Chapter 4: Unstable Temper

Ruan Xingfeng didn't dare to close his eyes all night, and fell asleep at dawn. Liao Feng woke up from the warm embrace of happiness, and he looked completely different from the weak appearance last night.

The morning sunlight was a little dazzling, and the warm sunshine drove away the coldness of last night's autumn rain. Liao Feng covered his right eye and sat up. After adjusting to the sunlight, he put his hand down. When he was about to get out of bed, he noticed that there was a person lying next to him.

Ruan Xingfeng was lying with his back to him, with only the back of his head exposed and the rest buried in his neck. Looking at his back, Liao Feng thought of the scene last night. He acted too fragile, and it seemed that it was because he had not taken the medicine in the past few days.

Thinking this, he got out of bed and left.

Ruan Xingfeng woke up when he heard the door close. He got up and checked his phone, and found that there were still thirty minutes before class. The apartment was in the suburbs, and it would take half an hour to get to school. He had no time to eat, so he hurriedly washed up and ran downstairs.

Liao Feng had just sat down at the dining table when he heard hurried footsteps coming up the stairs. He was annoyed by the noise and couldn't help but scold, "Ruan Xingfeng, what are you doing? Why are you making such a big noise?"

Ruan Xingfeng was startled by his words and almost fell down the stairs. "I... am going to be late for class," he answered in a low voice without confidence as he went downstairs to change his shoes at the entrance.

Liao Feng: "Do you have a driver's license?" It was just a question from Grape, but Liao Feng understood it differently. He said this as if to express indirectly that he was late because he took care of Liao Feng until very late.

Ruan Xingfeng paused as his hand hit the door handle, and looked up to see Liao Feng standing in front of him. Ruan Xingfeng didn't dare to look him in the eye, so he lowered his eyes and nodded. Liao Feng didn't say anything, but just handed over the car keys.

Ruan Xingfeng didn't dare to take it, but since he was almost late, he took it and said thank you, then pushed the door open and went out. Liao Feng moved his nose and inhaled the scent of the deer into his nasal cavity.

This afternoon, Liao Feng was specially invited to give a speech at Xingquan University. Of course, Ruan Xingfeng was in the audience. He must have realized his dream of hearing Liao Feng's speech.

Liao Feng stood on the podium, slightly bent over and spoke close to the microphone. He didn't like holding the microphone in his hands. His suit was too tight, making him look like a middle-aged cadre. But in Ruan Xingfeng's eyes, he was like the brightest star. He always kept a certain filter for Liao Feng.

Liao Feng had noticed Ruan Xingfeng's gaze a long time ago. After the speech, he wanted to take him out to eat something and then go home together.

But as soon as I got closer, I saw Ruan Xingfeng standing with another boy. I don’t know what they were talking about, but they were smiling brightly.

Liao Feng's face instantly turned gloomy.

He didn't like Ruan Xingfeng, at least that was what he always told himself, but that didn't mean he could tolerate his possessions being so close to others, or even smiling so glaringly.

Ruan Xingfeng noticed the gaze and turned around, only to meet Liao Feng's cold gaze.

The man had one hand in his pocket and the other hanging at his side, his knuckles white with tension, as if he was trying hard to suppress something. Ruan Xingfeng's heart trembled, and he realized belatedly that he was finished.

The phone vibrated, and Liao Feng's message popped up, short and cold:

"Wait for me in the car."

Ruan Xingfeng stared at the screen, his fingertips trembling slightly. He was too familiar with this tone. Tonight would not be easy.

But when Liao roughly pressed him against the back of the chair, he realized that he had not prepared himself mentally enough, and Liao Feng had not even thought about doing it again when he returned home at night.

Instead, he rudely demanded the money in the car in the underground garage, and only let Ruan Xingfeng go when he fainted.

When Ruan Xingfeng woke up, his sensitive nose smelled the pungent smell of cigarettes. He rubbed his eyes and saw Liao Feng, who had changed into casual clothes and was sitting by the bed smoking. Outside the window, the stars were dotted and the moon was hanging high in the sky. The moonlight gently shone in and hit Liao Feng's cold face.

Liao Feng: "Who is that man? Have you forgotten the terms of the agreement?" He could feel that Ruan Xingfeng was awake without turning around.

Ruan Xingfeng was suddenly called out, and his sleepiness instantly disappeared. He was a little nervous and couldn't organize his words. Finally, he explained haltingly, "I remember, he was my roommate and my good friend."

His explanation did not satisfy Liao Feng. He understood that he had a friend, but it was clearly written that he could not get so close. The other person's hands were on his shoulders. In the eyes of others, it might be an arm around the shoulders, but in Liao Feng's eyes, it was just a hug.

Ruan Xingfeng couldn't see Liao Feng's face, so he looked at his back and wondered if he believed in himself. Liao Feng threw the cigarette butt into the ashtray without saying anything and walked out.

Ruan Xingfeng looked at his back, feeling a little overwhelmed. He couldn't understand why Liao Feng was angry. How could a normal chat have offended him? He was really a weird person, Ruan Xingfeng complained in his heart.

Liao Feng left the room and went to the bathroom. He had just finished showering, and his hair was still dripping with water. He casually pulled on a black silk nightgown, the belt tied loosely around his waist, revealing the wet marks on his collarbone and chest.

The phone screen lit up in the dim bedroom, and a message popped up:

Xu Nuoyan: [Golden Cup, VIP3]

Liao Feng stared at the screen for two seconds, tapped his thumb on the keyboard, and finally replied with only one word: [Hmm.]

He opened the cloakroom door, picked out a dark-patterned black shirt and suit pants, and buttoned his cufflinks slowly. The man in the mirror had sharp eyebrows and a tight jawline, and no emotion could be seen.

Half an hour later, Jinzun Club.

The door of the VIP room slid open silently, and the lights inside were dim, with only cigar smoke slowly swirling in the air.

Xu Nuoyan sat at the back of the sofa, his long legs crossed and a burning cigarette between his fingertips. When he saw Liao Feng come in, he raised his chin as a greeting.

"It's too late," he said.

Liao Feng loosened his tie and sat down opposite him: "You're not here early either."

Two glasses of whiskey were already placed on the glass coffee table, and the ice balls were swaying slightly in the amber liquid.

The noise of the dance floor downstairs is completely isolated, and outside the one-way glass, the extravagant light and shadow blur into a floating block of color.

The two drank in silence for a while, no one spoke.

Until Xu Nuoyan suddenly said: "Are you in a bad mood?"

Liao Feng shook the wine glass, and the ice cubes made a crisp sound. He stared at the water droplets on the wall of the glass and said, "Mind your own business."

Xu Nuoyan was not annoyed, he just exhaled a puff of smoke lightly, and the smoke blurred his eyes behind the lenses.

"what ever."

It was always awkward when they were together, so they needed Song Xuexi, the noisy one. Liao Feng: "Are we free to go out for a drink today?" Xu Nuoyan was also very busy before, but he became even busier after becoming the director. He had no time to get together with them at all.

Xu Nuoyan took a sip of wine and replied: "I'm taking a day off tomorrow. The new interns are smart enough not to be busy this time." Liao Feng felt helpless when he heard his words. How could this be called not busy?

Xu Nuoyan is now in the hospital almost 20 hours a day. Liao Feng is a little worried that one day he will not be able to hold on and his body will collapse. Xu Nuoyan can also notice Liao Feng's emotions, and they can understand each other's meaning without words.

Xu Nuoyan: "I'm a doctor. Once I put on my white coat, I have to be responsible for this. Aren't you the same? You wish you could be in the office 24 hours a day, while Xuexi spends every day at the headquarters of the Chamber of Commerce."

After he finished speaking, they both fell silent. The only sound in the room was the crisp clink of wine glasses, echoing softly in the air.

Liao Feng swirled the wine in his glass, and the ice cubes clinked. "Well, Xuexi told you, right? I recently got a fawn."

Xu Nuoyan didn't smile, but just raised his eyelids to look at him, with a hint of teasing in his eyes: "Well, when can you bring it out so I can see it?"

Liao Feng drank the wine in the glass in one gulp, lowered his eyes to think about something, then nodded and replied: "I'm going to make sweet and sour pork ribs tomorrow, you can come and meet him by the way." He felt that there was no need to be strict, just watch it if you want, as long as you don't let others know.

Xu Nuoyan: "Okay, I'm lucky enough to eat your cooking, and there's also a beautiful woman to look at," he said in a joking tone, and reached out to clink glasses with Liao Feng.

Liao Feng didn't say anything else. He was a little curious about how the little deer in his house would react when he saw other people. He promised, "You sit for a while, I'll go out of the bathroom." He put down the wine glass in his hand and left.

He walked to the bathroom and splashed a handful of cold water on his face, trying to sober himself up. Water droplets slid down his chin, and he wiped his face casually. Just as he was about to turn and leave, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a familiar figure from the corner of his eye.

At that moment, his blood almost froze. He didn't even have time to think before his body moved and suddenly grabbed the other person's wrist and pulled him away.

The man was forced to turn around, and the moment their eyes met, Xu Nuoyan's mind went blank.

It's really him.

Before he could regain his senses, his body instinctively pushed him against the wall, and he pressed down on her with the drunken kiss without hesitation.

The man seemed to be shocked by this sudden change, and for a moment he froze in place, unable to move. It was not until he felt the burning temperature on his lips that he suddenly woke up, his pupils suddenly constricting.

The next second, Xu Nuoyan felt a dull pain in his forehead. The opponent's fist was so fierce and fast that it made his vision go black and he stumbled back half a step.

When he looked up again, the man had already thrown off his shackles and quickly disappeared around the corner of the corridor, leaving only the sound of hurried footsteps echoing in the empty aisle.

Xu Nuoyan squatted on the ground with his hands covering his head. It took him a long time to recover and return to the private room.

Seeing his shaky body, Liao Feng quickly stood up and supported him. When Xu Nuoyan heard Liao Feng's voice, his pupils suddenly contracted and his whole body trembled violently as if he was hit by an electric current.

He stumbled towards Liao Feng, his nails almost digging into his flesh, his voice hoarse: "Liao Feng! I saw An Ge! I really saw him!"

Liao Feng was knocked back half a step by his sudden force, but he still caught him steadily.

Liao Feng froze up at the name he had forgotten for so long, his Adam's apple rolling up and down. It took him a while to find his voice again: "Yanyan, are you..."

"It's not an illusion!" Xu Nuoyan interrupted him suddenly, his eyes were red as if they were about to bleed. He clutched Liao Feng's collar tightly, his knuckles turned white, and his entire upper body was spasming uncontrollably.

"I touched him... I kissed him... He, he didn't dodge at first..." When he said the last few words, his voice suddenly broke, as if someone had strangled him. "Then he hit me... You see..." He trembled and touched the corner of his swollen mouth, and suddenly laughed nervously, "He would feel pain... He would be angry... How could it be an illusion..."

Liao Feng felt his heart clench as he watched him like this. Xu Nuoyan half leaned against the sofa, the liquor he had drunk sliding down his neck and soaking his clothes, but he was completely oblivious, just gripping the glass tightly, his knuckles white, as if grasping at a last straw.

Liao Feng was too familiar with this look of his, obsessed and crazy.

Since they first met at the age of fourteen, Xu Nuoyan was like a possessed man, and his eyes could no longer accommodate anyone else. The man just smiled at him unintentionally, and he chased after him like crazy.

In order to stand by that person's side, he worked hard to get into medical school. He was recommended for admission at the age of seventeen and confessed his love with red eyes at the age of eighteen. Then, there were countless nights like tonight, when he was drunk to the point of being unconscious, but still shouted that person's name over and over again, crying until his voice was hoarse.

Liao Feng closed his eyes and his throat tightened.

He had seen Xu Nuoyan at his proudest and at his most embarrassed, but no matter which one, it was all related to that man.

Xu Nuoyan fell asleep on the sofa with a dizzy feeling, while Liao Feng sat beside him and continued drinking. When it came to loving someone madly, he was indeed not as persistent as Xu Nuoyan, but he also had someone he loved deeply and had been loved deeply, but that person left 8 years ago, leaving him to deal with it alone, and all the promises he made were shattered into pieces along with the broken phone that day.

Liao Feng also drank for a long time. When he felt pain in his stomach, he went to the bathroom to vomit. After coming back, he lay down on another sofa and fell asleep. He was too lazy to wake up Xu Nuoyan to go home. They had repeated this kind of thing many times and it didn't matter anymore. There was no point in sleeping anywhere.

At 4:17 in the morning, Ruan Xingfeng sat on the sofa in the living room, his fingertips unconsciously picking at the edge of the pillow. An old movie rerun was playing on TV, but no one was watching.

He stared at his phone screen. The WeChat interface was stuck on the message he had sent to Liao Feng four hours ago: [Are you coming back tonight?] - no read messages, no replies.

Ruan Xingfeng pursed his lips, a sour, choking feeling rising in his chest. He recalled Liao Feng's suddenly cold eyes after he answered the phone call that evening, and the gust of wind he'd kicked up when he slammed the door and left, stinging his cheek.

"What did I do wrong again?" he murmured softly, as if asking the air, or as if asking the person who would never give him an answer.

Perhaps in Liao Feng's eyes, he did not need to be explained at all. He was like a canary in a cage. When the owner was in a good mood, he would tease him a few times, but when he was in a bad mood, he would not even bother to look at him. Who would explain their emotions to a pet?

Ruan Xingfeng buried his face between his knees and suddenly felt ridiculous. He was actually waiting for the person who bought his youth with money to come home. He actually suffered from insomnia because of the other party's neglect. He was so pathetic that he mistook the relationship of keeping a mistress for love.

Outside the window, the sky was already turning gray. He stared at the faint light and suddenly realized that Liao Feng probably wouldn't come back when the sun rose.