Chapter 53: Are You Living with Someone Else Now?
Shu Tingyu rummaged through his files and sent Chi Wang a bunch of resource packs.
Then, remembering something, he said to Chi Wang, “The ones I’m sending are all pure love stories, so there won’t be any of those kinds of scenes.”
Chi Wang asked, “What kinds of scenes?”
Shu Tingyu coughed a few times. “Just pure romance, love stories. There won’t be any… explicit content.”
Chi Wang: “… The way you put it. But why are you reading these?”
He looked at Shu Tingyu with a bit of confusion.
Shu Tingyu said, “I read all sorts of things. As long as it’s interesting, I’ll read it. A few days ago, I even read ‘The Golden Lotus.’ I realized there’s a reason it has been passed down through the ages. It’s quite good—not just explicit material. It tells the story of Ximen Qing’s struggles and includes many life lessons. I feel like I’ve learned a lot from it.”
Chi Wang pondered. “Really? You can learn a lot from it?”
Shu Tingyu shuddered slightly and quickly said, “No, you shouldn’t read it. I was just browsing casually. I just wanted to tell you that I read all kinds of things. You can’t think I’m gay just because I read BL comics. At most, I’m just a ‘fudanshi’—a male fan of BL. Once you understand, you’ll realize there are actually many people like me.”
Seeing how nervous he was, Chi Wang couldn’t help but laugh. “Why are you so nervous? I won’t misunderstand you. We’ve known each other for so long; don’t I understand you by now?”
Shu Tingyu was quite childish. Although he was older than Chi Wang, he acted rather immaturely in many matters.
After giving him the resource packs, Chi Wang didn’t immediately dive into them. Asking for them was a spontaneous decision; he didn’t think it was that important.
His most pressing task now was to prepare for exams.
The dorm had a strong study atmosphere, and he could help Luo Lianyun and Shu Tingyu cram a bit more.
But with such limited time, there wasn’t much he could do. When he asked them, they both claimed they had reviewed everything.
Knowing their tendency to slack off after minimal effort, Chi Wang didn’t quite believe them.
He hadn’t been sitting for long when Shu hesitantly started a conversation. “Chi Wang, can I see your belly?”
Chi Wang refused without turning his head. “No, young people shouldn’t be so curious.”
Shu asked, “Has the baby been bothering you? It’s around 18 or 19 weeks now, right? I think by now, the baby is fully developed and can turn over. Do you feel anything in your belly?”
When Shu brought up this topic again, Chi Wang didn’t feel the strong resistance he used to.
It takes 21 days for a person to get used to doing something. Similarly, it takes 21 days for someone to get used to the people around them and the person inside them.
Chi Wang’s feelings toward the baby in his belly had changed. Although he knew it might be a bit sudden, the fetus was genuinely growing inside him, and his belly was getting bigger. He could feel the increasing presence of the baby, so his emotions couldn’t remain unchanged.
Chi Wang exhaled and said with a faint smile, “I don’t feel much for now. The baby is very well-behaved and hasn’t caused me any trouble.”
Shu said, “That’s great then—a very sensible baby.”
Luo said to Chi Wang, “Actually, I think it would be better if you took a leave from school. You’re quite unlucky, and I’m afraid you might accidentally fall when we’re not around. You should stop doing that tutoring job. In the early months, it’s easy to miscarry, and in the later months, it’s dangerous too.”
Chi Wang didn’t argue and vaguely said, “I’ll think about it.”
Luo said, “Don’t look for a part-time job during the winter break either.”
Chi Wang hadn’t planned on finding one anyway. He had lied to Xiao Fu about working. This winter break, he planned to stay home and learn professional skills. He had some money now, so the sense of urgency wasn’t as strong.
Thinking of this, Chi Wang remembered Qiao Yuzhen and wondered how she was doing lately. Since he wasn’t giving her money, her life probably wasn’t going well.
Chi Wang hadn’t decided how to deal with her. Should he repay the money first and then sue her? Or not repay the money and then sue her?
What materials would he need to sue? If he was going to sue, he might as well include Chi Kangnian. He had always been harsh and critical toward him.
Chi Kangnian loved having sons. Logically, a healthy and smart son like him should have been favored more. But even before Chi Cheng was born, he wasn’t treated well. After Chi Cheng was born, he was often scolded. But even with Chi Cheng, sometimes he was affectionate, sometimes he scolded him.
Chi Wang didn’t have much experience in this area and considered consulting a lawyer.
He didn’t expect others to help; in his view, this was his own matter to handle.
But the idea of finding a lawyer made him a bit nervous, fearing it would be expensive. He wasn’t afraid of anything except having no money.
He decided to wait until exams were over to ask someone.
Chi Wang pushed these messy thoughts to the back of his mind and focused entirely on preparing for exams.
*
Ever since discovering Xie’s secret, Zuo Qianxing had been restless, wanting to ask Xie but not daring to.
Most of the time, Xie was easy to talk to, but when he got angry, he would silently distance himself and ignore you.
When he had insomnia, his temper was even worse; he wouldn’t answer calls or messages and would disappear, impossible to find.
Recently, Xie seemed much better.
Zuo sighed. He hadn’t expected that this improvement was the positive influence of love.
How could it be with Xiao Fu… He couldn’t understand. He had initially suspected Chi Wang; at least Chi Wang was cheerful and optimistic, and Xie was considerate toward him.
He had a thousand thoughts swirling in his mind. Occasionally, when he went to work and saw Xie, he wanted to say something but hesitated.
Once he connected the dots, Zuo noticed that Xie often wore a scarf. After arriving at the office, Xie would take off the scarf and neatly hang it on the coat rack beside his office.
When Zuo walked over, he noticed that at the bottom of the scarf, there was a pixelated Border Collie embroidered, which looked very much like Xiaomi.
Zuo: “…”
Isn’t this Xiaomi?
A token of love?
No wonder he wanted Xiaomi. Xiaomi probably acted as a wingman without him knowing.
Zuo felt it was too much. He didn’t know whether it was more unsettling that Xie, the heir of a large corporation, liked men, or that his adversarial relationship with Xiao Fu had transformed.
After work that day, Zuo couldn’t hold back and casually asked Xie if he could go to his place to see Xiaomi.
Xie didn’t refuse. Zuo immediately showed an eager smile and somewhat pretentiously asked Xie, “Sheng’er, I’m your best friend, right?”
Xie raised an eyebrow. “Not anymore.”
He only accepted being called that nickname by Chu Qing.
Zuo knew he wasn’t really angry and laughed awkwardly.
He took Xie’s car back to his place. On the way, Zuo didn’t dare to probe too directly. His usual tactics wouldn’t work on Xie, who knew them all.
When they arrived at Xie’s residence near H University, Zuo saw Xiaomi. He had raised Xiaomi for over two months and actually had a good relationship, but Xiaomi didn’t react much upon seeing him—lazily wagging his tail while lying on the floor, with no other movement.
Zuo sighed and said, “They say dogs only recognize one owner. It seems Xiaomi didn’t recognize me from the start.”
Xie averted his gaze; Xiaomi hadn’t recognized him as the owner either.
Zuo claimed he came to see Xiaomi, but in fact, he was looking for clues.
Because he felt that if Xie had taken Xiaomi, it meant he was already living with someone.
He considered himself the Sherlock Holmes of H City.
Xie seemed unaware of his intentions and went to the kitchen to brew black tea, bringing it over and placing it on the coffee table for him to help himself.
Zuo’s gaze scanned the room like an X-ray, inch by inch, and quickly found many pieces of evidence.
You’re living alone, so why are there two drinking cups?
There’s a shark plush pillow on the sofa, which isn’t Xie’s style. Next to the coffee table is a straw-woven cushion, rough and unlike Xie’s taste.
On the coffee table, there were some small items: a ceramic Border Collie keychain, a tree-branch owl paperweight, a pen with a pink cat cartoon cap, a men’s sports watch—the style was a bit childish, like something a teenager would wear. A pink-packaged lip balm from a well-known brand that costs about sixty yuan; he knew this because he’d cleared his girlfriend’s shopping cart before and remembered the price due to his excellent memory.
There was a small USB-charged moon-shaped lamp, a pack of wet wipes, and some books that didn’t seem like something Xie would read. The titles were At the Existentialist Café, Poor Economics, Principles, and a Jin Yong novel The Book and the Sword.
There wasn’t much more. The living room was large and kept very tidy. Only through these small details could one glimpse a bit.
…It didn’t seem to match Xiao Fu’s style either. He didn’t think Xiao Fu would read these kinds of books.
Zuo couldn’t hold back and picked up the ceramic Border Collie keychain, asking Xie, “Is this yours?”
He actually wanted to ask if Xie was living with someone but chose a more subtle approach.
Xie took out another Border Collie keychain from his trouser pocket. “This one is mine.”
His tone was calm, but the corners of his mouth seemed to lift slightly.
Zuo couldn’t help but open his mouth wide. “… Then whose is this?”
Xie placed the keychain back on the coffee table, his voice cool like melting snow. “I don’t know.”
Zuo: “…”
Xie glanced at him and said, “The tea is getting cold.”
Zuo had no choice but to pick up the black tea and take a sip. Then, he suddenly said, “I saw that Xiao Fu also posted a photo of a bead bracelet on his social media. I thought you two were wearing matching ones and was wondering when you two became so close.”
Xie: “…”
Xie’s dark eyes stared at him without emotion, and he asked in a low voice, “When was this?”
Zuo, seeing his reaction, felt relieved. It seemed it was just a coincidence.
But Xie must be living with someone. If it’s not Xiao Fu, it’s someone else.
Zuo said, “Just recently.”
He provided an approximate time.
Xie fell silent.
Zuo keenly sensed that Xie’s mood seemed off, which puzzled him. But his attention wasn’t on that. He asked, “So are you currently living with someone?”
He had originally thought Xie wouldn’t answer, but then he heard him reply, “Yes.”
Zuo: “!!!”
Even though he had suspected it, Xie admitting it still made him feel it was surreal.
