For the next half month, Lin Sitao felt that every day passed by very quickly.
Every day after get off work, he would go back to his own room to put down his things and sort them out; then he would wait for He Xian to come back and then go to He Xian's place. Sometimes they would eat out, sometimes at home, and they would communicate by phone beforehand.
The day the exam ended was Christmas Eve, which happened to be Sunday. After Lin Sitao came out of the exam room, he went straight to the mall to buy the gift he had set his eyes on.
He picked out a set of fishing rods for He Xian, which looked very flexible and beautiful. Even he, who didn't know how to fish, couldn't help but want to hold it in his hand and try it out.
Lin Sitao originally wanted to carve the word "He", but there was no time. The streets were crowded with people on Christmas Eve and the traffic was congested, so he hurried back with the wrapped gift.
In the past few years, whenever He Xian had time, he would spend Christmas with Zhao Shuqing. It can't be said that they celebrate Christmas deliberately, and there is no deliberate fixed holiday tradition. Sometimes it's just the two of them together, and sometimes they go out to party with some friends.
When the doorbell rang, He Xian was distracted for a moment, then he remembered that this was his new home and Zhao Shuqing didn't know that he had moved out.
He opened the door with a smile, and standing in front of the door was Lin Sitao, who was panting and holding a long and narrow red gift box.
He Xian liked the fishing rod very much and admired it for a long time. After dinner, they played an old movie and chatted while watching the movie. The gift He Xian gave to Lin Sitao was a new handbag, which was very simple and had no patterns. Lin Sitao liked it at first sight.
Just as he was stuck in a mess, He Xian's cell phone rang. His cell phone was placed on the table, and the three words "Zhao Shuqing" clearly popped up on it.
Both of them were stunned. He Xian picked up the phone: "Hello." He walked to the balcony.
He usually wouldn't deliberately turn his back to Lin Sitao when he called, but his ex-boyfriend's phone was always very sensitive. Lin Sitao looked at He Xian's back and thought, it turned out to be "Zhao Shuqing" instead of Zhao Shuqing. The former looked like a real person living in seclusion in the mountains, while the latter looked like a town mayor in a township. Of course, the name Zhao Shuqing was more suitable for He Xian.
He Xian's ex-boyfriends all seem to have a good name that matches him. Song You, Zhao Shuqing, and now it's his turn - Lin Sitao. There's nothing wrong with the name Lin Sitao, but sometimes he still gets upset when people call him Lin Tao out of laziness.
Lin Sitao sat cross-legged on the floor. He looked towards the balcony and could only see He Xian's back. He could only stare at his shoulders, as if there was a code hidden there that could directly read his emotions.
Zhao Shuqing's voice came from the other end of the phone, and it didn't sound real.
"He Xian, I'm holding a wedding banquet tomorrow."
He Xian said: "Congratulations."
Zhao Shuqing laughed. He said, "We didn't invite many people, only six tables, mainly Mr. Jiang's family and my relatives, and some colleagues. Later we will entertain some friends in the circle. Xiao Zeng helped me plan the wedding banquet. Mr. Jiang and I didn't care about anything, which made him exhausted... He also got me a house band and lighting engineer."
He said like an old friend chatting: "It's really not easy to hold a good wedding banquet."
He Xian held the phone in silence for a moment: "What do you want to say?"
Zhao Shuqing then said, "I miss you so much. I'm not used to not spending Christmas with you this year."
"You'll get used to it." He Xian said stiffly, as if he was suddenly angry.
Zhao Shuqing didn't care. He continued, "You know this is just a marriage of convenience, just a show. Teacher Jiang will meet up with her girlfriend in a few days, and I will be left alone to celebrate the New Year."
He Xian was most annoyed to hear Zhao Shuqing say that marriage of convenience was a show. In their eyes, marriage of convenience was completely different.
"It's a pity that the Civil Affairs Bureau can't differentiate between Class I and Class II marriage certificates. They can issue Class I to real couples and Class II to those in a marriage of convenience." He said sarcastically.
Zhao Shuqing stopped talking. Silence is sometimes more painful than words. He Xian couldn't stand it anymore. He lowered his voice and almost begged: "Zhao Shuqing, please turn back. It's not too late to regret today. Cancel the wedding and get a divorce certificate."
Zhao Shuqing laughed and said, "If I cancel the wedding today, Xiao Zeng will kill me."
He Xian didn't smile.
The two of them looked at each other in silence.
Like a dying firework flickering in the darkness, Zhao Shuqing's voice was hoarse: "If I turn back today, can you turn back?"
He Xian didn't need to turn around to know that Lin Sitao was looking at him. He didn't answer.
Zhao Shuqing said: "I am downstairs in our house now. Where are you now?"
He Xian answered his previous question: "You are right, neither of us will look back. Goodbye." He hung up the phone.
Lin Sitao was already lying on the coffee table. He Xian walked back to the living room and touched his head: "Are you sleepy?"
Lin Sitao shook his head.
He Xian turned off the movie and changed the disc. An old song slowly flowed out of the speakers. He pulled Lin Sitao to stand up and said, "Let's dance."
Lin Sitao couldn't dance, and luckily He Xian didn't want to do any standard dance steps. He just hugged Lin Sitao, and the two of them hugged each other, their bodies pressed together, and swayed gently to the music.
Lin Sitao stroked He Xian's warm back, his head resting on his shoulder. He wanted to talk, but He Xian just hugged him tightly, and silence spread.
A few minutes later, Lin Sitao felt that He Xian's shoulders were still tense.
He said: "He Xian, you can use me as a lifebuoy."
He Xian paused and kissed Lin Sitao's earlobe. Lin Sitao turned his face away, avoiding his soothing kiss, and whispered in He Xian's ear: "I haven't finished yet..."
He Xian stood still, they were still hugging each other, Lin Sitao went on: "When two people are together, this is it. Sometimes we are lovers, sometimes we are dinner partners, and sometimes we are playing cards together. So sometimes even if I am reluctant, I have to be your lifebuoy, but being a lifebuoy has a time limit. No one can live a lifetime holding on to a lifebuoy."
He Xian finally said, "Give me three more minutes."
Lin Sitao smiled: "One minute."
A minute later, Lin Sitao let go of He Xian: "I'm going to take a shower."
He Xian was the only one left in the living room. He was in a very calm mood. He didn't even feel sad about the shock Zhao Shuqing had given him. He thought that if he were an outsider, he would definitely advise himself to be compassionate to the person in front of him. Lin Sitao was so good.
But tonight he wanted some quiet time.
At this quiet moment, he suddenly heard Lin Sitao calling him.
He walked into the bathroom: "What's going on?"
Lin Sitao was lying in the bathtub: "How do I use the massage function of this bathtub? I don't know how." His hair and eyes were wet.
He was in a relaxed posture, with no bath gel in the bath water, not a single foam, just clear water, and under the light, his young, smooth muscles were clearly visible.
He Xian bent down, stretched out his hands to support the edge of the bathtub, and slowly pressed twice on the touch screen. The water in the bathtub immediately began to fluctuate. Lin Sitao turned over and lay on the edge of the bathtub: "Wait, how did you do it? Teach me again."
He Xian stared at his back, his eyes slowly looking down. He finally couldn't help it—Jingjing or something could go away. He reached into the bathtub and stirred it, splashing water onto Lin Sitao's back.
Lin Sitao turned around and asked with a smile: "Wash together?"