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Hua Cheng lay sprawled across the plush mattress of his hotel room, the city’s distant symphony of honking cars and faint chatter barely muffled by the sleek, soundproofed windows. Despite the luxury surrounding him, the room felt lifeless—too big, too quiet, too empty. The sleek bedside clock blinked in fluorescent green, reminding him that it was long past midnight. His day had been an unrelenting blur of meetings, handshakes, and meticulously polite smiles. Yet, it wasn’t the exhaustion keeping him awake.
It was the ache. The sharp, persistent feeling of missing him .
With a sigh, Hua Cheng reached for his phone, the faint glow illuminating his sharp features as he tapped on a name that had been lingering on his mind all day: Xie Lian . The name felt like a lifeline in the sea of monotony. He pressed the call button, his pulse quickening slightly as the line connected.
The response was immediate, Xie Lian’s familiar, teasing voice bursting through the receiver like a ray of sunlight. “Finally! I was starting to think my San Lang had forgotten all about me.”
Hua Cheng’s lips curved into a grin, his tension ebbing away with every word. “Forget about you? Impossible. Not when you’ve blessed me with seventy-eight texts today—each one more melodramatic than the last.”
A soft laugh bubbled on the other end. “Well, someone has to remind you that I’m here, holding down the fort alone. By the way, I survived a harrowing battle earlier.”
“Oh?” Hua Cheng’s grin widened as he turned onto his side, propping himself up on an elbow. “Do tell. What did my brave Gege face this time?”
“A spider. In the bathroom ,” Xie Lian declared with mock solemnity. “It was clearly plotting a coup. I barely escaped with my life.”
Hua Cheng chuckled, the sound deep and warm. “And did you emerge victorious?”
“Barely. It was touch-and-go for a while there. Honestly, I should get a medal.”
“I’ll make sure you get one,” Hua Cheng said, his voice laced with amusement. “For unparalleled bravery in the face of adversity.”
The banter flowed effortlessly between them, filling the void of distance. Xie Lian launched into a colorful retelling of his day: the battle with the spider, an experimental kitchen disaster that somehow set off the fire alarm, and the neighbor’s audacious cat sneaking into their apartment yet again through the balcony.
“You’re really living on the edge without me,” Hua Cheng teased, the corners of his mouth lifting into an affectionate smirk.
“Someone has to keep things interesting,” Xie Lian quipped. But then his tone softened, the humor giving way to something tender. “How about you? How’s the trip going?”
Hua Cheng paused, his fingers absentmindedly tracing the seams of the duvet. “Busy. Productive, I guess,” he said with a sigh. “But I miss you. This bed feels enormous without you hogging all the space.”
There was a small gasp of faux offense from the other end. “I do not hog the space! I’m just… an efficient cuddler.”
Hua Cheng laughed, the sound low and rich. “Efficient cuddler, huh? Well, I miss your efficiency. I even miss your habit of stealing all the blankets and then pretending it’s my fault you’re cold.”
“Careful,” Xie Lian teased. “Keep talking like that, and I might believe you actually like having me around.”
“Believe it,” Hua Cheng murmured, his voice dropping to a soft, intimate tone. “I miss you, Gege. The apartment, the chaos, you . None of this feels right without you.”
Xie Lian’s reply was quiet but filled with warmth. “I miss you too, San Lang. Just a few more days, and you’ll be home.”
“Counting down already,” Hua Cheng admitted, his eyes closing as he imagined Xie Lian’s face, his smile, the way his voice always seemed to soothe him.
The pause that followed was filled with a warmth only two hearts deeply connected could share. It wasn’t silence—it was comfort, the kind that said everything without a single word.
Finally, Xie Lian’s voice broke through, teasing and light. “Okay, enough with the sap. I’m sending you a kiss. Get ready to catch it.”
Before Hua Cheng could react, a loud, exaggerated smooching sound came through the line. He laughed, his chest tightening in that familiar, sweet ache he always felt when Xie Lian was being endearing.
“Wait, wait,” Hua Cheng said, sitting up in bed. “Let me catch it properly.”
He mimicked the sound, holding the phone close to his lips with an exaggerated motion. “Got it. Safe and sound. And now it’s mine forever—you can’t take it back.”
Xie Lian chuckled, his tone softening. “I wouldn’t dare. But…” There was a brief pause, a hint of mischief creeping in. “Check your email. I sent you something.”
Intrigued, Hua Cheng reached for his laptop. The cool light of the screen illuminated his sharp features as he opened his inbox. At the top was an email from Xie Lian with the subject line: “So you don’t forget me while you’re away.”
Clicking it open, Hua Cheng’s breath hitched. The photo attached was so perfectly Xie Lian . He was curled up on their worn, beloved couch, wearing Hua Cheng’s favorite oversized hoodie, the one that always seemed to swallow him up. His hair was adorably mussed, and his honey-brown eyes sparkled with playful mischief. He was mid-motion, blowing a kiss toward the camera.
Hua Cheng felt his heart squeeze, a rush of love so strong it nearly overwhelmed him. Without a second thought, he grabbed his phone, angling it for a quick selfie. He held it close to his lips, pretending to catch the kiss in midair, then attached it to a reply email. The caption was simple but heartfelt: “Caught it. I’ll be back soon. ”
Moments later, Xie Lian’s laugh rang out on the other end of the call, bright and joyful. “You’re such a sap,” he said, though his voice was tinged with emotion.
“Says the guy who sent me a photo kiss,” Hua Cheng teased, grinning like a fool.
The conversation lingered, both of them reluctant to let the connection fade. They talked about everything and nothing, savoring the closeness despite the distance.
Eventually, though, the weight of the day began to pull them toward sleep.
“Goodnight, Hua Cheng,” Xie Lian whispered, his voice a gentle caress.
“Goodnight, Gege,” Hua Cheng murmured back. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” Xie Lian replied softly.
When the call ended, they both lay in the quiet of their separate rooms, each with a smile on their face, the distance between them feeling a little less vast.