“Hey, did you hear? Those two thief punks in that alley were beaten up.”
“Ah?! Really? Who beat them up?”
“Who knows, someone said they saw a tall guy head in there. It seems those guys were beaten up pretty badly.”
“This! This is called karmic retribution! Let’s see if they dare to do any more evil in the future.”
While buying fruit, Chen Xiao’s hand shook and he couldn’t help but prick his ears up to listen. Unfortunately, the two gossipers had already changed topics. He immediately thought of Gu MengYang, but he didn’t think that guy looked like someone who could do this. Besides, he wasn’t that important to him, right? He smiled. Either way, he was able to sigh in relief because of some person.
By the time he got home, Gu MengYang had set the table and was sitting, leanin his hands on the back of the chair with the a/c blowing. When he heard the door open, he twisted his head and smiled at Chen Xiao: “You’re back.”
Chen Xiao’s heart was stabbed by that smile and he came forward quickly. He glanced away awkwardly: “Mmm.”
For these past two days, Gu MengYang had come straight to his house to cook, saying that he was hurt and shouldn’t move. He was a little astonished at his positive outlook, I’m still going to live until tomorrow, right?!
During dinner, Chen Xiao didn’t hold back his thoughts, pretending to inadvertently bring up the gossip he had just heard. Gu MengYang listened and made a faint “oh” sound, placing a quail egg in Chen Xiao’s bowl.
Sure enough, it wasn’t him…… Chen Xiao was a little confused, and a little thankful, and he put a piece in Gu MengYang’s bowl.
“Haha, I thought it was you at first, scared me.”
Gu MengYang who was chewing that piece of meat raised his head and looked at him. Then he said inarticulately: “It was me.”
“What?!” Chen Xiao shouted in surprise. Half of the egg popped out of his gaping mouth and he hurriedly snapped it up and threw it back in. “You, you, you! What if they cause trouble for you later?!”
Gu MengYang looked stoic compared to Chen Xiao’s anxiety: “They won’t. I wore a helmet.”
“……do you think you’re the Helmet Hero! Do less dangerous things in the future!”
“Hey, you didn’t think it was me either. I’ve been practicing taekwondo for a long time,” Gu MengYang gently wiped the egg yolk off the corners of Chen Xiao’s mouth and pinched his exasperated face, “enough to protect you.”
There was an “ao” sound in Chen Xiao’s heart, the feeling of arrow in his chest. He wished he could throw himself in Gu MengYang’s arms, eat him up, and wipe him clean. This guy had been shooting hormones all over the place since that handjob and this almost-ambiguous relationship made his heart hurt more.
The sweeter it was, the more painful it was.
—
When Luo Xin called, Chen Xiao was almost asleep, so he answered in a daze. When he heard a voice that he hadn’t in a long time but was familiar with, he immediately woke up.
“Fuck, this kid still knows who I am!”
“Haha, I forgot that nobody, can’t forget you, baby. Didn’t wake you, did I?” Luo Xin’s magnetic voice came out of the phone with the tone of a smile. Chen Xiao also couldn’t help but crook the corners of his mouth up slightly.
“Don’t you be disgusting. Speak normally, okay? Where are you now? Still in City A?”
“No, not there. It got boring after a while. I’m planning to go to City B to relax.”
“Ah?! You want to come over?”
“What, am I not welcome?”
“On behalf of the City B men, women, and children, I boycott you. You won’t come here to be the scourge of the people, Dage.”
“……I didn’t even know I had such heavy taste, Chen Xiao, I’m here to harm you alone. Don’t worry, eh?”
Chen Xiao recalled the playful smile that had appeared from time to time on Luo Xin’s delicate face as a child and couldn’t help but shudder a bit. Now, thinking back on this guy, he really was a black belly from a young age!
“So when are you coming, I’ll pick you up.”
“Aha, baby, I knew you were the best. The flight’s tomorrow night at 11 o’clock, gets in about two o’clock. Remember to buy me a bottle of coke,” Luo Xin replied very cheerfully, and then said, in a somber manner: “Don’t make me wait……or you’ll have to tell me all about your secret lover.”
………this guy must have arranged this late flight on purpose!!
“Alright, alright, I don’t want to wait too late to buy a ticket. When I get there, I’ll help you get the guy. Hanging up first.”
Luo Xin didn’t wait for Chen Xiao to answer and hung up the phone. Chen Xiao said a loud “ba” at the phone and thumped back down to the bed.
Luo Xin had always been the type to get the last word. The next evening, he sent a text saying he had set off and Chen Xiao could only heave a sigh and get some sleep before heading to the airport.
The two of them hadn’t seen each other in over a year. The last time they met was when Chen Xiao had gone home for last year’s New Year celebration. They hung out for a few days, but he had to return to City B to work. When he went back earlier this year, Luo Xin had just gone abroad again, so he didn’t see him.
At 1:30AM, Chen Xiao was so sleepy as he sat at the airport to wait. Shaking his head again from dozing off, he heard a shout ring out. He blinked his eyes open and looked, seeing a handsome man with long, naturally-curly hair standing before him. A pair of beautiful, slightly-upturned eyes gazed happily at him, who knew how many people those eyes had fooled when they had been kids. Even wearing a pure white t-shirt with jeans couldn’t hide the dazzling aura of his body; no wonder he was causing a sensation.
“Come on, let’s go.” Chen Xiao just nodded, standing up and walking out.
“Hey, Chen Xiao, you’re so cold, don’t you even want me……” Luo Xin shot a pathetic look at Chen Xiao’s back. A stranger would think he was being bullied by the man in front of him or something.
Chen Xiao still had two big black circles hanging under his eyes, so his mood was naturally no better. He gave him a hard look, saying: “Bother me again and you’re going to a hotel to sleep.”
So Luo Xin shut his mouth quietly. He wasn’t going to sleep in that kind of dirty place.
When they finally got home, Chen Xiao was so tired that he was running out of strength. He opened the door and looked back, catching sight of Luo Xin sneaking up on Gu MengYang’s door. He didn’t know if he was listening for voices or what.
“You, sneaking like a thief in the night!” Chen Xiao scolded in a whisper, dragging Luo Xin by the hair into the house.
In pain, Luo Xin yelled out. “No, no, no, it hurts! I’m trying to help you figure it out, okay?” He said pointedly, “Don’t you like the guy in there?”
Chen Xiao’s face went red, but luckily it couldn’t be seen in the dark: “Going to take care of you, go to sleep! Living room sofa or floor, you can choose for yourself!”
“Hey……” After Chen Xiao went into the bedroom, Luo Xin propped his head up in thought for a while, wearing a mysterious smile.
The next day, Chen Xiao used vacation leave. They both slept until noon before getting up. He had wanted to take Luo Xin to go see the sights and have fun in the afternoon, but Luo Xin said he wanted to eat at home that night. Strange as he was, he knew that the man had a lot of whims, so he took him away from the neighborhood.
“What does that guy you like think of you, any drama?”
“I don’t know……sometimes he seems to be very concerned with my feelings, but I guess it’s the same with someone else……the most important thing is that he has someone he likes……” Chen Xiao discussed Gu MengYang with absolutely no enthusiasm, sighing.
“Have you slept together?”
“N-no……! If he would sleep so easily with me, I wouldn’t be afraid to bend him…… What about you? Are you not going to settle down after so long?”
Luo Xin shrugged: “I can’t find a man. Besides, let’s not talk about me first. Do you want us to have a meal tonight?”
Chen Xiao froze for a while before reacting, who does he mean by “us”, and immediately asked with vigilance: “What do you want to do?”
“Why are you so nervous? I just want to see the guy.”
Chen Xiao didn’t believe him, this man had told more lies as a child than meals he had eaten. While he was trying to reject it, his attention was drawn to a figure not far away.
It was Gu MengYang, probably just off from work, picking a watermelon at the stall outside the neighborhood. Chen Xiao couldn’t keep the corners of his mouth from turning up.
“Gu……” he had just opened his mouth when Luo Xin’s close-up face blocked his vision. Then, soft, warm lips gently touched him on his lips.
When Luo Xin pulled his head back, Chen Xiao saw Gu MengYang staring at him from not too far away, completely shocked.
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