The spring sunlight was bright and warm, and during the evening, Chi Xiaoduo, Wang Ren, and the intern under Wang Ren’s guidance had a meeting to organize the spots that they had picked out today, and to come up with a summary.
As Chi Xiaoduo nodded off, he listened to Wang Ren going on and on, and wondered why Xiang Cheng still hadn’t come to pick him up. Suddenly, outside the window, he saw Xiang Cheng sitting on the branches of the white fig tree, craning his neck to peek in.
Chi Xiaoduo: “...”
This was the third floor, and Chi Xiaoduo hurriedly gestured at him, indicating for him to get down quickly. Xiang Cheng made an “understood” gesture, and he hugged the tree trunk and slid down. As Wang Ren was speaking, a “fuck” suddenly burst forth from him when he saw Xiang Cheng’s agile, strong silhouette.
“Chi Xiaoduo!” Wang Ren chased after him.
Their meeting was over, but just as Chi Xiaoduo was about to make his escape, he was nabbed by Wang Ren.
“I’ve already set up the date for you,” Wang Ren said. “No matter what, you have to go have this meal today! It was very difficult for Xingjie to request time off, and he’s been waiting for you this entire time!”
The corners of Chi Xiaoduo’s mouth twitched. Xiang Cheng was waiting outside the yard on the bicycle, watching the two of them. Wang Ren had them bring the car out and said, “Xiang Cheng, you go back first, me and the little mola still have some stuff to do.”
Xiang Cheng nodded, but Chi Xiaoduo protested, “I won’t --!”
“Where to?” Xiang Cheng ducked his head to ask. He then said to Wang Ren, “I’ll send him there. Boss Wang, you can go home, it’ll be alright.”
Wang Ren hesitated for a moment, before telling him an address. Xiang Cheng then said, “Let’s go ba.”
AAAAAHHHH - Chi Xiaoduo’s entire face was gloomy. Was he going to go with Xiang Cheng to an arranged date? Xiang Cheng took his bag and slung it behind him, and after Chi Xiaoduo clambered onto the front handlebars, the bicycle left.
“I’m not very familiar with the way, which way is it?” Xiang Cheng asked. “Are you tired after work?”
Chi Xiaoduo was very embarrassed. The sky hadn’t grown dark yet, and the sunset painted the Pearl River a golden-red. Xiang Cheng pedaled the bicycle, with Chi Xiaoduo riding on it. They followed the bicycle path along Binjiang Road, passing through the shadows of the trees.
“Let me check the GPS.” Chi Xiaoduo pulled out his phone, only to see that Wang Ren had sent him a text. [Mola, don’t be stupid, think about it clearly. Xiang Cheng doesn’t even have a job, and it was only after he had a falling out with the association the day before yesterday that I learned he came from the countryside last month to find a job in the city, and he’s straight. These people know their own situations very well in their hearts, and they try every method they can to find a place to stay in large cities. Summing it up, he probably noticed that you like him, and he’s going to use you for a bit. As soon as he finds a job, he’ll dump you. You think that the two of you can actually have some common language?]
Chi Xiaoduo: [Stop talking, you don’t understand him at all!]
Chi Xiaoduo speedily input a line of text, but after thinking about it, he deleted it again. He knew that Wang Ren was also doing this for his own good, and there was no point in arguing with him; as long as he himself was clear on what he was doing, that would be alright.
The key thing was that Chi Xiaoduo hadn’t thought it through clearly. It was because no matter how he thought about it, in the end, Xiang Cheng was a straight man, and bending a straight man was not a good thing to do. Also, if on the off chance he couldn’t bend him, that would be a tragedy for him as well. Now that he thought about it, it’d be better if he found a boyfriend sooner rather than later, so he could also have someone to lean on.
For a mola fish who had to think such a tiny matter over again and again, Chi Xiaoduo had no way to accept this point. The person he liked was Xiang Cheng, and although Yang Xingjie also felt pretty nice, on an ethics level, that wouldn’t be very fair to Yang Xingjie, right?!
Plus, bringing Xiang Cheng along to an arranged date meant that he would definitely find out that Chi Xiaoduo was gay.
Xiang Cheng was still wearing that ragged laborer’s outfit, and he lowered his head to take a look at Chi Xiaoduo playing on his cellphone. Chi Xiaoduo was a little hesitant, not knowing if he had seen the text.
“Where did you go today?” Chi Xiaoduo asked, his conscience guilty as he tried to find something to talk about.
“The Yuexiu District, the Shangxiajiu Plaza,” Xiang Cheng said. “I found that the shoes and clothes being sold along Zhuangyuan Ward were really cheap.”
“The quality there is just average,” Chi Xiaoduo replied. “Students like to go there, the quality’s about the same as the Taobao retail stores.”
“How about you?” Xiang Cheng asked in response.
“I stared at diagrams for a whole day,” Chi Xiaoduo said. “How come you were climbing the tree?”
“The guard at the door didn’t let me in,” Xiang Cheng replied. “He thought that I had come from the construction site.”
Chi Xiaoduo suddenly remembered that bird, and he said, “Right, your bird…”
Xiang Cheng steered the bike along with one hand as he took off the ragged camping hat he wore with the other. With a xiu, the bird flew out. Chi Xiaoduo hadn’t been able to find it for the entire afternoon, because it had been making a nest in Xiang Cheng’s hat!
“My parents left it to me,” Xiang Cheng said.
The silver bird flew in a circle around the bicycle, before landing on Chi Xiaoduo’s shoulder. Chi Xiaoduo reached out a hand to grab it, but it flew away.
“What is it called?” Chi Xiaoduo asked.
“Si Gui,” Xiang Chen responded.
What a strange name, Chi Xiaoduo thought, before asking curiously, “Why is it named that?”
“Without seeing the heavens and the earth, I will not think about returning home.”
Xiang Cheng and Chi Xiaoduo were bathed in the warm and gentle rays of the sunset, traveling along the curve of Haizhu Avenue, before they merged into the bustle of the humans and cars in the city leaving work.
“My dad often ran around outside to get work,” Xiang Cheng said. “When I was small, I was left behind at home a lot. Mama often waited for him at home, while Si Gui went with my dad, meaning, after seeing the sights of the vast land, he would come home a little sooner… Xiaoduo, is it here?”
The bicycle stopped in front of the Guangdong Hotel. Xiang Cheng lifted his head to look, saying, “You go eat ba, I’ll wait for you outside.”
“Let’s go together ba,” Chi Xiaoduo replied. “Actually, this isn’t some important person or anything, just a private matter.”
Xiang Cheng protested. “My clothes aren’t tidy, and if I go in, I’ll just attract cold stares.”
Chi Xiaoduo knew that Xiang Cheng wasn’t willing to go in because of his clothing, and he replied, “No worries, if the waiter rolls their eyes at you, you just need to curse them out. This kind of long-established restaurant for the common people won’t treat their customers like that.”
Xiang Cheng began to smile, and he parked the bike, heading inside with Chi Xiaoduo. There were not as many disdainful stares as he had expected, but Xiang Cheng was still not very self-assured. After entering, Chi Xiaoduo wanted to give Yang Xingjie a call, but Xiang Cheng was not willing to share a table with them, so he insisted on sitting to one side to wait until they were done chatting.
Chi Xiaoduo didn’t persist in trying to persuade him either. After Xiang Cheng sat down at a table in the corner, the waiter came over to take his order. Xiang Cheng couldn’t understand Cantonese, so he asked, “What? Can you speak Mandarin?”
“What tea would you like, Pu’er, chrysanthemum, or Tieguanyin,” the waiter intoned.
Xiang Cheng asked, “Does it cost money? Can I ask for just water?”
With a shua, Chi Xiaoduo appeared again, saying, “Give him a pot of Pu’er.”
Xiang Cheng: “...”
With another shua, Chi Xiaoduo drifted away, waving to Yang Xingjie in the distance who had his head lowered, looking at his phone.
Yang Xingjie had him order the dishes, just like the last time they had met. They exchanged a few idle sentences about how their work was hard, how as a public servant his pay was pocketed so much that he could only beg for food, how the architectural firm was making so much money, hahaha hehehe, and other similar standard topics. After Chi Xiaoduo finished listing off the dishes he wanted, he said, “Let me pay for it today ba. Here, pretty girl, I want to order --”
Yang Xingjie asked, “What have you been busy with recently?”
“Work.”
“How about your parents?”
“They’re both overseas,” Chi Xiaoduo responded. “After they divorced, they’re each living on their own.”
“You live alone?”
Chi Xiaoduo: “I rent a place with a friend.”
“What school did you graduate from?”
Chi Xiaoduo thought, are you investigating my hukou? Yang Xingjie sensed that, and he explained, abashed, “I’ve investigated too many hukou, sorry.”
Chi Xiaoduo felt this was pretty funny. Yang Xingjie continued, “What I asked you about last time, have you come to a decision?”
Chi Xiaoduo hadn’t expected that Yang Xingjie would go with cutting right to the quick, and immediately his entire face reddened as he grew nervous. Who asked just like that? If he had finished thinking it over, then would they begin dating today? Chi Xiaoduo replied awkwardly, “This…”
Chi Xiaoduo’s heart was very conflicted. If he could date Xiang Cheng, then he would immediately go right for him, but Xiang Cheng was straight, and Wang Ren’s prattling had cast a shadow over his heart. Yang Xingjie could also be considered, but wasn’t acting like this very unfair to him?
“No worries,” Yang Xingjie said understandingly. “We can talk about it next time we come out.”
And saying this, Yang Xingjie poured some tea for Chi Xiaoduo, asking, “Where are you from?”
“Zhuhai,” Chi Xiaoduo responded. “I’m from Wanzai, how about you?”
“I’m also from Zhuhai,” Yang Xingjie began to smile as he continued. “I live in Hengqin.”
“Oh!” Chi Xiaoduo exclaimed. “I used to go there a lot as a kid! Hengqin is very beautiful! Its scenery is just like a painting.”
“En,” Yang Xingjie replied. “But there are really too few people from Zhuhai. Do you remember that karst cave formed by wave erosion near the ocean?”
“I remember, I remember,” Chi Xiaoduo said. “I even went to the karst cave as a kid to explore! I went there on my own, and it was so scary, and later, the tide rose, so I couldn’t get back, hahaha --”
Yang Xingjie remarked, “I heard that before they developed it, there was some yaoguai hiding in the karst caves, I seem to have heard this legend before?”
Chi Xiaoduo thought for a bit, but he really couldn’t remember the events of his childhood.
That year, he had only been seven years old, the age of inflicting annoyance upon others. He had gone out with his little friends and run into the sea karst caves, which were indeed very dangerous. After the tide began to rise, the seawater slowly seeped in, and Chi Xiaoduo could only head deeper into the cave to avoid it. It was also winter, and the sea wind was bone-chillingly cold.
“Later, how did you get out?” Yang Xingjie filled Chi Xiaoduo’s cup with tea.
“I forgot,” Chi Xiaoduo said doubtfully. “I seem to have gotten out in the middle of the night. That’s right, wasn’t the karst cave being flooded by the tide? How did I get out after that?”
Yang Xingjie said, “That entire stretch is gone, it got turned into the Chimelong Ocean Kingdom.”
“That’s right, what a pity,” Chi Xiaoduo replied, smiling. “In a blink of an eye, ten plus years have passed.”
The two of them began to chat about the happenings in Zhuhai. When Chi Xiaoduo was small, Zhuhai had yet to be built, but now, in the blink of an eye, the city had changed rapidly. Many of his childhood memories had already vanished, but those things, Yang Xingjie still remembered, as if they had the same childhood. When they referred to those happy memories, Chi Xiaoduo couldn’t resist gesturing animatedly, and what was truly miraculous was that no matter what he mentioned having played with in his childhood, Yang Xingjie could always find some way to follow up.
Yang Xingjie reached a hand out and stroked Chi Xiaoduo’s head, smiling a little.
“Have you run into any strange things recently?” Yang Xingjie asked.
“What?” Chi Xiaoduo’s expression was one of confusion. After thinking about it for a bit, he replied, “I haven’t, why do you keep asking me this?”
“I haven’t asked this before,” Yang Xingjie replied. At the same time, in a falsely insouciant manner, he glanced towards the corner, where he saw Xiang Cheng sitting there, drinking tea and reading a newspaper.
“Oh, it wasn’t you who asked that…” Chi Xiaoduo said, before thinking for a bit. “But why do I keep feeling like I’ve been asked this somewhere before? Why are you suddenly asking this?”
Yang Xingjie got a call, which seemed to be calling him back for his shift. Yang Xingjie hung up and said wittily, “I’m a policeman, and my duty is to care about the lives of the city’s residents. Is there anything wrong with that?”
Chi Xiaoduo began to smile. Yang Xingjie said, “I won’t tease you anymore. If anything comes up, call my number.”
“I know,” Chi Xiaoduo said.
Yang Xingjie: “If you run into any issues with peacekeeping, such as arguing with your next door neighbors or being bullied, you can always call me.”
Chi Xiaoduo began to chuckle, and he felt very warmed by this. Yang Xingjie snapped once, calling someone over to pay the bill. Chi Xiaoduo felt that the intimacy between the two of them had grown once again, and in such a transient way, Yang Xingjie began to have a place in his heart because of these common topics they shared.
“The gentleman at table 15 has already paid for the bill,” the waiter said.
A minute change came over Yang Xingjie’s expression. Chi Xiaoduo’s heart thumped, and when he lifted his head to look, he saw, in the inconspicuous corner, Xiang Cheng fold the newspaper, rise, and come over.
“This is my fr - my gege,” Chi Xiaoduo introduced.
“How come you didn’t come to eat with us?” Yang Xingjie recovered his composure and smiled.
Xiang Cheng replied easily, “I was afraid of disturbing you two. Hello.”
Xiang Cheng made a movement, and that movement actually caused Yang Xingjie to move back a little in retreat. Chi Xiaoduo felt that Yang Xingjie was a little afraid of Xiang Cheng, so he hurriedly said, “This is Xiang Cheng, he’s a very good person, we live together.”
Xiang Cheng looked into Yang Xingjie’s eyes, and Yang Xingjie had no choice but to shake hands with him. Their left hands clasped together, but this greeting seemed to become very strange when enacted by them. The two of them stood there, shaking hands for a whole ten plus seconds, neither side moving.
“We’re leaving,” Xiang Cheng said, letting go. Yang Xingjie hurriedly said, “I’ll give you two a ride.”
“We rode a bike,” Xiang Cheng responded.
Yang Xingjie came out with them. Xiang Cheng patted the front handlebar of the bike, and after Chi Xiaoduo and Yang Xingjie waved goodbye at each other, in the spring-breeze-filled night, he was taken home by Xiang Cheng.
“Who is he?” Xiang Cheng suddenly asked.
“A public servant, he owns a house,” Chi Xiaoduo replied. “A friend that Wang Ren introduced to me.”
“You two are from the same hometown?” Xiang Cheng continued.
“Oh? How did you know?” Chi Xiaoduo asked.
Xiang Cheng replied, “I saw him stroke your forehead.”
Chi Xiaoduo said, “Does stroking my forehead prove that he’s from the same hometown?”
Xiang Cheng then asked, “Did you two know each other when you were young?”
“We didn’t,” Chi Xiaoduo replied.
With that, Xiang Cheng didn’t say anymore. Chi Xiaoduo continued, “Are you full?” He saw that Xiang Cheng had only eaten a plate of turnip cake, before just sitting there and drinking tea. Xiang Cheng replied, “Of course I haven’t, it was too expensive, I didn’t dare order randomly.”
Chi Xiaoduo began to chuckle, and he said, “I’ll take you to eat something tasty.”
Chi Xiaoduo brought him to a store that did jook-sing noodles. Xiang Cheng wolfed down three large bowls, and Chi Xiaoduo asked, “Is it good?”
Xiang Cheng nodded, and Chi Xiaoduo went to pay the bill. When they returned home, his express delivery package had already arrived, and Chi Xiaoduo went to the security officer to pick it up. He pulled out the clothes and handed them to Xiang Cheng one by one to try on, and the moment Xiang Cheng put on the clothes, his entire being looked different. It was impossible to tell just by looking at him that previously, he had been a migrant worker who came and went in the wind and the sand. Aside from his palms being a little roughened, all traces of his poverty and drifter lifestyle had disappeared.
“You need a haircut,” Chi Xiaoduo said.
“What style do you like?” Xiang Cheng asked.
As soon as Xiang Cheng opened his mouth, Chi Xiaoduo immediately felt his heart thumping in his chest. If Xiang Cheng had asked, “What style do you think would look good”, Chi Xiaoduo wouldn’t have felt much, but with this question, Chi Xiaoduo immediately had a heart-pounding moment.
Xiang Cheng: “?”
Chi Xiaoduo replied, “Short, both sides buzzed, a little more refreshing. Summer’s about to arrive.”
“En,” Xiang Cheng said. “Tomorrow I’ll go find a barber. Come, I’ll give you this, in the future it’ll be yours.”
Xiang Cheng handed Chi Xiaoduo an Agricultural Bank card.
“This is the card.”
Chi Xiaoduo thought, of course I know this is a card. Are the words that follow going to be “use it as you wish”?
Chi Xiaoduo: “Are you… asking me to manage your money for you?”
Xiang Cheng replied, “The PIN is six zeroes. If you need money, then withdraw some and use it as you wish. Treat it as my living expenses, but right now, they can’t be used yet, they’ll only be unfrozen next month.”
Chi Xiaoduo already didn’t know what to say. Was this considered handing the card over to someone of higher authority?! He hurried to say, “Then I’ll manage your money for you, and if you need any, then come find me.”
Xiang Cheng replied, “I don’t care, think of this as me depending on you.”
Chi Xiaoduo laughed, haha, and his heart was happy beyond belief. He put the card away, scuttling away happily.
Xiang Cheng didn’t say any more, only staring at his own clothes in the mirror, clearly very satisfied with Chi Xiaoduo’s choices.
Chi Xiaoduo’s heart was filled with a roar. That night, he shrank in his turtle shell of a blanket, chatting with his bestie on the phone. He gleefully told her that he was now in control of Xiang Cheng’s financial matters!
His bestie said, “Aiya, many men are like this, it’s not strange. He eats what you give, lives where you provide, he hasn’t even paid rent yet, and if he gives it to you, it’s not like you’ll cheat him. If he needs money, all he needs to do is find you, how efficient this business is.”
Chi Xiaoduo was so happy that he was trembling on the bed, and from within the turtle shell, two eyes of a mola fish peeked out as he said, “He has a lot of money. You know, seeing whether a man is good to you or not is not about how much money he gives you, but rather how much of his assets he gives you. Last time, that real estate guy that your dad introduced you to, he had several hundreds of millions, and if it was all up to you to control…”
His bestie hadn’t expected that she would be attacked like this on a late night call, and she was completely unwilling to listen to Chi Xiaoduo chatter on. To no avail, she was stuck talking to him for a long time, before finally unwillingly hanging up on him.
Xiang Cheng’s behavior these past few days had been very good; he hadn’t taken any customers at all. Then the second day, the third day… he was in charge of making breakfast and picking up Chi Xiaoduo. Wang Ren still hadn’t given up on trying to get Chi Xiaoduo to switch apartments, move out, and stop messing around with Xiang Cheng, but of course, that was all ignored by Chi Xiaoduo.
“He’s already quit,” Chi Xiaoduo said. “He’s no longer a male public relations expert anymore.”
Wang Ren replied, “Alright, alright, I’ll stop sticking my nose in. You’ll understand when you get taught a lesson.”
Now that he thought about it, Chi Xiaoduo getting lied to once or twice was nothing, and looking at Xiang Cheng, he didn’t seem to have any major problems either. Wang Ren had a wide circle of acquaintances, and he could basically smooth over any matter for Chi Xiaoduo, so he stopped sticking his nose in his affairs. From the beginning to end, Chi Xiaoduo was a little curious about Xiang Cheng: he didn’t go out at night anymore, so was he going out during the day to receive customers?
Once, he went back home at noon to find a book for work, only to find Xiang Cheng at home wiping the windows. At that sight, he was instantly moved to tears, so perhaps Xiang Cheng was riding his bike around during the day to find a job?
Chi Xiaoduo waited eagerly for the weekend, and as soon as it came, he could go back home to spend time alone with Xiang Cheng. Even when the big boss of the architectural firm wanted him to work overtime to make up for when he had skipped work on Wednesday, Chi Xiaoduo immediately let off a killing aura. The big boss could only take that back to keep the peace.
After the firm finished the drawings, everyone could breathe a sigh of relief. They could now come in late and go home early and spend ten days to half a month not doing any actual work, but as soon as there was work, they would have to gather together again to work through the night. Right now, it was late spring, and they had just finished a set of drawings, so everyone hung around lazily. Chi Xiaoduo was also so gleeful that he left work early and gave Xiang Cheng a call at three in the afternoon, telling him to come pick him up.
Coincidentally, Xiang Cheng was wandering around the Haizhu District, and every time Chi Xiaoduo asked him, he was always wandering around idly. However, as soon as he dialed his number, the call ended.
Chi Xiaoduo called again; the phone was off. He called again, but the phone was off again. Half an hour later, Chi Xiaoduo wondered, what exactly are you doing? You aren’t actually taking a customer ba. Xiang Cheng, however, appeared directly outside his office.
“What is it?” Xiang Cheng asked.
His coworkers had already seen Xiang Cheng several times, so Chi Xiaoduo tugged him along, sneaking out, saying, “I’m leaving work early, and I wanted to ask you where you were. Let’s go get groceries, I’ll make you something tasty tonight.”
Xiang Cheng took Chi Xiaoduo’s bag and put it on, and the two of them entered the elevator.
“How come when I call you, it keeps hanging up?” Chi Xiaoduo asked.
“They cut off service,” Xiang Cheng said. “I’ll buy a new phone next month.”
Chi Xiaoduo began to feel that it actually didn’t matter if he was dating him or not; if he could live with Xiang Cheng like this, then whether he loved him or not was not a big deal. These days, he felt that there was fun to be had in a lot of things now, although he knew that Xiang Cheng perhaps didn’t have any other intentions towards him.
It was just that the two of them were very conscious of each other’s feelings, like how as soon as Chi Xiaoduo had mentioned it, Xiang Cheng went to go get his hair cut short. He would also think about many things for Chi Xiaoduo every day; this was probably the friendship between men where bros cared for each other ba.
“Let me take a look?” Chi Xiaoduo asked.
“It’s alright.” Xiang Cheng was too ashamed to take it out, and he continued, “Can I ask for eight hundred to get a new phone?”
“Of course,” Chi Xiaoduo replied, smiling. “Get a better one ba.”
Chi Xiaoduo calculated in his head: he had helped Wang Ren inspect his firm’s diagrams, so Wang Ren had to give him ten thousand. That was perfect for buying two new phones, since his own was due for a change as well. With that, he began to bug Wang Ren, telling him to hurry up and transfer his working fee to him.
“Do the scores come out tomorrow?” Xiang Cheng asked.
“En,” Chi Xiaoduo replied. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to pass.”
“You definitely will pass.” Xiang Cheng heard Chi Xiaoduo worrying about the drainage engineer certificate every day, and even by listening, he had remembered N number of things.
Chi Xiaoduo then said, “Give me your phone to look at.”
“It’s in my pants pocket, you get it yourself.” Xiang Cheng was riding the bicycle, heading home together with Chi Xiaoduo under the bright afternoon sunlight.
Chi Xiaoduo reached a hand back to grope around wildly, and after doing that for a while, both of them froze.
Xiang Cheng: “...”
Chi Xiaoduo: “...”
“The other pocket.” There were three black lines over Xiang Cheng’s head.
“Sorry.” Chi Xiaoduo’s entire face was bright red. Xiang Cheng was wearing a pair of very thin exercise pants, and as soon as he reached his hand in, he touched that part. As soon as he touched it, Xiang Cheng grew hard.
Chi Xiaoduo pulled out an antique Nokia, which still had clear tape on the back. The screen was covered with cracks.
“How long have you used it?” Chi Xiaoduo felt as if thunder was rumbling on the horizon.
“Twelve years,” Xiang Cheng replied.
Chi Xiaoduo resolved that he would go get Xiang Cheng a new phone. He began to understand that the life that Xiang Cheng had lived before was perhaps one of great poverty, but he didn’t ask much further. Perhaps Xiang Cheng also liked that kind of life.
“Have you found a job yet?” Chi Xiaoduo asked.
“No,” Xiang Cheng responded. “An old acquaintance said he’d introduce me.”
The two of them finished shopping for groceries, and just like a young couple, they went home to cook. Xiang Cheng pulled out a snuffbox from his sports bag, putting it on the bookshelf as he passed, before heading into the kitchen to wash his hands and cook.
“Did you do a deep clean today?” Chi Xiaoduo asked.
“I organized your stuff a bit, but I didn’t dare to move things around randomly,” Xiang Cheng said. “I’ll sweep tomorrow ba.”
Chi Xiaoduo’s professional books were stacked all haphazardly, and after flipping through them, he just let them be. Xiang Cheng didn’t dare to clean them up, afraid that they might still be of use. It was Friday afternoon, and Chi Xiaoduo decided that he would definitely clean up the mess properly, so he turned on the music. While Xiang Cheng was in the kitchen making dinner, Chi Xiaoduo was cleaning in the living room.
Ah! His life was so beautiful!
Oh? What was this? A snuffbox?
Xiang Cheng used snuff? Chi Xiaoduo held that snuffbox and looked over it. It was a work of art, made from lapis lazuli, and there was even a girl drawn on it, who had the ears of a fox. The snuffbox was only the size of his palm.
Upon opening the lid, the interior was filled to the brim with a pink powder. What did it feel like to take snuff? But wasn’t snuff black and sucked directly into the nose? How come the contents were pink?
Chi Xiaoduo brought his nose to the lip of the bottle and curiously sniffed once.
“A--choo!” Chi Xiaoduo sneezed.
Chi Xiaoduo: “...”
Chi Xiaoduo: “???”
Chi Xiaoduo lowered his head to look at the snuffbox in his hands.
Did Xiang Cheng use snuff? Should he try it?
Chi Xiaoduo brought his nose to the lip of the bottle and curiously sniffed once.
“A--achoo!” Chi Xiaoduo sneezed.
Chi Xiaoduo: “...”
Chi Xiaoduo: “???”
Chi Xiaoduo lowered his head to look at the snuffbox in his hands.
Chi Xiaoduo sniffed the snuff, sneezed, and after sniffing it, forgot that he had sniffed it and sniffed again, only to sneeze again.
He sniffed and forgot, forgot and sniffed, sniffed and forgot, forgot and sniffed...
Achoo! Sniffed once and achoo! Sniffed once and achoo! Sniffed once and achoo, sniffed once and achoo, sniffed once and achoo, sniffed once and achoo, sniffed once and achoo, sniffed once and achoo, sniffed once and achoo, sniffed once and achoo… and he continued on like this in an infinite loop.
…
Fifteen minutes later, the song ended on its own.
“Steamed or braised… don’t touch that!”
Xiang Cheng walked out from the kitchen, holding a fish, just about to ask for Chi Xiaoduo’s opinion. Upon seeing that Chi Xiaoduo was holding the snuffbox with a curious expression on his face, his soul immediately flew out of his body in shock, and he leapt forward and snatched the snuffbox away.
“Is this your snuffbox?” Chi Xiaoduo asked. “It’s empty? Is it used to store snuff?”
Xiang Cheng: “...”
Chi Xiaoduo: “...”
Xiang Cheng peered into the box, which was completely empty. He stood there frozen for a while, wearing an expression too horrible to look at.
Chi Xiaoduo: “?”
The spring sunlight was bright and warm, and during the evening, Chi Xiaoduo, Wang Ren, and the intern under Wang Ren’s guidance had a meeting to organize the spots that they had picked out today, and to come up with a summary.
As Chi Xiaoduo nodded off, he listened to Wang Ren going on and on, and wondered why Xiang Cheng still hadn’t come to pick him up. Suddenly, outside the window, he saw Xiang Cheng sitting on the branches of the white fig tree, craning his neck to peek in.
Chi Xiaoduo: “...”
This was the third floor, and Chi Xiaoduo hurriedly gestured at him, indicating for him to get down quickly. Xiang Cheng made an “understood” gesture, and he hugged the tree trunk and slid down. As Wang Ren was speaking, a “fuck” suddenly burst forth from him when he saw Xiang Cheng’s agile, strong silhouette.
“Chi Xiaoduo!” Wang Ren chased after him.
Their meeting was over, but just as Chi Xiaoduo was about to make his escape, he was nabbed by Wang Ren.
“I’ve already set up the date for you,” Wang Ren said. “No matter what, you have to go have this meal today! It was very difficult for Xingjie to request time off, and he’s been waiting for you this entire time!”
The corners of Chi Xiaoduo’s mouth twitched. Xiang Cheng was waiting outside the yard on the bicycle, watching the two of them. Wang Ren had them bring the car out and said, “Xiang Cheng, you go back first, me and the little mola still have some stuff to do.”
Xiang Cheng nodded, but Chi Xiaoduo protested, “I won’t --!”
“Where to?” Xiang Cheng ducked his head to ask. He then said to Wang Ren, “I’ll send him there. Boss Wang, you can go home, it’ll be alright.”
Wang Ren hesitated for a moment, before telling him an address. Xiang Cheng then said, “Let’s go ba.”
AAAAAHHHH - Chi Xiaoduo’s entire face was gloomy. Was he going to go with Xiang Cheng to an arranged date? Xiang Cheng took his bag and slung it behind him, and after Chi Xiaoduo clambered onto the front handlebars, the bicycle left.
“I’m not very familiar with the way, which way is it?” Xiang Cheng asked. “Are you tired after work?”
Chi Xiaoduo was very embarrassed. The sky hadn’t grown dark yet, and the sunset painted the Pearl River a golden-red. Xiang Cheng pedaled the bicycle, with Chi Xiaoduo riding on it. They followed the bicycle path along Binjiang Road, passing through the shadows of the trees.
“Let me check the GPS.” Chi Xiaoduo pulled out his phone, only to see that Wang Ren had sent him a text. [Mola, don’t be stupid, think about it clearly. Xiang Cheng doesn’t even have a job, and it was only after he had a falling out with the association the day before yesterday that I learned he came from the countryside last month to find a job in the city, and he’s straight. These people know their own situations very well in their hearts, and they try every method they can to find a place to stay in large cities. Summing it up, he probably noticed that you like him, and he’s going to use you for a bit. As soon as he finds a job, he’ll dump you. You think that the two of you can actually have some common language?]
Chi Xiaoduo: [Stop talking, you don’t understand him at all!]
Chi Xiaoduo speedily input a line of text, but after thinking about it, he deleted it again. He knew that Wang Ren was also doing this for his own good, and there was no point in arguing with him; as long as he himself was clear on what he was doing, that would be alright.
The key thing was that Chi Xiaoduo hadn’t thought it through clearly. It was because no matter how he thought about it, in the end, Xiang Cheng was a straight man, and bending a straight man was not a good thing to do. Also, if on the off chance he couldn’t bend him, that would be a tragedy for him as well. Now that he thought about it, it’d be better if he found a boyfriend sooner rather than later, so he could also have someone to lean on.
For a mola fish who had to think such a tiny matter over again and again, Chi Xiaoduo had no way to accept this point. The person he liked was Xiang Cheng, and although Yang Xingjie also felt pretty nice, on an ethics level, that wouldn’t be very fair to Yang Xingjie, right?!
Plus, bringing Xiang Cheng along to an arranged date meant that he would definitely find out that Chi Xiaoduo was gay.
Xiang Cheng was still wearing that ragged laborer’s outfit, and he lowered his head to take a look at Chi Xiaoduo playing on his cellphone. Chi Xiaoduo was a little hesitant, not knowing if he had seen the text.
“Where did you go today?” Chi Xiaoduo asked, his conscience guilty as he tried to find something to talk about.
“The Yuexiu District, the Shangxiajiu Plaza,” Xiang Cheng said. “I found that the shoes and clothes being sold along Zhuangyuan Ward were really cheap.”
“The quality there is just average,” Chi Xiaoduo replied. “Students like to go there, the quality’s about the same as the Taobao retail stores.”
“How about you?” Xiang Cheng asked in response.
“I stared at diagrams for a whole day,” Chi Xiaoduo said. “How come you were climbing the tree?”
“The guard at the door didn’t let me in,” Xiang Cheng replied. “He thought that I had come from the construction site.”
Chi Xiaoduo suddenly remembered that bird, and he said, “Right, your bird…”
Xiang Cheng steered the bike along with one hand as he took off the ragged camping hat he wore with the other. With a xiu, the bird flew out. Chi Xiaoduo hadn’t been able to find it for the entire afternoon, because it had been making a nest in Xiang Cheng’s hat!
“My parents left it to me,” Xiang Cheng said.
The silver bird flew in a circle around the bicycle, before landing on Chi Xiaoduo’s shoulder. Chi Xiaoduo reached out a hand to grab it, but it flew away.
“What is it called?” Chi Xiaoduo asked.
“Si Gui,” Xiang Chen responded.
What a strange name, Chi Xiaoduo thought, before asking curiously, “Why is it named that?”
“Without seeing the heavens and the earth, I will not think about returning home.”
Xiang Cheng and Chi Xiaoduo were bathed in the warm and gentle rays of the sunset, traveling along the curve of Haizhu Avenue, before they merged into the bustle of the humans and cars in the city leaving work.
“My dad often ran around outside to get work,” Xiang Cheng said. “When I was small, I was left behind at home a lot. Mama often waited for him at home, while Si Gui went with my dad, meaning, after seeing the sights of the vast land, he would come home a little sooner… Xiaoduo, is it here?”
The bicycle stopped in front of the Guangdong Hotel. Xiang Cheng lifted his head to look, saying, “You go eat ba, I’ll wait for you outside.”
“Let’s go together ba,” Chi Xiaoduo replied. “Actually, this isn’t some important person or anything, just a private matter.”
Xiang Cheng protested. “My clothes aren’t tidy, and if I go in, I’ll just attract cold stares.”
Chi Xiaoduo knew that Xiang Cheng wasn’t willing to go in because of his clothing, and he replied, “No worries, if the waiter rolls their eyes at you, you just need to curse them out. This kind of long-established restaurant for the common people won’t treat their customers like that.”
Xiang Cheng began to smile, and he parked the bike, heading inside with Chi Xiaoduo. There were not as many disdainful stares as he had expected, but Xiang Cheng was still not very self-assured. After entering, Chi Xiaoduo wanted to give Yang Xingjie a call, but Xiang Cheng was not willing to share a table with them, so he insisted on sitting to one side to wait until they were done chatting.
Chi Xiaoduo didn’t persist in trying to persuade him either. After Xiang Cheng sat down at a table in the corner, the waiter came over to take his order. Xiang Cheng couldn’t understand Cantonese, so he asked, “What? Can you speak Mandarin?”
“What tea would you like, Pu’er, chrysanthemum, or Tieguanyin,” the waiter intoned.
Xiang Cheng asked, “Does it cost money? Can I ask for just water?”
With a shua, Chi Xiaoduo appeared again, saying, “Give him a pot of Pu’er.”
Xiang Cheng: “...”
With another shua, Chi Xiaoduo drifted away, waving to Yang Xingjie in the distance who had his head lowered, looking at his phone.
Yang Xingjie had him order the dishes, just like the last time they had met. They exchanged a few idle sentences about how their work was hard, how as a public servant his pay was pocketed so much that he could only beg for food, how the architectural firm was making so much money, hahaha hehehe, and other similar standard topics. After Chi Xiaoduo finished listing off the dishes he wanted, he said, “Let me pay for it today ba. Here, pretty girl, I want to order --”
Yang Xingjie asked, “What have you been busy with recently?”
“Work.”
“How about your parents?”
“They’re both overseas,” Chi Xiaoduo responded. “After they divorced, they’re each living on their own.”
“You live alone?”
Chi Xiaoduo: “I rent a place with a friend.”
“What school did you graduate from?”
Chi Xiaoduo thought, are you investigating my hukou? Yang Xingjie sensed that, and he explained, abashed, “I’ve investigated too many hukou, sorry.”
Chi Xiaoduo felt this was pretty funny. Yang Xingjie continued, “What I asked you about last time, have you come to a decision?”
Chi Xiaoduo hadn’t expected that Yang Xingjie would go with cutting right to the quick, and immediately his entire face reddened as he grew nervous. Who asked just like that? If he had finished thinking it over, then would they begin dating today? Chi Xiaoduo replied awkwardly, “This…”
Chi Xiaoduo’s heart was very conflicted. If he could date Xiang Cheng, then he would immediately go right for him, but Xiang Cheng was straight, and Wang Ren’s prattling had cast a shadow over his heart. Yang Xingjie could also be considered, but wasn’t acting like this very unfair to him?
“No worries,” Yang Xingjie said understandingly. “We can talk about it next time we come out.”
And saying this, Yang Xingjie poured some tea for Chi Xiaoduo, asking, “Where are you from?”
“Zhuhai,” Chi Xiaoduo responded. “I’m from Wanzai, how about you?”
“I’m also from Zhuhai,” Yang Xingjie began to smile as he continued. “I live in Hengqin.”
“Oh!” Chi Xiaoduo exclaimed. “I used to go there a lot as a kid! Hengqin is very beautiful! Its scenery is just like a painting.”
“En,” Yang Xingjie replied. “But there are really too few people from Zhuhai. Do you remember that karst cave formed by wave erosion near the ocean?”
“I remember, I remember,” Chi Xiaoduo said. “I even went to the karst cave as a kid to explore! I went there on my own, and it was so scary, and later, the tide rose, so I couldn’t get back, hahaha --”
Yang Xingjie remarked, “I heard that before they developed it, there was some yaoguai hiding in the karst caves, I seem to have heard this legend before?”
Chi Xiaoduo thought for a bit, but he really couldn’t remember the events of his childhood.
That year, he had only been seven years old, the age of inflicting annoyance upon others. He had gone out with his little friends and run into the sea karst caves, which were indeed very dangerous. After the tide began to rise, the seawater slowly seeped in, and Chi Xiaoduo could only head deeper into the cave to avoid it. It was also winter, and the sea wind was bone-chillingly cold.
“Later, how did you get out?” Yang Xingjie filled Chi Xiaoduo’s cup with tea.
“I forgot,” Chi Xiaoduo said doubtfully. “I seem to have gotten out in the middle of the night. That’s right, wasn’t the karst cave being flooded by the tide? How did I get out after that?”
Yang Xingjie said, “That entire stretch is gone, it got turned into the Chimelong Ocean Kingdom.”
“That’s right, what a pity,” Chi Xiaoduo replied, smiling. “In a blink of an eye, ten plus years have passed.”
The two of them began to chat about the happenings in Zhuhai. When Chi Xiaoduo was small, Zhuhai had yet to be built, but now, in the blink of an eye, the city had changed rapidly. Many of his childhood memories had already vanished, but those things, Yang Xingjie still remembered, as if they had the same childhood. When they referred to those happy memories, Chi Xiaoduo couldn’t resist gesturing animatedly, and what was truly miraculous was that no matter what he mentioned having played with in his childhood, Yang Xingjie could always find some way to follow up.
Yang Xingjie reached a hand out and stroked Chi Xiaoduo’s head, smiling a little.
“Have you run into any strange things recently?” Yang Xingjie asked.
“What?” Chi Xiaoduo’s expression was one of confusion. After thinking about it for a bit, he replied, “I haven’t, why do you keep asking me this?”
“I haven’t asked this before,” Yang Xingjie replied. At the same time, in a falsely insouciant manner, he glanced towards the corner, where he saw Xiang Cheng sitting there, drinking tea and reading a newspaper.
“Oh, it wasn’t you who asked that…” Chi Xiaoduo said, before thinking for a bit. “But why do I keep feeling like I’ve been asked this somewhere before? Why are you suddenly asking this?”
Yang Xingjie got a call, which seemed to be calling him back for his shift. Yang Xingjie hung up and said wittily, “I’m a policeman, and my duty is to care about the lives of the city’s residents. Is there anything wrong with that?”
Chi Xiaoduo began to smile. Yang Xingjie said, “I won’t tease you anymore. If anything comes up, call my number.”
“I know,” Chi Xiaoduo said.
Yang Xingjie: “If you run into any issues with peacekeeping, such as arguing with your next door neighbors or being bullied, you can always call me.”
Chi Xiaoduo began to chuckle, and he felt very warmed by this. Yang Xingjie snapped once, calling someone over to pay the bill. Chi Xiaoduo felt that the intimacy between the two of them had grown once again, and in such a transient way, Yang Xingjie began to have a place in his heart because of these common topics they shared.
“The gentleman at table 15 has already paid for the bill,” the waiter said.
A minute change came over Yang Xingjie’s expression. Chi Xiaoduo’s heart thumped, and when he lifted his head to look, he saw, in the inconspicuous corner, Xiang Cheng fold the newspaper, rise, and come over.
“This is my fr - my gege,” Chi Xiaoduo introduced.
“How come you didn’t come to eat with us?” Yang Xingjie recovered his composure and smiled.
Xiang Cheng replied easily, “I was afraid of disturbing you two. Hello.”
Xiang Cheng made a movement, and that movement actually caused Yang Xingjie to move back a little in retreat. Chi Xiaoduo felt that Yang Xingjie was a little afraid of Xiang Cheng, so he hurriedly said, “This is Xiang Cheng, he’s a very good person, we live together.”
Xiang Cheng looked into Yang Xingjie’s eyes, and Yang Xingjie had no choice but to shake hands with him. Their left hands clasped together, but this greeting seemed to become very strange when enacted by them. The two of them stood there, shaking hands for a whole ten plus seconds, neither side moving.
“We’re leaving,” Xiang Cheng said, letting go. Yang Xingjie hurriedly said, “I’ll give you two a ride.”
“We rode a bike,” Xiang Cheng responded.
Yang Xingjie came out with them. Xiang Cheng patted the front handlebar of the bike, and after Chi Xiaoduo and Yang Xingjie waved goodbye at each other, in the spring-breeze-filled night, he was taken home by Xiang Cheng.
“Who is he?” Xiang Cheng suddenly asked.
“A public servant, he owns a house,” Chi Xiaoduo replied. “A friend that Wang Ren introduced to me.”
“You two are from the same hometown?” Xiang Cheng continued.
“Oh? How did you know?” Chi Xiaoduo asked.
Xiang Cheng replied, “I saw him stroke your forehead.”
Chi Xiaoduo said, “Does stroking my forehead prove that he’s from the same hometown?”
Xiang Cheng then asked, “Did you two know each other when you were young?”
“We didn’t,” Chi Xiaoduo replied.
With that, Xiang Cheng didn’t say anymore. Chi Xiaoduo continued, “Are you full?” He saw that Xiang Cheng had only eaten a plate of turnip cake, before just sitting there and drinking tea. Xiang Cheng replied, “Of course I haven’t, it was too expensive, I didn’t dare order randomly.”
Chi Xiaoduo began to chuckle, and he said, “I’ll take you to eat something tasty.”
Chi Xiaoduo brought him to a store that did jook-sing noodles. Xiang Cheng wolfed down three large bowls, and Chi Xiaoduo asked, “Is it good?”
Xiang Cheng nodded, and Chi Xiaoduo went to pay the bill. When they returned home, his express delivery package had already arrived, and Chi Xiaoduo went to the security officer to pick it up. He pulled out the clothes and handed them to Xiang Cheng one by one to try on, and the moment Xiang Cheng put on the clothes, his entire being looked different. It was impossible to tell just by looking at him that previously, he had been a migrant worker who came and went in the wind and the sand. Aside from his palms being a little roughened, all traces of his poverty and drifter lifestyle had disappeared.
“You need a haircut,” Chi Xiaoduo said.
“What style do you like?” Xiang Cheng asked.
As soon as Xiang Cheng opened his mouth, Chi Xiaoduo immediately felt his heart thumping in his chest. If Xiang Cheng had asked, “What style do you think would look good”, Chi Xiaoduo wouldn’t have felt much, but with this question, Chi Xiaoduo immediately had a heart-pounding moment.
Xiang Cheng: “?”
Chi Xiaoduo replied, “Short, both sides buzzed, a little more refreshing. Summer’s about to arrive.”
“En,” Xiang Cheng said. “Tomorrow I’ll go find a barber. Come, I’ll give you this, in the future it’ll be yours.”
Xiang Cheng handed Chi Xiaoduo an Agricultural Bank card.
“This is the card.”
Chi Xiaoduo thought, of course I know this is a card. Are the words that follow going to be “use it as you wish”?
Chi Xiaoduo: “Are you… asking me to manage your money for you?”
Xiang Cheng replied, “The PIN is six zeroes. If you need money, then withdraw some and use it as you wish. Treat it as my living expenses, but right now, they can’t be used yet, they’ll only be unfrozen next month.”
Chi Xiaoduo already didn’t know what to say. Was this considered handing the card over to someone of higher authority?! He hurried to say, “Then I’ll manage your money for you, and if you need any, then come find me.”
Xiang Cheng replied, “I don’t care, think of this as me depending on you.”
Chi Xiaoduo laughed, haha, and his heart was happy beyond belief. He put the card away, scuttling away happily.
Xiang Cheng didn’t say any more, only staring at his own clothes in the mirror, clearly very satisfied with Chi Xiaoduo’s choices.
Chi Xiaoduo’s heart was filled with a roar. That night, he shrank in his turtle shell of a blanket, chatting with his bestie on the phone. He gleefully told her that he was now in control of Xiang Cheng’s financial matters!
His bestie said, “Aiya, many men are like this, it’s not strange. He eats what you give, lives where you provide, he hasn’t even paid rent yet, and if he gives it to you, it’s not like you’ll cheat him. If he needs money, all he needs to do is find you, how efficient this business is.”
Chi Xiaoduo was so happy that he was trembling on the bed, and from within the turtle shell, two eyes of a mola fish peeked out as he said, “He has a lot of money. You know, seeing whether a man is good to you or not is not about how much money he gives you, but rather how much of his assets he gives you. Last time, that real estate guy that your dad introduced you to, he had several hundreds of millions, and if it was all up to you to control…”
His bestie hadn’t expected that she would be attacked like this on a late night call, and she was completely unwilling to listen to Chi Xiaoduo chatter on. To no avail, she was stuck talking to him for a long time, before finally unwillingly hanging up on him.
Xiang Cheng’s behavior these past few days had been very good; he hadn’t taken any customers at all. Then the second day, the third day… he was in charge of making breakfast and picking up Chi Xiaoduo. Wang Ren still hadn’t given up on trying to get Chi Xiaoduo to switch apartments, move out, and stop messing around with Xiang Cheng, but of course, that was all ignored by Chi Xiaoduo.
“He’s already quit,” Chi Xiaoduo said. “He’s no longer a male public relations expert anymore.”
Wang Ren replied, “Alright, alright, I’ll stop sticking my nose in. You’ll understand when you get taught a lesson.”
Now that he thought about it, Chi Xiaoduo getting lied to once or twice was nothing, and looking at Xiang Cheng, he didn’t seem to have any major problems either. Wang Ren had a wide circle of acquaintances, and he could basically smooth over any matter for Chi Xiaoduo, so he stopped sticking his nose in his affairs. From the beginning to end, Chi Xiaoduo was a little curious about Xiang Cheng: he didn’t go out at night anymore, so was he going out during the day to receive customers?
Once, he went back home at noon to find a book for work, only to find Xiang Cheng at home wiping the windows. At that sight, he was instantly moved to tears, so perhaps Xiang Cheng was riding his bike around during the day to find a job?
Chi Xiaoduo waited eagerly for the weekend, and as soon as it came, he could go back home to spend time alone with Xiang Cheng. Even when the big boss of the architectural firm wanted him to work overtime to make up for when he had skipped work on Wednesday, Chi Xiaoduo immediately let off a killing aura. The big boss could only take that back to keep the peace.
After the firm finished the drawings, everyone could breathe a sigh of relief. They could now come in late and go home early and spend ten days to half a month not doing any actual work, but as soon as there was work, they would have to gather together again to work through the night. Right now, it was late spring, and they had just finished a set of drawings, so everyone hung around lazily. Chi Xiaoduo was also so gleeful that he left work early and gave Xiang Cheng a call at three in the afternoon, telling him to come pick him up.
Coincidentally, Xiang Cheng was wandering around the Haizhu District, and every time Chi Xiaoduo asked him, he was always wandering around idly. However, as soon as he dialed his number, the call ended.
Chi Xiaoduo called again; the phone was off. He called again, but the phone was off again. Half an hour later, Chi Xiaoduo wondered, what exactly are you doing? You aren’t actually taking a customer ba. Xiang Cheng, however, appeared directly outside his office.
“What is it?” Xiang Cheng asked.
His coworkers had already seen Xiang Cheng several times, so Chi Xiaoduo tugged him along, sneaking out, saying, “I’m leaving work early, and I wanted to ask you where you were. Let’s go get groceries, I’ll make you something tasty tonight.”
Xiang Cheng took Chi Xiaoduo’s bag and put it on, and the two of them entered the elevator.
“How come when I call you, it keeps hanging up?” Chi Xiaoduo asked.
“They cut off service,” Xiang Cheng said. “I’ll buy a new phone next month.”
Chi Xiaoduo began to feel that it actually didn’t matter if he was dating him or not; if he could live with Xiang Cheng like this, then whether he loved him or not was not a big deal. These days, he felt that there was fun to be had in a lot of things now, although he knew that Xiang Cheng perhaps didn’t have any other intentions towards him.
It was just that the two of them were very conscious of each other’s feelings, like how as soon as Chi Xiaoduo had mentioned it, Xiang Cheng went to go get his hair cut short. He would also think about many things for Chi Xiaoduo every day; this was probably the friendship between men where bros cared for each other ba.
“Let me take a look?” Chi Xiaoduo asked.
“It’s alright.” Xiang Cheng was too ashamed to take it out, and he continued, “Can I ask for eight hundred to get a new phone?”
“Of course,” Chi Xiaoduo replied, smiling. “Get a better one ba.”
Chi Xiaoduo calculated in his head: he had helped Wang Ren inspect his firm’s diagrams, so Wang Ren had to give him ten thousand. That was perfect for buying two new phones, since his own was due for a change as well. With that, he began to bug Wang Ren, telling him to hurry up and transfer his working fee to him.
“Do the scores come out tomorrow?” Xiang Cheng asked.
“En,” Chi Xiaoduo replied. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to pass.”
“You definitely will pass.” Xiang Cheng heard Chi Xiaoduo worrying about the drainage engineer certificate every day, and even by listening, he had remembered N number of things.
Chi Xiaoduo then said, “Give me your phone to look at.”
“It’s in my pants pocket, you get it yourself.” Xiang Cheng was riding the bicycle, heading home together with Chi Xiaoduo under the bright afternoon sunlight.
Chi Xiaoduo reached a hand back to grope around wildly, and after doing that for a while, both of them froze.
Xiang Cheng: “...”
Chi Xiaoduo: “...”
“The other pocket.” There were three black lines over Xiang Cheng’s head.
“Sorry.” Chi Xiaoduo’s entire face was bright red. Xiang Cheng was wearing a pair of very thin exercise pants, and as soon as he reached his hand in, he touched that part. As soon as he touched it, Xiang Cheng grew hard.
Chi Xiaoduo pulled out an antique Nokia, which still had clear tape on the back. The screen was covered with cracks.
“How long have you used it?” Chi Xiaoduo felt as if thunder was rumbling on the horizon.
“Twelve years,” Xiang Cheng replied.
Chi Xiaoduo resolved that he would go get Xiang Cheng a new phone. He began to understand that the life that Xiang Cheng had lived before was perhaps one of great poverty, but he didn’t ask much further. Perhaps Xiang Cheng also liked that kind of life.
“Have you found a job yet?” Chi Xiaoduo asked.
“No,” Xiang Cheng responded. “An old acquaintance said he’d introduce me.”
The two of them finished shopping for groceries, and just like a young couple, they went home to cook. Xiang Cheng pulled out a snuffbox from his sports bag, putting it on the bookshelf as he passed, before heading into the kitchen to wash his hands and cook.
“Did you do a deep clean today?” Chi Xiaoduo asked.
“I organized your stuff a bit, but I didn’t dare to move things around randomly,” Xiang Cheng said. “I’ll sweep tomorrow ba.”
Chi Xiaoduo’s professional books were stacked all haphazardly, and after flipping through them, he just let them be. Xiang Cheng didn’t dare to clean them up, afraid that they might still be of use. It was Friday afternoon, and Chi Xiaoduo decided that he would definitely clean up the mess properly, so he turned on the music. While Xiang Cheng was in the kitchen making dinner, Chi Xiaoduo was cleaning in the living room.
Ah! His life was so beautiful!
Oh? What was this? A snuffbox?
Xiang Cheng used snuff? Chi Xiaoduo held that snuffbox and looked over it. It was a work of art, made from lapis lazuli, and there was even a girl drawn on it, who had the ears of a fox. The snuffbox was only the size of his palm.
Upon opening the lid, the interior was filled to the brim with a pink powder. What did it feel like to take snuff? But wasn’t snuff black and sucked directly into the nose? How come the contents were pink?
Chi Xiaoduo brought his nose to the lip of the bottle and curiously sniffed once.
“A--choo!” Chi Xiaoduo sneezed.
Chi Xiaoduo: “...”
Chi Xiaoduo: “???”
Chi Xiaoduo lowered his head to look at the snuffbox in his hands.
Did Xiang Cheng use snuff? Should he try it?
Chi Xiaoduo brought his nose to the lip of the bottle and curiously sniffed once.
“A--achoo!” Chi Xiaoduo sneezed.
Chi Xiaoduo: “...”
Chi Xiaoduo: “???”
Chi Xiaoduo lowered his head to look at the snuffbox in his hands.
Chi Xiaoduo sniffed the snuff, sneezed, and after sniffing it, forgot that he had sniffed it and sniffed again, only to sneeze again.
He sniffed and forgot, forgot and sniffed, sniffed and forgot, forgot and sniffed...
Achoo! Sniffed once and achoo! Sniffed once and achoo! Sniffed once and achoo, sniffed once and achoo, sniffed once and achoo, sniffed once and achoo, sniffed once and achoo, sniffed once and achoo, sniffed once and achoo, sniffed once and achoo… and he continued on like this in an infinite loop.
…
Fifteen minutes later, the song ended on its own.
“Steamed or braised… don’t touch that!”
Xiang Cheng walked out from the kitchen, holding a fish, just about to ask for Chi Xiaoduo’s opinion. Upon seeing that Chi Xiaoduo was holding the snuffbox with a curious expression on his face, his soul immediately flew out of his body in shock, and he leapt forward and snatched the snuffbox away.
“Is this your snuffbox?” Chi Xiaoduo asked. “It’s empty? Is it used to store snuff?”
Xiang Cheng: “...”
Chi Xiaoduo: “...”
Xiang Cheng peered into the box, which was completely empty. He stood there frozen for a while, wearing an expression too horrible to look at.
Chi Xiaoduo: “?”
