Countless facts have proven that Qian Xiaoke actually wasn’t stupid at all. The reason he didn’t get into a good university, couldn’t land a decent job, and was still just a lowly receptionist at the age of twenty-seven wasn’t because he lacked intelligence—it was because he used all his smartness to use elsewhere.
He used them…on things that couldn’t be described.
Qian Xiaoke had read way too many novels. And the more he read, the more he learned. Even though his real-life experience was far from extensive, and the few encounters he had were hardly worth showing off his theoretical knowledge was pretty solid. He could switch roles in an instant, embodying any seductive bottom one could imagine.
Jiang Tongyan was stunned. “Qian Xiaoke, it’s a waste you’re not an actor.”
A real waste.
He could get into character at the drop of a hat, and there was no need for any emotional build-up. With talent like that, wouldn’t his acting fee easily hit tens of millions in no time?
Qian Xiaoke had taken the wrong path in life, Jiang Tongyan thought. If he had gone into acting, he would’ve been rich by now. Forget buying spicy skewers by the roadside—if he felt like it, he could’ve bought an entire skewer shop on a whim.
Qian Xiaoke said, “Gege, cooperate a little, will you? With the way you’re positioned, it’s hard for me to do anything~”
He was a little too coquettish, making Jiang Tongyan break out in goosebumps all over.
“Can you act a bit more normal?” Jiang Tongyan said. “Too much of anything is bad, you know?”
Qian Xiaoke chuckled. “Wow, you know idioms? Pretty cultured, aren’t you!”
“Cut the crap. Hurry up.” He was already hard.
After returning to New York, Jiang Tongyan discovered something; it wasn’t as difficult for him to get hard anymore. Sometimes, in the dead of night, when he thought of a stark-naked Qian Xiaoke, just the memory would do it. The feeling of being able to ‘rise and fall at will’ was so satisfying that he started to think maybe he really was getting better.
One morning, he even woke up with a proper morning erection.
He did wonder what was going on—why did he seem fine after leaving Qian Xiaoke? Could it be that Qian Xiaoke was cursed, like… specifically doomed to sabotage his lovers’ sex lives?
But then again, when he tried to ‘take care of it’ himself, he still couldn’t last until the end.
Okay, maybe it wasn’t that Qian Xiaoke was cursed. Maybe he just really had a problem.
Originally, Jiang Tongyan felt pretty hopeless about it. But then he remembered what Qian Xiaoke had said to comfort him, that it was okay and that everything would get better eventually. And honestly? He had improved a lot already.
Jiang Tongyan realised that he really had been influenced by Qian Xiaoke—he was starting to turn into an overly optimistic fool too.
Anyway, whatever. He could get hard now, and that was what mattered.
If one could get hard, you’re a real man. A true man.
Qian Xiaoke was very well-behaved and even brought out his ‘doctor’s compassion’ persona to justify to himself that there was nothing wrong with doing these indecent things with Jiang Tongyan.
He said, “If you don’t like the way I talk, I can change my character.”
If the seductive bottom wasn’t his type…
“Do you like the soft, clingy kind? The ones who cry easily?”
“…I like you being more normal,” Jiang Tongyan muttered in his heart. Can you stop reading those weird books already?!
Normal?
Qian Xiaoke muttered to himself: I’ve always been normal.
He just had a strong ability to extrapolate. And maybe…a bit of an acting addiction.
Since Jiang Tongyan didn’t want him to mimic characters from books, he could only play this role as himself.
No more calling him gege—now it was Chairman Jiang.
No more helping unbutton his shirt—he would leave that to Jiang Tongyan to do however he liked.
Jiang Tongyan said, “Qian Xiaoke, you’d better fix your attitude. What good would it do me if you piss me off to death?”
Qian Xiaoke just felt a bit uneasy. He was still worried that if he helped cure Jiang Tongyan’s problem, the guy would never come back to China. Jiang Tongyan would just stay in New York and happily have a homosexual relationship with some perky-assed, blue-eyed little boy over there.
Wouldn’t that be such a loss for him?
“What are you thinking about?” Jiang Tongyan was getting anxious. He was about to lose it.
Most people couldn’t hold out because they were too turned on. Him? He couldn’t hold out because he was about to go soft.
Jiang Tongyan really felt he really had it rough. If only he had found a boyfriend with a slightly more normal brain, maybe he wouldn’t be in this mess.
It was tragic.
He, Jiang Tongyan, was too miserable.
“Chairman Jiang,” Qian Xiaoke finally gave in, and he had made peace with it, “It’s so big.”
Jiang Tongyan was instantly overwhelmed.
This time, Qian Xiaoke really was cooperating seriously and patiently ‘assisting’ Jiang Tongyan like a little angel flapping his wings beside him, cheering him on.
Even though he had things on his mind, Qian Xiaoke tried his best not to show it. Meanwhile, Jiang Tongyan was in a blissful state and utterly unaware that Qian Xiaoke wasn’t nearly as into it.
By the time Jiang Tongyan finally finished, it was a bit of a tragedy, but also kind of expected.
Jiang Tongyan said, “I think next time I’ll be good to go. Just say more sweet stuff near the end. Otherwise, the pressure’s too much, and it still doesn’t work.”
By now, the water in the bathtub had already gone cold.
It was already October, fully into autumn, and yet Qian Xiaoke had spent forever soaking in cold water in the bathroom.
Qian Xiaoke muttered, “Got it. You don’t have anything else, right? Then I’m hanging up.”
“…You got something to do?” Jiang Tongyan was a little reluctant.
They hadn’t seen each other in days, and it was rare for Qian Xiaoke to video call him. He wanted to look at him a little longer.
That’s just the kind of person Jiang Tongyan was. He wouldn’t directly say when he missed someone; he was too proud to admit it.
“The water’s cold!” Qian Xiaoke snapped. “All your fault!”
He splashed his hand in the tub again. The water sloshed loudly, and the sound sent ripples through Jiang Tongyan’s heart.
“If I catch a cold and run a fever tomorrow, it’s all your fault!”
Even when Qian Xiaoke was mad, it came off like he was being coquettish.
Jiang Tongyan laughed, so happy he wished he could crawl right into the phone screen and kiss him.
“Alright then,” Jiang Tongyan said, “go warm yourself up.”
Qian Xiaoke huffed. He had originally planned to hang up the video call with an air of cool detachment, but in the end, he just waved softly and said, “Bye-bye~”
Jiang Tongyan couldn’t handle him being like that. He quickly waved his hand in front of the screen and tried to play it off casually. “Yeah yeah, later,” he said and then ended the call.
After the video chat ended, Jiang Tongyan lay on his bed and stared at the ceiling. He thought about the way Qian Xiaoke panted. The more he thought, the more he missed him.
He couldn’t wait anymore. He wanted to go back to China, to live next door to Qian Xiaoke, to grab him every day and make him cook smashed-up instant noodles for him.
As for Qian Xiaoke—after the call ended, he didn’t get out of the bathtub right away. He just stared at the now-silent phone and suddenly felt a little lonely.
What was that saying again? Something about how the scariest kind of loneliness is the emptiness that comes after a grand fireworks show.
That was exactly how he felt now.
He was gazing up at a night sky where brilliant fireworks had once bloomed. Now the fireworks were gone, not even a trace left behind—only the hollow emptiness that followed all the excitement.
It was a really awful feeling.
Qian Xiaoke sighed, thinking he really was acting kinda weird.
After finishing his bath, he came out feeling genuinely chilly. He changed into thicker pyjamas but still let out a huge, earth-shattering sneeze.
It was already late. He was not in the mood to sleep and lay sprawled on the couch, charging his phone while playing Candy Crush.
The more he played, the more awake he felt—until suddenly, he heard the doorbell ring. His whole body jolted in shock, and he sprang up from the sofa like a spring-loaded cat.
Just when Qian Xiaoke thought it was either a burglar or a ghost, his boss, Cheng Sen, sent him a WeChat message.
Cheng Sen: Jiang Tongyan ordered some chicken soup delivery for you—it should be there now. Go open the door and get it.
Chicken soup?
Delivery?
Jiang Tongyan?!
Qian Xiaoke sent Cheng Sen a pig-headed shock meme in response.
Cheng Sen ignored him.
The delivery guy was still ringing the doorbell. Qian Xiaoke rushed to open the door—letting someone wait outside in the dead of night while suspecting them of being a ghost? He felt genuinely guilty.
Once he had the delivery in hand, Qian Xiaoke stared at the heavy bag and fell into thought.
XX Ginseng Chicken Soup.
He swallowed his saliva involuntarily.
Then, a voice message from Jiang Tongyan came through. When Qian Xiaoke tapped on it, he heard Jiang Tongyan’s smug voice: “How is it? Tastes good?”
Qian Xiaoke’s ears burned red. “What are you doing this for?”
“You just took a cold bath, didn’t you?” Jiang Tongyan said. “Have some chicken soup to warm up.”
Qian Xiaoke carried the ginseng chicken soup into the dining room. The packaging was so pretty he almost didn’t want to open it.
He sent a voice call request to Jiang Tongyan—his first time ever initiating a call to him.
Sure enough, when someone gave you something, it was hard not to soften up.
Jiang Tongyan was delighted. “Well? Is it good?”
“I haven’t opened it yet,” Qian Xiaoke mumbled shyly. “It’s so late… if I eat now, I’ll get fat.”
His voice was soft and gentle, filling Jiang Tongyan with joy.
“It’s fine, you’re not fat,” Jiang Tongyan said. “I just didn’t want you catching a cold from that cold bath. If you blame me, then I would have no way to defend myself.”
Qian Xiaoke giggled, and fingers gently twisted the thick string around the packaging.
“Alright then, hurry up and eat,” Jiang Tongyan said. He was a little reluctant to hang up, even though he knew it was already late in China. “Eat and go to bed soon—don’t you have work tomorrow?”
“Mm, yeah. I’ve got work.” Qian Xiaoke said, “Then… I’m hanging up, okay?”
“Mm. Eat up. Eat a lot.”
After ending the voice call, the two of them sat there grinning at their phones like a pair of silly idiots.
Qian Xiaoke had never eaten ginseng chicken soup before.
There was a place near his office that sold it, but a single chicken cost over a hundred yuan, and he couldn’t bring himself to splurge.
He glanced at the delivery receipt and almost fell out of his chair. This chicken soup was even more expensive than the ones near his office—what kind of ginseng chicken soup was this, costing two hundred and thirty?!
This is killing me! Wasn’t this like eating actual money?!
Qian Xiaoke felt like he really owed Jiang Tongyan now. As he opened the packaging, he started wondering how he would ever repay him.
It was a serious question. Since he was a kid, his parents had always taught him not to owe people and not to take advantage of others.
Though, in his eyes, Jiang Tongyan didn’t really count as ‘other people’ anymore—they had already taken advantage of each other in plenty of ways. But still, this felt different. It made him feel guilty.
Qian Xiaoke frowned, thinking maybe he should find a way to repay the favour once Jiang Tongyan was back in China.
But he quickly forgot all about that because the chicken soup smelled too good. He was fully immersed in the joy that came with ginseng chicken soup. All the guilt, the moral dilemma, the ‘no gain without effort’ stuff was gone and tossed aside.
It was delicious.
Jiang Tongyan really was a good guy.
I kind of…want to see him again.
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