TAM 24

On Sunday morning, when Mo Yao woke up, Si Yuan had already gone out.

He sat on his bed and suddenly thought that he and Si Yuan were like two people who met through an online game and then met in real life. The two cats were their game characters, so that was why they felt both familiar and strange with each other.

While washing his face, Mo Yao asked Zhang Ziyu, “Do you think when people meet after an online relationship, there’s always an awkward phase?”

Zhang Ziyu was brushing his teeth, his mouth full of foam, and he mumbled, “What kind of awkward?”

“The kind where your souls feel familiar but your bodies feel strange.”

“Not really,” Zhang Ziyu said. “Aren’t there plenty who go straight to a hotel the first time they meet?”

Mo Yao couldn’t help looking at him.

Zhang Ziyu said, “Yeah. That closes the distance very quickly.” He made a hand gesture.

Mo Yao hung up his towel and turned to leave.

Later, Zhang Ziyu asked curiously, “Are you in an online relationship?”

Mo Yao ignored him.

Since he had time, Mo Yao went again to check apartments near campus. This time, he found one in a good area with a fair price. It looked like the landlord had divided the space. It had a bedroom, a bathroom, and a balcony, but no kitchen or living room. There was only one bed, though the room was large enough. The condition wasn’t great, but it was close to the university and cheap.

Only if the total rent was low could he and Si Yuan split the cost without it being too much.

Mo Yao didn’t dare suggest that he pay more or cover the rent first. He could only try to balance reality and what he wanted within his means.

While viewing the apartment, he stared at the bed and thought of Zhang Ziyu’s “closing the distance very quickly” theory. He placed a hand on his lips and coughed, trying to clear his head of those thoughts.

The agent who came with him said, “Two people could live here. You could push the bed to the side and fit another small one. The space is big enough. But honestly, it’s always more comfortable to have separate rooms. I can show you some if you want. They just cost a bit more.”

Mo Yao said, “Let’s see them.”

By the end of the day, Mo Yao had seen several places, but the small single-room unit still felt best overall.

After dinner, he couldn’t hold back any longer. He left campus, took the subway, and went to the mall where Si Yuan worked.

When Mo Yao took the escalator up, he saw the kids’ restaurant. The mascot at the entrance was handing out balloons.

Mo Yao didn’t walk over. He stopped across the atrium, where another restaurant had empty seats outside. He sat down. No one paid attention to him.

He just sat there and watched the mascot.

Why did I come here? Mo Yao asked himself. It was because waiting felt unbearable. The impulse pushed him to come see Si Yuan right away.

Just like how he rushed to find an apartment. It wasn’t only about taking the cats home. He also wanted to live with Si Yuan.

That feeling grew inside him like floodwater rising in a mountain river. At first, it looked calm and muddy, but upstream, it already surged violently, carrying stones and sand, filling the riverbed in an instant.

The more he thought, the stronger it became.

Across from him, the mascot stopped moving and lifted a hand to adjust the big furry head, then turned in his direction.

Mo Yao didn’t know if he had been seen.

Half an hour later, dinner rush was over. There were almost no new customers. The mascot raised one arm and bent it in a small wave toward him.

Mo Yao thought the gesture was adorable. He thought, Si Yuan really works hard at everything. Even as a mascot, he’s amazing.

He followed Si Yuan into the same break room as last time.

The other restaurant staff were still working. Only the two of them were inside. The big mascot head was lying on the side. Si Yuan’s hair was damp with sweat, and his breathing was heavy from the heat.

Mo Yao sat on the bench and watched him struggle to pull down the zipper on his back.

“Are there cameras here?” Mo Yao asked.

Si Yuan looked at him. “How could there be cameras in a changing room?”

Mo Yao waved him over. “Come here. I’ll help you.”

Si Yuan walked toward him awkwardly and slowly turned around to show his back.

Before he finished turning, Mo Yao grabbed the fur on his chest and pulled him down.

But the costume was too bulky. Si Yuan could only bend a little at the waist.

Mo Yao clicked his tongue, stood up, and leaned in to kiss him.

His head was full of Zhang Ziyu’s “closing the distance very quickly” theory. He didn’t like that awkward feeling of familiarity yet unfamiliar. He wanted to be more intimate with Si Yuan.

When he pulled back, he looked at Si Yuan and asked, “How was that?”

Si Yuan said, “How was what?”

Mo Yao heard the same calm tone as always and said, “You didn’t mind?”

Si Yuan said, “Help me take off the costume first.”

Mo Yao couldn’t read his tone. “You’re not gonna hit me, right?” He felt like that couldn’t be it. Had he misunderstood Si Yuan’s meaning? Wasn’t Si Yuan the one who wanted this?

“Take it off first.”

The T-shirt and shorts under Si Yuan’s costume were soaked with sweat. He threw the heavy mascot suit aside, turned around, and pulled Mo Yao into his arms, kissing him again.

Mo Yao was enveloped by Si Yuan’s warm, humid scent, his head spinning as he thought to himself: Zhang Ziyu was right after all.

Later, as Mo Yao was riding on the back of Si Yuan’s bicycle on his way back to school, he thought about it and found it hilarious. 

He couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

Si Yuan slowed down and asked, “What’s funny?”

Mo Yao said, “Don’t mind me, just focus on riding.” Then he continued laughing and wrapped his arms tighter around Si Yuan’s waist.

When Si Yuan had free time, he went with Mo Yao to look at the apartment.

He didn’t say much the whole time, until Mo Yao asked, “What do you think?”

He said, “It’s good.”

They stood in the single bedroom. Mo Yao pointed at the large bed. “We can move it aside and put a small one next to it.”

“Sure,” Si Yuan said.

Later in class, Mo Yao scrolled through an online shopping app, looking at single beds.

Si Yuan sat beside him, appearing to listen to the lecture.

Mo Yao first looked at folding beds that were easy to store. They were cheap, but uncomfortable to sleep on. There were also better wooden ones, more expensive, of course. He showed them to Si Yuan. Si Yuan said they were too big and might not fit.

If they weren’t too big, they were too narrow. Both of them were tall. Sleeping on a narrow bed wouldn’t be comfortable.

Then Mo Yao found a type of bed that could attach to another. The size was smaller, and the price was fine.

Si Yuan said, “That big bed is two meters wide. Do we really need another one?”

Mo Yao thought that made sense. Adding a small bed beside a big one would just make an even bigger bed.

If one bed could fit them, there was no need for another.

So the matter was left for later.

Since they had decided to rent the place, Mo Yao started filing a request with the school. For the apartment, he not only had to prepare daily supplies, but the most important thing, bringing the two cats home.

He bought cat food, litter, a litter box, and a bed online. When the packages arrived, he took them to the apartment and also began moving some of their daily necessities there.

It wasn’t just his things. Si Yuan’s belongings needed to be moved too. Because of that, Zhang Ziyu and Chen Xinyong both found out that he and Si Yuan were moving out to rent together.

Since they had been roommates for so long, Mo Yao decided to treat Zhang Ziyu and Chen Xinyong to dinner before officially moving out. He had invited Si Yuan too, but Si Yuan didn’t want to go.

“What are you afraid of?”

“I’m not afraid of them. I just don’t have time.”

Mo Yao didn’t push him.

That night, at dinner, Mo Yao ordered a few bottles of beer. He felt sentimental, as if he were standing at a turning point in life, about to step into a new direction.

Chen Xinyong clearly didn’t understand. He asked, “Why are you renting with Si Yuan?”

“Because he works night shifts and the dorm curfew’s a problem. I’m just doing it so I can raise the cats.”

There wasn’t real conflict between Mo Yao and Chen Xinyong. What Chen Xinyong disliked was Si Yuan. Because he disliked Si Yuan, he had tried to make the others distance themselves from him. Now that Mo Yao was close to Si Yuan, and Zhang Ziyu was always out with his girlfriend, Chen Xinyong had become the one left out. It bothered him. “I think Si Yuan’s got a character problem.”

Zhang Ziyu didn’t want them to argue again, so he quickly tried to smooth things over while pouring beer. “What are you talking about? He just doesn’t fit in with us. That’s not a matter of character. And besides, Mo Yao gets along with him fine, right?”

After spending so much time with Si Yuan, Mo Yao had realized that many things didn’t matter to him. Even if Chen Xinyong looked down on him, Si Yuan really didn’t care. So Mo Yao tried not to care either. He said, “That’s your opinion. You don’t need to tell me. I don’t care what you think.”

Chen Xinyong’s face darkened.

Mo Yao raised his beer glass. “No need to get angry. Si Yuan’s moving out anyway. Whatever happens, I hope we all have a good future.”

“Why are you talking about the future already? We haven’t even graduated,” Zhang Ziyu said.

Mo Yao smiled. “I don’t know. Maybe when people are in a good mood, they just feel like the future looks bright.”

“Raising cats makes you that happy?”

Mo Yao nodded. “It really does.”