Ex-boyfriend

　Xu Yue slammed the brakes. Chu Yi was suddenly flung forward, held back by his seat belt alone. The tires chaffed against the tarmac as the car came to a screeching stop on the side of the road.

Xu Yue put his hands on the steering wheel, turned his head to look at him coldly, and said, “Not only that, you also generously invited me to join.”

              Chu Yi said remorselessly, “It’s just a bit of fun, I thought you would like it.”

 　　He still doesn’t think what he’s done is wrong!

 　　Xu Yue suddenly felt ridiculous. He smiled self-deprecatingly, then opened the door, got off. He came around to the other side of the car, opened the door, and calmly said, “Get out.”

 　　Chu Yi looked at him in surprise. “A’Yue, don’t joke around.”

　　Xu Yue didn’t bother to respond. Instead, he released Chu Yi’s seat belt and tried to drag him out of the car. Of course, Chu Yi resisted. So, the two of them struggled for a while. Finally, Xu Yue overpowered Chu Yi and dragged the latter out of the car, and closed the door with a “bang”.

 　　Chu Yi incessantly called out, “A’Yue!”

 　　Xu Yue said nothing. Without sparing Chu Yi another glance, Xu Yue got into the car, closed the door and started the car.

 　　The car left behind a cloud of dust.

 　　Xu Yue saw from the rear-view mirror that Chu Yi was standing alone on the roadside. As he drove further away, the expression on Chu Yi’s face gradually became indistinct.

　　The location of the blind date was chosen by the matchmaker[1]. It was a western restaurant in the city centre. Xu Yue arrived really early and had waited for more than half an hour. His blind date was with Song Laoshi[2] (teacher), who was two years younger than him. With a peaches-and-cream complexion and a pair of frameless glasses perched on the bridge of his nose, he exuded a gentle and quiet demeanour.

 　　It’s the exact opposite of Chu Yi’s unruly and carefree nature.

 —That[3] was exactly what Xu Yue had mentioned to the matchmaker as the type he likes.

 　　The two men were a slightly embarrassed about the blind date. After initial introductions and ordering their meal, Xu Yue was at a loss for words. Fortunately, Song Laoshi was an excellent conversationalist and had a wide range of interest. Contrary to what one might expect, the atmosphere between them was pleasant[4].

 　　It didn’t take long for the food to be served. Xu Yue was holding a knife and fork to cut the steak when he heard Song Laoshi say, “Huh, why is the person outside the window looking this way?”

 　　They were sitting near the window. As soon as Xu Yue looked up, he saw Chu Yi standing outside the window, looking at him. At this time, the sky had darkened.  Set against the gorgeous backdrop of city-lights, with a glint akin to that of fragmented starlight in his eyes, Chu Yi smiled at Xu Yue.

 　　Of course, he looks like this when he looks at every lover.

 　　Song Laoshi asked, “Does he know you?”

　　Xu Yue appeared nonchalant. He lowered his head and continued to deal with his steak while saying, “He must have got the wrong person.”

 　　Chu Yi stood outside the window for a while, blew mist on the glass, and began to write on it with his finger. His beautiful face beguiled many who were dining.

 　　Even Song Laoshi had stopped eating, and tried to read what he wrote. “Strange. What’s he writing…?”

 　　Xu Yue recognized that it was his name at a glance. He was a little enraged. Just as he was about to stand up, the waiter in the restaurant had approached Chu Yi. The two seemed to have a pleasant dialog, then the waiter led Chu Yi into the restaurant.

 　　Chu Yi walked past Xu Yue without blinking his eyes, as if he didn’t even see him. After walking a few steps, he suddenly turned. Showing a charming and unruly smile, he asked, “A’Yue, you are eating here too?”

 　　His acting was horribly exaggerated.

 　　Xu Yue had already been called by his name, so he could no longer pretend that he did not know him. So, he gave a cold response, “Um.”

 　　Chu Yi seemed to have received great encouragement as he came back and sat beside Xu Yue.

“I forgot my wallet and got no money to pay the bill. You won’t mind if me mooching a meal off you, right?”

 　　While talking, he stretched out his hand to Song Laoshi. “Hello, I am A’Yue’s high school classmate.”

 　　Song Laoshi shook hands with him. Too embarrassed to say that the two were here on a blind date, he vaguely said, “Hey, I am Mr. Xu’s friend.”

 　　Chu Yi introduced himself, “I’m Chu, Chu Yi[5]. Chu as in ‘the Hegemon of Western Chu’[6], and Yi as in…”

 “Easy to relax and hesitant to work[7].”

　　Xu Yue interjected indifferently. Chu Yi was not angry. Instead, he spread his hands and shrugged apathetically[8] as he said, “You could say that.”

 　Song Laoshi asked politely, “Mr Chu, what kind of work do you do?”

 　“It’s been barely two days since I returned home. Haven’t found a job yet. Currently, I’m sitting at home, idling.”

“I thought you were a model.”

Chu Yi laughed.

 　　It occurred to Xu Yue that when Chu Yi was with his painter boyfriend, he must have modelled a lot, especially for nudes[9].

　　Chu Yi could chat about any topic. Once the meal was served, it was like he was nailing an interview, everything going his way.

 　“A’Yue used to be our class monitor. He was so studious and taciturn. You must be wondering how we became so close, right? Of course, it’s all me. I relentlessly pursued him.”

 “And the reason as to why I didn’t bring my wallet when I came out? That’s because I quarreled with my ex on the way, and he threw me out of the car. I had no money and couldn’t take a taxi. So, I had to walk by myself.”

　　While he was speaking, Chu Yi’s knees bumped and brushed against Xu Yue’s leg as if there wasn’t enough leg-room. 

Xu Yue’s muscles tightened. Chu Yi’s hand was stroking his thigh, moving higher and higher. He heard Chu Yi say in that pleasant voice of his, “I have been separated from A’Yue for many years. In the past, when we were in high school…”

Xu Yue abruptly stood up, and said, “I’m going to the bathroom.”

 　　Chu Yi smiled provocatively, and said immediately, “I will go too.”

　　Xu Yue ignored him and walked quickly into the bathroom. Chu Yi put his hands in his pockets and followed in a leisurely manner, coming to stand by the sink to watch him wash his hands.

 　　Xu Yue opened the tap, and the cold water washed over his palm, calming his rippling heart. He looked at Chu Yi’s tall figure in the mirror and asked, “How did you find this restaurant?”

 “To find a person, how much effort could it possibly take?” Chu Yi took out his phone and waved it, “All it took was just a call.”

 　　Both of them used mobile phone of the same model. The phone was old. He had been using it for three-four years now. Even though new models hit market every six-months, the phone is yet to be replaced. Xu Yue suspects that Chu Yi uses his mobile phone as a prop to play some small games. Anyway, given his personality, he can do even nastier things.

Chu Yi folded his arms and said, “That Song Laoshi is a nice person, but he’s not suitable for you.”

　“Why not?”

　“He’s too boring. Think about it, if you are with him, your life will be like a snapshot, same from the beginning to the end.”

　　Xu Yue sneered and asked, “Then, what sort of amazing person is right for me?”

Chu Yi was not humble at all. The corners of his mouth turned up as he answered, “Me.”

　　Xu Yue paused washing his hand, turned off the tap and looked at him through the mirror.

　　Their eyes met.

　　Xu Yue suddenly realized that they had really been separated for far too many years, long enough to render Chu Yi unrecognisable[10]. He asked Chu Yi, “Why did you come back?”

　“A’Yue,” Chu Yi called him in a tender tone. The voice seemed to come from one of Xu Yue’s secret dreams, “I came back for you.”

　　The hands that Xu Yue had just washed were still wet. Chu Yi walked up to him and held his damp hand and said, “You don’t know how difficult it is for me to come back and see you.”

　　Xu Yue said, “Yeah, I heard of conflicts in Nigeria. You must have really struggled there, had trouble purchasing ticket to return home.”

　　Chu Yi smiled and said, “Much more than that…”

　　However, he didn’t say anything else. He just leaned his head over, brought the tip of his nose to Xu Yue’s temple, and took a deep breath.

　　That is more lingering than a kiss.

　　Xu Yue felt that his cold and numb heart was torn apart at that moment.

　　The sound of footsteps came from the hallway, startling the two people who were wallowing in affection. Xu Yue was anxious to get out, but was pulled into the nearest toilet cubicle by Chu Yi. this time Maybe it was Chu Yi’s strength that had the upper hand, or Xu Yue did not seriously resist.

　　As soon as they entered the cubicle, Chu Yi quickly locked the door.

　　The small space is filled with the smell of smoke and urine, mingling into an unpleasant smell. Xu Yue frowned and asked, “What on earth do you want to do?”

　“To prove who’s the right person for you.” Chu Yi kissed Xu Yue eagerly. His lips were warm and moist, and a hand was already pressed between Xu Yue’s legs.

　　Xu Yue lowered his voice and said, “Are you crazy? This is a restaurant!”

Xu Yue obviously underestimated Chu Yi. He had no such thing as shame at all.

　　The space in the cubicle was too small. So, Xu Yue had to lean against the wall. He couldn’t help calling out his name, “Chu Yi …”

　　Xu Yue seemed to have been swept into a maelstrom, knowing that Chu Yi had yet again proven his charisma. Of course, he can be like this with anyone. But for Xu Yue, whether it is kissing, hugging, crying or laughing, there is no one but Chu Yi that makes his soul tremble.

　　Because of his body, Xu Yue is inextricably linked to Chu Yi.

　　Xu Yue sank deeper and deeper into the maelstrom. Chu Yi stepped back, straightened up and kissed Xu Yue’s lips.

　　Xu Yue grabbed Chu Yi’s head and kissed him back.

　　Chu Yi gleefully declared, “You still love me.”

Xu Yue’s soul swayed when he heard him say, “A’Yue, let’s start anew.”

[1] ‘介紹人’ similar to a marriage broker.

[2] ‘老师’ (Lǎoshī) Teachers are very respected in China. It is only polite address them much like you would address a ‘doctor’.

[3] gentle and quiet, opposite of Chu Yi – in case that wasn’t clear.

[4] Literally “the atmosphere between them wasn’t awkward at all”. Slight change was made to eliminate sarcastic tone resulting from overemphasis.

[5] He literally says, “My surname is Chu, Chu Yi.”

[6] He is referring to the Chinese characters used to write his name. Hegemon-king of Western Chu was a prominent warlord in ancient China

[7] The character “Yi” 逸 in Chu Yi’s name is the same as “Yi” in the phrase “好逸恶劳” “Hao Yi Wu Lao” which means “to love ease and comfort and hate work” or “to indulge in comfort and despise laboring”.
Since Chinese is a tonal language, explaining a phrase where the syllables of your name is present helps audience to figure out the characters used in the name.

[8] ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[9] Word censored in jjwxc now – decensored to make sense

[10] Kun Yi Wei Lou wrote “物是人非” wù shì rén fēi which literally means “The thing (love, in Xu Yue’s case) is still the same, but the person (it is directed to) is no longer the original person (that Xu Yue fell in love with).