Singlehood Syndrome

Back in the room, lying on the bed, the slight tipsiness seemed to dissipate at this moment. The light from the street lamps outside filtered through the sycamore leaves, casting faint shadows on the ceiling. The breeze gently swayed the shadows, causing the play of light and shadow in the room, which made Xiang Mo’s mind even clearer.

If he hadn’t been drinking on the balcony earlier, would he have gone to Du Chi’s room?

Or perhaps, if Du Chi hadn’t been drinking, he wouldn’t have been so proactive.

Xiang Mo gazed at the ceiling absentmindedly, making meaningless and unanswered assumptions.

But one thing was certain, if Du Chi hadn’t played hard to get and had just thrown him onto the bed, then…

The two of them would probably have already gotten intimate.

Once he calmed down, he found it somewhat incredible upon careful consideration. The boundaries between neighbors should be maintained. Even ordinary couples, after breaking up, could avoid each other until they grew old. But if there were irreconcilable conflicts between neighbors, one party would likely have to move to resolve the situation.

Xiang Mo was very satisfied with his current living situation, and he didn’t want to move elsewhere.

Du Chi did indeed suit his taste very well, but so what? Not getting intimate wouldn’t cause anyone to die.

He rolled over, intending to sleep. At that moment, he heard Du Chi’s voice from outside, coming down to take a shower.

Half asleep, half awake, vague thoughts crossed Xiang Mo’s mind. Wasn’t this guy taking an awfully long time to shower today?

His sleep was shallow, and the next morning, Xiang Mo was awakened again, this time by the smell of food.

With a sleepy expression, he went to the kitchen and saw Du Chi frying eggs while chatting with Zhao Xiaoqiao. Despite it being Sunday, Zhao Xiaoqiao still had to go to school, not for makeup classes but for self-study, according to the school’s requirements.

When Du Chi saw Xiang Mo, he greeted him as usual, “Are you waking up at odd hours now? Artist.”

It was the first time Du Chi referred to Xiang Mo as an artist in front of others. The tone was not strange, as if nothing had happened last night, just as Xiang Mo hoped.

Xiang Mo didn’t really want to wake up so early, but he didn’t feel like explaining his poor sleep from the previous night, so he simply replied, “Is it not allowed?”

“It’s allowed,” Du Chi replied as he walked toward the refrigerator, “Is an egg with salad okay?”

Repeating the other person’s answer just now, Xiang Mo said, “It’s okay.”

The refrigerator was right by the entrance to the kitchen, close to Xiang Mo’s right. The refrigerator faced perpendicular to the kitchen door, so when Du Chi came over to open the fridge, Zhao Xiaoqiao was separated from the space behind the refrigerator door.

“Did you sleep well last night?” Du Chi whispered to Xiang Mo in a low voice.

In the kitchen, there was only the soft sound of oil frying in the small pan and occasionally a few bird calls from outside the window. Du Chi’s voice, not too loud but not too soft, should have been heard by Zhao Xiaoqiao.

However, perhaps due to the obstruction of the refrigerator door, Xiang Mo somehow felt a hint of whispering.

“I slept well,” Xiang Mo said casually.

“You really are…” Du Chi smiled, with a hint of helplessness, and didn’t say much more. He took an egg from the refrigerator and returned to the kitchen counter.

Xiang Mo could somewhat guess what he wanted to say; it was probably something along the lines of “carefree.”

But the problem was, why did you talk so much? Xiang Mo thought, why not just get to the point? Who asked you to flirt?

After freshening up in the bathroom, breakfast was already set on the dining table.

Xiang Mo sat down in the empty seat across from Du Chi and asked Zhao Xiaoqiao beside him, “Have you decided on your college major?”

Zhao Xiaoqiao speared some salad with her fork and looked into her bowl as she replied, “Not yet.”

Her flat tone made Xiang Mo feel that something was amiss. Teenage girls wouldn’t usually hide things, and perhaps no one could get to the bottom of it, but he still sensed that something was wrong.

Unable to resist asking, Xiang Mo inquired further, “Is there anything else bothering you?”

Finally, Zhao Xiaoqiao turned to look at Xiang Mo and shook her head, saying, “No.”

Recalling the boy who kissed Zhao Xiaoqiao that night, Xiang Mo guessed that the matter was probably related to him, but he couldn’t bring himself to ask about it directly.

Silence fell over the dining table, and the three of them ate their breakfast quietly.

Xiang Mo took a bite of the soft-boiled egg and suddenly felt that maybe it wouldn’t be bad to wake up early in the future. Sometimes, when he woke up late, he would combine breakfast and lunch. Although it wasn’t particularly unhealthy, having someone prepare a delicious breakfast every morning seemed to give meaning to waking up early.

Lost in these random thoughts, Xiang Mo suddenly felt something climbing up his thigh. He paused for a moment, realizing it was Du Chi.

“Can we have a good meal for lunch today?” Du Chi asked Xiang Mo with a usual tone, but his foot under the table reached the edge of Xiang Mo’s chair, between his knees.

Xiang Mo recalled Du Chi calling him an artist when he entered the kitchen just now. Now looking back, it was clearly a signal, a signal that this mischievous dog was up to something.

— Or rather, that he wanted to take revenge for what Xiang Mo did last night.

“What would you like to eat?” Xiang Mo asked calmly. However, under the table, he slightly opened his knees as he was wearing shorts and didn’t want their skin to touch.

Du Chi glanced at Zhao Xiaoqiao, who was eating with her head down, and mouthed to Xiang Mo, “Eat you.”

Rather than desire, Du Chi’s eyes held more mischief, as if he was provoking Xiang Mo.

Xiang Mo wanted to mouth something back to Du Chi, but he had asked a question just now, and if no one replied, Zhao Xiaoqiao would surely find it strange.

“Is tomato and scrambled eggs okay?” Xiang Mo continued to ask, feigning indifference, causing Du Chi to punch the cotton.

But he underestimated the wickedness of this dog.

“What kind of eggs?” After saying this, Du Chi suddenly lifted his front paw and stepped on a certain part of Xiang Mo’s leg, as if to say, “Eat this egg?”

The fork in Xiang Mo’s hand dropped into the bowl, making a crisp sound of metal hitting ceramic, successfully catching Zhao Xiaoqiao’s attention.

Xiang Mo calmly picked up the fork, reassuring Zhao Xiaoqiao with a “It’s nothing,” and then lifted his right leg onto his left leg, pushing away the dog’s leg between his legs.

“Scrambled eggs,” Xiang Mo stared at Du Chi and said.

Perhaps because his face finally showed an expression other than indifference, Du Chi lightly chuckled, no longer causing trouble under the table.

After breakfast, Zhao Xiaoqiao was still tidying up the kitchen.

It was still some time before the studio opened, and Xiang Mo planned to go back to his room for a nap. Du Chi followed him out of the kitchen and suddenly called out, “Teacher Xiang.”

Hearing a formal address, Xiang Mo stopped and turned to look at Du Chi.

“For the afternoon sketching class,” Du Chi said, “150 yuan per hour, is that too little?”

To be fair, Du Chi’s original price was already more than 150 yuan; they just hadn’t settled on it during their last conversation. Not to mention that this afternoon’s class would require Xiang Mo to remove Du Chi’s clothes and draw on his body.

“What do you think is appropriate?” Xiang Mo asked.

“I have no idea,” Du Chi shrugged, “What do you think?”

After thinking for a moment, Xiang Mo felt that this was a rare opportunity, so he said, “You name it.”

“Alright.” As soon as Du Chi finished speaking, he grabbed Xiang Mo’s arm and pulled him into a corner of the hallway.

The corner of the hallway was just a meter away from the kitchen door, where Zhao Xiaoqiao was still washing dishes. However, Du Chi pressed Xiang Mo firmly against the wall in the shadows. One hand gripped the back of his neck, and the other held his waist as he kissed him forcefully.

The dim hallway was not lit, and the light from the kitchen window stopped right behind Du Chi, dividing the hallway into two parts, one dark and one bright.

Xiang Mo was trapped in the shadows by Du Chi, forced to endure his dominant kiss.

His aggressive tongue seemed to want to take all the air from Xiang Mo’s mouth, and the hand gripping his neck seemed to accuse him of what he had done last night.

Xiang Mo really didn’t like kissing; it was something that only people who liked each other should do. He wanted to push Du Chi away, but perhaps because of what happened last time, Du Chi blocked his way with his entire body, and Xiang Mo couldn’t escape as he did last night.

His brain began to lack oxygen, and his legs showed signs of weakness. Xiang Mo felt Du Chi’s hand, which was holding his waist, slipping into his clothes. Just then, the sound of washing dishes in the kitchen suddenly stopped.

Du Chi let go of Xiang Mo without any hesitation and stepped back into the well-lit area, saying quite refreshingly, “Then I won’t charge extra, Teacher Xiang.”

Xiang Mo’s breathing was still erratic, and his disadvantage of not being good at cursing people was evident at this moment. After Du Chi had already left, he held back for a while before finally managing to squeeze out three words, “You damn dog.”

In the afternoon, more than twenty students arrived at the studio, far exceeding its capacity.

Some students had made reservations with Xiang Mo, and he had clearly told them that the class was full, but they still came here, apparently wanting to get a taste of it even if they couldn’t participate.

Thinking about getting Du Chi to adjust as soon as possible, Xiang Mo sent him a WeChat message. Less than two minutes later, footsteps could be heard coming downstairs.

Having been neighbors with Du Chi for a while, Xiang Mo had already learned the characteristics of his footsteps. If he had something to do outside, his pace would be faster, usually wearing sports shoes or casual shoes; if he was going out on a whim, his footsteps would be lazy and casual, probably wearing flip-flops.

Today, his footsteps were neither fast nor slow, carrying a leisurely air. However, when he reached the first floor, his rhythm slowed down significantly because Du Chi saw the eager students inside the studio.

He came to a standstill on the last step of the staircase, his expression slightly stiff as he asked Xiang Mo, “So many people today?”

Xiang Mo stood by the chair prepared for Du Chi and replied flatly, “Yes.”

“Um…” Du Chi hesitated and asked, “How about not taking off my clothes today?”

In his heart, Xiang Mo sneered. This damn dog was so decisive when it came to charging, but now he wanted to back out?

He patted the back of the chair and raised his chin, looking at Du Chi, and said firmly, “Sit down, take off your clothes.”

Du Chi: “Doggy feeling wronged.jpg”