Between Us : Chapter 18: Who Are You Calling Names

Xian High’s evening study hall ended at nine. Xu Jue figured out Chen Qian’s getting off work time, and after school he would wait at the ELK entrance, sometimes holding a bowl of hot oden, sometimes carrying a bag of freshly peeled orange segments. The former warmed the stomach, the latter sobered you up. He swayed there in his key high school uniform, drawing many sideways glances.

Chen Qian really did go along with him and stopped wearing that black shirt thinner than plastic wrap. Instead he wore V-neck sweaters that showed off his collarbones, or see-through iridescent outfits, even putting on pasties underneath as if that made it decent. He looked even more eye-catching than the black shirt, making Xu Jue throw his school jacket over Chen Qian’s shoulders every time he saw him.

Though he couldn’t figure out where this anger came from either. So many people at the ELK entrance dressed revealingly, and he just ignored them all. But Chen Qian was different.

A bar host’s getting off work time wasn’t fixed. Chen Qian had times when he got off past one in the morning, drunk and collapsing against the back of the stone lion at the entrance. His posture wasn’t exactly bad. His upper body leaned forward, arms wrapped around the stone lion’s head, the choker bow tie around his neck coming undone.

This was exactly the busiest time in front of the ELK entrance. Drunks were staggering about, using the cold floor as beds, trash cans as toilets. Some climbed onto car roofs to shout grand ambitions, then rolled off the next second and lay unconscious by the wheels.

The magnificent golden palace sent off wave after wave of people with various emotions. The surroundings were noisy and chaotic. Xu Jue stood behind Chen Qian, quietly, and helped him retie the undone bow tie.

Cool fingertips touched the skin at the back of Chen Qian’s neck. Xu Jue’s arm was brushed away by the other person. Chen Qian turned around, his back against the stone lion, in a defensive posture. “Pervert, get lost.”

“…It’s me.” Xu Jue had brought a box of pomelo segments and fed one to Chen Qian. “If it were really a pervert, your clothes would have been ripped off by now.”

Chen Qian was wearing a champagne-colored top today. No buttons, no zippers. The front and back were all crisscrossing straps. Untied it would be two pieces of fabric. The fact that it was still properly tied on could only be because Chen Qian had tied a dead knot before starting work.

Chen Qian squinted to recognize him, his cheek bulging with pomelo. Maybe the pomelo had some sobering effect. He broke into a bright smile and said, “Oh, it’s the kid.”

Chen Qian called him this often. When Xu Jue was racking his brain over English reading comprehension. When he was folding clothes and blushed at Chen Qian’s various string thongs. When Chen Qian reached his hand out to him on the third floor where there were no lights.

Xu Jue went from resisting at first to later becoming immune. Only this time he was a bit angry. Maybe because waiting several hours in the cold wind had worn down his patience, and Chen Qian didn’t show the slightest guilt.

“Are you leaving or not?” Xu Jue asked.

Chen Qian was blocked from the light by the tall figure in front of him. Within his field of vision he could only see the other person’s face. “Can’t walk anymore. Someone’s coming to pick me up.”

Without wasting words, Xu Jue crouched down in front of Chen Qian, struck the legs of the person behind him with his palm, and Chen Qian’s legs went soft as he collapsed onto Xu Jue’s back.

“Wrap your legs around me. Tight.” Xu Jue didn’t even hope Chen Qian would listen. He just stood up directly, and Chen Qian clung to him for dear life.

“I said someone’s coming to pick me up. Why won’t you listen?” Chen Qian’s alcohol-scented breath spilled onto the back of Xu Jue’s ear, damp and cool.

But Xu Jue had circled the parking lot dozens of times every night. He hadn’t seen that limited edition Mulsanne that you couldn’t find a second one of in all of Yunxia City. “Who? That Jiang guy? Where is he?”

“He’s busy.” Chen Qian rested his chin on Xu Jue’s shoulder. “Kid, did you memorize vocabulary today?”

“I memorized two model essays.” In the gaps while waiting for you, Xu Jue thought.

“Not bad, you’ve improved,” Chen Qian bounced on Xu Jue’s back like riding a wooden horse. “When we have time let’s find a real exam paper and have a competition. Whoever loses does cleaning for a month.”

The moment studying came up Chen Qian got excited. Xu Jue couldn’t quite handle it. “Stop fucking bouncing. If we fall onto the road and cause a car accident, it won’t be us doing cleaning. It’ll be others doing it for us.”

“What’s wrong with bouncing? Jiang Linsheng likes it when I ride him and bounce.” Chen Qian got even more worked up, his arms wrapping around Xu Jue’s neck, bouncing and rubbing with all his might, shaking Xu Jue so much he couldn’t walk in a straight line.

“Fuck,” Xu Jue was going crazy. A strange electric current shot up his tailbone. Jiang Linsheng, right? Jiang Linsheng was nothing. “Do you believe I’ll go back and bounce you until you can’t move anymore?!”

The moment the words left his mouth, both of them fell silent. Chen Qian was stunned from being yelled at. Xu Jue was stunned by his own thoughtless words.

They say what slips out is the truth. Xu Jue stopped at a red light. The glaring light color clearly illuminated the shock, shame, and disbelief in his eyes.

“Why are you being so fierce?” Chen Qian wasn’t as unrestrained as before. His voice even went quieter, probably afraid of being thrown onto the street.

The light turned green. Xu Jue hooked Chen Qian’s knee crook to cross the street. “Loosen your grip. You’re pressing on my Adam’s apple.”

The arms wrapped around his neck loosened a bit. It seemed even a drunk person wasn’t completely unable to understand people.

A familiar flash of silver light flashed Xu Jue’s eyes. So what had been pressing on his Adam’s apple was the bracelet on Chen Qian’s right wrist.

Chen Qian’s skin was fair, and silver looked good on him. But this bracelet had crisscrossing scratches on it, probably accumulated over years.

Xu Jue asked, “Your lip piercing just healed and you’re already rotating through all kinds of studs and rings. How come you can’t bear to change this bracelet?”

Chen Qian buried his face in Xu Jue’s neck, a bit sleepy. “Jiang Linsheng gave it when we first started dating. It’s so meaningful.”

Xu Jue pinched Chen Qian’s thigh hard. “How long have you been together?”

“About five years.”

“Dog bastard.”

Chen Qian kicked his feet. “Who are you calling names?”

Taking advantage of the drunk person on his back not remembering things, Xu Jue boldly and subtly revealed, “Whoever cheats, that’s who I’m calling names.”

For a long while there was no sound. Xu Jue thought Chen Qian couldn’t accept the truth for a moment. Only when passing by a shop window did he discover the other person had fallen asleep with his head drooping.

After getting home Xu Jue put Chen Qian on the bed, turned the wall lamp to its dimmest setting, and helped Chen Qian take off his shoes and socks.

Chen Qian curled his legs and was about to roll toward the center of the bed. Xu Jue grabbed both his ankles and pulled, easily dragging him back. “Change clothes first. Your collar has alcohol on it.”

Chen Qian hmphed, not cooperating, his body twisting like a snake that had been grabbed by its vital spot. Xu Jue had stood in the wind all night and still had to serve this person when he got back. He was annoyed. He pressed the thigh pressed against his waist and slapped it. “The kid is one step away from the pervert you mentioned. Keep twisting and see what happens.”

Once the person settled down, Xu Jue did what needed to be done. He loosened the straps of the top, and when the clothes fell off, he suddenly closed his eyes.

Relying solely on touch to remove clothes was even worse. With vision blocked, every inch of skin’s smoothness was transmitted to him authentically. Supporting the lower back, cupping the buttocks, Xu Jue hurried along, somewhat roughly pulling off Chen Qian’s pants and throwing them under the bed. He reached for the sleep robe at the foot of the bed and shook it open.

He exhaled, waiting for his heartbeat to calm before opening his eyes. But the bed scene under the dim light made him realize that all his earlier restraint had been completely futile.

Xu Jue had once seen an oil painting in a Florence art museum called “Venus of Urbino.” At that time there were many evasive gazes among the visitors, because people can’t be without desire. No one wanted to expose their thoughts. But he had listened to the commentary with a calm expression throughout.

Now with Chen Qian’s body displayed before him, he realized that back then he had no desire because he had never longed for anything.

His Adam’s apple moved. Xu Jue held Chen Qian’s shoulder and gently turned him over, his gaze landing on a spot slightly below the lower back.

Today it was ink blue. Thin straps tucked in between, the bow tie tied very properly. He didn’t know how it was possible to tie it so well with one’s back turned.

Maybe tie it first and then put it on?

After feeding his eyes their fill, Xu Jue tightened his fingers, wrapped the sleep robe around the person, pulled over the quilt and tucked him in. He exited Chen Qian’s bedroom and took a quick shower in the bathroom.

After all the toss, Xu Jue didn’t get to bed until near dawn. He slept too deeply and completely missed the three alarm clocks for waking up. After waking he simply called his class teacher and asked for the morning off.

Chen Qian was still sleeping. Xu Jue was used to it. He ran his fingers through his hair and went downstairs to buy breakfast. Aunt Qiu was quite surprised. “No school today?”

Xu Jue had his hands in his pockets. “Overslept. I’ll go in the afternoon.”

Aunt Qiu let out an “aiyo” and said a few things like an old mother. Xu Jue listened lazily, and after taking the paper bag of savory biscuits he suddenly asked, “If I eat your wife cakes, will I really find a wife?”

Aunt Qiu said, “Of course!”

On the way back with breakfast, Xu Jue got a delivery call asking him to come downstairs to pick up a package. He was already at the fourth floor, so he planned to go back and put down the breakfast first.

Just as he took out his keys at the door, the door was pushed open from inside. To avoid bumping into each other, Xu Jue took a big step back, then held the door frame.

Chen Qian had one leg already stepped outside. Seeing him, he was also startled. “Isn’t today Friday?”

“Overslept. Asked for the morning off.” Xu Jue saw that he only had a coat over his sleep robe, not even having changed his slippers. “Going to buy breakfast? I already bought it.”

“I’m getting a delivery,” Chen Qian stepped aside. “It’s cold outside. You come in first.”

Xu Jue stood still, glancing at the triangle of exposed skin at Chen Qian’s collarbone area. After a moment he handed over the paper bag. “I’ll go. I happen to have a delivery too.”

The figure in the school uniform disappeared at the stairwell entrance. The aroma of biscuits wafted from the paper bag in his arms. Chen Qian leaned against the door frame for a long while, somehow thinking of the breakfast takeout that Jiang Linsheng occasionally ordered for him. They were all specially made by star restaurant chefs. Every time Jiang Linsheng would order a lot. What couldn’t be finished went in the fridge. The next day when reheated and eaten, they had already lost their texture. They weren’t as good as a commoner’s breakfast costing four or five bucks.

Standing too long made his legs numb. Chen Qian closed the door and went back inside to wash up. While eating breakfast he felt like he had forgotten to do something. After finishing one bag of savory biscuits, when putting the other bag in the pot to keep warm, Chen Qian remembered. Today he hadn’t put a sticky note on the fridge.

There were already four sticky notes on the fridge door, colorful. Xu Jue’s handwriting was especially pleasing to the eye.

“While waiting in line I memorized all the vocabulary for next class. Type ‘Xu Jue hardworking’ in the public chat.”

“Chapter Two of the house rules. Haven’t thought of it yet. Shouldn’t the landlord exercise some rights?”

“Sigh, actually I thought of it, but it’s not convenient to say.”

If Xu Jue hadn’t overslept today, he probably would have said what Chapter Two of the house rules was.

Chen Qian pressed down the curled corners of the sticky notes, then looked up at the time. Half an hour had passed. Why hadn’t Xu Jue finished picking up the delivery yet?