Chapter 36
It was just a passing thought to hold an art exhibition, and Xiang Mo would never seriously consider it.
Even if he really wanted to hold an exhibition, he would never involve Du Chi in it. Just like naming the studio, career and emotions should not be mixed.
Du Chi’s figure drawing still wasn’t finished.
Every time they started, they couldn’t last half an hour before ending up back in bed. Xiang Mo even purposely chose the morning to draw, but the result remained the same.
Not only could Du Chi not hold back, but Xiang Mo couldn’t either.
Xiang Mo kept reminding himself that he couldn’t be so reckless next time, but as the day of their breakup approached, he found himself wanting to be careless even more.
Why were humans so contradictory?
As he repeatedly added shadows to the figure on the paper, Xiang Mo’s mind was preoccupied with this question.
It seemed that only when he immersed himself in painting could he remain unaffected by Du Chi and keep a clear mind.
Well, he admitted that even then, it wasn’t entirely true.
The figure on the paper was still Du Chi. In fact, the more he painted, the more he became infatuated.
Before falling, a person would not know they were going to fall. It was only at the moment of tripping that the brain would signal danger. But at that point, it was too late to stop the fall, and one could only try to protect the vital parts of their body and avoid getting hurt too badly.
Now Xiang Mo felt the same way. He was becoming more and more certain that he would trip and fall for Du Chi.
Fortunately, a month was not too long, not enough time to leave indelible traces. If he wanted to forget, it shouldn’t be too difficult.
Or so he hoped.
The doorbell downstairs disturbed Xiang Mo’s thoughts while he was painting. By this time, the sun had already set, and he wondered who could be visiting at this hour.
Du Chi was busy upstairs with his own work, and he hadn’t mentioned anything about someone coming. Thinking this, Xiang Mo put down his brush and went to the window to take a look. To his surprise, he saw Ye Xing standing outside the courtyard.
Normally, when one of Du Chi’s friends came, it would be Du Chi who answered the door. However, a certain inexplicable psychological factor made Xiang Mo not want the two of them to meet alone.
Coming out of the bedroom, Du Chi happened to come downstairs as well. He told Xiang Mo, “Ye Xing is looking for you,” but didn’t stop walking. Instead, he walked ahead of Xiang Mo.
“I see,” Du Chi dragged his flip-flops and followed behind Mo, “He didn’t tell me in advance.”
They both reached the ground floor, and Mo opened the courtyard door. He saw Ye Xing with red eyes, as if he had just been crying. As soon as he saw Du Chi, Ye Xing rushed into his arms, with a sob in his voice, “I’ve been dumped again, Du Chi.”
Du Chi took a step back from the sudden embrace, unsure of where to put his hands, looking awkward. No matter how many bad things he had done in the past, he always appeared in control. This was the first time Xiang Mo had seen a trace of nervousness in his eyes.
“Comfort him,” Xiang Mo said calmly, turning around and heading back inside.
“Wait, wifey,” Du Chi quickly pushed Ye Xing away and grabbed Xiang Mo’s wrist.
Ye Xing immediately stopped crying and looked at Du Chi, then at Xiang Mo, disbelief in his eyes. “Wifey?”
….
The boiling kettle beeped, releasing a large amount of white steam.
Xiang Mo made a cup of herbal tea and placed it in front of Ye Xing, then sat down beside Du Chi.
During the few minutes they waited for the water to boil, Xiang Mo had already heard the general situation. Apparently, Ye Xing went to a bar with his boyfriend and ran into the person his boyfriend was cheating on him with. It was only then that Ye Xing found out his boyfriend was a sea king.
“Why can’t I have beer?” Ye Xing looked dissatisfiedly at the beer cans in front of Xiang Mo and Du Chi, “Are people who have been dumped not allowed to drink?”
“I won’t be able to drive you home later,” Du Chi lazily drank his beer, saying coldly.
His coldness was not just a facade, he really drank the beer, making it clear that no matter how Ye Xing might act later, he would not be able to drive him home.
But Ye Xing seemed to have put his breakup on the backburner. He didn’t look like he wanted to vent.
He crossed his arms and stared seriously at the two of them. “What’s going on with you two?”
Du Chi stretched his arms around Xiang Mo’s shoulders. “Just this.”
Ye Xing looked at Xiang Mo incredulously, then back at Du Chi, unable to believe it. “Friends with benefits?”
Du Chi said, “Boyfriends.”
“Teacher Xiang,” Ye Xing quickly looked at Xiang Mo, his eyebrows twisted tightly, “how can you be like this?”
Xiang Mo suddenly felt a bit uneasy.
Not because he wanted to persuade Ye Xing to let go of Du Chi while he himself was with Du Chi, making Ye Xing think he was scheming. But he suddenly realized that the current situation was like announcing their relationship in front of friends. However, for a couple with a limited one-month relationship, was it really necessary?
After they broke up with Du Chi, both he and Ye Xing would become some kind of past for Du Chi.
So, was there any need or qualification for him to sit beside Du Chi and show off their relationship?
“What’s he like?” Du Chi interrupted before Xiang Mo could respond, “I pursued him, do you have a problem with that?”
Xiang Mo wasn’t afraid of Ye Xing’s accusations; he wouldn’t care about them. However, Du Chi’s “I’ll handle everything” attitude did make him feel that his big dog really had boyfriend material.
It seemed like every time, Du Chi always made him feel at ease.
A terrifying thought suddenly popped into Xiang Mo’s mind. He seemed to… not want to break up with Du Chi anymore.
“Aren’t you against dating?” Ye Xing redirected his fire towards Du Chi, looking at him with a touch of grievance, “You liar!”
“If I haven’t met the right person, why should I date?”
“So, you just don’t like me.”
“Congratulations, you finally figured it out.”
Du Chi’s tone was as cheeky as ever, but Ye Xing seemed to be used to it and didn’t get genuinely angry. He stood up from the chair, stared at both of them, and said, “I must be sick, coming here for dog food after a breakup.”
Xiang Mo didn’t say a word. He swore he didn’t intend to show off their relationship, but he couldn’t control a certain mischievous dog. He couldn’t blame anyone but himself.
Du Chi stood up as well and said to Xiang Mo, “I’ll take him to the car.”
Xiang Mo replied, “Okay.”
He didn’t like the idea of the two of them being alone together, but he wasn’t that petty.
As they came out of the building, Ye Xing walked ahead with a sullen expression, while Du Chi’s tall figure easily kept up with him. Du Chi played with his phone, saying, “I’ve ordered a car for you.”
“I’m not going back,” Ye Xing slowed down his pace and glared at Du Chi in displeasure, “I want to go to a bar and party all night.”
“Alright, I’ll tell your mom then,” Du Chi said nonchalantly.
“You…” Ye Xing took a deep breath, knowing what kind of person Du Chi was. He didn’t want to provoke him any further and asked, “Why did you suddenly want to date?”
“Met him, that’s all,” Du Chi put away his phone, speaking in a light and casual tone, as if he were asking, “What other reason could there be?”
Before meeting him, Du Chi had no interest in dating anyone.
This might be the most heartfelt confession Ye Xing had ever heard, but coming from Du Chi, it was somewhat unbelievable.
“What exactly attracted you to him? Is he good-looking?”
“Hmm,” Du Chi looked across the street, “everything about him is good-looking.”
“But there are so many good-looking people; is he really that special?”
“Otherwise?” Du Chi turned his gaze back to Ye Xing, counter-questioning.
Okay, Ye Xing rolled his eyes, not wanting to eat any more dog food.
“Do you know that I have a painting by him in my collection?” Du Chi continued, nonchalantly. “I bought it at an art exhibition.”
“The one hanging by your bedside?” Ye Xing recalled, “The one with the naked angel?”
Du Chi occasionally invited friends to his villa, and many people knew that he liked the painting hanging by his bedside.
Since it was too much trouble, he didn’t bring the painting when he moved to the old villa.
“Yes,” Du Chi said calmly, “it’s his work.”
“Ah?!” Ye Xing widened his eyes. He had heard about Xiang Mo before, but he hadn’t seen every one of his works.
“I found out it was him after moving here,” Du Chi smiled lightly, looking at Ye Xing. “Coincidental, isn’t it?”
“Okay, okay,” Ye Xing twitched his lips, almost choked by the overwhelming lovey-dovey atmosphere, “Are you planning to introduce him to your dad?”
“Let’s see,” Du Chi sighed and his smile faded.
“Isn’t your dad going to open a studio for you?” Ye Xing asked curiously, “When are you going back home?”
“Not sure,” Du Chi’s tone changed, and the last trace of a smile disappeared from his face.
Ye Xing noticed the change in Du Chi’s attitude and an uncertain thought came to his mind. “Is he willing to go back home with you?”
This time, Du Chi didn’t answer.
He didn’t want to be too eager, because if he wasn’t careful, a certain timid cat would run away.
The mobile phone screen displayed a message that the ride-hailing driver was stuck at a busy intersection and would take a few more minutes to arrive.
At this moment, a WeChat message popped up at the top of the screen.
[Wife: Why haven’t you come back yet?]
Cats were like that, always observing secretly, curious as can be.
A smile appeared on Du Chi’s lips again as he answered Ye Xing’s previous question, “Almost there.”
