“Zhou Zhou, come out. I am waiting for you at the entrance.”
Standing at the entrance of Scarlet, Xu Yizhu caught his breath and dialed Zhou Yi’s phone.
“Huh? Didn’t you just arrive?” Zhou Yi asked on the other end of the line. “What is going on?”
Xu Yizhu did not want to stay here for even a single second longer, and said impatiently,
“Get out here, quickly.”
“Right away!”
After hanging up, Xu Yizhu sat on the curb of the street, rubbing his messed-up hairstyle with a feeling of deep frustration.
The corners of his eyes were red, making him look decadent and full of suppressed hostility.
When Zhou Yi found him, he was startled and helped him stand up. “You haven’t even started drinking yet, why are you like this?”
Xu Yizhu replied, “It’s nothing, let’s go back.”
“What did he do to you? Tell me, I’ll go beat him up!”
Xu Yizhu glanced at him coolly and said, “Have you been watching too many emotional dramas?”
Since he still had the energy to mock him, it meant the situation was not extremely serious.
Zhou Yi’s hanging heart settled slightly. He hailed a taxi and helped Xu Yizhu get inside.
“Driver, Qinghe Residence.”
“Got it!”
Sitting by the car window, Xu Yizhu watched the streetscape receding outside, feeling a sudden wave of dizziness in his eyes.
He closed his eyes and leaned back against the seat.
Emptying his mind, his tense nerves finally began to relax.
In a daze, Zhou Yi felt as though the negative emotions radiating from Xu Yizhu were constantly enveloping and consuming him.
Sigh.
Upon reaching the destination, Zhou Yi told him, “Seeing how you are, you probably don’t want anyone disturbing you, so I’ll head back first. Call me anytime if anything happens.”
Xu Yizhu nodded.
Still feeling uneasy, Zhou Yi emphasized once more, “Anytime! You hear me?”
Xu Yizhu smiled and replied, “Got it, go on back.”
Looking back every few steps, Zhou Yi gradually disappeared from his sight.
Xu Yizhu turned around, ready to head upstairs.
“Xu Yizhu.”
His moving footsteps paused. He turned around to trace the source of the voice, only to see the culprit of tonight.
Not wanting to deal with him, Xu Yizhu lifted his foot to keep walking.
“Xu Yizhu.”
Ji Xie called out again.
Tsk.
How annoying!
Xu Yizhu’s patience was completely exhausted. He turned around, walked up to him, raised his eyes to meet his gaze, and spoke with a fierce tone:
“Xu Yizhu! Xu Yizhu! Are you annoying or what? What on earth do you want?!”
“Do you have a stalking fetish? Why are you everywhere?!”
“I don’t want to make friends, alright? I just like being alone, alright?”
His voice grew louder, his tone increasingly agitated, while the corners of his eyes grew redder.
Ji Xie stood there, letting him vent.
Xu Yizhu was so angry his face and neck turned red.
Once he calmed down, Ji Xie finally spoke up, “You weren’t in a good state earlier. Sorry, I just came to check on you.”
Xu Yizhu remained silent.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to follow you,” Ji Xie said, looking at him.
Xu Yizhu licked his dry lips and murmured, “I’m fine.”
“Then why…”
“Were you crying on the roadside?”
Ji Xie looked down at him, gently resting his palm on the crown of his head.
Soft, not prickly at all.
Xu Yizhu’s pupils shifted slightly, and his startled expression betrayed his inner thoughts.
In just an instant, his gaze gradually darkened.
Closing his eyes with a sense of self-abandonment, he asked him,
“Ji Xie, what on earth do you want? I don’t have the time or energy to play games with you.”
“I like you.”
His tone was firm and tender.
“I want to pursue you.”
Certain, without a single shred of hesitation.
Xu Yizhu had no idea how he managed to bring him upstairs, nor why he had allowed him inside his door.
Much less why, when Ji Xie leaned down to kiss the corner of his lips, he did not dodge away.
“Why did you kiss me?” he asked.
Ji Xie replied, “Because I like you.”
Xu Yizhu asked no further. He stood on tiptoe, wrapped his arms around Ji Xie’s neck, and actively leaned into that warm softness.
For once, Ji Xie was momentarily stunned before pinning him against the hallway wall, reclaiming the initiative.
In his twenty-seven years of life, Xu Yizhu had never been this intimate with anyone. The skin-to-skin contact left his heart fluttering in panic.
His lips were growing somewhat numb from Ji Xie’s kisses.
Yet the man refused to let him go. One hand tightly gripped Xu Yizhu’s waist, while the other cushioned the back of his head.
Ji Xie’s strength was immense, as if he could crush his waist in the next second.
Dizzy from the kissing, Xu Yizhu reached out to push against his chest, but failed to budge him.
Instead, he was pressed even tighter.
His lower abdomen felt somewhat sore and burning against a hard contour.
“Let go, wu…”
“Ji Xie, en…”
Hearing Xu Yizhu call out to him with a softened voice, Ji Xie finally parted slightly from his lips, his voice hoarse as he asked, “What’s wrong?”
“You’re pressing against me.”
Feeling somewhat embarrassed, Xu Yizhu flushed crimson, his lips still glistening with moisture as he panted slightly with parted lips.
The fire in Ji Xie’s eyes burned brighter. He pulled him tightly into his arms, pressing him close to his chest so he could feel his heart hammering against his ribs.
“Xu Yizhu, I kissed you because I like you.”
“And it is also because it only likes someone named Xu Yizhu.”
“Nothing else matters.”
It was solely about affection, devoid of lust.
Without answering, Xu Yizhu kissed him back.
Ji Xie’s kiss was domineering yet not cruel, slowing down periodically to give him a moment to catch his breath.
Xu Yizhu’s legs grew weak from the kissing, making it hard to stand steady. Lifting him up, Ji Xie placed him on top of the shoe cabinet.
The shirt tucked into his waistband was pulled out, his collar slightly agape to reveal a patch of snowy white neck.
“The mole here is very beautiful.”
Pressing his index finger against the mole growing right over his heart, Ji Xie praised.
Xu Yizhu remarked, “I heard from the older generation that wherever you have a mole on your body, that was your fatal wound in your past life.”
Ji Xie was not superstitious, but he was willing to humor him. “Then leave one on my heart, too.”
Hearing him say that, Xu Yizhu couldn’t help laughing out loud—not a hypocritical social smile, nor a guarded fake grin.
It was a smile like melting snow, full of spring vitality and renewed life.
Gentle, faint, and fleeting.
Picking him up, Ji Xie strode with long strides into the bedroom.
Laying him down on the bed, Ji Xie stripped off his outer jacket, tossed it aside, unbuttoned his collar, and leaned over him.
“Xu Yizhu, who am I?”
With a calm tone, Xu Yizhu answered, “Ji Xie.”
Interlacing his fingers with his, Ji Xie pressed a kiss onto those calm, unruffled eyes.
Arching his body closer to him, Xu Yizhu offered a silent invitation.
After a night of indulgence, it was already broad daylight when they woke up.
By now much more sober, Xu Yizhu withdrew from Ji Xie’s arms, looked at him earnestly, and asked, “Why me?”
“No reason, I just like you.”
“But I don’t want a relationship,” Xu Yizhu said. “Emotions are the most unpredictable thing, completely unreliable.”
“Then we won’t label it a relationship.” Ji Xie gave him the right to choose. “If you want to date, we date. If you don’t, we don’t.”
Xu Yizhu paused and offered his thanks.
Ji Xie said, “Lie down for a bit, I’ll go make breakfast for you.”
“Just order takeout, it’s convenient.”
Xu Yizhu didn’t really want to trouble him.
“You shouldn’t eat outside food right now. I’ll cook, it’ll be quick.”
Getting out of bed, Ji Xie put on his clothes, kissed his lips, and smiled.
Xu Yizhu bit his lip and remained silent.
Scouting around the fridge for some ingredients, Ji Xie also simmered a pot of plain congee.
In less than half an hour, everything was ready.
Returning to the bedroom, he found Xu Yizhu still maintaining the exact posture he had left him in, and teased, “Is Mr. Xu entering deep meditation?”
Moving his numb legs with some difficulty, Xu Yizhu managed to shuffle over to the edge of the bed, passed right by him with complete candor, and headed straight into the bathroom.
Ji Xie remained speechless.
He had the criminal intent, but lacked the criminal courage.
Dispelling distracting thoughts, Ji Xie focused and calmed his mind.
No evil thoughts allowed. It was hard enough coaxing him into being willing to talk to him. He couldn’t be impulsive and ruin all his hard work.
By the time Xu Yizhu emerged from the bathroom, Ji Xie had already dished up the congee and was waiting for him.
“Drink some congee first.”
Placing a spoon into the bowl, Ji Xie not only stirred it to cool it down but also considerately set it right in front of him.
Xu Yizhu thought, Oh.
He felt somewhat underestimated.
“Have some pickled mustard greens with it.”
Xu Yizhu thought, He is being overly attentive.
Ji Xie’s care was so considerate that it made him deeply uncomfortable.
Putting down his spoon, he said, “Ji Xie, we are both adults. There is no need to care about this kind of thing.”
It was consensual, and they owed each other nothing.
Ji Xie, who was about to sit down, froze mid-air, remaining rigid for several seconds before finally settling back into his seat.
Though no expression changed on his face, a trace of disappointment leaked into his tone, “I know.”
“I won’t pester you to take responsibility.”
“I have never done this with anyone else.”
“Don’t feel burdened, I won’t force you.”
Not a single sentence mentioned grievance, yet every single word was filled with grievance.
Massaging his aching brow, Xu Yizhu spoke with some reluctance to voice the words:
“We’re even now. I won’t ask you to take responsibility either.”
Ji Xie protested, “No, no, no, I will take responsibility.”
“I like you, so I will take responsibility.”
Repeating his confession over and over without hesitation, Ji Xie had already whispered it in his ear many times last night.
“Gege, I like you.”
“I like you so much.”
“Xu Yizhu, I like you.”
Xu Yizhu’s heart was shaken, and a crack formed in his sturdy fortress walls.
“Ji Xie,” Xu Yizhu called out to him.
“Hmm?”
“Let’s give it a try.” Xu Yizhu said, appearing calm and collected.
The spoon in Ji Xie’s hand slipped, clattering crisply against the floor.
Incredulous, he asked, “What did you say?”
“I said,” Xu Yizhu met his gaze, pronouncing each word clearly, “Let’s give it a try.”
Fearing he was experiencing auditory hallucinations, Ji Xie pulled him into a tight embrace, pleading excitedly, “Say it again.”
Blushing, Xu Yizhu feigned composure. “Let’s give it a try. I’ll let you pursue me.”
“Okay, I’ll treat you very, very well.”
“I’ll buy you lots and lots of gifts.”
“I’ll accompany you to do whatever you want, forever.”
“I like you so much, Xu Yizhu.”
Rambling incoherently in his confession, he held the person in his arms tightly and refused to let go.
“I’m so happy! Really so happy! Thank you, Xu Yizhu!” Ji Xie completely lost control of his facial expressions, looking as foolishly dazed as a seventeen or eighteen-year-old youth experiencing first love.
Infected by his emotions, Xu Yizhu offered a faint smile.
The next second, the strength in the arms holding him suddenly went slack. Followed by a dull thud, the man behind him collapsed to the floor, eyes closed and unresponsive.
Panicking instantly, Xu Yizhu dropped to his knees to check on him.
“Ji Xie, wake up!”
“Ji Xie! Don’t scare me!”
Slapping his cheeks to rouse him, the man lying on the floor remained motionless.
Shaking his body hard, Xu Yizhu pleaded, “Ji Xie, stop playing around. Wake up, you’re scaring me!”
Carefully extending his index finger beneath his nose to test for breath, he felt not the slightest trace of air.
Xu Yizhu’s face turned ashen. Trembling all over, he leaned down and pressed his ear against his chest.
There was no heartbeat.
It’s over.