Chapter 13

Tong Qiu knew he was done for.

No matter how naive and innocent Huo Zhixing was, there was no way he would believe that the vibrator and the thongs belonged to Tong Qiu’s friend. Moreover, was Huo Zhixing even naïve and innocent to begin with? Evidently not.

Thankfully, Huo Zhixing understood when to leave a lifeline and didn’t probe further so that Tong-laoshi could live with his dignity mostly intact.

After being so thoroughly exposed that he may as well find a cliff to fling himself off of, Tong Qiu had no choice but to continue tidying up with Huo Zhixing. The living room, which had once been so packed that you had to walk sideways to get through it, was finally cleared.

Tong Qiu was so exhausted he didn’t want to move. Huo Zhixing, after seeing him in such a state, rolled up his sleeves and headed to the kitchen.

Tong Qiu watched his receding back as he made his way to the kitchen and said, “What I’d like to know is, who’s going to be the lucky man that gets to spend the rest of his life with you.”

Huo Zhixing opened the fridge door and smiled, “That’s something I’d like to know too.” After he spoke, he turned and glanced over at Tong Qiu. However, Tong Qiu was busy gulping down a glass of water and didn’t notice.

It was getting late by the time they finished dinner. Huo Zhixing was planning on heading home to sleep a bit before his midnight shift.That was the thing with working shifts – no matter what he did, he always had to keep an eye on the clock.

Tong Qiu felt pretty bad about the whole thing – Huo Zhixing was busy enough as it was and still came over to help him clean up. And by the time Huo Zhixing made it home, he’d barely have time to get some sleep before he’d have to go back to work.

“I’ll treat you to dinner some time,” Tong Qiu said. He couldn’t think of any other way to show his appreciation and it’s not as if he could give away his heart or anything, right? “Thanks again and sorry for the trouble.”

Huo Zhixing was in a pretty good mood today, mostly because of those pairs of thongs he had discovered. Now, he just had to figure out a way to convince the ‘demure’ Tong-laoshi to let go and reveal his true nature. Huo Zhixing was honestly looking forward to the sight of Tong Qiu in those thongs, sprawled on top of his bed just waiting for Huo Zhixing to have his way with him.

“Sounds good,” Huo Zhixing replied. He wasn’t about to refuse an invitation from Tong Qiu. “You know my schedule so come find me whenever you’re free.”

Tong Qiu walked Huo Zhixing out but before they could say their goodbyes, Tong Qiu caught sight of a person that made him want to tear his hair out in annoyance – it was Fang Baicheng.

When he had asked Chu Yao to help him discourage Fang Baicheng’s pursuit, Fang Baicheng not only refused to listen but had actually clung on even more tightly than before.

Fang Baicheng was the type of person to get extremely attached and went about things in his own way. He’d often lie quietly in wait and Tong Qiu had run into him quite a few times, be it at the school entrance or outside his home. He had no idea how long Fang Baicheng had waited for him, and was frightened to death every time.

Tong Qiu had already asked him a number of times to stop but Fang Baicheng seemed to take some strange kind of pleasure in it. It made Tong Qiu wonder if he had a few screws loose and if it weren’t for the fact that Fang Baicheng was Chu Yao’s shixiong, he would have reported it to the police.

Huo Zhixing frowned the moment he saw Fang Baicheng. Fang Baicheng frowned back.

To Fang Baicheng, Tong Qiu’s ex-husband was his rival in love. They two of them were already divorced and yet he continued clinging onto Tong Qiu – the man had no class at all.

Fang Baicheng scrambled to get a word in before Huo Zhixing could open his mouth. “Tong Qiu, I’ve been waiting for you for a while now.”

Tong Qiu felt as if his head had tripled in size and he sorely wished he could turn around and headbutt the closest wall.

“Then…sorry for the inconvenience.”

In a flash, Huo Zhixing’s good mood vanished. He took half a step back and sized up Fang Baicheng, arms folded across his chest. “Xiao-Qiu, did you make plans with him?” he asked Tong Qiu, annoyed.

Tong Qiu could hear the irritation in his voice and thought to himself, ‘Bro, why are you making things difficult too?’

“No,” Tong Qiu replied honestly. “I didn’t know he was here.”

“I’m here every day,” Fang Baicheng said, brimming with conviction and self-righteousness. “But you know that, of course.”

“…I don’t, actually.”

Huo Zhixing fell silent for a few moments then suddenly propped his arm on Tong Qiu’s shoulder. “Let’s go, they’re closing soon.”

Tong Qiu wanted to ask what he meant by ‘they’ but it was very obvious that Huo Zhixing was offering him a way out. He didn’t comment and walked out with Huo Zhixing.

Fang Baicheng didn’t follow them; he merely stood at the front of the building and watched as they left.

Once they were a few hundred meters away, Huo Zhixing asked in a low voice, “Is this how he’s trying to win you over?”

“He’s not a bad sort. It’s just his methods that are a bit overboard.”

“And what about you? What do you think?”

“It’s quite the headache.” Tong Qiu wanted to turn back and look but Huo Zhixing stopped him from swivelling his head.

“I think I have an idea, but you’ll have to agree to it first.”

—

Huo Zhixing and Tong Qiu returned shortly after and as expected, Fang Baicheng was exactly where they had left him.

Huo Zhixing lowered his voice and joked, “This guy truly is the epitome of ‘never say die’”

As soon as he caught sight of them, Fang Baicheng straightened and stared fixedly at them. His gaze then fell on the bottle of lube and the box of condoms in Huo Zhixing’s hands – it was painfully obvious what they had gone out to buy.

“Tong Qiu.” Fang Baicheng stepped in front of Tong Qiu, barring his way. “What’s the meaning of this?”

“Huh?” Tong Qiu was honestly fed up. He didn’t know what had possessed Fang Baicheng to single him out as the target of his attention.

“Do you think it’s right to cheat on me right in front of my face?”

Fang Baicheng’s accusation drew a laugh from Huo Zhixing.

“What are you laughing about?”

“Buddy, how exactly is he ‘cheating’ on you? What relationship do you two have anyway?” Huo Zhixing’s arm was still wrapped around Tong Qiu’s shoulder and their closeness was clear as day. “Why don’t we settle things tonight, once and for all?”

Every person has their limits and Tong Qiu had already reached the point where his patience was worn thin. Who did Fang Baicheng think he was? And how could Fang Baicheng just assume that Tong Qiu returned his feelings? You’ve got to be kidding!

“Fang Baicheng, I believe that the most important part of a relationship is mutual respect. I respect your right to conduct yourself as you see fit but shouldn’t you show me the same respect too?”

Tong Qiu’s tone was stern but he tried to hold back his anger.

“It’s already gone on long enough but whenever I reject you, you keep saying that you’re not pursuing me and that you just want to be friends. So doesn’t that mean I’m free to sleep with whoever I want to? How is that ‘cheating’?”

“Look, I hate to break it to you,” Huo Zhixing said, “but based on the way you’ve been acting lately, xiao-Qiu has more than enough reason to report you to the police. You’re lucky that I don’t have authority over this neighbourhood – otherwise, I would sort you out right here, right now.”

With his arm still wrapped around Tong Qiu, Huo Zhixing walked them towards the apartment building. “I suggest you stay away from our xiao-Qiu. Don’t go around bothering someone that’s already taken.”

Tong Qiu turned and glanced at Huo Zhixing. Before he could react, Huo Zhixing leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his forehead. Tong Qiu’s eyes widened in shock as Huo Zhixing turned back to look at Fang Baicheng, who was still standing there gaping at them. “Stay away from my ”husband”.”

Ever since he was young, Tong Qiu was the type of person who had a hard time rejecting people. Fang Baicheng, however, was an exception and Tong Qiu had tried to reject him with every fibre of his being, to no avail.

Tong Qiu’s forehead, which had just been kissed, was still burning hotly by the time Huo Zhixing walked them to the elevators.

“What’s his problem?” Huo Zhixing bit out angrily. “Where’d you pick up a nutjob like that?”

Tong Qiu felt a bit of an itch on his forehead so he lifted his hand and rubbed at it.

Huo Zhixing looked at him, then retracted the arm that had been wrapped around Tong Qiu. “Sorry about that. I shouldn’t have kissed you without permission.”

“Ah…no worries.”

Tong Qiu didn’t know what was wrong with him, but it almost felt as if his heart was beating a little faster than usual.

He realized that the way Huo Zhixing had acted just now was beyond handsome. If asked, he would happily get on his knees and belt out the lyrics to “Conquer”. It was honestly an amazing feeling, knowing that Huo Zhixing had his back and was there to support him.

Earlier, they had hatched a plan to discourage Fang Baicheng by pretending they had gotten back together. It was why Huo Zhixing had dragged Tong Qiu out to buy lube and condoms. Tong Qiu was still holding the two items and they burned a bit in his hands.

Wouldn’t it feel even more amazing if Huo Zhixing had that same kind of aggressive enthusiasm in bed? Tong Qiu thought to himself.

He stole a glance at Huo Zhixing. Huo Zhixing just so happened to be looking at him and their eyes met.

“If he bothers you again just call me,” Huo Zhixing said. “With the way he’s been acting, there’s enough grounds to arrest him and send him straight to the police station.”

Tong Qiu didn’t think it would ever come to that, but nodded his head nonetheless.

They went back to Tong Qiu’s place and after setting down their stuff, Tong Qiu went to tidy up his bedroom. “You should get some sleep. I’ll wake you when it’s time.”

Tong Qiu was worried that Fang Baicheng was still waiting downstairs, so he had asked Huo Zhixing to stay and sleep for a bit before his shift.

Huo Zhixing had happily agreed – in such a situation, he wasn’t going to feign politeness and refuse, was he?

He took off his jacket and lay down on the bed. When he turned his head, his gaze fell on the picture frame on the bedside table. It was the photo of the two of them in front of the Bureau of Civil Affairs – Tong Qiu must have taken it to his bedroom.

Huo Zhixing smiled and rolled onto his side. He stared at the photo for a good while. It seemed like Tong Qiu still had a good opinion of him.

While Huo Zhixing smiled away in the bedroom, Tong Qiu was in the living room, sending messages full of complaints to Chu Yao.

Chu Yao apologized profusely and berated herself for introducing Fang Baicheng to him at the start. Tong Qiu knew it wasn’t her fault; who could have known that Fang Baicheng would turn out to be such a maniac.

It was getting late and after he finished chatting with Chu Yao, Tong Qiu set an alarm so that he could wake Huo Zhixing. After that, he grabbed Huo Zhixing’s policeman jacket, curled up on the sofa and fell asleep.

Neither of them could have imagined that two months after their divorce, they would end up sleeping under the same roof once more. Even though one was sleeping in the bedroom and the other was sleeping on the sofa, Tong Qiu couldn’t help but think ‘The lines between me and my ex-husband are getting a little too blurry, aren’t they?’

Tong Qiu slept fitfully and dreamed that he was playing a game of rock-paper-scissors with Huo Zhixing. The loser had to accept a forehead kiss from the winner and in the dream, he really wanted to kiss Huo Zhixing but ended up losing every time. Whenever it was Huo Zhixing’s turn to kiss him, Huo Zhixing would refuse, insisting that he was saving up all the little kisses to earn himself a big one.

The dream-version of Tong Qiu was getting increasingly frustrated about the fact that he couldn’t get any kisses and in the end, he was so angry that he woke himself up.

Once he was awake, Tong Qiu hugged Huo Zhixing’s jacket to his chest and let out a bitter laugh. He was probably losing his mind. It was bad enough that he dreamt about his ex-husband; dreaming about being kissed by his ex-husband was even worse.

While he was brooding, a now-awake Huo Zhixing came out of the bedroom. When Tong Qiu looked over at him, he immediately thought of his dream, which made his face turn as red as a tomato.

Huo Zhixing hadn’t slept well either and went to wash his face. They chatted idly and it all felt like it had happened just yesterday, almost as if they had returned to the life they had when they were still together.

Huo Zhixing gathered his belongings and was about to set off. He came over to the couch and smiled as he gazed at Tong Qiu. “Do you not want me to leave?”

“Huh?” Tong Qiu said blankly.

Huo Zhixing gestured at the jacket in Tong Qiu’s arms and grinned, “Is this some subtle way of asking me to stay?”

Embarrassment flooded through Tong Qiu and he quickly handed the jacket to Huo Zhixing. “Be careful on the way. Look out for yourself.”

Huo Zhixing put on the jacket and flashed a smile. He reached over and casually ruffled Tong Qiu’s sleep-mussed hair. “Get some good rest. If anything comes up, just give me a call.”

He slipped on his shoes. Tong Qiu saw him to the front door.

“Oh, right,” Huo Zhixing said as he stepped inside the elevator. “Just now, I dreamed about you.”

—

The author has something to say:

P.S. Huo Zhixing’s just bullshitting, he wasn’t even dreaming.