Xie Ge thought, aside from that “cheap younger brother” who just slipped away, at least there was still someone in this world who genuinely cared for him — namely, his “cheap cousin” Liang Dong.
The moment Liang Dong heard he had married a man, he immediately supported him in getting a divorce.
But for some reason, Xie Ge still felt something was off. Before he could finish pondering, a hand suddenly reached out and snatched away his phone.
Xu Miao didn’t even glance at the screen. He just locked it and set it aside, saying to Xie Ge:
“You just woke up. Don’t play with your phone — it’s bad for your eyes.”
Xie Ge wanted to snap back, What’s it got to do with you? but what came out of his mouth instead was a meek “Okay.” To take it back on the spot would have been too humiliating, so he swallowed his pride. Without his phone, he lay on the hospital bed and let his mind wander.
Not good! He suddenly remembered — the carefully staged injury photo he took hadn’t even been sent to Xu Miao (his girlfriend)!
Xie Ge’s eyes darted around and finally landed on Xu Miao, who was sitting at the bedside peeling an apple. Almost unconsciously, he blurted: “Can I borrow the phone for just a bit? I have something important to do. Five minutes, tops.”
Wait. That wasn’t right! Why was he asking permission to use his own phone?!
He berated himself inwardly for being absurd, but when Xu Miao nodded, he still obediently reached for the phone on the nightstand.
He didn’t believe it. Sure, he might have lost three years of memory, but there was no way so much had happened in that time.
Not only had his girlfriend supposedly turned into a boyfriend, he had even married this so-called boyfriend. And judging by Xie Min’s attitude, before losing his memory, his relationship with this man seemed… very good.
Xie Ge would rather believe this was one elaborate prank orchestrated by Xie Min than accept that he had actually done something as disgusting as cheating.
Like a detective, he began rifling through his phone. First, the photo album. The moment he opened it, the screen was filled with pictures of Xu Miao — most of them taken secretly, from various angles.
What?
That couldn’t be right. That made him look like a pervert.
Feeling guilty, Xie Ge snuck a glance at Xu Miao, who was still focused on the apple in his hands. Relieved, Xie Ge backed out of the album quickly, not daring to open the locked private folders, and returned to the main screen.
The album was too dangerous. He switched to WeChat.
The chat list was squeaky clean. Only one conversation sat there, pinned at the top.
After hesitating a few seconds, he tapped into the profile page. Line one: Remark name — My Baby. Line two: Nickname — XM. Line three: WeChat ID…
Xie Ge exhaled in relief. Everything matched Xu Miao (his girlfriend) except the remark. He must have changed it at some point.
Wait. No!
If this contact really was Xu Miao (his girlfriend), then what did that mean? That for the past few years, he’d been in an online relationship with her while also marrying this man peeling apples beside him? Did that make him a two-timing scumbag? Why hadn’t the car just killed him outright?
He looked at the phone. Then at Xu Miao. Back at the phone. Then at Xu Miao again.
After repeating the process four times, Xu Miao pushed the apple into his empty hand.
“Stop staring. It’s done. Eat.”
Xie Ge looked down at the apple — it was hideous.
Clearly Xu Miao wasn’t skilled with a fruit knife; the skin was cut in thick and thin patches, almost whittling the round apple into a lumpy polyhedron, with bits of peel still clinging here and there.
His expression of disdain was obvious. Xu Miao sighed:
“Yeah, it doesn’t look good, but it’s sweet. Try it.”
What are you sighing for? Xie Ge thought, and immediately bit into it.
“Well, at least you managed to peel it. I actually don’t like apples that are peeled perfectly round. Too ordinary.”
Wait, what was he even saying?!
He gave a dry laugh. “I guess normally I must be a lot more normal than this. Maybe it’s just the head injury — the aftereffects are serious. Words come out before I’ve thought them through. Don’t take it to heart.”
He paused, then added more seriously:
“Let me be straight with you. I really don’t remember why we got married. And before marrying you, I had a girlfriend. I know this may sound harsh, but the truth is — right now I only remember her. I don’t remember you.”
Xu Miao lowered his eyes, murmuring:
“Girlfriend, huh?”
Xie Ge nodded. “Yeah. You can tell, right? I’m straight. There’s no way I would marry a man.”
After he finished, Xu Miao stayed quiet for a long time. Seeing Xu Miao’s desolate expression, Xie Ge felt an ache in his chest, as if someone had squeezed his heart. He struggled to breathe.
So he rushed to comfort him:
“You’re really good-looking. Long lashes, dark eyes, straight nose, nice lips. Anyone who likes men would definitely like you. But I’m not one of them. Orientation isn’t something you can just change overnight, you know?”
Xu Miao’s lips curved slightly. “How are you so cute?”
His voice was so soft, with his head lowered, that Xie Ge didn’t hear clearly. “Huh? What did you say?”
Xu Miao looked up, face serious. “I said I’m going to make a phone call.”
Xie Ge: “Will you come back after? We should discuss the divorce properly.”
Xu Miao nodded, promised he’d return, and left.
Less than half a minute later, Xie Ge’s phone rang — a WeChat call from My Baby.
He barely had time to get excited. Afraid the caller would hang up if he was too slow, he answered instantly, took several deep breaths, then spoke warmly:
“Wifey.”
The other side stayed silent. He hurried on:
“There’s something I need to tell you. You might not believe it, but it’s true. I got hit by a car and lost my memory. So… can you not blame me for whatever I did these past few years? I really don’t know anything.”
Still silence. His anxiety spiked.
“Say something, please. You didn’t call to break up with me, did you? I don’t want to break up. None of that was really me. I’m innocent.”
Just then, the hospital room door opened. The voice on the phone overlapped with the one in real life:
“I never said I wanted to break up. You’re the one making a fuss about divorce.”
The phone slipped from his hand, tumbled across the blanket, and clattered to the floor.
Xie Ge froze, hand still pressed to his ear, until Xu Miao came back and sat down by the bed. Only then did he recover enough to speak:
“How could you use my girlfriend’s WeChat to call me?”
Xu Miao blinked. “Isn’t it obvious? Because I am your girlfriend.”
Dizziness swept over Xie Ge. He wondered if the blood clot wasn’t pressing on his memory neurons after all, but on the parts controlling words and language. Otherwise, how had he mistaken Xu Miao saying ‘boyfriend’ for ‘girlfriend’?
He thought for a long time before asking the most unnecessary question: “Aren’t you a man?”
Xu Miao: “Yes.”
Xie Ge: “Then how can you be my girlfriend? A girlfriend is supposed to be a girl.”
It was, in fact, an excellent, fundamental question. Xu Miao tilted his head, looked at him steadily, as if considering how to answer.
Finally, Xu Miao said: “Exactly. Haven’t you figured it out? I was the one pretending to be a girl online when we started dating. Later we met in person, and then got married. And we’ve been together ever since.”
He smiled as he spoke, his eyes curving, not the slightest hint of guilt.
“Didn’t you say you don’t discriminate against gay people?”
Why did he have to smile so beautifully?
No! This was all wrong!
Xie Ge felt like tearing his hair out. “But that doesn’t mean I can just accept being gay overnight!”
Even though… back then, it had taken him less than an hour.
A few seconds of silence passed. Then Xu Miao tilted his chin slightly, hooked a finger under his collar, and pulled it down to reveal the red marks scattered across his skin.
“But just a few nights ago, you weren’t saying that.”
Seeing the marks, Xie Ge jumped, his voice shooting up: “Don’t tell me those are from me, I— I—”
He stammered for ages without finishing, until Xu Miao calmly added, “Yes, all from you.”
Xie Ge’s ears burned scarlet, but he still blustered, “I don’t believe you.”
Xu Miao’s tone stayed mild. “I have videos. Want to see?”
Not just his ears now — his whole face and neck turned red. His mind went blank, and after a long pause, he sputtered:
“How could you—how could you even film something like that? I’m not watching!”
Xu Miao, still calm: “You begged me to film. I only did it because you asked.”
How could anyone speak such outrageous things in such a casual tone? How could Xu Miao be so softhearted — he just begged, and Xu Miao really filmed? What if the phone was lost and the videos leaked?
Xie Ge’s heart was a storm of emotions. His voice was muffled:
“From now on, no matter how much I beg, you can’t film. What’s wrong with me these past few years? How could I make you do that?”
Xu Miao: “I was willing.”
Xie Ge: “You don’t need to cover for me.”
Xu Miao: “…”
How can he be this cute… unbearable.
The atmosphere grew strangely charged. Xie Ge grew restless, picked up the ugly apple again, and was about to bite it when he noticed it had already browned from sitting too long. He set it back on the plate.
Xu Miao noticed. “If you want one, I’ll peel you another.”
Xie Ge shook his head. “No need.”
Xu Miao glanced at the plate. “The first one was bad because I wasn’t used to the knife. The second won’t be so ugly.”
Xie Ge looked at the fruit knife, then at Xu Miao’s hands — which looked more like works of art than tools.
“This apple was ugly to begin with. No matter who peels it, it’ll be ugly. It’s not about practice. And I don’t even want to eat apples. I just wanted something to hold.”
What he meant was: if Xu Miao was willing to pick up the phone from the floor and put it in his hand, that’d do just fine.
Instead, the next second, Xu Miao slid his own hand into Xie Ge’s palm.
“Then hold my hand. That way your hand won’t be empty.”
Xie Ge swore — he hadn’t hinted at this! He definitely hadn’t been longing to hold Xu Miao’s hand! But Xu Miao laced their fingers together, leaving no chance to pull away.
Awkwardly, they stayed like that until Xie Min burst in with lunch. Under his mischievous gaze, Xie Ge quickly yanked his hand back.
Xie Ge muttered: “It was an accident.”
Xie Min raised a brow. “Yeah, sure. I get it.”
…
Three days later, Xie Ge was cleared to be discharged. After the paperwork, the driver was already waiting at the door.
Xie Ge walked ahead, while Xie Min hurried behind, saying: “Didn’t the doctor say the best way to get your memory back is to return to your normal environment? Mom and Dad agree. And anyway, Ge, you’re a grown man — what’s there to be afraid of?”
No wonder Xie Ge was in a foul mood. No one in his family cared about his opinion. Even his parents had sided with Xu Miao, insisting he live with Xu Miao for one month. If after a month he still didn’t remember or hadn’t changed his mind, they’d talk about separation or divorce then.
His mood sank further.
“How can I possibly live with him? I’ve told you so many times — I have a girlfriend, I have a girlfriend, I have a girlfriend!”
He repeated the word “girlfriend” like a mantra, as if to remind himself that he was not gay, that living with Xu Miao wouldn’t change his mind.
Xie Min, who hadn’t been around much these days, was shocked his brother was still as resistant as the day he woke up. Worried he’d regret it later, Xie Min tried patiently to persuade him: “I’ve told you so many times, Ge — Xu Miao-ge is the same girlfriend you’ve been dating all along. Didn’t you check your phone these past days? Thousands of photos, hundreds of voice recordings. Isn’t that enough proof? If you really had nothing with him, why save every single WeChat voice message? And who puts a random guy at the top of their chat list, remarking him as My Baby? Who does that?”
Xie Ge seized on one detail. “Wait. You went through my phone?”
Xie Min froze, voice dropping as he confessed: “When Xu Miao-ge was checking, I… peeked a little too.”
A little too convenient! Xie Ge ground his teeth. “It’s bad enough,” he looked. Who told you you could?”
Xie Min shot back: “Why is it okay for him but not for me? Am I not your real brother?”
Xie Ge: “He married me. Did you?”
Xie Min: “…”
Xie Ge: “…”
Both realizing they’d gone too far, they fell into tacit silence.
Nearing the car, Xie Min suddenly darted forward and slipped into the passenger seat first.
Puzzled but respectful of his choice, Xie Ge opened the back door — only then realizing why Xie Min had rushed ahead. Xu Miao was already in the car.
Sliding into the seat beside him, Xie Ge muttered: “Didn’t I tell you not to come?”
Xu Miao looked up, meeting his gaze with a narrow-eyed smile.
“I wanted to.”
Xie Ge frowned slightly. “I didn’t want you to.”
Xu Miao only gave a light “Oh,” as if it didn’t matter.
“But I insisted. What can you do about it?”
This man!
Xie Ge was left speechless. His words never worked on Xu Miao. He might as well not speak at all.
He slumped back in silence, body turned away, his back angled to Xu Miao.
“Uncle Chen, turn the heat up,” Xu Miao suddenly said.
Maybe it was his imagination, but Xu Miao’s voice sounded faintly shaky. Xie Ge glanced at him, scanning him up and down, frowning more deeply. His tone grew irritable.
“I told you not to come, but you insisted. At least wear more layers. Do you know how cold it is today? Your coat’s so thin — how could you not be freezing?”
Xu Miao lowered his head, tugging his coat closer, his expression unreadable. “There’s heating in the car.”
“And after we get out of the car?” Xie Ge pressed.
At that, Xu Miao lifted his eyes and said flatly:
“Your coat looks pretty warm. If you’re worried, you can take it off and give it to me.”
Xie Ge stared for a few seconds. “…Then stay cold.”
His tone was neither polite nor kind. At last, Xu Miao’s calm facade cracked. His voice held a trace of melancholy.
“You used to… always give me your coat.”
A moment later, as if resigning, he sighed.
“Forget it. I’m not really that cold.”
The driver dropped Xie Min off first, then continued toward the place they were to live.
When the car stopped, Xu Miao got out. The blast of icy air in the underground garage made him shiver and sniffle.
It had been so long since Xie Ge last listened to him that Xu Miao had almost forgotten — he was always a tough nut to crack. He should have dressed more warmly today. Now not only had he failed to win him over, he was close to catching a cold himself.
Oh well. Next time, he’d try again.
Just like back on business trips, when Xie Ge misunderstood or gave him a hard time — it was nothing serious.
Especially now, when Xie Ge was sick. He didn’t mean it.
Xu Miao walked toward the elevator, but when he realized there were no footsteps behind him, he turned back. Xie Ge was still standing by the car.
To ease the mood, Xu Miao returned and half-joked: “Why aren’t you moving? Don’t tell me you forgot where you live.”
Expressionless, Xie Ge said: “I remember.”
Xu Miao shrugged. “Alright then,” and said no more. Because honestly, it was far too cold — if he didn’t hurry back, a cold would be the least of his problems.
He glanced at Xie Ge, turned, and started walking back toward the elevator. But before he could take a step, a sudden weight landed on his shoulder.
Xie Ge’s voice followed: “When the weather’s cold, you should wear more layers when you go out. I won’t always be around to lend you my coat.”
The long coat still carried Xie Ge’s warmth. Xu Miao didn’t let that kindness go to waste—he put it on properly.
After so many years together, Xu Miao had learned well how to push his luck with Xie Ge. Without asking for permission, he caught hold of Xie Ge’s hand.
“Don’t just stand there like a fool. Let’s go home.”
Xie Ge almost instinctively tried to pull away, but Xu Miao held tight. Turning to look at him, Xu Miao said: “We’ve been together for four years, married for more than three months. What, I can’t even hold your hand?”
Xie Ge froze, suddenly short of words. True, they’d dated four years, married three months—what was wrong with holding hands? Hadn’t he always longed to hold Xu Miao’s (his girlfriend’s) hand the moment they met? Just one handhold—what harm could it do?
But then, Xu Miao wasn’t a girlfriend. He wasn’t even a girl. Could you still hold hands if it wasn’t your girlfriend? Xie Ge asked himself.
Xu Miao was a man—his lawful husband. Could a straight man really hold hands with another man? Xie Ge asked himself again.
He was so tangled up in his own questions that before he realized it, Xu Miao had already led him to their front door.
Xu Miao pressed his fingerprint to the lock, stepped inside, and with practiced ease opened the shoe cabinet. He set a pair of slippers by Xie Ge’s feet before grabbing another for himself.
The central air conditioning was running, the place warm and comfortable. Xu Miao slipped off his coat and hung it neatly.
At the entrance, Xie Ge scanned the apartment quickly. What should have been familiar only grew stranger the more he looked. The curtains had turned a pale gray. The leather sofa had been swapped out for fabric. That leather sofa had once been his favorite piece of furniture.
Not understanding, he asked: “Did you change the sofa?”
Xu Miao replied, “No. You did.”
Xie Ge frowned. “Did I tell you why I wanted to change it?”
Xu Miao’s expression tightened. “Sometimes you’d get sweaty, and lying on it was uncomfortable. Not very convenient. So you replaced it.”
But the central AC was always running—how could he possibly get hot enough at home to sweat? Xie Ge still couldn’t make sense of it.
Seeing the questions forming on his face, Xu Miao stopped him before he could speak.
“You’d better not ask any further. Right now, you’re not going to want to hear the answer.”
With things said so bluntly, Xie Ge swallowed the rest of his doubts.
But come nightfall, a new problem cropped up—where was he supposed to sleep?
For such a large apartment, there was only one bedroom.
He clearly remembered when they bought this place—it had a master bedroom and two guest rooms. How had the years reduced it to one bedroom, one bed?
And the bed was so big…
When Xu Miao came out of the shower, he found Xie Ge still staring blankly at it. He restrained himself, only giving Xie Ge’s shoulder a light tap.
“Go take a shower.”
Xie Ge turned his head stiffly, like a rusted robot.
“Where do I sleep tonight?”
“On the bed,” Xu Miao answered without hesitation, then added casually, “You say you’re straight. So what? Two grown men sharing a bed—what’s the big deal?”
Xie Ge paused, but this time didn’t let himself get led in circles.
“But I’m straight—you’re not.”
Xu Miao met his gaze steadily, then said in a low voice:
“Does it matter whether you’re straight or I’m not? What matters is that we’re married. I’m your legal husband. Isn’t sharing a bed the most natural thing in the world?”
Again, Xie Ge had no words to counter him.
Later, lying in bed after his shower, he replayed the entire day’s events. Only then did it dawn on him—Xu Miao was not an easy person to deal with.
Unfortunately, Xie Ge’s brain seemed to dull even more at night. After half an hour of tortured thinking, he came up with what seemed like a solution, though in truth it solved nothing at all—he’d post on a forum and ask strangers online.
He logged in, and with that account wrote its very first post—
“After a car accident I lost my memory. When I woke up in the hospital, this ridiculously good-looking guy told me he was my husband. But I used to have a girlfriend. Now I think I might feel something for him. What should I do?”
![I’m Flirting with a Man in the Supernatural World [Unlimited]](https://www.freenovels.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/276753189-512-k798005.jpg "I’m Flirting with a Man in the Supernatural World [Unlimited]")
