HL 18

Seeing that Ying Yusheng still wasn’t responding, Xu Nanxiao could only lower his head and stab at his fried egg with a fork, wishing he could crawl into a hole in the ground. He even began to regret showing weakness.

He had never tried to win back a woman before—much less a man.

Ying Yusheng, don’t be so ungrateful.

In the midst of this suffocating silence, he suddenly heard Ying Yusheng let out a very soft, very light laugh.

“I was just going to ask if you’d like to have dinner together tonight—whether you had time.” Ying Yusheng graciously offered him an out. “What I said last night was just said in anger. You don’t need to take it too seriously.”

Xu Nanxiao hesitated. “Really?”

“Mm.”

Seeing the hint of relief on Xu Nanxiao’s face, Ying Yusheng’s eyes behind his glasses narrowed slightly.

He thought—good. Finally caught.

For a long time afterward, Xu Nanxiao behaved himself considerably. Not only did he stop chasing women, he even went to bars much less often.

At the supermarket, Ying Yusheng pushed the shopping cart and asked Xu Nanxiao, “Is there anything else we haven’t bought?”

“We’ve got everything the housekeeper asked for. Just my chips left.”

Previously, Xu Nanxiao had been quite ill-mannered, always calling the domestic help “hey,” “you,” or “the maid.” But now, thanks to Ying Yusheng’s influence, he’d finally started saying “auntie” like everyone else.

They arrived at the snack aisle, where there happened to be a promotion on chips—three tubs in a value pack. But Xu Nanxiao didn’t like the flavors included. He picked up the pack and started calculating in his head exactly how much cheaper each tub would be.

Ying Yusheng watched him from the side and couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re a coach at the club—your salary should be pretty good. Why are you still so frugal?”

“How do you know?”

“Last time I went to the club with you, I overheard your colleagues talking—seems like it’s about nineteen thousand a month?”

“Something like that.” Xu Nanxiao gave a light snort. “What good does it do? I’m drowning in debt.”

Seeing Ying Yusheng’s curious look, he continued, “You know I used to be a pro fighter, right? Back then, I had good results and a decent-looking face, so a lot of brands wanted me for endorsements. Later, because of… that incident, I got banned, cost the brands money, and ended up owing a ton in penalty fees.”

As he spoke of it, Xu Nanxiao frowned, clearly unhappy.

After saying that, he was about to put the value pack into the cart when Ying Yusheng suddenly caught his arm.

“Buy the flavors you like,” Ying Yusheng said gently. “I’ll pay.”

“What, pitying me?” Xu Nanxiao scoffed as he looked at him.

“No. I want some too. I’m tired of the flavors in the value pack.”

“Don’t give me that.” Xu Nanxiao pulled free of his grip. “You don’t even eat chips.”

In the end, Xu Nanxiao still took the value pack.

“Vinegar bought, toilet cleaner bought, chips bought, bookends bought, ice tray bought, ink bought…”

Xu Nanxiao walked along, reading off the shopping list as he muttered to himself. Ying Yusheng quietly watched his profile and somehow found the scene rather “wifely and fatherly.”

But when Xu Nanxiao turned his head, the first words out of his mouth had nothing to do with being “wifely and fatherly.”

“Oh, by the way, I’m going out for drinks with some people tonight.”

Ying Yusheng’s step faltered for a moment, then he looked ahead and asked casually, “With who?”

“Zhao Yong and the others. You’ve met them.”

“Any women there?”

“Yeah.” Xu Nanxiao added, “Zhao Yong’s girlfriend—he’s bringing her to introduce us.”

Ying Yusheng gave a slight smile and nodded. “You’re just sharing the place with me—I have no right to interfere in your life. However…”

“Don’t go sleeping around—I know. So naggy.” Xu Nanxiao clicked his tongue impatiently.

“Mm.” Ying Yusheng nodded with satisfaction at last. “I’ll leave the door unlocked for you. Come back early.”

Entering the barbecue restaurant, Xu Nanxiao took off his baseball cap.

The men at the next table suddenly slowed their conversation and sized him up from head to toe. Even the waitress carrying beer slowed her pace as she passed him.

Because of his face, Xu Nanxiao was long used to being the center of attention—admiring or envious, he’d seen it all. He walked further in and quickly found Zhao Yong and the others.

“Oh, finally here! You’ve been so hard to get out for drinks lately.” The crew-cut guy in the middle was Zhao Yong. He had his arm around a woman Xu Nanxiao hadn’t met before—presumably his girlfriend.

“You know why it’s been so hard to get Brother Xiao out lately?” The girl with her hair in a bun gave a sly smile. “He’s got a girlfriend now—she keeps him on a short leash.”

“Him? A girlfriend? Is that even Chinese?”

“No way, no way.”

“I’m dying of laughter hahahahaha.”

Everyone burst out laughing, and Xu Nanxiao frowned in protest. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Then explain why you deleted all the women from your phone?”

Suddenly, the rumor that Xu Nanxiao had a girlfriend gained some credibility. Everyone stopped laughing immediately and chattered away, asking Xu Nanxiao if it was true or not.

“…Slipped.” Xu Nanxiao couldn’t come up with a good excuse, so he just brushed it off.

“You had hundreds of women in your phone—how long would that take to slip?”

“None of your business.”

“What a waste—they were all gorgeous! What now? Can you get them back?”

“If they’re gone, they’re gone.” Xu Nanxiao said dismissively.

In the past, he’d never have dreamed that one day he’d delete every woman from his phone. But when he actually did it, he found that very few of them re-added him—and none even asked why.

That made sense—he and they had never been in a relationship that required explanation or reconciliation.

“But I remember Brother Xiao’s been sharing a place with a university professor lately—he can’t be living with a girlfriend,” Zhao Yong suddenly said.

“Oh! I’ve seen him!” The tan-skinned hot girl next to the bun girl suddenly shrieked. “The one with glasses! He’s so handsome!”

The bun girl asked, “Is he as handsome as Brother Xiao?”

“Different kind of handsome—really great presence. You can tell he’s cultured at first glance! Like a male lead from a TV drama!”

The bun girl became interested. “Brother Xiao, bring him around to introduce us sometime—I just broke up recently.”

Hearing that, Xu Nanxiao felt inexplicably annoyed—maybe because Ying Yusheng was stealing his spotlight, or maybe for some other reason.

Finally, he sneered and snapped, “Don’t even think about it. He wouldn’t go for a little punk girl like you.”

The bun girl bit into a lamb skewer. “I wouldn’t be so sure. He was willing to share a place with ‘Old Blondie’—why couldn’t he accept a ‘little punk girl’?”

“Oh damn, girl, you’re savage!”

“Hahahahaha I’m dead!”

“Knockout! Xu Nanxiao got knocked out!”

“You…” Xu Nanxiao choked and glared at the bun girl. But she knew he couldn’t do anything to her and stuck out her tongue defiantly.

Several people grabbed Xu Nanxiao and shook him for a while, pressing him about who his girlfriend was. Seeing that Xu Nanxiao was about to lose his temper, they finally backed off and went back to eating and chatting.

“…And then! The two of them went at it right there in the bushes…”

“Damn, that intense?!”

“Haha oh my god!”

“…Idiot. I threw my jacket on the table and said, ‘I quit.'”

“These days, you’d have to be stupid to work for someone else.”

…

Xu Nanxiao listened quietly from the side. After being away from the circle for a while, he didn’t recognize many of the people they talked about and couldn’t chime in. That’s how this scene worked—people came and went, and no one found it strange.

Maybe because he’d spent so much time with Ying Yusheng, Xu Nanxiao now found their chatter boring and grating.

Ying Yusheng was very quiet—he could sit for an entire afternoon with just a book. Xu Nanxiao used to find that unbearable, thought he was like an old man, but now he’d gradually gotten used to it.

After a few rounds of drinks, Xu Nanxiao suddenly said he needed to use the restroom and left the private room directly.

The bun girl watched his retreating figure and couldn’t help muttering, “He’s so unsociable today.”

“Seems like something’s really up,” the hot girl agreed.

Zhao Yong, however, acted as if he’d finally found an opportunity and immediately followed Xu Nanxiao out.

He reached the restroom entrance and saw Xu Nanxiao washing his face.

Xu Nanxiao sensed someone nearby, paused abruptly, then turned off the faucet and turned around. “What is it?”

His wet black hair was messily draped over his forehead, making his brow ridge look even deeper, and his eyes—washed clean of fatigue—were startlingly bright.

Xu Nanxiao’s popularity never bothered Zhao Yong. That face was a knockout from any angle—male or female. It was a pity he’d gone into boxing back in the day.

“Hey, there’s a mixer coming up—looks-based admission. You in?” He walked over and casually slung his hand on Xu Nanxiao’s shoulder.

Xu Nanxiao said nothing.

“Cat got your tongue?”

He wanted to go.

But he couldn’t.

To put it bluntly, if he slept with someone now, the pressure would be so overwhelming that Ying Yusheng’s face would be all he could think about.

“That girl you had your eye on last time is going too. What do you say? Come have some fun?”

To his surprise, Xu Nanxiao shook off the hand on his shoulder. “Not going.”

Earlier, when they’d joked about Xu Nanxiao having a girlfriend, Zhao Yong hadn’t believed it at all. But now, he wasn’t so sure.

He nudged Xu Nanxiao’s arm and asked suspiciously, “No way—did a woman really reel you in? What, going the pure-love route now?”

“Get lost.” The thought that they were talking about Ying Yusheng as his “girlfriend” made Xu Nanxiao feel sick. “I’m living with a guy now—you know that.”

“Then why? When have you ever gone this long without? You’re not… impotent, are you…”

“Keeping clean! Understand?” Xu Nanxiao ground out through clenched teeth.

That sent Zhao Yong into fits of laughter—he doubled over, wheezing.

“Oh man, oh man, I can’t. Okay, no joke—mixer, you in or not?”

“Not going. Don’t ask me about this stuff again.”

With that, under Zhao Yong’s stunned gaze, Xu Nanxiao turned and walked away.

For the rest of the barbecue, Zhao Yong kept shooting Xu Nanxiao curious looks, as if meeting him for the first time. Xu Nanxiao noticed but couldn’t be bothered—let him stare.

By the time they’d eaten and drunk their fill, the night had grown late. Everyone said their goodbyes and headed home.

“How are you getting back?” Zhao Yong pulled his car up beside him, rolled down the window, and asked.

“Walking—it’s just a short way.”

“Your place is really convenient. Get back quick—your girlfriend’s waiting at home.” After getting his jab in, and seeing Xu Nanxiao pretend to punch him, he cackled and sped off.

“Little shit.” Xu Nanxiao muttered through gritted teeth.

As Zhao Yong’s car drove off into the distance, Xu Nanxiao turned around and suddenly felt the silence around him pressing in. It was like being sealed inside a vacuum-sealed glass bell jar—not even the faintest whisper of wind.

He looked into the depths of the darkness, trying to ignore the unease creeping into his heart. He cursed himself for being a coward, then turned and ducked into the alley.

Two of the streetlights in the alley were broken; only the one at the far end was lit, casting a dim, flickering glow. Footsteps echoed behind him, faint and elusive—he couldn’t tell if they were his own.

Xu Nanxiao unconsciously hunched his shoulders, his hands in his pockets, gripping his keychain tightly, the metal teeth biting into his palm.

This alley wasn’t long. Don’t scare yourself.

Besides, it was the dead of night—the hooded man couldn’t have been lying in wait outside all this time.

But as if to deliberately slap him in the face, the next second Xu Nanxiao sensed that someone else had followed him into the alley.

He didn’t turn around, but from the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse—a tall man, wearing a black hoodie.

The tension in Xu Nanxiao’s chest tightened instantly, his breathing low and rapid. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, damp with cold sweat.

The other man kept a steady, unhurried pace, sticking to his back like glue. Xu Nanxiao quickened his step—so did he, as if impossible to shake.

Fuck, fuck—does this never end?

You really think I’m that easy to chew?

I’m going to kill you, you sick freak today!

A sharp, burning rage shot straight to his brain. Xu Nanxiao suddenly stopped in his tracks, ready to strike first—when he heard a soft, gentle voice: “Nanxiao.”

He froze instantly and looked ahead in the direction of the voice. There, at the end of the alley, stood Ying Yusheng, smiling at him.

The streetlight cast a warm, hazy glow, like an amber gem wrapped tenderly in the night’s embrace. And there, at the very center of that golden halo, stood Ying Yusheng—as if he had become the only warm, safe island in the boundless darkness.

“What’s wrong?” Ying Yusheng asked curiously, seeing him frozen.

Just then, the man behind Xu Nanxiao walked past him—

Just an ordinary passerby.

Without so much as a glance at either of them, he walked straight on and disappeared.

“N-Nothing.” Xu Nanxiao suddenly relaxed, still a bit dazed. Because he’d been on the verge of exploding, the veins on his arms were still faintly bulging, and his fingertips were trembling.

Xu Nanxiao steadied himself and walked over. “Why are you here?”

“I was worried, so I came to pick you up,” Ying Yusheng said with a smile.

“I’m a grown man—what’s there to worry about?” Xu Nanxiao retorted stubbornly. “I’m not some little girl. Nonsense.”

He’d come all the way in the middle of the night, and Xu Nanxiao didn’t even appreciate it. Any normal person would have been annoyed, but Ying Yusheng just curved his eyes and said, “Mm, call it meddling if you like. Didn’t you say I love to meddle?”

“…I don’t get you.”

They walked home side by side.

The night was just as quiet as before, but now it no longer felt irritating—instead, it wrapped around them gently and warmly.

They chatted on and off, soon entering the residential complex.

By then it was late—row after row of windows had gone dark, as if fast asleep. Only their home was lit, standing out conspicuously, as if waiting for a traveler’s return.

“I set the timer to warm up some milk. Drink it before you sleep, or you’ll have a headache tomorrow from the alcohol,” Ying Yusheng said.

At that moment, Xu Nanxiao could feel something thick and sticky pooling in his chest, dripping down drop by drop.

He didn’t answer. He looked at Ying Yusheng, then at the lit-up home, and suddenly murmured to himself, “Not bad.”

“What’s not bad?”

Xu Nanxiao thought silently—living like this, day by day, didn’t seem so bad either.