Actually, it was just an ordinary bowl of egg and shredded pork noodles, but ever since coming to this world, it had always been Brian Sullivan who cooked for him. He was already doing well if he could turn raw ingredients into something edible; his cooking was either too salty or too bland, and it had utterly ruined Adam Sullivan's taste buds. Now, finally tasting something normal, it was no wonder he reacted so strongly.

‘I’m not eating noodles, I’m eating a memorial to forgetfulness.’ Adam Sullivan thought to himself.

After drinking up every last drop of the noodle soup, Adam Sullivan patted his belly and said with a smile, “That was really satisfying.”

Miss Grace took the bowls and chopsticks from him, smiling as she said, “Just two men in the family and not a single woman—no matter how much chicken, duck, fish, or meat you have, you still can’t make it taste right.” Then she added, “If young master doesn’t mind, I’ll talk to Mr. Sullivan and you two can come down and eat together.”

Adam Sullivan looked in surprise at the completely changed Miss Grace, and chuckled, “Seventh Sister, you…”

Miss Grace smiled sheepishly, “Seventh Sister just has a bad temper. When it flares up, I feel like offending everyone in the world. But I know good people from bad, and young master is a good person. I treat good people well.”

Adam Sullivan laughed heartily, “Alright, Seventh Sister, I’m definitely making friends with you.” Then he pointed downstairs and said, “I’m heading out for a bit.”

Miss Grace cheerfully stepped aside to let him pass. After seeing Adam Sullivan off, she happily called into the house, “Did you hear that? A scholar is willing to be friends with us!” In her eyes, it was truly an honor.

※※※

Leaving the small courtyard, Adam Sullivan quickened his pace and headed for the back gate. As he reached the door, he happened to run into Fourth Young Sullivan, who was listlessly walking out from another path.

As soon as he saw him, Charles Sullivan perked up and shouted, “Adam Sullivan, brother, where are you going?”

Seeing it was him, Adam Sullivan had no choice but to restrain himself and cupped his hands, “So it’s Fourth Young Master. I’m heading out for a bit.”

But Charles Sullivan didn’t act distant at all. He walked over with a grin and said, “Perfect, I’m going out too. Where are you headed? Maybe we’re going the same way?”

Adam Sullivan casually made something up, “Just taking a walk by the river.”

“Great, I was just about to go for a walk too.” Charles Sullivan was overjoyed, affectionately slinging his arm over Adam Sullivan’s shoulder as they walked out. “Let’s go, brother, let’s walk arm in arm and write a new tale of Longyang’s love, like the stories of cut sleeves and shared peaches.”

Adam Sullivan immediately broke out in a cold sweat…

Chapter Fourteen: The City God Temple (Part 2)

“Who taught you to say that?” Adam Sullivan subtly shook off his hand, his expression odd.

“Them, the brothers in the clan school.” Fourth Young Master closed his gold-embellished fan and asked curiously, “Is there something wrong with it?”

“Of course there is.” Adam Sullivan rolled his eyes. “Cut sleeves, shared peaches, Longyang—all three stories are about the same thing.”

“What thing?” Fourth Young Master blinked his small eyes and asked honestly.

“Love between men.” Adam Sullivan lowered his voice.

Charles Sullivan was stunned for a moment, then burst out cursing in Shaoxing dialect. Adam Sullivan didn’t quite understand, but guessed it was something like ‘I’ll settle the score with them.’

He thought this guy would go back and confront them, but after a while Charles Sullivan stopped cursing and said angrily, “Let’s go, let’s take a walk by the river.”

Adam Sullivan couldn’t help but laugh, “Why not go settle the score with them?”

“Forget it, it’s not up to me.” Charles Sullivan mumbled, clearly not wanting to talk about it.

Adam Sullivan wasn’t one to pry into others’ privacy, so he nodded and walked ahead. Charles Sullivan followed behind, head down, still clearly upset.

※※※

The two had just stepped out the door, one after the other, when Adam Sullivan heard someone calling him, “Chaosheng, Chaosheng…”

He looked in the direction of the voice and saw a tall young man standing under the shade of a tree by the road, waving at him excitedly.

“Eldest Son?!” Adam Sullivan immediately broke into a smile, striding over in a few quick steps to meet the big guy.

This was the ‘Eldest Son’ that Brian Sullivan had mentioned. He really was tall. Only fourteen or fifteen years old, yet already over six feet; Adam Sullivan only came up to his nose… and Adam Sullivan was as tall as Charles Sullivan, who was three or four years older, which was already considered tall for a southerner.

The two greeted each other with a bear hug, then patted each other’s shoulders hard, saying, “I missed you so much.” Seeing how close they were, Charles Sullivan muttered sourly from the side, “Isn’t this cut sleeves?” He was already putting his new knowledge to use.

Adam Sullivan rolled his eyes, “No one would misunderstand.” He ignored him and said to Eldest Son, “It’s my first time out today, I was just about to let you know I’m safe.”

Eldest Son was a typical southerner with northern features: a square face, thick lips, big bright eyes—he looked like a straightforward guy. He scratched his head and smiled sheepishly, “It’s my fault, I was busy helping my family with the harvest these past few days. Today’s the first chance I’ve had to come see you.” As he spoke, he picked up a fish basket from behind him. “I caught a few live fish to help you recover.”

“No need, I’m already full of energy.” Adam Sullivan smiled. “Take them back for your uncle and aunt to eat.”

“They’ll scold me.” Eldest Son said honestly, “Just take them.”

Charles Sullivan, unable to stand their dawdling, said impatiently, “It’s just a couple of fish, right? If he gives them to you, just keep them. At worst, we’ll give his family a couple pounds of meat tomorrow.”