed his emotions with it.

“Does it matter? I have thick skin and talk a lot, so I won’t let things get awkward.” Chu Jiuge laughed and also picked up his chopsticks.

As a carnivore, Chu Jiuge went straight for the meat dishes. His expression changed from the first bite, his eyes filled with surprise and wonder, as if fireworks had exploded.

Chu Jiuge’s eyes were bright and his mouth curved upwards, revealing a hint of teeth. Ji Zhaoyuan guessed that he was probably happy…right?

Ignoring Ji Zhaoyuan’s gaze, Chu Jiuge was completely focused on eating. He single-mindedly devoured most of a plate of prawns, his eyes narrowed in satisfaction.

Ji Zhaoyuan had carefully shaped the vermicelli into small clusters and mixed it with minced garlic. Each cluster had a shrimp on top, standing upright with its tail pointing skyward.

The food had been steamed gently on a rack over a low heat, allowing the rich sauce to fully absorb into the vermicelli.

Chu Jiuge lifted a cluster of vermicelli and placed it in his mouth. The pasta scattered with a light bite, while the shrimp was impeccably tender and juicy. The delicious flavours spread across his tongue and, for a moment, his entire mouth was filled with the fresh taste of shrimp and the distinctive caramelised flavour from the stir-fried garlic. The entire dish left his brain momentarily dull.

The soup was even better, fragrant with the scent of fermented rice wine and a hint of tartness. Ji Zhaoyuan sprinkled some dried cinnamon into it, blending it into a faint sweetness. Even a sip felt thick in Chu Jiuge’s throat.

Thumb-sized white tangyuan filled with sesame paste were served with the meal, only five per plate. When scooped onto a spoon, the rice ball trembled pitifully, as if it were a timid rabbit.

Chu Jiuge wished he could swallow everything, even his tongue. With an infatuated expression, he completely forgot about the previous conversation about Autism, and placed Ji Zhaoyuan on a pedestal in his heart.

He reluctantly swallowed the last tangyuan, his heart heavy as if he’d just gone through a breakup. Chu Jiuge licked the spoon longingly. “What’s this soup called?”

“Quiet Eating Soup.”

Chu Jiuge grinned, his dimples appearing on his cheeks again and dancing in delight. He pointed at the shrimp. “What about this?”

“Please Shut Up shrimp.”