Chapter 42#

Chapter 42 Side Story — Seventeen

Mo Xi brought very little luggage, just a simple backpack containing a few clothes and toiletries. Pei Hao, afraid he might change his mind, snatched the backpack as soon as they got out of the car and strode towards his home. Mo Xi couldn’t snatch it back, so he had to follow reluctantly.

After the two got out of the car, the taxi driver adjusted the rearview mirror, pressed the “Vacant” light, and watched their retreating figures, feeling strange inside—for some reason, he felt the atmosphere between these two grown men was very much like a quarreling couple.

Actually, not long after Pei Hao returned to City X to work, Pei Yixin bought him an apartment in the city center. It was a duplex with a backyard, quiet amidst the noise. But after their relationship broke down, Pei Hao moved out and rented a place himself. Now he lived in a one-bedroom apartment. Most of the residents in this building were white-collar workers in City X, and the environment was decent.

After entering the door, Pei Hao put Mo Xi’s bag in the bedroom and pointed to the bathroom, saying to him: “Go take a shower. Sleep in my room after you’re done.”

“What about you?” Mo Xi looked embarrassed. He didn’t expect Pei Hao’s place to have only one bedroom. Based on his understanding of the wealthy Young Master Pei, it should be at least a two-bedroom apartment.

“Sofa.” Pei Hao raised his head and tilted his chin towards the living room. He yawned after speaking; he was truly exhausted.

“I’ll sleep on the sofa.” Mo Xi rubbed his nose, feeling a bit apologetic. After all, Pei Hao had been busy helping Xiao Jun all night. Seeing his listless appearance, he must be extremely tired.

Pei Hao smiled and knocked on his forehead, pushing him into the bathroom: “Stop talking nonsense, wash up and sleep quickly.”

Mo Xi came out of the bathroom, walked around him, and headed for the bedroom: “I’ll get a change of clothes.”

“Oh.”

Finding his pajamas, Mo Xi went into the bathroom again. After confirming three times that the door was locked, he took off his clothes. How should he put it? He was a little afraid that Pei Hao might suddenly come in while he was showering. He couldn’t completely rule out this possibility. After all, he really couldn’t figure out Pei Hao’s thought process right now.

Turning on the shower, warm water flowed from the top of his head over his whole body, instantly clearing his sleepy brain a bit. He felt it was very unreal. Thinking about the person he would never have any intersection with in his life, how did they suddenly meet again? And the most unbelievable thing was that at this moment, he was taking a shower in this person’s home and would sleep in his bed later.

Could it be that this was just a long dream? Because in his past dreams, he would often meet Pei Hao unexpectedly in this or that way, and then wake up to return to the cold reality.

Pei Hao sat on the sofa listening to the sound of dripping water in the bathroom, feeling a bit dazed. Even if he had thought of a hundred ways to meet Mo Xi again, he wouldn’t dare to dream of the possibility of bringing him home as soon as they met. Reality was too wild, and his mind was wandering a bit now—the person he had been thinking about for a long time was washing his body with his shower gel in his bathroom. The water would flow over every inch of his skin, from his slightly protruding Adam’s apple to his sexy collarbone, to his slender waistline, and then to those long white legs… Images of their past entanglements flashed like a movie, and Pei Hao suddenly felt thirsty.

Mo Xi finished his shower, picked up a towel, and rubbed his hair. He scanned the bathroom and was surprised to find that all the toiletries Pei Hao used were exactly the same as a few years ago. The facial cleanser was the one he chose back then, and the shampoo was still his favorite orange scent.

Everything was just like back then, yet not like back then.

When he opened the bathroom door and walked out, Pei Hao was already lying across the sofa, eyes closed, seemingly asleep. Not knowing what bewitched him, Mo Xi’s legs walked towards Pei Hao uncontrollably.

Although all his rationality was resisting Pei Hao, deep in his subconscious, he still wanted to get closer to see how the person he had loved for many years was living after being separated for more than two years.

He stopped at a distance of one meter from Pei Hao and looked at Pei Hao’s sleeping face. This face that had appeared in his dreams countless times was now so real in front of him that he could touch it if he reached out. Pei Hao had really lost a lot of weight, his face visibly thinner, his chiseled features becoming sharper. A few strands of fine hair hung messily on his forehead, covering his cold eyebrows.

This was what Pei Hao should look like, cold and reticent. He didn’t know what got into him today, smiling so many times.

Or maybe Pei Hao was naturally fond of smiling, but because he had to face someone he didn’t love every day when they were together, he often kept a straight face.

Thinking about it this way, the love he went through fire and water for all those years was really a superfluous thing, hurting others and himself.

After spacing out for a while, Mo Xi turned around to go back to the bedroom. Suddenly, the person on the sofa opened his eyes abruptly, reached out, and pulled the standing person into his arms.

Four eyes met, with only a centimeter between them. The warm breath from his nose spread on his face, itching his heart. The naked skin between their arms touched, burning hot as if about to catch fire. He was surrounded by Pei Hao’s unique scent, familiar yet strange, desiring yet resisting.

Pei Hao stuck out his tongue and gently touched his upper lip. Mo Xi saw himself trembling slightly in his deep black eyes, like a frightened little deer. The delicate face and bewildered eyes were what Pei Hao couldn’t resist the most. He hugged Mo Xi tighter, his tongue deftly prying open his lips, conquering cities and plundering lands, running rampant.

Wanton biting and grinding, rude possession. His heart felt like it was being pinched. All love, hatred, and resentment were drowned in the deep affection at this moment, turning into a pool of water and drifting away with the wind.

One second, two seconds, three seconds…

Seconds felt like years.

Mo Xi heard his frantic heartbeat and felt his burning skin, but he was unable to move as if rooted in Pei Hao’s arms.

In Pei Hao’s eyes at this moment, Mo Xi, with wet hair, was trembling slightly in his arms with a flushed face, like a little lamb waiting to be slaughtered. The refreshing scent of shampoo mixed with shower gel on his body was like delicious summer fruit; he wanted to lick every part of him carefully. Pei Hao couldn’t ignore the savage desire growing wildly in his body: He wanted him!

One of his hands lifted a corner of Mo Xi’s pajamas, slipping in to knead his waist. The long-lost silky touch activated every cell of desire in his body, making the movement of his hand more forceful. Mo Xi opened his eyes wide in horror, wanting to make a sound but was quickly swallowed. Another round of stormy kisses struck, and he was almost about to fall into it.

It wasn’t until he felt the reaction of the person beneath him, growing bigger and bigger, that Mo Xi suddenly woke up. He used all his strength to curl his legs and slammed his knee hard against Pei Hao’s lower part.

Pei Hao gasped in pain. The dull pain below made his lust-filled eyes gradually clear. He stopped his hand movements, feeling a bit regretful.

Seeing this, Mo Xi hurriedly broke free from the embrace of the person beneath him, ran back to the bedroom in panic, and locked the door, all in one go.

Pei Hao sat on the living room sofa to calm his breathing, forcefully suppressing the long-repressed desire. He had prepared to sleep on the sofa, but Mo Xi didn’t go to the bedroom after showering. Instead, he insisted on standing in front of the sofa to peek at him, and didn’t resist after being kissed. He wasn’t a monk; how could he endure it? He rubbed his temples irritably, feeling that he had gone a bit too far just now. If he scared the person away, what if he refused to see him again in the future?

In the bedroom, Mo Xi leaned against the door panting, Pei Hao’s taste still lingering between his teeth. Looking at his slightly bulging lower part, he felt doomed. If it had been a step later just now, he might have surrendered here today.

There was no way. Pei Hao was an unsolvable black hole to him. As long as he got slightly close, he would be sucked in by an infinite gravitational force. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t escape even a foot or two.

The best way was to stay far away, see nothing, hear nothing, think nothing, and hope that one day, time would bury everything.

In summary, he definitely couldn’t stay here tonight.

Mo Xi took out his phone from his clothes, opened an app, and started checking if there were any vacancies in hotels near the hospital. After looking for a long time, he only found two. One had only a presidential suite left, and the cost for one night was expensive enough to buy a round-trip ticket between the US and China—he definitely wouldn’t go there. The other one was very cheap, but user reviews said the facilities were rotten and dirty. The only advantage was that it was within half an hour from the hospital.

Sigh, in this situation, he could only make do for a few nights. Anyway, he had thick skin and wouldn’t die.

After booking the room, Mo Xi felt relieved and lay on the bed, falling asleep in a daze.

He had a very chaotic dream. In the dream, various times and spaces kept crossing. Sometimes it was the high-spirited Pei Hao when they first met, sometimes it was the cold-spoken Pei Hao during their relationship, and sometimes it was the Pei Hao who entangled with him to death after breaking up… In short, it was all Pei Hao.

Those details that seemed to have been sealed away came crashing down like mountains and seas in the dream. It turned out that the person loved deeply had never been forgotten.

When Mo Xi woke up, the sky had already darkened. Pei Hao’s home was on the 27th floor. Through the window, he could clearly see the city flashing with neon lights and the endless stream of traffic. He grabbed his phone and checked the time. It was 9 PM. He had slept for almost six hours. There were no incoming calls on his phone, which meant nothing happened to his sister, and of course, she hadn’t woken up either.

Before going to sleep, his whole brain was dull and couldn’t turn. After waking up, he carefully examined Pei Hao’s bedroom. His bedroom was quite large. Besides a bed, there were two sofa chairs by the window with a small coffee table in the middle. After seeing the photo on the small coffee table clearly, Mo Xi’s heart suddenly trembled—it was a photo of the two of them during college.

That day was their graduation ceremony. Pei Hao’s parents came, and Mo Zi and Xiao Jun also went. Originally, it was normal for two friends to take a photo together, but because Mo Xi had a guilty conscience and didn’t dare to face Pei Hao’s parents directly, he sent a text message to Pei Hao saying he wanted to meet alone. The place he arranged was the famous Water Bridge in the school.

Under the Water Bridge was the water of Changhu Lake. The lake surface was clear and bright. Occasionally, a light breeze blew, bringing mist and dew. When he arrived, Pei Hao was already waiting for him by the willow tree under the bridge. That day, they both wore bachelor’s gowns. The gap between people becomes particularly obvious when wearing the same clothes. He felt he looked silly and dumb in the bachelor’s gown, but Pei Hao still looked like the handsome Pei Hao with sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes.

Thinking about it, Pei Hao was in a good mood that day. Leaning against the willow tree, he felt happy seeing Mo Xi trotting all the way over. Holding the bachelor’s cap in one hand, he rubbed Mo Xi’s head a few times with the other.

This scene was captured by someone in the school who was into photography, and was later selected for the graduation video collection of the evening party that day. That summer, there were no quarrels. He and Pei Hao stood under the willow tree looking at each other and smiling. The soft sunlight dappled on them through the willow tree. Cicadas chirped on the branches. Pei Hao rubbed his head dotingly, and he was as obedient as a kitten.

Mo Xi covered his eyes. The bright light in the photo stung him a little.

Their college life ended that day. At that time, they both thought they would walk through another four years in each other’s lives.