No wonder Liang Xiaojia could talk to him for an hour on the phone every day and never get bored. He’d even laugh and pat Qin Zui’s shoulder to get him to look at a chicken running across the TV. And even when Qin Zui had nothing to say, he’d still smile to go along with it.
Since when was he so gentle?
What happened to the “don’t touch me one second, Mr. Coolest the next” Little Brother Qin Zui?
Finally, it was dinner time. Jiang Chu took Qin Zui and Liang Xiaojia to a random place near the complex to grab a bite. He even bought Liang Xiaojia a toothbrush.
When they got back home, he had no interest in listening to the Sticky Duo talk anymore. He didn’t care if Qin Zui was gay or not. Whatever.
Jiang Chu went to his own bedroom, grabbed a spare pillow, and dug out a small blanket. He tossed both of them onto Qin Zui’s bed, told Liang Xiaojia to make himself at home, then went into his study, shut the door, and started gaming.
There were a bunch of messages on WeChat. Da Ben and the other idiots were showing off photos of their day, catching mountain chickens, picking fruit, and having a barbecue over a fire.
Jiang Chu laughed and cursed at them. Then he noticed Chen Linguo had sent him a few messages, asking if everything was okay since he’d left so early in the morning and telling him to be safe.
If it had been Bao Li or any other regular female friend, Jiang Chu would’ve joked back: “Bullshit! You didn’t even open your eyes when I left at two in the afternoon, and you’re gonna say ‘early morning’?”
But Chen Linguo was different. With the way she was so enthusiastic, it was obvious she was really into him.
And Jiang Chu was torn. He was wondering if he should just try to date her. Maybe if they spent some time together, something would develop. Chen Linguo was a really nice girl.
His mom was always bugging him to get married whenever she had the chance. It really was something he should start thinking about.
Being single forever wasn’t an option. Even Hua Zi, drunk off his ass the other day, had secretly asked him if he had some kind of problem down there, since he broke up with every girl he dated, and the relationships never lasted. He said he knew a guy who could get some miracle medicine from Thailand…
But he couldn’t lie to himself about his feelings. When it came to Chen Linguo, Jiang Chu honestly felt nothing.
He had zero desire to take things any further with her.
It was a crude and simple way to measure feelings, but it was true. If a guy like him couldn’t even get any sexual fantasies going for a girl this great, he should just stop stringing her along.
But he couldn’t reject her right now, either.
Jiang Chu spun his phone in his hand, thinking. He decided he shouldn’t ruin her fun. It was pointless and boring to throw cold water on someone when they were having a good time.
While he was mulling it over, his phone buzzed again. He turned it over to look. It was a message from Old Du.
Old Du: Send me your brother’s WeChat.
Jiang Chu: For Miaomiao?
Old Du: Yeah.
Jiang Chu: I’ll ask him tonight. He’s hanging out with his friend right now.
Old Du sent him a middle-aged person’s “okay” emoji.
Jiang Chu put his phone down and stared at the screen for a bit. Without Da Ben and Fang Zi online to team up, gaming wasn’t fun.
He logged out and poked around the browser for a while, then sighed. Everyone else was eating grilled skewers and chatting with friends. He might as well open his design software and get some work done.
He cared about his own company. Holidays or not, it was all the same.
Work was like that. Either you didn’t start, or once you got into it, it was hard to pull yourself out.
He was in a good groove today. He was deep in his work, listening to music on his computer for a few hours, when he heard a knock on the door. His butt was even a little numb.
“It’s not locked. Just open it.” Jiang Chu glanced at the time. It was twelve-fifteen. The TV in the living room was already off.
Qin Zui pushed the door open and looked at him. “Still not asleep?”
“I’m about to turn in.” Jiang Chu saved his file and shut down the computer. “What about your friend?”
“I told him to go to sleep.” Qin Zui said and turned to leave the study.
After Jiang Chu finished washing up and went back to his room, he found the pillow and blanket he’d tossed onto Qin Zui’s bed earlier that evening. They were both back in his room.
What was that supposed to mean?
Jiang Chu was stunned.
One bed wasn’t enough? They had to share the same blanket?
If Liang Xiaojia was a girl, she’d be pregnant by morning!
Ridiculous!
The dirty image of Qin Zui and Liang Xiaojia tangled up together started boiling in his brain again. He was frowning at the blanket when he heard footsteps behind him.
He turned around. Qin Zui was standing outside his bedroom door, tapping the frame. He said softly, “Can I crash here tonight?”
Jiang Chu felt just like a dad who worried too much. When he heard Qin Zui say that, his brain hadn’t even fully processed the words yet when the corners of his mouth automatically started to lift.
“What’s up?” He teased Qin Zui casually. “Got addicted to sleeping with me after last night?”
Qin Zui’s gaze paused, fixed on his face.
As soon as the words left his mouth, Jiang Chu realized how that sounded. Like he was some kind of gigolo.
But he did feel an immediate sense of relief. The filthy, messy images in his head just vanished.
The “sleeping” problem had been giving Qin Zui a headache ever since he picked up Liang Xiaojia. He’d actually been leaning towards the inn idea when Liang Xiaojia first mentioned it.
Because he didn’t want to bother Jiang Chu.
He could tell Jiang Chu was usually pretty busy. He finally had a holiday to hang out with his friends, but he’d cut it short because of him.
Nobody liked unexpected changes to their plans. Even though Jiang Chu didn’t say or show anything while he was driving to the train station, Qin Zui couldn’t help but feel awful about it.
He felt a surge of irritation, like everything was hitting him at once.
The root of the irritation wasn’t Liang Xiaojia’s sudden appearance, or even how stubborn and disobedient Liang Xiaojia was being.
He’d known Liang Xiaojia for too long. From middle school until now. Liang Xiaojia was always getting beaten up by his dad. He was skinny and stubborn. Subconsciously, Qin Zui had always treated him like a little brother.
Even when Liang Xiaojia found out Qin Zui wasn’t interested in girls and started acting up, as annoying and frustrating as it was, Qin Zui knew he could handle him.
But Jiang Chu was different.
On the way from the farm stay to the train station, Qin Zui was frowning the whole time, thinking about how Jiang Chu had heard his phone call with Liang Xiaojia yesterday, and now Liang Xiaojia had just shown up out of the blue today.
Even though Jiang Chu hadn’t said or shown anything, Qin Zui could feel it. He was suspicious.
It was a deeper, more blatant suspicion than when he’d asked him “Are you?” last night.
Suspicion was never the end result. It was a seed.
Once it was planted in someone’s mind, any little thing that happened would be like a strong wind, helping it to grow. Eventually, that single seed would be blown into a towering, tangled tree.
What would he guess?
Would he really figure it out?
The seed in Qin Zui’s own heart was uncontrollably sprouting and breaking through the soil.
If Jiang Chu found out about his sexual orientation, that he was actually more attracted to guys, would he be disgusted?
Would they still be able to get along as naturally and intimately as they did now?
While he was taking Liang Xiaojia to get a room at the inn, these were the questions running through Qin Zui’s head.
Liang Xiaojia had come all this way just to see him. There was no way Qin Zui was going to leave him all alone in a strange city.
But knowing that Jiang Chu was watching them from behind, and that he might have already touched the edge of the truth, made Qin Zui’s heart feel like a tangled mess.
So when Jiang Chu vetoed the inn and gave him the choice between a hotel or coming home, even though he really didn’t want to bother Jiang Chu, Qin Zui decided to bring Liang Xiaojia to his place.
To be honest, he even felt a little relieved.
Going home at least seemed more aboveboard. Having both of them right under Jiang Chu’s nose would hopefully stop him from thinking that he and Liang Xiaojia were in that kind of relationship.
But what he hadn’t expected was that once they got home, Jiang Chu’s attitude towards him still subtly changed.
For example, the water they’d usually shared naturally. Jiang Chu had pulled his hand back today.
When the three of them were chatting in the living room, Jiang Chu was sitting on the single sofa, his laughter and words distracted and half-hearted.
And after they’d eaten dinner and come home, he’d just shut himself in his study, not wanting to share the same space with them.
That night, Liang Xiaojia talked a lot to Qin Zui. About school, about their old classmates, about the neighbors, about his parents. Qin Zui listened and responded, but he couldn’t help staring at the closed door to the study.
He couldn’t help wondering what was up with Jiang Chu, what he was thinking.
“Do you and Brother Chu always hang out like this?” It was almost twelve o’clock, and Jiang Chu still hadn’t come out of the study. Liang Xiaojia yawned and quietly asked Qin Zui this question.
Qin Zui was caught off guard.
It was true. When he and Jiang Chu were both home, it was pretty much the same. They’d eat together or watch TV, but the rest of the time they did their own thing. He’d never felt uncomfortable about it before.
“Yeah.” He glanced at the study door again. “He’s pretty busy.”
Liang Xiaojia followed his gaze, nodded, and then asked, “So, am I sleeping in your room tonight?”
This was the second time Liang Xiaojia had asked about his room. Qin Zui knew he wasn’t just talking about the room.
He was trying to confirm if he’d be sleeping with him tonight.
Before that thing happened, Qin Zui would have naturally shared a bed with Liang Xiaojia. They were brothers who’d grown up together. He had nothing to hide from Liang Xiaojia.
But it was different now.
“You sleep there. I’ll go to Jiang Chu’s room.” He said to Liang Xiaojia.
Truth be told, Qin Zui thought he should just sleep on the couch. But that would be too obvious, too much like he was trying to avoid something. It would only make Jiang Chu more suspicious.
