Between Us : Chapter 12: Intimate Relationship

Chen Qian only found out at the hot pot restaurant that the other two were both girls. One carried a designer bag, bright and lively like a spoiled rich young lady. The other wore her baseball cap backwards with a band aid on her temple, the type who probably got called boss a lot at school.

Taking the opportunity to get food, Chen Qian asked Xu Jue: “Which one are you interested in?”

Xu Jue had strong hands, able to carry many boxes of meat at once: “I’m only interested in what I can put in my mouth.”

Right after saying this, Xu Jue bumped into Chen Qian’s back. The stack of boxes in his hands nearly tipped over, but Chen Qian turned sideways and caught his arm.

“Why did you suddenly stop,” Xu Jue looked down at the other person, “what are you laughing at?”

“Laughing at how you don’t understand anything.” Chen Qian withdrew his hand and walked off in another direction with his plate.

Xu Jue sucked in a breath and forcefully held it back.

He strode forward, both hands occupied and unable to free themselves, so he used his shoulder to nudge Chen Qian’s back, signaling him to turn: “That way is the seafood area, you can’t eat that.”

“Jiang Linsheng doesn’t even remember that clearly.” Chen Qian muttered under his breath.

But the restaurant was too noisy, and Xu Jue didn’t hear clearly: “What?”

“I said you’re only grabbing what I like to eat,” Chen Qian’s plate only held some cooked dishes, “what do you want to eat, I’ll get it for you.”

“Anything works, I’m not picky.” Xu Jue saw the cold drinks area up ahead, “Help me grab a can of juice or something.”

“Okay.” Chen Qian stopped in front of the cooler and scanned the selection, “Which flavor?”

The glass door of the cooler was fogged over. Xu Jue looked for a long time, set all the boxes in his right hand onto the display table, then rotated his wrist joint.

“Grapefruit.” Xu Jue said.

“Then I’ll grab two cans.” Chen Qian had just pulled the cooler door open a crack when a force gently pushed it shut again.

In the hazy reflection of the glass door, Xu Jue was pressed up behind Chen Qian, his arm braced on the door as if about to trap him in an embrace.

“Chen Qian.”

It was at this moment that Chen Qian finally paid proper attention to Xu Jue’s voice. It was deeper than many of his peers, and when he said someone’s name without any tone it carried a sense of pressure that didn’t match his personality.

That “Chen Qian” landed heavily by his ear. The owner of the name pressed on the cooler door nonchalantly, brushing aside a patch of condensation, and from the glass reflection he saw the expression of the person behind him: “Turns out there’s no grapefruit left, how about lime?”

“Lime is too sour, grab something else.”

“White peach, orange, grape,” Chen Qian recited all the flavors, “you think about it.”

“I’m thinking,” Xu Jue looked at Chen Qian’s hand on the cooler door, and in the patch of condensation next to his pinky finger he drew a heart, “what kind of relationship does someone have to be in to draw this pattern for another person.”

Discussing this in public was way too childish. Chen Qian brushed away Xu Jue’s hand and opened the cooler: “Are you experiencing first love?”

Xu Jue shot back: “Would you draw this for someone when you’re experiencing first love?”

“No, only little kids play these cheap tricks.” Chen Qian casually grabbed two cans of white peach and closed the cooler door, walking off with his plate.

Song He and Xiaoxiao were already sitting at the table, using a slotted spoon to stir the spicy red broth and make the food sink to the bottom.

The clear broth side was boiling but clean. Xiaoxiao asked: “Xu Jue, you can’t eat spicy?”

“Not me.” Xu Jue transferred the meat into the clear broth, “You guys be careful, don’t let the red broth splash over here.”

Song He sat across from Chen Qian: “Brother Qian, did you get your lip piercing recently?”

“Got it a week ago.” Seeing that Xu Jue was about to put dozens of boxes of meat all into the clear broth, Chen Qian timely pressed down on his hand, “Put them in after we finish eating, too much won’t cook well.”

“Fine.” Xu Jue sat down, opened a can of white peach juice and set it by Chen Qian’s side.

Song He saw through everything: “When a piercing wound hasn’t fully healed you really shouldn’t eat spicy, Xu Jue knows best.”

“What do I know, I don’t know anything.” Xu Jue didn’t even know what he was sulking about. When the meat in the clear broth was cooked, he followed his heart and served it onto a plate, placing it in front of Chen Qian, “Dip your own sauce.”

Chen Qian was buried in eating noodles, startled by the rush of steam: “All for me?”

“Throw what you don’t like into my bowl,” Xu Jue scooped up meatballs for him too, “hurry up and eat, once you’re full tell them what’s fun at ELK, let them go experience it another day.”

Xu Jue’s original intention was for Chen Qian to give some warning, but Xiaoxiao thought she had met a kindred spirit: “Brother Qian likes to play too? I’ve only been once, the service prices are crazy expensive, and hanging out on the first floor I ran into some service I didn’t recognize.”

She lowered her voice, afraid speaking loudly would make people think she was uncultured: “Isn’t there a sign at the door, what is White Jade Plate? Minimum spend three thousand eight hundred per plate, that’s robbery.”

In the time she took describing this, Chen Qian had already finished a bowl of pork belly without changing expression: “The sixth floor of the club has private rooms right?”

“Huh? Seems like it.” Xiaoxiao checked her phone, “the floor guide says so.”

“The bed in the private room is the ‘plate,'” Chen Qian set down his chopsticks and wiped his mouth, “a person strips naked and lies on it, that’s the white jade.”

Clearly having understood the deeper meaning, Xiaoxiao fell silent.

“ELK isn’t anything fun, high prices and lots of traps, you might end up becoming that plate of white jade yourself.” Chen Qian was full, stuck a straw into the can and sipped slowly, “if you really want to try something new just go have a drink at the south gate quiet bar, but remember don’t go alone and don’t let your drink out of your sight.”

After finishing the hot pot, Xu Jue first watched the two girls get into their car, then walked back with Chen Qian.

“We agreed I’d treat, why did you secretly pay the bill.” Xu Jue had eaten his food, worn his clothes, and now was following him home, feeling like he owed more and more.

Chen Qian walked with his hands in his pockets, stepping on Xu Jue’s shadow: “What use is your student ID, I’m familiar with the shop owner, he gives me a thirty two percent discount.”

“Since you’re treating why didn’t you eat more?”

“I have a small appetite, unlike you kids who are still growing.”

His shoe stepped out of bounds. Chen Qian turned back and realized the shadow wasn’t moving. Xu Jue had stopped two meters behind him.

“What, did I step on you and hurt you?” Chen Qian asked with a smile.

“You keep stepping on my head, how could it not hurt?” Xu Jue slowly walked up to Chen Qian’s side, “do all adults step on kids’ shadows like you?”

When the two walked side by side, Xu Jue’s shadow was a section taller than Chen Qian’s, and it was unclear who was the kid.

Turning a corner, it became quiet up ahead. Changnian Road wasn’t a main city road, and after eight in the evening traffic in both directions thinned out, with the surrounding small shops already closed early.

Chen Qian stopped in front of a bridal shop. The floor to ceiling glass window projected two slender figures. He waved Xu Jue over.

“Want to learn from the music video male lead and smash the glass to steal a wedding dress?” Xu Jue said, “no thanks, I’m afraid if it gets in the papers I won’t be able to hold my head up at school.”

“You dare to smash it and I still wouldn’t dare to wear it,” Chen Qian pulled him over, “look.”

Inside the hot pot restaurant he had found Xu Jue childish, but now he was the one being childish. He breathed onto the glass, forming a patch of white mist, and drew a heart in the middle.

“Actually it’s not only little kids experiencing first love who play these tricks, if you want to draw then draw, nobody’s stopping you.” Chen Qian drew a bigger heart, “I’m drawing too, but I’m not experiencing first love.”

That heart sat steadily in the glass reflection right at the position of Xu Jue’s heart, but soon it was wiped away by Chen Qian, like Xu Jue’s thoughts that suddenly became clear then suddenly fuzzy, even he himself couldn’t figure them out.

“Then what are you?” Xu Jue asked.

Chen Qian’s fingertips were red from the cold: “I’ve been driving for several years now.”

Though he wasn’t being stepped on in the shadow at this moment, Xu Jue genuinely felt a headache coming on.

Chen Qian was still tirelessly drawing. After hearts he drew turtles, after turtles he drew thongs, then turned to tease Xu Jue: “What’s this?”

His drawing skills were absolutely terrible in the eyes of Xu Jue who had formally studied art: “Slingshot.”

“What kind of eyes do you have!” Chen Qian couldn’t hold back his laughter. The streetlamp light reflected off his lip piercing, flashing into Xu Jue’s eyes and creating ripples.

He didn’t know where his courage came from, but he grabbed Chen Qian’s finger and wrapped that frozen section into his own burning hot palm: “Stop drawing, it’s really quite ugly.”

“Then you draw one and show me.”

Xu Jue didn’t draw: “I’m afraid you’ll feel ashamed of your inferior skills.”

“I still look down on you for not even being able to memorize black body font vocabulary,” Chen Qian pulled free from his hand, leaned against the glass and breathed out another patch of mist, “hurry up.”

Probably stimulated by that pulling free action, Xu Jue felt a surge of desire to show off. His finger pressed on the misty surface, and in a few sparse strokes he sketched out a street scene.

A city road with cars rushing by, a youth with a backpack walking along the side, both arms raised high tossing the basketball in his hands.

Chen Qian felt it looked familiar. Before the image disappeared, he pointed at that tossed sphere and said: “That’s the sunset.”

“Yeah,” Xu Jue said, “that’s the photo hanging on your study wall.”

The mist soon dissipated, leaving only the two figures of different heights before their eyes. Chen Qian asked: “Does that photo look good?”

Xu Jue gave an objective critique: “The composition and lighting are just right, the person should be the thematic center right? Fortunately the blurred traffic didn’t steal the spotlight.”

After critiquing he asked again: “You took it?”

“Snapped it on a whim.” Suddenly a gust of wind blew into the corridor, and Chen Qian tightened his collar, “let’s go, if we get back late there won’t be hot water again.”

He had been hiding in the corridor just now and hadn’t noticed, but when they left he realized the sky had started sprinkling fine rain again. Xu Jue turned and asked: “Did you bring in the clothes on the balcony?”

Chen Qian said: “Not yet.”

“I still have to wear my school uniform to school tomorrow,” Xu Jue grabbed Chen Qian’s hand, “hurry up and run!”

Their palms pressed together. The young man’s hand wasn’t as cold as the last time they touched. On this rainy day it was unusually burning hot, whether because they had just eaten a hot pot meal or some other reason. In any case Chen Qian was pulled along by someone in a daze, running into the rain that wasn’t exactly pouring.

He was being pulled along by Xu Jue to run. The calves that had run three thousand meters the day before were still going soft: “You run if you want, why are you grabbing my hand?”

“You gave me trauma, I’m afraid your head isn’t clear and you’ll walk into a lamppost again.”

“I think you’re the one whose head isn’t clear.” Chen Qian forcefully pulled his hand back, first pulled up his own hoodie, then pulled up Xu Jue’s jacket hood, “didn’t you just take an umbrella from me when leaving this morning, where’s the umbrella?”

“Oh right.” Xu Jue turned his back toward the direction the rain was slanting from. The wind brushed past his burning hot ear tips. He bent down to rummage in his bag, and when he found it and opened it up, he secretly tilted the umbrella edge a bit toward Chen Qian.

But Chen Qian grabbed his hand holding the umbrella and forcefully adjusted the direction: “Silly, the rain is slanting this way, if you hold the umbrella like this we’ll both get soaked.”

Xu Jue’s entire hand that was touched by Chen Qian went numb. That electric current like sensation even ran up his blood vessels to his heart, and he even forgot to think before speaking: “Soaked is soaked…”

“Hold the umbrella properly.” Chen Qian let go of him. His clothes had no pockets, so he tucked his hands into his sleeves.

The rain fell densely but not enough to make walking impossible, you just had to be careful not to step in puddles and dirty your shoes.

The space under the umbrella was limited, so the two had to walk pressed close together, their elbows bumping from time to time, each other’s breathing clearly audible.

Xu Jue said: “Walk slower.”

Chen Qian was thinking about the hot water at home: “Any slower and you won’t get a hot shower.”

Xu Jue said with complete confidence: “I just cleaned my shoes this morning before going out, if we walk so fast I haven’t even calculated where the puddles are.”

Chen Qian was usually good at distinguishing truth from falsehood in speech, but at this moment he couldn’t quite tell whether the reason given by this simple minded high schooler was far fetched or not.

In any case Changnian Road however long it was only amounted to those few steps, so Chen Qian slowed his pace: “I wonder who was in such a hurry to run home just now.”

They made it back downstairs before ten at least. The flower shop at the alley entrance had its lights on, and a couple came out embracing each other. At the car door, the man held the umbrella and opened the passenger door for the woman.

Going upstairs, Xu Jue said: “Only people with good relationships get to sit in the passenger seat.”

Chen Qian said: “What nonsense, sometimes I sit in the passenger seat when I take a taxi.”

“I mean private cars.”

“People can sit wherever they want.”

Xu Jue fell silent. The third floor had no light, and he wanted to turn on his flashlight, but unexpectedly Chen Qian stumbled first.

He reached out to support him, and when the light beam spread across Chen Qian’s feet, he said: “Even more worrisome than the day you went crazy drunk.”

This time Chen Qian didn’t brush away his hand again.

They got back in time, the clothes hanging on the balcony weren’t wet. Chen Qian took them all down, piled them on the sofa and divided them into two piles, one pile of Xu Jue’s clothes and one pile of his own, and stuffed that black thong into his own pile of clothes.

Xu Jue was pressing on his phone, completely unaware of Chen Qian’s actions: “You go shower first.”

The shopping app interface was dazzling with products. Xu Jue compared three shops and placed an order for several white light bulbs.

After buying them Xu Jue sat blankly for a while, switched apps planning to find a cheap motel, after all he had no reason to keep mooching off Chen Qian and not moving out, the two of them weren’t in an intimate relationship where they sat in the driver’s and passenger seats and drew hearts for each other.

Thinking and thinking he suddenly froze. Xu Jue’s finger hovered above the screen: confessing? Confess what? Why would he want to mutually confess with Chen Qian?