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Just pick him up, they said. He will be happy to see you alone anyways, they said.
Mo Sanbi wasn’t going to ask the siblings about Qiao Yicheng’s schedule any time again.
This particular afternoon, Mo Sanbi had arrived quickly at Qiao Yicheng’s workplace, which led him to witnessing something unimaginable through the gates. He saw Qiao Yicheng exiting the office building along with a young and beautiful woman. Mo Sanbi could clearly see them laughing together, her hand resting on his arm, almost caressing it while Qiao Yicheng was talking about something funny. Oblivious, a big smile was plastered on his face while the young woman’s eyes stayed glued on him. Neither of them noticed Mo Sanbi out in the open on the right side of the gate, radiating an intense aura, not until the two parted ways. If looks could kill, Mo Sanbi was sure this woman would have been murdered brutally by his sharp gaze alone. But that wouldn't do. Qiao Yicheng definitely would not be happy to discover him red-handed with a dead body in tow.
Qiao Yicheng flashed a happy smile as soon as he noticed Mo Sanbi waiting for him. The young woman, however, was still attached to him. How dare she, swooping in like a temptress and hovering so damn close to his dear little cabbage?
“What are you doing here?”, Qiao Yicheng asked warmly. Mo Sanbi hoped that he was the reason for Qiao Yicheng’s good mood, but he knew that he would just be indulging himself.
“I thought I'd pick you up. Your siblings have been saying that they needed groceries, but you didn’t answer your phone.”
“Oh yeah, the battery was almost dead, so I turned it off in the meantime.”, Qiao Yicheng explained as he tapped his left trouser pocket, indicating the phone was in there. Before Mo Sanbi could say anything in return, the woman to Qiao Yicheng's side who he had almost forgotten looked up to Qiao Yicheng and smiled.
“A-Cheng. I have to catch the bus and you seem to have plans, so I will say my goodbyes here”, she said. Though her words were simple, Mo Sanbi found them utterly grating. And did he just hear her call Qiao Yicheng A-Cheng?
The woman bade a theatrical farewell, spinning on her heels and tiptoeing so that she could hug Qioa Yicheng, who was much taller than her. As her hands rested on his shoulders, she gave him a small peck on the cheek, all while glancing askance at Mo Sanbi. Was that a fucking challenge?
“See you tomorrow, A-Cheng.” The young woman finally took her leave.. All this time, Mo Sanbi had been seeing red, most likely from having drunk so much vinegar to the point of being muddled, even contemplating violence on a total stranger. Thankfully, he was pulled out of his envious fit by an arm being thrown around his shoulder.
“So.. my siblings sent you?” he asked, grinning. Qiao Yicheng’s touch was like a smack upon a raging bull’s muzzle, immediately taming Mo Sanbi. He only nodded swiftly in response, not wanting to immediately besmirch their meeting by snapping at Qiao Yicheng over what could be nothing. After all, who knew what their relationship was. Nothing official to say the least, or Qiao Yicheng would have mentioned it a long time ago.
But Mo Sanbi had also been swooning over Qiao Yicheng for ages, but the latter didn’t seem attuned to it at all. It annoyed him that Qiao Yicheng was either oblivious as hell, or worse, stringing him along. Why else would let someone touch him so freely and generously, then flirt so explicitly with someone else before his eyes? Mo Sanbi had to make a conscious effort not to stomp his feet in renewed outrage as he walked alongside Qiao Yicheng. His mood was ruined, and it wasn’t even 3 in the afternoon.
“So what did my siblings want me to buy? It better not be some of those sweets Qiqi has been devouring these past few weeks. They are too expensive and besides, it’ll ruin his teeth.” Qiao Yicheng started ranting in his trademark ‘dad voice’ – it would surface anytime he talked about his younger siblings.
“No, don’t worry. They just need some more chilli flakes and they’re out of noodles. Sanli used up the last portion in the pantry.” Mo Sanbi grumbled, and silence fell upon them again.
Qiao Yicheng didn’t make any effort to fill the space with idle conversation either. Mo Sanbi continued stewing in his own envy, especially thinking back on how the woman had shot him an unspoken provocation, as if understanding at once just how hard he’d fallen for Qiao Yicheng, that he was extremely protective over him.
Did Qiao Yicheng really not have a sense of how he felt? Or was he so occupied with this secret relationship that obscured everything else?
No, it wasn’t possible. If Qiao Yicheng was doing as such, his siblings would have definitely picked up on his change in behaviour, especially if he were trying to hide something from everyone. Qiao Yicheng was bad at lying too.
Yet Mo Sanbi couldn’t put his mind at ease. He needed to know just who that woman was and what was the status of their relationship. Feeling that his emotions were in a jumble, Mo Sanbi fetched the cigarette from behind his ear and pushed it between his lips, lighting up in a swift motion with his flip lighter. The flame shot out, hot and flickering in its yellow glow. He took a long, calming drag before exhaling a thick cloud of smoke, but directing it in the opposite direction, away from Qiao Yicheng.
Unable to let sleeping dogs lie, Mo Sanbi ventured, “Oh, by the way, who was that woman you were with?” He tried to sound as casual as possible, but it seemed like an unsuccessful attempt. His hesitant eyes darted about the dirt pathway stretching out in front of them as he worried that Qiao Yicheng had already seen right through him.
“Oh, you mean Xiang Nanfang? She is an old friend and a pretty good colleague. Why do you ask?”
Mo Sanbi observed Qiao Yicheng from the corner of his eyes and noticed how the latter’s smile was growing wider by the second.
Soon, Qiao Yicheng had adopted a full-on smirk, full of mischief. He nudged Mo Sanbi in the side with his elbow. “Are you interested in her?”
Eyes widened with disbelief, Mo Sanbi’s gaze snapped towards Qiao Yicheng. Without saying anything, his face had scrunched up as he stared daggers at a Qiao Yicheng who was wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. Mo Sanbi wanted to slap him for that question, truth be told.
“No! I was just curious. I have never seen you two together before.” Mo Sanbi argued back . As fast as he turned towards Qiao Yicheng he turned around again. As he was waiting for Qiao Yicheng to answer, the grumpy man took another drag of the cigarette, glad he had something to calm him.
“Oh yeah, that’s because we barely talk outside of the office. She only transferred in 2 months ago,” Qiao Yicheng explained with a more neutral looking expression. Mo Sanbi was glad he couldn’t find a smile on Qiao Yicheng’s face. He wasn’t sure if he could have handled it. He nodded in reply, humming the rest of the way towards the sundries shop.
Within the shop, Mo Sanbi continued with his cold war, maintaining silence as often as possible, only bringing out some spare words here and there. If the soft-looking Qiao Yicheng wasn’t accompanying him, Mo Sanbi was sure that his scowling face would have been escorted out of the shop by the staff. As soon as all the groceries were put into a bag - Qiao Yicheng always had one of those reusable fabric ones in his shoulder bag - they started their walk home. After some time Mo Sanbi, felt a pair of eyes staring at him intensely.
“What?” Mo Sanbi asked a bit harshly, making Qiao Yicheng suddenly halt in his stride.
“You are more quiet than usual. And you look like a child who has been robbed of their favourite-”
“I do not look like that.”, Mo Sanbi contradicted Qiao Yicheng instantly.
“Okay, so you are mad. What’s wrong?”, Qiao Yicheng asked softly, with a small smile on his face. Mo Sanbi suddenly wondered if he was smiling at Xiang Nanfang like that as well, or if this was reserved for him only. The sheer thought of Qiao Yicheng giving Xiang Nanfang the same smile reignited the blistering jealousy in his heart once more.
“Nothing is wrong, I always look like that.” Mo Sanbi’s jaw was clenched tight. All the questions started to irritate him more than he would like to admit. The last thing he wanted to happen was him exploding right in Qiao Yicheng’s face, but the other seemed determined to get to the bottom of this.
“No you don’t.”
“Yes I DO.” Mo Sanbi almost screamed. His muscles twitched as he tried to keep the anger inside. He returned his gaze to Qiao Yicheng, seething. He wasn’t trying to scare Qiao Yicheng, he just wanted him to stop asking questions. He didn’t want Qiao Yicheng to realize that he had been irritated this much, much less did he want him to realize why it was that way. But no matter how good Mo Sanbi had tried to hide his fury, Qiao Yicheng could see right through it. Why was he able to read Mo Sanbi so well in this, but failed so badly in everything else?
Despite standing right in front of the loomy and angry looking figure of Mo Sanbi, Qiao Yicheng managed to keep his cool. Mo Sanbi wouldn’t expect less from someone who had to babysit four younger siblings starting from his early teen days.
“Have you calmed down?” Qiao Yicheng asked instead calmly. Mo Sanbi tried calming himself down under Qiao Yicheng’s caring eyes. As they stood there facing each other in silence, the seconds felt like hours and soon the sky went dark. A few drops of rain fell onto both their heads. It was the start of a bigger rainshower - one could even call it a storm.
Always the calculated and prepared Da Ge, Qiao Yicheng had a red umbrella in his brown bag, which he promptly took out and opened. He watched an unmoving Mo Sanbi, still glaring, but now getting wet from the rain.
Mo Sanbi watched Qiao Yicheng gesture to him to get under the umbrella, but the bullheaded stubbornness in him didn’t want to give in. He had gotten wet more than once in his life and wasn’t prone to getting sick. Qiao Yicheng sighed softly and took a few steps towards Mo Sanbi, holding the umbrella over the bulky man. The umbrella was barely big enough to fit one person under it; two people would only fit when pressed together tightly. Scared of being too close to Qiao Yicheng, Mo Sanbi took a step back, but Qiao Yicheng promptly followed with the umbrella and kept him safe from the rain. Mo Sanbi still didn’t want to give in, so he took another step back, not noticing that he was stepping into the stream of traffic.
The loud signal-horn of a car resonated right next to him, and Mo Sanbi saw his life flash by his eyes for a second. Two hands grabbed his shirt and yanked him off the street and back onto the paveway. Both men staggered backwards, almost falling, but thankfully were caught by the wall of a building. Qiao Yicheng’s back was pressed against the wall as Mo Sanbi barely held himself at a distance with his hands on the wall. The umbrella Qiao Yicheng had been holding flew away as they froze in this pose.
“Are you stupid?!? You’re going to get yourself killed!!” Qiao Yicheng suddenly yelled at Mo Sanbi, his hands still on the shirt of the young man and way too close for Mo Sanbi’s liking. To Mo Sanbi’s chagrin, the grip got even starker as Qiao Yicheng kept on shouting. Most of it Mo Sanbi barely heard, because the blood rushing through his ears was louder than everything else. Was it because of Qiao Yicheng being so close to him or the adrenaline kick from nearly dying – Mo Sanbi couldn’t decide.
“I didn’t mean-” Mo Sanbi tried answering a rambling Qiao Yicheng, but Mo Sanbi only stuttered and unconsciously slipped into his hometown dialect. The shock from everything happening so fast, still in his bones. Being so close to Qiao Yicheng didn’t help him either, instead his body and his mind started conjuring images of some indecent things he could do to his friend.
“Well, you fucking did! God, how stubborn can someone be! You want Xiang Nanfang? Good, have her for yourself. She is only a friend to me anyway.” Qiao Yicheng was still angry, slightly shaking the man so close to him with his grip on the collar of his atrocious shirt. But Mo Sanbi found himself lost in words, not knowing how Qiao Yicheng had gotten this incensed.
“What?” Qiao Yicheng looked at him as if he was the stupidest person inheriting earth, slightly releasing Mo Sanbi’s shirt from his grip. It almost seemed as if he had only just noticed how close they had become and that they were nearly pressed together. But he kept his grip on the shirt.
“Well, from the moment you saw her next to me, you have been behaving weirdly. Just say you want to meet her, I would arrange something!” Qiao Yicheng explained, still irritated, slightly pulling at the shirt again. Mo Sanbi wondered if there was a reason for him keeping so close to him. Was it the shock or something else? Yet it irritated him that Qiao Yicheng, despite being a clever young man, did not realize that he wasn’t behaving that way because of Xiang Nanfang but because of him.
“No that’s not what I-” Doing whatever he could, Mo Sanbi tried to explain to Qiao Yicheng that he had reached a wrong conclusion, but Qiao Yicheng didn’t let him finish nor was he open to a discussion.
“Then why the hell do you act so stupidly, huh?” Qiao Yicheng asked with a raised eyebrow.
Mo Sanbi was curious and confused why Qiao Yicheng kept insisting on this line of thought. He watched how Qiao Yicheng got angrier in the ensuing silence, then he pushed Mo Sanbi away. Wet from all the rain, Qiao Yicheng looked like a sad and angry dog, and the urge inside of Mo Sanbi to hug the young man grew even bigger. Qiao Yicheng looked away, pushing himself off the wall and raising a finger at Mo Sanbi before throwing his hands around in fury. “You could have been more open about your feelings and we could have this cleared much sooner.”
“No, Qiao Yicheng, you don’t understand, I really-”, Mo Sanbi tried to say calmly, his confusion rising rapidly. How he could possibly get Qiao Yicheng away from this stupid idea? He would never fall for such a woman, and he’d barely even met her today. Her person of interest was clearly none other than Qiao Yicheng, who started walking again, the cold rain still falling down but much lighter than a few minutes ago.
“Just go for it, I give you both all my blessings. Just stop acting stupid and being so grumpy towards me!” Qiao Yicheng stalked off, and Mo Sanbi tailed after him, sighing.
“Why should I want her? You are the playboy here. I barely know her.” Mo Sanbi said with furrowed eyebrows and a somber face. The rain, Qiao Yicheng’s ignorance, it all served as an annoyance and at least with the rain, he could dry it off.
“Playboy? Me? How?” Qiao Yicheng asked in confusion, but kept going at a fast pace. Mo Sanbi kept up as best as he could.
“She kept touching you and even gave you a kiss. She was clearly flirting with you.”
Qiao Yicheng braked abruptly, which prompted Mo Sanbi to almost crash into him. The young man turned around in a fury, his eyebrows narrowed and glaring at Mo Sanbi.
“So you're jealous about me flirting with her?!” Qiao Yicheng asked with more anger in his voice again, but his face was still painted with confusion.
“Oh god, you still don’t get it. What are you? Stupid?” Mo Sanbi mumbled under his breath, slipping into his hometown dialect. Qiao Yicheng had learned some throwaway phrases, but thankfully he didn’t understand anything more complex, otherwise Mo Sanbi wouldn’t be able to curse as often as he liked around him.
“Huh? If you want to say something, then say it so I understand it as well. Calling me playboy because you are jealous that I’m flirting with someone you fancy? Just be honest-” Before Qiao Yicheng could say anything more, Mo Sanbi stepped closer and pushed their lips together. His heart started beating rapidly as his cold lips fell onto Qiao Yicheng’s slightly warmer, slick lips. Scared of what Qiao Yicheng would do, Mo Sanbi didn’t even allow himself to move, but it wasn’t long before the lips under his started moving. Glad about Qiao Yicheng's countermovement, a small smile greeted his lips as he started to match Qiao Yicheng’s slow and steady pace.
His hands found Qiao Yicheng’s back and caressed his skin through the wet brown shirt. At the same time, Qiao Yicheng found Mo Sanbi’s shoulders, caressing them a few times before interlacing his hands behind Mo Sanbi’s neck. Searching for shelter and warmth from the soggy cold, their bodies instinctively snuggled together as their kiss deepened. Neither of them let go until they had to part for some air.
Gasping for breath, their foreheads were pressed together as they watched each other closely. A stupid smile on Mo Sanbi’s face and a love-drunken one on Qiao Yicheng’s, Mo Sanbi rubbed both of their noses together and grinned.
“I was jealous because she was flirting with you, stupid.”