Between Us : Chapter 26: Burrow Into My Arms

Back home, Xu Jue didn’t bother looking for a change of clothes. He grabbed a towel and was about to go take a shower. Just as he came out of the study and passed Chen Qian’s bedroom, Chen Qian called out to him through the door panel. “Xu Jue, the wind is strong tonight. Bring the clothes in from outside first.”

Xu Jue turned around and went to the balcony, collected the clothes, took them off the hangers, and tossed the whole pile onto the sofa without a care.

One foot was already stepping into the bathroom when Chen Qian called out again. “Oh right, I saved you a muffin. It’s in the pot. Eat it before you shower.”

The muffin was soft and tasty, but Xu Jue ate without savoring it. He polished it off in a few bites, grabbed his towel, and rushed into the bathroom, afraid Chen Qian would give him another task. He moved faster than he could think and slammed the door shut, suspecting Chen Qian was deliberately ordering him around.

He turned the shower to full blast. Xu Jue was already flushed purple from holding back. In the rising steam, tangled veins crawled up his arms. His slightly lifted chin and neck formed a sensual curve, and his adam’s apple rolled along that curve like a mischievous bead.

As the water temperature gradually cooled, Xu Jue rinsed off the foam all over his body, wrapped himself in a towel, returned to the living room, randomly picked out two pieces of clothing to put on, and folded the rest while he was at it.

Xu Jue picked up Chen Qian’s pile to deliver to him. The bedroom door wasn’t closed tight; it opened with a light push from his knee. He set down the clothes and was about to leave when he looked up and saw Chen Qian folding two thin garments and putting them into the backpack at the foot of the bed. A tube of hand cream went into the side pocket, and the power bank that had led to their second meeting was tucked into a hidden compartment.

This was the look of someone about to go out. Xu Jue reacted as if suffering from a stress disorder. “Where are you going?”

“To Fa…”

“Paris, France?” Xu Jue raised his voice. “You promised me you wouldn’t go!”

Chen Qian zipped up his backpack and glanced at him with a smile. “I only promised not to go with Jiang Linsheng. Can’t I go by myself?”

Just one name. Chen Qian brought it up with an indifferent attitude, but hearing it, Xu Jue stirred up a storm of resentment. He swallowed back a bellyful of condemnation with difficulty, and finally lowered his eyelids and said, “Suit yourself.”

After Chen Qian finished packing what he needed for tomorrow’s outing, he calmly took out a robe, spread it on the bed, and began undoing the first button of his shirt. “The newly built French-style town in the neighboring city opens tomorrow. I’m going to stroll around for two days.”

When it came to teasing people, Xu Jue was no match for Chen Qian’s level. He stood by the bedside, his handsome face going pale then red, hiding his anger only for embarrassment to flood over, a whole spectrum of colors. “Oh.”

Chen Qian undid the second button. “What’s wrong, planning to watch me change? I’m wearing white today.”

Xu Jue threw out a “what’s there to see,” turned around and strode out of the bedroom. In his own view it was cool and composed; in Chen Qian’s eyes it looked like fleeing in panic.

The next morning, both of them happened to get up quite early. Chen Qian wore a loose color-blocked jacket, straight-cut jeans wrapping a pair of long straight legs, and light soft-soled martin boots on his feet. Casual and comfortable.

The morning wind was fierce. Chen Qian wrapped himself in a scarf, burying his chin into it as he walked. “I miscalculated the timing. I figure dropping you off at school before heading to the subway station should still work out.”

Xu Jue’s schoolbag was slightly more bulging than usual. He found a stall to sit down at, waved the boss over to bring two baskets of soup dumplings and two bowls of vegetable noodles. Once the hot steam rose, he asked, “What time are you leaving?”

“Eight forty-five, no rush.” Chen Qian ate at a leisurely pace, picking up a chopstick of noodles, blowing on them, and sending them into his mouth. Looking up, he noticed Xu Jue eating extremely fast, one bite of bun and one sip of noodle soup. “What’s the rush, do you have cleaning duty today?”

Xu Jue said, “I need to go back to the studio first to grab some stuff for art class.”

When Xu Jue came down the steps in front of the studio carrying a dark green sketchpad, Chen Qian said with curiosity, “What is this for?”

Xu Jue answered casually, “Going out to sketch.”

“What do you sketch?”

“All kinds of scenery. The bike shed by the school gate, the terrace beside the library, the Guanyin pagoda on the distant mountain outside the playground wall, anything works.”

Chen Qian had never encountered such good fortune in his own art classes back in the day. “Then are you the best painter in your class?”

Xu Jue didn’t answer directly, but in front of the person he liked, he couldn’t help showing off. “I’ve won so many art trophies. What do you think.”

On the bus going the opposite direction to Xian Middle School, students in school uniforms kept pouring in. The boys hung their heads and drooped their eyelids, trying to use the handrail as a pillow to squeeze in a bit more sleep. The girls looked in mirrors, sweeping their eyebrow-skimming bangs to both sides to avoid being stopped by the director for grooming inspection.

Chen Qian sat by the window. Surrounded by so many high school boys and girls, he couldn’t help feeling at a loss. His fingertips twisted a corner of his clothing, and his palm quietly grew damp with sweat.

He gazed at the street scenery outside the window, his eyes not yet focused, when suddenly his elbow was nudged by the person beside him. Xu Jue leaned close to him and asked in a mysterious whisper, “Guess who in this bus I like?”

What… Chen Qian was too shocked. He turned back to meet Xu Jue’s eyes.

Those eyes seemed to brim with unspeakable emotion. Three parts nervous, two parts shy, and the rest all confidence of “you’ll never guess.”

The earlier awkwardness instantly dissipated. Chen Qian cast an appraising gaze around the bus compartment, pretending to be casual as he observed every girl in detail. That tall one with the ponytail stood out like an elegant little swan. Had she captured Xu Jue’s heart with a stunning dance at the arts gala? Or was it that short-haired girl leaning against the handrail, swaying with the bus but still not forgetting to look at her vocabulary notebook, who had seized Xu Jue’s only weakness? Or the one holding a copy of Janson’s History of Art, who seemed to share common topics with Xu Jue.

Chen Qian thought every one of them could be the one, but when he briefly imagined them holding hands with Xu Jue, he felt none of them fit. So he said, “Give me a hint.”

Before Xu Jue could give a hint, the bus reached its stop. The back door opened, and a large crowd poured out, all in blue and white uniforms.

Xu Jue also pulled Chen Qian off. When they said goodbye at the school gate, Xu Jue said, “It’s the one with the prettiest eyes.”

There had been so many girls on the bus just now. Chen Qian couldn’t remember whose eyes were the prettiest. He only worked out one key point. “I didn’t see anyone greet you. You don’t even know each other yet? You’re crushing on her?”

Xu Jue’s brain short-circuited. “Ah, yeah.”

Chen Qian couldn’t tell if he was being snarky or complimentary. “So handsome for nothing. Can’t even work up the courage to confess. What are you thinking?”

Xu Jue stared into Chen Qian’s eyes. Yeah, what was he thinking.

Chen Qian stood under the tree at the Xian Middle School gate, watching Xu Jue’s figure slowly merge into the sea of blue and white uniforms, finally disappearing around the corner of the distant teaching building.

The wind stung his face. Chen Qian started to leave. Just as he turned around, a crisp metallic clink came from the side of his backpack. He looked down and saw a little dog charm dangling from the zipper, and what made the sound was a keychain hooked together with the charm.

Probably got caught on there when they got off the bus and the crowd was too packed. Before the morning reading bell rang, Chen Qian quickly dialed Xu Jue’s number. As soon as it connected, he said, “You left your keys with me. Planning to sleep on the stairs tonight?”

Xu Jue made an immediate decision. “I’ll come out right now to get them. Wait for me.”

In less than ten minutes, Xu Jue came back to the school gate. Chen Qian was a bit speechless, increasingly suspecting this person’s brain was only used for studying. “Why didn’t you drop off your schoolbag and sketchpad in the classroom first?”

Xu Jue took the keys and pocketed them, smiling. “Because I didn’t go back to the classroom. I went to the office to hand in a leave slip.”

The studio teacher had written him a leave slip, reason being going out to sketch for two days. The class teacher was still away on research, so the grade director approved it directly. Students who regularly topped the honor roll tended to earn teachers’ trust.

On the subway, the rush hour crowd was heavy. Xu Jue and Chen Qian sat squeezed together. Chen Qian was in the corner, with one of Xu Jue’s arms stretched across in front of him. The latter’s hand gripped the handrail, conveniently blocking anyone who might fall onto Chen Qian.

Chen Qian helped Xu Jue protect his sketchpad, head down searching on his phone. With nothing to do, Xu Jue leaned over and asked, “What are you looking at?”

Chen Qian said, “Booking another single room.”

Xu Jue’s alarm bells went off. “Wasn’t it pretty economical last time?”

Chen Qian glanced at him. “Last time how? The way you pressed against me in the middle of the night and wouldn’t let go?”

Xu Jue looked thoroughly innocent. “You burrowed into my arms yourself. How is that my fault? You even grabbed my clothes and wouldn’t let go.” Seeing Chen Qian lower his head to continue browsing, he lowered his voice. “Then can I come over to your room tonight to chat?”

How much of that tone was genuine and how much was an act, Chen Qian couldn’t yet tell. But Xu Jue’s last sentence struck a chord, reminding him of his own helpless self at seventeen or eighteen. It was rather pitiful. “Then I’ll switch to a double room.”

He operated too quickly and didn’t notice there was still an option below for “one double bed” versus “two single beds.” Xu Jue had sharp eyes, spotted it, but said nothing, secretly pressing down the smile at the corner of his mouth.

Two subway rides, crossing from Yunxia City to the neighboring city, then a forty-minute bus ride. Just sitting there drained most of his energy. When he inserted the room card and opened the suite door, Chen Qian stared straight at the neat standard double bed, then let his strength give out and flopped onto it, too lazy to go find the hotel front desk to argue whether the booking information was wrong or not.

The newly opened French-style town didn’t require an entrance ticket, so Chen Qian treated himself well on food and lodging. The seaside hotel was more than a hundred times better than the sketchy no-name inn near the bus station where he had casually spent a night last time. The floor heating inside was comfortable, and the warmth lost from half a day of running around outside gradually returned to his body. Chen Qian didn’t want to move a single finger. “Let’s have the hotel deliver lunch up. We’ll eat out for dinner.”

Xu Jue had no objection. He took off his jacket and fleece-lined hoodie, leaving only the short-sleeved t-shirt underneath. He glanced at Chen Qian. Though it wasn’t even dusk yet, the other person’s ear rims and cheeks looked like they were brushed with sunset glow.

“Aren’t you hot?” Xu Jue asked, knowing full well the answer.

“Hot, but I don’t want to move.” Chen Qian hadn’t minded before, but now looking at Xu Jue’s youthful energy with his two arms exposed, he couldn’t resist kicking Xu Jue’s thigh like a general issuing orders. “Help me take off my scarf.”

Xu Jue tossed aside his phone and happily obeyed. He knelt one leg on the edge of the bed, bent down to undo Chen Qian’s scarf. The back of his hand brushed Chen Qian’s chin tip. The scarf loosened, and he grabbed one end to pull it out from under the other’s neck.

The fuzzy fabric with its fine threads brushed across Chen Qian’s nape, and the itch that seeped into his skin bored straight into his heart, making it impossible to ignore Xu Jue’s fully concentrated gaze.

This person was a bit silly, but in his impression, Xu Jue approached everything with his usual focus. When solving problems, when changing lightbulbs, even when writing sticky notes.

Chen Qian asked, “If the original Chapter Two of the house rules doesn’t count anymore, what else would you want to add?”

Xu Jue suddenly looked up, nearly bumping Chen Qian’s nose tip. “It really doesn’t count?”

Chen Qian nodded. “Mm. Giving you a chance to revise it.”

Xu Jue thought for quite a while but couldn’t come up with anything for the moment. “Then put it on my tab. I’ll tell you when I think of it.”