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At five o’clock in the morning, Xie Yuchen opened his eyes. The person beside him was still sound asleep, his arms tightly wound around Xie Yuchen’s thin body.
Xiao Hua loved waking up to mornings like this.
He decided that he wouldn’t get up until the alarm went off at 5:10. That also meant 10 minutes more of cuddling.
Xie Yuchen had seven places to sleep in this house and usually, he settled on a different one every day. But those were only for days when he was alone. These days, he wasn’t alone all that much. Before, he avoided his own room at all costs. Now, the room felt a little less empty and the bed felt a little less cold with another person here. It was a huge bed but their bodies were stuck close together. It was cramped that way, but it gave him a sense of security. Out of the places to sleep in his house, the space beside this person was his favorite.
At 5:10, the sound of the alarm finally filled the room. Xie Yuchen reluctantly roused, disentangling himself from the arms around him. The other didn’t relent, groaning as he held onto him tighter. Xie Yuchen sighed. It was only when he had lightly laid a kiss on top of the man’s head that he was able to successfully slip out.
There was a living room downstairs, along with a bathroom on the left side. After taking a shower and brushing his teeth, he poured himself a glass of water and sat down with only a towel hanging around his waist. He then used a hair dryer to dry his body and hair.
The room’s temperature and humidity remained constant, so his body was soon dried. He used the towel to absorb the last bit of water from his damp hair and then shook it out before turning the hair dryer off. He knew that using a blow dryer was bad for his hair.
There was a velvet-covered lounge on one side, which he leaned back against as he pressed a button on the nearby answering machine and took a drink of water. At about one in the morning, his secretary had gone over his schedule for the day.
Xie Yuchen quietly memorized it while determining that none of the things interested him. But he still had to do them. If he could, he just wanted to stay in. But no one else would do it for him so he pushed these thoughts aside.
After listening, he realized that there weren’t many important things to deal with today and breathed a sigh of relief. At least there was a little space for some fun.
The answering machine turned off automatically and Xie Yuchen flipped through the items on the coffee table next to his lounge. There was a box of cigars on it. He picked one up, sniffed it, and then put it back.
He stopped smoking a while back because of a certain someone’s prodding. He had to take care of himself, that person said. And so the two of them made a pact that none of them would touch another cigarette. Their pact was going well so far.
At 6:40, soft music from a movie soundtrack began playing in the room as he headed into his dressing room. Xie Yuchen could hear the other man, who had finally woken up, singing to its tune while he was in the shower. Xie Yuchen smiled. He decided that he liked the acapella version better.
The dressing room was a circular area that had a diameter of twenty meters and three huge mirrors in the middle. His figure may have given the designer the mistaken idea that he was someone who valued his style and appearance.
In fact, a man didn’t need much clothing. When he walked to an area that was set at a ninety-degree angle, the closet door automatically opened. The inside was full of long-sleeved T-shirts from the same brand. He picked one out. He settled on his signature color for today. The man in the shower liked him in pink. He also liked himself in pink, even if it made other people a little nervous.
He had worn pink for nearly ten years now and involuntarily turned it into a color that represented his murderous aura, which was the complete opposite of his original intention. It was a lovely color that reminded him of flowers. It matched him perfectly.
He wore the shirt, put on jeans and canvas shoes, and then stuck a dagger on the back of his belt.
He stood in front of the mirror and ultimately decided that he looked well-enough to conquer the day ahead.
As he was surveying himself, the singing man walked into the dressing room with only a towel wrapped around his waist.
“Why didn’t you dry your hair first? The carpet’s going to get wet.”
Xie Yuchen grabbed a towel from a nearby closet and tossed it to the half-naked man.
The latter easily caught it and grinned, “Whatever you say, love.”
He walked to the other side of the dressing room and picked out a leather jacket that he particularly liked. He bought it after all. While his side of the dressing room was lined with pink shirts and button-downs, this side was filled with black leather jackets in different cuts and tees in hues of gray. Xie Yuchen grabbed one of the gray shirts coupled with a pair of dark jeans. He handed it to the man, who was still in the process of drying his hair.
“I’ll wait for you in the dining room.”
As he went all the way through the living room and corridor— this courtyard house didn’t have any doors—he didn’t meet a single soul. There was no one else here except the two of them.
Xie Yuchen proceeded to the kitchen and brought out the food that had been prepared the night before. Since they were always in a hurry in the morning, it was more efficient to do it this way and just heat them up. He placed the food inside the microwave and set it for 1 minute.
As if on cue, the other man traipsed into the kitchen just when the minute was up. He was wearing the clothes that Xie Yuchen had just picked out a moment ago.
Back then, Xie Yuchen rarely ate breakfast in his own home. He barely did any grocery-shopping because he ate out most of the time or asked his secretary to drop off some take-out food. It was only when this housemate of his had moved in that breakfast became a regular thing. It was only then that he started to look forward to mornings. Their refrigerator never remained empty for long.
“Did you feed the fish already?” Xie Yuchen asked.
A part of the corridor ran right over the pond full of small white fish in the courtyard. There was a sensor there that would detect his footsteps and start pouring food into the pond. The white fish waited for that moment every day and began scrambling around the corridor.
“Yup,” the man replied. Xie Yuchen knew that he particularly liked that part of the house. He probably overfed the fish the first time he discovered the sensor.
The man then took out the food from the microwave and brought it to the dining area. Xie Yuchen followed him close behind. They then enjoyed breakfast in peaceful and intimate silence, only looking up every now and then to stare and smile at each other.
Once they had cleared the dining table, they got ready to go out.
There was another courtyard at the entrance to the courtyard they were in, which was connected by a tunnel. This tunnel was so complex that it was impossible for ordinary people to get to their private kingdom.
Xie Yuchen went into another room, where there were more than thirty kinds of cell phones on the table, all with the same number. He chose the thinnest one and then turned to the other side, where a row of sunglasses sat. He picked out a black pair and went out of the room. The other man stood by the door, waiting for him. Xie Yuchen took out the glasses and put them on for him. The man smiled because of the simple but sweet gesture.
The two of them then took an elevator underground and followed along the tunnel until they reached the other courtyard. At 7:10, they passed more than a dozen cars in the garage.
“I want this one today,” the other man said.
“Your choice. You’re driving anyway,” Xie Yuchen said, handing him the keys to the car.
At 9:30, they arrived at the cafe below his auction house. Xie Yuchen’s secretary had been waiting at the door and handed him some papers. She also greeted the man in glasses beside her boss. Xie Yuchen read the documents carefully and then signed them.
After having a cup of coffee at 10:30, the two of them got into the car again and headed towards Panjiayuan. There were a lot of interesting people there.
When they arrived at Panjiayuan at 11:40, the sound of cooking came from the back room of Fatty’s shop. The shop was very small, and the way Fatty used the spatula against the wok sounded like he was striking a gong.
The couple walked in, only to find that the battle had already begun: Wu Xie was peeling potatoes and Zhang Qiling was fanning the coal stove’s fire for Fatty. These people were already familiar with the fact that these two would often show up around this time and called out greetings.
Xiao Hua rolled up his sleeves, while the man by his side took off his sunglasses. They fetched some water, and began washing the water chestnuts.
All the dishes were ready at 12:30, so Fatty made a phone call. The other end rang just outside the shop and the store quickly delivered the liquor. Lunch was now served.
They ate and drank leisurely until two in the afternoon, by which time the dishes had long gone cold. Xiao Hua helped Fatty inspect some of his inventory in the shop. The man in glasses happily conversed with Wu Xie and Zhang Qiling. Afterwards, they played two-on-two badminton, while Fatty chose to sit it out and be the scorer. Zhang Qiling swung the racquet too fast and it soon bent.
At 4:30, the sky was gradually growing darker so Xiao Hua and the other man climbed into their car and drove home.
They arrived home at 6:30. The other man exited the car first, while Xiao Hua parked. The former still had to go and cook dinner for the two of them. That was their usual routine.
At 7:30, dinner was finally ready.
At 9:00, they went into the living room and turned on their home theater to watch a movie. Like they did every night.
At 10:00, Xiao Hua had fallen asleep in the other man’s arms. Like he did every night.
By 11:00, Hei Xiazi had also started feeling drowsy. He was thinking of waking Xiao Hua up so that they could move to the bedroom, but he looked too peaceful already and he was too pretty to disturb. He decided that the couch was a good place to rest for tonight.