Xu Chun took a moment to process his words, then turned to look at him a beat late. After silently staring straight at Xie Jianyuan's face for a while, he finally said something completely unrelated in a muffled voice.
"You look a lot like me."
Xie Jianyuan was slightly taken aback. He didn't know why Xu Chun had suddenly said that, but he played along and tried to placate him.
"But you're still the better-looking one."
Xu Chun gave him a listless look. "You're just humoring me."
Xie Jianyuan was at a loss for words and didn't quite know what to do with him, but he patiently continued trying to placate him. He thought that he had never humbled himself before anyone like this in his life. Wasn't it always others who had to watch his mood? Yet now he had to watch someone else's.
After a while, Xu Chun said he was thirsty, so Xie Jianyuan turned to pour him a glass of water. When he came back, he found that Xu Chun had already fallen asleep, his head tilted to one side.
Xie Jianyuan sighed inwardly, set the glass on the coffee table, then went over and helped him back to the bedroom.
His apartment had three bedrooms and a living room. He usually lived there alone, so there was a spare room for Xu Chun to sleep in.
After Xu Chun lay down on the bed, Xie Jianyuan tucked the covers around him. Only when he saw his breathing gradually grow steady did he leave, reassured.
After closing the bedroom door, Xie Jianyuan took a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and dialed a number.
"I need to ask you something." Once the call connected, Xie Jianyuan got straight to the point. "What exactly is your relationship with Xu Chun?"
Jiang Xiuyan paused on the other end. "Why are you asking?"
Xie Jianyuan frowned slightly. "Never mind that. Just answer me."
Something stirred in Jiang Xiuyan's heart. He really had set his sights on Xu Chun. With a face that looked so much like Xie Jianyuan's, it was hard for Jiang Xiuyan not to be attracted to him.
But Xu Chun's attitude was simply too firm, and Jiang Xiuyan had been subtly rebuffed quite a few times. So now he wanted to try another approach.
"There's nothing between us." Naturally, Jiang Xiuyan couldn't tell Xie Jianyuan what he was planning. Xie Jianyuan knew his sexual orientation, but Jiang Xiuyan also knew that Xie Jianyuan was straight. When they were abroad, Jiang Xiuyan had even taken him to a gay bar to test him, but he hadn't shown any interest in men.
"Do you care about what's going on with me?" Jiang Xiuyan couldn't help feeling a little secretly delighted. It was rare for Xie Jianyuan to take the initiative to show interest in his affairs.
"What are you talking about?" Xie Jianyuan asked, frowning deeply in confusion.
"Nothing." Only then did Jiang Xiuyan realize he had lost his composure. He quickly put on a serious expression, cleared his throat, and changed the subject. "By the way, when are you going home? I ran into your mother a few days ago, and he asked me to tell you to come back and see her. He said you hadn't been home in a while."
Both families were in business, so they inevitably had dealings with each other. It was no surprise that Jiang Xiuyan knew Xie Jianyuan's mother. Besides, Jiang Xiuyan had made an effort to get to know her and visited her often. The gifts he brought were to her liking, so he naturally won his favor.
Hearing some restless movement from the room, Xie Jianyuan stubbed out his cigarette and eased the door open to take a look inside. A few seconds later, seeing that Xu Chun had settled down again, he lowered his voice.
"I know. We'll talk about it later."
The next morning, Xu Chun was awakened by his phone ringing. Still groggy, he reached for it, squinted at the screen, and answered.
"Hello, Sister Su." His voice was a little hoarse.
Su Li's roar immediately came from the other end of the phone. "Where are you? I rang the doorbell for ages, but nobody was home." She sounded furious, as if she couldn't wait to find Xu Chun and give him a thorough scolding.
She distinctly remembered dropping him off downstairs at his apartment complex last night. If she'd known, she would have taken him to his door. He was so worrying. Since Xu Chun had been drunk, and she had come that morning only to find he wasn't home at all, it was hard for her to stay calm. What if someone had taken him away, photographed him in compromising situations, and used the pictures to threaten him?
After hearing Su Li out, Xu Chun froze, then looked around. When he realized that this really wasn't his room, his mind went blank for a few seconds. Everything that had happened last night came flooding back.
As he recalled those embarrassing scenes, his face burned and his heart raced. He had actually said things like that.
It wasn't until Su Li's repeated scolding reached him that he was pulled back to reality. "I'm asking where you are. Don't fucking tell me you're at a hotel." At the thought of that possibility, she couldn't help swearing.
Xu Chun pulled himself together, wiped a hand over his face, and said in a low voice, "I got drunk last night. I'm staying at a friend's place now."
"Whose?"
Xu Chun was in a bind. How could he tell her it was Xie Jianyuan? Su Li guarded against him as if he were a wolf, afraid he would steal her position and resources. If she found out Xu Chun had slept at his place, wouldn't she go crazy?
With that in mind, he hemmed and hawed without answering.
Hearing him deliberately dodge the question, Su Li immediately grew wary and said decisively, "Where are you now? I'll come get you."
The bedroom door opened. Xie Jianyuan, dressed in loungewear and holding a cup of hot coffee, smiled and said gently, "Brother Chun, get up and eat. I made..."
Before he could finish, Xu Chun cut him off, hurriedly motioning for him to be quiet.
"Who's with you?"
Su Li had noticed the sound after all and demanded an answer.
Chapter 14: Stealing Him Away [Corrections]
Xu Chun's whole body stiffened. He hurriedly changed the subject. "It's nothing. What's on the schedule today?"
But Su Li refused to let it go. "Where are you? I'll come get you. I'm still outside your door. Tell me where you are, and I'll tell you in person."
Xu Chun wiped a hand over his face and said with a look of utter despair, "Sister Su, turn right and take a few steps."
Su Li didn't know what he was playing at, but she did as he said.
"Okay, just knock on the door."
Su Li's gaze slowly rose to the door in front of her. The hand holding her phone trembled slightly.
Of course she knew who lived next door to Xu Chun. Su Li felt as though her head was about to explode. Xu Chun had actually spent the night at Xie Jianyuan's place. When had the two of them become so close?