Chapter 45 Part 1

Zhu Ran fled in fright. When he returned to his room, he realized he was still wearing Huo Boyan’s jacket. He took it off and stared at it for a moment, then buried his face in it, nuzzling against it like a little pig.

11:45 p.m.

Zhu Ran got up and drank a bottle of ice water. He forced himself to think of some sad things and finally suppressed the smile on his face before video calling his mom.

The two sisters were wearing pajamas and applying face masks. His little aunt saw the video call and burst out laughing. She turned to Wang Ruyun and asked, “How did you raise such an obedient child?”

I’m not obedient at all.

Zhu Ran thought to himself. He had almost spent the night out with Huo Boyan.

Wang Ruyun didn’t say much this time. Her expression seemed satisfactory. She only reminded him to go to bed early and hung up without asking too many questions.

Zhu Ran tossed his phone aside and went to take a shower. When he came out, he was still exhilarated and had no intention of sleeping.

Too much had happened that day. He couldn’t fall asleep right away. He randomly flipped through the photos in his album and opened his chat with Huo Boyan. After tossing and turning, hesitating for a long time, he finally sent a message.

[Zhu Ran]: Are you home yet?

It was an utterly pointless question. Huo Boyan had left an hour ago—plenty of time to walk back.

Zhu Ran felt like he was grasping at straws. Just as he was about to unsend it, Huo Boyan called.

But strangely, there was no voice on the other end.

Zhu Ran tried calling out, “Huo Boyan, are you home yet?”

“Mm, about to sleep.” Perhaps because of the phone, Huo Boyan’s voice sounded a bit muffled.

Zhu Ran said “oh” and didn’t know what to say next. He was used to getting straight to the point and had never chatted idly like this.

“What about you? Ready to rest?” Huo Boyan asked again.

Zhu Ran said yes and mentioned that he had already video called his mom.

Huo Boyan asked, “Your mom didn’t give you a hard time, did she?”

“No,” Zhu Ran answered obediently. “She didn’t say anything, just told me to rest early.”

“Good boy.” Huo Boyan chuckled softly, his voice lazy, his breaths heavier than usual.

Zhu Ran froze, a sudden thought popping into his mind: What is Huo Boyan doing right now?

Huo Boyan fell silent. His steady breathing came through the phone, pounding against Zhu Ran’s eardrums, inexplicably making him flush.

Zhu Ran steadied his own breathing, thinking he was overthinking it. He tried to speak calmly, “If there’s nothing else, I’ll hang up then. Good night.”

“Don’t hang up.” Huo Boyan cut him off, his voice laced with an unusual huskiness.

Zhu Ran gripped the phone awkwardly, unsure how to react.

It was deep into the night, everything silent. Zhu Ran buried his head under the covers and suddenly went very quiet.

After some time, he rolled over in the bed. His hesitant tone made his voice sound sticky, “Huo Boyan, what are you doing?”

Huo Boyan didn’t answer. His usually even breaths suddenly quickened.

At the same time, Zhu Ran curled up under the covers, his cheeks flushing red.

The small phone felt like it weighed a thousand pounds. Zhu Ran’s hands grew weak, nearly dropping it. But he didn’t hang up, so he clearly heard the sounds from Huo Boyan’s side.

The man’s steady breaths grew more rapid, losing their previous composure. It continued until a certain moment when Huo Boyan suddenly called out in a low, urgent voice, “Zhu Ran…”

A muffled grunt followed, then slow, heavy panting filled Zhu Ran’s ear—one breath after another, like some depraved invitation.

Zhu Ran couldn’t listen anymore. Blushing furiously, he flung the phone away, rolled over onto the bed, and buried his face in the pillow.

…

The next day at noon, Zhu Ran got up with his hair a messy bird’s nest and tiptoed to wash his underwear.

The two ladies who had gone out were back, and Zhu Ran could hear them chatting.

Terrified, he quickly disposed of the evidence and hid Huo Boyan’s suit jacket in the closet before changing clothes and going downstairs.

His mother and little aunt were sorting souvenirs from their trip. The call last night seemed to have reassured her—Wang Ruyun’s gaze wasn’t as vigilant as before, giving Zhu Ran a bit of breathing room. But he didn’t dare tell her about his relationship. Sneaking around like this gave him the feeling of a secret puppy love.

Zhu Ran had never been in a relationship and had no idea what people did when dating. He sat there dumbly holding his phone. Too many messages might disturb Huo Boyan, but none would seem cold. Piling on nonsense wasn’t his style either. He flipped the phone over and over, like it was a hot potato.

His little aunt passed by and saw his expression, flashing a mysterious smile. “Youth is truly wonderful.”

Zhu Ran’s face heated up. He quickly shoved the phone under his thigh, then vented by messaging Huo Boyan, who accepted them all.

Though they were dating, Zhu Ran wasn’t the clingy type. He had no time for long phone calls with Huo Boyan, and they rarely met because he was genuinely busy.

After returning, Zhu Ran contacted the photography shop owner again, confirming the exhibition. He immediately ordered prints online, with the address set to the owner’s shop.

He also had to coordinate with clients for this week’s shoots—discussing details, booking locations, scheduling makeup artists, and hiring a temporary assistant photographer. Zhu Ran had no assistant, so he handled all the miscellaneous tasks himself. By the end, it was already late at night.

The next day, his boss at the art gallery received a new project: exhibiting works by an emerging LGBT artist.

Zhu Ran handled part of the promotional copywriting and helped with the setup. The artworks focused on urban loneliness and LGBT experiences, with direct depictions of same-sex relationships. Worried about triggering his mother, Zhu Ran avoided the topic and didn’t talk to her at work.

During lunch break, Zhu Ran took a simple meal to the break room and found Wang Ruyun reading a psychology book, with an LGBT research book beside it.

Hearing footsteps, Wang Ruyun quickly hid the book. Zhu Ran hesitated but pretended not to notice, sitting quietly to eat.

The art gallery had no cafeteria. The break room was actually the staff office—a space under 20 square meters with simple desks and chairs, a decorative painting on the wall that Wang Ruyun stared at intently.

As Zhu Ran finished eating and prepared to leave, Wang Ruyun suddenly said, “That’s my painting.”

Zhu Ran froze. He looked up at the painting, awkwardly closed his lunchbox, and asked, “Do you still want to keep painting?”

Wang Ruyun gave a self-deprecating smile and shook her head, her expression calm. “I stopped long ago.”

Zhu Ran said nothing more. He sat quietly for a while, then went outside to throw away the lunchbox and zoned out in the corner for ten minutes.