Xiao Bai curled up beneath the covers and dialed the phone.
He had rehearsed what he was going to say about going out to dinner with Lin Bi Wei several times in his head. Every sentence and every word had been thought through clearly, just like back when he helped at Brother Xiong’s butcher shop and had to memorize the prices of all the different cuts of meat.
The phone rang five times before it was answered.
Yan Su Ang’s voice was as clear as ever. “Xiao Bai?”
“……Mm.”
Listening to the faint sound of Xiao Bai’s breathing through the phone, Yan Su Ang felt indescribably content. All the exhaustion of the day seemed to have finally received its proper reward, and his weary spirits perked up again.
Still, Xiao Bai was pausing for an awfully long time. Given Xiao Bai’s frugal nature, wasting phone charges like this definitely meant something was up. After thinking for a moment, Yan Su Ang asked, “Did Gao Qin say something again?”
“No.” Xiao Bai reorganized the words in his mind and began reciting them. “I went out to dinner with Lin Bi Wei today, and reporters took pictures of us. Brother Gao Qin already knows. Uh, he said it would be best if I called and told you.”
Yan Su Ang’s eyes, which had nearly closed in contentment while listening to Xiao Bai breathe, snapped open. “Lin Bi Wei?”
Xiao Bai made a sound of agreement.
Yan Su Ang looked at the cake sitting on the passenger seat. “I brought some dessert back from the banquet. Come downstairs in five minutes.”
Dessert? Xiao Bai secretly swallowed. “But Brother Gao Qin said I can’t eat late-night snacks.”
“It isn’t a late-night snack. It’s just a snack.” He had originally planned to give it to Xiao Bai tomorrow, but now it seemed there was no way he could endure the night.
Although the daytime weather was hot, the air was still slightly cool at night.
Yan Su Ang drove into the alley with his headlights on. From far away, he spotted Xiao Bai standing beneath a streetlamp with his shoulders hunched, looking just like a wife waiting for her husband to come home.
The charming image dispelled some of the jealousy that had been weighing on Yan Su Ang’s heart, and a smile returned to his lips.
The car stopped. Yan Su Ang gestured for him to get in.
Xiao Bai obediently climbed into the car.
Yan Su Ang handed him the cake.
Soft, snow-white cream, shards of chocolate scattered over it like wood shavings, and a single bright red strawberry in the center made Xiao Bai’s appetite immediately surge.
“Still, you’d better not tell Gao Qin you ate cake tonight.” Otherwise, Gao Qin would definitely drown him in saliva.
Xiao Bai’s eyes rolled around before he silently nodded.
Beside the cake was a small silver fork. Xiao Bai held it and ate one tiny bite at a time.
Yan Su Ang watched his mouth continuously open and close, and it felt as though a fire had started burning inside him. He could not help swallowing dryly.
Hearing the sound, Xiao Bai looked up and met his burning gaze. He immediately said, “Ah, you should have some too.”
He scooped up a bite and held it to Yan Su Ang’s mouth.
Yan Su Ang stared at him without blinking as he slowly leaned forward. The flavor of cake melted in his mouth, yet only made a certain desire inside him expand further.
Xiao Bai withdrew the fork and was about to continue eating when he noticed a shadow pressing down over him. The instant he raised his head, two warm lips covered his mouth. His body involuntarily leaned backward, and Yan Su Ang seized the opportunity to follow him down.
The cake toppled onto Xiao Bai’s lap, sticky and wet, much like the tongue trying insistently to push its way into his mouth.
Xiao Bai blinked and slowly opened his mouth to say something, giving Yan Su Ang exactly the opening he needed to launch a fierce attack.
Yan Su Ang explored every inch of that soft pink mouth without restraint, almost wishing he could swallow Xiao Bai whole.
The taste of cake spread through their mingled wetness, sweetness washing through their bodies like water.
Xiao Bai shifted uneasily. The sudden heat building inside his body left him at a complete loss.
The mingling of saliva was no longer enough to satisfy the beast that had broken through the restraints inside Yan Su Ang. His body roared hungrily for more. The jealousy brought on by Lin Bi Wei was like a man-eating beast, constantly gnawing at his heart and mind. His old resolve that if Xiao Bai refused, I’ll let go gracefully prostrated itself completely before reality.
The endless sourness rising from the depths of his heart steadily corroded every gentlemanly thought he possessed.
He had no choice but to face the ugliest and most truthful part of himself: even if Xiao Bai rejected him, he could not simply stand by and watch Xiao Bai walk into someone else’s arms. He could no longer turn back from this road. His heart and body had already confirmed it countless times—the person before him should belong to him.
He slowly raised a hand and slipped his fingers little by little beneath Xiao Bai’s shirt.
The smooth, delicate touch made every nerve in his body turn sensitive.
Xiao Bai twisted slightly. His knee brushed the root of Yan Su Ang’s thigh, making Yan Su Ang’s hand tremble involuntarily. A moment later, it quickly rounded Xiao Bai’s back and slowly moved downward…
“You…” Between their surging breaths, a thread of clarity suddenly surfaced in Xiao Bai’s hazy eyes. “Are we going to do the things married couples do now?”
“……”
Looking into Xiao Bai’s innocent, inquisitive eyes, Yan Su Ang suddenly bent down, rested his chin on Xiao Bai’s shoulder, and began laughing muffledly.
Xiao Bai wrapped his arms around Yan Su Ang’s trembling shoulders and innocently asked, “What’s wrong?”
After laughing for a long time, Yan Su Ang raised his head, pressed his lips close to Xiao Bai’s earlobe, and whispered, “Xiao Bai…”
“Mm?”
“Let’s live together.”
If the old Yan Su Ang had been a refined gentleman, then the Yan Su Ang who had survived that passionate scene in the car was now an out-and-out, sexually frustrated pervert.
Before Xiao Bai could even give him a definite answer, Yan Su Ang impatiently dragged him upstairs to pack his luggage, moving with astonishing speed and efficiency.
By the time Xiao Bai figured out what was happening, nearly everything had already been packed.
Xiao Bai did not own much—only a few sets of clothes. While packing, Yan Su Ang deliberately left behind the only piece of clothing worth more than five hundred yuan. His explanation was simple—it was out of season.
Xiao Bai stood blankly to one side, watching him pack as though they were fleeing a disaster. He could not help saying, “Why don’t I… call Zhi Qing first?”
Yan Su Ang’s hand paused slightly. “Isn’t he in the hospital?”
“But he’ll come home eventually.”
“……”
The fact that Jia Zhi Qing would one day be discharged from the hospital made Yan Su Ang extremely, extremely unhappy.
Taking advantage of the dead of night, Jia Zhi Qing finally pulled a Playboy magazine from beneath his pillow that had been smuggled over from the neighboring hospital room. The slender, scantily dressed, alluring beach girls inside were the only ray of light in his long, dark nights.
Ever since he had entered the hospital, it had felt no different from being thrown in jail. The only woman he was allowed to look directly at was Mother Lian. If he dared look at anyone else for even a second too long, Mother Lian immediately subjected him to a loving lecture on the precious virtue of lifelong fidelity.
He opened the first page of the magazine and was just preparing to drool properly when his nose suddenly itched and he unleashed an earth-shattering sneeze.
Rubbing his nose, he muttered, “Who’s bad-mouthing me?”
The instant the words left his mouth, his phone rang.
Someone had finally remembered he existed.
Jia Zhi Qing was deeply comforted.
When other people entered the hospital, friends and relatives showered them with concern. When he entered the hospital, his friends avoided him as though he carried some infectious disease. Gao Qin was especially terrible. He would not even say when Jia was expected to return to work. Every time Jia called, before he could speak, Gao Qin would already say in an exceptionally kind and friendly voice, “You want leave, right? No problem. I’ve already written the leave request for you and personally approved it. Rest well.” Then click—a string of beeps informed Jia that he should abandon all other hopes and simply pray for himself.
The only one with any humanity was Xiao Bai. But after that previous “lifetime confession,” Jia Zhi Qing had begun reflecting on whether he ordinarily radiated too much irresistible charm. After all, Great God was a very powerful man.
He was still letting his thoughts run wild when Xiao Bai’s voice came through the phone.
“I’m going to move in with Yan Su Ang.”
“Cough, cough…” Jia Zhi Qing choked on his own saliva. He had only just been considering how to tactfully reject Xiao Bai’s “deep affection,” and now Xiao Bai was about to elope with someone else. How was he supposed to process that? “Xiao Bai, you…” You need to think this through. Living with him won’t be like living with me, where we innocently sleep in separate beds. You’re going to get thoroughly devoured.
A crisp, short cough came from the other end of the phone, lethally effective.
Jia Zhi Qing’s tongue immediately made a huge turn. Smiling brightly, he said, “Go, go! Take anything you need, anything you’re missing. Don’t stand on ceremony. I have absolutely everything I could ever want here at the hospital and I’m wonderfully comfortable, so don’t worry about me.”
Xiao Bai said, “But…”
Although Jia Zhi Qing was nowhere near him, the instant Xiao Bai said “but,” he still felt a fierce freezing wind whirl around his entire body. “There’s no ‘but.’ Go boldly. Leave everything here to me.”
“Oh.” Xiao Bai sounded as though he was flipping through something. “The landlord is coming for the rent tomorrow. This month is seven hundred yuan, plus seventy-nine for water and electricity. Also, the toilet is leaking, so it would be best to find a plumber…”
After listening, Jia Zhi Qing was silent for a moment. “Um… could you discuss it with Great God and maybe move tomorrow instead?”
Xiao Bai’s landlord was the auntie upstairs.
Remembering how he and Xiao Bai had first become acquainted, Yan Su Ang could not help smiling knowingly.
Xiao Bai looked down at the time on his phone and hesitated. “Wouldn’t it be bad to disturb her this late?”
“It’s fine. I’m sure she isn’t asleep yet.”
Xiao Bai asked in surprise, “How do you know?”
“You’ll know when we knock and see whether she opens the door,” Yan Su Ang said with a smile. “Someone who’s asleep won’t come open it.”
“……”
Xiao Bai said, “But someone who’s asleep can wake up and open it.”
The sleeping person did indeed wake up… and came to the door with bleary, half-open eyes.
The auntie had been dreaming that she had won five million yuan and was trying to decide how many pretty young men she should keep when she found herself staring at Xiao Bai’s face as he earnestly counted bills one by one. She wanted to cry.
With a trembling voice, she asked, “Couldn’t you give this to me tomorrow?” She had met debt collectors and people who refused to repay debts, but never someone who insisted on paying money in the middle of the night.
Xiao Bai paused. “No. I’m going to live with someone tonight.”
“……”
The auntie stood in the doorway holding the money, mouth hanging open as she watched Xiao Bai and Yan Su Ang leave side by side. Then she floated back into bed, stared at the ceiling, and murmured to herself, “I’m still dreaming. I’m still dreaming… mm-hmm. But whoever controls dreams is really annoying. Why did my dream suddenly change channels? I want my five million back. Five million, five million, five million…”
Leave a Reply