16

16

"Oh, you're back. Have you explained everything to your wife?" Shi Ji said to me with a smile.

I nodded. "Let's go."

Hua Hong stood up and said to me shyly, "Wouldn't it be too outrageous for me to go out wearing this?"

I glanced at his tight black leather outfit—wow, his pants were really short, half his butt was showing. I nodded in agreement. Shi Ji nonchalantly said it didn't matter, he looked quite fashionable. I glanced at him, thinking this guy was just being mischievous. Want to be fashionable? It's simple, just take off your clothes and swap with Hua Hong, what are you laughing about!

Did you not bring a change of clothes with you?

Hua Hong hesitated before nodding. Seeing him like that, my fists clenched involuntarily. That Xiao Wen really went too far! Who lets someone go out dressed like that! He got off easy just now; I should have given him a couple more rounds.

Just then, Xiao Wen walked over. He glanced at me, then quickly went to his usual seat and sat down. Qin Jie asked him if it was cold outside, and he just grunted in response.

I thought to myself, "You're a good kid, aren't you!"

I said to Hua Hong, "Come with me."

Hua Hong glanced at Xiao Wen, and seeing that he was looking down and not reacting, he hesitated for a few seconds before following me.

"Take off your clothes."

"Huh?...Why?"

In a corner of the restroom, I took off my suit jacket and said to Hua Hong.

"You don't want to wear this out, do you?"

Hua Hong understood what I meant, and his nose immediately turned red.

"No, what will you wear if I give it to you? I'm fine, it's late at night and no one's watching me anyway."

"You don't mind?" I put the suit jacket I had taken off on the sink and then unbuttoned my shirt.

"...I don't care."

"If you didn't care, you wouldn't have asked me if wearing this out was too much. Just take it off."

I took off my shirt and handed it to Hua Hong. Seeing that he was still standing there dumbfounded, I shoved the shirt into his arms.

"Hurry up and change, don't dawdle, they're all waiting outside."

Hua Hong looked at me, then suddenly covered his face with his clothes and called out to me in a trembling voice.

“Xia Xiang…”

"kindness?"

"Why...why are you so kind?"

Hua Hong's voice choked up. I looked at his red hair and thought for a moment, "I don't know either. Maybe it's because my parents have good genes that I turned out like this."

Hua Hong chuckled as he listened, and then his shoulders began to shake.

I immediately tensed up. "You, you can't do this! How can a grown man like you just cry like that? Ugh, how can you go out if your eyes are red for a while?"

"I...I'm not going out." Hua Hong leaned against the wall, and he held my shirt tightly over his face.

Looking at my shirtless reflection in the mirror, and remembering that this was a gay bar, I immediately felt embarrassed. If someone came in and saw us like this, they'd think I'd taken advantage of them. Where would I put my face then? I'd never dare come to this place again.

"Look, the air here isn't fresh..."

"I don't want to go out!" Hua Hong said firmly.

"You don't want to face those people outside, do you?"

"kindness."

"...I know there's a back door here, do you want to come with me?"

The crumpled shirt slipped off Hua Hong's face, revealing his eyes, which were indeed wet and red. I sighed inwardly. Why did this kid cry so easily? A man's tears are quite valuable, aren't they?

"My car... is outside."

"It's okay, we'll come back to get it after they leave."

“But Xiaowen and Xiaojie came in my car. If I leave... how will they get back later?”

Listening to Hua Hong's words, I felt both annoyed and amused. Xiao Wen had told him to dress like this, so why was he still so obediently acting as a rickshaw driver? I really wanted to say, "Are you out of your mind?" But when I met Hua Hong's moist eyes, my heart softened.

"They can take a taxi. They're all adults. Are you worried they won't be able to get back?"

Hua Hong sniffed, walked to the mirror, and decisively started taking off his clothes.

I stood to one side, unsure where to look.

Looking up at the ceiling, I prayed that Hua Hong would hurry up, hurry up, hurry up. If someone walked in now, it wouldn't be me bullying him; others would think they'd stumbled upon the two of them about to do something intimate.

"alright."

I glanced down and saw Hua Hong wearing my shirt, his short leather pants peeking out from beneath. It was truly... truly alluring. I coughed and slipped my suit jacket on. Looking at my sparsely muscular chest in the mirror, I thought to myself, "When should I start going to the gym?"

"Let's go."

"kindness."

※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※

I took a hot coffee from a coin-operated vending machine on the street and handed it to Hua Hong, who was sitting on a bench. He took it, warmed his hands with it, and smiled at me, "It's so warm."

I sat next to him, watching the cars whizzing by on the street, and said, "Look at all these people out for a night stroll so late at night."

Hua Hongen gave a shout and pulled open the drawstring.

"Hua Hong, how old are you?"

"Twenty-five."

"Twenty-five?! No way? You look about the same age as Xiaowen and the others. I thought you were only twenty-two or twenty-three."

"Why would I lie to you? I'm really that old, I just look young."

"How could you let a child lead you around like that?"

Hua Hong was taken aback, then smiled faintly; he understood what I meant. Gazing at the pale moon, he tilted his head back and took a sip of coffee.

"Because I like it."

"like?"

"Yes, you know about me and Xiaowen?"

"A little bit."

What do you think of his looks?

After thinking about the awful Xiaowen, I said, "Objectively speaking, he's not bad-looking."

"To be honest, when I first met him, I was only attracted to his looks; our relationship could only be described as friends with benefits. But as time went on, I gradually became dissatisfied with just that kind of relationship; I wanted to keep his heart. I'm older than him, and he's more outgoing than me. I took care of him and tried every way to please him. But strangely, the more I gave, the less I received. I often hear people say that you can't spoil your lover, or you'll lose control. Thinking about it, it seems to be true. But I can't stop being good to him; I'm afraid that if I let my guard down, he'll run off with someone else. When I'm good to him, he..." He used to tell me I was annoying. When I was indifferent to him, he'd say I was boring. Eventually, I didn't even know what to do anymore. The day I met you, he officially broke up with me, and I knew it was truly over. My heart kept screaming, "Don't break up! Why? Doesn't he have any feelings for me at all?" But at that moment, sadness filled my chest, and I couldn't say a word. He kicked me out of his house, saying he never wanted to see my face again, the face that annoyed him. I even considered getting plastic surgery. Haha, now I know where my love failed.

Hua Hong's voice sounded pale and helpless to me. His love was painful and unfair. But is there such a thing as fairness in the world of love? No.

“I loved the wrong person. I shouldn’t have expected a future with him. He’s too young. He’s too young to understand my feelings or bear them. Xiao Jie is much better. He’s about the same age as me. We should have a lot to talk about.”

"You've decided to give up?"

"Yeah, what else can we do?"

"Bullshit!" I yelled, standing up excitedly.

"You decided to give up on him and then did pole dancing? Wearing those kinds of clothes? You even moved in with him and cooked for him? You call that giving up? Did I hear that right?"

Hua Hong's expression suddenly became very complicated, and sadness flickered in his eyes.

"He said he wanted to see me dance, haha, it's quite difficult to learn."

I grabbed Hua Hong by the collar. "Are you out of your mind? You're both finished, why are you still paying attention to him?!"

Hua Hong smiled gently, "But I'm used to being good to him, and I can't refuse. I have no choice."

I loosened my grip, then felt a sudden tightness in my hand, remembering what Pengpeng had said to me: "I've gotten so used to being good to you. If you stop loving me in the future, tell me, who should I be good to?"

Do you still love him?

"I don't love him." Hua Hong's answer was so straightforward that it surprised me a bit.

"You've been so good to him, and you love him so deeply, how could you stop loving him?"

Hua Hong straddled the bench, lay down on it, and stared straight at the twilight sky.

"Because I've fallen for you."

I was startled, doubting what I was hearing.

"My devotion to Xiaowen is a habit. After falling in love with you, I hoped to change this habit, but you have such a wonderful lover. You don't need me to do anything for you. I envy Zhang Peng."

"Why aren't you saying anything? Are you too surprised? Hehe, I understand. You're a good person. Even when I said things you didn't want to hear, you didn't leave. ...Xia Xiang, you're really gentle. From the moment I woke up that day and felt you touching my hair, I knew you were a gentle person."

Hua Hong's profile was very handsome; he already had a striking face, but I couldn't see a trace of confidence in it. He calmly confessed his feelings to me, but his eyes never met mine, and his hands, hanging limply under the bench, trembled slightly.

"I ran out without telling Xiaowen, he must be furious right now. I would never have done this before, but when you asked me if I wanted to go with you, I imagined you were asking if I wanted to spend my whole life with you, and I got really excited, so I came out. I think I'll never go back to him. Xia Xiang, after hearing what I said... are you scared?"

Scared? No. A little confused, though. But what am I confused about?

Standing in front of Hua Hong, I stared straight at his profile, unsure of what to say.

"You and Zhang Peng will spend your whole life together, right?"

"Yes, I've always hoped so."

“I want to too, but it’s impossible. You won’t love me, and Zhang Peng won’t let you love me either… I feel very lonely.”

Hua Hong's voice was very soft, as if all his strength had been drained away. Looking at him, I felt a pang of heartache.

How about we have an affair?

Hua Hong burst into laughter.

I think he's about to cry.

"I'm just kidding, how could that be? Hey, it's so late, where are we going to sleep later?"

"Xia Xiang?"

I snapped out of my daze, and Hua Hong's words were right beside me. I was startled and quickly let go of his arms, but he grabbed me again.

"No, let me hug you a little longer, it's so warm."

I hesitated for a moment, then hugged him again.

Time passed quietly, and Hua Hong closed his eyes. "Why are you hugging me?"

"Because you look like you're about to cry."

Am I really that useless?

“Yes, you’ve only grown a head.” Pointing to Hua Hong’s chest, I said, “Here, you’re still just a child.”

Hua Hong opened his eyes, rolled over, and hugged me tightly. "Xia Xiang, I've lived such a damn failure! Why didn't I meet you sooner? If it were you, if it were you, I would be so happy right now!"

"Stay at my place tonight."

"Yes, thank you, thank you."

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