Chapter 1: Practice

Oh my god, LOL. Luckily I just started the translation. In the midst of moving from posting in POST to PAGES. Anyway onwards.

Editor: A Friend

Every time Xiao Qi goes on a business trip, he has trouble sleeping. He doesn't know why, and when he mentioned it to his assistant, Fang Qun, she simply said it was natural given his responsibilities. She even thoughtfully recommended melatonin, which she was taking herself.

The moment Xiao Qi woke up, he realized he'd actually slept well this time. The clock on the wall read 2 PM, a time he hadn't slept until since college.

But then he heard a noise behind him. He sat up quickly, only to fall back onto the bed from a sudden, unfamiliar pain.

Clothes were strewn from the doorway to the foot of the bed, and several used items were lying on the floor. Xiao Qi remembered meeting Jiang QingChi at dinner the night before, then going alone to a nearby bar.

Perhaps he hadn't seen Jiang QingChi in too long and let his emotions get the best of him after drinking. He thought he might as well find someone to spend the night with, better than always being unable to control his feelings after just one meeting.

The person behind him was completely buried under the blanket, with only the back of their head visible. Xiao Qi was startled, estimating the person’s height and ruling out the possibility of a woman.

Drunk as he was, he still managed to choose someone similar in type to Jiang QingChi. Xiao Qi shook his head with a wry smile. But the next second, his smile disappeared.

The person turned over, the blanket pulling back to reveal their face. Even though their eyes were closed and half their face was still hidden, Xiao Qi knew immediately—it was Jiang QingChi himself!

The phone rang, snapping Xiao Qi out of his shock. He quickly looked for the source of the sound, only to find it under Jiang QingChi's pillow.

No one could sleep through that noise. Xiao Qi watched as Jiang QingChi, eyes still closed, reached for the vibrating phone. Xiao Qi suddenly wanted to crawl under the bed.

Unable to hide under the bed, he settled for hiding under the blanket, covering himself completely. Jiang QingChi shouldn't know it was him, so there was still a way out.

The ringing continued.

"Xiao Qi," Jiang QingChi called, patting the blanket. "It's Fang Qun calling."

There was no turning back. Xiao Qi uncovered himself, took the phone from Jiang QingChi, and answered it with his back to him.

"Mr. Xiao, are you out? I knocked on your door but got no response," Fang Qun said. "The Fengyue proposal has been revised and sent to your email. The planning team says you haven't responded."

"I'm out," Xiao Qi said, putting on a robe and grabbing his laptop bag. As he waited for the computer to boot up, he added, "I'll check it now."

"Aren't you out? You have your computer with you?" Fang Qun asked.

Xiao Qi had never found Fang Qun so talkative. Skipping over her question, he asked, "When's my flight?"

"Isn't it tomorrow?" Fang Qun replied.

"At five?" Xiao Qi asked, sounding tired.

After a pause, Fang Qun said, "I'll reschedule it for you."

"Okay, I'll hang up now."

The room fell silent after the call.

Xiao Qi didn't speak to Jiang QingChi, focusing on his emails with trembling hands.

Jiang QingChi sat against the headboard, half-covered by the blanket. He propped his elbow on his knee, feeling unsure for the first time as he watched Xiao Qi in silence.

"About last night..." Jiang QingChi started.

"You're not thinking about taking responsibility, are you?" Xiao Qi interrupted, his usual smile in place. "Don't bother."

Jiang QingChi paused, then asked, "Are you sure it's okay?"

"What's the big deal? I just suggest you practice a bit more." Xiao Qi replied casually.

"You're something else," Jiang QingChi said, exasperated. "You think I have experience?"

Xiao Qi paused his typing, but quickly resumed, not responding to Jiang QingChi's somewhat wronged tone.

For some reason, seeing Xiao Qi’s expressionless face, Jiang QingChi felt a sudden emptiness.

In recent years, these moments had become more frequent. He didn't know when it started, but Xiao Qi often seemed like a stranger, rarely happy, and always burdened when with him.

After a while, Xiao Qi asked, "You don't have a partner now, do you?"

Jiang QingChi, now dressed, walked over and habitually ruffled Xiao Qi's hair. "What if I do? What would you do?"

Xiao Qi subtly leaned away, closing his laptop. "Nothing, really. So do you?"

Jiang QingChi's hand paused in mid-air, then casually withdrew.

"I need to know if I'm unintentionally intruding," Xiao Qi said, his tone calm as he looked at Jiang QingChi, who he could never quite face comfortably.

Jiang QingChi frowned slightly at the way Xiao Qi described himself, but finally said, "No, I don't have a partner."

"That's decent of you," Xiao Qi remarked.

"Want a beating?" Jiang QingChi teased, pretending to flick Xiao Qi's forehead, but stopped when he noticed the hickey on Xiao Qi's neck, the memories of last night flooding back.

Xiao Qi elbowed the stunned Jiang QingChi aside. "I have a flight at five. What's your plan, Photographer Jiang?"

"I need to go soon too. I have an appointment tonight," Jiang QingChi replied.

Xiao Qi nodded. "See you when I get back."

"Sure. It's my grandpa's birthday next week. I'll need to go home, so maybe we can meet then," Jiang QingChi said, glancing at his phone.

"We'll see," Xiao Qi replied, knowing Jiang QingChi was just being polite. "Tell Grandpa Jiang I said happy birthday."

"I'm not kidding. He's mentioned you several times. Can you make time next Saturday? Come see him," Jiang QingChi insisted.

Xiao Qi hesitated, then said he’d check his schedule.

Xiao Qi noticed a deep hickey on his chest, and the memories he'd been trying to ignore came flooding back.

His body still ached, and fragmented memories of Jiang QingChi kissing his neck surfaced.

Xiao Qi admitted that going to the bar in front of Jiang QingChi last night was intentional. But he hadn't expected Jiang QingChi to follow him, bring him back to his room, and take care of his drunken self. He hadn't even seen Jiang QingChi enter the bar, and afterward, he'd been too focused on drinking to notice anything else.

The scenes Xiao Qi had fantasized about for countless nights came true, but only in his unconscious state. The memories were so fragmented that even recalling them was difficult.

Despite this, Xiao Qi's body responded under his bathrobe. But what bothered him more was the pain he felt.

It wasn't like he had imagined. Jiang QingChi couldn’t make him feel comfortable at all.

When Xiao Qi came out of the bathroom, Jiang QingChi was gone.

He glanced at the paper bag on the bed, hesitating before he thought of messaging Jiang QingChi to ask if he'd forgotten something. But then he received a message from him.

“Xiao Qi, I had to leave for work. Remember to take the stuff on the bed with you. Sorry about last night. I know you’re upset, but I hope you can forgive me next time we meet. Also, don't drink so much alone in places like that again.”

A drop of water from his hair fell on his eyelashes. Xiao Qi wiped it away and looked at the paper bag on the bed.

It was from the same brand as the shirt Xiao Qi had worn the night before. The clothes inside were his style, while the ones he’d worn last night were nowhere to be seen, likely taken by Jiang QingChi.

Xiao Qi found it hard to describe his feelings. After changing, he sat on the bed for a long time until Fang Qun called again, bringing him back to reality.

He packed his things, and just before leaving, he tossed the paper bag with the ointment and candies into the trash.

But before stepping out, he turned back, feeling a sudden sting in his nose. In the end, he retrieved only the candies from the trash.

At 4 PM, Xiao Qi sat in the airport lounge, reading a book he’d found on a dusty shelf.

Even now, he found the book dull and tedious, the kind of read people wouldn’t choose in a bustling airport.

But during his restless student days, he forced himself to read it twice because Jiang QingChi had casually said it was good, even though Xiao Qi never understood what the book was about.

Back then, he couldn’t believe Jiang QingChi actually liked such books, especially after borrowing an entire manga series. He thought Jiang QingChi was just whimsically trying something new.

Until he saw Jiang QingChi and Tan Qiu’s names in the library's borrow records, and it dawned on him.

In some ways, he and Jiang QingChi were alike, both willing to do unusual things to be closer to the other.

But Xiao Qi was less adept. He abandoned his beloved manga for a dull book that Jiang QingChi didn't even truly like.

So, while Jiang QingChi had successfully pursued Tan Qiu, Xiao Qi couldn’t even muster the courage to confess his feelings.

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