The curtains were undrawn, and the first weak rays of sunlight shone directly onto the bed. This was the second time Zhang Jing woke up feeling a tight hug around his waist. Judging from the brightness, it was at most 6 in the morning. He turned around—one of his legs was sandwiched between Ji Dongxun’s?!
Zhang Jing did not overreact as much as last night since he quickly recalled what happened up until this point: Ji Dongxun called him out of the blue, appeared outside his house, cooked porridge, showered, and slept.
While he slowly moved his calf to exercise the numb muscles, the contact between their legs alone allowed him to picture Ji Dongxun’s sturdy and brawny legs. His leg felt imprisoned, a feeling he had not experienced for many years. He couldn’t convince himself to pull his leg away from the pair of long legs that somehow provided him with a sense of belonging.
Looking at the attractive face of Ji Dongxun, he had the sudden urge to caress Ji Dongxun’s face, but doing so would undermine the months of self-restraint and all the boundaries he drew. At last, Zhang Jing only slid his hand into Ji Dongxun’s, careful to not meet his hand completely.
A few hours later, when Ji Dongxun opened his eyes, Zhang Jing was already brushing his teeth by the sink. Despite knowing there was a mirror reflecting their very actions, Ji Dongxun tiptoed behind Zhang Jing, squeezing his waist and resting his chin on his back.
The toothbrush abruptly stopped at its smooth-running motion after Zhang Jing glanced at the mirror. Ji Dongxun still had a bed head, his sleepy eyes also lacked their usual aloofness—Zhang Jing used to pray to see a cute, tameable Ji Dongxun every day. However, the next second, the electric toothbrush continued to buzz, and the owner ignored Ji Dongxun’s stare.
As he rinsed his mouth, he remarked, “Mr. Ji, I don’t know how you interpret our current relationship, but I think that you’re too close. What do you think?”
Ji Dongxun tightened his hold and kissed his earlobes. “Don’t say such mean things early in the morning.”
Zhang Jing browsed his drawers and replied, “I’m sure that if you wanted to hear nice things, thousands of people would willingly line up and say it to you every day, but I’m not part of that thousand. Our relationship has already ended. What happened the other night was solely an accident. If you feel disgusted, find someone else to freshen up your experience. Until then, can you leave me alone?”
Ji Dongxun spotted the second toothbrush that had an obviously different pattern. He held up the toothbrush and asked, “This is for…?”
“My boyfriend.”
Ji Dongxun pinched his stomach. “Don’t be sarcastic.”
Zhang Jing continued lying without any shame, “I’m not. I actually have a boyfriend, but he’s living with his lover for a few days. We don’t interfere with each other’s personal lives.”
Ji Dongxun examined him as if he were gauging the truth in Zhang Jing’s words. “Is it the dude I ran into? What’s his name again? Josh?”
“Nah. I ditched him a long time ago.”
Then, Zhang Jing bent forward to wash his hair, so Ji Dongxun had to scoot aside. He couldn’t tell if Ji Dongxun believed his lies, which caused him even more distress. Every second he spent with Ji Dongxun was accompanied by nervousness and apprehension. He must select his words carefully and always check whether the Ji Dongxun beside him is hallucinated or genuine, especially after that night… Because of that, Zhang Jing felt more exhaustion than joy.
At the latest time possible, Ji Dongxun left for work. Before he walked away, Zhang Jing stopped him to say, “Ji Dongxun, please don’t come over again. Our relationship ended so long ago. There’s no point in mentioning it. Are you really the type to find your true love after a one-night stand? Even if you are, stop bothering me all the time. Just call me when you’re lonely instead of dropping by whenever you’re bored.”
Ji Dongxun pecked him on his lips. “Let’s go to the supermarket tonight.”
“……” Zhang Jing frowned. “Did you not hear what I just said?”
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.
Ji Dongxun gave Zhang Jing a simper. “Yeah, I did. Okay, okay, I have to go to work.” And he left without turning back, leaving Zhang Jing looking at his own reflection with an ineffable feeling. He was pulled out of his stupor by both his rationality and emotions in opposite directions, torn on whether to attend the date.
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At the studio, Zhang Jing was elated to see Bai Qi’s return. When Bai Qi saw Zhang Jing walk into the studio, he gave a huge motherly smile and thanked him, “Thank you so much for your hard work these days, Jing.”
“I almost died without your help here.” Zhang Jing picked up a loose piece of gum from the table, unwrapped it, and tossed it into his mouth. “I didn’t realize this when you were here, but once you left, I felt like I couldn’t live without you.”
Bai Qi laughed and played along, “And you realized that ultimately, I’m the person you love the most?”
“It’s always been you~”
“Tsk tsk. I can’t believe you guys are acting so cringe already. I’m gonna tell Mei!” Lingling darted out of the kitchen, hugging a two-liter bottle of hot water.
Hearing that made Zhang Jing chuckle—the entire studio knows that Mei has a crush on Bai Qi. Even at their previous cultural media corporation, Mei already confessed his love to Bai Qi, his boss. Despite being quiet and placid, Mei is a strong asset: his work was always exceptional even when he’s in a time crunch. For over three years, Mei has been “secretly” in love with him, but he was always able to hide his feelings quite well. Unfortunately, Bai Qi is as straight and unbendable as iron, with at least three ex-girlfriends. Mei knows he has no chance, so he chooses to curb his feelings for Bai Qi instead.
Bai Qi asked Zhang Jing, “Oh, right. How did you solve that issue? I nearly thought we were done for, but we sailed past this obstacle so seamlessly? Let’s be more cautious, just in case.”
Zhang Jing suddenly remembered that feverish night… so he quickly shook his head and tried to move on from that topic.
“It’s difficult to explain, but I happened to see an acquaintance of mine. He helped me by saying a few words.”
“A few words sufficed?!”
“I think so.”
Bai Qi had no intention of moving on from the topic due to his shock and amazement. “Oh my, which acquaintance is this? How come I’ve never heard you speak of him before? Regardless, remember to return this favor! He helped us with a major issue. Without his help, I don’t even think money can solve this problem. Hmmm, why don’t you invite him to dinner sometime this week, and we can offer him a gift card?”
Zhang Jing can already picture the awkwardness of that scene—“No need, no need! I’ll return the favor somehow. Mother, don’t worry.”
Technically, I already repaid the favor with my body… Zhang Jing muttered to himself.
Before he left work, Zhang Jing received a text from Ji Dongxun, requesting him to wait at the parking lot for ten minutes. Zhang Jing planned on leaving directly, yet he nevertheless ended up waiting for ten minutes. As Ji Dongxun walked out of his car, he smiled and greeted, “Jing.”
“Why are you here again?” Zhang Jing put on a face of contempt and impatience. “Are you trying to haunt me?”
Ji Dongxun signaled to his driver to leave, and then he slowly walked toward Zhang Jing until they were only a few centimeters apart. They looked at each other’s eyes, both trying to conceal their emotions.
Ji Dongxun responded, “Because when you chased me, you used the same tactics.”
Zhang Jing was stunned, and the memories poured back into his head. He fell in love with Ji Dongxun at first sight, the type of love where he could barely fall asleep thinking about the man.
Their fates overlapped, beginning with the tennis court. That day, Ji Dongxun and his white tennis shorts became the highlight with his one-handed backhand. Zhang Jing was mesmerized—from then on, Zhang Jing lost his rationality.
He decided to pursue Ji Dongxun as his top priority. To do so, he tried all shameless, cunning or honest methods. In the beginning, Ji Dongxun didn’t reciprocate the enthusiasm and rejected most of Zhang Jing’s dates. However, after merely a month, Ji Dongxun suddenly confessed to Zhang Jing and admitted “defeat.” Out of exhilaration, they embraced each other and kissed for five minutes. When they separated, both felt difficulty breathing and gasped for air.
That was Zhang Jing’s first time loving and actively pursuing someone.
These past memories warmed Zhang Jing’s heart like a stream of hot chocolate in winter. To him, that spirited and youthful Ji Dongxun deserved everything of the highest quality. Slowly, the image of the robust tennis player overlapped with the smiling Ji Dongxun in the parking lot. A candid smile showed on Zhang Jing’s face.
I guess that still applies right now, he thought to himself. Ji Dongxun deserves the best, so someone as mentally ill as me can no longer match his level.
Ji Dongxun hopped onto Zhang Jing’s motorcycle and buckled the helmet he prepared. He patted the seat in front of him. “Come on, let’s go home.”
Zhang Jing quietly buckled his helmet and obeyed. With Ji Dongxun sitting within such close proximity, he couldn’t help but submit to everything Ji Dongxun says. When his senses returned, the vehicle was already parked outside the supermarket.
Zhang Jing saw Ji Dongxun step off the motorcycle and ask, “Should we wear this indoors?”
Zhang Jing took off his own helmet, hugging it close to his chest. “I will lock in the storage lockers. You can do whatever.”
“Don’t you find that inconvenient?”
Zhang Jing gently stroked his helmet and responded, “Sometimes, yeah. But I would rather carry it wherever I go instead of leaving it out in the public.”
“Lock the helmet to your motorcycle?”
Zhang Jing glanced at his signature motorcycle, then shook his head with a proud smile, “Nope. It won’t look as cool.”
Using his spare hand, Ji Dongxun patted Zhang Jing’s head and teased, “What a kid.”
For the whole hour, Zhang Jing mindlessly followed Ji Dongxun, watching their cart accumulate a variety of items. Ji Dongxun swept kitchen supplies, daily necessities, and groceries into the cart as if he were planning to move into a different apartment.
“Why are you buying all this?” Zhang Jing couldn’t hold in his curiosity any longer.
Ji Dongxun grabbed two boxes of boneless steak and asked, ignoring his question, “What do you want for dinner?”
“…… Are we speaking different languages? I think we should sit down and have a talk.”
“No need.” Ji Dongxun pulled Zhang Jing’s jacket and walked deeper into the aisle. “Just answer my question. We don’t need to worry about the other stuff.”
“I don’t want to eat anything.”
Ji Dongxun turned his attention to the vegetable section instead. He asked with patience, “Shall we eat vegetables then?”
“If you insist.”
Ji Dongxun continued adding stuff to the cart, but Zhang Jing was focused on how to draw a clearer boundary between them. Ji Dongxun kept suggesting other recipes until a mother and a toddler walked down their aisle. The mother happened to look in Zhang Jing’s direction. In fright, she hurried and backtracked to a different aisle.
Zhang Jing was confused—did the lady realize that we’re gay? Why else would she have a repulsed expression and be in such a hurry to avoid them?
“What about tofu soup?”
As he was about to reply, Zhang Jing suddenly remembered something. His entire face lost its color.
He hesitantly looked at Ji Dongxun, who was busy checking the tomato’s expiration date. Zhang Jing’s eyes even watered as he tested, “Ji Dongxun…?”
Ji Dongxun turned around and smiled warmly, “Hm?”
Zhang Jing took one last look at Ji Dongxun before closing his eyes decisively. He forcefully bit down on his tongue, not releasing pressure until he tasted blood.
He slowly and unwillingly opened his eyes—no one was in front of him.
No Ji Dongxun, no shopping cart.
Zhang Jing turned around to check one final time. No one behind him either, except for countless shelves occupied with vegetables.
Noooo 😭 this is driving me mad aaaaaa which are hallucinations, which are the realities?? 😭 Poor Jing
Probably not a good idea to be reading this at 2:30 am and realised I probably just ruined my morning 😂 I’m just so frustrated and angry for him. I have never read a story that stirred my emotions it makes me ridiculously grinning and want to kill someone in a split second.
Thanks for the chapter.
That was…..sad. scary and sad