At eight in the morning, the sunlight disturbed Xiang Mo’s sleep, and he couldn’t fall back asleep. He lay idle in bed, listening to the melodious birdsong outside the window.
In the kitchen, the usual sounds of cooking could be heard—the sizzling of the frying pan, probably frying eggs since there was no bacon in the fridge, and the humming of the juicer, likely juicing oranges that Xiang Mo saw Du Chi buy yesterday.
Xiang Mo had originally planned to get up and freshen up after the noise died down. However, at this moment, he heard the sound of scratching on the door and the whining of his cat, Sanmei.
The scratching sound grew louder, accompanied by Sanmei’s mournful calls. Xiang Mo had no choice but to get up from bed, dragging his tired legs to the door. He opened it, looking at Sanmei crouching outside, “Why are you waking me up so early?”
Sanmei turned around and ran into the kitchen, then looked back at Xiang Mo, as if asking him to follow.
The kitchen was brightly lit, and Xiang Mo could see Du Chi wearing an apron, shuttling between the countertop and the dining table.
The apron belonged to Xiang Mo.
There were two sets of breakfast on the dining table.
The way they interacted with each other hadn’t returned to the original state, but it seemed to have become much more relaxed. Sharing the same space, they no longer had the same rhythm. Du Chi finished breakfast first and said to Xiang Mo, “I’m done eating,” then left the kitchen.
Xiang Mo could feel that when Du Chi spoke to him, there was no emotion.
No complaints, no dissatisfaction, and no trace of sulking or anything else. It was just a casual, natural return to the way neighbors interacted.
Of course, not entirely like neighbors.
Du Chi said, “I took an advance for next week, so I won’t come until the week after next.”
Xiang Mo had been afraid that their relationship would become awkward, but he didn’t expect Du Chi to be so carefree, coming and going as he pleased, unaffected in the slightest.
Actually, if possible, Xiang Mo didn’t want to change their bed companion relationship.
He enjoyed being intimate with Du Chi, but he wasn’t sure if Du Chi would mind his actions of setting boundaries.
Now it seemed that Du Chi didn’t mind and was just like him, not wanting unnecessary things to affect their happiness.
Lately, Xiang Mo had often lost track of Sanmei.
He had been careful not to let Sanmei go outside, but this mischievous cat always disappeared.
After searching on the first and second floors to no avail, Xiang Mo arrived at the third-floor balcony and unsurprisingly found Du Chi sitting on a lounge chair, enjoying the evening breeze.
“Is Sanmei here?” Xiang Mo stood at the entrance of the balcony, not entering.
“In my room.” Du Chi put down the beer can in his hand. “Do you want to see her?”
Xiang Mo felt a bit strange. Sanmei was clearly his cat, but the way Du Chi asked made it seem like he was the owner?
If he said he didn’t want to see her, it would make him look petty after searching for her for so long. But if he said he wanted to see her, he would have to go to Du Chi’s room, which would inevitably evoke some uncomfortable memories.
Before Xiang Mo could respond, Du Chi had already walked past him and stood in front of his own bedroom door, opening it.
Unlike the last time he entered, Du Chi’s room now had a small wooden house in the corner, and Sanmei was curled up inside, sleeping soundly.
Xiang Mo crouched down in front of the little house, “You made her a nest?”
“It’s a maternity room.” Du Chi sat cross-legged next to Xiang Mo. “Her due date is next month.”
The doctor had also reminded Xiang Mo about this. He thought Sanmei would give birth in the cat’s nest, but he didn’t expect that they would need a maternity room.
“I don’t know anything.” He suddenly felt worried and looked at Du Chi beside him, “What if something goes wrong when the time comes?”
“It’ll be fine.” Du Chi looked at Sanmei and said casually, “I’m here.”
His tone was casual, carrying the laziness unique to him, but the words he said made Xiang Mo feel at ease.
A string in his heart was lightly plucked, causing ripples to spread.
At this moment, Xiang Mo suddenly realized that he and Du Chi were still different.
The burgeoning affection that had already emerged couldn’t be suppressed, no matter how much Xiang Mo tried to ignore it. It existed deep in his heart, and he couldn’t turn a blind eye to it.
He thought he was a carefree person who could effortlessly control his emotions and keep a clear boundary with Du Chi. However, reality seemed to be different.
Without the playful teasing and warm embraces, everything felt uncomfortable for Xiang Mo.
He had never realized that forming habits could happen so quickly.
A tinge of sourness welled up in his heart, and even his tongue felt a bit bitter.
Xiang Mo found out that he couldn’t handle things as smoothly and freely as Du Chi did.
“Xiang Mo?” Du Chi’s voice interrupted Xiang Mo’s thoughts. “Are we still going to the art exhibition on Saturday?”
As he said this, Du Chi casually rested his hands behind his back, as if it didn’t matter to him whether they went or not.
Xiang Mo was definitely going to the exhibition; it was an artist he liked. Even if Du Chi didn’t go, he would still attend.
Suppressing the strange emotions in his heart, he maintained a calm demeanor, “Yes.”
Xiang Mo was about to ask Du Chi if he was going or not, but Du Chi spoke before he could, “Then I’ll come to pick you up at 3:30 pm.”
Du Chi skipped the question of whether he would go or not, assuming that if Xiang Mo went to the art exhibition, he would accompany him.
Xiang Mo felt relieved because he did want to go to the exhibition with Du Chi.
On Saturday morning, Du Chi left early, and Xiang Mo, as usual, taught his advanced sketching class to his students, but his mind was somewhat absent.
Meng Yun came to help in the studio and chatted with Xiang Mo during their free time, “Is the teacher not here today?”
Xiang Mo took a sip of the flower tea in his hand and looked at the progress of the students’ drawings, casually responding, “Hmm.”
Meng Yun chuckled, “Do you not want to teach and want to go on a date?”
Xiang Mo furrowed his brows slightly, “It’s not like that.”
After 3 pm, the students left one after another.
With Meng Yun’s help, Xiang Mo tidied up the studio and then went upstairs to change into his outfit to go out. He wore a white short-sleeved shirt with khaki knee-length shorts, and a pair of light-colored loafers, a very casual outfit.
As he descended from the second floor to the first floor, he received a message from Du Chi, saying that he had arrived at the gate.
Xiang Mo calmly walked out of the studio, faintly hearing Meng Yun and Du Chi chatting outside the courtyard.
“Are you two going on a date?”
“We’re going to the art exhibition.”
“Isn’t that a date?”
As Xiang Mo walked out of the courtyard, he froze in place.
Just beside the not-so-wide street was a bright blue Maserati. Du Chi was wearing a casual beige suit, leaning lazily against the driver’s door, with his hands casually crossed in front of his chest. The Rolex watch on his left wrist gleamed in the sunlight.
“Xiang Mo,” Meng Yun saw Xiang Mo and said excitedly, “I knew it. You looked like you didn’t want to teach. Turns out you’re in a hurry to go on a date.”
Xiang Mo: “…”
He was a bit unsure of the situation now.
Xiang Mo knew that Du Chi came from a well-off family, but he didn’t expect it to be so exaggerated.
Sitting in a luxury car he had never sat in before, he momentarily forgot to buckle his seatbelt. As a result, when Du Chi leaned over, Xiang Mo caught a whiff of his light cologne and saw his expensive Rolex watch.
Was it really necessary to do all this just for an art exhibition?
Looking down at his white short-sleeved shirt, Xiang Mo suddenly felt like he might be a bit impolite.
“Did you go home?” Xiang Mo sat obediently in the passenger seat, allowing Du Chi to fasten his seatbelt for him.
“Yeah.” Du Chi started the engine. “The museum is a bit far, and it’s not convenient to ride a bike.”
Xiang Mo thought to himself, “We could have taken the subway.”
Until they arrived at the Fanghe Art Museum, Xiang Mo was still somewhat confused.
He thought he understood Du Chi, knew his daily habits and thought process. However, if you were to ask him, he couldn’t even remember Du Chi’s birthday.
“Xiao Du.” As soon as they entered the museum, a wealthy-looking man walked over and warmly greeted Du Chi. “How have you been, Xiao Du?”
“Fine, thank you, Uncle Li,” Du Chi replied casually.
Xiang Mo then realized that he actually knew very little about Du Chi’s world.
As they walked further into the art museum, Xiang Mo felt increasingly strange in his heart.
The spacious museum was adorned with many interesting artworks, but Xiang Mo’s mind was completely focused on Du Chi.
Du Chi, wearing a suit, still exuded his characteristic laziness. However, the neatly tied tie and straight dress pants revealed a side of Du Chi that Xiang Mo had never seen before.
When Du Chi’s hands were inserted into the pockets of his pants, the lapels of his jacket would slightly open up, revealing the outline of his chest hidden beneath the white shirt.
Xiang Mo knew exactly what lay beneath the shirt; he could even sketch it with his eyes closed. But looking at it from a distance, he felt a strange allure, both enticing and forbidden.
“Du Chi!”
Accompanying Du Chi through the second floor while being completely absent-minded, Xiang Mo suddenly heard a familiar voice.
Turning towards the voice, he saw Ye Xing walking towards them, pulling along a handsome man, possibly his new love interest.
“I heard you won the Fangzheng Award a few days ago. Aren’t you going to treat us to dinner?” Ye Xing asked.
Xiang Mo was momentarily taken aback. What award?
“We’ll do it some other time,” Du Chi replied. “And who’s this?”
“My boyfriend,” Ye Xing linked his arm with the man’s and introduced him with a name, then he went on to introduce Du Chi to the man, “This is Du Chi, and this art museum belongs to his family.”
Afterwards, he also gave Xiang Mo a perfunctory introduction.
Suppressing his shock, Xiang Mo awkwardly uttered, “Hello.”
Ye Xing mentioned that he had to go have dinner with his boyfriend, so he didn’t chat with Du Chi and Xiang Mo for too long and soon bid them farewell.
Xiang Mo was completely uninterested in appreciating the artworks at this point. It wasn’t that the paintings on the walls lacked appeal, but rather he realized that he truly didn’t understand Du Chi.
Various complex emotions coalesced, and the dominant one turned out to be anger.
Why didn’t Du Chi tell him about winning the award? Why didn’t he mention that he once had an art exhibition in his own family’s museum?
Was it because they weren’t close?
As the anger gradually built up, it suddenly deflated like a balloon losing air, leaving behind a sense of powerlessness.
They indeed weren’t close, so what reason did he have to be angry?
“Is this your family’s art museum?” Xiang Mo stood in front of a painting, casually asking Du Chi beside him.
After all, knowing such surprising news and not reacting at all might come off as unnatural.
“Yes,” Du Chi replied. “You didn’t ask.”
“Oh, I see,” Xiang Mo turned his head to appreciate the painting, not asking any more questions.
He thought he was perfectly hiding his emotions, but little did he know, even a fool could see that he was angry.
“I’m going to the restroom,” Xiang Mo said.
As Xiang Mo left, Du Chi stood waiting nearby. His position was not far from the entrance to the second floor, and Ye Xing emerged from inside the museum again and bumped into him.
“Where’s Teacher Xiang?” Ye Xing looked around curiously.
“In the restroom,” Du Chi replied.
“You seem a bit off today,” Ye Xing disregarded Xiang Mo and focused his attention on Du Chi, curiously examining him. “Don’t you hate wearing suits the most? Why did you dress so handsomely today?”
Du Chi glanced at his wristwatch and casually said, “Fishing for cats.”
Du Chi: Adept and at ease? All just an act.
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