Fu Yuchu couldn’t give Shi Zhi an answer, and Shi Zhi didn’t necessarily need him to answer.
As if suddenly realizing his own impulsiveness and transgression, Shi Zhi hurriedly unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car after asking that question. After thanking him once more, he turned and left.
Fu Yuchu did not drive away immediately. He watched Shi Zhi walk into the rain under a large black umbrella, watched the sound-activated lights downstairs flicker on and then off, and watched a room on the 11th floor light up shortly after.
Fu Yuchu exhaled a long, long breath and leaned his head against the steering wheel for a long time. When he finally rose to drive away, he saw an object that didn’t belong to him lying on the passenger seat.
It was a pair of headphones in a cute protective case.
Shi Zhi turned on the light and stood in the entryway for a moment. The apartment was exactly as he had left it.
Xu Yining had not returned home today as he said he would—just like so many times before. Shi Zhi should have long been used to the emptiness of this house, but having just experienced the warmth of the car interior, he now felt a slight sense of discomfort.
He took his umbrella to the balcony to let it dry, then stared blankly at the items he had just placed on the coffee table. There seemed to be more and more things related to Fu Yuchu: the windbreaker hanging in the entryway, the black umbrella on the balcony, the cake on the table, and the bag on the coffee table—which contained several tubes of ointment Fu Yuchu had bought after leaving the restaurant.
Shi Zhi was embarrassed that Fu Yuchu knew about the marks on his body, but he was also moved that Fu Yuchu noticed they hadn’t faded. Even though Fu Yuchu was the one who had made those marks.
Warm water flowed over the curves of his body as Shi Zhi stood under the shower, his heart a total blank. When the water stopped, he stood before the bathroom mirror, looking at the fading marks and involuntarily tracing them with his fingertip.
Different. The feeling is different.
He applied the ointment to the bruised areas: his knees, thighs, waist, chest, and wrists. He intentionally avoided the marks on his neck.
Undoubtedly, Xu Yining would return tomorrow morning. The marks on his neck didn’t need to be hidden; he wanted Xu Yining to find them. Adults need to know where to stop; not speaking the truth out loud was the “decency” they afforded each other.
After his shower, Shi Zhi buried himself in the study. The commercial commission he had taken was in its final stages, and he had to finish the revisions tonight. He had gone out too many times recently—it amounted to the volume of one or two months in the past—and it was delaying his work.
The commission was for a client company of Xu Yining’s. After countless edits and changes, Shi Zhi’s passion for the piece had long been extinguished. A work lacking passion is like a hollow shell without a soul; it looks glamorous on the outside but holds no real value. However, the client liked it.
Shi Zhi was a freelance artist, and his pen name was somewhat well-known in the community. But because he kept a low profile and had a bit of social anxiety, few people associated the gifted artist with Shi Zhi himself.
Xu Yining might have known; Shi Zhi had told him about his work when they first got together. But Xu Yining seemed to have a poor memory and always forgot what Shi Zhi said. He hadn’t taken commercial commissions since his sophomore year, but Xu Yining still “charitably” recommended many clients to him, as if without Xu Yining’s help, Shi Zhi would live in poverty because he couldn’t earn commission fees.
The more he refused, the unhappier they both became. This specific piece was for Xu Yining’s client, and Shi Zhi thought since they were breaking off the engagement, he’d consider it the last time he helped Xu Yining. He just hadn’t expected the revisions to be this painful.
By the time he finished the final few strokes, it was already past 1:00 AM. Shi Zhi emailed the draft—which had been revised countless times according to the client’s demands—and rubbed his stiff neck, absentmindedly scrolling through his phone.
Xu Yining had sent a message at 9:00 PM: Wifey, the flight is delayed. I’ve rebooked for the morning. I’ll be home at noon. I’ll go to the company after having lunch with you.
Shi Zhi gripped his phone and stared blankly for a while. By the time he reacted, he had switched to a flight-tracking app, which clearly showed that all flights from Ning City to An City yesterday had taken off and arrived on time.
Shi Zhi found it laughable. Xu Yining was always like this, telling lies that were so easy to see through, as if he were intentionally waiting for Shi Zhi to discover and expose them. Or perhaps he thought the slow-reacting Shi Zhi couldn’t possibly find out.
Shi Zhi had downloaded this app when he graduated from university last year. At that time, Xu Yining had just taken over the family business and was extremely busy traveling for work. He would often return home for a single glance at Shi Zhi before rushing off again, sometimes not even having time for a meal.
Shi Zhi habitually stayed up late, his days and nights inverted. Sometimes when Xu Yining came home, Shi Zhi was just catching up on sleep. Xu Yining could never bear to wake him, silently watching him before heading back to his busy life. To see Xu Yining when he returned during the day, Shi Zhi followed Fu Yumeng’s recommendation and downloaded the app. Knowing Xu Yining’s flight times allowed him to set an alarm to wait for him.
The software downloaded for Xu Yining had now become a weapon to expose his lies. Shi Zhi long-pressed the icon and clicked “Delete.”
He didn’t reply to Xu Yining’s WeChat and continued scrolling through other messages, finally stopping at a new profile picture he had added that afternoon. It was a green ginkgo leaf tucked into yellowed stationery.
There was a message from half an hour ago in the chat box—
CH: 【[Image]】
No text, just a picture. Shi Zhi recognized it as his own headphones. He moved his fingers to reply: They’re mine.
The words “The other party is typing…” immediately appeared at the top of the chat box. Shi Zhi waited patiently.
CH: On the seat. CH: I picked them up.
Shi Zhi thought for a moment, went to the entryway to take down the windbreaker he had worn back that day, put it in a bag, took a photo, and sent it—
Shi: [Image] Shi: Your clothes. I’ll take them to the dry cleaners tomorrow and return them then.
CH: How should I return the headphones?
Shi Zhi frowned and thought about it, then replied: No need. He had used those headphones for a long time; it was a good excuse to get new ones.
Fu Yuchu’s reply came quickly—
CH: The clothes aren’t needed either. CH: Didn’t you already pay for them?
Shi Zhi: ……
Just as Shi Zhi was thinking of how to respond, Fu Yuchu sent another message—
CH: The headphone case is very cute.
Shi Zhi smiled slightly: I painted it myself.
CH: Impressive.
What even.
Shi Zhi shuffled in his slippers to the sofa and sat down, slowly typing: Thank you for the compliment?
CH: You’re welcome? CH: Still not asleep this late?
Shi Zhi bit his lip and replied: You’re not asleep either.
CH: I’m waiting for a solution for the headphones.
Shi: Now that you have one, you can go to sleep.
Fu Yuchu didn’t go to sleep. He asked another question: Did you eat the cake I brought back?
Shoot, I forgot.
Shi Zhi glanced at the cake he had tossed on the dining table and forgotten to put in the fridge. Just as he was about to go take a bite, his phone vibrated again—
CH: Eating sweets this late is bad for your stomach.
Shi: …
He’d eat it tomorrow!
CH: Cake left overnight doesn’t taste good.
Shi: …… Shi: How do you know?
CH: Mm. CH: I just know.
Shi: Sleeping.
Fu Yuchu didn’t reply again.
Xu Yining returned the next day at noon.
When he got home, Shi Zhi was sitting cross-legged on the balcony painting. After several days of continuous rain, the weather had finally cleared. The sun shone on Shi Zhi, making him look warm and inviting.
Standing in the entryway, Xu Yining felt as though his fatigue from the past few days had been swept away. He spoke while changing his shoes: “Wifey, I’m back.”
Shi Zhi looked up at him but didn’t speak.
Xu Yining put down his briefcase, took off his suit jacket and tossed it casually on the sofa, then walked to Shi Zhi and leaned down to kiss him. “Did you miss me?”
Shi Zhi pulled back in resistance. The kiss landed on thin air, but Xu Yining wasn’t angry; he seemed used to it. He affectionately ruffled Shi Zhi’s hair and said with a smile, “Alright, alright, I know you have a germaphobia. I’ll go shower first.”
The sound of water soon came from the guest bathroom. Shi Zhi frowned and thought for a long time, not quite understanding Xu Yining’s behavior. They had already broken up; such intimate gestures were inappropriate. He assumed it was just a hard habit to break and Xu Yining had forgotten for a moment.
He’d remind him later. Shi Zhi lowered his head and focused on his painting.
“Wifey, did you skip breakfast again?” Xu Yining emerged from the shower in loungewear. While rummaging through the fridge, he said, “I told you, you can’t do this. You have to eat breakfast, then go back to sleep. You… huh? Why is there half a cake in here? Did Yumeng’s shop release a new product again?”
“No.”
Xu Yining acted as if he didn’t hear, immersed in his own lecture: “It’s not that I’m interfering with your social life, but Fu Yumeng is too loud and reckless. You should try to associate with her less, lest she lead you astray.”
Shi Zhi had defended his only best friend countless times: “Yumeng isn’t like that. She never leads me astray. You shouldn’t say that about her.”
Xu Yining was like a machine used to rambling, always immersed in his own world. As a leader in his company, he was used to giving orders; once an instruction was issued, he wouldn’t listen to an employee’s specific thoughts—he would only check the results at the final deadline.
Clearly, Shi Zhi was not an obedient employee; he had never completed a “task” well. Fortunately, this mode of interaction had long become their habit: Shi Zhi was indifferent to Xu Yining’s orders, and Xu Yining was deaf to Shi Zhi’s resistance.
“Is shredded chicken noodles okay for lunch?” A questioning tone, but he gave Shi Zhi no chance to choose. Xu Yining took the ingredients to the kitchen and naturally switched topics, playing his part as the devoted boyfriend: “I’ll go to the company after eating with you. There’s a high-level meeting this afternoon I must attend. I’ll be back quite late tonight, so don’t wait up for me.”
The one who only eats has no right to be picky. Shi Zhi picked the chicken out and put it in Xu Yining’s bowl before lowering his head to eat.
Xu Yining pinched Shi Zhi’s cheek and said with a smile, “My wifey is so good to me, giving me everything he likes.”
The number of mistakes was too many; Shi Zhi couldn’t be bothered to correct him.
While eating, Xu Yining told Shi Zhi about his month away, about company business Shi Zhi didn’t understand, about different factions in the company, about several difficult-to-manage veteran employees, and about how clumsy the new interns were.
When he mentioned that the company was currently negotiating an investment—and if it came through, the company would move up to a new level—Shi Zhi put down his chopsticks and softly called out:
“Brother Ning.”
“Mm, what is it?”
“When will you have time? Let’s go handle the property transfer for the small building.”