Xie Zhinan looked at Wen Yun in a fluster, unsure if he was joking or genuinely insulting him.
Yet Wen Yun’s expression seemed gentle.
Even so, Xie Zhinan opened his mouth and mumbled, “I’m sorry.”
It seemed he had misunderstood something again.
Wen Yun let out a heavy breath, feeling like his heart was acting up. “…What are you apologizing for?”
Xie Zhinan replied honestly, “For being too dense.”
He had always been like this—dense before, and still dense now.
He could never figure out what Wen Yun was thinking.
Wen Yun’s headache worsened.
Here was a graduate from one of the top universities in the country, yet when someone called him dense, he didn’t resist or argue. He just accepted it outright.
And even apologized for it.
After a moment of silence, Wen Yun had countless retorts circling his mind—sarcastic, cutting, chastising Xie Zhinan for his lack of pride. But all those thoughts swirled around and finally turned into a resigned sigh: “…I’m sorry.”
Xie Zhinan was startled by the sudden apology. He looked up at Wen Yun, his face full of concern.
Was Wen Yun really sick?
Did he have a fever?
Was his mind not clear?
Why was he apologizing? Shouldn’t he be the one upset at him?
His worry was written all over his face, and Wen Yun didn’t need to ask to know what he was thinking. Lowering his eyelids lazily and indifferently, Wen Yun said, “The look on your face says you’re wondering if I’m sick.”
It did seem that way, though not entirely.
Something about the sentence felt a bit off.
Ambiguous, even.
Xie Zhinan felt Wen Yun must be doing it on purpose.
He glanced at Wen Yun, his eyes faintly accusatory.
Wen Yun caught the faintly accusatory look and raised an eyebrow. “Why are you looking at me?”
Xie Zhinan pursed his lips, not answering the question. Instead, he asked worriedly, “Are you really okay?”
As he spoke, he subconsciously moved the hand at his side, as though intending to check Wen Yun’s forehead for a fever.
Wen Yun’s eyes flickered downward, noticing the slight motion of Xie Zhinan’s hand rising before hesitating. He said, “You can check for yourself if you want.”
Xie Zhinan looked at Wen Yun with wide, round eyes. His beautiful light-brown pupils glistened, and he appeared incredibly earnest.
So earnest that Wen Yun couldn’t bring himself to tease him anymore.
It had just been a casual remark—he never expected Xie Zhinan to actually try checking his temperature.
The night air was getting colder, and if they stayed out much longer, Xie Zhinan might really catch a cold.
“Alright, head back to—” Rest, he was about to say.
But the words stopped abruptly.
Because Xie Zhinan actually reached out to check his temperature.
On his forehead.
Xie Zhinian’s face flushed red, possibly out of embarrassment, but his palm was cool as it gently pressed against Wen Yun’s forehead. For a moment, Wen Yun was stunned.
Xie Zhinan pressed his forehead for two seconds, then quickly withdrew his hand, lowered his head, and let his eyelashes fall, not meeting Wen Yun’s gaze again. His ears turned red, and he mumbled, “Hmm… You’re okay. Thank you for helping me take Caramel to the clinic today, and thank you for bringing me home. It’s so late, I won’t keep you.”
With his head lowered, from this angle, Wen Yun could only see the soft swirl of hair on top of his head, along with the fluffy, soft hair, and a single stubborn strand of hair sticking up, illuminated by the faint light.
Xie Zhinan wasn’t good at accepting others’ kindness.
When someone gave him a little, he would return three times as much; if they gave him ten, he’d return a hundred.
Tonight, Wen Yun helped him a little on the way, and he awkwardly insisted on giving something back.
Wen Yun understood this about him. He knew that Xie Zhinan meant no harm, but because he felt uncomfortable receiving kindness without giving something in return, he couldn’t help but insist on repayment.
If it weren’t for the fact that they were exes, perhaps Xie Zhinan would have been more intimate, maybe even inviting him to his place, making him a cup of medicine to prevent a cold. If Wen Yun wanted to stay the night because it was too late, Xie Zhinan would probably nod obediently, even if he seemed a little troubled.
But unfortunately, their relationship now was such that any more intimacy would be too much, and any less would seem too deliberate.
So now, they were stuck in this awkward, neither here nor there, not quite awkward but not comfortable either, situation.
Even so, Wen Yun’s heart suddenly softened.
The dim yellow streetlight cast over them, the soft glow creating an unspoken boundary in the darkness.
Wen Yun lifted his hand, paused halfway, and in this moment of hesitation, Xie Zhinan had already noticed.
He looked up, gazing at Wen Yun with a confused expression.
Wen Yun couldn’t help but reach up. After a moment of restraint, he gently pressed down on the strand of hair that was sticking up.
The touch was very light, like the wind brushing over that strand of hair, causing a slight tingling sensation.
But Xie Zhinan still shivered at this careful and restrained action.
“I’m sorry for calling you dense,” he seemed uncomfortable with such words, his voice low and slow, probably because he had been standing in the wind for too long, his voice now hoarser than before. “Don’t think too much about it.”
After speaking, Wen Yun noticed that Xie Zhinan’s expression was still one of confusion, as if he didn’t understand a word he was saying. He felt a little frustrated and added, “But sometimes, you are pretty dense.”
Xie Zhinan: “…”
Xie Zhinan: “…Oh.”
Fine.
Xie Zhinan looked like a little rice cake, just letting himself be pushed around.
If you say so, then fine.
But right now, the atmosphere felt too sticky and strange. Xie Zhinan’s heart raced, and he felt uncomfortable all over. He opened his mouth, planning to say something to break the awkward tension, but instead, he sneezed.
Then he sneezed again, and again.
The sound was loud, and it was a bit embarrassing.
Xie Zhinan covered his red nose and turned his face away.
It was almost time to end the night. Even the most oblivious of creatures would sense danger and run away eventually.
Wen Yun had already composed himself and pulled back his hand. He said to Xie Zhinan, “It’s late. Go get some rest.”
Xie Zhinan murmured an “Mm,” but didn’t move. He looked down at his own shadow, as if still having something to say.
Wen Yun patiently waited.
After about twenty seconds, Xie Zhinan finally spoke, like a snail cautiously extending its antennae, and softly said to Wen Yun, “…Well, goodbye.”
Wen Yun’s lips curled into a faint smile, “See you tomorrow.”
….
Xie Zhinan returned home, sitting numbly on the edge of his bed.
Caramel had already come out of the carrier, curling up beside him. Seeing him in a daze, it weakly nudged him with its head.
Still not coming to his senses, Caramel propped itself up weakly and nudged him again.
Only then did Xie Zhinan gather the cat into his arms, gently and carefully stroking its head. Caramel purred contentedly and stopped fussing.
“I should properly thank him for tonight. Otherwise, both of us would have frozen to death on the side of the road,” Xie Zhinan muttered softly while petting the cat. “It’s pretty unreal.”
Caramel, not sure if it understood, meowed.
It was already very late. Xie Zhinan sat there, yawning, and was about to undress and go to bed. His fingers brushed the collar, feeling the texture of the suit jacket, and in his foggy, sleep-deprived mind, he suddenly remembered that he had actually worn Wen Yun’s jacket tonight.
It was fine that he hadn’t thought of it earlier, but now that he did, it seemed like all the sensations related to the jacket became vivid.
The feel of the fabric against his skin, the warmth it wrapped around his body, and… that faint, almost imperceptible, cool fragrance.
Like fresh snow fallen on pinewood.
There was a full-length mirror beside the bed, and Xie Zhinan suddenly glanced up, just in time to see his reflection in the mirror.
The cotton shorts were indeed embarrassingly short and black, hidden under the oversized black suit jacket, almost blending into it, making it hard to distinguish.
…It looked as though he wasn’t wearing pants at all.
He stared at himself for half a minute, watching the red on his face spread to his ears, but not going past his neck.
With a soft thud, he collapsed backward onto the bed, sadly thinking to himself.
He really looked awkward.
And he had spent so much time with Wen Yun in this awkward state.
It felt almost like it was on purpose.
Sleepiness gradually took over, and Xie Zhinan forced himself to hold onto his last bit of consciousness. With gentle and careful movements, he took off the jacket and hung it neatly on the clothes rack.
Only then did he feel satisfied and reassured, lying back into the bed and allowing his mind to sink into the darkness.
Xie Zhinan hoped that Wen Yun wouldn’t misunderstand him.
… He really didn’t mean to.
Xie Zhinan fell asleep with red ears.
….
In the morning, Xie Zhinan groggily got out of bed, his head spinning. As soon as he stood up, he felt everything go dark in front of him, and his body felt weak.
His legs also felt inexplicably sore, and when he stood up, he was immediately pulled back onto the bed.
This made him wonder if his strong desire to avoid going to work that day had somehow affected his body’s willingness to cooperate.
It wasn’t until the second time he tried to get up, trembling, that he finally managed to stand. He sighed with relief.
It seemed like he could still make it to work, and his perfect attendance was safe.
After all, he was young, and with bad habits, there are always these little issues.
Like the aftermath of staying up late, plus catching a cold yesterday.
Xie Zhinan wasn’t too concerned. After taking some medicine and sleeping a bit more, he figured he’d be fine.
Now, his head was just a little dizzy, and his throat still felt a bit scratchy, but it didn’t seem too serious. Worst case, he’d drink more hot water and go to bed early that night.
He made sure Caramel was settled and took the subway to work as usual.
During the morning rush, the subway was crowded, with a mix of all kinds of smells that made him feel like he was going to throw up.
It wasn’t until he got off the subway and took a deep breath of fresh air that he started to feel a bit better.
At the office, he worked straight through until lunch. Maybe because he had stayed up late, his brain was in a strange state of being both dazed and awake, and he felt like his soul was about to leave his body.
“Xiao Xie, want to grab lunch?” Li Mo called out.
Xie Zhinan shook his head, smiled, and said, “Thanks, Mo Jie, but not today.”
Li Mo nodded and left.
Xie Zhinan let out a sigh of relief.
He then grabbed the clothing bag he had brought with him before work and took out his phone to send a message to Wen Yun.
[Xie Zhinan]: Mr. Wen
He had just typed a line and sent it when Wen Yun, seemingly expecting it, immediately replied.
[Y]: Come up.
