Kneeling in front of the wardrobe, Mai Ding rummaged for clothes. “What do you think I should wear?” Nobody answered his boring question. Eventually he found an outfit and inspected himself from every angle in the mirror. He was meeting an important client with An Zi Yan later, and since he worked in Public Relations, he had to pay attention to his appearance. “What are you planning to wear?” Once again, no reply. He turned to look at An Zi Yan, who was sitting at the computer. “Didn’t you hear me?”
“No.”
“You can hear me now, though?”
“Mm.”
“Then tell me what I should wear, and what you’re wearing.” Patiently, Mai Ding repeated his question. Silence again.
“Didn’t you hear me?”
“No.”
“You think it’s fun messing with me?!”
“It’s pretty entertaining.” Mai Ding threw his clothes at An Zi Yan, who easily caught them with one raised hand. When he saw they were Mai Ding’s, he deliberately pretended to lose his grip and dropped them on the floor. Mai Ding hurried over to retrieve them and brushed them off. “I honestly don’t know how much longer I can live like this. If you keep throwing things around, I’m going to, I’m going to…”
“You want it right now? Fine. Take your clothes off.”
“Stop listening only to the parts you want to hear! Listen to the whole sentence!” An Zi Yan made a disgusted face. “Listening to you finish talking is a terrible waste of time.” Mai Ding rushed back to the wardrobe, grabbed some of An Zi Yan’s clothes, and flung them at him. An Zi Yan caught these just as easily, stood up, and began removing his jacket to change. Sometimes it was impossible to understand how Mai Ding chose to express his temper. Couldn’t he just smack An Zi Yan instead? For some reason, he always insisted on throwing clothes at him.
“I just grabbed these at random. Are you sure you want to wear them?”
“Doesn’t matter what I wear.” Without a second glance at the clothes, An Zi Yan put them on. Mai Ding wanted to say he didn’t care what he wore, either. He wanted to be the sort of man who looked devastatingly handsome in anything. Unfortunately, he wasn’t. Like an ordinary commoner, he watched enviously as An Zi Yan fastened his buttons. The navy-blue suit set off his skin, his face, every last detail about him. After putting on the jacket, An Zi Yan went straight back to the computer. Mai Ding looked down at the suit he’d spent so long choosing. It suddenly seemed no better than a miserable scrap of cloth. He threw it onto the bed. “I honestly don’t know how much longer I can live like this. If you get any better-looking, I’m going to, I’m going to ruin your face.” His sense of injustice was overwhelming. He hurried behind An Zi Yan again and wrapped his arms around his shoulders, sounding half coaxing, half pleading. “Could you please stop being so handsome? Leave a little for me, will you?”
“I don’t want to hear anything illogical or idiotic.”
“Then why did you marry someone who likes saying illogical, idiotic things?”
“Probably because I’ve been possessed by something, just like you.” Mai Ding wrinkled his nose and stole a glance at An Zi Yan, burying half his face in An Zi Yan’s shoulder. “Let me tell you something clearly: even if you get more handsome, I’m not going to love you any more than I already do. You’d better show some restraint.”
“It’s impossible to have a conversation with you.”
“You can manage.”
An Zi Yan lifted a hand behind him and pinched Mai Ding’s cheek. Even with his face squeezed out of shape, Mai Ding insisted, “Violence doesn’t work on me.” A faint smile tugged at An Zi Yan’s lips. “As it happens, I know what does.” He released Mai Ding’s cheek and moved his hand to Mai Ding’s mouth, slowly brushing his thumb over his lips. Then he brought his hand to his own lips, extended his tongue slightly, and lightly licked the finger that had just brushed Mai Ding’s mouth. The look in his eyes and the gesture itself stirred dangerous desires inside Mai Ding. Mai Ding quickly let go of him and began changing clothes. An Zi Yan turned his chair, studying this rare display of initiative. But Mai Ding wasn’t making an advance at all. After taking off his trousers, he picked up another pair from the bed and put them on. Catching An Zi Yan watching him, he dressed even faster. “I know what you’re thinking. We’re about to meet a client, so you’d better put that idea out of your head. Absolutely not!” Mai Ding distinctly saw disappointment flash through An Zi Yan’s eyes. An Zi Yan turned his chair back around and made a petulant sound like a child. “Tch…”
After getting dressed, Mai Ding inspected himself in the mirror, then asked An Zi Yan, “Do I look good?” Without turning around or even glancing at him, An Zi Yan answered, “No.”
“Are you sulking like a little kid just because I turned down your filthy idea?”
“Maybe I am. So what? You look awful.”
“Fine, fine! I don’t want your opinion anyway!”
“Hideous.”
“That’s enough!”
“Makes me want to puke.”
“AN ZI YAN! YOU HAVE NO CLASS, YOU IMMATURE BRAT!”