Chapter 6
Pei Zhi’s mechanical weaving class was during the first and second periods in the morning, and as soon as class ended, he went straight back to the dorm to shower.
After showering, he opened his closet and spent a long time picking out clothes, only to realize that all of them looked more or less the same, all in the same color palette.
After changing, there was still a long while before Xie Ning got out of class. Sitting around in the dorm would just mean waiting, so Pei Zhi simply went to the barbershop on campus to have his hair blow-dried and styled.
On the way out of the dorm, Pei Zhi casually sprayed on a little perfume.
Just casually.
The moment he pushed open the glass door of the barbershop, the shampoo boy came up to greet him. Enthusiastically, he said, “Dressed up this handsome—going on a date today?”
Pei Zhi said blandly, “Just grabbing a meal.”
After class, Xie Ning sent Pei Zhi a message saying he would be leaving through the side gate rather than the main entrance.
Once his hair was done, Pei Zhi came to wait near the art museum. He had not been waiting long, only around twenty minutes. It was not hot today, though the wind was rather strong.
His hair styling seemed to have been for nothing.
Xie Ning entered “Pei Zhi” in the notes field, then put away his phone. “Have you been waiting long?”
Pei Zhi said, “No. Just got here.”
Xie Ning said, “I’ll call a cab…”
“I can drive.” Pei Zhi paused, then added, “I just had the car washed.”
Pei Zhi usually did not like driving. Mainly because he had no real reason to use a car. He was not very social, did not like going out for fun, and aside from training, all he did was train. His life was very monotonous.
The car was basically kept at the shop for maintenance, and whenever he needed it, he could just have someone drive it over.
“That works too. Sorry to trouble you,” Xie Ning said.
When Xie Ning spoke, he was as polite as ever, but he tried his best not to look into Pei Zhi’s eyes, to avoid hearing Pei Zhi’s thoughts.
But sometimes, speaking to someone without looking at them was rather impolite, so out of habit, he would still glance at Pei Zhi’s eyes.
[Why won’t he look at me?]
[I showered twice before leaving, the clothes just came back from the dry cleaners, and I washed my hair, blow-dried it, and even put on perfume… why won’t he look at me?]
[Is the perfume too strong on me?]
[But I only sprayed a little… Didn’t he say before that this perfume smelled nice? Was he just saying that casually? Or does he just not like it when I wear it?]
[…]
[Wife is so beautiful. Such a small face. Even the way he walks is so good.]
[Hard already.]
Xie Ning: “…”
Up until they got in the car, Pei Zhi still wore a blank expression. They exchanged the occasional sentence, and Pei Zhi did not speak much, but in Xie Ning’s ears, Pei Zhi’s voice never stopped.
It was far too lively.
Completely at odds with his cold and indifferent appearance, Pei Zhi’s inner world was wildly active and full of random thoughts. But no matter how far they wandered, in the end they always circled back to “wife,” and “fuck, fuck.”
It was very much the kind of youthful energy expected at that age.
The school was not far from the exhibition hall, and they quickly reached their destination.
The exhibition hall had an elegant style. Xie Ning did not like talking while viewing exhibitions, and he immersed himself in it completely.
Then suddenly, Xie Ning realized there was a Pei Zhi beside him who was not even from this major.
He ought to talk to Pei Zhi a little. After all, Pei Zhi was not in this field and might not have any interest in it at all.
Xie Ning stopped walking. “Alex’s work is all very avant-garde and bold. The pieces displayed in the gallery are comparatively more conservative. Take this V-neck design, for example. In his original sketch, the opening went all the way down, and below the hem there was only a very thin chain. When the model moved while wearing it, the chain would make a crisp sound when it struck against itself, and at the same time the body’s curves would be outlined especially clearly…”
[Don’t understand it, but it sounds really impressive.]
[Wife is heaven, wife is earth, whatever wife says is right.]
[Want to see wife wear it ^^]
By accident, Xie Ning met Pei Zhi’s eyes again. Calmly, he shifted his gaze away. “This is the most famous exhibition in A City. If I place in next month’s competition, my work could be exhibited here too.”
Xie Ning showed Pei Zhi his work. Pei Zhi did not understand design; he only knew that the clothing in the photos was very beautiful, like works of art.
Pei Zhi asked, “Why not keep using Shen Ye?”
Pei Zhi did not know how many models Xie Ning had changed before. He only knew about Shen Ye.
Hearing that name suddenly, Xie Ning seemed to freeze for a moment. Before he could answer, Pei Zhi seemed to regret asking. His thin lips pressed into a taut line.
Turning his head slightly, Pei Zhi asked, “Want coffee?”
There was a rest area in the corner of the exhibition hall, as well as a simple open café. There were no screens or potted plants blocking anything, so everyone inside and outside could be seen clearly.
As Xie Ning and Pei Zhi walked toward the café, someone inside suddenly stood up and called Xie Ning’s name excitedly.
Shen Ye had not expected to run into Xie Ning here. Before he could be happy for long, he saw the silent man standing beside him, and the smile froze on his face.
The man looked somewhat familiar, though Shen Ye could not place him right away. But the other man’s cold features and sharp gaze instantly set off alarm bells in Shen Ye’s mind. Between men, that sense of threat flared immediately—like a beast about to have its mate taken away, he became wary at once.
Xie Ning asked, “Why are you here?”
In a second, Shen Ye’s expression shifted from guarded to pitiful. Softly, he said, “Didn’t you want to see this exhibition? I got a ticket through a friend, but you didn’t reply to my messages… I didn’t know whether you had gotten one, so I thought I’d try my luck. Maybe I’d run into you here.”
“Sorry, I didn’t see your messages,” Xie Ning said.
“I know, I know you’re usually busy.”
Xie Ning only checked messages at fixed times every day. He looked at work emails more often, and Shen Ye knew he was busy, so he did not dare bother him rashly. He only dared send WeChat messages, trying to bump them up.
“Bro, you look a little familiar. Have we met somewhere before?” Shen Ye already remembered who Pei Zhi was, but he asked anyway, trying to pry something out of him. Feigning casualness, he asked, “Why are you here?”
“To see the exhibition,” Pei Zhi said.
“You look at exhibitions too?” Shen Ye said in surprise. “I thought you PE guys only had training and muscles in your heads and wouldn’t have this kind of refined interest.”
As if suddenly realizing he had said the wrong thing, Shen Ye added, “Ah, I didn’t mean to mock you, and I didn’t say it on purpose. I just speak too directly sometimes… You’re not mad, are you, bro? To be honest, I don’t really understand these exhibitions either. I don’t have much taste. I only picked some of it up from being around Ning Ning.”
The place was not large, and any little commotion easily became the center of attention, especially when the three of them were all strikingly attractive.
A couple nearby, who had been quietly watching the drama, could not help blurting out, “Holy shit, that’s so fake and manipulative!”
Anyone could hear the passive-aggressive tone in Shen Ye’s words toward Pei Zhi. Xie Ning frowned slightly and said flatly, “Shen Ye.”
Xie Ning looked at Shen Ye coldly. That icy attitude made Shen Ye feel wronged. Xie Ning had always been this distant with him. Aside from when he needed to fit clothes, Shen Ye could hardly ever see him in person.
And unless there was a reason, Xie Ning never replied to his messages.
Shen Ye knew that Xie Ning only saw their relationship as transactional cooperation, but he liked Xie Ning and wanted it to progress further. Before, he had been able to endure Xie Ning’s coldness. But now he could not.
Not long ago, Xie Ning had messaged him saying they did not need to continue working together.
Xie Ning had found someone more suitable.
He had been abandoned.
Who was this person, exactly? Now the answer was obvious. Shen Ye almost glared at Pei Zhi resentfully and said in a lowered voice, “He’s the more suitable choice you were talking about? He’s the one who’s replacing me? Ning Ning, you don’t usually pay attention to campus news, but he’s really not a good person. He’s got a terrible temper too. Other than these muscles and this face, there’s nothing worth looking at…”
Shen Ye had truly gotten so anxious he lost his head—he was actually badmouthing someone right in front of them. But he simply could not control the jealousy boiling inside him. He wanted to throw every vicious word in the world at Pei Zhi if it meant winning back Xie Ning’s favor.
Xie Ning looked at him coldly, and Shen Ye instantly did not dare continue, afraid of making Xie Ning unhappy.
Still unwilling to accept it, Shen Ye said, “How is he better than me…”
Xie Ning felt helpless. He did not understand how things had developed into this, nor why the always-polite Shen Ye had suddenly started saying such ugly things.
He looked at Pei Zhi apologetically, and Pei Zhi was also looking back at him deeply.
His expression was cold, his gaze dark. Pei Zhi seemed angry.
[Wife, say something!]
Xie Ning: “…”
He turned to Pei Zhi. “Sorry. I’ll explain everything to you properly in a bit. Could you help me buy an iced Americano? Thanks.”
This was a perfect chance to curry favor, and Shen Ye did not want to let it slip by. He and Pei Zhi both stepped forward at the same time, competing to buy coffee for Xie Ning.
Pei Zhi strode right past Shen Ye, and as they brushed by each other, his arm rammed into him hard.
He had a large frame, broad shoulders, and no small amount of strength.
Shen Ye immediately bared his teeth in pain. The flesh went numb instantly, and it felt as if the bone in his shoulder were about to crack.
[Oops, I didn’t mean to. How was I supposed to know your skin was so fragile? I just talk directly—surely you’re not mad, right?]
[Hope you die mad. Stay away from my wife.]
For a moment, Xie Ning did not know what to say.
Shen Ye and Pei Zhi were completely different types. Shen Ye, like many university students, radiated youthful vitality.
Pei Zhi, on the other hand, was exceptionally tall—at least one meter ninety. With strong brow bones, deep-set features, and a cold, emotionless face, he always carried a trace of impatience and irritation that made him seem especially wild and arrogant.
The original intention had been to send Pei Zhi away so Xie Ning and Shen Ye could talk properly. But now, looking at the two extra iced Americanos on the table and the two men at either side, Shen Ye felt a headache coming on.
Pei Zhi held out the iced Americano to Xie Ning. “If you two have things to talk about, go ahead. I’ll wait nearby.”
Xie Ning took it. “Thank you.”
When Pei Zhi left, he took the iced Americano Shen Ye had bought with him. There were empty seats nearby.
Watching Xie Ning and Shen Ye sit across from each other in the distance, Pei Zhi expressionlessly downed a huge gulp of iced Americano.
It tasted awful.
…
Xie Ning looked at Shen Ye across from him as Shen Ye kept apologizing.
“You shouldn’t be apologizing to me,” Xie Ning said.
The person who deserved the apology was Pei Zhi.
Shen Ye’s face stiffened, then he quickly changed the subject. “I’ve been going to the gym regularly lately, and I even hired a personal trainer. My coach said I’ve been maintaining really well…”
“That’s good,” Xie Ning said. “Anything else?”
Shen Ye said, wounded, “Do we have to be this distant? It’s been so long. I thought you would understand how I feel…”
Xie Ning listened quietly as Shen Ye continued. His snow-pale, delicate profile seemed soft in the sunlight, but his eyes were cold as a frozen pool, without even a trace of emotion.
“What I’ve wanted was never money.”
Shen Ye did not know whether Xie Ning understood his feelings, but he thought he probably did.
It was just that Xie Ning’s attitude remained a mystery. Maybe he was only temporarily satisfied with Shen Ye’s value. Maybe he only needed him for the time being. Or maybe… Xie Ning liked him, even if only a little?
Shen Ye should not have broken through that final layer of paper this early. But under the gaze of those cold, calm eyes, he could not stop his heart from speeding up. Feelings he had suppressed for so long came spilling out all at once in front of Xie Ning, desperate for his favor.
Softly, Xie Ning asked, “Then what do you want?”
Earnestly, Shen Ye said, “Ning Ning, I like you. I want to be with you.”
“I know this may be too sudden, and I know you don’t want to date right now… but could we try? Just try. Or could you at least give me a chance to pursue you?”
“Shen Ye.”
Xie Ning cut him off, his slender pale fingers resting soundlessly on the cup.
Shen Ye looked at Xie Ning’s face. In that silence, his heartbeat felt like it had been dropped from the top of a free-fall ride—he could barely breathe.
And then Xie Ning said, “Let’s stop contacting each other.”
To be honest, Xie Ning had been fairly satisfied with Shen Ye. Although Shen Ye was not the most perfect, the youthful vitality in him had once given Xie Ning’s designs excellent expressive power.
He had never imagined Shen Ye would confess to him, let alone develop feelings like this.
Maybe it was a little cold-hearted, but Xie Ning hated surprises, and he did not like emotions mixed into work.
He hated the feeling of losing control.
He gave Shen Ye no chance to salvage the situation. Taking the iced Americano with him, he got up and left.
Irritated, Shen Ye yanked open his collar.
A friend nearby came over to comfort him, but Shen Ye was in no mood to socialize. He stood and headed for the register. “I’ll go pay. You guys talk.”
Shen Ye had pulled many strings just to get a ticket to this exhibition. He happened to run into a few friends and ended up having a meal with them.
Their table had not paid yet.
Just as Shen Ye was about to scan to pay, the waiter smiled and said, “A gentleman has already paid your bill.”
The other party had used a card, and on the receipt, in bold, sweeping handwriting, were the two characters “Pei Zhi,” ending with a smiling “^^” face.
Childish behavior—more like provocation, or perhaps outright flaunting.
Shen Ye was so angry his liver hurt. His shoulder was still throbbing faintly. Seeing the two figures walking side by side in the distance, he twisted the receipt into shreds.
…
It was getting late. The sky was streaked with drifting clouds glowing in the sunset. The evening breeze fell gently on their bodies. Lush greenery lined the pedestrian path, and every so often the sound of car horns drifted from far away.
Taking a sip of his iced Americano, Xie Ning said, “About what happened just now…”
Cutting off Xie Ning’s apology, Pei Zhi asked, “Isn’t it bitter?”
Xie Ning paused slightly, lowering his eyes to the iced Americano in his hand. “It is. But it keeps my mind clear.”
He liked that feeling.
Perhaps because his skin hunger syndrome always threw him into unstable states, he pursued stability all the more intensely.
“So bitter,” Pei Zhi said. “Like Chinese medicine taken straight out of the fridge.”
“But it tastes really good.”
What Pei Zhi said was actually a bit contradictory. Xie Ning guessed that the latter sentence was probably just polite small talk, an attempt to affirm Xie Ning’s preference.
That behavior felt somewhat unnecessary. One, Xie Ning did not care what others thought. Two, he did not actually like iced Americanos either. He was simply used to them.
“As for what happened with Shen Ye just now, I’m sorry. He shouldn’t have spoken to you like that. It was very rude.” Xie Ning tilted his head slightly. In the backlight, Pei Zhi’s figure was blurred, only his rough outline visible. “I hope this accident won’t affect your decision.”
Not far away came the roar of an engine and the screeching sound of tires scraping against the ground. A motorcycle shot out from around the corner, racing wildly down the pedestrian path at extreme speed.
It was moving too fast. Xie Ning had no time to react. The engine noise was already right beside him. Suddenly his arm burned with heat as a scorching, powerful hand clamped around it and yanked him into a chest.
The iced Americano spilled all over the ground. The tires crushed the plastic cup with a sharp, piercing sound, and the biker brazenly looked back and flipped Pei Zhi off.
Pei Zhi pulled Xie Ning several steps backward, only barely avoiding an accident. His expression was dark as he watched the motorcycle speed away, memorizing the license plate number.
There were plenty of street racers around here, always chasing speed and thrills. Their adrenaline soared from driving at dangerous speeds; they got their excitement, while the pedestrians were the ones frightened half to death.
Then Pei Zhi suddenly realized that Xie Ning was trembling, and the tremors were quite obvious. He loosely supported Xie Ning’s back with one arm to keep him from falling.
Pei Zhi asked, “Are you okay?”
Xie Ning was not considered short among men, but Pei Zhi was simply too tall. With those broad shoulders, Pei Zhi could easily envelop Xie Ning in his arms, and the contrast in their builds only made Xie Ning look especially slender.
Pei Zhi had trained in sports since childhood, and perhaps he was naturally warm-bodied as well. His body was much hotter than most people’s. Pulled into that embrace, Xie Ning was enveloped in the oncoming heat, his face growing warm and his thoughts scattering as though steamed loose.
Xie Ning tried with all his strength to suppress the urge to press himself closer into Pei Zhi’s arms. He finally managed to step back half a pace, only for the back of his neck to brush exactly against the palm Pei Zhi had hovering there behind him. The large hand landed on his delicate, soft skin, stirring up a storm.
A fleeting look of confusion crossed Xie Ning’s face. His hand unconsciously clutched at the fabric over Pei Zhi’s chest. His slender pale fingers flushed pink, gripping tightly, and beside his trembling shoulder, a small stretch of neck was already tinged red.
Pei Zhi’s heart skipped.
He suddenly did not know what to do. Xie Ning’s state looked very wrong. He was shaking too badly.
“Xie Ning? Xie Ning?” Pei Zhi gripped his shoulders, calling to him over and over. “Can you hear me?”
“Xie Ning?”
Slowly, Xie Ning lifted his face.
That cold, elegant face was drawn tight, as though he were suppressing emotions too difficult to describe in his eyes. In just an instant, a layer of tears welled up there.
Pei Zhi’s thoughts drifted for a moment.
At that moment, Xie Ning pulled him back into memory once more. Back then, Xie Ning had looked just as fragile as he did now—his cool face flushed red, tears in his eyes, unbearably beautiful.
Xie Ning’s skin hunger syndrome had almost never truly been satisfied.
In the past, Xie Ning had always tried his hardest to suppress his own needs, forcibly enduring his craving for physical contact and hugs.
Perhaps because he had overcorrected so severely, his skin had become extraordinarily sensitive. The moment that need was finally met, it produced an overwhelming surge of pleasure.
Even an embrace through layers of clothing made Xie Ning feel warm all over. The skin hunger he had kept suppressed for so long seemed to go mad, greedily opening every pore, desperate for more…
