Chapter 18

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“He—he’s gay?”

Xu Er’s voice rose.

Xu Chen said, “I think? Probably.”

“What do you mean, ‘probably’? How do you know?”

Xu Chen thought for a moment. “It was probably around the time I first found out about him. I used to check his Weibo all the time, and there were some comments saying things like…”

“What did they say?”

Xu Chen tilted his head back, still thinking. “Let me remember.”

Xu Er tried asking, “Did he have a boyfriend?”

“Probably not now.”

“Did he have one before?”

“Not exactly.”

Xu Er was speechless. “Then what?”

“Oh!” Xu Chen exclaimed. “I remember. There was a guy pursuing him back then, and he was really obvious about it. For a while, the whole comment section was full of that guy, with other people egging them on and making jokes.”

Xu Er’s shoulders relaxed. “That’s enough to prove he’s gay?”

Xu Chen frowned. “Hmm.”

“That only proves that a gay man liked him.”

Xu Chen continued to hum thoughtfully.

“That makes sense.”

“That makes sense,” Xu Chen agreed.

“What happened afterward?”

“Afterward?” Xu Chen thought about it. “I don’t know. Anyway, I haven’t seen that guy in a long time.”

Xu Er was about to ask something else when his watch suddenly began to ring.

He lifted his wrist and saw a notification on the screen informing him that his heart rate had remained excessively high for more than ten seconds and advising him to pay attention.

Only then did Xu Er realize that his heart really was beating fast. His ears were ringing.

“Why are you so nervous?” Xu Chen had seen it too.

Xu Er froze. “I don’t know.”

But that wasn’t important.

Xu Er lowered his hand. “Go on.”

“Where was I?”

“The guy from afterward.”

“Oh, nothing happened afterward. I never saw him again.”

Xu Er licked his lips. “Did they get together?”

“Probably not.”

“How can you be sure?”

“Song Ruichi’s Weibo posts, the comments, and things like that. He just didn’t seem like someone who was in a relationship.”

Xu Er gave a very soft “oh.”

Xu Chen leaned back in his chair. “His Weibo used to be pretty fun, like a friend circle. Somehow, later on, it turned into an official studio account, and everything became work, work, work.”

Xu Er let out a dry laugh and picked up his watch again. His heart rate had already come back down.

For no apparent reason.

“How about this,” Xu Chen said.

“How about what?”

“How about you ask Song Ruichi tonight?”

Xu Er looked horrified. “Ask him what?”

Xu Chen imitated Xu Er’s usual mild, unhurried way of speaking. “Song Ruichi, are you gay?”

“You ask him.”

“Hahaha.”

Xu Er added, “What difference does it make whether he is or isn’t?”

Xu Chen looked as though he wanted to say something, but in the end he only gave a dry laugh and uttered two words: “Exactly.”

By evening, the two of them saved their game. Xu Chen spent another five minutes arranging his hair in the bathroom before they set off.

Song Ruichi had made the reservation for dinner, at a place Xu Er had heard of but had never visited.

There was no particular reason for that—except that it was expensive.

Not outrageously expensive, though, so on the way there Xu Er told Xu Chen to help him when it came time to pay. He planned to settle the bill secretly.

Xu Chen agreed at first, but after a while he said, “It’s pretty expensive.”

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“That’s exactly why,” Xu Er said.

“Did you get paid, or did you strike it rich?”

Xu Er briefly explained the typewriter, humidifier, and medicine box.

Xu Chen stared at him for a long time after hearing this.

“What is it?” Xu Er asked.

“Song Ruichi treats you this well?”

“What about it?”

Xu Chen shook his head. “Nothing, nothing.” Then he nodded. “Yes, he should treat you. He should.”

There was a bit of traffic on the way from Song Ruichi’s side, so Xu Er and Xu Chen waited in the restaurant for a while before he arrived.

Song Ruichi had reserved a private room. When he opened the door and entered, Xu Chen sprang to his feet, which made Xu Er spring up as well.

Then Xu Er heard Xu Chen say, “Damn.”

He understood perfectly. Xu Chen was expressing the fact that Song Ruichi was devastatingly handsome.

Song Ruichi was wearing a dark-blue trench coat that was no less striking than a black one. Dressed in deep colors, the man looked absurdly distinguished—handsome beyond measure.

“Traffic was a little bad,” Song Ruichi said first.

Then he turned to Xu Chen. “Hello. I’ve heard a great deal about you.”

Xu Chen looked utterly flustered. “I’m the one who’s heard a great deal about you.”

Song Ruichi smiled. “Xu Er mentions you often.”

Xu Er followed up, “I hear about you from Xu Chen often too.”

Xu Chen suddenly became embarrassed and jabbed Xu Er with his elbow.

Ordering the food was extraordinarily quiet. With a single “Anything is fine” from each of the Xu brothers, they left the entire matter to Song Ruichi.

So after the waiter left, the room became even quieter.

Xu Er and Xu Chen looked at each other.

One seemed to say: Aren’t you two quite familiar? Say something.

The other seemed to say: Weren’t you dying to meet him? You say something.

“I heard from Xu Er that you’re still in school?” Song Ruichi finally spoke first.

Xu Chen immediately nodded. “Yes. I’m a junior.”

Song Ruichi suddenly smiled. “You’re a junior.”

After saying that, he exchanged a glance with Xu Er, who burst out laughing as well.

Xu Chen was left completely bewildered. “Huh?”

“He’s a junior too,” Xu Er explained.

Xu Chen was even more confused. “Huh?”

Xu Er shook his head with a smile. “It’s nothing.”

Xu Chen: “…”

Fine, Xu Chen thought.

They had not seen each other for several days, and Xu Er had felt that he and Song Ruichi were no longer quite as close. But with that one joke, Song Ruichi had effortlessly dispelled all the unnecessary awkwardness.

So Xu Er immediately asked him for what he wanted.

“Where’s my signed photo?” Xu Er held out his hand directly in front of Song Ruichi.

Song Ruichi gave him a helpless look, then took an envelope from his coat pocket.

But instead of handing it to Xu Er, he moved it past his outstretched hand and gave it straight to Xu Chen.

Xu Chen hurriedly accepted it. “Thank you, thank you.”

The envelope was thick. Inside was a photograph and something of considerable weight.

In plain terms, it was a gift for meeting him.

Xu Er’s hand was still held out. He looked at Song Ruichi. “What about mine?”

Song Ruichi reached into his pocket, took out a handful of air, and slapped it into Xu Er’s palm. “Yours.”

Xu Er frowned.

Song Ruichi smiled, then took out another envelope. He tapped Xu Er on the forehead with it before placing it in his hand.

That was more like it.

The two brothers immediately began opening their gifts in perfect unison.

First, they looked at the photographs.

They were proper signed photographs, and both were identical: a picture taken from Song Ruichi’s Weibo, with “so. Song” written across it in gold marker.

Then they examined the other objects.

Each had been wrapped in a layer of kraft paper. The two of them unwrapped their gifts together, revealing the legendary wood carvings.

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The carving in Xu Chen’s hands was unmistakably the entrance to A University, while the one in Xu Er’s hands depicted a boy eating candied fruit on a stick.

If the boy had not looked so much like Xu Er, Xu Er certainly would have asked about it.

Xu Chen looked over too and said directly, “Wow. This looks exactly like you.”

A memory flashed through Xu Er’s mind. “That night when I got drunk?”

Song Ruichi nodded. “Mm.”

Xu Chen laughed. “He really does look drunk. Pretty cute, too.”

Song Ruichi asked, “Who’s pretty cute?”

“My brother.”

“Why did you answer him?” Xu Er said.

Xu Chen: “…”

Fine, Xu Chen thought again.

After putting away the little gifts, Xu Chen spotted something else with his sharp eyes. “Brother, there’s writing on the back of your signed photo.”

Xu Er turned it over.

Xu Chen began, “Stin—”

He did not read the final two words aloud. They said, “Stinky Er-Er.”

Xu Chen turned his own photograph over as well, but the back of his was completely blank.

Of course. Who did he think he was?

“You’re the stinky one,” Xu Er muttered, shooting Song Ruichi a glance. Then he asked, “Is your English name So?”

Song Ruichi shook his head. “I don’t have an English name. I suppose this counts as a nickname.”

“So, Song?” Xu Er suddenly seemed to understand. “That’s why you’re called Soso—Song Song?”

“That’s right.”

Xu Er laughed. “Who uses a nickname as a signature?”

“I thought it was pretty good, so I started using it.”

Xu Er nodded. “It is pretty good.”

Song Ruichi added, “I’ve never signed one like this before. Since it was a signed photo, I thought I’d write something different.”

“What do you usually sign?”

“My name.”

Xu Er: “…”

Xu Er: “Right.”

Wasn’t that obvious, Xu Er?

At that moment, Xu Chen suddenly raised his hand. “What a coincidence. My brother has a nickname like that too.”

Xu Er: “…”

Xu Chen continued, “They call him Sure.”

Song Ruichi laughed and looked at Xu Er. “I’m not just ‘So.’ There’s more after it.”

Xu Er silently sounded out Song Ruichi’s name. “So… rich?”

Song Ruichi picked up the drink in front of him and raised it. Understanding, Xu Er raised his own glass as well, and the two clinked them together.

“So rich,” Xu Chen repeated. “Sure. You two are pretty amusing.”

Xu Er gave a foolish little smile.

He had always disliked his homophonic nickname, especially during English class. Whenever someone said “sure,” everyone would turn to look at him.

But today, because of Song Ruichi’s little maneuver—first, openly writing the nickname on his autograph; then naming his own cat “Soso”; and finally, taking the initiative to tell Xu Er that his own name had an English pun too—Xu Er suddenly felt that the whole thing was wonderful.

Just like that, he let go of his resentment.

In that moment, he felt that Sure wasn’t so bad after all.

Sure, sure, sure.

If anyone ever asked him for a signed photo in the future, he would write, “Sure, Xu.”

Ha. He was getting ahead of himself. What a nice fantasy. Who would ever ask him for a signed photo?

After all this, Xu Er’s already good mood rose even higher.

The rest of the meal was therefore extraordinarily, extraordinarily pleasant. Xu Er became much more talkative, and with Song Ruichi teasing him as well, he laughed until his eyes nearly disappeared.

Xu Chen was having a great time too. It was obvious that he had come to meet Song Ruichi with the excitement of meeting a favorite celebrity, while Song Ruichi treated him like a friend.

Toward the end of the meal, they began talking about Xu Er.

Yes, they talked about him while he was sitting right between them, as though he were not there at all.

The conversation began with grades. Xu Chen said that he had admired Xu Er since childhood and had always regarded him as a goal. Getting into A University had been part of that goal too.