The book covering Song Muxiang’s face slid down slowly, and the sound of it hitting the floor pulled him out of his light slumber. He rubbed his sleepy eyes and checked the time, only to realize he had only dozed off for ten minutes.
There was hardly anyone in the department on a rest day. He sat up straight and picked up his phone, surprised to see so many notifications popping up during his brief nap.
Most were group announcement notifications, which he mechanically tapped through one by one. But when his gaze trailed down the list and caught sight of a specific contact name, Song Muxiang couldn’t help but knit his brows.
【You’re finally willing to talk to me.】
【But what is that supposed to mean? I know I was wrong about what happened before, and I’ll definitely change. How about we meet up and have a proper talk?】
【I’m waiting for you downstairs.】
Song Muxiang let out a soft tch.
He really should have recalled that message immediately back then. He had only said something so reckless because his emotions got the better of him. What expectations could he possibly have from a psycho?
Song Muxiang stood up from his seat, rubbing his aching shoulders as he pushed open the door and stepped into the stairwell. He found a corner to squat down and sent a message to Luo Yuan: 【Where are you? Can you come find me over at the Club Center?】
He stared at his phone screen, unconsciously beginning to bite the fingers of his other hand. Minutes and seconds ticked by, but the chat page remained dead quiet, without even the slightest response.
That unreliable guy.
Only when Song Muxiang felt that his fingers had been bitten to leave deep red marks did he finally let go of his mouth and stand up. Looking out through the stairwell window, he could see the exact figure he wanted to avoid most right now.
He really was persistent like a lingering ghost. Song Muxiang’s brow remained tightly furrowed, not relaxing for even a second. The man was wearing casual clothes, hands stuffed in his pockets, idly kicking an aluminum can on the ground. Anyone looking could tell he was waiting for someone.
After hesitating in front of the window for a long moment, Song Muxiang let out a soft, heavy sigh, turned around, and walked downstairs anyway.
“Damn it, why hasn’t he come out for so long? He didn’t slip away when I wasn’t looking, did he…”
“Lin Huan.”
The man who was still picking on the aluminum can paused his foot mid-air and let out a couple of laughs. Then, putting power into his leg, he kicked the poor can hard against the side of a trash can, producing a loud clatter that startled Song Muxiang.
“Muxiang, you’re finally willing to see me.” Lin Huan took quick steps forward, making a sudden grab for Song Muxiang’s hand, only to be dodged completely without a shred of mercy. His expression flickered slightly, but he didn’t get angry: “Don’t be mad anymore, how about I treat you to dinner?”
“I’ve had enough spicy hot pot to last a lifetime.” Song Muxiang interrupted him. Right now, seeing Lin Huan’s face, the memories surfacing in his mind were no longer just the scenes of this guy bringing hookups he met outside into their home to roll in the sheets, but also that morning when he woke up all alone in the hotel room.
“Muxiang, which photo do you think would look better as a wallpaper?”
Just remembering those words made him feel a little sick to his stomach.
He must have lost his mind back then. Wouldn’t letting a piece of garbage like this become a father be a total disaster for the child?! Instead of trying to reason with him to make Lin Huan take responsibility, it would be far better to call the police directly and lock up this opportunist rapist.
“I have nothing left to say to you. Haven’t you had enough after stalking me for so many days? If you don’t feel satisfied, then let’s meet at the police station later.”
Saying that, he pulled out his phone, intentionally turning the volume up high so the other person could hear him press “110.” Lin Huan was startled, and without thinking, he suddenly lunged forward and slapped Song Muxiang’s phone out of his hand.
“How big of a deal is this, do you really have to go that far?!” The gentle disguise Lin Huan wore just a moment ago crumbled completely. His expression twisted as he raised his voice: “Fuck, spreading around such a humiliating piece of shit affair! If you’re not embarrassed, I am! Get your ass back with me right now!”
His wrist was grabbed tightly, making Song Muxiang shudder all over. “Let—”
Thud!
With a heavy impact, the grip on his wrist slackened instantly. Lin Huan, who had been baring his teeth at him just a second ago, fell flat on his face. Song Muxiang reacted swiftly, stepping to the side as he watched Lin Huan crash heavily onto the ground.
“Holy shit, who?!”
“Where’d this rabid dog come from? Did you eat too much shit and decide to bite people randomly?”
“Who the fuck are you, I—ugh!” Lin Huan was still trying to prop himself up from the ground, but before he could even see what was behind him clearly, he was kicked right in the back by the newcomer. The person stepped on his back and pushed down relentlessly, his tone arching upward with a mockingly sarcastic bite:
“You’ve got quite the nerve running around everywhere. Aren’t you afraid of running into a dog catcher who’ll tie you right up?”
Song Muxiang stood there in a daze, matching the voice with the figure in front of him in his head. He stared at this chaotic scene for several seconds before finally coming to his senses: “Why are you here?”
“I came to find you, of course. Who’s this guy?” Xia Zhaoye didn’t relax the pressure under his foot at all, seemingly completely deaf to the painful groans coming from the pile on the ground. Facing Song Muxiang’s questioning tone, his voice instantly turned gentle: “By the way, are you busy later?”
Song Muxiang picked up his phone and frowned, “Not busy… hurry up and let him go, people passing by will take photos if they see this.”
“Sure.” Xia Zhaoye lifted his leg readily, using the heel of his shoe to push Lin Huan aside like trash twice. Only then did he take two steps to stand in front of Song Muxiang, acting so calm as if he were simply asking how the weather was today: “Then I’ll take you out for a drink. Let’s go to that place outside your school.”
“Ah… huh?”
“Where the hell did a psycho like you come from?! I’m calling the police right now!” Lin Huan struggled to crawl up from the ground with great effort. The back of his clothes had several obvious shoe prints stamped onto them by Xia Zhaoye, looking thoroughly humiliating. “Fuck, this was newly bought by me…”
“Wanna call the police? Go ahead. I was actually going to ask what a creepy pervert like you means by clinging to someone else’s partner every day. Did you watch too many adult films, getting so repressed in broad daylight?” As Xia Zhaoye spoke, he naturally pulled Song Muxiang into his embrace. His palm climbed onto the soft head of hair and gave it two rubs—the whole sequence of movements was smooth, fluid, and intimately natural.
“Wear fewer knockoffs. Dior is spelled Diao, you’re a walking joke.” Xia Zhaoye watched Lin Huan panic-strickenly grab his clothes and turn his head to look, seemingly genuinely wanting to check if the letters on the back were printed correctly. Letting out a couple of sneers, he wrapped an arm around Song Muxiang and turned to leave: “Alright, babe, ignore him. My car is parked over there. Have you eaten yet?”
“Wait, you two—”
Clatter!
A small electric scooter speeding out of nowhere crashed straight into Lin Huan. The man who had barely managed to crawl up from the ground fell down ignominiously once again. The rider didn’t even bother to look closely, merely throwing out a phrase, “Are you blind, not looking where you’re going?” before speeding off.
Song Muxiang saw the whole thing clearly through the side mirror. He couldn’t help letting out a soft chuckle before quickly holding it back.
So miserable. So satisfying.
Unlike the awkwardness of sitting in Xia Zhaoye’s car for the first time, after witnessing the other person’s hero-saving-the-beauty performance just now, Song Muxiang now felt the atmosphere had relaxed quite a bit. Leaning back into his seat, he said, “How did you arrive so right on time? Your acting was pretty convincing too, just like a TV drama.”
“Impromptu performance, genuine expression of feelings.” Xia Zhaoye turned the steering wheel. In truth, the coffee shop was only a few steps away from the school gate, so taking a drive there actually felt a bit luxurious. “Who is he? A creepy pervert who got hurt after failing to pursue you?”
Ex-boyfriend. The baby’s father.
Feeling that it was impossible to explain clearly in a few words, Song Muxiang simply went along with it. “Yeah, a stalker freak.”
Xia Zhaoye glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. “Then we should have called the police just now.”
There were quite a few people in the coffee shop on a rest day, mostly corporate workers rushing their work and couple friends chatting on dates. Song Muxiang had already been sleeping poorly due to feeling upset over the past few days, and after going through another round of harassment from that scum, he really needed something to refresh his spirits and clear his mind right now.
Right, didn’t he need to watch his diet now? He forgot to tell Xia Zhaoye not to…
“Vanilla steamed milk.” Xia Zhaoye placed the cup in front of him and added, “Room temperature, no ice, added sugar.”
Song Muxiang blinked, looking at the white drink in front of him, feeling a bit stunned.
A little strange.
Could it be that the message he accidentally sent to Lin Huan that day was really heard and taken seriously by Xia Zhaoye?
Xia Zhaoye sat opposite him holding a cup of iced Americano. Taking two sips, he didn’t say anything either. Song Muxiang fiddled with the straw and stirred it a few times, raising his eyes to secretly observe the other person, once again lamenting in his heart how drastically he had changed.
“Are you going back abroad? Or do you plan to stay?” Song Muxiang asked.
“I graduated early. I plan to help out at the family company afterward to gain some experience.” Xia Zhaoye let out a soft laugh, putting down his coffee to stare at Song Muxiang. “I’m not leaving anymore.”
“That’s a good thing. Did you tell Luo Yuan yet?”
“No.” Xia Zhaoye leaned forward, resting his chin on one hand as his gaze shot straight across. “You’re the first to know. Right after I settled in, I came to look for you.”
Clearly you just settled in, went speeding in a blindingly flashy Porsche, and happened to run into me. “Then I should tell Luo Yuan so we can throw a welcome-back party for you. How many years has it been since we…”
“Muxiang.” Xia Zhaoye spoke up suddenly, shifting the topic abruptly. “How have you been these past few years?”
“Didn’t you ask that once in the car that day? I’m doing pretty well,” Song Muxiang said in confusion.
“I mean your romantic life.”
“Did you date anyone after I left?”
Bringing up whichever pot isn’t boiling.
Song Muxiang closed his mouth, picking up his cup as if guilty to take two sips of milk.
What on earth did this guy learn while abroad? Wasn’t he quite honest before? Why did he become so talkative now?
“Just dated two or three. It wasn’t suitable, so we broke up.”
Song Muxiang had no desire to elaborate on how many stories were embedded within those three words, “wasn’t suitable.” Back in his school days, at least he had a guardian knight like Xia Zhaoye by his side. Ever since the other went abroad, his trashy romance buff had been immensely amplified, encountering one absurd person after another.
Xia Zhaoye maintained his pose of supporting his face with one hand, his eyes darkening subtly by a fraction.
“Then were there many clinging, persistent perverts like the one today?”
“No, it’s just that he has a mental problem.” Song Muxiang still didn’t dare meet the gaze of the person in front of him, only wanting to quickly skip past this heart-stabbing topic. His tone was already somewhat deliberate: “Stop asking about me, talk about yourself. Is the food good abroad? Was studying exhausting? Uh, also…”
Xia Zhaoye stood up abruptly, his chair pushed backward. The sudden noise startled Song Muxiang so much that he clutched his cup with both hands and shrank back, looking like a frightened rabbit.
He raised his eyes, his gaze shifting upward, watching the person in front of him prop himself against the table and bend down continuously, leaning closer and closer. “What’s wrong…?”
“I want to solve any trouble you have for you.” Xia Zhaoye lowered his voice slightly, the emotion in his eyes unreadable.
Song Muxiang still shrank backward: “Aren’t I doing pretty well?”
“Here.” Xia Zhaoye’s gaze shifted, finally landing on Song Muxiang’s lower abdomen, staring so intently that the other reflexively raised a hand to cover it.
Song Muxiang was still holding his cup with his other hand. Completely baffled, he only felt that Xia Zhaoye might have suffered some kind of shock abroad: “What on earth are you trying to say…”
“I can be the child’s father.”
Clatter.
The cup of milk that had only been drunk for a few sips slipped from his hand instantly, crashing onto the floor.