Chapter 29

The evening “exercise” started early and ended early. By the time the two had moved from Du Chi’s bedroom to the bathroom, and then from the bathroom to Xiang Mo’s bedroom, it was only midnight.

Outside the window, the streets were enveloped in silence, with only the streetlights casting a quiet glow. This time was perfect for people to leave. Exhausted, Xiang Mo lay on the bed, lazily scrolling through his phone. He asked the still nibbling Du Chi on his shoulder, “Why haven’t you left yet?”

Du Chi paused in his actions and raised an eyebrow in dissatisfaction. “This used to be my bed.”

“Used to be,” Xiang Mo turned over and continued looking at his phone. “Go sleep upstairs. I don’t like sleeping with someone else.”

Actually, they had shared a bed last night, but that was because it was already three in the morning when they finished. Out of courtesy, Xiang Mo couldn’t ask Du Chi to leave at that time. Also, he was too tired and didn’t have the energy to talk, so he let Du Chi stay overnight.

Putting aside the unexpected from last night, Xiang Mo genuinely didn’t like having someone sleep next to him.

When sleeping alone, he could freely sprawl on the bed without any worries. However, when there was someone else, he had to be mindful not to disturb them and would feel annoyed if they disturbed him.

In the end, sleeping alone was the most comfortable.

Du Chi still hadn’t moved, glancing at Xiang Mo’s phone screen. “Are you booking tickets for the art exhibition?”

“Yeah,” Xiang Mo divided his attention to Du Chi, “Can we go in the late afternoon on Saturday?”

He forgot to continue the sentence as his gaze was drawn to Du Chi’s lips. During their intense moment earlier, he accidentally bit Du Chi’s lower lip too hard, giving the smelly dog another reason to tease him.

“Are you sure you don’t like kissing?” Du Chi touched his lips, looking at Xiang Mo with a smile. “Is this how little cats behave, saying one thing but meaning another?”

Xiang Mo was older than Du Chi, and he had talked to him about this before. But Du Chi insisted on calling him a little cat, making him feel uncomfortable.

“Fine,” Du Chi’s voice brought Xiang Mo back to reality. “I know you have class before 3 PM.”

Indeed, explanations with Du Chi were always unnecessary.

Xiang Mo picked the right time slot, clicked on the payment page, but at that moment, Du Chi suddenly snatched his phone away. “No need to buy tickets, I can get insider passes.”

A strange feeling flashed in Xiang Mo’s heart. He thought of a reasonable explanation, “Do you know someone?”

“Yeah,” Du Chi didn’t elaborate.

That’s good. Xiang Mo took his phone back from Du Chi’s hand, placed it on the bedside table, and looked at Du Chi, asking, “Why haven’t you left yet?”

Du Chi held him motionless. “I’m the one inviting you to the exhibition. Are you really going to let me leave?”

Xiang Mo thought about it and realized that was true.

It wasn’t about the money; he wanted to compensate Du Chi for making him upset. But now it turned into Du Chi inviting him, which meant he hadn’t settled the score from before.

It sounded reasonable, and Xiang Mo didn’t know how to refute it.

Before Xiang Mo could respond, Du Chi pressed against his ear and closed his eyes. “I’m going to sleep now.”

Looking at the rascal lying next to him, Xiang Mo gently curved the corners of his mouth, no longer saying anything, and leaned against Du Chi’s forehead to fall asleep.

Downstairs, the doorbell suddenly rang, accompanied by Zhao Xiaoqiao’s shout, “Xiang-ge, are you there?”

It turned out that the “Ultraman” next door at the noodle shop suddenly went haywire. It was supposed to neatly push the noodle strips into the pot, but now its frequency and direction were out of control, scattering noodles all over the shop.

Big Sister Zhao didn’t know how to solve it and thought maybe Xiang-ge would be good with machines, so she asked Zhao Xiaoqiao to call Xiang Mo and Du Chi to help.

The Ultraman in charge of cutting noodles had been shut down, and the dough was removed from its head. It was now wearing a flat chef’s hat and holding two cutting boards. The two “salted eggs” on its face, one tall and one short, had gone unnoticed before, but now they looked quite funny.

“Xiao Xiang, Xiao Du, can you help take a look and see what’s going on?” Big Sister Zhao anxiously asked.

Xiang Mo knew nothing about machines, but Du Chi was good at maintaining motorcycles and had a basic understanding of principles. He opened Ultraman’s back panel and quickly found the problem, “The gears here are misaligned.”

Putting on a burlap glove, he reached in and adjusted the gears. Soon, Ultraman’s frequency returned to normal, but the angle of cutting still needed adjustment. So Zhao Big Sister put the dough back on Ultraman’s head and turned it on again.

It seemed that the change in weight caused the gears to misalign again, and Ultraman went crazy once more, scattering noodles everywhere.

Xiang Mo happened to be standing across from Ultraman, and several pieces of noodles flew directly onto his head and face, catching him off guard and leaving him looking dazed.

Big Sister Zhao quickly turned off the switch, and at the same time, Xiang Mo heard Du Chi’s laughter.

“Artist, you have quite a unique look there,” Du Chi remarked.

Xiang Mo took down the noodles that were no longer suitable for cooking and threw them at Du Chi, saying, “Don’t laugh at me.”

The noodles smacked Du Chi’s face like a seal, sealing his laughter. Seeing Du Chi’s appearance, Xiang Mo couldn’t help but laugh as well. “You have a unique look too.”

“Really?” Du Chi removed the noodles stuck to his face and walked closer, hugging Xiang Mo’s shoulder and pressing some noodles onto his face. “Then let me give you another one.”

“Du Chi, stop messing around!”

“Who said I’m messing around?”

Just as Du Chi’s hand was about to touch Xiang Mo’s face, his phone suddenly rang.

Du Chi cooperatively stopped the playful gesture and released Xiang Mo’s shoulder.

Xiang Mo took out his phone and saw it was a call from Qian Kun. He directly declined the call. However, as he lifted his gaze from the phone screen, he suddenly caught sight of a familiar figure standing outside the courtyard.

Qian Kun slowly put his phone back by his ear and looked at Xiang Mo with a complex expression. It seemed that he didn’t find anyone next door, so he heard the commotion and came over to take a look.

“Do you want me to help?” Du Chi said with a casual expression, glancing at Qian Kun before looking at Xiang Mo.

“No need,” Xiang Mo shook his head. “I’ll handle it myself.”

Qian Kun had come to find him multiple times, and it seemed that a casual conversation wouldn’t be enough.

Du Chi stayed at the noodle shop to help adjust Ultraman, while Xiang Mo brought Qian Kun to his art studio.

There was no one else in the studio, and unlike the open space in the courtyard, it should provide a suitable environment for their conversation.

“Do you want some water?” Xiang Mo casually asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest and leaning against a long table. He had no intention of going upstairs to get water.

“No, thanks.” Qian Kun moved his lips and looked around the studio before falling into silence.

Xiang Mo sensed that something was off with Qian Kun’s mood, but he didn’t want to delve into it and patiently asked, “Can you stop coming to find me?”

After saying this, he added, “I don’t want to move.”

The words were decisive and even carried a hint of threat, but Qian Kun seemed unable to accept it.

Xiang Mo was prepared for a prolonged battle, but what he didn’t expect was that Qian Kun just sighed and said, “Okay.”

This caught Xiang Mo off guard, and he didn’t know how to respond.

“I can tell that you have a good relationship,” Qian Kun said, suddenly changing the topic. “When he left, your eyes were full of him. You really like him, don’t you?”

Xiang Mo was taken aback by the question. Did he?

“You were so happy when you were with him just now.” Qian Kun lowered his gaze, exuding a strong sense of frustration. “This side of you used to be only for me, but now you don’t smile at me anymore.”

Hearing this, Xiang Mo suddenly felt agitated and turned away, not wanting to continue the conversation.

Qian Kun’s words poked at something he didn’t want to think about. His words were like a catalyst, causing the seeds buried deep in Xiang Mo’s heart to germinate, leaving no possibility for reversal.

Xiang Mo didn’t want to admit it, but Du Chi did mean something special to him. Special enough that he needed to draw a line of caution, yet he was willing to expose himself to danger.

“I heard you’ve been single all this time, and I thought you were waiting for me. Even though you’ve been driving me away, I thought you were just still angry. I was wrong, Xiang Mo. You’re right; I’m already in the past, and you’ve found someone new.”

No, he wasn’t waiting for anyone. He was simply enjoying his single life, and Du Chi’s appearance was a complete accident for him.

Xiang Mo subconsciously wanted to deny it, feeling guilty even though he himself wasn’t aware of it. However, reason told him that since Qian Kun misunderstood, it might be a good opportunity to solve this problem.

“After three years of not seeing each other, it seems that many things have changed,” Qian Kun said, his tone filled with nostalgia. “Maybe I shouldn’t have left back then.”

He then chuckled with self-deprecation, “But now, saying all this doesn’t matter anymore.”

After a long silence, Xiang Mo finally replied, “You know, that’s enough.”

“I won’t come to find you anymore,” Qian Kun sighed, looking at Xiang Mo again. “I wish you happiness.”

After Qian Kun left, Xiang Mo remained alone in the quiet art studio, lost in thought.

Tiny mosquitoes flew in from the door, constantly approaching the hot lights and being driven away by the high temperature, repeating this process.

Being misunderstood wasn’t so bad. Xiang Mo thought.

Even though he wasn’t sure himself, Qian Kun’s thoughts might have been misunderstood.

He didn’t know how much time had passed when Du Chi walked into the studio. As usual, he greeted Xiang Mo with a playful tone, “Wifey?”

Xiang Mo’s scattered thoughts suddenly gathered, and he left the long table to stand straight, speaking in a calm tone to Du Chi, “My ex-boyfriend won’t come here anymore.”

“Okay.”

“Du Chi,” Xiang Mo called his name and concealed the surging emotions in his heart, “You don’t need to call me ‘wifey’ anymore.”

The studio fell silent once more, and silence flowed between the two.

Du Chi looked at Xiang Mo with deep eyes, seemingly without any ripples. It was unclear what he was thinking.

After a long while, he opened his lips, “Alright.”

“Teacher Xiang.”

 

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