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Xie Lian sighed as he closed and locked the door to the bookstore behind him. He massaged his throbbing temples. Today had been quite a long day.
Usually, he would be working alongside his two closest friends, Feng Xin and Mu Qing, but Feng Xin had errands to run, and Mu Qing had fallen ill, so it was just him. He didn’t mind that he had to work alone, but that day was one of the days he wished they were with him. A lady had complained about one of the books she had bought having a stain, and even threatened to sue the bookstore even after Xie Lian offered to give her a refund or a new copy of the same book. A child had also puked in a corner of the store, and his parents ran off without cleaning it up, leaving it to Xie Lian to do so. There were many similar incidents that resulted in Xie Lian’s day being a lousy one, and all he wanted to do was collapse in bed.
Xie Lian had only just turned the corner when it began to drizzle. He sighed in relief. Thank goodness it’s just a light drizzle… It should be over soon-
The second he thought that, it began to rain heavier and heavier, until he couldn’t even see what was in front of him. He was completely drenched from head to toe, and he facepalmed, realising that he didn’t bring an umbrella with him that day.
“...” he commented as he hurried on his way back home.
Today really wasn’t his day!
Ugh, if only Feng Xin and Mu Qing had been with him! His day would definitely be better with them around.
At least he was looking forward to seeing a certain someone when he arrived home.
After fifteen minutes of hurrying home and falling down several times, Xie Lian finally skidded to a halt outside of the apartment he stayed in with his husband. Ignoring the concerned and weirded-out expressions of his neighbours, Xie Lian took the lift to the penthouse level, muttering a prayer that the lift wouldn’t break down as he went up. (Though, he couldn’t say he was surprised if it did break down. What’s one more unlucky incident to add to the list for the day?)
It seemed like his prayers were answered as he, somehow, managed to get onto the penthouse level without any incidents. He rushed home and fumbled around for his keys…
Only to realise that they weren’t with him.
They must have fallen out of my pockets while I was running home… Xie Lian thought as he sighed yet again. He supposed he would wait until Hua Cheng arrived home, which was in another-
He heard the sound of the door creaking open, and looked up in surprise. His eyes met a familiar shade of red, and he broke into a wide smile.
“San Lang!” he exclaimed as he wrapped his arms around Hua Cheng. Then, he remembered that he was soaking wet, and backed away. “Ah, sorry, San Lang. I didn’t mean for you to get wet as well. What are you doing home so early?”
Hua Cheng smiled softly down at him. “I wanted to spend more time with Gege, so I asked Yin Yu to look after things until the time I usually leave work. I was planning on watching a movie with you, but that can wait for now.” He frowned lightly. “Gege, did you not bring an umbrella with you?”
Xie Lian chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. “...I forgot to pack one into my bag this morning…”
“What about those two idiots, then? Are they so selfish to Gege so that they wouldn’t even bother to share an umbrella with you? Do you want me to beat them up for you, Gege? I know a few people who can-”
Xie Lian frantically waved his hands in the air, sensing that Hua Cheng wasn’t joking. “No, no, San Lang! It’s not like that! Feng Xin told me that he had a few errands to run, and Mu Qing has fallen ill, so I ran the bookstore by myself for today, until the two are ready to come back to work!”
Hua Cheng tsked. “Typical of those two chickens to abandon Gege…” He sighed and smiled at Xie Lian, taking his hand gently. “Come in for now, Gege. I’ll go run you a bath before you fall ill as well.”
“Oh, no, really, San Lang! I can do it myself-!”
“No exceptions, Gege.”
In the end, Xie Lian (reluctantly) allowed Hua Cheng to run a bath for him. Once he was done, Hua Cheng handed him a set of pajamas and instructed him to take a bath and change before they went to watch the movie.
“I’ll be waiting for you in the living room, Gege,” he said before he left.
Xie Lian beamed. “Thank you, San Lang.”
“Anything for you, Gege.”
Xie Lian took a quick bath and slipped the pajamas Hua Cheng had given him on before he walked out of the bathroom and went to the living room, sitting next to his husband.
Hua Cheng smiled at Xie Lian. “Hello again, Gege.” He wrapped an arm around Xie Lian’s waist, pulling him closer
Xie Lian returned the smile. “San Lang, have you chosen a movie yet?” he asked.
“It’s Gege’s choice. This San Lang is alright with anything.”
“Alright, then.” Xie Lian reached out and took the remote, which was resting peacefully on the coffee table, flicking through some movies before he settled on a movie that seemed interesting. He pressed the play button before setting the remote down and leaning his head against Hua Cheng’s shoulder to enjoy the movie.
The movie was… decent, in Xie Lian’s opinion. The storyline was great, but it wasn’t very impactful , either. It would be considered mid in comparison to other movies. Thus, Xie Lian soon grew a little bored of the movie.
Hua Cheng must have sensed that as well, as he turned to face Xie Lian. “Gege, do you dislike this movie?” he asked him quietly.
Xie Lian smiled at him. “Ah, no, San Lang. It’s a fairly alright movie… just not for me. Ha ha ha…”
“I agree with Gege; the movie is quite boring in comparison to other movies that we’ve watched and enjoyed in the past,” Hua Cheng commented.
“...”
Xie Lian had a suspicion that Hua Cheng only liked said movies because he liked them.
“Do you want to switch the movie, Gege?” Hua Cheng offered as he reached out to grab the remote.
Xie Lian nodded. “Yeah, okay…” He stifled a yawn, covering his mouth with a hand.
Somehow, Hua Cheng managed to catch it. He set the remote back down. “Gege, are you feeling tired?” he asked gently.
Xie Lian chuckled. “I am, but it’s alright, San Lang! I want to spend tonight with you!” he exclaimed.
“Gege, I do want to spend my evening with you as well… but I’m concerned that you’ll fall ill tomorrow if you don’t get enough rest. You’ve had a long day today, and it’s important that you get some sleep. It’s alright if you want to head to bed now, we can do this again tomorrow. I can always get Yin Yu to take care of things again.”
Xie Lian couldn’t help but laugh slightly at that. “Yin Yu deserves a raise for everything,” he commented.
“If Gege wants me to give Yin Yu a raise, I will gladly do so.” Hua Cheng paused before adding. “I suppose he does deserve one.”
They shared a small laugh. Xie Lian knew from He Xuan that Hua Cheng always whined about him to Yin Yu. Somehow, Yin Yu didn’t quit his job on the spot even after everything he’s had to put up with.
“I refuse to believe that Yin Yu’s human,” He Xuan had told Xie Lian one day. “Because there is absolutely no way he can listen to that Crimson Dogshit ramble about you all day and not think about jumping off the nearest cliff after.”
Eventually, Xie Lian told Hua Cheng, “I’ll go to bed soon, alright? At… 10 p.m. For now, we can just watch something until then.”
“If that is what Gege wishes, then alright.”
Hua Cheng chose the movie this time, and they watched it in silence. This movie was definitely better than the other one, in Xie Lian’s honest opinion. He was surprised that it didn’t have as many ratings as the first one.
Soon enough, Xie Lian could feel his eyelids growing heavier and heavier, and he shifted so that he could rest his head against Hua Cheng’s shoulder in a more comfortable position.
Hua Cheng turned to him. “Are you tired now, Gege?”
“Mm…” Xie Lian yawned as he closed his eyes.
He heard Hua Cheng chuckle. “Alright. Have a good night’s sleep, Gege. Goodnight.” He felt Hua Cheng wrap an arm around him, and softly kissed him goodnight.
Xie Lian smiled slightly at this. Whenever he was around Hua Cheng, he would feel a different sort of warmth than the one he felt around Feng Xin, Mu Qing, Shi Qingxuan, and his other friends. Hua Cheng made him feel like he belonged, like everything would be okay no matter what, made him feel safe, loved, cherished. He hoped that this was how he made Hua Cheng feel as well.
Slowly, he managed to relax, releasing the tension from the day’s hard work as he slowly drifted off in Hua Cheng’s welcoming arms, the faint murmur from the movie that was still playing echoing off the walls of their apartment.
Being in Hua Cheng’s arms felt just like home.
That was a feeling that Xie Lian loved.