TBS Chapter 21

Xie Ge had a long history of playing the “pitiful act,” and Xu Miao assumed this was just another instance.

[My Baby]: About an hour more.

[My Baby]: If you’re not afraid of being bored, you can wait downstairs at my office until I finish work.

[My Baby]: The sofa in the lobby is really soft.

Clutching his phone, Xie Ge lay on Xu Miao’s bed, scrolling back and forth through the messages Xu Miao had sent him.

Outside, rain had started again at some unknown time. The windows were tightly shut, but the patter of rain still came through—annoyingly loud.

[My Baby]: [Location]

[My Baby]: [Transfer]

[My Baby]: Take a taxi over. It’s raining outside.

More money—really.

Xie Ge thought about what Cheng Yuan had said.

He admitted he had been emotional right after hearing it, but the feelings had faded soon after leaving.

Having one more person who cared about Xu Miao was a good thing. There was no reason to get angry—he just didn’t like people constantly questioning his relationship with Xu Miao.

Soon, a voice message popped up in the chat.

“I think I remember someone saying before that if we ever lived together, I wouldn’t need an umbrella in the rain. He would pick me up from work and then we’d go home together.”

After a while, another message came:

“Why aren’t you replying? Did you change your mind?”

Xu Miao’s voice was so soft it was almost a whisper. Amid the surrounding noise, Xie Ge could even faintly hear someone calling Xu Miao, but he ignored everything just to speak to him.

Stop being so good at making people feel cared for.

Xie Ge buried his face in Xu Miao’s soft, fluffy pillow, punching and kicking the air like a maniac. Only after inhaling the comforting, soft scent from Xu Miao’s bedding did he relent.

Like a live fish flopping on the bed, he sprang up and furiously typed messages to Xu Miao.

[A little clumsy]: Who’s changing their mind! I’ll come whenever you call!

[My Baby]: Already looking forward to finishing work.

With incredible efficiency, Xie Ge waited quietly in the lobby for forty-three minutes before seeing Xu Miao emerge from the elevator. He instinctively wanted to rush forward but stopped when he noticed a colleague walking beside him.

Seeing Xu Miao wave at him, he immediately hurried over.

Xie Ge guessed that the colleague might be close to Xu Miao and that Xu Miao was going to introduce them. He prepared himself to make his presence known, just as he would when clarifying his identity to Cheng Yuan.

He was still thinking of the right words for this scene when he suddenly felt someone tug at his wrist. By the time he reacted, Xu Miao’s fingers were tightly interlaced with his, lifting his hand to wave in unison.

“See, my boyfriend came to pick me up. Didn’t lie to you, right? I really can’t go tonight, I have a date.”

Xu Miao’s body temperature was on the lower side; his skin always felt cool to the touch, yet Xie Ge felt as if his own palms were about to be melted by Xu Miao.

He even felt as if his heart had secretly grown a copy of itself between his fingers, and Xu Miao was holding his heart like that, making it hard for him to breathe.

“tsk tsk tsk, before you were hiding all the photos and didn’t show a single one, and now you don’t even pretend, Xu Miao,” a colleague teased. “Why don’t the two of you just go together? It’s not like your boyfriend’s drink is missing.”

Xu Miao feigned a sigh: “No, my boyfriend won’t let me drink. He’s strict. No way.”

The colleague made a long “ohh” in a playful, wavering tone.

Being looked at with teasing eyes should have made Xie Ge uncomfortable, but instead he felt light all over, as if he were about to turn into a cloud.

My boyfriend… my boyfriend… boyfriend…

Hehe…

This cloud was still dizzy when Xu Miao led him out of the office building.

“Xu Miao…” Xie Ge murmured from the passenger seat.

Xu Miao tilted his head, blinked, and smiled: “Are you happy now?”

“Yes.”

“That’s good. If you’re happy, I’m happy too.”

Xu Miao could make Xie Ge even happier.

As promised, Xu Miao took Xie Ge to that private restaurant he said was very delicious. He ordered the double-person set menu that Xie Ge had always wanted to try with him, also called the couples’ set.

During the meal, Xu Miao served Xie Ge food and soup, asking which dishes he liked. Xie Ge said he liked everything, but especially the ones Xu Miao put into his bowl.

“Feeling a bit better?”

“My mood has always been good.”

Xu Miao mercilessly exposed Xie Ge’s lie: “But you just said this afternoon that someone bullied you.”

Xie Ge pretended not to understand, lowering his eyes obediently: “I just wanted an excuse to message you. Nobody bullied me.”

He didn’t mention the two circular wet spots left on Xu Miao’s pillow—like two little eyes—because in this humid weather, the marks had already evaporated, leaving no trace, so Xu Miao wouldn’t notice.

Moreover, someone as generous as him wouldn’t really name names or complain. Cheng Yuan’s words could be regarded as misdirected concern for Xu Miao. As for Liang Dong… Xie Ge would never help someone else confess. If Xu Miao got sentimental over old feelings…

Xie Ge didn’t dare to think about it.

Near the end, Xie Ge used the excuse of washing his hands to leave his seat, hoping to secretly pay, but the waiter told him the bill had already been paid.

He returned to his seat with a weary expression and couldn’t help complaining a little: “Can’t you let me show off just once? You already said I’m your boyfriend.”

“Well, what, you wouldn’t show off if I didn’t say you’re my boyfriend?”

Xie Ge fidgeted: “Not exactly.”

Xu Miao smiled: “Then do you want me to give you a chance to show off?”

The late-October weather was still sultry. Xu Miao looked up at the sky for a moment, then suddenly turned toward Xie Ge, catching him peeking at him red-handed.

Xu Miao suddenly squinted and smiled, opened his arms and gently hugged Xie Ge, lowering his head, turning his face sideways, pressing his neck against Xie Ge’s neck like mandarin ducks’ intertwined necks.

“Who allowed you to peek at me,” Xu Miao said, his vocal cords and Adam’s apple trembling together, the place where their skin touched slowly heating up. “Is it really this hot today, or are you too tired to walk with me?”

Xie Ge hurriedly said: “It’s hot, I’m wearing too many clothes.”

Xu Miao made an “oh” sound, ended the hug, and held Xie Ge’s hand as they continued walking along the riverbank.

“Really hot, not tired at all, it’s not that I don’t want to walk with you.”

Xu Miao didn’t say anything.

The quiet atmosphere made Xie Ge a little uneasy. He wasn’t afraid of Xu Miao arguing with him now, nor afraid of Xu Miao scolding him or hitting him—at least those could prove Xu Miao had feelings about his emotions; it was a process of communication.

Xie Ge felt a bit nervous: “I feel embarrassed.”

He said softly: “It’s my first relationship, you have to give me time to adjust.”

As he spoke, he gradually shifted to Xu Miao, thinking the transition was natural, trying to probe some things he wanted to know: “Have you dated many times? How are you so good at this, Xu Miao?”

Xu Miao looked at Xie Ge for a long while. He didn’t know if those previous things could really be counted as dating, or whether it was necessary to tell Xie Ge. After thinking about it, he decided to skip it: “Because before we even met, I imagined our dates many times. Thinking about it a lot, of course I’d get good at it.”

Xie Ge noticed his hesitation and struggle; not directly denying it was like admitting it. Xie Ge gave a dry laugh, deliberately making himself appear unconcerned: “Oh, I see. That’s fine. I mean, it’s good. I’m the last one, right? Don’t misunderstand, I don’t mean anything else. I’m not saying it’s wrong that you dated before. I’m not curious, you don’t need to tell me. Everyone has a past, it’s normal.”

Xie Ge’s words were long and dense. Xu Miao didn’t interrupt, listening carefully until he finished, then put the unlocked phone into Xie Ge’s hand.

“It won’t happen again,” Xu Miao said abruptly, “whether it’s recording your fingerprint or changing the password, you can look at it anytime from now on.”

Hearing Xu Miao’s words, Xie Ge’s mouth twitched downward. The grievance he had barely suppressed surged back up.

He didn’t want to probe further, didn’t want to seem to dwell on past matters that had already ended. Just when he had finally decided not to ask anything, Xu Miao gave him the chance.

“Were they all people you met online?”

“Mm.”

“Did you also say nice things to them on the phone?”

“Mm.”

“Did you give them flowers too?”

“Mm.”

“Did you spend a lot of money on them?”

“A little.”

“Then is there anything that only I have?”

“Before you, I hadn’t kissed anyone else.”

Xie Ge’s mood improved a lot because of the last sentence. He muttered to himself: “That’s very good.” After saying that, as if suddenly remembering something, he added: “Will you be mad at me for always spending your money? After all, you only give others a little.”

“Then would you mind that I don’t have much money? A lot of the things you use, I can’t afford.”

Xie Ge shook his head.

Xu Miao shook his head as well.

The two of them smiled at each other. No one was distracted enough to notice that Xie Ge’s phone in his hand, which had already automatically gone dark, flickered.

It was a text notification—

“Xu Miao, you actually dared to lie to me.”