Chen Huan turned to lock the door, and Qin Tiewei noticed it had five locks.
Is this an apartment or a survival bunker? I hope I never have to come here again. A memory suddenly hit him. He had said something similar the previous day, but here he was, 'rooming' with this human who should be a specimen at some high-tech science lab.
Chen Huan stared from Qin Tiewei to the tiny bed, and back again. Finally, he sighed and said, "You take the bed, I'll take the floor."
Qin Tiewei nodded in agreement. He'd never slept on the floor before; he had no intention of correcting that. "Do you have fresh sheets?"
Chen Huan went to his tiny closet and pulled out a sealed bag. He always rotated: one on the bed, one sealed until laundry day, then switch.
Qin Tiewei stripped down to his singlet and boxers. He neatly folded and stacked every piece of clothing on the chair. He always slept in the nude, but not tonight. Strange place, wrong person. His drawer with the toys flashed back in his mind, his stomach twisting from disgust. Better to keep a layer between him and this person.
Behind him, Chen Huan held Yu Xiansheng close to his racing heart. President Qin is half-naked in my room. His muscles are so defined. He wears boxer shorts like a real person. Fuck, I'm getting hard. Fuck, I wonder what his 'size' is. If something were to happen between us, would I take it easily, or would I need time to adjust to it?
Chen Huan's face turned red. You fucking idiot. What do you think is going to happen? He's Qin Tiewei. This day's given you more than you could ever imagine. Aren't you greedy? He clutched the rag-fish more tightly.
Qin Tiewei furrowed his brows at the rag-fish. "What's that?"
"This… This is Yu Xiansheng." He gave a nervous laugh.
Qin Tiewei took it from him. When I think he's reached the limit of his madness, he manages to show me a new layer. What kind of adult carries around a stuffed animal? And such an odd one with such a lazy nickname at that. Mr. Fish?
Qin Tiewei turned the lumpy, misshapen thing over in his hands, trying to make sense of it. "The rag dolls I see are usually tigers. This is quite unusual."
"I know," Chen Huan chuckled. "My mum gave it to me, so I just lug it around so she doesn't feel bad now that she's no longer with us."
"Oh!" His mum is late? He cleared his throat, searching for the right words. "I'm sorry for your loss."
Chen Huan's eyes widened in genuine alarm. "She's not dead! Why would you think that?" He clutched his chest as if even the thought of it was enough to cause him grief.
Qin Tiewei frowned. Not dead? "You said she's no longer with you."
"Because she left my ba for someone else."
"Oh!" Qin Tiewei interjected. They must be estranged then. He sat on the edge of the bed. "That… couldn't have been easy for you either."
"Actually, it's a pretty sweet deal."
"It is?" I can never follow this idiot's train of thought. Why do I keep trying?
"I have two bas and a little sister. She's so cute. Every holiday, instead of just two, we're now three families under one roof. More gifts. More red envelopes. My mum's husband always gives me a bigger envelope than my ba."
"All three families get along?"
"Why not? My ba and ma are the closest of friends. She reports her husband to him, he reports her to him, sometimes, they report themselves to me." He laughed. "It's a bit chaotic, but my ba is happy my mum found love, even if it isn't him."
Fuck. This idiot might've just described to me the purest form of love. How do you find something like that? His fingers tightened on the rag-fish.
Chen Huan frowned and reached for the fish. "What are you doing? Don't hurt him."
"Sorry." Qin Tiewei said in a croaky small voice. He didn't even know what he was apologizing for.
Chen Huan stroked the fish, speaking in a melancholic tone. "Actually, after my ba, Yu Xiansheng is my best friend in the world."
Qin Tiewei stared at him, hanging onto his every word.
"When I was little, I was upset I didn't get a new shiny toy for the New Year like the other kids. My parents… couldn't really afford much of anything at the time."
Funny. When I was little, I was upset every time I got a shiny toy for the New Year. My parents could afford everything except their presence.
"My mum got these rags from the neighbors, and she made me Yu Xiansheng. I remember it very clearly. I woke up the next morning and she held it up, saying, 'Here's your new toy, Lao Yu'. I felt like the luckiest little boy in the world."
You were the luckiest little boy in the world. "She made it at night?"
He nodded. "It took her all night, too. She tried to make a tiger, but failed. This was the simplest cut she could get right. She told me it meant abundance and good luck or something like that.
"People think it's ugly. They don't understand that every stitch is born from love. This is my trusty companion. It'd always be the best thing anyone's ever given me."
I can't believe I was wrong before. This is the purest form of love. How was he raised by such loving parents and still grow up to be… him?
Something suddenly clicked. "You said Lao Yu. Is it Lao Yu or Yu Xiansheng?"
"Well, it used to be Lao Yu, but I'm grown now. I can't call it by such a childish name anymore."
Qin Tiewei laughed heartily.
Chen Huan smiled at it. He'd never seen the other man smile before. He couldn't have imagined it. Fuck, he has a nice laugh.
"When you said earlier… that you need some things to sleep in the office… Is Yu Xiansheng one of them?"
Chen Huan nodded. "And a blanket."
"You're… you're quite a character, Chen Huan. You open your mouth to speak and I can never guess what you're going to say next."
Chen Huan didn't understand what he meant by that, but it felt like a compliment, so he smiled. He didn't want to fixate on it either because, knowing himself, the erection might reappear. It was time to go to sleep. "Lights on or off?"
"Whatever you prefer." Qin Tiewei replied.
Chen Huan turned off the light and cursed internally the moment his body hit the floor. Despite laying his other bedsheet on it, it was still hard and cold.
He tossed and turned, clutching Yu Xiansheng to his chest. Finally, he called. "President Qin."
Qin Tiewei had just begun to drift to sleep. He said nothing. Chen Huan's voice sounded different to him. Almost pleasant.
"President Qin, are you asleep?"
Qin Tiewei's heart raced. President Qin. Why did this title suddenly feel so intimate?
Chen Huan whispered, "Are you one of those fast sleepers, or are you just tired?" You know… from working all day and then cleaning up my apartment. Still ridiculous.
Qin Tiewei's eyes flung open as Chen Huan shuffled into this tiny space on the bed.
"I won't disturb you. I'll just perch on this edge so I can get some sleep."
Qin Tiewei almost laughed. This fucking human. Why would you offer to take the floor if you can't stand it? "Chen Huan?"
"Hmm?"
"My mum never loved me like that."
Chen Huan craned his neck, although he couldn't see anything in the dark.
"Sitting through the night to sew me a fucking ugly fish," he continued, "In the future, that's the kind of love I want."
Chen Huan smiled. "Personally, I want the kind that knows when to let go. Like my ba"
"That's good too." He shifted to the side so Chen Huan could lie more comfortably.
When Chen Huan finally heard the even breathing that meant Qin Tiewei was asleep, he forced his eyes shut–painfully aware of his heart racing in the darkness. Fuck, I am going to fall for this man.