The keyboard player detected Wang Chao’s gaze and turned around too. His expression instantly darkened.
Xie Zhuxing, who’s supposed to still be in Nanjing at the moment, actually came back early.
Wang Chao hopped from his seat, ignoring the keyboard player, and walked straight toward the front entrance. He was surprised, “Didn’t you say you were going to come back tomorrow? Eh? Where’s your luggage?”
Xie Zhuxing lowered his head slightly, his eyes covered by the brim of his cap, and said, “The schedule changed a bit so I came back early. I’ve gone home and put down the luggage already.”
What schedule change? That’s all bullshit! Wang Chao was very pleased and continued to ask, “You came here to alleviate my lonelliness after seeing that I’m eating by myself in Wechat moments?”
Xie Zhuxing didn’t answer. He raised his head slightly and looked behind him.
The keyboard player returned his gaze.
Both looked at each other. Xie Zhuxing had a straight face, and the keyboard player seemed depressed.
They’ve already met in Guangzhou last year. Ever since the keyboard player came to Beijing and signed with the studio under Huixing, they’ve bumped into each other in company-related activities a few times. They never talked to each other.
Wang Chao only pretended that he couldn’t see the keyboard player and nudged Xie Zhuxing forward, “Go, go, go, let’s go home. I have something to show you.”
The two were about to leave. The keyboard player called after him, “Xiao Chao.”
Wang Chao wanted to pretend that he was deaf, but Xie Zhuxing paused in his track.
Wang Chao then had to turn around and curse at him, “I’ve already fucking told you, don’t call me that! It’s fucking gross. Try again, you will get beat up.”
Xie Zhuxing glanced at him too.
The keyboard player acted as if he had been wronged by everyone around him, “You told me to call you like that before. Now you think it’s gross?”
Wang Chao had long forgotten that but he does remember very clearly how their fallout went. He countered immediately, “I’ve also told you to go eat shit, why didn’t you go?”
The keyboard player finally shut up.
Wang Chao put both his hands on Xie Zhuxing’s shoulders and kept pushing him from behind. Like two children pretending to be trains, they walked away in sync step by step.
After retrieving his car, Wang Chao asked, “Did you just land?”
Xie Zhuxing said, “It’s been a while.”
Wang Chao fished out the car keys from his pocket and said, “Then let me drive. You go rest. I didn’t drink today.”
Xie Zhuxing did not object.
Wang Chao chuckled, “See, I love spoiling you.”
Xie Zhuxing didn’t smile either. Silently, he sat down on the passenger seat.
Wang Chao hurriedly got into the car too. “You’re tired, aren’t you? You’ve never even complained when you were out working for consecutive days. How come you couldn’t handle it this time?” He asked with concern.
Even caring words could be phrased in such an irritating fashion. Talented, he truly is talented.
Xie Zhuxing replied irritably, “Don’t waste any more words, hurry up and go home. Didn’t you say that you wanted to show something to me?”
Wang Chao glanced at him a couple times before starting the engine, stepping on the pedal, and driving forward.
Several minutes in, Wang Chao suddenly realized something. He hurriedly explained, “I didn’t lie to you, I did actually go eat crawfish by myself.”
Xie Zhuxing was playing on his phone with his head lowered.
Wang Chao raised his voice, “Hey! Listen to me! Did you hear me?”
Xie Zhuxing turned his phone off and said with a scowl, “Why are you yelling? I’m not deaf or blind. I can hear you and I can see you.”
Wang Chao said, “Stop being passive aggressive towards me.”
Xie Zhuxing stopped talking again.
Wang Chao felt a bit wrong but a bit pleased at the same time. “I really, really did go by myself. I didn’t invite anyone there. That psycho also happened to be there and spotted me. He begged and insisted to sit at the same table with me, I didn’t even want to speak one word with him.”
Xie Zhuxing asked, “Happened to be there?”
Wang Chao spilled everything, “Well, he may have gone there on purpose.”
He summarized their encounter at the company.
Xie Zhuxing was surprised, “What were you doing at the company at night? Weren’t you scared?”
Wang Chao finally recalled what he wanted to say and said with excitement, “I was telling you that I wanted to show you something. This is it.”
Coincidentally, the light was red when they reached the intersection. He stopped the car, found the audio recording that he had saved earlier on the phone, and then clicked play.
It was a demo with only piano instrumentals, around twenty seconds long.
The red light hasn’t even changed before it ended.
Wang Chao asked somewhat embarrassedly, “Well, is it alright?”
Xie Zhuxing, “…You wrote this?”
Wang Chao stroked his cheeks, even more embarrassed. “How is it?” He asked.
The light turned green. He hurriedly stepped on the pedal, but he kept on glancing at Xie Zhuxing with a mix of nervousness and expectation.
Xie Zhuxing took the phone from him and pressed it to his ears. He listened to it several times before he said, “Sounds great.”
Xie Zhuxing continued, “Did you write it today? Didn’t you go to our new house today?”
Wang Chao grinned even happier and said, “I checked out the new house in the morning and then took a nap back home in the afternoon. This melody came to me when I woke up.”
He paused deliberately before he continued, “I was inspired by missing you too much.”
Xie Zhuxing’s expression softened.
Wang Chao asked, “Did you miss me?”
Wang Chao didn’t believe him, “Fuck off, you didn’t miss me? If you didn’t, why were you in such a hurry to come back?”
Xie Zhuxing didn’t respond.
Wang Chao asked him again, “Then did you miss me or not?”
Wang Chao grinned. With his left hand on the steering wheel, his right hand reached to caress Xie Zhuxing’s thigh, stroking and squeezing, and it didn’t take long before his hand found its way to his crotch area.