"Shen Shuangjian-"
Xie Qingchi's slightly harsh voice came through the phone, carrying a trace of barely perceptible anger.
On top of that, Xie Qingchi's features had never looked particularly kindly, so even the slightest scowl doubled that lofty, unapproachable air about him.
[I can't. Why is Xie Qingchi still chasing him down for the kill?]
[Xie Qingchi, I'm warning you. If you dare insult my wife, I'll definitely let you off.]
[Waaah, my wife is obviously scared! Why are you being so loud!]
[If he was scared of getting yelled at, he could've just refused the call. Your wife accepted Xie Qingchi's call, then acted all innocent and clueless. Isn't that disgusting?]
[Get lost.]
Shen Shuangjian had no idea how to end the call. His gaze swept back and forth across the screen several times before he finally gave up helplessly.
On the screen, Xie Qingchi grew increasingly aggressive. He stared fixedly at the beauty sitting backlit on the left. Seeing that the other man still looked so indifferent he could not even be bothered to raise his eyes, an inexplicable anger instantly flared in his chest.
"Shen Shuangjian, why did you ignore every text and call I sent you? Why did you leave me on read!"
Even as he demanded answers, he left himself a little dignity, not blurting out the fact that he had been blocked as well.
"Look for yourself. Look at how many messages I sent you!" Xie Qingchi pulled out his other phone and held it toward the camera, out of focus. Everything on it was a one-sided stream of messages from him.
"Look!"
The two of them appeared side by side on the same screen, yet compared to the furious Xie Qingchi, Shen Shuangjian on the other side looked noticeably calmer.
No matter how one looked at it, this was clearly taking a strange turn.
[Huh??? What does that mean??]
[Weren't you fucking here to yell at him? Why the hell do you care if he leaves you on read?]
[Having this much of a meltdown because someone won't answer your messages or calls. Who's the clown here, exactly? (wipes sweat)]
[My wife's getting a little angry. He doesn't even want to acknowledge him. I can't.]
[Wife, how about answering him just once? Honestly, he's so in love.]
[I can't... Xie Qingchi, you've fucking stabbed me in the back a second time!!!]
Faced with Xie Qingchi's demands and anger, Shen Shuangjian merely lowered his lashes with little reaction. He reached out, intending to oblige Xie Qingchi for the moment and check the blocked texts on his phone.
But just as his fingers touched the phone, Xie Qingchi abruptly called his name again.
Caught off guard, his fingertips trembled. The already precariously balanced phone instantly toppled, sliding along the smooth, delicate back of his hand and striking his wrist bone with its hard corner.
There was already a faint bluish bruise there, left when Shen Shuangjian had accidentally bumped it at the dining table.
He had neither applied medicine nor massaged it, simply leaving the reddish, throbbing pain to gradually fade until it became a purplish-blue mark lingering on his wrist with a dull ache.
The phone fell flat on the table with a clack, and the picture instantly went black. Shen Shuangjian drew back his hand, instinctively wanting to cover the injured spot.
But his delicate skin, subjected to one blow after another, refused to let up. As his fingers covered the bruised, reddened area, an unbearable stab of pain instantly spread from his wrist bone through his entire body.
"Shen Shuangjian?"
"Shen Shuangjian, you're pulling this again, aren't you!"
With a patter, a teardrop shattered against the tabletop, spreading into a faint wet mark. Reflexive tears gathered into a watery haze, seeming to blur even the things before his eyes.
"Shen-!"
Xie Qingchi's increasingly impatient shout cut off abruptly the next instant. The camera returned to its proper position, bringing Shen Shuangjian back into view.
Because his head had shifted a few inches, it no longer blocked the bedroom light, making the picture clearer than before.
For some reason, Shen Shuangjian had one hand partly covering his eyes and brows. He turned his face toward the camera, his head lowered in silence.
"Shen Shuangjian? What's wrong?!"
Although Xie Qingchi was angry, Shen Shuangjian's condition was so visibly wrong that anyone could see it, and it instantly left him somewhat panicked.
"Shen Shuangjian, Shuangjian? Say something..."
His name rang incessantly in his ears, leaving Shen Shuangjian a little unsettled. He wiped the last visible trace of tears from the corner of his eye with the pad of a finger, then looked up with a frown.
His repeated concessions had only made the other man push further. Even Shen Shuangjian could not help feeling a little anger rise within him.
"Because I didn't want to. Is that enough? Could you please stop asking?"
His usually even voice was forced into a slight tremor, losing its cool, snow-like tone. Like a frost flower held in someone's palm until it melted, it was weak, but not soft.
The lingering mist in Shen Shuangjian's eyes shimmered under the overhead light like water-soaked glass, setting off the crimson at their corners. Anyone could tell that he had probably just shed a few precious tears.
Like the previously ceaseless barrage of comments, Xie Qingchi froze for a long while before finally managing to react. Belatedly, he placed a hand over his chest.
One beat, two beats, countless beats.
Only this time, it was not the sound of his heart fluttering, but a stifled pounding suffused with a dense, sour ache.
[I-holy fucking shit!!!!]
[Xie Qingchi!!! What are you doing!!!]
[Apologize! Apologize to my wife right now!]
[My heart hurts so much. I feel like I'm about to just keel over and die.]
[Are you all fucking blind? Take a good look at this face. Can you really bear to make him sad!]
[What did my wife even do wrong? You've mocked and insulted him over and over because of some baseless rumors. So what if he's in poor health? So what if the broadcast was delayed? Didn't Xie Qingchi quit the show and then come back, going back on his word too!]
[Putting myself in Shen Shuangjian's shoes, it really feels like the sky is falling. He's as beautiful as an immortal, yet a bunch of people pop up out of nowhere saying he likes that relic of feudalism, Xie Qingchi, and he gets cyberbullied too.]
[I'm a pervert. I want to see him cry even harder...]
[Agreed. I want to bully him until he cries, then comfort him myself.]
[Xie Qingchi, are you satisfied now! My wife will never forgive you. Never!]
[Who the hell is spreading rumors that my wife likes Xie Qingchi? He's already going this far to avoid any suspicion. Will you only be satisfied if he brings up leaving the show?]
[He doesn't want to talk to you or answer your calls. Xie Qingchi, could you stop having a total meltdown here because your love turned to hate!]
Xie Qingchi did not even dare look into those eyes glistening with traces of tears.
The commenters had indeed hit the nail on the head. Even if Xie Qingchi refused to admit it to himself, the root of his anger was still that Shen Shuangjian would not respond to him.
He did not understand why Shen Shuangjian avoided him like the plague. He could not believe that after hanging up on him twice in a row, Shen Shuangjian had then blocked him without leaving him the slightest dignity.
He did not want to acknowledge those absurd claims online, much less his own shallowness, nor did he believe there was such a thing as love at first sight.
That was why, when countless people clamored about him eating his words and called him a simp, Xie Qingchi instantly flew into a rage as though his innermost thoughts had been exposed.
But really... he only wanted to know why Shen Shuangjian was ignoring him.