Twelve in the morning.
Liang Muqiu fell on the sofa, feeling a little tipsy. His head was slightly dizzy from the high-decibel music.
He glanced at the people around him and saw that they were still playing games with high enthusiasm. Guessing that they wouldn’t end in a while, he picked up the cigarette case from the table, ready to go out for a breather.
He walked to the garden in the middle of the bar. Although many people were chatting and laughing noisily, it was better than the deafening music inside.
Liang Muqiu sat on the chair and tugged at the collar of his shirt, breathing a sigh of relief. He was briefly at ease.
He hadn’t planned to come to the bar. Originally, he wanted to go back home to sleep but was dragged to a bachelor party by his former colleague to celebrate a groom marrying in three days.
However, the party was small and he didn’t know a lot of them so he didn’t talk much and quietly acted as a backdrop.
But under the catalytic effect of alcohol, everyone quickly became familiar with each other, especially Liang Muqiu who was good-looking.
Even if he just sat there silently in a simple shirt and jeans, he could not stop the waves of eyes floating toward him.
Soon, a girl approached and sat beside him, clinking their glasses together. Then she asked whether he had a girlfriend.
Liang Muqiu didn’t like to deceive people’s feelings. He smiled pleasantly and said, “No.”
Hearing his response, the girl became more friendly. And then Liang Muqiu slowly added, “But I had an ex-boyfriend.”
The girl was stunned, and then she smiled and walked away sensibly.
Sitting in the garden, he didn’t know if it was because of the fresh air, but his dizzy head was a bit soberer. Liang Muqiu recalled his answer just now and felt that he was somewhat out of his mind.
There were a thousand other ways to turn down someone and he chose this one?
He grabbed a cigarette from the box and placed it in his mouth, but didn’t light it, staring blankly at the wall in front of him.
As soon as she heard “ex-boyfriend”, the girl didn’t mind and smiled at Liang Muqiu knowingly. Instead, he was the one who stunned.
Because for a long time, he hadn’t remembered that he had an ex-boyfriend.
An ex who broke up should be as quiet as the dead.
In this regard, Cen Nan fully met the standard.
Since Cen Nan went abroad and dumped him, it was as if he disappeared from the world. For seven years, Liang Muqiu never heard another word from him again, making him doubt himself often. Every time he woke up from a dream, he contemplated if he had once loved a man called Cen Nan or if it was all his delusion.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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He and Cen Nan had also spent time together in university. It’s just that his former colleague achieved a joyous ending while they were birds flying in different directions.
Liang Muqiu bit down on the butt of his cigarette and snorted lightly, saying something dubious in his mind.
He probably drank too much today and remembered these messy things.
He reached into his pocket for the lighter, ready to go back after smoking a cigarette. Maybe it was time to leave the party.
His fingers fumbled around but came out empty-handed. Liang Muqiu frowned. He was so focused on getting the cigarette box that he forgot to bring the lighter.
He was too lazy to turn back and someone just so happened to be passing by so he stopped him with a hand and said lazily, “Brother, do you have a lighter, let me borrow a fire?”
The man stopped.
It was unknown whether he didn’t hear what Liang Muqiu was saying but he paused for a while before answering, “Yes.”
Liang Muqiu felt that the voice sounded a little familiar but he was drowsy and together with the dimly lit garden and floor lamps that were weaker than fireflies, he couldn’t see the man’s face clearly and didn’t notice anything amiss for a while.
He raised his head, “Thanks a lot…”
The last word didn’t make it out, dissipating into the slightly chilly air.
The man looking down at him had an unmistakably attractive face. Slightly pale skin, deep brow bones, a pair of warm eyes and a high nose and thin lips. He was handsome and dignified, standing out from the noisy bar.
This face was completely in line with Liang Muqiu’s aesthetic standards.
But he had no intention of admiring the beauty and was frozen in place like a statue.
The man looked at him for a few seconds, took out a lighter from his pocket and bent down to light the cigarette for him.
He was very tall. When he got closer, he couldn’t smell any strong alcohol, only a slight woody fragrance mixed with bitter orange notes.
In the flames, Liang Muqiu saw the face on the opposite side more clearly.
The blood in his whole body seemed to solidify for a second.
He was right.
There was a saying that when you say Cao Cao has arrived, he will appear.
The one who bent down to light his cigarette was none other than the bastard who had broken up with him seven years ago and moved abroad.
Cen Nan.
As soon as he remembered the name, the surroundings seemed to turn silent instantly, as if he was not in a bar but on a snow-capped mountain in a deserted place.
The flame went out and Cen Nan’s face returned to the darkness.
Liang Muqiu subconsciously wanted to say something, but when he opened his mouth, the cigarette he was holding almost fell—
But it didn’t fall to the ground.
It was caught in time by a slender hand which brought it back to Liang Muqiu’s lips. The warm fingertips and lips brushed against each other. Thoughtful and polite, one couldn’t find fault with it.
“Long time no see.” Cen Nan said.
Liang Muqiu was choked up by the words “Long time no see” and couldn’t speak for a while.
He seriously doubted if he had read the astrology forecast before he went out today, or else how could he be so unlucky?
Tonight, he just happened to mention his ex-boyfriend by chance and this man who was supposed to be across the ocean appeared in a bar in Bincheng abruptly, like a ghost appearing in broad daylight.
Liang Muqiu stiffened up awkwardly, just like others would when they met an old love, not knowing whether to slap the other person first or greet them like a mature adult.
For a moment, he looked at Cen Nan anxiously in the dark, hoping that the other would have the sense to pretend to be a stranger and leave on his own.
But no matter whether seven years ago or seven years later, Cen Nan, this bastard, would never let him have his way. Cen Nan’s feet were nailed to the ground like roots and he didn’t move a muscle, looking at him silently.
Liang Muqiu was at a loss. He thought for a couple of seconds and decided to be a mature adult.
Seven years have passed, there must be some progress.
“It’s been a long time indeed.” He said.
In the past, when they were in love, there seemed to be endless things to talk about. They hadn’t seen each other for seven years but they were so estranged that they couldn’t even hold a casual conversation.
He paused for two seconds, held the cigarette in his hand and calmed down. “Why are you here? Shouldn’t you be abroad?”
“I’ve returned home,” Cen Nan’s voice was very calm. “I won’t go out again in the future.”
Liang Muqiu almost choked on the smoke. His eyes widened, not expecting this answer. Although he had guessed this when he saw Cen Nan, hearing it still felt unbelievable.
After all, one of the reasons this bastard dumped him in the first place was to settle abroad.
But now he’s back.
Liang Muqiu thought, it's no big deal.
But no matter what, whether Cen Nan went left the country or returned, it had nothing to do with him. If they had just broken up that time, he would have to smash the wine bottle on Cen Nan’s face so that he could understand why the flowers were so red. But now, seven years later, he has also learned to be generous.
No matter how strong the love and hatred were in his youth, today, there were only greetings left.
Even though he knew that Cen Nan couldn’t see him, he still smiled and said calmly, “So it’s like that, that’s good. Congratulations on returning to China. My friend is still inside so I’ll go first.”
After he finished speaking, Liang Muqiu didn’t give Cen Nan another chance to speak and turned around without hesitation and left. He seemed to have a steady pace, but he blended into the crowd like he was running away.
When Liang Muqiu returned to the booth, the people around were still playing drinking games.
Instead of participating, he gulped the iced lemonade on the table.
It wasn’t until he was seated among a group of strangers and couldn’t see Cen Nan that he was relieved from the panic he just experienced. The restless heart in his chest seemed to settle down slightly.
He stared at the crooked wine bottles on the table, suddenly smiled, and cursed.
The boy next to him heard him and asked drunkenly, “What’s wrong?”
Liang Muqiu chuckled and shook his head, “It’s nothing, I just think that God is blind.”
I haven’t seen him for seven years and my ex-boyfriend is even more handsome.
Author’s note:
It’s open~ I update the first chapter with trepidation. Although it’s not the first time I’ve written an article, I’m very nervous every time I start a new one. I usually ask for comments and starfish, okay?
I was reading the comments and saw someone saying that asking for a lighter is asking for a one night stand WHAT
Omg anyways heres a googletranslate comment from another reader:
Hahahahahaha that’s the same as my ex-boyfriend, told me to concentrate on the postgraduate entrance examination and then broke up with me and didn’t pass the entrance exam. Hahahaha, God opened his eyes 😏
No this is so funny , “god opened his eyes” 😭😭 THATS FOUL BUT SO FUNNY I’M QUAKING IN MY SEAT
thanks for the chapter. it made me very curious.
Aaackk its here!!! Excited on how this will unfold!! Thanks very much for the chapter!!
Lol, I feel like that work will be a unique romcom
Thank you for the chapter
Thank you for the first chapter!!! So excited for this new project.
Ohhh, thanks for jumping into this pit. Super good already!
Thank you for the chapter!! <3
This looks very good and I’m suuuuper excited for reading (≧∇≦) Thank You for translating this novel! Can’t wait for the next update 💜 And that comment is really hilarious 🤣🤣
Hoho, gay! Cannot wait to see why the ex-boyfriend broke up, I assume it’s not because he had a yearning for foreign countries
So exciting for first chapter! 😜🤪