The Nutrition is Too Good - Chap 12.1

Zhong Yi‘s backhand was swollen and throbbing.
Blood began to ooze faintly from the broken skin on his joints. Xu Youyou instantly panicked and ran off to find the medicine box.

Rong Mian stood still, staring fixedly at Zhong Yi’s hand, unable to say a word.
Just as Xu Youyou came back with the ointment, a phone call came in, probably from Zhong Yi’s manager inquiring about the situation.
She thought they were already familiar with each other, so she handed the ointment to Rong Mian, and making an apologetic gesture with her mouth.

Rong Mian held the ointment for a moment, opened the lid slowly, contemplating how to apply it.
Seeing him standing there motionless, staring at his hand, Zhong Yi thought that he was plotting something again, so he took the ointment out of Rong Mian’s hand and said, “I’ll do it myself.”

Rong Mian looked at him blankly, without saying a word.
While Zhong Yi was talking big, he ended up making a mess when he actually got the ointment.
His right hand was injured, and his left hand was not cooperating, resulting in the ointment being squeezed for a long time without coming out.
In the end, he squeezed hard and a large blob ended up on the back of his hand, probably enough for half a year’s worth.

Zhong Yi had a splitting headache, and when he looked up, he saw Rong Mian staring at him.

Rong Mian calmly asked Zhong Yi, “Do you need my help?”

Zhong Yi could only grit his teeth and hand the ointment back to him.

Just like the last time when Zhong Yi helped Rong Mian remove his makeup, they sat in the same position. Rong Mian carefully applied the ointment to Zhong Yi’s swollen hand back, gently spreading it with his fingertips.

He held Zhong Yi’s hand, staring at his bruised back hand , seeming a bit absent-minded.

Zhong Yi, seeing him not letting go for a while, thought that this kid was up to something again, so he pulled his hand away and said, “Almost had your head split open, don’t you have anything to say?”

Zhong Yi’s expression was calm, and Rong Mian was momentarily stunned, instinctively saying, “I’m sorry.”

He seemed a bit at a loss, and Zhong Yi sighed silently in his heart.

Zhong Yi asked, “What did you do wrong to apologize like this?”

Rong Mian was directly stunned by his question.

So he lowered his head and pondered seriously for a while, then after a long pause, he managed to say, “You did well, Zhong Yi.”

Zhong Yi: “…”

Rong Mian also realized that something seemed off about what he had just said.

He wasn’t good at using polite language, yet he didn’t know what would be appropriate to say at this moment. So, after thinking for a while, Rong Mian made a significant concession.

He whispered to Zhong Yi: “Take good rest, you don’t need to cook for me these days.”

Zhong Yi was taken aback.
Rong Mian pursed his lips and finally said the right words, “Thank you.”
“For these two days, you can help me with some things on the set,” Rong Mian continued.

Zhong Yi observed his expression and sighed, “Don’t think too much. It’s not your fault, and you don’t need to compensate me for anything. Since I promised, I’ll take care of your meals.”
Rong Mian was momentarily stunned.
After a while, he nodded and looked at Zhong Yi, his eyes shining.

Zhong Yi paused, turned away, feeling a bit bothered and restless.
Originally, I wanted to keep my distance from him.

Zhong Yi took a deep breath, wondering why it seemed like the more he tried to keep his distance, the closer they became…

Rong Mian found it difficult to interact with humans.

Rong Mian knew that he was not good with words; every time he spoke, it seemed to anger Zhong Yi. But he also realized that Zhong Yi had done him a great favor this time.

So, after getting into the car, Rong Mian humbly sought advice from Kong Sandou on how to proceed in the upcoming days, what to say, and what to do.

“You should definitely give him something to show your gratitude,” Kong Sandou said urgently. “In human social relationships, friendship is an essential part that needs continuous nurturing.”

Rong Mian hesitated and said, “But he said…”
“Humans are hypocritical,”
Kong Sandou replied with an enigmatic expression. “They may say they don’t want something, but it doesn’t mean they truly don’t want it.”

Rong Mian felt that Kong Sandou’s words made sense.
However, he didn’t know how to compensate someone. He simply had an instinctive desire to give Zhong Yi something he considered good.”

He had considered many options, including giving Zhong Yi a drink coupon for the Cat Cafe, or sharing half of his treasured Royal Cat Strips, which he could only eat at the end of the month, with Zhong Yi.

But then Rong Mian realized that these were things he personally thought were good, but Zhong Yi might not actually like them.

So the next day, Zhong Yi stopped by Rong Mian in front of the restroom on the set.

“Treat me to a meal?” Zhong Yi frowned.

In fact, Zhong Yi had a drinking gathering tonight, where he would catch up with a photographer he used to be familiar with.

Moreover, I had made up my mind to maintain a social distance from this child before. Apart from the agreed-upon rehearsals and taking care of his meals, Zhong Yi didn’t want to have too much interaction with him.

He glanced at the person in front of him, the boy looking up at him with a quiet anticipation, waiting for his response.

“My schedule is quite tight.”

Zhong Yi sighed for a moment and continued, with a somewhat rehearsed tone, “And I already have plans tonight, so… well…”
Rong Mian’s thoughts were simple as well.
He heard Zhong Yi saying he was busy, so he believed that he truly had something going on and didn’t inquire further, just nodded.

“Oh.”

So Rong Mian showed a look of understanding and quickly responded, “Forget it then.”

He had tried, but failed.

Rong Mian stared at his toes and started to contemplate how he would explain to Kong Sandou later. She seemed to be even more worried than he was. Human interactions were really troublesome.
On the other side, Zhong Yi choked for a moment.

He didn’t expect this person to give up so quickly, without even trying to persuade him further.

But when Zhong Yi took another look at the person’s face, he noticed that the boy was looking down, not saying anything, with his lips slightly pursed, and his expression seemed a bit frustrated.

Then Zhong Yi realized: ‘Ah, even though he said it’s fine and no big deal, he’s probably feeling really upset inside because I rejected him.’

Although the boy had a bit of a scheming nature, it was just a meal after all, and Zhong Yi might have overreacted.

Zhong Yi thought that, after all, they were fellow actors in the same group, and there was no need for him to distance himself so much.
So Zhong Yi deliberately coughed.

The person across from him slowly lifted their head, tilted it slightly, as if waiting for his response.

Zhong Yi cleared his throat again and casually said, “Well, it seems like you’re quite sincere. I should be able to make time the day after tomorrow. Can we meet after I finish work in the evening?”

In truth, Rong Mian wasn’t sure where his sincerity was showing.

But since Zhong Yi agreed, Rong Mian was happy. He actually cherished their first human friendship and it seemed like Kong Sandou could also be reassured.

So, two days later, after finishing work, Zhong Yi was taken by Rong Mian to a very remote and small Japanese restaurant.

The decoration was not bad, but perhaps due to the Japanese style, the door frame was a bit too low1. When Zhong Yi entered, he almost suffered a second injury.

He looked at the clean and cold storefront for a while and felt that this kid probably didn’t have much money.

The waitress was a young girl who seemed to be familiar with Rong Mian. They exchanged a few words familiarly, but when the girl glanced at Zhong Yi behind Rong Mian, who had just taken off his mask, her eyes almost popped out.

They both took off their shoes and entered a small private room with tatami mats. The waitress brought the menu and looked at their faces left and right.

After so many years, Zhong Yi had gotten used to being stared at by others. He casually flipped through the menu in his hand, but when he glanced at the prices, he realized that this place must be a hidden gem.

Rong Mian sat across from him, waiting for him eagerly. Zhong Yi, on the other hand, had mixed feelings and realized that this kid must have put in some effort.

So Zhong Yi closed the menu and said, “Just choose something.”

Footnotes
In Japanese, these gates have been built less than person-height on purpose, so everyone has to bow as they enter. Whether you’re the emperor or the guy who’s arrived to take out the garbage, you have to humble yourself before entering the sacred ground beyond.
Many garden huts built for tea ceremony have the same small doors, emphasizing that you have to leave your worldly status behind when performing tea ceremony.

Source: Internet