When Xiao Yao’s hand landed on Ti Xiao’s shoulder, Ti Xiao felt as if a hundred thousand “grass mud horses” (a Chinese internet slang term expressing frustration)—no, a hundred thousand Smurfs—were galloping wildly in the depths of his heart.
But at the same time, for some reason, the anxiety that had been hanging over Ti Xiao’s heart suddenly eased, as if he was secretly relieved that he wasn’t quite ready to accept all of this yet.
After all, he was just a kid who had graduated from kindergarten less than twenty years ago.
“Are you free this Sunday?” Xiao Yao asked, giving Ti Xiao’s shoulder another pat. “About that meal I owe you.”
Xiao Yao, being a teacher, had the luxury of winter and summer vacations, as well as weekends off. However, he wasn’t sure what Ti Xiao did for a living. Worried that Ti Xiao might only have one day off a week, he cautiously suggested Sunday.
This Sunday—just four days away.
Happiness came a little too suddenly.
“Yes, yes, I’m free,” Ti Xiao replied eagerly, nodding like a little chick pecking at rice, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on Xiao Yao.
Xiao Yao, oh Xiao Yao, so tall, so handsome, so tempting, so… flirty.
In that instant, Ti Xiao felt like composing a poem.
“Good,” Xiao Yao nodded slightly, still a bit bothered that he hadn’t managed to pinch Ti Xiao’s cheek.
After all, they were just neighbors, and both were grown men. Such an action might have been inappropriate and could easily be misinterpreted.
Just then, the checkout line finally reached Ti Xiao. Afraid that Xiao Yao might try to pay for him again, he quickly handed his shopping basket to the cashier.
Noticing that Xiao Yao was only holding a box of rice and a bottle of oolong tea, Ti Xiao’s eyes darted around. Seizing the moment while Xiao Yao was looking at his phone, he quietly snatched the two items from Xiao Yao’s hand.
When their hands brushed against each other, Ti Xiao’s heart let out a silent scream.
“Let me pay for you this time. I felt bad about you paying last time,” Ti Xiao said with a serious tone, mimicking Xiao Yao’s previous move by stepping to the side to block his path, as if afraid Xiao Yao would take the items back.
But he had underestimated Xiao Yao’s height.
Xiao Yao’s fingertips grazed Ti Xiao’s cheek as his long arm effortlessly reached over and retrieved his items from the counter.
As he leaned in, Ti Xiao caught a whiff of a scent reminiscent of snow—pure, crisp, and slightly cold.
And Xiao Yao finally got half of what he wanted—the touch did feel nice.
“Thanks, but no need. I’ll handle it myself,” Xiao Yao said calmly, clutching his items.
Though he appreciated Ti Xiao’s gesture, deep down, Xiao Yao had a principle: he’d rather owe others a little more than let others owe him anything.
He had already used Ti Xiao’s Wi-Fi, so treating him to a meal or paying for his things felt natural to Xiao Yao. But if it were the other way around—like Ti Xiao paying for him—it made him feel uncomfortable all over.
Ti Xiao stuck out his tongue sheepishly, though Xiao Yao couldn’t see it. Oh well, no big deal. They were neighbors, after all. There would be plenty of opportunities in the future.
As they left the convenience store, this time the silence between them wasn’t as awkward as before.
Xiao Yao was the one to break the ice: “If you don’t mind me asking, what do you do for work?”
“I work from home. I’m an artist,” Ti Xiao replied, munching on a bag of chips he had just opened. He wasn’t really that hungry, but he was nervous. Walking side by side with his crush, having just sort of held hands and touched his face, left him so excited he didn’t know what to do with himself. He needed something to keep his hands busy.
The chips rustled in the bag with each step, the sound masking Ti Xiao’s slight unease.
Hearing that Ti Xiao was an artist, Xiao Yao was surprised. He hadn’t expected his unassuming neighbor to be into art. “What kind of art do you do?” he asked.
“Oil painting,” Ti Xiao lied without batting an eye, crunching on the chips.
Being a manga artist, especially one who drew BL (boys’ love) comics, was still a niche profession. So, he fell back on his college major, which sounded more impressive.
Xiao Yao paused for a moment, then nodded. “Oil painting is nice.”
“But your English is really good. Did you study abroad?” Ti Xiao asked, finally speaking up after finishing the small bag of chips he had been nervously devouring.
“Not bad, I guess. I spent a few years overseas, so I can manage to communicate with foreigners,” Xiao Yao replied modestly, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
That smile made Ti Xiao’s heart skip a beat.
I want to see him smile like this every day.
The smile also helped Ti Xiao shake off some of his nervousness, and he slipped back into his usual chatty self, finally opening up that sweet, sweet floodgate of conversation.
“What did you eat to grow so tall?”
“Believe me, my actual height is 175 cm. With shoes, I’m about 178 cm.”
“Ugh, you tall people just don’t understand the struggles of us short folks.”
And so on. Most of the chatter came from Ti Xiao, with Xiao Yao chiming in occasionally or simply smiling. Though the conversation was light and trivial, Ti Xiao was over the moon just to be talking to Xiao Yao like this.
If I could have this every day, I’d never miss a deadline again.
Even my editor would probably wake up laughing in their sleep.
When they reached their doors, Ti Xiao mustered up the courage to pull out his phone. “Want to exchange WeChat?”
Wait, does that sound like I’m trying to hook up?
Thinking this, Ti Xiao quickly backtracked, adding, “Uh, I mean, just to stay in touch. You know, since we’re neighbors and all.”
“Sure,” Xiao Yao said, switching from unlocking his door to pulling out his phone. He scanned the QR code Ti Xiao showed him.
The moment the friend request was accepted, Ti Xiao felt like fireworks were going off in his heart—no, 233 fireworks, all exploding at once, with a cacophony of crackles and pops that couldn’t even begin to capture the excitement he felt.
I could step onto a stage right now and sing a heartfelt song thanking my parents and everyone else.
Just as Ti Xiao was about to retreat into his apartment, cradling his newly acquired WeChat contact like a treasure, Xiao Yao called out to him, his tone uncharacteristically hesitant.
“Hey,” Xiao Yao said.
Ti Xiao turned to see Xiao Yao standing there, his nearly 190 cm frame looking a little awkward, his long limbs seemingly unsure of where to place themselves. The word “awkward” was practically written all over him.
“What’s your name? I don’t know what to call you yet,” Xiao Yao asked, a slight tremor in his voice that even he didn’t notice. He really wasn’t used to this kind of thing.
“Ti Xiao. ‘Ti’ as in ‘topic,’ and ‘Xiao’ as in ‘autumn breeze,’ with the grass radical and the character for ‘solemn’ underneath,” Ti Xiao explained, typing something on his phone.
Xiao Yao’s phone buzzed twice, and a message popped up:
“Ti Xiao.”
After closing the door, Ti Xiao immediately dropped his things and started spinning around with his cat, Little Purr, in his arms, a huge grin plastered on his face.
He asked for my name! He asked for my name! He asked for my name!
This was a monumental step forward in my quest to flirt with him!
As Ti Xiao danced around his apartment, humming a waltz with his cat, he had no idea that on the other side of the wall, Xiao Yao was staring at Ti Xiao’s WeChat profile, deep in thought.
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