The moment the call ended, Xie Ge rolled around on the bed hugging his phone. When the rush of excitement finally passed, a wave of belated shyness hit him. He buried his face under the blanket, leaving only his eyes peeking out, staring at the ceiling with a goofy smile.
Seriously, Xu Miao, seriously. If he keeps acting like this, he’s going to spoil him rotten.
Xie Ge’s good mood lasted until the following afternoon. Annoying work, annoying people—he didn’t want to see a single one of them for even a second.
Just thinking of his current situation made him want to curse again at the instigator of this whole mess. His perfect and leisurely trip—completely ruined by Xie Min.
Of course, he wasn’t entirely innocent either. When he bought the plane ticket, Xie Min happened to see it. Xie Min asked, and he told him. Xie Min knowing meant the entire family knew.
His father, under the guise of “convenience,” said that since he was meeting his girlfriend, he could also take the chance to get familiar with the overseas company’s affairs. “Show your face, meet more people, get a head start for taking over the company in the future.”
Xie Ge was unwilling, but he couldn’t resist his father’s repeated assurances that this project didn’t require any effort from him. There was a dedicated manager handling it; he’d just be a figurehead and sign the papers at the end. That was the only reason he agreed—only to find out after arriving that he’d been tricked.
Xie Ge’s idea of being a “figurehead” was showing up only after everything was done, signing the contract. His father’s idea was that he had to attend every single meeting. Wherever the real manager was, the fake manager had to be there too.
And this is what Xu Miao loves so much? Work? He absolutely hated work.
Hate or not, he still didn’t slack off on the tasks he was given. But that Xu Miao was driving him crazy. He’d already said some really harsh words—so why wouldn’t Xu Miao give up?
Was he just too naïve? Were gay guys nowadays really this brazen? One after another talking about casual hookups like it was nothing, and even after being rejected, they still stuck around like glue.
The person he wanted to see, he couldn’t. The person he didn’t want to see kept hovering around. Xie Ge was ready to die of frustration.
He was in the middle of wallowing, trying to come up with something pitiful—but not too melodramatic—to text Xu Miao when a cup of coffee was placed in front of him.
“You look tired. Have some to perk up,” Xu Miao said quietly.
Almost from the second Xie Ge had appeared, Xu Miao’s gaze kept drifting toward him unconsciously—watching him, observing his every move.
Curiosity wasn’t exclusive to Xie Ge. Xu Miao was just as curious, and he couldn’t help but worry about him. But Xie Ge didn’t appreciate it at all, glaring impatiently.
“I don’t need it. I’m allergic to caffeine. Take it away.”
Allergic? If Xu Miao remembered right, just last week Xie Ge drank the same thing, said it was delicious, even sent him a picture. Allergic, huh? Liar.
Exhausted and irritated, the fragile bit of focus Xie Ge had painstakingly gathered was shattered by Xu Miao. His vision went dark with anger, and he couldn’t be bothered to keep up appearances. Right in front of Xu Miao, he tossed the coffee into the trash.
Something with weight landing in the bin made a sharp sound. Xu Miao snapped back to reality, stunned for a few seconds, before forcing a stiff smile.
“I didn’t ask first. I was presumptuous. Sorry.”
Xie Ge didn’t even spare him a glance. “Since you understand now, don’t take liberties again. And don’t look at me with that disgusting gaze. I feel very uncomfortable, even a little sick.”
“…Got it,” Xu Miao said. “I’m sorry.”
Xu Miao had never imagined himself so pathetic. He didn’t know how to describe his feelings. He should feel sad, maybe—but in the end, in Xie Ge’s eyes, they were barely acquaintances. He probably didn’t even have the right to be sad.
Besides, Xie Ge might not even want to know him. He was only interacting with him because of work.
And that was fair. Xu Miao had never been a likable person anyway.
Fortunately, Xie Ge only disliked him, spoke to him sharply, but didn’t intentionally make things difficult. The project was still going smoothly—he just couldn’t suppress the restless, depressive weight in his chest.
He tried to smoke it off. When he reached the smoking area and pulled out his pack, he realized it was already empty. He’d gone through a week’s worth in two days. Quitting seemed hopeless. The thought only made him more irritable.
Bad luck kept coming. Ever since he ran into Xie Ge at Hongji, everything that followed was draining him. He closed his eyes and let out a long sigh, ready to place a delivery order. When he lit up his screen, he realized his notification bar was almost stuffed full with messages.
[ATM]: October 26th, sunny. The sun’s shining up in the sky, but the ground is wet. At first, I didn’t know why, but then I realized it’s because I missed you so much I couldn’t help crying. My tears fell and turned into the world’s smallest existing artificial lake.
[ATM]: Wife, aren’t you going to praise me? I just ended a drought in one square meter.
[ATM]: Now I’ve fixed two square meters.
[ATM]: Waiting to connect.
[ATM]: Yesterday you called me a puppy. Are you not going to keep me today?
[ATM]: Abandoning a poor little animal—my wife is so cruel.
[ATM]: The wind’s picking up. I bought a new scarf. Wife, tell me if it looks good.
[ATM]: [Picture]
Xu Miao thought he was seeing things when he looked at the thumbnail. After opening it fully, he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. The “scarf” in the photo was a rough hemp rope tied in a loop. Whether it kept you warm was unknown—but it’d work just fine for hanging yourself.
[XM]: Phone was on silent. I didn’t hear the notifications.
[ATM]: Maybe you could switch to vibrate instead?
[ATM]: I’m praying very sincerely.
[ATM]: [Yearning][Yearning][Yearning]
[XM]: I’ll think about it.
[ATM]: Wife, can’t you grant me this tiny request out of pity for how unlucky I’ve been today? [Yearning][Yearning][Yearning]
[ATM]: I’m really sincere.
[ATM]: And hopeful.
[ATM]: And yearning.
Xu Miao had a hunch that Xie Ge’s “bad luck” had something to do with him. Still, he couldn’t help asking.
[XM]: What bad luck?
[ATM]: Ran into someone super annoying.
[ATM]: Self-important, presumptuous, delusional.
[ATM]: Don’t want to talk about him. Just thinking about it makes me mad.
[ATM]: Wife, what are you doing now? Are you done with work? Want to have dinner with me?
[ATM]: [Puppy-holding-face.jpg]
What was he doing? Being called annoying, of course. Xu Miao, rarely, muttered a soft little complaint to himself:
“Who’d want to have dinner with you? If you saw it was me, you’d probably spit out every bite.”
[XM]: I’d love to, but unfortunately, I’ve already eaten.
【ATM】：！！！！
【ATM】：Too cruel!
【ATM】：I condemn you!
【ATM】：I was starving, waiting for my wife’s message, and you actually went and secretly had dinner without me.
【ATM】：Very sadly expanding the drought area I’ve been fixing to five square meters.
【XM】：Then I’ll thank you on behalf of the ground.
【ATM】：That’s all the thanks I get? [longing emoji]
【XM】：[money transfer]
【ATM】：That’s not what I want.
【ATM】：I want to hear your voice, or call me.
Xu Miao coaxed Xie Ge on the phone for a long time before he finally gave up sulking. But Xie Ge still wanted Xu Miao to stay on the call and accompany him. Unfortunately, Xu Miao refused with the excuse of needing to take a shower.
Rejected again, Xie Ge almost lost his appetite for dinner. But he had promised to send a photo of his meal to Xu Miao, and he couldn’t go back on his word. Otherwise, next time he’d have no moral standing to guilt-trip Xu Miao and beg to meet.
Besides, Xu Miao had said that if they were close enough and time allowed, she might come to his restaurant and eat a little with him—just wouldn’t tell him which one she was.
Xie Ge immediately sent the restaurant location to Xu Miao and picked a seat facing the entrance. While waiting for the food, he looked up at the door every time someone entered. But even after all the dishes arrived, no young woman came in—yet someone he didn’t want to see did.
Somehow, bad things always come one after another. First, Xu Miao harassed him; then, Xu Miao rejected him. He was already pitiful enough eating dinner alone, and yet Xu Miao’s shadow had to appear before him again.
Same name, two people—one he’d run into even while hiding, the other he couldn’t meet no matter how much he begged. What a cruel twist of fate.
Crueler than fate was Xu Miao walking straight toward him after seeing him: “The waiter said the seats are full. Can we share a table?”
Xie Ge didn’t bother to respond. But when he didn’t answer, Xu Miao just stood there without leaving. Xie Ge couldn’t take it anymore and snapped coldly: “No. I can’t eat with you here.”
After thinking for a moment, he added, “I know a pretty good psychologist. If you need it, I can introduce you. Avoiding treatment isn’t healthy. I wish you a speedy recovery.”
Xu Miao nodded, said thanks, and quickly left.
Not long after, Xie Ge received a message.
【XM】：The restaurant’s a bit far. I won’t go after all.
That…was harsh mehn