Controlled Experiment Chapter 43

Bonus

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Du Yusheng arrived at Li Yao's apartment at exactly six o'clock in the evening.

Normally, that wouldn't have been considered late, but it was winter now and the sky got dark early. At six o'clock, the view outside the window looked no different from the dead of night.

As Du Yusheng reached Li Yao's door, he glanced at his watch again. Six o'clock.

It was Chinese New Year's Eve. Du Yusheng had swapped shifts to take the day off and had also taken seven days of annual leave. After an entire year of staying on high alert without proper rest, he finally caught the Spring Festival break and figured he might as well use up all his leave at once, no point in hanging on to it and thinking about it later.

He carried a small, cylindrical lunchbox with a white base and floral print, which held the dumplings he'd picked up from Madam Du before leaving.

Standing outside Li Yao's door, he took a deep breath and knocked.

Three times.

There was no movement inside.

He knocked again.

Three more times.

Still silent as a grave.

After the final round of knocking, Du Yusheng gave up and plopped down right at Li Yao's door.

Forget it, Li Yao wasn't home.

That fact left Du Yusheng slightly irritated. He'd assumed that, being New Year's Eve, Li Yao, having no family and no one to rely on, would be alone, so he'd made the effort to bring dumplings and travelled all the way back from Madam Du's place. And now look, Li Yao had gone off to have fun on his own, leaving Du Yusheng sitting here, staring blankly at a lunchbox.

Taking out his phone, Du Yusheng hesitated for a moment before dialling Li Yao's number.

After three rings, someone picked up.

"Hello?"

It was a woman's voice.

Du Yusheng's heart gave a jolt. The words "Fuck's sake" were practically on the tip of his tongue.

"Hello," the woman repeated. "are you looking for Dr Li?"

Du Yusheng gave a muted grunt in reply.

"Dr Li is dealing with an emergency, is there something you need? I'll pass it on to him later."

The woman's voice was pleasant and well-mannered. Given that it was New Year's Eve, Du Yusheng couldn't very well lose his temper, so he thickened his skin and asked, "And you are...?"

"I'm a nurse at the station..."

Du Yusheng relaxed and ended the call with a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.

He was easily satisfied, and a warm feeling surged up in his chest almost instantly.

Looking at the bare security door of Li Yao's apartment, Du Yusheng scratched his chin. He thought it looked a bit empty, this was the holiday season, after all, there ought to be a touch of festivity. Li Yao wasn't exactly a warm person to begin with, and now even the New Year lacked atmosphere. Du Yusheng couldn't stand it, so he picked up the lunchbox and dashed out of the estate.

He wanted to put up a pair of spring couplets for Li Yao.

But it was New Year's Eve and no one was out selling anything, couplets were something every household had already prepared in the days leading up to the festival.

He wandered through several large supermarkets before he finally managed to find a pair.

Du Yusheng hadn't really read what was written on them, couplets were just meant to create a cheerful mood anyway. Once he got back, he bent over and carefully stuck up the left and right scrolls, along with the "blessing" character. Only then did Du Yusheng notice that the horizontal scroll read Harmony in the family brings prosperity in all things.

Appropriate, yet not.

"Family" might always have been a sore point for Li Yao.

Scratching at his face, Du Yusheng debated whether he should head back out to buy another set.

That was when Li Yao returned.

He stood there watching Du Yusheng with an amused expression. The man was standing with his hands on his hips, head tilted back staring at the couplets, shifting and scratching here and there. Apart from an expensive watch on his wrist, he was holding an embroidered thermal lunchbox. He must've been standing outside for a while, as his hands were slightly red from the cold.

"What are you looking at?"

The sudden question from Li Yao startled Du Yusheng.

A little embarrassed, he pointed to the couplets on the door and grinned. "... I thought your doorway looked too empty, no atmosphere, so I went to buy some couplets. But I think the wording might be a bit off." Seeing a slight stiffness in Li Yao's expression, he quickly added, "Shall I go change them?"

"No need," Li Yao smiled. "I think they're quite nice. Feels like the New Year."

He walked over and naturally took the lunchbox from Du Yusheng's hand, pulled out his keys, and opened the door.

Du Yusheng's face was red from the cold, and as soon as he stepped inside, he began warming his hands with his breath, his feet alternating little hops off the floor. Li Yao fetched him a glass of hot water, took out a pair of cotton slippers from the cupboard and tossed them over, then placed the cup in Du Yusheng's hands to warm him up.

"If I wasn't home, couldn't you have just gone home and waited?" Li Yao asked as he unbuttoned his coat. "Your house is just across the hallway."

"I didn't come from home," Du Yusheng took a sip of the hot water with a smile. "I came from my mom's. The housekeeper made dumplings, I figured you probably wouldn't know how to make them, so I brought you some."

Du Yusheng pursed his lips and added, "Two servings, we'll eat together."

There wasn't much expression on Li Yao's face as he glanced at Du Yusheng.

"You're not keeping your mom company?"

"Keeping her company?" With the warmth rising, Du Yusheng took off his down jacket and set it aside. "Madam Du's gone to Sanya for the New Year, she went with a whole group of middle-aged ladies. The funniest part is that she told me to join her at the villa to celebrate, and when I got there, it turned out it was just me and the housekeeper..."

Du Yusheng carried on talking to himself and only realised halfway through that Li Yao hadn't said a word. It dawned on him then that he might've said the wrong thing.

He quickly clarified, "No, that's not what I meant. Even if my mom were home, I'd still have come to bring you dumplings."

Li Yao smiled and nodded. "I know."

Du Yusheng's face flushed bright red.

There was something Li Yao had long wanted to do, whenever Du Yusheng got embarrassed, it wasn't just his face that turned red, even his ears would stick out, glowing scarlet. Li Yao reached out and rubbed at one of those ears, only stopping once it had turned even redder.

Du Yusheng hunched his shoulders and glanced at Li Yao.

He said, "... Shall we eat the dumplings?"

"What filling?"

"... Meat," said Du Yusheng. "I think it's meat."

Li Yao looked at him with a smile but didn't say anything.

"... What?" Du Yusheng frowned. "You... you don't eat meat dumplings? Have you... become a monk?"

Li Yao still didn't reply, but the smile at the corners of his mouth deepened.

He truly adored this side of Du Yusheng.

A bit of liveliness in the foolishness.

The dumplings were quickly reheated and Du Yusheng brought them to the table, calling Li Yao over to eat.

This year, firecrackers weren't allowed in the city, so the festive atmosphere was far more muted. The only trace of celebration was the glow of red lanterns visible outside the window.

Chewing on his dumplings, Du Yusheng switched on the television.

At this hour, every channel was airing Spring Festival variety shows. The lively sounds filled the room, and though there were only two people inside, it somehow felt cheerful. The programmes this year weren't dull at all. Watching the people dancing on screen, then glancing at the one sitting opposite him, warmth spread through Du Yusheng's heart and body, a comfort he couldn't quite put into words.

"This Spring Festival Gala is the culmination of people's wisdom and artistry over the year," Du Yusheng pointed at the programme on the television. "It's something to look forward to every year."

"Look forward to?" Li Yao asked. "Look forward to what?"

"To a better year, of course."

Du Yusheng took an orange from the fridge, peeled it, and stuffed a segment into his mouth.

He knew that the more it was like this, the lonelier Li Yao would be.

"Don't worry," Du Yusheng gave Li Yao a hearty slap on the back and brought an orange segment to his lips. "From now on, I'll spend every New Year with you."

Li Yao looked at the orange at his mouth, considered it, and then bit down.

It was sweet.

Du Yusheng smiled.

"You know, I really don't know how the hell I ended up falling for you."

That line again.

Li Yao chewed the orange and replied, "It's not a loss."

The programme on TV reached its climax, with the audience clapping and shouting in excitement.

Du Yusheng quietly savoured those three words.

Not a loss.

Right, it isn't a loss at all.

Getting someone like Li Yao to express anything heartfelt was never going to be easy, those four words were more than enough for Du Yusheng.

With the programme still playing, Du Yusheng leaned back into the sofa, staring up at the ceiling light, and let out a long sigh.

"I actually miss my dad a lot," he said. "I'll go home in a bit to light some incense for him, can't have the old man spending New Year's Eve all alone."

Li Yao turned his head. His gaze landed squarely on the rise and fall of Du Yusheng's Adam's apple.

"What if your dad wasn't dead?"

"If he wasn't dead, I'd listen to everything he said."

The Adam's apple bobbed up and down. Li Yao watched it, forgetting momentarily what he'd meant to say.

He quickly looked away.

He wanted to tell Du Yusheng that he meant what he'd just said.

The phone on the table vibrated. Li Yao picked it up and glanced at the screen.

The sender was an unfamiliar number, and the message contained only three words.

"Happy New Year."

Li Yao knew exactly who had sent it. The man who sent it had the same face as him. Is he spending New Year's Eve alone too?

Li Yao hesitated for a moment, but didn't reply.

The red lanterns glowing warmly outside the window cast a cosy light. Li Yao couldn't help turning his head slightly to glance at the man dozing off on the sofa. He told himself that, whatever the future held, he wanted someone to walk this road of life with.

And that person just happened to be Du Yusheng.

Suddenly, someone knocked at the door, very lightly, only three taps.

Li Yao instinctively checked the clock. Ten minutes to midnight, ten minutes to the New Year. Du Yusheng, fast asleep, had begun to drool slightly. Li Yao picked up a blanket from beside him and gently draped it over him, then changed into cotton slippers and went to open the door.

There was no one outside, not even the sound of footsteps.

Instead, a square lunchbox sat neatly at the doorstep, carefully wrapped in a white plastic bag.

Li Yao was taken aback and softly called out twice in the hallway, but no one responded.

Eventually, Li Yao went back inside to grab his phone and sent a message to that number:

Happy New Year.

Although they weren't on the same floor, the soft buzz of a message notification echoed faintly in the quiet corridor.

He unwrapped the lunchbox and peeked inside, it was dumplings, still warm.

Li Yao's nose stung faintly. He clutched the neatly wrapped lunchbox to his chest and gently closed the door.

Downstairs, Jing Mo heard the muffled sound of the door shutting. Once he was sure Li Yao had gone back inside, he tiptoed swiftly up the stairs. Seeing that the doorway was now empty and the lunchbox gone, Jing Mo finally let out a sigh of relief. He looked down at the message on his phone from his brother, and a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

This New Year's Eve didn't feel so cold after all.

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Author's Note:

This extra has nothing to do with the main story's timeline, so feel free to enjoy it!

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

Please feel free to comment any mistakes I made so I can improve and do better as I go through the book.

Translated: June 13, 2025 by Angel

Edited: June 26, 2025 by Angel