Chapter 5: Introduction

 Editor: A Friend

The weather was getting colder, and there were fewer pedestrians on the road. When Jiang QingChi arrived at the address Yang JiYu had sent, Xiao Qi was standing there in a thin short-sleeved shirt, stepping on fallen leaves. After a while, he started staring blankly at the half-crushed leaves.

He seemed dazed when he saw him, standing there without speaking.

It had been several months since they last met before negotiating in Lian City. Xiao Qi had worn a gray suit that day, negotiating calmly, which slightly surprised Jiang QingChi. He always thought Xiao Qi wouldn’t grow up, a thought he found amusing. But now, standing under the streetlight in a simple white T-shirt, looking up at him, it seemed to take him back to their school days.

“Aren’t you cold?” Jiang QingChi asked.

Xiao Qi snapped out of it and said, “Alcohol warms me up. I’m hot.”

“How much did you drink?” Jiang QingChi looked at his slightly flushed face and could smell the alcohol as he got closer.

“Who counts drinks when drinking?” Xiao Qi was speechless.

“Why not? When you used to sneak your grandpa’s wine, didn’t you drink it half a cup at a time?” Jiang QingChi laughed. “I thought you had passed out when you suddenly stopped talking, but then I smelled the strong alcohol.”

“It’s different now,” Xiao Qi said softly.

Jiang QingChi’s smile faded a bit, and he asked, “What’s different?”

“No one cares if I drink or not,” Xiao Qi replied. “Last time, my dad even told me to practice drinking more.”

“I haven’t seen any improvement,” Jiang QingChi said.

“What do you know?” Xiao Qi retorted, just as a driver approached them.

“Did you call for a driver?” the driver asked.

Xiao Qi, about to say something, changed his mind and said, “No.”

After the driver left, Xiao Qi canceled his order and tipped the driver after paying the waiting fee.

“You didn’t call a driver?” Jiang QingChi, clearly disapproving, asked, “Are you planning to drive back like this?”

Was it to see him worried? Xiao Qi asked himself, knowing this was just a normal concern Jiang QingChi would have for anyone.

“No, I planned to walk back,” Xiao Qi lied.

“Walk back? Did you move out of your house?” Jiang QingChi asked.

“No.” Xiao Qi realized the lie was too far-fetched since it took 20 minutes by car to his place.

“Walking back to the west of the city, Xiao Qi?” Jiang QingChi rarely called him by his full name unless he was about to scold him. “Do you want to ruin your knees?”

Having lied, Xiao Qi couldn’t argue, so he handed Jiang QingChi the car keys. When his fingertip brushed against Jiang QingChi’s dry palm, he hesitated slightly, then pushed him towards the car, saying, “Alright, alright, big brother, I won’t do it again.”

“What won’t you do?” Jiang QingChi asked helplessly as he was pushed towards the driver’s seat. “Climb mountains at midnight alone or refuse a piggyback ride with a broken knee?”

Xiao Qi recalled that incident. The fear had faded, leaving mostly the memory of Jiang QingChi’s red eyes when he found him in the valley and the tickle of his hair against his cheek when he carried him.

For teenage Xiao Qi, liking Jiang QingChi was a disgrace.

The day he realized his crush, Xiao Qi decided to kill the feelings at the root.

He failed, so he spent the early days of his crush on Jiang QingChi suppressing his feelings.

The first rule Xiao Qi made was to knock before entering Jiang QingChi’s room. Then he added more rules, like not agreeing to every meal invitation and meeting less often.

In his reckless life, Jiang QingChi was the only one he treated with caution.

Later, when Jiang QingChi got together with Tan Qiu, Xiao Qi added more rules.

No sharing drinks or food, no close talking, no physical contact, no more gaming together.

After an accident, Xiao Qi’s first reaction to Jiang QingChi’s offer to carry him down the mountain was refusal. Jiang QingChi rarely got mad, but he did then. Though he apologized quickly, Xiao Qi knew he was truly angry.

After that, Xiao Qi let himself be, thinking, “If I like him, I like him.” He couldn’t control it, so he stopped trying. Liking Jiang QingChi for years was a fact, and it wouldn’t matter much if he found out.

“There are many things I wouldn’t dare do, and here’s one now,” Xiao Qi covered his ears, “I’d never let you drive my car again.”

Jiang QingChi looked like he wanted to say something, but before he could, Xiao Qi tilted his head and closed his eyes, saying, “I’m dizzy, can’t hear you.”

Jiang QingChi sighed, raising his hand but dropping it again, finally just leaning over to buckle Xiao Qi’s seatbelt.

As a shadow fell on his face, Xiao Qi instinctively opened his eyes to find Jiang QingChi looking down at him.

Xiao Qi had a face that made people like him easily, at least in Jiang QingChi’s opinion. Almost everyone he met growing up liked being around him, despite his antics. Jiang QingChi always thought his looks helped.

Xiao Qi’s hair seemed longer than last time, his black bangs slightly covering his eyes, making his face look smaller.

“What weird competitions did you enter in college?” Xiao Qi suddenly asked.

Jiang QingChi leaned back, guessing Yang JiYu had said something. “A lot, joke contests, not laughing contests, sleep contests, oh, I also entered a calligraphy contest.”

“Your chicken scratch entered a calligraphy contest? Was it to see whose handwriting is worse?” Xiao Qi asked sincerely.

Xiao Qi had a say in this. Forced by Xiao JianGang, he had excellent handwriting, though sometimes wasted on passing notes or writing neat but nonsensical exam answers.

“It’s not that bad,” Jiang QingChi defended himself. “The prize was a massage pillow, I wanted to win one for Grandpa, but I got eliminated in the first round.”

“Why didn’t you ask me to help?” Xiao Qi asked.

Jiang QingChi chuckled lightly, “How could I? You barely answered my calls back then.”

Xiao Qi was stunned and stammered, “It must’ve been... finals week. It’s normal not to answer.”

Jiang QingChi watched his dodgy eyes, then said, “Yeah, finals week.”

The conversation sidetracked, Xiao Qi forgot to ask which contest Jiang QingChi had won. When he remembered, they were already in Xiao Qi’s basement garage.

“Are your dad and Aunt YiRu home?” Jiang QingChi asked.

“I haven’t seen them this month,” Xiao Qi said, unbuckling his seatbelt, sounding indifferent.

“Is it convenient living together?” Jiang QingChi asked, tilting his head.

“What’s inconvenient?” Xiao Qi asked, confused.

“It’s far from your company, and dating wouldn’t be easy either,” Jiang QingChi paused before adding.

The car fell silent for a moment.

“It’s not easy, but I’ll think about moving out when I have someone to date,” Xiao Qi said, looking at his phone.

“Got any prospects?” Jiang QingChi asked.

“Are you introducing someone?” Xiao Qi smiled.

“Any preferences?” Jiang QingChi asked. Before Xiao Qi could process the last question, he heard the next. “I can keep an eye out.”

Xiao Qi thought about his recent behavior, wondering what Jiang QingChi meant, and feeling lost, he followed along, “Sure, I don’t have any requirements. Just introduce whoever you find.”

Jiang QingChi stared at his profile. Noticing the gaze, Xiao Qi slowly turned his head.

“You mean you’ll take anyone?” Jiang QingChi asked.

“Sure, the more the merrier,” Xiao Qi said casually.

Silence fell in the car again.

“When did it start?” Jiang QingChi suddenly asked. “I was so scared when I came out to you back then.”

Different perspectives are fascinating.

In Jiang QingChi’s eyes, Xiao Qi had been scared and distant after learning he liked men. But for Xiao Qi, fear was false, distance was real, and not because of Jiang QingChi’s confession in high school, but because he had someone he wanted to pursue.

“Not sure,” Xiao Qi said softly, looking at the reflection in the window. “One day, I just started liking you.”

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