TSIBAMS Chapter 96
by Volare“I told him not to send it to me.” Bai Shu was cleaning glasses at the bar, not reaching for the thing Ye Xing was holding.
At this time, there weren’t many people in the bar yet, and both he and the bartender were idle, cleaning up the bar.
Ye Xing held the medicated plaster that Li Ke had bought, feeling a bit lost. This was the first time he had been rejected by Bai Shu.
Tsk, thanks to Li Ke.
He wasn’t discouraged and decided to try again, “He’s my friend, just take it as our concern for you, don’t take it to heart.”
“He’s too polite,” Bai Shu glanced at him, even with a polite smile on his face.
The unspoken meaning was, “We’re not that close yet.”
Moreover, with such a detached smile, although not directed at him, Ye Xing could still sense that Bai Shu was trying to maintain a distance from Li Ke.
Too difficult!
Li Ke only told him that this thing was for Bai Shu, but he didn’t say that Bai Shu’s attitude would be so difficult to deal with. He thought he was just an emotionless delivery guy, but he didn’t expect to face the challenge of testing his emotional intelligence.
Headache!
It was as if he was empathizing with Li Ke, he actually had the feeling of failing to pursue someone.
Ye Xing, who had never fallen in love before, decided to try one last time, he cleared his throat and said, “He’s just a warm-hearted person, and… no matter what, he’s also a friend worth making. You might not know him very well, but you know me, so I hope you can trust my friend. He really wants to get to know you, do you want to try to get in touch?”
“Huh?” Bai Shu looked up, his eyes still smiling.
This time, he was probably amused by Ye Xing’s rambling.
Ye Xing didn’t know if this was a good sign, but he couldn’t control himself and was ready to press on, but was interrupted just as he opened his mouth.
“Ye Xing, that’s enough,” Qi Guang’s voice sounded from behind him.
The voice wasn’t loud, and the tone was normal, but it cleverly struck the courage that Ye Xing had worked so hard to build up.
He took a deep breath, not turning around.
Qi Guang habitually went to pull his hand, but it was unconsciously shaken off.
Realizing what had happened, he felt a bit awkward.
Luckily, the phone on the bar vibrated at this time, the screen clearly displaying the words “Teacher Xia,” Ye Xing, as if saved, picked up the phone without saying a word and left.
Bai Shu looked at Ye Xing’s departing back and said apologetically to Qi Guang, “You guys must have laughed at the things between Xu Ge and me.”
Qi Guang was already bewildered, and he was even more surprised when he heard Bai Shu’s words.
Although not exactly shocking, it was still quite unexpected.
Even he himself had been afraid to show too much concern about their matter, always cautiously following and protecting them, but the person involved had casually broken the window.
His words were not only saying, “I know what you two are up to.”
But also, “I also know you’re on Xu Ge’s side.”
Qi Guang gritted his teeth, swallowed the words “There’s nothing to laugh at, I just hope you two are doing well” that were on the tip of his tongue, and decided not to pick up on that, forcing a smile, “Is Xu Ge very busy today?”
“Is he still outside?” Bai Shu glanced at him.
“Yeah, he’s on the phone. I didn’t hear clearly what he was talking about, but I know he was calling different people.” Qi Guang took a glass and poured himself some water.
It was probably because Xu Ge’s behavior was a bit abnormal that even Bai Shu, who knew him best, was a bit surprised. He raised his head, “Did you hear any names?”
“I don’t really remember people’s names, something like Qiang Guo, Da Gui, Dong Liang, Wen Chang… I don’t know if I got them mixed up.” Qi Guang scratched his head and tried to recall, suddenly feeling that these names sounded familiar.
Then a lightbulb went off in his head.
Weren’t these the people who had come to the door of the store to have supper last time? Xu Ge’s old brothers?
After confirming this fact, Qi Guang looked at Bai Shu, finding him a bit flustered.
He frowned and looked outside, “Xu Ge rarely contacts them.”
Qi Guang saw his unease and comforted him, “Maybe it’s just a dinner? Isn’t it almost New Year’s Day?”
Bai Shu didn’t speak.
Let alone Bai Shu, even he himself didn’t believe this reason. At least, judging from Xu Ge’s phone calls, it didn’t seem like he was just calling to have a meal together. When Bai Shu wasn’t paying attention, he quietly retreated from the bar, preparing to find Xu Ge and ask him what was going on.
Xu Ge was still occupying a section of the curb, but this time, he had changed from squatting to sitting.
What was strange was that Ye Xing, who had also come out to make a call, was not here at the moment.
In an instant, Qi Guang threw the questions about Xu Ge out of his mind, immediately taking out his phone to call Ye Xing.
“Hello,” The call was answered quickly, and Ye Xing’s light voice came through the phone.
Qi Guang was immediately relieved, “Where did you go? I didn’t see you at the door of the store.”
“I went home.”
Qi Guang belatedly realized that his tone wasn’t just calm, but emotionless.
It had been a long time since he had seen Ye Xing like this, and he immediately became a little nervous, “Why… why didn’t you tell me?”
“I’m too tired, I’m going home to sleep.”
Not answering the question.
After a brief silence, Ye Xing seemed to realize that he was being excessive, and his tone softened a little, “Come home early when you’re done.”
“Okay.”
Qi Guang felt inexplicably suffocated. After hanging up the phone, he didn’t approach Xu Ge anymore, blew some wind for a while, and then went back into the store, throwing himself into his work.
Even though he was trying not to think too much, he still understood the reason for Ye Xing’s sudden coldness before he got off work.
Everything was fine before entering 1984, and it only took one sentence for him to change like this.
The only thing he didn’t understand was, how did that sentence offend him?
When Qi Guang got home, Ye Xing was lying on the sofa, the TV was on but he wasn’t watching it, he was holding his phone, swiping through something.
Hearing Qi Guang come in, he turned off the TV and went into his room without looking back.
Since they had been together, this was the first time Ye Xing had ignored him. Fortunately, there was a precedent, Qi Guang knew that this one would turn into a block of ice when he was angry, he just needed to coax him.
He followed Ye Xing into the room. Ye Xing was taking his pajamas and walking out, still not looking at him directly, but he did move to the side when he went through the door, as if Qi Guang was in the way.
Qi Guang followed him into the bathroom again.
Before he could step inside, Ye Xing had already pulled the door closed.
Qi Guang braced the door open and spoke first, “About Xu Ge and Bai Shu…”
“You think I’m meddling?” Ye Xing turned around, at least giving him a glance.
Qi Guang was startled by his gaze, “That’s not what I meant.”
“You can interfere, why can’t I?” Ye Xing took off his shirt and pants and put them in the laundry basket, just about to take off his underwear when he turned back and looked at him, “Close the door!”
Qi Guang squeezed in and then closed the door, “I’m not interfering, I’m matchmaking.”
Ye Xing looked at his smooth-talking, shameless behavior in the mirror, took a deep breath, and resisted the urge to kick him out.
“Am I not matchmaking when I’m matchmaking for Li Ke and Bai Shu?”
“It’s different, Bai Shu and Xu Ge are a mutual thing!” Qi Guang said as he slowly moved closer to him, and then reached out, putting his hands around his waist, hugging him from behind, “Taking a bath? I’ll help you take off your pants…”
Ye Xing didn’t let him succeed, grabbing his hand and pressing it against the sink, “Mutual? Unless Xu Ge admits to us that he likes Bai Shu, otherwise I won’t let Bai Shu hang himself on his tree, and I won’t let Li Ke give up.”
Qi Guang didn’t dare to push his luck anymore. Looking at Ye Xing’s expression in the mirror, he seemed to be seriously angry.
“But Bai Shu doesn’t like Li Ke,” He said softly, kissing the back of Ye Xing’s neck.
Ye Xing didn’t follow his lead at all, impatiently twisting his neck, “That doesn’t mean he dislikes him. You can’t deprive someone of their right to pursue love, can you?”
This made Qi Guang feel a sense of frustration. He didn’t have much experience coaxing people, and he had finally figured out the crux of the problem and was ready to solve it, but Ye Xing kept arguing with him, not giving him a chance to properly coax him.
“Ye Xing…”
“Don’t call me that! I know that Xu Ge has always been very important to you, and you always stand on his side, but please respect my friends, okay? Are my friends not worthy? What did you say in the beginning, you supported Li Ke, and what’s the result? Is this how you support him?”
The more Ye Xing spoke, the more agitated he became, and the more he thought about it, the angrier he got. He simply turned around to face him head-on.
Qi Guang felt like he was at a loss for words. The face-to-face position made it impossible for him to act shamelessly when he was in this stalemate, so he simply turned his head, turned on the shower, and put cold water in the bucket.
Without having to face Ye Xing’s cold gaze, he could calmly and logically try to reason, “At that time, I really thought that Xu Ge didn’t like Bai Shu.”
Ye Xing didn’t immediately respond.
The air was silent for a long time. The only thing that could prove the passage of time was the shower spraying water incessantly.
When the heat started to rise, Qi Guang guessed that Ye Xing should have figured it out, so he reached out and pulled him over, saying softly, “Wash your hair first or take a bath?”
Stubborn as Ye Xing was, he didn’t fall into the trap of tenderness, still clinging to the previous topic, even being a bit more aggressive, “Then, which eye of yours makes you think he likes him now? They’ve been together for so many years, when they had a cold war you determined they didn’t like each other, and the moment they made up you immediately turned on me? Qi Guang, I didn’t realize you were a person with such an unstable stance!”
As soon as he finished speaking, Qi Guang turned off the shower with a snap.
Even though he had been trying his best to please him, it was still ineffective. He would take a step back, and Ye Xing would take a step forward, or even two steps, to suppress him.
This long-lost feeling of being both wronged and angry was like the time they had a fight by the river.
So, what now? Solve it with a fight?
Although he really wanted to fight.
Qi Guang’s chest was heaving up and down. There were a million ways to say something harsh and make a beautiful comeback in his mind, but he held them all back. He opened the bathroom door and walked out, “Let’s calm down!”