EWH 37

Xu Wanhe took Yang Moshou out for hotpot.

This surprised him quite a bit, since Xu Wanhe almost never gave in to what he wanted.

He had no idea which wire got crossed this time.

Dinner wasn’t exactly like the dream though.

Xu Wanhe didn’t dip in sesame oil either. He also liked sesame paste. He didn’t drink soy milk, but he did like to have a little alcohol.

Because of Yang Moshou’s lips, they ordered a double-flavor pot. He started with spicy, but whenever the heat got too much, he switched to the clear broth.

Back and forth like that.

And Xu Wanhe didn’t even scold him for it.

He barely ate anything, then put down his chopsticks and lit a cigarette. Eyes fixed at Yang Moshou with a heavy, preoccupied look.

After they finished, Xu Wanhe had something come up and couldn’t take him home, so he asked one of his guys to drive Yang Moshou back instead.

Lying in bed later that night, unable to sleep, Yang Moshou thought back over everything that had happened lately and felt like he was finally turning a corner.

Maybe all the crap he’d gone through before was about to pay off.

Thinking that, he flipped over, sat up, pulled out his diary, and hunched over the desk, scribbling furiously.

1. Threw away the little yellow socks I gave him.
2. Let me starve through several meals.
3. Tossed my half-eaten flatbread.
4. Refused to go eat rice noodles.
5. Had people throw me out the moment he woke up, and knocked over the flatbread I just reheated.

Yang Moshou listed everything down one by one in his diary, writing until his eyes grew damp.

He thought, when that guy falls so deeply in love with him one day that he can’t pull himself out, he’d definitely make him pay for it.

After filling up three full pages, Yang Moshou felt as if a burden had been lifted from his heart. He turned off the lights, got into bed, and slept soundly until morning.

Work the next day was the same as usual. During a free moment, Yang Moshou suddenly thought of Mo Mo and felt it was necessary to check in on him, so he quickly dialed Mo Mo’s number.

Mo Mo was off that day and happened to be repainting a car roof at the auto detailing shop. As soon as he answered Yang Moshou’s call, he didn’t even give him a chance to explain. He simply drove straight over.

No matter how much Yang Moshou tried to refuse, it was useless. By the time he made the third call, Mo Mo was already at the outpatient building.

The two agreed to meet at the stairwell in the lobby. When Mo Mo came striding up from a distance, Yang Moshou felt guilty all over again.

“I’m really sorry… You even got beaten up because of me…”

“I already told you over the phone it’s nothing,” Mo Mo said with a smile, waving off his concern.

“Besides, I ran away anyway. They didn’t really do anything to me.”

After speaking, Mo Mo sized up Yang Moshou for a moment and asked,
“That guy, is he your boyfriend?”

Yang Moshou thought for a bit. “Not really. I am chasing after him.”

Mo Mo let out a laugh. “You are something else. You actually dare to chase someone from the underworld. Judging by his appearance, he should be a boss too.”

“Yeah,” Yang Moshou nodded, then shifted the topic. “Actually, you are a really good person. But we should keep our distance from now on. I do not want to drag you into this.”

Mo Mo’s expression turned a little strange. He stared at Yang with a complicated look.

It did not seem like a disappointment. Instead, there was a faint trace of excitement.

“Xiao Yang, actually, I think we can still be friends. There is no need to stop contacting each other. Do not worry, I have no intention of pestering you. Xiao Shitou introduced us because he wanted to match us up, but we have only known each other for a few days and just had one meal together. I simply think you are a pretty good person, that is all. Since you already have someone you like, it is just my fault for coming too late. From now on, we will just be friends. If you ever need anything, just give me a call.”

He paused again.

“Um… actually… the main reason I came to see you today is because there is something I want to tell you.”

Mo Mo looked a little embarrassed.

“Please do not get mad when you hear it…”

Yang Moshou looked at him. “Go ahead.”

Mo Mo let out a long breath, as if making up his mind.

“Xiao Yang, I have never met anyone in my life who could outrun me. Really… I really want to get to know him.”

Yang Moshou’s expression shifted immediately. “What the hell are you talking about?”

Mo Mo didn’t notice the change in his tone. and was still caught up in his amazement.

“Seriously, he was way too fast… insanely fast… his burst speed was incredible… and he was wearing regular clothes and sandals too. I watched his shoe fall off and he still managed to catch up with me… it was amazing… truly amazing…”

Then he grabbed Yang Moshou’s hand.

“Xiao Yang, when it comes to sprinting, I have never admired anyone before. But this time, I really do. He was way too fast. I want to try again. Look, I even came wearing running shoes today. I have a pair of track spikes in my car too, ready to change depending on the venue.”

Yang Moshou did not even have time to pull his hand back. He lowered his eyes to take a look.

Under his dark gray suit pants, the man was wearing a pair of bright red Adidas running shoes.

It looked completely ridiculous.

“You want me to ask him to race you?”

Mo Mo shook his head. “No. I want to meet him first. I wore the shoes to meet you because, honestly, I was scared. If he suddenly showed up, I’d need to be ready to run. Last time, those leather shoes slowed me down.”

Then he added.

“I think you have pretty good taste. That guy looks like a real man. I really need friends like that around me. Seriously, why don’t you talk to him for me? I will treat you both to a meal next time. We can get to know each other.”

Yang Moshou originally did not want to agree, but the mention of food made him hesitate.

“Alright, I will give it a try.”

—

Xu Wanhe had been stuck thinking about everything since last night.

Even when he went out to take care of business, his mind kept wandering back.

To him, Yang Moshou was a very strange presence, something he had never encountered before.

Sometimes, Xu Wanhe could not believe it himself. How could he fall for someone else again in such a short amount of time? Or maybe it wasn’t love. Maybe it was just wanting to fuck.

It left him confused. So confused that he could not sleep at night, tossing and turning in bed, even thinking about calling Tang Ziyan to ask for advice.

In the end, he did not.

When dawn was about to break, Xu Wanhe thought that if Yang Moshou had asked him whether he was willing to be together, he probably would not have refused.

Ready or not, it was just a relationship.
There was nothing shameful about falling in love anyway.

Look at Tang Ziyan, thick-skinned and shameless, dating without a care, and no one laughed at him.

It would not hurt to have one himself.

If it did not work out, they could just break up.

But confessing first would be pretty embarrassing. That kind of thing had to wait for Yang Moshou to say it first.

Xu Wanhe could not quite remember what else he had thought about afterward.
Half-asleep, he eventually drifted off.
When he woke up again, it was almost noon.

He got up and went out, met two people, and after getting his foot treated, Xu Wanhe brought three of his underlings and drove to Yang Moshou’s hospital to find him.

Since it was not yet the end of working hours, he figured Yang Moshou would still be there, so he did not call ahead.

He thought he would just go in and find him directly. Maybe it would even be a nice surprise.

But who would have thought that the moment he stepped into the outpatient building, he would see two people chatting by the lobby stairwell in the distance.

Xu Wanhe was instantly consumed by rage.

—

It took Yang Moshou a while to finally understand that Mo Mo was not interested in Xu Wanhe romantically, but more out of admiration. That made him happy again.

The two were chatting away excitedly when Yang Moshou happened to catch sight of four familiar figures walking in through the entrance. He shuddered instinctively.
“Mo Mo, hey… they are here… they are here…”

Mo Mo immediately tensed up.
“Who? Damn… they really came…”

Yang Moshou hurriedly stepped forward.
“Stay put. I will go talk to him properly.”

After saying that, he ran ahead and blocked Xu Wanhe.

“Why did you just come straight over without even calling me?”

Xu Wanhe grabbed him by the collar, his heart aching.

“Fuck! You son of a bitch. If I had called, I wouldn’t have caught you flirting with another man, would I?”

Seeing that Xu Wanhe was already putting his hands on Yang Moshou, Mo Mo could no longer care about saving face. He rushed to the stairwell and started stretching and warming up, getting ready.

Yang Moshou glanced around and lowered his voice.

“I was not. Do not be like this. If the higher-ups see this, they will call me in for a talk. They will think I caused another medical dispute.”

But Xu Wanhe was not listening at all.
He was too caught up in his own heartache.

He thought he had already treated Yang Moshou well enough, but in the end, someone still had their eyes on him.

Back then, Tang Ziyan had been stolen away by that shameless bastard Shen Han.
Now even Yang Moshou had a backup waiting.

He was cursed. Fucking cursed.

Grief welled up inside him.
He shoved Yang Moshou aside, rolled up his sleeves, and strode toward Mo Mo with big steps.

This time, he had to strike first.

First, secure his relationship with Yang Moshou. Then, clamp down hard on any third party.

But before he could do all that, he needed to catch this brat and beat him up.

The moment Mo Mo saw Xu Wanhe coming over, his nerves kicked into high alert.
His entire body tensed up, muscles drawn tight.

He started shuffling in place, getting ready to run. The second Xu Wanhe was within one meter of him, Mo Mo spun around and launched into a perfect sprint.

Xu Wanhe let out a furious roar and took off after him.

“Fuck you, you piece of shit, get the fuck back here!”