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Shen Jiu was perusing the vegetable aisle, judging the leafy greens and legumes with a discerning gaze as he walked along the quiet mart.
It was late and he was out on a last-minute grocery run for his dinner. He had been feeling peckish the whole day and was itching to eat some pumpkin tempura.
After finally arriving where the squashes and pumpkins were put on display, he felt elated to see there was still one. Congratulating himself for his good luck, he reached out to put it in his basket.
That is until a hand reached out and tried to snatch it right before his eyes. Furious, he changed directions and grabbed the oversized vegetable in the stranger's hold.
"Excuse me, but that's mine."
He heard an obnoxious voice sneer at him, "Oh really? I don't see a name etched on the pumpkin. Do you?"
Brow twitching in poorly hidden fury, Shen Jiu gritted out, "I saw it first."
The stranger nearly breezed past him with a nonchalant air.
"Well I touched it first. Too slow! Next time make sure to grab what you want before someone else does!"
Just as the infuriating man was about to walk away from him, Shen Jiu grabbed him by the elbow yanking him backward. There was no way in the eighteen hells he was giving up on his pumpkin.
It had been a long and tiring day, having to deal with idiots at work and now this handsome bastard was trying to rob him off of his well-deserved dinner. Like hell!
"Give it while I'm still being nice. That's mine. Go get a squash or something!"
"Sure, take it.” Combined with the ever-present smirk, the man added, “If you can."
With that said the man stood there and watched as Shen Jiu grappled and tried to pry away the orange mass away from his hold.
The man's grip was insanely strong and Shen Jiu started feeling heated as the seconds passed by but the man did not budge an inch. His nails had begun to dig into the hard skin of the vegetable, fruit, whatever you call it, but he was nothing if not stubborn.
Luo Binghe was having the time of his life watching this fierce but gorgeous man try to wrestle a stupid pumpkin from his grasp.
To be quite honest, he had absolutely no interest in this lump of a vegetable, some nit-pickers would label it as fruit but whatever. Point was, he did not want it.
He only grabbed it because the man in front of him seemed interested in it. And he, Luo Binghe, had in turn taken an interest in the man.
So he did what he did best, and crawled underneath the man's skin and annoyed him till he was given the man's full attention. Infuriate the person he liked into making him unforgettable.
Try as he might, Shen Jiu could not get what he wanted. His dinner plans ruined, he started making plans to strangle the man in front of him in the least incriminating way.
While he was glaring, Luo Binghe tucked the pumpkin inside the crook of his arm and made a proposition.
"I can give this to you, under one condition. I'm Luo Binghe by the way."
"I don't care what your name is. What condition?"
"Have dinner with me. I'll make any pumpkin dish you want. Trust me, I will definitely make you extremely satisfied ."
The sleazy bastard's tone did not go unnoticed by Shen Jiu who gave a vicious glare in return. Over his dead body. He wasn't that easy.
Looking this Luo Binghe once over from head to toe, he had the perfect air of a scumbag to him. Shen Jiu could quite literally smell all the debauchery on him. Could practically see the hoards of his bed conquests plastered in his smirk.
Laughing at the man's audacity to even presume he would be interested in him at all, Shen Jiu cackled in the vegetable aisle, gaining annoyed frowns from the middle-aged women shopping for their own dinners presumably.
Giving Luo Binghe a saccharine sweet smile that looked nothing like what a sweet smile should, he chimed out.
"I hope you enjoy your saggy pumpkin. Alone. And maybe choke on it."
With the grace of a swan, Shen Jiu swiftly turned around and left with Luo Binghe standing there dumbly, making sure to put his well-toned backside on display for the presumptuous playboy to drool over.
You can look but you can't have it. Shen Jiu drew gleeful delight when he saw Luo Binghe's wanting expression reflected in a nearby glass case.
He wouldn't die if he couldn't eat his tempura for dinner that night. He would just have to compromise and get something else to sate his craving.
He was not about to give Luo Binghe what he wanted just because his stomach was throwing a tantrum. He returned home without his prize but with his ego that had been inflated just the tiniest bit.
Luo Binghe watched on with hunger in his eyes as the man walked away from him. But not before he flaunted his assets to tease and taunt a very frustrated Luo Binghe.
Sighing out loud, he looked down at his arm that still held the object of Shen Jiu's desire and smiled. He still had a back-up plan.
Back at his apartment, Shen Jiu was grumpily eating his dinner. He had ordered take-out since he was in no mood to cook after the whole ordeal.
Chewing on the bland fried rice like it was a chore, he wondered if he should've agreed to Luo Binghe's invitation. He probably knew how to cook, probably used it to lure unsuspecting fools into opening up their legs too.
He would've eaten his fill then kicked the man right where it would hurt and leave him. He should've done that really. But regrets, regrets, what use was it now. He cursed the man in his mind for the nth time that night and resumed his attempt to swallow the horrid food.
While he was considering going to bed without eating dinner, the bell to his front door rang. He got up without much fanfare, willing on a neutral expression and opened the door. Big mistake.
"Hey there neighbour. Would you like to have dinner with me?"
Before Shen Jiu could close the door on his face, Luo Binghe stuck a foot in and barged inside the room. From where he was standing he could see the barely touched dinner laid out on the kitchen counter and he smirked.
"I assume you haven't had a proper dinner. I cooked enough for two, so shall we?"
"What makes you think I'll actually say yes. And you're trespassing into my home. This would be a nice way to file a complaint and send you out of the building."
"Baobei, I own this building. You can complain all you want. You can imagine what the outcome would be. But if you dine with me maybe I can change your mind?"
Shen Jiu was getting tired of this man's blatant disrespect for his personal space and his pushiness. Just as he was about to knee him nice and hard, he smelt the most wonderful aroma coming from across the hallway.
Luo Binghe, who was supposedly somehow his neighbour - Shen Jiu had no idea when he even moved in - had left the door to his own apartment open.
The smell seemed to be coming from inside there. A very familiar and mouth-watering smell. And before he could refuse, his stomach let out an obnoxious growl.
Ever the opportunist, Luo Binghe grinned. "Might want to feed the monster in there."
Shen Jiu wanted to decline the offer, he had his pride after all. But the smell of warm delicious food kept invading his senses and he eyed in the direction of Luo Binghe's door.
Huffing out "Fine!" he pushed his way through Luo Binghe's imposing frame near the door and barked out at the smirking beast to close the door to his apartment and he made himself at home right in front of the dinner table.
Without waiting for the homeowner, Shen Jiu sat his pretty ass down and grabbed his chopsticks and spoon. The soup looked appetising indeed.
The smug asshole was so sure he would accept the offer that there were already two portions of everything laid out. Besides the main dish of mixed pumpkin and bamboo shoots, there was soup along with a plate full of light and crispy looking pumpkin tempuras. An array of side dishes framed two bowls of fluffy rice on opposite sides of the table
Mouth already watering at the sight, he made no attempt to show his host any courtesy and dug in. Luo Binghe joined him soon after and began sneakily piling on dishes he thought Shen Jiu might like.
Throughout the whole dinner affair, he only ate a few bites himself and was more than content to look at Shen Jiu wolf down everything he had made. A strange sense of satisfaction filled him, different from his usual ones.
"I'm glad Baobei likes what I made for him. But didn't your elders ever warn you about eating food offered by strangers? What if I added something to it?"
At the suggestion, Shen Jiu raised his hackles, brandishing his chopsticks like one would a murder weapon. "Did you?"
"Of course not. I'm a gentleman. My cooking skills are more than enough to seduce you. I don't need to play dirty." As if he hadn't purposefully gotten in between Shen Jiu and his pumpkin of choice before.
"Stay for dessert?"
"No thanks. But I do have a question."
"Ask away darling."
"Don't call me that. I'm sure you know my name if you're the owner so I won't introduce myself. But when did you move in here? How come I've never seen you here before? And why me?"
"Today. I moved in today. As for your second and third question, I'll answer it on our next date."
Shen Jiu scoffed, but he held his tongue. He did just barge into his apartment and ate his fill.
Politely, he rejected the very gracious offer. "No thanks. I think I can live without hearing your answer."
"I would offer to help you clean up but I'll leave you to it. Then we're even for the earlier crime."
Shen Jiu got up to leave and Luo Binghe got up as well, accompanying him till the door. But he made no further moves to stop his guest from leaving.
"Baobei, the only crime that was committed tonight was by you."
Shen Jiu did not want to take the bait, but he was in a good mood because of the food.
"And pray tell, what crime did I commit?"
With a wolfish grin that accentuated his features in just the right way, Luo Binghe purred out.
"My heart. You stole it."
Shen Jiu scrunched up his nose and made a retching sound at the cheesy pick-up line. Hands reaching to feel up Luo Binghe's solid chest, he gave it a push and whispered, "I threw it in the trash along with your sense of shame. Good night Luo Binghe, but you're not getting any of this."
Rejected, but he still felt like a winner. Luo Binghe called out to Shen Jiu's retreating back which was tempting and alluring him.
"I'll see you tomorrow Shen Jiu. Dress up nice and pretty for me. Good night Baobei. Love you~"
Shen Jiu slammed his door shut as Luo Binghe stood there leaning against his. This would be a very entertaining stay indeed.