Between Us : Chapter 10: Innocent Yet Intense

After entering, Xu Jue habitually tried to hang his school uniform on the teak coat rack he had assembled himself, but Chen Qian, who had just closed the door and turned around, caught it in one hand.

“Its soaked through. Put it in the washing machine.” Chen Qian said.

Xu Jue nodded, walking further in while taking off his backpack. “Theres an ointment in the pocket. See if it works for you.”

“What ointment?”

“Anti inflammatory ointment. My classmates ear piercing healed really fast after using this.” Xu Jue looked back at him. “Your wound hasnt been getting better, right?”

Chen Qian felt around in Xu Jues school uniform pocket and sure enough pulled out a tube of ointment with intact packaging. Not a single corner was damp, showing that someone had been clutching it tight the whole way.

“You went out of your way to buy this?”

“Not out of my way. I passed by after eating.” Xu Jue took off his watch and bent down to place it on the coffee table. Before he could straighten up, someone touched his back.

Chen Qians palm was immediately covered in cold wetness. “Take off the hoodie too. Isnt it uncomfortable sticking to your body?”

“If I take everything off, how am I supposed to go back later?” Xu Jues mouth was stubborn, but his movements were quick. He grabbed the hem with both hands and pulled the hoodie off in one motion.

“I thought you wanted me to let you stay the night.” Chen Qian carried the clothes to the balcony. The two outer garments had become heavy after getting wet, taking up a lot of space the moment they were tossed into the washing machine.

He poured in laundry detergent, then suddenly heard Xu Jue, standing in the living room, ask. “Can I?”

From this angle, the water marks on Xu Jues T shirt shoulders and school uniform pants, stained by rain, were clearly visible under the fluorescent light. The edges of his shoes were also dirtied by muddy water. Their owner stood there motionless, reminding Chen Qian of the little dog raised by a neighbors grandma from long ago. After playing outside until covered in dirt, it would not dare step through the door, only drooping its eyelids and clinging to the doorframe while whimpering.

The washing machine was about to fill with water. Chen Qian pressed the pause button and said. “Yes, theres still room for a few more pieces. Take off everything youre wearing.”

“No,” Xu Jue got to the point of why he came. “Let me stay the night. Can I?”

“I said yes.” Chen Qian returned to the living room and picked up his phone to check the time. “But you have to get clean to sleep comfortably.”

Even though Chen Qians words were full of reminders about Xu Jues terrible state at that moment, Xu Jue did not feel embarrassed because of it. Instead, he felt like he was being accepted.

His backpack had just been casually tossed at his feet. Xu Jue bent down to pull out clothes from inside, but as expected, except for the underwear wrapped in the middle, everything else was wet.

“Stop hiding it.” Chen Qian saw everything and pressed down on Xu Jues hand, which was trying to stuff the clothes back in. “Throw it all in the washing machine. Wear mine for now.”

Xu Jue was pushed into the bathroom by Chen Qian. Before the door closed, the other person even threw in a pair of slippers.

“The water heater has some issues. The water pressure drops at night, so try to finish washing within ten minutes.” Chen Qian said from outside the door. “There are new towels and toiletries in the cabinet. Use whatever you need.”

“Okay.” The cabinet had double doors. Xu Jue opened the right one by habit, and his gaze suddenly froze.

“…Its the left cabinet.” As if afraid he couldnt hear, Chen Qian gently knocked on the door twice.

Xu Jues hand gripped the cabinet door, not letting go for a long time.

“Xu Jue!” Chen Qian raised his voice.

Xu Jue immediately turned on the faucet, letting the sound of water fill the bathroom. “Im washing my face.”

“Im going to get you clothes.” Chen Qian said. “Just put what you change out of in the laundry basket.”

Even after finishing washing up and standing in the shower, Xu Jue still could not shake off the shocking image from that cabinet.

In his own cabinet, there were art supplies, plaster models, exercise books, and tutoring materials, Lego models sealed in acrylic boxes.

But in Chen Qians cabinet, there were unopened condoms, transparent storage bags containing adult toys, and a massage wand of impressive size.

Warm water poured down from above, slowly crawling over Xu Jues rolling Adam’s apple. He felt his throat go dry, and he also felt this old fashioned water heater was too slow and too torturous.

Why would the cabinet stock so many new towels and toiletries? How many people usually stayed over at Chen Qians place? Who were those things for?

Would Chen Qian also take other people to bars? Would he gently listen to others pour out their hearts while playing dice games? Would he take someone home while they were drunk?

He did not know how long he stood there. Only when he noticed the water temperature starting to drop did Xu Jue come back to his senses. He squeezed two pumps of body wash and spread it over his body.

The scent he had smelled on Chen Qian earlier was now spreading on his own body. The body wash lathered up a lot. When he rubbed it downward, Xu Jues movements suddenly slowed.

The body wash made his entire palm slippery. Xu Jue knew the thoughts running through his mind right now were definitely crazy and shameless. But the more he tried to drive them away, the stronger they became. Chen Qians pale chest, the opening and closing lips when he inhaled and exhaled smoke, and the slender ankle dotted with a faint mole all appeared in his mind at the worst possible times, taking turns.

“Xu Jue, dont wash too long.” Chen Qian reminded him from outside. “The water is getting cold.”

When Chen Qian called someones name, he always had a habit of drawing out the final sound. It sounded sticky and soft.

Too ridiculous, Xu Jue thought. The foam he rubbed out was splashed all over the floor, then washed down the drain by the water flow.

He actually thought Chen Qian sounded especially good when calling his name.

“Be careful not to catch a cold.” Chen Qian knocked on the door again. “I put your clothes by the door. You can reach them by stretching out your hand.”

After saying this, Chen Qian returned to the bedroom and continued packing things needed for going out tomorrow.

He bundled together various prepared documents and related certificates issued by the neighborhood office, then wrapped todays cash withdrawal from the self service machine in a kraft envelope.

The sudden rain tonight had soaked all the clothes drying on the balcony. When Chen Qian took down the newly bought womens sweater, one sleeve was already wet. He carefully dried it with a hair dryer, folded it neatly, and placed it in his bag together with two books.

Everything was packed properly. Chen Qian pulled the backpack zipper shut. He listened to the sounds from the living room outside, then picked up his phone to check the time, and walked out of the bedroom.

He had just reached the bathroom door when it opened. Chen Qian stopped in time, but Xu Jue, who was walking out while looking down and drying his hair, clearly could not brake in time. Carrying a body full of cold vapor, he crashed into the person outside.

Xu Jue instinctively reached out and hooked around Chen Qians lower back. It was a completely reflexive move out of worry that he had knocked the other person down. Realizing it was improper, he quickly let go and came out with a random sentence. “The clothes fit well.”

Chen Qian usually liked to buy oversized clothes, loose and comfortable to wear. On Xu Jue, they unexpectedly fit just right, except the waistband was a bit tight.

But Chen Qian did not care about this. He had pressed against Xu Jue just now, and his chest still carried the icy temperature the other had passed to him. “Did you take a cold shower?”

Xu Jue lowered his eyes and could see Chen Qians collarbones. His gaze stayed for a moment then moved away. “The hot water ran out.”

“Blow dry your hair first.” Chen Qian turned around and ran back to the bedroom to get the hair dryer. “You got rained on and then took a cold shower. Dont you dare catch a cold. I dont know how to take care of people.”

Out of guilt, and also wanting a space to calm down, Xu Jue obediently took the hair dryer and shut himself in the small study. The noise bounced off the four walls. Hot air swept across the top of his head, as if this could melt the bad thoughts that had started sprouting.

The washing machine was waiting to run. Chen Qian carried the clothes from the laundry basket to the balcony. Before throwing them in, he checked the pockets for any valuables.

The school uniform pants pocket bulged in a lump. Chen Qian reached in and fished around, touching a ball of softened fabric. He thought Xu Jue had kept a handkerchief embroidered by some girl.

But when his hand came out, under the dim yellow light he saw lying on his palm the thong that had been missing for several days.

Chen Qian remembered telling Jiang Linsheng this morning that Xu Jue was an innocent little kid. Now he decided to take back that assessment.

Without showing any reaction, Chen Qian threw Xu Jues clothes and that thong into the washing machine, then collected two pieces of clothing that were almost dry and threw them in together.

He had just pressed the start button when the study door was pulled open from inside. Xu Jue hurriedly ran to the bathroom, then adjusted his pace and came to the balcony a moment later. “Are my clothes all being washed?”

“Theyre washing.” Chen Qian rested his hand on the washing machine lid. “Whats wrong?”

“My school ID card might be in the pocket.” Xu Jue smoothed his half dry hair. “Let me look again.”

“While youre at it, empty your backpack and hang it up to dry. The weather forecast says it will clear up tomorrow.” Chen Qian returned to the living room and rummaged through the refrigerator. Seeing Xu Jue pour out a pile of books from his bag, then with a snap shake out a school ID card, he laughed. “Isnt your school ID card right there?”

“I didnt look carefully just now.” Xu Jue placed the books neatly on the coffee table, the school ID card on top, then carried the backpack to the balcony to hang up.

Under the clothes rack, several of Chen Qians clothes swayed in the wind. Xu Jue hung the backpack on the very edge. After hanging it, he tilted his head back and looked for quite a while.

The balcony wind was strong. When Xu Jue came back inside, he pulled the door shut behind him. “Ill hang the clothes later.”

Chen Qian was leaning against the sofa armrest, holding something and examining it. Hearing this, he responded. “Sure, hang mine up too while youre at it. Just two or three pieces.”

There was still time before the clothes finished washing, so Xu Jue decided to find something to do. He sat down and first pulled out an English test paper, thought about it, then set it down, picking up the science exercise book on top instead.

He always felt something was missing. After looking around, he realized his school ID card was currently being pinched between Chen Qians fingers.

“Why dont you smile in your photo?” Chen Qian returned it to him.

Xu Jue took it and casually slipped it into a textbook as a bookmark. “I was in a bad mood that day.”

Chen Qian did not dig deeper. He grabbed two bottles of fruit wine with one hand and nudged Xu Jues shoulder with them. “Want a drink?”

“No.” Xu Jue was bent over the coffee table looking at exercises. “Dont drink too much either. If you go crazy drunk and run three thousand meters downstairs later, I cant catch you.”

“Fruit wine has very low alcohol content. Ive long since trained it to behave. It cant hurt me.” Chen Qian popped the cap. “If you wont drink, fine. Ill drink by myself.”

Before the bottle mouth reached his lips, Chen Qian was suddenly turned around by Xu Jue, who snatched away the fruit wine. The latter tossed aside his pen, shifted his body back to lean against the sofa backrest, bit the bottle mouth, and took a gulp first.

“All talk,” Chen Qian laughed. “Not doing homework anymore?”

“The reason I was in a bad mood that day was,” Xu Jue answered off topic. “The day before the photo was my brothers birthday.”

“So what if it was your brothers birthday?”

“My mom took him to the old Ken for a party. He came back smelling like fried chicken, running around the room, and showing off his toys in front of me,” Xu Jue said. “So annoying.”

“Oh, jealous of your brother?”

“Not really. Just felt a bit unbalanced inside.” Xu Jue recalled it now and felt it was actually not a big deal, but at that time he simply could not explain it away to himself. He only let the emotions pile up layer by layer. “When I was his age, I woke up on my birthday and my parents had already signed the divorce papers.”

Chen Qians expression remained unchanged. He opened another bottle of fruit wine. “Hes from your mom and her later husband, right?”

Xu Jue did not speak. He tilted his head back and took another mouthful of wine. After pouring his heart out, he felt quite childish.

But Chen Qian really did call him out on it. “So you were jealous of your brother after all.”

“No.” Xu Jue kicked the table leg in annoyance. “Lets not talk about it.”

“The common trait of children.”

“I said no.” Xu Jue suddenly leaned forward and grabbed Chen Qians collar. It was rare for him to bring up old matters, yet someone saw through him so easily. Saying he was not annoyed would be a lie. “Im not a child either. Dont lump me together with that brat.”

The bathrobe fabric was slippery. With Xu Jues impulsive tug, Chen Qians collar immediately loosened. The fruit wine he was shaking around splashed without any sense of timing onto that chest exposed to the air, like a freshly picked spring peach splashed with water.

Chen Qian was pinned down and could not move. Only after a long time did he free a hand to pat Xu Jues waist side. “Tissues.”

“Sorry.” Xu Jue quickly pulled back, pulled out several tissues and handed them over. He was about to turn his face away, but unexpectedly was pulled over again by the other person.

“Is this reaction necessary?” Chen Qian did not bother fixing his clothes. Clutching the tissues, he wiped Xu Jues nose. “Am I that hot?”

“Wha…” Xu Jues throat clogged up. He lowered his eyes and saw the bright red on the tissue.

“Tilt your head back.” Chen Qian supported Xu Jues jaw. “Maybe you really shouldnt drink.”

“Its not the wines fault.” Xu Jue had lost all his face tonight. He tilted his head back obediently and let Chen Qian handle his nosebleed. The hand hanging by his leg clenched into a fist then relaxed, unsure whether he should help Chen Qian pull his collar closed.

“Of course its not the wines fault.” Chen Qian changed to a fresh tissue. “Didnt you say you have about a month until you become an adult?”

“Yeah.”

“When is your birthday?”

“Same day as Major Cold,” Xu Jue said. “Why?”

“Just asking. Curious what zodiac sign a little guy who is both innocent and intense belongs to.” Chen Qian finally stopped Xu Jues nosebleed. “Im going to wash my hands.”

After Chen Qian left the living room, Xu Jue remained leaning back against the sofa, savoring the moment.

He touched the bridge of his nose, then rubbed his jaw, and finally picked up the pen again amid the sound of the washing machine running.

Probably afraid of embarrassing him, Chen Qian went to sleep after washing his hands. Xu Jue stayed in the living room and finished his weekend homework. He even completed the English test paper independently. Whether he got the answers right was another matter.

The rain was still falling in a steady drizzle. Not a single spot on the balcony floor was dry. Xu Jue grabbed a mop and wiped it clean. Making sure the noise would not wake Chen Qian, he confidently lifted the washing machine lid.

The clothes were tangled together. After hanging the large items, Xu Jue finally found that black thong from the very bottom. It had probably been rolled out of the pants pocket during the wash cycle.

Xu Jue, acting like a thief with a guilty conscience, took a hanger and hung up the black thong, then let it silently blend in among Chen Qians row of almost dry clothes.