Chapter 36

Tong Qiu thought it’s better to be a man who doesn’t have to be pretentious and dignified all the time.

He and Huo Zhixing kissed enthusiastically on the bench in the garden, acting as if the peony flowers that hadn’t reached the flowering stage yet were blooming, and the fragrance wafted all around them, making him dizzy.

When the kiss was over, he silently whispered in his heart, well, it wasn’t the peony flowers, but his heart.

His heart was in full bloom.

He didn’t know how long they had been kissing each other. But when Huo Zhixing finally let him go, his neck had become sore.

For a moment, Tong Qiu felt that the reason why they came out here tonight was to make-out. The beauty of the scenery had been completely forgotten.

“I want to take the make-up exam.” Huo Zhixing licked his lips.

Tong Qiu looked down on the other’s lap and gave Huo Zhixing a mischievous glance, mocking the other for not being able to resist the temptation.

“Oh you meant me?” Huo Zhixing also laughed at him, “I think we are on the same boat.”

Tong Qiu blushed when he heard that, pulling his clothes down to cover the place that shouldn’t be seen.

“Shall we go back?” Huo Zhixing asked.

Tong Qiu swallowed: “Well, let’s go back. I want to sleep.”

He didn’t want to sleep.

It was clear to the both of them what he wanted to do.

When the two went back home, their relatives had already left. The only ones who remained were Tong Qiu’s parents, who lived there.

When they entered inside, one is calm and the other is flushed. Tong Qiu has to admire Hou Zhixing’s will. He truly deserves to be a policeman. Just before he looked flushed but now he was acting like nothing happened.

When Father Tong called them over to play cards, Tong Qiu waved his hand and said self-righteously, “We, a teacher and a policeman, will not participate in your gambling.”

Father Tong glared at his son and left the two of them to their own devises.

Which was exactly what they wanted.

Huo Zhixing held back a smile and follwed Tong Qiu inside his room. As soon as the door closed, he started to act naughtily.

When Tong Qiu was a child, he lived with his grandpa for several years. At that time, his parents were each transferred to different provinces. The two did not live in the same city, and were swamped with work none would be able to take care of a small child, so he was sent to his grandfather’s home.

Tong Qiu had been happy. He had been willing to live with his grandfather because the old man spoiled him.

This time, Tong Qiu and Huo Zhixing were staying at the same room that Tong Qiu used to live in, and because his grandpa always hoped he would return, the room remained practically untouched – even the small double bed he used before that wasn’t suitable to be lain by two men who are over 1.8 meters tall. When they lay down their feet would hang over the edge.

The bed was not strong enough. When they moved, the bed creaked. Huo Zhixing suspected that if they went at it crazily, the bed would collapse.

An important thought suddenly came to Huo Zhixing’s mind. He got up and asked Tong Qiu: “I remembered something. What should I do if I forgot to bring my test supplies?”

“What a disgrace! Your reason for coming here, don’t you know? If you don’t take the exam seriously, you will be excluded from taking it!” Tong Qiu poked his forehead and said, “I have something in my bag, go get it.”

Huo Zhixing smiled and bit his ear, saying: “It seems like Tong-laoshi had been looking forward to this make-up exam.”

How could he not? The last exam was interrupted before it could start. It was borderline criminal how much Tong-laoshi suffered! Such lost time had to be made up this time!

Huo Zhixing took out the things Tong Qiu prepared before from his bag and said with a smile, “Tong-laoshi really is meticulous.”

Tong Qiu blushed and defended: “How should I act otherwise? Being in an examination room is akin to being in war, it’s my responsibility as your teacher to prevent students like you who don’t come prepared to die without a fight.”

Hou Zhixing laughed at his response. When he got his bearings back together, he teased Tong Qiu, “Then many thanks, Tong-laoshi. To show my gratitude, I will practice hard tonight and made Tong-laoshi happy.”

Tong-laoshi wants to be happy, but the conditions are limited. They weren’t at home and everything was inconvenient.

Moreover, the problems they encountered during the make-up exam were not just the exam supplies.

When Tong Qiu accidentally bumped the bedside table and cried out in pain, someone knocked on the door.

Mother Tong knocked on the thin wooden door outside, “Xiao Qiu, Zhixing, you two haven’t slept yet?”

The two people on the bed who have entered into a state of seriousness seemed to have their bubble popped instantly, and they dare not breathe. It certainly felt like the roving invigilator passed through their exam room, and it even made the invigilator inside the room nervous.

Tong Qiu took a huge gulp of air and made sure his voice sounded strong and calm: “Ah… Ma, we were just about to go to sleep.”

Mother Tong still hadn’t left despite what they said. She continued, “Tong Qiu, look at whether there is a white medicine bottle on the table. Your grandpa left it inside this morning and forgot to take it.”

Tong Qiu and Huo Zhixing turned to look at the table beside the door.

“Yes! Wait a minute!” Tong Qiu patted the other to let him go but Huo Zhixing held him down and said softly, “I’ll go.”

Huo Zhixing lifted the quilt, and when he got down from the bed, casually gave Tong Qiu a kiss on his chest right where his heart was, then made a gesture: “Shhh.”

He put on his pajamas, took the medicine bottle, and opened the door only after he saw Tong Qiu blushingly cover himself with the quilt.

“Ma, is this it?” Huo Zhixing pulled out his movie king level acting skills and handed over the medicine bottle calmly.

Mother Tong took it and said, “Yes, I’ll give it to your grandpa. You two should go to sleep.”

“Okay, we’re going to bed now. You guys should also rest soon.” Huo Zhixing covered the doorway with his body, for fear of Mother Tong seeing something she shouldn’t.

When Mother Tong left, Huo Zhixing closed the door. Both of them sighed in relief and looked at each other, then couldn’t help laughing at the situation. They both felt like having survived a great catastrophe.

After sending away the roving invigilator, Huo Zhixing returned to the bed. It was time to build up again the ruined romantic mood they had going on earlier before they got interrupted – and this time no one was going to get between their make-up exam.

When they finally finished, Tong Qiu and Huo Zhixing huddled under the quilt, hands intertwined and playing with each other – well, Tong Qiu was doing most of the playing.

“That was exciting,” Tong Qiu sighed, “Life really is filled with wonders.”

“You thought that was amazing?” Huo Zhixing laughed at him, “Tong-laoshi should really go out and see the world.”

Tong Qiu glared at him and listened to the noise outside.

It was already late, and yet those elders outside really were such role models. They said they would go to bed early, but until now their little merry making was continuing.

From inside their bedroom, Tong Qiu and Huo Zhixing could still hear grandpa and the others chatting. Their bedroom was very close to the living room. During the “exam” just now, several times they could hear footsteps approach. It always made them scared to death, each time constantly feeling like the devil coming for their souls. Fortunately, the footsteps would just pass by on their way to the bathroom.

“It’s quite interesting.” Huo Zhixing commented, “We can try more locations in the future.”

“You can do it yourself. I can’t take the risk of being found out.” Tong Qiu turned over and gently rubbed Huo Zhixing’s shoulder with his hand. “Is it still painful? We’ll have it checked with a therapist tomorrow.”

Huo Zhixing always liked it whenever Tong Qiu showed he distressed and worried over him. It makes him feel like Tong Qiu also loved him.

Sometimes Huo Zhixing felt like he’s stuck in a trance and can’t figure out Tong Qiu thoughts.

Both of them have already reached this point, and all pretenses have been shed, what’s left unclear are their feelings for one another.

Huo Zhixing liked Tong Qiu, and for him they weren’t divorced – just on a break. But what about Tong Qiu? Does he share the same thoughts? The closer they were to each other, the more Hou Zhixing couldn’t figure it out. What he can be sure of is that Tong Qiu liked sleeping with him. But at the same time, he also knew that a lot of people in this world see love and lust separately. He has no idea if Tong Qiu shared the same ideal.

Huo Zhixing hoped not.

He hoped the other person liked him beyond physical pleasure.

Huo Zhixing sighed softly as he looked at the person beside him, who was too preoccupied staring at his shoulder in worry.

Well, reading this person’s heart was comparable to looking for a needle at the bottom of the sea.

He took Tong Qiu’s hand and kissed the ring on his fourth finger: “I wanted to ask this earlier, why did you wore the ring again?”

Tong Qiu felt embarrassed when he was asked.

In fact, the last time the both of them went to the cinema, he noticed that Huo Zhixing was still wearing his ring, which moved him deeply. After that, for several times he tried to wear his ring back, as a response for the other party, but he never found a suitable opportunity.

Both of them wearing their previous wedding rings, seemed to come across that they were still together.

Tong-laoshi became shy.

He waited for a long time, and finally came back to see his grandfather on May 1st. How could he let go of such a good opportunity?

“It’s because we came here to celebrate my grandfather’s birthday,” Tong Qiu said, “I thought that if they saw that I didn’t wear a ring, they would bombard us with questions.”

“What about it?” Huo Zhixing looked at him with a smile and asked deliberately.

Tong Qiu looked back at the other, hesitated for a moment, then said, “I’m afraid they’ll worry unnecessarily.”

Huo Zhixing remembered that Tong Qiu said the same thing when they decided to get divorced. He said that he was scared his parents would worry. So for the time being, news of their divorce shouldn’t be leaked to them. They would take their time and wait for a suitable time to come clean.

Huo Zhixing pulled Tong Qiu deeper in his hold, and said with a smile: “There wasn’t any quarrel that happened. My parents would know how much I’m unwilling to argue with you.”

Tong Qiu could feel goosebumps run through his arms, yet his heart couldn’t help but feel moved.

After all, Tong Qiu had a certain weakness for gentle people, and Huo Zhixing in particular seems to always know how to poke his heart. Those seemingly inadvertent words the other uttered casually never failed to make his heart tingle in excitement.

However, after a few seconds, Tong Qiu was still confused and asked, “Yes, we did not quarrel, but we’re divorced instead.”

Huo Zhixing laughed and pinched his nose, complaining: “But it wasn’t me who took the initiative, it was your decision.”

Tong Qiu thought about it. That’s true, it was he who first broached the subject. At that time, he thought he had made the right decision, but now he felt like his face was slapped silly.

“Tong Qiu.”

“Huh?”

“The ring looks good on you.” Huo Zhixing took Tong Qiu’s hand and looked at the wedding ring that he hasn’t seen for a long time.

He remembered the time back when they had bought their rings, the sales clerk who assisted them had commented with a smile that it looked good on them.

Although it could be considered as mere sales pitch, but Huo Zhixing loved the flattery, and the two immediately decided to choose that particular pair.

On the day Huo Zhixing and Tong Qiu got their marriage certificate, he personally put the ring on Tong Qiu’s finger. At that time, the both were still awkward and shy around each other, but they were trully happy.

As for the subsequent divorce, Huo Zhixing wasn’t worried about it. He didn’t know where he got the confidence from, but he felt like Tong Qiu would wear it again sooner or later.

Now, it’s back.

Tong Qiu also stared at his fingers, feeling that the ring was shining brighter.

He smiled and said, “Really? Then I won’t take it off.”

Nell’s Corner:

No author’s note this time haha!

Sorry I wasn’t able to update last week. My laptop decided to give up on me and gave me the dreaded white screen of death sobs. Please don’t hesitate to tell me any mistake you come across with, I unfortunately had to do this on my phone because all hope is lost for my lappy. Have to buy a new one sobs.

On a different note, I finally got Ko-fi! If you like what I’m doing a cup would be appreciated! (Though I’ll use that to buy tea instead, since after I survived the pesky virus coffee broke up with me ㅠㅠ)