Chapter 8
When Xu Er mentioned eating fish, his mind had already mapped out the route. Though his response was just a few simple words on the surface, he had mentally ordered all the dishes for the evening.
This was his favorite grilled fish restaurant since college. The snails there were delicious, the fried shrimp was excellent, the salt-baked clams were superb, and the stir-fried large intestines were tasty too. But if Song Ruichi wasn't accustomed to intestines, he could simply skip that dish.
Heading to the grilled fish restaurant conveniently took him past the high-speed rail station, which was very, very convenient.
After hanging up, Xu Er changed clothes, freshened up, and took a taxi there.
There were plenty of trains from City B to City A, almost every half hour. Based on Song Ruichi’s words, Xu Er roughly estimated and fixed on the train arriving at 6:38.
He was not the only one waiting at the station exit; to his left stood a young man holding a bouquet.
Why mention him specifically? Because the bouquet was large and obviously beautiful at a glance. The young man was handsome, and Xu Er’s mind automatically imagined a scene where a very pretty girl would soon appear, spotting the flowers and skipping happily into this young man’s embrace.
Just as this scene played out in his mind, it was suddenly replaced by the image of Song Ruichi.
Xu Er blinked, wondering how Song Ruichi would react if he saw him holding a bouquet.
He lowered his head to secretly chuckle, afraid of being noticed.
What was this? Over a thousand yuan—how was he supposed to repay Song Ruichi? He couldn’t just treat him to dinner every day.
Giving flowers was a little odd, but maybe it wasn’t impossible.
Thinking this, Xu Er laughed again.
“Don’t go overboard, don’t go overboard.”
After a short wait, people began to emerge in view.
More and more people came out, and Xu Er scanned the crowd intently. Just as the flow of people was about to end, he spotted the familiar figure of Song Ruichi coming around the corner.
Their eyes met, and Xu Er raised his hand and waved twice.
Even though it was outside and Song Ruichi was still wearing the same trench coat from the morning, from a distance he looked quite different.
Soon, Xu Er found the word to describe it: a warm sense of unfamiliarity.
The warmth came from the smile Song Ruichi gave him after their eye contact. The unfamiliarity, of course, was because they were still half-strangers.
Perhaps also because of the bustling crowd, Song Ruichi’s long legs and steady strides, his expressionless face carried a certain aloofness—as if he were just one of the many passersby Xu Er had seen over the years.
From the corner to the escalator, Xu Er kept his gaze fixed on Song Ruichi, but suddenly his peripheral vision was drawn away.
Turning his head, he saw that the handsome young man holding the flowers had been met by someone—not a girl, but a man.
A bit taller than the young man, also handsome—let’s call him the tall handsome guy.
When Xu Er glanced over, they were less than three meters apart, smiling at each other.
The scene felt framed, with the crowd becoming their backdrop.
The tall handsome guy walked with noticeably lighter steps. The young man smiled brightly at him and, upon reaching him, handed over the bouquet.
The tall handsome guy visibly brightened, and after a brief exchange, they walked away together.
Watching this, Xu Er thought, so boys can give flowers to boys—that’s not strange at all.
“What are you looking at?” Song Ruichi asked as he came up beside him.
Xu Er realized he had been staring for quite a while.
He shook his head. “Nothing. Let’s go.”
The stranger walked beside him, and once again they walked side by side. Xu Er secretly savored the brief feeling of happiness.
But soon his embarrassment diluted that happiness. That warm unfamiliarity now felt more like unfamiliarity.
After all, they had only known each other for less than two days.
“How long did you wait?” Song Ruichi asked after a few steps.
Xu Er thought for a moment. “Five minutes.”
Song Ruichi smiled. “So precise.”
Xu Er shook his head. “Not really. Could be four or six minutes.”
Song Ruichi’s smile deepened. “Are you always this serious in dealing with things?”
Xu Er paused briefly. “I feel like there’s a hidden meaning in what you said.”
Song Ruichi: “Hmm? What do you mean?”
Xu Er: “Are you saying I’m bad at chatting?”
Song Ruichi: “Not quite.”
Xu Er: “Then what?”
Song Ruichi: “You’re very cute.”
Xu Er: “Huh?”
Song Ruichi: “Did someone say you’re bad at chatting?”
Xu Er curled his lips. “Lots of people say that.”
Song Ruichi: “They don’t know anything.”
Xu Er raised an eyebrow, feeling Song Ruichi was implying “they don’t know a thing.”
Xu Er explained, “I’m often the one who ends the chat in our group, and when everyone’s hanging out, I can’t keep up with their jokes.”
Song Ruichi: “So you just smile foolishly on the sidelines?”
Xu Er was a little surprised. “How do you know?”
Song Ruichi laughed. “I can picture it.”
Once Xu Er’s words began flowing, he said, “My friends are all very interesting. Listening to their conversations is fun—they’re so good at chatting and have so many fresh, interesting jokes.” He even gestured animatedly.
Song Ruichi seemed to catch something. “You like interesting people?”
Xu Er nodded. “Yeah.”
Song Ruichi asked, “Am I interesting?”
Xu Er turned slightly toward him and nodded. “You’re interesting too.”
Song Ruichi asked, “How am I interesting?”
Xu Er said, “This morning when you said to me, ‘Da Lang, drink water,’ it was so funny.”
Song Ruichi smiled. “That’s interesting?”
Xu Er: “Isn’t it?”
Song Ruichi looked like he wanted to say something else, but his phone rang.
The atmosphere was perfectly lively. The happiness that Xu Er had lost just moments before was unknowingly rekindled by Song Ruichi.
Xu Er liked the trench coat Song Ruichi wore today. They hadn’t been close this morning because of a friend, but now, with the station crowded, Xu Er’s hand occasionally brushed against Song Ruichi’s coat.
Feeling the fabric, Xu Er thought he should find time to buy one like it at the mall.
He wondered if it would look as good on him as it did on Song Ruichi.
But it probably wouldn’t be bad—he was quite handsome himself.
They were the little handsome guy and the tall handsome guy, after all.
After a few more steps, they reached the taxi queue outside.
There were quite a few people waiting, but not too many. It seemed they’d get a ride in a few minutes. Song Ruichi was still on the phone, and they moved forward with the crowd.
The first in line, now getting into a car, happened to be the pair of handsome guys from before.
The tall guy opened the rear door and made room for the younger one, preparing to put the luggage in the trunk. But the younger guy didn’t get in; instead, he gently took the bouquet from the tall guy’s hands, who didn’t resist.
Xu Er imagined their conversation went something like this:
“I’ll hold it for you first.”
“No, you get in.”
Probably like that.
“Do you know them?”
Song Ruichi ended his call.
Xu Er shook his head. “No.”
Song Ruichi’s gaze followed them. “You looked twice.”
Xu Er smiled. “Looking at handsome guys—two of them.”
Song Ruichi glanced again. “That handsome?”
Xu Er looked away. “You’re more handsome.”
Song Ruichi was momentarily speechless but replied, “Thank you.”
Three minutes later, they got into a taxi.
It was no longer prime dining time. They arrived just in time to avoid waiting for a table.
The place was still lively, and Xu Er confirmed that Song Ruichi indeed didn’t eat intestines.
Dinner ended in a pleasant silence shared between the two.
After the restaurant emptied out more, Xu Er wiped his mouth and asked Song Ruichi, “Was it good?”
Song Ruichi nodded. “Not bad.”
Xu Er said, “I really like the fish here.”
Song Ruichi: “I can tell.”
Xu Er smiled sheepishly and instinctively rubbed his stomach.
He had eaten a bit too much.
“What now?” Song Ruichi asked.
“Huh? Go home,” Xu Er replied, puzzled. “Otherwise? Do you have plans?”
Song Ruichi chuckled. “No.”
Xu Er: “Oh.”
Song Ruichi asked again, “What are you going to do tonight?”
Xu Er thought briefly. “Edit a manuscript.”
Song Ruichi nodded, took another sip of water, and said, “Good.” Then he asked, “What kind of work do you do?”
Xu Er thought about Song Ruichi’s profession and answered simply, “Engineering design,” then smiled, “I draw too.”
Song Ruichi responded, “Half a peer.”
Xu Er laughed. “That works.”
They left the restaurant and immediately hailed a taxi. Although it would have been more convenient to drop Song Ruichi off first, Song Ruichi insisted on taking Xu Er home first.
Xu Er had no choice but to give the driver the address of his residential complex.
And, Song Ruichi was very stubborn.
Also, Xu Er noticed Song Ruichi seemed to be looking at him.
He turned, and sure enough, Song Ruichi was looking.
“Hmm?” Xu Er asked, puzzled. “What’s up?”
Song Ruichi said, “Hand.”
Xu Er: “Hand?”
Song Ruichi: “Stretch your hand out.”
Xu Er didn’t understand but obediently extended his hand.
Song Ruichi sighed slightly, “Palm up.”
Xu Er flipped his hand over.
The next second, Song Ruichi took something from his pocket and placed it in Xu Er’s palm.
Xu Er was momentarily stunned. “What?”
He only expressed his surprise, not asking what it was.
It was obvious at a glance.
Xu Er: “Chocolate?”
Song Ruichi: “My favorite.”
Xu Er pulled his hand back and looked at it. He usually didn’t eat chocolate, but since Song Ruichi liked it...
Without hesitation, Xu Er unwrapped it and stuffed a large piece into his mouth.
It wasn’t just plain chocolate—it had nuts inside.
Xu Er nodded. “Hmm, not bad.”
“Not bad?” Song Ruichi tilted his head and stared at him. “I’ll give you one more chance.”
Xu Er nearly laughed out loud and quickly corrected himself, “It’s delicious!”
Song Ruichi smiled.
Then Xu Er’s hand was suddenly grabbed again, and Song Ruichi took another piece from his pocket, placing it in Xu Er’s palm.
Song Ruichi: “A reward.”
Xu Er covered his mouth to laugh, his tone lighthearted: “Okay, okay.”