While Tong Qiu was fantasizing about buying the jacket, Huo Zhixing had already gone over to pay the bill. Tong Qiu rushed towards him and grabbed him by the wrist. “Let me,” he insisted.
Huo Zhixing didn’t argue – it was only a few bucks and wasn’t worth the hassle.
However, when Tong Qiu pulled out his cell phone, he realized the battery had run out. Huo Zhixing said, “How about I pay this time? You can treat me next time.”
“Wait, I have cash on me.” Tong Qiu, who paid by cash once every eight hundred years, pulled out his wallet. When he opened it, he discovered that he had left a photo of him and Huo Zhixing inside.
The photo had been taken back when Tong Qiu had been named “Best Police Household”. The wise, mild-mannered Tong-laoshi in the photo was holding a silk banner. Next to him stood the distinguished, honourable Officer Huo, whose brilliant smile lit up his entire face.
Tong Qiu had always thought the photo was kind of funny – what kind of person still held silk banners in this day and age? He suddenly remembered that the silk banner in question was still at Huo Zhixing’s apartment. Technically speaking, the banner belonged to him, but when Tong Qiu had moved out, he had forgotten to take it with him.
Tong Qiu had long forgotten that this photo even existed. At the time, he had stuck it in his wallet because the size had been about right and it was a good fit. And since he rarely used cash these days, he seldom opened up his wallet. Now, however, he felt a bit awkward when he opened up his wallet to pay.
It made Tong Qiu seem as if he still harboured certain feelings about his ex.
Huo Zhixing was standing behind him and smiled when he noticed the photo. “We looked pretty dumb in that photo now that I think about it.”
Tong Qiu laughed and said, “It’s not that bad. You were very handsome.” Huo Zhixing was wearing his uniform in the photo so naturally, Tong Qiu was forced to admit that he looked handsome.
The two left the coffee shop and didn’t bring up the photo again.
After fetching the CT scan results, they went to find the doctor. The doctor reviewed the results and concluded that there were no critical issues; it was likely overexertion that caused his migraines. The doctor handed him a list of prescriptions so long that just looking at it made Tong Qiu’s head hurt.
It was already dark outside when they finally left the hospital. Tong Qiu was still feeling sick so Huo Zhixing didn’t ask if he wanted to go out for dinner. Instead, he helped Tong Qiu carry his giant bag of medicine and decided to see Tong Qiu home.
“I-”
“Tong Qiu?”
Tong Qiu had planned on treating Huo Zhixing to a meal as thanks. After all, Huo Zhixing had spent the whole afternoon with him and stayed with him throughout the whole ordeal. He knew he had to return the favour somehow, but before he could speak, the sound of the devil himself appeared.
Huo Zhixing glanced at the expression on Tong Qiu’s face – Tong Qiu looked as if he had seen an evil spirit that was about to murder him. Huo Zhixing turned towards the source of the sound and noticed a man getting off the car that had pulled up by the curb. The refined-looking man was the same slick bastard he had seen at the bar.
He glanced back at Tong Qiu – Tong Qiu was rolling his eyes.
“I just went by your school to look for you but the security guard said you already left.” Fang Baicheng asked with a nervous glance at Tong Qiu. “Are you alright?”
“……how did you know I was here?” Tong Qiu backed up a few steps for fear that Fang Baicheng would get too close.
“I asked the security guard to call your office, and then I asked another teacher.” Fang Baicheng looked a little wronged as he added pointedly, “Your phone was turned off.”
“It ran out of battery.”
“Then how are you feeling now? Are you still sick?” The more Tong Qiu tried to avoid him, the more Fang Baicheng surged forward, invading his personal space. “I’m so sorry I’m late.”
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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Pa kjr bcis atfc atja Mjcu Djlmtfcu cbalmfv atja atfgf kjr rbwfbcf rajcvlcu yfrlvf Kbcu Hle. Ktja rbwfbcf kbgf j qbilmf eclobgw jibcu klat j mbbi, lwqjrrlnf fzqgfrrlbc bc tlr ojmf.
He had seen the man before – it was Tong Qiu’s ex-husband.
Fang Baicheng’s expression suddenly changed and his fawning demeanor disappeared. He was about to open his mouth to say something, but was abruptly cut off by Huo Zhixing.
“Where did you say you wanted to go for dinner again?” Huo Zhixing asked, then gave Tong Qiu’s waist a subtle squeeze.
Tong Qiu immediately understood and said quickly, “Hotpot.”
“No hotpot tonight.” Huo Zhixing was acting like Fang Baicheng was invisible, as if his presence was no different than air. He angled his body so that it acted as a barrier between Fang Baicheng and Tong Qiu. Turning his tall, straight back to Fang Baicheng, Huo Zhixing continued casually, “Pick something else.”
“Then how about barbeque. Roast meat works too,” Tong Qiu responded. “I haven’t had Wang-ge’s barbeque in so long and I’m craving their dough drop soup .”
“Is it the place near my office?”
“Mm-hm. It’s been two or three months since I’ve been there.”
They spoke back and forth, their chatter flowing effortlessly. When Huo Zhixing spotted an empty cab, he pulled Tong Qiu towards the car and helped him on. “Let’s go some other time. You’re sick today so let’s eat something lighter, alright?”
Fang Baicheng couldn’t get in a single word and had no choice but to stand there, fuming and cursing, as he watched the car drive off.
On the car, Tong Qiu pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance, then let out a laugh. “Thank you.”
Huo Zhixing was seated next to him, pressed against his side. When the driver made a sudden turn, Tong Qiu was thrown sideways into Huo Zhixing’s arms.
“He seemed very enthusiastic,” Huo Zhixing said.
“A little too enthusiastic for me to bear,” Tong Qiu admitted. “Too clingy.”
Huo Zhixing nodded, then turned to stare out the window, deep in thought.
The more Tong Qiu thought about it, the more he felt that today’s events had been incredibly embarrassing and extremely awkward. Even though they were already divorced, he had ended up asking his ex-husband for help to avoid his new suitor. It was kind of depressing, to be honest.
“It would be better if there was someone at your side who could look after you,” Huo Zhixing said after a beat. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to rest easy if something were to happen to you.”
Tong Qiu furrowed his brows. “Why wouldn’t you be able to rest easy? I’m an adult.”
Over the past year and a half, Tong Qiu had mentally given Huo Zhixing countless nice guy cards. However, Huo Zhixing’s attitude never changed and it made Tong Qiu wonder if Huo Zhixing cared at all about what he wanted.
“Is that man trying to pursue you?” Huo Zhixing asked, changing the subject. When he turned and gazed at Tong Qiu, there was an indecipherable smile on his lips.
“I don’t know,” Tong Qiu answered. “He’s never outright said it, but he hasn’t exactly stopped either.”
“What about you? How do you feel about it?”
“We’re not a good fit.” Tong Qiu’s migraine was still as painful as before so he closed his eyes and rubbedthe spot between his eyebrows. “I’m still trying to think of a way to turn him down and make him forget about me.”
Suddenly, he felt warm hands on either side of his face. Tong Qiu stilled and opened his eyes. Huo Zhixing said, “Don’t worry about it. Just close your eyes and I’ll massage it for you.”
Huo Zhixing’s hands were gentle but steady as he massaged the acupuncture points on his head. Tong Qiu didn’t know if it was just a placebo effect, but his headache wasn’t quite as painful as before.
Huo Zhixing continued. “Sometimes, it doesn’t work if you play the nice guy. You have to be firm when you reject someone. Since you’ve already decided that you don’t like him, don’t drag your feet about it. Just say it in the same way you asked me for a divorce – simple and to the point, with no room for argument.”
Tong Qiu hadn’t expected Huo Zhixing to bring up their divorce. He thought mentally, ‘I did leave you room, though. You just didn’t bother taking it.’
On the flip side, maybe he would have done the same thing if he had been in Huo Zhixing’s place. If it had been Huo Zhixing who had suggested a divorce, Tong Qiu probably would have nodded his head in agreement without asking any further questions.
After all, it was what they had agreed on before their wedding – if they felt they weren’t compatible after a year together, divorce was an unconditional option.
The cab took them to the entrance of Tong Qiu’s apartment complex. As soon as they got off the car, a gust of wintry wind rushed forward to greet them.
It was a cold and windy night. Tong Qiu was the type of person who liked dressing up so even in the winter, the most he wore was a wool coat. He was completely frozen and had to bury his face in the folds of his scarf to stay warm.
Huo Zhixing purposely moved to Tong Qiu’s opposite side and used his body to shield Tong Qiu from the wind.
Tong Qiu wasn’t feeling well to begin with and on top of that, they had been stuck in the car for a while. His urge to vomit returned but he forced it down so as to speak to Huo Zhixing. “I really don’t think I can hang on any longer today so I’ll treat you to dinner some other time.”
“No worries. It’s just me, so you don’t have to be so polite.” Huo Zhixing lifted the bag of items and added, “Shall I walk you up?”
Tong Qiu was about to refuse, but they were practically at his front door already. It would be rude if he didn’t even invite Huo Zhixing inside.
“Since you’re here anyway, why don’t you come inside for a bit.”
Huo Zhixing was more than happy to comply. After Tong Qiu moved out, he hadn’t asked for Tong Qiu’s new address. He felt that he should win back Tong Qiu one step at a time, and in the proper order this time. If he was impatient or tried to rush things, he was more likely to scare Tong Qiu away.
Fang Baicheng was a perfect example of this approach.
But since Tong Qiu himself had extended the invitation, Huo Zhixing figured there was no need to refuse out of courtesy.
The two of them started walking and began chatting idly as they had done before.
“It’s been hectic these days for you, right?” Huo Zhixing said. “Don’t just use all your energy on your students, remember to take care of yourself too.”
“It’s easier said than done. With the entrance exams around the corner, I’m too worried to slack off even a little bit.”
As soon as the words left Tong Qiu’s mouth, he suddenly remembered that night when they had run into each other at the bar. The words sounded unconvincing, even to his own ears.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were the one taking the entrance exams,” Huo Zhixing teased.
Tong Qiu laughed, and wanted to say that he wasn’t half as nervous back when he was taking his own entrance exams. He also wanted to say that Huo Zhixing sure was concerned, given that they were already divorced.
“Listen to what the doctor said, alright? Don’t treat it lightly,” Huo Zhixing said. “My mom packed you some red ginseng so take a look when you get back and remember to eat a slice every day.”
Tong Qiu burst out laughing and said to Huo Zhixing, “Why does it feel like I’m a pregnant mother eating for two?”
It wasn’t that they’ve never joked around before. After all, they did live together at one point and even if Tong Qiu was good at acting, there were still occasional moments when his mask would slip.
Tong Qiu was talkative by nature and had quite the glib tongue – Chu Yao liked to joke that even bullet trains could speed across his teeth. During the year he spent married to Huo Zhixing, Tong Qiu had to be extremely careful to conceal this side of him.
Huo Zhixing said in a teasing tone, “If you really were pregnant, we’ll have to remarry immediately. I couldn’t possibly let you raise our baby all by yourself.”
Tong Qiu closed his mouth and didn’t respond. His ears were tinged pink and he licked his lips – the sound of Huo Zhixing’s laughter made his face burn even brighter.
If someone had asked him to use a few words to describe Huo Zhixing, he would have said ‘handsome’, ‘gentle’, ‘righteous’ and ‘earnest’.
Today, however, Huo Zhixing had a brazen, almost flirtatious air about him.
Tong Qiu was utterly confused.
He remained silent and quietly rubbed at his ring finger. He had already taken off the ring but the imprint that ring had left was still there. Half a month had already passed but Tong Qiu was beginning to suspect that the ring’s imprint wouldn’t fade for the rest of his life.
Tong Qiu led Huo Zhixing to his front door and dug out his keys. He opened the door and said, “I’ve been busy these days and haven’t really unpacked, so hope you don’t mind the mess.”
He turned on the lights and found a new pair of indoor slippers for Huo Zhixing. Tong Qiu had been holding it in for too long so he waved a hand to signal to Huo Zhixing to make himself at home, and then rushed straight to the bathroom.
After puking his guts out, Tong Qiu felt a lot better. He rinsed his mouth and washed his face and came out of the bathroom feeling refreshed.
When he returned to the living room, he found Huo Zhixing sitting on the sofa with something in his hands. As Tong Qiu stepped closer, he felt as if all the blood in his veins were flowing backwards – the thing in Huo Zhixing’s hands was the gay porn DVD he had bought a few days ago.
It was the final instalment of a Western pornstar’s work, and a collector’s edition to boot.
“Is this the type that you’re into?” Huo Zhixing smiled as he gazed back at Tong Qiu.
Tong Qiu pressed his lips together, then nibbled at his lower lip. He suddenly realized that there was a hint of danger behind Huo Zhixing’s smile and thought to himself, ‘How did this happen? Why does it feel like I’ve just invited a wolf into my house?’
—
The author has something to say:
Tong Qiu: Yes, I’m into it.
Huo Zhixing is so smooth 😌
Thanks for the chapter!!
Looool author-sama’s note 😂😂😂
… so.. he’s only finding out what he’s into a year after they got married and a whole divorce later.. I can’t believe I’m asking this.. but will there ever be a mini flashback of how the heck they got married in the first place? lol
sips tea By all means, please continue this conversation. I’m very interested in where this will go
Thanks for the chapter! 🙂
Lol Tong Qiu, prepare yourself to be eaten clean by that wolf 🤣🤣🤣
Thanks for the chapter ❤
I’d get excited by this conversation… but Tong Qiu is sick so things won’t go further.
Thanks for the chapter!
Thank you so much for the chapter!(๑´>᎑<)~♥️
Lol. Tong Qiu got caught. He must feel very embarrassed.
Thank you for the update ❤️
I really don’t understand FBC…if someone is so obvious you should lay it off…
Clingy… Try creepy and (slightly) stalkerish instead.
God the A/Ns are killing me rofl
Thanks for the chapter! 😂💕
Ese Fang… ya me da miedo, parece un acosador…. en serio, tal inisistencia.
Mientras tanto, cierto ex bueno para nada en la cama… descubre el tipo que le gusta a su esposa… mientras la esposa…. siente la piel de gallina.
Ahora, entiendo los tónicos de la suegra… tos tos tos… ese idiota.. ¿por qué se controló tantto a sí mismo? y lo mismo va para la esposa.
Bruh you’re a fantastic translator. This is so good. You use idioms perfectly and you fix syntax issues . It’s wonderful.
I thought it’s the long forgotten love egg lmaooo
Let’s wait until HZ discovers the egg
FBC is getting creepier day by day.
It’s easy to invite the wolf in but hard to show it out….. Good luck to TQ in showing hubby out 😏
dont mind me, go on🤭
thank you for thiiiiiiiis
Jelly, jelly~
Thank You for the chapter (๑˙❥˙๑)
I am embarrassed to read the last part omg hahahahha