Chapter 54#

Chapter 54 Extra — Twenty-Nine

The lighting in the bar was weird and blurry. People on the dance floor were dancing wildly like demons. Deafening music blared from the speakers, making Brother Dan’s eardrums hurt.

Two girls wearing little black dresses with spaghetti straps and heavy makeup came over with wine glasses and asked him and the handsome guy next to him if they wanted to hang out together. Brother Dan pointed at Pei Hao, who was almost lying on the table from drinking, waved his hand at the girls, and shouted loudly: “He likes men.”

In this place, you couldn’t be heard if you spoke normally; communication relied entirely on shouting.

The girls immediately gave the two of them a look of disdain and walked away, swaying their bodies and shaking their wine glasses.

It was too noisy. Brother Dan had been sitting here drinking with Pei Hao for almost an hour.

No, he had been watching Pei Hao drink for almost an hour.

He couldn’t hear what was being said clearly, and it was extremely boring.

Just past midnight, Pei Hao wanted to order more alcohol. Brother Dan slapped away the hand holding the glass, and with a pained expression, dragged the man out of the bar. Pei Hao was tall and big, stumbling as he walked, making Brother Dan pant from supporting him.

After finally getting the man into the car, Brother Dan started the engine, intending to take him home. Unexpectedly, Pei Hao, with his eyes closed, acted like a lord and said, “I’m not going home.”

“Fuck, then where are you going?” Brother Dan was getting a bit angry. He had been drinking with Pei Hao like this for two days. More importantly, for Pei Hao’s sake, he had postponed his date with the girl he liked. It was finally the weekend; couldn’t he just have a good break and rest?

“The riverside,” Pei Hao replied with a frown.

“Fine, the riverside it is. I’ll accompany you in your madness today, but tomorrow I won’t answer you even if you blow up my phone.” Brother Dan slammed on the accelerator viciously and drove straight to the riverside.

Perhaps because he drove too fast, Pei Hao hugged a trash can and vomited as soon as he got out of the car. Brother Dan threw him a pack of tissues and sat on a bench by the river, waiting for him to finish vomiting.

It was already the beginning of winter. The wind by the river was much stronger than in the city, drilling straight into Pei Hao’s sleeves. His body, which had been somewhat hot from the alcohol, cooled down just like that.

“Speak,” Brother Dan saw that Pei Hao was walking straight after vomiting and his eyes were clear, so he threw him a cigarette and a lighter, raised his head and asked, “What kind of madness have you been up to these past two days?”

“Nothing,” Pei Hao held the cigarette in his mouth, cupped one hand in front to block the wind, and pressed the lighter with the other to light the cigarette. “Xiao Xi is going on a date with someone else tomorrow.”

“You fucking…” Brother Dan was shocked. He thought that no matter how much you liked someone, it would fade with time. After all, men, there were plenty who loved the new and loathed the old.

However, Pei Hao refreshed his understanding again and again. In a flash, more than two years had passed, and he would still drink like this for Mo Xi.

To be honest, with Pei Hao’s conditions in all aspects, if he wanted to find someone decent to relieve his loneliness, it would be absolutely no problem. But having been broken up with Mo Xi for so many years, Brother Dan really hadn’t seen him have an ambiguous relationship with anyone.

Thinking of this, he felt that Pei Hao was an out-and-out devoted lover.

“He came back a while ago and stayed at my place for a few days,” Pei Hao held the cigarette between his fingers, staring at the gray-black sky in the distance, his eyes unfocused. “But as soon as he went back, he’s going on a date with someone else.”

“Wait a minute,” Brother Dan’s thoughts were confused, feeling that there was a bit too much information. “He stayed at your place for a few days?”

“Yeah,” Pei Hao lowered his head and exhaled a puff of smoke. “Something happened to his sister.”

“Then didn’t anything happen between you two?” Brother Dan looked at him with narrowed eyes.

“No…” Pei Hao wanted to deny it outright, but looking back at everything that happened in those two weeks, the words got stuck in his throat, and he couldn’t say “no”.

Did nothing happen between them?

He was cut by a knife in the hospital, and Xiao Xi anxiously dragged him to get stitches.

He got drunk and was kissed by Chen Xu, and Xiao Xi jealously packed up to leave.

He slept holding Xiao Xi all night and whispered in his ear that he loved him.

…

The cold wind swept across the river surface, the withered branches by the roadside creaked, and the whistling wind scraped past his ears. Pei Hao was blown completely sober, his mind suddenly exceptionally clear.

He took out his phone and pulled up the chat history with Xiao Xi, staring at it word by word several times. Finally, his gaze stopped on the sentence “A friend wants to introduce me to a potential partner, so I’m going to meet them (Laughing and crying.jpg)”.

Introduced by a friend, meaning he didn’t initiate it? And what did that laughing and crying emoji mean?

Maybe he had been rejected so much in the past two years that he had developed a psychological shadow. As soon as he heard Xiao Xi was going on a date with someone else, Pei Hao panicked. These past few days, he had been trapped in the fear of losing Xiao Xi, endlessly denying himself, and automatically ignoring many details.

They had eaten breakfast together on clear and bright days, embraced in the bustling hospital corridor, and slept until dawn on a soft and warm bed.

These gentle and delicate moments filled this late autumn that should have been dull, like a painting lightly smudged with ink, eternal from the first stroke.

He didn’t believe that everything was fake.

Pei Hao took a fierce drag on his cigarette, his left hand clenched tightly into a fist. His heart started pounding for no reason, faster and faster.

“Did anything happen or not?” Brother Dan was somewhat speechless seeing Pei Hao holding his phone and not answering for a long time. What the hell, couldn’t even answer a question clearly?

“Yes,” Pei Hao stood up abruptly, stepped on the half-smoked cigarette under his foot, and the red ember went out quickly. His originally unfocused eyes suddenly lit up, looking at the horizon thoughtfully as he said, “Let’s go back.”

“Huh??” Brother Dan was very confused, completely unable to keep up with Pei Hao’s train of thought. But a gust of strange wind blew from ahead, freezing him until he shivered. Hearing Pei Hao say “let’s go back”, he almost wept with joy.

Damn, finally can go home!

“Hurry up and go.” Brother Dan wrapped his clothes around himself, stood up, ran a few steps to the car, and sat down.

Pei Hao stood outside for a while longer, wondering what he was thinking. When he got into the car, he brought in a gust of cold air. Brother Dan shivered from the cold, turned around, patted Pei Hao on the shoulder, and warned him: “Don’t fucking bother me tomorrow, I have a date.”

Pei Hao glanced at him, his expression disdainful: “Tomorrow I’m going to the US.”

Qin Ziran booked a Chinese restaurant on the edge of Chinatown. It was an old shop that had been open for decades, and the taste was quite authentic, so there was a wait regardless of the day.

When Mo Xi arrived, Qin Ziran’s number had just been called, so the two simply greeted each other and went inside. Mo Xi rarely ate out, firstly because he didn’t have time, and secondly to save money. Qin Ziran was quite familiar with the place; without even looking at the menu, he deftly introduced several signature dishes to him.

Mo Xi wasn’t picky and agreed to everything, so they finished ordering within five minutes of sitting down.

The seats in this restaurant were all separated by sandalwood screens, so it wasn’t too noisy. A small fire was placed on the table, quietly brewing the purple clay teapot on top, from which a fresh tea aroma wafted out.

The environment could be considered chic and elegant.

Mai Ying said that Qin Ziran was also a Ph.D. student at their school, specializing in quantum physics, a god among gods.

Probably all top students wore glasses. Qin Ziran also wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, looking refined, speaking elegantly and gentlemanly. Unlike the god in Mo Xi’s imagination, Qin Ziran didn’t put on airs. They could chat about all sorts of trivial daily matters. When talking about his major, he didn’t talk at length, just modestly saying it was a personal hobby.

Mo Xi couldn’t help but have a good impression of such a modest person, but that was all.

In the first half, the two simply exchanged information and gained a preliminary understanding of each other. Qin Ziran was wearing casual clothes today. The hoodie he wore was very similar to the one Pei Hao wore the day he was cut in the hospital. It seemed to be the same brand, just a different color.

Mo Xi stared at it for a long time. As soon as he closed his eyes, he recalled the bloody cut on Pei Hao that day, and the three hideous centipede-like scars, and couldn’t help frowning.

“Mo Xi?” Qin Ziran noticed the person in front of him was distracted and couldn’t help but stop and call him.

Mo Xi came back to his senses, raised his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, and smiled embarrassedly, “Sorry, I’ve been too busy these past few days and haven’t slept well.”

Qin Ziran didn’t take it to heart, smiled, and continued the topic just now. Mo Xi felt like he was possessed. As long as his eyes glanced at Qin Ziran’s hoodie, he thought of Pei Hao and frequently got distracted. Fortunately, the two ordered a pot of wine. Qin Ziran talked a bit more after drinking, holding up the conversation, so it wasn’t too awkward.

The meal of more than an hour passed quickly. Mo Xi breathed a sigh of relief. While Qin Ziran went to the bathroom, he sat on the chair and yawned. This meal made him a bit sleepy.

Qin Ziran probably wasn’t stupid and saw that he was absent-minded, but he kept smiling and even took the initiative to pay the bill when he came back.

His temper was too good, Mo Xi sighed in his heart, and hurriedly went up to insist on splitting the bill. How could he accept someone’s favor for no reason?

He wasn’t Pei Hao.

If it were Pei Hao, he wouldn’t bother caring about a meal or two; he would find a chance to pay it back anyway.

Pei… Hao…

Sigh, thought of this person again.

After paying the bill, the two walked out together. Qin Ziran asked him how he planned to go home. While Mo Xi was thinking, a burst of “beep beep” car horn sounds suddenly came from across the street.

Mo Xi turned his head to look. A flashy purple sports car was parked opposite the restaurant where they ate.

He touched his nose. Oh, a Maserati.

The person in the car opened the door and walked down. It was an Asian man in his early twenties, wearing a baseball cap. He was very tall, comparable to Pei Hao. It was too dark at night to see his appearance clearly, only the holes in his jeans were visible. Mo Xi really wanted to ask him if he was cold.

Most likely another rich second-generation international student.

The boy leaned against the car door, looked Mo Xi up and down, and then curled his lips into a smile: “Teacher Qin, I’m here to pick you up to tutor me.”

Qin Ziran’s face, which was originally full of smiles, suddenly darkened, and he said coldly: “No class today.”

Mo Xi felt a sudden chill emanating from the person beside him who had been like a refreshing breeze. He was startled. So this is what it’s like when a top student god gets angry.

“There are a few questions I don’t know,” the boy lifted his baseball cap, tilted his head and smiled, “If you don’t teach me, what will I do for the exam next week?”

“Teach you tomorrow.” There was clearly some suppressed anger in Qin Ziran’s words.

“Tomorrow won’t work, I have things to do.” The boy’s aura also lowered. While Qin Ziran was still thinking, he walked over quickly, grabbed the man’s wrist, and walked towards the car, not giving Mo Xi even half a glance.

Actually, Mo Xi was particularly afraid that Qin Ziran would say something like going home with him just now. Now it was perfect; he didn’t need to find an excuse to decline.

Hurry up and go with that rich second generation!

Mo Xi hurriedly waved to Qin Ziran, unable to hide the relaxed joy in his tone: “It’s okay, you guys go, I can manage by myself.”

Qin Ziran: “…”

The boy was obviously stunned for a moment too. After stuffing the person he was holding into the car, he turned his head and waved his hand in Mo Xi’s direction with a smile, expressing thanks.

The sports car sped away leaving dust in its wake and soon disappeared. Mo Xi touched his chin with his index finger, feeling that the relationship between those two just now was not ordinary.