On an ordinary workday, Shao Wu set his alarm for seven thirty, got up, washed, and got ready. He left at seven fifty. There were plenty of breakfast shops outside his housing compound, so he could grab a bowl of Chongqing noodles, or perhaps some fried dough sticks and steamed buns, and arrive at the light-rail station around eight twenty. It all worked out perfectly.
But tomorrow would be different. He wanted to buy breakfast for Yang Shuyi and bring it home. So before falling asleep that night, Shao Wu set his alarm twenty minutes earlier than usual.
They spread a mattress pad and a quilt on the clean floor, first warming them with an electric blanket until they were fluffy and soft. Though each had his own light quilt, their bodies lay close together. Before sleep, Shao Wu whispered, “Good night.”
Yang Shuyi smiled and bent down to kiss his cheek.
The next morning, Shao Wu did hear a phone ringing.
But it wasn’t his.
It rang only a few times before falling silent. Half asleep, Shao Wu murmured, “Shuyi?”
“Mm, it’s not time yet.” Yang Shuyi gently, very gently stroked his hair. “Go back to sleep. I’ll wake you later.”
Shao Wu desperately wanted to open his eyes, but he was too sleepy. His muddled thoughts went: My own alarm hasn’t sounded, so it can’t be time yet. A little more sleep…
Twenty minutes later a delicious smell woke him. Fried eggs. He could hear the sizzle too, and almost picture the golden eggs tumbling in the oil, with a scattering of bright-green chopped scallions… Shao Wu’s eyes flew open. Nobody lay beside him, and even his own phone was missing from the pillow.
“Shuyi?”
He hurried to his feet and strode into the kitchen.
Yang Shuyi stood with his back to him, spatula in hand, wearing the apartment’s blue apron. “Mm? What’s wrong?”
“You… where’s my phone?”
“Up there.” Yang Shuyi indicated the upper cabinet with his chin. He’d put Shao Wu’s phone inside. “I didn’t want the alarm waking you, so I took it away.”
Shao Wu retrieved his phone. It was already seven forty-five.
“The eggs are nearly ready. Serve some of the rice porridge from the pot,” Yang Shuyi said.
Shao Wu took two bowls and lifted the lid of the rice cooker. A thick, fragrant cloud of steaming rice met his face. Yang Shuyi had made a whole pot of plain rice porridge, glossy white and thick enough to look wonderfully appetizing. Shao Wu served it and went to wash up. When he came back, the eggs were done. Half the plate was piled with golden scrambled eggs; the other half held thin strips of white radish, the pickled radish they’d bought at the supermarket yesterday, pleasantly sour, spicy, and crisp.
Yang Shuyi was still in his pajamas. His sleeves were rolled past his elbows, exposing long, strong forearms. Shao Wu looked at the food, then at those forearms, and for a moment couldn’t decide which he craved more.
“Why did you get up without telling me?” he asked guiltily. “I wanted to go out and buy you breakfast.”
Yang Shuyi smiled. “I’m not going to work. How could I make you get up early? From now on, set your alarm for seven forty-five and sleep a bit longer.”
Shao Wu picked up some egg and two strips of pickled radish, then chased them with a mouthful of porridge. The egg was rich with oil, the radish crisp and refreshing, and the porridge wonderfully soft. Somehow an ordinary breakfast felt like an imperial banquet.
Besides, Yang Shuyi was sitting opposite him, holding a bowl exactly like his and eating with chopsticks exactly like his. Their eyes met, and Yang Shuyi smiled at him.
No wonder so many straight men love the idea of a devoted wife… Shao Wu thought.
After breakfast, Shao Wu wanted to wash the dishes, but Yang Shuyi told him to leave them for later. There really wasn’t enough time. Shao Wu shouldered his bag, changed shoes, and was just about to leave when Yang Shuyi caught his backpack. “Xiao Shao.” His so-called housewife was smiling brightly, obviously in an excellent mood. “Message me when you have time, okay?”
“Mm, okay.” Shao Wu nodded, still unable to take his eyes off Yang Shuyi’s arm.
“What’s wrong?”
“I… could I maybe…”
“You can.”
“…” Shao Wu gathered his courage and grabbed Yang Shuyi’s wrist.
Then he lowered his head and gently bit Yang Shuyi’s arm. The firm muscle made it slightly tough, and his skin carried the faint scent of body wash, the lemon-scented kind from Shao Wu’s own bathroom. Staring at the round imprint of his teeth, Shao Wu turned scarlet.
Yang Shuyi laughed. “Shouldn’t I be the one blushing first?”
I’ve had my eye on that arm since high school… Shao Wu thought.
After lingering far too long, he finally made it out. Then, on the light rail, he saw Yang Shuyi’s new Moments post.
No photo, just a single sentence:
My left hand seems to have been sealed.
Longlong: This early in the morning…
Ding Li: What does that mean? I don’t get it.
Shao Wu: Tomorrow I’ll seal the right hand.
He’d bitten Yang Shuyi’s left arm just now.
Yang Shuyi soon replied: Tonight would work too.
Shao Wu’s face grew hot again. They’d only been living together for two days! What was wrong with this man? At this rate, before a month was out Yang Shuyi would tease him into… well, the kind of exhaustion that would finish him off.
He worked frantically all morning, revising application documents until his head spun. Near lunchtime he sent Yang Shuyi a WeChat message: Have you eaten?
Yang Shuyi replied immediately: Not yet. You?
Shao Wu: Me neither. Going with a coworker in a bit.
Yang Shuyi: A female coworker?
Shao Wu teased him: A male coworker. He’s really nice. We often team up to play games.
The screen showed “Typing…” But half a minute passed, and no message arrived. Shao Wu suppressed a laugh. Had Yang Shuyi just realized a male coworker could be more dangerous than a female one?
Sure enough, Yang Shuyi cautiously asked: You team up often? Honor of Kings?
Shao Wu: Yeah. He’s ranked King. Really good.
Yang Shuyi: I could play with you too.
Shao Wu replied with mock seriousness: Better not. You still have to prepare for your competition. No need to waste time keeping me company~
Yang Shuyi: Spending time with you isn’t a waste.
Shao Wu: Really, you don’t have to ^_^
Yang Shuyi: …
Smiling, Shao Wu put away his phone and walked over to his “male coworker’s” desk. “Come on, let’s go eat.”
“Eat? Oh, I have to lose weight!” the man complained in a soft, coquettish voice. “I weighed myself yesterday and gained three jin, about a kilo and a half! I’ve even got a belly now!”
Shao Wu: “Oh. Well, I’ll go on my own, then.”
“Go ahead, then… Wait.” He propped his cheek on one hand and sighed. “Bring me a cup of Yi Dian Dian, would you? Thirty-percent sugar.”
Shao Wu: “OK.”
That male coworker really did often team up with him to play. Unfortunately, they had the same sexual orientation and the same preferred position. They also had the same inability to play the jungle role.
When they teamed up, it was just two hopeless players pecking away at each other.
After lunch, Shao Wu returned to the office and sprawled lazily in his chair. Some coworkers were out shopping, some had their heads down for a nap, and others, like him, were on their phones.
He sent Yang Shuyi another WeChat message: Finished eating! How about you?
There was no reply for quite some time. It was twelve forty-seven. Maybe Yang Shuyi was busy, or taking a nap. Shao Wu decided not to bother him further.
Bored and full but not sleepy, Shao Wu put in his earphones and opened Honor of Kings. He wanted to practice Sun Shangxiang. She was a marksman with fairly simple abilities, but she could also be used to jungle. Since Shao Wu was only Platinum rank, he often got matched with all sorts of bizarre teammates. If he couldn’t jungle and carry the whole game, he was always at their mercy.
As for other jungling heroes, Shao Wu had given up hoping to learn them. He couldn’t explain why, but in his experience heroes like Li Bai and Han Xin could only be played properly by straight guys.
He didn’t actually intend to ask Yang Shuyi to play with him. First, it would waste Yang Shuyi’s time. Second, he didn’t want Yang Shuyi to indulge his every whim. If Yang Shuyi played some other game, though, he’d happily learn it to keep Yang Shuyi company…
Shao Wu queued for solo ranked play under his user ID “Fox Beauty” and was immediately approached by the jungler on his team: “Is mid a girl?”
He ignored him. The fellow kept going. “Want to duo after this? My Li Bai’s sick!”
Shao Wu ignored him and focused on clearing minions.
“Hey, little lady, why that name? You super pretty in real life?”
“Duo with me after. Big bro will carry you~”
“Shy, little lady?”
Shao Wu finally muted him.
Fox Beauty was a character from Fantasy Westward Journey, Shao Wu thought. Not many people would know that anymore. Then again, who even remembered Fantasy Westward Journey these days?
Maybe the jungler was angry at being ignored. At the sixteen-minute mark, he suddenly went AFK and stayed there until the game ended. With four against five, they naturally lost horribly.
“Come on, come on,” his coworker sent him a message. “Let’s queue together!”
Shao Wu replied gloomily, “You go ahead.”
His enthusiasm had vanished. More than anything, he was annoyed at himself for not knowing how to jungle and being forced to follow everyone else’s lead.
Before logging off, he casually opened his friends list to see what rank his coworker had reached. He played Honor of Kings in the WeChat server using his WeChat login, so the in-game friends list was automatically linked to his WeChat contacts.
He blinked. Surely he was seeing things, or it was some system glitch. He opened the person’s profile and checked several times. It was real.
The profile picture showed a blue-gray river with a stony bank. There was no mistaking it: Yang Shuyi’s avatar. This was a newly created account, only level two.
The crucial thing, though, was the user ID.
His user ID was Xiaoyaosheng.