“Ow…” Su Yin touched the corner of his mouth and sucked in a sharp breath, then turned his head to look in the mirror. His left cheek was still a little swollen, like someone had slapped him.
Who the hell had the nerve to hit him?! From childhood to now, his mom had never laid a hand on him even once. He had confessed for no reason, come back, gone to sleep, and gotten hit? He did not even remember any of it.
Could he have gotten drunk last night? That did not sound right either. He hardly drank.
But the face in the mirror really did look weak and drained. His stomach growled twice. He rubbed it, and his gaze instantly went blank.
He lifted his shirt for a look and screamed, “Where are my abs?!” Not only were his abdominal muscles gone, his stomach was soft and squishy, and it looked even bigger than his pecs. “I got fat?????”
No, no!
He hurried out, calling for someone. “Xue’er!” But when he got a clear look at the bedroom, he froze. A lot of the decorations had changed. The designs of the desk, chair, and bed were all different too. Most obvious of all, where was the framed photo on the wall?!
Before his confession, he had printed out a photo of him and Pei Weixue from their ski trip and hung it in the bedroom, planning to surprise him.
The two of them had messed around at the ski resort abroad for three straight days. Pei Weixue did not know how to ski and kept falling, at one point planting his face straight into the snow. Su Yin had thought it was hilarious and laughed so hard he clutched his stomach. Embarrassed and annoyed, Pei Weixue had scooped up a handful of snow and mashed it into Su Yin’s face. The cold had made him shiver so hard he lunged right at Pei Weixue, and the two of them rolled around in the snow for ages. After they came out of the resort, Su Yin wrapped an arm around him and took their very first photo together.
They had promised they would come back again someday. He was going to teach Pei Weixue how to ski.
Something was off, seriously off. Everything in the place felt strange. The room did not look even a little familiar to him. It was a total mess. Pei Weixue had mild obsessive-compulsive tendencies, and after living together for so long, Su Yin had picked up a few of the same habits from him. They always kept things neat and tidy.
But now there was a huge pile of clothes thrown all over the floor. The ornaments on the desk were an even bigger disaster. The stuffing in the blanket had been shoved who knew where, and the whole room looked like a dump. There was even a Coke bottle tipped over beside the bed.
What slob lived here?
1
He walked out. There was nobody in the suite. He knocked on Pei Weixue’s door. “Xue’er, are you awake?” Yesterday had been Friday, today was Saturday. Pei Weixue was a little sleepyhead who loved sleeping in, so there was no way he would be up this early.
After knocking for ages with no response, Su Yin stroked his chin and thought it over. Had Xue’er gone out to buy groceries? He slowly wandered back to his room to get his phone, then finally found a strange phone under the bed. A quick face scan unlocked it. “When did I change phones?” Secretly delighted, he thought, “Did Xue’er give this to me?”
But that did not seem right either. The phone looked pretty well used, and he did not recognize the man in the wallpaper.
Forget it. He would go look in Xue’er’s room.
He opened the door, and a clean, tidy room came into view. There was a snowman doll by the head of the bed. He walked in. There was a laptop on the desk, a teacup, and clothes in the wardrobe too.
They had agreed yesterday that they would live together. This apartment was one he and Pei Weixue had both paid the down payment on, and they had started living together long ago. Back then, before either of them had made their feelings clear, they had just been roommates. But now that they were dating, they could not exactly still be roommates. He wanted to wait for Pei Weixue to come back and ask which room he should sleep in.
Then, by accident, he spotted two white pill bottles in the trash can. He picked them up for a look, and his face immediately darkened. Why was Xue’er still taking this? Had he not already gotten better?
Suddenly, his eyes landed on the calendar. The year, month, and date were written on it clearly, including the word ‘Monday’.
It did not match what he knew. There were six extra years. !!!!
More than two hours later.
Only then did Su Yin, after raking his hair into a bird’s nest, finally understand the situation. He, Su Yin, had time traveled. He had traveled six years into the future.
He wanted to call Pei Weixue, so he directly entered the eleven-digit number. But the screen did not show the contact name ‘Clown’. What was that supposed to mean? Whose phone had Xue’er saved under Clown?! It definitely was not his!
But face recognition worked. Forget it for now. Maybe he had just changed phones.
After two ‘beeps’, the system said the line was busy. He called two more times, then let out a miserable howl and dropped to one knee on the carpet. “Why did Xue’er block me? That is too much.” After that, he called his mom. He called Jiang Zhi. No one answered either.
His whole expression cracked apart.
Just then, there was movement by the entryway. He jumped up excitedly, his legs numb enough that he nearly fell. After smacking his thighs twice, he limped over, only to see Pei Weixue standing there with a briefcase in hand. He looked nothing like the thin, sickly person Su Yin remembered. He looked like a polished professional now, mature and steady. Delighted, Su Yin blurted out, “Wow, Xue’er, even older, you’re still this handsome.” He did not notice the cold look in Pei Weixue’s eyes. He quickly walked over, wanting to pinch his cheek, but Pei Weixue dodged him. Thinking he had just made Pei Weixue angry, Su Yin said in confusion, “Xue’er, don’t be mad, okay? Punish me however you want.”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a hand clamped around his throat and shoved him back against the shoe cabinet. The corner jabbed into his waist, and he hissed, reaching up to pry at Pei Weixue’s hand. Bewildered, he looked at Pei Weixue’s dark expression, wanting to ask, what is wrong?
“I…”
“Su Yin, if you want a divorce, I’ll give it to you. Mom’s health is bad, how dare you keep making her angry again and again!” Pei Weixue hurled the briefcase to the floor with a heavy thud. Seeing Su Yin’s shocked, breathless face, he finally let go. While Su Yin covered his throat and coughed, Pei Weixue picked up the briefcase, pulled out a document, and flung it at his face. “Sign it!”
“What? Cough, cough…” Su Yin looked completely lost. He picked up the papers, glanced at the big words on the cover, and shrieked, “Divorce agreement! We’re married?!” When he looked back, Pei Weixue had already walked inside. Su Yin hurried after him. Six years later, they were already married?
But then… why were they getting divorced?
“No… I…” Su Yin still was not fully clear-headed. He had no idea why he had suddenly traveled six years into the future. He and Pei Weixue were married, but at the same time, they were getting divorced. And what was all this about him making Mom angry, and Mom’s health being bad? His mom was in great shape, she could haul a jug of water up to the sixth floor in one breath. “Xue’er?”
Pei Weixue ignored him and went straight into the study to set up his computer.
“Xue’er, there has to be some misunderstanding between us. Don’t break up with me on impulse.” Su Yin, like he always had before, pulled a pitiful face and edged close in front of Pei Weixue. Whenever Pei Weixue was unhappy, this was how he coaxed him.
Pei Weixue kept a grim expression and looked away, but from the corner of his eye he could not help sneaking glances at the divorce agreement in Su Yin’s hands. He said nothing.
“Xue’er, there’s something I need to tell you. Actually, I…” I came here by time travel. Su Yin thought it over and decided he still had to say this first. He never hid things from Pei Weixue. But when he tried, he found he could not get the words out. He opened his mouth two more times, but no matter what, he could not clearly say that he had time traveled.
Pei Weixue did not spare him a glance.
“I am… forget it. Xue’er, I don’t want a divorce. You just said I made Mom angry, but I don’t even know what that means. I…” Who could understand the pain of waking up to find yourself married to the person you loved, only to be facing divorce immediately after? The craziest part was that he had no idea what had happened. Su Yin anxiously tried to explain. Pei Weixue had always trusted him, basically believing whatever he said.
In their senior year, he had gone abroad for a design competition. One night, he called Pei Weixue overseas and pinched himself several times before telling him that he probably would not win and was heartbroken and desperately needed comforting. At the time they had still been in that ambiguous stage. He had only wanted to see Pei Weixue worry about him and say something caring. If possible, a video call and a blown kiss would have been even better.
He had not expected Pei Weixue to hang up on him right away, catching him completely off guard. He had found it strange too. Sure, Pei Weixue was a bit quiet, but not so stingy that he would not even show concern. Then at noon the next day, the doorbell rang. Pei Weixue was standing outside, his cheeks red from the cold. The moment they met, Pei Weixue hugged him and patted his back. “You’re already amazing. You’ll definitely win next time.”
Just one joking remark from him had made Pei Weixue take a flight of more than ten hours to find him overseas. They had not even confessed yet, had not made their feelings plain, but every single thing Pei Weixue did told him that he liked him.
“Xue’er?” Su Yin saw him still typing on the computer. “Can we not get divorced yet? Do you want a glass of kiwi juice? I’ll make you some.” He still had not figured out the situation, but he did not want to get kicked out like an idiot either. At the very least, he needed to know what he had done, and he needed to do something to fix it.
He ran out in a gust of wind. Behind him, Pei Weixue stared at the blank spot on the screen where the code should have been.
Su Yin had casually thrown the divorce agreement into the trash can. Pei Weixue’s tightly pressed lips actually loosened a little. How had things come to this? For that one instant just now, it had almost seemed like he had seen the Su Yin who had always cherished him.
He was probably just putting on an act again to get money out of him. After graduation, Su Yin had never worked, always living off the prize money he had won before. Once that ran out, he came to Pei Weixue for money. In the beginning it had only been to buy a pack of cigarettes or a bottle of water. Later, after meeting He Nan, he started spending extravagantly, insisting on the most expensive restaurants when treating people and choosing only costly gifts.
Twice, when Pei Weixue had not wanted to give him money, Su Yin had softened his expression just like now and coaxed him. The moment he got the money, he changed right back.
But He Nan did not lack food, and he certainly did not lack expensive gifts. From beginning to end, Su Yin had only looked like a ridiculous clown, jumping around between them. Even though Jiang Zhi and He Nan had not gotten back together yet, He Nan had never had any other thoughts about Su Yin.
Su Yin clung to He Nan like a fly. He Nan had called Pei Weixue many times, asking him to go pick Su Yin up from this place or that place. Every time Pei Weixue went, Su Yin would greet him with sarcastic remarks. And publicly declaring he wanted a divorce was hardly a one-time thing.
Now that he had agreed to a divorce, Su Yin should have been happy.
Very soon, footsteps sounded outside again. The computer screen had gone dark. Then he saw Su Yin rush in in a fluster. “Xue’er! Our fridge doesn’t even have kiwis?”
Pei Weixue pushed the divorce agreement he had picked back up toward him. “Sign it. Let’s part on good terms.”
Su Yin’s head felt twice its normal size. He dropped onto the floor with a thump. “I seriously have no idea what happened. Even if you want a divorce, at least let me understand before I die, okay? If there’s a problem, we can work through it.”
“Work through it?” Pei Weixue let out a cold laugh.
In the more than two years they had known each other, Su Yin had never seen this side of Pei Weixue, so distant and indifferent, shutting everyone out like a giant iceberg radiating cold from every inch of itself. That cold laugh sank straight into Su Yin’s heart. The veins at his temples throbbed, as if some unbearable truth lay behind all this.
Pei Weixue’s expression stayed blank. “You cheated on me.”
Su Yin: “?”
Su Yin: “What the hell? Who did I cheat with? A man or a woman?” Still being shameless, he stayed seated on the floor and scooted his backside toward Pei Weixue, inching all the way to his legs and tipping his head up to look at him. “If you’re saying I cheated, then at least tell me with who.”
As he spoke, he actually started wailing. “You can’t accuse me without evidence.” His loungewear was a white fuzzy set, and the hood had two dog ears on it. From a distance, he looked like a little snowball huddled by Pei Weixue’s legs.
Pei Weixue lowered his eyes. “He Nan.”
Su Yin’s big eyes filled with huge confusion. “Who?”
“Stop playing dumb. Sign it!” Pei Weixue threw the divorce agreement at him again.
With a dramatic howl, Su Yin hugged Pei Weixue’s leg. “Xue’er! You can’t abandon me! Did you forget? Back at the ski resort, I said I’d be the dog that pulls your sled.”
No matter how he cried and begged, Pei Weixue’s expression did not change even a little. Su Yin could not believe he would cheat with someone he did not even know.
Pei Weixue only kept telling him to sign the divorce agreement.
So angry he was fuming, Su Yin threw the agreement into the shredder. “Then tell me, who is He Nan?”
“Jiang Zhi’s ex-boyfriend.”
Su Yin: “!” Wait, I cheated with my friend’s ex-boyfriend?!
Pei Weixue stabbed in deeper. “You were the one who broke them up.”
Su Yin: “?” What?! I wrecked my friend’s relationship?
The relationship he had only just confirmed could not take blow after blow like this. Back then, He Nan and Jiang Zhi had only been dating for less than half a month and had known each other for just a month. With Su Yin constantly interfering, it was no wonder they split.
“Xue’er.” After hearing all that, Su Yin drooped his head. Sitting cross-legged on the floor, he seemed wrapped in sorrow. “Tell me… can six years really turn a person into an animal?”
Maybe it was because Su Yin’s tone had gone soft, or maybe because the way he said it sounded so natural, but Pei Weixue lowered his head and looked at him.
“Please give me one chance to figure out the truth, okay?” Su Yin could not believe he would become that kind of person. But thinking carefully now, there really were suspicious signs everywhere.
“The truth is in your phone. Open it and you’ll know.”
The instant Su Yin heard that, he hurriedly opened his phone. First, the photo album. In his memory, there had been thousands of pictures of Pei Weixue there. Every one of them was gone. In their place was another man in a suit. Was this person ‘He Nan’?
He scrolled upward, but he could not reach the beginning no matter how far he went. Every single photo had been taken from an angle that stunned him, like they had been shot by some gloomy stalker.
The phone’s memo app also contained every sort of information about He Nan, his hobbies, his daily schedule, his itinerary, everything.
The chat app was full of He Nan too.
Only one thing was missing, anything about Pei Weixue at all. His phone had not only face recognition but also a password. Looking at Pei Weixue’s straight, rigid back, he took one desperate gamble and entered the code.
#Password incorrect
Ever since the moment he had fallen in love with Pei Weixue, his password had always been Pei Weixue’s birthday. It had never changed. Even Pei Weixue did not know that. They respected each other’s privacy and never checked each other’s phones, and besides, before they started dating, it would have felt wrong to overstep.
All the beauty of the past shattered completely in that instant. Looking at Pei Weixue’s cold face, Su Yin felt as though a huge stone were crushing his chest. Ever since the day they met, Pei Weixue had never once looked at him with eyes like that.
Not to mention Pei Weixue had always been softhearted. They had argued now and then, but as soon as Su Yin acted pitiful, Pei Weixue would stop being angry. He had always been easy to coax. Carefully, Su Yin reached out and tugged at the hem of Pei Weixue’s pants. “Can you… give me one chance to start over?”
Pei Weixue’s hands paused on the keyboard for an instant. He lowered his lashes, hiding the complicated emotions in his eyes. “No need.” The moment Su Qingyue fainted from anger, this relationship had already ended.
“But that’s not fair to me. I don’t have any of those memories. I only just confessed to you, and then I woke up and six years had passed. Are you sure I really did all the things you said?” Su Yin shot back rapidly, his voice hurried and agitated. Sitting on the floor, he stubbornly clutched Pei Weixue’s pant leg.
“You’re talking to me about fairness?” Pei Weixue moved his leg, wanting to shake him off, but Su Yin only held tighter. For six years, Pei Weixue had done everything he could to please him and give way to him. Where was he supposed to go for fairness, and from whom was he supposed to ask for it? “Even if you’re pretending you’ve lost your memory and want to come back, that still depends on whether I’m willing to eat spoiled grass.” After saying that, Pei Weixue shoved Su Yin away, stood up, and looked straight at him. “Su Yin, don’t force me to sue you.” Throwing down those words, he pointed at the door. “Get out!”
Even if Su Yin really did want to come back now and drag him into some ridiculous game of you run, I chase, he had no interest in playing along. He had already repaid Su Yin for all the good he had once shown him with six years of endurance. It was more than enough. He had even given Su Yin more than half the property. If Su Yin spent carefully, that money would be enough to let him live the rest of his life without working.
Su Yin got up, rubbing his butt. He did not want to keep arguing. He needed to figure things out first. Right now, there was one thing he wanted to know more than anything else. “Did you start taking medicine again? Is it because of me?”
Compared to the divorce, this was what worried him more. The medicine had always made Pei Weixue’s appetite poor, and he had been very thin. It had taken two years before he no longer needed to take it. Su Yin had spent another half a year taking good care of him, burying himself in the kitchen every day studying recipes before he had finally put a little weight on him. Even now, Pei Weixue did not have much flesh on him. His frame had only broadened, making him look a little sturdier.
His mom had laughed that the hands meant for holding paintbrushes were now holding a spatula every day. He had replied: I want to.
At those words, Pei Weixue, already seated back in front of the computer, slammed his hand heavily onto the keyboard. He pressed his lips tightly together and shut his eyes, forcing his emotions not to spill out. The old Su Yin had deserved that concern. The current Su Yin did not.
He had only started taking the medicine again half a year ago. Back then, he had been stupid. After learning that Su Yin had changed his heart, he had kept reminiscing with him about the past, hoping to win him back through those memories. Call him foolish, call him pathetic, call him whatever. Su Yin had just been too important to him. They had shared such beautiful memories.
He had even said in front of Su Yin, “If you go to find him, then I’ll start taking this medicine again.” And Su Yin had not stopped walking. He really had swallowed it.
At first he had taken it despite not being sick. Later, his illness returned, and then he had no choice. Several times during his episodes, Su Yin had only watched him coldly, even mocking him, saying if he wanted to die, he should hurry up and do it and stop being an eyesore.
An eyesore.
What a terrifying word. He had heard it countless times, and every single time, it had felt like knives through his heart.