Ex-boyfriend

After a while, Xu Yue returned to his seat with a wooden expression. Chu Yi returned a little later, walking in breezily, full of the joys of spring.

　　Song Laoshi asked, “What took you so long?”

　　Xu Yue was about to tell a lie to cover up what has conspired when Chu Yi pre-emptively replied, “A’Yue wasn’t feeling too well. So, I helped him a bit.”

　　He blinked at Xu Yue and asked, “A’Yue, ain’t that right?”

　　Xu Yue didn’t answer him. He just turned to Song Laoshi and said, “It’s late already. I’ll send you home.”

“No need. I drove over.”

　　Xu Yue whispered, “Sorry.”

　　He didn’t say why he was apologizing and Song Laoshi didn’t ask. Instead, he smiled kindly and said, “Contact me again when you have time.”

　　This is a common pretext for not seeing each other again after a blind date. Xu Yue said goodbye to him at the entrance of the restaurant. As soon as Song Laoshi left, Chu Yi put one of his hands on Xu Yue’s shoulder and asked, “Do you think he has seen through our adultery?”

　　Xu Yue’s eyes became colder.

　　Chu Yi quickly took back his words, “That’s wrong. We are frank and forthright[1] couple now. That word doesn’t apply to us.”

　“Who is in a relationship with you? I don’t remember saying that we could get back together.”

　“Even if you don’t agree now, you will agree to it sooner or later.”

　　Chu Yi looked at him with a slight smile, as always with a resolute attitude[2]. Like so many years ago, when he had chased Xu Yue just to win a wager he had with some people. He had blocked Xu Yue on the way home from school, and imperiously said, “Xu Yue, I’ve fallen for you[3].”

　　Xu Yue was nothing but a joke to him then.

All of that, Xu Yue found out much later.

　　Xu Yue went to the underground parking lot to pick up the car. Chu Yi followed him close. As soon as the car door opened and he sat in, refusing to be thrown out again.

　　Xu Yue didn’t bother with him this time, and drove home directly. As soon as they entered the house, Chu Yi collapsed on the sofa. He cocked his feet and cried out in pain.

　　Xu Yue glanced at him and asked, “What’s the matter?”

　“I walked too much while looking for you. Now, my feet were worn out.”

　　He didn’t wear socks. Even from a distance, Xu Yue could see that there were indeed blistering on his heels. He was always a pampered young master. Sometimes when the sex[4] was fierce, there would be traces of bruising all over him.

　　Xu Yue remembered that he had medicine at home. After rummaging around for a while, he found it in one of the drawers in the bedroom. He came out into the living room and threw the medicine to Chu Yi.

　　Chu Yi didn’t catch it, just said, “I can’t apply it myself.”

　　Xu Yue stood in the middle of the living room staring at him.

　　Chu Yi hummed a song contentedly, and simply turned on the TV to watch. Xu Yue stood there dully[5] for a while. He finally walked to the sofa and sat down and put medicine on Chu Yi’s feet.

　　Xu Yue was halfway through applying the medicine when his cell phone chimed. It was a text message from Song Laoshi. That night, Xu Yue had settled the bill. Song Laoshi was very cultured. He had sent a text message thanking him and asking him if he would be interested to see an art exhibition next weekend.

　　Xu Yue did not reply after reading the text. He returned to applying medicine for Chu Yi.

　　Chu Yi snatched his mobile phone. The phone was locked with a password. He entered a string of numbers without even thinking about it. As expected, the phone was unlocked. He raised an eyebrow and looked at Xu Yue. He said with a smile, “If a thief enters your house, it will be bad. Even your credit card PIN is my birthday, right?”

　　Chu Yi was right. Xu Yue could only hide his mortification. He put down Chu Yi’s feet and said, “It’s done.[6]”

Chu Yi let out a “Hmm”. His fingers flicked across the phone as he replied to Song Laoshi’s text in Xu Yue’s stead.

“I declined the invitation to the weekend art exhibition for you,” he informed. “It should be okay, right? Anyways, you and him being a couple is impossible, because …”

　　His foot crossed Xu Yue’s arm and stepped right over his heart. While slowly tapping he said, “Your heart is mine.”

　　Xu Yue’s heart trembled and throbbed. He stood up and said, “I’m going to sleep.”

　　There was a total of two rooms, one bedroom and one study room, in his house. Chu Yi followed him of course. Xu Yue stopped him at the door, held out a quilt for him, and said, “You can sleep on the sofa.”

　“What?” Chu Yi asked in disbelief. “Are you kidding me? You would let me sleep on the sofa?”

　“If you don’t want to sleep there, then you can go to a hotel. You can pay either with your card or your face.”

　“A’Yue, while we were in the washroom…”

　“What? You want to use that to cover your overnight stay?”

　Chu Yi was rendered speechless. Unexpectedly, there are times when even Chu Yi can’t think of a reply!

　　Xu Yue tucked the quilt into his arms, turned around and locked the door. If you don’t lock the door, there would be nothing stopping that person from climbing into the bed in the middle of the night. Chu Yi wouldn’t give up so easily. He kept knocking on the door while calling out to him.

　“A’Yue …”

　　Xu Yue pretended like he couldn’t hear him. After washing up, he took a book, lay on the bed and simply stared at it. He has the habit of reading before going to sleep. But today he felt very restless in his heart. He was stuck on the same page even after a long while.

　　By then, there was no movement from outside. He didn’t know if Chu Yi was asleep already.

　　Xu Yue simply chucked the book away, turned off the lights and went to sleep.

　　He slept fitfully and dreamt in a daze. In his dream, he was wearing the school uniform from his school days and was walking up a cramped stairway. At the end of the stairs was a rusty iron door. Its lock was broken. Xu Yue reached out and pushed it gently. It opened with a squeak.

　　The two overlapping figures were startled by him.

　　One of them ran out, with his head lowered and his clothes in disarray. The other stood still, leaning against the iron shelf in the store room as he lazily buttoned his shirt.

　“Chu Yi[7],” Xu Yue called him out by name and said, “It’s class time now.”

　“Yo, ain’t this our class monitor!” Chu Yi smiled and greeted him, “Old man[8] Zeng’s class is too boring. I just came out to take a breather.”

　　As he said that he took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, skilfully lit one, took a long drag, and slowly blew out the smoke. Half of his face was veiled by the white smoke.

　　Xu Yue didn’t try to stop him, only reminded, “The penalty for smoking in school is a demerit point.”

　　Chu Yi shrugged, “I have already accumulated two major demerits this semester. With another, I will have to drop out of school. Transferring schools is such a bother. Can you help me keep this a secret?”

　　Xu Yue ignored him and turned around, saying, “Zeng Laoshi is already furious. You should go back to class as soon as possible.”

　“Wait a minute.”

　　Chu Yi hurried to catch up and grabbed Xu Yue’s collar with the hand dangling the cigarette.

　　Xu Yue saw a clump of soot falling, and then felt a warmth on his lips, a strange soft touch.

　　It only took Chu Yi a moment to stretch out his hand to flick the soot that fell on Xu Yue’s shirt and then to retreat. He said with a smile, “This… treat it as hush money.”

Over the years, Xu Yue kissed many people, but none of those kisses were quite so unforgettable as that.

　　Xu Yue woke up when the alarm clock went off the next day.

　　It was late in the autumn. The world outside window was still gray. Only the sky in the distance was stained with a bright color. Xu Yue didn’t turn on the light, and took advantage of what little light was there to wash up and dress. By the time he cleaned up, the sky was already bright.

　　He opened the door to go out and saw the man lying on the sofa at a glance.

　　Chu Yi had long hands and feet. So, he could only shrink into a ball on the narrow sofa. He was sound asleep. His hair was a tousled mess, every strand at sixes and sevens. Weak rays of dawn light fell on the bridge of his straight nose. His face appeared almost luminous.

　　Licentious, romantic, ignorant and incompetent… All the faults of a rich man can be found in him. But even if he had a hundred shortcomings, his face alone could make up for all of them.

How to put it?

　　Homme fatale[9].

　　Xu Yue stood by the sofa and looked at Chu Yi until the sunlight’s brilliance dazzled his eyes. Only then did he realize that he had been watching for too long. He took a deep breath. He moved soundlessly, careful not to wake the one who was fast asleep. He picked his phone from the table, closed the door very softly and went out.

　　As usual, there was traffic jam in the morning.

　　It was almost nine o’clock when Xu Yue arrived at the company. He had Economics major in university. After graduation, he opened a foreign trade company in partnership with two friends. Although the company is not big, the business is decent.

　　When he walked into the office, one of his friends, Su Yanwen, was already waiting at his desk.

　　Su Yanwen took his seat, tapped his finger on the table, and commented, “You are late today.”

　　Xu Yue nodded and responded, “Traffic jam.”

　“How was the blind date yesterday?”

　“Flop.”

　　Su Yanwen dragged out an “Oh”.

　　Xu Yue realized that Su Yanwen’s expression didn’t look too good. So, he carefully scrutinized his expression as he asked, “What? You quarreled with Mingjie again?”

　　Fu Mingjie was another good friend of his. He had an outgoing personality and was very eloquent. He is especially good at winning over particularly difficult clients. He is quite different from Su Yanwen, who is calm and introverted. Whenever those two get together, they fight over something or the other. If it weren’t for Xu Yue playing Tai Chi[10] between them, they would have taken apart the company long ago.

　“No,” Su Yanwen muttered. He seemed to be exercising great forbearance. Finally, he did not hold back at all when he said, “I heard that your ex-boyfriend is back home.”

　　Xu Yue was sorting out the files on the desk. Hearing these words, he paused and said, “Oh, you are very well informed.”

　“It’s not that I’m well-informed. It’s just that the reporters of those gossip tabloids have remarkable talent.”

　　With that he tossed a magazine on the table.

　　Xu Yue lowered his head to see that it was a particularly gaudy entertainment magazine that specialized in digging up gossip news and using sensational titles to attract attention. The headline of this issue read, “Fuerdai[11] Dating Starlet”. On the cover is a candid photo from the first-class cabin of a plane. Chu Yi had been wearing a black silk shirt which contrasted against the white complexion of his face. His big sunglasses covered most of his face, only revealing the white and delicate chin. So stylish that he appeared more like a star than the actual star beside him. The 180-line actor[12] next to him was sticking so close to Chu Yi that he seemed to be sitting on his lap.

　　Just looking at this photo, Xu Yue guessed how titillating the content of the magazine would be.

　　Of course, this kind of sensational news is commonplace for Chu Yi. As the second[13] young master of the Chu family, handsome and lavish, there are many who wish to sleep with him.

　　Xu Yue didn’t open the magazine. He threw it into the trash can.

　　Su Yanwen observed his words and expression and asked, “A’Yue, did Chu return to mend your relationship?”

Xu Yue was quiet for a moment. Then heard himself answer in a very calm tone, “His return, what could it have to do with me? It’s all in the past.”

　　When Xu Yue came home after work, his ex-boyfriend from the past was still staying at his home.

　　In just one day, Chu Yi had already dealt with a pile of junk food. Now, he is lying barefoot on the sofa, eating potato chips and watching TV. The blisters on his heels have disappeared, leaving behind a bright red color.

　“You’re back?” Chu Yi said to Xu Yue in lieu of a greeting. “What do you want to eat tonight?”

　　The bearing of someone who is waiting for someone to cook for him.

　　Xu Yue glanced at him, walked over to turn off the TV and asked, “When are you going back?”

　“Going back where?”

　“Your home.”

　　Chu Yi said nonchalantly, “I fell out with my old man and was kicked out of the house a long time ago.”

　　Was that because of the freelance photographer? Or was that because of the painter who had dedicated his life to art? Xu Yue didn’t bother to guess. He said, “Then you can go to your new lover.”

　　Chu Yi raised his eyebrows and showed a playful smile, “Where would my new love come from?”

　“Don’t say you don’t know the starlet called Chen.”

　　Don’t know if Chu Yi’s forgetfulness was real or fake, but he narrowed his eyes and thought for a while before he suddenly saying, “You mean Chen Rui? Why? Was he photographed by the paparazzi again? I was on the same flight as him. I did not want to get close to him but he was such a bootlicker[14]. You see, I couldn’t really throw him off the plane.”

　　Xu Yue thought to himself, “You can always kick him off your lap, right?”

　　He soundlessly turned around to cook dinner in the kitchen. Chu Yi was hot on his heels. Wrapping himself around Xu Yue, he asked, “A’Yue, you aren’t jealous, are you?”

　　With a little smugness in his voice, he said, “I was thinking about what we could eat tonight. Um, we can have ‘sweet and sour fish’[15], and ‘hot and sour shredded potato’[16].”

　　Of course, Xu Yue ignored him. Finally, he sent Chu Yi away with a bowl of instant noodles.

　　Chu Yi the young master was not picky at all. He finished the noodles with relish, and then took a shower. He didn’t bring any luggage when he came. After taking a shower, he put on one of Xu Yue’s white shirts and walked around the living room with his legs bare.

　　Xu Yue really couldn’t stand it, got up and retired into his room. Who knew that Chu Yi had learned the last night’s lesson! He burst into the bedroom ahead of Xu Yue, and pounced on the bed.

　　Xu Yue quickly walked over to pull him off.

　　Chu Yi’s strength was not small. The two of them pushed and pulled each other for a long time, and finally collapsed on the bed.

　　Chu Yi laughed with pure joy.

　　Xu Yue grabbed his arm and asked calmly, “What on earth do you want?”

Chu Yi at last shed his frivolous attitude. He slowly leaned over. With his lips almost pressed against Xu Yue’s he gasped out, “I want you to fuck me. Would you?”

[1] Kun Yi Wei Lou wrote ‘光明正大’ ‘guāng míng zhèng dà’ which refers to ‘high-principled’ or ‘open and aboveboard’ person, behavior, situation, etc.

[2] Kun Yi Wei Lou wrote ‘一往无前’ ‘Yī wǎng wú qián’ which means ‘to advance bravely; to press forward’.

[3] Kun Yi Wei Lou wrote ‘看上’ ‘kàn shàng’ which can also mean ‘take a fancy to’.

[4] Word censored on jjwxc now – decensored to make sense

[5] Kun Yi Wei Lou wrote ‘干巴巴’ ‘Gān bābā’ which means ‘dry; parched’. It depicts dullness and desolation.

[6] The medicine has been applied.

[7] Kun Yi Wei Lou wrote ‘楚逸同学’ ‘Chǔ yì tóngxué’ which means ‘Classmate Chu Yi’. Address as tong xue/classmate removed since English usually don’t have such a title.  

[8] Kun Yi Wei Lou wrote ‘老头’ ‘Lǎotóu’ which means ‘old man; old fellow’. This is unlike the respectful address: Zeng Laoshi.

[9] Male counterpart of femme fatale (an attractive and seductive woman, especially one who is likely to cause distress or disaster to a man who becomes involved with her.)

[10] A Chinese martial art. Here’s the Tai Chi scene from Beloved Enemy.

[11] 富二代;  Fù èr dài

Literally ‘second-generation rich’; refers to children of entrepreneurs who became wealthy under Deng Xiaoping’s economic reforms in the 1980s. They are notorious for their lifestyle and the sense of entitlement engraved in their temperament.

[12] Actors are classified based on their popularity into 1st lines, 2nd line, etc. 18th line actor is oft used to mention an actor who are probably at the lowest strata, playing very minor roles or acting as extras. 180th line actor here is an exaggerated indication of the actor’s popularity or lack thereof.

[13] Chu Yi being the 2nd young master means that he has an older brother who would be addressed as the 1st young master.

[14] Kun Yi Wei Lou wrote ‘套近乎’ ‘tào jìn hū’ which is a derogatory term which means ‘to worm one’s way into being friends with somebody’.   

[15] 糖醋溜鱼; táng cù liū yú

[16] 酸辣土豆丝; suān là tǔ dòu sī

Super side note: Both of these dishes use vinegar, albeit 2 different kinds: mature vinegar (陈醋) for the fish dish and rice vinegar (米醋) for the potato dish. Chu Yi was teasing Xu Yue for being jealous since being jealous is lit. ‘吃醋’ which translates to ‘consuming vinegar’.