Dating openly
The early morning sunlight filtered through the slits in the curtains on the second floor of the Mint Velvet Tail, casting tiny specks of light on the floor. Li Huaizhou nestled in Xie Mo's arms, his consciousness as if wrapped in cotton wool, drowsy and soft. The back of his neck still tingled from last night's kiss, and his waist and abdomen were aching. The slightest movement made his bones feel like they were falling apart, and even his temples throbbed.
He closed his eyes and nuzzled Xie Mo's warm chest, the remnant of plum wine lingering on his nose, a comforting scent. Last night's scenes flashed back in his mind intermittently, from the alcoholic flavor of the private dishes, to the lingering in bed, to the gentleness when Xie Mo held him in his arms as he went to the bathroom. Every detail made his cheeks heat up, and even his breathing became lighter, for fear of disturbing the people around him.
Xie Mo seemed to notice that he was awake. He tightened his arms slightly and pulled him closer to his chest. He rested his chin on the top of his head and said in a hoarse voice, "Does it still hurt?"
The warm breath fell on his hair, and Li Huaizhou's ears turned red instantly. He shook his head and said in a muffled voice: "I'm just tired." As soon as he finished speaking, the phone on the bedside table vibrated, and the screen lit up. It was a message from Lin Shengxia, asking what time the cat cafe would open today. Tiandou looked a little restless. Li Huaizhou struggled to reach out to grab the phone, but Xie Mo gently held his waist. "I'll do it." Xie Mo's voice was close to his ear, with a lazy smile. With his other hand, he reached over him and picked up Li Huaizhou's phone to unlock it. Li Huaizhou watched his slender fingers tapping on the screen and couldn't help but lean over to take a look. Xie Mo didn't ask him, but replied directly to Lin Shengxia: "It's closed for one day today. Please keep an eye on Tiandou. Huaizhou and I will treat you to dinner in the evening."
After Xie Mo finished sending the message, he lowered his head and kissed the corner of his mouth, and gently rubbed his sore waist with his fingertips: "You look tired, take a rest today." He put the phone back on the bedside table and put Li Huaizhou in his arms again, "Sleep a little longer, I'll go feed the cat downstairs and make some porridge for you." Li Huaizhou nodded, his eyelids began to fight again, he snuggled into Xie Mo's arms, and soon fell asleep again.
Xie Mo waited until his breathing had completely calmed down before carefully lifting the quilt and getting up. He moved very quietly, fearing to wake Li Huaizhou. After getting dressed, he leaned over and tucked the corner of the quilt around Li Huaizhou, making sure he wasn't startled. Then he tiptoed out of the bedroom. As he closed the door, he glanced back at the curled-up figure on the bed, his eyes filled with tenderness.
Xie Mo skillfully took out the cat food and cat cans, divided them into the food bowls, and filled each water bowl with warm water. He squatted beside the puppet's cat bed and gently touched its chin. "Your dad said you need to lose weight." The puppet seemed to understand and meowed in dissatisfaction.
After feeding the cat, Xie Mo went to the kitchen on the second floor to cook porridge. He remembered that Li Huaizhou liked to drink millet porridge, so he added a few red dates and simmered it slowly over a low fire. Soon, the kitchen was filled with the faint fragrance of rice. He leaned against the kitchen door, watching the porridge bubbling in the pot. His mind was full of the image of Li Huaizhou nestling in his arms just now, his cheeks flushed, his eyelashes long, and even his breathing was a little dependent, which made him feel soft inside.
Before they knew it, it was past ten o'clock. The porridge had just been cooked when the door opened. Xie Mo thought it was a customer who hadn't noticed the restaurant was closed. Just as he was about to turn around and say hello, he heard Ji Jiancheng's noisy voice: "Brother Zhou! Are you still sleeping? Didn't you say two days ago that you would…"
The sound was getting closer and closer, accompanied by the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs. Xie Mo frowned, thinking of Li Huaizhou who was still sleeping in the bedroom, and hurried to the stairs, but he was still a step too late - Ji Jiancheng had already pushed open the bedroom door, and before he could finish his words, he froze at the door.
The curtains in the bedroom were not drawn tightly, and the sunlight fell right on the bed. Li Huaizhou lay on his side, the quilt slipping down a little, revealing the back of his neck dotted with kiss marks. On the chair beside the bed was a white shirt that clearly did not belong to Li Huaizhou.
Ji Jiancheng's eyes widened as he pointed at the person on the bed, then at the clothes on the chair. He opened his mouth but remained silent for a long time, like a puppet on pause. Shen Qitang, who was following behind him, also came up. Seeing this scene, he helplessly held his forehead. He knew that Li Huaizhou and Xie Mo had been together before, but he had no idea they had reconciled. He had never expected to encounter such an awkward situation.
Li Huaizhou, who was lying on the bed, was awakened by the noise at the door. He opened his eyes drowsily, his temples still aching. Seeing Ji Jiancheng at the door, he forgot for a moment that he had just finished with Xie Mo. He supported his head and tried to sit up, frowning at Ji Jiancheng: "Get out..."
Xie Mo hurried to the bedroom, took a few steps, wrapped Li Huaizhou in a quilt, and held him in his arms. He turned to look at Ji Jiancheng, who was still in a daze, and said in a light tone, but with an unquestionable tone, "He is still sleeping. You two should go out first." Ji Jiancheng finally came to his senses. His eyes moved back and forth between Li Huaizhou and Xie Mo. He moved his mouth and was about to speak when he was pulled out by Shen Qitang. Shen Qitang did not forget to close the bedroom door with his backhand, isolating the two from seeing outside.
In the cat cafe downstairs, Ji Jiancheng was pulled by Shen Qitang to sit on the sofa. He had not yet recovered from the shock just now. He grabbed Shen Qitang's arm and said in a trembling voice: "Just now... was that Xie Mo? Isn't this Li Huaizhou's house? The two of them?" Shen Qitang sighed helplessly, picked up the water cup on the table and handed it to Ji Jiancheng: "You... just knock on the door next time..."
"That's not the point, is it?" Ji Jiancheng took the water cup, his hands still shaking. "How come I didn't know that Brother Zhou was gay? They even slept in the same bed! Was Brother Zhou bullied by him?" Shen Qitang rubbed his eyebrows and said unhappily, "What are you thinking? Li Huaizhou volunteered. They were together in high school."
Ji Jiancheng opened his mouth and was about to say something, but was interrupted by footsteps from upstairs.
In the bedroom, Li Huaizhou came to his senses and was frantically looking for clothes to put on. He had just put on his shirt and hadn't buttoned it yet when he saw Xie Mo coming over with his pants and handed them to him. "Don't panic, take your time." Xie Mo's tone was very gentle, and he reached out to help him straighten his wrinkled collar.
Li Huaizhou took the pants, his face still red, and his voice a little anxious: "Fuck? You just... did they know?" Xie Mo raised an eyebrow and helped him pull up his pants: "I'm wearing pants"
"That's not what I'm talking about!" Li Huaizhou collapsed even more. He reached out and touched the back of his neck. He knew without a doubt how obvious the kiss mark there was. "Are we being too careless? Who knows what Ji Jiancheng would think."
"It's okay." Xie Mo rubbed his head, pulled him into the bathroom, and asked him to sit on the sink. "Wash up first, I'll go make the bed." As he said that, he picked up the toothbrush, squeezed toothpaste on it, and handed it to Li Huaizhou. Li Huaizhou took the toothbrush and looked at himself in the mirror. His eyes were a little swollen, his lips were still red, and the kiss mark on his neck was even more eye-catching. It looked like he had just been through something. His mind was in a mess. While brushing his teeth, he thought: How am I going to explain to Ji Jiancheng when we go out later? Although it's not shameful for the two of them to be in love, it's really embarrassing to be caught by their good brother.
When he finished washing up and walked out of the bathroom, the bedroom was already tidied. The quilt was neatly folded, the clothes on the chair were gone, and the window was open. Fresh air rushed in, blowing away the lingering ambiguous atmosphere in the room, but it made Xie Mo's scent more distinct, lingering at the tip of his nose, lingering.
"Let's go, the porridge is getting cold." Xie Mo came over, took his hand, and gently hooked his fingertips between his fingers with a soothing look.
Li Huaizhou nodded and let him lead him downstairs. As soon as he reached the stairs, he saw Ji Jiancheng and Shen Qitang sitting on the sofa, surrounded by several kittens - Nian Gao was lying on Ji Jiancheng's legs, and Tangtang was circling around Shen Qitang's ankles. It was much quieter than before. Hearing the footsteps, Ji Jiancheng and Shen Qitang looked up at the same time. Ji Jiancheng's eyes fell on the two people's clasped hands, and then glanced at Li Huaizhou's neck. His eyes were full of inquiry. His lips moved, and after hesitating for a long time, he spoke: "You..."
Xie Mo glanced at Li Huaizhou beside him, his eyes asking, "Is it okay?"
Li Huaizhou's cheeks flushed instantly. He bit his lip and whispered, "What else can I do?" Ji Jiancheng wasn't stupid. Seeing the two of them holding hands, thinking back to the scene in the bedroom and the obvious kiss mark on Li Huaizhou's neck, how could he not understand? He stood up suddenly, his voice rising: "When did you two get together? Damn it! You hid such a big thing from me? Brother Chen, did you know? So I'm the only one who didn't know!"
Shen Qitang sighed helplessly and nodded: "It's quite obvious, you are stupid"
Li Huaizhou was so annoyed by Ji Jiancheng's noise that he couldn't help but hold his forehead: "Keep your voice down, the store is full of cat sons." Ji Jiancheng didn't care about that. He walked a few steps to Xie Mo, looked him up and down, and said with a hint of ridicule: "Mr. Xie, it's not bad. You can even pick up my brother. With Brother Zhou's temper, aren't you afraid of domestic violence! By the way, who... is on top?"
As soon as these words came out, Li Huaizhou's face instantly turned red enough to bleed. He glared at Xie Mo, then turned to look at Ji Jiancheng, gritting his teeth and saying, "Ji Jiancheng, if you keep asking nonsense, I'll make you come in upright and leave sideways!" Ji Jiancheng quickly hid behind Shen Qitang, poked his head out, and muttered softly, "Tsk, I'm just asking... Mr. Xie's family status is not high."
Chen Qitang patted Ji Jiancheng's shoulder and said helplessly: "That's enough, stop making trouble. Why don't you think about where to go for fun? Didn't Huaizhou say a few days ago that he wanted to go out and relax?"
Li Huaizhou was stunned for a moment before he remembered that he had mentioned it to Ji Jiancheng before - during the breakup period, his spirit had been in a fragile state, and Ji Jiancheng and Shen Qitang often accompanied him to travel outside the province to see the mountains and the sea to help him relieve his emotions. After the court session ended, Wen Juzhi's matter was completely resolved, and he really wanted to go out for a walk. Xie Mo noticed his thoughts, reached out and rubbed his cheek, and said gently: "Where do you want to go? We can play for a few more days."
Li Huaizhou felt a little itchy and awkward when he rubbed him, so he avoided his hand and whispered, "Whatever, just decide."
Ji Jiancheng perked up instantly upon hearing this, and jumped out from behind Shen Qitang: "I know a place! There's a place called 'Huding Mountain' in Guangdong, it's very popular recently! It's very beautiful, we can stay there for a few days and try the local food!" Shen Qitang nodded: "Okay." Li Huaizhou saw that both of them agreed, and he had no objection: "Let's go there."
Xie Mo smiled and rubbed his hair: "Okay, I'll book the plane ticket and B&B now."
In the following time, the people had a clear division of labor. Xie Mo booked air tickets and B&Bs, Shen Qitang checked travel guides, and Ji Jiancheng pulled Li Huaizhou to discuss what to bring. He also did not forget to make a few jokes about their relationship. Li Huaizhou was so angry that he chased him around the cat cafe, scaring several kittens to run around. The whole cat cafe was filled with laughter.
In the evening, Xie Mo fulfilled his promise and asked Lin Shengxia to bring Ji Jiancheng and Shen Qitang to dinner. After Lin Shengxia knew that Li Huaizhou and Xie Mo were together, she was not too surprised. She just smiled and said, "I have felt that there is something wrong between you two. Mr. Xie's eyes, tsk tsk." Li Huaizhou was a little embarrassed by what she said. He lowered his head and picked at the rice in the bowl. Xie Mo said in a light tone, "Please take care of Mint Velvet in the future. I will help Huaizhou give you a raise. We are going out in a few days."
After dinner, the group prepared to go home and pack their belongings, leaving for Guangdong early the next morning. Xie Mo and Li Huaizhou walked behind, hand in hand, slowly walking along the streetlights. The evening breeze blew gently, bringing a hint of summer heat, but making people feel very comfortable.
"We can now have an open relationship." Xie Mo suddenly spoke, with a childish joy in his voice. He shook Li Huaizhou's hand, his eyes full of smiles. Li Huaizhou rolled his eyes at him helplessly: "Well, you're sick. You're such a grown-up, yet so childish..."
Xie Mo was not angry. Instead, he leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Are we considered fellow patients?" Li Huaizhou was amused by him and punched him: "Stop joking. Go home and pack your things. You have to get up early tomorrow." Xie Mo smiled and held his hand, pulling him into his arms: "Okay, listen to what you say, baby."
Ji Jiancheng, who was standing in front of them, heard the conversation between the two, turned around and rolled his eyes, saying helplessly, "That's enough, Brother Zhou! How can you forget your friends when you're in love? You used to walk with me, but now you're sticking with Mr. Xie all day long, and you're so disgusting!" Li Huaizhou raised an eyebrow, let go of Xie Mo's hand, and took a few steps to catch up with him: "Ji Jiancheng, are you looking for a fight?"
Ji Jiancheng quickly hid around Shen Qitang: "Brother Shen, save me!"
Shen Qitang held his forehead helplessly and stopped Li Huaizhou who was chasing him: "Okay, stop it." Li Huaizhou stopped and glared at Ji Jiancheng while panting. Ji Jiancheng made a face at him and hid behind Shen Qitang and refused to come out. Xie Mo came over, gently hugged Li Huaizhou's waist from behind, and whispered in his ear: "Okay, baby, take it easy. Didn't you say your waist hurt this morning?" As soon as these words came out, Li Huaizhou's face flushed instantly. He quickly pushed Xie Mo away and turned to walk forward: "Don't talk nonsense! I don't feel any pain anymore." Xie Mo followed with a smile, reaching out to hold his hand: "I just... care about you."
When Ji Jiancheng heard this in front, he cried out again: "Oh! I can't stand it anymore! Can you two stop showing off your affection!" Chen Qitang shook his head helplessly, followed behind a few people, looked at the figures fighting and playing in front, and couldn't help but smile.
The light from the street lamp fell on the four people, stretching their shadows very long. The evening breeze blew, carrying the scent of flowers on the roadside. In his ears were the noise of Ji Jiancheng and the laughter of Li Huaizhou. Xie Mo looked at Li Huaizhou, who was smiling beside him, and had only one thought in his mind - to "raise" Li Huaizhou very well in the future.
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