Eleven at night.
Xu Shi lay in bed playing on his phone after washing up.
The room was well heated, so he wore a short-sleeved shirt and shorts without a blanket, leaving a stretch of his fair, slender calves exposed.
Knock, knock, knock-
Several knocks sounded at the door.
Xu Shi looked up. "Come in."
Xie Yanci pushed the door open, looking exhausted and utterly done with life, as though both his body and mind had suffered terrible abuse.
His state startled Xu Shi.
He hurried over and took the suit jacket Xie Yanci had pulled off. "What happened to you?"
Xie Yanci yanked his tie loose in a few quick motions, his voice brimming with undisguised anger. "Why can't Xu Xingqi understand a word anyone says?"
Xu Shi burst out laughing. "That's what you get for kissing me right in front of him!"
He usually seemed so proper and restrained, yet he hadn't felt the least bit embarrassed about kissing in front of someone else.
"You just had to provoke him." Xu Shi was thoroughly enjoying the spectacle. "I told you I wouldn't comfort Xu Xingqi if he cried."
"How was I supposed to know he'd actually cry?" Xie Yanci's head was pounding.
It was the first time he had ever seen a man cry so heart-wrenchingly.
Xu Shi had seemed entirely used to it. He had simply tossed out, "You comfort him," and turned to go into the bedroom.
Leaving him alone to endure all that racket.
Xu Shi laughed so hard his stomach hurt. Unsteady on his feet, he simply rested his head on Xie Yanci's shoulder. "So how did you calm him down?"
Angry as he was, seeing his wife lean against him of his own accord steadied his mood again.
He gently slipped an arm