Should he feel lucky? In order to drag out this fragile reprieve a little longer, he only sent Xie Ge the airport location, without specifying the hotel or even the room number. As long as he didn’t want to see Xie Ge, Xie Ge wouldn’t be able to find him.
But what difference did that make.
Xu Miao lowered his head, finished the last drag of his cigarette, and put it out, but he didn’t get up right away. He lifted his eyes and glanced toward where Xie Ge was.
Xie Ge really was dressed beautifully today, unlike the first time they met, when he was wearing that tattered T-shirt Xu Miao had made. Now, from head to toe, he radiated the word expensive.
Was this what he had “raised”? After all, he had spent quite a bit of money.
Xu Miao thought about it and gave a self-deprecating smile. The money he’d given Xie Ge wasn’t even enough to buy him a single coat, yet here he was, patting himself on the back.
The irritation wouldn’t go away. Xu Miao lit another cigarette.
The smoke stung his eyes. Xu Miao half-squinted, thinking that by the time he finished this cigarette, Xie Ge would probably be gone. He didn’t want to run into him right now.
But his phone suddenly rang, and Xu Miao realized again that he really wasn’t a lucky person.
Even though Xu Miao hit hang up as fast as he could—so fast he didn’t even see who was calling—Xie Ge still found him.
“Cute and pretty” had only been his misunderstanding of Xie Ge. At this closer distance, with no room to dodge his gaze, he could see his face and expression clearly: Xie Ge was frowning, clearly unhappy.
Honestly, Xu Miao felt a little annoyed. Annoyed in every sense of the word.
Xie Ge walked up to him, looking down from above. “Eavesdropping on other people’s conversations isn’t very polite, is it, Xu Miao.”
Xu Miao stayed seated on the steps, head tilted slightly back to keep his gaze. He said lightly, “You’ve got it wrong. Just a coincidence.”
“Coincidence? He said the same thing just now. You two really come up with excuses the exact same way.” Xie Ge’s expression was ugly. “If you don’t want this deal canceled, you’d better behave.”
So fierce. He had never seen this side of Xie Ge before. It was novel, but Xu Miao didn’t like it.
“Believe it or not, that’s up to you.”
Xu Miao wasn’t in a good mood and didn’t want to tangle with him any further. After tossing that out, he got up to leave, but the closer distance let him catch sight of the shirt under Xie Ge’s coat.
Just as they were about to brush shoulders, he said suddenly, “The one you’re wearing inside… it’s pretty unique.”
“Thanks.” Xie Ge’s tone was all too familiar. Clearly delighted, but forcing himself to sound proper: “Your character’s bad, but your taste is decent.”
…Alright. He took it back—“cute and pretty” hadn’t been a misunderstanding after all.
On the way back to the hotel, his phone must have buzzed eight hundred times. Xu Miao ignored it. He showered first, and only when he was lying down did he open his messages.
【ATM】: Not answering my calls.
【ATM】: Why aren’t you answering my calls.
【ATM】: [puppy crying.jpg]
【ATM】: And you won’t even tell me where you are.
【ATM】: Get work and you don’t want me anymore. Always like this. You’re always like this.
【ATM】: I won’t even tell you how pretty I dressed today. You’re not seeing me—you’re the one losing out.
I already saw. Extremely, extremely pretty, Xu Miao thought.
Just a little bad-tempered. A little annoying.
【ATM】: Still working? I really want to call. When will you not be busy? I want to call.
【ATM】: I wish I could be more important than work.
Xu Miao didn’t reply to the messages. He just called back directly.
It connected almost instantly. Xie Ge’s excited voice came through.
“Finally my turn? I’m a little nervous, where’s my oxygen tank, I need a breath.”
Back to the familiar tone at last. Xu Miao let out a low chuckle. “You’re so dramatic.”
Xie Ge protested, “I am not dramatic! Do you even know you ignored me for a whole day?”
He complained, “All your fault. You made me come here, and then didn’t tell me where you were. I feel like an idiot.”
Xu Miao asked, “Didn’t go out to play during the day?”
“No. I was waiting for you to find me, waiting for you to tell me where we’d meet.” Xie Ge’s voice was full of grievance. “Who knew you’d forget about me. But it’s okay, I’ll keep waiting—until you remember me, until you want to see me.”
“What if I never want to? What if I only had you come to stall for time so you wouldn’t cry, and I never wanted to see you at all? Then no matter how long you wait, it’s useless.”
Xie Ge could hear the seriousness in Xu Miao’s tone, so he answered just as seriously:
“No matter how long I have to wait for you, I’m willing. So what if this time is fake, so what if you’re lying to me? There’ll come a day—I can wait until it’s real, until you really want it. You’re just not ready yet, I know that.”
Would he still say that after they actually met? Their last encounter had been so unpleasant, and the odds of a bad outcome were high. Xu Miao didn’t dare to think about it.
“Why do you sound so sure I’ll meet you? Weren’t you worried at first?”
Xie Ge was smug. “I just know. Like you said, you didn’t want to see me at first, but when you saw I was upset, you still told me where your business trip was. You feel sorry for me—I could tell. Just knowing I’m this close to you already makes me happy.”
“Though I still feel a tiny bit unwilling. I really am prettier than you think. Aren’t you even a little curious? Don’t you want to see me?” Xie Ge added.
Xu Miao was silent for a moment before speaking slowly. “I think things are fine the way they are now. Why must we meet? Isn’t it nice to leave some room for imagination?”
“Of course not,” Xie Ge said firmly.
“You have no idea how scared I am every day, afraid you won’t want me, and I wouldn’t even know where to find you. If I could meet you, know what you look like, then you wouldn’t be able to run. No matter where you went, I could find you and secretly follow you.”
“I’d follow you even if you told me not to—until your heart softened,” Xie Ge said.
“Are you a little puppy? I’d bully you, abandon you, and you’d still trail after me?”
Xie Ge was proud. “Then why don’t you bully someone else? You only bully me because you like me. I know.”
Xu Miao laughed until his eyes curved. “You ‘know, know’ everything. What do you know? You don’t know anything.”
“I do know,” Xie Ge said. “You like me. I know.”
After a pause, Xie Ge added softly, “I like you. You need to know that too.”
