Lin Sitao didn't ask He Xian to wait before going upstairs - his house was quite tidy and guests could go up and sit down at any time when they came.
The place was small and there was no elevator. He Xian couldn't walk upstairs with Lin Sitao. When Lin Sitao opened the door, the man next door just walked out and looked at He Xian curiously.
He Xian was already tall, and standing in the narrow corridor, it was impossible not to look at him. Lin Sitao stepped aside and invited him in first, and when he closed the door, he smiled and asked, "Has anyone ever told you that you look arrogant?"
He Xiancai took two steps and reached the middle of the house: "I'm used to it."
The house is small and can be seen at a glance. He showed some nostalgia: "It reminds me of my university dormitory. It might be smaller than this place, and not so neat."
Lin Sitao helped him hang up his coat and plugged in the electric kettle to boil water for tea. He Xian seemed to be fascinated by this one-bedroom apartment that looked like a mini dollhouse. He looked at how Lin Sitao had decorated the room. Although it was just a rental, Lin Sitao had decorated it very carefully. Various things were neatly organized on the computer desk, and simple bookshelves were nailed to the wall to make the best use of the space. The sofas were all covered with sofa covers. There was a small pot of succulents in the sunny place under the window.
The house is so small that two people sitting together seems full. With the curtains drawn, the lights on, and a cup of hot tea in hand, it is a good atmosphere for a night talk.
Lin Sitao pulled a cushion and sat directly on the floor. He took a deck of playing cards and chatted with He Xian while playing cards.
“… I don’t understand, did your ex-boyfriend marry a man or a woman?” Lin Sitao sorted out his cards.
He Xian said: "With women."
"So he's bi?"
"No, I don't think so. It's a marriage of convenience."
Lin Sitao exclaimed in amazement. He had heard of marriages of convenience, but had never encountered one around him.
He Xian said: "Tell me if he is stupid or not, breaking up with me and going down this path, what is he trying to achieve?"
Lin Sitao asked: "Yes, what does he want?"
He Xian choked. Lin Sitao was still very young, only 26 or 27 years old, single in a big city, and even if he was heterosexual, he was not in a hurry to get married. He felt that Lin Sitao probably wouldn't understand.
"Let me ask you," he turned to Lin Sitao, "Have you ever thought about getting married?"
Lin Sitao said: “I have thought about it.”
He Xian laughed: "You just graduated from college, and you actually thought about getting married?"
Lin Sitao said seriously, "I have thought about it. But I don't think I will get married." He raised his eyes and glanced at He Xian, who was looking at the cards in his hand and seemed to be waiting for his next words. Then he continued.
"I was raised by my grandparents. My mother died very early. She fell ill when I was just in primary school. At first, my father was willing to take care of her, but less than half a year later, it was my grandparents who stayed by her bedside. My grandparents sold their house to pay for her medical treatment - unfortunately, houses were not as valuable as they are now. After my mother died, my father passed away. My grandmother asked people about him, but all she knew was that he went to Shanghai and we lost contact since then."
Lin Sitao smiled: "This is probably a typical example of a couple being birds of a feather, but flying away separately when disaster strikes. Since I was a child, I have always wondered what is going on with my parents and their relationship. Later, I found that I like... men. I am not a public figure in society, and there is no pressure at home. So I think I will not get married."
This was all his true feelings. Marriage was meaningless to him. His grandparents had already let it go, and he himself would not bother with it.
He Xian said, "You are still very young. When you are over 35, your thoughts may be completely different from what they are now."
Lin Sitao was very confident: "No. Don't you think differently now than when you were in your twenties?"
He Xian smiled: "Why do you always force me to recall the past?"
Even so, he said: "Of course it has changed. How can people's ideas remain unchanged? When I was in my early twenties, I thought about finding a small town in Europe, marrying my then boyfriend and living in seclusion for the rest of my life."
"Song You?" Lin Sitao asked.
He Xian did not deny it. He thought to himself, people's fate is really strange. If he had not broken up with Song You, he would not have met Zhao Shuqing. If he had not broken up with Zhao Shuqing, he would not be sitting here now. If expressed in a chart, the happiness along the way is really ups and downs.
He was in a low mood and had bad luck. He lost two games to Lin Sitao in a row.
Lin Sitao brought the topic back to the topic: "You haven't told me yet, what was your ex-boyfriend's intention in getting married in disguise?"
He Xian said: "To put it simply, it was for the sake of having a child. The woman he had a sham marriage with was a lesbian and both of them wanted to have a child, so they hit it off right away."
According to Ding Shengguang, Zhao Shuqing and Teacher Jiang had already obtained the marriage certificate, and there were very few people invited to the wedding banquet. He Xian thought that since Zhao Shuqing had the legal certificate, she would probably go and have a baby with Teacher Jiang soon.
Lin Sitao asked: "Will they get divorced after giving birth to the child? Do their parents know?" He was really curious about this.
"I don't know," He Xian said, "it has nothing to do with me anymore."
When Zhao Shuqing discussed the plan abcd with him, she also mentioned some plans after the marriage of convenience. He couldn't accept it. The child was the main reason for their breakup. But it was not the only reason.
He stood up and could reach the curtains with one hand. He lifted the curtains. There was no balcony and no view to be seen. Living here, Lin Sitao could be considered a real small house. But Lin Sitao introduced him: "Do you see the plum blossoms downstairs? They are so fragrant when they bloom."
He Xian was amused by him again. No matter where a person is, he is alive. No matter who he is away from, he is alive. He might as well take a good look at the two plum trees at the door.
He asked Lin Sitao: "Is there any wine?"
Lin Sitao didn't have any wine. So they went downstairs to a small restaurant near the community to drink. Lin Sitao knew a small restaurant that served Sichuan cuisine that was pretty good.
"You can't drive after drinking." Lin Sitao reminded him.
He Xian said, "Then I'll sleep here with you today." He was not afraid that Lin Sitao would refuse. Lin Sitao would never refuse.
Lin Sitao was indeed speechless.
They ate another large bowl of Bobo Chicken and didn't drink much. But He Xian got drunk in no time. When Lin Sitao helped him upstairs, he said, "I thought you could drink a lot."
He Xian laughed. Lin Sitao wondered, could it be true that one gets drunk faster when in a bad mood
Back in his little nest, Lin Sitao put He Xian on the bed, fed him some tea to rinse his mouth, and then slowly wiped He Xian's face with a hot towel.
He Xian closed his eyes and murmured, "Zhao Shuqing."
Lin Sitao paused.
He muttered something again, but Lin Sitao didn't hear it clearly, so he moved closer to He Xian.
He Xianzai said—"I regret it... Zhao Shuqing..."
Lin Sitao didn't know whether he should feel sorry for him or himself, so he patted his face with a towel and said, "Stop nagging. I can't hear you."
He Xian slept in a daze until the early morning. When he sat up, he saw Lin Sitao sleeping soundly on the floor, curled up in the quilt. He went to the toilet and washed his face as quietly as possible.
As he put on his coat, He Xian suddenly heard Lin Sitao ask, "Are you leaving?"
He Xian walked over, squatted down and looked at him, and touched his head as if he was checking his own pet: "I'm leaving, go home and change your clothes. You sleep for a while and go to bed."
"Yeah." Lin Sitao rubbed his eyes, his hair was messy. He Xian felt that even students at school would believe him if he said that.
Lin Sitao was very sleepy and whispered, "Then I won't take you downstairs."
After returning home, He Xian took a shower, changed his clothes, and then ate his breakfast peacefully, checking his mobile phone.
Only then did he see an audio file Lin Sitao sent him last night.
He Xian suddenly felt something was wrong. He clicked on the audio and heard some useless mumblings.
"Zhao Shuqing, I regret it..."
He Xian grabbed his phone and deleted the audio. He didn't regret what he said to Zhao Shuqing at all. It was too embarrassing. There was nothing more embarrassing than embarrassing yourself in front of your new love.
He had to think about how to coax Lin Sitao.